While smartphones and PCs will not be affected by the tariffs, video game consoles and accessories will be impacted.

Brand Marketing Manager at SciPlay

WriterMob EntertainmentRemote12 minutes agoApplyMob Entertainment is a startup multimedia studio that is best known for our hit indie horror game "Poppy Playtime". This franchise is one of the hottest new properties in gaming, and our team is naturally expanding as our ambition expands. To give a taste of our brand's popularity, more than 100 billion YouTube views of Poppy Playtime related content have occured since the game's launch 4 years ago.Mob Entertainment, the studio behind indie-horror gem Poppy Playtime, is seeking a remote, full-time, Writer to help the Creative Development team build and expand our flagship IP, develop new transmedia properties, and contribute to linear storytelling efforts.Applicant should be a thoughtful and passionate storyteller – someone who can work well with designers, directors, and developers.What You’ll DoDevelop narrative game content including dialogue, lore documents, item descriptions, cinematics, marketing videos, and environmental storytelling.Help craft original linear content tied to Mob’s IP—including scripts and prose fiction.Collaborate with leads to build and expand the Poppy franchise.Define and maintain consistent tone, voice, and continuity across multiple storytelling platforms. Manage project documentation (lore bibles, character bios, story treatments).Stay up to date on emerging trends in film, series, lit, and gaming.Work closely with other design and discipline teams to foster and help align create vision and offer narrative solutionsMinimum Requirements5+ years of professional writing experience in games, film/TV, comics, or interactive media with shipped AA-level, or recognized IP product, to their creditBachelor’s degree in Screenwriting, Creative Writing, Narrative Design or a related field—or equivalent professional experienceA portfolio that demonstrates storytelling ability across multiple formatsExcellent written communication skills and collaborative spirit. Self-directed, detail-oriented, and able to work in fast-paced, iterative environmentsThorough knowledge of the story development process and experience in a writers’ room settingAbility to produce written work without constant supervision and have relevant soft-skills to pivot and align around product needs.Recommended RequirementsLos Angeles / SoCal basedHorror/Genre fanFamiliarity with Mob Entertainment’s IP and styleInterest in transmedia storytelling, ARGs, animationA background in DM/GM-ing or story-based puzzle designUnderstanding of current video game, youtube, and entertainment market trends and tastesTo Apply Please submit:ResumeCover LetterWriting Portfolio including at least one prose sample and 1-2 additional pieces in other formats (script, game dialogue, comic, video, audio, etc.)#LI-RemoteOUR CORE VALUES:StorytellingQualityObsessionCreativitySubversionCollaborationScrappinessEMPLOYEE EXPECTATIONS:KindnessResult-OrientedAutonomyEfficiencyHumilityBe real.Be weird.#LI-RemoteMob Entertainment is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or religious creed, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, marital status, family or parental status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. All employment decisions are based on a person’s merit, business needs, and role requirements. If you require further accommodations or have questions regarding accessibility of our roles, please reach out to info@mobentertainment.com Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings. Apply

Nintendo is launching the Switch 2 is less than two months, but odds are slim that you’ll be able to just walk into a store and ask for one in the first few weeks and maybe even months after it releases. Instead, your best bet is to lock in a preorder directly from Nintendo or through big stores like Walmart and Best Buy. But when and how? Here’s everything you need to know.Suggested ReadingThis Stylish Noir-Punk Side-Scroller Is Like Celeste With Guns Share SubtitlesOffEnglishview videoSuggested ReadingThis Stylish Noir-Punk Side-Scroller Is Like Celeste With Guns Share SubtitlesOffEnglishThe Switch 2 is $450 and comes out June 5. There’s also a $500 bundle that includesMario Kart World, which will normally be priced at $80, at a decent discount. Preorders will not only secure your console the day it comes out but also let you grab it early at certain stores that are doing midnight launches. And while a trade war briefly turned things upside down, Nintendo has decided to stick with the Switch 2's current pricing and instead raise the prices of all of the accessories, including the Pro Controller and camera, by $5. After they were originally supposed to begin on April 9, Nintendo announced earlier this month that preorders for the Switch 2 would instead start on April 24 in the U.S. And some retailers, like Walmart, will actually start conducting Switch 2 preorders online starting at 12:01 a.m. ET. So far, Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart, and Target have all confirmed they’ll have preorders available on April 24. They’ll be available at GameStop in-person when stores open and online starting at 11:00 a.m. ET. Best Buy, Target, and Walmart, meanwhile, have all confirmed online preorders for the Switch 2 will start at midnight on April 24. It’s impossible to predict how much demand will or won’t outstrip supply when the Switch 2 launches, but preorders are likely to be even more limited than launch-day stock and the option to cancel or try to resell them means they will almost certainly sell out. However, there are some pretty standard things you can do to help improve your chances of being one of the lucky people who gets their preorder locked in before all of the online retailer checkout webpages crash. Those include:Have each store’s Switch 2 preorder page opened simultaneously, ideally on different browser instances or, even better, different devicesMake sure you’re already logged in to your store accountHave your credit card and shipping info pre-loaded or ready to goBe ready to start refreshing tabs at midnight until you’re queued Try to secure a preorder from more than one store in case one of them sells more preorders than they have stock for (an issue I’ve had with Walmart in the past)Make an offering of spicy Italian meatballs and bright yellow bananas to the gaming gods for good luckLike other console manufacturers, Nintendo is also selling some Switch 2 stock direct to its fans, though the process is a bit convoluted and will have people waiting until well into May. Back when the Switch 2 Direct aired on April 2, Nintendo let players “register” their interest in the new console with invites going out on a case-by-case basis to those who have at least 50 hours of play time and over 12 months of Switch Online, including an active membership at the time of preordering (you’ll also have to have opted into sharing your gameplay data in your Nintendo account’s privacy settings). Those who are chosen this method will get an email directly from Nintendo on or after May 8 and have just 72 hours to accept the preorder offer for whatever they selected back when registering. It’s a good idea to do that too, even if you’re also getting a retail preorder, in case one of them ends up falling through, or a close friend or family member ends up missing out. Weirdly, no one knows what’s going on with Amazon and the Switch 2 right now. The online seller hasn’t announced any information about Switch 2 preorders and doesn’t even have store listings for it or the console’s first-party games like Mario Kart World. Maybe Amazon is just waiting until April 24 hits to put all of those pages live, or maybe Nintendo has cut Amazon out of the preorder process following a few years now of some weird behavior between the two companies. Either way, it’s safe to assume that you won’t be able to preorder the Switch 2 from Amazon, at least not yet, but also it’s worth double-checking on April 24.Good question! The short answer is: wherever you manage to secure a preorder from. The somewhat more complicated answer depends on things like existing memberships and midnight launch plans. Select Walmart, Best Buy, and GameStop stores will be open at midnight on June 5 so if you want to get your Switch 2 as soon as possible, you’ll want to preorder from one of those places. Best Buy is also running a special promotion for My Best Buy Total  subscribers who can get a $20 certificate for every $150 they spend on games and accessories, so if you are already a member and/or are planning to load up on extra controllers or games, that might be the way to go. Alternatively, GameStop is currently offering people up to $175 in store credit toward their Switch 2 purchase when they trade in their current Switch consoles (the company is also giving a bonkers amount for Xbox Series X trade-ins through April 26). And that’s pretty much it. Console launches tend to be a bit of a mess in the modern era. Hopefully, Switch 2 preorders don’t turn into a debacle like last year’s PlayStation 5 30th anniversary set did and we’re not in for another pandemic-fueled next-gen shortage like 2020. The last thing anyone wants is for eBay to be full of Switch 2 listings while social media is flooded with fans who missed out. .

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In this guest post, Old Skull Games share how they lost, learned, and iterated their way to a unique gameplay experience.Game development, much like a roguelike, is about iteration. You push forward, thinking you’ve found the right path – only to hit a wall, fail, and start over, a little wiser than before.Our journey in developing this roguelike dungeon crawler was no different. Our initial focus was on crafting a responsive and rewarding gameplay experience, but we soon realized that strong 3Cs (character, controls, camera) alone weren’t enough. What Cryptical Path lacked was a clear identity – something that truly set it apart. We were struggling to find a unique element that aligned with our original vision.After months of production, we had to make a drastic pivot – all in pursuit of that elusive "one more run" magic. Here’s what we learned along the way.Run #1: The illusion of a good startLike many roguelike adventurers, we began our journey with confidence. The game was born from an internal jam at Old Skull Games, where we created a universe we loved, and paired it with a genre that could attract core gamers. It was at this moment that the concept became a dungeon crawler with tight controls and great game feel.The first few months felt productive. We built a solid foundation, with:A responsive combat systemA cool environmentA basic item systemA complete gameplay loopBut, much like an overconfident first run in Cryptical Path, these preparations weren’t quite enough because of other choices we’d made.Run #2: Searching for a differentiator that wasn’t thereWith Cryptical Path’s core mechanics in place, we were asked: What makes this roguelike different? We needed something original to set the game apart but soon realized the concept lacked a truly new idea.Our first approach was a system of affinities with light and shadow specializations that players could build around. It sounded great on paper, but it was hard to prototype and envision fully without producing an excessive amount of content. Looking at this initial idea more critically, we realized it lacked depth and didn’t really have the game-changing element we were looking for.We sought feedback from publishers and industry peers. Their verdict? “You have a great game feel, but it doesn’t stand out.”That was our first real death. We had built our run around a system that didn’t work. Time to restart.Run #3: Defining a clear visionOne of the biggest mistakes in game development – especially when making a roguelike – is thinking that adding mechanics equals adding depth. We were stacking systems on top of each other without asking ourselves the most important question:"What problem are we solving for players?"To answer this, we organized focused brainstorming sessions and workshops until we generated new ideas. One question that we always kept in mind was, “Would my favorite roguelite be better with this feature?”That’s when we had a breakthrough: One of the biggest sources of frustration in roguelikes is the lack of control. Players love the chaos, but they also crave agency.We realized that being at the mercy of RNG and being forced onto a preset path – often receiving unneeded resources and rewards – was a pain point. What if, instead of just reacting to a procedurally generated world, players could shape it themselves?This was the moment we found our true USP: allowing players to place their own rooms and create their own path. This would give them more control while preserving the core challenge of the genre.Run #4: Iterating until it hurtsLike any good roguelike, the real work begins after the first few runs. Now that we had our concept for Cryptical Path, we had to make it actually work.Excited by the idea, we jumped straight into prototyping the flow of a run. Instead of diving into code and refactors, we took a more hands-on approach. Using a poker set, we turned cards into rooms and difficulty levels, chips into currencies, and dice into randomness. And just like that, we brought our vision to life: Crafting a run that wasn’t just fun, but truly unique in every experience. This helped us validate the theoretical idea before committing to implementation – and it worked. Players enjoyed planning their route as much as playing through it.Now came the real challenge: Integrating this concept into our existing platformer mechanics. To do this, we:Started over and revamped all the level design work.Built and discarded over ten different prototypes for room placement.Experimented with different ways to force players to engage with the system instead of bypassing it.At one point, the game was almost unrecognizable from our original vision. And that was a good thing. While we preserved the core game feel we loved, we were able to refine and enhance several other aspects.Run #5: The hardest pivotJust when we thought we had everything figured out, we hit another wall. Our external playtests confirmed what we had begun to suspect and could not ignore anymore:"We love the mechanics… But visually, this game looks like it’s for kids."Another death screen.We had been so focused on gameplay that we neglected the game’s cohesion. A roguelike needs a strong theme that reinforces its mechanics. Our previous art style didn’t sell the fantasy of dungeon-building. It wasn’t just a cosmetic issue, it was an identity crisis. One reason was that the art direction had been set up at a time when the game’s vision was totally different.And so, we rebooted again:We scrapped the old art direction and character designs.We redesigned the entire game’s theme around the idea of The Architect, a figure who constructs their own dungeon.We made sure the board-building mechanic was the heart of every gameplay decision.This was our final boss moment. We had finally found a direction that worked.Run #6: Highway to heavenNow that we had found our way, we were mastering the dungeon. Content creation became faster and more seamless – whether it was items, enemies, levels, or anything else the game needed. With every team member aligned to our now fully realized vision, everyone was able to create more cohesive, meaningful, and relevant work for the game.No longer drifting off course, we were finally rowing together toward a common goal.Five key takeaways for developersLooking back on Cryptical Path’s development, here’s what we wish we had known at the start:A strong USP isn’t just a cool idea – it’s better to think of it as a solution to a common player frustration.Having a clear vision is key, and going full steam ahead before that is a bad idea.Adding mechanics isn’t the same as adding depth. If a feature doesn’t reinforce the game’s core experience, cut it.Cohesion is everything. Gameplay, theme, and visuals must tell the same story.Don’t hesitate to scrap months of work. Keeping unnecessary features will only slow you down.Much like roguelike players, game developers need to embrace failure as part of the process. Every mistake, every bad prototype, and every frustrating pivot brought us closer to the game we were meant to make.We can’t wait for players to take their own first run at Cryptical Path, available now on PC.Check out Cryptical Path and other Made With Unity games on our new Steam Curator page. Explore more inspiring stories from creators on Unity's Resources page.

Raph Koster has never been one to shy away from an ambitious vision. With his studio, Playable Worlds, the designer behind iconic games like Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies is hard at work on Stars Reach, a sprawling, shardless MMORPG that aspires to be nothing less than a living, breathing world. This week, Playable Worlds is hosting a Kickstarter fundraising event to get this vision to the finish line.We sat down with Raph to talk about Kickstarter, why the studio’s turning to alternative funding, and what he’s learned about doing it right.Why did you decide to do a Kickstarter campaign, rather than turning to more traditional fundraising methods?Raph Koster: Well, as everyone knows, the industry’s going through a pretty tough time right now. There’s layoffs everywhere. Everybody’s watching the news. That also means that investment money is harder to come by. We’ve been backed by investors throughout the five plus years of our existence. In fact, we’ve raised nearly $40 million from investors, which is how we’ve built such a big and ambitious project.But in recent times, it’s harder to come by. We continue to take investment. In fact, we’re in the middle of finalizing some investment right now, but now is the time where in order to go out there, we really need to demonstrate to those investors that there is market validation that people want this game. And so by going out to Kickstarter and essentially pre-selling access to the game, it’s a way for us to start showing that this is something people want. That’s really smart. Do you think that that would work for a smaller studio too?I think the classic big mistake that people make with video game Kickstarters is that they use it to start projects. And what we’re doing is really more – people keep saying it’s more like a “kick finisher,” right?So we all know in video game development, schedules are hard. Finding the funds is hard. It can be difficult to land on time, predict your budget accurately and so on. When people set up Kickstarters for development projects that are just getting started, that can be a pretty high risk. And we’ve seen a lot of them not be successful at delivering because of that.I think this can work for a smaller studio, but I would urge everybody to get most of the game done so that they have much more predictability around what it is that they’re promising and delivering. In our case, what we’re going to do is say, “If you back this Kickstarter, you get in to play the game now,” right, because it is already playable, it’s already in live testing, and we’ll let people in immediately? So I think it’s viable, but you have to have the right promise to the customer.I was wondering about that – what do donors get, exactly? Access to everything in the game?Yeah, that’s right. We are currently doing that via tester signups, and there’s been a queue. We’ve actually had tens of thousands of people in line to get into the test already. So the core of the Kickstarter offerings is that if you back us, you will be able to play, starting immediately, all the way through the testing phase, which means the servers won’t be up all the time, but you’ll have daily contact with the dev team, you’ll be able to give your input as features are developed, just participate because we’re in there all the time talking with our testers. Play through that entire period and also get to play during early access.So we’re going ahead and giving people to the early access period once that opens. And the higher up you go in the packages, it’ll include more than that, of course. There’ll be game time once the game launches, and of course there’s all kinds of fun skins and perks and whatnot that are in the various tiers as well.Have you ever done this kind of Kickstarter before or is this a first for everyone?This is a first for me. We do have folks on the team who’ve done Kickstarters before, but I was an advisor to companies that did Kickstarters, but I’ve never done one myself. So lots of learning. Any learning that you can pass along? I think everyone out there is wondering, “How can I do this? How do you make a game in 2025? How do you fund a game in 2025?”Build up your community in advance I think is a key learning. You want to make sure that before you even start this process, you already have a sizable community that you can speak to. You can’t build one on the fly during the Kickstarter. You have to come to the Kickstarter with one already built, and then you can grow it, right? And typically they do grow during the Kickstarter.So you want to be piling up followers in advance is the key thing. Get them signed up to be notified by the Kickstarter. Planning out your tiers is super important, figuring out what kinds of things you can offer. In our genre, the MMO players are very, very unhappy about pay-to-win kinds of approaches, so it’s very important to try to plan rewards that are focused on cosmetics or don’t provide a real significant advantage to the player in a way that makes the game unfair. So that’s a really important thing for MMOs in particular.And I think probably for any competitive game, you don’t want to be selling advantage. Other than that, you’ve got to be in touch with the community, with your testers, with your players throughout the process. We shared our high-level plans for tiers and rewards with our testers, then went back and adjusted what we were planning based on the feedback they gave us. We’ll be rolling the details to them this weekend in advance, and we’ll be making last-minute edits again based on what they say, because ultimately you’re making this for them. It’s an offering for them, and you want them to be excited about it, and you want it to be something that they’ll want, right? You’re asking them to come along on the journey, so they should have significant input.Check out the Stars Reach Kickstarter campaign to learn more about the game and get a sneak peek at the action.

Character.AI, a leading platform for chatting and roleplaying with AI-generated characters, unveiled its forthcoming video generation model, AvatarFX, on Tuesday. Available in closed beta, the model animates the platform’s characters in a variety of styles and voices, from human-like characters to 2D animal cartoons. AvatarFX distinguishes itself from competitors like OpenAI’s Sora because it isn’t solely a text-to-video generator. Users can also generate videos from pre-existing images, allowing users to animate photos of real people. It’s immediately evident how this kind of tech could be leveraged for abuse — users could upload photos of celebrities or people they know in real life and create realistic-looking videos in which they do or say something incriminating. The technology to create convincing deepfakes already exists, but incorporating it into popular consumer products like Character.AI only exacerbates the potential for it to be used irresponsibly. We’ve reached out to Character.AI for comment. Character.AI is already facing issues with safety on its platform. Parents have filed lawsuits against the company, alleging that its chatbots encouraged their children to self-harm, to kill themselves, or to kill their parents. In one case, a fourteen-year-old boy died by suicide after he reportedly developed an obsessive relationship with an AI bot on Character.AI based on a “Game of Thrones” character. Shortly before his death, he’d opened up to the AI about having thoughts of suicide, and the AI encouraged him to follow through on the act, according to court filings. These are extreme examples, but they go to show how people can be emotionally manipulated by AI chatbots through text messages alone. With the incorporation of video, the relationships that people have with these characters could feel even more realistic. Character.AI has responded to the allegations against it by building parental controls and additional safeguards, but as with any app, controls are only effective when they’re actually used. Oftentimes, kids use tech in ways that their parents don’t know about.

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