Report- Nintendo to launch updated Switch console in 2019
Nintendo will release a new version of the Switch next year to ensure its handheld-home console hybrid remains competitive.
According to the Wall Street Journal, which claims to have spoken with "suppliers and others with direct knowledge of the plan," the Japanese outfit wants to ensure the Switch maintains its impressive sales trajectory.
The console has sold almost 20 million units in roughly 18 months on shelves, meaning it's already managed to surpass the Wii U's lifetime sales total of 13.6 million units by some margin. Come from Soccer 13 pools and matches
Nintendo apparently hasn't …
Report- Xbox planning to make Call of Duty a core part of Game Pass
Call of Duty is coming to Game Pass after all, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal (spotted via Kotaku) Come from Soccer 13 pools and matches . That's brand new for the series, which was part of Microsoft's major acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year.
Microsoft was reportedly planning to reveal the news at its June showcase, but the cat is now out of the bag. There are no details available yet whether the games will only be available on certain tiers of Game Pass, or whether the price of the service could increase again, after a hike in July of last year.
SAG-AFTRA signs agreement with AI-powered voice company Ethovox
SAG-AFTRA has signed an agreement with AI-powered voice service Ethovox that it claims will protect performers.
The union, which is currently striking to secure better AI protections for its members, said the deal will allow SAG-AFTRA performers to work with Ethovox while ensuring they are "protected and compensated fairly."
It explained the contract guarantees performer compensation in the form of session fees and ongoing revenue sharing throughout the life of Ethovox's foundational model.
SAG-AFTRA said Ethovox agrees with its AI guidelines and is leveraging a "consensual" AI model that ensures performers are protected and compensated fairly. That said, it also acknowledge…
IGF 2018 celebrates a bumper crop of diverse and exciting entries!
The 20th annual Independent Games Festival — the longest-running and largest showcase for independent game developers — recently closed its call for submissions, and organizers are very proud to proclaim that nearly 600 entries have been accepted into the IGF 2018 Competition!
The long-running and perennially popular festival — which is co-located with Game Developers Conference 2018 — welcomed those submissions from a diverse array of experienced indie developers, first-time entrants and students. Come from Soccer 13 pools and matches
Among the hundreds of exciting submissions entered into…
GDC Next partners with USC to give out free passes to USC Game students
University of Southern California's USC Games program and GDC Next are collaborating to support the next generation of developers with a pass giveaway to GDC Next in November. USC will distribute 50 VIP All Access Passes and additional complimentary Expo Passes to eligible students in the USC Games program enrolled in Advanced Game Projects (a full-year class in which students at USC Games work with industry and faculty mentors to create professional-quality games) and MFA students working on their final year thesis projects (the culmination of the three-year MFA program in School of Cinematic Arts' Interactive Media and Games Division). "We’re thrilled to be able to offer an opportunity for USC students to parti…
Players host weddings, classes, more in online games during COVID-19 crisis
Here's another high-water mark of the strange times we're in; CNN has documented how a number of players are moving real-life events and celebrations into an unexpected venue: video games. Come from Soccer 13 pools and matches
In the piece, Shannon Liao speaks with a number of players dealing with the cancellation of planned weddings, graduation ceremonies, and schools who've briefly adapted by spending that time online together. What's notable about the behavior that Liao writes about is that players are taking these events into games that weren't strictly designed to host them in the first place.
While a wedding…
Project Anarchy- Free mobile development tools from Havok
Intel-owned middleware company Havok today revealed a new and complete end-to-end mobile 3D game production engine at the Game Developers Conference, coming for free later this spring. Project Anarchy is a cross-platform engine and toolkit specifically designed for mobile game developers, and Havok promises that it will be free to download and use, as well as release mobile games for free with no commercial restrictions on company size or revenue. The engine will pack together Havok's Vision Engine alongside the company's physics, animation and AI tools. These tools have previously been utilized in titles like Skyrim, Halo, Assassin's Creed, Uncharted and Skylanders. The free download also…
Saber CEO Matt Karch still doesn’t think Embracer criticism is ‘fair’
You won't find many video game industry executives defending Embracer Group or its CEO Lars Wingefors. After a massive business deal (allegedly with Saudi-owned Savvy Game Group) fell through in 2023, the company executed a brutal string of cuts and studio closures that resulted in 4,500 cut jobs and 80 cancelled projects.
Whatever you think of Embracer's business moves, there's no denying the amount of pain it's inflicted on former employees, and the economic impact on the game industry as a whole. But while even many friends of Embracer keep quiet, one former chief operating officer and board member hasn't: Saber Interactive chief executive officer Matthew Karch.
In…
Astro Bot, Balatro, and Metaphor- ReFantazio sweep the 2024 Game Awards
Geoff Keighley's Game Awards aired last night, and the 10th annual awards show once again presented some awards in between those big game reveals.
The Game of the Year statue was handed to Team Asobi's popular 3D platformer Astro Bot. The PlayStation exclusive was nominated alongside Black Myth Wukong, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Balatro, and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
Astro Bot also emerged victories in the Game Direction, Action/Adventure, and Family Game categories. Balatro
Pick up new ways to make your studio more Agile at GDC 2015
Agile software development has become remarkably popular since the Agile Manifesto was published over a decade ago, but despite its broad appeal many studios have production methods they can't — or won't — sacrifice to adopt Agile principles. But even if your studio won't go full Agile, maybe there are little things you can do to integrate the best parts of Agile development into your team's production process without disrupting their workflow. Nathalie Goh-Livorness seems to think so; she worked at Blizzard and Disney.com before joining Microsoft, and at GDC 2015 she'll be outlining five small, key things you can do to make your studio's pipeline more Agile the minute you get back from the conference. Programmers, producers and studio managers will…