Tag: News

Microsoft has laid off a further 650 Xbox staff, though no games have been cancelled or studios have been closed this time.
The news was shared by CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer in an internal memo obtained by IGN, with changes made to “organise our business for long term success”.
The layoffs follow the 1900 people who lost their jobs at the company in January this year. It means Microsoft has now laid off 2,550 staff in the last year.

Newscast: Why are there so many games industry layoffs?

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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the most dramatic few days for PlayStation in recent times.

Sony’s stunning decision to kill off live-service shooter flop Concord after less than two weeks sent shockwaves around the industry, setting a new precedent for how swiftly a troubled title from a major publisher could be given the axe. After eight years of work, the game has already disappeared from sale, and will soon vanish from people’s game libraries, with refunds automatically given. It’s a remarkable move – even if Concord does somehow get a second lease of life – and another nail in the coffin for Sony’s overly-ambitious live-service plans that have already seen other projects shelved and delayed.
And yet Sony has still ended this week on something of a high – riding a wave of love for Astro Bot, the company’s platforming platform mascot and star of an excellent new game, and subtly-teasing one of the worst-kept secrets in video games right now: the imminent announcement of its souped-up PlayStation 5 Pro. Joining me this week are Eurogamer’s Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Vikki Blake, as we dissect the week, discuss what might be ne…

Concord is estimated to have sold just 25,000 copies.
According to IGN, analyst Simon Carless estimates that Concord’s sales equate to around 10,000 units on Steam and around 15,000 on PlayStation.
Whilst we can’t track the real-time player numbers on PlayStation, right now there are just 71 players online on Steam. Its highest concurrent player count in the last 24 hours is 151.

Concord – Gameplay Trailer | PS5 Games

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Beloved 1997 3D platformer Croc: Legend of the Gobbos is being remastered for PC and consoles, and it’s coming from a newly revived version of originaly developer Argonaut Games.

Argonaut was founded by Jez San in 1982 and would go on to release the likes of Starglider and Birds of Prey before teaming up with Nintendo to create 1993’s classic on-rails space shooter Star Fox. A second Nintendo partnership resulted in 1994’s Stunt Race FX, and the studio would go on to release games for another decade before it closed amid financial troubles in 2004 – with many of the team ending up at Batman Arkham developer Rocksteady Studios.

20 years later, Argonaut Games is being resurrected as a “boutique publisher” by new co-CEOs Gary Sheinwald and Mike Arkin. And while San doesn’t appear to be involved with the revival, he does pop up in the announcement press release to say, “Argonaut was always about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in gaming, and I’m excited to see how the relaunched Argonaut Games builds on that legacy, starting with the Croc: Legend of the Gobbos remaster.”

Croc Legend of the Gobbos Teaser Trailer

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