Sinn Studio has raised $2.5 million in funding, all of which is going to put be toward its next project.Per GamesIndustry, most of the money came from investment firm Hartmann Capital. CEO Alek Sinn called it and other contributors like Boost VC and Republic "the right partners" to help "redefine the future of combat in this exciting new era of spatial computing.""We spent seven years surviving the ups and downs of VR as a bootstrapped company, waiting for that industry-defining moment," he wrote. "We're incredibly grateful to Hartmann Capital and everyone else who joined our seed round."
Sinn's VR history
Sinn Stu…
Netflix has partnered with Mojang to create a new animated series based on Minecraft.The news represents another significant transmedia collaboration between two of the entertainment industry's biggest players in Netfilx and Microsoft.The series is pitched as an "original story with new characters" that will show the world of Minecraft in a new light. Sonic Prime and Carmen Sandiego animation studio WildBrain will work with Netflix and Mojang to bring the CG-animated show to life.A press release states the Minecraft show will "debut exclusively on Netflix," but didn't reveal when it will arrive on the streaming platform.Minecraft has sold over 300 million copies worldwide in 15 years. The sandbox adventure was created by Swedish studio Mojang, which was purcha…
There's a new mobile developer in town, and its name is Juicy Button Games.Based in Limassol, Cyprus, the studio has already raised $3 million in funding led by The Games Fund. The VC firm awarded £3 million (or $3.73 million) across 22 up-and-coming developers in the UK back in April.
Total Battle, Pixel Gun 3D, and Mighty Party pedigrees
Juicy Button is founded by Alexander Kravchuk, who created the mobile strategy game Total Battle; Anton Sinelnikov, design director of Pixel Gun 3D from Cubic Games (which he co-founded); and Aleksandr Zaytsev, co-founder of Mighty Party dev Panoramik.Among the three men, their games have ha…
It's official: Toys for Bob's next project will be published by Microsoft.The studio confirmed on Twitter, cushioning the news by saying it's still "very early" in development on said game. Previous reports from March indicated the two companies would still be in bed following TfB's split from Activision Blizzard in February.At the time of that news, it was claimed the studio's next game would be similar to what it's previously made. It was further alleged Toys' leadership was insistent about returning to what it worked on before being relegated as a Call of Duty support team.
Toys for Bob'…
Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios Group has closed its studios in New York and Montreal and laid off 50 employees.In a brief statement on its website, Avalanche said the layoffs will impact roughly 9 percent of employees worldwide. "This is an exceptionally difficult decision, but we believe it's necessary to ensure a stable and sustainable future for the company," it wrote."Our focus is now on supporting all Avalanchers through this challenging time. We're grateful for the invaluable contributions of those leaving and remain committed to creating incredible gaming experiences for our players."Avalanche was formed over two decades ago and previously boasted five studios in Stockholm, Malmo, Liverpool, New York, and Montreal. It has worked on franchises in…
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…
Entertainment company Ardán has teamed with IMIRT to create a new pilot program specifically for independent developers based in Ireland.Dubbed IndieDev 2024, the program will support studios situated in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Successful teams get support of up to €15,000 (or £15,000, for those in Northern Ireland) to build a prototype of their project.Those seven studios will also go through two weeks of workshops and talks from industry professionals, followed by 10-12 of development toward the prototype.The fund does for Irish developers what similar ones in Australia and Brazil do for creators in those countries. Per RTE, Ireland's development scene is "growing considerably" with each year, and funding smaller studios will help it grow further…
Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Games has a new CEO. Former Paradox Interactive chief business development officer Shams Jorjani has joined the Swedish studio to oversee business operations.Outgoing CEO Johan Pilestedt will remain with the studio as chief creative officer and explained the switch will enable him to spend more time with the dev team."Big update, I've decided to hire Shams Jorjani as the new CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios. We go way back and I wouldn't trust the business in any other hands than his. (and he comes with an impressive resume and love for games)," said Pilestedt on X."But what about me and my involvement in Helldivers 2? Well, I'm glad you asked! I am taking the role of chief creative officer, which means I will spend more time with…
Akira Nakao, a film and TV actor who appeared in Sega's Judgment series, died on May 16. He was 81.Spotted by Game.Watch, he reportedly passed from heart failure. Family and friends have already held a service for him.Born August 11, 1942, Nakao had just two video games to his resume. In the Judgement series (a spinoff of the Like a Dragon games), he played Ryuzo Genda, the mentor of series lead Takayuki Yagami.Outside of games, he was best known for his roles in Japanese period and contemporary dramas. His first movie appearance was in 1964's Getsuyōbi no Yuka.In film, he was a recurring player in the Godzilla films, first appearing in 1993's Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla II and through 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars. His final film role was the 2023 TV series Sanctuary.At …
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.