Japanese mobile and web3 game developer Gumi wants around 80 employees to accept voluntary redundancy so it can downsize to "achieve sustainable growth."The company broke the news in a press release (via Google Translate) spotted by Game World Observer and said it reported a net loss of 5.9 billion yen ($37.8 million) during the last fiscal year. It appeared to blame that loss on the performance of Aster Tatarics, which delivered "significantly" lower than expected sales."In order to ensure the soundness of management and achieve sustainable growth in a difficult environment including market conditions, it is necessary to revamp our existing development policies and systems. We are aware that there is," reads the translated press release."Specifically, fo…
Gearbox Entertainment is no longer an Embracer studio. The Swedish conglomerate has confirmed its deal to sell the bulk of Gearbox to Take-Two Interactive has been completed."On 28 March 2024, Embracer Group AB (“Embracer”) entered into an agreement to divest Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. All conditions for the transaction have now been fulfilled, and the transaction has been closed today," reads a brief press release.The closing of the deal has seen Embracer issue 8.32 million B shares at a subscription price of SEK 98.78 per share to settle certain earnout obligations related to the transaction. An additional 2.08 million B shares have been issued at a subscription price of SEK 79.30 to cover earnout obligations related to Lost Boys Interactiv…
John Hight, a longtime employee at Blizzard Entertainment, revealed he's departing the studio.On Twitter, Hight said he's "decided to step away and start a new quest." While vague, he expressed a desire to "explore new opportunities and challenges in the industry, and to continue making great games with talented people."Hight's career dates back to 1991, where he served as a producer on CD-i titles like Connect Four and Battleship. In the 90s and 2000s, he was an executive producer or design lead on titles like Command & Conquer 2, Neverwinter Nights 2, and God of War 3.Come 2012, he joined Blizzard as a senior producer on World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria. Over the years, he worked his way up to becoming general manager for the entire franchise, w…
Los Angeles-area developer Fighting Chance Games has announced that it is ceasing development on Drag Her!, a classic fighting game featuring a roster of popular drag queens like Alaska 5000, Kim Chi, and BenDeLaCreme. The team had previously raised a modest $75,000 on Kickstarter to fund development.In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the studio said it made the "painful decision" to stop work on the game after three years for a simple reason: the team ran out of funding."Over the life of this project, we have pitched to a long list of publishers, platforms, and more looking to get Drag Her! picked up," the team said in a statement. Despite the successful Kickstarter and a number of grant applications, and positive fan reception online and at events, "no amount of …