Screen Australia has launched a new Game Festivals and Events Fund to support the production, organization, and presentation of video game festivals and events in the region.The government-backed funding body said the new initiative is about enabling events that "significantly benefit the Australian gamemaking community."The Game Festivals and Events Fund will permit applicants to request up to $100,000 to finance their proposed festivals, conferences, workshops, and events. A minimum of $10,000 must be requested. Applications will remain open until the funding pool has been depleted.Those who apply will be told whether they have been successful within four to six weeks of submission. Screen Australia explained eligible applicants must be able to discuss the vision, scope, and ou…
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."
Swedish studio Resolution Games has named Johan Gästrin as its new chief technology officer (CTO) to make headway in the growing spatial computing market.Gästrin previously served as Resolution's head of technology and has spent 25 years in the video game and tech industries, plying his trade at mobile powerhouse King and global retailer H&M before joining the studio.Resolution is known for working on VR and AR titles like Demeo, Racket Club, Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs, and Game Room, the latter of which was recently ported to the Apple Vision Pro. Gästrin worked on all of those projects and has also created a Shared Tech department within the company, facilitating the creation of its proprietary technology platform 'Fidelity' and the Resolution Tech studio located …
Swedish studio Resolution Games has named Johan Gästrin as its new chief technology officer (CTO) to make headway in the growing spatial computing market.Gästrin previously served as Resolution's head of technology and has spent 25 years in the video game and tech industries, plying his trade at mobile powerhouse King and global retailer H&M before joining the studio.Resolution is known for working on VR and AR titles like Demeo, Racket Club, Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs, and Game Room, the latter of which was recently ported to the Apple Vision Pro. Gästrin worked on all of those projects and has also created a Shared Tech department within the company, facilitating the creation of its proprietary technology platform 'Fidelity' and the Resolution Tech studio located …
Grand Theft Auto maker Take-Two Interactive is reducing its headcount by 5 percent as part of a cost reduction program that was announced earlier this year.The U.S. publisher, which just spent $460 million to acquire Gearbox Interactive from Embracer, said it wants to "identify efficiencies across its business and enhance the company’s margin profile, while still investing for growth.""As part of these efforts, the company is rationalizing its pipeline and eliminating several projects in development and streamlining its organizational structure, which will eliminate headcount and reduce future hiring needs," added Take-Two in an SEC filing."The company estimates that it will incur approximately $160 million to $200 million in total charges in connection with the …
Layoffs have hit PlayStation subsidiary Firesprite, which let go of game director Alex Barnes today. At time of writing, the exact number of affected staff (him included) is unclear.Barnes, who'd been with the company for seven years, directed its 2023 game Horizon: Call of the Mountain. On Twitter, he called it a "tough time" in recent months, while thanking those who've "continued helping each other through all this."In February, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced its plans to cut 900 jobs as part of a reevaluation of its operations. Along with Firesprite, Sony London, Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games were hit with redundancies or fully shut down.
Unity has named former Zynga COO and EA SVP of strategy and operations, Matthew Bromberg, as its new CEO.Bromberg joins Unity to permanently replace long-serving CEO John Riccitiello, who stepped down in October 2023 following a protracted debacle surrounding the introduction of a new runtime fee.The company's attempts to charge developers what essentially amounted to a per-install fee backfired almost immediately. Unity eventually reworked its plans but suffered huge reputational damage as a result of the fumbled rollout.The appointment of Bromberg means interim CEO Jim Whitehurst has joined the company's board of directors as executive chair. In turn, that will result in Roelof Botha transitioning from chairman of the board back to lead Independent director of the board.Botha s…
Unity has named former Zynga COO and EA SVP of strategy and operations, Matthew Bromberg, as its new CEO.Bromberg joins Unity to permanently replace long-serving CEO John Riccitiello, who stepped down in October 2023 following a protracted debacle surrounding the introduction of a new runtime fee.The company's attempts to charge developers what essentially amounted to a per-install fee backfired almost immediately. Unity eventually reworked its plans but suffered huge reputational damage as a result of the fumbled rollout.The appointment of Bromberg means interim CEO Jim Whitehurst has joined the company's board of directors as executive chair. In turn, that will result in Roelof Botha transitioning from chairman of the board back to lead Independent director of the board.Botha s…
Lords of the Fallen developer CI Games has delivered its "best year" ever in revenue terms after raking in over $60 million during fiscal 2023.The company said that revenue total represents a 400 percent upswing year-over-year, and comes with Lords of the Fallen having sold approximately 1.3 million units in under three months.Over that 12-month reporting period, CI Games recorded a gross profit of approximately $6.48 million and a net profit of approximately $3.57 million. EBITDA amounted to roughly $24 million.CI Games Group CEO, Marek Tymiński, described the 2023 fiscal year as a "period of continued momentum" thanks to the launch of Lords of the Fallen, which was the most expensive title in the company's history and generated 83 percent of sales revenue across…
Amazon has renewed its live-action Fallout show for a second season after branding the series a "hit."The show premiered on April 10 in over 240 countries and looks to have won over both critics and audiences around the world."In its first four days, the high-octane fueled series has become a hit with its global audience, ranking among the service’s top three most-watched titles ever and the most-watched season globally since Rings of Power," reads an Amazon press release.The news means the transmedia wheel will keep on turning for the foreseeable future, with Fallout adding to the success of other high-profile video game adaptations based on The Last of Us, Cyberpunk, Super Mario Bros., and Sonic the Hedgehog.Fallout was executive produced by Westworld showrun…
UK developer Atomicom is no more, and Starlight Games has been formed in its wake. Headed up by Psygnosis and alum Gary Nichols, the new-ish studio already has gained a big hire in design director NIck Burcombe.Per GamesIndustry, Starlight will effectively replace Atomicom as a developer. The entire team will remain intact, and they'll still operate in the same Liverpool office.Burcombe, who co-created the original Wipeout, is heading up development on a futuristic sports game. Starlight also has a strategy sci-fi project in the works, along with multiple Unreal Engine Fortnite experiences.Currently, Starlight has no deals in place with a major publisher. Deals it hoped to land in 2023 fell through because they weren't "mutually beneficial," said Nichols, who stressed t…
Gloomhaven developer Flaming Fowl has a new project in the works by the name of Ironmarked. But until it's gauged enough interest for the game, it'll be on ice for the forseeable future.Flaming Fowl released a demo for the game on Steam, and asked players to wishlist it so the team can find more funding. At the same time, the studio has let go of over half its staff.The layoffs were attributed to a lack of a general lack of industry funding. With Ironmarked, Flaming Fowl hopes the demo will "help those leaving us [find] new roles elsewhere, by demonstrating their outstanding work on the project."While not entirely the same, Skybound Entertainment made a similar plea with players last week. In crowdfunding to develop a triple-A game for Invincible, it's banking on a…