What in the week
In yet another uneasy week of layoffs and project cancellations, Warner Bros Games axed the upcoming Wonder Woman game and announced that it was shuttering not only Monolith Productions, the studio behind the title, but also Player First Games and WB San Diego, following a “strategic change in direction”. Meanwhile, after pulling the plug on its US development team, NetEase is reportedly also pulling back on its other international game investments. The Chinese corp is said to be now “actively shopping around more of its non-Chinese studios”, and failure to do so might as well ring the death knell for a number of them, including the likes of Quantic Dream (the studio behind the upcoming Star Wars Eclipse) and Rebel Wolves (the one developing The Blood of Dawnwalker, headed by The Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz). In separate statements on LinkedIn, the former said that they remain unaffected by the goings-on, and the latter insisted that their much-anticipated title was still on track.
Elsewhere, after several rounds of layoffs, developer Phoenix Labs announced the end of free-to-play action game, Dauntless; while Bossa Games, the company behind popular indie games like Surgeon Simulator and I Am Bread, announced a new wave of job losses, having shed a third of its staff just last year. Striking Distance, the studio behind The Callisto Protocol was also hit by further layoffs, with reports that “most of” its developers had lost their jobs. And the entire French cast of Apex Legends has refused to sign an agreement that allows their voices to train generative AI, risking their jobs in the process, even as Activision confirmed that some in-game content in Call of Duty has been created using generative AI.
In a confidence-booster for the proponents of single-player games, according to Circana (market research and technology company), live-service games continue to dominate, with over 70% of PS5 and Xbox Series X|S players in the US playing at least one of the top 10 live-service games in January, and more than 40% of all playtime in the country being spent on those same titles. Meanwhile, Steam Deck continues to command the handheld PC gaming market, shipping around four million of the six million units sold over the last three years.
Lastly, in things to look forward to, Netflix has joined the film adaptation project for Slocap studio’s kung-fu roguelike, Sifu, with TS Nowlin set to write the script, and adaptation enthusiasts(?) 87Eleven Entertainment joining Story Kitchen as producers. Yellow Brick Games’ Eternal Strands has teamed up with Final Fantasy concept artist Yusuki Mogi and No More Heroes studio Grasshopper Manufacture for a free DLC and other updates. Speaking of DLCs, The Rise of the Golden Idol is all set to release its first this March. And while Microsoft announced that it’s delaying the long-awaited Fable reboot to 2026, we did get a glimpse (50 seconds!) of the pre-alpha gameplay (whatever that means these days).
Eyes out for
Now for some notable releases for the upcoming week
- Capcom’s Monster Hunter Wilds, February 28
- HB Studios’ PGA TOUR 2K25, February 28
- Hazelight Studios’ Split Fiction, March 6
Read up
And here are some exciting reads for you over the weekend from our very own garage:
- Karan Pradhan on the most remarkable ‘unremarkable game’ he has ever played, aka Obsidian’s Avowed
- Anirudh Regidi tells you why he finds Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5090 — a uniquely impressive GPU — impossible to recommend
- And I give my thoughts on Pikselnesia’s latest indie title, Afterlove EP
Story Mode recommends
Night Moves (1975), directed by Arthur Penn
In one of his relatively less-er known films, Gene Hackman plays hard-nosed Los Angeles private investigator, Harry Moseby, who gets hired to find the missing teenage daughter of an ageing B-movie actress. As the case leads him to the Florida Keys, Moseby begins to uncover an intriguing and sinister connection between the runaway girl, the world of Hollywood stuntmen, and a suspicious mechanic when an unsolved murder comes to light. A brilliant neo-noir and psychological thriller that sees Hackman at his finest. RIP. — Harsh Pareek
Empire Records (1995), directed by Allan Moyle
Turning 30 this year, Empire Records is a love letter to the rebellious spirit of the 1990s. Set over the course of one day at a record store battling corporate takeover, it is a celebration of youth, music, and individuality. Featuring a stellar young cast, including early performances by Liv Tyler and Renée Zellweger, the film brims with witty dialogue and heartfelt moments. Its eclectic soundtrack — packed with alt-rock gems — perfectly captures the era’s essence. While its narrative may feel chaotic, this is a must-watch for anyone nostalgic for a time when music truly mattered. — Karan Pradhan
Until next time.
Banner image by Harsh Pareek
