Disney invests $1.5 billion in Epic, announces new ‘entertainment universe’ in Fortnite

Disney has announced a $1.5 billion investment into Epic Games as part of a new partnership to create an “open games and entertainment universe” in Fortnite. “Our exciting new relationship with Epic Games will bring together Disney’s beloved brands and franchises with the hugely popular Fortnite in a transformational new games and entertainment universe,” Walt…

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The impact of 16,000 games industry layoffs, in one chart

Blizzard’s Unannounced Survival Game team, laid off in January 2024. Photo via a developer who asked to remain anonymous. (Image credit: Blizzard Survival Game team) The scale of the past year of videogame layoffs is a hard thing to wrap your head around. We’re confronted with more big numbers almost every week: the latest “regrettable”…

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FTC hits Microsoft with federal complaint over game division layoffs

The US Federal Trade Commission has filed a complaint with a federal appeals court over Microsoft’s plan to lay off 1,900 employees from its gaming division, saying the move “contradicts” Microsoft’s commitment to maintaining the studio’s operational independence while the FTC pursues its case against the merger. Microsoft completed its takeover of Activision Blizzard in…

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Homeworld 3 delayed until May, as the developers make ‘the final tweaks needed to deliver at the level of quality that we strive for and you deserve’

Homeworld 3’s mothership needs just a bit more time in spacedock before heading out for places unknown. Gearbox announced on Wednesday that Homeworld 3 is being delayed by two months, from its planned March 8 release date to May 13, 2024.  In a statement about the delay, Gearbox and Blackbird Interactive said that they recently…

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I levelled up ‘Grief’ and ‘Repentance’ in this bizarre Steam Next Fest demo about a Russian nun who chats with Satan, and it instantly became my most-anticipated game this year

No game has ever read The Master and Margarita as much as Indika has read The Master and Margarita. A third-person adventure game from Odd Meter, a Russian studio that left the country after the invasion of Ukraine, Indika already seems like so much more than that clatter of marketing-team-whiteboard genre adjectives makes it sound,…

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has a free trial starting tomorrow, which is probably the best way to play Activision’s underwhelming sequel

Season 2 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 starts today, though you’d be forgiven for dismissing it outright considering how poorly received Activision’s latest FPS behemoth was. But there’s also a free trial of the game kicking off tomorrow, and considering what the trial offers, it might just be worth paying attention to. Running…

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