"I started Build A Rocket Boy so that I could continue to share the stories I love with players and give them a place to create and share – Leslie Benzies, president, Build A Rocket Boy

Hey there!

🎉 But we have so much more:

The Larian CEO is not a fan of subscriptions, so I guess we won’t see Baldur’s Gate 3 on Game Pass or PS Plus anytime soon. Apple wants $73 million from Epic Games, and a new Sonic mobile game, with Fall Guys-like gameplay, could come this year. 

And guess who will voice Indiana Jones in the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle? Yep, it’s Troy Baker!

Now let’s start this round:

Welcome to The Power-Up #60

Game-Up

📜 Bethesda introduces The Elder Scrolls: Castles, a new mobile management sim developed by the team behind Fallout Shelter, where players build and manage a dynasty over generations. 

⏩ A rumored new Sonic spin-off mobile game, with gameplay similar to Fall Guys, is reportedly in development and expected to release by the end of the year, according to a leak. 

🪦 Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, releasing on February 14 for PS4, PS5, and other platforms, will feature over 200 trophies and various new features like modern and classic control options, boss health bars, 3D item sprites, photo mode, and enhanced graphics. 

🤑 A new PS Store sale, New Year Deals, has begun, offering discounts of up to 75% on almost 2000 items (games, addons etc). The sale will end on January 31.

🎮 Some of the announcements made at January Xbox Developer Direct: Avowed will be launched this autumn, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 gets a May release date. 

🧑‍🌾 Also,  Indiana Jones and the Great Circle have a confirmed 2024 release. Troy Baker will voice the main character. The game will be a FPS made by Wolfenstein developer MachineGames. 

Here is the official gameplay reveal trailer:

Round-Up

🌅 Supermassive's PS4 horror game Until Dawn is being adapted into a movie by Gary Dauberman, writer of Annabelle and It. The film is described as a "R-rated love letter to the horror genre". 

🤖 Nearly half of game developers are now working with generative AI tools across various departments, as revealed by GDC's 2024 State of the Industry survey. While 49% of developers reported using these tools, with the highest use in finance and community management, there remains a mix of interest and skepticism about its impact and ethical implications within the gaming industry.

Biz-Up

🤕 Larian CEO Swen Vincke expresses concern that a subscription-based future for video games could be detrimental to game development, limiting creative freedom and idealism. 

🤑 Former Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies' company Build A Rocket Boy has raised $110 million to develop Everywhere, a "community-driven gaming" space, alongside a triple-A game, MindsEye, and user-generated content tools named Arcadia.

⚖️ Apple is seeking $73 million from Epic Games to cover legal costs from their recent disputes, following the US Supreme Court's decision not to hear appeals in the antitrust case regarding App Store practices.

💰 Obelisk, known for outsourcing work on titles like Fallout 76 and Call of Duty Vanguard, has received $2 million from The Games Fund to develop its own game, Displacement, a psychological action-horror title.

💰 Focused on the idea of “healthy gaming”, Talofa Games raises $6.3M to build fitness games for good.

🤑 Pokemon doesn’t need any introduction: Pokémon Masters surpassed $300M in revenues. It marks The Pokémon Company’s second-biggest mobile game by revenue, after Pokémon Go.

Industry Level-Up

😔 Thunderful Group is undergoing a restructuring program that includes cutting 20% of its workforce and potential divestments, aiming for annual cost reductions between $8.6 and $10.5 million. 

🤝 Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker, co-founders of Rocksteady, have established a new AAA gaming studio in London called Hundred Star Games, aiming to create innovative gaming experiences with a small team of 100 industry veterans and emerging talents.

😔 Netspeak Games, the developer behind Sunshine Days, is laying off around 25 employees due to challenging investment conditions in the gaming industry, despite the game achieving major milestones.

😔 Nexon has confirmed layoffs at Pixelberry Studios, its California-based subsidiary known for narrative mobile games like Choices: Stories You Play. The redundancies include various roles such as programmers, artists, producers, and QA workers.

😔 Polish developer and publisher CI Games, known for the Sniper: Ghost Warrior series and Lords of the Fallen, has laid off about 10% of its workforce.

😔 German indie developer Threaks, known for titles like Battle Planet and All I Have is Time, is set to shut down later this year due to the ongoing industry crisis, marking one of the first studio closures in 2024.

😔 Behaviour Interactive, the developer of Dead by Daylight, has confirmed the layoff of 45 employees, less than 3% of its workforce, affecting only its Montreal staff due to changing market conditions and project adjustments.

🤝 The newly formed indie publisher Astra Logical, evolving from the philanthropic Astra Fund, has been announced by industry veterans including managing director Heather Jackson from Amazon Games.

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Stay powered-up until next time.

Bobby & Andrei