Palia developer Singularity 6 has laid off 35 percent of its workforce less than a month after the multiplayer community sim launched on Steam.The LA studio confirmed the news in a statement to IGN and said the layoffs were the result of an internal evaluation designed to assess what resources it needed to "deliver the highest-quality gameplay service for long-term stability.""Following Palia's release on Steam, we evaluated the support needed to deliver the highest-quality gameplay service for long-term stability. We made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce, which impacted around 35 percent of our talented and hardworking team members," explained the studio."We value their contributions and are committed to supporting them throughout this process, including severance, work-placement and career guidance assistance, and retainment of all company-provided development equipment."Singularity 6 said the decision to cut jobs wasn't "made lightly" and came after "careful consideration of our development and business needs to support Palia and its community.""We remain committed to delivering passion in imagination, and maintaining the dedication and creativity that our community expects and deserves," it added. "We appreciate your understanding and support of our studio and affected team members."Palia launched on Steam on March 25, 2024, after a stint in early access. The free-to-play title currently has a 'mixed' rating on Valve's storefront with over 4,000 user reviews. It has also been available on Nintendo Switch since December 14, 2023.The cuts at Singularity 6 are the latest in an onslaught of layoffs that have decimated the game industry across 2023 and 2024, with a growing number of studios–including major players like Microsoft, Sony, Unity, and Embracer–all downsizing in the name of sustainability and shareholder value.
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Indie developer Blingame revealed it had to kill the Xbox Series X|S version of its 2022 game, Haak, owing to a tumultuous porting process.Over the weekend, the studio released a statement detailing how it spent "over 14 months" trying to bring its game to Microsoft's console. That ended up being a "nightmare," mainly owing to "many" alleged bugs in Microsoft's Partner Center.Last year, Baldur's Gate 3's Xbox Series X|S port hit a snag pre-release owing to the S console. Those issues were later resolved, but the two games indicate a potential larger issue with bringing titles to Xbox as a staggered release.Porting games can already be tricky for various reasons. A lack of proper support from console makers cuts multiple ways, especially in …
Indie developer Blingame revealed it had to kill the Xbox Series X|S version of its 2022 game, Haak, owing to a tumultuous porting process.Over the weekend, the studio released a statement detailing how it spent "over 14 months" trying to bring its game to Microsoft's console. That ended up being a "nightmare," mainly owing to "many" alleged bugs in Microsoft's Partner Center.Last year, Baldur's Gate 3's Xbox Series X|S port hit a snag pre-release owing to the S console. Those issues were later resolved, but the two games indicate a potential larger issue with bringing titles to Xbox as a staggered release.Porting games can already be tricky for various reasons. A lack of proper support from console makers cuts multiple ways, especially in …
For Remedy, the first half of 2024 has been quite fruitful.In the six-month period for January-June 2024, the Alan Wake developer saw a revenue growth of 33.7 percent from last year's period to €21.1 million (or $23 million). For the period's operating profit, Remedy reported a loss of €5.3 million, down year-over-year from €10.4 million.The three-month second quarter (between April 1 and June 30, 2024) saw revenue of €10.3 million, up 16.2 percent from last year's €8.9 million. It also had its own operational loss of €3.2 million, down compared to €4.8 million in the same period last year.Still, there's been "improved profitability" overall compared to last year's fiscal period.And while Alan Wake II still hasn't become fully profitabl…
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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…
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