Nacon has put the studio behind Edge of Memories up for sale, a veteran from Epic Games is set on creating a "European alternative" to Unreal Engine, and the publisher of MOUSE: P.I. For Hire has recouped its investment on the game — here's a rundown of the major events in the gaming industry over the past weekend.
- The French company Nacon has decided to divest another asset. They are now seeking a buyer for Midgar Studio, known for the action RPG Edge of Eternity and the upcoming Edge of Memories. The company will accept purchase applications for a little over a month, until June 16. It's uncertain what will happen to Midgar Studio if no buyer is found, but it's possible that Nacon might close it. Previously, the company took such measures with Spiders Studio.
- Former technical director of Epic Games and Guerrilla Games co-founder Arjan Brussee revealed on the De Technoloog podcast that he is working on a new game engine called The Immense Engine. He wishes to create a "European alternative" to the popular American and Chinese game development tools. Brussee believes there is currently a lack of high-quality engines made by European experts that are fully located in Europe and meet local rules and standards, but The Immense Engine aims to change that. During the discussion, Brussee also stated that one of the distinctive features of this engine will be deep integration of artificial intelligence, which will make game creation significantly more efficient. When developers will be able to try The Immense Engine remains unknown.
- The creators of Psychonauts are looking to unionize. Recently, Double Fine Productions filed a special petition with the National Labor Relations Board of the United States, indicating all 42 studio employees will join the union. If successful, this union will become part of the broader Communications Workers of America. It is reported that Microsoft, which owns Double Fine Productions, has taken a neutral stance on the matter and has not interfered with the developers.
- Publisher PlaySide is pleased with the success of its released black-and-white cartoon shooter MOUSE: P.I. For Hire. It announced that less than a month after release, the game sold 730,000 copies, about half of which were for consoles. According to the publisher's calculations, amidst this hype, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire generated $21.4 million in gross revenue, already recouping all of PlaySide's costs.
- The makers of the co-op "casino-crawler" Gamble With Your Friends also shared their achievements. Indie team TEAM GWYF reported that the game took just a week post-launch to surpass a million copies sold.