Tag: Industry - Page 5
News Sony Lays Off 900 PlayStation Employees, Closes London Studio & Cancels Projects
Life is Strange dev 'Deck Nine' also axes 20% of staff
The video game industry layoffs continue with Sony's gaming division PlayStation this week announcing it would be axing "about 8% or about 900 people" across its workforce as part of an organisational restructure. This impacts employees "across all SIE regions" and several PlayStation studios...
News Publisher Midnight Works Allegedly Targeting YouTuber For Calling Out Its "Scam" Switch Games
"This is stooping to new lows"
YouTuber Luke Wild of channel SwitchStars — which focuses primarily on highlighting low-effort, low-quality games to avoid on Switch eShop — has published a video detailing what he believes to be an attack on his channel orchestrated by the publisher Midnight Works. The Moldovan company is responsible for much of...
News New SteamWorld Game Sales Fell "Slightly Short" Of Thunderful's Expectations
It's also putting one SteamWorld project "on hold"
The December release SteamWorld Build has not met Thunderful's sales expectations according to its latest fiscal report. Thunderful CEO Martin Walfisz explained how despite "new momentum" the game had fallen "slightly short" of expectations. He further noted how the genre didn't really appeal to...
News Nintendo Shares Drop Following Latest Reports Of Switch 2 'Delay'
After seeing a record high last month
Nintendo's shares in Japan have dropped after last week's report that the Switch successor will now not be launching until Q1 2025 (thanks, VGC). The company posted a record high for shares last month, as 'Switch 2 fever' seemed to be sweeping the globe. However, following the claim by Brazilian journalist
News Sega's Upcoming Crazy Taxi Revival Will Apparently Be A "Triple-A" Game
Multiple legacy franchises are making a return
At The Game Awards last year, Sega revealed it would be reviving a handful of classic franchises for modern platforms. If you are wondering just how impressive these titles might be, it seems the third-party publisher and developer could be going all out. During a chat with The Japan Times, the team at...
Rumour Switch Successor Might Not Be Launching Until 2025
Here we go again...
The next Nintendo console — the Switch 2, Super Switch, whatever you want to call it — may not be releasing until 2025, new rumours are suggesting. Brazilian journalist Pedro Henrique Lutti Lippe (via VGC) made this claim in the O X do Controle podcast after consulting five different sources, who have all reportedly state
News Disco Elysium Dev ZA/UM Reportedly Cancels Project And Is Planning Layoffs
"The fish starts rotting from the head"
ZA/UM, the developer behind the sublime CRPG Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, is reportingly planning to lay off 24 workers after cancelling its next major project, codenamed 'X7'. This comes via Sports Illustrated's GLHF, which reports that the 24 workers currently at risk make up roughly a quarter of the...
News Microsoft To Bring Four Xbox Exclusives To Other Consoles, But Won't Name Them
Platforms also haven't been confirmed
After weeks of rumours, Xbox has finally confirmed that it will be bringing more Xbox exclusives to other consoles. What consoles, and what games, is anyone's guess. During today's Official Xbox Podcast, the Head of Xbox and CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer confirmed that four titles that are currently...
News Yoshitaka Murayama, Creator Of The Suikoden Franchise, Has Passed Away
Also served as director on Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
We have just learned that Yoshitaka Murayama, creator of the Suikoden franchise and director/scenario writer on Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, has sadly passed away due to complications with an ongoing illness. The news comes via Rabbit & Bear Studios, the development team...
News Xbox Exclusives Hi-Fi RUSH & Pentiment Reportedly Coming To "Rival Consoles"
"With other first-party titles also under consideration"
Rumours have been circulating recently about Microsoft potentially bringing select games to competitor platforms and Xbox has now confirmed its business update will take place this Thursday. Along with this, a new report from Th
News Mojo Nixon, Musician And 1993 Mario Movie Actor, Has Passed Away
The musician, actor and DJ was 66 years old
We have just learnt of the sad news that Mojo Nixon, the musician, actor and radio DJ, has passed away at the age of 66. Nintendo fans may recognise Nixon as the live-action face of Toad in 1993's Super Mario Bros. movie. This portrayal was more of an all-singing, government-defying, human-looking take on...
News Octopath Traveler Studio 'Acquire Corp.' Bought By FromSoftware Owner
For an undisclosed sum
Kadokawa, the owner of companies including FromSoftware and Spike Chunsoft, has today announced that it has bought the studio behind Octopath Traveler, Acquire Corp. (thanks, VGC). The company confirmed that it had made Aquire into "a wholly owned subsidiary" in its recent quarterly financials briefing, where it explained its...
News Nintendo Will Offer "Unique Proposals" To Overcome Challenges Of Platform Transitions
Approaching business with "a great sense of urgency"
In a Q&A session following Nintendo's quarterly financial report earlier this week, company president Shuntaro Furukawa addressed the challenges of transitioning between generational platforms, stating that Nintendo will continue to offer "unique proposals" to stand out from the crowd (thanks,...
News Microsoft's Xbox Layoffs Hit Crash Bandicoot And Spyro Developer 'Toys For Bob'
It reportedly includes an office closure
Just weeks ago, Xbox's owner Microsoft announced mass layoffs, and now in an update, it seems the Crash Bandicoot, Spyro and Skylanders developer Toys for Bob has been hit. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, 86 workers will be affected at the developer's office in Novato, Cali
News Disney Invests $1.5bn In Epic To Create New Universe Connected With Fortnite
It's Disney's "biggest entry ever" in games
Disney has announced it's teaming up with developer and publisher Epic to create a "games and entertainment universe" connected to the popular free-to-play title Fortnite. As part of this Disney is also investing $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games. This new game universe and "multiyear...
News LEGO 2K Drive & NBA 2K Dev Visual Concepts Austin Hit By Layoffs
2K & Take-Two make cuts
The video game industry continues to suffer from layoffs, with Visual Concepts Austin becoming the latest studio hit with cuts, Game Developer reports (via Eurogamer). The 2K Games and Take-Two division based in Austin, Texas already reportedly
News Nintendo Has Seemingly Filed More Patents For Mario Wonder And Zelda: TOTK
Keep it secret, keep it safe
Nintendo loves a good patent and after the monster year of gaming that was 2023, it should come as no surprise that the company has more in the pipeline. Instead of looking to the future, however, the recently revealed patents appear to concern mechanics that we already know about, potentially putting certain Super Mario...
News Square Enix Is Reportedly Overhauling How It Makes Games
Further announcement coming this Spring
During its latest financial briefing, Square Enix reportedly informed analysts in a conference call that it is undergoing a drastic review of its development system to improve its products' quality and increase revenue. This news comes via Bloomberg, which reports that Square Enix's President, Takashi Kiryu,...
News Scarlet & Violet Are Now The Third Best-Selling Pokémon Games Of All Time
Taking the bronze from Gold & Silver
Thanks to Nintendo's quarterly financial report, we now have the latest figures for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's lifetime sales. The games have amassed 24.36 million copies sold, finally pushing them into the top three best-sellers for the Pokémon series (thanks, Serebii.net). Yes, after a good run on the...
News Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Zooms Past 60 Million Sales
When will it end??
Perhaps one of the least surprising reveals from Nintendo's quarterly financial results is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's continued popularity. We all knew that this was coming, of course, but that doesn't make its latest milestone any less impressive as the game has now driven up a whopping 60.58 million sales. Now, this number only...
News Here Are The Top Ten Best-Selling Nintendo Switch Games As Of December 2023
On the up and up
As part of Nintendo's nine-month financial report for FY2024, the firm has updated its top ten best-selling games list for the Switch. In terms of the rankings, there's no change here from the last update in November 2023, but there are a couple of noteworthy changes to the numbers. Primarily, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has now surpassed...
Switch sales forecasts have been raised
Nintendo has published its quarterly financial results, revealing that Switch hardware sales now stand at 139.36 million units sold (as of 31st December 2023) since the system launched in March 2017. This is up from 132.46 million as reported in November and Nintendo has raised its forecasts for both hardware...
News Microsoft To Share "Vision For The Future Of Xbox" Next Week
Following rumours about select Xbox games going multi-platform
There have been industry rumours recently about Microsoft potentially bringing select games to competitor platforms and last weekend it escalated, with games media outlets and key figures claiming Xbox could potentially go "all in" on a new multi-platform model. It's got to the point
News Metal Gear And Momotaro Dentetsu Contribute To Strong Revenue For Konami
Profits rise by 53%
Konami has released its latest financial earnings report for the nine months ended December 31st, 2023, in which it details strong sales, boosting its overall revenue by 11% and its profits by 53%. As detailed by GamesIndustry.biz, Konami has cited two launches that appear to have significantly contributed to the firm's strong...
News Analysts Doubt 'Switch 2' Will Be Able To Top Switch's Mighty Sales Numbers
"The share price looks overvalued"
The much-rumoured Switch successor that Nintendo fans and investors alike are eager to see officially revealed will struggle to match the current console's overall hardware sales, according to analysts quoted in a new Bloomberg report (thanks, GoNintendo) Anticipation for the system has sent shares of the company...
News Sega Of America Set To Lay Off 61 Employees In March
Confirmed in California WARN notice
SEGA of America has submitted a notice of layoffs which will affect 61 of its employees on 8th March 2024. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice was submitted earlier this month on 8th January in Orange County, California, and was flagged by the Twitter account @WhatLayoff (via...
News Square Enix Has Absorbed 'I Am Setsuna' Developer Tokyo RPG Factory
It worked on three RPG games for Switch
There's some industry news coming out of Japan today that Square Enix has absorbed the developer Tokyo RPG Factory. As part of this, Tokyo RPG Factory will be immediately dissolved and "will cease to exist as an individual entity" (thanks, Gematsu). Tokyo RPG Factory was a subsidiary of Square Enix and was...
News EA Can't Comment On Switch Successor But Admits Improved Platforms Are "Good" For Business
New hardware "is typically a plus"
Electronic Arts has shown ongoing support throughout the Switch generation, so what can we expect from the third-party video game giant when the next iteration of Nintendo hardware arrives? When asked about the expected launch of Nintendo's next system during an earnings call, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson...
News Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom & Super Mario Bros. Wonder Nintendo GDC 2024 Talks Announced
Featuring members from both development teams
The Game Developers Conference 2024 has announced developers from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be presenting talks at the upcoming conference, taking place between March 18-22. Here's an idea of what you can expect from each talk, including the presenters:
News Call Of Duty Exec Is Appointed As Blizzard's New President
Times are a-changin'
Following the departure of Mike Ybarra from Blizzard just last week, Microsoft has announced that Johanna Faries has now been appointed as the new President of the formidable subsidiary. Faries is currently serving as General Manager for the Call of Duty franchise, with her new role at Blizzard effective from February 5th,...
News Embracer Group Lays Off 97 Staff, Axes Next Deus Ex Game
Eidos will instead focus on an "original franchise"
It's not a fun way to start the week but unfortunately, there's been even more video game development layoffs. According to Bloomberg, Embracer Group is cancelling the next entry in the Deus Ex series after two years of development. As a result of this, it's laying off "a number of employees as...
News Microsoft Lays Off 1,900 Xbox, Bethesda And Activision Blizzard Employees
It's been a rough start for the industry in 2024
Some more industry news has broken this week, and this time it relates to Microsoft's Xbox division, which last year finalised its acquisition of Activision Blizzard and has in recent times reiterated its support for Nintendo platforms. In a message from the Xbox and Microsoft gaming boss Phil...
News Metroid Prime 4 Development Updates Seemingly Discovered
We're ready when you are, Nintendo
It feels like we've been waiting forever for Retro Studios to get Metroid Prime 4 out the door, and well technically speaking it's been more than six years since the original announcement. One of the more recent updates was about a company recruitment drive, so what's the latest? The Nintendo-focused YouTube...
News League Of Legends Developer Riot Games Axes 530 Jobs Globally
"We're ending new game development under Riot Forge"
Riot Games, the American-based developer and publisher behind insanely popular game series like League of Legends, has today announced it will be eliminating 530 jobs globally across the company. This equates to "around 11% of Rioters" and the biggest impacts have hit teams "outside of core...
News One-Third Of Game Developers Impacted By Layoffs In 2023, GDC Reports
And it's not getting much better
GDC's annual State of the Game Industry report has been released in the past 24 hours, and it's not pretty reading. 2023 was a pretty awful year for game developers, with mass industry layoffs and studio closures — from Vanpool,
News 8% Of Developers Are Apparently Working On Games For Switch's Successor
According to a new GDC survey
We've heard ongoing rumours about Nintendo releasing a successor to the Switch, so what else might be going on behind the scenes? Well, a new GDC 2024 'State of the Game Industry' report has shared new data from its recent survey - revealing 8 percent of respondents (aka game developers) are currently working on a game...
News Take-Two Trademark Dispute "Resolved Amicably" Last Year, Says Remedy
Update: "The legal filing was simply an initial formality"
Update [Thu 18th Jan, 2024 16:00 GMT]: Well, folks, it seems like this very strange "logo dispute" has already been wrapped up. Phew. Remedy has reached out to Game File's Stephen Totilo and provided a statement about the situation, and it's already been sorted (via Push Square). "There...
News Microsoft: ActiBlizz Acquisition Gives Xbox A Chance To Be A "Good Publisher" On All Platforms
"We're excited about that acquisition closing"
Following Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, there's been a lot of debate about Xbox published titles on other platforms, so what's the latest? Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella has told Bloomberg this week how he feels Xbox has a better chance of being a "good publisher" for all platforms...
News Thunderful Announces Restructuring That Will Affect Around 20% Of Workforce
Over-investments are to blame
Thunderful Group has announced a restructuring program that aims to decrease costs and focus more on areas with the best growth and profitability prospects. As reported by GamesIndustry, the restructuring is ultimately expected to affect around 20% of Thunderful's current workforce, with the group hoping to see the...
News Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Nominated For GDC Game Of The Year Award
The winners will be revealed this March
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has received another 'game of the year' nomination. This time it comes from the 2024 Game Developer Choice Awards nominations, with the winners to be revealed this March at GDC 2024. The other finalists for GDC's game of the year award include Baldur's Gate 3, Cocoon,...
News Players Need To Start "Feeling Comfortable" With Not Owning Games, Says Ubisoft Subs Boss
"That's the consumer shift that needs to happen"
Yesterday, Ubisoft launched a rebrand of its subscription service, Ubisoft+ Premium, and brought its Classics package to PC. Clearly, the company sees this as a step into the future of gaming as its director of subscriptions, Philippe Tremblay, told GamesIndustry.biz that players need to become...
News Three More Sega Classics Are Being Revived, It's Claimed
Apparently "10 Sega classics" have been greenlit already
Last year at The Game Awards, Sega dropped one of the most exciting announcements of the show, revealing new games were in development for select classic franchises. In the same announcement, it teased there was even "more" to come. Now, in an update, Insider Gamer claims around "10 Sega...
News Pokémon Developer Game Freak Trademarks 'PAND LAND'
What could it be for?
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet might not be the only project Game Freak has been busy with in recent times. As highlighted by Gematsu, the Japanese developer recently filed logo trademarks for "PAND LAND". Two variations of the logo have been trademarked. According to the source, "PAND LAND" was originally trademarked late last...
News Nintendo Shares Hit Record High, Apparently Thanks To 'Switch 2' Fever
What have you got, 2024?
Nintendo shares have hit a record high of 7,823 yen (roughly $54.14) as of Wednesday, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. While increasing steadily over the last year or so, shares have recently spiked with WSJ citing 'solid earnings' and the expectation of new hardware from the firm to succeed the current Nintendo...
News Sega Sammy Announces 'Sega Fave Corporation' In Organisational Restructure
Amusement machines & toys under one banner
Sega Sammy, the company behind Sega, has announced an organisational restructure which will see the formation of a new corporation known as "Sega Fave". This will combine Sega Corp's amusement machines business with Sega Toys' toy business. According to the official news release, Yukio Sugino will lead...
News Nintendo Reportedly Seeking More Studios To Work On Its IP
It's apparently "deep in conversation" with three teams
With the next generation of Nintendo hardware seemingly on the horizon, it's no surprise the Japanese video game company is potentially seeking new partners, as well as studios, to work on some of its IP going forward. With this in mind, Christopher Dring of GamesIndustry.biz says there are at...
News Unity To Axe 25% Of Its Workforce As Part Of "Company Reset"
Following last year's policy debacle
Last year, the video game software provider Unity copped a lot of backlash when it announced plans to impose a "runtime fee" pricing policy. Now, following the departure of the CEO and president, the latest update reveals Unity will cut "25% of its workforc
News Surgeon Simulator Dev Bossa Studios Confirms One Third Of Its Staff Have Been Let Go
"We tried our very best to avoid being in this position"
Bossa Studios, the UK team behind the Surgeon Simulator series, has been forced to lay off around one-third of its staff at the end of 2023. Co-founder Henrique Olifiers told GamesIndustry.biz it was the result of a "perfect storm of events" and the team tried very hard to "avoid being in...
News Hideki Kamiya Hopes To Return To The Video Game Industry In 2024
"I want to get a job making games"
Last year, the famous Japanese video game developer Hideki Kamiya decided to leave PlatinumGames, mentioning at the time how he felt the company was heading in a different direction from his own beliefs as a developer. If you're wondering what's next for the developer of series like Bayonetta, he's now provided an...
News Mario's New Voice Actor Reflects On 2023, Thanks Fans For Their Support
"I have lived a lifetime's worth of dreams"
One of the biggest reveals last year was the new voice of Mario. In case you missed it - it's Kevin Afghani, who has now officially replaced Charles Martinet and is also voicing other characters in the series like Luigi and Wario. At the time, Kevin thanked Nintendo, and now to wrap up the previous year,...
