Surgeon Simulator and Lost Skies developer Bossa Studios has become the latest affected by the sweeping lay-offs hitting the video game industry.

As revealed by GI.biz, the UK developer laid off almost one third of all staff as 19 employees lost their jobs, caused by what co-founder Henrique Olifiers called a “perfect storm of events”. The lay-offs came at the end of 2023, with 40 employees remaining at the studio.

This “perfect storm” was, according to Olifiers, caused by the number of high profile triple-A games launching after September that took attention from smaller studios, increasing operational costs, and delayed funding decisions across the industry.

“Resulting from this blue moon situation, we had to make the difficult decision to reshape the studio to reflect the position we find ourselves in at the end of this year, focusing all our efforts now on Lost Skies,” he said. “This means we find ourselves in the heartbreaking position of having to let roughly one third of the studio go — amongst them, some of our closest colleagues.”

Olifiers pleaded for other studios to hire the laid off members where possible, though the entire video game industry is currently struggling with job losses.

Lay-offs in 2023 were among the worst in industry history, with myriad studios of all sizes affected. Dreams’ Media Molecule, Cyberpunk 2077’s CD Projekt Red, F1 Manager’s Frontier Developments, and Assassin’s Creed’s Ubisoft all suffered lay-offs. Destiny 2 developer Bungie was also affected, causing a “soul crushing” atmosphere at the studio that IGN learned about in an investigative report.

Colossal companies like Embracer, who owns the likes of Borderlands developer Gearbox Software and Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics, Fortnite publisher Epic Games, and Dungeons & Dragons owner Hasbro also saw sweeping job losses. Embracer laid off 5% of its workforce, amassing to 904 staff in total, Epic laid off 16%, or 830 employees, and Hasbro cut close to 20%, meaning around 1,100 staff.

Entire studios were also closed, including Embracer’s Campfire Cabal and Saints Row developer Volition Games, plus the studio behind TimeSplittlers Free Radical.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games is releasing a ship bundle for its controversial space simulator that costs an eye-watering $48,000.

Revealed on its website, the Legatus 2953 pack will arrive in the first quarter of 2024 and cost $48,000 despite the game not having officially launched yet.

“Ahead of all others, this definitive armada is an equal match to the noble title of Legatus Navium,” the Legatus 2953 item page reads. “Comprised of over 175 vessels from every manufacturer of note, this perfect collection, including all ships released and concepted through 2953, empowers every fleet commander to forge a lasting legacy, leading humanity towards a brighter future.”

Adding even more to the price, the Legatus 2953 pack is only available to members of Star Citizen’s Chairman’s Club, which can only be entered after spending $1,000 on other items in game.

Star Citizen is considered one of the most controversial projects in all video games. Over the years it’s been called many things, including a scam by those who wonder whether it will ever properly launch.

What cannot be denied is the huge amount of money so far raised by Star Citizen, which CIG displays on its website. At the time of this article’s publication, Star Citizen had raised $658,161,596 from more than five million accounts.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Content Warning: The following article contains mentions of themes some readers may find distressing, including those of self-harm and suicide.

Atlus has released the super stylish opening cinematic for Persona 3: Reload ahead of its February 2 launch.

The two minute movie, which can be viewed below, is everything you’d expect of a Persona game, featuring a bright and colourful aesthetic over some incredibly dark themes.

Persona intros, which appear before the main menu when booting up the games, usually feature an upbeat pop track too, and Persona 3: Reload’s is no different. Protagonist Makoto Yuki even boots the tune up on an MP3 player in the beginning of the cinematic, which also acts as a quick reminder that Persona 3: Reload is set in 2009 and won’t feature smartphones as Persona 5 does.

The dark themes present in the trailer include suicide, headlined by Persona 3’s controversial method of summoning Personas that has characters put gun-like items called Evokers to their heads.

This method of summoning, which is regularly featured in the game as both a plot point and battle animation, has been debated for years, but Atlus opted to include it in the remake of the 2006 game.

Persona 3: Reload is a full recreation of the original, meaning it doesn’t include the additional features and options in the likes of Persona 3: FES or Persona 3: Portable. It also features a brand new English voice cast. The game was finally announced at the 2023 Xbox Games Showcase following a string of rumours and one final leak ahead of the event.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Christmas has come late. A new IGN UK Podcast episode has arrived as Cardy, Dale, and Mat have a big ol’ catch-up and chat about all the games, movies, and TV shows that were enjoyed (and some not so much) over the festive break. We’ve got everything from God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla to Cobalt Core. Big blockbuster hits like Godzilla Minus One to French new wave noir. A bit of something for everyone innit.

What are you most excited about watching or playing in 2024? Get in touch at ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.

IGN UK Podcast 730: Flo Rida’s Christmas Catch-Up

• IGN UK Podcast 729: The 2023 Alternative TV Awards
• IGN UK Podcast 728: The 2023 Alternative Game Awards
• IGN UK Podcast 727: The 2024 Alternative Movie Awards
• IGN UK Podcast 726: GTA 6 Looks Decent
• IGN UK Podcast 725: Predicting The Game Awards 2023

The next game from Stern Pinball Inc. will be JAWS, a machine based on the 1975 Steven Spielberg film and featuring many sights and sounds from the horror flick. JAWS pinball also features the original John Williams score, new callouts from original JAWS star Richard Dreyfuss, and seemingly lots of movie footage incorporated into its HD screen. Shockingly, aside from a goofy ’70s knockoff machine and Zen Pinball’s virtual JAWS games, there’s never been an official JAWS pinball machine.