cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/12848199

The indie studio behind last year's incredible Saltsea Chronicles has halted production entirely, citing difficulty securing funding.

Die Gute Fabrik is also known for 2019's Mutazione and the local multiplayer compilation Sportfriends from 2014.

The studio halted production last week on 19th February, it revealed today, and said it made the news public to help its members find roles elsewhere.

"The publishing and investment scene is so tough for companies and projects of our scale right now," Die Gute Fabrik said in its statement. The studio will continue to seek funding, it said, and should it secure funding in future it may resume production.

Die Gute Fabrik's games will remain on sale, which the company said "continues to be the best way to support us" on X (née Twitter). Founder Nils Deneken will take over leadership of the studio while it seeks funding, though he and CEO Hannah Nicklin are also looking

The indie studio behind last year's incredible Saltsea Chronicles has halted production entirely, citing difficulty securing funding.

Die Gute Fabrik is also known for 2019's Mutazione and the local multiplayer compilation Sportfriends from 2014.

The studio halted production last week on 19th February, it revealed today, and said it made the news public to help its members find roles elsewhere.

"The publishing and investment scene is so tough for companies and projects of our scale right now," Die Gute Fabrik said in its statement. The studio will continue to seek funding, it said, and should it secure funding in future it may resume production.

Die Gute Fabrik's games will remain on sale, which the company said "continues to be the best way to support us" on X (née Twitter). Founder Nils Deneken will take over leadership of the studio while it seeks funding, though he and CEO Hannah Nicklin are also looking for new roles.

If you've yet to try some of Die Gute Fabrik's games, ther

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/11258346

Polish developer Reikon Games has reportedly dismissed a significant portion of its workforce.

Sources told GamesIndustry.biz that around 70 people have been laid off, while former producer Rafał Basaj claimed it was around 60 people via a Threads post.

Others told Kotaku that an estimated 56% of the company's employees have been affected.

The layoffs were announced to staff on January 23, 2024, with multiple former employees since posting on LinkedIn and social media platforms that they are looking for work.

GamesIndustry.biz reached out to Reikon Games for confirmation and comment, but has not received a response at the time of writing.

Reikon is best known for 2017 cyberpunk shooter Ruiner, which was published by Devolver Digital.

Polish developer Reikon Games has reportedly dismissed a significant portion of its workforce.

Sources told GamesIndustry.biz that around 70 people have been laid off, while former producer Rafał Basaj claimed it was around 60 people via a Threads post.

Others told Kotaku that an estimated 56% of the company's employees have been affected.

The layoffs were announced to staff on January 23, 2024, with multiple former employees since posting on LinkedIn and social media platforms that they are looking for work.

GamesIndustry.biz reached out to Reikon Games for confirmation and comment, but has not received a response at the time of writing.

Reikon is best known for 2017 cyberpunk shooter Ruiner, which was published by Devolver Digital.

Microsoft is laying off 1900 people across the video game teams, including Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax and Xbox, equating to approximately eight percent of its gaming workforce.

In an internal email seen by The Verge, Microsoft's gaming head Phil Spencer called this a "painful decision".

"It's been a little over three months since the Activision, Blizzard, and King teams joined Microsoft," Spencer wrote in his email to staff. "As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business. Together, we've set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we're all aligned on the best opportunities for growth.

"As part of this process, we have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce by approximately 1900 roles out of the 22,000 people on our team. The Gaming Leadership Team

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/10851880

Obsidian Entertainment has revealed its first-person RPG Avowed is set to release this autumn.

The launch window was announced during tonight's Xbox Developer Direct livestream, along with a short look at combat, quests, and the game's environments.

Players will be able to quickly switch between playstyles using custom loadouts, meaning you can quickly switch from a melee build to a ranged magic build in the middle of combat.

We also got a look at a sidequest found in a settlement called Shatterskarp, the third region players will explore during the game. You come across a group of dead soldiers and one of their allies called Nauki, who you can pass blame onto for the others' deaths or tell him it wasn't his fault.

Game director Carrie Patel said the studio embraces "moral nuance and grey areas", and the world will reflect the consequences of the choices players made during this sidequest and more.

Autu

Obsidian Entertainment has revealed its first-person RPG Avowed is set to release this autumn.

The launch window was announced during tonight's Xbox Developer Direct livestream, along with a short look at combat, quests, and the game's environments.

Players will be able to quickly switch between playstyles using custom loadouts, meaning you can quickly switch from a melee build to a ranged magic build in the middle of combat.

We also got a look at a sidequest found in a settlement called Shatterskarp, the third region players will explore during the game. You come across a group of dead soldiers and one of their allies called Nauki, who you can pass blame onto for the others' deaths or tell him it wasn't his fault.

Game director Carrie Patel said the studio embraces "moral nuance and grey areas", and the world will reflect the consequences of the choices players made during this sidequest and more.

Autumn 2024 is a more solid estimate of Avowed's release date, which was previously

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/10183103

UK developer Bossa Studios has laid off around one third of its staff, GamesIndustry.biz has learned.

Sources shared a list of 19 people that were affected by the redundancies, mostly in QA and production roles as well as non-UK employees.

Bossa Studios has confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that it did dismiss a number of staff at the end of 2023, and that 40 people remain in the studio.

In a statement, co-founder Henrique Olifiers told us the layoffs were due to a "perfect storm of events," including the number of AAA games launching after September that took away the focus from AA and indie games, increasing operational costs, and delayed funding decisions across the industry for new titles.

He said the above factors and more created a "difficult situation we, as developers, are struggling to brave."

"Resulting from this blue moon situation, we had to make the difficult decision to reshape the studio to

UK developer Bossa Studios has laid off around one third of its staff, GamesIndustry.biz has learned.

Sources shared a list of 19 people that were affected by the redundancies, mostly in QA and production roles as well as non-UK employees.

Bossa Studios has confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that it did dismiss a number of staff at the end of 2023, and that 40 people remain in the studio.

In a statement, co-founder Henrique Olifiers told us the layoffs were due to a "perfect storm of events," including the number of AAA games launching after September that took away the focus from AA and indie games, increasing operational costs, and delayed funding decisions across the industry for new titles.

He said the above factors and more created a "difficult situation we, as developers, are struggling to brave."

"Resulting from this blue moon situation, we had to make the difficult decision to reshape the studio to reflect the position we find ourselves in at the end of this year, focusing all

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/3014161

Awesomenauts developer Ronimo Games has reportedly filed for bankruptcy.

As reported by Game Developer, quoting Dutch outlet Emerce, the Utrecht-based studio reportedly filed for bankruptcy on August 22 at the Central Netherlands Court.

An employee confirmed the bankruptcy on the developer's Discord server.

"We got hit by a series of unfortunate events while working on our last project, and weren't able to recover despite our best efforts," they wrote.

"What this means for Awesomenauts (and Blightbound) multiplayer is as of yet uncertain: the process is still ongoing, and it all depends on where it ends up. For what it's worth, myself and others at Ronimo would love to see both games live for a while longer."

GamesIndustry.biz reached out to Ronimo Games for clarification.

Former employee and independent developer Jeroen D. Stout, who worked as a programmer on Blightbound, also responded to the news

Awesomenauts developer Ronimo Games has reportedly filed for bankruptcy.

As reported by Game Developer, quoting Dutch outlet Emerce, the Utrecht-based studio reportedly filed for bankruptcy on August 22 at the Central Netherlands Court.

An employee confirmed the bankruptcy on the developer's Discord server.

"We got hit by a series of unfortunate events while working on our last project, and weren't able to recover despite our best efforts," they wrote.

"What this means for Awesomenauts (and Blightbound) multiplayer is as of yet uncertain: the process is still ongoing, and it all depends on where it ends up. For what it's worth, myself and others at Ronimo would love to see both games live for a while longer."

GamesIndustry.biz reached out to Ronimo Games for clarification.

Former employee and independent developer Jeroen D. Stout, who worked as a programmer on Blightbound, also responded to the news on X (formerly known as Twitter).

"I will miss all the good people with whom I w

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/2944272

Smaller subscription deals and the underperformance of certain titles have had a severe impact on Devolver and TinyBuild, says stockbroking firm Goodbody.

Both companies floated at the peak of the games business in 2021 and have seen their share prices plummet over the past two years. Devolver has seen its share price drop 92% since its peak in January 2022, while TinyBuild's has fallen 95%

"We have seen from Devolver and TinyBuild that subscription is under pressure at the moment," says Patrick O'Donnell, technology and video gaming analyst at Goodbody.

"The cheques coming from Sony and Microsoft are just not as big as they were. And that creates problems if you're concentrated on that side of the market.

"TinyBuild, of all of them, was most exposed. Devolver was exposed, but not quite as much."

Smaller subscription deals and the underperformance of certain titles have had a severe impact on Devolver and TinyBuild, says stockbroking firm Goodbody.

Both companies floated at the peak of the games business in 2021 and have seen their share prices plummet over the past two years. Devolver has seen its share price drop 92% since its peak in January 2022, while TinyBuild's has fallen 95%

"We have seen from Devolver and TinyBuild that subscription is under pressure at the moment," says Patrick O'Donnell, technology and video gaming analyst at Goodbody.

"The cheques coming from Sony and Microsoft are just not as big as they were. And that creates problems if you're concentrated on that side of the market.

"TinyBuild, of all of them, was most exposed. Devolver was exposed, but not quite as much."

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/2277558

On PC, the game is 139.84 GB. On console, it's 100.19 GB for Standard or 117.07 GB for the Premium Edition

On PC, the game is 139.84 GB. On console, it's 100.19 GB for Standard or 117.07 GB for the Premium Edition