Another change is being introduced to Steam's user reviews. As of today, reviews will be marked with a symbol to show the reviewer played it "primarily" on the Steam Deck.The icon is presented on the right side of the banner, and the Steam Deck playtime can be revealed by hovering over it. However, there's currently no way to categorize any user reviews by handheld or PC usage.
Steam Deck's prominence
Alongside its current (and future) iterations, Steam Deck's importance is reflected in its monthly top game charts, which includes the most-played games on the device.For developers, the Steam Deck icon should help curious players …
The online game-focused subsidiary of Bandai Namco reportedly hit a net loss of 8.201 billion yen (or $51.35 million) during the 2023-2024 fiscal year. As spotted by Automaton, the increasingly negative net income has led to the developer becoming insolvent.Bandai Namco Online specializes in MMO and live-service titles for the publisher, such as Gundam Evolution (which went offline in late 2023) and Blue Protocol.This studio was already in the negative for the 2022-2023 period, and at the time saw a reported net loss of 3.98 billion yen. Back in February, Bandai Namco called its 2023-2024 earnings "disappointing" for the third quarter, and indicated Blue Protocol contributed to that loss.Currently, the free-to-play MMO is playable solely in Japan, with a wider release expected la…
While it's currently negotiating with larger game developers, SAG-AFTRA's updated its deal with smaller indie studios.The actors union creatd a fourth tier for its Interactive Media Agreement (IMA) wherein developers can access union-backed voice actors in projects budgeted between $15 million and $30 million. Initially, the IMA started with three tiers covering budgets from $250,000 to $15 million.As with the first three tiers, this fourth one offers AI protections (with informed consent and compensation for digital replicas) to actors for voice and physical performances. Additional pay based on unit sales is also afforded.Under this new tier, "more projects will benefit from the skills and experience of union performers, and performers will have more opportunities to work …
There's a new studio in town, and it's hoping to lend a hand to anyone making a game specifically in Unreal Engine.Fittingly named CodeDev: The Unreal Guys, the London-based studio was founded by chairman Rik Alexander, CEO Myke Parrott, and CTO Ryan Woodland. The three are positioning their new venture as a support studio.While co-developers are nothing new in games, it's not every day a studio announces its specializations in a particular engine. Epic Games' engine is updated and iterated upon on a consistent basis, so having a team to help with that lightens the production load.All three men have been in the industry from between 15 and 33 years, and previously worked at Climax Studios, Microsoft, and Bethesda. The company plans on tackling Unreal projects "of a…
Over 600 game developers were surveyed by the Game Developer Collective in May 2024, and 59 percent of them collectively minced no words: the industry is is in a bad spot.Those surveyed were asked about present market conditions for the industry overall. 38 percent and 21 percent were respectively at "bad" and "very bad," while 26 percent stayed neutral and 13 percent found it "good.""Market conditions" in this instance refers to the industry's "unusually difficult commercial environment," such as its swaths of layoffs and closures, and the "financial difficulties" at studios that precede these events.When asked, 49 percent think conditions are likely to stay the same over the next six months. 19 percent believe things will g…
Before yesterday's sudden closure, Arkane's Austin studio was preparing to support its 2023 game, Redfall. But with development now over, those plans have been abandoned.According to a new IGN report, the team had a roadmap in place for its troubled shooter. DLC and updates, such as a pair of previously promised heroes and an offline mode, were said to be in development.Makers of recent live-service games like this and Suicide Squad said offline would be implemented post-launch. Without it, Redfall will eventually die when the servers go, and it's anyone's guess as to when that will be.As IGN understands, Arkane Austin was working on this roadmap until "very recently." The DLC characters were apparently set to launch this Halloween, over 18 months after the ga…
Starting today, LinkedIn users can play a trio of games created by its News team, via computer or mobile app.Per VP Dan Roth, the "thinking-oriented games" were made to offer users a break and connect them to other players. Beyond fostering new connections (that could lead to jobs), Roth hopes the games spark a "healthy bit of competition" in the community.LinkedIn joins the New York Times and Spotify in non-traditional platforms launching browser and app-based games for mass appeal. Its games can only be played once per day, and players can see who among their connections is also playing.The three games—Queens, Pinpoint, and Crossclimb—will have their stats revealed in a weekly newsletter. Each game is a LinkedIn take on a well-known casual game: Pinpoint is a word…
The Apple Arcade will live for as long as Apple wants…which is hopefully a long time.Talking to The Guardian, senior director Alex Rofman said there's no plans to gut the platform. Back in February, a MobileGamer report claimed developers were frustrated with the company's lack of transparency, and believed the Arcade was on its way out.Rofman pushed back against those claims, saying games "are more important to Apple now than [ever]. Arcade is an outlet for indie studios with creative, innovative ideas. That is still important to us and always will be."Regarding those alleging smaller payouts, Rofman acknowledged bonuses depend on a game's player count. Bluntly, he said "not every game in a catalogue of more than 200 titles [will] grow its player base month…
Don't Nod is changing its business structure, and thankfully, without any layoffs required.Going forward, the French studio will be split into three internal branches: RPG, narrative-adventure, and action-adventure. The first two are respectively represented by Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden and Harmony: The Fall of Reverie.Last month, French union STJV claimed Don't Nod suffered from widespread mismanagement and burnout. It was all at the cost of a "grueling" reorganization, which this seems to be the end product of.While each branch is said to keep its "own focus," CEO Oskar Guilbert assured there would still be "collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas."Presently, Don't Nod is at work on seven projects across its two offices. The Paris tea…