GamesIndustry

Ubisoft says it's "on the right path" to recover from "misconduct crisis"

5 months 2 weeks ago

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

Ubisoft's chief people officer reports that employee surveys show the Assassin's Creed publisher is "on the right path" to recover from the wave of abuse and harassment allegations it faced in 2020.

Speaking at the inaugural GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit on September 27, 2023, Anika Grant reflected on the changes that have been made since she joined in the wake of those allegations, when Ubisoft was "navigating a misconduct crisis."

Read more

Author
James Batchelor

Here's the full GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit London 2023 line-up

5 months 2 weeks ago

The GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit London takes place Thursday alongside the EGX consumer show, and we can now reveal the full schedule.

TikTok, Square Enix, London Venture Partners, Xbox, UK Games Fund, Aream & Co, Hiro Capital, Maverick Games and Kowloon Nights are all set to speak and meeting with developers across the day.

Tickets are still available, and start at £45 for developers (+ VAT). Each ticket includes an Industry Pass to the EGX consumer show (all four days), plus lunch on Thursday and access to the MeetToMatch meeting system. Attendees can arrange meetings on both Thursday and Friday during the show.

Read more

Author
Christopher Dring

Over 6,000 games industry jobs lost in 2023 so far

5 months 2 weeks ago

Over 6,100 gaming jobs have been lost so far over the past year due to layoffs and studio closures, according to new data.

As spotted by GamesBeat, technical artist Farhan Noor has been tracking layoff numbers since the beginning of 2023 on videogameslayoffs.com.

The tracked information includes the estimated number of employees let go, which some companies have not disclosed so the actual number of jobs lost is likely much higher.

Read more

Author
Sophie McEvoy

Over 100 Avalanche Studios staff unionise

5 months 2 weeks ago

Over 100 employees at Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios have unionised.

As reported by IGN, team members have joined the Swedish trade union Unionen, and have begun bargaining over their contract.

Negotiations began last week and are ongoing, and include employees who are part of the Sveriges Ingenjörer union.

Read more

Author
Sophie McEvoy

CD Projekt staff form union for Polish developers

5 months 2 weeks ago

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

A new union for game developers has formed in Poland following three rounds of layoffs at Cyberpunk 2077 studio CD Projekt Red over the summer.

Związek Pracowników Branży Gier, or Polish Gamedev Workers Union, aims to represent "all professions and people working in the game development sector in Poland."

Read more

Author
James Batchelor

An allergy to transparency | This Week in Business

5 months 3 weeks ago

This Week in Business is our weekly recap column, a collection of stats and quotes from recent stories presented with a dash of opinion (sometimes more than a dash) and intended to shed light on various trends. Check every Friday for a new entry.

This industry is terrified of transparency.

From the secrecy around development to the unnecessary NDAs on everything from ex-employees to underwhelming embargoed news, the games industry likes nothing so much as playing its cards close to the chest.

Read more

Author
Brendan Sinclair

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII's combat system | Why I Love

5 months 3 weeks ago

Why I Love is a series of guest editorials on GamesIndustry.biz intended to showcase the ways in which game developers appreciate each other's work. This entry was contributed by Joel Roset, Game Director at developer Noname Studios, whose genre-bending 2D adventure platformer, Worldless published by Thunderful and Coatsink is coming to Xbox, PC, Nintendo Switch and PC on November 21.

When people think of the Final Fantasy series they generally don't think about Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

The original Final Fantasy XIII was often considered an overly linear disappointment that lacked the exploration and towns that made previous entries in the series such beloved epics. So the idea of two additional sequels – Final Fantasy XIII-2 was the first follow-up – wasn't on many's wish list. Yet this oft overlooked third entry, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, really stuck with me for one important reason: its combat system.

Read more

Author
Joel Roset

CD Projekt Red spent over $60m to develop Phantom Liberty

5 months 3 weeks ago

CD Projekt Red spent over $60 million on the development of Phantom Liberty, the recently released expansion for Cyberpunk 2077.

The figure emerged from the developer's Investor Day on October 5, where the Polish studio also revealed there is a remaining 178 million PLN ($40 million) of unamortised expenditures on Cyberpunk 2077's base game, incurred prior to its launch.

Development of the base game cost $130 million.

Read more

Author
Sophie McEvoy

Microsoft reportedly aiming to complete Activision Blizzard acquisition next week

5 months 3 weeks ago

Microsoft is confident it can complete its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard this time next week.

That's according to sources speaking to The Verge, who say that the Xbox firm plans to close the deal on Friday, October 13.

Completion is still dependent on the merger being approved by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, but the body provisionally approved the deal last month and is expected to announce its final decision later today.

Read more

Author
James Batchelor

Epic Games to increase Unreal prices for non-game developers

5 months 3 weeks ago

Epic Games is raising the price of its Unreal Engine for developers outside the gaming industry.

Speaking during a presentation at Unreal Fest 2023, as captured by Fortnite Creative developer ImmatureGamerX on social media and spotted by Game World Observer, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney revealed that from next year, industries outside game development will only be able to access Unreal Engine via a seat-based enterprise software licensing model.

He clarified that the licensing model would not be "unusually expensive or inexpensive" and would work similarly to Maya and Photoshop.

Read more

Author
Sophie McEvoy

Resident Evil Village on iOS makes cases both for and against cloud streaming | Opinion

5 months 3 weeks ago

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

We don't generally think of mobile games as being graphical powerhouses, but over the years there have been quite a few games which managed high-end visuals on mobile hardware – from early showcases like Infinity Blade through to the enormous open world of Genshin Impact, there have always been games that pushed the envelope of what mobile hardware could do.

Even so, it's hard not to feel both surprised and impressed by what Capcom's developers have accomplished with Resident Evil Village on iOS. First shown off on stage at Apple's September launch event for the iPhone 15, the game offers graphical fidelity that's pretty much indistinguishable, at least to the layman's eye, from the experience of playing on a PlayStation 5. This is not, as far as we know, a game that was designed with mobile in mind, as opposed to the aforementioned Genshin Impact – it's a full-bore AAA console title, running with no noticeable compromises on a smartphone. Hook it up to a controller, and it's very easy to forget that you're not playing this on dedicated gaming hardware.

Read more

Author
Rob Fahey

Telltale Games lays off staff in response to "current market conditions"

5 months 3 weeks ago

Telltale Games has laid off an unknown number of its team members due to "current market conditions," the California-based studio has confirmed.

Former employee and cinematic artist Jonah Huang claimed on social media that the developer "laid most of us off in early September."

A spokesperson told GamesIndustry.biz: "We did not take this action lightly, and our commitment to storytelling and finding new ways to do so remains the same. We are grateful to everyone for their dedication along this journey, and we are working to support everyone impacted."

Read more

Author
Sophie McEvoy

Nearly 6,800 current and former Sony employees' information exposed in a security breach

5 months 3 weeks ago

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

Sony has contacted nearly 6,800 current and former employees, advising them that their personal information was compromised in a cyber breach.

As reported by BleepingComputer, the hack recorded by the Office of the Maine Attorney General was conducted by ransomware group Clop and took place from May 28 until May 30.

Read more

Author
Jeffrey Rousseau

What the current wave of layoffs means for the games industry

5 months 3 weeks ago

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

2023 continues to be a difficult year when it comes to layoffs.

In the past couple of weeks alone, companies including Ascendant Studios, Beamdog, Crystal Dynamics, Roblox, Blizzard, Epic Games, Team17, Naughty Dog, Twitch and Keywords have all dismissed varying numbers of staff, ranging from 10 Hearthstone developers to more than 800 Epic employees.

Read more

Author
James Batchelor

The GI Academy Zone at EGX: Full schedule detailed

5 months 3 weeks ago

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

The GI Academy Zone, the annual career fair at EGX organised by GamesIndustry.biz, has been transformed this year with more interaction and a whole host of experts lined up for the weekend.

Building on the work we do with our Academy guides section, this section of next week's major games showcase will share insight into the many routes to a career in the games industry, as well as offer attendees the chance to gain direct feedback.

Read more

Author
James Batchelor

Housemarque is relocating within Helsinki

5 months 3 weeks ago

Returnal developer Housemarque has announced plans to relocate to a new studio by the end of 2024.

The Helsinki-based developer will stay within the city, moving to a building that will become "one of the largest and most advanced gaming headquarters in the Nordics" according to Sponda, the Finnish real estate asset company developing the project.

"Our new office will play a key role in attracting talented individuals who want to work in an environment that inspires creativity and innovation," brand director Mikael Haveri said in an announcement.

Read more

Author
Sophie McEvoy

Nintendo, TikTok, Yogcast and more join GI Investment Summit London

5 months 3 weeks ago

Major companies including TikTok and Nintendo will be meeting games developers at the GI Investment Summit next week.

The event takes place on Thursday, October 12th. It's sponsored by TinyBuild and tickets are on sale now for as low as £45 (+ booking fee and VAT). Each ticket includes access to the event, the meeting system, lunch, refreshments and and a four-day pass to the EGX consumer show that runs October 12th - October 15th.

Companies attending the event this year include Aream & Co, Bonsai Collective, Clockwork Pepper, Code Coven, Cooperation Innovations, Creative UK, Curve Games, Devolver Digital, Draw & Code, Electric Square, Firefly Studios, Futurlab, Games London, GamesCo London, Hooded Horse, Hiro Capital, Huey Games, Humble Bundle, Kando Factory, Kepler, Kowloon Nights, London Venture Partners, Lighthouse Games, Liquid Crimson, Lvl Up Partners, Marvelous, Maverick Games, Maximum Games, MLC Studio, Neon Hive, Nintendo, Origami Panda, Outstandly Ventures, Playtonic Games, Radical Forge, Room8, Secret Mode, Splash Damage, Square Enix Collective, Stellar Entertainment, Sumo, Toadman Interactive, Those Awesome Guys, TikTok, TinyBuild, Triple Dragon, UK Games Fund, Wired Productions, Yogscast Games, Xbox and many many more.

Read more

Author
Christopher Dring

Keywords Studios' unionised Dragon Age QA team laid off

5 months 3 weeks ago

Dublin-based Keywords Studios has laid off its Dragon Age: Dreadwolf QA team contracted to assist BioWare Edmonton in Canada.

As reported by Polygon, the recently unionised team were let go in late September after BioWare decided not to continue its contract in August.

Last year, the QA workers joined the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union, making the group the first game industry union in Canada.

Read more

Author
Sophie McEvoy

What Resident Evil Village on iOS tells us about the future of AAA mobile game development

5 months 3 weeks ago

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

When you play Resident Evil Village on an iPad Pro, it's flabbergasting to believe that this is Capcom's latest mainline entry running natively on a mobile device, looking every bit as good as its home console counterparts.

It feels like alchemy when considering the most recent port of the game to a handheld device was the cloud version on Nintendo Switch. Factor in the rise of cloud-dedicated devices like Logitech G Cloud and Razer Edge, plus cloud gaming services like Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and GeForce Now, and the assumption would be that the only practical way to experience the most bleeding edge titles portably is via streaming.

Read more

Author
Alan Wen

Hutch Games slapped for loot box disclosure violations

5 months 3 weeks ago

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority has upheld two claims against Hutch Games for violating loot box disclosure rules.

The regulator found that ads for F1 Clash: Car Racing Manager on the App Store and Rebel Racing on Google Play were misleading because they neglected to include mention of paid loot boxes in the game.

Hutch argued that because players could progress through the game without spending money, such disclosure was unnecessary. It pointed to guidance from the ASA's sister organization the Committee of Advertising Practices that said such an arrangement would put in-game storefronts outside the scope of advertising standards.

Read more

Author
Brendan Sinclair

Five former Ubisoft executives arrested after sexual harassment investigation

5 months 3 weeks ago

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

Five former executives from Ubisoft have been arrested by French police following a year-long investigation into sexual assault and harassment within the company.

French newspaper Libération reported that three were arrested yesterday, with another two placed in custody today.

Read more

Author
James Batchelor

Stray Gods wins Game of the Year at Australian Game Developer Awards 2023

5 months 3 weeks ago

Summerfall Studios' Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical was the big winner of today's Australian Game Developer Awards, winning Game of the Year as well as Excellence in Accessibility and Excellence in Music.

Other winners included SMG Studio's Moving Out 2, which received the Excellence in Gameplay award, and Studio Folly's Gubbins, winning Excellence in Sound Design.

Meanwhile, the coveted Studio of the Year accolade was awarded to Melbourne-based firm PlaySide Studios.

Read more

Author
Marie Dealessandri

Harnessing the power of player feedback

5 months 3 weeks ago

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

Game developers invest countless hours perfecting a game. From crafting immersive worlds, to creating engaging mechanics and plotting captivating narratives, they put their all into it to make it the best game it can be. However, the true test of a game's success often lies in the hands of its players.

Player feedback is the backbone of a developer's journey, providing crucial insights that can help shape and elevate a gaming experience. It serves as a window into the minds of players, allowing developers to gauge the effectiveness of their design choices, uncover potential flaws and identify opportunities for improvement.

Read more

Author
Sabrina Carmona

Former BioWare employees sue for better severance after layoffs

5 months 3 weeks ago

A group of former BioWare employees are suing the studio for better severance pay after they were laid off in August.

Two months ago, the Dragon Age and Mass Effect developer dismissed 50 staff members due to "the studio's changing needs."

Now seven of those affected have filed a Statement of Claim with Alberta's Court of King's Bench, claiming BioWare's severance offer was too low.

Read more

Author
James Batchelor

Dang shuts down

5 months 3 weeks ago

New York-based developer Dang is shutting down.

The five-person team behind the 2021 first-person shooter Boomerang X posted a note to social media yesterday announcing the disbanding of the team.

"Dang is closing up shop," the studio said. "Unfortunately we were not able to find funding for our next game and we are out of money.

Read more

Author
Brendan Sinclair

Twitch makes another round of layoffs

5 months 3 weeks ago

Twitch has laid off employees for the second time this year.

Today's cuts were reported by Today Off Stream's Zach Bussey, who said the cuts were significantly smaller than the March round, which included more than 400 people.

A source familiar with the situation told GamesIndustry.biz that today's layoffs were limited to the customer experience organization as the company shifts to rely more on outsourcing vendors to fulfill those roles.

Read more

Author
Brendan Sinclair

Naughty Dog reportedly lays off dozens of contractors

5 months 3 weeks ago

Naughty Dog is laying off at least 25 developers this month with no severance, according to a Kotaku report.

Citing two sources familiar with the situation, the outlet said the cuts are coming from the studio's contractor workforce, and do not include full-time employees.

While the layoffs span a variety of departments, most of the people losing work are coming from the QA team.

Read more

Author
Brendan Sinclair