Tag: Industry
News Founders, Long-Time Employees Reportedly Say Xbox Now Effectively Microsoft Gaming
Doesn't really hit the same way
It's been a torturous week for Microsoft, but we aren't quite at the weekend yet. New reporting suggests that longtime employees and even some of the brand's founders agree that things have shifted so dramatically at Xbox since the bad old days that, effectively: "It's no longer Xbox, but Microsoft Gaming." That's...
News Capcom Hits Record High Profits for Seventh Year in a Row
Capgod
Japanese games publisher Capcom has been absolutely killing it for many years now, and with its latest annual financial results, it's done it yet again. Thanks to a series of top-selling games in its most popular franchises, the company has reached record high profits for the seventh consecutive year, and the 11th consecutive year of...
News More Xbox Layoffs Reportedly Inbound as Company Attempts to Cut Costs
Microsoft execs aren't quite done yet
In a week that has been something of a bloodbath for longtime rivals Microsoft and Sony, it appears that the dust hasn't quite settled yet for the Xbox platform holder, which just announced the closure of multiple internal studios. New reporting from
News Tipsy Microsoft Exec Once Attempted to Steal LittleBigPlanet from Sony
Media Molecule said the move would have been "morally corrupt"
Media Molecule is best known these days as the developer behind Dreams. Still, the studio rose to prominence from the back of its LittleBigPlanet series, with mascot Sackboy becoming synonymous with PlayStation. According to studio co-founder Mark Healey, in the early days, Microsoft was...
News Founder Shinji Mikami on Microsoft's Surpise Closure of Tango Gameworks
"Sad"
Legendary master of horror, Shinji Mikami, has commented on the surprise closure of the studio he founded, Tango Gameworks, shuttered in the latest round of Microsoft layoffs. Mikami, the creator of the Resident Evil series, spent many years at Capcom, co-founded Platinum Games, and seemed intent on training the next generation of creatives at...
News There's a 'Real Hunger' for AI to Make Game Dev More Efficient, Says EA Boss
Andrew Wilson talks up the tech's potential
EA's head honcho, Andrew Wilson, sounds extremely excited about the potential of generative AI tools. Speaking in a Q&A session following its latest financial briefing (thanks, VGC), the Aussie CEO responded to a question about how the publisher is planning to utilise AI in the future, and he thinks...
News Gaming Subs Like PS Plus, Xbox Game Pass Aren't Growing At All
Stagnant for several years now
There was immense pressure on Sony at the beginning of the generation to copy Xbox Game Pass’ model of day one first-party releases, but as time goes by, it’s beginning to look like the Japanese giant dodged a bullet. While it has significantly improved its PS Plus offerings, the platform holder has always argued...
News Arkane Lyon Director Calls Out Xbox Studio Closures: 'It's a F*cking Gut Stab'
Dinga Bakaba's had enough of it
Arkane Lyon studio head Dinga Bakaba has minced precisely zero words in his criticism of Microsoft leadership's decision to shutter multiple Bethesda-owned studios, accusing the firm of turning development environments into "Darwinist jungles". Bakaba made his voice heard on
News Remedy Cancels Premium Co-Op Multiplayer Game Codename Kestrel
Despite the project showing "early promise"
Remedy has revealed that its in-development premium cooperative multiplayer game, Codename Kestrel, has been cancelled. Previously, Kestrel was known as Vanguard, and the monied Chinese holding company Tencent was set to handle publishing. Remedy said that cancelling Kestrel will allow the studio to focus...
News Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, More Closed in Brutal Bethesda Restructure
Microsoft makes significant cuts
Microsoft is making some major changes to Bethesda and its development teams, resulting in job losses and the closure of multiple studios. As reported by IGN, head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty sent a company-wide email detailing the restructure plan. In it, it's confirmed that Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and...
News Review Bombers Were Even Attacking Other Games Made by Helldivers 2 Dev
Collateral damage
This weekend's review bombing of Helldivers 2 over Sony's mandated PSN requirement even affected other games before the Japanese giant walked it back. Sucker Punch at least got out in front of the situation, as Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut was confirmed to only require PSN for i
News Korea Announces Bold Plan to Buff Nation's Nascent Console Market
Lies of P, Stellar Blade kick off Korean console renaissance
Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has announced it intends to boldly grow the country's console market, with significant government investment through 2028, in a bid to revitalise the nation's burgeoning games industry. Shift Up's success with Stellar Blade is no doubt part...
News Family Friendly Level-5 Boss Would Love to Make Violent, Erotic Games
"There’s an abnormal world inside of me"
The boss of Level-5, the Japanese developer best known for family-friendly titles like Professor Layton, Ni no Kuni, and Yokai Watch, apparently has that dog in him, proclaiming his desire to develop both erotic and extremely violent games someday. CEO Akihiro Hino made the surprising admission during an...
News Sony and Apollo Reportedly Make $26 Billion All-Cash Paramount Bid
Prestige Worldwide
A few weeks back, a report from the New York Times suggested that Sony was currently in talks with a monied partner, Apollo Global Management, to buy the legendary picture house Paramount. Well, the twosome has now drawn up terms, reportedly making an all-cash offer of $26 billion, which, if accepted, could open up Paramount's...
News Sony's Shuhei Yoshida, Greg Rice Will Deliver Opening Keynote at Brighton Dev Expo
Indie experts take the stage
PlayStation's Shuhei Yoshida and Greg Rice will present the opening keynote at the Develop: Brighton gaming expo in July, it's been confirmed. A conference designed for game developers, the two indie experts will host the "Supporting Indies and Creativity in Game Development" keynote in Brighton, UK on 11th July 2024...
News Horizon: Call of the Mountain PSVR2 Director Made Redundant by Dev Firesprite
"Its been a tough time over the past few months"
After almost seven years at the studio, Alex Barnes, director of PSVR2 spinoff Horizon: Call of the Mountain, has been made redundant by Liverpoool-based developer Firesprite. In March, a report from Eurogamer alleged that a toxic work culture had been allowed to develop at the PlayStation f
News Encouraged by Baldur's Gate 3, Hasbro Bets $1 Billion on Internal Game Development
"In a lot of ways, it makes sense for Hasbro to be in this space"
Revolutionary RPG Baldur's Gate 3 was the surpise hit of 2023; a confluence of contributing factors that led to Larian's creating a once-in-a-generation level experience. But Larian has left the building, moving onwards and upwar
News OlliOlli, Kerbal Space Program Teams Shut Down by GTA Publisher
Roll7 and Intercept Games shuttered
Take-Two will shut down OlliOlli World and Rollerdrome studio Roll7 as well as Kerbal Space Program team Intercept Games as it looks to cut five per cent of its workforce. The news was revealed by
News Deliver Us Mars Dev Lays Off Team Due to Lack of Publishing Options
Publisher's purse strings pulled tight
Deliver Us the Moon, Deliver Us Mars developer KeokeN Interactive has laid off its entire team due to a lack of publishing options — a worrying sign of things to come. Co-founder and CEO Koen Deetman warned last month that this might be the case following the frosty reception many smaller studios seeking...
Revised approach to HD game development formed
Square Enix appears to have cancelled or at least rescoped the size of multiple unannounced games as a result of an internal review into its development process, with a "content disposal" loss totalling 22.1 billion yen, or $141 million. As a result of the investigation, the publisher shall "revise the...
News Embracer CEO Admits Mistakes Were Made: 'I Could Take a Lot of That Blame Myself'
Wingefors comments on mass layoffs
Following the collapse of a "verbal agreement" reportedly worth $2 billion with the Saudi-funded Savvy Games, Embracer Group entered into a brutal nine-month restructuring programme that resulted in the loss of some 1,400 employees and the cancellation of dozens of unannounced games. CEO Lars Wingefors, whose...
News Atari Revives Classic Video Game Brand Infogrames
What's old is new again
The name Infogrames will ring a bell for many gamers out there; the name appeared on many popular titles on pretty much every platform. Now, the brand is making a comeback. Atari has announced the revival of Infogrames as a new publishing label. It'll publish and distribute games "that fall outside the core portfolio of IP...
News Long-Time SMT Series 'Demon Artist', Kazuma Kaneko, Departs Atlus
After 35 years with the legendary developer
Kazuma Kaneko, whose career as a character designer at legendary JRPG studio Atlus has spanned almost four decades, has officially left the company. Kaneko has joined COLOPL, a developer and publisher headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, where he will work on a new IP. News comes to us through a creator...
News Embracer Group Is Now Splitting into Three Separate Companies
Embrace the chaos
Embracer Group, the company best known for acquiring an obscene number of studios, publishers, and intellectual property and then laying off thousands when that didn't work out, is set to split into three separate entities. Following its massive restructuring plan, the business is dividing into a trio of companies, each with their...
News Sony Reportedly in Talks to Team Up for Paramount Bid
Sony Pictures Entertainment on the prowl
News has been quiet on the acquisition front in recent days, at least when it comes to video game IP. However, according to a new report, Sony is currently in talks with a monied ally to acquire storied picture-house Paramount and all the cross-media potential such an addition would bring. That's according...
News GTA Publisher Laying Off 5% of Workforce and Cancelling 'Several' Games
Around 600 people will lose their jobs
Grand Theft Auto owner Take-Two has announced it's laying off around five per cent of its more than 11,500-employee-strong workforce in an effort to save $165 million annually. Around 600 full-time workers will be affected by the layoffs, and some unannounced games within the publisher are to be cancelled as a...
News UK Studio Kwalee Announces Layoffs to Make Room for New Hires
Saying the quiet part out loud
UK studio and publisher Kwalee has revealed recent staff cuts were made to "reshape" the company's business around "significant growth opportunities." The company has layed off approximately 10% of its workforce, around 40 people, in recent months. Despite that, Kwalee stressed it expects to grow its headcount...
News Stellar Blade Director Emphasises Importance of 'Single-Player Games with an Ending'
Variety key to market health
The video game landscape has changed dramatically over the last decade or so, with live, online, evolving experiences becoming more and more commonplace. While there are still plenty of meaty single-player titles being conjured up for players each year, there's definitely been an industry-wide pull, rightly or wrongly,...
News Saber Interactive CEO Defends Embracer Group's Controversial Acquisition Strategy
"Give Lars a break"
Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch has defended Embracer's controversial mass acquisition strategy, which, last we checked, had resulted in the loss of some 1,400 jobs and the cancellation of 29 unannounced games. Karch made the comments in a new interview with IGN (thanks,
News $70 Games Are Just a Phase, Believes Saber Interactive CEO
They will "go the way of the dodo"
Video games retailing at £70 / $70 is just a temporary thing, Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch believes. Speaking to IGN following the company's split from the Embracer Group, he reckons the price point is not sustainable as production costs continue to increase, so a middle ground needs to be found where...
News Yuji Naka Surfaces to Accuse Recently Ousted Dragon Quest Producer of 'Lying in Court'
Drama alert
Convicted white-collar criminal Yuji Naka, Sonic creator and director of the ill-fated Balan Wonderworld, has broken his self-imposed silence for the first time in almost 16 months. He used the opportunity to accuse Square Enix's recently re-tasked Dragon Quest XII: Flames of Fate producer Yu Miyake of "lying in court”. On
News Games Industry Mass Layoffs an 'Avoidable F*ck Up', Says Larian Studios Publishing Director
Based Larian
The developers behind last year's breakout RPG Baldur's Gate 3, Larian Studios, have since used the platform allowed by their success to rail against the many ills currently plaguing the video game industry (where possible). CEO and founder Swen Vincke recently called out publishers' greed as being to blame, saying that "they've been...
News Older Live Service Titles Take Up Over 60% of Overall Playtime, Report Says
Fortnite, GTA 5, Call of Duty the most played PS5, PS4 games
Older live service games like Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft make up more than 60 per cent of the gaming community's overall playtime, a new report from Newzoo reveals. Based on data collected throughout last year, it is said the amount of time people play games is trending down and those...
Random Vladimir Putin Considers Creation of Russian Gaming Console
In an effort to develop Russia's native games industry
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly instructed his government to begin exploring the creation of a Russian games console in an apparent attempt to reboot the Russian gaming industry. That's according to the Russian-controlled state media apparatus RT (thanks, VGC), which details a...
News New PlayStation CEO Hiroki Totoki Starts Temporary Role Today
Will aid search for Jim Ryan's successor
Sony president Hiroki Totoki will today step into his new role as PlayStation CEO following Jim Ryan's retirement after a more than 30-year tenure at the company. While retaining his duties across the wider business, Totoki's main objective will be to aid the search for a true successor to Jim Ryan while...
News Microtransactions Don't Belong in a Single Player Game, Says The Witcher Dev
But they have a place in multiplayer
CD Projekt RED has essentially committed to none of its future single player games featuring microtransactions as the Polish developer states it doesn't "see a place for microtransactions in the case of single player games". The studio's CFO Piotr Nielubowicz said as such in an investor's chat via StockWatch.pl,...
News Game Pass Woes for Indie Devs as Microsoft, Epic Funding Reportedly Drying Up
"The gold rush is over"
It looks as though the plump pockets of big corporations like Epic and Microsoft are beginning to empty, and it's putting some smaller studios in an awkward position. After offering funds in exchange for exclusivity or availability on Game Pass, many indie devs have come to rely on these deals to finance their projects...
News Layoffs Hit Gearbox Staff Hours After Embracer Sale
Like clockwork
Less than a day after the news that Take-Two Interactive would acquire Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment from the embattled Embracer Group, layoffs have already begun. In the hours since former Gearbox employees were made redundant, they've taken to Twitter, and while the total number of staff impacted remains hard to...
News SEGA Drops Relic Entertainment and Cuts Back Across the UK
Around 240 jobs lost
SEGA has sold off primarily PC-based strategy game developer Relic Entertainment, and is in the process of cutting up to 240 jobs across its various UK studios. Relic, which makes the Company of War games, will become an independent studio moving forwards, and said in a short statement that it remains on good terms with its...
News Take-Two Will Acquire Borderlands Dev Gearbox Entertainment
$460 million deal makes sense
Take-Two has announced plans to acquire Gearbox Entertainment from the embattled Embracer Group, in a deal reported to be worth $460 million. The buyout makes logical sense, as Gearbox Entertainment will operate under the framework of 2K Games, which has long been the publisher of the popular Borderlands series. It’ll...
News Judge Rules in Sony's Favour in $500m Controller Comms Lawsuit
Communication is key
A US judge has ruled that Sony did not infringe on another company's patented technology with its PlayStation hardware, specifically in regard to how consoles and controllers communicate. As detailed by GamesIndustry.biz, Genuine Enabling Technology (GET) first filed a complaint against Sony back in 2017, claiming that the...
News Don't Nod Has Seven Games in the Works, Four of Them Unannounced
Reorganizing around RPGs, narrative adventure, action adventure branches
Don't Nod, once the developer best known for the quirky adventure game Life is Strange, has seven games in development, four of which remain unannounced. With releases like Vampyr and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden under its belt (and more on the way), it's clear that the...
Random Neuralink Brain Implant Patient Pulls All-Nighter Playing Civilisation 6
"It was awesome”
The first human recipient of a Neuralink brain implant has put the futuristic tech to work, which, amongst some truly incredible other things, includes staying up all night playing Sid Meier's Civilization VI, which is something we can certainly get behind. Back in January, billionaire Neuralink co-founder Elon Musk announced on...
News Devs Allegedly Pondering the Point of Sony's PS5 Pro Upgrade
"Many feel they're not making the most out of PS5 yet"
There have been two big stories on the ground at GDC this year: Xbox’s flatlining brand and the purpose of the PS5 Pro. Speaking as part of a podcast, GamesIndustry.biz’s well-connected reporter Christopher Dring noted that he didn’t meet a “single person” at the show that understood...
News Development of Santa Monica Studios' Next PS5 Game Appears to Be Going Swimmingly
Judging by Barlog's general demenour
Sony's first-party Santa Monica Studio is currently working on a new PS5 game, that much is known, having wrapped development on God of War Ragnarok with the release of the essential Valhalla DLC. If we had to bet, it will be quite some time before we hear anything more concrete, but one thing's for sure:...
News Xbox Planning to Release the 'Majority' of Its Exclusives on PS5
Third-parties apparently unsure whether to support Microsoft's system
Xbox will apparently release the “majority” of its tentpole first-party titles on PS5 in the future, as its multiformat strategy gathers pace. Earlier in the year, the Redmond firm broadcast a strategic business meeting, where it announced four console exclusive titles –...
News Celebrate Jim Ryan's Legacy with Iconic Digital Bobblehead
"Happy retirement, Jim!"
A stunning digital tribute to outgoing PlayStation bigwig Jim Ryan is now available for those who wish to celebrate the suit's legacy - in style. Players can pick up the collectable, posed like a modern-day Napoleon, through the digital platform PlayStation Stars; all you have to do is play a game Ryan "championed" during...
News Larian Studios' Swen Vincke Blames Mass Layoffs on Publisher Greed
"They've been fu**ing this whole thing up for so long"
Swen Vincke, director of Baldur's Gate 3 and founder of developer Larian Studios, used the opportunity afforded by winning big at the Game Developer's Conference (GDC) to blame the industry's current state on rampant corporate greed, a sentiment we can get behind. Plenty of developers made their...
News Ubisoft's NEO NPC Prototype Offers a Glimpse at a Generative AI Future for Games
You talking to me?
Ubisoft has never been one to shy away from new and upcoming technology, and as you'd expect, it's been experimenting with implementation of generative AI in video games. The publisher unveiled its NEO NPC project at GDC, an early prototype that aims to explore how AI tech can make in-game characters and experiences more...
News Legendary PlayStation First-Party Architect Connie Booth Joins EA
Whipping Dragon Age, Mass Effect into shape for starters
Veteran Sony executive Connie Booth exited PlayStation after a 30-year career at the firm, a surprising move that caused some confusion late last year after outspoken God of War creator David Jaffe let the cat out of the bag on social media. We still don't have the full details on her...