Gaming News - Page 308

Take-Two Interactive is confident that Zynga could bring cross-play to its major franchises following the merger between the two companies.

The Take-Two/Zynga merger will bring tons of benefits to both companies. Zynga will have the might of a publishing giant behind it, and Take-Two will have the power of Zynga's mobile prowess and advertising platform under its banner. The cross-synergies are particularly interesting. Take-Two has noted that Zynga could create mobile versions of its top franchises--on a selective basis, of course--and utilize the company's budding cross-platform focus to help fill out its current games.

The biggest game without cross-play is Grand Theft Auto Online, which has been a billion-dollar powerhouse since its release in 2013. In a recent S-4 SEC filing, Take-Two suggests that Zynga will help create "cross-platform experiences" for its blockbuster IPs.

Detroit: Become Human has sold more than 6.5 million copies on consoles and PC, and Quantic Dream confirms it's working on three new games.

Paris-based studio Quantic Dream is ramping up its workforce for a myriad of new games. The developer is currently developing three new projects including the anticipated Star Wars Eclipse, however details on the two remaining projects are scarce (job listings reveal some tidbits, more on that below).

"Our very good financial results are explained by the robust sales of our back catalog titles, and in particular Detroit: Become Human, which surpassed the symbolic one million copies sold on Steam during the year 2021. This title is now Quantic Dream's biggest commercial success, with over 6.5 million copies sold on PC and PS4 worldwide."

Quantic Dream confirms its workforce has increased by 50% throughout 2021, which seemingly refutes recent reports that it's having trouble recruiting game developers.

A bit ago Tom Henderson published a report surrounding Quantic Dream's issues with hiring new developers, which stems from allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct at the studio. Sources told Henderson that QD was having problems recruiting new devs for its ambitious Star Wars Eclipse project.

Interestingly enough, Quantic Dream now says its employee base has jumped by 50%. The studio now employs roughly 229 people according to its LinkedIn page.

BioWare is hiring 23 new developers to work on multiple projects. Two of these job listings are for Dragon Age, and one position could shed light on what to expect from the game.

Previous reports have said Dragon Age 4 is a singleplayer-driven RPG. The project has gone through three phase-shifts: the first iteration was codenamed Joplin and was a small game focused on Tevinter spies. Then it morphed into projected Morrison, a live game with shifting, evolving content. Now in its current iteration, which was formed in 2021, Dragon Age has shifted back to its roots and become a singleplayer-driven RPG.

A new game economy job listing strongly suggests that Dragon Age 4 will indeed be singleplayer and it might not have any multiplayer elements at all.

BioWare is currently hiring 23 people to work on three separate teams: Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. A good portion of these devs are being positioned for the next Mass Effect project.

Mass Effect 4 (or 5, if you include Andromeda) is currently in early pre-production stages of development. BioWare's next project on the release slate is Dragon Age 4, which may not be ready until 2023. That doesn't mean BioWare can't ramp up its workforce in preparation for the next Mass Effect--and that's exactly what they're doing.

A recent job listings post confirms that BioWare is currently hiring 7 separate developers to fortify its next space RPG. The team, led by Mike Gamble, is currently hiring some higher-profile director and lead positions across all of its studios. It's interesting to note that all of BioWare's North American branches--Austin, Vancouver, and Edmonton--are helping with the game.

Elden Ring has sold over 12 million copies as of March 14, becoming one of Bandai Namco's best-selling games of all time.

FromSoftware's new masterpiece RPG has hit an incredible sales milestone of 12 million+ physical and digital copies purchased worldwide. With figures like these, it's implied that Elden Ring has made over $500 million in game sales revenues across all platforms in just 17 days (nearly 3 weeks).

Elden Ring is so successful that Bandai Namco has declared it a full IP series that will expand with more content. The publisher mentions that Elden Ring could cross over to other mediums outside of video games.

Two leading video game market analysts predict GTA 6 could release in 2024, but they disagree on exactly when.

A bit ago I predicted GTA 6 could launch in Take-Two's FY24, which ends in March 2024. Since then that prediction has been carried by analysts based on a substantial spike in net bookings for the period. A new SEC filing shows that both FY24 and FY25 will be big years for Take-Two with an estimated $5.2 billion and $5.5 billion in respective net bookings.

This suggests that GTA 6 could launch in either FY24 or FY25. Both of these include the 2024 calendar year. Jefferies analyst Andrew Uerkwitz believes that a major Rockstar title should launch throughout 2024: "Despite a significant multi-year content unlock that likely includes a major content release from Rockstar in 2024, Take-Two will still grow in FY25," Uerkwitz wrote.

EA has officially cancelled its annual EA Play Live summer showcase because its projects simply aren't ready to show just yet.

EA Play Live will not premiere in 2022 after all. The publisher issued a statement that strongly hinted that COVID-19 and work-from-home measures have impacted game development, and certain games won't be ready to show off.

"This year things aren't lining up to show you everything on one date. We have exciting things happening at our world-class studios and this year we'll reveal much more about these projects when the time is right for each of them. We look forward to spending time with you throughout the year!" EA told IGN.

Tencent has acquired a majority stake in Tequila Works, the indie studio known for video games like RiME.

Chinese juggernaut Tencent has just increased its hold on the games industry with yet another indie developer. This time Tencent has bought the majority shares of Tequila Works, the Madrid-based studio behind RiME and Deadlight.

Tencent's acquisition will inject new funding into Tequila Works, arming them with new resources to expand and develop projects in all-original IPs. Tencent will remain hands-off and allow the studio to continue on as it always has.

Keanu Reeves said it best: "It's ridiculous that there isn't [a new Matrix game]." Well now WB Games knows what to do.

A batch of mods for the new fighting game Sifu shows exactly what fans want from a new Matrix game. Just let us play as Neo, give us some awesome survival brawling combat, and watch as we wipe the floor with dozens of Agent Smiths. Yes, it really is that simple. Maybe throw in some shoot-em-up chaos and crazy stunts in an analog, green-filtered world and boom, there's your perfect Matrix game.

Graphics aren't super important but a dev could use the crazy next-gen tech from the Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 tech demo. I'd say gameplay is what matters most in a game like this--especially with the fun of smashing tons of agents around.