A week after its breakup with Sega Europe, the newly-independent Relic Entertainment is laying off some of its staff. Per external development producer Robyn Smale, 41 staffers were let go.On LinkedIn, the Vancouver studio attributed its newest reductions to "an increasingly volatile industry. It does not in any way reflect the expertise, passion, or character of any of the impacted employees."Similar cuts took place last week at Gearbox, which was sold off to Take-Two by its previous parent company, Embracer.At least some of these cuts have hit the studio's communication team. "I'm so grateful to have been able to spend nine years in an environment and with people I enjoyed so much," wrote senior comms manager Jamie Chapman."Being sad to leave is as much…

Bill Roper, a longtime industry veteran, has co-founded new studio Lunacy Games. While his fellow founders weren't revealed, the press release notes they have extensive experience with MMO, RPG, and FPS games.First established in 2022, Lunacy is developing two projects. Along with its own game set in the Old West, it's signed a licensing agreement with HanbitSoft to make a new Hellgate title.Roper was a producer on the 2007 MMO Hellgate: London, originally from Flagship Studios. HanbitSoft acquired publishing rights in 2008 ahead of its shutdown the following year, and relaunched the game in 2011.Hellgate: London is still online and playable, now under the control of T3Entertainment. In the press release, Roper noted his "unfinished business" with the game, hence the ne…

GameStop is laying off an unknown number of staff but admits the cuts might "strain" its existing resources. The video game retailer shared the news annual 10-K report."As part of our strategic plan to achieve profitability, we have recently undertaken cost reduction measures and other initiatives to improve the efficiency of our operations, including initiatives to reduce headcount," it wrote."These initiatives could strain our existing resources, and we could experience operating difficulties in managing our business, including difficulties in hiring, managing and retaining employees. If we do not adapt, we may experience erosion to our brand, the quality of our products and services may suffer and our operating results may be negatively impacted."GameStop n…

Starting with its 10th season, Overwatch 2's post-launch heroes will be free for all players at the day of their release.In a video outlining the hero shooter's future, Blizzard evealed the upcoming hero Venture will be immediately available in April. Previous post-launch heroes will also be made free retroactively.New players will have to go through the game's tutorial, but once that's done, the entire roster will be accessible.Previously, Overwatch 2 players had to buy a season's premium pass to get instant access to DLC heroes, or play to a certain milestone on the free track. This new method is "old" in that it's just how Overwatch 1's DLC heroes worked.At the time, it seemed like an potential extra revenue stream for Blizzard. It was also o…

Blizzard is entering the battle royale space with World of Warcraft.The MMO's newly released 10.2.6 update comes with a pirate-themed mode called Plunderstorm. In it, players fight to be the "last pirate standing" in a limited-time event.Battle royales are nothing new for shooters, but not so common in MMOs. What's more, players will be playing as fresh pirates, rather than the WoW character they've had for years.In the event, players find spells and abilities to use in combat. True to battle royale fashion, upgraded versions can be found in treasure chests, or by killing other players.

Plunderstorm let Blizzard break World of Warcra…

Riot Games revealed its still-untitled (and unannounced) League of Legends MMO has restarted development.In a lengthy Twitter thread, co-founder Marc Merill said the redirection took place "some time ago." That choice was made, he said, because the MMO felt too much like the mothership game.Riot first revealed it was doing a League MMO in 2020, but has otherwise been quiet on its progress. Merill said it can't just be a standard MMO with a "Runeterra coat of paint," it has to feel like a "significant evolution of the genre."Heading up this new endeavor will be Fabrice Condominas as executive producer. Previously a producer on Star Wars: Squadrons and Mass Effect: Andromeda at EA, Condominas has been at Riot since 2021.He'll be joined by technical dir…