2023-06

Pokémon Go developer Niantic has announced a massive restructuring, where it will be closing its Los Angeles office, terminating over 200 employees, and scaling back development on a few titles as it narrows its focus towards supporting current titles while increasing its commitment to mixed and augmented reality development. In an email sent to staff by CEO John Hanke (which you can read here), he explains that the pandemic-era surge of recruitment and expanding pipeline of projects ballooned to the point that, once the pandemic ended, the resulting expenses outpaced its revenue.  “In the wake of the revenue surge we saw during Covid, we grew our headcount and related expenses in order to pursue growth more aggressively, expanding existing game teams, our AR platform work, new game projects and roles that support our products and our employees," Hanke writes. "Post Covid, our...

Annapurna Interactive, the publisher behind games like Stray and Neon White, held a showcase today to reveal new games, and updates for previously announced ones, shine the spotlight on new developers, and more. It even unveiled its first-ever first-party game. We have all that and more in our breakdown below.  Here’s everything announced during the 2023 Annapurna Interactive Showcase While the showcase featured plenty of updates about games we’re already excited about, it also featured four new game reveals.  Game Reveals Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth Perhaps the most significant announcement of the showcase, Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, is a new game set in the same world as the iconic Blade Runner film franchise, and Annapurna Interactive’s in-house studio is developing it. This marks the first time the publisher has developed its own game, and its development is being led...

Annapurna Interactive has revealed Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, a new game set in the same world as the Blade Runner film series, and it's the first game developed in-house.  Annapurna has published plenty of great games, but it announced last year that it had created a new internal studio to actually develop one. And now we know that game is Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth. As the name suggests, it takes place in 2033, which puts it between the original film and its sequel, Blade Runner 2049. Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth takes place in a dystopian Los Angeles like its cinematic predecessors, and the game's events occur after the Blackout hits.  Not much else was revealed about the game, but you can check out its moody cinematic trailer for yourself below:  As you can see, this game looks very Blade Runner, and we can't wait...

Thirsty Suitors will be released on PlayStation, Xbox (including Xbox Game Pass), Switch, and PC on November 2, it's been revealed.  This news comes by way of today's Annapurna Interactive Showcase, where developer Outerloop Games released a new trailer showing off more of what to expect in this RPG that's one part a skateboarding game, another part a cooking game, and always a game about confronting your exes and parents. It looks great – we quite enjoyed playing it recently during Summer Game Fest 2023 – and you can check it out for yourself below in the newest Thirsty Suitors trailer:  As you can see, players take on the role of protagonist Jala, who, after a bad breakup, returns to her hometown. There, she must confront her exes and try to reconcile with them, please her tough-to-please parents, and...

Stray was first revealed by publisher Annapurna Interactive and developer Blue Twelve years ago, at the same event where the PlayStation 5 was revealed. It finally hit PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 last year alongside a PC release, and in two months, it's finally coming to Xbox.  Stray will launch on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One on August 10. This was revealed with a very cute new trailer starring the stray cat that gives the game its namesake, and you can check it out for yourself below:  We enjoyed Stray last year, giving it an 8 out of 10 in our review, which you can read here.  Are you going to play Stray on Xbox this August? Let us know in the comments below!...

Cocoon will be released this September.  More specifically, the upcoming sci-fi adventure game from Jeppe Carlsen, the lead gameplay designer of Playdead's Limbo and Inside, hits PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC on September 29. I recently played Cocoon during Summer Game Fest 2023 and came away extremely impressed (read about why here). In the game, you control a small beetle-like creature as you traverse through a mysterious alien world using strange orbs that they themselves are worlds you can dive into.  Check out Cocoon in action in the trailer below:  As you can see, Cocoon continues to look great and now we know we don't have to wait too much longer to play it.  Cocoon hits PlayStation, Xbox (including a day one launch on Xbox Game Pass), Switch, and PC via Steam on September 29.  Are you diving into...

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BlizzCon is returning to Anaheim, California, this November and Blizzard has released new details about the event, including what to expect, pricing, and when tickets go on sale.  BlizzCon 2023 will take place on November 3 and 4 in the Anaheim Convention Center and tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. ET on July 8. A second wave of tickets will go live at 10 a.m. PST/ 1 p.m. ET on July 22. General admission tickets cost $299, and that price includes a live event ticket, in-game goodies, the official BlizzCon backpack, and early access to the BlizzCon store. There will also be a $799 Portal Pass ticket available as well. It includes all general admission perks, a separate registration and security line, exclusive Portal Pass lounge access (private concessions and viewing lounges, gameplay experiences, and more), and...

While game delays have become commonplace, the opposite is extremely rare. Today, we learned Baldur's Gate 3 is somehow doing both at the same time. Initially planned for August 31, developer Larian Studios is advancing the PC release date to August 3 while delaying the PS5 version to September 6. According to the most recent community update, the change was done to prioritize release in order of platform readiness. More specifically, the team needed a little more time to get the PS5 version up to 60 frames per second. "The PlayStation 5 version will be released roughly a week later than its originally scheduled date of August 31st," the community update reads. "Baldur’s Gate 3 is targeting 60 frames-per-second and we’re close to achieving that on the platform but need a bit more extra time. We don’t want to compromise on quality,...

While game delays have become commonplace, the opposite is extremely rare. Today, we learned Baldur's Gate 3 is somehow doing both at the same time. Initially planned for August 31, developer Larian Studios is advancing the PC release date to August 3 while delaying the PS5 version to September 6. According to the most recent community update, the change was done to prioritize release in order of platform readiness. More specifically, the team needed a little more time to get the PS5 version up to 60 frames per second. "The PlayStation 5 version will be released roughly a week later than its originally scheduled date of August 31st," the community update reads. "Baldur’s Gate 3 is targeting 60 frames-per-second and we’re close to achieving that on the platform but need a bit more extra time. We don’t want to compromise on quality,...