Tag: Industry
"Whenever there’s work to be done – boom, overtime"
A new Zenless Zone Zero clip touching on the topic of overtime has once again raised questions about the sustainability of crunch. While the video, taken from the latest behind-the-scenes ZTALK, is presented in a light-hearted fashion – with goofy music and jovial vibes – it flags the real...
News Vince Zampella, Call of Duty Co-Creator and Respawn Boss, Tragically Dies Aged 55
An industry legend
Gaming industry veteran Vince Zampella has died in a car accident. The crash took place on the 21st December at around 12:30pm in Los Angeles, according to news network NBC. Zampella was just 55 years old, and was killed alongside another person who was in the car at the time. Even if you don't know the name, you'll almost...
News Marathon Art Director Departs Bungie as the Game Enters Its Final Stretch
"I'll be enjoying playing the game as a fan"
Joseph Cross, the art director on Bungie's upcoming shooter Marathon, has announced his resignation from the company. Originally reported by Kotaku, Cross has now made this move official with a brief statement on social media: This comes just after Marathon's recent reintroduction following heavy...
News Sony Is Buying Snoopy for $457 Million in Surprise Acquisition
That'll cost more than Peanuts
Sony is buying Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and more characters from the Peanuts brand in a surprise deal worth $457 million. Charles M. Schulz’s iconic characters are particularly popular in Japan and Asia these days, where you’ll see all kinds of merchandise collaborations with retailers like Uniqlo and GU to name...
Sony review incoming
PlayStation Studios developer Naughty Dog has reportedly been enforcing mandatory overtime for its employees, as it attempts to get its next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, "back on track". This is according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, who writes that the project has missed "several" deadlines up until this point...
News 'I Don't Think Prompting Is Art': The Last of Us Co-Creator Isn't a Fan of Generative AI
Bruce Straley has his say
Generative AI continues to be a very hot topic among the gaming community, and this week has seen some interesting swings on either side of the debate. CEO of Larian Studios, Swen Vincke, caused a lot of upset with his comments on how the team is utilising the controversial tools in the production of its next game,...
News Sucker Punch Enters a New Era as Co-Founder Brian Fleming Departs
New studio heads confirmed
In a move that seems to have been planned behind-the-scenes for quite some time, Sucker Punch co-founder Brian Fleming has announced his departure from the Seattle-based studio after three decades of service. The bigwig has overseen the creation of legendary PlayStation series such as Sly Cooper, inFAMOUS, and most...
"The situation is what it is"
To a T, the latest slice of life game by Katamari Damacy maker Keita Takahashi, “did not sell well”. The title, which features a child stuck in a perpetual T-pose, deals with the subject of physical disability and “fitting in” when your appearance is different. But the idea failed to resonate with players, and...
Publisher denies considering studio mergers
While you should expect Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 to remain one of the better selling games of the year, all signs suggest it’s seriously underperformed by series standards. That prompted notorious franchise snoop The Ghost of Hope to make some startling revelations on social media this week. As part...
News Want a Three Minute Slot During The Game Awards? That'll Be $1 Million, Please
Reported costs are sky high
The Game Awards is arguably the biggest event in the gaming calendar nowadays, and it sounds like Geoff Keighley's glitzy Los Angeles awards show is enormously expensive to be a part of. In a report from Kotaku, anonymous sources "familiar with this year’s show" say that a one-minute trailer during the show costs up to...
News 'Deeply Concerning': GTA Dev's Alleged Union Busting Has Now Reached the UK Prime Minister
Rockstar to be officially investigated
Rockstar Games has been in the news lately, not just because it's working on the biggest game on the horizon, GTA 6, but also because it abruptly fired tens of staff members. It's a move that those affected are claiming is union busting, and it's led to protests and pleas in a bid to reinstate th
News Almost Killed by Xbox Layoffs, John Romero's Next Game Has 'Survived'
But it will be quite different now
Legendary game creator John Romero has confirmed his next project has "survived cancellation" after Microsoft cut its funding for the project as part of a wave of layoffs earlier this year. Speaking at a video game expo in Madrid, Spain (via Eurogamer), Romero announced during a panel that the game had been saved,...
News Netflix Says Warner Bros Games Doesn't Hold 'Any Value' in $82 Billion Acquisition
Game plan
In case you missed the big news, Netflix has entered into an agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal worth a stonking $82 billion. While this primarily concerns the movie and TV business, the deal also includes Warner Bros. Games and all its subsidiaries and IPs, including NetherRealm Studios (Mortal Kombat), Rocksteady...
Nobody can, by the sound of it
China has entered the video game space in a massive way over the last few years, and Shuhei Yoshida, formerly one of PlayStation's most beloved executives, reckons studios in the country have a big advantage over those in Japan. Speaking in an interview with 4Gamer (translated by Automaton),
News Key Square Enix Shareholder Publicly Criticises Weak Game Sales, Company Management
Square one
One of Square Enix's major shareholders has doubled down on its criticisms of the publisher, to the point where it's publicly released a 100-page presentation (yes, really) in an attempt to highlight its perceived problems. The shareholder in question is Singapore-based activist investment fund 3D Investment Partners, which as alluded,...
News Xbox Ruthlessly Cancelled Perfect Dark, But Take-Two Just Hired Its Directors
After trying to rescue the project earlier this year
For whatever reason, Take-Two loves the version of Perfect Dark that The Initiative had cooking. In fact, it’s just hired the shuttered studio’s boss Darrell Gallagher and the game’s director Brian Horton. So, some background to this story first. You may recall that Microsoft cancelled its...
Rumour Dead Space Is 'On Ice', Could Be Sold Off to Help Cover EA's Acquisition Debt
Despite remake's success
Even though 2023's Dead Space remake was a hit both critically and commercially, publisher EA apparently has "no plans" to develop another instalment in the series. And perhaps even more revealing, there's now talk of the company selling the horror IP off, in a bid to correct the debt that'll inevitably envelop EA when its...
News Hogwarts Legacy, Mortal Kombat Publisher Warner Bros Bought for $82 Billion by Netflix
Harry Potter, Game of Thrones IPs included
Netflix has entered into an agreement to acquire Warner Bros Discovery for $82.7 billion, which includes the publisher's video game developers and IPs. This means that, should the deal go through, the ownership of Mortal Kombat team NetherRealm Studios, the Hogwarts Legacy developer Avalanche, and other...
News This RAM Crisis Is Looking Like a Nightmare for the PS6
RAMpage
It’s not been an easy generation for console manufacturers like PlayStation. Sony has had to contend with the coronavirus pandemic and the impact that subsequently had on supply chains. Then it’s had to deal with rising component costs and US tariffs. And now it’s navigating a RAM crisis. While word is the platform holder has...
News Here Are All the Winners from This Year's PlayStation Partner Awards in Japan
Top picks
Earlier today, Sony held its annual PlayStation Partner Awards ceremony in Japan. The event is designed to recognise the output of third-parties and indies, with the platform holder handing out awards to recognise the titles which have contributed to the PS5’s success over the past year. This has actually been an annual tradition ever...
News Sounds Like Saudi Arabia Will Own Almost All of EA After Buyout
And the publisher will be saddled with debt
EA will be acquired by a consortium including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, alongside US-based investment firms Silver Lake and Affinity Partners. This much we already know. However, an exclusive report from the
News Splinter Cell Remake Gets Its Original Game Director Back
David Grivel rejoins after three years away
There's newfound hope the Splinter Cell Remake will one day release, as the project's first game director has rejoined development on the title three years after his departure. David Grivel posted to his LinkedIn profile one week ago that he was "very happy to announce that I'm rejoining Ubisoft Toronto...
Success wasn't sexy
One of the biggest stories of the PS4 is how Mark Cerny designed a developer-first console which returned Sony to its position as market leader. While the PS3 eventually sold well, it endured a particularly tough time, owing to its complicated architecture which made making games for it a challenge. First-party developers like...
News Sony Accused of Using Generative AI Art for PlayStation Advent Calendar Promo
Here we go again
Sony is the latest organisation to be taken to task for appearing to make use of AI generated artwork. Fortunately, this doesn’t relate to a game, and is instead part of an advent calendar promotion which appears to be targeting Canadian, German, French, and Dutch gamers primarily. As of yet, we’ve not seen any reference of it...
News Nintendo Buys Singapore Studio Behind Papercraft PS5 Console Exclusive Hirogami
Will be renamed Nintendo Studios Singapore
Nintendo will buy Bandai Namco Studios Singapore, the dev behind this year’s papercraft PS5 console exclusive Hirogami. The team – which was founded 12 years ago, in 2013 – has worked as a support studio on a variety of different projects, including Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown and SoulCalibur 6. But...
News Bloodlines 2 Publisher Accepts the Blame Over $37 Million Failure
"Responsibility lies fully with us as the publisher"
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 publisher Paradox Interactive has announced it is writing down $37 million in development costs after sales of the vampire title failed to meet expectations. It's also taking ownership over the overall release's failure, including the lukewarm critical...
News Suddenly the PS5 Pro Doesn't Look That Expensive Anymore
DRAM currently costs more than an entire console
Ever since the pandemic in 2020, it feels like we’ve been bouncing from one global crisis to another. In the tech sphere specifically, we’ve seen semi-conductor shortages and tariffs impact products like gaming consoles. Now, the AI boom is having a profound effect on the price of DRAM, with...
News Xbox Devs 'Thrilled' to Be Bringing Their Games to PS5
Happy days
Many of Xbox’s first-party studios are allegedly “thrilled” to be able to bring their games to the PS5, according to Bloomberg’s highly reliable Jason Schreier. Last year, Microsoft announced plans to bring “four” exclusive titles to Sony’s console. This eventually snowballed to the point where practically every tentpole...
News Valve Won't Subsidise Steam Machine, Expected to Be Pricier Than More Powerful PS5
"It's more in line with current PC market"
We don’t know the price of Valve’s new Steam Machine and that means it’s difficult to determine just how competitive it’ll be against the PS5. But a report that’s doing the rounds via Linus Tech Tips suggests the new console-like hardware won’t necessarily be going head-to-head with Sony’s...
News Ubisoft Is All In on Generative AI, Says It's as Big a Leap in Tech as the 'Shift to 3D'
Generative game
Publisher Ubisoft is making no secret of its plans to utilise generative AI tech — at least, it certainly sounds that way in new comments from CEO Yves Guillemot. The controversial technology has been a hot topic of discussion in the industry for a while now, and as it begins to feed into the games we're playing, it's rubbing some...
News New Report Finds Almost Half of US Kids Are After In-Game Currency for Christmas
Good luck wrapping that
In a sign of the times that makes us feel old, a new report has found that nearly half of the USA's children are planning to ask for in-game currencies this Christmas. A survey conducted by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) asked over 700 kids about video game gifts, with nearly three out of five respondents...
News Tomb Raider Dev Loses Another 30 Staff in New Round of Layoffs
Crystal Dynamics shrinks again
Crystal Dynamics, the development studio currently working on a new Tomb Raider game, has announced a round of layoffs hitting the company. The news comes via a post on the company's LinkedIn page, where it states just under 30 job cuts "across various departments and projects" in a bid to "restructure the company and...
News Stellar Blade Success Helps Korean Games Thrive, Ex PlayStation Boss Believes
Shu Yoshida praises Shift Up title
The success of PS5, PC action title Stellar Blade is the sort of catalyst that could propel the Korean games industry into the mainstream, former PlayStation president Shuhei Yoshida believes. In an interview with Minimap at the G-Star games exhibition in Busan, Korea, the former PlayStation lead discussed the...
News Sony Speaks on Bungie Acquisition Disaster, Takes an 'Impairment Loss'
Sales, user engagement fallen short of expectations
Sony's $3.6 billion purchase of Destiny 2 developer Bungie has, for all intents and purposes, been an utter disaster, and the PS5, PS4 hardware maker all but knows it at this point. Having bought the studio to assist its push into the live-service space, Sony has cancelled multiple multiplayer...
News The UK Government Shoots Down 'Stop Killing Games' Campaign in Official Debate
At least the words "Crash Bandicoot" were spoken in parliament
Last week, the UK's governing body held an official debate about the Stop Killing Games campaign, and it seems nothing will change — for now, at the very least. Stop Killing Games is a consumer rights campaign that, broadly, asks for alternative ways to play online games once they...
News Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail Dev Turns to Unreal Engine 5 Realism for Next Project
Mentioned on recruitment website
Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail maker HoYoverse is on top of the world right now, and it’s releasing new games at a steady pace. Long-time fans will note two new titles were revealed recently: the Animal Crossing-inspired Petit Planet (which is curr
News Don't Expect Any PS5 Exclusives from Square Enix in the Future
That era is over
We know Square Enix is deeply invested in its new multiformat strategy, but new documentation from the publisher reveals just how much its banking on the initiative. In a presentation part of its latest financial results, it dedicated a slide to “strengthening consumer contact points”, which in essence shows a list of PS5...
"Rockstar can't get away with this"
Rockstar management was underfire last week after sacking approximately 30-40 employees across its UK and Canadian offices. Labour leaders alleged that the firings were related to the staffers’ attempt to unionise, but the GTA giant has hit back at the claims. In a statement to Bloomberg, the firm said it took...
News Square Enix Wants 70% of Its QA and Debugging Work Done by Gen AI
Hopes to reach the figure by the end of 2027
Square Enix, unfortunately, looks to be another video games firm embracing generative AI, as it posts plans to have 70% of its development QA and debugging handled by the controversial method by the end of 2027. As part of a progress report in its medium-term business plan, the publisher confirmed it's...
News Study Claims Physical PS5 Games Are 100 Times Worse for the Planet Than Digital Downloads
Fresh perspective
Those of you who prefer to purchase physical games may have another factor to consider moving forward: their impact on the planet. A fascinating report by French carbon accounting firm Greenly, as published by GamesIndustry.biz, delves into the environmental cost of buying Blu-rays as opposed to digital downloads. The study...
News Remakes Eclipse Remasters for PS5 Gamers, Generate Double the Money
New research report reveals
Remakes of older video games generate double the money than remasters, research conducted over the past two years has revealed. Ampere Analysis examined 15 remakes and 27 remasters between January 2024 and September 2025, and discovered that spending worldwide is, on average, 2.2x higher on remakes compared to remasters...
News EA Believes AI Will Empower Its Employees to Put 'Creativity First'
A "thoughtful, steady" approach
If you’re already tired of reading about the impact of AI on both the games industry and the world at large, strap yourself in for more of the same. We’re on the precipice right now. EA is one company already all-in on the technology, with Business Insider recently reporting on how management from the Californian...
Public voting now open
Public voting for the Golden Joystick Awards 2025's most talked-about prize is now open. The annual awards show takes place later this month, on the 20th November, and features public voting across a wide range of categories. But as alluded, 'Ultimate Game of the Year' is the big one. 12 titles have been nominated, and...
News Dragon Quest Creator Yuji Horii Becomes First Game Dev to Receive Japanese Government Award
Quest complete
Living Dragon Quest legend Yuji Horii just made history in his native Japan. The 71 year old has received the 'Order of the Rising Sun' — a government-issued honour that recognises outstanding service within a particular field. Horii's the first game developer to ever claim the award; in the past, it's been presented to prominent...
News Sony Stands with Japan's Creators in AI Copyright Crackdown
Anime giants unite against Sora 2
Sony’s anime subsidiary Aniplex is one of several major Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) members who’s requested the organisation write to OpenAI about the unauthorised training of its content by video generator Sora 2. Sora 2 allows users to write prompts in order to create short videos and...
News Generative AI Won't Be Creating the Next GTA, Says Take-Two Boss
"You end up with something pretty derivative"
Most video game publishers seem to agree — to varying levels — that generative AI will have its uses in development. However, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick seems particularly sceptical about what it can achieve. Speaking at a technology summit recently, Zelnick shared his views on large language...
News Sony Bend's PS5 Game Cancellation Could Be Seen Coming, Says Ex Dev
Didn't make "enough substantial progress" in three years
A former employee of Days Gone developer Bend Studio has commented that the cancellation of the team's live service game could be seen coming prior to it being made official. According to Robert Morrison, who spent almost three years at the developer (from July 2022 to June 2025) as a senior...
"In all these 26 years, no one ever told me"
An excellent article from our friends at Time Extension revealed recently how close Hideo Kojima potentially came to creating a game based on seminal action movie The Matrix. According to Christopher Bergstresser, a former vice president of licensing at Konami Digital Entertainment, the Wachowskis were...
News 'Significant' Layoffs Are Set to Hit Amazon Game Studios
Company will downsize development efforts
Amazon Game Studios is set to feel the effects of a company-wide round of layoffs. As reported by Bloomberg, the number of people affected was not disclosed, only that the job cuts in the company's video game division will be "significant". Overall, the layoffs across the whole company will amount to an...
News EA's Game Development Is Very Quickly Becoming an AI-Driven Hellscape, Report Claims
From bad to worse
It feels like we're hurtling towards a future where big publishers value AI over actual employees, and so this new report on EA's current trajectory makes for some particularly dire reading. The colossal company, which, let's not forget, has agreed to be bought out by a Saudi-led investment consortium, is apparently forcing AI...
