Byte Action - Issue 84
ByteAction is a newsletter for game developers and fans
Hello, and welcome to the 84th edition of Byte Action newsletter!
This week I wanted to take a moment and praise all the game development studios that had decided to take a leap and switch to a 4 day work week. This is a throwback article from back in December that talks about how beneficial the switch had been for Hutch Games studio. There have been other studios including Eidos Montréal or Blackbird Interactive that saw the benefits of reducing the hours worked but increasing the efficiency and productivity. Of course this might not be for everyone but the results of the studios mentioned speak for themselves. What do you think about a 4 day work week? Would you say it would make you more/less productive or wouldn’t make a difference?
In other news - Former Battlefield devs Embark Studios has announced it'll be having a two-week closed beta for its upcoming free-to-play shooter, The Finals. The beta will run March 7-21.
Lastly, a little something for the Elden Ring fans. Besides that it had won GOY award at this year’s DICE Awards From Software have just confirmed that indeed the game’s expansion is on its way. It even has a name - Shadow of the Erdtree. Unfortunately the release the date is yet unknown, but it’s certainly something to look forward to.
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The Byte
The Action
Retro Byte
Studio Byte
Ubisoft Montpellier faces a labor investigation by local government authorities over an unprecedented number of developers experiencing burnout and going on sick leave. Studio is known for Beyond Good & Evil 2 - the game that has been in development for several years and seen several leadership changes.
Legal Stuff
Acquisitions/Investments
New Game Corner
Ravenbound is an open world action-roguelite game developed by Avalanche Studios where you play as the Vessels of an ancient power, and strive to restore a dangerous world back to its former glory
Resource Byte
This week in this section we’ve got Remarkable. Simply wanted to share this piece of kit with you as I’ve been using it for over 2 months and grown really fond of it. Often I find myself using it in the morning or at the end of the day and putting down some thoughts, ideas, even things like to-do lists or even reading books, articles or journals. It’s certainly on the expensive side, and to this day I’m questioning where this price tag is really worth it, but it honestly helps me focus, think, and truly disconnect from the social media world so I guess the investment makes sense if you truly make a use of it. I like the simplicity of it, the ease of use and the resourcefulness of it. Anyway, I certainly recommend at least trying it out, especially since you have a 60 day return policy.
Who’s Hiring?
Narrative Mission Designer - Liquid Swords - Stockholm, Sweden
Audio Programmer - Liquid Swords - Stockholm, Sweden
Senior Gameplay Animator - IO Interactive - Barcelona, Spain
Senior Environment Artist- Supermassive Games - Guildford, UK
Economy Designer - Embark Studios - Stockholm, Sweden
Art Director - Avalanche Studios - Liverpool, UK
Senior Character Artist - Avalanche Studios - Stockholm, Sweden
World Design Director - Smilegate Barcelona - Barcelona, Spain
Senior Technical Artist - Yager - Berlin, Germany (Remote)
Lead Concept Artist - Unbroken Studios - El Segundo, CA (Remote)
Lead Animator - Techland - Wroclaw, Poland
Senior Engine Programmer - Keen Games - Frankfurt, Germany (Remote)
Rumours
Dev Talks
Liquid Swords founder Christofer Sundberg interview
Christofer Sundberg: Company DNA is something you discover after a few years. I have my vision, but in terms of the company culture and DNA it’s something that the team here and the individuals working on the team will form.
Events
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Final Thoughts
Thank you for taking your time to read this, and I hope you’ve found it useful. As always I am wishing you all an amazing week ahead!
Tomas