"The sudden closure of several video-game studios at Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox division was the result of a widespread cost-cutting initiative that still isn’t finished.
This week, Xbox began offering voluntary severance agreements to producers, quality assurance testers and other staff at ZeniMax, which it purchased in 2020 for $7.5 billion, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. Others across the Xbox organization have been told that more cuts are on the way.
Speaking about the closures more broadly, Booty said that the company’s studios had been spread too thin — like “peanut butter on bread” — and that leaders across the division had felt understaffed. They decided to close these studios to free up resources elsewhere, he said.
Game Pass has not seen the massive growth that Xbox boss Phil Spencer may have been hoping for."
Cheat software provider EngineOwning will pay Call of Duty creator Activision nearly $15 million in damages and legal fees.
Get a fresh look at Star Wars Outlaws, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and more on June 10.
Assassin's Creed Hexe is what I wanna hear about most. Yes I wanna play as a witch with magic during the 16 century witch trials in Germany (as per rumors). Sign me up
Yeah, Hex sounds amazing to me as well, and I've been playing since AC 1. I'm real curious how are they gonna fit the magic into the game, maybe in similar way the dlc introduced gods and god abilities. but I love that I've heard its gonna have a horror vibe.
Hopefully gameplay of ac shadows or star wars outlaws, if they finally announce the new far cry I'm definitely getting that, far cry still fun af and gorgeous games, yeah ubisoft has their faults but atleast they're not copying souls like games their titles still have identity
I'm going to be an outlier amongst the rest of these comments.... give us something NEW! I'm pretty burnt out on Ubisoft franchises, unless you're giving us a new Rayman game!
*Edit - imagine what they could do with a Rayman 3D game in this day and age. I say now is the time to revisit the series.
Their microtransaction monetization scheme on it will lie somewhere between good and evil!
Haha JK.... it'll be completely evil. 🙃
Sony aims to release live service PlayStation games day & date on PC and PS5, but single-player games will have more "strategic approach."
How? I’m sorry but how when they literally port their games to the PC now after not even 2 years, it’s rumored GoW Ragnarok is next.
The best thing they could have done is focus on the generation before with PS3 / PS4 titles and when it got to the PS6 then start porting PS5 games so people will want to get the sequel on the new console
Now PC gamers just wait it out because they know it’s coming
Rock Star does the same thing. Release 1st on consoles, wait a year or two then release on PC. It's clearly a strategy that works for them.
They don't need a lot of PC gamers to move to Playstation, but they just need a few who would also buy into it and possibly double dip. There are some very unhappy gamers on Twitter, who wanted to hear day and date for all games.
Fox
Your analyse is not accurate..
If sony keeps things the way they are then they will grow the business. Some pc gamers who really liked God of War for example might buy PS4 or 5 to play Ragnarok. Same if they announce ghost of tsushima 2 or a new Ratchet game.
Rockstar?
Yeah I loved playing Red Dead Redemption on PC…….
@Cacabunga
I highly doubt it, PC gamers have their setups, if they didn’t budge for years to get a console despite all the cool exclusives then they aren’t going to budge now knowing a new PS5 game will get a port 2 years later
@cacbunga
Basically you're functioning under the assumption that PC players are impatient, rich and stupid.
Most will not budge. But if the hype is real enough they'll get a few. But those few won't actually be invested in the platform.
How?
According to Sony, by co launching live service games like Helldivers2 day one, then enticing PC players to want to play sequels on the console for SP games.
That's how. If you play Ghost of Tsushima and Sony launches GoT 2 on PS later this year, you're more apt to want to grab the console and play the sequel instead of waiting.
Yeah, pc players are the most patient of players. They will just wait for the game to come to pc.
You're just spitting back out the Sony PR line.
PC-first and PC-centric gaming is a different beast. Helldivers 2's popularity and GoT's popularity are because they're good solid games, not because they're from PlayStation publishing.
It's the same PlayStation that put Helldivers 2 for sale internationally, then pulled their PSN-Steam removal card. The same PlayStation that released Returnal with UE4's dreaded shader stutter. The same PlayStation that released TLOU Part 1 in a broken state.
If Sony's PS4 slate of titles didn't convince PC gamers, if their current PS5 titles still don't, ports of games they've had *years* of knowing and reading and hearing about aren't going to convince them to finally buy a console.
Don't fall so easily for the same PR BS that fabricates quotes from their own studio heads.
I mean that's certainly the thinking, but for most PC gamers that just won't work. Like in a rare circumstance if someone was already on the fence about a console that might get them to take the plunge and buy a PlayStation, but it will be the exception rather than the rule.
PC gamers are super patient
There's no f****** way, for example, they are going to get a PS5 the moment Ghost of Tsushima 2 is announced just because they played the PC port of the first game
The mindset?
"Ah cool GoT2 has been announced, really enjoyed the first game. Anyway I'll just play on the dozens of other games I have while I wait for the obvious PC port from Sony in like 2 years"
Not a chance they'll all wait now.
You're mistakenly speaking for all PC gamers, there are bound to be some people who are not willing to wait and for Sony those are potential console buyers.
"While Helldivers 2 was released day and date on both PS5 and PC, don’t expect single-player narrative-driven games to be released in the same boat by Sony anytime soon. - This was confirmed by PlayStation’s soon-to-be co-CEO Hermen Hulst in Sony’s business segment presentation"
There you have it. Won't be 'day and date' single player games on PC anytime soon or for the forseeable future. They understand single player games are Playstation's backbone.
So much for the nonsense narrative that playstation is somehow failing so they are going to immediately start releasing every single game day and date on PC lol.
Yea people tend to project the behavior of their favourite failing publisher onto Sony. Sony is not a failing publisher
Agreed. First & foremost Playstation not only wants to sell their AAA first party games but their gaming consoles to play them on that is why their AAA first party games come to PC later after it sells on PS consoles.
I was told that Playstation was doing so bad on here and on X that Helldivers 2 was going to release on Xbox and Sony was going to start releasing all games on pc day and date with playstation. Why do people constantly lie on the internet!!!!!
We've gone from you'll never see PS games on PC, to you'll never see any PS games day one on PC, to you'll see some PS games day one but have to wait for others.
I mean, its kinda looks like it's heading one way no? That "wait" is going to get shorter and shorter.
It's happening.
God of War 2018 - 4 years
Horizon Zero dawn - 3 years
Horizon Forbidden West - 2 years
That's a smart move because at the end of the day playstation is a hardware business and need to sell hardware folks
Considering the amount of bangers PlayStation and Nintendo make, your name doesn't sound very apt.
Well I think he means that on PC, all software eventually is playable on it. Which is true.
Consoles just are a convenient way of playing some sooner than later.
Darth, all software eventually is playable on PC through emulation and theft of games. You forgot that part. It's not through legal means.
Apocalypse- You consider emulation theft of games? LMAO
Way to shill for corporations.
We already know 😂
"Speaking about the closures more broadly, Booty said that the company’s studios had been spread too thin — like “peanut butter on bread” — and that leaders across the division had felt understaffed. They decided to close these studios to free up resources elsewhere, he said"
So what you're saying is...you bought all these studios and you guys can't run them.
Jesus.
Reports are suggesting that Game Pass will be getting a price hike soon and that Call of Duty may not be added to the day one offering. I honestly have a hard time believing this but it does beg the question why exactly did GP fail? I think the answer is that it just didn't get the growth that it anticipated. Jim was right but I wish he wasn't because at the end of the day, its gamers, devs and other front-line workers who have to absorb the blow for Spencer and team's miscalculations.
For all the armchair executives who were calling for Sony to release its big-budget AAA games on PS+, the same exact thing would have happened at PlayStation. Game Pass has killed Xbox. Congrats.