Tag: Industry
News Sony Is Acting Unfairly Against Xbox in Japan, US Congress Members Say
Politics are coming for your PS5
In another twist for the surreal, the Biden administration is now being pressured by members of Congress from both sides of the political aisle to take decisive action on a supposed 'monopoly' held by PlayStation on the Japanese video game market. Some required reading on this one, as it all stems from comments made...
News Put a Pin in It! Ubisoft Pulls Out of E3 2023 As Well
French firm to present Ubisoft Forward instead
And that may be the final nail in the coffin, folks! Ubisoft, one of the few remaining publishers that had shown interest in attending E3 2023, has officially pulled out. The French firm had committed to the convention earlier in the year, promising it had a big slate of software to show. But in a...
News The Late Lance Reddick Will Return in Destiny 2, Horizon Forbidden West
Eyes Up
Last week brought news of the tragic passing of actor Lance Reddick, perhaps best known in the realm of video games for his iconic role as Commander Zavala in both Destiny and Destiny 2, as well as the enigmatic Sylens in Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West Developers and
News The Like a Dragon Team Definitely Didn't Get Much Sleep This Week
Kiryu's karaoke will have kept them awake
For as good as the Like a Dragon (formerly known as Yakuza, of course) games undoubtedly are, they all have two fairly consistent qualities: they’re long and they’re largely the same. Spare a thought for developer Ryu ga Gotoku Studio, then, who, not content with simply making the games, decided to...
News UK Regulator No Longer Concerned About Activision Buyout's Impact on Console Competition
Update: Activision rips into Sony in response to updated findings
Update: Activision Blizzard has released a gleeful response in relation to the UK regulators’ softened stance today. “The CMA’s updated provisional findings show an improved understanding of the console gaming market and demonstrate a commitment to supporting players and...
News Microsoft Thinks It Hasn't 'Pulled Any Games' from PS5, PS4
Reckons it's brought more games to PlayStation
Microsoft has today responded to the news of a cancelled PS5 version of Redfall by saying it hasn't "pulled any games from PlayStation". In fact, the platform holder thinks it's actually "expanded our footprint of games that we've shipped on Sony's PlayStation since our acquisition of ZeniMax, and the...
News US Senator Says Sony Has 'Monopoly' on High-End Japanese Game Market
You'll never guess her biggest campaign contributer
A new player has entered the neverending saga of Microsoft's proposed $69 billion dollar acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell (who represents the state of Washington) weighed in on the subject today in a rather confusing fashion. Spotted over
News Atari to Acquire Retro Restoration Specialists Nightdive Studios
"We could think of no better long-term partner"
As the video game industry matures, more and more emphasis is rightfully being placed on preservation and ensuring classics remain playable for future generations. One team that’s built its entire business model around bringing back some of the great releases from yesteryear is Nightdive Studios, and...
News Ubisoft Helps Out Its Writers by Implementing AI Tech to Do Their Job for Them
Thanks, Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a publisher unafraid of tackling new technology head-on. The company is always supportive of new platform launches, and seems willing to embrace cutting edge tech where possible — even the questionable stuff. It's already attempted to implement NFTs in its games with the Ubisoft Quartz initiative, which went about as...
News Horizon Maker Guerrilla Praises Profound Impact of Lance Reddick
Actor passes away aged just 60-years-old
Update: Guerrilla Games, the creator of the Horizon series, has released a tribute to actor Lance Reddick, following news his passing earlier this week. In the post, it thanks the star for bringing the character of Sylens to life, and goes on to praise him for his “generous warmth and inimitable...
News FIFA 25 Will Take on EA Sports FC, Promises Re-Elected Gianni Infantino
"News on this very soon"
Gianni Infantino, the head of football’s governing body FIFA, says that it will have news “very soon” on a rival to EA Sports FC, following EA Sports’ decision to drop the iconic license. The recently re-elected president – who is presiding over controversial tournament changes, like the expansion of the World Cup...
News PlayStation Legend Shuhei Yoshida to Be Awarded the BAFTA Fellowship
Top honours for Sony exec
Shuhei Yoshida, one of PlayStation's best and most beloved executives, is to be recognised for his achievements at this year's BAFTA Games Awards. During the awards ceremony, he'll be given the BAFTA Fellowship award, the organisation's top honour. The BAFTA Fellowship is a 'Hall of Fame' style award, recognising...
News Disco Elysium Creatives Drop 'Unfair Dismissal' Cases Against Developer ZA/UM
It might not be "the end" but it's the end of something
In something of a conclusion to our now five-part coverage of the messy legal spat between studio ZA/UM and some of the key creatives responsible for Disco Elysium, the developer has announced that several legal cases against it have been resolved. For the sanity of this humble scribe, we...
News Sony Concerned Microsoft Could, Knowingly or Not, Sabotage Call of Duty on PlayStation
The knives come out
It's time to return to everyone's favourite ongoing story in games, namely, the war of words between Microsoft and Sony in regard to the former's intent to purchase publisher Activision Blizzard. In the latest turn, Sony has voiced concern that should the acquisition come to pass, future Call of Duty titles on PlayStation could...
News Take-Two Says Layoffs Necessary for 'Another Extended Period of Success'
"We have experienced exponential growth in recent years"
Take-Two, the publisher of Grand Theft Auto, Borderlands and many other well-known gaming franchises, has confirmed the reports of layoffs taking place at the company, stating that "we are taking these necessary steps to position the company for another extended period of success." Take-Two...
News Sony Has Approximately $5 Billion Left for Acquisitions and Investments
But not specifically for PlayStation
All the way back in 2021, Sony revealed that it had earmarked around ¥2 trillion (~$18 billion) for strategic investments across its entire company, which expanded to the acquisition of developers like Housemarque and Bungie, as well as anime streaming service
News Aragami Developer Lince Works Sadly Shuts Down in April
Aragami, Aragami 2 aren't going anywhere
Barcelona-based indie developer Lince Works will be closing its doors this April, the company has confirmed. The sad news broke earlier today, when the studio released a statement on its current situation. Lince Works explains: "The last couple of years have been particularly difficult as we shifted towards...
News Surprise! God of War Ragnarok the UK's Best-Selling First-Party PS5, PS4 Game of 2022
Most copies sold physically
A new report has emerged online, shining the spotlight on the UK's entertainment markets in 2022. If you're at all interested in entertainment media and how it all hangs together, it's worth a read. Of course, it's stuffed with facts and figures about last year's video games and hardware, including some info on Sony's...
News Funko Pop Tossing Over $30 Million Worth of Stock into a Landfill
More like Junko
In a not-so environmentally friendly move, Funko Pop is chucking an estimated $30 to $36 million of unsold stock into a landfill. The company claims that storing the excess inventory is costing it a fortune, thus it’s willing to write the figurines off and funnel them into the ground, where they’ll remain until the end of time...
"There. I said it"
The Last of Us co-creator and long-time Naughty Dog game director Bruce Straley has sparked a developer debate on social media, after declaring that linear games are easier to make. The insinuation here is that titles which have a set path, like perhaps Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, take less of a toll on teams than giant open...
News European Union Likely to Pass Xbox's $69 Billion Buyout of Activision
Money talks
According to a Reuters report, the European Union will apparently not object to Microsoft’s unprecedented $69 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard. The Redmond firm went on a charm offensive in Brussels last week, signing a variety of deals with Nintendo and NVidia GeForce Now, promising Call of Duty for at least the n
News Square Enix President Yosuke Matsuda Set to Step Down This Summer
After ten years at the top
It looks like Square Enix is going to be making changes at the summit of its corporate ladder later this year. In a new business memo, the Japanese publisher has revealed its plans to replace Yosuke Matsuda as the company's president, subject to approval from shareholders in June 2023. Matsuda is set to be succeeded by...
News Former Sonic Team Boss Yuji Naka Admits to Insider Trading
In ongoing legal proceedings
The embattled former head of Sonic Team, Yuji Naka, has reportedly admitted to charges of insider trading in relation to shares worth around £865k. We brought you news back in November that Naka had been arrested after a suspicious trade in shares of Japanese developer Aiming. Following that story and awaiting trial,...
News Sony Must Share Details of Exclusivity Deals with Microsoft in FTC's Court Hearing
The saga continues
We hope you're not bored of this yet, but it's time once again to talk about Microsoft's industry-shaking attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard. The deal, worth a ridiculous $69 billion, would see the company absorb ActiBlizz and all its intellectual property. The convergence of two such large publishers has caused concerns about...
News Sony Wants to Make PlayStation the Best Place to Play Third-Party Games
For both PS5 and PSVR2
Third-party exclusives are becoming less common these days, which means platform holders like Sony need to find savvy ways to entice players into their ecosystem. This can be done, one exec says, by making PlayStation the best place to play. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, head of third-party portfolio and...
News Riding High on PS5 Success, Sony Was AMD's Biggest Customer Last Year
Making money moves
Sony was AMD's biggest customer in 2022, accounting for a whopping 16% of the semiconductor-producing company's revenue, perhaps best known in the video game space for its graphics cards. Both Sony and Microsoft use AMD hardware in their current-gen consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. AMD sold Sony some $3.776...
News EA Reportedly Lays Off More Than 200 Apex Legends QA Testers in Unscheduled Zoom Call
Out of the blue
During a surprise Zoom call, EA reportedly laid off more than 200 quality assurance testers. The employees affected worked primarily at Electronic Arts' Baton Rouge, Louisiana office on the mega-popular battle royale Apex Legends, developed by Respawn Entertainment. As reported by Kotaku, sources familiar with the meeting said that...
News Analysts Expect PS5 to Extend Lead on Xbox Series X|S in 2023
Well, yeah
In arguably the safest prediction since “the sun will rise tomorrow”, analysts are predicting that the PS5 will increase its lead on Xbox Series X|S in 2023. According to data analysis group Ampere, Sony commanded about 45 per cent of the console market last year, but shortages of its new-gen console caused it to cede some ground to...
News Forspoken Dev Luminous Productions Will Soon Be No More as It's Folded into Square Enix
Forspoken support still coming
Luminous Productions, the development team behind Forspoken, will merge with publisher Square Enix on the 1st May. The Japanese outfit was already a subsidiary of Square Enix, so this essentially means that it'll no longer exist as its own studio. Instead, we assume that most of its employees will be moved to various...
News Beyond Good & Evil 2 Reportedly Loses Studio Head, French Labor Investigation Begins
Not a great sign, honestly
In the latest twist in the ongoing Beyond Good & Evil 2 development debacle, managing director and studio head Guillaume Carmona has reportedly left Ubisoft Montpellier, and the studio itself is being investigated by French government labour authorities. As reported by Kotaku, the staff a
News Dragon Age: Origins Writer Thinks It's Time For 'PS5-Era Bells and Whistles' Remaster
So two thousand and late
Dragon Age: Origins writer David Gaider thinks it's time for a "PS5-era bells and whistles" remaster, presumably with 4K visuals running at 60fps, with haptic integration, and we can't help but agree. Gaider was musing on Twitter that, given the current appetite for high-quality remasters and remakes from the 2000s (such as...
News Legendary Game Designer Shinji Mikami Leaving Tango Gameworks
You know when you've been Tango'd
Update: Bethesda has confirmed Shinji Mikami's exit from Tango Gameworks in a short statement on social media: Original Story: Shinji Mikami, founder and CEO of Tango Gameworks, is set to leave the studio "in the coming months". That's according to a new report from TrueAchievements, citing a company-wide email...
News Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Gets Real in Behind the Scenes Like a Dragon Doco
Rise, like a dragon
Like a Dragon: Ishin! is out in the wild now, and we loved it. But, if you are anything like us, you always need a little more Ryu Ga Gotoku in your life, so why not whet your whistle with the first of a three-part documentary looking at life at the studio itself? This first episode, entitled A Dragon Reborn, takes a look at...
News Get Out, M3gan Production Company Blumhouse Announces Indie Horror Gaming Division
Good news for fans of scary things
Blumhouse Productions is a multimedia company responsible for some of the biggest horror movies of the last two decades, including M3gan, Get Out, Paranormal Activity, Sinister, Insidious and The Purge. It was announced today that the company would establish a new gaming division called Blumhouse Games. Blumhouse...
News Xbox on Charm Offensive to Push $69 Billion Activision Acquisition Through
Squeaky bum time
Microsoft is in Brussels today, trying to convince the European Commission that it should be allowed to acquire Activision Blizzard for an eye-watering $69 billion sum. Both the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority and the United States’ Federal
News Developer Don't Nod Has a Large-Scale RPG Currently in Production
Known as Project 12
French developer Don't Nod has quite a few pies in the oven, a half dozen of them, in fact. We recently got a look at one of them, the Byzantine-sounding Harmony: The Fall of Reverie, and have seen
News E3 2023 Organisers Insist Full Speed Ahead with News in the Next Few Weeks
Ubisoft insinuated there may not be an event to go to
Update: Following the comments from Ubisoft, E3 2023 organisers Reed Pop have released the following statement: "E3 is full speed ahead and we are pleased with the progress and engagement from the community. As we have confirmed exhibitors we are eager to share more as details get cemented and...
News Key Members at Firaxis Depart in Big Studio Overhaul
New Civilization game in the works
Marvel's Midnight Suns and XCOM director Jake Solomon and studio head Steve Martin have both announced they will be leaving Firaxis as the studio undergoes an overhaul. The shakeup sees Heather Hazen promoted to studio head, who joined the developer in 2020. All revealed in a 2K press release, a new Civilization...
News Some Fans Are So Invested in Xbox's Activision Acquisition They're Tracking a Sony Plane
Ryan air
The obsessive interest in Microsoft’s eye-watering $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard has hit new highs – or lows, depending on your perspective – as fans have taken to tracking the flights of a private Sony jet. A strangely engaged fanbase has discovered that a plane from London to Seattle was charted on 6th February,...
News Saints Row Sales Flop Forces Parent Company to Change Its Policy on New Games
"Each project has to earn its right to exist"
Embracer Group, the company that ultimately funded last year's Saints Row reboot, has had to re-evaluate its approach to greenlighting new games. In the firm's latest financial report, it essentially admits that the new Saints Row didn't meet sales expectations, while assuring investors that it's...
News Microsoft Can't Deny Xbox Game Pass Cannibalises Software Sales
Redmond firm releases statement
Update: Following a wave of reporting based on documentation from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority which suggested what we all suspected, that Xbox Game Pass is harming full-price software sales, the Redmond firm has released a statement to Kotaku which fails to deny the claims: "Xbox Game Pass offers...
News Sony May Have Added Another First-Party Studio to Its Roster
That's the rumour, anyway
Sony may have purchased UK-based developer Ballistic Moon, a team rumoured to be working on an Unreal Engine 5-powered AAA narrative-based single player adventure for the PS5. It’s strongly speculated that the Japanese giant is publishing this game, and therefore if progress is impressing executives, an acquisition...
News Bobby Kotick Says Sony Is 'Trying to Sabotage' Microsoft's Activision Bid
War of words
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has accused Sony of "trying to sabotage" Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of the company and claims that PlayStation boss Jim Ryan has "stopped talking" to both parties involved. In an interview with the Financial Times, Kotick stated that 'Sony’s entire leadership team stopped talking to...
News The Last of Us' Insane Popularity Leads to Illegal Scams
Don't Clicker the link
Cybercriminals are capitalising on the explosion of interest in The Last of Us, following the release of HBO’s critically acclaimed show. Naughty Dog’s survival horror is one of the biggest brands around right now, and it’s proving fertile ground for felons looking to phish personal information from unsuspecting fans...
News UK Determines Xbox's $69 Billion Activision Buyout Could Harm Gamers
May result in "higher prices, fewer choices, or less innovation"
Microsoft’s eye-watering $69 billion proposal to purchase Activision Blizzard has been the source of intense scrutiny from global governments for nearly a year now, but the UK’s regulator has released a provisional report today which says it “could harm gamers” and potentially...
News PS Plus, Xbox Game Pass Aren't Big Enough to Impact Business, Says Take-Two Boss
Not yet, anyway
Gaming subscription services like PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass have almost certainly had an impact on how we in the hardcore sphere perceive the value of video games — but they're yet to have a truly significant impact on how big publishers do business. At least, that's what Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has to say on the matter. The...
News PS2's Best-Selling Console Crown in Jeopardy As Nintendo Switch Passes PS4
Only a matter of time
PS4 was a big success, right? Sure, but the Nintendo Switch is shaping up to be something else entirely. As part of its quarterly results, the House of Mario announced overnight that its hybrid console has now surpassed over 122.5 units sold worldwide, which actually puts it ahead of Sony’s previous platform. While the PS4 is...
Talking Point Should Sony Be Worried by Live Service Implosion?
Boom or bust
Last week, several live service games announced they are shutting down. These titles included critically acclaimed games like Knockout City and Rumbleverse, releases which had been well-received by both players and the media, but had seemingly failed to attract a large enough playerbase to make sustaining them worth the ongoing outlay.
Random The Last of Us' Pedro Pascal Stars in Gritty Super Mario Kart Skit
Magic mushrooms
Here’s the star of HBO’s hit The Last of Us adaptation Pedro Pascal like you’ve never seen him before: playing Super Mario in a gritty SNL skit inspired by Nintendo’s hit kart racing franchise. The spoof – which aired overnight, on 4th February – sees The Last of Us hero kitted out in a red hat and dungarees, as he hits...
News Sony Shakes Up Corporate Ladder by Promoting Exec Obsessed with Growth
On the up
A barnstorming quarter – which generated a record-breaking $9.6 billion in revenue for the PlayStation division alone – has prompted some shake ups within Sony’s upper-management hierarchy. CFO Hiroki Totoki has been promoted to president, active from 1st April, which marks the beginning of the next financial year. Potentially with...
