Browsing: PC

PC

ProbablyMonsters lays off Battle Barge staff Developer incubator ProbablyMonsters has laid off staff in its BattleBarge team.  Game Developer reports that “around 50” members of staff have been made redundant, according to a former employee on LinkedIn. Other staff have corroborated the news.  In a statement, ProbablyMonsters said that this was a “realignment to support smaller, more nimble teams and projects.” The company continu…

PC

Respawn blocks Linux users from Apex Legends Linux users can no longer play Apex Legends.  Developer Respawn has blocked access for the operating system after determining that it was being used for a lot of the cheating within its battle royale smash hit, according to a post on the EA forums . This change also means that Steam Deck owners will no longer be able to play Apex Legends as Valve’s hardware by default runs Linux. “To elimina…

PC

Ubisoft net bookings dip 22% for H1 24/25 French publishing giant Ubisoft saw its net bookings dip by 21.9 per cent for the first half of this financial year.  The company brought in €642.3 million ($697.3 million) for the period, €352 million ($382 million) of which came from the second quarter. Monthly active users hit 37 million for the first half of the year, a three per cent increase, while three million people signed…

PC

COD Black Ops 6 brought in more Game Pass players than any other launch Call of Duty Black Ops 6 brought in more players than any other launch to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service.  Speaking to investors, CEO and chair Satya Nadella said that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was the biggest launch for the franchise to date – though does not really clarify by what metric – adding that it brought in more Game Pass subscribers than any other launch.&nbsp…

PC

Nightingale firm Inflexion lays off staff The developer of Nightingale, Inflexion Games, has made layoffs as it undertakes a restructuring process.  GI.biz reports that “dozens” of staff are being impacted by this move, which the company says is in part due to the “broader trends” within the industry. One anonymous employee said that at least 22 people have been laid off.  It also appears that Nightingale has not been as commer…

PC

Capcom net sales down 25% year-on-year for H1 Japanese games giant Capcom saw its net sales dip by 24.7 per cent for the first half of its financial year.  The firm brought in ¥56.4 billion ($368 million) for the period, while its operating income dropped  ¥38.7 per cent to ¥20.7 billion ($135 million). Of its total net sales, ¥39.7 billion ($259.7 million) – or 70.2 per cent – came from its video games…

PC

EA hits $2.03bn net revenue for Q2 US publishing giant Electronic Arts saw its net revenue hit $2.025bn for the three months ending September 30th.  That’s a 5.8 per cent increase year-on-year. Of that $2.205 billion figure, 35 per cent was from full game sales while the other 65 per cent was from live services and ‘other’.  EA called out The Sims in its press release, saying that 15 million new users have started playin…

PC

PlayStation shuts Concord maker Firewalk Studios Sony Interactive Entertainment has shut down the developer behind troubled hero shooter Concord, Firewalk Studios.  The PlayStation firm revealed the news in a post from Business Group CEO Herman Hulst that it had opted to make this decision “after much thought.” SIE is also shutting down mobile developer Neon Koi.  Hulst wrote that though Concord was “exceptional” in some parts, the ga…

PC

CHARTS: COD Black Ops 6 knocks CS2 off Steam top spot Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was the highest grossing game on Steam last week, knocking off fellow online shooter Counter-Strike 2 from the top spot.  There were concerns about the commercial impact Activision’s blockbuster franchise now being part of Xbox Game Pass would have, but it is clear that people on Steam at least are still prepared to fork out for the shooter. Obviously it’s unclear h…

PC

US Copyright Office denies DMCA exception for game preservation The United States Copyright Office has denied a proposal that would have allowed researchers access to out of print games.  In its ruling , the government body said that it did not recommend changing limitation that allowed only one user to access computer programs and allowing them to do so only on the premises of an institution that carried said program.  Since 2021, preservation orga…

PC

Tencent pushes back on games layoff reports Chinese tech and entertainment giant Tencent has denied reporting that there were layoffs taking place within its games arm.  Speaking to Yicai , a rep for the company said that rumours of a restructuring effort was not taking place at the company. They said that Tencent’s Timi Studio Group of developers doesn’t have any specific optimisation plans at the moments and in fact is hiring. …