Tag: Industry - Page 21
News Metacritic Ranks SEGA as the Best Publisher of 2020, Sony in Top 5
Japanese giants
Metacritic has released its annual publisher rankings, and the results are actually quite surprising. These rankings take a number of factors into account, in order to feed a points system that's based on things like average Metascore and whether the publisher has launched any "great" (at least 90 Metascore) titles over the course of...
News Ghostwire Tokyo Alumnus Ikumi Nakamura Opens Own Studio, Developing New Game
Will be "full of dark jokes"
Prior to E3 2018, Ikumi Nakamura was probably a name most people didn't know. However, following her expressive presentation before revealing Ghostwire Tokyo, she quickly became a beloved industry figure. Not long after, she resigned from her post as creative director on the project. The question since that surprising...
News Microsoft Reportedly Opening Its Wallet Once Again for $10 Billion Acquisition of Discord
Company apparently in talks to purchase online chat service
Microsoft has just spent $7.5 billion to bring ZeniMax Media (and thus, Bethesda) into its first party network of game studios. That's an eye-watering sum, and you'd think would leave the corporation's pockets feeling a little lighter than usual. Well, according to a new report from...
News Media Molecule's Siobhan Reddy to Receive BAFTA Fellowship Award
Studio director to receive prestigious accolade
Today, BAFTA has announced that Siobhan Reddy, studio director of Media Molecule, will be awarded the BAFTA Fellowship at this year's Games Awards ceremony. The Fellowship award is the academy's highest honour, given to individuals for their achievements and contributions to the medium. Reddy will...
News Quantic Dream Helping French Indie Team with 'Atmospheric' Narrative Game
David Cage's studio "seduced" by the concept
What's Quantic Dream up to these days? The French studio's last output was Detroit: Become Human in 2018, and we've not really heard much from the developer since. We're sure it's cooking something up that will make PlayStation 5 really sing, but until then, it seems to be focusing on its indie publishing...
News 2K Sports Inks Long-Term Deal with Tiger Woods, Acquires HB Studios
Golf clap
2K Sports had indicated that it was very happy with the performance of PGA Tour 2K21, and so it’s unsurprising that it’s decided to double down on its efforts with the series. The publisher has announced today that it’s signed a long-term deal with Tiger Woods and has acquired The Golf Club
News Bloodborne, Tokyo Jungle Executive Producer Masami Yamamoto Leaves Sony
As expected, unfortunately
It’s no surprise anymore, given the effective closure of Japan Studio, but external production director and executive producer Masami Yamamoto has left Sony after 25 years with the company. The veteran has worked on titles like Bloodborne, Soul Sacrifice, Freedom Wars,
News God of War Maker Recruiting Lead Writer for Unannounced Game
Embarking on a new journey
We know that Sony Santa Monica’s working on the next instalment of the God of War franchise, but it’s also recruiting a lead writer for an “unannounced” project. The developer advertised the role on its Twitter account earlier today, and while there are few details in
News Future Bethesda Games Will Ship 'Where Game Pass Exists'
So not on PS5 or PS4
We don't think it gets much clearer than this. After Xbox head Phil Spencer stated that "some" future Bethesda titles would be exclusive to Xbox Series X|S and PC, the man leading the team in green has now clarified that this essentially means the publisher's entire line-up. Revealed as part of a roundtable discussion between...
News Denuvo Anti-Cheat Technology Available to PS5 Developers
Level playing field
Sony has bolstered its suite of middleware tools available to PlayStation 5 developers with the addition of Denuvo’s anti-cheat technology. As a press release explains, the software is designed to bring “fairness and fun back to gaming”. It cites a survey which concluded that 77 per cent of players “express being repelled...
News Bethesda Says 'Some' Future Games Won't Launch on PS5, PS4
Wording continues to be vague
Microsoft has now officially acquired Bethesda, and the hardware manufacturer has celebrated the occasion with a new post on the Xbox Wire website. After welcoming the eight studios into the Xbox fold, head Phil Spencer then tackles the detail we've all wanted to be clarified for months. Will future Bethesda titles make...
News Disintegration Developer V1 Interactive Calls It a Day
After debut game failed to find an audience
V1 Interactive, the developer of Disintegration – the squad-based tactical shooter which had its servers shutdown after just five months – has closed down. The studio – fronted by Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto – launched its aforementioned debut project less than a year ago, but it failed to attract...
News Bethesda Broadcast Could Potentially Lay Out Publisher's Plans This Week
Brace for the Fallout
The ink is dry and the truck of dollar bills has been dumped outside of the office: Bethesda is officially owned by Microsoft now. So, what does this mean for us PlayStation fans? Well, it’s been a lingering question for well over six months, and we may finally get some answers this week, as a broadcast is purportedly planned...
News Famitsu, Dengeki, and Japanese Fans Give Ghost of Tsushima All Kinds of Awards
The Ghost with the most
Ghost of Tsushima's staggering success in Japan is well documented at this point. Not only did the PlayStation 4 exclusive break sales records for Sony, it also inspired the real island of Tsushima to make Sucker Punch studio heads Nate Fox and Jason Connell permanent ambassadors. A huge honour, and it's just got even better...
News Microsoft's Bethesda Bid One Step Closer to Completion as European Union Approves Acquisition
Money money money
Microsoft's 7.5 billion dollar acquisition of ZeniMax Media — of course including Bethesda Softworks — has met the approval of the European Union. As VGC reports, the EU's antitrust regulator has given the green light to the historic merger, which will see Microsoft become the parent company of all Bethesda's development teams...
News Guerrilla's New Amsterdam Office Will Leave You Green with Envy
Wonder work
Remember offices? They were communal spaces that allowed you to collaborate with colleagues in the pre-pandemic era, but they’re mostly abandoned open floors these days. Guerrilla Games, having purchased one of the more famous work spaces in Amsterdam, is sure hoping it’ll be able to occupy its spangly studio soon, as it looks...
News Take-Two Boss Believes Players Were 'Ready' for $70 Games
Wants to ensure "consumers feel like we deliver much more than we ask"
The fierce debate regarding the price of games rumbles on, driven almost exclusively by Returnal right now. Housemarque’s upcoming PlayStation 5 exclusive roguelike is bringing a bunch of interesting ideas to the table, but discourse surrounding the game is pointed at its...
News This Sh*t Is Bananas! PlayStation Patents Fruit Peripheral
Probably won't come to fruition
Sony rakes in obscene sums of cash from its range of PlayStation peripherals, but in a new patent, the company has acknowledged that expensive hardware could be considered a barrier to people enjoying its games. While a DualSense pad currently retails for £59.99/$69.99, the platform holder has proposed an...
News Last Year, the UK's Gaming Purchases Were 85 Per Cent Digital
According to new data
Earlier in the year, it was reported that the United Kingdom is spending more and more on digital stores instead of physical shops, with 67 per cent of 2020's total expenditure being digital. Now, new data reveals that percentage is actually much higher. According to a new breakdown from Entertainment Retailers Association, the...
News Fall Guys Developer Mediatonic Acquired By Epic Games
That's epic
Epic Games, the company best known for Fortnite and the Unreal Engine, has acquired Mediatonic, the studio behind Fall Guys. The announcement was made today by both Epic and Mediatonic. Both companies have assured that, as far as Fall Guys goes, nothing will immediately change, and the game is still in development for other platforms...
News The Last of Us 2, Ghost of Tsushima Dominate in 2021 BAFTA Games Awards Nominations
Earning those trophies
It's that time of year again: the BAFTA Games Awards are just around the corner. The prestigious awards show is set to take place later this month, and all the nominees have just been announced. While there's a typically wide range of games represented, two of Sony's first-party titles lead the way. The Last of Us: Part II and...
News E3 2021's Live Event Looks Like It's Been Cancelled
LA no way
Documentation filed by the Board of Los Angeles Convention and Tourism that’s been dug up by gaming forum ResetEra appears to confirm that E3 2021 live event has been axed. While that’s not overly surprising given global circumstances, the annual convention is listed as “cancelled”, although apparently talks are ongo
News Sony Launches Strategic Partnerships to Support Black Communities
Will share more in the future
Sony recently announced a partnership with the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which will see $1 from sales of MLB The Show 21’s upcoming Collector’s Edition donated to the charity to “fund scholarships, with a strong focus on women of colour as they are the most underrepresented group in the gaming industry”.
Reaction Japan Studio's Disbandment Is Disappointing, But Not Surprising
Sammy argues the writing was on the wall
Back in 2013, when Allan Becker – the former head of Sony Santa Monica – was convinced by then-Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida to run Japan Studio, he told Kotaku his ultimate ambition: “For Japan Studio to be relevant globally in two and a half years.” In the seven plus years since that...
News Sony Officially Confirms Re-Organisation of Japan Studio
Team ASOBI to build on the popularity of Astro's Playroom
Sony has officially confirmed that it’s “re-organising” Japan Studio, effective 1st April. One of the oldest first-party teams within the platform holder’s stable will be restructured around Team ASOBI, the developer of the recent Astro’s Playroom, as well as Astro Bot Rescue...
News Sony Japan Studio Winding Down Internal Development Efforts, Says New Report
ASOBI Team remains
Sony is gradually winding down development efforts within its iconic Japan Studio, leaving just Astro Bot Rescue Mission developer ASOBI Team and localisation and business staff to fly the flag. That is according to a new report from Video Games Chronicle, which claims the team hasn't been profitable for the past couple of years...
News Two More Sony Japan Studio Devs Depart at the End of This Month
Both worked on Bloodborne
Following in the footsteps of a couple of other departures, two more members of Sony Japan Studio have confirmed they will be leaving Sony Japan Studio at the end of this month. Those being Bloodborne producer Masaaki Yamagiwa and video/cinematics director Ryo Sogabe, both of whom confirmed their exits on Twitter overnight...
News We May Learn What the Future Holds for Bethesda Next Month
Will they, won't they
Will future Bethesda games still release on PlayStation platforms? We know that existing contracts for Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo will be honoured, while service-based games like The Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76 will continue to be supported – but what about beyond that? It’s been a bigger ‘will they, won’t...
News Metal Gear Solid, Death Stranding Creator's Essays on Entertainment to Get English Translation
Insight into an intriguing mind
Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima rarely hides his influences: his games are filled with references and nods to the pieces of media that inspire him. If you’d like to know more about the inspiration behind some of the industry’s most iconic games, though, you may be interested in the ex-Konami man’s novel,...
News Codemasters Welcomed into the 'EA Family' as Acquisition Is Completed
Welcome to the family, son
Racing game studio Codemasters is now officially a part of EA as the publisher confirms its approximately $1.2 billion purchase of the developer is complete. Electronic Arts shared the news as part of a press release as well as on Twitter, where it welcomed the developer into the "EA family". This now means that the DIRT,...
News Job Listings Renew Speculation Regarding Virtual Reality Horizon Spin-Off
Firesprite hiring for VR adaption of massive console IP
Firesprite, the studio behind PlayStation VR’s surprisingly enjoyable survival horror roguelite The Persistence, is recruiting a string of new staff for a “VR action adventure project adapted from one of the most original and successful multimillion-selling console IP titles in the last 10...
News Warner Bros Plotting New AAA Free-to-Play Project
San Diego studio on hiring spree
Warner Bros Games San Diego is on a hiring spree right now, plotting what appears to be a “new AAA, free-to-play, cross-platform game”. That’s according to a job listing for a Game Systems Designer, but there are tons of other posts which reference similar things. The open Senior Combat Designer role, for...
News Yooka-Laylee Studio Playtonic Games Establishes Publishing Label
Playtonic Friends
What's Playtonic Games up to these days? The team behind the Rare-esque 3D platformer Yooka-Laylee has been on the down-low since 2019, when it released its quietly great follow-up, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. As you might expect, the studio has been busy behind the scenes, but it's emerged with a somewhat surprising...
News Fighting Game Developers are Hosting a Second Online Roundtable This Week
Bandai Namco, Capcom, more
Some of the industry's most prominent fighting game publishers will be taking part in an online roundtable this week, in order to talk about upcoming titles and the current state of the industry. We saw this same kind of event happen in the summer of last year, and it made for an interesting watch, especially if you're big...
News Techland Insists It's Still Independent After Acquisition Speculation Intensifies
Polish studio denies Microsoft buyout reports
Another day, another Microsoft acquisition rumour. This time it’s the turn of Dying Light developer Techland, with speculation rife this weekend that it’s been absorbed by Xbox boss Phil Spencer’s green machine. To be fair, it’s not the first time we’ve heard this rumour in the past year –...
News PS5 Scalpers Reportedly Don't Like All the Bad Press They Get
Argue it's just like any other business
Apparently, some PlayStation 5 scalpers are displeased with their bad public image, and claim what they're doing is justifiable. If you're not aware, PS5s — and other highly sought after items — are being scooped up by scalpers, people who employ sophisticated programs to automatically purchase the...
News Wow, This New Unreal Engine Tech Is Mind Blowing
The human touch
Epic Games has announced MetaHuman Creator, a new cloud-based extension of the Unreal Engine which will allow developers to design high-fidelity models faster than ever before. Think of it like the most advanced RPG character creator you could possibly ever imagine, and you’ll pretty much be on the right track. The results are...
News Ubisoft Enjoys Strongest Quarter in Company History, Assassin's Creed Valhalla Leads the Charge
"By far"
Ubisoft's most recent financial results are in, and it's been one heck of a quarter for the French giant. In fact, it was the company's strongest quarter ever, "by far", according to the publisher's official statement to the press. Crazy. A busy release schedule formed the backbone of this success, spearheaded by the record-breaking...
News E3 Wants Digital Event This Summer, But It Has to Convince Publishers First
Good luck
Hey, remember E3? It used to be the biggest annual event on the gaming calendar, before publishers (like Sony, specifically) started pulling out and hosting their own online showcases. And then the coronavirus pandemic hit and put an end to any kind of hope for a gathering of companies, press, and gamers in Los Angeles last year. In short,...
News Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest Looks Poised for a Second Run
Here comes the sun
In many ways, the pandemic turned out to be a blessing in disguise for E3 2020, as the show was sounding like a disaster before lockdown put the event out of its misery. Summer Game Fest, which was created by Geoff Keighley and established as a multi-month industry celebration, was supposed to fill the convention’s space...
News PS5 Stock Problems to Persist as Semiconductor Shortages Continue
Sony doing everything it can
Sony was able to sell 4.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles in 2020, which more or less matched the total achieved by the PlayStation 4 over seven years ago. However, there’s no question the Japanese giant could have sold more – but it’s seriously struggling to meet demand instead. That’s led to all kinds of issues...
News Japanese Media Giant Kadokawa Corporation Forms Alliance with Sony
Conglomerate owns FromSoftware
Sony’s going gung-ho with its anime business, as the company sees it as a potential pillar moving forwards. It recently acquired Crunchyroll, but it already owns Funimation and Aniplex. It’s not surprising, then, to see media conglomerate Kadokawa Corporation partner with the Japanese giant for “mutual...
News Gearbox Acquisition Will Not Impact 2K's Role As Borderlands Publisher
After Embracer Group scoops studio and publishing arm
Update: 2K Games has commented on Gearbox's acquisition by the Embracer Group today, explaining that it will not affect its role as the publisher of the Borderlands games or "any other projects" the pair may be working on. A spokesperson said: "As the proud publisher of the Borderlands...
News Sony Plots Highest Ever Profits As Transition to Entertainment Pays Dividends
Anime, gaming, and music doing big business
Sony may be known historically for its tech products like televisions and the Walkman, but the company has slowly been transitioning towards entertainment for years. And while its electronics business has been faring well recently – posting a ~$1.06 billion profit for the quarter ending 31st December –...
News This Is Why PS5, PS4 Microtransactions Won't Be Going Away
Extraordinary revenue drivers
Microtransactions are extremely controversial in enthusiast gaming communities like Push Square, but Sony’s financials show why they won’t be going away. According to the Japanese giant’s record-breaking report, 29 per cent of PlayStation’s overall revenue was generated by DLC, expansion packs, and, yes,...
News PS5 Ships 4.5 Million Consoles in First Quarter of Availability
Sony games division sees record profit
From its November launch through until the end of 2020, Sony has shipped 4.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles to stores and consumers across the globe. The statistic matches that of the PlayStation 4's launch across the very same quarter in 2013. The strong sales of the PS5 will have played a helping hand in Sony...
News PS Now Competitor Google Stadia Ceases Internal Game Development
Pivoting business focus to publishers
Well, it's happening. Google has just taken its first big step towards removing the Stadia streaming service from the market as it shuts down two internal studios originally set up to produce exclusive games. The news broke via a Kotaku report published minutes before the official confirmation, which claimed the...
News PlatinumGames Dismisses Claims of PS5 Abandoning Japan
"PlayStation is international"
There’s been intense conversation, of late, regarding PlayStation’s status in Japan. Sales statistics show that, launch aligned, the PlayStation 5 is performing worse than the Nintendo Wii U – although the console is sold out worldwide. Some think that the small hardware shipments signal a lack of interest in its...
News Yakuza's Toshihiro Nagoshi Retires As SEGA CCO As Publisher Restructures
Industry veteran to assume the role of creative director instead
Yakuza’s notoriously tanned creator Toshihiro Nagoshi will retire from his role as chief creative officer at SEGA, assuming the position of creative director from 1st April. The news comes as part of a significant shake-up at the Japanese firm, which will effectively see it split its...
News Konami Insists It Has Not Closed Its Video Game Business
Restructuring will facilitate faster decision making
There were reports earlier this week that Konami had effectively closed down its entire video game business, following an internal restructuring plan announced on its corporate website. As part of a press release, the Japanese publisher revealed that it intends to dissolve three production...
