video games Archives - Developer Tech News

GameMaker offers free version as ‘gift’ to developers

Ryan Daws — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 16:03:40 +0000

2D game engine GameMaker has announced massive pricing changes in what its head calls a “gift” to its loyal user base. Starting today, GameMaker will be free to use for noncommercial, non-console game development projects in a move CEO Russell Kay says is meant to “do the opposite” of recent unpopular decisions by competitors like... Read more »

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Unity CEO John Riccitiello ‘retires’ following controversies

Ryan Daws — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 15:56:38 +0000

Unity CEO John Riccitiello has “retired” amid controversies that have plagued the company under his watch. “It’s been a privilege to lead Unity for nearly a decade and serve our employees, customers, developers and partners, all of whom have been instrumental to the company’s growth,” said Riccitiello. “I look forward to supporting Unity through this... Read more »

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Unity receives ‘credible death threat’ amid per-install fee backlash

Ryan Daws — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 09:14:47 +0000

Unity has been forced to close two of its offices and cancel a town hall meeting following a “credible death threat”. The unacceptable threat came on the heels of an announcement regarding a new per-install fee for developers using the Unity video game engine. Just two days ago, Unity created widespread backlash across the gaming... Read more »

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Sony accused of ‘blatant anti-competitive conduct’

Ryan Daws — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 14:19:29 +0000

Congress has raised concerns about Sony’s monopoly on the gaming market in Japan, calling for an investigation into the firm’s alleged “exclusionary conduct.” Senator Maria Cantwell told a Senate Finance Committee hearing: “Sony controls a monopoly of 98 percent of the high-end game market, yet Japan’s government has allowed Sony to engage in blatant anti-competitive... Read more »

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Microsoft says developers have earned $2.5B through ID@Xbox

Ryan Daws — Tue, 29 Mar 2022 15:24:09 +0000

According to Microsoft, game developers have made a fair chunk of change through its ID@Xbox program. ID@Xbox is the gaming brand’s program to support independent developers and has been used to publish titles including Dead by Daylight, Warframe, SMITE, Dead Cells, Spelunky 2, The Long Dark, Kerbal Space Program, Human Fall Flat, Overcooked, Grim Dawn,... Read more »

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Unity is buying Peter Jackson’s visual effects company for $1.6B

Ryan Daws — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 10:23:24 +0000

Unity has announced that it’s entered a definitive agreement to acquire Peter Jackson’s visual effects company Weta Digital for $1.6 billion. Weta Digital has worked on hit films including Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Wonder Woman, and Black Widow. Unity says its acquisition will “democratise” Weta’s powerful tools to make them available for more creators.... Read more »

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Nintendo denies handing out 4K Switch development kits

Ryan Daws — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 11:50:56 +0000

Nintendo has been forced to refute a Bloomberg report that it provided 4K-capable Switch development kits to select gaming studios. This week, Bloomberg reported that at least 11 developers – including Zynga – were given kits to develop 4K resolution games for unannounced Switch hardware. Following the report, Nintendo tweeted: It’s a rare denial that... Read more »

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GDC kicks off with over 550 game dev sessions, will return as in-person event next year

Ryan Daws — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 17:37:03 +0000

This year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC) kicks off today as a virtual event with over 550 sessions on all things game development. GDC 2021 claims to take full advantage of the possibilities offered by virtual events. Back in 2020, around COVID-19’s historic peak, GDC was one of the first large events to be cancelled. The... Read more »

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Nintendo announces Switch OLED with minor improvements

Ryan Daws — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 14:17:42 +0000

Nintendo has finally announced its long-awaited new Switch model but without many of the rumoured upgrades. The new Switch OLED, as its name suggests, boasts a new display that should improve some of the complaints about previous models having poor contrast and brightness. However, the rumoured bump to 1080p hasn’t materialised and the screen is... Read more »

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Developers claim that PlayStation is particularly difficult to work with

Ryan Daws — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 16:02:15 +0000

Independent game developers have bemoaned the difficulty of working with PlayStation over Xbox and Nintendo. Iain Garner of independent game publisher Neon Doctrine recently posted a tirade on Twitter where he suggested that getting prominent promotion on the store of a “very successful console” that “does not have Games Pass” (i.e not Xbox, and presumably... Read more »

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