Author: Zach Barbieri

Every Time a new Assassin’s Creed game releases I feel my age. The number of people I meet on a daily basis who weren’t even alive for the first title in the series always puts into perspective the depressing thought that… Damn… I am old. It makes me feel even older is the fact the latest game in the franchise, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, can toute itself as a return to the classic formula of the series circa 2007, with this being a big deal. Based on the feedback of the fanbase I have heard in the buildup, this definitely is…

Following three separate rounds of Layoffs at CD Projekt Red over the summer, a new union has been formed in Poland. Związek Pracowników Branży Gier, or Polish Gamedev Workers Union was formed with the mission structure of of representing “all professions and people working in the game development sector in Poland.” This organization was formed by two still-employed members of CD Projekt Red, gameplay programmer Lev Ki, and gameplay QA analyst Paweł Myszka. According to the union’s website, the group aims to not only protect developers but also employees in marketing, publishing, and operations, along with anybody else working in…

Now that CD Projekt Red has declared that the development of Cyberpunk 2077 is concluded with the recently released 2.0, and Phantom Liberty, it looks like the company is ready to announce its next ventures into the Cyberpunk Universe. It appears that besides the already-announced Cyberpunk 2077 follow-up game it also appears that CDPR has planned something described as  “a live-action project set in the world of its best-selling video game, Cyberpunk 2077.” This project is being developed in conjunction with Anonymous Content, the production company behind shows like True Detective and Mr. Robot, as well as movies like The…

According to a new report by Polygon, the team of Quality Assurance workers who unionized while attached to the upcoming Dragon Age: Dreadwolf from developer Bioware, have been laid off. These staff members, similar to most QA employees, were contractors working for outsourcing giant Keywords. It has been stated that this group faced an uphill fight to form the union, stemming from arguments surrounding remote work. Obviously getting a union off the ground in the highly resistant video game industry is a struggle, as the Raven Softwares QA team went through a similar fight a few years ago. Keywords have…

As part of an effort to restructure their company, Sega announced last week that they would be canceling their upcoming live service shooter Hyenas along with several unannounced titles being developed in Europe. This came as a shock Considering Hyenas had just had a beta and was considered close to release, after six years of development on it. The developer behind the game, Creative Assembly, has suggested that the reason for this cancellation was due to their “Ambitious” plans for the game. They also pointed to the crowded multiplayer shooter space as another reason, though it should be noted the…

Kumi Souls Games has finally announced a release date for one of my most anticipated indie titles this year, The Last Faith. The game was announced years ago, with trailers being released during Summer Game Fest, and again during Gamescom to announce the games beta on Steam. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k3Ts85JDmo While we knew, or at least were told, the game was going to release before the end of 2023 it would appear the studio is following through. The date for release is November 15th, a little over a month away from now. The Last Faith is a Metroidvania Soulslike that looks poised…

Nintendo has announced that they will be bringing an end to “online play and other functionality” for both the 3DS and WII U in “early April” 2024. Despite this potentially being unhappy news to many Nintendo fans, it should not be unexpected as the company has spent the better part of the last year winding down these services. The biggest part of this was the closure of the Eshop on both platforms earlier this year. In an official statement from Nintendo, they stated: In early April 2024, online play and other functionality that uses online communication will end for Nintendo 3DS…

Nintendo has announced that they plan to support the Nintendo Switch console, on the hardware side, till at least March of 2024, They also stated that the console will continue to receive new games until March 2025. This information comes from a recent interview with Nikkei, in which Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa was asked about the company’s plans for the successor of their popular Nintendo Switch console. Furukawa held back from giving anything major away but confirmed plans to support the Switch till the end of this fiscal year, which will end in March of 2024. Furukawa stated that Nintendo…

The upcoming compilation of Batman: Arkham games for the Nintendo Switch, which was set to release on October 13th, has been delayed back to December of this year. The collection was announced during a Nintendo event earlier this year, promising to let Nintendo Switch players dawn Batman’s signature cowl and play three of the best superhero games anywhere they go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVMNvvaXJ2s In an official statement released by Warner Bros., it was stated: More time is needed to bring players the best possible experience on Nintendo Switch. We apologize to fans who are excited to play this version of the trilogy.…

Coming on the heels of a large number of layoffs across the industry, it appears that Naughty Dog is laying off several employees. This comes in conjunction with the news that the Last of Us Multiplayer/Live Service game is currently ‘on ice’. This is just the latest in what has been a tumultuous development cycle. Naughty Dog, which is home to around 400 developers, will be laying off 25 employees from the company according to a report from Kotaku. According to this report, these layoffs are set to impact the company’s QA department with full-time employees to be unaffected. Additionally,…