Byte Action - Issue 82
Byte Action is a newsletter for games industry professionals and fans
Hello, and welcome to the 82nd edition of Byte Action newsletter!
Or as you may notice - this is our 1st edition on the new platform. We unfortunately had to leave Revue due to Twitter shutting it down, so Substack platform is our new home, and hopefully will remain so for a long time. We are also changing issue release times. From now on we’ll be releasing an issue every week on Tuesday at 1 pm Central European Time.
Now, moving on to the newsletter part, and noteworthy things that happened in the games industry recently:
First of all, huge kudos to Nintendo. They’ve announced a 10% pay increase despite taking lower profits this year. They are recognising the fact that financial setbacks are inevitable, but what’s important is retaining talent and continuation of the great work they’ve been doing.
In other news - Krafton Montréal have officially been announced. PUBG developer and publisher Krafton has opened its first Canadian studio and they are looking to grow their team to around 150 devs. There’s another AAA studio in Montréal, and it’s exciting! According to Gamesindustry.biz they currently working on a video game adaptation of The Bird That Drinks Tears, a popular series of South Korean fantasy novels by Yeongdo Lee.
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The Byte
How crunch and low pay are fueling a union drive among video game workers
According to a State of the Game Industry survey released in January this year, 53% of game developers expressed support for unionization. Additionally, 20% reported having active discussions about unionizing with their colleagues. Certainly a crunch culture and lower pay in the games industry are issues that need to be addressed. We need to find a better balance between productivity and employee health, and of course unionization can be one of the ways this can be reached.
The Action
Retro Byte
Studio Byte
Netease Games opens remote first studio ‘Spliced’
Spliced is working on an innovative new project, although details are yet to be revealed. The studio aims to delight and support both developers and players while delivering high-quality games.
Legal Stuff
Another blow to Microsft as the UK government rules that Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition will result in less competition. That comes after Activision Blizzard got charged $35m by the SEC for “failing to maintain disclosure controls related to complaints of workplace misconduct and violating whistleblower protection rule.”
Acquisitions/Investments
Latent Technology raises $2.1m to blend AI and game animations
Hardball Games raises $5.2m to hasten the development of its multiplayer IP
New Game Corner
ARC Raiders is a free-to-play cooperative third-person shooter for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC where you and your squad of Raiders unite to resist the onslaught of ARC – a ruthless mechanized threat descending from space. It’s being developed by a Swedish developer Embark Studios and it’s due to be released sometime in 2023.
Resource Byte
This is a new section of this newsletter. Every week we’ll be sharing a resource that can be helpful in your day-to-day work/life.
It might be a website, or tips, or tools, something to improve productivity, staying organized, staying up-to-date with the latest developments, job hunting or simply reducing your levels of stress.
This week in this section we’ve got a website called Relocate.me - it’s for anyone who has relocated recently or has plans to relocate or is looking for jobs with relocation. They have so many resources available, and if you haven’t used it yet - I genuinely think you’d find it useful. Enjoy! :)
Who’s Hiring?
Gameplay Designer - Liquid Swords - Stockholm, Sweden
Audio Programmer - Liquid Swords - Stockholm, Sweden
Gameplay Director - IO Interactive - Barcelona, Spain
Technical Director - Supermassive Games - Guildford, UK
UX Lead - Embark Studios - Stockholm, Sweden
Senior Producer - Avalanche Studios - NYC
Animation Technical Director - Eidos Montreal - Montréal, Canada
Senior Environment Artist - Smilegate Barcelona - Barcelona, Spain
Senior Technical Artist - Yager - Berlin, Germany (Remote)
Art Director - Unbroken Studios - El Segundo, CA (Remote)
Lead Animator - Techland - Wroclaw, Poland
Senior Engine Programmer - Keen Games - Frankfurt, Germany (Remote)
Rumours
According to ‘Game Developer’ Sony has been claiming that it's being harassed by Microsoft over Activision Blizzard merger. And so the saga continues…
Dev Talks
Take Two CEO: ‘GTA 6 leaks didn’t impact the business but were an emotional matter’
I am still no less if not more curious about the release, and we hope some official announcements will follow soon.
Events
Come and join this premier gathering of interactive entertainment professionals, share ideas, and network with some of the brightest minds in the industry
Final Thoughts
Probably the biggest story of this year so far surrounding the gaming industry has unfortunately been the layoffs. So many studios have decided to let go of their employees and it truly is heartbreaking. Even last week we heard about NCsoft West laying off 20% of their employees. What’s positive though is the amount of support that everyone has been offering and just a degree of camaraderie that this industry has projected. If you have been affected by the layoffs or you know someone who has been affected feel free to refer to our Who’s Hiring? section or if you need advice, support or anything really - reach out to me on tomas@byteaction.co
There’s also an incredible resource with studios that are actively hiring created by Amir Satvat which you can access here. I wish you all the very best and I am grateful for everyone who is reading this.