Tag: Industry
News PS5's Regional Pricing Switch Has Players Concerned Yet Again, Here's What's Happening
The price is right?
Vague posting on social media this weekend has PlayStation players irate with Sony yet again, this time because of regional pricing changes “in selected countries in Latin America and the Middle East”. The first trio of nations affected are Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and they should be noted because they will lose...
News 'It's Totally, Totally Irrelevant': GameStop Boss Unfazed by Sony's Physical Discs Decision
Company focused on collectibles and trading cards
GameStop’s business used to revolve around the sale of physical games, both new and used. But bizarrely that’s no longer the case, with just 18% of its revenue hinging on software from the likes of Sony et al these days. Unsurprisingly, then, CEO Ryan Cohen is completely unfazed by...
News Claims Sony Has Disabled YouTube Comments Over Physical Disc Backlash Are Not True
Despite reports
There are reports doing the rounds, initially published by Kotaku, that Sony has disabled comments on its YouTube channel. This is, at the time I’m writing this, not true. Multiple trailers have been uploaded to the platform holder’s account today, all with comments enabled as far as I can tell. The one without comments...
News Irate PlayStation Fans Want You to Buy Games Anywhere But PS5
Disc debacle is really beginning to bite
Irate PlayStation fans are now encouraging their followers to buy great third-party and indie games elsewhere, as the fallout from Sony’s decision to stop manufacturing physical discs rumbles on. As we reported recently, every time the Japanese giant promotes a game on its social media accounts, it’s...
News 'We're Excited to Support the Dev of Memorable Experiences': Ex-Xbox Dev Looking for Work
Compulsion Games "expanding opportunities to collaborate"
It seems like South of Midnight maker Compulsion Games, formerly part of Xbox Game Studios and recently spun-off as an independent entity, will keep the lights on by offering support services for other devs. As part of a LinkedIn statement, the studio said it’s “expanding op
Desert discs
Sony’s own financial data may show the share of physical games compared to digital is dwindling, but it still represents a significant sum of money. And arguing in favour of retailers, UK trade group the Entertainment Retailer’s Association has predictably hit back at the platform holder’s plans to stop manufacturing physical...
News Sony's Social Media Still Toxic Two Weeks After PS5 Discs Debacle
What a mess
It’s been two weeks since Sony announced its intent to stop manufacturing physical discs, a story which has undeniably dominated the games industry – even in the wake of mass layoffs at Xbox. And the storm is beginning to reach its partners, none of which can promote their games without seeing a wave of responses from irate fans...
News Here Come the Lawsuits! Sony's Physical Disc Debacle Likely to Keep Its Lawyers Busy
Manufacturer already fighting multiple lawsuits
If you’re a lawyer working for Sony’s legal department, you may want to rest up while you have the opportunity – a multitude of lawsuits are coming your way. The platform holder – already battling various suits around the world regarding its control of the PS Store – is about to be faced...
News PS5's Physical Disc Debacle Will Attract More Anger if This Xbox Rumour Is True
Next week could be interesting
The initial wave of anger over Sony’s decision to cease manufacturing physical discs in 2028 has passed, and while the platform holder is still getting peppered with negative comments across all of its so
Rip and tear
A big theme of the Xbox layoffs this week has been just how hard they’ve hit several teams – and remember, this is just the first phase, with a further 1,600 job losses to come. By not closing any studios, Microsoft has broadly navigated the “
News 'Staff Are Being Asked to Do More with Less': Brutal Xbox Layoffs Leave Those Spared in Limbo
Remaining employees on tenterhooks
Xbox may have avoided the PR disaster of studio closures this week, but by extending its layoffs over the course of the coming fiscal year, it’s leaving any remaining staff to work under a cloud. The company cut 1,600 jobs across its division on Monday, with a further four first-party studios being spun-off or...
News Brazil Is Taking On Digital Games Ownership and Preservation After Sony Says No More Discs
The rest is politics
It appears that Brazil is concerning itself with matters relating to consumer rights when it comes to digital games. Federal deputy Jandira Feghali recently proposed a new bill, directly inspired by the Stop Killing Games movement, that aims to prevent online games from ceasing to exist when official support comes to an end...
"It will need to focus on hardcore gamers who spend more than ever"
A brilliant post from Niko Partners director Daniel Ahmad has delved deeply into Sony’s decision to stop manufacturing physical discs. Amid the emotional backlash, the analyst sticks purely to the facts, outlining the thinking behind the Japanese giant’s approach – without...
News Assassin's Creed Black Flag Remake Studio Faced with Layoffs Despite Successful Launch
Fool's gold
Publisher Ubisoft is laying off employees at its development studio Ubisoft Barcelona, many of whom worked on the just-launched Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced. These layoffs were planned and announced a while ago, but it's a story that's now resurfacing in the wake of the remake's arrival. A total of 51 members of staff are on...
Big ooft
One of the big stories of the generation has been the rise of PC gaming, and if a Push Square poll is to be believed, 45% of PlayStation enthusiasts are “seriously considering” making the switch to storefronts like Steam. In a survey voted in by over 6,500 of our readers, just 23% indicated they’d stick with PlayStation after a...
News The Elder Scrolls 6 Heavily Impacted by Xbox Layoffs, Team Morale at Rock Bottom
Over 50 people working on the RPG now gone
Work on The Elder Scrolls 6 has reportedly been heavily affected by the recent wave of Xbox layoffs, with more than 50 key employees at Bethesda Game Studios let go. The cuts have left team morale "shattered", with fears of crunch and delays to the final game spreading throughout the studio. That's...
News 'No Disc, No Buy': Even Metal Gear Solid's Snake Is Mad at Sony's Physical Games Decision
Snake! Snaaaaake!
Sony’s decision to cease manufacturing disc-based games starting January 2028 has attracted the ire of its fanbase, but that also includes some prominent names. Auteur Hideo Kojima has spoken about his concerns regarding the loss of physical media, and now Metal Gear voice actor David Hayter has spoken out. Writing
News 136 Jobs Lost at Legendary Dev id Software After Xbox Layoffs
A sad week
While it was good to see studios find new owners or retain their independence as part of this week’s Xbox layoffs, it’s important to remember 1,600 jobs were lost yesterday – with a further 1,600 to come over the next year. That’s approximately 20% of Microsoft’s gaming division, and it’s inevitably going to hit some studios...
News Backlash Against Sony's Disc-Free Future Continues as Petition Passes 200,000 Signatures
Make yourself heard
In case you somehow missed yesterday's news, PlayStation has announced its intent to discontinue the production of physical game discs starting in 2028. This means, in about 18 months' time, all new game releases on Sony's platforms will only be available via the PS Store; you may still be able to buy them in physical retailers,...
News PlayStation's First Post Since Physical Games Debacle Draws Over 65k Replies
None of them are nice
Well, if you were an optimistic social media manager, you might say Sony’s new FlexStrike arcade stick is the most talked about accessory in gaming history. The manufacturer went almost a week without posting on social media after announcing its decision to stop manufacturing physical games
News The Elder Scrolls Online's Future Looks Bleak as Dev 'Decimated' by Xbox Layoffs
Previously revealed roadmaps will change
If you’re a fan of The Elder Scrolls Online, then you may want to brace yourself for a bleaker future, as the team at Zenimax Online Studios has been “decimated” by Xbox’s recent layoffs. As we reported earlier with regards to both Obsidian and id Software, Microsoft may hav
News James Bond, Hitman Studio's Project Fantasy Still Coming After Xbox Cuts
But the Istanbul team is forced to close
IO Interactive has confirmed its previously Xbox-funded game, currently codenamed Project Fantasy, won't be cancelled following the cuts both Microsoft made and the developer itself was forced into. A new
This isn't pretty
Sony has seemingly abandoned all of its social media accounts after today’s controversial decision to stop manufacturing physical games in 2028. The manufacturer posted on its X (or Twitter) account today to confirm the news, and hasn’t updated since. Ordinarily it’d share today’s PS Plus Essential update with its...
News Gigantic Xbox Layoffs See The Outer Worlds Dev Obsidian Lose 25% of Workforce
RPG studio impacted
Obsidian Entertainment, the Xbox first-party studio behind The Outer Worlds, Avowed, and Grounded, has reportedly lost around 25% of its staff as Microsoft cuts thousands of jobs across its gaming brand. These Obsidian-specific layoffs were not mentioned earlier in the day when the bad news first broke. Instead, they're being...
News Practically Every Comment on PlayStation's YouTube Is Now About Physical Discs
Even old videos are getting picketed
Sony has abandoned social media and I don’t expect it to return until at least next week now. Of course, part of its promise to third-party publishers is to promote their trailers, and so its YouTube has been adding new videos – sporadically. Unfortunately for those companies trying to advertise their...
News Newly Independent Devs Thank Xbox and Keep IP Rights to Their Games
Titles still belong to them
No longer part of the Microsoft first-party umbrella, Psychonauts 2 developer Double Fine and South of Midnight studio Compulsion Games have thanked the Xbox maker for the seven years under its wing. In addition, both teams confirm they have taken the IP rights to their games with them. Therefore, Double Fine still has...
News Bethesda Reducing Workforce, Refocusing on Its Biggest Franchises Amid Xbox Layoffs
Elder Scrolls, Fallout, DOOM, more
If you're keeping up, you'll know that Xbox has just announced sweeping layoffs across its business, eliminating more than 3,000 jobs over the next year and divesting several of its first-party studios. ZeniMax Media, which houses publisher Bethesda Softworks as well as numerous development studios, will feel some...
News 5 Xbox Studios Impacted in Microsoft Layoffs, But No Games Cancelled
All publicly confirmed projects remain in the works
As part of today's Microsoft layoffs within the Xbox division, it has been shared that five first-party developers are either being let go to return to independence, sold off to someone else, or are looking at other avenues. The studios and their fates are: Double Fine (Psychonauts) —...
News 'I Know This Is Painful': Xbox Confirms 3,200 Job Losses in Industry Bloodbath
Multiple teams exit Xbox Game Studios
Xbox has confirmed that an eye-watering 3,200 employees across the division will lose their jobs, in one of the most significant industry shake-ups of all time. This is part of a broader Microsoft downsizing, which will see 4,800 people out of work. According to the company, 1,600 jobs will be lost today,...
News PS5 Fans Panic Over 'Lost Games' Clause, But There's More to the Story
Never a dull day
A clause in the European version of PlayStation’s Terms of Service has caused confusion and chaos this weekend, as fans rally against the company’s decision to cease manufacturing physical games in January 2028. As can be the case with social media, though, a lot of the reactions don’t take into account the greater context of...
News Sony Will Have Capacity to Continue Manufacturing Some Game Discs Beyond 2028 Cut-Off Date
Re-orders will be available for existing games
Call it copium, but a small window of opportunity for Sony to reverse its decision on physical discs has opened. A letter to publishers from the platform holder reveals they “will still be able to place re-orders for existing PlayStation disc games” after the January 2028 cut-off date. The tidbit,...
News Sony Rewarded with Soaring Stocks After Revealing All-Digital Future
Us vs them
Fans are furious with PlayStation for announcing its intent to kill physical games, but shareholders are not. Sony’s stocks have risen since 1st July, when the manufacturer confirmed its intent to cease manufacturing disc-based games in January 2028. The Japan
News Even Politicians Are Commenting on Sony's Decision to Stop Making Physical Games
"Games are not mere merchandise"
As news of Sony’s decision to stop making physical games starts to circulate, even politicians are beginning to weigh in on the topic. French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon has been particularly vocal about the transition to an all-digital future, and unsurprisingly he’s come out swinging against...
News 'It's a Fairly Dramatic Decision': Shawn Layden Reacts to PlayStation's All-Digital Plan
Former Sony suit weighs in
Shawn Layden, former head of PlayStation Studios, has provided his view on Sony's shocking announcement that it'll cease producing game discs starting in 2028. The industry veteran, still beloved by PlayStation fans long after his departure in 2019, has spoken about the matter in an interview with Eurogamer. "I had no...
News Sony Already Retraining Staff at PS5 Game Disc Manufacturing Facility
Has been planning this for "some time"
If you’d hoped the backlash to Sony’s boneheaded decision to cease manufacturing game discs in 2028 could be reversed, a new report coming out of Austria makes it incredibly unlikely. The write-up claims the company’s facility in Thalgau has been preparing for this transi
News The Outer Worlds Dev Obsidian Not at Risk of Closure, It's Now Claimed
Conflicting reports do the rounds
The Outer Worlds and Avowed developer Obsidian has been named as yet another team within Xbox Games Studios at risk of closure. The Game Business lists the RPG specialist alongside the other publicly named studios fighting for their futures: Ninja Theory (Hellblade), Compulsion (South of Midnight), Double Fine (
News Indie Physical Game Publishers 'Deeply Saddened' by PlayStation's All-Digital Gambit
"Long live physical media"
Sony has said it plans to cease production of physical discs for all games coming to PlayStation starting in 2028. As well as upsetting many fans, the decision has caused a stir among small, specialist companies producing physical games for PS5 and PS4, among others. For example, iam8bit, which produces physical editions...
News PS6 May Not Be the Only Fully Digital Console Next-Gen
Reports say Xbox Helix won't have a disc drive
Sony hasn't officially said it, but we now practically know the PS6 won't ship with a disc drive, as the firm has decided to stop supporting disc-based physical games entirely from 2028. It looks like it won't be the only company taking this route, though, as
News Everyone's Clowning on Sony's Decision to Go All-Digital, and Rightly So
You've done goofed
When you’re the market leader and you mess up, there’s often hell to pay. We’ve seen online backlashes to Sony’s bone-headed announcements before, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen an emotional outpouring quite
News Just 15% of All PS5 Software Was Purchased Physically Last Quarter
Trending the wrong way
Sony has made the decision to cease selling physical PlayStation games starting January 2028, and it’s triggered an emotional outpouring from the fanbase. This move effectively confirms the PS6 will be a digital-only device, and the organisation is yet to confirm how it will support fans’ large retail collections. In its
We'll be watching closely
With today’s news that Sony will cease manufacturing physical PlayStation games starting January 2028, the platform holder has inadvertently confirmed that the PS6 will be a digital-only device. Even if the machine miraculously makes it out in November 2027, as is apparently the platform holder’s plan
News PlayStation Consoles to Stop Getting Disc-Based Physical Releases in 2028
Sony goes fully digital
Sony has announced plans to stop supporting disc-based physical releases for its PlayStation systems from the start of January 2028. On the PlayStation Blog, it said: "As consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift away from physical discs to digital, physical game disc production
News Layoffs at IO Interactive as Project Fantasy Ends 'Relationship with External Partner'
Guess who?
It’s been a good couple of months for Danish dev IO Interactive following the successful release of 007 First Light, but bad news is never far away in this industry. In a statement on social media, the Hitman maker confirmed some “downbeat news” regarding its Project Fantasy game, long rumoured to be published by Microsoft. It...
News Xbox Wants to Cancel Marvel's Blade, Close Arkane Studios
This one will hurt
It’s been years since we heard word of Marvel’s Blade, the next game from French dev Arkane Studios. Unfortunately, our next update could be a cancellation and the closure of the Dishonored dev. The Verge (paywalled) reports that Microsoft “wants” to cancel the action-adventure game as part of a wave of cuts, which could...
News Atari's Rise Continues as It Acquires SteamWorld Maker Thunderful
Thunderful news
Publisher Atari has really bounced back over the last few years, making acquisitions and gradually building up a strong portfolio of software. Now, it seems its latest addition is Thunderful, a company best known for its SteamWorld series of games. Thunderful has been posting on its socials about now being part of Atari: The...
"The devastation is going to reverberate"
It’s a rough time for the video game industry at large – but especially so if you’re a developer working for a studio owned by Microsoft. Rumblings about layoffs have been swirling for several weeks now, and the full picture is set to emerge as the Redmond firm’s financial year comes to a close...
News Sony Tiptoes Over PS6 Release Date, But Insists It Won't Just Follow Xbox
Keep on guessing
When's the PS6 going to launch? Outside of asking how ridiculously expensive the next-gen console's (probably) going to be, that's the all-important question right now. There's quite a lot of conflicting information floating around, as analysts seem torn on whether Sony is prepared to hold the PS6 back for any extended amount of...
News Sony Can't Stop Hinting at the Portable Nature of PS6
Meeting players' evolving needs
It’s becoming increasingly obvious at this point that the PS6 will have a portable element. Exactly how Sony is going to deliver this remains to be seen, but if you read between the lines of everything it’s saying, it keeps reiterating that one of its goals with the next generation is to expand out of the living...
"We prioritise our creators"
There's simply no escaping the influence of AI these days, and although Sony hasn't been quite as bullish about the technology as some of its industry peers, it was only a matter of time until the Japanese giant started banging on about its potential. As part of a new Q&A summary taken from a recent business meeting,...
News PS5 Dominates Xbox for Single Player Games, New Data Suggests
PlayStation gamers prefer playing with themselves
According to Chris Dring, the editor of The Game Business, AAA single player games sell about 75%-80% of their copies on the PS5 compared to Xbox Series X|S at launch, based on global sales data. It’s not a massively shocking statistic, considering the install base for Sony’s console is over 93...
