Asobo Studio's Microsoft Flight Simulator has now reached 15 million players pilots.The last we heard of the 2020 game, it had amassed 10 million players as 2022 was winding down. As it did back then, this new milestone covers the community across PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox Cloud.Sadly, Asobo was lacking in fun player metrics this time, such as the number of trips around Earth (or the sun) that equals 15 million players."Thanks to each and every one of you for filling the skies with your adventures!" wrote Asobo. "Blue skies and tailwinds."Microsoft Flight Simulator has been quietly running as a powerful niche game for Xbox and Game Pass in particular. This past weekend, Asobo brought the game to the annual FlightSim Expo for fans of all kinds of fligh…
Lords of the Fallen developer CI Games has named former Tencent director Tom O'Connor as its senior vice president of development.The Polish studio said O'Connor will "spearhead" its strategic development goals and "help coordinate the company's internal and external studios across CI Games and United Label."O'Connor will report to CI Games CEO, Marek Tyminski, who feels his experience will enable the studio to build on the "business optimizations" it has made over the past six months."On behalf of the executive leadership team—and the company as a whole—I want to welcome Tom to CI Games," said Tyminski. "He joins at a crucial time as we continue to improve the efficiency and quality of our titles–building on the busine…
Console maker Atari has acquired the brand of its one-time rival Intellivision, along with the rights to 200 "certain games" from parent company Intellivision LLC, for an undisclosed sum.Under the deal, Atari will "expand digital and physical distribution of legacy Intellivision games" and potentially make brand new titles. It'll also look at brand and license opportunities to "create [long-term] value from the Intellivision properties."As part of a licensing deal with Atari, Intellivision LLC will still create and release its Amico home console. Under a new rebrand, it's also allowed to "distribute new versions" of Intellivision games for the system.
Final Fantasy developer Square Enix has unveiled a new medium-term business plan centered around creating "unforgettable experiences" capable of "moving people's heart." Notably, the company is also going all-in on multi-platform development to expand its consumer base.The Japanese publisher has ditched its previous medium-term plan after acknowledging that many titles, including some outsourced projects and triple-A releases, failed to live up to profit expectations.It cited other issues with its old plan, including the cannibalisation of newer releases due to a crowded launch schedule, gaps in management infrastructure, and aging legacy titles.Broadly speaking, the company had previously hoped to find success by rebuilding its HD Game and Smart Devices/PC Browser…
Final Fantasy developer Square Enix has unveiled a new medium-term business plan centered around creating "unforgettable experiences" capable of "moving people's heart." Notably, the company is also going all-in on multi-platform development to expand its consumer base.The Japanese publisher has ditched its previous medium-term plan after acknowledging that many titles, including some outsourced projects and triple-A releases, failed to live up to profit expectations.It cited other issues with its old plan, including the cannibalisation of newer releases due to a crowded launch schedule, gaps in management infrastructure, and aging legacy titles.Broadly speaking, the company had previously hoped to find success by rebuilding its HD Game and Smart Devices/PC Browser…
The Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu may be no more, but that hasn't stopped Nintendo from going after those holding onto its code.As spotted by GamesIndustry, the console maker filed DMCA takedowns against 8,535 repositories on Github that held the emulator's code. In its takedown notice, Github said it contacted owners to "give them an opportunity to make changes."In March, Yuzu was forced to shut down following a $2.4 million settlement with Nintendo after a lawsuit was filed. As part of the agreement with developer Tropic Haze, everyhing Yuzu was shut down: repositories, Patreon, Discord, and websites.Github's notice also provided a list of URLs being taken down, one of which was explicitly titled "Yuzu will live." Others had names like "Yuzu mirror…
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.
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."
According to newly exited PlayStation boss Jim Ryan, the PlayStation 2 console has sold over 160 million units in the course of its lifetime.Guesting on the Official PlayStation Podcast, he disclosed the "high watermark" when asked about his PlayStation time during the 2000s. "That would be…160 million, which is the number of PS2s that we sold," he revealed.Sony hasn't mentioned the PS2's sales in well over a decade, after it had sold 155 million as of 2012. PS2 production ended in January 2013, and its sales have been a debate topic since.Analyst Daniel Ahmad argued Ryan's number may be off in either direction. Taking reports of PlayStation 3 sales into account, he estimated the PS2 may have actually sold somewhere between 158.6 million and 161.8 milli…
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."
According to newly exited PlayStation boss Jim Ryan, the PlayStation 2 console has sold over 160 million units in the course of its lifetime.Guesting on the Official PlayStation Podcast, he disclosed the "high watermark" when asked about his PlayStation time during the 2000s. "That would be…160 million, which is the number of PS2s that we sold," he revealed.Sony hasn't mentioned the PS2's sales in well over a decade, after it had sold 155 million as of 2012. PS2 production ended in January 2013, and its sales have been a debate topic since.Analyst Daniel Ahmad argued Ryan's number may be off in either direction. Taking reports of PlayStation 3 sales into account, he estimated the PS2 may have actually sold somewhere between 158.6 million and 161.8 milli…
According to newly exited PlayStation boss Jim Ryan, the PlayStation 2 console has sold over 160 million units in the course of its lifetime.Guesting on the Official PlayStation Podcast, he disclosed the "high watermark" when asked about his PlayStation time during the 2000s. "That would be…160 million, which is the number of PS2s that we sold," he revealed.Sony hasn't mentioned the PS2's sales in well over a decade, after it had sold 155 million as of 2012. PS2 production ended in January 2013, and its sales have been a debate topic since.Analyst Daniel Ahmad argued Ryan's number may be off in either direction. Taking reports of PlayStation 3 sales into account, he estimated the PS2 may have actually sold somewhere between 158.6 million and 161.8 milli…