We've eschewed any Valentine's theming this year, but Edwin put this in our news queue last night as a sort of dare for our evening shift, and let the record show I am less of a coward than Graham Smith. The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, a visual novel Tarot-themed card game from perennial (perhaps perineal, in this case) favourites Deconstructeam, was praised by Edwin in his review, and I was going to use the same strapline for this news post had he not got there first. Because now, in time for the season of romance, they've teamed up with sex toy purveyors Uberrime to create a frankly prohibitively massive dildo as an official tie-in for the game, which can be won in a free competition by three lucky people living in either the UK, EU, US or Canada (as in, they each win their own dildo; they don't have to time share).
Outriders developer People Can Fly confirms staff layoffs, saying it’s ‘an unfortunate situation’
25.01.2024 - 18:23 / techradar.com / Phil Spencer
Polish developer People Can Fly, which is arguably best known for making the third-person co-op shooter Outridersand first-person-shooter Bulletstorm, has confirmed that it’s laid off a number of its staff. A spokesperson described the situation as “unfortunate.”
In a statement sent to TechRadar Gaming, a People Can Fly spokesperson said: “At this time we can confirm layoffs have occurred and we have nothing to add. It's an unfortunate situation and we are doing our best to adequately support these laid off employees.”
According to the developer’s website, it has an international team of over 650 people, with 400 working on eight games across eight locations in North America and Europe. However, in the latest news, neither the number of employees affected, nor the specific areas of the company impacted by the redundancies were confirmed. It’s also not clear if any of the projects the developer is working on will be affected. We will update this story if further details are revealed.
Sadly, 2024 has already been rife with layoffs across the games industry. Today (January 25), it was revealed that Microsoft is laying off around 1,900 members of staff from across the Xbox, Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax teams.
In a memo sent to staff, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, said the decision to lay off staff had been “painful.” He continued, speaking about those affected: “We are grateful for all of the creativity, passion, and dedication they have brought to our games, our players, and our colleagues. We will provide our full support to those who are impacted during the transition, including severance benefits informed by local employment laws.”
Furthermore, it was confirmed that the unnamed survival game which was announced to be in the works at Blizzard Entertainment in 2022 has been canceled. Head of Xbox studios Matt Booty added that some of the people working on it will be moved to “one of several promising new projects Blizzard has in the early stages of development.”
If you’re looking for some new games to play, you can find some excellent choices on our lists of the best FPS games , as well as the best co-op games .
Crash Bandicoot Developer Toys for Bob Struck by Layoffs, Office Closure | Push Square
Layoffs have been reported at Toys for Bob, the developer behind Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time and the Spyro: Reignited Trilogy. They form part of the ongoing consolidation efforts necessitated by parent company Activision's acquisition by Microsoft, resulting in 1900 roles being made redundant. Some 86 workers have been let go, and the studio's office shuttered. Contrary to some earlier confusion, that's the physical address; Toys for Bob will remain active, and most remaining employees will now work remotely.
Spotify to Meta platforms, how companies say ‘layoffs’ without saying ‘layoffs’
Have you suffered an “involuntary career event” recently? Perhaps you were a casualty of “corporate outplacing,” the unfortunate, yet ostensibly necessary result of your company “rightsizing.” Managers are running out of ways to say you no longer have a job. Layoffs in the first month of 2024 have left tens of thousands without jobs, with the tech industry alone cutting 32,000 roles. The way the bad news is delivered is more important than ever, as companies fear being canceled on social media after a poorly executed final conversation. Executives are using all kinds of euphemisms to avoid being straightforward with their employees.
GTA parent Take-Two has ‘no current plans’ for layoffs, CEO says
It’s a dismal time to be in video game development, as companies continue to announce layoffs. Now, Take-Two Interactive – the parent company of Rockstar – is looking to enact a “significant cost reduction plan,” but it doesn’t necessarily mean redundancies.
Gorgeous Genshin Impact-like open-world RPG Wuthering Waves confirms PS5 release, devs say "90% of the story has been completely rewritten" after test feedback
The developer of upcoming Genshin Impact-like Wuthering Waves says it's rewritten 90% of its story ahead of the RPG's second closed beta.
Ruiner developer Reikon Games lays off half its studio
Reikon Games has reportedly laid off 60 to 70 people, equating to 56 percent of the company.
Social MMO Rec Room developer just "can't justify the cost" of a PSVR2 port
There are no current plans to bring Rec Room — the social VR app that's part meeting place, part mini-game hub featuring sporting events, fantastical quests and even games of Charades — to PlayStation VR2. This is because the studio behind it (also known as Rec Room) simply «can't justify the cost», despite its popularity.
Palworld breeder carefully combines Jetragons to create the ultimate speed machine that can fly across the open world at breathtaking speeds
One Palworld player has bred a "zooming dragon," and it might be the fastest creature in the game to date.
Blizzard have cancelled their in-development survival game alongside today's layoffs
Back in 2022, Blizzard announced that they were working on a survival game set in an "all-new universe". Not much more was known about the game except that the studio were actively ramping up recruitment, seemingly after having been working on the project since 2017.
People Can Fly and Black Forest Games hit by layoffs, according to sources and leaked emails
Room for another mass layoff post, before we end the day? This one is actually two separate stories but in a bid to conserve resources and make our frontpage slightly less depressing to read, I am going to roll them together. Black Forest Games, the Embracer-owned creators of the Destroy All Humans! Remake, are reportedly cutting 50% of their workforce - around 50-60 people. Outriders developers People Can Fly, meanwhile, have laid off 30 developers who were working on an unannounced Square Enix game.
Outriders Studio People Can Fly Lays Off More Than 30 Employees
People Can Fly, the developer behind 2021's surprise shooter hit Outriders, has laid off more than 30 employees. This news comes by way of Kotaku, which reports that its source with knowledge of the situation said the job cuts affected only staff working on an unannounced game at the studio, codenamed Project Gemini, that is to be published by Square Enix.
People Can Fly Lays Off 30 Staff, And Reallocates 20 Away From Project Gemini
People Can Fly has laid off 30 employees, and reallocated 20 others, from Project Gemini.