Developers laid off from Dauntless creator Phoenix Labs unveiled a game that almost was at the studio. Codenamed "Project Dragon," it was officially cancelled over the weekend, prompting several artists and the game's composer to reveal their work.This past May, Phoenix laid off around 100 employees and canceled several projects in development. When studios kill projects, they don't always let staff (current or former) publicly speak on nor show off at length what they'd been working on.According to principal concept artist Nicholas Kole, there were multiple internal attempts to save "Dragon" that went nowhere. In revealing his work, he called it "the largest ever art bomb of work I loved."In Kole's words, "Dragon" would've b…
During its recent Worldwide Development Conference, Apple unveiled a new update to its Game Porting Toolkit 2 program. With the update, developers have an easier (and faster) time in porting their games over to Mac, iPad, and iPhone.In its blog, Apple noted the update has the features most requested by developers. Along with improved compatibility with Windows games, the update lets developers unify their code and shaders across devices.Making games for Mac can sometimes be tricky, a friction Apple aims to reduce. GPT 2 saves "precious [development] time," it said, whether the project is an actual port or a game already being made for Apple devices.As such, "advanced" games can now be released on Mac at greater ease. Under this update, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown i…
Amazon has agreed to publish a new triple-A open-world driving title from the team behind the Forza Horizon series. The retailer-turned-game-company has signed a deal with Maverick Games to help bring the title to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S.Maverick was established in 2022 by a group of core Forza Horizon developers, including former Playground Games studio head and creative director Mike Brown.When breaking cover last year, the Maverick team described their debut project as an "ultra-high quality title" that would enable players to "take risks" and "be curious." Providing more flavor in a post on the Amazon Games website, Brown claims the studio is working on a driving game with humanity."To become a game that people genuinely love, then th…
Little Kitty, Big City has attracted over 1 million players through Xbox Game Pass alone. The news comes straight from developer Double Dagger, which shared the milestone on X.Xbox Game Pass players don't translate to copies sold, but it's interesting to hear just how many people have been accessing the indie adventure through Microsoft's subscription service.Little Kitty, Big City debuted on May 9, 2024, meaning it amassed over 1 million players in under two weeks. It also sold 100,000 copies within 48 hours of launching on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox.
Next steps for Little Kitty
Double Dagger is currently working through a number of bugs to ensure i…
Supergiant launched Hades II in Early Access yesterday (May 5), and it's already off to an impressive start. Per SteamDB, the roguelike has peaked at 103,567 players.That puts it at over double the peak of the first Hades' Early Access when it came to Steam in 2019. It first arrived on the Epic Games Store in 2018 as a timed exclusive.Both Hades games have been the studio's only forays into Early Access. In Hades II's case, Supergiant said it'd have more content than the first Hades, with more content in the coming months. It expects Early Access to last throughout 2024.During its two-year pre-1.0 period, Hades sold 700,000 copies. At time of writing, Supergiant has revealed how much Hades II has sold.
Amazon has already branded its Fallout show a "hit" and commissioned a second series, but now we know what that means in more tangible terms.As reported by Variety, the live-action Amazon Prime Video adaptation pulled in 65 million viewers in 16 days to become the second most-watched title ever on the streaming platform.That milestone also means it has become the most-watched release since The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuted in 2022.Amazon noted Fallout is now the most-watched show within the 18-34 age demographic and explained 60 percent of viewers live outside the United States. Specifically, the company said demand for the show in the UK, France, and Brazil was particularly strong.Given Amazon hasn't discussed how it sizes up audiences, it's unclear if …
Amazon has already branded its Fallout show a "hit" and commissioned a second series, but now we know what that means in more tangible terms.As reported by Variety, the live-action Amazon Prime Video adaptation pulled in 65 million viewers in 16 days to become the second most-watched title ever on the streaming platform.That milestone also means it has become the most-watched release since The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuted in 2022.Amazon noted Fallout is now the most-watched show within the 18-34 age demographic and explained 60 percent of viewers live outside the United States. Specifically, the company said demand for the show in the UK, France, and Brazil was particularly strong.Given Amazon hasn't discussed how it sizes up audiences, it's unclear if …
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 …