720°

Rocksteady Studio says they received an unsolicited letter

While working on a response to the recent harassment allegations, the studio received the following unsolicited letter.

1380d ago Replies(6)
DonDon30001380d ago

Maybe from now on videos and audio recorders should be planted all over the workplace. It's terrible that either men or women have to always worry about being falsely accused of sexual harrassment/ or actually being sexually harrassed. It seems to be the only solution left now that virtually everyone is being accused of being a pervert nowadays.

Omnisonne1379d ago

I think the problem lies more with people regarding every dirty joke or physical contact as ''assault'' or ''harassment'' .
I wouldn't want to work in a place that constantly monitors my every step and sneeze. I know it's an unpopular opinion.. and I certainly don't condone actual assault (i.e groping or punching) but I really do believe people have gotten so soft and timid that you can't even look at a person or they'll file a complaint or write a twitter post.

Eamon1379d ago

I think most women feel uncomfortable when hearing lewd jokes made by guys. Whether that counts as "sexual harassment" is something else - I think not all lewd jokes are sexual harassment and should be judged case-by-case.

However, companies should enforce certain standards in order to make a work environment as comfortable for as many people as possible. I do not think video/audio recorders placed everywhere is the solution. That can effect the quality of people's work - making people feel constantly on edge will decrease productivity.

I think what it boils down to is that the videogame industry is heavily male-dominated which should not come as a surprise. This is the same trend in most tech sectors - generally speaking males are more attracted to tech positions than females. Because of these stats, it therefore isn't surprising that a lot of these workplaces would develop work environments that are more suited to guys' comfort zones rather then women. I don't see this as some nefarious issue - it's just natural human course of behavior and psychology.

One big problem is that after #metoo, there have been severe overreactions in cases that do not involve any physical acts. People who may have said sexist comments or lewd jokes are portrayed as if they are Satan. Not saying there shouldn't be consequences to people's actions - of course there should be. But words are not nearly as bad as assault. People should have the opportunity to change their behavior and ask for forgiveness. This is what's contributing to the current cancel culture we see before us.

1379d ago
1379d ago Replies(1)
rainslacker1379d ago

Lot of states have laws which prevent such a thing. Particularly in break areas where one may not be getting paid for their time in there.

DonDon30001379d ago

Than any harrassment that is alluded to have happened in said break areas should'nt be grounds for suing that company.

rainslacker1379d ago

Harassment on it's own isn't grounds for suing any company. It's if the company neglects the complaint and the work environment fosters what are called hostile attitudes either towards individuals, or those who file complaints. It takes a while for a company to be able to be held liable in a harassment case, and isn't something that can happen with just one complaint more often than not. The only exceptions would be if someone at or near the top is the offender, and even then, cases typically need more than one complainant.

1379d ago Replies(4)
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190°

Former Activision studio Toys for Bob partners with Xbox to publish its first game as an indie

Former Activision studio Toys for Bob partners with Xbox to publish its first game as an indie. This is something of a homecoming, as Microsoft owns Activision.

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engadget.com
Obscure_Observer11h ago

Very very early in development. Still, fantastic news!

Let´s GO!!!

Lightning779h ago

I guess.

How come they didnt either let them go or sell Tango and others to another publisher? Not saying Ubisoft, EA would be any better. (Capcome would of treated them right )

At least it wouldn't be MS of all ppl destroying them.

MS really should let go Tango go like they did TFB here.

darthv729h ago(Edited 9h ago)

one was under Bethesda (Tango) the other under Activision (TFB). Clearly each one handled the separations of their subordinates differently.

Obscure_Observer8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

"How come they didnt either let them go or sell Tango and others to another publisher? Not saying Ubisoft, EA would be any better. (Capcome would of treated them right )"

Perhaps because Zenimax and ABK handles such matters differently based on their own internal policies as "independent" publishers.

Whoever, chances are it´s simply because MS didn´t wanted Tango or Austin to be acquired by competitors and develop new bangers for them, giving MS a bad rep in a possible future. Which could also be the reason why they ensured an exclusive partnership with TFB and its new game, before anyone else.

Sad and disgusting. But it is what it is.

Lightning774h ago(Edited 4h ago)

"Whoever, chances are it´s simply because MS didn´t wanted Tango or Austin to be acquired by competitors and develop new bangers for them, giving MS a bad rep in a possible future."

MS has a bad rep now because those studios are no more. I rather them sell the studio continue to make multiplatform releases, while MS continues to focus on whatever they're doing. If they didn't want Tango around they should separated from them or sell them to, like they did TFB.

It's inexcusable, they have options on how to handle studios they don't want anymore with killing jobs. Not just MS but the rest of the industry also.

Sad and disgusting sure how many will get shut down next year or this year even?

I don't trust MS decisions and motivations at this point. You have to admit they make one dumb move after another.

-Foxtrot11h ago

Manages to buy their freedom especially after all the shit Microsoft has been doing with its studios lately

...

Goes right back to them as partners.

Okaaaaaay...

darthv729h ago

Id venture a guess that TFB working directly with MS was a better outcome than working through Activision to get to MS.

VersusDMC7h ago

From the article...

"Toys for Bob spun out as an indie back in February after Microsoft instituted sweeping layoffs that impacted 86 employees, which was more than half of the staff"

I doubt those 86 employees enjoyed the Microsoft experience over Activisions.

Inverno6h ago

MS shuts down studios because of lack of resources and then helps these guys by giving em resources. Also MS is what forced them to buy their freedom in the first place? What kind of logic 😂

Chevalier3h ago

The best thing is that the company that is worth $3 trillion and owns the company instead of Xbox lacks resources. How the hell does a company worth $3 trillion making a measly $70 billion purchase they 'can't' support. Lol

Sciurus_vulgaris9h ago(Edited 9h ago)

Xbox’s gaming division seems to still function as 3 semi-autonomous sub-divisions, Xbox Studios, Bethesda and ABK. The three main sub-divisions can seemingly shut down or build studios and set up partnerships independently. This would explain why Bethesda can recently shutdown studios, while ABK spins off one studio, while building a new one. Plus, Toys for Bob could be spun off by ABK, only to immediately re-partner with Microsoft.

Chevalier3h ago

That's absolutely 💯 BS. Any sane 'autonomous' company would NOT put their games on Gamepass day 1 like COD will lose probably billions.

Also they're all under Xbox game studios so any autonomy is an illusion.

Elda3h ago

Either a kiddie game or something uninteresting.

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130°

What Happens to Your Steam Account When You Die?

The Outerhaven writes: While Steam has come out recently, stating that Steam accounts can't be transferred, we need to think about it since we all will eventually kick the bucket. But if Valve is denying transferring accounts, what can be done? Plenty, actually.

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theouterhaven.net
thorstein1d 12h ago

It goes to my kids because I gave them the passwords.

To Steam: Missio has a song that conveys my feelings about you stealing my purchase after I die. It's called "Middle Fingers"

shinoff218317h ago

Pretty much. My son knows my info.

Abear2117h ago

Yeah worrying about digital ownership when you’re on the other side of the grass seems a little strange, but also on brand for these millennial journalists to worry about.

qalpha2h ago

I'm sure Keith will be happy to hear he's a millennial journalist.

Goodguy0121h ago

I suppose if I have kids, I'd just give em my account details by retirement age. If I die young then...idk lol.

CrimsonWing6918h ago

Yea, I mean just give someone the password to your account. Is that difficult to do or something? Like, I’m legit asking because I don’t know.

anast16h ago(Edited 16h ago)

It's not difficult but It's against the policy. If they find out, they will lock the account permanently.

CrimsonWing6915h ago

Ah ok, I had a feeling there was something like that. It seems kind of weird that you can’t just hand your account over to a family member or friend and let them take over the account.

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90°

CDPR Confident In Transition To Unreal Engine 5 For New Witcher Game, Addresses Industry Layoffs

CD Projekt Red is confident in the transition from its in-house Red Engine to Unreal Engine 5 for the next Witcher game.

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twistedvoxel.com
cthulhucultist23h ago

My main concern with UE5, is that some developers have resorted to very low resolutions in order to enable the advanced feature set of this engine and sustain the frame rate.

In open world games, especially those with excellent graphics, we cant realistically expect 60fps  from consoles (PS5 pro set aside as we do not know exactly how performant it will be) without huge compromises.

Thus the new Witcher game will probably require more powerful consoles to experience it the way the developers intended and in that sense, it reminds me of Cyberpunk situation.

It was released in current gen systems albeit in dire state (even PS4 Pro and Xbox One X suffered) requiring next generation consoles to achieve a desirable (and still not ideal) result.

DarXyde22h ago

My thoughts exactly. This is definitely a PC engine first and foremost, given the compromises required on consoles. Tekken 8 is a **fighting game** on UE5 and, even without Nanite and Lumen, needs to be upscaled to 4K to run at a solid 60fps. The engine straight up dog walks current console hardware. I don't see this getting much better on a PS5 Pro either.

I don't see this game releasing this generation. If it wasn't Sony owned, I think Decima 2.0 would be an excellent engine for this game.

Aussiesummer21h ago(Edited 21h ago)

I am quietly confident that they are going to make one hell of a jaw dropping witcher considering what they achieved with cyberpunk, i reckon they will bring a new level of what can be expected from ue5 BUT i reckon it will be a ps6/rtx 5090 game.