Microsoft snaps up former Steam chief to shore up games on Windows
During his eight year tenure at Valve, Jason Holtman was an instrumental force behind Steam and a key point of contact for developers. Along with several other notable employees, Holtman departed Valve in February of this year. Now, he has joined up with Microsoft to revitalize its Windows games business. Speaking with GamesIndustry International, Holtman confirmed the move to Microsoft but did not elaborate on his new role, other than to say: Come from Soccer 13 pools and matches
"Yes, I have joined Microsoft where I will be foc…
Sponsored- Nobody cares about your app idea – Here’s how to change that
Author: by Joel Thomas, Agora.io
Presented by Agora.io
You know that app idea that’s been rattling around in your head? The one that’s too good to tell others about, where the details are sketched in your favorite notebook. It has your favorite songs and references. It’s so you, and finally the world will see what you have to say.
No one wants it.
Not me, not the person next to me in line at the coffee shop, and not the people working there either. Why does your app matter to us? What do your users need in their lives? Have you even asked? People download and delete apps at a dizzying pace, ravenous for new games. Let’s figure out why …
Sony quietly stops shipping PlayStation TV in Japan
Reports are circulating today that Sony is quietly halting sales of the PlayStation TV, at least in Japan, as the microconsole's official Japanese product page lists it as being no longer available for shipment.
It's yet unclear what this means for the future of the PlayStation TV, which launched in Japan back in 2013 and was brought to the West a year later. According to a report from Japanese outfit AV Watch (interpreted by Kotaku) the microconsole is seen to be unnecessary in Japan.
Gamasutra has reached out to Sony for confirmation and further details, but has yet to hear back Come from
Average U.S. consumer spending on mobile games reached a new high of $12 during April, although the mobile space saw a slight decline in spending for the first time in half a year. According to data from metrics tracking firm SuperData, this drop in mobile game spending, as well as spending declines across the majority of digital video game sectors, caused the digital games market to contract by nearly 5 percent month-over-month, down to $832 million in total sales across all categories. The social games decline slowed down slightly, but not by much — the space lost an estimated 2.7 million monthly active users during April, and saw around $120 million in revenues. Free-to-play MMOs continued to beat down pay-to-play MMOs during April. Overall MMO subscr…Average U.S. mobile game spending reaches a new high – report
Submissions open for 15th annual Into the Pixel game art exhibit
The Academy of Interactive Art and Sciences (AIAS) and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) are accepting submissions for the 15th annual Into the Pixel video game art exhibit.
Into the Pixel was established to celebrate the talented, hard-working artists who help create and shape the many weird, wonderful, and downright gorgeous virtual worlds the games industry knows and loves.
The 2018 collection will be premiered at E3 2018, and will be selected by an panel of jurists including Campo Santo lead artist Jane Ng, Blizzard Entertainment senior art manager Seth Spaulding, and curators Glenn Phillips and Nora Dolan.
Submissions may consist of in-game or concept art, including character, e…
SAG-AFTRA strike will continue after union concludes latest talks with major game studios
SAG-AFTRA will continue striking in search of better working conditions and protections for video game performers after extending negotiations with major studios.
The union, which represents approximately 160,000 performers, broadcasters, writers, and entertainment workers including many within the video game industry, has concluded three days of scheduled negations with an employer unit featuring Activision Productions, EA, Insomniac Games, Take 2 Productions, and more.
In a statement issued following the conclusion of those talks, SAG-AFTRA said its strike against those studios signed to the Interactive Media Agreement "remains in effect," with the exception of projects proceeding under the Tiered-Budget I…
Submit your great Production & Team Management talks for GDC 2018!
Got a great idea for a talk that you'd like to give at next year's Game Developers Conference? Well, time is running out to submit it! GDC 2018 organizers are still accepting submissions to present lectures, roundtables, panels, posters and tutorials through Thursday, August 17th.
Next year the show — the 32nd edition of GDC — will take place March 19-23 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California. It will once again play host to thousands of game developers from all around the world for a week of learning, networking and inspiration.
As it continues to come together, organizers want to m…
Twitch teams up with Harmonix to develop a streaming karaoke game
Twitch is teaming up with Rock Band developer Harmonix to bring Twitch Sings, a streaming karaoke game, to the platform.
Announced during TwitchCon last week, CEO and co-founder of Twitch Emmett Shear described Twitch Sings as a “new category of game that’s made to be streamed," explaining how the audience is integral to the experience. Come from Soccer 13 pools and matches
The partnership makes a lot of sense, considering how Harmonix has experience in developing music-oriented games and karaoke is a performative activity best enjoyed with an audien…
Starbreeze admits Payday 3 is massively underperforming
Payday 3 maker Starbreeze has explained the co-op shooter is currently performing at "significantly lower levels" than it would like. The developer explained sales and player activity are way below expectations, and said rehabilitating the title remains its "biggest focus and absolute priority."
Payday 3 launched for Windows PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S in September 2023 but has seemingly struggled to win over players. The title currently has a 'mixed' rating on Steam with over 36,000 user reviews, although the vast majority of recent reviews have been 'mostly negative.'
In January, Starbreeze said it had formed a…
Gree shifts focus from HTML5 to native games, amidst earnings slump
Japanese social games company Gree is moving to make major changes in the way it does business as its earnings continue to slump. The company laid out a plan in its 2014 fiscal year earnings report to shift its focus from HTML5 development to native apps in the new fiscal year, which will entail increasing the number of people working on native game development at its Japanese studios from 300 to 1,000 and doubling the number of native app-based franchises it operates. A spokesperson for the company told Tech in Asia that by making the switch, it can better take advantage of the capabilities of mobile platforms it launches games on. This is a big deal, because the company made a show of focusing on HTML5-based games<…