Month: October 2024

Canadian VR studio Archiact is shutting down after over a decade. The company laid off an undisclosed number of workers in January but will now be pulling down the shutters for good.Archiact has published over 35 titles to date and worked on notable projects such as Doom 3: VR Edition and Marvel Dimension of Heroes.It also ventured into self-publishing for Journey to Foundation, a sci-fi adventure based on the 'Foundation' novel series that launched in December 2023 for PS VR2, Meta Quest, and Pico.Archiact had over 100 employees at the beginning of the year. Those who remain at the company will be laid off when the studio closes in just two weeks time."Archiact's journey is coming to a close. On August 12, we informed the staff that the studio will close in two weeks,&…

Adam Boyes, longtime co-CEO of Iron Galaxy, has departed the Rumbleverse studio. Per the developer's website, he'll remain with the company until the end of the year. Chelsea Blasko will then take the reins as its sole CEO.Boyes joined Iron Galaxy in 2016 after stints at Starbreeze, PlayStation, and Capcom. He noted he stayed "twice as long" here than his earlier jobs, which speaks to "[Iron Galaxy's special culture and the outstanding people who work here.""I want to offer my sincerest thanks to the people who welcomed me to lead this company with them," he continued. "Dave Lang, thank you for trusting me to push the boundaries of what Iron Galaxy could accomplish. Chelsea, thank you for teaching me so much about building a strong culture.…

Over a full year ago, EA CEO Andrew Wilson revealed Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was making its way to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Now, the publisher has announced the game is arriving on last-gen on September 17 for $50.The game originally launched on PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S in April 2023. At the time of its last-gen announcement, Wilson suggested the move would benefit both the game and Star Wars as a video game property."I would love to see more in the Jedi franchise over time," he said last year. "It's one of the great beats in the Star Wars Galaxy this year. […] As we bring it to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, we think there'll be another little bump there for the franchise."While Jedi Survivor isn't the only current-gen game to stick aroun…

The fallout of Guy "Dr. Disrespect" Beahm's ban from Twitch in 2020 is still being felt, as the streamer unveiled some new changes to combat sexual harassment on its platform.In a new blog post, Twitch underlined that sexual harassment "is never okay or acceptable" and clarified its policy in reflection of Beahm's actions so they'd be "easier to understand."Chiefly, the policy's language now prohibits "unwanted comments" about someone's body (like implied or sexually charged emojis), sexual advances or objectification, and negative statements related to a person's "perceived sexual behavior or activities."Likewise, recording or sharing nonconsensual images or videos is equally not tolerated, and Twitch warned s…

EA has made a brisk start to the current financial year (FY25) after exceeding its net bookings guidance for the first quarter.The publisher, which is currently laying off 5 percent of its workforce, delivered Q1 net bookings of $1.26 billion, exceeding its high-end guidance range of $1.25 billion. The company said that surge was "driven by stronger performance across Madden NFL 24, FC Online and FC Mobile."Breaking down those numbers in an earnings call, EA CFO Stuart Canfield explained full game net bookings totaled $168 million. Live service and other net bookings totaled $1.09 billion, bolstered by the "outperformance" of EA Sports Madden NFL during Q1."The greater-than-expected results from EA Sports Madden NFL 24 are a strong proof point in the power of a thr…

Crowdfunding platform Kickstarter has hired Maggie Clayton as its new head of games. Clayton will replace Jon Ritter-Roderick as he transitions within the company to lead the Kickstarter Performance team.In her new role, Clayton will oversee a team "dedicated to engaging with and advocating for games creators," working to foster relationships with new and returning creators while providing guidance to help bring their projects to fruition.Prior to joining Kickstarter, Clayton served as senior manager of North American sales at Exploding Kittens, Inc., itself a record-breaking Kickstarter creator. She also spent time working with large and small-scale publishers and has designed games herself.

Nintendo president says generative AI can be used in ‘creative ways’

Lucas Bennett October 16, 2024 0

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa believes generative AI technology "can be used in creative ways," but added that video games "cannot be created by technology alone."During a recent investor Q&A, Furukawa was asked whether Nintendo is currently leveraging AI technology internally. Reading between the lines, the president pointed out that AI tech has always been prevalent in game development, but offered a comment on the rise of generative AI tools and how they might be applied."I believe that game development and AI technology have always had a close relationship. Generative AI, which is becoming a big topic recently, can be used in creative ways, but we recognize that it may also raise issues with intellectual property rights," he said."We have d…