TerraTech developer Payload Studios has laid off 25 percent of its workforce. Payload CEO and founder Russ Clarke confirmed the news on Linkedin and said the cuts are a result of the "struggles affecting wider games industry.""We tried very hard to avoid this, and I won't pretend that we got everything right over the last few years—but ultimately the games market has been very tough in recent times, and shows little sign of getting easier. Small independents like us have no protection from this, other than 'nailing it' every time, which is much easier said than done," said Clarke."Payload will carry on, and bounce back from this, I firmly believe; but it's a hard road and it will stay hard for a good while longer."He added that TerraTech and spin-off TerraTech Worlds will be "maintained and developed without interruption," and implored studios with vacancies to consider those impacted by the layoffs."We wish the best to those amazing co-workers with whom we have shared this incredible journey, but must now regretfully part ways," he continued.Layoffs and studio closures have become a mainstay in 2024. Thousands…
Month: October 2024
The traditionally online and free-to-play-based game industry of South Korean game development may be shifting gears. According to a recent report from Wesley LeBlanc in the final issue of Game Informer, developers at multiple studios like Round8 Studio, Shift Up, and Pearl Abyss are seeing signs that players at home and abroad are attracted to single-player experiences on PC and console.LeBlanc reached out to developers after seeing these companies releasing single-player games like Round8 Studio's Lies of P, Shift Up's Stellar Blade (published by Sony Interactive Entertainment), and Pearl Abyss' upcoming Crimson Desert. Even longtime online and mobile publishers are spreading their platform wings, with Nexon subsidiary Neople soon releasing the single-player The First Berserker: Khazan, and NCSoft bringing the free-to-play PC game Throne and Liberty to consoles in September.Developers at these companies confirmed to LeBlanc that the trend is real—and more of them are joining the "traditional" console and PC market sometimes thought to be calcified here in the West.But why are they making the jump? There wasn't one clear answer—instead a constella…
As the game industry is becoming embroiled in the current and potential use of generative AI, Unity CEO Matt Bromberg is "less focused" on it at the moment.Speaking with VentureBeat, he said the engine maker is prioritizing "how we can help customers make games more efficiently and less expensively." While he believes genAI can help with that, there's bigger concerns than the controversial technology."Unity is agnostic to the derivation of the 3D asset. It can be created in AI," he said. "When you make games, you ingest your assets into the engine and then you start building. We’re interested in that moment and everything that comes after."Companies like EA and Microsoft have touted the potential of generative AI as a much-needed assist to game development. Bromberg shares that same belief, clearly, but he also figures that making games will always be the process' biggest "pain point."In theory, pre-made engines like Unity and Godot can reduce that friction, genAI or no. He believes the former is "uniquely positioned" to help by obfuscating engine complexity and the larger development process.However, he didn&#…
After recent patch notes drummed up interest, Valve has confirmed its Linux-powered SteamOS will support upcoming, non-Steam Deck handhelds.Designer Lawrence Yang told The Verge third-party devices can eventually run its operating system, beginning with ASUS' ROG Ally. Yang told the outlet support was in the cards back in late 2022, as a potential herald for the Steam Controller or Machine's return.However, he stressed this feature "isn't ready to run out of the box yet." Valve is making "steady progress," and it sounds like it wants to have support for multiple handhelds prepared before pushing it out."The note about ROG Ally keys is related to third-party device support for SteamOS," he explained. "The team is continuing to work on adding support for additional handhelds."When Yang spoke with The Verge in 2022, he said a separate release of SteamOS 3 (the Deck's operating system at the time) was planned. That effort has also made progress, and he's now said Valve will make Windows drivers for the Steam Deck OLED available for use.That feature will let users switch between that and the Windows OS, which could expand …
The annual Scottish Games Week will be a no-show for 2024.Per founder and director Brian Baglow, the organizers put it on rest mode due to "disruption across the video game ecosystem and political landscape." With "ongoing" delays in funding and government support, Baglow says he doesn't want 2024 to have a "substandard" showing.Since its start in 2022, SGW has been billed as Scotland's biggest games event. While temporary, its loss creates a further rift between the country's developers and that of other UK regions like London.Baglow assured SGW would return in October 2025 "bigger, better, and more creative than ever." As preparation for that, the event is now looking for partners, sponsors, and advisors.Additionally, organizers are seeking out developers from Scotland to join the SGW Advisory Board and help "build more connected and collaborative events in the future."Interested individuals and partners are encouraged to contact Baglow here. As for sponsors, the SGW has released a simplified sponsorship deck, which can be read here.…
Prime Video is developing a new video game show, this one an anthology focused on various titles from multiple developers.Per Deadline, the series is dubbed Secret Level. Episodes will be set in the worlds of games including Spelunky and Amazon's MMO New World, along with unspecified PlayStation properties.Deadpool director Tim Miller will head up the show through his Blur studio. The company previously worked on Love, Death, & Robots for Netflix, and was name checked as a specific source of inspiration for Secret Level.For Prime Video, this marks its second video game-based show following Fallout this past April. On its own, Secret Level is the first major anthology series for the game-to-adaptation pipeline.Publishers like PlayStation and Xbox have made clear their plans to adapt their games to different mediums. But not every game may have what it takes to land on a streamer, either because they weren't built with that in mind, or they're just too old or obscure.In theory, Secret Level's anthology format could split the difference. Older games can have some time in the spotlight that could result in a popularity surge, as we've seen with Fallout and …
More changes have hit Steam, this time for its user reviews. After being spotted by players last week, Valve has implemented a helpfulness system that prioritizes informative reviews on a game's store page.As Valve explains it, helpful reviews have typically been sorted by the number of user votes designated as such. But that system's been easily exploited and made it so jokes reviews (or memes) can take center stage and go viral, which is substantially less helpful.With the new change, one-word reviews, or ones made of memes or ASCII art, will be placed behind actual reviews. Even so, the developer acknowledged those "humorous, but unhelpful posts" can be toggled back onto the store page proper through the "display" drop-down menu.Valve also said the new system "doesn't impact how review scores are generated for each game; it is simply changing the order that reviews appear on each store page."The system is a work-in-progress, and the studio said it will take "quite a while" to analyze new and current reviews to determine their helpfulness. It's unclear how this system will work when it comes to concertrated review-bombin…
Perennial spender turned layoff merchant Embracer Group says its plan to transform into three standalone businesses is on track, but feels there's room for improvement in some areas.In its fiscal report for the first quarter ended June 30, 2024, the Swedish conglomerate indicated it must improve profitability within its PC / Console Games segment by focusing on its "own and controlled key IPs, which typically have better unit economics." That comes with net sales in the unit decreasing by 34 percent year-over-year to SEK 2.65 billion ($253.2 million).Elsewhere, Mobile Games net sales decreased by 3 percent to SEK 1.39 billion. Tabletop Games net sales fell by 5 percent to SEK 3.04 billion, and Entertainment & Services net sales tumbled by 54 percent to SEK 848 million.Combined, those downturns resulted in consolidated net sales falling by 24 percent to SEK 7.9 billion ($754.8 million) across Q1. Adjusted EBIT totaled SEK 0.8 billion ($76.4 million). Pro forma net debt stands at SEK 14.3 billion ($1.36 billion).Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors said performance is "in line with management expectations," and highlighted "growing profitability year-on-year …
Newsletter platform and indie advocate Pantaloon is paying it forward to other indie studios with a free platform to help those interested in self-publishing.The titular hub includes brand plans and guidelines, templates for press releases and pitch decks, and a campaign roadmap. Per Pantaloon, the hub will be updated with new resources on a monthly basis.Indie teams have been no stranger to helping each other, but that typically takes the form of a publishing label for teams in a similar position. For those wanting to self-publish (either by necessity or choice), Pantaloon's hub will be invaluable.
Pantaloon seeks to "expose as much of the publishing machine as possible"
Founder Jamin Smith noted that with the industry's "fraught year," self-publishing may be more likely for among smaller teams. "We want to expose as much of the publishing machine as possible and connect developers with tools and services that can help," he explained."Even for studios…
Arkane Studios art and co-creative director Sébastien Mitton says Marvel’s Blade builds on all of the studio’s previous development experience and releases, and yes, that does include Redfall.Over on Bethesda’s official website, Mitton reflects on previous Arkane projects as the studio celebrates its 25th birthday, starting with the 2002 action-RPG Arx Fatalis, which Mitton calls “a bold project” that ” ignited our passion for creating immersive worlds and letting players loose in them to find amazing (and often surprising!) ways to overcome challenges and tell their own story.”He then touches on early collaborations with other studios on “a series of ambitious projects”, some of which “never saw release.” Mitton doesn’t name any specific projects, but before Bethesda recruited Arkane to make Dishonored, the studio worked with various studios including Ubisoft for the 2006 action-RPG Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, Valve for the canceled Half-Life spinoff Ravenholm, and Ubisoft for the canceled parkour game LMNO. During that time, Arkane also developed the multiplayer component of Call of Duty: World at War and helped with “design, animation, and art” on BioShock 2.”T…