In a statement, Tequila Works' GM Terence Mosca said the studio is 'doing everything we can to provide support and guidance to our teams during this difficult time.'

Bryant Francis, Senior EditorNovember 12, 20245 Min ReadImage via BioWare/EA.At a GlanceHigh-fidelity hair can be a tricky challenge in video games. BioWare's shown off its solutions for Dragon Age: The Veilguard.Among the many, many things players and developers have praised about BioWare's Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the incredible hair options in the character creator. Players have the option of picking from over 100 styles when making their perfect version of Rook, many of them capturing the high-quality nuances that come with hairstyles not typically seen in video games, like hair for Black characters.How'd they do it? Well we got a bit of an answer today when BioWare and EA un-Veil-ed a technical deep dive into Dragon Age: The Veilguard's hair technology, which describes how the studio used the Frostbite engine to simulate up to 50,000 individual strands of hair.There's plenty of insights not shared in the piecelike the finer workings of Frostbite's toolingbut the data provided by BioWare is surprisingly robust, and offers developers a benchmark for their own hair systems in future games. As studio technical director Maciej Kurowski wrote, the system is called the "Strand Hair" rendering system (which is memory and GPU dependent) and uses a bespoke compute software rasterizer to composite hair into the frame before blending it with other opaque and transparent objects.The Veilguard hair system needed to render alongside far more transparent objects.As BioWare's post explains, Strand Hair is an existing hair system in the Frostbite engine that's been used on EA's various sports series like EA Sports FC and Madden NFL.In those games, the hair system is meant to simulate how hair works not just on the field, but often through the point-of-view of television cameras that capture depth of field. Those games however don't feature waist-length hair, hair that flows around horns on a character's head, or hair that is rendered at the same time as a billion magical particles flying out from a staff while smoke blows all around them.According to BioWare, the final result is a system where hair attachments move "seamlessly," and the simulation and render dessellation of hair had been fully decoupled. The maximum hair length has also extended from "63 points" to "255 points," allowing for those waist-length hairstyle fantasies to come to life.The technique, senior rendering engineer James Power wrote, involves splitting the hair into "two distinct passes," the first one being opaque, then one that's transparent. "To split the hair up, we added an alpha cutoff to the render pass that composites the hair with the world and first renders the hair that is above the cutoff (>=1, opaque), and subsequently the hair that is lower than the cutoff (transparent)," he wrote.Before the split passes are rendered, the depth of the transparent part of the hair is rendered first, often creating the "ends" of the hair strands. It becomes a spatial barrier between transparent pixels that are "under and on top of" the strand hair. The the game renders the opaque part of strand hair, then the transparent objects.To figure out if the shading pixel goes "under" or "on top of" the strand hair, it checks the transparent hair depth texture for information. If it's "under," the engine renders the hair and marks a "stencil bit." If it's "on top," the pixel is discarded and nothing gets rendered.After that, the game draws transparent objects again, using the "stencil bit" to see where transparent objects weren't drawn before, allowing transparent objects to be rendered "properly."All that detail gets extra tricky to manage in the in-engine cutscenes that populate the game. When lighting those scenes, the hair had to accommodate a wide range of lights like wide-angle lights, distant lights, etc. Thus, the game renders "hero shadows" for every Strand Hair object according to every corresponding light that is designated "important" to a shot by artists.As you can see in an accompanying rendering of the character Bellara, the Hero Shadows create a more natural-feeling texture and preserve some of the different shades of her hair.Image via BioWare/Electronic Arts.This does mean every single Strand Hair asset has a high memory footprint, which eats into how much memory can be allocated on other assets. The Veilguard does render fewer characters onscreen at once than most sports titles, but there's still a lot of assets vying for precious memory. Rendering the player character and the "full field" of followers has a flat GPU cost of 128mb.Luckily, hair needs "less memory" to occupy less pixels, and the cost can be dynamically adjusted depending on what's in the scene. The Xbox Sereis X and PlayStation 5 costs apparently run around 400mb, though high-end PCs can run all the way up to 600mb. The Xbox Series S and lower-end PCs can swap Strand Hair assets for "Card Hair" assets when needed, which have lower memory footprints and allow other high-fidelity assets to render properly."To ensure we meet our frame time requirements, we set a maximum frametime budget for strand hair rendering for consoles at 6.5ms for 30 FPS (33.3ms frame time) and 3ms for 60 FPS (16.6ms frame time) with eight strand hair assets on screen," Power wrote. "Our hair resolution control will adjust the resolution within a minimum and maximum resolution based on our upsampler and DRS settings and keep the hair costs proportional to those targets. This is important since hair does not go through upsampling, as mentioned earlier, and will not have its load reduced by those technologies."Hair renderings done on GPU tend to hvoer around 2ms, with some spikes to 5ms "depending on the complexity of the hair."Beauty is in the eye of the beholderBioWare's impressive hair technology spotlights how the battle for high-quality, realistic graphics has now pushed into the need for intricate solutions to render seemingly ordinary actions and objects. The average player won't think much about the fact that characters in Thedas suddenly have much longer hairbut the one who wanted to live their full Ariana Grande fantasy now have that opportunity.Though further graphical advancements may be more and more invisible to the eye, they won't require any less hard work than the kind shown off by Power, Kurowski, and their colleagues.Read more about:Top StoriesEAAbout the AuthorBryant FrancisSenior Editor, GameDeveloper.comBryant Francis is a writer, journalist, and narrative designer based in Boston, MA. He currently writes for Game Developer, a leading B2B publication for the video game industry. His credits include Proxy Studios' upcoming 4X strategy game Zephon and Amplitude Studio's 2017 game Endless Space 2.See more from Bryant FrancisDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Justin Carter, Contributing EditorNovember 11, 20242 Min ReadImage via Roblox.At a GlanceRoblox Corp.'s new child safety measures begin on November 18, and address longstanding concerns about the creation platform.Roblox Corp. has finally detailed its new safety measures meant to protect its predominantly young playerbase.These new policies are intended to address concerns (and previous high-profile stories) about Roblox's lack of proper protection for its child and teen players, which has resulted in at least two lawsuits. Roblox Corp. often denied or dismissed these reports at the time of their publication, and would insist keeping its players safe was a top priority amongst its staff.The biggest change concerns visibility for user-made creations. For those aimed at players age 13 and younger, creators will be required by December 3 to complete a questionnaire for each individual experience. All information on the page (like the description and title) will have to be "appropriate for all users," and any creation without a finished form will be "unplayable, unsearcable, and undiscoverable" by 13 and under players, but still accessible with a direct link.In its blog, the company said this will "ensure parents and users have more clarity into the types of content available on Roblox and will help them make more informed choices about what they want to play."Roblox is ready to play safely with its playerbaseRoblox Corp.'s blog also confirmed that as of next Monday, November 18, social hangouts and free-form 2D creations (which lets players replicate their written or drawn 2D creations without going through the moderation process) will only be available to players over 13 years old to "address user behavior that can potentially pose a risk to our youngest users."In late October, Bloomberg reported Roblox Corp. was aiming to enact new child protection methods, such as 13 and younger players requiring parent permission to access Roblox's in-game social features. During its recent earnings call, the company reaffirmed it would "invest in technology, policies, and partnerships to pursue the highest standards of trust and safety on our platform."Going forward, the developer said it "envisions the questionnaire becoming more closely integrated into the publishing process."More information on Roblox's new safety measures can be read here.Read more about:RobloxCultureAbout the AuthorJustin CarterContributing Editor, GameDeveloper.comA Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.See more from Justin CarterDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

A pair of California-based players are suing Ubisoft for permanently putting The Crew in the garage.Ubisoft's 2014 racing game was shut down this past March due to "server infrastructure and licensing restraints." In their filed suit, plaintiffs Matt Cassell and Alan Liu (who bought the game in 2020 and 2018, respectively) claim they were were two of thousands of players "[left] with a skeleton of what you thought you paidfor."This is the second time this year Ubisoft has been sued by its players. In early October, the Assassin's Creed maker was accused of illegally sharing user data with Meta via account linking.Liu and Cassell's lawsuit condemned Ubisoft for letting players think they were buying The Crew to own and not "renting a limited license" to access the title. It also accused the developer of "duping" players with the idea of the game being playable offline, either through physical discs or its digital version. Had the pair (or any player) known the studio would shut The Crew down whenever it wanted, they say they "would have paid substantially less for the Product or not have purchased it at all.""[Ubisoft] intended consumers to relyon their representations and omissions in making their purchasing decisions.Through their conduct, [Ubisoft] have violated California state consumer protection laws," the suit reads. The duo are seeking monetary relief and damages for themselves and other players affected by the shut down.Do not go gentle into that offlineOver the past two years, countless online games have been shut down. Some have been around for years, others only a few weeks, but the issue has become so common as more and more titles have been taken offline in larger numbers. This past September, California law requires retailers to say digital items (like games or music) are merely licensed rather than actually bought, and that most online games specifically must come with a warning that they could be shut down at any moment.As this relates to Ubisoft specifically, the original Crew's shutdown was explicitly said to be the inspiration for the California law. However, this suit is further complicated by the studio already acknowledging the negative reaction to terminating the first Crew game by working to implement individual offline modes for 2018's The Crew 2 and 2023's The Crew Motorsport.Meanwhile, The Crew players have decided to just make the first game themselves. Back in June, TheGamer covered the player-made The Crew Unlimited, a recreation of the original title that will have offline functionality.

Could it be the very best?

Chris Kerr, News EditorNovember 11, 20243 Min ReadImage via Nintendo / IlluminationSuper Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda co-creator Shigeru Miyamoto claims that rising development costs are somewhat "inevitable," which is why it's doubly important to champion singular experiences.The Nintendo representative director was responding to a question about the spiralling cost of video game production during a recent investor Q&A, and suggested it's vital developers focus on what they create over how much they spend creating it."Our research and development expenses have been increasing each year. Since our scale of development has grown, a corresponding increase in costs is, in some respects, inevitable. However, our belief is that what we create is more important than the amount spent on development," he said."We continue refining our products until we are confident that we have created something that our consumers will be satisfied with. With that in mind, what is important is to find ideas that are worth honing, and this has not changed since the era of Nintendo Entertainment System."Miyamoto refused to make sweeping statements about what ideas are worth pursuing because "everyone has different interests," but said it's important to explore concepts that feel distinct."The more you polish something that has never existed before, the more value it brings. We believe that it is important to nurture developers who take this unique concept to heart, allocate funds to development if necessary, and release games only after we are confident in the productand repeat this process over and over again," he continued.It's advice that's probably easier to follow if you're a company with Nintendo's resources, but Miyamoto suggested it's absolutely possible to create fun games with small teams and tight budgets, and implored developers "not to lose sight of this perspective."Nintendo corporate director Ko Shiota echoed that sentiment and suggested streamlining development around the Switch has been fundamental to the company's recent success. "From a hardware and system perspective, we believe it is important to provide an environment that enables game developers to work efficiently," added Shiota."As explained in today's presentation, the merging of home consoles and handheld systems allowed us to integrate what previously were two separate software development environments. Because we are already familiar with Nintendo Switch, maintaining a similar basis for development environments in the future will allow us to carry over the experience we have already built, which should lead to a reduction in research and development costs over time."Shiota reiterated that new ideas are priceless and have no relation to the size of a studio's wallet. "Bigger budgets do not necessarily equate to better ideas, so we hope to continue to focus on a process where teams of hardware an and software developers share ideas to create interesting things," he continued.Nintendo recently lowered its fiscal forecast with Switch hardware and software sales in decline, but the console has delivered a mammoth innings with lifetime sales currently standing at over 146 million units worldwide. The Japanese company has confirmed it will reveal its (backwards compatible) Switch successor before the end of the current fiscal year in March 2025.Read more about:[Company] NintendoTop StoriesAbout the AuthorChris KerrNews Editor, GameDeveloper.comGame Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, andPocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.See more from Chris KerrDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Palworld developer Pocketpair has shed more light on the specific patent infringement claims Nintendo levvied against it in September.At the time of the initial suit, the studio alleged it was unaware of what, exactly, Nintendo took umbrage with. Nintendo didn't list specific patents at the time, but not long after Palworld's release in January, said it would determine if the game infringed on its own popular Pokmon series.The three patentsall filed in Japan between May and July 2024draw similarities between Palworld and 2022's 2022's Pokmon Legends: Arceus specifically. Their descriptions concern game mechanics like "riding an object" or throwing a ball to capture and possess a character in virtual spaces.Patent art showing a player character picked up by a flying Pokmon..Pocketpair added that Nintendo wants 10 million Yen ($65,450 in USD) in damages, 5 million each for itself and The Pokemon Company, plus late fees and an injunction to block Palworld's release.What put Pocketpair on Nintendo's legal radarNintendo often takes legal action against companies it believes have infringed upon or threatened its work in some capacity. The situation with Palworld was thorny enough when it was simply "Pokmon with Guns," but its subsequent success and Pocketpair's clear desire to quickly capitalize on that further exacerbates the issue.Following the suit, analyst Serkan Toto noted that Nintendo may have gone after Pocketpair on both "highly, highly technical things," and the studio's Palworld push. He speculated the latter may have truly pushed things over the line, and that Nintendo "saw these guys are getting too aggressive."Pocketpair, meanwhile, has reiterated it will not speak with press on the matter unless the situation specifically calls for it, and will "continue to assert our position in this case through future legal proceedings."

Justin Carter, Contributing EditorNovember 8, 20242 Min ReadImage via NVIDIA.At a GlanceNVIDIA GeForce now users will soon only be able to play games on the service for a maximum of 100 hours per month.NVIDIA is putting a time limit on its GeForce Now cloud streaming service. On January 1, 2025, subscribers will have a 100-hour "monthly playtime allowance" for members of its paid Performance and Ultimate Tiers.After hitting the 100-hour cap, subscribers can buy 15 more hours for $3 (Performance) or $6 (Ultimate). If a subscriber has up to 15 hours of unused playtime, that time will be automatically rolled over to the following month.Subscription services for games often withhold what (or how) players have access to through their membership tiers, as we've recently seen with Xbox Game Pass. NVIDIA restricting play time is another matter entirely, particularly as other companies like Microsoft are trying to carve out a niche in the cloud game market.The cap is being set "to continue providing exceptional quality and speed, as well as shorter queue times, to members," NVIDIA explained on Reddit. It acknowledged this limit will only affect 6 percent of its subscribersthe other 94 percent "typically enjoy the service well within this timeframe," and will be "comfortably accommodated."Balancing between features and pricing will shift over time with any streaming platform, leading to a price increase (again, like Game Pass), or a change to the benefits offered by a subscription tier, similar to Amazon Prime Video. In many cases, the root cause is a desire to cut down costs, which NVIDIA may be looking to do here.Can subscription services and games still coexist?Amid all of this, there have been discussions about if subscription services are still (or will remain viable). For Microsoft, getting more subscribers has been a core focus for years, hence its acquisition of big name studios like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard and touting those teams' big titlesnamely Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Indiana Jones & the Great Circleas day one Game Pass titles.In the former game's case, that gambit seems to have paid off: in its recent earnings report, Microsoft called the military shooter "the biggest Call of Duty release ever, setting a record for day one players, as well as Game Pass subscriber adds on launch day."However, not every game can be a Black Ops 6-level hit. Several titles that launched on a subscription service have stumbled out of the gate (see Foamstars) or start strong before fizzling out. Add on the fact that every company is trying to get you to sign up for their service, and the ease of access such services provide can be easily drowned out by growing complications.About the AuthorJustin CarterContributing Editor, GameDeveloper.comA Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.See more from Justin CarterDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Nine NetEase developers have reportedly been arrested, including a pair of senior executives, according to Bloomberg and Chinese outlet Leifeng.According to the latter's translated story, the employees laundered what's ultimately estimated to be between 800 million to 1 billion yuan (or $111.4 million-$139.3 million). The studio is currently developing the free-to-play shooters Marvel Rivals and Destiny: Rising.Per Yicai Global, the two NetEase executives implicated are esports division head Xiang Liang and publishing head Jin Yuchen. The outlet further noted 27 unnamed companies with alleged connections to the laundering scheme have also been blacklisted following these arrests.Leifeng also reported several NetEase staff were responsible for the purchasing traffic of "multiple [top NetEase] products." Other details have not been shared at this time.Recent white collar crimes in the game industryIn 2022, several arrests were made over insider trading in the game industry. Yuji Naka, creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, was arrested over suspicions involving his time at Square Enix, where he was accused of spending 2.8 million yen to buy shares of Aiming before it and Square Enix were revealed to be teaming on Dragon Quest Tact.Naka was arrested again weeks later over buying stock in Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier developer Ateam, then indicated weeks after that.Separately from Naka, ex-Square developers Fumiaki Suzuki andTaisuke Sasaki were accused of also buying stock for Aiming ahead of Dragon Quest Tact's reveal. Sasaki was similarly indicted along with Naka in relation to purchasing Ateam stock.Naka later admitted to trading in 2023, and was sentenced to serve two-and-a-half years in prison and fined 171 million yen.

On December 6, a number of Sega Classics titles will be delisted from Steam, Nintendo Switch, and the Xbox and PlayStation ecosystems. The publisher made the full list of delistings available in a post yesterday, noting that all owned and downloaded games will still be available in players' libraries.The list is diverse, particularly on Steam, where games as disparate as Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, and NiGHTS into Dreams will fall off the radar alongside Genesis-era fare like Comix Zone, the first two ToeJam & Earl and VectorMan titles, and Ecco the Dolphin. Sonic won't escape the delisting entirely either, as Sonic Spinball and Sonic 3D Blast (as well as puzzle spinoff Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine) are on the chopping block.The select games and bundles will go dark (and unavailable for new purchases) as of December 6, at 11:59pm PST.Sega Classics still available on Nintendo Switch OnlineThe best hope for folks looking to hold on to their Sega Classics (to play, study, or hang on to for preservation efforts) is to either download all the selected games ahead of December 6, or stick with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, where "select individual classic titles will still be playable," according to Sega.While delistings are nothing new in the industry, the breadth of retro titles (and strong reputation of many on the list) is notable here. Given that so many older games are completely unavailable, this feels like a potential blow to preservation efforts, particularly for the games launched on under-represented consoles like the Saturn and Dreamcast.You can check out the post for the full set of delistings by platform here.

I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite adaptation on the Citadel.

Chris Kerr, News EditorNovember 6, 20241 Min ReadImage via NintendoAt a GlanceNintendo will unveil its Switch successor before the end of the next fiscal year, and it will boast backwards compatibility.Nintendo has confirmed its next console will be backwards compatible with Nintendo Switch software.The news was tweeted out by Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa, who explained that Nintendo Switch Online will also be available on the mystery device."This is Furukawa. At today's Corporate Management Policy Briefing, we announced that Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch," reads a statement shared on X."Nintendo Switch Online will be available on the successor to Nintendo Switch as well. Further information about the successor to Nintendo Switch, including its compatibility with Nintendo Switch, will be announced at a later date."What we know about the Nintendo Switch successorNintendo intends to unveil its Switch successor before the end of the fiscal year on March 31, 2025. Recent rumblings indicate the console will subsequently launch in 2025 and take the form of a handheld-hybrid device.The Nintendo Switch launched in 2017 and has sold over 146 million units worldwide. It will become the best-selling Nintendo console in history (overtaking the Nintendo DS) if it eventually surpasses 154.02 million lifetime sales. Lifetime Switch software sales, meanwhile, currently stand at over 1.3 billion units.The Switch has delivered the goods for Nintendo but launched at a time when some were questioning the company's hardware future. Its predecessor, the Wii U, sold just 13.56 million units worldwide and failed to capitalize on the success of the Wii despite being positioned as a direct successor.With that in mind, it'll be fascinating to see what form factor and branding Nintendo opts for when its next console emerges from the shadows in the not-to-distant future.Read more about:[Company] NintendoTop StoriesAbout the AuthorChris KerrNews Editor, GameDeveloper.comGame Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, andPocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.See more from Chris KerrDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Nintendo has lowered its financial forecast for the current fiscal year after Switch hardware and software sales took a hit.As noted in the company's fiscal report for the six months ended September 30, 2024, hardware sales were down by 31 percent year-over-year to 4.72 million units. Software sales fell by 27.6 percent over the same period to 70.28 million units.Nintendo noted that hardware and software sales were largely driven by the launch of Tears of the Kingdom during the previous fiscal year, and said the lack of a similarly impactful release this year has caused a decline.Even so, the company stated that sales of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom made a "good start," with the title shifting 2.58 million units since September. Other sales highlights over the past six months included Paper Mario Thousand-Year Door (1.94M units) and Luigi's Mansion 2 HD (1.57M units).Lifetime Nintendo Switch hardware sales have now eclipsed 146 million units, while software sales have topped 1.3 billion units. The console could still usurp the Nintendo DS as the best-selling Nintendo system in history if it can surpass 154.02 million lifetime sales.Nintendo now expects the Switch to sell 12.5 million units during the current fiscal year, having downwardly revised its forecast by from 13.5 million units.Nintendo's digital sales slumpGlancing briefly at Nintendo's digital business, digital sales fell by 26.5 percent to 159.9 billion yen over the past six months. Nintendo said that downturn was mainly due to a decrease in sales of digital software.Sales within the company's mobile and IP related business declined by 43.3 percent year-on-year to 31.2 billion yen. Nintendo noted the last fiscal year saw the release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which brought huge engagement but in turn contributed to a decline this year.Consolidated net sales for the first half of the fiscal year decreased by 34.3 percent year-on-year to 523.2 billion yen ($3.44 billion). Operating profit declined by 56.6 percent to 121.5 billion yen ($798.6 million), and profit attributable to owner of parent decreased by 59.9 percent to 108.6 billion yen ($713.8 million).Taking that into account, Nintendo has lowered its full-year forecast and expects to deliver net sales of 1.28 billion yen (down from 1.35 billion yen) by March 31, 2024. Operating profit is now expected to total 360 million yen (down from 400 million yen). Net and ordinary profit forecasts remain unchanged.

Bryant Francis, Senior EditorNovember 5, 20245 Min ReadImage via Adobe Stock.At a GlanceVeteran 3D artist Liz Edwards says developers should know how to spot 3D models made with generative AI.Game developers have had mixed reactions to the advance of generative AI in video game development. Some are eager for machine learning-based tools that help solve complex problems, others are tired of being told AI will replace workers or make their lives easier (when it might just make more work).A wrinkle with the rollout of generative AI tools is the transparency (or lack thereof) of when a game or game asset was made using AI. Hiding this fact can create surprises in the hiring process or publishing side if an asset unexpectedly appears in a game. It can also create difficulties when purchasing 3D assets off of stores like Fab. It's become common knowledge that developers can spot AI-generated 2D art by "looking at the fingers" (or other common cues), but how do you do the same for 3D models?If modelers making 3D assets with generative AI were required to tag their models as AI-made, it would be easy. But on Fab, they aren't.Over on Bluesky, veteran 3D artist Liz Edwards answered that question. In a short thread, she broke down common traits in AI-generated 3D modelsand how those traits often make said models inferior for general game development usage. She was kind enough to allow Game Developer to recreate her insights to help you learn how to spot the work of machines.Related:Bad textures and jumbled UVsEdwards began by scrutinizing a 3D model of a penguin model she spotted on Fab, which at a first glance, may not seem that odd. Veteran developers may look closer and notice some oddities like the shape of the feet and weird lines on the stomach, but Edwards called out deeper flaws.The model, she wrote, has "telltale signs" of AI generation. 3D generated models made by AI usually have baked-in lighting, she explained, and the textures are projected from a 2D image. Artifacts from that 2D image remain on the skin.Image by Liz Edwards via BlueskyEdwards accessed the model and looked at the wireframe and UV maps, noting that the wireframe looks like a "dense automesh" and the maps were automatically unwrapped, leaving a "jumbled mess" in their wake.Image by Liz Edwards via BlueskyShe compared it to another penguin model made by "Pinotoon," which possessed more familiar traits, such as a clean UV layout and better-positioned eyeballs and beak.Edwards used another example of a strange cabinet hybrid to illustrate a common trait with 3D generated models: an insanely high polygon count. Elsewhere on Bluesky, she's spotlighted how the creators of genAI 3D models will put objects like crates on the Fab marketplace that have 50,000 triangular polygons, where the average crate in a video game only needs 500 triangular polygons at the very upper end.Image by Liz Edwards via Bluesky3D models made with generative AI can create confusionEdwards warned, the traits above alone don't automatically identify a model as being generated by AI tools. For instance, 3D models captured using photogrammetry share the same traits. The difference is that those models have natural textures, are usually free of artifacts, and have coherent, naturalistic details.Image by Liz Edwards via BlueskyIf you aren't animating a given 3D asset or aren't bothered by its polygon count, you might shrug off a model that looks like it was created with photogrammetrybut beware. As Edwards showed, those models can still have incoherent details that look unsettling or inappropriate when viewed up close.Image by Liz Edwards via BlueskyShe also explained that meshes on generative AI-made 3D models are "rarely" symmetrical, and are often melded together into "featureless blobs." Those "blobs" often weld together feet or arms, on animals, monsters, and humanoids, making it impossible to pose or animate them.Image by Liz Edwards via BlueskyThis problem spotlights a major risk of using models that trade quality for efficacy in creationif the object looks "good enough" but either has too many polygons or is impossible to animate, an object could interfere with the rest of the work a team needs to make a great game.Know how to spot the machinesShould game developers have to make their own Voigt-Kampf tests to identify if visual art is made by generative AI? For now, that would be a "yes." There all kinds of ways that an art asset made with generative AI might slip into your pipeline, and if it's not caught quick, it could cause problems for a team not ready to catch them.Not all generative AI tech is made with deception in mind. But it's been pointed out that a broad usecase for generative AI is to deceive others, especially when using image, text, or video generation.A developer in search of a solid penguin model might waste valuable time trying to get this flawed version to work. A recruiter inexperienced in 3D modeling might forward a candidate with AI-generated models if they can't see the machine-made imperfections. For now, all developers can do is arm themselves with the necessary tools and make a judgment call if an AI-generated model fits their needs.If you need to do your own sorting a little bit faster, make sure to review Edwards' full thread (and other posts about 3D art) over on Bluesky.Read more about:Generative AITop StoriesAbout the AuthorBryant FrancisSenior Editor, GameDeveloper.comBryant Francis is a writer, journalist, and narrative designer based in Boston, MA. He currently writes for Game Developer, a leading B2B publication for the video game industry. His credits include Proxy Studios' upcoming 4X strategy game Zephon and Amplitude Studio's 2017 game Endless Space 2.See more from Bryant FrancisDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Justin Carter, Contributing EditorNovember 5, 20242 Min ReadImage via Bungie/Halo Studios/Xbox.At a GlanceThank Halo community members and the Digsite data archive for recreating a key part of Halo history and making it playable.Halo 2 turns 20 years old this weekend, and Halo Studios is marking the occasion by making its famous E3 2003 demo fully playable.On November 9 (the game's anniversary), Steam owners of Halo: The Master Chief Collection can access a recreated version of the demo as a free mod. Longtime Halo community members and the Digsite data archaeology archive headed up the effort, which was deemed an undertaking due to "several snags with technology."In the original demo, Master Chief and the UNSC battle the Covenant in the streets of New Mombassa. At the time, it was the first gameplay shown to the public, and introduced several key elements of both Halo 2 and the series itself, such as dual-wielding and the Brute faction. Bungie eventually cut the section due to limitations on the game's environment size.A community campaignAccording to Xbox Wire, the demo was made using an iteration of the Halo engine that no longer exists, and its assets were incompatible with current versions of Halo 2 specifically. Senior franchise writer Ken Peters credited both Digsite's tools and the series' community with "unearthing knowledge to know why Bungie built things the way they did in the demo.""Without them," he continued, "we would probably have only had a rather unceremonious drop of raw assets and that was it."Halo 2 was a big driver for Xbox at the time, and was its most-played multiplayer game until the arrival of Gears of War for the Xbox 360 two years later. Even then, Bungie's shooter was extremely popular, to the point Microsoft delayed shutting down the game's multiplayer servers on Windows Vista.As community director Brian Jarrard noted, Halo 2 "is a major pillar for the franchise that catapulted the series and community to new heights. [...] The overall cultural permeation fostered a new level of global fandom and community that elevated Halo beyond 'just a game.'"In 2014, Halo 2's remake was a core selling point for the Master Chief Collection. To date, the first two Halos are the only mainline entries to receive full-on remakes, as opposed to graphics overhauls with the remastered bundle.Along with the E3 demo, Halo Studios is celebrating Halo 2's birthday through Halo Infinite with modern recreations of some of its multiplayer maps and a playlist with an old school feel, both of which you can read about here.Read more about:[Company] XboxAbout the AuthorJustin CarterContributing Editor, GameDeveloper.comA Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.See more from Justin CarterDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Justin Carter, Contributing EditorNovember 5, 20242 Min ReadImage via Sharkmob.At a GlanceDevelopers in Europe's game industry open up on its layoffs, challenges, and leaving games for greener pastures.According this year's Big Games Industry Employment Survey, 21 percent of game developers in Europe have been impacted by layoffs between 2023 and 2024.Participants were asked if they had changed jobs in the last year: of those, 15 percent they were laid off and found a new job, and 6.2 percent were similarly made redundant, and are still looking for work. Others have either remained employed (55.6 percent) or left of their own choice (23.2 percent).The most affected by these layoffs worked in HR (by 32 percent) and QA (28 percent). Many employees in both fields ended up switching to another field or leaving games entirely.Most European devs that've been laid off in the past year have managed to find new jobs elsewhere.Those surveyed also said they felt the three most at-risk jobs were localization, sound, and art/design. PR, founder/co-founder, and community were considered the least likely to be at risk. Tenure-wise, trainees and junior staff are the most at-risk workers, according to the results.Ten percent of respondents said they ended up switching to work at non-games industries, and 31 percent of those were former junior staff at a game company.Layoffs have hit studios across the globe quite hard in recent years. Teams based in the UK or France (like NaturalMotion or Sharkmob) must first enter consultation periods before eliminating roles, but losing staff can be a blow to morale or elicit stress or feelings of burnout.In the survey, 55 percent of developers based in European Union countries (including the UK and Switzerland) cited professional burnout as a major issue at their workplace, followed by "unprofessional management" (51 percent) and a lack of appreciation (38 percent). Workers outside those territories had similar sentiments: 61 percent pointed to burnout, then management (47 percent), and a lack of appreciation (24 percent).The big challenges developers in and out of Europe are currently facing at their workplace.Another big challenge concerns discrimination: 32 percent of respondents say they have encountered gender discrimination, followed by discrimination of age (26 percent), and national origin or language (17 percent).The full Big Games Industry Employment Survey, which also includes insight into salaries for European developers and the most-desired studios to work at, can be read here.About the AuthorJustin CarterContributing Editor, GameDeveloper.comA Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.See more from Justin CarterDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Chris Kerr, News EditorNovember 4, 20241 Min ReadImage via Space Ape GamesAt a GlanceSupercell owner Tencent has made a number of notable investments in recent years and continues to splash the cash.Supercell has acquired UK studio Space Ape Games after increasing its stake in the London outfit.As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Supercell already owned a majority stake in the Beatstar and Transformers: Earth Wars developer.The Clash of Clans maker sunk $37 million into Space Ape Games in 2022, taking its stake in the studio to 75 percent. Prior to that, it invested $56.6 million into the studio.Supercell is owned by Tencent, which holds stakes in major companies such as Remedy, Techland, FromSoftware, and Epic Games. It wholly-owns other notable studios including Riot Games, Funcom, and Sumo Group.Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen indicated the Space Ape acquisition will make the company more agile and efficient. "We believe the best teams create the best games, so we are really excited to find our place within London's incredibly talented games ecosystem by joining forces with Space Ape," he said."This move will bring in amazing new colleagues and make our games teams even stronger. With the best talent globally, we move faster on our mission of creating great games that as many people as possible play for years and that are remembered forever."Space Ape CEO John Earner indicated the move was a natural evolution of the existing partnership between both companies. "We've loved working closely with Supercell for many years, and this move is the next stage in that partnership," he said. "I am so proud of Space Ape's contribution to the gaming industry over the last twelve years. I am looking forward to this next step in our evolution as part of the Supercell team."Read more about:M&AAbout the AuthorChris KerrNews Editor, GameDeveloper.comGame Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, andPocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.See more from Chris KerrDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Justin Carter, Contributing EditorNovember 4, 20242 Min ReadImage via GiantBomb.At a GlanceAfter Transport Tycoon, Sawyer stayed in the simulation genre with the Rollercoaster Tycoon series and Locomotion.Chris Sawyer's Transport Tycoon may live again, as Atari has purchased the property for an undisclosed fee. As part of that deal, Atari said it will "potentially develop new titles or content," and look at growing physical and digital distribution for the original simulation title.Transport Tycoon first released in 1994 for the MS-DOS, and put players in charge of a 1930s transport company following the Great Depression. Over the decades, which include the then-distant 2030, players go up against business rivals and build a transport empire using the technology of each time period.An improved version of the game released the following year (which extended its story from 1950 to 2050), and it later came to Mac and PlayStation. It came to iOS and Android in 2013, and an open source remake/recreation called OpenTTD released in 2004, and persists to this day. This purchase also marks Atari's latest play build its business by revitalizing previously well-known franchises.In a statement, Atari CEO Wade Rosen said the publisher was "committed to both honoring and advancing his groundbreaking creation." Both parties previously teamed on the Rollercoaster Tycoon series (which Sawyer licenses out), and Transport's 2004 spiritual successor, Chris Sawyer's Locomotion.Atari is still in its comeback eraTransport Tycoon marks Atari's newest purchase in what's been an acquisition-heavy time for the publisher. Earlier this this year, it bought Infogrames and some of its IP, namely the Surgeon Simulator and Totally Reliable Delivery Service properties.Last year, its acquisitions included Nightdive Studios, the AtariAge historian website, and preservation studio Digital Eclipse. This past September, Rosen expressed his aim to turn Atari into a company that leads from the front instead of being a "fast follower.""We never really led in any category," he explained at the time. "The first thing was to stop and say, 'What are we doing? What can we be the best in the world at?'[...] We looked at what we have passion for. What we came back with was 'retro gaming,' and specifically 'modern retro gaming.'"Read more about:AtariAbout the AuthorJustin CarterContributing Editor, GameDeveloper.comA Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.See more from Justin CarterDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Choose-your-own-delisting.

Justin Carter, Contributing EditorNovember 4, 20242 Min ReadImage via the New York Times.At a GlanceThe Tech Guild alleges New York Times management failed to address its concerns ahead of the U.S. presidential election.Tech workers for the New York Times are currently striking, and they've asked readers for solidarity by not playing any of the outlet's games."Our members know their worth and they will prove that at the picket line today," wrote the Times' Tech Guild. "[We] ask readers to honor the digital picket line and not play popular NYT games such as Wordle and Connections, as well as not use the NYT cooking app."In its statement, the Guild alleged management "failed to meaningfully address" issues raised by workers ahead of tomorrow's U.S. presidential election. Those "key issues" included "remote/hybrid work protections, 'just cause' job protections (which the newsroom had for decades), limits on subcontracting, and pay equity/fair pay."The Tech Guild further claimed leadership performed "numerous law violations" during initial negotiations, including forcible return-to-office mandates without bargaining, and reportedly intimidating workers about their strike intentions. As a result, the union "filed unfair labor practice charges against the Times on these tactics."Should the union not reach an agreement with New York Times management by the end of today, November 4, it will mark the first strike "to coincide with a presidential election in the NewsGuild since the 1964 Detroit Newspaper Strike."That's the smell of labor in the airGame workers have made strides securing protections these past few years. Unions have formed at developers like 2K, Sega of America, and Blizzard. Both in and outside of unionized studios, those workers have fought for specific protections against return-to-office mandates and generative AI policies.New York Times' games are extremely popular, and the outlet's union asking readers to aid them by not playing is a big ask of subscribers. In a statement to Polygon, the Times itself said it was "[committed] to working with the Tech Guild to reach a fair contract that takes into account that they are already among the highest paid individual contributors in the Company and journalism is our top priority.""While we respect the unions right to engage in protected actions, we'e disappointed that colleagues would strike at this time, which is both unnecessary and at odds with our mission," it concluded.Read more about:UnionizationLaborAbout the AuthorJustin CarterContributing Editor, GameDeveloper.comA Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.See more from Justin CarterDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Chris Kerr, News EditorNovember 4, 20243 Min ReadImage via NetflixAt a GlanceNetflix Games feels generative AI will completely reshape game developmentbut stopped short of explaining exactly how.Netflix Games has thrown its weight behind generative AI less than two weeks after shuttering its only triple-A development studio.The streaming giant has appointed Mike Verdu as its new VP of GenAI for Games so it can capitalize on what it calls a "once in a generation inflection point for game development and player experiences." Verdu previously served as VP of Netflix Games but earlier this year revealed he would be taking on a new role at the company. At the time, he said his new position would champion "innovation in game development."Speaking about his new role on Linkedin, Verdu waxed lyrical about the potential of generative AI and said the technology will "accelerate the velocity of development and unlock truly novel game experiences that will surprise, delight, and inspire players.""I am focused on a creator-first vision for AI, one that puts creative talent at the center, with AI being a catalyst and an accelerant," he added. "AI will enable big game teams to move much faster, and will also put an almost unimaginable collection of new capabilities in the hands of developers in smaller game teams."Verdu suggested figuring out how to harness generative AI technology is the next big challenge facing the game industry."I don't think I've been this excited about an opportunity in this industry since the 90s, when we saw a new game launch every few months that redefined what was possible. It was an incredible time to be making games as talented creators showed all of us what the future looked like. Guess what? We're back to those days of seemingly unlimited potential and the rapid pace of innovation, which resulted in mind-blowing surprises for players every few months," he added."I can't believe how lucky I am to be alive when a wave this big is about to hit the game industry. Many view this technology with fear, but I am a game-maker at heart and I see its potential to unlock all of us, to create mind-blowing new experiences for players, to lift us to new heights. Yes, we'll have to adapt and change, but when have we failed to meet that challenge as an industry?"Major game companies continue to board the generative AI bandwagonVerdu isn't the first executive to whisper sweet nothings into the primordial ear of generative AI. Amazon Games CEO Christoph Hartmann previously claimed the technology can be used to streamline production without "taking work away from anyone."EA boss Andrew Wilson has repeatedly espoused the supposed benefits of the technology, and suggested 60 percent of the company's development processes could be "impacted" by generative AI. Those remarks came shortly after EA laid off 5 percent of its workforce.Other notable players like Square Enix, Ubisoft, and Embracer Group have also begun experimenting with the technology, but how do developers in the production trenches feel about its looming presence?A recent Game Developer Collective survey indicated many devs feel generative AI represents a double-edged sword. 30 percent of respondents said the technology could reduce development costs, but 35 percent also felt it would reduce the quality of titles produced in the next 12 months.There are also ethical and legal concerns about how some generative AI technologies have been trained, and who actually owns the content produced by tools (such as those developed by OpenAI) that have consumed "publicly available information"including copyrighted material and personal information. As noted by the BBC, the New York Times is currently suing both OpenAI and Microsoft for billions over allegations of copyright infringement.Others are concerned the dawn of generative AI could eventually result in more job losses across the industry. SAG-AFTRA is currently striking in a bid to prevent that outcome by securing AI protections for video game performers.Read more about:Generative AITop StoriesAbout the AuthorChris KerrNews Editor, GameDeveloper.comGame Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, andPocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.See more from Chris KerrDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Chris Kerr, News EditorNovember 4, 20241 Min ReadImage via Radical ForgeUK studio Radical Forge has raised 2.6 million ($3.4 million) to expand its team and launch chaotic physics-based farming sim Southfield.The cash injection comes via the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund IIMercia Equity Finance, which primarily makes investments across Yorkshire and is managed by Mercia Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II.The news arrives around six months after Radical Forge laid off a "handful" of workers whose roles or skill sets were deemed surplus to requirements. Now, the company is looking to make around 15 new hires so it can take on new and bigger contracts and bring Southfield to market."Well, we did it. We are beyond happy to say that we've secured funding to help us build Radical Forge into the company we want it to be and bring everyone along with us on the journey," said studio CEO Bruce Slater in a press release."In Mercia, we found a partner willing to understand not only the nuts and bolts of the company but the human heart that makes it tick. They share our ambitions to be a great development partner whilst creating original games in a culture that puts people first."Mercia investment director Chris McCourt said providing funding to Radical Forge will deliver another boost to Middlesbrough's burgeoning game industry."Radical Forge are a talented team with a vibrant culture that has helped them attract and retain skilled developers," he added. "We believe the current environment holds real opportunities for the business. With many of the big players in the industry downsizing their teams, they have the chance to attract top talent, expand their skills base and win larger and more complex projects."About the AuthorChris KerrNews Editor, GameDeveloper.comGame Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, andPocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.See more from Chris KerrDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

VladislavSobolevNovember 1, 20245 Min ReadImage via Kevin Ku.Fake it til you make it - faking extended draw distance in mobile gamesOptimization is a cornerstone of mobile game development. With thousands of phone models in circulation, many of them running outdated chipsets, every game needs to target a reasonable lowest common denominator, and one of the most consistent ways to optimize performance in 3D games is to manage draw distance.Drawing distance must be as short as possible to achieve stable FPS. But what about open worlds, where players need to see the entire map from any point? This is the challenge we faced in Cubic Games while developing Block City Wars, and below we will explore the solution we settled on, and the strengths of this particular approach.The problem:In a game like Block City Wars, every player needs to see the entire map from any position or be at a disadvantage, and simply increasing the far clip plane wont work. Increasing the draw distance raises the number of triangles that pass through all culling stages: more objects undergo bounding box checks on the CPU and more fragments are drawn on the GPU.Using another camera for the background with a different drawing distance complicates camera management and adds unnecessary overhead. Lastly, experiments with HLOD (Hierarchical Level-Of-Detail) were also found unsuitable for solving this problem. While some of these solutions might be applicable to other games, they failed to address our needs. When all else fails, shader magic saves the day.The essence of the solution:The solution we settled on was using a mixture of shader trickery combined with our existing simple fog effect to provide useful but largely faked detail. Using a shader, we can create the illusion that an object is far away while it is actually close to the player. This allows us to choose which objects will always be visible, regardless of distance.It makes sense to use only sufficiently tall objects so players can orient themselves on the map, allowing us to fully remove visual clutter from the final render. To ensure a seamless transition between fake objects and real ones, we will render silhouettes in fog color. This also allows us to significantly reduce detail. It will look like this:BeforeAfterDeceiving CPU Culling:To achieve this effect, we can leverage the tools that Unity provides us. For a mesh to be sent for rendering, its bounds must fall within the camera frustum. This can be easily done, for example, using this MonoBehaviour. We will do this in Start() because Unity recalculates bounds when the mesh is initialized. For our purposes, we need to set the size so that the players camera is always inside the bounds; thus, the mesh will always be sent for rendering on the GPU, lightening the load on older CPU models.void Start() {Mesh mesh = selectedMeshFilter.sharedMesh;Bounds bounds = mesh.bounds;bounds.center = newCenter;bounds.size = newSize;mesh.bounds = bounds;}Deceiving GPU Culling:Once the mesh is on the GPU, there is one more stage of frustum cullingbetween the vertex and fragment stages. To bypass this, we need to transform the vertex coordinates so that all vertices are within the cameras view, while still preserving perspective.v2f vert (appdata v){v2f o;float3 worldPos = mul(unity_ObjectToWorld, v.vertex).xyz;float3 directionToOriginal = normalize(worldPos - _WorldSpaceCameraPos);float3 scaledPos = _WorldSpaceCameraPos + directionToOriginal*_ScaleDownFactor;float3 objectPos = mul(unity_WorldToObject, float4(scaledPos,1));o.vertex =UnityObjectToClipPos(objectPos);return o; }_ScaleDownFactor is the distance from the camera at which all vertices will be located. It needs to be adjusted according to the fog distance to hide the transition.All we need to do in the fragment shader is simply draw the fog color, which will mask the geometry cutoff.fixed4 frag (v2f i) : SV_Target{return unity_FogColor;}Example with an Island Mesh:This effect can be clearly seen in Blender. If you position the camera at the origin and point it at a cube, then duplicate the cube and scale it relative to 0, from the cameras perspective, there will be no difference between these cubes. Obviously a trick that wont work quite right in VR, but were developing for mobile here, so depth perception isnt something we have to work around.In our case, an additional step is added: the mesh is squashed to fit right at the edge of the cameras drawing distance. This is done to avoid overlapping with the z-buffer of other objects that should be closer to the player. When dealing with impostor detail objects like this, one little rendering glitch is all it takes to shatter the illusion and bring attention to background objects that should normally be seamless.We must also keep in mind cases where the camera might end up inside the silhouette mesh. Vertices in one triangle can end up on different sides of the camera, causing it to stretch across the entire screen. This should be taken into account when creating the silhouette mesh, ensuring the camera does not enter it or disabling meshes when the camera approaches.ConclusionWhile this approach wont be applicable for all games, it fits Block City Wars and its existing fog effects perfectly. This approach allows for quickly extending the effective draw distance using faked silhouetted detail under serious performance constraints, leveraging the existing fog effects to hide the smoke-and-mirrors used. It is easy to reproduce in any render pipeline and engine, and it does not require modification of existing code.Even with much of the fine detail faked and obscured behind fog effects, the distant silhouettes still provide useful gameplay information to players at minimal performance cost. A net win for players across all platforms, especially older hardware.Read more about:BlogsFeatured BlogsTop StoriesAbout the AuthorDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

But how many Veilguard players have actually left the character creator?

Roblox Corp. posted its financials for this year's third quarter, which CEO David Baszucki called "exceptional" thanks to key financial and operational metrics growing at "high rates" well above the guidance the company posted during the second quarter.As of September 30, 2024, the company made $919 million in net sales and bookings of $1.12 billion, up by 29 percent and 34 percent respectively compared to the previous year. Daily Active Users (DAUs) rose by 27 percent year-over-year to 88.9 million, and hourly engagement figures hit 20.7 billion, an increase of 29 percent.This growth, Baszuscki said, "demonstrate[s] the strength of our platform and the effectiveness of our growth strategies. Were particularly proud of the progress weve made in empowering creators, fostering social connections, and expanding our global reach."Roblox's console growthIn the shareholder letter, Roblox Corp noted this quarter's bookings saw "unusually high" growth from consoles thanks to Roblox's launch on the PlayStation 4 in late 2023. Console bookings made up 8 percent of overall bookings for the quarter, and non-console (read: PC, tablet, mobile) bookings grew by 28 percent compared to the previous year.According to Roblox Corp., Roblox's hourly engagement has grown "slightly faster" than its DAUs over the past six years, and the bookings grew faster than hours. That engagement goes up "as Roblox content has improved and DAUs increased in tenure," and more users become payers "over time as content has improved and platform functionality has expanded."Later in November, the company will reportedly roll out new child safety measures following multiple reports of young Roblox players being exposed to harmful or sexual content. Those reforms include making it so players age 13 or younger are required to have parental permission to access in-game chat features, and letting parents create an account type to monitor their child's friends and in-game activity.While stressing the safety of its game, Roblox Corp.'s letter noted its "highest priority is to create one of the safest online environments for users. [...] We are deeply troubled by any incident that endangers our users and take concerns about safety on the platform extremely seriously."It further stated it will offer more information on the new safety reforms ahead of the rollout, and highlighted its human moderators and automated tools, as well as partnerships with child safety groups."We will continue to invest in technology, policies, and partnerships to pursue the highest standards of trust and safety on our platform," it wrote. "We understand there is always more work to be done, and we are committed to taking steps to make Roblox a safe and positive environment for all users."

Remedy has confirmed that Alan Wake 2 has recouped "most" of its development and marketing costs around a year after it launched. The Finnish studio shared the news in its fiscal report for the third quarter ended September 2024 (Q3).The company saw revenue increase by 128.6 percent to 17.9 million ($19.4 million) during Q3. Operating profit rose to 2.4 million ($2.6 million) over the same period, an upswing on the 5.5 million loss reported by Remedy this time last year.Remedy CEO Tero Virtala noted that development costs have risen year-on-year, largely driven by Control 2 and Max Payne 1&2 Remake. He stated that Remedy is making "steady progress" as it works to expand its game portfolio with the launch of multiplayer Control spin-off FBC: Firebreak and move into self-publishing with the backing of Annapurna Pictures."Our games in development progressed as planned during the quarter. In August, we made a strategic partnership agreement with Annapurna Pictures, which ensures we can develop Control 2 into a great game. It also allows us to move into self-publishing and expand our game franchises to other mediums such as television and film," said Virtala."At the end of the quarter, Alan Wake 2 had recouped most of its development and marketing expenses. After the end of the quarter, the second expansion of Alan Wake 2, The Lake House, was released on October 22 alongside the Physical Deluxe Edition of the game. FBC: Firebreak, previously codename Condor, continues in full production with a focus on iterating on the core loop and implementing more of the UI (user interface) for more player clarity based on playtesting feedback."Control 2 is in the "production readiness stage" and remains on track to enter full production in 2025. Virtala noted many of the sequel's critical features have already been implemented to mitigate risk, and workflows and pipelines are being tested ahead of time. Max Payne 1&2 Remake remains in full production and is making "steady progress."Discussing Remedy's partnership with Annapurna in more detail, Virtala said the deal secured 50 percent of the production budget for Control 2. It will also enable Annapurna to develop movies and television shows based on Alan Wake and Control.As for Remedy's recent loan agreement with Tencent, Virtala stated that move will strengthen the studio's position in the value chain and grant it more control over how its projects are commercialised. Looking ahead, Virtala said expanding the interconnected Control and Alan Wake franchises will be "key" to the studio's future.

Chris Kerr, News EditorNovember 1, 20242 Min ReadImage via IWGB Game WorkersAt a GlanceA growing number of developers are joining or forming unions to fight for their rights in an increasingly hostile industry.UK trade union IWGB Game Workers has expanded to over 1,500 members. Co-founder Austin Kelmore shared the news on Bluesky and explained the worker-led organization has "grown an incredible amount" over the past year.The union has marked the occasion by launching a new manifesto to outline its vision for a better video game industry, and explained it will continue fighting for worker rights."We envision a future where job insecurity, long unpaid hours, and inadequate compensation are a thing of the past," reads the manifesto.IWGB said it intends to fight for a future in which all workers across the game industry have the power to transform their workplace and impact the decision-making process; feel safe and secure in their role; have the tools and knowledge to push back against harmful practices; and are able to work free from harassment and discrimination.Its newly-launched manifesto claims that vision will be realised by leaning on five core pillars: democracy, solidarity and care, taking action, education, and equality and justice."IWGB Game Workers is a union for all workers in the UK games industry and our members come from a huge variety of backgrounds. In order to achieve our mission, we must find common ground and take action on similar issues, although the details of our campaigns and direct action may differ from workplace to workplace," it continues.For IWGB, finding common ground means collectively working towards achievable goals such as ending reliance on overtime, widespread union recognition, improved baseline pay and an end to the gender pay gap, and contractual protections that shield workers against "firing without cause or careless redundancy measures."Developers across the industry continue to join unions like IWGB Game Workers or form their own cohorts with the help of organizations like the CWA to find ways of securing their future in the face of rampant layoffs and other harmful practices.Earlier this year, we spoke with a group of union representatives and members to learn more about the value of collective action in a titanic industry that's crumbling under its own weight.Read more about:LaborTop StoriesAbout the AuthorChris KerrNews Editor, GameDeveloper.comGame Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, andPocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.See more from Chris KerrDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Danielle Riendeau, Editor-in-ChiefNovember 1, 20242 Min ReadXbox logo on a dark backgroundvia MicrosoftAt a GlanceMicrosoft touted strong Game Pass numbers and Call of Duty launch, but also reported a hardware revenue decline.Microsoft has released its first quarter report for the 2025 fiscal year, shedding light on the company's financial performance for the three-month period ending September 30, 2024. Overall Xbox hardware revenue is down 29 percent (continuing the downward trend), but game revenue was overall up 43 percent, thanks in large part to its major Activision Blizzard acquisition and the robust library that the publisher brought to the table.That 43 percent growth includes 43 points of net impact from the Activision deal, as outlined in Microsoft's earnings presentation. Xbox content and services revenue grew 61 percent (including 53 points of net impact from the acquisition). The Activision Blizzard merger is clearly showing a massive impact on the division, shoring up some of the slack from falling hardware revenue. It's shown impact in other ways, too: Microsoft haslaid off over 2,500 game workersandshuttered multiple studiossince the turn of the year.Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella noted that, one year after closing the big deal, "we are focused on building a business positioned for long-term growth, driven by higher-margin content and services."Gaming revenue grows at Xbox, despite the falling hardware numbersNadella noted Microsoft set "new records" for monthly active users in the quarter, and that Game Pass set a new Q1 record for "total revenue and average revenue per subscriber." Call of Duty Black Ops 6, which launched last week, was singled out as the "biggest Call of Duty release ever, setting a record for day one players, as well as Game Pass subscriber adds on launch day."Despite the praise, Microsoft avoided sharing exactly what those record numbers were for all of the above.Interestingly, Nadella added that unit sales for the game were also up significantly on PlayStation and Steam: to the tune of 60 percent year-over-year."This speaks to our strategy of meeting gamers where they are by enabling them to play more games across the screens they spend their time on," said Nadella. This is consistent with Nadella's recent remarks on Xbox's multiplatform prospects.Read more about:Financials[Company] XboxAbout the AuthorDanielle RiendeauEditor-in-Chief, GameDeveloper.comDanielle is the editor-in-chief of Game Developer, with previous editorial posts at Fanbyte, VICE, and Polygon. Shes also a lecturer in game design at the Berklee College of Music, and a hobbyist game developer in her spare time.See more from Danielle RiendeauDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Bryant Francis, Senior EditorOctober 31, 20248 Min ReadImage via Adobe Stock.At a GlanceFinji CEO Bekah Saltsman gave a must-watch GDC talk in 2019 about how indies should be pitching publishers.Since then, an industry contraction has meant fewer publishers and investors are signing games.To survive this cold spell, devs 'have to spend some time on the business,' and be even sharper with their pitches, she says.It's a common refrain in game development. When you need to learn more about programming, design, marketing, etc., head to the GDC Vault.The resource maintained by our sibling organization is a dense-as-hell repository for over a decade of video game history. But there's a small challenge that comes with plumbing its depths: all the insights you find were most apropos for the year they were archived.Some talks might evergreen, but others fade away as console generations advance and the industry landscape changes. The landscape that's arguably seen the most change is the economic state of the game industry. The already-turbulent business has been upended in the last two years, with studios laying off thousands of workers and investors closing their doors to anyone not pitching the next Fortnite.In 2019 Finji cofounder and CEO Bekah Saltsman gave a talk for indie developers on pitching publishers. The talk was direct, to-the-point, and challenged developers to accept they were playing in a crowded market, and their pitches needed to be the best they could be for a shot at publisher support.Five years later, that fact is more true than ever. Saltsman admitted in an email interview with Game Developer that she's not an "optimistic person" anymore about the game industry and funding opportunities. She's still out there though, signing games like Wilmot Works It Out and continuing to support titles like I Was a Teenage Exocolonist and Chicory: A Colorful Tale. She's also doing pitching of her own, often looking for funds to support those games.Related:Saltsman seems more world-weary, but she took the time to tell Game Developerand more importantly, our readers in search of fundswhat she's expecting out of pitches now, and how her assessments of the industry have changed.Changing economics mean changing budgetsIn 2019, Saltsman explained Finji sorts pitches into different tiers where they assess how many copies a game they're pitching or being pitched might sell. They range from as few as 300 units to as high as 300,000 units and beyond (the last category was an outlier, to be clear). Most games the company publishes target the 3000-30,000 range.They're still the tiers it uses, though Saltsman said she would add a "small increment" between the 3k and 300k range. "I would likely add a small increment between 30k and 100k" she wrote. "I would do this because hitting 100k copies of an indie game on a single platform can be quite difficult.""Budgets for games are even higher than they were when I gave this talkand I am talking about North America specifically. It is so much more expensive for normal people to make ends meet in the US and that directly affects your game budget."Should you include your budget in your pitch documents? The answer is still "no." "I put a lot of other information in there," she said. "I put my goals of the pitch, which might be something like 'we are looking for an enthusiastic partner who wants to make something special and wants to work with our team. We are looking for finishing development funds, a co-marketing partner, and a team who wants to ship this game alongside us.'"Image via Northway Games/Finji.She said it clearly communicates what she's looking for: that Finji is looking for money, that it is looking for 'end of project' money, and when the pitch goes to platform owners, that the team is seeking an account rep or production team to help the developer out.Saltsman still has a budget preppedit's just not something she shares up front. She said that "the last thing you want to do is to get someone to respond to you and ask how much and you aren't ready to talk about that." Her budgets are standalone documents that estimate production costs, unit sales information at "various launch price points" and a breakdown of milestones that would correlate to budget payments. She'll make several of these documents to be prepared for different prospective partners.Her documents will clearly state the costs of the game she wants to make, the game that can be made if a certain amount is cut, the amount that can be produced if Finji needs to make a "minimum viable product," and the game that she wants to make plus 6 months of content post-launch.That's four flexible models, multiplied across many documents. Devs should definitely take time to get the math right before sending them out in the world.Be flexible with storefronts and people you're pitchingSpeaking of flexibility, Saltsman's original talk breaks down how devs should be prepared to pitch their games to all kinds of parties. Investors. Publishers. Players. Your dog, cat, or ferret. Your mom. Your stepmom. Your polycule's extended branch that stretches into the finance world and there's that guy Jim who hangs out sometimes but his dad is a dentist who patented a chemical that helps teeth deal with aging and you know what this just kind of got out of hand."I will never stop encouraging developers to learn about people," Saltsman said (no reference to the dentist, but she did press learning how to talk to "friends, parents, and partners."). "If you are going to be in charge of walking in and out of pitch meetings, going to shows to talk to fans, taking press interviewsyou need to practice communicating."Because developers can wind up in a state of "culture isolation" (talking to other developers and becoming familiar with words like 'blueprints,' 'jungling,' or 'bunny-hopping'), they'll start to speak in ways that are intelligible to ordinary people not cursed by such knowledge. "It's like when you're in the grocery store and middle school kids behind you in the queue are speaking in YouTube," she said.In 2019, Saltsman stumbled on another form of flexibility that's evolved her approach since. After being left scrambling for the Nintendo Switch launch of Night in the Woods, Finji grabbed some assets for Nintendo's storefront that they hadn't really intended to be public-facing. It turned out they were perfectly optimized for that platform. Should developers prep different assets for different storefronts today?"Short answer: yes," she said, implying she'd give an "entire talk" on the subject. "Slightly longer short answer: every platform has a different audience who have different expectations. It is your job as a developer (or at least the person communicating to the world about your game) to understand how these different platforms work. This directly influences how your art assets and store text are interpreted.""You should understand your audiencesyour first audience who will buy it on day one, your second audience who will buy it in the first month, your 3rd audience who need some peer pressure and validation from others and your long tail sale audience. Your assets: visual, both static and videoand text-basedshould communicate with those first 3 audiences directly."Stay tuned for more from Saltsman on that. Hopefully we'll see that talk sometime soon.Do not. Just pitch. A prototype.2024 Bekah Saltsman is just as ardent as 2019 Bekah Saltsman on the subject of prototypes. She does not want to see them in a pitch. Developers, she said, should head into pitches with vertical slices. "The idea of a prototype is still that it is playable version of your game that is a proof of system or proof of mechanics. This is not enough for most people to understand what the game actually is.""In general, you still want to work toward a playable that shows a publishing or funding partner what the game will be like when it ships."Image via Hollow Ponds/Richard Hogg/Finji.Don't panic, you don't need the most polished vertical slice or a full-on Steam Next Fest demo ready (couldn't hurt though). Her advice is once again, about communication. Developers want the biz dev person in the room to understand very clearly what the game is like and who it can be marketed to.You can stuff your vertical slice with everything it needs to communicate genre, "vibes," and what players will do in the game."It is more competitive now than it was five years ago," she noted. "There are less resources to go around. Show up with your best chance to secure your funding or your contract."Be business-minded, even if you don't have a head for itIn a perfect world, the artists would get to practice the art, the technicians research their tech, and the money people work hard to get the money to the people who need it the most. However we live in a world where Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles did not get a third seasonthe tiniest indicator that we are not in a perfect world.It's a post-pandemic world where everyone is exhausted by the still-lingering presence of COVID-19, wars and invasions, inflation (or is it greedflation?) and...well, you get it.Tight funding for games is maybe among the more minor plights we face, but if you're an indie out there struggling to get funds, Saltsman feels your pain. "People funding prototypes existed for about 20-24 months, but they have mostly canceled or cut all their projects loose. Diversity funds, platform funds, angel funds, investor fundsall are at a fraction of what they used to be."Indie developers, she said, need to do their best to be "less of a risk." They can do that by having a better vertical slice, a wide array of funding methods, and being ready to adapt to whatever comes next."You have to spend some time on business."Game Developer and Game Developers Conference are sibling organizations under Informa Tech.Read more about:InterviewsFeaturesTop StoriesFundingAbout the AuthorBryant FrancisSenior Editor, GameDeveloper.comBryant Francis is a writer, journalist, and narrative designer based in Boston, MA. He currently writes for Game Developer, a leading B2B publication for the video game industry. His credits include Proxy Studios' upcoming 4X strategy game Zephon and Amplitude Studio's 2017 game Endless Space 2.See more from Bryant FrancisDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Valve has updated the Steam developer portal with a new edit section dedicated to anti-cheat software. Going forward, it's asking developers to disclose if their game uses anti-cheat technology like PunkBuster, and mandating they do so if they use client side, kernel mode anti-cheat.The shift in position on kernel mode anti-cheats follows years of back-and-forth between players and developers on anti-cheat software that can interfere with consumer hardware. Because kernel-level access is so highly privileged, accessing it means players are placing a lot of trust in developers and risking wide-ranging consequences if a nasty bug in the anti-cheat software could wreck an entire PC.But developers using kernel mode anti-cheat have justifiably held firm, as kernel mode checks on some games are needed to prevent devastating cheating that could demolish a multiplayer ecosystem. The back-and-forth has been frustrating for everyone involved.According to Valve, the requirement for kernel mode anti-cheat disclosures is retroactive and applies to game already listed on Steam. The company said it's reaching out to developers with games that use the technology. It'll also be part of future release reviews.Developers who already disclose anti-cheating tech in their store pages will still need to update this new section.Image via Valve.For those using conventional anti-cheat tools, Valve says it won't mandate they share that information but that it "generally think[s] that any game that makes use of anti-cheat technology would benefit from letting players know.How high are the stakes in the fight against cheaters? So high that Destiny 2 and Marathon developer Bungie has won millions in court suing cheating software developers, and even smaller developers like Splitgate 2 developer 1047 Games are buying out companies with anti-cheat tech to keep their games safe.

Bryant Francis, Senior EditorOctober 31, 20242 Min ReadImage via Nintendo.At a GlanceNintendo's new music app for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers celebrates the tunes, but not the people who made them.Yesterday, Nintendo dropped a fun new way to celebrate the many wonderful soundtracks that have accompanied its game for years. It debuted Nintendo Music, an app dedicated to soundtracks from its storied history. It's available only to Nintendo Switch Online members, making it another unique driver of Nintendo's entry into subscription services.There's just one catch. The app doesn't credit any composers. If you log into the app and pick a song, the "Track information" button just has the name, the game it appears in, and a Nintendo copyright notice.Developers and game music professionals spotted the omission shortly after the app rolled out on October 30, 2024. Assistant audio editor Nabil Mehari was one of many to draw attention to the uncredited artists, which includes veteran composers Koji Kondo and Ryo Nagamatsu."Once again Nintendo is trying to maintain the illusion that everything they release is created by a monolith, and its disappointing," Mehari wrote.The list of unnamed composers included runs pretty long. Yuka Tsujiyoko isn't credited for her work on the Fire Emblem series. Kenji Yamamoto is not listed as the music meister behind Metroid Prime. Want to know who composed K. K. Slider's slick tunes? Kazumi Totaka and his collaborators are unfortunately absent.Related:Nintendo's had a rough run with crediting developers latelyNintendo's new celebration of its vaunted soundtracks is another innovative way it's driving customers to its online subscription service. It's also another canny way of capitalizing on its audio files, as the Nintendo Sound Clock Alarmo did earlier this month.But its innovative wins risk being overshadowed by a growing reticence to properly credit developers. In July, Game Developer learned its crediting policies were leaving third-party translators out of credits, denying them a much-needed boost on their resums.Elsewhere, it's started becoming strangely reluctant to share what game studios are working on its in-development projects.What's going on over at big N? No clue. For now, developers are left waiting for answers. Though standardizing crediting rules might be a benefit were someone to form a union at Nintendo...Game Developer has reached out Nintendo for comment and will update this story when a response is given.Read more about:[Company] NintendoTop StoriesAbout the AuthorBryant FrancisSenior Editor, GameDeveloper.comBryant Francis is a writer, journalist, and narrative designer based in Boston, MA. He currently writes for Game Developer, a leading B2B publication for the video game industry. His credits include Proxy Studios' upcoming 4X strategy game Zephon and Amplitude Studio's 2017 game Endless Space 2.See more from Bryant FrancisDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Ubisoft's earnings for the first half of 2024-2025 fell short of expectations, but CEO Yves Guillemot said the studio can come back from this with a "player-centric and gameplay-first approach."For the six-month period ending on September 30, 2024, net bookings came to 642.3 million (or $697.8 million), down 21.9 percent from 2023-2024's first half. Of that, 352.3 million came from the second quarter, decreasing 36.5 percent from the second quarter of last year. Despite this, the quarterly earnings were said to be in line with Ubisoft's revised guidance.According to Guillemot, Ubisoft is looking at "tackling the dynamics" behind recent "polarized comments," in an effort to "protect [our] reputation and maximize our games' sales potential." Earlier this year, Guillemot denounced the racist backlash around Assassin's Creed Shadows, then seemed to backtrack in September, saying Ubisoft has no aim "to push any specific agenda."The "player-centric mindset" will continue with Star Wars Outlaws, which Ubisoft previously stated underperformed commercially. Along with fixes and post-launch DLC, the game is releasing on Steam in November, which the company hopes "engages a large audience during the holiday season and positions the game as a strong long-term performer."Related:Meanwhile, prior back catalog releases (excluding partnerships) grew by 12 percent from last year. Older live-service games like The Crew series and Riders Republic were commended for their growth during the second quarter: the former saw "strong growth" and attracted over 8 million players, while the sports sim topped 10 million players after its release on Xbox Game Pass.Rainbow Six Siege and the Assassin's Creed games, frequent repeat drivers for Ubisoft's back catalog, were also said to have had over 30 million active users each within the past 12 months. In total, Ubisoft attracted 138 million unique players across PC and consoles in this timeframe, up 4 percent from 2023-2024.Guillemot further affirmed Ubisoft's primary focus is on Assassin's Creed Shadows and ensuring it is "a highly polished, exceptional experience on day one and that it resonates strongly with players." As for previous reports of a potential buyout with Tencent, he repeated the company "is reviewing all its strategic options."

In 2013 I fell in love with the Guillermo del Toro-directed film Pacific Rim. I thought it was going to be this big, earthshaking cinematic moment that would reshape blockbuster cinema. I was wrong. It was beat by the Adam Sandler vehicle Grown Ups 2.After that, I realized I could stop worrying about box office numbers as a marker of quality. It's made much of my life less stressful.I've largely taken the same attitude with video game sales, and the underperformance of Star Wars Outlaws (which drove Ubisoft to delay Assassin's Creed Shadows and announce it would launch day 1 on Steam) didn't initially faze me. I broadly enjoyed the game even if I found parts of it underwhelming. Why worry about whether it not it sold well, even if a seemingly endless array of YouTubers did?Image via YouTubeYet something itched at me. I've had my eye on the game for the last year and kept up with all the moments leading up through its release. I couldn't have done anything to predict its sales prospects but hindsight being 20/20, the variables were all right there. Could this poor performance have been avoided?Perhaps. It's too late for Outlaws, but its sales struggles make for a fascinating case study for other business and marketing professionals who want their game to sell well. There were three main warning signs leading up to releaseall of them variables Ubisoft had plenty of time to react to.Related:"Star Wars fatigue" is realAs the resident Star Wars fanatic at Game Developer, it brings me great shame to report that yes, audiences are experiencing what some are calling "Star Wars fatigue." The underperformance of Outlaws and the recent Disney+ series The Acolyte are the measuring stick we have to work with. For the sake of my sanity, let us again skip past debating the quality of these works, I ultimately liked The Acolyte even if it was flawed as hell.The reason to push aside concerns over quality here is that quality is not the sole marker for success in this series. The Star Wars prequels were widely derided as they released but were all blockbuster hits. Solo: A Star Wars story reviewed well and is a solid little heist film but also whiffed at the box office. Andor is the most critically acclaimed entry since Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi but didn't set the world on fire. Quality doesn't not matter but we have data indicating it's at least a little disconnected.My personal opinion is that quality, marketing strategy, and release timing all mix into the stew here. But whichever one you prioritize, we're left with an unfortunate status quo for Ubisoft: that the Star Wars name wasn't enough to send players rushing to pre-order the game.This fact is relevant because for the last few years we've been in an era where supposedly Hollywood and the video game community have finally cracked the adaptation code and freed us from the era of terrible licensed games. We've heard so much about flywheels and comarketing and other business words that seem to forget works across both industries are creative works that do not sell like physical products.There've been some big wins, but Outlaws is the warning sign that we may be bracing for big losses too. Execs everywhere will assure you they know the brand name isn't enough, that quality has to be delivered, but let's state plain and clearly, we now have a big data point showing that softening enthusiasm for a series can have a big ripple effect.The traditional open-world action adventure genre is gluttedUbisoft really needs a wake-up call on this one because CEO Yves Guillemot and other executives have repeated over and over again that the company is narrowing its focus to live service multiplayer games and open world singleplayer games. Great, do what you want, but Outlaws is a big red flag that this strategy is running up against a crowded market.Ubisoft has unfortunately done much of that crowding over the last decade by releasing a buffet table of high quality games across the Assassin's Creed and Far Cry series. If a player says "I'm in the mood for open-world action adventure," they can dive into Ubisoft's own archives and pick up, say, Assassin's Creed Syndicate on sale for $10-$20 and be satisfied through the upcoming release of Shadows.Publishers are already aware of this phenomenon and adapting to it, but Ubisoft got caught off guard at a poor moment.Image via Ubisoft Massive/UbisoftDoes this mean all open world games are doomed? No. I think what we're seeing is data that players will drop $60-$70 for new kinds of open worlds, and are champing at the bit for games that shake up the experience. Dragon's Dogma 2 turned a cult series into a blockbuster bonanza, and Elden Ring adapted the Dark Souls model for a larger environment. Both games avoided the traditional model of "enter a new area, go through its main quest, explore checkpoints, pick up sidequests, and do small activities where appropriate" and experimented with making exploration a more friction-filled activity.Ubisoft's open world strategy seems to have unfortunately come with a desire to industrialize game productionto create central sets of mechanics that all of its global studios can work with and create slight variations on. It's led to some fun games, but when Outlaws previews started landing our own contributor George Yang noted that the game's goal seemed to be to adapt this well-worn model to the world of Star Wars.However well it did so (I found this was actually a major high point of the game), it was running headlong into a brick wall of Ubisoft's own making: Ubisoft offered players a type of game that it's already released so many versions of, and it was fair for them to say "I'll wait for it to go on sale."Star Wars Outlaws struggled to earn great word-of-mouthOutlaws was well-received by criticsshouldn't that have boosted the odds of it having strong sales? That positive reception landed in a more complicated media environment.I would not say Outlaws had "bad" word-of-mouth. What I will say is that word-of-mouth was...complicated.Yes, there was the "anti-woke" backlash, but who cares, fifty or so weirdos yelling on Twitter doesn't represent the blockbuster game audience Ubisoft so maybe you shouldn't bend the knee to them. But it was certainly in the media ecosystem, so let's count it as a tiny negative for word-of-mouth.Image via Ubisoft Massive/Ubisoft.Next, there was the brouhaha over the game's pre-order model. This was fairly justified, as poor communication and high prices were good reason for sticker shock from prospective players. For a hot minute it was completely reasonable to interpret access to Jabba the Hutt's mission as being locked behind a paywall. Ubisoft rushed to clarify it, but the damage was done.I'd rate this as a high negative point for the game's word-of-mouth because it drove conversation about the game's high price point. That doesn't pair well with the genre glut described above.Finally there was the launch window word of mouth. This was a moment where positive reviews had their best chance to boost the game, but content creators and players encountered two issues that shifted the conversation: the game's early forced-stealth sequences, and a game-breaking bug that led to Ubisoft warning PlayStation players to delete their save files.The difficulty of the early forced-stealth moments (which don't feel great, they seem to be a compromise between other interlocking game systems) became a complaint on social media. It was so prominent that creative director Julian Gerighty admitted in an interview with GamesRadar that it would soon be fixed. Now you have a conversation about a game not being fun, and a director saying a fix will come soon. So you'll just wait to buy it, right? Oh whoops now you've been distracted by another game and...that sale is gone.To be clear I don't blame Gerighty here, this was a very difficult needle to thread. Unfortunately the difficulty itself is the issue.Ubisoft's decision to not launch on Steam likely also hurt its ability to spread hype through word-of-mouth."It had a deal with the Epic Game Store," you'd reply. "Surely eager players would have gone there" The most passionate PC users probably did make the jump, but not renegotiating its Epic Game Store deal to support a PC launch here was a bad, bad move. Ubisoft seems to have realized this and is racing to get the game up on Steam and making sure Shadows launches on Valve's platform.We can debate if the existing (if confounding, to me, personally) distaste for the Epic Store dampened enthusiasm there, but I find skipping Steam to be more about the missed opportunity than the sentiments about its competitor. How do you drive people to wishlist if you aren't on the platform where they build game wishlists? How do you get the algorithmic benefits of the Steam front page? If a friend tells a friend about the game, how do they quickly share it when they're on the same platform?Ubisoft should have taken the L here and figured out whatever money they had to give back to Tim Sweeney to get Outlaws on Steam. This wasn't just about missed PC revenueit was about a missed way for players to engage with the game.What should Ubisoft do next?First: greenlight Star Wars Outlaws 2, and work with LucasFilm licensing to get a broader creative palette to work with. Ubisoft Massive has a team of talented people who know what makes the game work, and they could absolutely build on what shined in the first game and make something better. Remember, it was Assassin's Creed II, not Assassin's Creed, that put the series on the map.Second: figure out whoever did see these problems coming from a mile away, and find out why they weren't heard.I've referred to "Ubisoft," the corporate entity in this story, but that phrase doesn't capture the nuance of a situation like this. Ubisoft the company is the one that lost out, but it's Ubisoft's workers who make the product, market the game, etc. etc. They're the first ones to know about soft discussion on social media, problems in the game that might dent reception, etc. I'm sure people knew about the problems. I suspect they weren't heard.Investigations into Ubisoft's alleged culture of sexual harassment revealed that said culture went hand-in-hand with a power structure that regularly punished anyone who spoke up against leadership. Supposedly, bad actors at Ubisoft have been shown the door. But does the culture they enabled remain?The fact that Ubisoft Board of Directors is launching a "review" of its practices signals they were badly caught off guard by Outlaws' underperforming. There's probably some level of ass-covering at play, but it sure doesn't sound like the work of a company that was prepared for a softer-than-expected launch.Star Wars Outlaws had all the potential to be another blockbuster sales win for Ubisoft. I lurk in the Star Wars Outlaws subreddit, and every day there's at least one post by a player going "I thought this game was terrible because of the YouTube videos, but I tried it and loved it." It's a common enough phenomenon that I think this game is really going to find an audience in future years as it's picked up through Steam sales, like Avalanche Studios' Mad Max.In the end I find picking through the debris of Outlaws' underperformance tiring. Star Wars is a big, bright, high-energy story that pits the dreamers against the cynics, and this is definitely a story where the cynics won. Too much time looking through their eyes can make it hard to dream.But dream we should. Because the next great gameStar Wars or otherwiseis somewhere around the corner.

Justin Carter, Contributing EditorOctober 30, 20242 Min ReadImage via ProbablyMonsters.At a GlanceProbablyMonsters also originally owned Concord developer Firewalk prior to Sony's acquisition of that team in 2023.ProbablyMonsters is eliminating roles in the wake of a recently cancelled project. Senior technical artist Mic Marvin stated "about 50" workers were let go in total, and level designer Ed Byrne said these eliminations were focused on the internal Battle Barge team."On the anniversary of being caught in Bungie's first round of layoffs," he said, "it seems ProbablyMonsters has followed suit with the Battle Barge team."According to senior environment artist Carol T., this is the developer's third unannounced project to be scrapped. Many of these reductions appear to be focused on the art team: 3D character artist Tamara Corbett and 3D character animator Dalton Downing were also impacted.In a statement to Game Developer, ProbablyMonsters explained it was undergoing a "realignment to support smaller, more nimble teams and projects. We believe this format better matches the needs of players and the market. [...] Our hearts go out to everyone impacted as we navigate the new realities of the gaming landscape as an independent company."Earlier this year, ProbablyMonsters added Bungie alum Chris Opdahl to lead Hidden Grove on development of an unannounced multiplayer project. In 2021, the studio raised $250 million in funding to bolster its various development teams.At the time of that funding, one of those teams was developer Firewalk Studios, which closed down earlier this week after the failed launch of its multiplayer shooter Concord. Before PlayStation bought Firewalk in 2023, it was one of the first teams launched by ProbablyMonsters.Since then, ProbablyMonsters itself has yet to release or even announce the games its teams are working on. Last year, it cancelled an unannounced game being made by its internal Cauldron team. Other than Hidden Grove, Battle Barge remains the only other named team listed on the ProbablyMonsters website.In that same statement, the studio said it "currently has several game projects underway, in various stages from incubation to active development."Read more about:LayoffsAbout the AuthorJustin CarterContributing Editor, GameDeveloper.comA Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.See more from Justin CarterDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

The Indiana Jones film series has been an iconic part of pop culture, brimming with a pulp-style sense of action and spirit of adventure. However, there haven't been many modern video games starring the globetrotting explorer, even as the series has undoubtedly inspired other well-known games like Tomb Raider and Uncharted.That's changing with the upcoming Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, helmed by developer MachineGames, who've previously worked on Wolfenstein: The New Order and its sequel, The New Colossus. A first-person action adventure game focusing on the events between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, The Great Circle puts a more immersive spin on the escapades of the famed adventurer as he explores tombs and pummels fascists.After playing the opening hours at a recent hands-on event, I got a clearer view of MachineGames' take on an Indiana Jones game, which emphasizes player agency and open-ended exploration. I also spoke with design director Jens Andersson, where he explained how The Great Circle is all about letting players come up with in-the-moment solutions for the game's challenges. .Indiana Jones and the change of perspectiveThe Great Circle positions itself as a new adventure during the peak of Indiana Jones' career as an archeologist and occasional college professor. With that conceit, the game focuses on building up the atmosphere and heightened reality for its core combat, stealth, and exploration gameplay sequences, all focused on a protagonist who has to scrape and improvise his way to success. For instance, using Jones' whip was incredibly satisfying for disarming foes or softening up targets to set them up for a finishing blow with an empty rifle used as an improvised club. Many encounters feel like they came out of a movie, and that kind of scrappy and sometimes comedic energy is what design director Jens Andersson wanted to recreate for the game.Related:"That sense of improvisation is very 'Indy,' isn't it? All of the actions you can do in the game have to make sense for the character, and how we've built it up is something we're very proud of," said Andersson. "Player agency is really important for us, so if an enemy has a gun and he drops it, you should be able to pick it up, and you have a revolver. It's iconic for the character, but in this game, there are many times when you don't want to use it. My favorite part is seeing testers play the game, and there's like a rifle here, and there's a banjo here; everyone picks up the banjo instead because it's just more fun to beat up enemies with, and it also fits the character that you want to play as."Image via MachineGames/Microsoft.Following the theft of a mysterious artifact from Marshall College, the titular hero (played by Troy Baker) embarks on a new adventure that'll take him to Northern Africa, Vatican City, and other locales as he uncovers an ancient conspiracy that puts him in the crosshairs of the growing Nazi empire.This setup is very much in line with the film series, but as a video game, there are more opportunities to explore and interact with the characters within the setting. What surprised me most about the opening hours of The Great Circle is that the game is not a totally linear story experience, but rather, it features some fairly open-ended levels that offer up different ways to acquire knowledge and fight bad guys as Indiana Jones.Speaking with the design director, he stated that the developers were not interested in making a standard licensed game adaptation but wanted to dig deeper into an immersive experience that lives up to the classic LucasArts gamessuch as the seminal 1992 adventure game The Fate of Atlantis."I really love the whole legacy of LucasArts, and we're trying to evoke that sense of adventure from those games," said the design director. "We're doing something very different with The Great Circle, but because we're building off such a legacy of classic adventure games, we have a little more confidence that we can do a modern adventure game as well. It's proven to fit well with the Indiana Jones IP, and now we get to do it on a grand scale in 2024, and that's very exciting for us."Along with being able to walk around the environment to examine notes and artifacts, you can explore to find hidden passages, clues to side activities, and open-ended combat encounters that can be cleared with fisticuffs or stealthily knocking out foes with whatever players can find. There was a strong sense of player agency, and it reminded me of a similar feeling I play an immersive sim like Deus Ex. However, Anderson stated they were trying to avoid going too deep into that sort of flexibility, rather focusing more on prioritizing improvisation within sandbox environments.Looking to the past for inspirationDeveloper MachineGames is mainly known today for the bombastic and surprisingly introspective Wolfenstein games. However, the studio is made up of developers who previously worked at Starbreeze, building games such as The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and The Darkness. Playing The Great Circle showed more of a stronger pull from the dev's early games, which the design director stated has been a part of the studio's signature ethos."There's almost this kind of muscle memory that MachineGames has been growing consistently from project to project, and many of us have worked together since The Chronicles of Riddick and The Darkness [going back to Starbreeze]," said Andersson. "You build up a way of going about thingswhich can be hard to do, as game development can feel like turning an aircraft carrier. But what it came down to was that the story needed to come first, and that turned into building the kind of adventure we want to take you on and then building the game features, the pace, and the characters all based around you being Indiana Jones."Image via MachineGames/Microsoft.In many ways, The Great Circle feels like a successor to The Chronicles of Riddick, mainly its focus on balancing first-person action and stealth within an immersive story-driven experience. The Chronicles of Riddick's video game adaptation was particularly successful because it didn't directly adapt the film material. Instead, Escape from Butcher Bay was more interested in capturing the moment-to-moment experience of being an action hero protagonist that was unique to the interactive experience of the video game mediumand The Great Circle looks to carry on with that same approach.One of my favorite sections from the opening hours, one that encapsulates the structure of the game well, was the Giza Pyramids, the game's first open sandbox level. While you have a clear goal to get inside a secure tomb, surrounding the ruins are Nazi base camps on the lookout for Jones, along with settlements filled with civilians going about their routines. This section felt very much like an Assassin's Creed-style social stealth sandbox. After gathering intel and scouting ahead with a camera, I had to acquire a disguise or cover to sneak into closely guarded areas.When it came to building out these levels, Andersson admits it was a bit risky and scary to design levels with this sort of variation, as the prevailing worry was that players would opt to skip the side activities that help build the world. Still, he reasons that it was worth having them."We have a bunch of sections that are linear and more story focused, but there are a number of larger areas like the Vatican and Giza that feature a ton of content there that are entirely up to you to engage with it or not," he said.Image via MachineGames/Microsoft."From a developer point of view, it's a little bit scary for us to have open-ended levels with side content because we spend so much time on it and players might end up skipping it, but that's also why we have this revisit feature in the game. So even when you complete it you can jump back to earlier chapters and then sort of play the content that you didn't discover the first time around to see the little mysteries and encounters you missed. That's one of the things I'm most happy about with the game, and I'm interested to see what people think about it."On the next adventures of Indiana Jones.What I found most interesting about Indiana Jones and The Great Circle is that it's an action adventure game that's all about getting players to feel resourceful and cunning in their approach to overcoming the oddslike picking up a banjo to clobber fascists. Given the large scope, and the density of its locales, it's an ambitious take on bringing the full Indiana Jones experience to a video game, and I was impressed to see how much detail and variety there was packed into the few areas I got to explore. .So far, Indiana Jones' big return to the world of video games shows a new side to the character and its pulpy sense of adventure, and for the design director, he believes that the developers of The Great Circle have already nailed its most important goal."It's all coming together nicely, we're still working all the way to the end," said the design director. "I'm less scared about the riskier design choices we have made, because we've kind of proven that they work. We have people play through the full game now and I just really love how the story has turned out. The whole point of this game is to get you to feel like Indiana Jones, and that's the thing I feel we most succeeded at."

Game Developer Deep Dives are an ongoing series with the goal of shedding light on specific design, art, or technical features within a video game in order to show how seemingly simple, fundamental design decisions arent really that simple at all.Earlier installments cover topics such as developing a rating system and making juicy TV in The Crush House, the development of custom tools for the 2D photo mode of A Highland Song, and refreshing the Crusader Kings III tutorial mode through optimized UX.In this edition, Echo Point Nova creator Matt Larrabee tells us about the combination of camera effects, sound FX, and VFX that create the game's smooth and high octane movement system.Hi Im Matt Larrabee, the creator of Echo Point Nova, an open world FPS made in Unreal Engine 4, and today Id like to talk to you about how I developed a popular feature of my game, the movement system.Echo Point Nova is set in an open world and I wanted to give the player tools to make moving around the world fast and exciting.Two such tools are a hoverboard and grapple hook. Echo Point Nova holds a 99% positive review score on Steam now, with the movement system receiving a lot of praise, so I hope this write up is of use to game devs and of interest to players!How I workThe first thing to know is I never really imagined the movement system in my head and then set out to build what I saw in my mind, the movement of EPN is the result of just experimenting and tinkering with code. I never really saw more than 1 or 2 steps ahead of me, it was very improvisational and based on what I thought would feel good as I playtested.But there is some logic that can be found, I think the kind of steps I took could be categorized in four ways:Searching for InspirationPlayer PhysicsCamera MotionVFX and SFXSo Id bounce between each of those in a loop for about 3 years, and the end result is Echo Point Nova.Searching for inspirationImage via Greylock Studio.Echo Point Nova wears its inspirations on its sleeve so I have no shame in sharing the games that inspired the mechanics. Often when I was stuck in getting a mechanic that didn't feel right, Id play games to see how other devs solved it, or sometimes I would just be playing a game for fun and realize I really like how the devs solved something I had been puzzling over.The hoverboard was born out of the sprint to crouch slide mechanic as seen in most modern shooters, in particular Call of Duty. I had built a similar mechanic into Echo Point Nova because it felt cool, and was really enjoying it as a way to traverse down slopes. I realized it would be nice if I could traverse this way even up slopes and got to thinking what would justify that. Well, what can slide wherever, whenever, for as long as you want? A hoverboard! Thus the board was born.Im not sure where the idea for grapple came from, I think its just a cool thing to have in games. A grapple was a major request for my last game Severed Steel but I could never figure out a way to add it without totally breaking the balance of the game, so starting a new game was an opportunity to implement a grapple.I think the biggest influence on Echo Point Novas grapple was from Halo Infinite, I thought the way they handled steering it (just look in the direction you want to go) was great. I also liked the different ways they automatically ended a grapple to stop the player from getting stuck grappling when they dont want to be.Player physicsImage via Greylock Studio.Hoverboarding is based on Unreals walking physics with friction and deceleration disabled. Also, typically a player hits their max walk speed quickly, but a hoverboard takes a few seconds of holding forward to hit top speed giving it a feeling of accelerating a vehicle. Probably the trickiest part was in getting the board to recognize and launch off slopes; by default the Unreal character motion really wants to stick to slopes so I had to write some slope detection code to figure out when the player should catch some air. Unreal also makes a lot of assumptions about how you want to handle Z velocity when falling off ledges or multi jumping, and thankfully I was able to override many to make things feel how I wanted.The grapple runs on a tick checking that determines if the player is looking at anything they can grapple on; it also remembers if the player recently looked at something grapple-able and will let them grapple to it even if they aren't quite still looking at it. This keeps things flowy and lets the player be a little imprecise with the grapples while traveling at high speed. When the player grapples their velocity interpolates between their current velocity and the desired grapple velocity over about a second. Their desired grapple velocity is essentially where they are looking. If the players velocity is not in the direction of their grapple, or if they are close enough to their grapple point, or if they are looking away from their grapple, the grapple breaks.Camera motionImage via Greylock Studio.Ive found that camera motion is important to getting the feel of these motions right (along with options to turn off any camera flourish, for players who dont enjoy it).For both grapple and hoverboard, FOV distortion I think really helps sell the sense of speed. The faster the player is moving, the wider their FOV is. I think someone who worked with me on Severed Steel suggested this idea and I quite like it.For hoverboarding I do a couple things with the camera to sell the feeling of being on a board. I gently bob the camera up and down while in surf mode, to give the feeling of being on a floating object. When the player strafes on the board I tilt the camera like one might tilt their body to guide a snowboard, and I also tilt the camera to match the right or left slope when surfing perpendicular to a slope.A very important part of moving it is smoothing the movement when the character snaps between points. The way unreal handles stairs is to essentially teleport the character between each step which results in jarring camera teleporting by default. So, Im always smoothing the camera so jumps like that aren't disruptive.VFX and SFXImage via Greylock Studio.These might not need explanation but I think they have to be mentioned for this article to be complete. The hoverboard has a pulsing electric engine sound effect which I pitch up based on the player's velocity. It also has particle FX attached to the board that kick up debris, the type of debris changes depending on the surface the player is on and the speed of the debris changes depending on player velocity.For the grapple I thought it was important to have a snappy sound to confirm a successful grapple, along with a bright obvious beam to show what you grappled to.Final takeawayId like to highlight how any given game mechanic cant really be viewed in isolation. So, for player physics, I cant even imagine what it would have felt like in Echo Point Nova without camera effects, sound FX, and VFX. We can expand that further and say that all this work on getting the feel of movement tuned wouldn't matter if the levels weren't interesting, and we can zoom out even further and say the movement system wouldnt matter if it was unlocked in a weird part of the game or wasnt tutorialized well. While we are zooming out, let's zoom out more to my workflow. I lead a small indie dev team where Im the only programmer with engine access, so ultimately I can change what I want when I want. This allowed me to iterate as much as I wanted in whatever order I wanted to, which enabled my workflow where I could bounce between player physics, sound FX, VFX, and whatever else I wanted. Im not sure how replicable such a flow would be for a larger team or a team with less centralization of decision making, but if such a method is compatible with your team then maybe give it a try.I hope you enjoyed reading this! If youd like me to go into further detail about anything feel free to write me at [emailprotected].

QA workers for Activision Blizzard recently struck in protest of the company's return-to-office (RTO) mandate, according to the Communications Workers of America (CWA).On Friday, October 25, the QA team (based in Eden Prairie, MN) rallied to secure work-from-home (WFH) accomodations. The team has worked on several Call of Duty games (including the just-released Call of Duty: Black Ops 6), and claim Activision and Microsoft have not permitted accommodations for employees with ADA-certified medical conditions.It also noted over 300 Activision employees signed a petition earlier this month calling for the return of work-from-home options, and workers in Texas and California joined the Eden Prairie team in striking."Despite multiple requests from the Union representing the video-game workers, Activision and Microsoft have been unable to articulate why specifically they are insisting workers must work in the office," wrote the CWA, "even those with serious medical conditions and doctor's recommendations to work from home."The pro-worker group A Better ABK published a statement of its own on October 25, which claimed RTO "[was] decided on our behalf and without our input. We've also learned that the company is unwilling to provide people with remote work accommodations, even when it's the only option that meets an employee's needs, due to this alienating policy."In a statement to Eurogamer, Activision Blizzard said it understood "returning to the office has been an adjustment for some. We engage in an interactive process with employees who request accommodations. This is an ongoing conversation at the bargaining table, and we will continue to discuss our respective interests in that forum."The divisive history of devs returning to the officeActivision Blizzard ended its years-long hybrid work structure at the start of 2024 when it enacted a full RTO policy that allowed for zero work from home (WFH) days. Prior to that, it ended its remote work policy and called on staff to come back to the office for three days a week, and both moves were met with criticism by employees and the industry at large.Other big studios, such as Ubisoft and Rockstar, have also called on staff to get back in the office ahead of their respective big, upcoming releases. In Ubisoft's case, it led to the French game developer union STJV encouraging staff at its France-based offices to protest this decision, and workers at the Milan office to strike alongside them.Many developers felt remote work agreed with them more, and going back to in-person work has led to other complications. For example, Techland's RTO policy requires overseas staff to come to its Poland offices eight days out of every two months, and local workers to come in three days out of the week. This went into effect in July, and at the time, it was alleged those two buildings would not be able to hold the near-500 people that make up the Dying Light studio.The CWA further alleged the QA workers believe Activision Blizzard is using the RTO policy and refusing accommodations as a "layoff wolf in return-to-office sheeps clothing." Ubisoft Montreal workers speculated a similar reasoning when they were forcibly given an RTO policy of their own late last year.In the statement, the CWA noted Activision's return-to-office mandate was made "despite more than two years of successfully working from home entirely or in hybrid with in-office." Last year, Insomniac Games and Respawn both advocated for remote and hybrid work and how it helped their respective 2023 releases, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Update: Firewalk "signed off one last time" with a statement confirming its closure.In it, the studio noted several of its accomplishments, from growing out its team during the pandemic to developing Concord on Unreal Engine 4 (and later Unreal Engine 5), and "ultimately shipping and delivering a great FPS experience to players - even if it landed much more narrowly than hoped against a heavily consolidated market.""We took some risks along the way, [like] marrying aspects of card battlers and fighting games with first-person-shooters," Firewalk continued. "Although some of these and other aspects of the IP didnt land as we hoped, the idea of putting new things into the world is critical to pushing the medium forward. [...] Thank you to all the very many teams, partners and fans who supported us along the way."Original story: Sony is closing down Firewalk Studios and Neon Koi, both of which it had acquired years prior. A spokesperson for Sony later told Bloomberg that 210 roles have been eliminated across the two studios, the majority of which came from Firewalk.The former developed Concord, a sci-fi shooter that was shut down down two weeks after its late August launch on PlayStation 5 and PC. Following the game's closure, reports alleged that director Ryan Ellis had stepped down from a leadership role, and that Firewalk's overall future was uncertain. In its letter, PlayStation noted "certain aspects" of Concord worked, but closing the studio was the "best path foward.""I want to thank all of Firewalk for their craftsmanship, creative spirit and dedication," wrote Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Herman Hulst. "Unfortunately, we did not hit our targets with this title. We will take the lessons learned from Concord and continue to advance our live service capabilities to deliver future growth in this area."Neon Koi and Sony's mobile plansNeon Koi, meanwhile, is the developer formerly known as Savage Game Studios. PlayStation acquired it in 2022 with the aim of boosting its mobile game presence, and following the rebrand, Neon Koi said it was developing an unannounced action game. Throughout last year, Neon Koi lost CEO Michail Katkoff and general manager Sophie Ko, and PlayStation lost its mobile VP Nicola Sebastiani.Hulst said the mobile market "remains a priority growth area," but acknowledged PlayStation was "in the very early stage of our mobile efforts. To achieve success in this area we need to concentrate on titles that are in-line with PlayStation Studios pedigree and have the potential to reach more players globally."Similar to Firewalk, he expressed "gratitude to everyone at Neon Koi for their hard work and endless passion to innovate."Both studios' closure comes months after PlayStation laid off nearly 900 workers, which included the shut down of its London Studio. Following those layoffs, SIE's platform experience VP Hideaki Nishino said the eliminations would help PlayStation grow and "invest in the future."

Capcom posted its financials for the first half of 2024-2025, and even with declines in several areas, the studio says its earnings have made "favorable progress."For the six-month period ending September 30, 2024, net sales were 56.4 million yen ($367.85 million USD), down 25 percent from the previous year; operating income was 20.7 million yen, a decrease of 39 percent from 2023-2024's 33.8 million yen in the same timeframe. Thus far, Capcom has said there are no changes to its full-year forecast.Even so, it acknowledged these decreases were mainly due to last year's strong flagship titles. Street Fighter 6, which has sold over 4 million units (as of this past September), was a big driver for Capcom's overperformance last year alongside the Resident Evil 4 remake. Earlier in October, Capcom revealed the zombie game sold over 8 million copies since its spring 2023 launch.Capcom is relying on Monster Hunter to get it to 2025Platform-wise, PC sales made up 54 percent of its sales for the first half (up from last year's 48 percent), while console sales remained at 40 percent. Total unit sales were 20.05 million, down 11.4 percent from 22.6 million in 2023-2024's first six months.The developer's 2024 releases thus far, such as Dragon's Dogma II and Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, have been a mixed bag, sales-wise. Capcom previously stated in May the former sold over 3 million copies, while Kunitsu-Gami and September's Dead Rising remaster appear to have sold less than 674,000 copies each, as of September 30.So far, the big earners for Capcom's current fiscal year have been Monster Hunter games: Monster Hunter World sold nearly 1.8 million copies, followed by its Iceborne expansion (1.44 million), Monster Hunter Rise (1.36 million), and that title's Sunbreak expansion (1.152 million). The "healthy" sales for those titles have been previously reported ahead of Monster Hunter Wilds, the series' next big entry releasing in February 2025.Beyond Wilds, which just launched an open beta for PC and console players, Capcom is quiet on the other games it plans to release before the current fiscal year ends, or what awaits 2025-2026.

Earlier this year, Nintendo explained it would be taking Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp offline and relaunching the title as a premium experience.The free-to-play version of the popular slice-of-life simulator debuted on mobile platforms in October 2017, but will be kicked to the curb on November 29, 2024.This isn't your standard shut down, though. Nintendo will be replacing that iteration of the game with a paid experience dubbed Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete.As noted in an FAQ published on the Nintendo website, Pocket Camp Complete will launch on December 3, 2024 for $19.99. A introductory price of $9.99 is being offered to consumers in the United States until January 31, 2025, after which point Nintendo will begin charging $19.99.It's fascinating to see a major company yank a free-to-play version of a key franchise from sale after seven years, only to swiftly relaunch and reposition it as a $20 premium product.Nintendo explained Pocket Camp Complete will largely offer the same experience as its forebear, noting the "basic gameplay and controls" will remain the same. Some features, such as Leaf Tickets (which facilitated in-app purchases) and others linked to monetization models including the Pocket Camp Club subscription service, have been removed."Become a campsite manager, enjoy fishing at recreation spots, craft and display furniture, create your very own campsite for you and the animals to enjoy," added Nintendo, suggesting Pocket Camp Complete will remain a tried-and-tested Animal Crossing jaunt.The company noted that existing Pocket Camp players will be able to transfer their save data to Complete, enabling them to keep items such as furniture, clothing, and bells. It emphasized that everybody must purchase Pocket Camp Complete to play the game, but reiterated players will be able to "use all features with this one time purchase."Pocket Camp Complete will be bolstered with new items and events in the coming months. A roadmap published by Nintendo indicates it will continue supporting the title until at least 2026.In November 2021, Sensor Tower estimated that Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp had crossed $250 million in lifetime player spending. The latest mainline release in the franchise, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, has sold over 45 million copies worldwide.