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Written by Nicholas PaceReport: Sony Is Scaling Back Its Japan Studio, Letting Go Of Majority Of Staff
Written by Blake Hester 
Sony is scaling back its Sony Japan Studio, letting go of a majority of its staff, with key people within the company leaving, Videogames Chronicle (VGC) reported on Thursday. According to the outlet, citing sources, this decision, in part, stems from the development studio not being profitable enough in recent years and having a Japan-first development mentality.
According to VGC, the "vast majority" of Sony Japan Studio's development staff has been let go by the company, their annual contracts not renewed ahead of the company's next business year, which the outlet points out begins on April 1. However, localization and business staff will remain intact, as will Asobi Team, developer of Astro's Playroom, which will now operate as a standalone studio within Sony Japan. According to VGC, some developers let go from Sony Japan Studio have joined ASOBI, though it's unclear how many, while others have joined Bokeh Game Studio, the new company founded by Keiichiro Toyama, known for his work directing the Silent Hill and Gravity Rush series. VGC also reports that it's unclear how this will affect Sony Japan Studio's External Development Department, which recently helped out on developer Bluepoint's Demon's Souls Remake and FromSoftware's Bloodborne.
According to people that VGC talked to, the decision to wind down Sony Japan Studio comes in part due to its games not being profitable in recent years past. The company also had a Japan-first development mentality at a time when Sony was aiming to release games that appealed to a global market. Similarly, as the outlet points out, this news also comes as Sony restructures itself internally, moving power to its United States headquarters from its home country of Japan. One source told VGC this decision was a year in the making, when Sony Japan Studio's president Allan Becker was replaced by Nicolas Doucet, director on Astro Bot: Rescue Mission.
Key people with Sony Japan Studio have recently taken to Twitter to announce they're leaving the company, including Bloodborne producer Masaaki Yamagiwa.
Since it was founded in the mid-1990s, Sony Japan Studio has been responsible for the development of series such as Knack, Gravity Rush, and Ape Escape. As mentioned above, it also has helped in the development of games like Bloodborne and the Demon's Souls remake, as well The Last Guardian.
[Source: Videogames Chronicle]
Dragon Age 4 Reportedly Being Reworked Into A More Single-Player Focused Experience
Written by Marcus Stewart 
Bioware recently cancelled its planned reboot of Anthem, stating that no further updates were coming to the beleaguered multiplayer title. Though not surprising for that game, the news had a ripple effect by making Dragon Age fans fear that the upcoming fourth game in that series would follow the fate since it was reportedly adopting a similar live-service model. According to a new report by Bloomberg, though, Dragon Age 4’s development has seen a major pivot, ditching its multiplayer-centric designs for a more single-player focused experience.
Bloomberg reports that it spoke to several Bioware employees, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, who say the change in direction occurred in the last few months. It doesn’t get into specifics, but apparently EA made the call to allow Bioware to remove all planned multiplayer features from Dragon Age 4. There's likely a number of factors behind the decision, but the article states that the success of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which apparently exceeded EA’s sales expectations, had a hand in proving that single-player experiences can still rake in a ton of money.
EA has championed the live-service model as a prime way to continually generate revenue for games long after they release, so if this news is true, it appears Anthem’s failure has shaken the publisher more than some might expect. While Dragon Age fans are undoubtedly breathing a sigh of relief, keep in mind that this doesn’t mean the game won’t be monetized in some way. Plenty of single-player titles still sell in-game items for real money, and I highly doubt EA has zero intention to not have Dragon Age 4 generate additional revenue beyond the $70 entry price. That said, I'd much rather have a good single-player RPG with optional purchases than a lackluster live-service game that constantly assaults me with microtransactions.
Dragon Age 4 has already gone through its fair share of development shake-ups . Over the years the game has lost its lead producer, as well as executive producer Mike Darrah and Bioware general manager Casey Hudson, who departed the studio last year. It’s hard to know what’s going on with the game, but this is at least one big change that could seemingly be for the better.
[Source: Bloomberg]
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Written by Paul MasonSystem Shock Remastered Pre-Orders Go Live, Final Demo Also Available
Written by Jason Guisao
Click here to watch embedded media Night Dive Studios’ System Shock Remastered has been in the works since 2016, when pre-alpha footage was shown. The original System Shock, released back in 1994, was critically acclaimed and would go on to inspire the revolutionary Bioshock franchise. System Shock follows the first-person exploits of a nameless hacker, charged with disabling a malevolent AI system named Shodan. System Shock Remastered takes this classic adventure and upgrades it with the help of cutting-edge Unreal Engine capabilities. Today, the remaster got an exciting new teaser trailer in the wake of its eventual release.
The trailer, while short, is still very evocative of its predecessor — the terrifying atmosphere and visuals are particularly apparent and Shodan’s automated, glitchy voice adds to the overall sense of dread. Melee weapons and explosives rip limbs apart and hulking automata lurk in the shadows of the space station. You can see the footage above.
In addition to the new trailer, Night Dive Studios has announced the release of the remaster's final demo which comes jam-packed with a sizable amount of new content ranging from lore-based collectibles to an updated save feature. You can read about all of the changes in the link above, but some larger tweaks include voice acting (the crew at-large and the infamous Shodan herself), more difficulty modes, and an entirely new Cyberspace level. And, since this is a demo after all, Night Dive Studios is aware that there will likely be new bugs in addition to the demo’s latest patch.
"Our development road was bumpy (to say the least) — but ultimately what you’re playing is the vision and experience we set out to create and the adversity and challenges we’ve faced along the way has only improved the final game,” reads the latest post on the System Shock website. “The team has evolved and grown considerably and we hope that the end product will meet your expectations.”
You can pre-order System Shock Remastered right now on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Store to secure free access to System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition when the remaster drops. While the details are still relatively limited, the game is slated for a Summer 2021 release.