Tim Sweeney muzzled, Highguard crumbles, and the slow demise of Bluepoint - Patch Notes #43
Psst. I'm actually out of the office today so am once again praying with every fiber of my being that the video game industry will simply take a day off. I've taken a pre-GDC holiday to run a few errands before flying over to San Francisco bright and early on Saturday.
But would you believe it—both my favorite pair of corduroy trousers AND my comfiest sneakers decided so give up on life mere days before the show. That means I'm probably scampering around Manchester as you're reading this in a hasty attempt to replace my beloved garments.
Will I succeed? If you see me at the show, you can find out by glancing down and checking whether my kicks are box fresh or absolutely battered. Once you've done that, feel free to say 'hello!' and chew my ear off for a little while. Unless, of course, I look utterly spent. In that case, a knowing nod will suffice as we both melt into the Moscone masses. Alright, let's see what's in the news bag this week!
Devolver Digital partners with Glasgow Childrens Hospital Charity on Games for the Weansvia Games Press // Indie publisher Devolver has donated £4000 to charity program Games for Weans to help raise funds for children and young people in hospital. The program was founded to secure adapted gaming equipment, consoles, and video games for the children's hospital in Glasgow. Devolver has committed to sponsoring the campaign for the next two years.
Blink and you'll miss it: Paramount almost acknowledges the existence of Warner Bros. Gamesvia Game Developer // What does Paramount make of Warner Bros Games, the massive game studio ecosystem it could be about to inherit as part of its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Right now, the answer seems to be 'not much.' The video game division was only briefly mentioned during a recent investor event covering the deal, with Paramount suggesting it views Warner Bros. Discovery's gaming capabilities as a key "creative engine." Warner Bros. Games, however, was not mentioned by name.
Highguard is permanently shutting down barely a month after its debutvia Game Developer // Despite closing out The Game Awards in December and attracting over 2 million players, free-to-play raid shooter Highguard is being shuttered after little over a month on shelves. Given the title also reportedly received significant funding from Tencent, you have to question the bar for success here. If a team doesn't have the runway to survive for more than a few weeks after what most people would reasonably perceive as a pretty robust debut, what's the point of it all?
The Unity Asset Store is ditching publishers based in China, Hong Kong, and Macauvia Game Developer // Engine maker Unity will soon delist publishers based in the Greater China region from its global asset store. It means assets from creators in China, Hong Kong, and Macau will no longer be eligible for updates or support from March 31. The move will impact thousands of assets on the marketplace.
Sonys Bluepoint Pitched Bloodborne Remake Before Closurevia Bloomberg // Sources have claimed that Bluepoint's recent shuttering came after the studio failed to secure a project for over a year. That's despite purportedly pitching a Bloodborne remake and other PlayStation spinoffs, including a project set in the Ghost of Tsushima universe. Salt in the wounds.
Sony Pulls Back From PlayStation Games on PCvia Bloomberg // Back to back scoops from Bloomberg, which this week reported that Sony is rethinking its multiplatform strategy and pulling back from PC. Sources familiar with the situation claim the Japanese company isn't exactly overjoyed with the impact of its PC ports and will be reverting back to console exclusives moving forward—at least, where single player titles are concerned.
Tim Sweeney signed away his right to criticize Google's app store until 2032via The Verge // Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney will no longer be able to lambast certain Google app store practices after the tech giant agreed to reduce marketplace fees following a protracted legal battle with the engine maker. It's an outcome Sweeney has spent years chasing—while heavily criticizing both Google and Apple in the process—but as part of a settlement with Google the industry exec has been muzzled until the turn of the decade. Epic has since explained it remains free to call out Google as long as its opinions are not related to the settlement. "Epic and Tim agreed to not criticize Google related to app store distribution and fees. All other topics are still on the table and criticism is fair game," said the company in a statement to The Verge.
The Secretive Company Filling Video Game Sites With Gambling And AIvia Aftermath // Imagine, for a second, a world in which a video game publications are systematically acquired, hollowed out, and filled with slurry 'penned' by fictitious GPT-generated authors whose sole purpose is to prop up a gambling business. Sounds horrid, doesn't it? Unfortunately, that's the world ClickOut Media—the owner of sites like The Escapist and Videogamer—has ushered in. Bleak doesn't begin to cover it.
