Tag: Industry - Page 12
News Genshin Impact, Elden Ring Among Twitter's Most Talked About PS5, PS4 Games
Hashtag heroes
Ah, Twitter – the social media platform for hot gaming takes rather than sweaty gym pics. (Do you even lift if you don’t film it for the ‘Gram?) We’ve been spending less and less time on social media of late – it’s not quite the engaging novelty it once was, is it? – but plenty of gamers are still taking to sites like...
But no word of materials being ransomed
Bandai Namco has reportedly had its content ransomed, and in a statement the organisation has admitted that it “experienced authorised access by third-party to the internal systems of several Group companies in Asian regions”, excluding Japan. “After we confirmed the unauthorised access, we have taken...
News Bandai Namco Reportedly Subjected to Ransomware Attack
Elden Ring publisher's data held hostage
Bandai Namco, the major Japanese games publisher, has apparently fallen victim to a cyber attack. That's according to vx-underground, a group reporting and gathering information on malware and cybercrime (thanks, VGC). Little is known about the alleged attack, but it's reported that the publisher has...
News Until Dawn, The Quarry Dev Acquired by Nordisk Games
Offers security and chance to grow
Supermassive Games, the developer of horror titles like Until Dawn, The Quarry, and The Dark Pictures Anthology, has been acquired by Nordisk Games. The publisher took out a 30.7 per cent stake in the company last year, but has upped it now to a full 100 per cent. This is all being done "to increase our support to...
News No Crunch on The Last of Us PS5, Says Environment Artist
Hot takes incoming
We suppose the gags will write themselves with this headline, but restrain yourself before you get reductive in the comments and belittle a bunch of hard work. Naughty Dog, notorious for its crunch culture, appears not to have overworked on The Last of Us: Part I. The studio – which is renowned for its obsessive attention to...
Strongly condemns the spread of fake news
Earlier this week, a 41-year-old man named Tetsuya Yamagami shot dead the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a political rally with a handmade firearm. As the news reverberated through social media – and, subsequently, national television stations – photographs of Metal Gear Solid creator...
News E3 2023 Returns with the Promise of Titanic AAA Reveals and Earth-Shaking World Premieres
PAX production company ReedPop at the helm
Like the line from the end of every James Bond movie, E3 will return – and this time, they really mean it. Beleaguered industry establishment the ESA (or Entertainment Software Association), perhaps recognising it needs external help, has partnered with PAX and New York Comic Con production company...
News Tokyo Game Show 2022 Confirms Major Publishers, But Sony Presence Seems Limited
TGS returns
Tokyo Game Show 2022 has opened its official website, which confirms a whole bunch of exhibitors, including a number of heavyweight publishers. Said publishers will be part of the 'General Exhibition', meaning that they're going to have a relatively significant presence during the event. However, going off this initial list, it seems as...
News Gaming Spend Will Continue to Decline in US as Living Costs Increase, Says NPD Report
Alongside other factors
It doesn't come as a huge surprise, but the trend of people spending less and less money on all things gaming is set to continue for the rest of the year. This is according to the US-based NPD group, which points the finger at increased living costs, and the fact that people are becoming more active again now that pandemic...
News Deus Ex, Guardians of the Galaxy Writer to Lead Narrative on the Next Mass Effect
I'm Commander Shepard, and this is the best news I've heard in a long time
Rejoice, Garrus stans! Mary DeMarle, award-winning writer of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and most recently Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, will be joining BioWare as Senior Narrative Director. DeMarle will be joining the Mass Effect team, lending...
Quite the technical feat
Do you ever wish you could hook that dusty old EyeToy up to your shiny new PS5? Us neither, but the use of older peripherals with modern hardware appears to be something Sony is interested in, according to a recent patent filing spotted by Game Rant. The patent (which is absurdly tech
News Sony Studios Collectively Speak Out in Support of Reproductive Freedom
After landmark case is overturned
Earlier today, the US Supreme Court overturned a landmark 50-year-old ruling that legalised abortion as a constitutional right nationwide. This was expected following an unprecedented leak earlier in the year, and it’s now anticipated that over half of US states will introduce restrictions or bans on the procedure...
News PlayStation Won't Be at Gamescom This Year
SIE will not be in the building
PlayStation won't be at Gamescom this year, according to a statement issued to the German outlet Games Wirtschaft, in which a spokesperson for Sony Interactive Entertainment confirmed the company would not have a presence at the August convention. Recently, Nintendo announced it would not be attending Gamescom, and...
News Take-Two Boss Believes New PS Plus Is the Right Approach to Subscriptions
"We can't afford to turn our business upside down"
Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick is on board with Sony’s approach to its revamped PS Plus, reiterating that he believes subscriptions are better off focusing on catalogues rather than day one releases, because “we can't afford to turn our business upside down in a way that doesn't make sense...
News Xbox Appeared to Embargo PS5, PS4 Versions of Some Showcase Games
For at least 48 hours
Some of the games announced during Microsoft’s big Xbox Showcase on Sunday are coming to the PS5 and PS4 – but it would appear you weren’t supposed to know for at least 48 hours. It seems that the Redmond firm enforced embargoes on some of its partners, including Atlus and Koei Tecmo. We received press releases from both...
News Sony Studio Firesprite Lets Colossal Liverpool Office
It's over 20 times larger than its current premises
Sony first-party studio Firesprite is moving to a new office – and an absolutely gigantic one at that. The team, which currently occupies the roughly ~2,000 square foot Vanilla Factory, is moving to the former Bibby Line headquarters in Liverpool, UK’s Ropewalks district – and it’s taking...
News Xbox on Acquisitions: The Last Thing We Want to Do Is Take Games Away from PS5, PS4
Doesn't want to cut communities into pieces
Microsoft, still meticulously navigating its way through the legal red tape required to seal its Activision Blizzard acquisition, has once again insinuated that it will not make the publisher’s games exclusive. Earlier in the year, it was very clear that “great titles like
News Saudia Arabia's Public Investment Fund Purchases a $1 Billion Stake in Embracer Group
As you do
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (or PIF) has made a series of high-profile investments in recent times, and they just made another, dropping a ludicrous $1.05 billion to purchase an 8.1% stake in the Swedish video game and media holding company, Embracer Group. This stake makes the PIF's Savvy Gaming Group the second-largest...
News Sony Bend Hints at New IP During Its Logo Unveiling
Will build on Days Gone with multiplayer
It turns out Sony Bend had slightly more in store for fans today than just the grand unveiling of its new logo. We have known for a while the Days Gone developer is working on a new IP, but it has now attached some concrete details to the project. Taking to the PlayStation Blog, online community specialist...
News E3 Will Return in 2023, Says Expo Organiser ESA
We've heard that one before
E3 will return in 2023. That's according to the ESA — the organisation behind the Lost Angeles-based expo. Quoted in The Washington Post, ESA CEO Stan Pierre-Louis stated: "We’re excited about coming back in 2023 with both a digital and an in-person event". The ESA's intentions are clear, then. Of course, we've been...
News It Looks Like Square Enix Won't Be Betting the Farm on the Blockchain After All
NFT No more-a
In a turnaround so rapid it's likely to cause whiplash, it looks like Square Enix may not be staking its future on NFTs and the blockchain after all. In its most recent financial report, the venerable purveyor of fine JRPGs has walked back its intentions somewhat. In an outline of the results, translated into English, Square Enix...
News Megaton Incoming! Sony Bend Will Reveal Its New Logo Tomorrow
Please be excited
Wow, the week that is "not actually E3 but kind of is" truly hots up tomorrow! Days Gone team Sony Bend has confirmed it will reveal its new company logo tomorrow. Phwoar! Posting on Twitter, the developer says you can catch a livestream at 8pm BST / 12pm PT / 3pm ET where "we unveil our new Bend Studio logo". What a truly...
News EVO, Sony, and Epic Working to Reduce Fighting Game Input Latency
A response
If you’re a pro player, milliseconds matter. The reality is that the vast majority of us wouldn’t notice input latency unless it’s especially aggressive, but when you’re playing fighting games at a professional level, it’s a problem. Here’s the rub, then: Sony is one of the co-owners of the popular EVO fighting game...
News PS5 Has Now Sold Over 20 Million Units as Sony Plans to Ramp Up Production
The only way is up
Sony Interactive Entertainment has revealed that it's now sold more than 20 million PS5 consoles worldwide. As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, the platform holder has reached this figure not long after its last financial reports in early May. At the time, Sony stated it had shipped 19.3 million units, but it's now crossed over the...
News DONTNOD Entertainment Is Now Named DON'T NOD, Has Six Games In Development
New logo, too
DONTNOD Entertainment, the studio that brought us Life Is Strange and Vampyr, has been around for 14 years now. Its anniversary has just passed, as a matter of fact, and to celebrate, the company has undergone a visual overhaul, and a slight name change. It's now called DON'T NOD, and it has a spiffy new logo to go along with the new...
News Sony and Bungie Will Create a Live Service Centre of Excellence Once Acquisition Closes
New department to oversee PlayStation's fresh direction
One of the things lost in Sony’s investor relations report last week, and brought back to our attention by ResetEra, is the company’s integration plan for acquisition target, Bungie. While the deal is yet to close, the platform holder expects the ink to b
News Hangar 13 Faces Layoffs as Development Shifts to More Mafia
Oh, and Top Spin, apparently
Hangar 13, the development studio famed for the Mafia series, has recently suffered yet another round of staff layoffs. As reported by Kotaku, the studio, which is spread across three locations, is set to lose another 50 members of staff. This follows the recent resignation of studio head Haden Blackman, as well as...
News Sony 'Not at All Finished' Growing PlayStation Studios via Acquisitions
Inorganic growth not done yet
Reinforcing comments made in the past multiple times over, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan has once again explained how Sony isn't done with studio acquisitions in order to further expand its first-party portfolio. During the Q&A section of the company's recent business briefing section, Ryan said: "In terms of future...
News Looks Like Sony Will Stop Making PS4 Games by 2025
Maybe sooner
The PS4 has been so successful for Sony that it's been keeping the console going for longer than many expected. PS5 has been doing well, but it's clear that a vast majority of PlayStation's user base is still on the older hardware, and so the platform holder has been continuing to cater for those yet to make the jump. However, at some...
News PlayStation Studios Investment to Be Split Evenly Between Existing and New IP by 2025
More new faces coming
PlayStation has an immense back catalogue of valuable IPs, but part of the company's success is its willingness to explore new territory. Through each hardware generation, we've been treated to brand new worlds and characters, and these new ventures have of course been supported by reliable sequels in popular series. It looks...
News Last Year, Free-to-Play Games Accounted for a Quarter of Total PS Store Spend on PS4
That's a lot
Enthusiast gamers might be exasperated by the ongoing success of free-to-play and live service titles, but there's a very good reason why every publisher is chasing after them. In a nutshell, they rake in a lot of money. We've seen proof of that from all corners of the industry, and Sony's recent investor presentation hammers it home...
News PlayStation Predicts PC Revenue to More Than Triple This Fiscal Year
Ports galore
Sony’s PC strategy is off to a sturdy start, with Days Gone and God of War closing on one million units apiece – and Horizon Zero Dawn already way over two million units. The company pulled a cool $80 million on PC in its fiscal year ending 31st March, 2022 – and it’s predicting revenue in the region of $300 million for the...
News More Than Half of PlayStation's Investment Could Be in Live Service Games by 2025
Follow the money
Sony really isn’t kidding around with this live service strategy it’s been blathering about. As part of an investor relations presentation, the organisation estimated that more than half of its investment into PS5 could be live service by 2025, as it looks to capture growth in the lucrative sector. For those not clued up with...
News Third Party Publishers Probably Ditching Their Own Events This Summer
Go big or go home
The summer months have long been the time for gaming's biggest publishers to strut their stuff in public, but with E3 basically dead and buried, things aren't what they used to be. Over the last couple of years, we've seen third party publishers like Square Enix and Capcom host their own events — and it's fair to say that some...
News Spider-Man Games Could Have Been Exclusive to Xbox
Microsoft turned Marvel down
Sony's Marvel's Spider-Man games clearly play a very important role in the PlayStation portfolio, racking up millions of sales over and over again. But what if the IP was instead exclusive to Microsoft? The head of Marvel Games Jay Ong has revealed how this could have been the case as the company approached both Sony and...
News Juggernaut Publisher EA Planning to Sell or Merge
On the chopping block
How do you like your industry consolidation? We’re not convinced it’s in the best interest of gamers for a handful of conglomerates to own every major developer and publisher, but that’s the path we’re quickly hurtling down – and it looks like even EA is on the market. A report by Puck claims the juggernaut recently...
News Sony Reveals Vision for the Metaverse
PS Homecoming
You’ve probably heard of the metaverse by now. While this is a buzzword for virtually every major organisation on the planet, there are various different definitions of what it actually means. For Mark Zuckerberg and his Facebook hellscape, it’s an interactive world in which you’ll socialise and go to work. Sony’s concept,...
News Sony: Acquisition of Bungie Represents a Major Step Forward in Becoming More Multiplatform
Breaking down barriers
Sony has hinted a number of times in recent years that it feels restricted by PlayStation hardware. In an interview late last year, group president Jim Ryan said that he’s “frustrated” that the company’s first-party games reach a relatively small audience. “I think some of the art our studios are making is some of...
News As Silent Hill Rumours Swirl, Bloober Team's Keeping Quiet
Pyramid Head scheme
Anyone else bored of the Silent Hill saga? Make no mistake, we have a long history with this franchise and love it to bits, but the rumours have been rumbling for years now. There was the Japan Studio chatter, before the entire department was shuttered – and there was even the Abandoned nonsense, which
News Bungie Boss Suggests Studio Won't Be Muzzled Following Sony Acquisition
As the fallout from Jim Ryan email continues
Bungie has been one of the most outspoken studios in the industry when it comes to abortion rights in the United States. This, of course, puts an even bigger beacon on an internal email sent by Sony CEO Jim Ryan, in which he urged employees to “respect the differences of opinion” on the matter...
News Insomniac Sends 60-Page Dossier to Sony Following Jim Ryan Abortion Email
Pledges $50,000 donation, which manufacturer will match
The fallout from PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan’s misjudged email on women’s reproductive rights looks set to continue, as first-party developer Insomniac Games has compiled a “near 60-page” dossier from staff and sent it to PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst, demanding leadership “do...
News PS Plus Could Be About to Land Bloober Team's Catalogue
Polish dev signs significant license and distribution agreement with Sony
A document dating back to 18th April, 2022 suggests select games from Bloober Team’s catalogue could be coming to PS Plus in the future. The paperwork, which describes a “significant license and distribution agreement with Sony Interactive Entertainment” alludes to...
News Final Fantasy 14 Is the Saviour of Square Enix's Latest Financial Report
Endwalkin'
Square Enix has published its financial report for fiscal year 2021, and although the publisher is still reasonably healthy overall, its net sales were down almost ten percent on fiscal year 2020 — and it could have been worse if not for the continued success of Final Fantasy XIV. The MMORPG really is the company's biggest money maker...
News SEGA Says Loads of New Games Are Coming This Year, Including Remakes and Remasters
Gotta go fast
SEGA's just had its fiscal year briefing, and the company's doing quite well for itself. The Japanese firm recorded increased profits over fiscal year 2021, mostly thanks to strong software sales. Good stuff, but it's the publisher's promise of even more games that has us interested. Over the next 12 months or so, SEGA has plans to...
News Sony Is Still Gaming's Second Biggest Money Maker, But Looks Set to Be Overtaken
Microsoft's deep pockets will make a difference
Sony held onto its position as gaming’s second biggest money maker for the financial year ending 31st March, but it looks set to fall a position once Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is finalised. PlayStation pulled in $18.2 billion in revenue for the previous fiscal term, which was...
News PlayStation Staff Angry About Jim Ryan Email on Abortion Rights
Executive urges respect for differences of opinion
According to Bloomberg, a number of PlayStation staff are “seething” about an email sent by CEO Jim Ryan today, in which he urged employees to “respect the differences of opinion” when it comes to abortion rights. A recent leak from the US Supreme Court put the issue into sharp focus, after...
News Konami Just Had Its Most Profitable Year Ever
Profit to surpass Metal Gear
With all of the negative press that Konami tends to get in the gaming sphere, it's easy to overlook the fact that it's actually doing well for itself these days. Okay, so maybe eFootball was a bit of a disaster, but have you seen this latest company-wide financial report? Konami just had its most profitable year ever,...
News Criterion Games and Codemasters Cheshire Merge into One Need for Speed Studio
Ex-Evolution team to join Criterion
The next Need for Speed is still shrouded in mystery, but we do know one thing for certain: Criterion Games is leading development on the project. Rumoured to be current-gen only, the upcoming racer will be yet another refresh for the series, which has struggled to align itself properly for years. Hopefully this...
News Despite FTC Investigation, Sony Expects Bungie Acquisition to Close This Year
And that'll be that
Here’s your weekly reminder that, yes, Sony is still buying Destiny developer Bungie. While the iconic studio will remain largely independent, the platform holder hopes that the purchase will help inform its output on numerous upcoming live service games. And while the billion dollar buyout is
News FIFA Announces Plans to Release EA Sports FC Rival and More
President claims FIFA games will still be the best
Following the news that EA Sports will ditch the FIFA branding for its football simulation games after the release of FIFA 23, the organisation has confirmed its plans to create a rival to EA Sports FC. FIFA says it is currently "engaging with leading game publishers, media companies and investors...