iusearchbtw

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/12848199

The indie studio behind last year's incredible Saltsea Chronicles has halted production entirely, citing difficulty securing funding.

Die Gute Fabrik is also known for 2019's Mutazione and the local multiplayer compilation Sportfriends from 2014.

The studio halted production last week on 19th February, it revealed today, and said it made the news public to help its members find roles elsewhere.

"The publishing and investment scene is so tough for companies and projects of our scale right now," Die Gute Fabrik said in its statement. The studio will continue to seek funding, it said, and should it secure funding in future it may resume production.

Die Gute Fabrik's games will remain on sale, which the company said "continues to be the best way to support us" on X (née Twitter). Founder Nils Deneken will take over leadership of the studio while it seeks funding, though he and CEO Hannah Nicklin are also looking for new roles.

If you've yet to try some of Die Gute Fabrik's games, there's perhaps no better time to support the studio. Our Donlan enjoyed Mutazione, an adventure game which combines gardening with its narrative. In his Mutazione review, he called the game a "kind and gentle adventure that's filled with vivid life".

Donlan also enjoyed Saltsea Chronicles, an adventure game set in a flooded, post-apocalyptic world where an ensemble of crew members must find their ship's captain. Donlan awarded it five stars in his Saltsea Chronicles review and praised the subtlety of choices the game asks you to make in the lead up to a "truly devastating climax".

The indie studio behind last year's incredible Saltsea Chronicles has halted production entirely, citing difficulty securing funding.

Die Gute Fabrik is also known for 2019's Mutazione and the local multiplayer compilation Sportfriends from 2014.

The studio halted production last week on 19th February, it revealed today, and said it made the news public to help its members find roles elsewhere.

"The publishing and investment scene is so tough for companies and projects of our scale right now," Die Gute Fabrik said in its statement. The studio will continue to seek funding, it said, and should it secure funding in future it may resume production.

Die Gute Fabrik's games will remain on sale, which the company said "continues to be the best way to support us" on X (née Twitter). Founder Nils Deneken will take over leadership of the studio while it seeks funding, though he and CEO Hannah Nicklin are also looking for new roles.

If you've yet to try some of Die Gute Fabrik's games, there's perhaps no better time to support the studio. Our Donlan enjoyed Mutazione, an adventure game which combines gardening with its narrative. In his Mutazione review, he called the game a "kind and gentle adventure that's filled with vivid life".

Donlan also enjoyed Saltsea Chronicles, an adventure game set in a flooded, post-apocalyptic world where an ensemble of crew members must find their ship's captain. Donlan awarded it five stars in his Saltsea Chronicles review and praised the subtlety of choices the game asks you to make in the lead up to a "truly devastating climax".

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/11258346

Polish developer Reikon Games has reportedly dismissed a significant portion of its workforce.

Sources told GamesIndustry.biz that around 70 people have been laid off, while former producer Rafał Basaj claimed it was around 60 people via a Threads post.

Others told Kotaku that an estimated 56% of the company's employees have been affected.

The layoffs were announced to staff on January 23, 2024, with multiple former employees since posting on LinkedIn and social media platforms that they are looking for work.

GamesIndustry.biz reached out to Reikon Games for confirmation and comment, but has not received a response at the time of writing.

Reikon is best known for 2017 cyberpunk shooter Ruiner, which was published by Devolver Digital.

Polish developer Reikon Games has reportedly dismissed a significant portion of its workforce.

Sources told GamesIndustry.biz that around 70 people have been laid off, while former producer Rafał Basaj claimed it was around 60 people via a Threads post.

Others told Kotaku that an estimated 56% of the company's employees have been affected.

The layoffs were announced to staff on January 23, 2024, with multiple former employees since posting on LinkedIn and social media platforms that they are looking for work.

GamesIndustry.biz reached out to Reikon Games for confirmation and comment, but has not received a response at the time of writing.

Reikon is best known for 2017 cyberpunk shooter Ruiner, which was published by Devolver Digital.

Microsoft is laying off 1900 people across the video game teams, including Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax and Xbox, equating to approximately eight percent of its gaming workforce.

In an internal email seen by The Verge, Microsoft's gaming head Phil Spencer called this a "painful decision".

"It's been a little over three months since the Activision, Blizzard, and King teams joined Microsoft," Spencer wrote in his email to staff. "As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business. Together, we've set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we're all aligned on the best opportunities for growth.

"As part of this process, we have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce by approximately 1900 roles out of the 22,000 people on our team. The Gaming Leadership Team and I are committed to navigating this process as thoughtfully as possible.

"The people who are directly impacted by these reductions have all played an important part in the success of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax and the Xbox teams, and they should be proud of everything they've accomplished here. We are grateful for all of the creativity, passion and dedication they have brought to our games, our players and our colleagues. We will provide our full support to those who are impacted during the transition, including severance benefits informed by local employment laws. Those whose roles will be impacted will be notified, and we ask that you please treat your departing colleagues with the respect and compassion that is consistent with our values.

"Looking ahead, we'll continue to invest in areas that will grow our business and support our strategy of bringing more games to more players around the world. Although this is a difficult moment for our team, I'm as confident as ever in your ability to create and nurture the games, stories and worlds that bring players together."

The layoffs follow Microsoft's $69bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year, and $7.5bn acquisition of Zenimax in 2021.

It has also been announced that Blizzard president Mike Ybarra is departing Microsoft, along with Blizzard's chief design officer Allen Adham.

Sharing the news on X, Ybarra thanked those at Blizzard, calling today an "incredibly hard day".

"To all of those impacted today - I am always available to you and understand how challenging today’s news is. My heart is with each one of you," he wrote.

The execs' departures mark the end of Blizzard's previously announced survival game, which has now been cancelled.

This project was being helmed by ex-Far Cry boss Dan Hay. When this game was first announced in 2022, Blizzard said it would be set in a "whole new universe".

"Blizzard is embarking on our next quest," the company wrote at the time. "We are going on a journey to a whole new universe, home to a brand-new survival game for PC and console."

This universe is "a place full of heroes we have yet to meet, stories yet to be told, and adventures yet to be lived", Blizzard added. "A vast realm of possibility, waiting to be explored."

You can see its concept art below, showing two young figures happening upon a passage that leads away from their dreary urban home to a verdant fantasy world.

Last October, Microsoft announced a reorganisation of its Xbox leadership team, which saw Sarah Bond’s role expanded to overseeing a number of internal teams under a new title of President of Xbox. Matt Booty, previously known as Head of Xbox Game Studios, received the new job title of President, Game Content and Studios. This reorganisation followed the retirement of Bethesda exec Pete Hines.

Just last week, GDC published its 2024 State of the Game Industry report. Here, it said 35 percent of game developers had been impacted by layoffs in the last 12 months. Additionally, half of those surveyed said they are concerned more job cuts are on the way.

This year has already seen multiple companies announce layoffs, including League of Legends developer Riot Games. Earlier this month, the company revealed it was laying off 530 employees, equating to roughly 11 percent of its total global workforce. Others affected this year include Black Forest Games, Unity, Behaviour Interactive and Lords of the Fallen publisher CI Games.

This story is developing.

It looks like SDF's Mastodon instance (v4.0.2) is vulnerable, and requires patching to either 4.1.3 or 4.0.5. I don't want to back-seat admin, but I know the SDF crew have a lot on their plate. Are they aware of this vulnerability?

EDIT: The instance has now been updated to v4.0.5!