Gorilla Tag developer Another Axiom claims the multiplayer parkour jamboree is the most popular title on the Meta Quest Store.The studio explained its VR title has seen over 1 million daily active users and over 3 million monthly active users. Notably, it added its player community continues to expand.Gorilla Tag launched back in 2021 (initially via early acces) and became the first app to hit over 100,000 reviews on the Meta Quest Store. It's also available on SteamVR.Another Axiom dished out those metrics during a recent fireside chat at the Augmented World Expo (available on the company website), and claimed Gorilla Tag's success shows that "the time for VR is in fact, here and now."The studio said Gorilla Tag has attracted over 10 million lifetime players and genera…
Swedish conglomerate Embracer Group reduced its headcount by 4,532 employees over the past year.As noted in the company's fiscal report for the year ended March 31, 2024, Embracer's total headcount dropped by 27 percent to 12,069 employees in Q4 FY24—down from 16,601 in Q4 FY23.Embracer explained 3,727 of those departures were "game developers" and noted it also cancelled 80 game projects during that time.That colossal headcount reduction comes with Embracer having completed a sweeping restructuring program that resulted in widespread layoffs, studio closures, project cancellations and huge divestments—including the sale of Gearbox Entertainment and Saber Interactive.Embracer is now preparing to begin a "new chapter" that will see it split its business in…
Sony Interactive Entertainment is implementing a new, multi-pronged leadership structure following the departure of long-serving president Jim Ryan.Effective June 1, 2024, PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst will be appointed CEO of SIE's Studio Business Group. In his new role, Hulst will be responsible for the "development, publishing, and business operations of SIE's first-party content.""I am thrilled to lead the Studio business group and continue to build on our success with PlayStation 5, while preparing for the future," said Hulst. "The video game industry is one of the largest entertainment industries in the world and has been built on the marriage of content and technology, and I look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of play and ente…
DeepWell co-founder and chief creative officer Mike Wilson, who you might know best as the co-founder of Devolver Digital, has left the therapeutic game publisher after two years.Wilson broke the news on Linkedin and said he felt "compelled" to let his industry colleagues know he departed in late 2023 and wasn't involved with the development or launch of DeepWell's latest title."I left DeepWell late 2023, along with almost all of the games industry colleagues I brought to that company, and have absolutely nothing to do with the game they released today on the Quest store (which they called Zengeance) and which my colleagues also asked to have their names removed from," he wrote."I still have high hopes and strong beliefs for the power of games and other d…
Rockstar wants its workers back in the office by April, and it's reportedly to ensure Grand Theft Auto 6 makes its early 2025 launch.A recent Kotaku report alleges the open-world game may get bumped to 2026 in the worst of circumstances. At best, Rockstar higher-ups are hoping for a fall 2025 launch, similar to Grand Theft Auto V (on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) or Red Dead Redemption II.At the time of the RTO announcement, Rockstar claimed it'd boost productivity and ensure security mid-GTA 6 development. Remote workers have felt put out by the mandate, particularly those who were hired during the remote period.Production on the game has reportedly started lagging, though a specific reason wasn't given. Last week, an employee told Aftermath their fears of Rockstar returning …
Unity is sunsetting its suite of Ziva products less than two years after acquiring creator Ziva Dynamics.The company broke the news in a blog post and explained it's no longer selling or supporting Ziva VFX, Ziva Real-Time, Ziva Face Trainer, and related Ziva products.Unity explained the move is part of its ongoing company reset and said it remains focused on its core offerings in Unity Editor and Runtime, Unity Cloud, and its Monetization Solutions.It added that active Ziva subscribers will have the option to convert their existing license to a five-year term in the Ziva customer portal so they can continue using the product site beyind the expiration date of their existing license.Notably, Unity has also entered into an agreement with technology-enabled visual effects and animation …