Category: IGN

Microsoft’s shock gaming layoffs have reportedly hit the Activision Blizzard teams behind mobile games Call of Duty Warzone Mobile and Warcraft Rumble.

Yesterday, Xbox boss Phil Spencer sent a memo to staff, verified by IGN, that outlined a further 650 layoffs at Microsoft’s gaming business. These layoffs follow the 1,900 made earlier this year, and bring the total up to an eye-watering 2,550 since Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year.

While Spencer insisted no games were canceled or studios closed this time, Game File reports that Activision Blizzard’s development teams for Call of Duty Warzone Mobile and Warcraft Rumble were hit.

Call of Duty Warzone Mobile launched in March on iOS and Android as a Warzone-specific Call of Duty mobile experience that offers battle royale for up to 120 players, as well as cross-progression with the PC and console Warzone, Modern Warfare 2 and 3, and the upcoming Black Ops 6. IGN’s Call of Duty Warzone Mobile review returned an 8/10. We said: “Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile includes all the best elements of Warzone, while speeding up and streamlining matches and using cross-progression to make this a meaningful extension of the traditional experience.”

Activision’s hope was that Warzone Mobile would make a splash in the competitive mobile shooter market, where the hugely successful Call of Duty Mobile, developed by Tencent-owned TiMi Studio Group, is already established. With Call of Duty Mobile, which has seen 650 million downloads since launch, revenue is shared between Activision and Tencent. Call of Duty Warzone Mobile, on the other hand, is developed entirely in-house at Activision, and so the company gets a bigger slice of the money pie every time a player drops cash on a battle pass or a cosmetic.

It sounds like Call of Duty Warzone Mobile hasn’t met Activision’s expectations, however. Game File’s Stephen Totilo said that Warzone Mobile “didn’t hit as big as hoped,” and that while it will remain online, its team “is being scaled down.”

Spencer referenced Warzone Mobile’s struggle in his memo, without namechecking the game itself: “Separately, as part of running the business, there are some impacts to other teams as they adapt to shifting priorities and manage the lifecycle and performance of games.”

Similarly, Blizzard’s Warcraft Rumble team is affected by the layoffs. Warcraft Rumble launched as a free-to-play mobile tower defense game in 2023 across iOS and Android and while it started strong, interest appears to have tailed off. Warcraft Rumble is now moving from launch to post-launch live ops, but will remain online.

Activision Blizzard’s recent mobile struggles call into question Microsoft’s acquisition of the company itself, given Spencer has made no secret that the decision to buy the company was in part motivated by Xbox’s lofty mobile ambitions (Activision Blizzard owns King, the maker of phenomenally popular mobile game Candy Crush). Indeed, Microsoft plans to launch an app store of its own, taking on Apple and Google in the lucrative mobile game space.

Xbox hardware sales were way down again in Microsoft’s Q4, the latest financial quarter we have figures for, while gaming content sales skyrocketed again thanks to Activision Blizzard. Gaming revenue overall appears to be doing more than fine in terms of year-on-year comparisons, even setting quarterly records, but this was largely due to the boost offered by Activision Blizzard (it wasn’t there to make money for the company last year, now it is, so the numbers have gone up).

Gaming revenue was up 44% year-over-year, but with 48 points of net impact from the acquisition, which indicates that Xbox’s not-Activision Blizzard-related business isn’t doing as well as it was last year. Xbox content and services revenue fared better, up 61% year-over-year, with 58 points of net impact from the acquisition.

Overall, Microsoft’s More Personal Computing division (which includes Xbox as well as other segments such as Windows) brought in $15.9 billion in revenue, up 14% year-over-year, during Q4.

Speaking in August, Spencer said that Xbox’s controversial multiplatform push is in part about bringing in more money to Microsoft’s gaming business — with the pressure now on to deliver following Microsoft’s acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard.

“And we run a business,” Spencer said. “It’s definitely true inside of Microsoft the bar is high for us in terms of the delivery we have to give back to the company. Because we get a level of support from the company that’s just amazing and what we’re able to go do.

“So I look at this, how can we make our games as strong as possible? Our platform continues to grow, on console, on PC, and on cloud. It’s just going to be a strategy that works for us.”

Microsoft is set to launch Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in October as the first mainline Call of Duty game to hit its Game Pass subscription service day-one. It is heavily rumored to be preparing an Xbox handheld for release, and has announced plans to release next-gen Xbox consoles. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle launches on PC and Xbox this December, with a PS5 release set to follow soon after.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Tales of the Shire is delayed to early 2025, its developer has announced.

Tales of the Shire is a cozy life sim set within The Lord of the Rings universe originally due out this fall across PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch, and Netflix Games. It’s developed by Wētā Workshop and published by Private Division, the embattled subsidiary of Take-Two.

Ahead of a deep dive on the game set for September 22 (the annual Hobbit Day celebration for The Lord of the Rings fans because it marks the birthdays of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins), Wētā Workshop said it delayed the game to ensure it delivers its vision.

“All of us here at Weta Workshop are excited to have you join us in the Shire, a peaceful corner of J.R.R. Tolkien’s world. When a new Hobbit steps into Bywater for the very first time, we want that moment to be everything you’re hoping for.

“To ensure we deliver that vision, Tales of the Shire will now be launching early 2025. Thank you for your patience and continued support. Be sure to tune in to our A Hobbit Day Showcase on September 22 to learn more about Tales of the Shire and our new release date.”

Tales of the Shire features everything from cooking to fishing and foraging to decorating. There’s also a narrative “that lovingly stays true to the books.” Check out IGN’s Tales of the Shire preview for more.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Annapurna Interactive’s entire gaming staff has resigned from the company following a leadership dispute, according to a Bloomberg report.

The report, which IGN can confirm based on conversations with our own sources, states that Annapurna Interactive president Nathan Gary had recently been in negotiations with Annapurna founder and billionaire Megan Ellison to spin the gaming segment off as its own company. However, Ellison eventually pulled out of negotiations, at which point Gary resigned. Almost 30 other individuals, including division co-heads Deborah Mars and Nathan Vella, as well as the entire remaining staff of Annapurna Interactive, joined him.

“All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectively resigned,’’ Gary and the resigned staff said in a joint statement to Bloomberg. “This was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make and we did not take this action lightly.”

While negotiations were still ongoing, Annapurna Interactive re-hired former Epic Games executive Hector Sanchez as its president of interactive and new media, and Paul Doyle as its head of strategy. IGN understands that Sanchez was expected to head up Annapurna’s gaming efforts in Gary’s absence once his part of the company was spun-off. With Gary now having resigned, Sanchez has taken the lead.

As Bloomberg reports and IGN has also heard, Sanchez has spoken with partner developers this week to reassure them that Annapurna will continue its existing contracts and replace departed staff.

“Our top priority is continuing to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition,” Ellison told Bloomberg. “We’re committed to not only our existing slate of games but also expanding our presence in the interactive space as we continue to look for opportunities to take a more integrated approach to linear and interactive storytelling across film and TV, gaming, and theater.”

Annapurna Interactive, a division of Annapurna Pictures, has become known for its publishing catalogue of boutique, critically-acclaimed indies. In recent years, the label has seen success and awards for games like Cocoon, Stray, Neon White, The Artful Escape, Sayonara Wild Hearts, and more. Just last month, the company partnered with Alan Wake 2 developer Remedy Entertainment to fund its ongoing development efforts as well as make TV and film versions of its IP. However, Annapurna Interactive has also been the subject of an investigative report by People Make Games alleging it supported multiple company founders known to be creating toxic work environments at partner studios.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

If you’re an IGN Plus member, a new game is available to claim now with IGN Rewards. You can claim a free Void Bastards Steam key with your membership while supplies last. If you’re a fan of System Shock 2 or BioShock, this is the perfect game for you to try out.

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Woot! (owned by Amazon) is currently offering brand new units of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Destiny Limited Edition wireless gaming headset for only $119.99, a 33% price drop from its original $180 MSRP. Amazon Prime members get free shipping, otherwise it’s an extra $6. Both PS5 (7p) and Xbox (7x) models are available. Note that although these are brand new, you get a 90-day Woot! warranty instead of a manufacturer’s warranty. This is a great price for the best wireless PS5 gaming headset of 2024 and the most comfortable Xbox gaming headset of 2024. This particular model is the Destiny Edition Limited Edition, who looks quite nice with its black, teal, and burnt sienna color theme. For our hands-on impressions, check out our SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 review.

A quick note on compatibility. The Nova 7P is compatible with the PS5, PS4, and PC consoles. The 7X model is compatible with the Xbox, PS5.PS4 (limited compatibility), and PC.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Gaming Headset for $119.99

The SteelSeries Arcis Nova 7 is the latest successor to the highly rated Arctis 7 series of headsets. It’s every bit as good as its predecessor but with some welcome upgrades like a USB Type-C charging port, a longer battery life (38 hours vs 30 hours), simultaneous wireless and Bluetooth connectivity, and multi-platform compatibility. PC gamers also have access to the SteelSeries GG app, which opens up a whole suite of customization for your audio. You can tailor your audio settings independently for each game. If that’s too much for you, there are presets for specific games that are actually tailor-made by the game developers.

Other than that, the Nova Arctis is largely similar to the original Arctis. That’s not a bad thing because the Arctis 7 happens to be Steelseries’ most successful gaming headset ever. This headset has significantly better build quality over the official $100 Xbox wireless headset. If you want an even better wireless headset, in our opinion you’d have to step all the way up to something like the Nova 7 Pro, whose $350 price point puts you in a completely different bracket altogether.

If you’re looking for more games and accessories, check out the best PS5 deals or the best Xbox deals.

Tony Hawk has said he’s talking to Activision again and is working on something Pro Skater-related with the company.

In an interview with Mythical Kitchen (via VGC), the world famous skater teased plans to celebrate Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’s 25th anniversary later this year.

“I wish I could tell you more, but I can tell you that I have been talking to Activision again, which is insanely exciting. We’re working on something,” Hawk said. “That is the first time I’ve said that publicly.

“It will be something the fans will truly appreciate.”

Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt has finally added AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 with Frame Generation to the PC version of the game.

Patch 2.13 for Cyberpunk 2077 and expansion Phantom Liberty is being rolled out now on PC only (patch notes are below), but despite the version mismatch between PC and console, cross-progression will still function properly.

AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 (FSR3) combines image upscaling with frame generation technologies to generate high resolution frames at fast frame-rates. You can enable it in Settings → Graphics in the Quick Preset section, CD Projekt explained in a post on its website.

There’s also a separate setting to enable FSR Frame Generation. Note that FSR Frame Generation can only be used when AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 upscaling is enabled.

CD Projekt had told IGN back in May that Cyberpunk 2077 would get the long promised FSR3 support at some point, despite announcing it no longer had a dedicated Cyberpunk 2077 team.

Fans were left questioning whether the promised update would ever arrive after the developer told investors its Cyberpunk 2077 team had migrated elsewhere following the release of what was assumed to be the final update in version 2.12.

CD Projekt wound down development on Cyberpunk 2077 after the release of its first and only expansion, Phantom Liberty, back in September 2023. It came after the game-changing Update 2.0, which completely revamped Cyberpunk 2077 with features such as a new perk system and improved AI, and was followed by another big update in 2.1 but only minor changes afterwards.

Patch 2.11 addressed myriad bugs and balance issues in the open-world role-playing game, while 2.12 applied what was thought to be a final layer of polish. CD Projekt is now looking firmly forward towards Cyberpunk 2077’s sequel, codenamed Orion, and its myriad incoming Witcher games.

“We’ve decided to keep support for both FSR 2.1 and FSR 3 to give players the flexibility to choose their preferred setting for visual quality and performance,” CD Projekt explained. “This allows them to experiment and find what fits their gaming style best.”

Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty update 2.13 patch notes:

• Added support for AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 with Frame Generation. More information can be found in this article on the Support website.
• Added support for Intel Xe Super Sampling 1.3.
• It will now be possible to enable both DLAA and DLSS Ray Reconstruction at the same time.
• Added a new “Utilities” tab in Settings and moved HDD Mode, Hybrid CPU Utilization and AMD Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT) options there.
• Other stability and visual fixes.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Thieves are once again targeting the Pokémon Trading Card Game, with a duo in Japan allegedly making off with $70,000 worth after asking staff which ones were valuable.

As reported by NHK and translated by ComicBook, a Pokémon TCG store in Osaka was allegedly broken into at 3:30am while a pair of employees were closing up. The perpetrators tied the workers up and demanded not the Pokémon cards themselves, but insight into which ones were worth taking.

Pokémon card thefts are on the rise given how valuable some cards are (the rarest sold in 2022 for more than $5 million), but as tens of thousands of individual cards exist, not to mention countless copies of most of them, it can be hard to differentiate between the good cardboard and the bad cardboard.

The alleged Osaka thieves seemingly didn’t do their research, similar to a group in the California who were mocked by staff in January, and had to ask the employees which cards were valuable.

The staff seemingly knew their stuff though, as the thieves made off with more than 100 cards valued at ¥10 million, roughly $70,000.

Tokyo police reported an unprecedented number of trading card thefts in the latter half of 2022. High profile examples include a Minnesota store reportedly having around $250,000 worth of cards stolen, a Tokyo man allegedly launching a full on heist to acquire cards, and even an Alabama policeman was allegedly fired for pocketing cards in Walmart.

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

Payday 3 director Miodrag Kovačević is stepping down following a disastrous first year for the live service heist shooter.

Developer Starbreeze Entertainment posted on X/Twitter to announce the change in management, saying Kovačević will work as a designer on Payday 3 instead. Lead producer Andreas Penninger and global brand director Almir Listo will act as the “creative force” behind the game “in the interim,” though the long term future of Payday 3’s leadership remains hazy.

“Going into year two, [Kovačević] will be stepping away from his role as game director and focusing his efforts as a designer elsewhere in the project,” the post said.

“In the interim, while researching and planning year two, [Penninger] and [Listo] will be the creative force behind the upcoming updates we hope you keep enjoying and playing. Thank you for your continued support. We salute you.”

Payday 3 launched in September 2023 to strong player numbers that quickly withered away, due to server issues that forced then Starbreeze CEO Tobias Sjögren to apologize. “We are so sorry that the infrastructure didn’t hold up as expected, and although it’s impossible to prepare for every scenario — we should be able to do better,” he said before leaving the company.

Almost a month after its launch and Starbreeze apologized again for its lack of communication, and then just a week later said sorry one more time for not delivering a promised patch and again going quiet. It said in January it was “well aware” fans weren’t satisfied.

Frustration with the studio and general disbelief spiked again in June when Starbreeze finally released what it called an “offline mode,” which players had been calling for since launch, but it required an online connection to access and made the game run worse than normal.

Starbreeze initially boasted Payday 3 had 3.1 million players as of October 2, 2023, but this number has dwindled, at least on Steam, as many more players are currently playing Payday 2 than its sequel. According to SteamDB, Payday 3 has a 24-hour peak of just 794 compared to Payday 2’s 11,868, despite the latter launching over a decade ago.

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

Microsoft is laying off a further 650 staff from its gaming business, according to a memo sent by Xbox chief Phil Spencer to staff today, September 12, and obtained by IGN.

In the memo, Spencer said the roles affect mostly corporate and support functions, and were made “to organize our business for long term success.” He clarified that no games, devices or experiences are being canceled and no studios are being closed as part of these cuts.

These latest layoffs mean Microsoft has let go of 2,550 staff from its gaming business since acquiring Activision Blizzard for $69 billion in 2023.