Tag: despidos

The studio behind the remake of Until Dawn is closing its doors

Ballistic Moon, the studio behind the remake of Until Dawn released in 2024, has announced its effective closure after failing to find a publisher for its next project. According to a report from Insider Gaming, only the founders and a few employees remain active in the company, while the rest of the team has been laid off in recent months. A studio at risk even before the game’s release Founded in 2020 by industry veterans from studios like EA and Supermassive Games, Ballistic Moon has faced significant difficulties in its efforts to secure funding. Despite […]

Ballistic Moon, the studio behind the 2024 remake of Until Dawn, has announced its effective closure after failing to find a publisher for its next project. According to a report from Insider Gaming, only the founders and a few employees remain active in the company, while the rest of the team has been laid off in recent months.

A study under risk even before the game’s launch

Founded in 2020 by industry veterans from studios like EA and Supermassive Games, Ballistic Moon has faced significant challenges in its efforts to secure funding. Despite having worked on a remake that modernized the beloved horror adventure game on PS4 using Unreal Engine 5, its reception was lukewarm compared to the original version. The remake featured a new soundtrack, a shift to a third-person perspective, and a post-credits scene that hinted at a possible sequel. However, this effort does not seem to have been enough to keep the studio afloat.

Additionally, the study did not receive support from Sony for future work related to the Until Dawn franchise, which has further limited its development capacity. Although it is unclear if a sequel to Until Dawn is in development, it seems that Ballistic Moon is not involved in that possible continuation. However, it is rumored that interest in the franchise could be revived with the upcoming release of a movie based on Until Dawn, scheduled for next month.

The disappearance of Ballistic Moon highlights the challenges faced by many independent development studios today, especially in such a competitive and ever-changing market as that of video games. Meanwhile, players can still enjoy the remake of Until Dawn on PC and PS5, although the future of the title and its franchise seems uncertain, even with its movie already in progress.

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If Marvel Rivals isn't working for you, you're not alone

Players of Marvel Rivals are facing excessive wait times and disconnections that have severely affected the gaming experience on the platform. Despite more than 200,000 users being online, many are unable to join a match, leading to growing frustration within the community. A major server outage has occurred, and NetEase, the game’s developer, has officially acknowledged the issues and is working to resolve them. According to community manager James, through the official game Discord, the company is investigating the inconveniences as a priority. However, so far there is no […]

Players of Marvel Rivals are facing excessive wait times and disconnections that have severely affected the gaming experience on the platform. Despite more than 200,000 users being online, many are unable to join a match, which has generated growing frustration within the community.

A significant server outage

NetEase, the game’s developer, has officially acknowledged the issues and is working to resolve them. According to community manager James, through the official game Discord, the company is investigating the inconveniences as a priority. However, so far no estimated time for a solution has been provided, which has intensified concern among players, who do not know if the situation will be resolved soon or if they will remain in uncertainty for a longer period.

The situation worsens in the night of North America, a critical moment for players looking to enjoy a smooth online experience. Frustration has been evident on streaming platforms, where figures like the streamer Surefour have shared their discontent while waiting for the game to return to normal. During one of his streams, Surefour expressed his exasperation, commenting that he would prefer “lukewarm water” rather than face the current server issues.

Despite the challenges, there is a significant interest in Marvel Rivals, as indicated by the more than 200,000 connected players, although many of them are likely stuck on non-functional lobby screens. As players await an update, the NetEase team continues to work on restoring full service and improving the gaming experience in the future. Although, of course, their timing has not been the best.

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Things look bad for Marvel Rivals after their latest move

Recently, several developers from the successful game Marvel Rivals, produced by NetEase Games, were fired. The news was confirmed by the game’s director, Thaddeus Sasser, who expressed his surprise at the situation. According to Sasser, his “talented team” had contributed to the launch of a new and successful franchise, achieving Marvel Rivals reaching 10 million players in its first 72 hours and 20 million in the following week. Despite these impressive numbers, all developers located in America, including two level designers, were fired. Marvel Rivals has positioned itself among the top five video games in […]

Recently, several developers from the successful game Marvel Rivals, produced by NetEase Games, were laid off. The news was confirmed by the game’s director, Thaddeus Sasser, who expressed his surprise at the situation. According to Sasser, his “talented team” had contributed to the launch of a new and successful franchise, achieving Marvel Rivals reaching 10 million players in its first 72 hours and 20 million in the following week. Despite these impressive numbers, all developers located in America, including two level designers, were laid off.

Marvel Rivals has positioned itself among the top five video games in the United States, standing out on multiple platforms such as PC, PlayStation, and Xbox Series X|S. This success is even more remarkable given that it integrates into a saturated live service gaming market. However, the fact that NetEase is scaling back its operations in the gaming sector, especially single-player titles, has left many in the industry puzzled. Despite the recent bad news, the game will continue to receive updates, with the introduction of new characters, such as The Human Torch and The Thing, scheduled for this week.

It is not the only study that has made cuts

In addition to the layoffs at NetEase, the Swedish studio Liquid Swords has also made the difficult decision to lay off part of its team. Founded by Chistofer Sundberg in 2020, Liquid Swords has yet to release its first title, but has stated that the measure responds to a priority for “long-term sustainability”. These layoffs reflect a worrying pattern in the industry, where the success of a game does not always guarantee job stability for its developers.

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Marvel Rivals is a thrilling, team-based PvP game that brings the expansive Marvel universe to life in a dynamic and engaging way. This action game allows players to assemble their dream teams from a wide array of beloved Marvel characters, including heroes and villains from the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men, and more.

The constant layoffs in the world of video games create an unresolved question: Who will want to work making them now?

What’s going on? And especially in this environment… Who the hell would want to work making games?

It is becoming a weekly tradition as dangerous as it is sad: checking how many workers have been fired this time from the video game industry. In just three months of 2024, companies like Sega, Unity or Electronic Arts have laid off thousands of people while, on the other hand, they keep telling us how well everything is going in an industry that never stops growing and making profits. What is happening? And, above all, in this environment… Who the hell would want to work making games?

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Control, Alt, Delete Positions

Of course, there is a rational explanation for this massive movement of companies: during the pandemic, they hired a lot of people to help entertain the public who were alone at home and needed some amusement. And now that we have all returned to normal, it’s time to reduce the workforce. But, of course, there is another explanation that not everyone wants to hear: investors make more money.

In the world of 2024, the decisions of any cultural industry (film, television, comics, whatever you want) do not come from the hands of creators but from committees formed by people who know a lot about making money but very little about culture or, for that matter, treating people with humanity. And video games are no exception: in the constant struggle to have more money than the opponent, like Uncle Scrooge swimming in his pool of coins, they are making the decision to neglect the workers.

This line of work is based on a supposed hypothesis: there will always be people who want to work in the world of video games, out of love or motivation, even if they know that the Sword of Damocles will be forever hanging over their heads. But the truth is that “volatile markets” (the eternal excuse of the producers), for whatever reason, do not attract new talents, who, when it comes to losing money, it is normal for them to look for their place in the indie.

Who knows, maybe the shareholders are right and in the future we will have higher quality games made by teams that don’t care about this constant cycle of layoffs. Even those who claim that this is completely normal and that it’s just layoffs after a “big game” may not be wrong. But for now, there will be many who read the news, see the current state of the industry, and prefer to do something safer and create games in their free time. And that certainly doesn’t benefit anyone… except their creativity.

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Gamescom Unveils Dismal Updates for Fans of Mass Effect and Dragon Age

Bioware is in the news, but not for reason to rejoice: It has laid off about 50 people to “stay competitive”

When things take a turn for the worse, nothing can assure us that things will turn out well. Unfortunately, we live in a capitalist system, and that means if it’s necessary to lay off people to make the numbers work, individuals will be let go. Regardless of their talent, history, or needs. At the end of the day, the numbers are what matter. Cold and harsh. Something that’s not an exception in the gaming industry, and on days like today, the news breaks our hearts a little.

BioWare has announced that they have laid off around 50 people. Being a studio of approximately 300 individuals, this signifies a significant reduction in their workforce, which is not exactly promising for the studio’s future.

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Gary McKay, the General Manager of the studio, has clarified in a studio statement the reasons for doing this. According to him, in order to achieve the quality standards they set and to continue growing in a rapidly evolving industry, they need to change to become a more agile and focused studio. This requires them to eliminate around 50 positions within the studio.

However, this reasoning sounds, at the very least, strange, from the moment we’ve learned about some of the positions that have been cut. Although we’ll probably know more in the days to come, we know that writer Mary Kirby, who has been behind the scripts of all three Dragon Age games and the acclaimed Star Wars: The Old Republic, is one of the individuals whose work has been abruptly eliminated.

These are not good news for fans, especially when BioWare has announced a return to the Dragon Age franchise. Announced in 2018 under the name Dragon Age Dreadwolf, with this wave of layoffs and a key figure like Kirby, who has always been integral, being let go, it’s only natural to harbor doubts about the future of the project and the studio. That’s why, even though McKay says they are confident that Dreadwolf will reach its full potential, which is why its release was recently postponed, this decision conveys quite the opposite message, even if unintended.

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