Game Developer News, Tips, Tricks, Ideas

Finnish studio Spectarium has secured €5 million ($5.3 million) to create an AI-powered cross-platform action RPG called Myths, which it claims will use a TikTok-esque algorithm to serve tailor-made content to players.

Developer Criterion Games is being added to the EA Entertainment (EAE) division. In a blog post from EAE's general manager Vince Zampella, he explained that the Burnout studio has been brought on to help with the development of DICE's Battlefield franchise. 

The recently leaked court documents from Microsoft reveal the Xbox Series S is the most popular console between the two Xbox Series systems. 

Terraria developer Re-Logic has responded to Unity's install-fee debacle by condemning the move and donating $100,000 to both Godot and FNA.

A number of Bethesda games were revealed to be in the works in the pages of Microsoft's recently leaked documents. Among those leaked projects include unannounced titles like Dishonored 3 and a remaster of Fallout 3. 

Embracer Group has made layoffs at Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition and Mythforce developer Beamdog less than two years after acquiring the studio.

Xbox's recent leak has revealed much about Microsoft's plans for its flagship console, including how much it costs to bring big third-party games to Xbox Game Pass. The 2020 documents accidentally made public by Microsoft show that major publishers want their games on the service for anywhere between $100 million-$300 million. 

Microsoft once believed (and perhaps still does) that acquiring Nintendo would be its "most likely path to consumer relevance" and would have attempted to purchase the Switch maker had the opportunity arisen.

A huge cache of documents that were submitted during the FTC v Microsoft case have leaked, providing a extensive look at the company's hardware plans for the remainder of the decade.

Nailing the feel of sword combat in the VR arena isn't easy, but that's precisely what Trebuchet set out to do with the launch of its swashbuckling fantasy fighter Broken Edge. The multiplayer duelling game launched in November 2022 for platforms including SteamVR and Meta Quest 2, but has now debuted on the PS VR2.

SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher has called on union members to support a strike authorization vote so its negotiators will have more leverage when dealing with game companies.

Unity has pledged to change its controversial Runtime Fee policy after facing a seismic backlash from the development community.

Microsoft already has its eyes on its next Xbox console. Axios spotted internal chat logs released from the Xbox maker's trial with the FTC in July reveal the developer is eyeing a 2028 date and more flexible hardware for its eventual successor to the Xbox Series X|S. 

A week after announcing its upcoming Runtime Fee policy, and hours after promising tweaks were to come, Unity is said to be backtracking from the "major aspects" of its plan. 

Since speaking with Unity Create president Marc Whitten about the poorly-received Unity Runtime Fee, I have tried to take him and the company in good faith. However, with the repeated clarifying statements and changes to the Fee that the company has made this week, that's become harder and harder with each passing minute.

As of late Monday evening, everything was going according to plan in week 12 (of 12) of my game design course. I currently (and typically) teach two sections of Game Design Fundamentals online at the Berklee College of Music each quarter, where students interested in game development learn about the history and current landscape of games, study a number of design principles, and workshop their own ideas into a fleshed out Game Design Document.

Employees at Ubisoft Montreal recently returned to the office after a three-year work from home (WFH) period. But according to IGN's new report, coming back to the office has been both incredibly divisive and seen as the developer going back on its word. 

It's no secret that mechs have a proportionally outsized presence in video games over most other mediums. The mechanical behemoths loom large in the world of 2D and 3D animation, but are scantly seen seen in cinemas, lost in the land of literature, and taboo in the world of television. (They're common in comics, but still play second fiddle to caped crusaders).

Innersloth co-founder Forest Willard isn't sure Unity will reverse its decision to implement a new Runtime Fee that will charge those using its game engine a per-install tariff once certain thresholds are met.

Half the staff of Ascendant Studios was laid off, according to a new Polygon report. Around 40 (out of an alleged 80-100 people) were reportedly cut from the studio, whose debut title Immortals of Aveumreleased in late August. 

According to Bloomberg, a meeting for Unity staff members has been canceled following a "credible" death threat made against people at its offices in Austin, TX and San Francisco, CA. 

Point-and-click games have never been stranger or curiouser than when Daedalic Games, a German company, developed and released Deponia. The game was brainchild of studio co-founder Jan Baumann (formerly Jan Müller-Michaelis), who would lead development on three sequels before departing the company in 2019.

Nine amicus briefs have been filed in support of Microsoft's $68.7 billion merger with Activision Blizzard by a group including indie developers, venture capitalists, the CWA labor union, and former regulatory advisors.

Engine maker Unity has acknowledged (but not apologized for) the "confusion and frustration" caused by the announcement of its new runtime fee policy and has attempted to address some of the development community's top questions and concerns.

Bethesda confirmed Starfield's built-in mod support is in the works and will be released early next year. 

An increasing number of developers are outlining plans to kick Unity to the curb as soon as possible after the engine maker announced plans to introduce a new Runtime Fee in January 2024 that will see creators charged per install after certain thresholds have been met.

Unity has amended some of the policy surrounding its new "Runtime Fee" that will charge developers per install once they cross certain revenue and download thresholds.

Phoenix Labs CEO Jesse Houston and COO Jeanne-Marie Owens are both stepping down.

Baldur’s Gate 3 has become a smashing success since its launch on Steam, winning praise for the sheer breadth of content made by Larian Studios that fulfills the tabletop role-playing fantasy.

The open-source game development tool Godot has fully launched its titular development fund (GDF) that'll help further its development. 

Indonesian is now fully supported on Steam after the language was added to the full desktop client and mobile app.

Ubisoft confirmed its upcoming multiplayer shooter xDefiant has been pushed back after it failed to pass console certification from PlayStation and Xbox. 

Embracer is reportedly considering the sale of Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment just over two years after it  purchased the company for $1.38 billion.

Embracer Group's ongoing restructuring efforts have seemingly resulted in layoffs at MX vs ATV Legends developer Rainbow Studios.

Following the recent launch of Runescape's Hero Pass, developer Jagex said it'll be removing the most controversial aspects of the feature. In its newest blog, the Runescape team acknowledged the Hero Pass was "too pay-to-win," and will "urgently patch the game" to roll back the pass' worst elements. 

A recent patent from Nintendo suggests its upcoming Nintendo Switch successor will avoid analog stick drift with its controllers. Though the patent was filed in May, it was just revealed on September 7, and comes not long after it was reported Nintendo showed off said Switch successor to external developers at Gamescom.

Donald Mustard, chief creative officer of Fortnite developer Epic Games, announced he'll leave the studio at the end of September.

Spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3

Day of the Devs has opened submissions for a new indie showcase in partnership with The Game Awards.

Starfield has become the biggest Bethesda game launch of all time after pulling in over 6 million players.

A new video from More Perfect Union (MPU) alleges the popular online game Roblox has turned its teenage player base into "low-wage game designers." 

There's been much secrecy regarding Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2, the sequel to the 2004 cult favorite vampire RPG. First announced in 2019—with the original creatives returning for the sequel—work on that game hit a roadblock, and a creative and developer shakeup was announced in 2021.

The ESA has parted ways with PAX organizer Reedpop after the two failed to relaunch E3.

Larian Studios' Baldur's Gate 3 became a massive hit following its full launch in early August. With over 5 million downloads, the long-awaited sequel to BioWare's classic Dungeons & Dragons-inspired CRPG has achieved crossover success, putting the sub-genre into the spotlight for its open-ended approach to storytelling and player choice.

Nintendo introduced a number of external developers to its inevitable Switch successor during a specially prepared showcase at Gamescom 2023.

Starfield has exceeded 1 million concurrent players across all platforms within 24 hours of launch.

Pacific Drive is what you might get if Nicolas Winding Refn stepped in to direct an episode of Stranger Things. The atmospheric run-based survival adventure hinges on the bond between players and their car, except instead of outrunning their past, they'll be dodging supernatural anomalies as they launch expeditions into the Olympic Exclusion Zone in a bid to understand and escape the surreal calamity reshaping the world.

According to a new Kotaku report, Ubisoft's Skull & Bones has been besieged by more development troubles. Lead developer Ubisoft Singapore has reportedly lost Elisabeth Pellen, the third creative director brought on to help with the online pirate game. 

This weekend while moseying through Baldur's Gate 3 on a train ride up to Boston, I wrapped up what might be my favorite quest in the game yet: an Act 3 quest to rescue a child named Vanra who's vanished from a tavern in the city's lower gates.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom producer Eiji Aonuma has suggested the current iteration of the franchise has reached its creative limit.

This interview has been edited for clarity

Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney has suggested titles that feature generative AI will be allowed on the Epic Games Store.

Sumo Group has acquired Plunder Pirates and Knighthood developer Midoki for an undisclosed fee.

Unpacking and Stray Gods publisher Humble Games is wary of the potential legal issues posed by developers who choose to leverage generative AI tools like ChatGPT during production.

SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents a number of voice actors and performers plying their trade in the game industry, has called for strike action.

Paradox Interactive confirmed The Chinese Room has been tapped to develop Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2. During its panel at PAX West, Paradox said the long-delayed RPG would release in late 2024 with the British studio at the helm. 

During GDC Showcase 23 earlier in the summer, Game Developer publisher Alissa MacAloon and I interviewed game marketing consultant and strategist Chris Zukowski about the mechanics of the Steam marketplace, what strategies work best for smaller developers and how to deal with publishers giving teams the runaround. Welcome to episode 34 of the Game Developer podcast!

Yesterday, August 31, saw the end of Volition, and the studio bid farewell with one final post on Twitter. In its message, the 30-year-old developer looked back on its existence, saying it's "been around long enough that some folks forget what we made, but they certainly know our games."

Humble Bundle EVP and general manager, Alan Patmore, has suggested studio acquisitions and first-party development could be a part of Humble Games' future.

The original Blasphemous was one of many games that found crowdfunding success on Kickstarter, and the developers at The Game Kitchen would find greater acclaim upon release. Focusing on a sprawling dark pilgrimage through an unsettling world inspired by Spanish folklore and the iconography of Roman Catholicism, Blasphemous is a richly detailed 2D fantasy action-platformer that took some cues from Dark Souls and the Metroidvania genre.

Altagram, the localization company that recently caught flak after omitting the names of some freelance translators from the credits of Baldur's Gate 3, has published a new crediting policy it hopes will provide transparency moving forward.

After 30 years, Volition is closing its doors. 

Arctic7 will open a new studio in Barcelona to accelerate its internal development plans.

"One thing I learned from being independent is that you really don't want to be chasing the money for your payroll," says Rich Vogel, former Bioware veteran and co-founder and CEO of T-Minus Zero Entertainment, during a recent chat at Gamescom 2023. "Because what that leads to is short-term decision making, and that means you're constantly in demo mode versus actually making a game."

Beginning next week, the PlayStation Plus service will see a price increase for 12-month subscriptions. 

Altagram founder and CEO Marie Amigues has told Game Developer that miscrediting in the localization industry is endemic and is often the result of large publishers and studios refusing to acknowledge the work of third parties.

Gaming history has its share of stories where parents get in the way. Where computers, arcades, and consoles are misunderstood by an out-of-touch generation, and where passionate young designers and coders get into the hobby–and even become famous–in spite of their parents' wishes.

Sea of Stars has sold 100,000 copies in one day, according to developer Sabotage Studio.

This interview has been edited for clarity

Jusant is beguiling. Don't Nod's upcoming climber turns cliffs and chasms into vertigo-inducing Rubik's cubes and asks players to unlock their secrets to achieve a singular goal: ascend.

Nearly two weeks after the release of Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, its developer Mimimi Games announced it'll be shutting down. 

Microsoft has seemingly scrapped its $1 Xbox Game Pass trial with the launch of Starfield on the horizon.

A now former employee from game developer from Imagendary Studios alleges the developer has laid off a majority of its reportedly 54-person staff. 

During its annual TennoCon event, Digital Extremes revealed its multiplayer shooter Warframe is coming to mobile devices next year. 

Over the weekend, it was discovered that Mike Unsworth, the vice president of writing for Rockstar Games, had left the studio. 

According to Riot Games' American esports director Raul Fernandez, the esports division for League of Legends has been struggling to break even. Talking to Axios, he explained that the developer is looking for ways to revitalize the sports business around its popular MOBA. 

Cloud Imperium's Star Citizen will soon receive over $600 million from backers, according to the game's website. At time of writing, the game is a little over $5,000 away from hitting that funding benchmark, and continues to be one of the most expensive games to ever be developed. 

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) recently filed a patent that indicates it may expand multiplayer to much larger numbers. And while it doesn't confirm anything concrete, it gives an idea of where Sony's head is at.

Dave The Diver sees you heading underneath the waves to hunt for various fish and sea life, turning them into delicious sushi dishes as you scramble to run a restaurant by night. While that's a ton to juggle on its own, the game has only just begun to surprise you with its in-depth minigames (Seahorse racing?!), varied characters, and wild plot.

Larian Studios head Swen Vincke has confirmed Baldur's Gate 3 will release on Xbox Series X|S later in 2023.