State of Decay 3, the once first-party Xbox game, may not launch into Game Pass after all. The game's developer, Undead Labs, is among the studios Microsoft is parting with following its decision to lay off 3200 workers from across the Xbox division.
The total number of Game Pass subscribers has dropped back down to 30 million, according to a new Wall Street Journal report. This is a loss of around 4 million compared to publicised 2024 numbers.
Xbox is cutting 3200 jobs between now and the end of financial year 2027, with studios like Undead Labs and Compulsion Games going independent as others also try to navigate an uncertain future. Moreover, ZeniMax's entire division - which includes all of Bethesda's big studios - is facing major layoffs, even if no studios are being shut down for now. Now, we're hearing id Software has been hit particularly hard just as Doom: The Dark Ages - Revelations prepares to launch later today.
The United Videogame Workers union (UVW-CWA) has launched a new fund to help laid off workers across the US and Canada. The Game Worker Hardship Fund, as it's called, is available to anyone who's been laid off from January 2024 to the present day.
Good Smile Company has announced Hatsune Miku: Starry Party, a new "party action" game with chibi character designs coming to Nintendo Switch 2 and PC via Steam.
Following weeks of rumours and speculation, Microsoft and Xbox have announced today around 3200 jobs are being cut before financial year 2027 ends, with a number of studios being let go to find new owners or go independent. As more details pour out, we've also learned ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks are facing cuts - even if no studios are closing. Moreover, there are new plans for their key properties moving forward.
Psychonauts and Keeper developer Double Fine Productions, and South of Midnight and We Happy Few developer Compulsion Games, have reacted to their new futures as it's confirmed they will become independent developers again.
In a move that's been brewing for a while now after Europe announced the Right to Repair directive and new battery regulations, Nintendo committed in early June to Switch revisions. Now, the hardware giant has detailed its rollout plans for Switch 2 products..png?width=690&quality=85&format=jpg&auto=webp)
July may be a quiet month when it comes to new game releases, but one of the biggest games of 2024 is graduating out of Early Access during the month. Palworld, the survival and creature-collecting hybrid whose characters look similar to Pokemon - but are legally distinct, will roll out its 1.0 update this Friday, 10th July.
Evo - the largest fighting game tournament in the world - announced Evo Locals last week. This new initiative will feature both a directory of smaller grassroots events around the world, and an eyebrow-raising $1m annual fund to support said events.
Former PlayStation leader Shawn Layden has given more context to comments he made recently about how Sony shouldn't have made PlayStation Vita - but instead made PlayStation Portable 2.
A second wave of massive Microsoft layoffs has reportedly hit Zenimax Online Studios, with some sources claiming "up to half" of the studio has been cut.
Saros, the latest game from the arcade-loving game creators at Housemarque, is getting a new two-and-half hour trial for anyone interested in trying it.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has expressed hopes that Xbox can be a company that "entertains more than a billion people each day" amidst drastic change at the company.
The news is finally out. Microsoft is laying off thousands of people from its Xbox division and losing four game studios from its roster.
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