🔥🔥🔥 GameOver Weekly
Marvel Rivals Layoffs Handwringing, Executive BS, AI in Black Ops 6 | Rapid Growth of Sort Puzzle Games | WTF Zynga?
Hello GameMakers,
Since there was no massive protest against not publishing Marketwire, I decided to kill it and try a new content segment: GameOver Weekly.
In this new segment, each week on Friday, we will cover:
3 game industry hot takes
2 Top 5 gaming news summaries: 1. gaming + 2. AI x gaming
1 interesting data insight
+ a bonus WTF (sometimes)!
Let me know what you think.
Check it out below! 👇👇👇
1. Marvel Rivals Layoffs - Some Perspective
While there has been constant shouting and hand wringing about the recent layoffs on the Marvel Rivals team in Seattle, let’s get some perspective here. The narrative is that even the most successful and talented teams get laid off. Not quite. First of all, it’s a team of 6 in the US separate from the main team in China. Further, it’s been the word on the street that there is not a single China + US codev team that has had a friendly relationship. From CODM, to Harry Potter, to Wild Rift, to Apex Legends Mobile, to literally every single case I can think of where almost all of the work is really in China, the rumors suggests there has been conflict. Most of what I’ve heard is cultural (work ethic) and feelings of economic disparities (often where there seems to be confusion on the true economics) cause resentment.
2. Executive BS
We will see worse games / updates / features coming out during these contraction years because folks are more fearful about losing their jobs and don't stand up to executive BS as they would do during good years. This is more for execs than for anyone else: “If you feel like all of a sudden you get less pushback than a few years ago, your ‘out-of-the-box’ ideas make it into games easier, it's probably not because you got smarter or more creative.” Would recommend checking in with your teams to reassure them they're ok if they push back.
3. Gamers Hate AI—Unless It Works
AI is bad for gaming, says *the same people who play Call of Duty with aim assist, queue up in AI-generated matchmaking, and happily grind through algorithmically balanced battle passes. Here’s the thing: you love AI, you just don’t know it. It makes your lobbies fairer, your weapons balanced, and your post-processing look cleaner. But the second AI generates a rock texture instead of a human artist, suddenly it’s the end of creativity? Please. The real problem isn't that Activision is using AI—it’s that they got caught doing it in a clumsy, PR-nightmare way. Next time, just call it ‘next-gen procedural enhancement’ and watch the outrage disappear overnight.
* Pseudonyms in italics, no underline.
Do you have a weekly hot take you’d like to submit?
Top 5 Gaming News
Warner Bros. Discovery Shuts Down Three Game Studios (Reuters)—Warner Bros. closed Player First Games, WB Games San Diego, and Monolith Productions and canceled the Wonder Woman game to focus on core franchises.
NetEase Reports Profit Growth Despite Revenue Decline (The Wall Street Journal) – NetEase's Q4 profit rose 33%, driven by strong new game releases, though overall revenue declined due to weaker non-gaming segments.
Niantic in Talks to Sell Its Gaming Business to Scopely for $3.5 Billion (Bloomberg)—Niantic is reportedly negotiating to sell its gaming division to Scopely, and a deal announcement is expected soon.
Ubisoft Cancels Three Unannounced Games and Delays 'Skull and Bones' Again (Eurogamer) – Facing financial struggles, Ubisoft canceled three projects and delayed "Skull and Bones" as part of an ongoing restructuring.
'Grand Theft Auto VI' Set to Break Records Despite Industry Slowdown (Financial Times)—Take-Two Interactive's upcoming release of "Grand Theft Auto VI" is projected to generate $3.2 billion in first-year revenue, with over $1 billion in pre-orders anticipated before its autumn launch. This marks a significant milestone in the entertainment industry.
Top 5 AI x Gaming News
Microsoft Unveils Muse, an AI Model for Game Development (The Verge) – Microsoft introduced Muse, a generative AI tool designed to assist in creating game visuals and predicting controller inputs.
Activision Faces Backlash Over AI Use in 'Black Ops 6' (Business Insider) – Activision confirmed the use of generative AI in "Black Ops 6," sparking criticism from players over concerns about quality and authenticity.
Survey Reveals Over 70% of Game Studios Utilize AI (GAM3S.GG) – A recent survey indicates that 73% of game studios have integrated AI into their development processes, with 88% planning further adoption, particularly among smaller teams.
AI-Generated Minecraft Clone Oasis Released (Wikipedia) – Developers have unveiled Oasis, an AI-generated game that replicates Minecraft gameplay by utilizing generative AI trained on extensive gameplay footage.
Elon Musk Highlights AI-Created Flight Simulator (Decrypt) – A novice developer created a flight simulator from scratch using AI tools like Grok, ChatGPT, and Cursor, garnering attention and praise from Elon Musk.
“There are no more growth areas in gaming besides 4X!”
Hold on, just one minute. Check out one of the fastest-growing new subgenres in mobile by revenue: Sort Puzzle!
What happened after Dec 22 to help drive revenue? A complete industry genre shift from ads/IAA only to IAA + IAP hybrid monetization. The revenue graph above shows IAP revenue.
For more info, check out the full report:
Also, note that all of the top 10 games in Sort Puzzle by revenue in 2024 were new (global launch month) after December 2022!
Imma just leave this here… 😂😂😂
But I’m sure Western game dev jobs are fine…
