John, Lorelai, and Lily convene on this Gamesline podcast to discuss the quality of ex-professional wresters’ acting careers. Then, video games. This week, John and Lily tried to Trails in the Sky 1st Remake demo, Lorelai and Lily go in-depth on the Final Fantasy XIV patch, and the PVP event in Umamusume happened and was horrifying. In the news, Gamescom, Silksong, Kirby Air Riders, Bungie’s CEO leaving, and more!

You can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on Social Media @TheGamesline, John, Lorelai, and Lily.

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and tell a friend about the show!

If you want to send in questions, send them to our email podcast@gamesline.net!

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Edited and Produced by Lorelai.

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It’s a full house this week as John is joined by Crystal, Rose, and Lilith to talk about the week in games. John’s been playing Umamusume and more Hololive TCG, Lilith has been digging into Fistfull of Frags, Aneurysm IV, Trails in the Sky SC, and Artis Impact. Rose decided to 100% Death Stranding 2 in between playing Metro Gravity, Wuchang Fallen Feathers, Mushroom Musume, and Earth Defense Force 5. We round it all out with Crystal whose been playing The Endless Forest, Braid, Boku no Natsuyasumi 2, and Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days.

In the news we touch more on the payment processor issue with Mastercard telling Riot they need to stop talk about the issues during their events and from their official partners. Bungie is getting a shorter leash at Sony and the Raven QA union winning.

You can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on Social Media @TheGamesline, John, Rose, Crystal, and Lily.

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and tell a friend about the show!

If you want to send in questions, send them to our email podcast@gamesline.net!

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Edited by Lorelai and produced by John.

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What is The Game Awards Even Celebrating?

While the Game Awards released its official 2023 nominee list for the upcoming ceremony with much excitement, a shadow continues to loom and grow across much of the industry as layoffs seem unending with a stockpile of other lingering concerns that bring some ambiguity into what the next year may hold.

All award shows receive justifiable flack over the constant executive decisions made for their make, and The Game Awards has also come under fire due to the nomination of Dave the Diver in the Best Indie Game category.

Executive producer and host Geoff Keighley defended the selection, saying that “Independent can mean different things to different people, and it’s sort of a broad term” and that show can only “[really] to our jury of 120 global media outlets who vote on these awards, to make that determination of ‘is something independent’ or not.” Dave the Diver was developed by MINTROCKET, a team that currently sits as a subsidiary of Nexon, a major video game publisher known for the likes of titles like MapleStory and Mabinogi, while also handling distribution for South Korean releases of games such as Final Fantasy XIV.

The strange decision is coupled with how viewers are approaching this year’s programming with cynicism, at odds with very little to celebrate outside of the ceremony. But hey, the Flute Guy seems to be coming back!

A Neverending Stream of Layoffs

All year round, layoffs have been sweeping the tech and games sector, creating massive headache and grief against the jarring juxtaposition of what appears steady sales and profitable numbers in the industry. To highlight them all, and Roger Lee has developed a layoff tracker that has been tracking the scale of these dire numbers since the onset of COVID-19.

In a flagrant display, around 100 staff members of Bungie were let go, including longtime composer Michael Salvatori.

Amazon laid off more than 180 employees from its games department, cutting costs to focus on measures in hopes of developing its own titles.

Embracer Group has been going through restructuring, making the decision to downsize its subsidiaries such as Fishlabs, while totally shuttering Free Radical Design, the studio behind TimeSplitters.

TikTok owner Bytedance is pulling away from developing games, downsizing and impacting what might be potentially hundreds to a thousand employees. Several of its titles, such as Marvel Snap, will currently remain in service.

Following its runtime fee controversy and the departure of CEO John Riccitiello, Unity has cut down about 265 staff members for a “company reset.” Unity will also be terminating its services with Weta FX, and members laid off were in positions related to this contract. Meanwhile, the company is furthering a push to look into “responsibly sourced” AI tools.

Cuts Across Games Journalism

Our fellow colleagues in the games press were also not immune from being hit with layoffs and the fatigue of capitalism.

New rounds of layoffs are now encroaching to hit staff across Condé Nast and Vox Media, which will be impacting about 300 employees.

G/O Media laid off more than 20 staffers, affecting all of its properties which includes, io9 and Gizmodo. Ultimately, the publisher has decided to completely shut down Jezebel, but is recently in the works to be now handed off to Paste Magazine.

In response to the firing of Nick Calandra, much of the remaining staff of The Escapist resigned from their positions in solidarity, including Ben Croshaw, known as Yahtzee for his review series, Zero Punctuation. The Escapist was acquired by Australia-based Gamurs Group last year.

And due to extenuating circumstances and burnout, Uppercut will be winding down on publishing new content and will no longer be taking new pitches.

Meanwhile, seasoned writers and former members from Kotaku have come together to launch a new video games and pop culture editorial publication called Aftermath.

The SAG-AFTRA Strike Has Ended

After about 118 days, the SAG-AFTRA strike had officially come to an end. The tentative agreement settled between guild representatives and the AMPTP prioritizes a new residuals model that hopes to be better adapted to an era of streaming. While anything can still shift as voting for the agreement still pends, several members have otherwise expressed being dissatisfied with the current terms in an effort to protect talent against AI.

You can read the full memorandum of the agreement here.

In other news…

The US court has granted a final approval of settlement over the lawsuit between CD Projekt and its investors over its initial launch. Meanwhile, the developer has revealed that another patch is arriving to the game this upcoming week.

A judge has ordered Epic Games and Google to hold settlement talks before the jury in a recent update to its ongoing antitrust trial.

COVER Corporation owner of Hololive Production, has listed its guidelines for its talent to be able to develop derivative work in games.

No one quite knows still what is going on with Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones, but new reports suggesting the game is being further delayed into 2024 are being met with further elaboration that may release may happen as soon as February.

The 2023 App Store Awards has declared Honkai Star Rail as best iPhone Game of the Year. Other game-relevant categories has Snapbreak Games’ Lost in Play as iPad Game of the Year, Hello Kitty Island Adventure for Apple Arcade Game of the Year, and NEOWIZ’s Lies of P as Mac Game of the Year.

Arcane is confirmed for a Season 2 premiere in 2024. The animated series taking place in an adaptation of Riot Games’ League of Legends setting is the first program produced of a streaming platform to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program in 2022.

Is the Nintendo DS getting its own sequel? In early November, Nintendo applied for a patent for a handheld device that not only splits into two separate devices, but also features a third screen.

Meanwhile, mobile game SINoALICE has ended service and will be ending service in Japan next January.

At the very least: Bloodborne Kart will be releasing around that same time on January 31, 2024.

The post The Bulletin: Over 6000 People Lost Their Jobs in Games This Year appeared first on Gamesline.

It’s time! Spencer is back on the pod to join John in talking about the week in games. John’s been playing more Fate/Samurai Remnant and Spider-Man 2 while Spencer has been living in the Pathologic games and Starfield. In the news, Microsoft is bricking third party peripherals and Nintendo patents are showing what the next Switch might be. Bungie was hit with a bunch of layoffs and then they talk about all the announcements coming out of Blizzcon.

We also celebrated the entire weekend with a marathon stream for Extra Life. Please help us reach our goal of $300 by hitting up our donation page.

You can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on Twitter @TheGamesline, @john_michonski, @MaverickDrifter, and @fkasocks.

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show! If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at gamesline.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or directly to our RSS feed.

Edited by Lorelai

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Solon joins John for a news-focused episode of the podcast. Twitter had a breakdown over how Cait Sith is pronounced, DidYouKnowGaming revealed new truths about Pokemon history, the Wii U and 3DS’ online functions are winding down, a half-a press has been shaved off, Bungie’s former HR rep is suing the studio, and Randy Orton paid to have his Elden Ring character leveled. Plus, John has been breezing through Fate/Samurai Remnant, and Solon has become a true gamer by obsessing over the NYT Crossword.

You can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on Twitter @TheGamesline, @john_michonski, and @ChorbySP.

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show! If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at gamesline.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or directly to our RSS feed.

Edited by Lorelai

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It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for another episode of the Gamesline podcast. This week, Scott, Maverick, and Lorelai sit down to talk about how they’ve all been playing Final Fantasy XVI. Scott also played a whole lot of the Addison Rae event in War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius to keep himself sane after reviewing and streaming AEW: Fight Forever. Lorelai also spent some time in the Diablo 4 endgame and digging into the new Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty DLC Battle of Zhongyuan.

In the news, we had some games announced at the Sonic Central presentation, Niantic is closing it’s LA studio, Unity and Steam are taking a stand against AI assets, Skullgirls updated some old content to remove objectionable material, and the Yakuza titles had a bunch of credits removed from the GOG version of the games. Mattel is releasing a Barbie themed Xbox to celebrate the movie coming, Hopefully we’ll also get some more Horse Adventures. Apparently Microsoft considered acquire Bungie and Sega, Annapurna Interactive is making Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, Daedalic Entertainment is also shutting down internal game development and shifting to publishing. A judge in the Microsoft Activision case also revealed that the next Call of Duty game was coming in November while Bloober Team is done making psychological horror games.

You can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on Twitter @TheGamesline, @FKASocks, @Maverickdrifter and @judgementscythe.

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show! If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at gamesline.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or directly to our RSS feed.

Edited by Lorelai

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Sonic Central

Another year, another Sonic Central presentation to talk about all things Sonic new and old, commemorating the birthday of blue blur on June 23:

Sonic Origins Plus is now available to play, and Amy’s classic design too!

Sonic Frontiers will get new free content, such as new moves and a New Game+.

Sonic Prime returns for another season on Netflix, alongside with a new mobile game of the series that will be published under Netflix Games.

A plethora of various Sonic merchandise was also shown off during the presentation, from apparel to toys. San Diego Comic-Con this year will have a popup Sonic the Hedgehog-themed restaurant. And a third Sonic movie is definitely on its way!

All of this is timed with the Sonic Symphony World Tour kicking off, beginning in London. The tour will be proceeding to take stops in the cities of Paris, Los Angeles, Sau Paulo, Tokyo, Boston, and Chicago.

Cutting Ties

Niantic is closing its Los Angeles studio, laying off over 200 employees. The Pokémon Go has unfortunately not been doing so hot lately, in which support for the just recently released NBA All-World will be ceasing and development for a prospective Marvel: World of Heroes is canceled. Company founder John Hanke explains that the company has not been seeing the revenue it needs to meet its expenses and will instead be honing in on focusing on its current library, which still includes Pikmin Bloom, Peridot, and Monster Hunter Now. 

Unity cuts ties with Atlas 3D Asset Creator with accusations that it has been sourcing from AI-plagiarized assets. Meanwhile, Steam specifies that it won’t allow games that use copyright-infringing AI assets, and policies regarding the matter still seem to be under review. 

A recent Skullgirls update edits and alters some artwork to remove and reduce fanservice and Nazi-approximate imagery. 

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, developer of the Yakuza and Like a Dragon games, appears to have scrubbed the credits of multiple staff members in the GOG release of several Yakuza titles. 

Activations, Aggressive or Otherwise

Barbie is everything, and that includes being a gamer girl! Accompanying the marketing of the upcoming Barbie movie directed by Greta Gerwig, Xbox has collaborated with the Mattel brand to release a series of limited designed controller plates and a console deck inspired by the Barbie Dreamhouse.  There is also a special bright pink Xbox with “Barbie” plastered on it.

Annupurna Interactive announces Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, the first new video game incarnation as part of the Blade Runner IP in a long while. 

A internal memo leaked suggesting that Microsoft almost considered acquiring Bungie and Sega. Microsoft is still currently pending for approval in its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, and Canada’s Department of Justice has chimed recently on the deal, saying that the purchase “is likely to” lead to less competition in the gaming industry. 

And oh yeah—

Twitter’s community is potentially on the verge of collapsing. As always, remember that you can continue to follow what we do here and many other places, such as Tumblr, Twitch, YouTube, and more recently, TikTok. And join our Discord server with other fellow members of the Gamesline community, where something is always happening!

The post The Bulletin: Pinks and Blues appeared first on Gamesline.

What A Thrill. . .

Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater (pronounced “Delta”) has been announced. This remake has been described by the development team to be a “faithful recreation of the original story and game design” with evolution to both gameplay and visuals. Konami has confirmed that this remake will use the original voice cast for Snake Eater. This will mark David Hayter’s return to voice Naked Snake since Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker in 2013.

Alongside this announcement comes the news of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Volume 1. This first volume will include the original Metal Gear Solid with VR Missions included alongside the HD Collection versions of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. PSN has confirmed that this volume will also include the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. One small note is that Konami stated there would be “minimal edits to copyrighted content,” which most likely pertains to the stock footage used in some cutscenes. Konami Spain has confirmed that this would collection would also see a physical release when the game releases Autumn 2023 for PS5, PC, and Xbox One.

Back In The New York Groove

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be releasing later this fall for PS5. Insomniac’s follow up to the 2018 open world game features several new villains and mechanics for players to immerse themselves in. The trailer shows Kraven the Hunter planning to invade New York City and hunt down various Marvel heroes and villains. This plan leads them to hunt down Dr. Connors – The Lizard – but not without a fight from Peter Parker. This game will also incorporate the alien Symbiote, so expect an appearance from Venom in this sequel. Gameplay features the chance to play as both Parker and Miles Morales in different sections of the game along with an updated UI. Further news will develop in anticipation of this sequel’s 2023 release.

The Other PlayStation News

Other announcements from the showcase include Bungie’s Marathon, a Tarkov-styled shooter set in space, a first for Bungie. Square Enix has Final Fantasy XVI releasing June 22nd along with the announcement of Foamstars, a new area-based shooter akin to Splatoon. I’m sure the SMP freaks will love this one! Capcom’s letting the real heads know what’s up by releasing custom skins and other pre-order bonus content for Street Fighter 6 along with another trailer for Dragon’s Dogma 2. Revenant Hill is a game about Twigs the cat needing to pay rent and building a community in 1919. This is the first game by The Glory Society, a co-op studio founded by Night in the Woods co-creators Bethany Hockenberry and Scott Benson which will be available for both PS4 and PS5. You can catch the other releases from this showcase below.

Truly More Like Nintendon’t

Nintendo’s put out a new firmware update for the 3DS and it’s primed to take hackers down. The update Ver. 11.17.0-50 released on Monday, with hacking groups noticing this update ruined many documented methods to homebrew the handheld. However, community members have quickly been able to document what options are available for 3DS owners post-update. With the closure of the e-shop earlier this year, the 3DS’s ease to hack has been all the more appreciated. Maybe Nintendo will take a hint about library access given how it’s still easy to hack the dang thing.

Nintendo also blocked an indie game about mischievous little guys because it might teach kids about gambling (it doesn’t). Sunshine Shuffle is a game about playing Texas Hold ‘Em with a group of bank robbers. Xalavier Nelson Jr., developer of the game, has talked at length about Nintendo blocking the store page on accusation of teaching kids how to gamble, something Nintendo definitely doesn’t want happening. Sunshine Shuffle is available on Steam, so go ahead and give these adorable critters some love!

Life Is Strange, Unfortunately Layoffs Aren’t

In more pressing news, Deck Nine, developers of 2021’s Life is Strange: True Colors, laid off 30 members of its staff. Narrative designer Elizabeth Ballou tweeted about the layoffs on May 19th noting that several leads were affected as well. This news comes ahead of their next game in collaboration with Telltale Games, The Expanse: A Telltale Series, set to release in July. While no reason for the layoffs has been given, the studio states that those affected are “talented people who did nothing wrong,” for whatever that’s worth. Solidarity to the leads who chose to take the brunt of this impact, and best of luck to them getting back on their feet.

In More Hopeful Worker’s News

Unions! Successful ones are becoming more prevalent, so here’s updates on two that have moved forwards! Paizo, the studio that creates TTRPGs such as Pathfinder, has made a tentative agreement with their union. The union will be meeting in the coming weeks to go over the contract and potentially approve of it.

Similarly, Bandcamp has formed their own union, the first union under Epic Games. Bandcamp’s union still needs to be recognized and negotiation must still occur, but this is a major step towards a fair work environment at the best place to buy music on the web.

A Marvelous News Update

Marvelous Inc. released their own game showcase on Thursday. This presentation mentions a Story of Seasons entry with potential multiplayer features in the near future. We also saw news about Rune Factory: PROJECT DRAGON, a spinoff of the franchise with a traditional Japanese aesthetic, as well as a true Rune Factory 6. Fashion Dreamer is a design game made by the creators of the original Style Savvy series set to release later this year. In new IP developments, Loop8: Summer of Gods is a JRPG with a “unique, emotional AI” that will respond to the actions and decisions you make in game. Loop8 is set to release June 6th with Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life and Rune Factory 3 Special also slated for release this year. Tune into the showcase below to see what other news might pique your interest! We’ve certainly got folks on staff who know their way around a farm sim or JRPG.

Looks Like We’re Gonna Have to Wishlist on Steam!

Dangeresque: The Roomisode Triungulate! will be available to play later this summer. Play as Dangeresque, Strong Bad’s famous action movie persona, as you point and click your way through various trials and tribulations. This will feature the original flash game released in 2008 with full voice over and revamped scenes. Two other “roomisodes” will also be available, sure to be chock full of thrills, chills, and totally authentic stunts! The game will release on Steam, itch.io, and “maybe iOS.” Be ready to fight the law, and also fight the crime but not as much. Dangeresque!

The post The Bulletin: Guys In The Goop appeared first on Gamesline.

Rieko Kodama, producer of Skies of Arcadia and a core leader behind the original Phantasy Star games has passed away. Kodama’s career with Sega spanned over three decades, especially significant when she began her career in a time when women’s presence and contributions in games were largely overshadowed.

Takahiro Sakurai, the Japanese voice actor for Cloud Strife in the Final Fantasy franchise since 2002, has admitted that he has been in an extramarital affair with a work colleague for about ten years. The affair has forced the cancellation of his radio travel show, P.S. Genki Desu. Takahiro this past week. Sakurai’s marriage—and specifically a marriage to another industry professional—has been withheld from public information until now, and his talent management agency has acknowledged and published a statement apologizing to the impacted women, who both remain anonymous. Sakurai prominently works in anime, and has been recently performing as Giyū Tomioka in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Reigen in Mob Psycho 100 III, and Tsubame Ozuno in the Urusei Yatsura 2022 remake. These roles and others currently have not been impacted.

Rocksteady Studios’ co-founders, Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker, are leaving the company by the end of this year. The news comes accompanied by the information that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is almost finished with production.

Unable to meet the demands of the guidelines set by Japan’s CERO rating system for games, The Callisto Protocol will not release in Japan. The game’s marketing has made its excessive level of violence a point of highlight, and the game’s developer, Striking Distance Studios, does not want to make changes to said content to secure a CERO rating. The company has vowed that Japan pre-orders will be refunded. CERO’s standards have grown increasingly stricter over the years, impacting game releases in order to produce region-specific copies of titles like Cyberpunk 2077, The Last of Us, and Resident Evil.

After accusations against PQube for exploitative behavior, Toge Productions and Mojiken Studio’s A Space for the Unbound was successfully able to find a new publisher under amicable terms. The game’s developers accused their former publisher of withholding grant money to leverage and increase their own revenue.

Following the outcome of a a slow, internal takeover that pushed out the original core team behind Disco Elysium, Robert Kurvitz, one of the co-founders of the original ZA/UM collective, is attempting to file a lawsuit against ZA/UM the game studio. This information was discovered on public Estonian court records, accompanied with the scheduling of a hearing date in late November.

The Communications Workers of America have officially filed unfair labor practices charges against Activision Blizzard due to threatening, anti-union messages made by executive Lulu Cheng Meservey via Slack. Meservey was recently hired with a wave of new employees in attempts to bring more women onto executive positions into the company, but has been quickly critiqued based on her prior working for Substack.

Meta’s Reality Labs is steadily hemorrhaging billions of dollars. The company’s latest third quarter financial report show that profits are also continuing to shrink since their foray into exploring VR, while Horizon Worlds, their proprietary virtual space, is attracting less than 200 thousand monthly active users. Meta’s own stock shares has plummeted at its lowest in the last four years.

Capcom’s latest financial reports confirms that Street Fighter 6 will likely not see a release until 2023 next year. The Resident Evil 4 Remake is also slated to be released around that same time.

CD Projeckt Red will be remaking the first Witcher game in Unreal Engine 5. It is confirmed that this is the same project that was publicly teased under the code name, “Canis Majoris”.

And the wait is over.

Blaseball is back.

The post The Bulletin: Playing Chess appeared first on Gamesline.

Sony has bought Bungie.

While Bungie is suing a Destiny 2 player for cheating and harassment.

Co-creator of The Last of Us and former employee of Naughty Dog Bruce Straley returns to the games industry.  Straley has been transparent about bowing out from games due to burn out and has opened up a new studio, Wildflower Interactive, that hopes to do things much differently.

A new Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duel game is coming into the foray! Dawn of the Battle Royale!! is expected to release on the Switch around this coming winter.

Nintendo Japan vowed that they will provide benefits to same-sex partnerships. The company’s policy introduces a new “Partnership System”, that writes, “employees who are in a domestic partnership with a same-sex partner [will] have the same benefits as employees in an opposite-sex marriage”. Same-sex marriages currently remain unrecognized in Japan.

Blizzard Albany, formerly known as Vicarious Visions, is unionizing. This publicly declaration is not that long after the studio’s respective name change and pivot after being acquired by Blizzard Activision.

The FaZe Clan is now officially a publicly traded company and is on the stock market. This is not that long after several members have been long kicked out of the group for promoting cryptocurrency fraud. 

Sadly, speaking of even more crypto—

Square Enix is beginning to implement NFTs in their merchandise. Although there are chances that a variant of the teased Honeybee Inn Cloud (in a dress) figure will not be subjected to the company’s new marketing strategy, it has become increasingly clear that they are sadly committing to it for all intents and purposes.

Meanwhile…

Minecraft vows that there will be no NFTs associated with or within the game in any foreseeable future.

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