2024-01

Update, 9:51 a.m. ET, 1/25/24: Blizzard president Mike Ybarra has announced he is departing from the company; he was not laid off as part of Microsoft's 1,900 job cuts across its various gaming divisions, but the timing suggests the layoffs and his decision to leave are at least tangentially related. Here's what Ybarra wrote on Twitter:  "I want to thank everyone who is impacted today for their meaningful contributions to their teams, to Blizzard, and to players' lives. It's an incredibly hard day and my energy and support will be focused on all those amazing individuals impacted – this is in no way a reflection on your amazing work. If there's anything I can help with, connections, recommendations, etc., DM me. "To the Blizzard community: I also want to let you all know today is my last day at Blizzard....

The Final Fantasy XIV live-action television series first announced back in 2019 is "dead," according to the production company that was working on it. Hivemind, which also worked on Netflix's The Witcher, was developing the series with Sony Pictures Television, but co-founder Dinesh Shamdasani revealed on Twitter that the project is dead when asked about it, as reported by PC Gamer.  "Dead," Shamdasani writes on Twitter in response to someone asking what happened with the series' production. "We took around a fantastic pilot script by Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton along with a multi-season plan they built with our showrunners, but got rejected across the board. The size and scale needed to do it right proved too much for anyone to want to risk. Amazon came closest."  Dead. We took around a fantastic pilot script by Ben Lustig & @jakethornton along...

People Can Fly, the developer behind 2021's surprise shooter hit Outriders, has laid off more than 30 employees. This news comes by way of Kotaku, which reports that its source with knowledge of the situation said the job cuts affected only staff working on an unannounced game at the studio, codenamed Project Gemini, that is to be published by Square Enix.  Kotaku reached out to People Can Fly after its source sent screenshots confirming that layoffs happened at the studio, and development director Adam Alker confirmed the news. Alker cited budget limitations and a shrinking scope for Project Gemini as for why it was laying off "over 30 people." The publication notes that another 20 outside of the 30 laid off were removed from the project and moved to other projects at People Can Fly.  "We understand that this decision impacts...

Earlier this evening, The Pokémon Company issued a press release seemingly addressing the recent conversation surrounding the new Steam Early Access release Palworld and its suspiciously familiar-looking collectible creatures.  “We have received many inquiries regarding another company’s game released in January 2024,” the company states. “We have not granted any permission for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game. We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon.” While The Pokémon Company doesn’t explicitly name Palworld or its developer, Pocketpair, in its statement, we presume it’s investigating the record-setting Steam title based on the specified release window and recent controversies surrounding the game’s alleged infringement of Pokémon IP.  “We will continue to cherish and nurture each and every Pokémon and its world, and...

Koji Kondo, longtime composer for The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. franchises, will be inducted into the Academy of Interactvie Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame at this year's D.I.C.E. Awards. The presentation will take place at the 27th annual D.I.C.E. Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the ceremony on Thursday, February 15, at 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET.  "I am deeply thankful for being selected by D.I.C.E. for this important award," Kondo writes in a press release. "It is a true honor to be recognized this way, and I am extremely humbled. Thanks to the help from the many people surrounding me and the support from our customers and fans, I was fortunate enough to be involved in game music development for decades.  I am grateful for everyone who helped and supported me. "I will continue...

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Nier Reincarnation, the story-driven mobile RPG set in the popular Nier universe, will have its services ended this April. While the game will continue to receive support until then, its final story campaign will serve as its last big hurrah.  Reincarnation first launched on July 28, 2021 for iOS and Android and takes place within an unspecified point in the Nier timeline. Like the previous titles, Reincarnation is an RPG set within a mysterious prison world called The Cage, with players controlling different protagonists divided across multiple story arcs. The game has also hosted several crossover events with games such as the remake of Nier Replicant, Final Fantasy XIV, and Persona 5. The shutdown news came the same day as the launch of the latest chapter of its final story arc, The People And The World, dubbed Act II: The...

Nintendo has announced that it will stream full pre-recorded concerts for The Legend of Zelda series and its Splatoon franchise next month. Both concerts were set to be a part of Nintendo Live events in December of last year and this month, too, in Tokyo, Japan, but these events were canceled over safety concerns, as reported by VideoGamesChronicle. Now, everyone will be able to watch these concerts when they hit the official Nintendo YouTube channel next month.  More specifically, The Legend of Zelda orchestra concert will go live on Friday, February 9, at 5 a.m. PT/8 a.m. ET, and the Splatoon 3 Deep Cut concert will be posted on February 10.  Here's what Nintendo has to say about each:  The Legend of Zelda Orchestra Concert Mark your calendars for this special The Legend of #Zelda Orchestra Concert! 🎶 Visit our official YouTube...

Developer Pocketpair has shared the Early Access roadmap for its hit "Pokémon with guns" survival game, Palworld, alongside news that the game crossed 7 million copies sold in just five days. For reference, it took Marvel's Spider-Man 2, a PlayStation 5-exclusive game starring arguably the most popular superhero in the world, 11 days to cross the 5 million mark. This roadmap includes PvP, raid bosses and other endgame content, Steam-Xbox crossplay, bug fixes, additional features, and more.  If you've managed to dodge the discussion around Palworld, which has taken the internet, Steam, and Xbox by storm, Game Informer has a great primer for you to read right here. And if you don't know what the game looks like in action yet, check out Game Informer's recent Palworld stream below:  Palworld Early Access Roadmap Pocketpair starts its roadmap post out by first stating sales of...