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…
NetEase is partnering with Marvel Games to develop Marvel Rivals, a shooter that effectively serves as the comic publisher's answer to Overwatch and Valorant.Like those games, two teams go against each other, with each player taking on the role of a different Marvel hero (or villain). While the characters don't appear to have specific class roles, Valorant's influence is clear in Rivals' visual aesthetic.In recent years, NetEase has largely been setting up Western studios headed up by veterans from BioWare and Ubisoft. By partnering with NetEase, Marvel gets a publisher with a foot into the Chinese game market.NetEase previously worked with Marvel before on a pair of mobile games, but Rivals is being made for PC.Marvel Games head Jay Ong called Marvel Rivals "one o…
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…
Valve has introduced a new (and old) array of parental control and family-related features with Steam Families.Under Families, multiple accounts can play games from each other's libraries, even if the original owner is currently playing. The feature evolves upon account sharing in a major way, and may impact a game's sales and player numbers.Developers will have the option to choose whether their game will allow for Family Sharing. If activated, up to six family members and approved guests can play a game, with their own individual progress.Should a Family library have multiple copies of a game, each member will be able to play it simultaneously. A list of current Sharing-enabled titles can be found here.Currently in beta, Steam Families serves as a way to manage the games in a p…
Bungie's Marathon reboot is undergoing a regime change. Per IGN, Riot alum Joe Ziegler has been directing the extraction shooter, taking over from Christopher Barrett.Ziegler joined Bungie in late 2022 in a then-vague role. According to his Twitter, he's been directing the game for nearly a year as the Marathon team's had a larger shift in its creative leadership.At time of writing, it's unclear if Barrett will remain at Bungie, and also why he was removed to begin with."For the last nine months, I’ve been working on Marathon as the game director," wrote Ziegler. "We’re still baking, but I’m excited to share with you more info on the game as we get closer and closer to bringing it to all of you."
The games industry has had countless layoffs and cancelled projects since 2023, and Tarn Adams is not happy about it.At this year's GDC (spotted by PCGamer), the Dwarf Fortress designer was frank in laying the blame for these events at the hands of executives, calling them "bad people.""These decisions, they don't sound practical," he continued. "They sound like they're driven by greedy, greedy people trying to make some kind of venture capital thing work out."This week has seen "only" three reported layoffs this far (over at IGN), but 2024 has been devastating. In March alone, several studios have either cut most of their staff or close down entirely.To Adams, executives have made a "stench of rot" that allows for staff cuts…
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…
NetEase is partnering with Marvel Games to develop Marvel Rivals, a shooter that effectively serves as the comic publisher's answer to Overwatch and Valorant.Like those games, two teams go against each other, with each player taking on the role of a different Marvel hero (or villain). While the characters don't appear to have specific class roles, Valorant's influence is clear in Rivals' visual aesthetic.In recent years, NetEase has largely been setting up Western studios headed up by veterans from BioWare and Ubisoft. By partnering with NetEase, Marvel gets a publisher with a foot into the Chinese game market.NetEase previously worked with Marvel before on a pair of mobile games, but Rivals is being made for PC.Marvel Games head Jay Ong called Marvel Rivals "one o…
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…
Valve has introduced a new (and old) array of parental control and family-related features with Steam Families.Under Families, multiple accounts can play games from each other's libraries, even if the original owner is currently playing. The feature evolves upon account sharing in a major way, and may impact a game's sales and player numbers.Developers will have the option to choose whether their game will allow for Family Sharing. If activated, up to six family members and approved guests can play a game, with their own individual progress.Should a Family library have multiple copies of a game, each member will be able to play it simultaneously. A list of current Sharing-enabled titles can be found here.Currently in beta, Steam Families serves as a way to manage the games in a p…
Bungie's Marathon reboot is undergoing a regime change. Per IGN, Riot alum Joe Ziegler has been directing the extraction shooter, taking over from Christopher Barrett.Ziegler joined Bungie in late 2022 in a then-vague role. According to his Twitter, he's been directing the game for nearly a year as the Marathon team's had a larger shift in its creative leadership.At time of writing, it's unclear if Barrett will remain at Bungie, and also why he was removed to begin with."For the last nine months, I’ve been working on Marathon as the game director," wrote Ziegler. "We’re still baking, but I’m excited to share with you more info on the game as we get closer and closer to bringing it to all of you."
The games industry has had countless layoffs and cancelled projects since 2023, and Tarn Adams is not happy about it.At this year's GDC (spotted by PCGamer), the Dwarf Fortress designer was frank in laying the blame for these events at the hands of executives, calling them "bad people.""These decisions, they don't sound practical," he continued. "They sound like they're driven by greedy, greedy people trying to make some kind of venture capital thing work out."This week has seen "only" three reported layoffs this far (over at IGN), but 2024 has been devastating. In March alone, several studios have either cut most of their staff or close down entirely.To Adams, executives have made a "stench of rot" that allows for staff cuts…
The games industry has had countless layoffs and cancelled projects since 2023, and Tarn Adams is not happy about it.At this year's GDC (spotted by PCGamer), the Dwarf Fortress designer was frank in laying the blame for these events at the hands of executives, calling them "bad people.""These decisions, they don't sound practical," he continued. "They sound like they're driven by greedy, greedy people trying to make some kind of venture capital thing work out."This week has seen "only" three reported layoffs this far (over at IGN), but 2024 has been devastating. In March alone, several studios have either cut most of their staff or close down entirely.To Adams, executives have made a "stench of rot" that allows for staff cuts…