Opinions on Peter Molyneux vary.
For some, he's a whimsical raconteur responsible for some of the most inspirational games in this industry.
For others, he's someone who wilfully misleads fans and has somewhat sullied his reputation with ill-advised pivots into motion controls, Kickstarter and NFTs.
The closure (or near closure) of Humble Games was yet another brutal headline in what has been a bleak 18 months for indie games publishers
We've seen collapsing share prices, redundancies, a reduction in games being signed and entire company closures. Of course, publishers are caught up in the same nightmare that the entire games industry has been dealing with – a drop in game revenue mixed with over-investment and rapidly rising costs. However, there are also some fundamental (and potentially permanent) shifts in the marketplace that are making it harder for publishers to compete.
"I’ve been in publishing for almost ten years and it’s always been uncertain," says Simon Byron, who is currently MD of Yogscast Games. "You can never predict exactly how a game will perform before it’s out. You can have a sense, sure, but accurately forecasting a game’s sales is impossible – I’ve certainly never got it spot on. And that’s tricky for particular companies who have pressures to provide certainty to its shareholders.
2.4 million video games were sold in Europe during July, a rise of 3.4% over the year before.
It's an impressive result when you look at the Top Ten, where the only game released this year is Luigi's Mansion 2 HD at No.9. Every other game was released before 2024, including the month's top seller: EA Sports FC 24.
The EA football game's position at No.1 is no surprise as the European Championships took place during part of July. As a result, EA Sports FC 24 sold 69% more copies this July than FIFA 23 managed last year (when there was no international football tournament).
Leaders from Rare and Dlala will join a special panel to discuss how to support and lead development teams during times of intense change.
The panel will end this year's GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit, which will take place at London's Royal Institution on September 18. Tickets are on sale here.
Rare studio boss Craig Duncan and chief of staff Harriet Manson will join Dlala CEO Aj Grand-Scrutton and COO Gemma Foster in a discussion around the rapid rate of change happening inside and outside of the games industry, such as on-going challenges posed by economic, political and global unrest. With Rare sharing insight from within a major Microsoft-owned AAA studio, and Dlala discussing their experiences on the indie side, the discussion will centre on the role of leadership in helping their employees navigate change, and will offer actionable advice and tips for leaders and HR professionals.
By the time Assassin's Creed Shadows launches this November, the game would have been in development for four years.
It's the longest development cycle for the series so far, and 25% longer than its acclaimed predecessor, 2020's Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
"It's great to work on a game that comes after something with the pedigree of Valhalla," explains lead producer Karl Onnée. "But obviously there are great expectations. We always want to go better, which is what we're trying to do with Shadows. We are pushing the limits of what we can do."
It was a very quiet July for video game releases in the UK, with EA Sports College Football 25 the highest charting new entry at No.7.
The new American Football game has got off to a strong start considering the sport's relatively niche popularity in the UK. The game's sales are more than double what Madden NFL 24 managed in its first two weeks last year.
The best-selling game of July in the UK was EA Sports FC 24, which comes as no surprise considering the European Football championships that ran during the first part of the month (with England making the final). In fact, EA Sports FC 24 sold 46% more copies in July than FIFA 23 managed during the same period last year.
A leading AI expert will discuss the 'potentials and pitfalls' of using AI tools in the workplace at next month's GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit.
The Summit takes place at the Royal Institution in London on September 18. Tickets are available here.
Tommy Thompson from AI in Games will provide a high-level overview of what generative AI is capable of achieving, as well as what it cannot do. He will explore applications of different AI systems within a HR context, and what issues teams should be aware of both in terms of its adoption with human resource processes, as well as larger issues that can impact broader studio adoption of the technology; including intellectual property and copyright as well as a need for understanding of the emerging regulatory landscape.
PUBG publisher Krafton has acquired Tango Gameworks and the Hi-Fi Rush IP from Xbox as part of a 'strategic agreement'.
The firm says it is working with Xbox to enable a 'smooth transition' so that the Tango team can "continue developing the Hi-Fi Rush IP and explore future projects".
Tango Gameworks was one of four Bethesda studios that Microsoft announced plans to shut down back in May. It was formed by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami in 2010, and was responsible for The Evil Within, The Evil Within 2 and Ghostwire Tokyo, before launching Hi-Fi Rush in 2023 to critical acclaim. Xbox acquired the studio in 2021 as part of its $7.5 billion purchase of Bethesda parent company Zenimax.
PlayStation 5 has now sold through four million consoles in the UK, GfK data reveals.
It's the ninth console to achieve that feat in the UK, but took 31 weeks longer to get there than PlayStation 4.
It's the fifth-fastest selling console in the UK, although it has a comparatively much higher price point than those ahead of it. PlayStation 1, for instance (which is the fourth-fastest) dropped to £129 after 76 weeks on sale and was under £100 by the time it reached four million sales.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says that putting a game like Call of Duty into Game Pass will inevitably push consumers towards subscribing, at least for a bit.
Take-Two does support subscription services through its legacy titles, yet it has been sceptical around the idea of putting brand new AAA games into the service on the day they come out.
Zelnick told us in 2022: "That doesn't make any sense to us, because economically speaking, we don't think consumers are prepared to pay for that. And we can't afford to turn our business upside down in a way that doesn't make sense economically."
Take-Two today released its financial results for its first fiscal quarter 2025, covering the three months ending June 30, with bookings up marginally but with deeper losses.
The Highlights:
For the financial quarter ending June 30, Take-Two delivered small growth in bookings and revenue, but saw losses grow, primarily due to the on-going amortization of acquired intangibles related to the firm's acquisition of Zynga.
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More speakers have been revealed for next month's GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit, including sessions on the mental health crisis and how to support the wellbeing of your teams.
The GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit takes place at the Royal Institution in London on September 18. Tickets are available here.
Emma Smith of Hestia Talent and Sarah Sorrell of Safe In Our World will host a breakout session on overcoming the challenges that companies face in trying to prioritise mental health in video games. The 40-minute session will act as a discussion on the ever-growing issue facing employers.
The phrase that gets thrown around the games industry a lot right now is 'Survive until 2025'.
The hope, or even the expectation, is that next year will see the games business bounce back after two years of faltering sales and mass redundancies.
There are a few reasons for this expectation. First, there's the belief that we'll see continued economic recovery and falling inflation rates, which should result in increased consumer spending and investment. Second, the launch of a new Nintendo console should spark increased interest and sales of new games.
More speakers have been confirmed for this September's GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit, including sessions on the skills crisis and developing young talent.
The GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit takes place at the Royal Institution in London on September 18. Tickets are available here.
Skillfull founder Gina Jackson will share with attendees and update on her report on the Skills Crisis in a session at the event. Meanwhile, NextGen Skills' Phil Atkinson will discuss the opportunities around apprenticeships during a breakout session.
HR experts Brightmine will share insight on how organisations are managing their workforce during the current economic climate at September's GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit.
Sheila Attwood, senior content manager for data and insights, will also offer best practice examples of maintaining team staff morale during these turbulent times. The games industry is currently suffering from a severe correction, marked by thousands of redundancies, following a period of significant expansion between 2020 and 2022.
Attwood has almost 30 years experience of working in research and editorial, and leads the team that is responsible for the data and market insights content on Brightmine, including the employer practice surveys, webinars and podcasts, and reward content. She speaks regularly around pay rates in the media.
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