Perfect World cuts staff in multi-unit layoffs, reportedly suspends game projects

Perfect World has reportedly made large staff cuts. The tech giant, which exclusively distributes Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2 in China and sold its North American branch to Embracer, is said to have laid off over a thousand staff.Per Chinese outlet The Paper, the reductions have hit nearly all of the company's business units across the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu. One mid-range team reportedly dropped from 150 staffers to "dozens" as a result of the cuts.Thus far, the esports division is said to be the one department that saw no losses. That part of Perfect World's business is said to produce "relatively low" income.Back in April, Perfect World's 2023-2024 financials showed the company made 491 million yuan (or $67.5 million) in net profit, a…

Monster Hunter Stories 2 tops 2 million sales in three years

Capcom's Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is now three years old and has sold over 2 million copies.The spinoff for the RPG series first released on PC and Nintendo Switch on July 9, 2021. It only recently came to PlayStation 4 this past June. While well behind the sales for Monster Hunter Rise, the new milestone for Stories 2 shows the larger franchise's resilience.Last time Capcom spoke of Stories 2, it was back in 2022. By that point, the game had sold 1.5 million copies, so the jump to PS4 appears to have helped it cross the finish line. At time of writing, there's no word on if the game will come to current-gen consoles.

All Monster…

Microsoft and Playground working with Eidos-Montreal on Fable reboot

Microsoft has tapped Embracer-owned studio Eidos-Montreal to assist with development on Fable.The franchise reboot has been in development at Playground Games, best known for its work on the Forza franchise, for some time. It was unveiled by way of a brief teaser back in 2020, but it was another three years before the studio offered another look at the long-gestating project during the 2023 Xbox Games Showcase.Another trailer was bundled into this year's showcase, this time spotlighting a retired hero played by UK actor Matt King (who you might recognize for his turn as Super Hans in Peep Show) alongside a fresh-faced protégé. It also provided us with a more detailed look at the world of Albion and the people, creatures, and monsters who call it home, but actual gameplay was notably…

Rovio’s Moomin mobile game goes offline in July

After two years, Rovio is pulling the plug on Moomin: Puzzle & Design on July 8.Development on the mobile game, per PocketGamer, wrapped last week on April 11. The title had a soft launch in 2022, and recently came to the US, Japan, Poland, and Finland.In a statement to the outlet, Rovio explained Moomin failed to reach the "very high standard for games that we launch globally."

Rovio and Moomin's partnership

Rovio entered a six-year partnership to make Moomin games back in 2021. Under the agreement, it can make titles for "any platform" and mobile games exclusively.To date, Puzzles & Design is the only game to come fr…