Tag: Industry
News Video Game Industry Caught in a 'Vicious Circle of Death and Rebirth', Says Helldivers Boss
Publishers take another public lashing
Helldivers 2 creative director Johan Pilestedt has spoken out about the "ridiculous" state of the video game industry, which regularly endures "cycles of death and rebirth" which has become "unnecessarily brutal" in recent years. Speaking at a GDC session attended by Eurogamer, Pilestedt took aim at the...
News Iconic Game Maker Says Japanese Devs Should Stop Trying to Appeal to Westerners
"Keep pursuing the things Japanese people like"
There was a period, perhaps prominently during the PS3 era, where Japanese developers seemed to lose their way and started trying to appeal to Western tastes more and more. This is something we’ve seen a lot less of lately, as franchises such as Like a Dragon and Monster Hunter and Persona thrive on...
News Single Player Games Aren't Dead, 'They Just Have to Be Good', Says Larian Studios CEO
Baldur's Gate, Divinity: Original Sin boss would know
Baldur's Gate 3 remains one of the best single player RPGs released in recent memory, arguably of all time, and is all the better for allowing co-op. Nevertheless, founder and CEO Swen Vincke has taken aim at those who say single-player gaming is dead, a familiar discourse that has once again...
News A New PlayStation Studio Just Got Confirmed on a Podcast
Of all places
Sony would usually make a song and dance about adding a new developer to its roster of teams at PlayStation Studios, but today we turn to an external podcast from Jeff Gerstmann. To be fair, it sounds like Dark Outlaw Games, as it's been named, is very early in the production of a new title, but we now have confirmation that Jason...
News SAG-AFTRA Still 'Frustratingly Far Apart' from Big Game Studios, Publishers on AI Protections
AI continues to divide
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, a union representing more than 160,000 industry professionals, says it's still "frustratingly far apart" from reaching common ground with many prominent video game developers and publishers on "fundamental AI protections for all...
News The Day Before Dev Reportedly Sues Website for Calling Game a 'Scam'
Yakutia.info refuses to delete the associated articles
Fntastic, the developer behind The Day Before (we'll be careful in our phrasing), one of 2023's more disappointing video game releases, is reportedly suing a Russian media outlet for calling the game a "scam", which it claims hurt the firm's reputation. At this rate, we're starting to doubt...
News After Gobbling Two Publishers, Now Xbox Has Been Sniffing Around Ubisoft's IP
According to a disgruntled shareholder
Microsoft has spent close to $100 billion on historically third-party publishers and developers over the past few years, but now it’s been sniffing around Ubisoft’s intellectual property as well. A disgruntled shareholder of the embattled French firm recently accused the company of failing to disclose...
News Horizon Dev Promises It Isn't Trying to Replace Aloy Actress with AI
Ashly Burch weighs in
Sony has been working on an AI prototype of a technology allowing players to interact with virtual characters and have them respond to speech and engage in conversation. An example leaked online, and promptly nuked through various copyright strikes, showed a player chatting with Aloy from the Horizon franchise. Ashly Burch,...
News PlayStation Employs Bulletstorm Dev to Make New PS5 Game Based on Sony IP
Say hello to Project Delta
People Can Fly, the team behind shooters like Bulletstorm and Outriders, has announced it's entered into an agreement with PlayStation to produce a new game based on a current, pre-existing Sony IP. No other details have been confirmed other than its codename: Project Delta. The technical speak confirms People Can Fly has...
News As War on AI Rages, Two Zenless Zone Zero Stars Say They Were Replaced Without Prior Notice
Recast and removed
Two actors from gargantuan HoYoverse gacha Zenless Zone Zero say they found out about their replacements when patch notes for the game dropped alongside its latest update this week. Soldier 11 star Emeri Chase and Lycaon actor Nicholas Thurkettle have had all of their voice lines removed from the game and re-recorded by new...
Under fire once again
Juraj Krúpa, CEO of AJ Investments and a minority shareholder in Ubisoft, is planning a protest and wants to picket the firm's Paris HQ. Krúpa claims that Ubisoft failed to reveal to investors the discussions it had with companies like Microsoft, EA, and others interested in acquiring its valuable IP, and that management is...
News Metal Gear Solid 3 Remake Dev Set for South Korea with New Studio
To work directly on the needs of South Korean market
Virtuos, the developer working with Konami on Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, has announced it's expanding to South Korea with a new studio opening in Seoul. The move is designed to expand on the team's work in the country, which has seen it collaborate with the developers behind PUBG,...
News Limbo, Inside Studio Co-Founders' Public Feud Turns Ugly, Legal
"Please stop the bullying"
Playdead, the Danish developer of excellent indies like Limbo and Inside, was founded by Dino Patti and Arnt Jensen in 2006. Patti departed the studio following the release of Inside in 2016, and apparently, there is no love lost between the two. Things have been turning quite nasty behind the scenes, finally spilling into...
News Moon Studios 'Fully Independent' After Purchasing Publishing Rights from Take-Two
Ori, No Rest for the Wicked dev goes it alone
Moon Studios, the developer behind the Ori series and the upcoming PS5 game No Rest for the Wicked, has purchased its independence from GTA publisher, Take-Two Interactive. The move will allow Moon Studios to "execute our vision without restrictions". No Rest for the Wicked, which is currently in Early...
News LEGO to Bring Game Development In-House, New Studio Created
As profits for Danish firm keep rising
LEGO has announced it's setting up its own video game development studio and will be bringing the production of LEGO titles in-house. Previously, the company has employed external teams like TT Games and Studio Gobo to make its brick-based games, but now the process will be handled internally. Via The...
News Sony's AI Leak Reveals a Creepy Sci-Fi Future PS5 Gamers Don’t Necessarily Want
Chatting to you instead of herself
Like most big tech companies, Sony has been experimenting with generative AI tools, and a leaked internal demo has come under scrutiny from enthusiasts. As reported by The Verge, Sony has been working on technology that allows game characters to respond directly to speech from the player and engage in...
News PS6 Could Be the Only High-End Next-Gen Console, As New Xbox Touted to Be a 'PC in Essence'
Update: Massive report reveals Microsoft's plans
Recent comments from Windows Central's executive editor Jez Corden have sparked discussion about when Xbox's next-gen console will emerge, and more interestingly, what exactly it will be. Speaking on an episode of the Xbox Two Podcast, Corden responds to rumours that Call of Duty studios already have...
News Insomniac Delists, Relists VR Catalogue, and Few Even Noticed
Says a bit about the state of VR
In a pretty damning indictment of the current state of the VR scene, it seems that PlayStation first-party studio Insomniac Games first delisted, and has since relisted, its catalogue of high-end virtual reality games available exclusively on the Occulus/Meta store. What's that? Didn't you know Insomniac developed...
News Ex-Xbox Boss Says Console War Has Lost Its 'Feistiness' as Microsoft Goes Multiformat
"If Microsoft had the choice, would they make hardware? No"
Peter Moore – famous for his stints at both SEGA and Xbox – has admitted in a Gamertag Radio interview that he “encouraged” the rivalry between Sony and Microsoft because he felt the console war was “healthy for the industry”, but believes his former employer has lost its...
News AMD Hypes Up PS6 Collaboration, FSR 4 Upscaling Tech
The origins of a new generation
In December, PlayStation architect Mark Cerny essentially confirmed the PS6 when he revealed Sony would be partnering with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) on Project Amethyst. This initiative will see the two tech companies collaborate to achieve various mutually beneficial outcomes involving machine learning. Today is...
News Respawn Entertainment Cancels Mysterious FPS Game
"Incubation Team" is seemingly no more
With the rate at which AAA developers are canceling video game projects, we might all need to content ourselves with our backlogs in future. Respawn Entertainment, a subsidiary of EA and the developers of Titanfall and Apex Legends, has canceled its unannounced "multiplayer first-person shooter experience"...
News New PlayStation Studio Hiring for AAA Title, Seems to Feature Co-Op Multiplayer
Better together
A freshly spotted job listing at PlayStation's new LA studio reveals that the team is crafting a "high-profile AAA console title" — and it may revolve around co-op multiplayer. Said job listing is for a "game systems designer", which basically covers all kinds of player interaction on a fundamental level. The description reads:...
News PS5 Consoles May Cost More and Physical Games Could Be Killed by US Tariffs, Analysts Warn
Bleak
As pledged, the US government has introduced tariffs on goods imported from China, Canada, and Mexico. According to analysts, these measures will have a profound impact on the games industry at large, including PS5 games and consoles. For those who haven’t been following the news, the United States has placed 25% tax on virtually all...
News Until Dawn Remake Dev 'Effectively' Closed, Says New Report
Studio down its bare bones
Ballistic Moon, the developer that worked with Sony on its PS5, PC remake of Until Dawn, has "effectively closed" down, according to a new report from Insider Gaming. The outlet suggests, after speaking to sources "with knowledge of the situation", that the studio is down to its bare bones following a quiet round of...
News SEGA to Have a Quieter Year as It Focuses on Growing Sonic, Persona, Like a Dragon Teams
Fewer full games in 2025
SEGA's plans for its financial year 2025 have been outlined in its latest earnings call, and in a nutshell, the publisher is planning fewer game releases and investment in its core studios. When asked about its plans for FY25, which for SEGA is April 2025 to March 2026, SEGA revealed it will be launching a smaller number of...
News PlayStation Struck by More Layoffs in the Aftermath of Multiple Cancelled PS5 Games
Update: PS Studios Malaysia also affected
Sony may be healthier than ever when it comes to its balance sheets, but the pursuit of more profits never truly goes away. Sadly, that’s resulted in more job losses at PlayStation’s acclaimed Visual Arts division, a first-party development group which provides motion capture, art, animation, and much...
News Tencent Increases Stake in FromSoftware Parent, Closing the Gap on Sony
"Part of a capital business alliance"
Chinese holding company Tencent, the biggest firm in the video game industry in terms of investment and revenue, has increased its stake in Kadokawa, the Japanese parent company of our beloved Soulslike maker, FromSoftware. Purchasing an additional 1.1% of Kadokawa's total shares, it now holds a 7.97% stake...
News Could the Next Xbox Get a Head Start on PS6?
Rumourmonger claims devkits are already out
A rumour doing the rounds on social media today claims the next Call of Duty is currently in development at Infinity Ward, and will release in 2026 on various platforms – including a supposed next-gen Xbox. The rumourmonger, TheGhostofNoHope, is said to be well-connected when it comes to the...
News Yoshi-P No Longer Sits on Square Enix's Board of Directors
Final Fantasy XIV, XVI director's name quietly removed
Naoki Yoshida, affectionately known to his legions of fans as Yoshi-P, no longer sits on Square Enix's board of directors. After making changes to its management structure, Yoshida has seemingly been demoted to executive officer; as the creative director has often chafed at being tied up with...
News Still Wakes the Deep Publisher Goes Solo After Sumo Group Buyout
Secret Mode under new ownership
Secret Mode, the UK publisher of games like Still Wakes the Deep and A Little to the Left, has purchased its independence from Sumo Group, which, in turn, is a subsidiary of Tencent. Secret Mode's current leadership team, including co-founder James Schall and VP of publishing, Ed Blincoe, partnered with investment...
News Activision's 'AI Slop' Strikes Again as Fake Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero Games Appear Online
Users forced into surveys instead of gameplay
If its use of generative AI to produce Call of Duty assets wasn't bad enough, Activision is using the controversial tech to create adverts for fake games based on its IPs. It's been noticed how the publisher is advertising on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram for Crash Bandicoot Brawl,...
News Rockstar Acquires Remaster Dev That Fixed Awful GTA Trilogy
Video Games Deluxe becomes Rockstar Australia
GTA 6 developer Rockstar Games has today confirmed its acquisition of Video Games Deluxe, a team it's been working with over the years to remaster the company's back catalogue of games. The two firms began working together on the PS4 version of L.A. Noire, and was most recently drafted in to fix the GTA...
News New Studio from Visions of Mana Co-Director Opened After NetEase Setback
Sasanqua to focus on small projects first
Kenji Ozawa, the co-director of last year's Visions of Mana, has formed a new development team titled Studio Sasanqua following the closure of Ouka Studios. The latter created Visions of Mana — with Square Enix publishing — but the team itself was owned by NetEase. As part of reported efforts to scale...
News Suicide Squad Bombed So Bad, It Basically Took Wonder Woman and Monolith Down with It
MultiVersus didn't help, either
Last year's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was a flop of colossal proportions for publisher Warner Bros. Interactive — but we're only just now seeing the extent of the damage that its significant commercial shortcomings caused. Earlier this week, news broke that Warner Bros. had effectively taken a...
News Palworld Maker Shuts Up Shop So Staff Can Enjoy Monster Hunter Wilds in Peace
That's one way to do it
Palworld developer Pocketpair has closed its office today, allowing staff to enjoy Monster Hunter Wilds in peace. The studio’s official X (or Twitter) account shared a memo which was sent to employees ahead of 28th February, joking that a number of staff already planned to take a sick day. “Regarding 28th February, we...
News 'Most of the Devs' Reportedly Laid Off from The Callisto Protocol Studio Striking Distance
Krafton declined to provide specific numbers
Striking Distance Studios has been hit with another round of layoffs, parent company Krafton has confirmed, claiming that the studio remains operational and that these further cuts will not impact any in-development projects. The publisher provided a statement to PC Gamer confirming the layoffs, as...
News Fans Are Fuming Warner Bros Patented the Nemesis System But Isn't Using It
We'll all remember that
Wonder Woman was the third game by Monolith expected to use the Nemesis System. The feature – first introduced in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor – powers emergent storylines in each individual playthrough, giving antagonists unique personalities which changes how they respond to your actions in the world. The studio...
News Ex-PS Studios Boss Shuhei Yoshida Is Eager for an Invitation to Nintendo HQ
"I've never been"
Shuhei Yoshida has officially left Sony after an awesome 31-year career with the company, and while he hasn’t retired from games entirely, he’s enjoying his new-found freedom. Recently, we’ve heard him speaking candidly on a slew of different podcasts. And in an interview with Japanese publication Gamer.ne.jp, he revealed...
"I love that we can give our studios that opportunity"
More “long-standing, flagship” Xbox franchises will release on PS5, according to first-party boss Craig Duncan, who was speaking as part of an official podcast earlier this week. During the broadcast, the ex-Rare head took the opportunity to announce a delay to Playground Games’ upcoming...
News Steam Deck's Install Base Estimated to Be About a Third of PS Vita
But context is required
Depending on which podcasts you listen to, you may be forgiven for thinking the Steam Deck is the most important platform on the planet. But new market research from IDC estimates the handheld has shipped around four million units since launch, putting it at about a third of the PS Vita’s lifetime total. There is crucial...
News Warner Bros Games Closes Multiple Studios, Wonder Woman Cancelled
Middle-earth series, MultiVerse devs close up shop
The video game industry's grim march continues, with word coming down that publisher Warner Bros. Games has shuttered multiple studios: Monolith Productions (Middle-earth: Shadow of War), Player First Games (MultiVersus), and Warner Bros Games San Diego, which focused on free-to-play mobile games...
News Quantic Dream Responds to Recent Layoffs at Parent Company NetEase
NetEase "hasn't wavered in its global expansion plans"
Quantic Dream, the developer behind Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human (amongst others), has responded to the recent round of layoffs at NetEase as the publisher pulls back from its Western video game endeavours. A wholly-owned subsidiary of NetEase, and having spent years working on Star Wars...
News Sony Steps Up PS5 Shipments in an Effort to Avoid Shortages Amid US Tariff Uncertainty
And other hardware products
In its latest earnings report, Sony has stated some of its planned changes in response to the USA's new tariff policies. The White House has recently introduced a 10 per cent tariff on goods imported from China, described by President Trump as an "opening salvo", with many inferring that harsher levies may follow. This...
News PS5 Maker Faces Lawsuit Over So-Called 'Sony Tax' on Digital Games
Company accused of behaving like a monopolist
Sony has been accused in the Netherlands of having a monopoly over the price of digital games on its PS Store. In what could become a headache for the company, a class action lawsuit claims that it’s violating Dutch and European competition laws by not allowing third-party retailers to sell digital...
News Xbox Plots a Catalogue of AI Games, And It'll Probably Use Tech on PS5
Nadella impressed with Microsoft's new model
In case you missed the news last week, Xbox has been training its artificial intelligence technology on Ninja Theory flop Bleeding Edge, in an effort to eventually make games using generative AI. The company’s failed to communicate a compelling use case for the project it’s naming Muse, but it’s...
News Sony Is Now the Second Largest Company in Japan by Market Cap
Big in Japan
Known as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo when first founded in 1946, the company we now know (and occasionally even love) as Sony, or more appropriately, Sony Group Corporation, has come a very long way, indeed. Not even the costly efforts of some of its top executives to torch money in the name of live service can keep the firm down; it seems the...
News Yakuza Creator's Next Game Will Be Sent to Die As NetEase Implodes
Not good news
Back when Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi left SEGA and signed up with NetEase, it was expected he’d have the resources required to make the next big thing. After all, the Chinese juggernaut was on an outrageous spending spree, with money seemingly no object at all. Now it sounds like his next game will be sent out to die...
News Sony Clarifies the Difference Between First-Party, Second-Party, and So On
Now you know
There’s been a raging debate about the meaning of first-party, second-party, and so on among gaming enthusiasts for eons. For the longest time, it was assumed first-party games were those published by the platform holder and made by internally owned studios, while second-party titles were those titles still published by the platform...
News Space Marine 2 Dev Partners with Hasbro, Working on 'Tentpole IP'
Cluedo, perhaps, or My Little Pony?
Family-friendly toy company Hasbro has partnered with Saber Interactive, developer of one of 2024's most violently grimdark, gore-drenched games in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. The two will work together to bring to life one of Hasbro's "tentpole IPs", which does present some intriguing possibilities...
News Phil Spencer Posits Generative AI Tech Preserving Old Games, Called 'Idiotic' by Expert
Muse technology "not a solution" for game preservation
This week, Microsoft unveiled its latest venture into generative AI technology, and it's getting a mixed reaction, you could say. Called Muse, the tech is a first-of-its-kind AI model that's able to replicate a game based upon video footage and player control inputs. Microsoft's AI research...
