Category: Video Games

The developer of Palworld has revealed a conundrum it faces as it looks to the future: take the game free-to-play and live service, or stick with its current pay-to-play model.

Palworld is the phenomenally successful multiplayer survival crafting game that’s been dubbed ‘Pokemon with guns’ for its inclusion of creatures called Pals. It launched on Steam priced $30 and straight into Game Pass on Xbox and PC earlier this year, breaking sales and concurrent player number records in the process. Japanese developer Pocketpair has said the game was so popular, it couldn’t handle the massive profits the game generated.

While player numbers have declined somewhat since Palworld’s explosive launch, it remains one of the most-played games on Steam (Microsoft does not make Windows PC and Xbox player numbers public), sitting comfortably in the top 100. But for Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe, thoughts are now turning to the future, and whether to make Palworld free-to-play and embrace the live service model so many other games have adopted.

In an interview with ASCII Japan, translated by Automaton, Mizobe said Pocketpair needs to make a decision between the two business models.

“When you think about it from a business perspective, making (Palworld) a live-service game would extend its lifespan and make it more stable in terms of profitability,” Mizobe said. “However, the game was not initially designed with that approach in mind, so there would be many challenges involved in taking it down the live-service path.”

One of those challenges would be turning Palworld from a pay-to-play game into a free-to-play game, which would in turn crank up the monetization. “It is common for live-service games to be F2P with paid elements such as skins and battle passes, but Palworld is a B2P game, so it’s difficult to turn it into a live-service game from the ground up,” Mizobe explained.

While there are examples of games that have successfully made the switch from premium to free (Fall Guys and PUBG are two), doing so requires a great deal of effort and much risk. “Both (games) took several years to make the shift,” Mizobe added. “While I understand that the live-service model is good for business, it’s not that easy.”

It sounds like a decision has yet to be made, and Pocketpair is keenly aware of a potential backlash from players who have already paid $30 to play Palworld. But it’s worth keeping in mind that Palworld launched in early access form just over half a year ago, so it’s early days yet.

Still, Pocketpair acted swiftly to capitalize on Palworld’s breakout success, signing a deal with Sony to form a new business called Palworld Entertainment that’s tasked with expanding the IP.

This is not a publishing deal for Palworld the video game, or an acquisition by Sony, rather an attempt to make the most of the game’s huge popularity with non-video game products, such as merchandise and music. The newly formed business, headed up by Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe, is responsible for global licensing and merchandising activities associated with Palworld.

Speaking of Sony, Palworld is heavily rumored to be set for a PlayStation launch announcement at this month’s Tokyo Game Show, after the game popped up on a schedule. Pocketpair had teased a PlayStation release back in June, so this would come as little surprise. TGS runs from September 26 to 29.

While Palworld is one of the biggest game launches ever, it’s also one of the most controversial. Pocketpair has said its staff has received death threats amid Pokémon “rip-off” claims, which it has denied. Soon after launch, Nintendo moved quickly to remove an eye-catching Pokémon mod, then The Pokemon Company issued a statement, saying: “We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to Pokémon.” IGN asked lawyers whether Nintendo could successfully sue.

If you’re playing, be sure to check out IGN’s interactive Palworld map, or how you can create a dedicated Palworld server with your friends.

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.

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.