ByteAction - Issue 119

Byte Action is a newsletter for game developers and fans

Hello, and welcome to 119th edition of Byte Action newsletter!

Last week Sega announced that Shuji Utsumi was appointed as a new CEO for Sega America and Europe. Utsumi is a seasoned industry professional who joined Sony in 1994 as vice president, playing a key role in the North American launch of the PlayStation.

In other news, more layoffs hit the games industry with recent announcements from Discord, Twitch and Playtika.

The CEO of Twitch admitted that Twitch simply isn’t profitable, that they were bigger than they needed to be, and that they layoffs were inevitable.

If you have been referred to Byte Action, you’re welcome to subscribe.

Can you help? If you like ByteAction, click on the button below and share it with your network. Who knows, perhaps it might be helpful to someone out there.

ByteAction is free to read, however if you’d like to contribute to our work - you are welcome to purchase a monthly or yearly subscription, and we’ll be donating 50% of all the income to help reforest the world

The Byte

1. Game developers on Steam will be required to disclose their use of AI

The Action

2. Netflix Games almost quadruples the installs in 2023

Retro Byte

3. The 400 Mini, a licensed scaled-down version of Atari's classic Atari 400 home computer, launches on March 28th

Studio Byte

4. Rocksteady Studios, based in London, is a renowned, award-winning video game developer with a skilled team of industry professionals. It’s known for such games like Batman: Arkham Knight, and soon to be released - Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

Legal Stuff

5. Legal methods to prevent cheating in games

6. AI, regulation of online platforms, and loot boxes: Key legal trends for 2024

Acquisitions/Investments

8. Tencent slashed investments in 2023

9. Investment in the gaming industry plummeted by 79% in 2023

New Game Corner

9. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League - 2nd February, 2024

   Created by the minds behind Batman: Arkham, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is an innovative third-person action shooter that challenges a unique team of outcasts to achieve the seemingly impossible task of eliminating the Justice League.

Resource Byte

10. Urso App

    Urso is a new mobile game that can help you with your mental health.

Who’s Hiring?

Technical Artist - Liquid Swords - Stockholm, Sweden

Senior Gameplay Programmer - Embark Studios - Stockholm, Sweden

Game Director - Lucky VR - Canada, Remote

Level Designer - Mundfish - Nicosia, Cyprus

Senior Graphics Programmer - Digital Extremes - Remote, Canada

Senior Physics Programmer - Red Kite Games - Leeds, UK

Lead Character Artist - Manticore Games - Remote, USA

Lead Animator - Neobards Entertainment - Breda, Netherlands

Senior Environment Artist - Endnight Games - Vancouver, Canada

Executive Producer - Build a Rocket Boy - Edinburgh, UK

Senior Data Scientist - Carry1st - Remote

Technical Artist - Azra Games - Sacramento, CA

Senior Producer - That’s No Moon - Remote

Audio Designer - Coffee Stain Studios - Stockholm, Sweden

Dev Talks

11. Interview with Shigeru Miyamoto - Nintendo

    “I don’t praise people a lot. I think working together on the next project is the biggest praise I can give” Shigeru Miyamoto

Events

12. Gamesforum Barcelona - 7th-8th February 2024

    A two-day conference and workshops with A-list speakers from the games industry focused on mobile games, UA and product monetization.