“I Do Have Some Regrets” – How The Creator Of Counter-Strike Gave Up A Money-Making Behemoth

“We didn’t understand the value”. Counter-Strike may be a quarter of a century old, but it remains one of Valve’s biggest money-spinners on Steam. Counter-Strike 2 – the latest iteration of the free-to-play team-based shooter – makes its money from chests, which cost around $2.50 to open. Incredibly, some of the skins found inside said…

Read More

Feature: “I’m Too Old For All The Other Sh*t Now” – Steve Ellis And David Doak Talk ‘Beyond Words’ And Leaving FPS Games Behind Them

“A return to big shooters is probably unlikely”. Steve Ellis and David Doak made their names at companies like Rare and Free Radical Design, but their latest venture – MindFuel Games – is a decidedly lower-key affair. The small studio has just announced its first game, Beyond Words, which feels like a mix between Scrabble…

Read More

“Sonic Was Terribly Controversial” – Mark Cerny On Why Yuji Naka Quit After Making Sega’s Biggest Hit

“He was making $30,000 a year”. Mark Cerny’s career has taken him to Atari, Crystal Dynamics, Universal Interactive Studios, Naughty Dog, Insomniac and Sony, but one of his most interesting places of employment has to be Sega. Speaking on Simon Parkin’s My Perfect Console podcast, Cerny – the lead architect behind the PS4, PS Vita,…

Read More