GTA+, the monthly subscription service for GTA Online, has gotten its first-ever price hike. Eagle-eyed players (in a now deleted Reddit post) spotted the price has recently gone up from $6/mo to $8/mo on PlayStation and Xbox stores.Checking the GTA+ website, it doesn't appear Rockstar had informed players of the minor price bump beforehand. According to Rockstar Intel, the new price will hit existing players on June 11.Rockstar launched GTA+ in early 2022, and marks the developer's first-ever subscription service. Last year, it began adding older Rockstar games like Bully and Red Dead Redemption to its catalog.Like Xbox Game Pass, subscribers can choose to buy those games outright with a small discount added in.
The source code for 1999's Descent 3 has been uploaded to Github for everyone to use, free of charge.Uploaded by programmer Kevin Bentley, who worked on the game back in the day, the code includes the unreleased 1.5 patch he and Jeff Slutter made years prior. The only thing missing, he continued, were some proprietary video and sound libraries."I have that code if someone wants to help make a converter so the old cutscenes work," said Bentley. "It'll take some effort to stub out that code so it compiles."Bentley also admitted the code "needs to be cleaned up some" and asked for some grace, since it was made by a team "much younger and less experienced back then.""If you're interested in helping maintain it, please send me a messag…
The source code for 1999's Descent 3 has been uploaded to Github for everyone to use, free of charge.Uploaded by programmer Kevin Bentley, who worked on the game back in the day, the code includes the unreleased 1.5 patch he and Jeff Slutter made years prior. The only thing missing, he continued, were some proprietary video and sound libraries."I have that code if someone wants to help make a converter so the old cutscenes work," said Bentley. "It'll take some effort to stub out that code so it compiles."Bentley also admitted the code "needs to be cleaned up some" and asked for some grace, since it was made by a team "much younger and less experienced back then.""If you're interested in helping maintain it, please send me a messag…
Nearly a year later and having just sold off Gearbox to Take-Two, Embracer has ended its monumental restructuring efforts.CEO Lars Wingefors confirmed its status during a recent investors call (spotted by RockPaperShotgun). The program first started in mid-June 2023 following the collapse of a $2 billion deal reportedly planned with Savvy Games.Said program resulted in nearly 1,400 jobs being cut over a six-month period. Studios like Eidos Montreal and Nimble Giant lost staff, while projects were canceled and other developers like Volition and Free Radical got closed entirely.More recently, Embracer has sold off studios to other publishers as a means to make money. Saber Interactive, 3D Realms, and Slipgate (among others) were recently sold to a private firm for a deal valued at $247 milli…
Developer Jeremías Babini passed away "unexpectedly" over the weekend, according to collaborator Daniel Benmergui.The Argentinian developer worked with Benmergui on 2023's Storyteller as an artist and co-designer. They first teamed with musician Hernán Rozenwasser on 2017's Fidel Dungeon Rescue."[Jeremías] he poured his humor into every character, every animation, every detail," wrote Benmergui. "He gave life to everything we did."Babini first got into games in 2010 as an animator at social game developer Atommica. In 2012, he worked at Heavy Boat (as an artist) and Ludomancy (art director). Come 2015, he co-found Wonbats in Buenos Aires.At Wonbats, he worked as an art director on a number of Cartoon Network titles. Those games, some of which are …
Velan Studios is in the "early stages" of laying off members of its 121-person staff as part of a company reorganization.On Twitter, the New York developer explained an unnamed external partner abruptly canceled the project it was working on. Within the next 60 days, 46 employees will be let go."This is a rough environment for a lot of indie studios," said Velan, "and like them, we're faced with some very hard choices."
The life and times of Velan Studios
Velan was founded in 2016 by Guha Bala and Karthik Bala, who previously founded Vicarious Visions. Its debut title was Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit for Nintendo, f…
The now independent Toys for Bob may have locked down a deal with Microsoft on its next project. The studio first revealed its hope for a partnership in the same announcement as its split from Activision Blizzard.Per Windows Central, Xbox's Matt Booty stated an "agreement" was reached between the two companies. While light on the details of that arrangement, he allegedly indicated the studio's next project will be "similar to what [it's] made in the past."This was further supported by the outlet claiming Toys for Bob's leadership was "adamant" about returning to its pre-Call of Duty style of games. However, it's not clear if this project will be a full Xbox exclusive or have some multiplatform agreement.Toys for Bob's best known f…
45 employees were laid off by Ubisoft on Friday. As spotted by Dead Game's Ethan Gach, the cuts hit the developer's global publishing teams to "enhance our collective efficiency.""These are not decisions taken lightly," wrote Ubisoft, "and we are providing comprehensive support for our impacted colleagues."For Ubisoft, this marks the French studio's first round of layoffs for 2024. In 2023, it made reductions across its customer service and community teams, and cuts were also made at Ubisoft Montreal and Quebec specifically.These layoffs closed a week of reductions at GameStop, Gearbox, and Nintendo of America.
Venture capital firm A16Z Games is investing $75 million towards its third annual Speedrun Tech x Games accelerator.The 12-week program for early stage startups without funding will run in Los Angeles from July 29-October 20.Along with its investment in pre-seed startups, A16Z will also raise its separate investment into each selected company to $750,000.In A16Z's press release, partner Josh Lu said Speedrun "attracts some of the world’s most innovative entrepreneurs." Beyond the financial support, recipients get "a team of operators and partners" from across the industry to "equip them with the knowledge that help them go from zero to launch."
Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades has left the Microsoft-owned studio.The Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice writer has departed before the launch of the long-awaited sequel, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, which is slated to touch down on May 21, 2024.Polygon noticed Antoniades' absence during a recent studio visit, with an Xbox spokesperson confirming his exit shortly after. It's unclear when exactly Antoniades left, but he was involved in Hellblade 2 during the early stages of production.Notably, the reason for his departure also remains a mystery.Antoniades established Ninja Theory alongside Dom Matthews, Mike Ball, and Nina Kristensen back in 2004, with the co-founders regrouping after a stint under the Just Add Monsters moniker.In the two decades since, Ninja Theory …
Another executive shakeup is happening over at Ubisoft, as Brenda Panagrossi has been tapped as general manager for its United States team.Under this position, she'll "define and implement strategy for the US Engagement Hub." As further "support" for the developer's US-based teams, she'll serve as their regional representative.Interestingly, the press release further notes she'll be managing the operations of the San Francisco office specifically.Panagrossi first joined Ubisoft in 2002 as a member of its eCommerce division. Over the years, she's served as VP for its digital sales and platform management teams, and most recently worked as the VP of its executive publishing team.In that same release, Ubisoft's chief publishing officer Alain C…
Venture capital firm A16Z Games is investing $75 million towards its third annual Speedrun Tech x Games accelerator.The 12-week program for early stage startups without funding will run in Los Angeles from July 29-October 20.Along with its investment in pre-seed startups, A16Z will also raise its separate investment into each selected company to $750,000.In A16Z's press release, partner Josh Lu said Speedrun "attracts some of the world’s most innovative entrepreneurs." Beyond the financial support, recipients get "a team of operators and partners" from across the industry to "equip them with the knowledge that help them go from zero to launch."
Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades has left the Microsoft-owned studio.The Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice writer has departed before the launch of the long-awaited sequel, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, which is slated to touch down on May 21, 2024.Polygon noticed Antoniades' absence during a recent studio visit, with an Xbox spokesperson confirming his exit shortly after. It's unclear when exactly Antoniades left, but he was involved in Hellblade 2 during the early stages of production.Notably, the reason for his departure also remains a mystery.Antoniades established Ninja Theory alongside Dom Matthews, Mike Ball, and Nina Kristensen back in 2004, with the co-founders regrouping after a stint under the Just Add Monsters moniker.In the two decades since, Ninja Theory …
Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades has left the Microsoft-owned studio.The Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice writer has departed before the launch of the long-awaited sequel, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, which is slated to touch down on May 21, 2024.Polygon noticed Antoniades' absence during a recent studio visit, with an Xbox spokesperson confirming his exit shortly after. It's unclear when exactly Antoniades left, but he was involved in Hellblade 2 during the early stages of production.Notably, the reason for his departure also remains a mystery.Antoniades established Ninja Theory alongside Dom Matthews, Mike Ball, and Nina Kristensen back in 2004, with the co-founders regrouping after a stint under the Just Add Monsters moniker.In the two decades since, Ninja Theory …
Another executive shakeup is happening over at Ubisoft, as Brenda Panagrossi has been tapped as general manager for its United States team.Under this position, she'll "define and implement strategy for the US Engagement Hub." As further "support" for the developer's US-based teams, she'll serve as their regional representative.Interestingly, the press release further notes she'll be managing the operations of the San Francisco office specifically.Panagrossi first joined Ubisoft in 2002 as a member of its eCommerce division. Over the years, she's served as VP for its digital sales and platform management teams, and most recently worked as the VP of its executive publishing team.In that same release, Ubisoft's chief publishing officer Alain C…