The closures of Kerbal Space Program 2 developer Intercept Games and OlliOlli World maker Roll7 are imminent, according to a report from IGN. The publication also states that Take-Two intends to either sell or shut down indie publishing label Private Division, which houses those studios.Multiple anonymous sources have told IGN that Intercept will shut down on June 28, 2024. Those same sources claim Roll7 is also closing, although it's unclear when exactly the UK studio will be officially laid to rest.Earlier this year it was reported that parent company Take-Two Interactive was making layoffs at both studios with a view to potential closures. A WARN notice filed in Washington revealed Take-Two intended to lay off 70 workers in Seattle–where Intercept is located–as part of a "closure." Bloomberg later reported that Intercept was indeed being shuttered.Take-Two has repeatedly refused to confirm those reports. When approached for comment on the Intercept layoffs by Game Developer on May 1, the company explained Private Division would continue supporting Kerbal Space Program 2, but said it had "nothing further to note" when pressed on the status of Intercept Games.More recently, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told IGN the conglomerate "didn't shutter those studios," which would have technically been true even if it was in the process of closing both. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier challenged Zelnick and shared an email he claimed had been sent to Roll7 workers that showed Take-Two "proposing to shut down" the studio.In its latest report, IGN adds that Take-Two is keen to offload Private Division. In April, employees were allegedly told that Take-Two will no longer support the publishing label, resulting in the termination of some deals with third-parties including Bloober Team and One More Level.It's claimed Take-Two is hoping to sell Private Division or individual IPs, but the company is reportedly prepared to shut down the business if it can't find a buyer. In the meantime, a small team has been tasked with supporting previously announced titles including No Rest for the Wicked, Tales of the Shire, and an untitled Game Freak project.Those who spoke with IGN lambasted Take-Two leadership for mismanaging Private Division, and claimed the publisher was often pressured to release titles that needed more time in the oven and told to chase unrealistic sales targets.Take-Two declined to comment on the report when approached by IGN.
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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 …
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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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