ByteAction - Issue 145
ByteAction is a newsletter for game developers and fans
Hello, and welcome to 145th edition of ByteAction newsletter!
Last week was a busy one for the games industry. A lot has happened, but let’s start with the positives:
Embracer Group has secured a €600 million rolling credit limit to sustain operations for two more years. In June, the company used $300 million from the $460 million sale of Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two to service its $1.5 billion debt.
Shift Up Corp., the South Korean developer of PlayStation 5 exclusive Stellar Blade, raised 435 billion won ($320 million) on its first day of trading after its IPO. This is the largest IPO for a gaming company in South Korea since Krafton Inc. raised $3.8 billion in 2021. Shift Up sold nearly 7.3 million shares at 60,000 won each, with demand 226 times the available shares. Tencent is the company's second-largest shareholder.
Turkish startup Grand Games has raised $3 million in a pre-seed funding round. Earlybird Digital East Fund led the round, with participation from Laton Ventures, according to GamesBeat. The mobile developer plans to use the funds to develop new titles and expand its team.
On a less positive note:
Nintendo has been accused of miscrediting external translators by employees from service providers Localsoft and Keywords. Apparently, they didn’t properly credit their work on games like Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Scotland's top animation and visual effects studio, Axis Studios, has collapsed, resulting in over 160 job losses. Based in Glasgow's Finnieston area, the studio worked with the BBC, Netflix, Blizzard, and Activision. The company faced "severe cash flow problems" due to fewer projects and rising labor costs.
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The Byte
The Action
Retro Byte
Studio Byte
Unbroken Studios is a Los Angeles-based video game development company known for its experienced team and high-quality games across various genres. The studio has contributed to major AAA titles and is currently developing Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions.
Legal Stuff
Acquisitions/Investments
New Game Corner
Harry Potter - Quidditch Champions - 3rd September, 2024
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is an upcoming sports game centered around Quidditch from the Harry Potter universe. It is being developed by Unbroken Studios and published by Warner Bros. Games under the Portkey Games label.
Resource Byte
This is a tool I’ve been using for a while. Great for noise cancellation, call recordings and meeting notes.
Who’s Hiring?
Lead Game Designer - Hypersonic Laboratories - Remote
Senior Software Engineer - Illumix - Remote, USA
RPG Designer - Larian Studios - Warsaw, Poland
World Director - Bespoke Pixel - Barcelona, Spain
Senior Data Analyst - Original Games - Remote, Europe
Lighting Artist - Gunzilla Games - Remote, Europe
Senior Producer - Haven Studios - Montréal, Canada
Senior Game Designer - Wargaming - Vilnius, Lithuania
Head of Art & Animation - Sports Interactive - London, UK
Data Analyst - Eneba - Europe, Remote
Gameplay Engineer - Bad Robot Games - Remote, USA
Executive Producer - Techland - Warsaw, Poland
Animation Director - Maximum Entertainment - Remote
Unity Developer - Odderslab - Remote
COO - Flatter Than Earth - Remote, USA
Unity Programmer - Midjiwan - Stockholm, Sweden
Community Manager - 31st Union - San Mateo, CA
Technical Director - Klang Games - Berlin, Germany
Product Designer - SDP Games - Remote
Executive Producer - Build a Rocket Boy - Edinburgh, UK
Senior Gameplay Programmer - People Can Fly - Remote, Worldwide
Art Director - Bulletfarm - Remote, USA
Senior Unity Developer - SocialPoint - Barcelona, Spain
Senior Writer - Beamdog - Edmonton, Canada
Senior Brand Manager - Remedy Games - Helsinki, Finland
Senior Product Lead - Ringtail Interactive - Stockholm, Sweden
Engineering Manager - Procreate - Hobart, Tasmania
Lead Audio Designer - Maverick Games - Warwick, UK
Game Designer - Dreamcraft Entertainment - Redwood City, CA
Unity Engineer - Carry1st - Remote
Interested in sharing your job posts here? Just click on the button below for more info and reach out to tomas@byteaction.co
Dev Talks
“When we opened the studio, the concept was that we would make original games, and we want to continue doing that. We’ve poured a lot of youth into the team, and they learned a lot through this process. I look forward to the younger generation making their own games on a lower budget.”
Keiichiro Toyama
Events
Live Service Gaming Summit - 9th-11th of September
The Live Service Gaming Summit 2024 will be held from September 9 to 11 at the London Marriott Hotel Regents Park. This event focuses on the Games-as-a-Service (GaaS) model, featuring over 50 speakers from top companies like Arrowhead, Tencent, and Ubisoft.