Author: Game Infliction

Surgeon Simulator Developer Bossa Studios Hit With Lay-Offs

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 Introducing a $48,000 Ship Bundle, but Only for Players Who Have Already Spent $1,000

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.

Persona 3 Reload’s Super Stylish Opening Cinematic Revealed

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.

Monster Hunter Series Producer Shares New Year’s Message Ahead Of 20th Anniversary

Fan-favourite monster results arriving in March.

Capcom has been gearing up for the 20th anniversary of Monster Hunter for a while now and today’s New Year’s video message from series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto gives some indication of what’s in store for 2024.

To be clear, the message is not packed with information on anniversary plans, though Tsujimoto does confirm that the results of the fan-favourite monster voting will be revealed to mark the occasion this March. We can expect to see a new piece of artwork featuring the three most popular monsters too.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Kojima says horror game OD is as “experimental” as Boktai, so here’s a quick overview of solar powered gaming

Hideo Kojima’s new Xbox Game Studios project OD is a horror game that is “also a movie, and at the same time a new form of media” and who knows, perhaps it also runs on solar power. That’s the extremely direct and literal reading of Kojima’s latest social media tease, in which he compares his latest endeavour to Boktai: The Sun Is In Your Hand, an isometric vampire-hunting game for Game Boy Advance, which Kojima worked on while at Konami in the early noughties. Boktai stands apart to this day for making use of solar energy. There’s a sun sensor built into the cartridge, which allows you to re-energise your weapon by using the console in sunlight, though this isn’t outright necessary to prevail.

I doubt OD employs a similar peripheral, though a Steam Deck verified horror game that can only be played outdoors in pleasant weather would be an… interestingly contrary experience. But it’s an opportunity, at least, to jump aboard one of my personal hobby horses and give you a scrappy rundown of older and recent games that employ similar functionality.

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

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

Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Nominated For Another ‘Game Of The Year’ Award

Winners to be revealed at the New York Game Awards.

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom received a lot of nominations last year, and now to top it off it’s been nominated for another ‘Game of the Year’ award, this time by the New York Videogame Critics Circle.

The main event will take place on 23rd January 2024 where the winners of the 2024 New York Game Awards will be announced. Apart from a ‘Game of the Year’ nomination, Tears of the Kingdom has also been nominated for “best music” and “best kids game”.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival Scores Music Pass And Winter Song Update

Available next week.

To celebrate the new year, Bandai Namco has announced its next wave of songs coming to Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival.

These songs will be made available to Taiko Music Pass users and are timed in with the Winter Season. This service is available to subscribers only. Here’s what’s arriving next week on 11th January:

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

New JAWS Pinball Machine from Stern Has Original Movie Footage, Shark Toys, and Lots of Blood

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.

JAWS is designed by Keith Elwin, who was also behind the well-received Stern games, Godzilla and Iron Maiden. Its main features on the playfield include a chum bucket you can bash to “release blood” onto the playfield, represented by LED lights, which then raises a moving shark fin target to shoot. The fancier Premium and Limited Edition versions of JAWS feature a great white toy that pops out of the playfield from beneath a tiny boat that you can target, and a small replica of the Orca boat as a single-flipper mini playfield in the upper left.

There are three versions of JAWS, like many recent Stern releases, the Limited Edition and Premium Edition share similar playfield features and toys, but the Limited Edition has unique art and side armor. The Pro version has simpler playfield – it’s missing the upper Orca boat playfield and replaces the transforming shark bash toy with a simpler shark mechanism with a captive ball.

Stern has also teased a mode where you can play as the Great White, and a 3D video mode to discover.

Stern games now feature a QR reader and are connected to the Stern Insider Connected system via your phone to register high scores, tackle achievements, and, for JAWS, there are some unique features like “Shark Teeth” to collect for unlockables, and a “Career System” that allows for some sort of progression system via the Insider Connected setup.

JAWS is available now with the Pro Edition MSRP set at $6,999, Premium Edition set at $9,699 and Limited Edition set at $12,999. We hope to playtest it soon at our local pinball joint!

Samuel Claiborn is IGN’s managing editor and a fixes/breaks ancient arcade and pinball machines in his garage. TCELES B HSUP to follow him @Samuel_IGN on Twitter.

MapleStory Developer Nexon Fined Nearly $9 Million for Deceptive Loot Box Practices by Korean FTC

MapleStory developer Nexon is being hit with a sizable fine by the Korean Fair Trade Commission over what the body says are deceptive loot box practices.

As reported by the Korean Times and Business Korea, Nexon is being fined some $8.85 million (about 11.6 billion won) for allegedly lowering the probabilities of some loot box items capable of upgrading player equipment,, known as Cubes, without telling players According to the Korean Times, it is the largest fine of this type levied to date.

The judgment claims that Nexon engaged in these practices for more than 10 years in a period dating back to 2010, including secretly lowering the loot box odds for some items to near zero. The findings were reportedly based on internal documents obtained from Nexon.

“Nexon made announcements about changes to the games hundreds of times from 2010-21, but it omitted the information about the probability adjustment,” the KTFC said in a statement. It added, “Our judgment is that the company had aimed to lure customers by giving them false information and used deceptive means.”

Loot boxes have become less popular in recent years owing to the intense backlash from fans. Instead, developers are more likely to favor the battle pass model pioneered by the likes of Dota 2 and Fortnite. However, loot boxes remain prevalent in mobile games and sports games, and they are a hot button issue for regulators.

Nexon in particular has become known for its aggressive monetization practices. Last year, IGN reported on MapleStory’s controversial “New Age” update, which made it more difficult for players in certain regions to farm a key currency while the price of some items were inflated. The update led to large-scale protests throughout the community.

Our judgment is that [Nexon] had aimed to lure customers by giving them false information and used deceptive means

MapleStory is a free-to-play 2D MMO that first launched back in 2003. It has purportedly raked in some $418 million [550 billion won] in sales from its loot boxes in the period between 2010 and 2021.

The Korean Times reports that Nexon apologized in its statement but that it will appeal the decision. IGN has reached out to Nexon representatives for a full statement.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.