Roblox Corp. CEO David Baszucki drew attention today after a newly released New York Times interview on the Hard Fork podcast. Hosts Casey Newton and Kevin Roose challenged Baszucki on Roblox’s child-safety practices, an issue back in the public spotlight following lawsuits from parents and several state attorneys general accusing the company of failing to prevent predators from targeting…

French publisher Ubisoft has revealed an R&D initiative dubbed Teammates, an experimental project that uses generative AI to transform NPCs into what the company describes as “living companions.” During a closed-door presentation at Ubisoft’s Paris studio attended by Game Developer, the company said the compact experience demonstrates how its teams aim to “pioneer the future of generative…

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF)- the state-backed investment vehicle behind Savvy Games Group and major stakes in companies such as Nintendo, Take-Two Interactive, and Nexon is reportedly facing a shortage of available capital for new investments. That assessment comes from a detailed New York Times report, which describes the fund’s recent joint acquisition of Electronic Arts…

Ubisoft’s claim that Tencent’s investment in its new subsidiary, Vantage Studios, was “imminent” has proven accurate. The new entity has been assigned a pre-money enterprise valuation of €3.8 billion, with Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot calling the deal’s completion a landmark moment for the publisher. “Today’s closing crystallizes the value of our world-class IPs and represents…

Canadian video game industry has more than doubled over the past decade, growing from 775 domestic companies in 2013 to 1,628 by 2022. A Statistics Canada report released in September attributes this expansion largely to Canadian-owned businesses, studios focused primarily on game development rather than publishing, and very small teams with fewer than five employees.…

Avalanche Studios, the developer behind the Just Cause franchise, has closed its Liverpool studio, leading to the layoff of 31 employees. The decision was confirmed yesterday on the company’s official website as an update to a previously announced “collective consultation process” that began in September. At that time, Avalanche outlined a restructuring strategy aimed at securing the…

Their enthusiasm was contagious. Once you grasp how Brutal actually works, it becomes clear that every new feature represents a genuine achievement—even for two highly experienced developers. “It’s called Brutal for a reason,” Hall joked after Felipe likened working with it to sitting on a bar stool while friends using engines like Godot relax on…