In 2021, Valve spent $444.5 million on employee salaries, Larian Studios considered making the next Fallout or Ultima if they didn't get the Baldur’s Gate license, and 10 million people played The First Descendant. Here's what happened in the gaming industry over the weekend.
The First Descendant
- In court documents released during the litigation between Valve and Wolfire Games, a table was found with data on the number of Valve employees from 2003-2021 and the company's payroll expenses. According to it, in 2021, Valve had 336 employees. Of these, 35 were administrative staff, 41 worked on gaming hardware, 79 worked on Steam, and 181 developed games. The total salary amount for that year was $444.5 million. Based on this, it's possible to calculate that on average each Valve employee earned about $1.32 million in 2021.
- In an interview with Game Developer, several anonymous translators complained about Nintendo's policy. According to them, the Japanese company does not credit translators from outsourcing agencies in the game credits. They also require specialists to sign a non-disclosure agreement for ten years, which forbids translators from mentioning Nintendo games in their resumes and, consequently, hinders their career development. It is reported that this policy was in effect at least during the translations of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Super Mario RPG.
- Larian Studios head Swen Vincke revealed in an interview with EDGE magazine that before starting the development of Baldur’s Gate 3, the studio was choosing between three franchises: besides Baldur’s Gate, they were interested in Fallout and Ultima. Vincke admitted that the choice was small. After releasing the Divinity series, the studio felt it had hit a glass ceiling and needed a powerful, well-known franchise to increase the recognition of Larian Studios. Interestingly, they almost lost the license for Baldur’s Gate. According to Vincke, Larian Studios was negotiating with Wizards of the Coast during a hectic time when they were finishing Divinity: Original Sin 2. The developers prepared the design document in just a few days, and it was of terrible quality—so bad that Wizards of the Coast rejected it with a corporate phrasing, which the studio translated as "this is total crap." Fortunately, Vincke convinced the company to give them another chance, and after some time, Larian Studios received the desired license.
- The creators of the co-op shooter The First Descendant announced that the game's audience surpassed 10 million people. This milestone was reached a week after its release.
- Starward Industries announced that The Invincible has sold 123,000 copies. This sci-fi thriller, based on Stanisław Lem's novel "The Invincible," was released on November 6, 2023, for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.