Tag: Industry
News Square Enix President Orders Development Review to Improve Quality of Future Games
A job for the Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department
Square Enix has ordered a complete review of its developmental pipeline to increase the quality of future games and streamline, optimise, and synergise its way into increased profit margins. That's under the direction of Square Enix Holdings president Takashi Kiryu, responsible for...
News Microsoft Has Apparently Been Stocking Up on PS5 Devkits as Xbox Pivots
Further fuel to the fire
While an enormous amount of attention has been placed on the games Microsoft is potentially bringing to PlayStation, reports also suggest the tech titan has been quietly stocking up on PS5 devkits to support its plans. Speculation comes courtesy of fan site Xbox Era, which broke the news Starfield may be coming to Sony’s...
News Xbox Set to Announce Multi-Platform Plans Next Week
A "vision for the future of Xbox" is coming
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has announced Microsoft plans to share its "vision for the future of Xbox" in a business update event next week. While neither confirming nor denying rampant reports that multiple Xbox exclusives shall be ported to PS5 and PS4, you'd assume the speculation would be denied if it...
News Square Enix to Absorb Subsidiary Tokyo RPG Factory and All Its Assets
Closing the production line
Tokyo RPG Factory was established by Square Enix approximately a decade ago in order to recapture the magic of the “golden age” of role-playing releases. However, following the launch of three titles – I Am Setsuna, Lost Sphear, and Oninaki – the subsidiary has been absorbed into its parent company, and will...
News Call of Duty Boss Takes the Top Job at Blizzard
Former NFL exec is in
Blizzard, now a Microsoft subsidiary of course, has gone through something of a shake up in the last couple of weeks. And now the company has confirmed ex-Call of Duty boss Johanna Faries as its next head honcho, following the unexpected departure of Mike Ybarra last week. Faries, who previously spent 12 years working for the...
News Acclaimed Platformer Celeste Celebrates Sixth Anniversary with Free 3D Spin-Off
Celeste 64 the players
If you loved acclaimed side-scrolling indie Celeste, then you may be eager to celebrate its sixth anniversary with this free 3D spin-off. Inspired by the Nintendo 64 and PS1 collectathon platformers of old, Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain is a free, 30-minute romp you can download from itch.io right now. The team says...
News Following Embracer Shutdown, Volition Veterans Form New Outfit Shapeshifter Games
Every cloud has a silver lining
Volition Games, best known for its (now defunct) Saint's Row series, was shuttered by publisher Embracer Group following the release of a reboot of the franchise in 2022. Embracer's slow-motion implosion is something we've been chronicling for what feels like an age (in reality, it's been six months), so it's nice to...
News Deus Ex Game Reportedly Cancelled, Almost 100 Devs Laid Off
Another project cut by the Embracer Group
A new report from Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier suggests an unannounced Deus Ex game at Eidos Montreal has now been cancelled by the Embracer Group. The RP
News PlayStation Pours Investment into Africa as It Looks to Grow Globally
Around the world in 80 investments
PlayStation is already investing in countries like China, South Korea, and India, as it looks to expand its market globally – and now it appears to be turning its attention to the entire continent of Africa. An exclusive article on CNBC reveals that the Japanese giant has invested in Cape Town-based mobile...
Soapbox This Is Why Physical Games Are Still Important to Me
Material guy
I’ve got a confession to make: most of my PS5 and PS4 library is digital these days. I understand why the industry is increasingly transitioning away from physical media, and I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t address that right from the off. However, I still purchase plenty of cartridges and discs, and I believe boxed games still...
News Microsoft, Activision Cut 1,900 Jobs in More Video Game Layoffs
Bethesda employees also affected
Microsoft will be laying off 1,900 workers across its gaming divisions, an IGN report reveals. Divisions affected include internal teams at Microsoft, Bethesda, and the recently acquired Activision Blizzard. In a message sent to staff, Xbox head Phil Spencer said those affected will receive "severance benefits...
News TMNT: The Last Ronin Dev Reportedly Cut in Half After Layoffs
May have lost 55 workers
Black Forest Games, the developer behind the recent Destroy All Humans! remakes and the upcoming TMNT: The Last Ronin, has reportedly lost half its employees following a round of layoffs. A headcount in 2023 suggested the team had 110 staff members, meaning it could be down to roughly 55 workers after the cuts. Speaking with...
News Outriders Dev People Can Fly Reportedly Hit by Layoffs
Industries' bleak toll rises
People Can Fly, the Polish developer behind games like Outriders and Bulletstorm, is reportedly the latest to be hit by layoffs. Over 30 people have been impacted, all working on an as-yet-unannounced game codenamed Project Gemini, which was to be published by Square Enix. That's according to a report from Kotaku, who...
News Baldur's Gate 3 Secures Game of the Year from New York Video Game Critics Circle
Neil Druckmann recieves Andrew Yoon Legend Award
Despite it almost being February, RPG-to-beat Baldur's Gate 3 has secured another prestigious Game of the Year win, this time from the New York Video Game Critics Circle. As previously announced, there, at the New York Game Awards, Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann received the Andrew Yoon Legend Award for...
News Focus Entertainment Inexplicably Rebranding to PulluP Entertainment in April 2024
It's a palindrome!
The French publisher, soon to be formerly known as Focus Entertainment, has announced it will be rebranding in April 2024, changing its name to PulluP Entertainment. Using an annoying combination of capital letters, PulluP is a palindrome and can thus be spelt both forwards and backwards, if needed. We think the news is some...
News CD Projekt Red Dabbling in AI, Considering Multiplayer for Cyberpunk 2
It's thematically appopriate
Having closed the book on Cyberpunk 2077 with the release of the Phantom Liberty expansion, Warsaw-based developer CD Projekt Red is looking towards the future. In addition to the next Witcher game, a Cyberpunk sequel (which we hope is called 2078) is officially underway, and, appropriately, the company has established a...
News RPG Dev Piranha Bytes Struggling to Find a Publisher for Next Game
"We are in a difficult situation"
Elex, Gothic, and Risen team Piranha Bytes has taken to Twitter to share the news it's currently trying to find a publisher for its next game as it works through a "difficult situation". The statement comes after speculation the developer had been shut down following further cuts at the Embracer Group. This doesn't...
News GDC Report Finds One-Third of Developers Hit by Layoffs in Past Year
And other portents of a grim future
Some 35% of game development studios have been affected by layoffs in the past year, and more than half are concerned about future cuts at their place of employment. That's according to the annual report commissioned by the Game Developers Conference (GDC), organisers of the world's largest industry professional...
News Remedy Has Clarified Logo Issue, Recently Resolved Amicably with Take-Two
Nothing to see here
In case you needed a hand, Remedy's logo is on the left and Rockstar's is on the right. Update (18/1/24): Remedy has reached out to Game File reporter Stephen Totilo with a statement about the logo dispute between it and Rockstar. In a nutshell, it's nothing to worry about: A representative of the studio said: "...this was a...
News Rocksteady Co-Founders Form New Studio Called Hundred Star Games
Should have gone with "Bebop"
Rocksteady co-founders Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker have announced the formation of a new development studio called Hundred Star Games, based in London. They've apparently amassed a staff of some 25 developers and aim to expand to a sustainable 100 "industry veterans and emerging talents", presumably putting them to...
News You Should Get 'Comfortable' with Not Owning Your Games, Suggests Ubisoft Exec
Just like CD and DVD collections
Ubisoft's director of subscriptions Philippe Tremblay has suggested gamers will soon need to feel "comfortable" about not owning the games they play as more come bundled within a subscription service. Speaking in a new interview with GamesIndustry.biz about a new tier for Ubisoft+, Tremblay likens the process to your...
News GTA 5 Michael Voice Actor Calls Out 'Garbage' AI Chatbot Using His Voice
"This is f**king bullsh*t"
Ned Luke, the actor who portrays Michael in GTA 5 (one of three playable protagonists), has called out an AI company called WAME for advertising a chatbot that claims to let users have "a realistic voice conversation with Michael De Santa". As reported by PCGamesN, Luke minced no words, responding to a WAME post on...
News UK's GAME Stores to Stop Accepting Trade-Ins from Next Month
Will sell pre-owned stock until it runs out
Staff at UK video game retailer GAME have told Eurogamer the outlet won't be accepting physical game trade-ins from next month. Starting 16th February 2024, GAME will refuse trade-ins of boxed games but will continue to sell pre-owned titles until stock runs out. The move makes it more difficult for...
News Here's Why Sony Is Making Big Moves in the Mobile Games Sector
Many games making $1 billion each year
New data revealing the highest-grossing mobile games of 2023 has made it plain to see why Sony is taking strides into the sector in search of its own piece of the pie. Companies like Tencent are making just shy of $5 billion per year from their mobile games alone, with Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile both making...
News Publishing Exec Claims 'There Are Too Many Games'
Nacon on the pressures of the market and more
We’ve probably all felt the pinch at some point: there are, quite simply, too many games. It’s not even a case of quality anymore: we all probably find ourselves in a situation where there’s more software available than we have time to try. And it’s something publishers are increasingly finding...
News PS1 Veteran Shuji Utsumi Appointed SEGA's New Western Boss
No pressure
PlayStation veteran Shuji Utsumi has been appointed President/COO and CEO of SEGA America and Europe, top billing in Western markets. The reshuffling was announced by SEGA Sammy, the parent company of both the SEGA and Sammy corporations (which manufacture pachinko machines). Utsumi has an impressive list of credits to his name. Of...
News Anger as SAG-AFTRA Strikes Deal for AI Voice Acting in Video Games
Audible gasps
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, is an American labour union that represents some 160,000 media professionals. The organisation recently fought for the rights of Hollywood actors in their battle against AI and signalled it would do the same for performers in the video game...
News Twitch Reportedly Cutting 500 Jobs in Latest Round of Layoffs
This year shaping up to be like the last
Video game streaming giant Twitch is cutting 500 jobs, reducing its workforce by around 35%. That's according to a new report from Bloomberg, and along with the 1800 layoffs already planned over at Unity Software, it marks a grim start to 2024 in the games space. In 2023, the Amazon-owned video platform...
News Gran Turismo Dev to Collaborate with Sony Honda on Real-Life Car
Test drive AFEELA in Gran Turismo 7 for free
Gran Turismo developer Polyphony Digital, already at the heart of so many different projects, will collaborate with Sony Honda Mobility on its real-life electric vehicle, AFEELA. The partnership was announced during the Japanese giant’s CES 2024 press conference overnight, although exactly what the...
News Unity Software to Cut 1,800 Jobs in Wake of Runtime Fee Fiasco
A quarter of all employees
The price of Unity Software's surreal own goal last year was being felt after the next stage in its "company reset" mandate was revealed. The company said (in regulatory filing and internal company memo on Monday) it would target laying off approximately 25% of its workforce, some 1,800 jobs, across all business areas...
News PlayStation's Head of Third Party Deals and Acquisitions Gives Insight into How It All Works
The best place to play
Over the last few years especially, PlayStation as a company has been difficult to read. Sony's video game arm has adopted a secretive strategy ever since it launched the PS5, and so any degree of insight that we get into PlayStation's inner workings is always interesting. And this is where Shawne Benson enters the equation...
News Sony's Third-Party Chief Explains How PlayStation Makes PS5 the Best Place to Play
"They're the experts at making a great game"
Vanishingly few games on PS5 are actually exclusive, but Sony has done an outstanding job since the start of the generation of setting its system apart. A lot of this has revolved around the unique features of the DualSense controller, and PlayStation’s Global Head of Third-Party Portfolio Shawne Benson...
News Analysts Anticipate a Tougher Year for Live Service As Sony Aims to Infiltrate Sector
Oversaturation is becoming an issue
Sony may have placed its bets on live service too late – at least, that’s what one analyst appears to be alluding to. Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz as part of a 2024 predictions post, analyst Tom Wijman from firm Newzoo has hinted he expects a downturn in live service game development as the market reaches...
News Despite Circling Wolves, CD Projekt Red Not Interested in Being Acquired
Aard luck
CD Projekt Red has seemingly weathered a storm of its creation, the chaotic launch of Cyberpunk 2077, which was ultimately redeemed through years of additional work culminating with the release of Phantom Liberty. With another Witcher game in development and a trio of other projects in the offing, it's an exciting time for the Polish...
News The Sinking City Dev Frogwares Emerges Victorious Following Lengthy Legal Battle
Sinking no longer
Ukrainian developer Frogwares has emerged victorious following a lengthy legal battle with then-publisher Nacon over the Lovecraftian detective game The Sinking City. Frogwares is now the sole publisher of the IP across all platforms, and this development hopefully signals the end of the tumultuous tale. Longtime readers and...
News Former Call of Duty Dev Says Decisions Made by Bobby Kotick 'Made Our Games Worse'
Glowing references
The decisions made by outgoing Activision CEO Bobby Kotick actively made Call of Duty games worse. That's according to Christina Pollock a programmer who previously worked on the series. Pollock, along with many other former colleagues, made their feelings regarding the controversial exec known on social media once it was...
News Sony Hit with French Fine for Allegedly Manipulating PS4 Controller Market
Sacrebleu!
France's antitrust regulator, Autorité de la Concurrence, has handed Japanese tech giant Sony a fine of 13.5 million Euros ($14.8 million) after finding it used its dominant position to corner the market, specifically in the realm of third-party PS4 controller manufacture. Competition Policy International/Pymnts (thanks PSLS) reported...
News Job Listing Indicates Horizon MMO Still in Development, Just Not for PS5
Never say never
Fans of Guerilla's ever-growing Horizon franchise might be pleased to learn that that long-rumoured MMORPG spinoff, "Project Skyline", seems to still be in active development. They might be less thrilled to discover there's nothing to suggest it's coming to PS5 outside of being a Horizon game, expected to launch on PC and mobile in...
News Square Enix President Resolves to Implement 'Aggressive' AI Strategy
Happy New Year
In unsurprising news, publisher Square Enix has announced a bold new vision for the company in 2024, again promising to chase whatever the hottest speculative technology on the market happens to be. President Takashi Kiryu rang in the new year with a bold directive, confirming the firm will be "aggressive in applying AI and other...
News GTA 6 Hacker Ruled a High Risk to the Public, Sentenced to Life in Hospital
Teen infiltrated dev Rockstar while under police protection
The 18-year-old Brit behind some of the biggest hacks in history – including the one which saw large chunks of GTA 6 footage uploaded to the Internet – will spend his life in hospital, as a judge has ruled he remains a high risk to public life. British teenager Arion Kurtaj infiltrated...
News ISPs Seemingly Clamping Down on Downloads of Stolen Marvel's Wolverine Build
Don't do it
It appears ISPs are contacting users alleged to have downloaded a stolen build of Marvel’s Wolverine. The upcoming PS5 exclusive featured in terabytes of data taken from developer Insomniac Games’ servers, and it would seem an early playable build of the anticipated superhero outing is now being illegally passed around. <related...
News New Chinese Rules Could Change Some of PS5, PS4's Biggest Games
Gotcha, gacha
A batch of new Chinese policies could change the way some of PS5 and PS4’s biggest games operate. The likes of Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, free-to-play titles with massive updates and sprawling campaigns, utilise features like daily login rewards in order to incentivise player retention. But as China looks to clamp down on...
News Dev Behind PSVR2's Firewall Ultra Blames the Lack of Virtual Reality Support for Closure
Shutting after eight years
First Contact Entertainment, the studio behind PSVR’s acclaimed Firewall Zero Hour and PSVR2’s pseudo-sequel Firewall Ultra, will close down at the end of the year. The team cited the industry’s overall lack of virtual reality support as the reason. “As a AAA virtual reality game developer, we are just not able to...
News Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick Is Stepping Down on 29th December, 2023
New year, new Acti
We all knew it was coming, but now we know the big day. Bobby Kotick's official last day as CEO of Activision Blizzard will be Friday, 29th December, 2023. This news comes as Microsoft makes preparations and changes following its $69 billion acquisition of the publisher. A replacement for Kotick has not been announced as yet, but...
News Devs Weigh in on 'Disgraceful' Insomniac Games Data Breach
"They didn't deserve this"
A devastating Insomniac Games data breach has resulted in terabytes of confidential company information being shared online, including licensing contracts, development pipelines, and much more. Recognising the severity of the infiltration, a selection of high-profile studios have expressed solidarity with the Marvel’s...
News Pornhub Reveals 2023's Most Popular Video Game Characters
From which fascinating data can be gleaned
As the year draws to a close, popular adult film archive Pornhub has continued its annual holiday tradition, releasing needlessly detailed (yet endlessly fascinating) data gleaned from users. Pertinent to our purview, there's a whole section dedicated to the most popular video games, character-related...
News EA Changes Iconic Frostbite Logo, Signaling Philosophical Shift
It's still a hand, though
EA's dynamic Frostbite engine is best known for its incredible environmental destructibility, which is central to its Battlefield franchise. For the last decade, this was represented by the iconic fractured hand logo on the splash screen of games that used the engine. Signalling a new shift in philosophy, EA has announced a...
News God of War Creator Says Kratos Has Lost His Way
The lingering spectre of Sparta
Creator David Jaffe isn't a massive fan of the direction that the modern God of War series, specifically God of War Ragnarok, is taking the character of Kratos. In a video posted to YouTube, Jaffe outlined his thoughts on the older, more contemplative martial deity, arguing that ageing developers pouring their life...
News Legendary Remedy Star James McCaffrey Has Passed, Aged 65
"No one could do what he did better than him"
James McCaffrey, an actor with a career spanning more than 35 years in television, film, and, of course, video games, has passed away following a battle with cancer, surrounded by friends and family. McCaffrey played Max Payne across all three games in the series and most recently voiced Alex Casey in...
News Former Free Radical Devs Offer Tantalizing Look at Cancelled TimeSplitters Concept Art
This is why we can't have nice things
Developers made redundant during the recent closure of UK-based developer Free Radical have begun to update their portfolios, offering tantalising glimpses of a TimeSplitters game that will now likely never see the light of day, from concept art and texture packs to character models and weapon designs. Former...
