Days ago, Steam was banned entirely in Vietnam, and it's unclear as to why.Vietnamese players took to Steam forums, saying all of the country's internet providers blocked access to both Valve's app and browser. One commenter said they spoke to someone who claimed the order came "from above."At time of writing, neither Valve or anyone from Vietnam's government have spoken on the matter.Per a translated story from VietnamNet, the ban may be connected to domestic publishers. A representative for one domestic publisher claimed Steam can put out games in the country without having to seek permission from the local government like Vietnamese developers have to.According to them, Valve's alleged ability to break the rules is "an injustice to domestic publis…
Nintendo finally called it: come June 10, the Switch will no longer have integration with X, the app formerly known as Twitter.After that date, players will no longer be able to post screenshots and videos from the console. Likewise, players won't be able to send friend requests to people they follow who appear in their Suggested list on the Switch.Last year, Microsoft and Sony did away with X integration for their respective consoles. Access to X's API is fairly pricey at $42,000 per month, prompting the three console makers (and Blizzard) to pull back.Nintendo added that this'll affect how posting works for Splatoon 2 and 3, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For Splatoon 3, players will be able to transfer pictures via their phones, or to their PC via USB cable.
Meta's virtual, augmented, and mixed reality business, Reality Labs, lost $3.84 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. But that's just business as usual for the division, which reported losses of $16.1 billion and $13.7 billion across 2023 and 2022, respectively.Facebook parent Meta shared the news in its fiscal report for the first-quarter ended March 31, 2024, and noted that Reality Labs revenue totalled $440 million. That represents a year-on-year increase of 30 percent and was driven by Meta Quest headset sales.Although the unit lost over $3.84 billion dollars during Q1, that's actually a slight improvement on the near $4 billion loss it recorded this time last year.Meta CFO Susan Li expects Reality Labs' losses to "increase meaningfully&q…
Meta's virtual, augmented, and mixed reality business, Reality Labs, lost $3.84 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. But that's just business as usual for the division, which reported losses of $16.1 billion and $13.7 billion across 2023 and 2022, respectively.Facebook parent Meta shared the news in its fiscal report for the first-quarter ended March 31, 2024, and noted that Reality Labs revenue totalled $440 million. That represents a year-on-year increase of 30 percent and was driven by Meta Quest headset sales.Although the unit lost over $3.84 billion dollars during Q1, that's actually a slight improvement on the near $4 billion loss it recorded this time last year.Meta CFO Susan Li expects Reality Labs' losses to "increase meaningfully&q…
The co-creators of BAFTA-winning narrative adventure Before Your Eyes have formed a new studio called Nice Dream.The studio was co-founded by Graham Parkes and Oliver Lewin, who both served as writers and directors on Before Your Eyes. Parkes explained the pair want to create emotionally engaging titles that "push the limits of what interactive storytelling can do."
Enter Goodnight Universe
Nice Dream's debut project will be Goodnight Universe, a spiritual successor to Before Your Eyes with a sci-fi twist. "Goodnight Universe will fuse impactful storytelling with mechanics that push the boundaries of interactive entertainment," reads a press release."…
Screen Australia has launched a new Game Festivals and Events Fund to support the production, organization, and presentation of video game festivals and events in the region.The government-backed funding body said the new initiative is about enabling events that "significantly benefit the Australian gamemaking community."The Game Festivals and Events Fund will permit applicants to request up to $100,000 to finance their proposed festivals, conferences, workshops, and events. A minimum of $10,000 must be requested. Applications will remain open until the funding pool has been depleted.Those who apply will be told whether they have been successful within four to six weeks of submission. Screen Australia explained eligible applicants must be able to discuss the vision, scope, and ou…
Publisher Phoenix Games purchased PopReach Games India from original owner Ionik in a deal valued at $9.8 billion.The Bengaluru, India-based studio specializes in live operations, and holds 100 people on staff. Phoenix plans to use the team to "enhance" its own live ops capabilities for its free-to-play titles.Phoenix and Ionik's deal also means it now owns a number of properties and mobile games. Those titles, which have accrued 420 million lifetime downloads, include Smurfs Magic Match, Gardens of Time, and Kitchen Scramble.“We look forward to elevating these games to new heights with our proprietary Uplift platform," said Phoenix CEO Klaas Kersting, "and exciting new game experiences that we can craft around them."
Swedish studio Resolution Games has named Johan Gästrin as its new chief technology officer (CTO) to make headway in the growing spatial computing market.Gästrin previously served as Resolution's head of technology and has spent 25 years in the video game and tech industries, plying his trade at mobile powerhouse King and global retailer H&M before joining the studio.Resolution is known for working on VR and AR titles like Demeo, Racket Club, Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs, and Game Room, the latter of which was recently ported to the Apple Vision Pro. Gästrin worked on all of those projects and has also created a Shared Tech department within the company, facilitating the creation of its proprietary technology platform 'Fidelity' and the Resolution Tech studio located …
Swedish studio Resolution Games has named Johan Gästrin as its new chief technology officer (CTO) to make headway in the growing spatial computing market.Gästrin previously served as Resolution's head of technology and has spent 25 years in the video game and tech industries, plying his trade at mobile powerhouse King and global retailer H&M before joining the studio.Resolution is known for working on VR and AR titles like Demeo, Racket Club, Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs, and Game Room, the latter of which was recently ported to the Apple Vision Pro. Gästrin worked on all of those projects and has also created a Shared Tech department within the company, facilitating the creation of its proprietary technology platform 'Fidelity' and the Resolution Tech studio located …
Grand Theft Auto maker Take-Two Interactive is reducing its headcount by 5 percent as part of a cost reduction program that was announced earlier this year.The U.S. publisher, which just spent $460 million to acquire Gearbox Interactive from Embracer, said it wants to "identify efficiencies across its business and enhance the company’s margin profile, while still investing for growth.""As part of these efforts, the company is rationalizing its pipeline and eliminating several projects in development and streamlining its organizational structure, which will eliminate headcount and reduce future hiring needs," added Take-Two in an SEC filing."The company estimates that it will incur approximately $160 million to $200 million in total charges in connection with the …
Layoffs have hit PlayStation subsidiary Firesprite, which let go of game director Alex Barnes today. At time of writing, the exact number of affected staff (him included) is unclear.Barnes, who'd been with the company for seven years, directed its 2023 game Horizon: Call of the Mountain. On Twitter, he called it a "tough time" in recent months, while thanking those who've "continued helping each other through all this."In February, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced its plans to cut 900 jobs as part of a reevaluation of its operations. Along with Firesprite, Sony London, Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games were hit with redundancies or fully shut down.
Unity has named former Zynga COO and EA SVP of strategy and operations, Matthew Bromberg, as its new CEO.Bromberg joins Unity to permanently replace long-serving CEO John Riccitiello, who stepped down in October 2023 following a protracted debacle surrounding the introduction of a new runtime fee.The company's attempts to charge developers what essentially amounted to a per-install fee backfired almost immediately. Unity eventually reworked its plans but suffered huge reputational damage as a result of the fumbled rollout.The appointment of Bromberg means interim CEO Jim Whitehurst has joined the company's board of directors as executive chair. In turn, that will result in Roelof Botha transitioning from chairman of the board back to lead Independent director of the board.Botha s…
Unity has named former Zynga COO and EA SVP of strategy and operations, Matthew Bromberg, as its new CEO.Bromberg joins Unity to permanently replace long-serving CEO John Riccitiello, who stepped down in October 2023 following a protracted debacle surrounding the introduction of a new runtime fee.The company's attempts to charge developers what essentially amounted to a per-install fee backfired almost immediately. Unity eventually reworked its plans but suffered huge reputational damage as a result of the fumbled rollout.The appointment of Bromberg means interim CEO Jim Whitehurst has joined the company's board of directors as executive chair. In turn, that will result in Roelof Botha transitioning from chairman of the board back to lead Independent director of the board.Botha s…