Update: Humble Games confirms layoffs amid ‘restructuring’, denies full shutdown

Update (7/23/24): In a statement provided to Game Developer, Humble said its game publishing label is "undergoing restructuring" rather than fully shutting down. This restructure "involved much deliberation and careful thought, with the goal of ensuring the stability and support of our developers and ongoing projects.""We are acutely aware of the profound impact this decision has on our team members at Humble Games and deeply empathize with everyone affected. Our team's contributions have been world-class and invaluable, supporting the launch of our games since we started publishing in 2017."Ongoing and future projects are said to be unaffected, and the restructure has "no impact" on Humble Bundle's operations. It affirmed that it was &quot…

Microsoft and Apple back away from OpenAI board amid regulator scrutiny

As OpenAI is getting more focus from regulators like the FTC, Microsoft and Apple are both distancing themselves from the ChatGPT maker.Per Ars Technica, both tech giants have elected not to join OpenAI's board after previously signing their allegiance. The former accepted an observer role in November 2023 as Sam Altman was ousted (and returned) from OpenAI.Notably, this comes almost a full year after the FTC launched its investigation into the generative AI company. At the time, it believed ChatGPT potentially violated consumer protection laws and harmed consumers.The exit of both companies means OpenAI no longer has any observers on the board. On Microsoft and Apple's side, this absolves them of any potential (and further) antitrust attention from regulators.In a letter obtaine…

Astro’s Playroom, Spider-Man 2 among PlayStation Portal’s most-played launch games

The PlayStation Portal is getting a lot of usage from players, according to Sony. In its newest PlayStation Blog, the developer revealed some interesting statistics for its not-quite-handheld.From mid-November 2023 to early February, its most played games included PS exclusives Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Astro's Playroom, and God of War Ragnarok. On the multiplatform (and multiplayer) end were EA Sports FC 24 and Fortnite.Sony didn't give hard numbers but highlighted how much easier the Portal (or PSP) makes accessing games. Average Portal engagement shot up within the first two months of players using it.Remote play has been a good feature for PlayStation since it was introduced with the PlayStation 4. With the Portal, over 60 percent of players started using the feature for th…

Fallout 76 hits 1 million players in a day, brings overall series to near-5 million players

The numbers for the Fallout franchise keep going up after the recent launch of Prime Video's show. Yesterday (April 23), Bethesda revealed that Fallout 76 hit 1 million players in a single day.The milestone covers the shared world shooter's player base across PC, Xbox (both One and Series X|S), and PlayStation 4 and 5, illuminating just how much the game's numbers have grown in light of the show's success.In the last several days, Fallout 76 has repeatedly topped its Steam player count and has a new peak at 73,368 players at the time of writing.Additionally, the greater Fallout franchise reached nearly 5 million players that same day (although it probably helps that right now, most entries in the series are currently on sale).A specific game wasn't highlighted as a…

Ubisoft appoints publishing VP Brenda Panagrossi as general manager for US market

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…