Tag: Industry - Page 4
News Analyst Expects Xbox Game Pass To Bring In 'Almost $5.5bn' In 2025
Once the price rises come into affect
Earlier this month, we heard about the impending launch of Xbox Game Pass Standard, alongside price increases for the existing tiers of Microsoft's subscription service. In the wake of that news, analytics group
News Bethesda's US Workforce Has Unionized To 'Set New Standard' For Game Developers
A "wall-to-wall" union with 200+ devs
Bethesda developers have announced a major union across their US-based studios in Dallas, Rockville and Austin - forming the 'OneBGSUSA' group. The group says that it is "a majority of developers" who "advocate for the betterment of every developer at BGS, setting the new standard for our industry." Microsoft,
Report UK Retailer GAME Ending In-Store Pre-Orders This Month
One by one, they fall
Following a slew of big policy changes recently, including the axing of its pre-owned stock earlier this year, major UK retailer GAME is reportedly about to stop accepting pre-orders of any kind in its brick-and-mortar stores. First reported on by TechRadar and corroborated by
News Xbox's Chief Marketing Officer Is Leaving Microsoft To Join Roblox
He's held the CMO role for almost five years
There's another shake-up taking place inside Xbox HQ this month, as it's been revealed that Chief Marketing Officer Jerret West will be leaving the company to join the ROBLOX team at the end of June. This was mentioned in a report by The Verge's Tom Warren yesterday, which also included an internal memo...
News Alone In The Dark Studio 'Pieces Interactive' Has Been Closed By Embracer Group
The company continues to cut developers
Today, Swedish developer Pieces Interactive has announced its closure following this year's Alone in the Dark reboot. The team was acquired by gaming titan Embracer Group back in 2017, having first been established 10 years prior in 2007, but it will unfortunately close its doors in 2024. In a statement on...
News Hi-Fi RUSH Developer Tango Gameworks Has Now Officially Closed Its Doors
One of the employees highlighted the studio's "last day"
Last month, Xbox shared the news it would be shutting down four studios including the developers behind the critically-acclaimed title Hi-Fi RUSH. While things have been looking more positive on the Xbox front over the past week, a now-former Tango Gameworks employee has shared an update on...
News Bethesda Developers Now Have Stronger Employee Rights Within Microsoft
Brand new union
Bethesda's parent company, ZeniMax Studios, has today announced that its workers now have stronger rights within Xbox - as Microsoft strikes a 'labour neutrality agreement' with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The Xbox owner first entered into such an agreement way back in summer 2022, amidst the whirlwind of Activision...
News Hellblade 2 Developer Ninja Theory Thanks Fans For 'Incredible Response'
"We've loved hearing your impressions"
It's been another big week in the land of Xbox with UK-based studio Ninja Theory launching Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 on the Series X|S, PC, Cloud, and also Game Pass. It's already one of the highest-rated Xbox games of the year and with this in mind, the team has now issued a brief message on social media,...
News Activision Is Opening A New Studio To Build 'Genre-Defining' Games At Microsoft
'Elsewhere Entertainment' is a-go
Microsoft's newly-acquired Activision team has today announced the opening of a brand-new development studio in Poland. The team, which is confirmed to not be working on Call of Duty, is setting out to build a "state-of-the-art and next-generation gaming experience" at 'Elsewhere Entertainment'. The studio also...
News OG Xbox Creator: I Believe In Xbox, Despite This Week's 'Tragic' Job Losses
"I’m confident this isn’t the end of the story"
Everyone's got an opinion about the Xbox studio closures that have taken place this week, and that includes the so-called "father of the Xbox" Seamus Blackley, who was there at the very beginning of the brand's existence. In a nutshell, Blackley feels sorry for everyone that's been caught up in...
News Report Claims Xbox Is Planning More Cuts Following Studio Closures
"A widespread cost-cutting initiative that still isn’t finished"
The bad news keeps on coming for Xbox this week, as Bloomberg is reporting that following the four studio closures that were mentioned on Tuesday, there are apparently plans for more job cuts in the seemingly near future. As described by the outlet, Xbox has apparently been offering...
News Helldivers 2 & Ori Bosses Share Their Thoughts On Xbox's Studio Closures
"Why close instead of divest?"
The news of the four studio closures at Xbox continues to dominate the gaming news this week, and we've seen plenty of notable figures (including the boss at Arkane Lyon) sharing their thoughts on the situation as it stands right now. The CEO of
News Xbox Studio Shutdowns Are A 'F***ing Gut Stab', Says Arkane Lyon Boss
"This is absolutely terrible"
Bethesda's Arkane Austin is one of a few Xbox studios that will officially be shutting down following an unexpected piece of news that broke earlier today, and now the boss of Arkane Lyon has chimed in on the situation. In an emotional thread on social media, Dinga Bakaba called the Xbox closures "absolutely terrible"...
News Xbox Is Shutting Four Studios, Including Arkane Austin And Tango Gameworks
Creators of Redfall, Hi-Fi RUSH & much more
In some earth-shattering news today, it's been announced that Xbox is shutting four studios in the form of Arkane Austin (Redfall, Prey), Tango Gameworks (Ghostwire: Tokyo, Hi-Fi RUSH), Alpha Dog Games (Mighty D
News Xbox Talks Sustainability Efforts As Rare's New 'Solar-Powered Studio' Is Unveiled
Earth Day 2024 brings new Xbox innovations
As part of Earth Day 2024, Microsoft has broken down a number of new initiatives going on at Xbox right now - including a brand-new "solar-powered studio" at Sea Of Thieves developer Rare. This new studio, also known as 'Barn X', opened last year - and it's since been "certified LEED GOLD for its design...
News Embracer Group Is Splitting Into Three Companies Following Recent Layoffs
"This is the start of a new chapter"
Embracer Group has today announced its intention to split into three separate companies - 'Asmodee Group', 'Coffee Stain & Friends' and 'Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends'. The three companies will handle different aspects of Embracer's operations, as explained in a new blog post from the huge gaming ent
News Former Xbox Exec Likes The Idea Of 'Tipping' Developers After Beating Their Games
"Some games are that special"
The price of AAA games has been a hot topic recently, especially with the move to $70 releases, but one former Xbox & Blizzard exec has taken to social media to express that they'd actually like the option to give devs more money for their releases. Yep, Mike Ybarra — who left X
News UK Retailer GAME Reportedly Swapping Core Staff To Zero Hour Contracts
Managers will apparently avoid the switch
Following on from January's news that GAME was starting to strip back its pre-owned department, we have some other unfortunate reports coming in about the staffing situation within the UK's biggest gaming retailer. Earlier reports this week claimed that redundancies were incoming, and now a
News Xbox CVP Kareem Choudhry Set To Leave Microsoft After 26 Years
"Part of a wider Xbox leadership re-org"
After spending over 26 years at Microsoft, Xbox CVP Kareem Choudhry is reportedly leaving Microsoft today. His departure is said to be taking place amidst a "large Xbox shake-up to accelerate growth plans". In his time at Xbox, Choudhry played a crucial role in spearheading the backwards compatibility...
News Xbox Game Pass Indie Deals Have 'Come Down In Scope', Claim Devs
"The Gold Rush is over"
Game Pass has proven to be a huge success for Xbox and developers since its inception, but supposedly the "gold rush is over" for indie developers looking to achieve major funding deals from these kinds of services. Speaking to PC Gamer at this year's Game Developer Conference, the development teams behind Xbox Game Pass...
News Halo Support Studio Certain Affinity Axes 25 Jobs
The first major layoff in its "17+ year history"
There have already been a bunch of layoffs this year and now Certain Affinity (known for helping out with Halo and Call of Duty) has let go of 25 US-based employees. In a message on its official website, the company announced it had made the "extremely difficult decision" to eliminate these roles. It...
News Xbox Bolsters Ranks With Another Experienced Recruit
"I have always been a fan of Xbox's commitment"
It's a new year and although Xbox axed a lot of employees earlier this year, it's still recruiting new (and experienced) talent. The latest individual to join the team is Jairo Lopes, who has taken on the role of third-party business development management for Xbox's global content partnerships. He...
News Xbox Game Pass Hit Hi-Fi RUSH Just Won Another Award
This time for "best audio"
One of Xbox's biggest success stories of the previous year was the shadow drop of Hi-Fi RUSH on Game Pass. Since then it's been played by millions of Xbox users, has been ported to other platforms, and has even won some awards. Now, to add to this, it's taken out 'best audio' at this year's
News The Legendary Dragon Ball Creator Akira Toriyama Has Passed Away
His work included video games
News has just broken in Japan about the passing of manga artist and Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama. He died on March 1st, 2024 at the age of 68 from acute subdural hematoma. Apart from his influence on the manga and anime industry, Toriyama had a huge impact on the video game industry over the years - not only...
News Sea Of Thieves Co-Developer Lays Off 'Handful' Of Employees
"This situation is heartbreaking"
It's been another difficult week for the video game industry in 2024 and now the UK indie developer Radical Forge has announced it's laying off a "handful of people". It's reportedly six employees to be exact. The same team, which worked alongside Flix Interactive and Rare on the free update Sea Of Thieves: A...
News Toys For Bob Is Becoming An Indie Studio, Leaving Xbox And Activision
It's already exploring a "possible partnership" with Microsoft
Just weeks after the news that Crash Bandicoot and Spyro developer Toys for Bob wouldn't actually be shutting up shop, the studio heads Paul Yan & Avery Lodato have now dropped some surprising news - revealing the team is going independent. This "opportunity" will apparently allow...
News EA Shuts Down Battlefield Campaign Studio Ridgeline Games
Halo's co-creator recently left the studio
Earlier this week, Battlefield director (and former Halo co-creator) Marcus Lehto made an abrupt departure from Ridgeline Games, and while it wasn't entirely clear what was going on behind the scenes at the time, EA has now confirmed mass layoffs. As part of this, EA has announced the closure of this...
News EA Is Laying Off 5% Of Its Workforce
Estimated to impact about 670 employees
It's already been an incredibly difficult week for the industry and now Electronic Arts has revealed it's laying off 5% of its workforce. This roughly equates to about 670 employees. EA CEO Andrew Wilson cited "accelerating industry transformation" as part of this decision with the company planning to sunset...
News Another Dev Is Laying Off Employees, Cites 'Worsening Market Conditions'
Deck Nine co-developed last year's release 'The Expanse'
It's been an incredibly tough year for the industry so far with mass layoffs across multiple studios. Sony yesterday added to this - announcing it was axing 900 jobs, and now on top of this another developer has had to make a "difficult decision". Deck Nine Games (The Expanse: A Telltale...
News Toys For Bob Office Closing, But There's Apparently No Need To Worry
The Crash & Spyro dev is not actually "closing down"
There have been a lot of rumours doing the rounds this week about Xbox's future, and earlier today, there were claims Activision developer Toys for Bob was potentially "closing down" following Microsoft's announcement of mass layoffs. While the future of the studio is still somewhat unclear,...
News Disney Invests $1.5 Billion In Epic To Create New Universe Connected To Fortnite
"Disney's biggest entry ever into the world of games"
Disney and Epic Games have announced an "all new games and entertainment universe" connected to Fortnite to expand the reach of key IP. As part of this, Disney is also investing $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games alongside this "multiyear" project. Disney's Chief Executive...
News Fable's Narrative Lead Joins Cyberpunk 2077 Follow-Up 'Project Orion'
The new game is entering its "early stages of development"
New information has surfaced about Playground Games' former Fable narrative lead Anna Megill, who left the company last August. As highlighted by Eurogamer, she's now joined CD Projekt Red North America to work on its Cyberpunk 2077 follow-up, codenamed 'Project Orion'. This project is...
News Xbox's Blade Developer Arkane Lyon Offers Support After Mass Layoffs
"I've been through a studio closure once"
The biggest surprise of last year's Game Awards show was arguably the reveal of Marvel's Blade by the Xbox-owned developer Arkane Lyon. The industry has experienced some mass layoffs in recent weeks and in response to this, the game's director Dinga Bakaba has now offered some support to anyone who recently...
News Day Of The Devs Is Now Officially Non-Profit, Announces Fundraiser
Tim Schafer and co have "big plans for 2024 and beyond"
The Double Fine Productions and iam8bit established indie showcase 'Day of the Devs' has announced it's now a non-profit organisation. In a special video announcement, the team explained how it had essentially "always run things as a non-profit" - relying heavily on industry sponsorship and...
News Microsoft Hits Historic $3 Trillion Valuation On Same Day Of Xbox Layoffs
It's the second company after Apple to achieve this
Microsoft announced 1,900 jobs had been axed in the Xbox division earlier today, with MS Gaming CEO Phil Spencer explaining how the goal going forward is for leadership to "align on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure" to support the whole of its growing business...
News 'People Can Fly' Reportedly Cuts 30 Devs From Unannounced Square Enix Project
The same team has a new triple-A collab with Microsoft
People Can Fly, the Polish developer associated with titles like Outriders and Gears of War: Judgement, has reportedly axed 30 developers who were working on a new "unannounced" Square Enix title, codenamed Project Gemini. The company's developer director told Kotaku it was a result of "budget...
News Major Nelson Reveals The Next Chapter Of His Post-Xbox Career
He's now an advisor of a publisher backed by Microsoft
Earlier this year, Xbox legend Major Nelson (also known by his real name Larry Hryb) said goodbye to Microsoft after 20 years. He mentioned at the time how he would take a step back to work out the next chapter of his career, and now in an update, he's revealed he's joined the board of Midwest...
News Bungie's Independence Reportedly Under Threat After Layoffs & Destiny 2 Expansion Delay
Sony could step in and "swallow Bungie whole"
There's unfortunately some more concerning news making headlines today about Destiny 2 and original Halo developer Bungie. According to an update from IGN's Rebekah Valentine, the studio remains a "fully independent subsidiary of Sony" but it's been suggested that the "split between Sony and Bungie"...
News Gabe Newell Reflects On Exiting Microsoft To Go Make Half-Life
"On the surface, we should have failed"
Valve is currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of its iconic first-person shooter Half-Life, and as part of this, it's released a lengthy documentary discussing the entire history of the project. It also happens to have a segment touching on the co-founders' departure from Microsoft. This includes both...
News TimeSplitters Studio Free Radical Reportedly At Risk Of Closure
Another Embracer Group shutdown could happen
The first-person shooter series TimeSplitters was meant to be making a comeback after UK developer Free Radical Design was revived in 2021. Unfortunately, in a new update, it seems the studio is now at risk of being closed down by its parent company Embracer Group. According to VGC, Embracer is still...
News Ubisoft Axes 124 Jobs As Part Of Company Restructure
Assassin's Creed dev Ubisoft Montreal impacted
Following the news last week Bungie had cut "an estimated 100 jobs", the French video game publisher Ubisoft has now axed 124 employees to "streamline" its operations and enhance the company's "collective efficiency". This company restructuring will remove 98 positions in Canada, which is reportedly...
News PlayStation Studio Bungie Knows It's 'Lost' A Lot Of The Destiny 2 Community's Trust
"This has been one of the most difficult weeks"
Earlier this week, Bungie confirmed it had to say goodbye to many colleagues after a report revealed the PlayStation-owned studio had axed 8% of its workforce (around 100 jobs). Bungie higher-ups had also revealed just weeks before to staff that the company was running at 45% below its revenue...
News Microsoft Employees Will Reportedly Lose 'Free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate'
Update: Phil Spencer confirms this won't be happening
Update [Sat 4th Nov, 2023 11:00 GMT]: Microsoft is now reportedly "reversing" the decision to remove a free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate employee benefit after complaints (via The Verge). Phil Spencer investigated the situation himself and issued the following update to all employees via the...
News PlayStation Studio & Former Halo Dev Bungie Cuts Staff After Game Delays
Update: 8% of staff reportedly gone
Update [Wed 1st Nov, 2023 00:00 GMT]: Following the initial announcement of layoffs at Bungie, a new report by Bloomberg has now revealed the the decisio
News Here's A Look At Microsoft And Xbox's New Gaming Leadership Structure
See for yourself
It's been another big week for team Xbox with the latest announcement of a Microsoft reshuffle which sees some familiar faces promoted. Perhaps the biggest changes apart from Activision Blizzard, are the promotions of two execs. As noted in the initial announcement, Matt Booty is now 'president of game content and studios'...
News Phil Spencer Thanks PlayStation Boss For His Contribution To The Video Game Industry
Jim Ryan will step down from his role in March 2024
In some industry news today, Sony has announced PlayStation boss Jim Ryan will be retiring from his role in March next year. In response to this news, the head of Xbox Phil Spencer has now issued a message on social media thanking Ryan for his efforts within the video game industry over the past...
News Saints Row Developer Volition Has Been Shut Down By Embracer Group
"Effective immediately"
Following reports of the Saints Row reboot underperforming earlier this year, developer Volition Games has now announced it is shutting down, effective immediately. It shared this update via a post on LinkedIn - mentioning how the closure was part of Embracer Group's "restructuring program". As also noted, the company is p
News Major Nelson Takes A Selfie At Nintendo America's HQ With His Guest Pass
"Just visiting"
Although Major Nelson announced his departure from Xbox and Microsoft last month, he's not entirely done with the industry just yet. He previously mentioned how he would be taking a "step back" to work on the "next chapter" of his career. With this in mind, he's now been spotted taking selfies out of Nintendo's American office. It's...
News Major Nelson Announces His Departure From Xbox After 20 Years
"I have decided to take a step back"
Xbox's Major Nelson has today announced that he is leaving Xbox and Microsoft after over 20 years at the company, telling fans on social media that he intends to "take a step back and work on the next chapter of my career". In his message, Major Nelson (real name "Larry Hryb") thanked the "millions of gamers...
News Microsoft Acquired Hellblade Creator Ninja Theory For Just $117 Million
Chump change
Some more information that was never meant to be made public has been revealed in the Microsoft v FTC court battle. In the same email and documents revealing Xbox had a huge list of companies it was considering acquiring, page 10 reveals Ninja Theory was purchased for the sum of $117 million USD. Again, what's interesting about this...
