Elite Dangerous studio Frontier Developments announces layoffs ‘following a period of disappointing financial performance’

The game industry annus horribilis continued today with an announcement from Elite Dangerous studio Frontier Developments, which said that it is implementing a hiring freeze, cutting costs, and laying off an unknown number of employees. “During 2023, Frontier refined its strategy to refocus on its core strengths following a period of disappointing financial performance and…

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Dev says CD Projekt morale ‘took a significant hit’ after Cyberpunk’s launch, but it won’t repeat mistakes with the next Witcher

This is the year of Cyberpunk 2077’s about-face. Between the game’s wide-ranging 2.0 update and its slick Phantom Liberty expansion pack, most onlookers now agree that the game is—if not the awe-inspiring masterwork it was hyped up to be prior to release—pretty good. But over at CD Projekt, the game’s disastrous launch still looms large…

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Valve doesn’t sell ad space on Steam so it can make room for surprise hits: ‘We don’t think Steam should be pay-to-win’

As spotted by GamesRadar, the Steamworks Development channel posted a video earlier this month explaining the ins and outs of how games snowball into surprise hits like Dave the Diver—which we gave a smashing 91 back in July.  The talk’s given by Erik Peterson of Steam’s business team, and it’s an enlightening little journey through…

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Final Fantasy 14 players interviewed over 80 of their fellow adventurers to craft a heartwarming first-timer’s guide to roleplaying with anxiety

The roleplay community in Final Fantasy 14 is, simply put, an ocean. It’s absolutely massive, comprising several servers, hundreds of night clubs, bars, fight pits, free companies, and homegrown drama. It’s big enough that last year, someone thought buying four billboards in California and Texas to advertise their virtual nightclub was a good idea (it…

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