Wildlife Studios cuts 21% of its staff

Cryptic Studios is in a period of transition under Deca Games after recent changes at parent company Embracer Group moved Cryptic under that division. While all of Cryptic’s MMOs will continue to get new content and updates, there will be Deca devs starting to “take over the creation of some of the content”.

After two years slumbering in the coffin of early access, vampire survival game V Rising is lifting off the lid and rising into a full 1.0 release. Having previously been announced with a somewhat vague Q2 launch window, we now know exactly when V Rising’s 1.0 release date will be: May 8th.

After almost two years in early access, Stunlock Studios’ V Rising will launch for PC on May 8th. It’s also coming to PS5 later this year. Check out the animated release date announcement trailer below, courtesy of IGN.

Star Wars Jedi series director Stig Asmussen has announced the formation of his own studio, Giant Skull.

Sony has confirmed that «some» unannounced games in development within PlayStation Studios have been cancelled as a result of the decision to lay off around 900 employees. In a separate article from Hermen Hulst, it's explained: «We looked at our studios and our portfolio, evaluating projects in various stages of development, and have decided that some of those projects will not move forward.»

The first time I tried to share League of Legends with a loved one was a pretty poor experience. I convinced my brother, despite his skepticism, to download the free-to-play MOBA and give it a shot. We jumped into a game against low-level AI bots together; the lowest-pressure experience possible. Then, my brother made the mistake of purchasing a mana crystal on his AD carry character, and somebody else called him a slur in the chat.

Moon Studios - the team behind brilliant Metroidvanias Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps - has announced an early access release date for its next (very different) game. The combat looks fierce, but I'm mostly just here to decorate houses and rebuild the settlement. 

Ori developer Moon Studios will present a digital showcase for its new game, No Rest for the Wicked, later today.

Long before the Suicide Squad went on to try about killing the Justice League, it dug its own grave. The action-adventure shooter from Rocksteady was born with the burden of living up to the lofty standards set by the studio's beloved Batman: Arkham games. Then, it stepped on a rake when last year's gameplay reveal confirmed that the game would be an always-online, live service looter shooter — a departure from Rocksteady's repertoire of narrative-focussed single-player experiences. And when it finally came out in early access ahead of its February 2 release, the developers had to pull it offline due to a bug that led to full story completion just as players logged in to the game for the first time.

Sony-acquired studio Firesprite has recently suffered high profile exits amid accusations of a toxic workplace culture, Eurogamer has been told, as part of an investigation into the studio begun ahead of the layoffs announced by Sony this week.

Insomniac Games has released a public statement in response to layoffs at the studio announced this week by parent company Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Life Is Strange: True Colors developer Deck Nine Games has cut 20% of its total workforce.