News
The story behind the story... of an Xbox studio scoop
21+ hour, 24+ min ago (256+ words) Game File | Stephen Totilo On Wednesday, I reported that the head of ZeniMax Online Studios, makers of The Elder Scrolls was departing the studio as part of Microsoft’s deep cuts into its gaming division. How did I get that story?...
ZeniMax Online Studios leadership to exit as part of Xbox cuts
2+ day, 23+ hour ago (808+ words) There are major changes happening atop Maryland-based ZeniMax Online Studios, developer of the Elder Scrolls Online, Game File has learned. Joe Burba, a 14-year veteran of the studio who was appointed to run it last July, is departing, along with…...
47 revelatory hours with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
4+ day, 4+ hour ago (1108+ words) To review this month’s supposed remake of 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, I must first correct the record. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced isn’t a game about pirates (and assassins) in the 18th century Caribbean. Sure, sure, that’s what the…...
Ubisoft warns of risk of releasing games too late, 'when market anticipation has waned"
1+ week, 8+ hour ago (529+ words) Ubisoft appears to be newly wary of the pitfalls of releasing a game after its optimal release date, according to the company’s latest annual filing to investors about how its business works. As part of its 356-page annual report published…...
Xbox cuts impacted 158 ZeniMax workers in Texas and 52 Obsidian employees in California
1+ week, 3+ day ago (531+ words) Deep cuts in Microsoft’s gaming division have eliminated 158 positions in Texas across the ZeniMax group of gaming teams, according to a WARN layoff notice provided by state officials to Game File. That cut is hitting 96 roles in Richardson, Texas, 40 remote…...
Xbox to cut 20% of workforce, plans to divest of five studios
1+ week, 5+ day ago (1059+ words) Microsoft is cutting its gaming workforce by 1,600 workers today, with another 1,600 slated for cuts across the duration of the company’s fiscal year, ending on June 30, 2027. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma called the mix of layoffs and studio divestments the “most significant…...
Epic settles lawsuit against alleged Fortnite leaker who used to work for them
2+ week, 1+ day ago (340+ words) Epic and a former worker have agreed to a settlement over a case that saw the gaming giant accuse one of its own contractors of leaking Fortnite collaborations with Minecraft, Peak, South Park and more. That’s according to filings by…...
Sony will cease production of discs for new PlayStation games in 2028
2+ week, 3+ day ago (1791+ words) New games sold for PlayStation consoles will only be available digitally and won’t be sold on discs effective January 2028, Sony has announced. The move applies to all PlayStation games released from that point on, including those made by Sony and…...
Nintendo’s new Splatoon adventure feels like the kind of third-person shooter that used to require a PlayStation
2+ week, 4+ day ago (1280+ words) At a Nintendo preview event in New York City about four weeks ago, after I had the opportunity to play the very silly music game Rhythm Heaven Groove, a rep for Nintendo asked me what I thought of it. I…...
'That's why I fought for 1666"
3+ week, 1+ day ago (558+ words) At a cafe in Los Angeles three weeks ago, game designer Patrice Désilets asked me if I was superstitious about numbers. He’d never asked me this before, though usually it’s me who asks Désilets questions. We’d first met in 2006 at…...