According to an insider, Cloud Imperium Games has fired at least three executives, scientists have discovered that open-world games help combat stress, and the combined sales of the Octopath Traveler duology have exceeded 5 million copies—here's a recap of the major events in the gaming industry over the weekend.
▫️Significant reshuffling has occurred within the leadership of Cloud Imperium Games, as reported by sources of journalist and insider Tom Henderson. They indicate that at least three experienced managers have been dismissed from the studio, and several others have been reassigned to different positions. In a letter to the employees, Cloud Imperium Games' head Chris Roberts explained the reshuffle as a necessary step to expedite work on Star Citizen and Squadron 42, although some of Henderson's sources believe it was more about cost-cutting. There are also rumors within the studio that Chris Roberts' wife, Sandi Gardiner, will soon be making a full return to the leadership team. She resigned in May 2019 but remained on the board of directors. Official representatives of Cloud Imperium Games have not commented on Henderson's report.
▫️A group of researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Graz studied the impact of open-world games like The Legend of Zelda, The Elder Scrolls, Ghost of Tsushima, Red Dead Redemption, and others on mental health. The scientists concluded that these titles "offer unique opportunities for cognitive escapism" — allowing gamers to temporarily divert their attention from real-life problems. Unlike other games, open-world projects give users more freedom. The unrestricted exploration combined with non-linear gameplay promotes relaxation, mood improvement, and stress reduction, the researchers concluded.
▫️In 2024, Twitch users watched streams for a total of 18.5 billion hours, according to analysts from StreamElement. This is about 400 million hours less than in 2023. The most popular game remained GTA V, with its streams alone accumulating 1.3 billion hours of viewing. The gaming top also included League of Legends, Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, Fortnite, Dota 2, Minecraft, World of Warcraft, and Call of Duty: Warzone. Notably, over the past five years, the top 9 most-watched games on Twitch have remained almost unchanged. As StreamElement notes, the only thing that changes is the order of the games.
▫️The creators of Octopath Traveler have announced that more than 5 million copies of the duology have been sold worldwide. They reached this milestone six and a half years after the debut: the first Octopath Traveler was released in July 2018. The distribution of sales is not specified. It's worth recalling that by September 2022, 3 million copies of the original Octopath Traveler had been sold, and by June 2023, 1 million copies of Octopath Traveler II had been sold.
▫️Bandai Namco Entertainment and CyberConnect2 have also shared new sales data. They boasted that the cumulative shipments of the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series exceeded 30 million copies. The first part of the series with the same title was released over 20 years ago, in October 2003.