Sat.May 04, 2024 - Fri.May 10, 2024

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Report: Xbox bracing for more cuts after studio-hoarder Microsoft claims it's spread too thin

Game Developer

Microsoft has spent billions on studio acquisitions but appears to be crumbling under its own weight.

Studios 363
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Microsoft's mystifying mismanagement | This Week in Business

GamesIndustry.biz

This Week in Business is our weekly recap column , a collection of stats and quotes from recent stories presented with a dash of opinion (sometimes more than a dash) and intended to shed light on various trends. Check every Friday for a new entry. The big news this week was Microsoft taking an axe to the ZeniMax studio system , shutting down Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, Redfall studio Arkane Austin, and Mighty Doom maker Alpha Dog Studios.

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Biomorph by Lucid Dream Studio innovates the Metroidvania genre 

PreMortem.Games

In Biomorph , players can assume the shape and skills of defeated enemies, employing their powers to combat other monsters or traverse uncharted territories. This unique ability, previously unseen in Metroidvania games, represents a significant innovation for the genre that the creators at Canadian indie game company Lucid Dreams Studio so love. “In the team, everyone is a fan of Metroidvania”, says Brand Manager Rayanne Berriche of Lucid Dreams Studio.

Studios 129
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Accelerate Generative AI Inference Performance with NVIDIA TensorRT Model Optimizer, Now Publicly Available

Nvidia

In the fast-evolving landscape of generative AI, the demand for accelerated inference speed remains a pressing concern. With the exponential growth in model. In the fast-evolving landscape of generative AI, the demand for accelerated inference speed remains a pressing concern. With the exponential growth in model size and complexity, the need to swiftly produce results to serve numerous users simultaneously continues to grow.

AI 112
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EA reports annual net revenues of $7.56 billion amid layoff spree

Game Developer

EA boss Andrew Wilson claimed the company has built "strong momentum" just months after cutting 5 percent of jobs.

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Fallout 4 rules the roost in April | UK Monthly Charts

GamesIndustry.biz

Fallout 4 was comfortably the best-selling game of April in the UK, according to the latest GSD data. It was a quiet month for game releases last month. In the UK, 2.23 million games were sold, which is a drop of over 7% over the year before. However, it's worth noting that April 2023 featured the launches of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Dead Island 2, which boosted the market last year.

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Solo dev Matthieu Houllier lets you take a paper plane on an adventure in Paper Sky

PreMortem.Games

French solo dev Matthieu Houllier , operating under the name Brute Force , has been making games by himself for five years. In that time he has released the 3D platform game Crumble. “It did way above what I anticipated and allowed me to live off of gamedev”, he says. Now, the sky’s the limit for Houllier as he is working on his second project Paper Sky , a game ‘that combines the thrill of an adventure game with the mechanics of a paper plane simulator’ The Kickstarter campaig

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Microsoft closes Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks and Alpha Dog Studios

Game Developer

The developers behind Redfall, Hi-Fi Rush, and Mighty Doom are being shut down.

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Nintendo: No Switch 2 before April 2025

GamesIndustry.biz

Nintendo has suggested that the successor to the Switch will not arrive before March 31, 2025, indicating an April release at the very earliest. In the Q&A transcript of this week's earnings call — translated by GamesIndustry.biz — Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa told investors: "The sales forecasts for this period do not include sales of the Nintendo Switch successor device.

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Hollow Home by Ukrainian studio Twigames tells the story of how the war affects everyday life

PreMortem.Games

As the Ukraine war enters its third year, the impact on the lives of everyday people is profound. The persistent threat of violent outbreaks and bombings draws a heavy toll on the mental well-being of those striving to navigate their daily lives in such dire circumstances. With the game Hollow Home , Ukrainian indie studio Twigames shows what it means to live in an occupied city.

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Lexip and Overload PR proudly sponsoring this year’s MCV/DEVELOP Awards

Game Development News

We have another award sponsor to announce ahead of this year’s MCV/DEVELOP Awards. Actually, make that two: top gaming accessories brand Lexip and equally lofty PR outfit Overload PR.

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Steam suddenly banned in Vietnam

Game Developer

Valve's platform has been inaccessible in Vietnam for a few days now, but it's anyone's guess as to why, or if it'll return.

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Devolver co-founder says large-scale game dev "crushing under its own weight a little bit"

GamesIndustry.biz

It's been a difficult stretch for the industry, so when we speak with Devolver Digital co-founder Nigel Lowrie at the Game Developers Conference, our first question is fairly open-ended: What is happening? Lowrie mentions the well-established impact of the industry's pandemic boost receding, but believes there have been compounding factors impacting different aspects of the industry as well.

Dev 145
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Tavern Manager Simulator demo

Indie DB

Hello, Travelers! The demo has been released! Restore your fantasy tavern to its full glory. Repair, improve and expand the establishment. Cook delicious food and keep an eye on the mood of the visitors. Create a unique atmosphere for unforgettable adventures.

Demo 111
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Voting for the MCV/DEVELOP Awards ends Monday – last chance to decide the winners!

Game Development News

The headline pretty much says it all; that if for some bizarre reason you’ve been holding back on voting in this year’s MCV/DEVELOP Awards, time is running out.

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Lightforge Games laying off 'majority' of development team

Game Developer

The studio said it has struggled to secure funding for its debut project and is now pausing development.

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What do studio closures mean for Xbox strategy? | Opinion

GamesIndustry.biz

The news that Xbox was going to buy Bethesda caught me by surprise. And not just because of the sheer size of the $7.5bn acquisition. It surprised me because it hadn’t matched what Xbox had been telling us. I’d interviewed Xbox senior management several times over the proceeding 18 months, and when it came to acquisitions, they were talking about the need for games that would appeal to PC players, and gamers in countries like Southeast Asia, Japan, Europe, South America and so on.

Studios 145
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Forgotten Skies Beta Playtest

Indie DB

We're thrilled to invite you to be a part of our Beta Playtest on Steam, where you can experience hilarious and antertaining gameplay of our upcoming third-person Platformer-Adventure before anyone else!

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The Spine Animation Story at Logic Simplified

Logic Simplified

Whoever thought Spine 2D animation reminds you of a paper doll craft, where you move all the body parts to create animations, was right! Spine is a 2D skeletal animation tool for game development and other animation projects. How does it work? Imagine each character with a series of single 2D images making up its various body parts. These images are posed around each other, and on top of an invisible, virtual skeleton consisting of a hierarchy of interconnected bones.

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Exploiting Fear to Create Good Horror Games

Game Developer

Developers Jade Jacson, Steve Kirby and Kelvin Moore dive into horror as a genre, why we like to be scared and how game developers can exploit our deepest fears to create a wide range of scares.

Horror 341
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Activision to pay $23.4m for patent infringement

GamesIndustry.biz

A jury has ruled that Activision Blizzard will pay tech incubator Acceleration Bay $23.4 million for patent infringement. As reported by Law.com , the May 3 ruling comes after the incubator began its legal action back in 2015. The case filed in the US District Court for the District of Delaware claims that patents for networking and broadcasting were used in Activision's multiplayer title.

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The Minesweeper

Indie DB

One private; no guns; just your wits and trusty mine detector. Your mission is to clear a path through the minefields in the Great Desert. In most levels, you will have to find a mine detector to clear the mines, or carefully navigate through the field.

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How to Achieve Enterprise Continuous Testing With Perforce

Perforce

Enterprise continuous testing is more achievable than ever with Perforce. This blog will show you how.

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Alan Wake II developer Remedy cancels multiplayer project Codename Kestrel

Game Developer

The studio has scrapped the project to focus on existing franchises.

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Brazil adopts breakthrough Legal Framework for Games

GamesIndustry.biz

Brazil has officially adopted a new law redefining video games in the country and establishing guidelines to guarantee and regulate its industry's future growth. The bill was approved on May 3 by Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after two years of debates and lobbying from games trade body Abragames, regional associations, and studios in the country.

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Pale Coins - April Update

Indie DB

The new demo version 1.3.0 was released, a discord server for Pale Coins is now available and several other things have been added.

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The Curious Case of Playable Ads and Traditional Marketing Strategies

Deconstructor of Fun

Guest post by Orkuncan Aydin , COO at Playable Factory — Playable Factory's team leads the way with experience from over 2000 playable ads, working with over 160 top game publishers and brands. These ads have significantly improved engagement, CPM and ROAS. Playable Factory offers a suite of products that empower users throughout the ad development process, including tools for ad creation, customization and detailed performance analysis.

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Why does EA think in-game ads are better business than a Mandalorian game?

Game Developer

Chasing in-game advertising while canning games like Respawn Entertainment's Star Wars first-person shooter seems downright bananas.

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Report - ZeniMax on studio closures: "I think we were about to topple over"

GamesIndustry.biz

A ZeniMax executive has reportedly said Xbox's closure of four studios this week was due to a lack of staff and support. As reported by Bloomberg , head of ZeniMax Jill Braff reportedly said during a town hall meeting on Wednesday it was hard to support the studios globally "with a lean central team" and various projects in the works. "I think we were about to topple over,"Braff said.

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CounterAttack - Update 1.1.5

Indie DB

Update v1.1.5 has been in development for a while and is getting close! A new demo will be released at the same time.

Demo 105
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Cloud Game Development Solutions for Your Team

Perforce

Build and maintain your games in the cloud with ease. Discover cloud game development solutions that offer scalability, flexibility, and stability.

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CI Games sanctions another 30 layoffs in 'final, targeted round of redundancies'

Game Developer

The Lords of the Fallen developer just amassed $60 million in annual revenue to achieve its 'best year' on record.

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From The Last of Us to Baldur's Gate 3: The success of the Game Music Festival

GamesIndustry.biz

Two years ago, the Game Music Festival was held at London's Royal Festival Hall for the very first time, after five editions in its Polish homeland. At the time, we noted how the venue, which can seat 2,700 people, was well attended , but not full. But the audience gave the two scores performed (Cuphead and both Ori titles) a very warm reception, and the event was undoubtedly a great success.

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Lost Paws v0.7.2 is now out!

Indie DB

The next big update for Lost Paws is now out! This update is focused on many quality-of-life changes, a graphics and environment upgrade, and most importantly a complete overhaul to the UI.

Graphics 105
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Indie Postmortem 2: Geneforge 2 - Infestation. Avoiding Utter Disaster.

The Bottom Feeder

I really hate making screenshots, but sometimes I capture something that looks pretty cool. This is the second part of the design/marketing/release process for our newest indie RPG, Geneforge 2 - Infestation. The first part is here. TL;DR: We’ve been making indie games for a living for 30 years. Here’s how we manage it. Phase 16-18 - Actually Doing PR For Real.

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CWA asks Microsoft 'where is the respect and compassion?' following studio closures

Game Developer

The worker-led organization had its own comments to deliver about Microsoft's recent layoffs and closures.

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Xbox reportedly shutting down four Bethesda studios

GamesIndustry.biz

Microsoft is shutting down four of the studios it picked up as part of the 2020 Bethesda acquisition, as reported by IGN. The four studios include Arkane Austin, maker of last year's disappointing Redfall , and Tango Gameworks, the studio behind Hi-Fi Rush, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and The Evil Within. Beyond that pair, Mighty Doom developer Alpha Dog Studios and Human Head Software successor Roundhouse Games are also shutting down.

Studios 141