Tag: Industry
News It's Official, E3 2023 Has Been Cancelled
A number of publishers planned to skip the event
E3 2023 will not be going ahead, the ESA has informed its members. This comes from IGN, who has confirmed the news with two separate sources IGN was told that members were informed about the event's cancellation by email, which was sent out earlier today. In the email, the ESA stated that this year's...
News SEGA & Tencent Have Also Decided To Skip This Year's E3
“There’s no possible way this show can happen”
Following yesterday's news Ubisoft would be withdrawing from this year's E3, it seems a few more third-party publishers have decided not to attend this year's event. According to IGN, both Sega and Tencent will not be in attendance. In a statement, Sega mentioned how it would not be participating...
News Ubisoft Paris Workers Allege Crunch Culture And Workload Issues
"This is morally and physically exhausting for the employees"
A recent investigation by NME has found reports of crunch culture and poor working conditions in game development at Ubisoft Paris following a similar allegation by the French trade union Solidaires Informatique last week alleging high rates of sick leave and developer 'burn out'. The...
News Ubisoft Has Decided To Skip E3 2023, Will Now Host Its Own 'Ubisoft Forward' Event
The French publisher will "move in a different direction"
Ubisoft has announced it will no longer be attending E3 2023. In an update, the French video game company revealed it would instead be hosting its own separate event this June. In a statement to our friends at VGC, Ubisoft explained how it had decided to move in a "different direction", with...
News Atari Enters Agreement To Acquire Night Dive Studios
Retro revival
In some breaking news, the famous video game company Atari has officially entered into an agreement to acquire developer and publisher Night Dive Studios - known best for reviving classic games such as System Shock, Quake and Doom 64 on modern platforms. Atari will acquire "100% of Night Dive Studios" with hopes to "enrich" its own...
News Battle Royale Hit Apex Legends Hopes To Stick Around For 10 To 15 Years "Or More"
"We're in this for the long haul"
The online free-to-play battle royale Apex Legends has been going since 2019 and was only released on the Switch in 2021, but the general aim is to keep the franchise around for a very long time. In an interview with our friends at GamesIndustry.biz, the game's director Steven Ferreira mentioned how the team was in...
News Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Wins 'Best RPG' At Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards 2022
Splatoon and Pokémon also recognised
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has taken out the 'best RPG' category at the Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards 2022. Multiple other first-party Nintendo titles were nominated with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet winning 'best scenario' and 'best character' and Splatoon 3 receiving best action game. Unsurprisingly, The Legend...
News Microsoft Wants To Bring The "Best Version" Of Call Of Duty To Nintendo Platforms
Expect the same experience across all systems
Last week, Microsoft put pen to paper, announcing its 10-year commitment to bring the Call of Duty franchise to Nintendo platforms is now legally binding. Microsoft president Brad Smith followed this up by mentioning how the tech giant would ensure the series works exactly as people expect on other...
News Level-5 CEO Teases What's Next For Yo-Kai Watch
The "next amazing thing" is in the works
Level-5 made quite the comeback at the most recent Nintendo Direct - announcing a new Professor Layton and much more. One notable omission was the Yo-kai Watch series. There's no need to worry though, as the Japanese developer seems to already be preparing something... In a brief message on social media,...
News Nintendo Is Officially Skipping E3 2023
"We have made the decision to not participate"
Nintendo has officially confirmed that it will not be attending E3 2023, following IGN's report earlier this year. In a statement made to VentureBeat and IGN, Nintendo stated that E3 did not fit into the company's plans for the year and it won't be having any presence at the Los Angeles
News Mortal Kombat 12 Confirmed, Scheduled For 2023 Release
Ed Boon: "So who has heard the news"
We've heard ongoing rumours about the next Mortal Kombat game and it seems to have finally been confirmed. During a Warner Bros. Discovery earnings call earlier on, the executive vice president of global investor strategy, Andrew Slabin, seemingly confirmed Mortal Kombat 12 and its 2023 release date. Here's...
News Saudi Arabia's PIF Is Reportedly Now Nintendo's Biggest Outside Investor
Update: Now 8.3%
Update [Fri 17th Feb, 2023 13:50 GMT]: Following stories earlier this week of further increases in the PIF's investment in Nintendo, Bloomberg now reports that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund now holds 8.3% of Nintendo, according to filings. This makes it the company's largest shareholder outside of Japan. According to...
News Nintendo's Investor Q&A Promises Switch Isn't Dead After Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
“new titles will continue to be proposed going forward”
Earlier this week we got a look at Nintendo's Q3 financial figures for FY 2023 and there were some big milestones crossed — Switch outselling the Game Boy, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe passing 50 million sales and much more besides. All this pointed towards a Q&A session
News Nintendo Is Raising Its Employee Pay By 10% In Japan
Furukawa: "It's important for our long-term growth"
Despite a downturn in sales and profits for Nintendo in its third quarter, it's reportedly raising the base salaries of its employees by 10% in its homeland. A report by Reuters reveals the Japanese video game giant is taking action to secure the "long-term growth" of its workforce. It follows...
News Nintendo Says Switch Chip Shortages Are "Largely Resolved" As It Cuts Forecasts
"Shipments generally went according to plan"
As part of Nintendo's nine-month financial report for the 2022/23 fiscal year, the company has said that supply issues that have constrained production for several years now were "largely resolved" in the closing months of 2022. Commenting on Nintendo Switch sales in its explanatory materials, the...
News Square Enix Planning "Multiple New Titles" And New IP
Following a slump in sales
Square Enix has had a solid run on the Nintendo Switch over the past year with releases such as Live A Live, NieR:Automata, Tactics Ogre: Reborn and more recently Crisis Core, but it seems it's not been enough. The Japanese publisher and developer has reported a drop in net sales in its latest financial results period (up...
Let the theories commence
Kit and Krysta, the former hosts of Nintendo Minute, left Nintendo at the start of 2022 after a combined 25 years at the company. This gave them a ton of insight into the secretive company that they're now more than happy to share on their YouTube channel and podcast, including speculation based on their experience —...
News "We Absolutely Apologize" For Pokémon Performance Problems, Says Nintendo Of Canada Manager
"We are working on improvements to these games"
Business interviews are often pretty dry, and a recent chat between Post Arcade — the Financial Post's gaming section — and Nintendo of Canada General Manager Susan Pennefather was no different. But there were some interesting gems hidden in all the biz-speak, so let's take a look! Pennefather...
News Hollow Knight Dev Files New Trademarks For 'Fearless Fox'
Is a new project in the works?
While we wait for the release of Hollow Knight: Silksong, we've got some interesting news to share about the game's developer Team Cherry. It seems the Australian-based team has recently filed a trademark down under for the words "Fearless Fox". According to the Australian Government's IP Australia website, last month...
News EA Has Reportedly Cancelled Its Single-Player Apex Legends Game
Was codenamed Titanfall Legends
Back in July last year, it was discovered EA and Respawn Entertainment were working on a brand new single-player adventure set in the Apex Legends Universe. In a new development, Electronic Arts has reportedly cancelled the project, codenamed Titanfall Legends. "Three people familiar with the matter" have apparently...
News Nintendo, Sony And Xbox Reportedly Skipping E3 2023
Update: ESA responds
Update [Wed 1st Feb, 2023 03:45 GMT]: The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has now provided a statement in response to IGN's story - saying it remains committed to E3. Here it is in full: As you have likely seen, IGN published an article last night about E3. While we are not able to comment on the specific claims in...
News Pokémon Dev Game Freak Says Original IP Is A "Very Important" Part Of Its Growth
The "challenge" of original games is a great motivator
Game Freak is best known around the world as the Pokémon developer, but it also works on other projects from time to time. In a recent interview with VGC, Game Freak's Masafumi Saito spoke about how beneficial it was to the Japanese company to create "original games" - describing it as a great...
News Over A Third Of Devs Still Interested In Making Switch Games, According To GDC Survey
18% of devs are currently making a game for Switch
Ahead of the annual Games Developer Conference this March, GDC has released its 'State of the Game' survey results for 2023, and there are plenty of stats that might interest Switch owners. This annual survey, which you can get a copy of from GDC's website, gives us an insight into the current state...
News Nintendo Will Reportedly "Boost" Switch Production In 2023
"Sustained demand" expected for at least another year
The Switch is still selling like there's no tomorrow and it seems Nintendo won't be slowing down production any time soon. According to a new report from Bloomberg, the Kyoto-based video game giant actually plans to "increase production" of the hybrid machine in its sixth year after shifting...
News Ubisoft CEO Apologises For Internal Comments After Weak Software Sales
"I heard your feedback and I'm sorry"
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has reportedly apologised to staff for a recent comment in which he stated that "the ball is in your court" regarding getting the major publisher back on track. As reported by Kotaku, Guillemot took part in a company-wide Q&A session with Ubisoft staff and opened the meeting by...
News Thunderful's SteamWorld Teaser Was Just Another Announcement Tease
Update: New details coming on Monday
Update [Wed 18th Jan, 2023 16:30 GMT]: So what was that new announcement from Thunderful games? We'll have to wait a little bit longer! Thunderful Games did share a SteamWorld-related update today at 3pm GMT — except it was just another, proper tease for an additional announcement. On 23rd January at 5:30pm...
News Kirby Is Getting His Own Panel At The 2023 Game Developers Conference
Will focus on his new 3D adventure
The pink puff Kirby is still kind of celebrating his 30th birthday and to close the celebrations it seems there'll be a special panel taking place this March at the 2023 Game Developers Conference. According to the official website, this panel will be a "design session" featuring developers Shinya Kumazaki and...
News Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund Raises Stake In Nintendo To 6%
Up from just over 5%
It has been announced that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, or PIF, has upped its previous stake in Nintendo from 5.01% to 6.07%. As reported by Reuters (thanks, GoNintendo), the sovereign wealth fund increased its previous ownership stake in the Kyoto company by 1.06%, as revealed today in a Japanese report filing. This...
News Ubisoft Share Price Tumbles After Dire Sales Report
Three more games cancelled
Ubisoft appears to be in a spot of financial trouble, according to its latest financial report on January 11th, 2023. In a three-page press release, the company admits to being "disappointed" in the sales of Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope and Just Dance 2023, despite "excellent ratings" and "an ambitious marketing plan"...
News Earl Boen, The Voice Of Monkey Island's Captain LeChuck, Has Passed Away
Also known for his role in the Terminator movies
A report from Variety has revealed Earl Boen - the original voice of Monkey Island's main antagonist Captain LeChuck - has passed away at the age of 81 after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer late last year. Apart from featuring in the Monkey Island series until 2010, Boen voiced characters...
News Xenoblade Chronicles Dev Monolith Soft Provides Employee Headcount Update
A numbers game
The Japanese developer Monolith Soft has been growing in size year after year. In a previous update - dating back to 2021, the company revealed its employee headcount had jumped from 261 (in December 2020) to 272. As highlighted by Twitter user and gaming enthusiast Stealth, the latest update for 2022 is slightly different - with new...
Gallery Monolith Soft Shows Off Stunning Artwork From Annual "In-House Illustration Contest"
Feast your eyes on these amazing creations
Monolith Soft has just had another successful year with the release of Xenoblade Chronicles 3. It also provided assistance with the development of Splatoon 3. To wrap up 2022, it's held its regular "in-house illustration contest" where graduates can let their creativity run wild. According to a rough...
News Taito Corporation Preparing For 70th Anniversary Celebrations In 2023
One of the oldest game companies still in operation
The famous video game developer Taito Corporation - known for legendary arcade hits like Space Invaders and Bubble Bobble - will celebrate its 70th anniversary on 24th August 2023. To prepare for this epic milestone, the company has already kicked things off by opening a commemorative website and a...
News Atlus Is Preparing Several New Game Announcements For 2023
The year will start with the releases of P3P and P4G
In the same Famitsu article, the Persona developer Atlus has taken the time to thank fans for their support last year. It has also provided a teaser of what's ahead for 2023. After the release of titles like Persona 5 Royal and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim in 2022, the company will look torwards the...
News Konami Supposedly Has Multiple Unannounced Projects In The Works
2023 could be a big year for Castlevania dev
In the latest Famitsu feature for the new year, Konami - the developer behind Castlevania and the Metal Gear series - has teased what fans can look forward to in 2023. According to a translation, the Japanese company has multiple unannounced projects in the works. Here's the full translation of Konami's...
Feature How Do Game Developers And Artists Feel About The Rise Of AI Art?
Should we all be worried, or is it just a fad?
If you've had your ear to the ground for the past couple of years, you'll have heard at least some of the rumbles of debate over the ethics and impact of AI art. You may have even heard the names of some tools used to create AI art, like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and DALL-E. But you may also be...
News Yuji Naka Has Now Been Formally Indicted Over Insider Trading Offenses
Developer was previously arrested twice
Update [Wed 28th Dec, 2022 12:15 GMT]: Following on from the arrests of Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka and former Square Enix employee Taisuke Sazaki, the two have now been formally indicted over alleged insider trading offenses. As reported by NHK (thanks, VGC), the two were charged for conducting insider...
News Smash Bros. Creator Masahiro Sakurai Supposedly Confirms He's "Semi-Retired"
"He is 52 after all"
In a recent interview with Denfaminicogamer, the legendary video game developer Masahiro Sakurai apparently confirmed he is now semi-retired. He elaborated on this, mentioning how he worked on the Super Smash Bros. series for around nine years between the 3DS/Wii U and Switch release, along with the DLC updates. Sakurai feels...
News 75% Of Public Comments On Microsoft's Acquisition Of Activision Were Positive
Microsoft recently announced 10-year deal with Nintendo
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently announced that over the course of a two-week window, it received a total of 2,100 public emails regarding Microsoft's planned acquisitiion of Activision Blizzard, of which around 75% were positive. The regulator laid out a high-level...
News The Pokémon Company Takes Crypto Company To Court Over NFT Game
Cease and desist
The Pokémon Company has taken an Australian crypto company to court over the unauthorised use of characters from the Pokémon franchise in an NFT game. As reported by Vooks, an Australian company called 'Pokémon Pty Ltd' (also known as Kotiota Studios) had set up a website advertising an upcoming NFT title called PokéWorld. In...
News Epic Games To Pay $540 Million Over Allegations Of Privacy Violations And Unwanted Charges
Fortnite developer used 'dark patterns' to force unintentional purchases
Epic Games, the developer behind the massive online shooter Fortnite, has agreed to pay a total of $540 million to settle allegations made by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In a post on the official FTC website, the agency confirmed that the developer will pay a $275...
News Former God Of War Ragnarok Gameplay Producer Joins Nintendo
Will help drive Nintendo's third party relationships
One of the video game highlights of 2022 was Santa Monica Studio's PlayStation exclusive God of War Ragnarok. The game arrived last month, and now that it's been released to fans around the globe, it seems there's some movement within the studio. God of War Ragnarok and God of War (2018) gameplay...
News The Game Awards GOTY For 2022 Is Elden Ring
Nintendo also took out a bunch of awards
The Game Awards has just concluded for another year and FromSoftware's Elden Ring has been crowned Game of the Year. It was up against A Plague Tale: Requiem, God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West,
News Sega Of America Opens New Office In California
New office will house Sega and Atlus' publishing departments
Sega of America has announced that it has opened a new office in Irvine, California, with the intention to house Sega and its subsidiary Atlus' internal publishing departments in one space. The news comes via GamesIndustry, who states that one of the goals of the new location is to...
News Microsoft Enters "10-Year Commitment To Bring Call Of Duty To Nintendo"
Xbox's Phil Spencer confirms
Microsoft Gaming CEO and Xbox head Phil Spencer has mentioned in recent times how he would love to bring Activision's Call of Duty franchise to platforms like the Nintendo Switch once the Activision Blizzard merger is finalised. Well, today Phil has shared some absolutely massive news - revealing how Microsoft has...
News Reggie Fils-Aimé Returns To The Game Awards As A Presenter
007 actor Daniel Craig will also be in attendance
If you would like to see more of the former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé, you might want to tune into The Game Awards later this week. For the ninth year in a row, the big man is back! He'll once again be presenting an award. Reggie even shared a message on social media mentioning...
News Former Retro Studios Dev Reveals "Rejected" Wii Pitch Metroid Tactics
"It's basically XCOM"
It seems the Metroid Prime series wasn't the only Metroid series being worked on at Retro Studios. Did You Know Gaming has been able to uncover one of the developer's other projects that never saw the light of day. Metroid Tactics was a concept pitched internally by Paul Tozer - a member of the Metroid Prime team. This...
News Nintendo Publishes Job Listings For Newly Acquired 'Nintendo Pictures'
Picture the scene
Back in July it was announced that Nintendo would be fully acquiring Dynamo Pictures - the production company behind the adorable Pikmin Shorts - and would be immediately undergoing a rebrand, naming the company 'Nintendo Pictures'. Well, after launching its website last month, it appears that the studio is on the hunt for...
News Team Ninja Denies Ninja Gaiden & Dead Or Alive Reboot Rumours
Update: Excitement over
Update [Tue 22nd Nov, 2022 16:15 GMT]: Having heard of the reports surrounding potential reboots for Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden, Team Ninja has stepped forward to say that there are no such plans as of yet. Speaking to VGC, the studio's creative director, Tom Lee, made clear that last weekend's keynote presentation at...
News Cooking Mama IP Holder Sues Planet Entertainment For Sale Of Cooking Mama: Cookstar
Mama is not happy!
Remember the ongoing dispute between Cooking Mama: Cookstar publisher Planet Entertainment and the series' rights holder Office Create dating back to 2020? Well, in an update, Planet has now been sued by Office Create. There was actually a fallout between the two parties before the game's release in 2020, but Planet Entertainment...
