Your Latest Game Industry News Round-up #26

“Valve is launching a new Steam event tabletop gaming fans might love, especially now it’s not wise to play in person with a bunch of people. The first ever Steam Digital Tabletop Fest, a joint project between Valve and Auroch Digital, centers around games that “run across the lines between digital and physical.” By that, they mean its featured titles will include digital ports of physical games and digital games that have produced physical versions. They also include digital games that simulate the physical play experience and those that feature aesthetics inspired by tabletop games.”

NVIDIA Shares GTC Event’s Game Developer Talks
Source: NVIDIA blog

NVIDIA’s blog featured a post of game development-focused talks during the upcoming GTC 2020 online conference, which may be of interest to game developers, covering ray-tracing, to rendering, and latency. If that’s your cup of antialiased, ray-traced tea, read up on the blog post for more details.

CyberpunK 2077 Development In Crunch Mode
Source: NPR

The game industry has taken its lumps in recent years over the practice of high-pressure, long-hours development crunch, often to close out a project at a set time. One company, CF Projekt, was predicting it wouldn’t have to deal with crunch for Cyberpunk 2077.  As GameSpot’s story below details, the story has changed as the much-hyped science fiction title’s launch day approaches:

“Cyberpunk 2077 is coming soon, but for the final mile CD Projekt has reportedly begun a mandatory crunch period with six-day workweeks. CD Projekt Red studio head Adam Badowski has now responded to the report. His statement isn’t a denial, instead seeming to confirm and justify the push.”

Roblox Setting Up for IPO
Source: CNBC

A short time after Unity launched its successful IPO, online games platform, Roblox, is considering their entry into raising funds by entering the stock market. CNBC looks at some of the details:

“Roblox is working with investment banks to prepare for a U.S. stock market listing that could come early next year and which the online gaming platform expects could double its recent $4 billion valuation, people familiar with the matter said. …

Roblox is weighing whether to go public through a traditional initial public offering or a direct listing, the sources said, cautioning that the plans are subject to market conditions.

Genshin Impact the Latest Big Game Industry Hit
Source: WIRED

2020 has been the year of high-impact games from indie developers (such as with Fall Guys) and the sources you’d expect (like with Nintendo’s Animal Crossing). Among the latest hit to make its mark on many gamers is Genshin impact. This story from WIRED explains why:

“GENSHIN IMPACT is better than it has any right to be. Written off as a free-to-play anime reskinning of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the fantasy role-playing game doesn’t make the best first impression. It’s got the cloying “gacha” mechanics you’d expect from a mobile RPG, although it’s also on PC and PlayStation 4. In a clear bid for otaku dollars, Genshin Impact boasts harems of playable waifus and husbandos to whet players’ thirst. (If you’re into it, you’re into it; I sure am). Yet Wednesday, Genshin Impact claimed the title of the largest international launch of any Chinese game ever. It’s deserved—and only took a few hours of playing to see why.”

 

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How to Pick a Game Subscription Service
Source: CNET

Gamers have had (and will have) plenty of choices to make this year: buy into Xbox or PlayStation? Invest in a new and hard-to-find RTX GPU or stick with another GPU? And yet, here’s another one — but at least CNET might be able to help sort out which game subscription might interest you:

“In the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, US video game sales saw a massive increase as people tried to stay in and stay entertained. As temperatures began to drop again, it’s likely video games will see another surge as outdoor activities become less accessible. While you’re waiting to get back outside, subscribing to a game streaming service can potentially give you more bang for your buck.

The best game streaming services offer options that can enhance your console experience, such as exclusive content, early access to anticipated game releases, and creative indie titles. If you aren’t sure you want to shell out for an Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 later this year and you’re getting tired of your Xbox One or PS4, these services give you access to new and interesting games and features to keep you entertained.”