Ascendant Studios has recently furloughed most of its remaining staff, according to Phoenix Labs engineer Kris Morness.In a recent post on LinkedIn, Morness claimed the furlough has affected "around 30 folks." This was further corroborated by Polygon's Nicole Carpenter, who added the studio had yet to comment on the matter.The last furlough news we had was with Crop Circle Games back in February. In March, that ended with the studio being closed entirely, allegedly in an underhanded manner.Since the launch of its debut game Immortals of Aveum in mid-2023, Ascendant has been in rough straits. Almost a month after launch, it cut about half its staff (out of a then-total of 80-100 people).Those cuts were due to Immortals' poor launch sales. While EA hasn't commented on its performance, director Bret Robbins told Remap Radio in February sales were improving, though he acknowledged it maybe shouldn't have launched at $70.When he talked about the rising sales, he said he "hoped it continues for a long time. Once people actually [play it], they go, 'This game's kind of awesome. How did I miss this one?'"]In that same interview, Robbins noted the game managed to put eyes on Ascendant as a potential partner studio. It's unknown if a recent deal fell through, or if any deals have been secured since then.Game Developer has reached out to Ascendant and will update when a response is given.
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One of the exciting new experiences that the PlayStation 5 allows for is the ability to play games at 120Hz. Not every game supports the increased refresh rate, but some notable ones do, and you might be wondering how to set up your console for it.
How To Enable 120Hz On PS5 And What You Need Come from Sports betting site VPbet
It’s a relatively straightforward process, and we’re outlining the steps here. First, though, you’ll need a TV that can support 120Hz with an HDMI 2.1 port, and also a compatible HDMI cable. Sony acknowledges that “4K 120Hz TVs have not yet fully penetrated the market,” but if you’re fortunate enough to have one (and a PS5!), you can enjoy a smoother experience playing some …
A new PS5 update has rolled out, and in addition to the usual stability and performance improvements, users can expect a new method for inviting other players to join their game sessions.
Update 24.05-09.60.00 will allow players to share a URL link to their open session, by opening the game session action card and using the “Share Link” option to generate a QR code Come from Sports betting site VPbet . All a player has to do then is scan the QR code with their mobile device, and they’ll be able to join a session. If you’re feeling brave, you could theoretically throw this URL onto the internet and see if anyone joins you for a quick multiplayer game, in case you need some quick backup.
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TouchArcade is shutting down after more than 16 years. The publication was established in 2008 and sought to cover the (then) emerging mobile game market.In a lengthy post on the TouchArcade website, editor-in-chief Jared Nelson explained normal daily operations will cease ahead of a total shutdown."This is a post that I've known was coming for quite some time, but that doesn’t make it any easier to write. After more than 16 years TouchArcade will be closing its doors and shutting down operations," he wrote."There may be an additional post here or there in the coming weeks as we try to honor any previously agreed to obligations, and a proper farewell post is in the works too, but as of now our normal daily operations have ceased. The reason we're shutting down pr…
The Detective Pikachu movie was the highest-grossing video game film in US history at the time of its release in 2019, but a sequel apparently is not a sure thing. Star Justice Smith said in an interview with Inverse that he would love to be asked back for a sequel, but he doesn’t think it’s in the cards.
“I would love to participate in Detective Pikachu 2. I don’t know if it’s going to happen,” he said. “I think we have to just kind of bury our hopes. I don’t think it’s going to happen. I really hope so though. Honestly, I’m such a huge fan, who knows, who knows? I hope so.”
Smith gave this interview back in March, but it’s gaining traction again this week after the quotes were discovered by some outlets (via VGC).
Detective Pikachu made $433 million worldwide, $144 m…
Timbre Games, the Canadian studio closed by Sumo Group earlier this year, will be returning as an indie.Studio founder and CEO Joe Nickolls shared the news on LinkedIn and explained Sumo has allowed leadership to obtain the Timbre Games name and brand."Some big news to share today. As many of you know, Timbre Games Studio had to close our doors a couple of months ago, but we weren’t quite ready to throw in the towel just yet," he wrote. "The great people at Sumo Digital Ltd have helped us transition into a fully independent studio."Nickolls said the new-look studio has tapped strategic advisor Studio Capital Management to oversee business development and has appointed a new leadership team. He intends to share more about the future of Timbre in the coming months.
Valve has added new discoverability features to Steam for studios. These changes, according to Valve, were made based on explicit feedback provided by developers, some during Gamescom earlier in August.Both changes give studios control of what related items appear on a title's store page. Now, they can choose what studio, franchise, or publisher gets highlighted underneath a written description.For example, PlayStation could opt to put Assassin's Creed Shadows in the "More Like This" tab under Ghost of Tsushima. Conversely, Ubisoft could do the same with God of War (2018) for Assassin's Creed Valhalla.This marks the newest (and final) series of tweaks to Steam for August. Over the past month, the storefront has seen changes to its store page descriptions and player…
Longtime Quantic Dream writer Adam Williams has departed the studio after almost a decade. He already has his next job lined up: he'll be starting his own independent, currently unrevealed studio."I’ve already been in touch with many of you guys at Quantic Dream and Lucasfilm, to thank you for everything on Detroit and Eclipse," he wrote. "It’s been a great adventure."Williams joined in 2015, and served as the lead writer on Detroit: Become Human and Star Wars Eclipse. Quantic Dream was the only developer he worked at up to this point, having previously worked as a writer on UK television.Regarding his new studio, Williams said it consists of "a group of very talented designers and developers. […] We're working on something very innovative, very spe…
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ended its investigation into Apple over the company's in-app payment system, as it "no longer constitutes an administrative priority."The UK regulator first began its examination of how apps were distributed on the UK iOS platform in 2021. At the time, it believed Apple was in potential violation of the Competition Act.In 2022, the CMA proposed and then launched a full investigation into Apple and Google over their alleged mobile market dominance. At the time, it claimed the two companies created a duopoly that limited choice for UK players.Despite this verdict, the CMA affirmed this is not case closed. In fact, it stressed that it would "continue to monitor Apple's conduct on the market," and may open another in…
Arkadium Games has done as other indie developers do and created its own publishing label. Its titular "Publishing Fund 1" will provide $1 million worth of financial support and resources to third-party studios of casual web games.The developer is so confident in what it can provide that it's also guaranteeing partners will have one million game starts in the first 90 days of their game's launch.Development director Dan Butchko noted how the fund builds on its 'Arkadium for Developers' program launched this past April. He added that AFP1 has "even more support for game developers to succeed on browser.""This is the next step in our continuing growth as the leader of the browser-based game sector as we build the world's best gaming platform …
Hybrid developer/publisher Reforged Studios has acquired UK studios Ground Shatter and Extra Mile (or EM Studios) for an undisclosed fee.Reforged, which started up in 2023, touts itself as a studio that acquires other teams to assist them with their games. Per the website, this "helps grow their success in a sustainable way that avoids the 'boom & bust' cycles devs often face on their own."Ground Shatter is best known for Fights in Tight Spaces, and Extra Mile as the co-developer on Revolution Software's Broken Sword series. Reforged called them its first two buys of 2024, and added more acquisitions would be revealed later in the year.