SkyBox Labs isn't necessarily known for the specific games developed by the studio. However, it has helped develop world-renowned franchises such as Halo, Age of Empires and Minecraft. NetEase has now acquired SkyBox Labs, hoping to bring some of that expertise into its ranks. SkyBox Labs is a Canadian game …
Read More »Apple removes payment restrictions for App Store developers, but only in South Korea
Currently, Apple and Google have rules in place to force developers to use their own first-party App Store and Play Store payment systems. This is something that developers have been protesting in recent years, sparking further scrutiny from regulators. Last year, South Korea passed a bill to force Apple (and …
Read More »Dr Disrespect sets up his own video game studio ‘Midnight Society’
Guy Beahm, better known as Dr Disrespect, has a long history with the gaming industry, having previous experience as a map designer before launching his streaming career. Now, Beahm is taking on a more active role in the industry, setting up a new games studio called Midnight Society. Beahm will …
Read More »Unlocked OS build released for Oculus Go VR headsets
While John Carmack and other members of the Oculus team did have plans for an Oculus Go 2, the success of the Oculus Quest forced the company to recalibrate, dropping all other projects to double down on the Quest. As a result, there will be no more updates for the …
Read More »Apple changes App Store rules as part of $100 million settlement
For years now, Apple has required that all developers on iOS use the first-party payment system, allowing Apple to take a revenue cut. This has led to higher subscription prices on iOS compared to Android for a number of apps and while there are alternative ways to pay for these …
Read More »Intel pulls the plug on the Intel Developer Forum
It was a great run, but Intel Corporation has announced it has pulled the plug on the Intel Developer Forum (IDF). This has left many in the industry with a huge gaping hole in their mid-August agendas, as the staple Intel-branded event now disappears into posterity. The Fall edition, regularly held …
Read More »14 year old releases VRHome space designer on Early Access
Showing that age is just a number when it comes to game development, a 14-year-old virtual reality fan has released their first project on Steam, called VRHome. The ‘game' gives you a powerful system for customising your virtual space, helping you build a detailed virtual home, or place to hang …
Read More »Crytek to shutter five of its seven studios
Following news that months have gone by without many of Crytek's employees being paid at all, the long-time video game company has now announced that it is closing five of its seven studios. While Frankfurt and Kiev-based studios will remain, those in Hungary, Bulgaria, South Korea, China and Turkey will …
Read More »Pokémon Uranium creators get 1.5 million downloads, pull links
The creators of hit Pokémon fan-game, Pokémon Uranium, have pulled the links to the game, making it hard to find. Although not prompted by Nintendo sending a cease and desist, with 1.5 million downloads under their belt, it seems like they aren't planning to wait to receive it. After nine …
Read More »THQ is back! Nordic games rebrands itself as classic publisher
THQ, it's in the game. Or at least it once was, but now it's back! Nordic Games, the company that purchased up many of the IPs under the THQ brand when it went defunct in 2012, has now rebranded itself as THQ Nordic, resurrecting the old publishing house, at least …
Read More »Microsoft: DirectX 12 adoption rate is fastest ever
It looks like developers are wasting absolutely no time in upgrading to DirectX 12 as Microsoft has revealed that its new graphics API has the fastest adoption rate of any DirectX version. DirectX 12 is the latest graphics API from Microsoft and it has strong ties to Windows 10, which …
Read More »Commercial HTC Vive hardware/devkit 2 spotted in leak
In a leak on the HTC website, excited virtual reality fans have discovered the final, commercial version of the HTC Vive headset. It looks quite similar to the original, with a few noteworthy changes, but it's the controllers that really look different. Overall though, everything is just much more polished, …
Read More »Ubisoft buys up Ivory Tower and The Crew
With The Crew set to receive a big expansion called Wild Run this November, Ubisoft has decided that it would like to have a bit more involvement in its developer than just publishing it. So it's purchased Ivory Tower, the developer behind the mixed-bag of a racer. There has been …
Read More »Halo veteran and Far Cry 2 director just left Amazon Game Studios
Over the last couple of years, Amazon has been making a push in the gaming space, even going as far as to set up its very own studio with quite a few esteemed developers coming from famed studios like Valve and Bungie. However, we have yet to see any big …
Read More »EA is shutting down another studio: Maxis
If you played and were somewhat disappointed by the latest SimCity, DarkSpore or Spore, then chances are you won't be too bothered by the news that EA Games is shutting down Maxis Emeryville, the developer that brought us all of those over the past few years. However even though the …
Read More »HTC to build VR headsets with SteamVR tech
It looks like something more than background support will come from Valve's VR efforts, as an announcement this weekend from HTC pegs it as teaming up with the smartphone maker to deliver a brand new virtual reality headset, known as the HTC Vive. Even more exciting however, is that beyond …
Read More »Epic to seed promising UE4 devs with $5 million
Epic Games has always fostered new development in the gaming industry. As well as offering its latest and greatest game engine to everyone and anyone that wants to give it a try, for just $19 a month, it's been giving away huge prizes and funding to developers for years with …
Read More »Apple to increase app size limit from 2GB to 4GB
Apple has today announced that it is increasing the size limit for apps submitted by developers to the App Store via the iTunes Connect service. Previously, a 2GB limit was imposed on apps but now, that has been doubled to 4GB, allowing developers to create bigger and better applications. Apple …
Read More »Ex-Rare developers are making a Banjo Kazooie spiritual sequel
One of the saddest cases of a developer's projects turning South was Rare, a company well known for some of the '90s and early '00s most beloved games. Titles like Golden Eye, Perfect Dark, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Donkey Kong Country and of course, Banjo Kazooie. While it would go …
Read More »Zombie Studios announces closure
Zombie Studios, the company that began the Spec Ops series of games oh so many years ago and made the more recently released Daylight, along with 30+ other titles, has announced its impending closure. Not through poor performance – though Daylight was not particularly well received – but because the …
Read More »Planetary Annihilation dev cancels new Kickstarter project
Uber Entertainment, the developer behind Kickstarter and Steam Early Access title, Planetary Annihilation, has canceled its upcoming Kickstarter campaign for what was going to be its next RTS game, Human Resources. The cancellation came after it was made apparent that the game was not going to meet its $1.4 million …
Read More »Microsoft announces Halo: Spartan Strike for PC and Windows Phone
Microsoft and Halo developer, 343 Industries, have announced Halo: Spartan Strike, a spiritual successor to Halo: Spartan Assault, which launched on Steam and Windows Phone last year. The game will cost $5.99 and will launch on the 12th of December. Spartan Strike takes place during the same time as Halo …
Read More »Crytek sells Homefront dev, downsizes US prescence
Crytek has been in a spot of bother for some time now, with cashflow seeming to be a real problem. Last month we heard how developers had only been paid £700 a piece over the preceding 30 days and now it turns out that Crytek has sold its Homefront licence and …
Read More »Stomping Land developers go quiet, community dying
The Stomping Land was a project that we've been quietly excited about for some time. It features an open world survival system where you tame and fight with dinosaurs. You can even ride them if you survive for long enough. It also recently released on Steam, so some of you …
Read More »Crytek’s UK employees stopped going to work
It might have only just released Warface to the world like it's business as usual, but all is not well at Crytek. We heard late last month that many staff at the UK arm of the developer were paid as little as £700 for a month's work and now there's …
Read More »Marvel pledges to bring out some quality video games
Marvel is tired of attaching its name to sub-par games, wether it be GameLoft on mobile or Sega and Activision on consoles and PC but the company is looking to turn things around by looking for “the right developer” to create quality games in the future. “Marvel's overall success in …
Read More »God of War studio hit with layoffs
Sony Santa Monica, a studio mostly known for the God of War series has had to cut its work force down and cancel an unannounced project this week, despite moving in to a new office and attempting to expand just last month, Sony has confirmed. “SCEA can confirm that we …
Read More »Flappy Bird creator pulled game to stop others becoming addicted
Flappy Bird has certainly made a name for itself over the last couple of weeks, from its rise to the top of app store charts right until its own creator pulled the plug on his creation, but why exactly did indie developer, Dong Nguyen, decide to take down the app that …
Read More »Ubisoft to offer graduates paying positions with developers
Ubisoft has announced that it's going to launch a graduate program which will see as many as 25 different university graduates given full paying positions at Ubisoft developers, to not only give them a leg up in the industry, but also to help the publisher secure the best and brightest …
Read More »Microsoft closes down Victoria studio
Despite the fact that it only announced an expansion of the Canadian based Victoria development studio last year, Microsoft has announced that it'll be shuttering it. While a large expansion was announced and planned in 2012, ultimately growth wasn't quite as high as expected, though this will still leave around …
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