Tag: Industry - Page 7
News Fisti-Fluffs Publisher 'Rogue Games' Moves To A Four-Day Work Week
Workers are apparently seeking "balance"
Publisher Rogue Games, which has launched Switch games such as Fisti-Fluffs and Super Mega Zero, has announced that it will be moving to a four-day work week, with employees set to have every Friday off with no additional hours added to prior work days. The news comes via Game Developer, who interviewed...
News Beast Breaker Studio 'Vodeo Games' Runs Out Of Funds And Shuts Down
"There will be no new Vodeo Games"
Vodeo Games, the developer behind the turn-based RPG Beast Breaker, has announced that it will be shutting down after failing to secure the necessary funds to keep its team together. The announcement was made via a Twitter post yesterday evening at 7:30pm BST, with Vodeo Games stating that "despite a year of avid...
News AeternoBlade II Dev Accuses Publisher PQube Of Withholding Payments
Update #2: Corecell replies to PQube, highlighting 'contradictions'
Update #2 [Tue 6th Sep, 2022 18:30 BST]: Corecell has now responded to PQube with an "additional announcement", highlighting what it calls 'contradictions' in PQube's account of events and saying "There is consistency in the truth and confusion in lies." Here's the statement in...
News Tencent Acquires 49.9% "Minority Passive Stake" In Ubisoft Founder's Company
Gets 5% voting rights in Guillemot Bros. Ltd
In the latest round of video game firm acquisition news, Ubisoft has announced that Tencent has acquired "a 49.9% economic stake with 5% voting rights in Guillemot Brothers Limited", Ubisoft's largest shareholder and a company formed by Ubisoft's CEO and founder Yves Guillemot and his family. In a press...
News Get Ready For A Mario + Rabbids Update At Ubisoft Forward Later This Week
Broadcast will take place September 10th
If you're eager to get an update on the upcoming Switch game Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, Ubisoft has now confirmed it will be featuring the game at its upcoming 'Ubisoft Forward' event. Yes, following on from the news of the broadcast's September 10th return, the company has now provided some additional...
Watch Nintendo VS At PAX West - Live!
Drive into the Splatlands
The Nintendo invitationals are today at this year's PAX West, and Nintendo has a treat in store for us tonight. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is making its return to the PAX Arena, with 12 of the best Mario Kart 8 players racing it out to become the winner. The person with the most points after 8 races wins. The checkered flag waves...
News Playasia Celebrates 20 Years With New Video Game Publishing Branch
Expect "amazing indies & games from Japan"
The online independent retailer Playasia turns 20 years old this year, and to celebrate this special occasion - it's launching its own publishing label. Playasia Publishing is officially described as a "new video game software branch" that aims to "further the goal" of providing games for video game fans...
News River City Ransom Director & Miracle Kidz President Passes Away
Worked on multiple classics at Technōs Japan
We've got some incredibly sad news coming out of Japan today. Miracle Kidz president Mitsuhiro Yoshida passed away at the end of last month on August 30th. Yoshida worked at Technōs Japan (known best for the beat 'em up series Double Dragon) - helping create classics like Kunio-kun (Downtown Nekketsu...
News The Pokémon Company Is Suing Chinese Publishers Over Copyright Infringment
Mobile game seemingly shares stark similarities to Pokémon
The Pokémon Company is suing six Chinese companies over a mobile game that shares stark similarites to the Pokémon franchise itself, citing copyright infringement and unfair competition behaviour, as reported by South China Morning Post (thanks, GamesIndustry,biz). The Japanese giant,...
News PAX West 2022 Nintendo Stream Times - Splatoon 3 & Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Invitationals, And More
All the dates and times you need
With Gamescom now over, there's just enough time to catch your breath before the next big event in the gaming calendar, PAX West! The 2022 show is running from Friday 2nd to Monday 5th September and there are a whole load of Nintendo-themed events lined up that you'll want to keep an eye on, even if you're not...
News Square Enix's Lineup For Tokyo Game Show 2022 - Final Fantasy, Harvestella & More
TGS starts later this month
This year's Tokyo Game Show kicks off later this month on 15th September, and ahead of the event, TGS has started revealing the publishers and developers that will be in attendance. Square Enix will be at the event, and as part of this, it'll be showcasing a long list of games. Fans can expect to see all sorts of games...
News Cadence Of Hyrule Dev Brace Yourself Games Announces Publishing Label
"Stay tuned for great new titles"
Brace Yourself Games - known for the rhythm music games such as Cadence of Hyrule and Crypt of the NecroDancer - has announced a new publishing label. Brace Yourself Publishing wants to help smaller indie developers make their own dreams a reality. As the company has grown, it's gained capabilities, resources and...
News Koei Tecmo Teasing New Title From Atelier Developer Gust
All will be revealed at TGS 2022
If you've played and enjoyed the most recent Atelier game on the Nintendo Switch, you might be interested in reading on... Koei Tecmo appears to have teased some news for its Tokyo Game Show 2022 line up and it seems there'll be a mystery title from Atelier's developer Gust. The company's TGS 2022 announcements will...
News Embracer Group Completes Acquisition Of Various Square Enix Studios And IPs
The $300 million deal has been finalised
Following news that Embracer Group would be acquiring a number of Square Enix's western studios and IPs back in May, the company has today announced that it has completed the purchase. This means Embracer now officially owns Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, and Square Enix Montréal, and holds the rights to...
News Nintendo Once Again Reassures It Has No Plans To Increase Switch Prices
Following Sony's announcement
Nintendo has confirmed that it will not be increasing the price of Switch models any time soon. VGC reached out to the UK arm of the company to confirm that Nintendo does "not have any plans" to bump up the prices of the console yet. This statement follows the news that Sony would be increasing the price of both...
News CNBC Sources State Amazon Is Not Planning To Buy EA
Update: USA Today's FTW responds
Update #2 [Fri 26th Aug, 2022 19:00 BST]: FTW has now updated its original story, stating that "unnamed and unvetted sources" were cited in the reporting on this rumour. Here is the editorial statement in full: "Earlier today, GLHF — a gaming/e-sports outlet and content partner of For The Win — ran a version...
News TinyBuild Just Paid $3m To Own Surgeon Simulator And I Am Bread
Bossa Studios is pivoting to co-op PvE
American-European developer and indie publisher TinyBuild announced today that they have acquired the developmental rights for several of Bossa Studios' IPs, namely Surgeon Simulator, I Am Fish, and I Am Bread. TinyBuild's stable of games currently includes Potion Craft, Hello Neighbor, Totally Reliable...
News Stardew Valley Creator Uploads New Screenshot Of His Next Project
Introducing the Bee Boss
Stardew Valley creator "Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone has already shared a new screenshot of his next project Haunted Chocolatier earlier this month, and now he's released another one. It's perhaps the sweetest one yet - revealing one of the boss enemies in game. This one is simply referred to as "Bee Boss" for now, and as you...
News Sega Announces Space Channel 5 And Comix Zone Movies
Sonic was just the beginning
Sega has had so much success with the Sonic the Hedgehog movies that it has already locked in the third one and confirmed a separate television series starring Knuckles. If this wasn't enough, it's now officially confirmed there'll be Space Channel 5 and Comix Zone adaptations. "SEGA is partnering with @picturestart to...
Guide So, What Does Embracer Group Actually Own The Rights To?
What do Catan, The Hobbit, Gex, and The Mask have in common?
Disclaimer: We are not lawyers and some of the wording here may not be 100% correct. Apologies in advance! If you're at all tuned in to gaming news, you'll probably have noticed the seemingly-endless and slightly-worrying number of news posts about acquisitions over the past few years...
News Nintendo To Reduce Switch Packaging By 20% To Combat Supply Issues
Packing 'em in
As the gaming industry's increasing popularity drives up the demand for consoles, manufacturers have struggled to keep up and are subsequently experiencing worldwide distribution issues due to a number of factors. We have been reporting on the semiconductor shortage for some time now, detailing Switch assembly issues and the company's...
News Embracer Group Acquires Limited Run Games, Lord Of The Rings IP & More
The list goes on...
Swedish video game company Embracer Group has acquired not one but multiple companies and IP for an undisclosed sum. In a series of press releases, Embracer announced the acquisition of Tripwire Interactive (Killing Floor, Maneater, Rising Storm), Tuxedo Labs (Teardown), Singtrix (vocal processing effects tech), physical...
News Nintendo Says It's "Actively Investigating" Most Recent Misconduct Claims
Doug Bowser issues internal message about latest report
Yesterday, Kotaku published a report with a new round of accusations against both Nintendo of America and contracting firm Aston Carter. In an update, the same outlet has now seen an internal message (sent out by NoA's president Doug Bowser to employees) regarding the "media coverage involving...
News New Report Alleges Sexual Harassment And Discrimination At Nintendo Of America
Testing department at NoA described as "frat house"
Update: Nintendo of America's president Doug Bowser has now responded to this report, mentioning how the company is "actively investigating" these claims of misconduct. Content warning: Please be aware that the following article and the sources linked within touch on topics including...
News Reggie: Nintendo Was Working On A Device Like Xbox's Adaptive Controller
"My hope is that the effort has continued"
Accessibility is something that needs a lot more attention in the video game space, and one company helping to make people more aware of this is Microsoft's gaming division at Xbox. The team released the Xbox Adaptive Controller in 2018 and has also published guidelines to help developers and publishers...
News Disney & Marvel Announce First Ever Games Showcase, Airing September 9th
Avatar, Lego Star Wars and more!
Following on from THQ Nordic's digital showcase last week, Disney & Marvel have now announced their first-ever video game showcase. This will include content from Disney, Pixar, 20th Century Studios, Lucasfilm (Star Wars) and Marvel. The show will be hosted by Kinda Funny host and producer, Blessing Adeoye and...
Gamescom 2022 Everything You Need To Know - Times, Dates, Games, And Announcements
Also, Geoff Keighley! Again!
It's August, and that means that Geoff Keighley's Never-Ending Train Of Games is chugga-chuggin' into Cologne, Germany for the E3-of-Europe, Gamescom. Get ready for a bunch of announcements (maybe), reveals (probably), and free game promo T-shirts that are only available in one size (definitely) as Gamescom unfolds over...
News Fire Reported At Nintendo's Japanese Headquarters
Luckily, no one has been injured
Emergency services in Japan have responded to a fire at Nintendo's HQ in Minami-ku, Kyoto, local media outlet NHK reports. The article (shared and translated by VGC) states that the fire was reported at 1pm local time today, 15th August. Police at the scene state that some furniture has been damaged in one room on...
News A New South Park Game Has Been Teased
Expect lots of toilet humour...
THQ Nordic's latest digital showcase shared all sorts of game announcements, but perhaps the highlight of the lot was the final teaser right at the very end. The company has officially confirmed a new South Park game is in development, cutting down its list of unannounced games by one. Apart from this, the only other...
News Veteran Capcom Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi Joins NetEase Games
Moving on after 27 years
Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi has announced his departure from Capcom after 27 years. To mark his 50th birthday he'll be filling the same roll over at the Chinese video game giant NetEase. Kobayashi started out as a programmer on the Resident Evil series in the '90s and took up producer roles for series like Dino...
News Sunsoft Hosting New Digital Event To Announce Upcoming Titles
For "fans old and new"
Sunsoft, the company behind series like Blaster Master, has announced it will be hosting a new digital event next week on August 18th. At this event it intends to unveil its plans for titles due out for the remainder of 2022 and also the year ahead. In a PR, Sunsoft general manager, Yuichi Ochi mentioned how the company was...
News Nintendo Of America Named In New Workplace Complaint
Contracting firm Aston Carter, too
Back in April, Nintendo of America was named alongside contracting firm Aston Carter in a National Labor Relations Board filing, where an "unnamed worker" claimed their legally protected right to unionise was violated. Nintendo issued an official statement at the time explaining how the contractor was "terminated...
News Sega's Financial Results Bolstered By Sonic Origins And Pachinko Machines
A surprisingly healthy Q1 for the company
Sega Sammy Holdings recently posted its financial results for the three months ended June 2022, highlighting a surprising increase in net sales and profits considering an overall lack of major releases (thanks, GamesIndustry.biz). In terms of net sales, the company total ¥66.1 billion ($496 million), which...
News Square Enix Is Potentially Looking To Sell Stakes In Its Studios
After reporting declining financial results
Square Enix has been a mainstay in the industry for years, but it looks like the Japanese publisher and developer is struggling, having reported declining financial results for Q1 2023 (besides the huge success of its MMORPG, Final Fantasy XIV). And, following the publication of those results, Eurogamer...
News Tencent Is Seeking A Bigger Stake In 'Mario + Rabbids' Publisher Ubisoft
Chinese firm reportedly wants to be Ubisoft's biggest shareholder
Tencent Holdings Ltd is looking to raise its skate in Assassin's Creed and Mario + Rabbids publisher Ubisoft Entertainment SA, it's been reported. From Reuters.com, the Chinese gaming giant purchased a 5% stake in Ubisoft back in 2018, but is now looking to raise this and effectively...
News Nintendo Of Europe Announces New Senior Managing Director
Welcome to Mr Tom Enoki
Nintendo of Europe, based in Germany, has announced changes to its senior management team. On 16th July, Tom Enoki joined the management team as the new Senior Managing Director and Head of Corporate Planning Office. With this brand new appointment, Koji Miyaki — former CEO and Chairman of Nintendo of Europe, has returned...
News Kirby And The Forgotten Land Becomes The Second Best-Selling Kirby Game Ever
And it's had the highest sell-through of any Kirby game to date
Kirby and the Forgotten Land continues to break Kirby series records for Nintendo and HAL Laboratory. After becoming the most successful Kirby game in the UK ever last week, Nintendo now reports that the latest Kirby game has seen the highest sell-through of any Kirby game to date! This...
News Nintendo Has High Hopes For Nintendo Switch Sports As It Nears 5 Million Sales
Going for gold
As part of Nintendo's financial results for the three months ended June 2022, it highlighted the total sales for a number of games released during the period, including the divisive Nintendo Switch Sports. Despite some lukewarm reception from both ourselves and the community, Nintendo Switch Sports has nevertheless proved a hith with...
News Nintendo Reports Drop In Sales For Q1- Should We Be Worried?
Semiconductor shortages puts a strain on console production
Nintendo has released its financial results for the three months ended June 2022, reporting an operating profit loss and a drop in both hardware sales and software sales. In terms of its net sales, Nintendo reported a total of 307.4 billion yen, which is down by 4.7% YoY. Hardware sales...
News Nintendo Reconfirms Release Windows For Major Upcoming Switch Games
Bayonetta! Kirby! Pokémon!
Nintendo has released its latest financial report today, and as with every one of these, the company has updated its list of upcoming releases. June and July have been pretty busy months for the Big N, but the rest of the year is looking much calmer. This updated schedule does include July's releases — so Live A Live...
News Stardew Valley Creator Shares A Brand New Screenshot Of His Next Project
Says "progress is pretty good"
Stardew Valley is an amazing game that seems to just keep getting better and better, and while Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone appears to still be working on future updates for it, he's also busy with his next project Haunted Chocolatier. Now, in a new update - Barone has shared what seems to be a new screenshot, just to...
News Nintendo Rules Out Any Price Increase On The Switch In Japan... For Now
Inflation currently isn't affecting the console market
Amidst a weak yen in Japan, electronics are currently facing some serious price hikes, including the likes of Apple's iPhone, but also emcompassing a wide range of pretty essential goods including TVs, fridges, dishwashers, and printers. One area that seems to be immune (for now) is the video...
News Logitech And Tencent Games Are Working On A Cloud-Based Handheld Console
The future of gaming?
Logitech G, the gaming branch of the Swiss peripheral giant Logitech, has announced that it has partnered with Tencent Games to work on a dedicated cloud-based handheld device. As reported by The Verge, the system is currently very much in active developement, and nothing has been announced at this time regarding release date,...
News Cadence Of Hyrule Dev Teases Super-Secret "NecroDancer-Related" Announcement
All will be revealed later this week...
Brace Yourself Games - best known on the Nintendo Switch for its amazing work on Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer - has taken to social media to tease an upcoming announcement. Apparently, it's got "super-secret" news related to the Crypt of the NecroDancer franchise to make. All will be revealed...
News Nightdive Apparently Has "A Few More" FPS Remasters On The Way
According to the studio's CEO
Nightdive Studios has been responsible for some outstanding first-person shooter revivals in recent years and unsurprisingly more are on the way. Studio CEO, Stephen Kick, recently responded to a viral tweet focused on first-person shooters of the '90s - noting how the studio has already remastered four of the games in...
News Nintendo Announces Return To BitSummit, Will Showcase 7 Indie Titles
Nintendo's booth is back for the first time in three years
Nintendo is always hosting special indie world game presentations, and now, for the first time in three years, its booth will be returning to Japan's largest indie game event 'BitSummit X-Roads' next month from 6th August to 7th August. It will be held in Kyoto City, with the first day a...
News Funko Pop Teams Up With Ex-LEGO Developers To Make "AAA" Video Games
A plastic dream team
Funko Pop seems to be one of those polarising brands — you either own enough of them to create your own plastic multiverse of your favourite pop culture characters, or you would be more than happy to melt down the parade of dead-eyed figurines that fill the shelves of your local game shops, if arson wasn't "technically" a...
News Mojang Says No To Minecraft NFTs
No blocks on this chain
In a post on the Minecraft blog today, July 20th, 2022, Mojang staff drew a line in the sand when it comes to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the blockchain in their game, following feedback from players seeking clarification on the company's position on the controversial topic. Multiple mod-makers, companies, and creators...
Random Elected Official In Japan Is Looking To Legally Preserve Games
And keep them playable for generations to come
A newly elected official in Japan has announced his intention to implement a legal framework to preserve games and keep them in a playable state. As reported by Automaton, Ken Akamatsu recently won a seat on Japan's House of Counsellors and is due to take office on July 26th. In a statement on Twitter...
News DOOM's Legendary Co-Creator John Romero Is Making A Brand New FPS
"We're working with a major publisher"
The absolutely legendary game designer and programmer John Romero has announced he's working with a major publisher on an "all-new" first-person shooter and is now hiring. In an announcement on social media, John shared the following message on behalf of Romero Games - calling for talented people to join the...