Game Development
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More Than 8 Years on From Its Announcement, The Elder Scrolls 6 Is Reportedly Still at Least 2 More Years From Release
The Elder Scrolls 6, officially announced over eight years ago, is reportedly still at least two years away from release. This indicates a prolonged development cycle for the highly anticipated title.
Terrible GTA Trilogy remasters were actually enjoyed by "a lot of people," says studio boss who "agreed…
Thomas Williamson, CEO of Grove Street Games, acknowledges the poor reception of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition but claims many players still enjoyed it. He suggests that while he agreed with most criticisms, the development team's perspective on the release and its response differed. Williamson also expressed dissatisfaction with Rockstar Games removing Grove Street Games from the title screens in updates.
Morning Multiplex
This article rounds up recent announcements and content, including the official Kickstarter gameplay trailer for Code RAPID and the reveal trailer for Sponge Break. It also provides an update on Subnautica 2's Early Access version 1.1, titled Adaptive Measures.
Xbox's Bethesda layoffs include the artist responsible for designing Skyrim's khajiit and argonians, who had…
Christiane Meister, a senior character artist with 27 years at Bethesda who was instrumental in designing the Khajiit and Argonians for The Elder Scrolls series, has been laid off as part of Xbox's recent cuts. Meister's work spanned from Morrowind to Skyrim, and she was responsible for the creation and management of character art assets. Her departure highlights concerns about the industry's trend of layoffs despite significant revenue.
David Gaider will never play Dragon Age: The Veilguard because he'd be 'wincing' the whole time: 'EA really did a number on them in terms of setting them up to fail'
Former BioWare lead writer David Gaider expressed that he would never play Dragon Age: The Veilguard, feeling that publisher Electronic Arts set the studio up for failure. Gaider, who considers the Dragon Age series his 'baby,' cited behind-the-scenes issues and EA's business practices as reasons for the game's struggles. He also touched upon his own studio's challenges with its game Stray Gods launching near Baldur's Gate 3.
In the ashes of Destiny 2, furious developer creates playable Pete Parsons-themed parody raid where the former Bungie…
A game developer has created a playable parody raid called "The Vault of Cars" within Destiny 2, satirizing former Bungie CEO Pete Parsons' departure and perceived spending habits. The raid features Parsons as a boss and critiques recent industry issues like layoffs and poor decision-making, reflecting broader developer sentiment amidst industry turmoil.
Paralives’ Success Shows Being Generous To Players Isn’t Unreasonable
Paralives' success in early access highlights the appeal of its commitment to free post-launch DLC and updates, contrasting with industry trends focused on maximizing player spending. The small, independent team, funded by Patreons and without investors, can afford to prioritize player generosity. This approach is compared to No Man's Sky, which also found success through consistent free content updates.
Paralives Isn’t Interested In Taking Down The Sims
The team behind Paralives views their life-simulation game not as a competitor to The Sims 4, but as another option that benefits players by increasing choice within the genre. Communication manager Gab Boyer-Antoni stated that multiple games in the life-sim genre help each other improve and cater to diverse player needs, from building to storytelling. Paralives is currently in early access and aims to provide years of free content, while The Sims 4 is working to regain community trust after recent controversies.
Rather than rip and tear id Software apart, Xbox should have put the FPS pioneers on Gears of War
Following significant layoffs at Xbox Game Studios, including a reported 50% staff reduction at id Software, the article argues that Xbox should leverage id Software's expertise for the Gears of War franchise. It suggests that id's talent for creating visceral first-person shooter experiences would be a better fit for Gears of War than continuing with their own struggling franchises like Quake Champions or Rage 2.
The Sims’ Biggest Competitor Is Ignoring All Of The AAA Rules Of Game Dev, And That’s Why It’s Already A Huge Success
Paralives, a crowdfunded life simulation game developed by a small team, is emerging as a significant competitor to The Sims. Despite its indie status, Paralives has achieved over one million copies sold in early access and boasts a thriving modding community. The developers are committed to offering free future content and DLC, focusing on player feedback and sustainable growth rather than traditional AAA monetization strategies.
Atari appoints Andreas Deptolla as president of Atari Europe
Atari has appointed Andreas Deptolla as the new president of Atari Europe. Deptolla, formerly the chief technology officer, aims to strengthen Atari's network of publishers, studios, and partners across the region. The company is also focused on expanding existing European studios and is open to strategic acquisitions while continuing to invest in talent and high-quality projects.
Opinion: Welcome to the house of pain, brought to you by Xbox
Xbox is facing significant layoffs and studio closures despite massive investments in mergers and acquisitions, including the $70 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard King. CEO Asha Sharma cited a failure to meet growth expectations for Game Pass and multi-platform strategies as reasons for the 'reset,' which has resulted in over 7,000 job cuts across the company since January 2024, with more planned.
Crimson Desert on Switch 2 "is not just a simple port," Pearl Abyss CEO says, but devs want the open-world…
Pearl Abyss CEO Heo Jin-young stated that a Nintendo Switch 2 version of Crimson Desert is in development, but it will not be a simple port. The company is focused on maintaining the game's graphics, action, and open-world experience on the new hardware. A release schedule cannot be confirmed yet due to ongoing optimization and technical verification.
Persona 4 Revival producer says there will be changes to Yosuke
Atlus and SEGA are expected to release Persona 4 Revival for the Nintendo Switch, with producer Kazuhisa Wada indicating that changes will be made to the game to modernize it. Further details about these adjustments are anticipated.
Crimson Desert developer trying to get game to run on Nintendo Switch 2
Pearl Abyss, the developer of Crimson Desert, is attempting to bring the game to the Nintendo Switch 2. The company's CEO stated that significant optimization and technical verification are required for a potential release on the new platform.
Goals is building an exciting esports ecosystem "where everyone can compete"
Goals, a free-to-play soccer game, has announced plans to build an inclusive esports ecosystem allowing anyone to compete. CEO Andreas Thorstensson detailed a system with grassroots qualifiers leading to regional finals and major championships, emphasizing community involvement and accessible tournament creation tools. The game will feature in-game leaderboards, team kits, and cosmetics, with a €10,000 prize pool for official events and plans for player-funded prize pools.
BayCon 42 / Westercon 78 | Horror on a Budget: How Fear Beats Money Every Time
Veronica Craven discussed how to create quality horror content with limited resources at BayCon 42. The panel focused on the principle that effective fear can overcome budget constraints in horror game development.
Microsoft is reportedly considering making more of its first-party games exclusive to Xbox
Microsoft is reportedly considering making more of its first-party games exclusive to Xbox consoles to incentivize purchases. While major multiplayer titles will remain multiplatform, upcoming games like Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are confirmed Xbox console exclusives, with The Elder Scrolls 6 potentially following suit. This strategy shift comes amidst significant layoffs and studio closures within Microsoft's gaming division.
After 8 years and no new releases, Undead Labs' biggest contribution to Xbox is the tech it leaves behind
Despite not releasing new games in eight years, Undead Labs, acquired by Xbox Game Studios in 2018, has made significant technological contributions. Their 'Shared Save' technology, initially developed for State of Decay 2 and later expanded, enabled Obsidian's Grounded and will support State of Decay 3's larger communities. This tech allows for shared world-data as a cloud save, reducing the need for dedicated servers.
The Elder Scrolls 6 will be lucky to be out by 2028 says insider
An insider claims that The Elder Scrolls 6, announced in 2018, is still at least two to three years away and may not launch until 2028 or later, partly due to recent Xbox layoffs impacting Bethesda Game Studios. This potential 10-year development cycle from announcement to release highlights management issues and a significant gap since the last main installment, Skyrim.
