Author: James Anderson

Palworld developer Pocketpair said the game will not transition to free-to-play.Last week, translated comments surfaced from CEO Takuro Mizobe, wherein he talked about the game's future. At the time, he claimed the studio was debating whether or not to change to a live-service, free-to-play model.Plenty of games have launched as a paid title, then converted into a free game years later. It can revitalize a game's community and open up more revenue opportunities.

Palworld just wasn't designed with the free-to-play model in mind

During the interview, Mizobe noted a switch would help "extend [Palworld's] lifespan and make it more stable in terms of profitability." At the same time, he acknowledged how it wasn't built with free-to-play in mind, and switching models could be a challenge unto itself.Pocketpair has now clarified the interview was conducted "months ago," and it's firmly settled on not going free-to-play."Palworld was never designed with that model in mind, and it would require too much work to adapt at this…

Merge Games cut staff over the weekend, and closed down its single office based in Chelford, England.The studio is part of Maximum Entertainment, and in a statement to GamesIndustry, CEO Christina Seelye explained the cuts were part of its previously announced consolidation plans. At time of writing, it's unknown how many developers were affected by the layoffs."We made the difficult but necessary decision to take further cost-cutting measures, and these unfortunately include staff redundancies," she stated.

Merge's portfolio to fold into Maximum Entertainment

As a publisher, Merge worked on titles such as Spirit of the North (and its upcoming sequel), and the physical editions of Spirittea andThe Thaumaturge. Its remaining portfolio will reportedly be integrated into Maximum. It's currently unclear if Merge still exists as a separate entity.In 2023, parent company Zordix relaunched its games division as Maximum Entertainment. Earlier this year, various subsidiaries (like Merge, Modus Studios, and…

Nearly 20 years since its closure, Argonaut Games has returned.The British studio is now a "boutique publisher" looking to release remasters of its previous works and make original titles for "current and retro platforms." First on the docket is a remaster for the well-known classic Croc: Legend of the Gobbos."I’m thrilled to see the Argonaut name back after twenty years away," wrote founder Jez San. "[We were] always about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in gaming, and I’m excited to see how the relaunched Argonaut Games builds on that legacy."

The history and legacy of the original Argonaut

Argonaut first launched in 1982, and debuted with 1984's Skyline Attack for the Commodore 64. In addition to the two Croc games, its best-known works include the original Star Fox and its sequel, and the Starglider series.The studio's reputation is also owed to how it incorporated 3D technology into 2D games. Its Brender toolkit and graphics engine were used in several of its ga…

Amber Studio, an agency for specializing in game development, has acquired Colombian developer Madbricks for an undisclosed fee.Both companies have previously worked together, which laid the foundation for this acquisition. It's also the start of the agency's push to "expand its global workforce" by integrating third-party studios that hail from "emerging markets."CEO Mihai Pohonțu noted this also gives Amber a chance to "solidify our presence" in South America's slice of the game industry.Madbricks has split its time as a work-for-hire studio and making its own titles. Looking at its website, its past and current work includes Ekko: Occlude the Void, Kaiju Rampage Studio, and Seitites.For CEO Miguel Benavides, the acqusition gives Madbricks "bigger projects and the opportunity to learn from a developed organization. With [Amber's] vast, global resources, we'll tighten our efficiency even further and tighten our efficiency even further."The press release also calls Madbricks a "leading studio" for Colombia and the South American game industry. Amber's past clients include Epic Games, WB Games, and Uni…

PlayStation 5 hardware sales totalled 2.4 million units during Q1 FY24, down from 3.3 million units in Q1 FY23. According to Sony's latest fiscal report, that downturn in hardware sales was offset by an increase in sales of first-party software.Net sales in the company's Game & Network Services (G&NS) division increased by 12 percent year over year to 864.9 billion yen ($5.8 billion). That upswing was attributed to income from network services including PlayStation Plus and first-party software. Operating income rose by 33 percent year-over-year to 65.2 billon yen ($442.5 million).

Ups and downs for Sony software sales

Although income from first-party software rose, unit sales were actually down. First party titles sold 6 million units in Q1 FY24 compared with 6.6 million units in Q1 FY23.Full game software sales across PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 also fell to 53.6 million units from 56.5 million units over the same period. Sony noted that 80 percent of those sales were digital downloads.The number of monthly active use…

Activision Blizzard is making Call of Duty open-source with a free data set of its original Warzone map, Caldera.Released in OpenUSD for non-commercial use, aspiring developers and educators have access to a near-complete version of the map's geometry. The data set also features random time samples that show how players moved around the map.The Caldera map was retired last year so developers could focus on Warzone 2.0. Making it open-source "broadens access to production data," said chief tech officer Natalya Tatarchuk, and "gives back" to the game industry's research community.As for why it was chosen, software engineer Michael Vance explained they wanted a map that showcased "the scale and complexity of our current design philosophy.""One of our goals is to…let researchers test their approaches in real-world scenarios, which will help accelerate the development of new solutions," Tatarchuk continued. "We believe Caldera’s release will be an impactful and material benefit to that effort."

All…

Last week, mobile developer Rumble Games (or R Studios) closed its doors, laying off 36 people. According to senior web architect David Bethune, the hammer came down from parent company Forte."This is [Forte's] second recent studio axing after Phoenix Labs got this treatment a few weeks ago," wrote Bethune. He added that the now ex-staff will only receive a single month of severance.Founded in 2011, Rumble was known for a number of free-to-play mobile games like Towers & Titans. At this moment, it's unclear if the title will be kept operational, and what studio will continue development if that's the case.Bethune also shared some thoughts on his former employer, and Rumble's previous owner Aristocrat. To him, both studios were "ruthless about pursuing mythical future profits while they can the teams that actually make things."His words echo previous statements made amidst the industry's layoff spree in recent years. Back in March, Dwarf Fortress designer Tarn Adams said layoffs were conducted by "greedy, greedy" executives driven by incentives to cut staff when possible."I'm tired of it!" Bethune continued. …