Executives at game studios have high hopes for generative AI and what it could mean for game development. In Christoph Hartmann's case, that technology may help the industry get out of its creative rut.Talking to IGN, the Amazon Games CEO said he hopes genAI can lead to new gameplay ideas. To him, its usage "has nothing to do with taking work away from anyone," and would be extremely helpful in ensuring the industry doesn't "get boring."With games competing for oxygen against so many things, like social media, Hartmann thinks a reinvention is vital. At the same time, he says genAI isn't a magical fix, but can at the very least, foster fresh collaboration and shorter (but maybe still-costly) development times."We as an industry definitely have to inno…

Japanese developer Marvelous Inc. has performed a "strategic organizational change" for a pair of its subsidiary studios, Marvelous USA and XSeed Games.While the latter will still develop and publish titles like Potionomics and Big Catch, the USA studio will be solely devoted to titles under the Marvelous banner. So titles like Story of Seasons and Rune Factory fall under its purview.

XSeed's "more focused approach"

The change helps grow out Marvelous' presence in the west and present its properties "through a singular, global brand." It also gives XSeed a "more focused approach" to "pu…

Bungie wasn't the only developer to end July with staff cuts. Developers at publisher Armor Games revealed they were also laid off, though the current number of reductions is unclear, as is the reason for the layoffs.It appears these cuts were focused on Armor's publishing team. Producer Michelle Lega wrote her group would "all be looking for work soon, so if you’re hiring a publishing team, we’re all very qualified and work well together!""Today is my last day at Armor Games Studios," wrote marketing manager Ariana Perry. "While it'll take a bit to fully process the change, i'm incredibly thankful for the amazing colleagues and developers i was able to work with during my time here.""I've known for a while this was coming, bu…

Tollan Universe developer Foretold Studios has failed to pay a number of employees for months of work, plunging some into debt.Multiple former staffers have told Game Developer the studio has missed numerous wage payments, employed dubious hiring practices, and has suffered due to mismanagement.Despite those issues, the studio is outwardly pushing ahead with development on Tollan Universe, an "adventure game ecosystem" comprising two titles in Tollan Worlds and Tollan Survivors, the first of which initially incorporated web3 elements.Discussing their situation with Game Developer, former Foretold artist Arkadi Allakhverdiev explained they joined the studio in September 2023. They initially received one month's salary and then the problems began. "In my case [the missed …

The cancellation of Life by You and closure of developer Tectonic contributed to a 90 percent decrease in operating profit at Paradox Interactive during the second quarter of the fiscal year.The Swedish publisher, known for working on strategy franchises like Stellaris, Cities: Skylines, and Crusader Kings, saw operating profit fall to SEK 28.9 million ($2.67 million) during Q2–a decrease of 90 percent year-on-year.The company said write-downs of SEK 208 million impacted that total. Q2 revenue also fell by 22 percent year-over-year to SEK 575.8 million.Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester said the company's core business continues to perform "very well," but suggested the cancellation of Life by You means it's ending the second quarter with "mixed feelings.""On t…

Destiny developer Bungie is laying off 220 worker due to "rising costs of development and industry shifts as well as enduring economic condition."The studio, which was acquired by PlayStation maker Sony for $3.6 billion in 2022, said the redundancies will result in a 17 percent workforce reduction. It said people at "every level of the company" will be impacted, including those in senior and executive roles."Today is a difficult and painful day, especially for our departing colleagues, all of which have made important and valuable contributions to Bungie. Our goal is to support them with the utmost care and respect. For everyone affected by this job reduction, we will be offering a generous exit package, including severance, bonus and health coverage," said …

Multiple former NetherRealm employees have claimed the studio's entire mobile team has been laid off.As spotted by TechRaptor, former NetherRealm QA analyst Tony Lazzara shared the news on Linkedin and claimed "a ton of very talented people were put out of work.""We had live services on multiple titles such as Mortal Kombat Mobile, Injustice 2, and Mortal Kombat Onslaught. I was also affected. Every single person I've worked with on that team is an amazing collaborator, passionate, and very creative," they wrote.The news was corroborated by another former QA analyst, Samantha Edward, who explained most of her colleagues on the mobile team had been made redundant."Every single person I've worked with on that team is an amazing collaborator. Every sing…