Business Development

Take-Two Interactive has announced the sale of Private Division for an undisclosed amount, opting to discontinue its indie-focused publishing label in order to concentrate on bigger projects

Saber Interactive chief creative officer Tim Willits has opened up about the current state of AAA game development. He also detailed the studio’s approach to production and budgeting.

Valve’s Kassidy Gerber recently shared several updates on Steam as a platform and some of its key metrics. Here are the key findings.

Microsoft's Gaming Head, Phil Spencer, has responded to criticism over the recent studio closures at Xbox, stressing the necessity of making "hard decisions" to ensure operational sustainability. Spencer spoke on Sunday during an interview on stage at IGN Live in Los Angeles, where he was questioned about last month's closure of four ZeniMax-owned studios, among them Arkane Austin, the developer behind Redfall, and Tango Gameworks, known for Hi-Fi Rush. As detailed by IGN, Spencer remarked: "The closure of any team is hard obviously on the individuals there, hard on the team. I haven't been talking publicly about this, because right now is the time for us to focus on the team and the individuals

After hosting a new Xbox Showcase, Phil Spencer finally addressed the recent studio closures. The Microsoft Gaming CEO detailed the decision making behind this process, also commenting on other things related to the Xbox business.

ByteDance seems to have finally decided on the future of its video game division. With the appointment of the new CEO of Nuverse, the Chinese tech giant plans to build a more centralized management structure and focus on long-term growth.

Sony has published its annual business briefing. Here are the key takeaways about the performance of the PlayStation business and updates to the company’s gaming strategy.

Another Swedish holding company continues to struggle financially. As part of its ongoing restructuring, Thunderful Group has decided to divest the remaining parts of its distribution business and simplify its strategy.

The final details of the new session of the GenAI For Business conference dedicated to generative neural networks have been published. It will take place in the USA this month. Among the speakers are representatives of businesses developing their AI solutions.

Unity continues to restructure, this time preparing for changes in its leadership. The founders of ironSource, an app monetization platform it acquired in 2022, will soon leave the company.

Less than two weeks into 2024, mass layoffs continue to impact the industry. This time, Unity has decided to cut around 25% of its total workforce as part of its ongoing restructuring.

Sony has released its financial report for the second quarter ended September 30. Here are the key numbers related to the company’s gaming business.

On October 23, the Generative AI For Business SF’23 business conference was held in San Francisco, dedicated to trends in the field of generative artificial intelligence. Its guests were representatives of companies such as Google, Amazon Web Services, Scenario, Confident AI, Layer.ai and NetEase.

Tencent has shared its financial results for the second quarter of 2023 ended June 30. Although the Chinese tech giant posted growth in key business metrics, they were below analysts’ expectations.

Yana Vesnina, M&A Manager at ZiMAD, shares the most common business proposals that game publishers encounter and the challenges associated with them in her column for Game World Observer.

Electronic Arts has announced a restructuring, realigning into EA Entertainment and EA SPORTS. Here is what it means for the company’s business.

Electronic Arts has updated the list of potential operational risks, adding its view on unionization and AI regulation. Here is what the company has to say about the influence of these factors on its business.

A new week, a new episode of AI Talks, a series of free webinars by WN Media Group. Today’s guest Guy Gadney will share his tips on building an AI business from scratch.

A developer under the pseudonym Creator has released a detailed post on DTF about how much money they were able to earn on Steam by releasing “trash” games. Here are the main points from the article.

Tencent has announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2022. Let’s focus on the key points and results that the Chinese company achieved in the gaming business.

The latest WN Connect event took place on December 21 in Shenzhen, China. It brought together 140 games industry workers from 112 companies, including ByteDance, Round Ventures, and Roblox.

A group of Epic Games veterans have founded the new indie studio called Noodle Cat Games. They have already raised $4.1 million to hire staff and develop their debut title, while also offering flexible working options to their team members.

The next WN Conference will take place in Tel Aviv, Israel next week, on November 23-24. The program for the upcoming event has finally been announced, with talks from games industry experts, panel discussions, and private roundtables.

Unity has officially completed its merger with ironSource. While outlining its future plans, the company also addressed developers’ concerns about monetization and a possible shift to the ad business.

Take-Two has released a financial report for the three months ended September 30, 2022. The company recorded a net loss of over $250 million and lowered its full-year guidance.

Microsoft has laid off hundreds of employees, with job cuts affecting multiple divisions, including Xbox. Even people with decades of experience were not immune from being fired.

Despite the recent shutdown of Google Stadia, cloud gaming is a rapidly growing segment of the games industry. According to Newzoo, this market will reach $2.4 billion in revenue by the end of this year.

Total player spending in Harry Potter mobile games has reached $1 billion, according to Sensor Tower. Jam City-developed RPG Hogwarts Mystery remains the highest-grossing title based on this IP, with NetEase’s Magic Awakened hot on its heels.

The third WN CEO Summit took place on September 21. This time, it was held in Istanbul, Turkey, attracting around 100 C-level executives of gaming companies from 18 countries.

VK, one of the largest IT companies in Russia, has decided to sell its gaming division MY.GAMES. The deal is worth $642 million.

WN Cyprus’22, the business conference for games industry professionals, was held from September 8 to 9. WN Media Group has now shared the results of its latest event.

CD Projekt shares have been falling for a while now, undermining its position in the Polish games market. According to the latest report, Techland is now valued more than the Cyberpunk 2077 developer.

Another Tencent’s product will soon be closed. The Chinese tech giant has announced its decision to shut down the mobile app of WeGame, a game store dubbed its answer to Steam.

WN St. Petersburg 2022, a conference for game developers and publishers, starts today. Here are opening remarks by Pavel Ryaykkonen, CEO and founder of WN Media Group.

Sony might be the next tech giant to offer its own approach to the metaverse. The company plans to evolve its gaming business and adopt a cross-platform strategy ahead of potential changes in the market.

It’s been reported that Microsoft is now working on a special program to let third-party companies place ads in free-to-play games. Here is how this move might boost Xbox advertising ambitions and help it build the so-called “content fortress.”

Humble has laid off a number of employees in two of its departments. This happened as a part of the bundling platform’s restructuring.

Tencent has paid more than $200 million to two of its executives in 2021. The Chinese tech giant, which saw its stock decline in the wake of Beijing’s crackdown on the games industry, didn’t disclose these employees’ names.

Russian holding company VK has reportedly been seeking potential buyers for its gaming division MY.GAMES. If the deal happens, it might still continue to develop games in the country.

The winners of the annual Dstars Awards have been announced today. Italian developers have voted for their colleagues across categories like Game of the Year, Management Star, Best New Studio, and Industry Star.

More than a dozen advocacy groups have raised their concerns over Microsoft’s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard. They asked the Federal Trade Commission to closely review the deal to stop potential damage to the market, including a threat to fair competition.

Nintendo has announced that both 3DS and Wii U eShops will be permanently closed in March 2023. Although players won’t be able to buy and own digital copies of old games anymore, the company apparently is not interested in preserving its classic titles.

Analytics platform App Annie has announced a rebranding, changing its name to data.ai. The company will combine consumer and market data, while also using the power of AI.

Microsoft will have dozens of in-house studios with the Activision Blizzard acquisition. Take a look at how the company’s gaming business will be organized if the deal is closed.

MY.GAMES Business Development Manager Dmitriy Byshonkov has shared some insights for international developers on how to sell and market video games in Russia. He detailed the importance of localization, regional pricing, and local marketing channels.

Riot Games has announced a new five-year development plan, also making an unusual offer to its employees. Every worker that doesn’t want to embrace the new strategy and decides to quit the company will receive 25% of their annual salary.

Billionaire David Baszucki, known as the CEO of Roblox Corporation, has found a legal but really tricky way to avoid millions of dollars in capital gains taxes. According to the latest report, he has given plenty of his company’s shares to his family members

For a new installment in our “2021 in Video Games” series, we are joined by Peter Warman, Co-Founder and CEO of Newzoo.

Game companies might have their own reasons to not include certain employees in the credits. We asked developers what they think of the problem. Should studios include every employee in the credits, or can they act according to their internal policies?