Game Control: Yosuke Matsuda Exits Square Enix And Telekinesis In VR
Yosuke Matsuda - Bennett Raglin
Console: Two former Riot Games executives have formed a new studio with the goal of creating a "next-generation open-world game." The Believer Company was created by former Riot vice president Michael Chow, who will act as the studio's CEO, and Steven Snow, a founding Riot member and League of Legends executive producer who is now The Believer Company's chief product officer. The Believer Company announced in a news release that it has raised more than $55 million in Series A investment. Chow and Snow said that the funds will be used to develop their open-world game, which will have "an original IP, tales where player decisions matter, and gameplay features that pull gamers together rather than push them apart." The $55 million was raised in a collaborative effort by Andreessen Horowitz, Bitkraft Ventures, Riot Games, 1Up Ventures, Don Thompson's Cleveland Avenue, Michael D. Eisner's Tornante Company, and others.
After ten years at the post, Yosuke Matsuda, president, and representative director of Tokyo-based Square Enix, is stepping down. Matsuda will be replaced by Takahashi Kiryu, a business director who joined Square Enix in 2020 as part of an organizational reform, according to the official announcement. At the 43rd Annual Shareholders Meeting in June 2023, the proposed change will be voted on. Matsuda took over as president in June 2013, following Yoichi Wada as part of a substantial reorganization. Throughout his tenure at Square, he advocated for innovation in the company's main property, Final Fantasy, as well as a commitment to remaking and re-releasing popular titles from Square's back catalog, such as Final Fantasy VII. The MMO Final Fantasy XIV also became a global phenomenon under his watch. Square Enix attributed this change to a general need for reshaping its leadership amid the ever-changing business environment.
Nintendo has lowered its full-year profit and revenue projections, highlighting the uncertainty surrounding its aging Switch platform and the worldwide gaming market. The Kyoto-based business said it missed console sales forecasts near the end of the year, indicating that the Switch is losing steam after a six-year run despite a steady pipeline of software hits. The company plans to sell approximately 18 million consoles this year, down from an earlier forecast of 19 million. On Tuesday, March 14, President Shuntaro Furukawa skirted queries about whether Nintendo will reveal a successor to its flagship product, saying he believed the Switch was still in high demand. Nintendo has announced its intentions to raise wages by 10% for current and new employees in Japan beginning this year, joining other business behemoths in an increasingly tight labor market. Furukawa announced the raises despite the company's poor performance, claiming that the strain on staff is increasing and that the move will boost the company's "hiring power."
Five Nights at Freddy's - ScottGames / Steel Wool Studios / Illumix
PC: Riot Games announced three League of Legends titles, including The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story, for 2023. The Mageseeker will be launched on consoles and PC on April 18th, according to the firm. The Mageseeker is a gritty 2D hi-bit pixel action RPG developed by Digital Sun that takes place in Demacia, a monarchy in the globe of Runeterra that strives to eradicate forbidden magic while relying on magic itself to keep order. Gamers will play as Sylas, an escaped wizard who joins a gang of rebels organizing a revolution to break Demacia’s deceptive peace. The Mageseeker provides an action-packed fantasy upon a backdrop of a story of power, identity, and justice. The game follows the release of 2021's League of Legends Story game, Ruined King.
Blumhouse Games' first objective is to distribute "indie budget" games that cost less than $10 million to make, mimicking the lasting popularity of the company's low-budget film films, most recently Universal's thriller M3GAN. The business has stated that it is working on a cinematic adaptation of the multiplayer horror game Dead by Daylight, which will be co-produced with James Wan's Atomic Monster production company, as was M3GAN. Blumhouse is also in the process of filming an adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy's, the point-and-click horror game that exploded in popularity after its PC release in 2014, spawning multiple sequels and profitable paraphernalia. The success of Five Nights at Freddy's is unquestionably at the heart of Blumhouse's drive to create a new territory in gaming. Blumhouse and Atomic Monster anticipate that their planned merger will be approved this summer. Blumhouse is taking a risk by entering the perilous gaming market, but it is doing it with the power of collaboration.
PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Secrets of Honjo - Steam
Mobile: PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Secrets of Honjo, a horror mystery game, is now available for Android and iOS from Square Enix. The game follows an episodical gameplay pattern in which new mysteries will be introduced to the players at each step, each with its own set of problems, ensuring that players have new cases to solve while playing. The story takes place in the late twentieth century in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. Curses fling the characters around, and the plot unfolds by connecting the characters' goals. The players will follow the protagonist, an office worker who goes on to become Japan's most successful paranormal detective. The game's highlights include a developed setting and a 360° background picture of Japan. With the complete collaboration of the Sumida City Tourist Division, the Sumida Museum, the city's tourist association, and the local community, the replicated background was photographed using a 360° camera.
Niantic, the creator of Pokémon GO, announced the global release of Peridot on May 9, 2023. Peridot, a new augmented reality game, utilizes the players’ phones to project a virtual pet friend into the real world. It allows players to care for, raise, and breed unique creatures known as Peridots (or Dots) and accompany them in their journey from infancy to adulthood. Each Peridot is unique in terms of its physical appearance, personality traits, likes and dislikes, abilities, and genetic makeup. Collaboration with other players is emphasized as they nurture and play with other Dots while partnering with multiple players to diversify their species and explore the world. These digital creatures are perceptive and interactive, recognizing a variety of real-world surfaces including soil, sand, water, grass, and plants. Peridot is a camera-based AR game that allows players to immerse themselves thanks to Niantic’s Lightship ARDK technology.
VR: Synapse, a planned action shooter exclusive to PSVR 2 that offers run-and-cover gameplay while making effective use of the headset's eye-tracking capabilities, has been unveiled by nDreams, the studio behind Fracked (2021) and Phantom: Covert Operations (2020). As a PSVR 2 exclusive, Synapse will also utilize Sense controllers in conjunction with the headset's eye-tracking capabilities, which the studio believes will improve aiming and provide players with pinpoint precision when targeting their telekinesis, making it a full-body experience. Players saw a few mechanics, such as launching, levitating, and crushing adversaries through destructible terrain, in the previously released teaser trailer. Fans of nDreams are already relating the fast-paced run, gun-style gameplay, and telekinetically moveable cover to Fracked. No official launch date has been released, but nDreams says it’s arriving exclusively on PSVR 2 later in 2023.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans for forthcoming layoffs in three sections of the corporation, which will begin in mid-March and go through late May 2023. According to a message sent by Zuckerberg with Meta workers, the first affected group will be the recruiting staff. This will be followed by layoffs and reorganization in the technology and business departments in April and May, respectively. Altogether, this round of layoffs will lower Meta's total headcount by about 10,000 by April, while simultaneously closing applications for 5,000 unfilled positions. In the announcement, Zuckerberg called 2022 a "humbling wake-up call," blaming it on economic changes and increased competition. He also mentioned that Meta should brace herself for "the prospect that this new economic reality will last for many years."