The original version of this story referenced a quote that CWA sent out in error referencing an individual's experience. We've updated the story to reflect the corrected CWA press release.U.S. labor union the Communications Workers of America (CWA) has filed Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges against Lionbridge Technologies for allegedly laying off 160 people after they attempted to organize.Lionbridge is a Microsoft supplier that has provided QA services to Activision. The CWA previously helped workers at both Activision Blizzard and Microsoft unionize.Now, the union has filed ULP charges with the National Labor Relations board and claims Lionbridge laid off its entire team in Boise, Idaho, after they engaged in "protected organizing activities and protected speech" w…
FromSoftware has revealed that Elden Ring has crossed a new sales milestone of over 25 million copies. Just a few months ago, in February, on the day of its two-year anniversary, it had sold 23 million units.The fantasy RPG has been a consistently strong seller since its launch in 2022. But the new number takes on extra significance due to the launch of its Shadow of the Erdtree expansion on June 21.Similarly, Elden Ring's player count has now reached 25 million players across all systems. To this, FromSoftware thanked players "for your passion and support. We have come a long way together."Erdtree will be the game's one and only expansion, and its release will likely grow its already larger player base and sales. But in February, FromSoftware said it'd keep making…
A new report from PCGamer digs into the ongoing troubles at ZA/UM. The report follows on from studio layoffs and the cancellation of several projects in February, with the most notable being one codenamed "Project X7."Per the outlet, this project was planned as a spinoff to the studio's debut game, Disco Elysium. It would've starred "one of [its] most beloved characters," in the vein of a game like Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales.Current and former ZA/UM staff claim "X7" had a largely positive internal reaction. One developer went so far as to call it "exactly the sort of game ZA/UM needs to put out," as it would've improved the studio's perception after the February layoffs and previous controversies.A second developer be…
Capcom's fantasy-RPG Dragon's Dogma II is a little over two months old, and it's now sold over three million copies. That puts it not too far off from Street Fighter 6's 3.3 million copies (as of March 31, 2024).On Twitter, the developer thanked Arisen (aka players) who've "embarked on adventures! We are grateful for your continued support."Dragon's Dogma II released in late March, and sold 2.5 million copies within the same timeframe. Hitting this new milestone has taken some time, but that doesn't detract from how well the sequel has done in fairly little time.
Capcom's strong showing
At launch, the game al…
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…