In 2022, a group of former developers from The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 founded their own studio — Dark Passenger. Recently, it secured seed investment of $3 million.

SEGA’s Chief Operating Officer, Shuji Utsumi, discussed the company’s business strategy with Eurogamer, highlighting a vision based on three main pillars: shifting focus from the Japanese market, embracing a transmedia approach, and reinvesting in forgotten franchises.

We continue summarizing the results of 2024 with teams involved in the gaming industry. Up next is an interview with representatives from the outsourcing studio Infinite Art Solutions — CEO and co-founder Alexey Pechenin, Business Development Director Oleg Rozhkov, and Art Director Alexander.

The Chinese mini-game market is on the rise. According to estimates by the analytics company DataEye, by the end of 2024, its volume will exceed 50 billion yuan ($6.86 billion).

Laundry Store Simulator is another simulator released by the Polish company PlayWay. The game was launched on Steam and Google Play on December 9, 2024. According to PlayWay’s CEO, Krzysztof Kostowski, the game recouped its costs in just three days.

PulluP Entertainment, the parent company of publisher Focus Entertainment Publishing, announced the sale of its controlling interest in Streum On Studio. The studio’s partners-founders have regained control over it.

Online participation for Helldivers 2 on Steam increased by 557% following a major update, Elden Ring sales surpassed 28 million copies, and the head of Game Science was disappointed by Black Myth: Wukong’s loss in the “Game of the Year” category at The Game Awards 2024. Here’s a recap of the main events in the gaming industry over the past weekend.

Chris Barrett, who previously led the development of Marathon, is set to sue his former employers — Bungie and Sony. He accuses the companies of deliberately ruining his reputation and career.

The service SteamDB, which tracks game metrics on Steam, has published a list of this year’s most warmly received new releases on the Valve platform.

We continue to wrap up 2024 with gaming (or gaming industry-related) teams and experts. Next up is an interview with Dmitry Amroyan, CEO of the studio Cubic Games.

The creators of Pokémon TCG Pocket have shared the latest data on their game downloads. They announced that the number of downloads has surpassed 60 million.

The adventure gacha game Infinity Nikki, featuring a girl named Nikki who gains various useful abilities through dresses, is celebrating a new achievement. The title has been downloaded more than 20 million times globally.

Warner Bros. Discovery conducted mass layoffs at its Montreal game development studio, reports Radio-Canada. According to the publication, a total of 99 people left WB Games Montreal. Some of them were contractor testers from the outsourcing company Keywords Studios.

The Organization for the Development of the Video Game Industry (ODVGI) criticized the bill “On the Activities of Developing and Distributing Video Games on the Territory of the Russian Federation.” Representatives from the organization stated that the initiative would harm the domestic game development sector instead of aiding it.

The China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association released its annual report on the state of the local gaming market for the year 2024.

The Google Play Store team has informed developers that it will soon stop processing payments globally meant for holders of Russian bank accounts. This limitation will take effect in two weeks on December 26, 2024.

Early in the morning on December 13, the tenth anniversary ceremony of The Game Awards took place. This year, the main triumphant of the event was Astro Bot.

The Chartboost platform has changed ownership. Mobile game publisher Zynga has announced its sale to LoopMe, a technology company specializing in brand advertising.

Shares of the Polish company 11 bit studios have plummeted to their lowest level in seven years. Investors are concerned that the studio may be planning to cancel a game currently in development and write off its assets.