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Written by Akshay PatelReverse City Builder Terra Nil Hits Nintendo Switch Next Week
Written by Wesley LeBlanc
Terra Nil, the "reverse city builder" from developer Free Lives and publisher Devolver Digital, is coming to Switch next week. More specifically, it will hit the Nintendo console on December 18, as revealed in a new trailer you can watch below.
While many simulation games task you with creating a new metropolis or saving a colony of humans from post-apocalyptic conditions, Terra Nil instead tasks you with saving nature from climate change and the effects of humans. Instead of building roadways and buildings, you build windmills, calcifiers, and more.
As you can see, Terra Nil is not only a unique spin on the simulation genre, but a pretty one. It's sure to pop on Nintendo Switch OLED models, too, if you have one.
If you're unsure whether or not the game is for you, read Game Informer's Terra Nil review to learn what we thought about it. Listen to us talk more about it on this episode of The Game Informer Show after that.
Are you going to check out Terra Nil on Switch next week? Let us know in the comments below!
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Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering Owner Hasbro Is Laying Off 1100 Employees
Written by Wesley LeBlanc
Hasbro, the parent company behind Wizards of the Coast, which itself is responsible for both Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, is laying off 1100 employees, as reported by Dicebreaker and The Wall Street Journal. The company, which is also behind the Transformers franchise (toys and other media), announced this decision yesterday, on December 11.
Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks called the need for layoffs in an email sent to staff a "lever we must pull to keep Hasbro healthy" and "a last resort." As noted by Dicebreaker, Cocks became CEO of Hasbro in February of last year and earns roughly $1.5 million in salary in the position – his total earnings for 2022 amounted to $9.4 million, however.
"While we're confident in the future of Hasbro, the current environment demands that we do more, even if these choices are some of the hardest we have to make," Cocks writes in the email, which The Wall Street Journal published. "I know this news is especially difficult during the holiday season. There is no sugar-coating how hard this is, particularly for the employees directly affected."
Dicebreaker reports that laid-off employees will be notified sometime over the next six weeks and that Hasbro will vacate a Rhode Island office as a result of cost-cutting measures next month. While Hasbro is laying off 1,100 employees out of its 6,400 employees – it laid off 800 people earlier this year – it's unclear which of the company's teams, including Wizards of the Coast, are affected. Last week, Payday 3 developer Starbreeze announced a partnership with Wizards of the Coast to develop a multiplayer co-op title set in the D&D universe.
These Hasbro layoffs join an unfortunately ever-growing list of layoffs affecting workers in 2023 in the games industry and games-adjacent industries. Just yesterday, Embracer Group officially shuttered its reformed TimeSplitters team, Free Radical Design. A few weeks ago, 505 Games parent company Digital Bros laid off 30 percent of its staff.
Last month, Amazon Games laid off 180 staff members. In early November, we learned that Ubisoft laid off more than 100 employees. The week before that, roughly 100 employees were laid off at Destiny 2 developer Bungie.
In January, Microsoft laid off 10,000 employees amidst its ongoing $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which it completed last month.
In August, Striking Distance Studios, the team behind last year's The Callisto Protocol, laid off more than 30 employees, and 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.
Just last month, The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog laid off at least 25 employees, and Telltale Games underwent layoffs as well, although an actual number of laid-off employees has not yet been revealed. And in late October, Dreams developer Media Molecule laid off 20 employees.
The hearts of Game Informer's staff are with the people laid off from Hasbro, along with everyone else who has lost a job this year.
[Source: Dicebreaker via The Wall Street Journal]
The ESA Has Announced That E3 Is Officially Dead
Written by Wesley LeBlanc
The Entertainment Software Association has announced that its long-running Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is officially dead, as reported by The Washington Post. The last in-person E3 conference happened in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic and other complications prevented it from coming back in full form since. Despite struggles, the ESA attempted to bring E3 back in various ways.
It was canceled in 2020 as a result of the pandemic; the 2021 E3 was an all-digital event; the 2022 show was canceled, and this year's attempt with PAX organizer ReedPop was canned, too.
— E3 (@E3) December 12, 2023
"After more than two decades of hosting an event that has served as a central showcase for the U.S. and global video game industry, the Entertainment Software Association has decided to bring E3 to a close," ESA president and CEO Stanely Pierre-Louis told The Washington Post. "We know the entire industry, players and creators alike have a lot of passion for E3. We share the passion. We know it's difficult to say goodbye to such a beloved event, but it's the right thing to do given the new opportunities our industry has to reach fans and partners."
Pierre-Louis told The Washington Post that E3's closure means video games and the surrounding business "has blossomed in different ways," noting that any of the major game companies can create their own individual showcases. He's likely alluding to the format popularized by Nintendo with its Nintendo Directs, which other publishers like Xbox and PlayStation utilize now. "That's exciting for our industry, and it means it's an opportunity for them to explore how to engage new audiences in different ways."
For a recap of the history of E3, read The Washington Post's full story here. For a look at the event's recent cancellation, read our E3 breakdown here.
[Source: The Washington Post]
What is your favorite E3 memory? Let us know in the comments below!