News Valve Acquires Firewatch Developer Campo Santo
In the valley of Gaben
News PS5 Is a Long Way Away, Or So Sources Say
Developers weigh in on recent rumours
Industry - News
April2018
Report Quantic Dream Suing French Media Over Work Condition Reports
Round two?
Detroit: Become Human launches next month, but developer Quantic Dream is in the eye of a storm. Reports from French media earlier in the year documented the purported “toxic” culture at the company, which the studio has since denied. Bosses David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumière had threatened to sue the likes of Le Monde
News Valve Acquires Firewatch Developer Campo Santo
In the valley of Gaben
Valve has acquired acclaimed indie developer Campo Santo, the team behind vibrant walking simulator Firewatch and the upcoming In the Valley of Gods. While the studio will relocate to Bellevue, it’ll continue to operate autonomously, meaning that it will still be making its own games on its own terms. Presumably it’ll just...
News Housemarque Teases New Game Reveal Ahead of Industry Talk
What could it be?
You may recall that, a little while back, Housemarque declared it was done with arcade games following poor sales. This is a massive shame, as the Finnish developer has delivered some absolutely stellar shoot-em-ups -- Resogun and Nex Machina, take a bow -- over the years. This news left us wondering what it could possibly be...
News PlayStation's Relationship with Amazon Worsens As PSN Codes Are Dropped
Update: PSN codes back in USA
What started with God of War going out of stock on Amazon UK seems to have escalated over the past few days, as now it’s impossible to purchase PlayStation Network vouchers from the popular retailer in the USA as well. The cards – which are delivered instantly via email – are available in various monetary...
News Sony Is Creating a New Game Development Team in San Diego
And it could be working on Uncharted
Sony insinuated recently that it intends to “concentrate” on first-party production moving forwards, strengthening its output of PlayStation exclusives. And it sounds like the first stages of those plans have been put into motion, as job listings suggest that it’s creating a new development team in...
News PS5 Is a Long Way Away, Or So Sources Say
Developers weigh in on recent rumours
The next PlayStation will release later this year, one ambitious rumour claimed recently. But according to a Kotaku report penned by the ever-reliable Jason Schreier, that’s extremely unlikely to be the case – in fact, we may be waiting until at least 2020 for the so-called PlayStation 5, just like
News NIS America Apologises for Comments About PlayStation
President had insinuated Sony doesn't care about company
NIS America president Takuro Yamashita probably said a touch too much in his interview with MCV, where he claimed that Sony isn’t “friendly with small publishers like us”. The suit has issued a public apology to both SNK and PlayStation, retracting the comments in a hasty attempt to...
Soapbox A Love Letter to Video Game Developers and Artists
Gabriella puts forward her argument for games as art
I’m an hour into replaying Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, a game that captivated me in 2017. I meander through the streets, enthralled by its ridiculous attention to detail and bask in its marvellous colours. I put my controller down for a minute, and I’m suddenly struck by the realisation...
News Grand Theft Auto V Has Made More Money Than any Other Entertainment Product Ever
Crime does pay
We already know that Rockstar's mega-hit crime-'em-up, Grand Theft Auto V, is the best selling game of all time, but a new report from MarketWatch reveals that it's comfortably the most profitable game ever. In fact, it's made more cash than any film, album, or other entertainment product in history. Across all p
News NIS America: Sony Isn't Friendly with Small Publishers Like Us
"They just care about big Japanese companies"
NIS America, the publisher of franchises such as Disgaea and Danganronpa, does not appear to be all that happy with Sony at the moment. Speaking with MCV about a range of subjects – including its partnership with Nintendo on SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy – president Takuro Yamashita...
News Legendary Sony E3 2015 Press Conference Could Have Been Even Better, Says Adam Boyes
Woah!
We're all in agreement that Sony's E3 2015 press conference was the company's best, at least in recent years, right? The golden trifecta of The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Shenmue III absolutely brought the house down, and it's a feat that we're not sure the Japanese giant will ever be able to top. Interestingly, however, it...
March2018
News Hajime Tabata's Luminous Productions Is Monkeying Around on More Than Just Games
Evolution
Remember a few days ago when we reported that Square Enix has a new studio headed by Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata? Well, it appears this new studio, Luminous Productions, is working on more than just games. On the NHK website, as spotted by Kotaku,
News Final Fantasy XV Director Hajime Tabata to Lead New Studio within Square Enix
Luminous Productions
In a news release published today, Square Enix has announced the formation of a new studio based in Tokyo, Japan, with Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata tasked with leading it. Tabata is famous for having come in and steered what was then called Final Fantasy Versus XIII to safety after a tumultuous development...
News After Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red Plans to Release Another 'AAA RPG' By 2021
Big time
It feels like we've waited an age to see something more of Cyberpunk 2077, but developer CD Projekt Red is already looking past its upcoming project and into the unknown future beyond. Obviously this is the kind of long term planning that companies need to consider, but it still makes for some interesting reading. Indeed, the studio's...
News THQ Nordic and Nickelodeon Join Forces to Revive Old Titles
"I'm ready"
Here's something we bet you weren't expecting to read this afternoon: THQ Nordic has just announced a new partnership with Nickelodeon. Together, the companies aim to bring back a bunch of old games based on Nickelodeon's shows. Here's the full list of game titles as provided by THQ Nordic: Avatar: The Last Airbender Back At The...
News Ubisoft Fights Off Vivendi Vultures Once and for All
Flawless boardroom victory
Ubisoft has countered Vivendi’s attempted hostile takeover with a flawless boardroom victory that will see it buy back a whopping 30,489,300 shares. The move will see Tencent invest in the French publisher, as it attempts to leverage the firm’s intellectual property in its native China. More importantly, Vivendi will...
News CD Projekt Red Opens New Studio to Help with Cyberpunk 2077
Consists of 18 "industry veterans"
The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red has announced that's opened a new studio in south-western Poland. Dubbed CD Projekt Red Wrocław, the team consists of 18 "talented industry veterans" at its core. Previously, the outfit was known as Strange New Things. "Wrocław is one of the biggest and most...
Soapbox Sony Has Become Far Too Quiet
Enjoy the silence?
Actions speak louder than words, but I still can’t help feeling that Sony’s become far too quiet over the past few years. At the start of the PlayStation 4 era, this was a company that was firing on all cylinders when it came to community outreach; Worldwide Studios executive Shuhei Yoshida was one of the biggest names on...
News A Way Out Developer Hazelight to Receive All Profits, EA 'Not Making a Single Dollar'
"All I've got is support from EA"
The man leading development on A Way Out, Josef Fares, is notorious for his outspoken nature. He's certainly an entertaining and charismatic figure, but he clearly isn't shy when it comes to speaking about the business side of things. Fares has been touring A Way Out for previews recently, and an interesting quote...
News Classic FM and PlayStation Join Forces for Live Orchestral Concert
Music to our ears
Classic FM, the UK's specialist classical music radio station, is teaming up with PlayStation to bring to life an orchestral concert in celebration of video game music. According to GamesIndustry.biz, the event, known as PlayStation in Concert, will feature music from across PlayStation's history, including PSone, PS2, PS3, and...
News The Last of Us' Neil Druckmann Promoted to Vice President of Naughty Dog
Game Directors and Lead Designers for The Last of Us 2 announced
Naughty Dog veteran Neil Druckmann has been promoted to the position of Vice President at the Californian developer. According to President Evan Wells, this is in recognition of Neil’s “expanded role, contributing on critical, studio level decisions”. The former programmer will...
News Valve Promises to Start Shipping Games Again
We're GLaDOS to hear it
Valve used to be one of gaming’s most acclaimed developers, shipping series like Half-Life and Portal on PlayStation. However, over the past decade it’s increasingly turned its attention to PC-based digital storefront Steam and its roster of competitive multiplayer titles like DOTA 2. But speaking at a press event...
News Ubisoft Is Breaking Ground with AI That Helps Game Developers Fix Bugs
The future is now
Well this is interesting, isn't it? As reported by Wired, Ubisoft's research and development division has unveiled an artificial intelligence that helps game developers catch bugs. The AI is called Commit Assistant, and it's basically designed to spot potential issues before programmers finalise their work. Apparently,...
News Ubisoft Buys Blue Mammoth Games, Makers of Popular Free-to-Play Fighter Brawlhalla
On the up
Blue Mammoth Games, the relatively small studio behind hit free-to-play fighting game Brawlhalla, has been acquired by mega publisher Ubisoft. According to the press release, Blue Mammoth Games is made up of just 21 team members, so Ubisoft's certainly going for quality over quantity here. It's an interesting story because these days the...
News Sony Doubling Down on PlayStation Exclusives in Corporate Reshuffle
First-party more important than ever
Sony has reiterated its commitment to first-party franchises as part of an organisational reshuffle that will see some of its most forward-facing executives promoted up the corporate ladder. Shawn Layden, who will continue to front Sony Interactive Entertainment America and act as the Chairman of Worldwide...
February2018
News The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency Shuts Up Shop
Drawn to Death developer is done
David Jaffe is in the process of shutting down The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency, which developed the divisive Drawn to Death. You may remember earlier in the year there was a project cancellation which prompted a “vast majority” of the staff to be laid off. Now the organisation is no more. A
News ESRB Adding 'In-Game Purchases' Label to Games Following Loot Box Outcry
Box to box
Microtransactions and loot boxes have become an increasingly hot topic over the last... Well, for what feels like a very, very long time. Governments have had their say, gambling commissions have weighed in on the situation, and the internet's obviously been going ballistic. There's been a lot of noise, then, but has anything...
News Bethesda Softworks Was 2017's Best Publisher, According to Metacritic
Rating by numbers
Media score aggregate site Metacritic has unveiled some new statistics this week, revealing its list of publishers that performed the best in 2017. To calculate this, it's taken all of a publisher's games released last year and averaged their scores, and figured out the percentage of games that have received what Metacritic...
News New Study Suggests Only 6% of People Don't Spend Money on Microtransactions
69% are fine with cosmetic stuff
Well here's a study that makes for some interesting reading. A report entitled Gaming Today, which is based on an online discussion held by figures from across gaming and technology, suggests that the most people really don't care all that much about microtransactions in their video games. Based on one particular...
News CD Projekt Red Wades in on Loot Box Debate
Meanwhile, a U.S. Senator calls for investigation
After Hawaiian politician Chris Lee proposed government action against loot boxes earlier this week, the ongoing debate surrounding them has showed no signs of stopping. Now, CD Projekt Red has voiced its opinions on the subject. Marcin Iwiński, co-founder of the beloved Witcher developer, said in...
News Mafia III Developer Hangar 13 Hit With Job Cuts
2K reduces staff
A new report from Kotaku states that Hangar 13, the studio behind 2016's Mafia III, has suffered a significant number of layoffs. Publisher 2K told Kotaku that staff reductions have been made at Hangar 13 "in order to ensure that the studio’s resources are properly aligned with its long-term development plans". Their statement...
News THQ Nordic Now Owns Metro, Dead Island, Saints Row, More in New Acquisition
Publisher purchases Koch Media
THQ Nordic has felt like a bit of a B-team player for a while, re-releasing a lot of its back catalogue and slowly accumulating more and more IPs. It seemed that no one was really paying them much attention, but that may be about to change; the publisher has just made a serious acquisition in the purchase of Koch Media...
News Hawaii's Government Proposes Action Against Loot Boxes
Loot out
Everyone's probably tired of hearing about it, but it seems like we still haven't seen the end of the Star Wars Battlefront 2 loot box controversy's consequences. In what is a landmark for laws regulating games - something scarce in most countries until now - Representative Chris Lee of Oahu has proposed two bills to the Hawaii State...
News Capcom Chops Back Vancouver Branch as Dead Rising Sequel Is Dialled Down
Unannounced game cancelled
As many as 50 employees have been laid off at Dead Rising 4 developer Capcom Vancouver, according to a Kotaku story citing sources and social media reports. The cutbacks include the cancellation of a project believed to be set in an alternate reality New York, as well as changes to the next Dead Rising title, which had...
News PlayStation Profits Soar as PS4 Reaches 76.5 Million Units
It prints money
Sony has released its financial results from the quarter ending 31st December, and it's showing some impressive numbers once again. PlayStation 4 hardware sales were actually down year-on-year, from 9.7 million to 9 million, but the total number of units is now at 76.5 million. The console enjoyed its best ever calendar year, moving...
News Sony Management Shifts See CEO Kaz Hirai Stepping Down
Will become Chairman
In a recent press release, Sony has announced a few changes to its management structure. CEO Kazuo Hirai, who has been in the top seat for six years, will be replaced by current CFO Kenichiro Yoshida. Kaz will instead adopt the roles of Director and Chairman. These changes are effective from 1st April 2018. Hirai-san led...
January2018
News Ridiculous Rumour Suggests Microsoft Is Eyeing Up EA
Unlikely acquisition seems very unlikely
In arguably the most bizarre rumour we’ve read since Shenmue III and Final Fantasy VII were being touted as potential announcements at E3 2015, there’s bonkers talk of Microsoft lining up an acquisition of Electronic Arts – the publisher of FIFA and Madden. The actual basis for the...
News Hyper Light Drifter Designer Leaves Square Enix Montreal After Game Cancellation
"The business strategy of the studio shifted"
Former Hyper Light Drifter designer Teddy Diefenbach today announced on his personal website that he has voluntarily vacated Square Enix Montreal after the publisher terminated his team's project. He describes in his post that it was a "dream role", but that the "business strategy of the studio shifted"...
News Twisted Metal Maker David Jaffe's Studio Struck with Layoffs
Project cancelled
David Jaffe’s verbose indie studio The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency has been struck with layoffs following the cancellation of an unannounced project. The team is perhaps best known for Drawn to Death which, shall we say, divided public opinion. To be honest, we’re probably the only publication on the planet that...
Talking Point Could Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass Model Work on PS4?
Disruptive business strategy could change games forever
At a time where Bethesda is putting out commercials to celebrate single player games, a new business model from Microsoft threatens to disrupt the industry as we know it today. The Redmond firm has announced an update to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service, which will see all of its...
News 'People Ask for Story-Based Games, But Don't Necessarily Buy Them'
Uncharted creator Amy Hennig weighs in
The cancellation of Amy Hennig’s single player Star Wars title last year caused controversy regarding the state of story-driven, single player games. Many hardcore gamers argued that they’re starting to feel left behind, as multiplayer releases become increasingly prominent. The climate even prompted...
News Activision Boss to Leave Company After 8 Years in March
He's had a good run
Eric Hirshberg, Activision's talkative CEO, will be leaving the publisher this March following eight years of service. Hirshberg has been in charge of overseeing some of the company's biggest properties, including Call of Duty, Destiny, and Skylanders. Fair to say that he's been an important part of the business for a while...
News Sony's Third-Party Relations Chief Exits After a Year
Revolving door
The replacement for Adam Boyes in one of PlayStation’s most important positions has left the company after just a year, according to a Games Beat report. Ex-Harmonix chief Florian Hunziker was recruited in January 2017 as Head of Third-Party Developer Relations to fill the shoes of the aforementioned charismatic suit, but has...
News A New Alien Shooter Is in Development for PS4
Fox expanding gaming focus
FoxNext Games is the gaming branch of 20th Century Fox, and it's expanding the scope of its game development. The company has acquired developer Cold Iron Studios, and will be putting it to work on an all-new shooter in the Alien universe. Details on the game itself are virtually non-existent, but it's certainly...
News Sony's PhyreEngine Adds Support for Nintendo Switch
Fanning the flames
Sony’s game development toolset PhyreEngine appears to have added support for the Nintendo Switch, judging by documentation in the system’s recently released Dragon Quest Builders demo. It’s not a massive surprise, of course, as the software already supports the Xbox One, iOS, and Android – in addition to the family of...
News Jim Ryan Promoted to Deputy President of Sony Interactive Entertainment
Congratulations
Jim Ryan is one of a few Sony suits you'll recognise from previous press conferences. He's been with the company since 1994, and was made president of SIE Europe in 2011. He was also made head of global sales and marketing in 2016, and helped launch the PS4 Pro and PlayStation VR. His hard work seems to have paid off, as he's...
News Former DriveClub, Motorstorm Devs Working on Sci-Fi Title as Wushu Studios
New frontier
Some potentially exciting news for you here: former DriveClub and Motorstorm leads are heading up a brand new Liverpool-based development team -- and they're working on an all-new sci-fi property. Named Wushu Studios, the outfit's still in the process of hiring talent and expanding, but it probably won't be too long until we hear...
News Quantic Dream 'Surprised' by Allegations About Studio Culture
Update: French developer releases official statement
Quantic Dream once again finds itself in the centre of a whirlwind, as three separate French reports have called into question the culture of the studio and its management. Publications such as Le Monde, Canard PC, and
News Crash Bandicoot Outsells Destiny 2 at UK Retail in 2017
Woah!
A brand new set of figures concerning last year's sales of physical games in the UK has emerged, courtesy of gamesindustry.biz. In a comprehensive breakdown of the UK games market for 2017, it's revealed that physical sales were down by 0.4%, but revenue increased by 2.1% to £792m. Perhaps most interestingly, however, is the list of the top...
News Sony Boss John Kodera's Twitter Account May Have Been Fake
Update: Shuhei Yoshida confirms
A new Twitter account for incoming PlayStation president John Kodera appeared this week, retweeting corporate intel like PlayStation 4 sales figures and such. It was promptly followed by various Sony employees, lending legitimacy to the handle. However, as of this morning it’s been suspended, suggesting it may have...
Weirdness This Is What CES 2018 Looks Like When the Power Goes Out
Lights out
If you’ve ever been to an electronics convention before, you’ll know that they’re filled with loud music and flashing lights. What happens, then, when the power goes out? Well, that’s exactly what occurred at CES 2018 in Las Vegas earlier today, where parts of the South and Central Halls were plunged into darkness. Honestly,...
News SIE CEO John Kodera Says not to Worry About First Party Games Going the Service Route
Phew
Back when Andy House left his role as President of Sony Interactive Entertainment, there were concerns that his replacement, John Kodera, was a little too keen on microtransactions. In a conference call a few months ago, it was discussed that PlayStation would look into the possibility of adding more in-game purchases to future titles, a...
News Insomniac Games Weighs in on the Dangers of the Vocal Minority
Blah blah blah
We all know that the Internet can be an exhausting place to exist. There are opinions everywhere you turn, and it can be difficult to determine your own views as a result. What, then, do you do when you’re a developer and forums are aflame with complaints and criticisms about your latest game? In an interesting interview with Games...
News Gaming Hardware Company Mad Catz Returns
Just a scratch
You may remember that, about 9 months ago, Mad Catz filed for bankruptcy and shut down. The company was a large player in the gaming peripheral world, with arcade sticks, controllers, and much more to its name. Fortunately, it has made a miraculous recovery, and under the name Mad Catz Global Limited, is set to release an all new line...
News Platinum Games' Next Title Could've Been a Princess Clothing Making Game
Studio exploring options going forward
When you think of Platinum Games, you think of fast, fluid action titles and flamboyant style. However, in a recent interview with Game Informer, head of development Atsushi Inaba spoke about the studio's search for new projects, and among them were some unexpected possibilities. When asked about where the...
December2017
News Jet Set Radio Evo Pitched to SEGA, Sony Loved Concept
But project went no further
Would you turn that radio down, we’re trying to tell you about a Jet Set Radio pitch that SEGA passed on. Over the course of the weekend, Austin-based developer Dinosaur Games has revealed a “visual proof of concept” for a title named Jet Set Radio Evo, which it pitched to the Japanese publisher at the Game...
News Deus Ex Developer Eidos Montreal Moving Towards Online Experiences
Marvel-ous
The developer behind the most recent Deus Ex games, Eidos Montreal, has today released a new vision statement outlining the studio’s direction moving forward. Going against the grain of its own recent history, studio head David Anfossi says that “online experiences” will be a key part of the company's future. Here’s what he had to...
News The Game Awards 2017 Watched by a Mind-Boggling 11.5 Million
Wow
Proof that perseverance almost always pays off: Geoff Keighley’s The Game Awards 2017 was watched by a mind-boggling 11.5 million people – legitimising the ceremony, and painting a positive future for the event. The best news is that it was actually excellent this year, with a perfect balance of awards, reveals, and industry tributes. Hats...
News Sony: We Can't Ignore the Nintendo Switch
Manufacturer remaining on its toes
It’s going to take a little more time before we’re able to determine just how big the Nintendo Switch is going to be, but one thing’s for sure: it’s no Wii U. The hybrid will likely end up lapping the Big N’s last effort several times over, and that’s got the PlayStation division on its toes. Speaking...
News Geoff Keighley Teases at Least 15 World Premieres for The Game Awards
Hype machine
Geoff Keighley's in full hype train mode as we race towards The Game Awards 2017. The big man has let slip that the production will play host to at least 15 world premieres, across both the pre-show and the main event. During a quick question and answer session, Keighley said that The Game Awards has "three or four things in the...
News Nearly 80,000 People Have Signed a Petition to Revoke EA's Star Wars License
It's a conspiracy
Petitions never, ever work in the video game industry, but with nearly 80,000 people signing a petition to take the Star Wars game license away from Electronic Arts, it's clear that many consumers want to send a message to the controversial company following their antics of the past few weeks. EA's relationship with its customers...
November2017
News Doritos Wanted Geoff Keighley to Host The Game Awards as the Doritos Pope
Seriously
In the lighter days prior to the GamerGate scandal, there was an image of Geoff Keighley that went viral. It showed the journalist-turned-presenter sitting uncomfortably, surrounded by Doritos, Mtn Dew, and various bits of Halo paraphernalia. Fans, as they’re wont to do, had a little fun with the picture, and thus the Doritos Pope was...
News EA: Battlefront 2 Scandal a Great Learning Experience, Not Giving Up on Microtransactions
"You don't want Darth Vader in pink"
The past few weeks have not deterred EA from pursuing the “notion of microtransactions”, although the company’s clearly been humbled by the controversy surrounding Star Wars Battlefront 2 – a scandal which it has described as a “great learning experience”. For those of you who’ve been living under a...
News Sony: We Announced Some PS4 Games Too Early
Company candid about perceived errors
Perhaps one of the most vocal criticisms aimed at Sony is that it announces games too early. While we’re yet to see any real big cancellations from the company since the heady days of The Getaway 3, it has been at the helm of some laughably late projects – the brilliant but embarrassingly overdue The Last...
News UK Gambling Commission Has Its Say on the Loot Box Saga
Not gambling but not necessarily okay
Belgium’s already declared loot boxes to be a form of gambling, and indicated that it wants to take its ruling to Europe in order to prohibit the sale of random in-app purchases. Now the UK Gambling Commission has weighed in on the sticky subject matter, stating that while it doesn’t believe the...
News Retrace the Steps Leading to EA's Star Wars Loot Box Scandal
Andrew Wilson's ultimate dream
Most of the videos about Star Wars Battlefront 2 and loot boxes are basically just ‘Tubers screaming obscenities into Blue Yeti microphones, but this one by Skill Up is ten times more damning: it includes actual research. The 25 minute clip is a little on the long side, but it packs some fascinating info, retracing...
News Creative Assembly Embarks on Its Biggest Ever Multiformat Project
But unlikely to be more Alien
UK developer Creative Assembly, best known for Alien Isolation and a wealth of strategy games, is hiring for what’s being described as the “biggest multiplatform project has ever undertaken”. Word comes way of a “studio insider”, quoted by the reliable PCGamesN. Apparently, the game is a new intellectual...
News Belgium Reckons Loot Boxes Are Gambling, Wants Them Banned in Europe
Declares the mix of gaming and gambling dangerous
Just another reason to pull the plug on Brexit: Belgium’s Gaming Commission has declared loot boxes to be a form of gambling – and it wants to ban them across Europe. News comes courtesy of VTM (via PC Gamer), with the verdict of a recent investigation determining that loot boxes are indeed a...
News Analyst: Gamers Are Overreacting Over Star Wars, Publishers Should Increase Prices
A different perspective
Well, here’s a take you won’t be hearing on next week’s Jimquisition: KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Evan Wingren believes that gamers are overreacting over Star Wars Battlefront 2’s microtransaction saga – and that publishers should increase the price of their software as they’re undercharging. We sure hope he...
News The Story of Kaz Hirai, Sony's Oddball CEO, Is Worth Reading
The suit who saved Sony
Sony was a bruised behemoth when Kaz Hirai took the helm in 2012; the company is now on the verge of recording its best-ever financial performance since all the way back in 1998. The former PlayStation president has completely transformed the juggernaut’s fortunes, then – but what is the secret to his success? A brilliant...
News Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards Return on the 7th December
Will you be watching?
The big man himself, Geoff Keighly, is back again next month with 2017's instalment of The Game Awards. Keighley's been putting together and hosting these award shows for a good few years now, spotlighting the best games and developers of the last 12 months. The shows themselves are a little too gaudy for some people's tastes,...
News EA Pondering Subscription-Based Services Instead of Traditional Game Releases
And it won't be the only one
Mega publishers like EA are always planning for the future, and CEO Andrew Wilson says that the company is looking at various rather interesting business models going forward. Speaking to Bloomberg, the exec ponders whether we'll eventually see subscription-based gaming instead of more traditional models like annual...
News PS5 Is Still At Least Two Years Away, Says Ubisoft
Next-gen chatter begins
You won’t be playing on a PlayStation 5 until at least 2019, according to Ubisoft. In an investors call earlier this week, CEO Yves Guillemot declared that he believes new consoles are “a minimum of two years” away. We’d always assumed Sony would release a new system in 2019, too – but we’re actually starting to...
News Telltale Culls a Quarter of Its Staff As It Refocuses on Quality
The staff will remember that
Telltale has cut a quarter of its staff, amounting to about 90 of its full-time employees. The cuts come as the company begins a “comprehensive restructuring” that it hopes will make it “more competitive as a developer and publisher of ground-breaking story-driven gaming experiences”. Basically, it wants to make...
News Microsoft May Bring First-Party Franchises to PlayStation in the Future
Halo, goodbye?
Microsoft already publishes multiformat games with Minecraft, but as the organisation increasingly looks to expand the reach of its services and subscriptions, there could come a time when it releases franchises like Halo and Gears of War on PlayStation platforms. That’s according to boss Phil Spencer, who’s revealed in an...
News Hob, Torchlight Developer Runic Games Is No More
Hob gone
Torchlight developer Runic Games has been shuttered by parent company Perfect World Entertainment – and there’s a pun in there somewhere which probably isn’t appropriate to use. Anyway, the studio most recently released the likeable – but, ultimately, overlooked – Hob on the PlayStation 4. It is, however, no more. “I'm sorry to...
News Digital Game Sales are Now a Huge Factor in the UK, and Charts Really Need to Track Them
Even for AAA games
More and more people are opting to buy games digitally in the UK, and the shift towards purchasing titles from online marketplaces such as the PlayStation Store is happening faster than most predicted. According to data that Games Industry has obtained, we're seeing a huge increase in users buying AAA games digitally rather than...
News Housemarque Canning Coin-Op After Commercial Flops
Arcade is dead
Housemarque is renowned for its arcade games, but the Finnish developer is moving on from the kind of coin-op experiences you’d typically associate with the company. Writing on its website, CEO Ilari Kuittinen explains that despite high reviews for releases like Nex Machina and Resogun, the studio’s games don’t sell in...
October2017
News Sounds Like PlayStation's New Boss Is a Fan of Microtransactions
Exploring in-game purchases for exclusives
Uh oh! PlayStation president Andrew House departed recently and has been replaced with John Kodera, a Sony veteran whose previous roles include running Sony Network Entertainment. He’s largely a services guy, which bodes well for future expansion of the oft-maligned PlayStation Network – but it also...
News PS4 Has Shipped 67.5 Million Units, Sony Increases Forecast
Expects PS4 to match PS3's install base in half the time
Sony has shipped a dizzying 67.5 million PlayStation 4 consoles as of 30th September, the manufacturer’s latest financial results reveal. The organisation moved an impressive 4.2 million units in the quarter spanning 1st July to 30th September, meaning that it’s once again up...
News GameStop's Power Pass Lets You Effectively Rent Used Games
$60 for six months and all the games you want
With more and more gamers flocking to digital storefronts, US mega-retailer GameStop is locked in a battle to remain relevant. Its latest solution? The newly leaked Power Pass: a $60 six month subscription that will give you access to an unlimited selection of pre-owned games. You’ll be able to swap...
News Microsoft Says Single Player Games Are Becoming Complicated
It's complicated, man
Sony’s portfolio is flooded with primarily single player experiences, but as part of a wider discussion regarding the future of solitary releases, Xbox Publishing boss Shannon Loftis believes the economics are becoming increasingly complicated. Speaking with GameSpot, she noted how gamers’ insatiable demand for better...
News NeoGAF Veterans Flock to New Forum Named ResetEra
A fresh start
A group of intrepid ex-NeoGAF posters have banded together to create a new forum named ResetEra, and already it’s recruited over 7,000 members – despite registration being invite only for the time being. The site – which has been founded by some of the forum’s most popular users – is promising a new beginning for enthusiasts,...
News Ninja Theory's Hellblade Has Exceeded Sales Expectations
But hasn't broken even yet
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice may not be the best game of the year, but it’s certainly one of the most memorable. Ninja Theory’s tale of mental illness was harrowing and hard to parse – but it was effective in using the medium to convey a very specific state of mind. So it’s refreshing to hear that it’s...
News Gaming Forum NeoGAF Returns as Site Owner Responds to Allegations
"It'll be a process"
For several days the hardcore gaming forum NeoGAF has been inaccessible, but the site is now operational once more. This follows allegations of sexual misconduct against its owner Tyler 'Evilore' Malka, which resulted in a mass walkout of moderators and a significant number of banned accounts before the site was taken offline...
News EA Moving to More Monetisable Open World Games
Some spent up to $15,000 on Mass Effect multiplayer cards
EA wants to release more games with “monetisable” open worlds, ex-BioWare staffer Manveer Heir has hinted in a 90-minute interview with Waypoint published over the weekend. The comments come in the wake of Visceral Games’ closure, where a statement from bigwig Patrick Soderlund seemed...
News Enthusiast Forum NeoGAF Offline Amid Allegations Against Owner
Believe
Hardcore video game community NeoGAF imploded over the weekend after allegations against the site’s owner went viral. A Facebook post appearing to accuse Tyler ‘Evilore’ Malka of sexual misconduct emerged on Saturday, prompting a moderator exodus as threads on the subject were shutdown. A statement was apparently being prepared but...
Poll Do You Think Single Player Games Are Really In Danger of Dying Out?
A dark future?
There was a big ruckus earlier this week when it was revealed that EA had shut down Visceral Games -- the developer behind the once fantastic Dead Space series. The studio was working on a single player Star Wars title -- that one that's been in development for what seems like an eternity -- and EA said in a statement that it had...
News EA Flings Dead Space Developer Visceral into Outer-Space
Studio shut down and Star Wars back to the drawing board
Visceral Games, the Californian developer best known for the Dead Space franchise, has been shut down. The studio most recently released Battlefield Hardline, which was met with mixed reviews. It’s since been working on an original Star Wars title helmed by Uncharted director Amy Hennig,...
News Naughty Dog Responds to Sexual Harassment Allegations
"We have not found any evidence"
Over the course of the weekend, former Naughty Dog employee David Ballard publicly stated that he was a victim of sexual harassment during his tenure at the developer. He claimed that he was harassed by a “lead” in late 2015, and after sharing his complaints with Sony’s HR department, he alleges that he was...
News Ratings Board Rules That Loot Boxes in Games Aren't a Form of Gambling
Lucky roll
Loot boxes are a hot topic right now, with Middle-earth: Shadow of War and its unnecessary microtransaction push at the very centre of the debate. One argument that we've seen spring up numerous times, especially over the last few weeks, is that loot boxes are essentially a form of gambling -- and more should be done to regulate them in...
News Xbox Boss Isn't Optimistic About Sony Changing Its Cross-Platform Play Policy
What's new?
It's time to talk about cross-platform play again! Yay! The conversation that simply never seems to end, the topic has once again been brought forward off the back of comments made by Xbox boss Phil Spencer. Talking to GameSpot, the chatty exec reveals that he doesn't hold out much hope when it comes to Sony changing its stance on...
Poll Where Do You Stand on Microtransactions?
The big debate
In-game purchases, otherwise known as microtransactions, have been around for years. Originally associated with free-to-play titles in which you could spend real money to buy various bits and pieces, microtransactions have inevitably wormed their way into more traditional games. Like we say, this has been going on for years, but...
News PlayStation Chief Andrew House Leaves Sony After Over 25 Years
John Kodera steps up
Surprise! Andrew House has stepped down from his position as PlayStation president, with his deputy John Kodera taking the reins. The sudden change brings an end to a 25-plus year career at Sony, though the bearded businessman will hang around as director and chairman for a few more months before finally setting off into the...
September2017
News Single Player Games Are Really Struggling Right Now
Dark times for offline play
Are you the kind of person that prefers your games to be single player focused? Do you dislike this whole service-based initiative that many publishers appear to have adopted? Hard luck. In the wake of layoffs at Agents of Mayhem developer Volition, NPD analyst Mat Piscatella has been chatting with Games Beat about the...
News Agents of Mayhem Developer Volition Struck by Layoffs
Deep Silver supposedly unhappy with sales
Volition, the developer behind Agents of Mayhem but best known for the Saints Row series, has been struck by a round of layoffs. News comes courtesy of Kotaku sources, though owner Deep Silver has yet to comment on the situation. Reports suggest that more than 30 people have been made redundant, from a team...
News Sony Doesn't See Much Potential in Portable Platforms
Game over
Don’t hold your breath for a new portable PlayStation platform, as Sony has suggested that it doesn’t see much potential in the handheld market. Speaking with Bloomberg, group president Andrew House explained that the company doesn’t see a “huge opportunity” for the sector outside of Asia, and that it’s focusing on living room...
News Everybody's Gone to the Rapture at UK Studio The Chinese Room
Developer going dark for the time being
The Chinese Room has not officially closed, but it no longer has any staff aside from husband and wife directors Dan Pinchbeck and Jessica Curry. The studio – perhaps best known for Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture – has decided to “go dark” for the immediate future, as it figures out what it’s...
News Assassin's Creed Origins Up for Golden Joysticks Game of the Year Despite Not Being Out Yet
Mario Odyssey, too
Voting for this year's Golden Joystick Awards has opened, giving us a look at the nominees for the upcoming event. Unsurprisingly, the likes of Horizon: Zero Dawn and Persona 5 are contenders for multiple awards, but what's really caught our attention is the fact that two unreleased games are up for the...
News Square Enix Wants to Focus More on Multiplayer and Service Games Going Forward
This'll go down well
"Gone are the days in which single-player games were of primary status and multiplayer games secondary. Lately, multiplayer games have taken the lead, and it is standard for games to be designed for long-term play," reads Square Enix's 2017 annual report. "We will also endeavor to develop games designed not to be played once...
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