Tag: Industry
News Nintendo's Monolith Soft Updates Its Switch Portfolio With Latest Release
It's already topping the charts
Monolith Soft has become a huge part of Nintendo's software division and this week it rolled out Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition for Switch. Now that the game is available, it's followed this up with its usual website update, where it's now added this project to its already incredible lineup of games. This...
News Nintendo Joins Cross-Industry Effort 'Accessible Games Initiative' As Founding Member
Helping more people experience the "power of play"
The Entertainment Software Association has this week announced a new "cross-industry effort" known as the Accessible Games Initiative and Nintendo of America will be one of the five founding members. Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Google and Ubisoft will be joining Nintendo, with the goal being to...
News Eight Months After GameStop Shut It Down, Game Informer Is Teasing A Comeback
Continue?
After 33 years in the biz, the iconic publication Game Informer closed its doors last August with all of its staff laid off in the process. But now, eight months on, it seems that a comeback may be on the cards. At least, that's what is being teased by a recent video from the outlet. The short clip slowly zooms in on the site's final...
News Pokémon GO Promises It Won't Introduce "Intrusive Ads" Or Playtime Restrictions
"No, that is not happening"
It's a new era for Niantic's mobile hit Pokémon GO now that the games division has been sold to Monopoly Go! maker Scopely for $3.5 billion. This has naturally raised some concerns about the title's future - with some players reportedly worried about "intrusive ads" and possible restrictions on playtime being introduced...
News Emio - The Smiling Man Wins Best Adventure Game At Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards 2024
Pokémon's next entry also got a win
Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club has won the best "adventure" game award at the Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards for 2024. Apart from this, the upcoming Switch release Pokémon Legends: Z-A took out the most anticipated title, the "hand-drawn 2D action-platformer" Nine Sols won best indie game, and...
Rumour Xbox Expected To Join Switch 2 With A New Handheld This Year
Microsoft could be testing the waters...
The Switch 2 is just around the corner and according to a new report it could be joined by a new Xbox handheld "later in 2025". A new 'exclusive' from Windows Central claims Microsoft is partnering with another company to deliver a PC gaming OEM "think ASUS, Lenovo, MSI, Razer, etc" and something "similar to...
News Niantic Sells Pokémon GO And Entire Gaming Division For $3.5 Billion
Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now are also going
It's official — Niantic, the developer of Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now, has sold its gaming division for a staggering $3.5 billion to Scopely, "a world leader in mobile games". This acquisition comes just a few weeks after reports emerged that Niantic was in talks to sell...
News Ori Dev Goes "Fully Independent" Following Private Division Sale
Full Moon
Moon Studios, the developer behind the Ori series and the upcoming action RPG No Rest for the Wicked, has announced that it is now "fully independent" after purchasing the publishing rights to its next game from the recently sold Private Division. In a new YouTube update on No Rest for the Wicked's next patch, studio co-founders Thomas...
News LEGO Is Apparently "Building Up" To In-House Game Development
Spilling the TT
For years, LEGO has found great success in teaming up with third-party studios to develop its tie-in game titles. However, it seems that collaborations with the likes of TT Games, 2K and Epic may soon come to an end, as a LEGO executive has suggested that the company wants to take things in-house in the future. In a recent interview...
News Skullgirls Dev Is Off The Game, Taking Legal Action Against Publisher
"Thank you all for everything - you deserve nothing but the best"
Hidden Variable, the LA-based developer of Skullgirls Mobile, has issued a statement revealing that the team is "no longer involved in the development of Skullgirls Mobile, 2nd Encore, or other Skullgirls IP-related efforts" since 21st January and has initiated legal proceedings...
News Rare's Original N64 Shooter Could Be Inducted Into The 2025 World Video Game Hall Of Fame
This year's finalists have been revealed
Every year, The Strong Museum announces its 'World Video Game Hall of Fame' finalists and for 2025 and after missing out in 2023, Rare's iconic Nintendo 64 first-person shooter GoldenEye 007 is back. It's up against some tough competition including the following list of games: Age of Empires (1997) Angry...
News Analyst Fears U.S. Tariffs Could Spell Disaster For Physical Games
"What a mess"
Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has implemented a range of tariffs on goods being imported into the country. The introductions, which came into effect yesterday, include a 25% tariff on products from Mexico and a 20% tariff on goods from China (an additional 10% on what was initially implemented on 4th...
News Analyst Expects Switch 2 To Sell Like Hot Cakes In Its First Quarter
Pre-empting a battle with the PS6
As it enters its ninth year, it's fair to say that the Nintendo Switch has been quite the sales hit. Like, 150 million units, third best-selling console of all time, kind of a hit. We've previously heard analysts make the low-hanging fruit prediction that Switch 2's sales numbers might not live up to that of its...
News 20 Years After Its Demise, Publisher 'Acclaim' Is Being Resurrected
Will look to "support indie developers and reignite classic franchises"
Back in the day, Acclaim Entertainment was a pretty formidable force in the games industry. It has dozens upon dozens of games under its belt, including the first two Burnout titles, the Turok series, NBA Jam, and of course, Mary-Kate and Ashley: Sweet 16 - License to Drive...
News Indie Publisher Secret Mode Is Going Solo Following Sumo Group Split
Keeping a Secret
Investment firm Emona Capital LLP announced today that it has completed the successful buyout of Secret Mode — the publisher behind the likes of A Little To The Left, Wobbledogs, Loddlenaut, and more — from Sumo Group, a Tencent subsidiary. This isn't the firm's first foray into the gaming biz, either. Emona Capital currently...
News Rockstar Games Announces Acquisition Of Dev Behind GTA Trilogy Upgrades
The studio will be renamed 'Rockstar Australia'
Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar has announced its acquisition of the Australian developer Video Games Deluxe. This Sydney-based team, which worked on the upgrades to Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition last year, will be renamed Rockstar Australia. The same team has previously...
News Masahiro Sakurai Receives Award From Japanese Government
For his YouTube video tutorials
Masahiro Sakurai, the legendary creator of Kirby and Super Smash Bros., has been recognised by the Japanese Government's Agency for Cultural Affairs. Sakurai revealed on social media platform X (spotted via VGC) has been listed as a recipient of the Cultural Affairs' annual Art Encouragement Prize for New Artist
News Nintendo Switch 2 Doesn't Need To Worry About Steam Deck Sales
Steam Deck has sold roughly 4 million units
As the Steam Deck turns three years old, and many of us laud its praises for allowing accessible PC gaming on-the-go, market research firm IDC has estimated that the handheld console has shifted roughly around 4 million units since its arrival in February 2022. The Verge spoke to the IDC, which uses...
News Warner Bros. Closes Three Studios Including Team Behind Smash-Like Brawler 'MultiVersus'
The new Wonder Woman project has also been axed
The video game industry has already experienced a lot of layoffs this year and now Warner Bros. has announced it's shutting down three studios. This includes Player First - the team behind the Smash-like brawler MultiVersus, which also announced the end of its service earlier this month and will go...
News The Pokémon Company Catches A Win In Lawsuit Against Another Rip-Off App
Watch out, Palworld
While the Palworld case continues to tick away in the background, The Pokémon Company has recently won another lawsuit against a Chinese mobile app on the grounds of copyright infringement and acts of unfair competition (thanks, Eurogamer). TPC's case against 'Pocket Monster: Remake' (or, sometimes, 'Pocket Monster:...
News Netflix Lays Off Staff At 'Oxenfree' Developer
It's unclear how many have been let go
The developer of hit coming-of-age indie darlings Oxenfree and Oxenfree II, Night School Studio, has been hit by layoffs. Game Developer has reported that an "undisclosed number of employees" have been laid off at the Netflix-owned studio. This follows on from the streaming giant closing its internal triple-A...
News Pokémon GO Developer Niantic Reportedly In Talks To "Sell Games Unit"
Including the sale of Pokémon GO
A new report from Bloomberg claims Pokémon GO developer Niantic is apparently in talks to sell its video game business to the Saudi Arabia-owned company Scopely. This deal would supposedly be announced in the "coming weeks" and the sale price is expected to be around $3.5 billion. The sale would reportedly...
News Nintendo "Establishing Ways To Respond" To U.S. Tariffs, Says Furukawa
Expects minimal financial impact
Earlier this month, the current U.S. administration implemented an additional 10% tariff on all goods imported into the country from China. While the full effect of this increase is yet to be seen, it poses a potential price hike for consoles and accessories developed in China, which, naturally, is a cause for...
News Funko Fusion Is Deemed A "Complete Commercial And Critical Failure"
Around 20 unconfirmed layoffs reported
A new report from Insider Gaming (thanks, Eurogamer) has revealed that multiple layoffs have occurred at studio 10:10 Games following the release of Funko Fusion in 2024. Essentially, anonymous sources have stated that the game was a "complete commercial and critical failure" and is the primary
News Nintendo's Palworld Lawsuit Might Go International As New Patents Land U.S. Approval
Update: Attorney weighs in on Nintendo's mostly-rejected patent
We have been following Nintendo's Palworld lawsuit for the best part of six months now, and while we have grown to have a better understanding of the particular patents involved, all of the infringement claims have been tied to Japan. However, in recent months, it seems that Nintendo...
News Forget Microsoft, Another Company Apparently Wanted To Buy Nintendo Back In The Day
Talk about 'What If...'
We've heard about a few companies with dreams of purchasing Nintendo over the years (*cough* Microsoft *cough*), and it turns out that there was another big ol' American conglomerate looking to snap it up back in the day, too (thanks, Gamespot). That is according to the latest episode of the
News Take-Two's "Longstanding Relationship" With Nintendo Seemingly Set To Continue
Civilization VII is out this month on Switch
Multiple third-party video game giants have commented on the Switch 2 since its official announcement, and now Take-Two Interactive has voiced its support. During a call with investors, the company's CEO Strauss Zelnick referenced Take-Two's "longstanding relationship with Nintendo" and while there's...
News E3's Entertainment Software Association Returns With A New Industry Event
Bringing together a "broad spectrum of sectors"
In some industry news, the Entertainment Software Association (which operated E3) has this week announced it will be returning with a new event known as the Interactive Innovation Conference. This will apparently be a "first-of-its-kind" event taking place in Las Vegas between April 27th - April 30th,...
News Bandai Namco Studios Has Reportedly Reduced Its Staff By Over 100 People
More grim figures emerge
Bandai Namco Studios has reportedly reduced its staff by more than 100 people within the last year, as reported by Automaton. The studio, known for Switch games such as New Pokémon Snap, Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun!, and the upcoming Pac-Man title Shadow Labyrinth, had stated in a company
News Metroid Prime Remastered Studio 'Iron Galaxy' Confirms Lay Offs
To "enable our long-term survival"
Iron Galaxy, a studio known for its work on titles such as Metroid Prime Remastered, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Diablo III on Switch, has confirmed that it has laid off 66 development and support staff. Confirmed via a post on LinkedIn (thanks,
News Sumo Group Confirms "Impact" On Workforce As It Pivots To Develop Exclusively For Partners
Part of ensuring "long-term stability and success"
Sumo Group, the UK-based games studio behind Snake Pass dev Sumo Digital and publisher Secret Mode, has announced that its development team will transition to work "exclusively on development services for partners" and has warned of "an impact on our studios and people" as a result (thanks to Push...
News Hideki Kamiya Seemingly Confirms More Departures From PlatinumGames
Including Bayonetta 3's director
Following reports that PlatinumGames — the studio behind the Bayonetta series, Astral Chain, and who helped Square Enix on NieR:Automata — had lost several key directors and creators back in December 2024, former vice president Hideki Kamiya appears to have confirmed that at least five directors have left the...
News Nintendo Switch Hardware Sales Pass 150 Million, With PS2's Record Still A Way Off
Something's waiting in the wings
Sales of Nintendo Switch have now passed the 150 million mark, according to Nintendo's latest financial results. The firm released its quarterly results today revealing that it has now sold 150.86 million Switches worldwide since the system launched in March 2017. 4.82 million Switch consoles were sold in the three...
News Takaya Imamura On Nintendo's Future: Talented And Charismatic Devs Are "Crucial"
Relying exclusively on big IP would be a "big mistake"
Former Nintendo artist Takaya Imamura has kicked off the new year with a new blog post titled "Why I Left Nintendo" more than four years after departing from the company's Japanese headquarters. While he goes into all sorts of history about his career, he's also shared his thoughts about...
News Final Fantasy Creator’s Next Script Is Already Done
Update: He's apparently working on "part two" of his farewell note
Following the recent release of Fantasian Neo Dimension for Switch, the Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi is now focused on his future. In the same Famitsu interview with Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii, Sakaguchi revealed how he won’t be calling time on his career any time...
News 'Fae Farm' Developer Phoenix Labs Lays Off "The Majority Of The Studio"
Team is also responsible for 2019's Dauntless
Developer Phoenix Labs – known for its work on Fae Farm and Dauntless – has announced that it has laid off "the majority of the studio", citing "unfortunate but necessary changes to our operations". The move follows a previous round of layoffs back in May 2024, during which "about 140" employees...
News Ubisoft Confirms Another Wave Of Layoffs, With 185 Employees Affected
The "restructurings" continue
After a year plagued by layoffs at studios big and small, Ubisoft has today confirmed that its 'restructuring' efforts are continuing into 2025, with a further 185 employees laid off across the company's European studios. As reported by VGC, the layoffs come as a product of "restructurings" at Ubisoft Düsseldorf,...
News US Physical Game Spending Continued To Decline Last Year, Now Sits At Half 2021's Numbers
Bye bye, box
We've known about the decline of physical game sales for quite some time, but according to the latest numbers from Circana's Mat Piscatella, this downward trend accelerated in 2024 (thanks, VGC). Sharing the research firm's latest numbers on BlueSky, Piscatella stated that last year's US physical game spending was "cut in more than...
News Astral Chain Director Seemingly Forms New Studio After Leaving PlatinumGames
NieR, far, wherever you are
Late last year, it was reported that several PlatinumGames veterans had seemingly left the studio. While only Bayonetta Origins' Abebe Tinari confirmed this news, it looks increasingly likely that Astral Chain director Takahisa
News EA's Share Price Plummets After Reports Of Disappointing Financial Performance
A drop of over 16%
EA's share price has taken a bit of a tumble after the publisher announced it woud be revising its financial outlook following disappointing sales of EA Sports FC 25 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. In just a single day, the company's share price dropped by more than 16% from 142.35 USD to 118.58 USD. Things are levelling out...
News Steam Deck Sales Business As Usual For Valve During Week Of Switch 2 Reveal
Update: Sales chart "updated" by Valve
The Steam Deck is very much focused on the PC market, but even it's seemingly been unable to avoid the excitement of the Nintendo Switch 2 announcement last week with a reported slump in sales revenue. As highlighted by Twisted Voxel (via Steam Deck HQ), Valve's portable PC hardware is regularly trending on...
News Team Ninja Kicks Off Anniversary Celebrations With Ninja Gaiden 4
The Bayonetta developer PlatinumGames is back
As we enter 2025, Koei Tecmo’s Team Ninja (known for its work on series like Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive) has acknowledged its 30th anniversary. In 4Gamer.net’s round up on Japanese developer’s 2025 ambitions, Team Ninja’s Fumihiko Yasuda mentioned how the team hoped to release titles...
News Team17 Group Is Rebranding, But The Iconic Name Isn't Disappearing
Welcome, everplay
Team17 Group has announced that it is rebranding the company to 'everplay group plc'. The announcement states that the change represents an "evolution" of the group following its addition to the London Stock Exchange in 2018. The name 'everplay' is designed to reflect its purpose to "never stop playing", along with its "creative...
Round Up Video Game Industry Reacts To Nintendo's Switch 2 Announcement
Here's what everyone thought
The Switch 2 announcement and reveal video is now trending across the internet and more industry figures, developers and publishers are beginning to share their reactions. We've rounded up as many as can find here in one post. Enjoy! <toc> Ubisoft After some rumours suggesting it's bringing over a dozen games to...
News Nintendo Is "Very Upset" About The Switch 2 Leaks, It's Claimed
Former employees Kit and Krysta discuss company secrets
We don't know how exactly Nintendo feels about the supposed 'Switch 2' leaks, but former company employees Kit and Krysta - who had over 10 years of first-hand experience at Nintendo of America - have now chimed in with their thoughts and insights. When the pair were at Nintendo, leaks were...
News Guillemot Family And Tencent May Move Select Ubisoft Assets To New Venture
Is Ubisoft in the endgame..?
A new report from Bloomberg reveals that the Guillemot family and Tencent may currently be in talks to move select Ubisoft assets over to a brand-new venture (thanks, VGC). Following a lengthy period in which Ubisoft has struggled in the midst of a rapidly declining share price, the move is supposedl
News Square Enix May Withhold Its Own Products If You Harrass Its Staff
So just don't, y'know?
Square Enix has updated its 'Group Customer Harrassment Policy' to ensure that its employees and partners remain protected against unwelcome nuisance and threats from certain customers. As detailed on its official website (thanks, GamesIndustry), the firm stated that if it deems an individual has indeed harassed its...
News Ex-Annapurna Interactive Staff Reportedly Pick Up Private Division Portfolio Under New Studio
Following last year's walk-out
Last year saw the entire Annapurna Interactive workforce resign following a dispute with owner Megan Ellison. Four months on, Bloomberg has reported that the former staff members have formed a new company and have picked up the entire Private Division portfolio (thanks,
News Physical Game Sales Took A Nosedive In The UK Last Year
Revenue dropped by nearly 35% from 2023
2024 was a fairly turbulent year for the games industry in many ways, but what's clear from the latest data is that physical games sales in the UK are struggling mightily. According to data from the Entertainment Retailers Association, and based on data from Nielsen/GfK, India and GSD (thanks, VGC), physical...
News Surprise Leak Reveals Lenovo Is Making Another Switch-Like Gaming Handheld
Update: Here's a closer look at the prototype
The current Lenovo Legion Go A new leak has revealed Lenovo is seemingly following up its 'Legion Go' handheld gaming device with a "larger" model and it will once again take all sorts of design cues from Nintendo's hybrid system. This new system reportedly keeps the "detachable" Joy-Con-like gamepads...
