Engine maker Unity has released its development app Struckd onto the online game platform CrazyGames.Struckd features easy-to-learn tools that allow anyone to learn game development, regardless of their skill. It runs on Unity 6 (which fully launches in October), and will feature a simplified UI "that makes game development accessible to everyone."The app will let creators instantly share their games, which CrazyGames is counting on to grow its presence as a hub for user-generated content.This move brings another set of easy-access game development tools to the web, and integrates them with a growing, browser-based platform.In April, Unity's then-product chief Marc Whitten told Game Developer about the growing interest in browser-based games built on WebGPU. Teaming with Cra…
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.
Valve has shared a few choice stats to highlight how players interact with games on Steam, and controllers are becoming increasingly popular on the PC platform
Since 2018, daily average controller usage has tripled–rising from 5 percent (of users) to 15 percent.
59 percent of those players are using Xbox gamepads, while 26 percent are choosing PlayStation controllers. 10 percent play on Valve's own handheld console, Steam Deck. "More players than ever are choosing to play Steam games with a controller," Valve noted. It added that its Steam Input service (which functions as an emulator for game controllers) was used for 42 percent of controller sessions.Last year, Valve let developers highlight which PlayStation controllers their games support (between DualSh…
Valve has shared a few choice stats to highlight how players interact with games on Steam, and controllers are becoming increasingly popular on the PC platform
Since 2018, daily average controller usage has tripled–rising from 5 percent (of users) to 15 percent.
59 percent of those players are using Xbox gamepads, while 26 percent are choosing PlayStation controllers. 10 percent play on Valve's own handheld console, Steam Deck. "More players than ever are choosing to play Steam games with a controller," Valve noted. It added that its Steam Input service (which functions as an emulator for game controllers) was used for 42 percent of controller sessions.Last year, Valve let developers highlight which PlayStation controllers their games support (between DualSh…
Forza Horizon 4 is going back in the garage on December 15.Playground Games revealed that its 2018 racing sim will be delisted from the Microsoft Store, Steam, and Xbox Game Pass on that date. The developer attributed it to "licensing and agreements with our partners."The last game in the series to be delisted was Forza Motorsport 7 in 2021, and for this sub-series specifically, Forza Horizon 3 the year prior. In the former case, that loss was similarly due to expiring licenses.After August 22, players will no longer be able to access the Forza Horizon 4's in-game playlists. As of today, June 25, the game's DLC has already been delisted.As with other delisted games, players who own the game will still be able to redownload and play it after December 15. Its offline and …
Negotiations between the ZeniMax Workers Union and Microsoft have led to all employees under the ZeniMax banner getting to take Juneteenth off as an additional vacation day.The CWA-backed union added that contractors transitioning to full-time work will also benefit from Juneteeth as a paid day off after the agreement becomes ratified. Furthermore, Christmas Eve has also been reinstated as a paid holiday for union members."Recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday was a priority for our union members," wrote ZWU member Veronica Martinez. "That’s what having a union is all about: taking collective action to improve our workplace."Now that it has Juneteenth off, staff at ZeniMax's Austin office will hold a celebration on June 19. Additionally, ZWU members in Rockville, M…
The future of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is an unknown, but at the very least, it'll finish the road map for its debut year.Speaking to IGN, a Warner Bros. Games spokesperson said Rocksteady would complete and release the game's post-launch content. Even so, the spokesperson stated WB is "not yet discussing anything that is not announced."Rocksteady first unveiled the four-season roadmap in January ahead of the game's launch. While only the first has released so far, each season will have a free DLC character and storyline for players to go through.Last week, a Bloomberg report dug into Squad's troubled development. Writer Jason Schreirer later implied the studio was preparing to provide "barebones support," reportedly a far cry from its …
Before there was Balatro, developer LocalThunk was hard at work on the card game known then as Joker Poker.On Twitter, the creator behind 2024's breakout card game released a series of early prototype videos. The first dates back to December 2021, just weeks after he began working on the project.Much of the differences in the initial version are UI-based more than mechanics: the "Play Hand" option is on the right-hand side rather than the left, and there's no readout for antes, money, or information on the current run.The second video from August 2022 (which was eight months into development) looks more like Balatro in its final shape. Along with additional UI, it opens with players selecting card packs from an in-game shop and a blind to go up against.Also, the main me…
Embracer CFO and deputy CEO Johan Ekstrom is stepping down after five years, and the company already has his replacements lined up.Deputy CFO Muge Bouillon will be appointed CFO on September 1, 2024. Crystal Dynamics CEO Phil Rogers, who was recently named leader of Embracer's newly-formed Middle-earth Enterprises and Friends business, will take on the role of deputy CEO of Embracer on June 1, 2024. Both Bouillon and Rogers will serve as members of the executive management team.Ekstrom will officially depart on March 31, 2025. After assisting with the leadership transition he will focus on helping Embracer realize its plan to separate into three companies.
Ma…
Australian studio Mighty Kingdom is laying off 28 percent of its workforce.Mighty Kingdom CEO David Yin shared the news in a statement posted on X and claimed the studio needs to pursue a "strategic rightsizing to streamline our operations and prioritize core business to align with our vision of the future."The Adelaide-based company currently employs 160 people, according to its website. That means around 45 workers are likely to be impacted by the cuts.
Mighty Kingdom's history in games
Mighty Kingdom was formed in 2010 and has built game experiences with notable partners including Lego, Disney, Mattel, Sony, Funcom, and Moose Toys…
Ubisoft's free-to-play spinoff of Tom Clancy's The Division 2 is no more. The company's full-year 2023-2024 financial results stated that The Division Heartland was canceled as part of its "cost reduction" plan, and resources from that game will be distributed to develop the upcoming XDefiant and upcoming Rainbow Six Projects.No other information was offered on the cancellation. The game was in development at Ubisoft's North Carolina-based branch Red Storm Entertainment. This would be the fourth project Ubisoft has publicly canceled since the beginning of 2023.The Division Heartland was meant to bring the looting-and-shooting of the Division franchise to a games-as-a-service (GaaS) model. The Division 2 is arguably already a "live service" game, with…