Industry News / Upcoming Games

[Antimatter]

And another round of layoffs at XBOX:

• 268 roles are being terminated
• Halo is now under Activision
• Halo Studios is moving to a support studio role
• Rare (Sea of Thieves) is now under Activision
• Same with World’s Edge, the studio behind the Age of Empires franchise
• Obsidian is now under Bethesda/ZeniMax
• Playground and Turn 10 are merging into one studio to work on Forza and Fable
• Ninja Theory is closing
• Arkane's status is TBD

https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/xbox-layoffs-update-ninja-theory-acquisitions-fall-through-halo-to-be-given-to-activision-obsidian-joins-bethesda-and-more

 

[O_Bruce]

Obsidian is now under Bethesda/ZeniMax

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

A new ad-related patent has been published by Microsoft earlier this month, called ‘Contextually Aware Management of Interactive Software Application Access’.

Well, that’s just awful. Going back to that discussion here about voting with our wallets. It’s time to stop putting up with this crap.

 

[BelgarathMTH]

Well, that’s just awful. Going back to that discussion here about voting with our wallets. It’s time to stop putting up with this crap.

I just hope game-client based PC gaming platforms like Steam, GoG, and even platforms like Battle.net (Blizzard) don't follow suit. Theoretically, there's nothing stopping them from using a similar ad-insertion technology on games being played on their platforms, which can even be old games that originally were sold on physical discs.

I guess at least with GoG, you could maybe avoid it by using offline installers and not using GoG Galaxy.

I'm really in sympathy with the Generation Z trend of going back to physical media for entertainment. That old business model of "purchase a product, you privately own the product" needs to come back before we lose all privacy and personal autonomy.

 

[JustKneller]

I guess at least with GoG, you could maybe avoid it by using offline installers and not using GoG Galaxy.

This is why I pretty much entirely switched to GoG. I even wishlisted some games I already have on Steam so I can have DRM-free installers on case things take a really bad turn.

 

[JustKneller]

• Obsidian is now under Bethesda/ZeniMax

Holy hell! I just noticed this. Obsidian is under Bethesda? There goes the neighborhood.

 

[Antimatter]

Yes, even while the official memo promised to keep their creative freedom, the reality might differ:

TheGameBusiness shared some interesting details about what’s reportedly happening across Xbox. Obsidian is reportedly not particularly happy about becoming part of Bethesda. Some employees apparently feel they have lost the freedom and autonomy they were promised. The Coalition (Gears of War), Playground Games (Fable/Forza Horizon), and inXile (Clockwork Revolution) are reportedly expected to move under Activision or Bethesda after releasing their upcoming games. Under this scenario, Xbox Studios as a separate organization would effectively cease to exist. According to the report, the full impact of all these changes across Xbox may not become clear for another 5–7 years.

Also see here:

https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/bethesda-says-that-obsidians-creative-identity-will-be-preserved-just-months-after-multiple-projects-were-cancelled-and-it-was-told-to-make-a-fallout-game/