Tag: Industry - Page 13
News Devs Allegedly Pondering the Point of Sony's PS5 Pro Upgrade
"Many feel they're not making the most out of PS5 yet"
There have been two big stories on the ground at GDC this year: Xbox’s flatlining brand and the purpose of the PS5 Pro. Speaking as part of a podcast, GamesIndustry.biz’s well-connected reporter Christopher Dring noted that he didn’t meet a “single person” at the show that understood...
News Development of Santa Monica Studios' Next PS5 Game Appears to Be Going Swimmingly
Judging by Barlog's general demenour
Sony's first-party Santa Monica Studio is currently working on a new PS5 game, that much is known, having wrapped development on God of War Ragnarok with the release of the essential Valhalla DLC. If we had to bet, it will be quite some time before we hear anything more concrete, but one thing's for sure:...
News Xbox Planning to Release the 'Majority' of Its Exclusives on PS5
Third-parties apparently unsure whether to support Microsoft's system
Xbox will apparently release the “majority” of its tentpole first-party titles on PS5 in the future, as its multiformat strategy gathers pace. Earlier in the year, the Redmond firm broadcast a strategic business meeting, where it announced four console exclusive titles –...
News Celebrate Jim Ryan's Legacy with Iconic Digital Bobblehead
"Happy retirement, Jim!"
A stunning digital tribute to outgoing PlayStation bigwig Jim Ryan is now available for those who wish to celebrate the suit's legacy - in style. Players can pick up the collectable, posed like a modern-day Napoleon, through the digital platform PlayStation Stars; all you have to do is play a game Ryan "championed" during...
News Larian Studios' Swen Vincke Blames Mass Layoffs on Publisher Greed
"They've been fu**ing this whole thing up for so long"
Swen Vincke, director of Baldur's Gate 3 and founder of developer Larian Studios, used the opportunity afforded by winning big at the Game Developer's Conference (GDC) to blame the industry's current state on rampant corporate greed, a sentiment we can get behind. Plenty of developers made their...
News Ubisoft's NEO NPC Prototype Offers a Glimpse at a Generative AI Future for Games
You talking to me?
Ubisoft has never been one to shy away from new and upcoming technology, and as you'd expect, it's been experimenting with implementation of generative AI in video games. The publisher unveiled its NEO NPC project at GDC, an early prototype that aims to explore how AI tech can make in-game characters and experiences more...
News Legendary PlayStation First-Party Architect Connie Booth Joins EA
Whipping Dragon Age, Mass Effect into shape for starters
Veteran Sony executive Connie Booth exited PlayStation after a 30-year career at the firm, a surprising move that caused some confusion late last year after outspoken God of War creator David Jaffe let the cat out of the bag on social media. We still don't have the full details on her...
News Sony Reportedly Undertaking Internal Investigation Following Leaked PS5 Pro Specs
Alright, which one of you jokers was it?
Sony is reportedly undertaking an internal investigation to determine how exactly the specs for Trinity, the codename by which the colloquially-named PS5 Pro is internally known, leaked so entirely over the weekend. The incident occurred during a third-party developer rollout, and while we may never learn the...
News Sony Allegedly Pausing PSVR2 Production Due to Surplus of Unsold Stock
VRy concerning
Sony has allegedly paused production of its PSVR2 headset while it works to clear a surplus of stock, according to an article by Bloomberg journalist Takashi Mochizuki, who has had his stories corrected by the manufacturer in the past. The article, citing unnamed sources “familiar” with the firm’s plans, claims the p
News KOTOR Remake Still Sounds Like It's Far, Far Away from Releasing on PS5
Development began a long time ago
It feels like the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake has been frozen in carbonite forever. And yet, somehow, the unfortunate project is still quite a while away from being ready for launch. Announced in 2021 with Aspyr at the helm, the project has been in Saber Interactive's hands since at least August...
News Saber Interactive Will Split from Embracer Group in Complicated But Amicable Divestment
Described as a win-win for both
The collapse of the utterly reckless Embracer Group continues to occur publicly, as juggernaut development unit Saber Interactive has announced plans to split from the embattled Swedish organisation. The division will be purchased by Beacon Interactive, a new holding firm controlled by Saber Interactive’s co-founder...
News E3's Spirit Lives on with Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest on 7th June
Back for more
E3 is comfortably six feet under at this point, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be bereft of video game shenanigans this summer. Host Geoff Keighley has announced that his Summer Game Fest event will return on Friday, 7th June at 5PM PT/5PM ET/10PM BST. It’ll be broadcast live from the YouTube Theatre in glitzy Los Angeles...
News Stellar Blade Dev Shift Up to Secure the Bag As It Plots Public Shares
Made it
Shift Up may be about to make its console debut with PS5 exclusive Stellar Blade, but the developer already has a behemoth gacha in its back pocket in the form of the saucy third-person shooter, NIKKE: Goddess of Victory. Unsurprisingly, then, it’s about to be rolling in cash as it plans to take its company public via the Korean Stock...
News God of War Legend Stig Asmussen Opens New Studio, Plans AAA Single-Player Action Game
Another one
Stig Asmussen, the ex-Sony Santa Monica Studio veteran who directed God of War 3 — and went on to direct Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor at Respawn Entertainment — has just established his own studio. Named Giant Skull, the developer's first project is a "AAA single-player focused action adventure". Sounds...
News Sony Partner Deviation Games Shuttered Before Shipping Its First PS5 Project
And that's the end of that
It’s been said countless times, but it’s worth repeating: shipping games is hard. It’s especially difficult to cultivate new studios, regardless of whether they’re founded by veterans with insane talent, like ex-Treyarch veterans Jason Blundell and Dave Anthony in this instance. There was a lot of excitement around...
News Exclusivity Is the Achilles' Heel of Huge Blockbusters, Says Former PlayStation Exec
Well-liked suit Shawn Layden chimes in on industry trends
There’s a huge amount of chatter about exclusivity in the aftermath of Microsoft’s decision to port select titles to PlayStation and choppy waters in the industry at large. This year alone has seen thousands of game developers laid off, as the industry
Touching stuff
Manga icon Akira Toriyama’s untimely passing has led to an outpouring of emotion across the entire Internet, with tributes being paid all over social media. But one particularly poignant post that caught our attention is this clip of Dragon Ball XenoVerse 2, where fans all gathered in a lobby to pay their respects to the legendary...
News Dragon Ball Manga Icon Akira Toriyama Passes Aged 68
Created characters for Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, and more
Akira Toriyama, the artist behind iconic manga like Dragon Ball, has passed away aged 68. His death was confirmed by the official Dragon Ball website, which noted that he still had “several works in the middle of creation”. A statement added: “He has left many manga titles and works...
News Capcom Increases Starting Salary of Employees in Japan by Around 25%
Existing employees will get a bump, too
Resurgent developer and publisher Capcom has announced that it will increase the salary of starting employees in Japan by more than 25%, beginning at the start of its fiscal year 2025. In addition, current employees will receive a pay rise and a bonus as the company seeks to further invest in its most valuable...
News Helldivers 2 Dev Pours Cold Water on PlayStation Acquisition Rumours
"This is fake"
Earlier today, rumours started swirling that PlayStation was moments away from announcing its acquisition of Arrowhead Game Studios, the Swedish team behind the wildly successful Helldivers 2. While the two parties already have a strong relationship – Sony has published both of the Helldivers titles – founder Johan Pilestedt was...
Reaction What Is Happening to the Video Games Industry and Why Are There So Many Layoffs?
The state of play
You could be forgiven for thinking the video game industry is collapsing, and you may be wondering why. Last week, PlayStation announced it was laying off over 900 employees and shutting its long-running London Studio, and it’s not alone. There have been thousands upon thousands of jobs cut across the entire industry, and...
News Sony's London Studio, Media Molecule Were Reportedly 'Highest on the List' for Closure
The latter remains open after layoffs
In case you missed the big news last week, PlayStation joined the rest of the industry in cutting hundreds of jobs across its business. What's more, the platform holder is closing one of its longest-standing developers, London Studio — but it seems another UK team may have been at risk, too. In the wake of...
News Borderlands Dev Set to Join Saber in Leaving Embracer Group
Reportedly in the late stages of a sale
Borderlands maker Gearbox Entertainment is on the verge of joining Saber Interactive in being bought out of the sinking ship that is the Embracer Group, a new Kotaku report claims. It's stated that CEO Randy Pitchford shared the news with employees during a town hall meeting earlier this week, with more...
News Sony Studio Firesprite Accused of Alleged Toxic Culture in Exposé
"Death by a thousand cuts"
It sounds like all is not well at Sony studio Firesprite, which the platform holder acquired in 2021. Despite moving into expensive new digs in its home city of Liverpool, a Eurogamer report paints an extremely grim picture of the outfit, which is allegedly bleeding staff and lost its managing director Graeme Ankers...
News Publisher 505 Games Closes Offices in France, Germany, Spain
Part of the company's planned business review
Italian publisher 505 Games has shuttered several of its European offices in France, Germany, and Spain, the result of a business review conducted in September. Just yesterday, we told you that Remedy Entertainment had acquired full publishing rights for Control back from 505 Games.
News Crash Bandicoot, Spyro Dev Toys for Bob Becomes Independent Studio, May Partner with Microsoft
"We're going indie!"
Toys for Bob, the developer behind titles like Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time and Spyro: Reignited Trilogy, has announced that it's becoming an independent studio. Previously, the Californian outfit had operated under Activision, but it was hit with layoffs after Microsoft's acquisition of the publisher. Toys for Bob also...
News Embracer Group to Sell KOTOR Remake Studio in Deal Worth $500 Million
Saber Interactive will become privately owned
Saber Interactive, one of Embracer Group's largest development houses, will reportedly be sold off in a transaction worth $500 million. The company, which itself comprises more than 20 studios, will be sold to private investors after the deal closes. This will be the latest action from Embracer in its...
News Naughty Dog Boss Neil Druckmann Doesn't Want to Make Games Forever
"I’ve started thinking about how many more of these games do I have in me"
Naughty Dog president Neil Druckmann doesn't think he will be in the business of making video games forever, at least not at the scale we would expect from the storied creative. He is best known for his work on both Uncharted and The Last of Us; in fact, it was the...
News EA Cuts Roughly 700 Jobs in Another Round of Industry Layoffs
Around 5% of the firm's workforce gone
Just a day after Sony confirmed it's laying off 900 PlayStation employees across its first-party studios, publisher EA has announced it's doing the same. In the region of 670 workers — or around five per cent of the company's workforce — will lose their jobs as the EA Sports FC, Battlefield distributor...
News Horizon Dev Reportedly Loses 10% of Staff After PlayStation Layoffs
Around 40 employees lose their jobs
Of the 900 PlayStation employees that lost their jobs during yesterday's layoffs, it's reported that roughly 40 of them — or 10 per cent of the developer's workforce — belonged to Horizon Forbidden West team Guerrilla Games. Dutch outlet AD shared the news that the layoffs at Guerrilla Games concerned "ten...
Reaction The Problem with PlayStation Right Now
AAA troubles
PlayStation is in a precarious position. It’s imperative we don’t overreact: the global economy is, for want of a better word, in the gutter right now – and it’s sad to see layoffs occurring across a spectrum of industries, not just gaming. But in the aftermath of a disappointing earnings report and an enormous downsizing...
News Unannounced Games from PlayStation Studios Have Been Cancelled
Some projects won't be moving fowards
Sony has confirmed that "some" unannounced games in development within PlayStation Studios have been cancelled as a result of the decision to lay off around 900 employees. In a separate article from Hermen Hulst, it's explained: "We looked at our studios and our portfolio, evaluating projects in various stages...
News 900 PlayStation Employees Laid Off, London Studio Closed
Naughty Dog, Insomniac, and Guerrilla all affected
Sony has today confirmed around 900 PlayStation employees — or around eight per cent of its workforce — are being laid off in order to "future ready ourselves to set the business up for what lies ahead". As a result of the downsizing, PlayStation's own London Studio is being closed completely...
News Final Fantasy Composer Nobuo Uematsu Unlikely to Score Another Full Game
"I don't think I have the physical and mental strength to do it anymore"
Legendary Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu says he probably won't compose the score for another complete game; instead, he prefers to spend his time on compositions or his band Uematsu Nobuo conTIKI. Amongst his long list of notable achievements, in addition to being the...
News Layoffs Hit Until Dawn, Dark Pictures Dev Supermassive Games, 90 People Affected
Enters a "period of consultation"
Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures Anthology team Supermassive Games will be laying off 90 workers in the near future, it's been confirmed. The studio employs more than 300 people in Guildford, UK, and has informed 150 of them that they are "at risk" of being the 90 people who will soon lose their job. The developer...
Random Tipsy The Last of Us HBO Star Pedro Pascal Secures SAG Award
"I'm a little drunk!"
Pedro Pascal might have had one too many Dark 'n' Stormy's before 2024's SAG awards, where the actor secured the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Joel Miller in the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us. Somewhat sloshed, the Joel actor took to the stage, declaring: "This is wrong...
News 'High Possibility' Miyazaki Delegates Direction of Future FromSoftware Souls Games
"Souls-ish" is canon now
Of FromSoftware's impressive lineup of recent games (Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Dark Souls III, Déraciné, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Elden Ring), Dark Souls II is the only title not directed by the sadistic master of Souls-Like gameplay, Hidetaka Miyazaki (but he did serve as superv
News Connecting Worlds, the Hideo Kojima Documentary, Is Out Now on Disney+
From studio launch to Death Stranding release
The documentary charting Hideo Kojima and his efforts to go from establishing Kojima Productions after Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain to releasing Death Stranding is now available to stream on Disney+. Clocking in at just shy of an hour in length, the documentary "unveils the visionary mind of...
Feature Indie Publisher Neon Doctrine on the Importance of Culture and Improvements to the PS Store
“It’s every platform holder’s responsibility to create a path for success”
Neon Doctrine’s so-called “ghost computers” immediately caught our attention. Entering the indie publisher’s Neihu-based office in Taipei, we were taken aback by the flurry of activity occurring on its rows of unmanned monitors – especially considering the...
News Despite Recent Success, Bandai Namco Reveals It Cancelled at Least Five In-Development Games
Didn't make the cut
Bandai Namco has revealed that it cancelled at least five in-development games, and will change its internal development structure moving forward. Stricter rules will make it more difficult for future games to proceed past specific development milestones, as increasing costs make games even more expensive, risky propositions...
News 700 Ubisoft Workers Strike in France Following Failed Salary Negotiations
Getting things done
Some 700 unionised Ubisoft employees downed (development) tools in France, walking off the job in a day of organised strike action. Following the collapse of annual salary negotiations, on Valentine's Day, workers from Ubisoft Paris, Montpellier, Lyon, Annecy, and Bordeaux took part, taking to the streets in the time-honoured...
News Xbox's 'Everywhere' Future Outlined in Company Memo from Phil Spencer
Read the message now
In case you missed it, Xbox's top dogs set live a podcast yesterday, publicly announcing the company's long-rumoured intention to bring a selection of first-party games to rival consoles. After so much noise around the subject, it hardly came as a surprise, but it's still a noteworthy shift in how the platform holder will handle...
Reaction Xbox Is Bringing Some Great Games to PS5, But Rumours Will Remain Rampant About What's Next
Redmond firm fails to set out its strategy
More great games are coming to the PS5, and that’s never a bad thing. Microsoft announced during a highly massaged corporate message that it’ll bring four first-party titles to rival systems, although it wouldn’t name any names. Fortunately, the rumours have been so strong that we can surmise...
News Sony Shares Drop Sharply After Prediction PS5 Growth Has Peaked
Expected "gradual decline" has investors dumping shares
Sony shares plummeted by some 8.4% on Thursday, their sharpest drop in almost two years, following publishing the firm's latest quarterly financial results. The proclamation that PS5 has reached its peak and the prediction that it expects growth to decline gradually from here seems to have...
News Xbox Is Bringing Four Exclusives to PS5, But It Won't Say Which
It's not Starfield or Indiana Jones... Yet
Microsoft has officially confirmed it’ll bring four formerly exclusive games to rival platforms like PS5, but it won’t say which ones. As part of a bizarre podcast featuring executives Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty, the trillion-dollar tech titan danced around the rumours which have been...
News Microsoft Allegedly Told Employees 'Every Screen Is an Xbox' Ahead of PS5 Port Speculation
All will be revealed imminently
More information on Microsoft’s previously reported employee town hall has emerged on Inverse, where it’s claimed by staff that leadership declared “every screen is an Xbox”. There’s been rampant speculation recently that the Redmond firm will bring formerly exclusive titles, like Hi-Fi Rush and
News Embracer Layoffs Total Nearly 1,400 So Far, 29 Unannounced Games Cancelled
Downsizing will continue
Embracer Group, the holdings company that spent years scooping up as many gaming properties and development teams as possible, has had to reduce its unsustainable size, cutting jobs, closing studios, and shelving projects. Last summer, the company announced its restructuring plan, and has now confirmed the figures pertaining...
News Sony Plans to Improve Profit Margins with 'Aggressive' PC Release Strategy
Way of the future
Sony president and PlayStation chairman Hiroki Totoki was asked in a Q&A session following Sony's latest financial results briefing why the game division is seeing an increase in gross income but not profits and what the company could do to improve its bottom line. Totoki said that there are two key areas he wants to focus on...
News PlayStation Chairman: There's Room for Improvement When It Comes to Business
Praises "highly motivated" studios
Hiroki Totoki has a lot of titles at Sony; in addition to being president, COO, and CFO of the corporation, he's more recently stepped into the role of PlayStation chairman as Jim Ryan winds down his time at the company. He's among the company's top dogs, then — but what does he make of Sony Interactive...
News Sony Predicts Slide in PS5 Sales with No Major Existing IPs Planned Before March 2025
"Focused on producing high-quality works"
Sony will not release any sequels or updates to “major existing franchise titles” before March 2025. The wording is exceptionally important here: this does not eliminate the likelihood of PS5 exclusives entirely, it just means you’re unlikely to see a new Ghost of Tsushima or The Last of Us in the next...
