Another busy week in gaming with the Xbox 360 store closing, Bungie staff facing mass layoffs, Playstation Plus users in decline, Avowed delayed, EA post big profits, and people like cheating in Call of Duty……
End of an Era – The Xbox 360 store is closed
Yes its the end of an era. The Xbox 360 digitla store is closing down. Starting July 29, 2024, Xbox will no longer support the purchase of new games, DLC, and other content from the Xbox 360 Store and Marketplace, and the Microsoft Movies & TV app will cease functioning on the console.
Despite this change, players can still access and play their previously purchased Xbox 360 games and DLC on Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S consoles via backward compatibility. The shift reflects the evolution of technology and player expectations, with a focus on enhancing the Xbox Series X|S experience. However, the commitment to preserving access to purchased content remains strong. Multiplayer gameplay and cloud saves will continue to be supported, provided the game servers are maintained by publishers. Additionally, the ability to purchase and play backward-compatible Xbox 360 titles will remain unaffected, with enhancements like FPS Boost and Auto HDR available on newer consoles.
Check out the official Xbox blog post here for all the details
Bungie lays off 200 staff after Sony aquisition
Bungie has announced significant organizational changes, including the elimination of 220 roles, which represents about 17% of its workforce. This decision, communicated by CEO Pete Parsons, is a response to rising development costs, industry shifts, and ongoing economic challenges. The layoffs will impact all levels of the company, including executive positions, and Bungie plans to provide generous exit packages including severance and health coverage for affected employees.
In addition to the layoffs, Bungie is deepening its integration with Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), transferring 155 roles to SIE to retain talent. The studio is also spinning out an incubation project into a new studio within PlayStation Studios, focusing on an action game set in a new science-fantasy universe.
Parsons emphasized that the studio’s previous ambition to manage multiple franchises stretched its resources too thin, leading to financial difficulties and a need to refocus on its primary products, Destiny and Marathon. Sadly for Parsons his attempts to paint the layoffs in the best light possible were marred by the revelation on the same day that since the Sony buyout Parsons has spent over $2.3 million (£1.8 million) on classic cars. A classic case of its alright for some!
PlayStation plus games see decline in engagement
As reported widly including Game Rant it appears that player numbers for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium games saw a significant decline of nearly 50% in July 2024 compared to June, marking it as one of the lowest performing months of the year. Despite the inclusion of popular titles like Remnant 2 and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, interest in the service waned. The July lineup featured nine games, along with classic titles from the PSP and PS2 eras, but failed to attract players, particularly in the more expensive tiers of the service.
Data from over 3.1 million PlayStation Network accounts indicated a 48.67% drop in player counts, with July still trailing behind June by 18.77% even after excluding the impact of June’s bonus games. The report suggests that the upcoming August lineup will be crucial in determining whether Sony can regain player interest in its premium offerings.
Its all about the money
And on the subject of ill gotten gains both EA and Microsoft released their Q4 numbers this week and its been a good year, depsite the turmoil with thousands laid off, for the biggest beasts in the industry.
Electronic Arts (EA) reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year 2024. The company achieved a revenue of $1.6 billion in Q4, marking a 5% increase from the previous year. For the entire fiscal year, EA generated $7.5 billion in revenue, a 10% rise year-over-year.
Key highlights include:
- Net Income: EA reported a net income of $290 million for Q4 and $1.5 billion for the fiscal year.
- Player Engagement: The company noted a significant increase in player engagement across its platforms, with over 600 million players worldwide.
- Future Outlook: EA anticipates continued growth in the upcoming fiscal year, driven by new game launches and expanding its live services.
- A key metric called out was During FY24, our EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL franchise delivered record net bookings, up 6% year-over-year and double-digit growth in weekly average users for both Madden NFL 24 and Madden Mobile.
Microsoft has reported its fiscal year 2024 Q4 earnings, revealing a revenue of $64.7 billion for the quarter, marking a 15% increase from the previous year. For the entire fiscal year, the company achieved $245.1 billion in revenue, up 16% overall. Key highlights include significant growth in Xbox and gaming revenue, which surged by 61% largely due to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard King.
However, the report also indicates challenges, particularly in hardware sales. Xbox hardware revenue dropped by 42%, suggesting a slowdown in sales of the Xbox Series X|S consoles. Additionally, Surface revenue fell by 11%, marking the seventh consecutive decline for this division. Despite these declines, the overall performance underscores Microsoft’s strong position in cloud services and productivity tools, which continue to drive growth.
This should come as a surprise to no one. Considering where we are in the hardware cycle of the Xbox series X, with the console now nearly 4 years old and Microsoft reminding users that they no longer need a console to be a part of the Xbox eco system
Also as reported by Windows Central here Xbox is pursuing a 3 pronged approach, focusing on console, PC, and mobile gaming. He noted that while traditional consoles remain central to their operations, expanding into mobile and PC markets is crucial for future growth. The acquisition of Activision is seen as a pivotal move to enhance Xbox’s presence in these areas, leveraging popular mobile titles like Hearthstone and Candy Crush.
Avowed delayed
Xbox has announced the delay of the game Avowed from its original release date in late 2024 to February 18, 2025.
Now if you beleive Xbox social media this decision was made to allow players more time to manage their gaming backlogs. But given the abundance of games being released at the end of the year it seems the more likely scenario is that Xbox feels Avowed needs room to breathe, and if they release it alongside a new Call of Duty and Indiana Jones game, hype and visibility for the game will be crowded out.
The announcement was shared on social media, along with a graphic listing other scheduled first-party Xbox games. Notable upcoming releases include World of Warcraft: The War Within on August 26, 2024, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on October 25, 2024, among others. Xbox also teased more information about Avowed will be revealed during their livestream on August 23, 2024, at gamescom
Game Demos get some love on Steam
Valve has launched the “Great Steam Demo Update” to enhance the visibility and accessibility of game demos on Steam, responding to feedback from developers and players. Key features of this update include:
- Separate Store Pages for Demos: Demos can now have their own dedicated store pages, allowing developers to showcase demo-specific content such as trailers, screenshots, and features. These pages also enable players to install the demo and access the main game’s store page, along with the ability to leave reviews specifically for the demo.
- Notification System: Users will receive email or mobile alerts when demos for games on their wishlists or from followed developers become available, improving the chances of discovering new demos.
- Increased Visibility: Demos will now appear alongside free games in various sections, including the “New & Trending” category, as Steam has adjusted visibility thresholds to better balance demos with paid products.
- Library Management Enhancements: Users can add demos to their libraries without installing them immediately, install demos even if they own the full game, and easily remove demos from their library with a right-click option. Uninstalling a demo will also remove it from the user’s library automatically.
These changes aim to improve user experience and encourage the exploration of game demos, potentially revitalizing interest in this feature on the platform.
Starfields next expansion name leaked?
As everyone knows the first expansopn for Starfield is entitled ‘Shattered Space’. It is is set to focus on the House Va’ruun cult. This expansion is anticipated to enhance the game’s features, add “missing” content and generally deal with most of the games shortcomings. But news leaked this week of another DLC in the works
Next DLC Name ‘Starborn’: A new trademark suggests that a subsequent expansion may be called “Starborn.” This title aligns with in-game themes and could either be a story-focused DLC or a quality-of-life update, similar to past expansions in Bethesda’s games.
We wait in hope that this pans out and that Starfield gets the suport the game deserves. There is a great game waiting to get out from behind all those loading screens if only Bethesda gets the time to keep cooking!
COD Cheaters on the rise!
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has experienced a significant rise in cheaters since its release on Xbox Game Pass, as reported by CharlieINTEL. This influx is attributed to the game’s availability to potentially tens of millions of new players, with 34 million Game Pass users as of February 2024. Most cheaters are identifiable by the Xbox logo in the game lobby.
Activision has not yet addressed the issue publicly, but their Ricochet anti-cheat system, which employs machine learning and both client- and server-side measures, has previously banned over 80,000 accounts in the year leading up to the game’s release. Players are currently facing challenges due to the increased number of cheaters, and a response from Activision regarding their efforts to combat this problem is anticipated in the near future.
Twice the bits 
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