Rumor: Suicide Squad DLC Will Return To An Iconic Location
Written by J Brodie Shirey
Last year was one of the best years for game releases but easily one of the worst for the people who made them, with more than 10,000 workers laid off by various companies, including Microsoft, Epic Games, BioWare, Bungie, Naughty Dog, and many more. Unfortunately, it seems this heartbreaking trend is continuing into this new year as yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Amazon-owned streaming company Twitch is set to lay off 500 employees, or about 35 percent of its staff.
These layoffs follow two rounds of layoffs Twitch experienced last year. Bloomberg expects the layoffs to be announced today. As for why, the publication says running Twitch is extremely expensive and the company has struggled to financially get on top of the cost to support billions of hours of livestreamed content.
Just last year, Twitch's chief revenue officer, chief content officer, chief customer officer, and chief product officer left the company. Plus, in December, Twitch announced it would be ending its service in South Korea. And, according to Bloomberg, Twitch has worked on increasing its advertising in recent years but despite that focus, it has remained "unprofitable," its sources say.
These 500 cut jobs expected to happen today join 400 positions cut over 2023 at Twitch, and these layoffs join an ever-growing list of layoffs that made last year one of the worst ever for game developers and people in game development-adjacent industries.
In January of last year, Microsoft laid off 10,000 employees amidst its ongoing $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which it completed in October.
Striking Distance Studios, the team behind 2022's The Callisto Protocol, laid off more than 30 employees in August of 2023. That same month, Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare laid off 50 employees, including long-time studio veterans. The following month, in September, Immortals of Aveum developer Ascendant Studios laid off roughly 45% of its staff, and Fortnite developer Epic Games laid off 830 employees.
In October of last year, The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog laid off at least 25 employees, and Telltale Games also underwent layoffs, although an actual number of affected employees has not yet been revealed. Dreams developer Media Molecule laid off 20 employees in late October.
In November, Amazon Games laid off 180 staff members, Ubisoft laid off more than 100 employees, Bungie laid off roughly 100 developers, and 505 Games' parent company, Digital Bros, laid off 30% of its staff.
In December, Embracer Group closed its reformed TimeSplitters studio, Free Radical Design, and earlier in the year, Embracer closed Saints Row developer Volition Games, a studio with more than 30 years of development history. A few weeks before the winter holidays, Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering owner Hasbro laid off 1,100 employees.
The games industry will surely feel the effects of such horrific layoffs for years to come. The hearts of the Game Informer staff are with everyone who's been affected by layoffs or closures.
[Source: Bloomberg]
Video game engine creator Unity is laying off 1800 employees, or 25% of its workforce, according to a report from Yahoo! Finance. The company announced these layoffs in an internal memo sent out on Monday, January 8. These job cuts follow a turbulent 2023 for the company after it attempted to introduce per-install fees to developers using its game engine before later walking it back.
Unity is expected to lay off 1800 people by the end of March and once complete, it will be the company's largest round of layoffs ever. It will be its fourth round of layoffs since July 2022, as noted by Yahoo! Finance. The job cuts are expected to affect all departments at Unity.
These impending layoffs at Unity join an ever-growing list of layoffs that made last year one of the worst ever for game developers and people in game development-adjacent industries.
In January of last year, Microsoft laid off 10,000 employees amidst its ongoing $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which it completed in October.
Striking Distance Studios, the team behind 2022's The Callisto Protocol, laid off more than 30 employees in August of 2023. That same month, Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare laid off 50 employees, including long-time studio veterans. The following month, in September, Immortals of Aveum developer Ascendant Studios laid off roughly 45% of its staff, and Fortnite developer Epic Games laid off 830 employees.
In October of last year, The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog laid off at least 25 employees, and Telltale Games also underwent layoffs, although an actual number of affected employees has not yet been revealed. Dreams developer Media Molecule laid off 20 employees in late October.
In November, Amazon Games laid off 180 staff members, Ubisoft laid off more than 100 employees, Bungie laid off roughly 100 developers, and 505 Games' parent company, Digital Bros, laid off 30% of its staff.
In December, Embracer Group closed its reformed TimeSplitters studio, Free Radical Design, and earlier in the year, Embracer closed Saints Row developer Volition Games, a studio with more than 30 years of development history. A few weeks before the winter holidays, Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering owner Hasbro laid off 1,100 employees.
The games industry will surely feel the effects of such horrific layoffs for years to come. The hearts of the Game Informer staff are with everyone who's been affected by layoffs or closures.
[Source: Yahoo! Finance]
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SAG-AFTRA Signs Agreement To Allow Devs To Use A.I. Voices In Games
Written by Wesley LeBlanc
Last September, SAG-AFTRA union members voted yes to authorize a video game strike. Reasons why included a desire for better wages, increased safety precautions, and protections around exploitative uses of artificial intelligence. Now, just a few months later, SAG-AFTRA has signed an agreement with Replica Studios, an A.I. voice technology company, to allow game developers to use A.I. voices, as reported by Game Developer.
Various video game voice actors, like Yong Yea, the new English voice of Kazuma Kiryu in the Like a Dragon series, have publicly stated that they and other actors they know were not aware of this. "Every voice actor I know not only didn't approve this," Yea writes in a tweet. "[They] pretty much heard about this for the first time today on Twitter."
Every voice actor I know not only didn't approve this, they pretty much heard about this for the first time today on Twitter.
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) January 9, 2024
SAG-AFTRA says this new agreement "paves the way for professional voice over artists to safely explore new employment opportunities for their digital voice replicas with industry-leading protections tailored to A.I. technology, allowing AAA video game studios and other companies working with Replica to access top SAG-AFTRA talent." According to the union, this agreement will enable Replica and union members to engage "under a fair, ethical agreement to safely create and license a digital replica of their voice." From there, those licensed voices can be used in game development and other interactive media projects from pre-production to final release.
Curiously, the union says this contract was approved by affected members of its voiceover performer community. But Yea is not alone in voicing his concern over this agreement publicly on Twitter and elsewhere. Steve Blum, whose video game credits include games like Deadpool, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Rocksteady's Batman Arkham series, and more, tweeted the following in response to SAG-AFTRA's announcement:
Excuse me? With all due respect…you state in the article “Approved by affected members of the union’s voiceover performer community.” Nobody in our community approved this that I know of. Games are the bulk of my livelihood and have been for years. Who are you referring to?
— Steve Blum (@blumspew) January 9, 2024
"[This contract] marks an important step towards the ethical use of A.I. voices in creative projects by game developers, and sets the basis for fair and equitable employment of voice actors as they explore the new revenue opportunities provided by A.I.," SAG-AFTRA writes. "In addition to establishing minimum terms and conditions, the agreement ensures performer consent and negotiation for uses of their digital voice double and requires that performers have the opportunity to opt out of its continued use in new works."
For more, read Game Informer's coverage of SAG-AFTRA's 2023 strikes.
[Source: Game Developer]
What do you think of this news? Let us know in the comments below!