ByteAction - Issue 152

ByteAction is a newsletter for game developers and fans

Hello, and welcome to 152nd edition of ByteAction newsletter!

This week I’ve released a new podcast episode. This time sat down with Jesus Bosch - GM @ Product Madness studio in Barcelona. We discussed Jesus’s experience of building a Starloop Studio from 0 to 70 people as well as his experience of growing Product Madness from 0 to 120 people. We also talked about today’s gamedev market, talk about the importance of choosing the right people for your company, and the definition of what makes a company successful. Hope you can give this a listen!

Jesus Bosch: From Start-Up to Scale-Up, Building Gaming Studios

As for what had happened in the industry: Rocksteady Studios & Tilting Point studio have been hit by layoffs. Tilting Point is laying off 20 percent of its workforce in order to "continue operating a healthy ongoing company." As for Rocksteady - the actual numbers of people laid off haven’t been announced, although according Eurogamer the main reason for restructuring was the underperformance of Suicide Squad project.

In other news, Joshua Lu from A16Z spoke to Tech Crunch about AI revolution in games, and how Discord is changing game development. You can read the full interview here.

Also, have you seen the trailer for Cyberpunk 2077 board game?? Take a look at it here! It’s pretty cool :)

Lastly, take a look at this article that talks about the young creators of “TheVentStalker” video game. This game took 5 months to create, and generated over 200k downloads.

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The Byte

1. CD Projekt's latest financial results revealed a substantial rise in both sales and profit during the first half of 2024.

The Action

2. CMF, Creative BC launch new $1M program to support video game companies in British Columbia.

Retro Byte

3. After a two-decade hiatus, Argonaut Games has made a comeback as a boutique publisher, releasing a remastered version of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos for both consoles and PC.

Studio Byte

4. Univrse is a Barcelona-based studio that offers solutions for creating and managing multi-user VR experiences for high traffic venues.

Legal Stuff

5. The HMRC has revealed that video game tax relief payouts leapt 10% in the 2022-23 financial year.

6. Mobile game operator threatens legal action against rapper PACT.

Acquisitions/Investments

7. Remedy is teaming up with Annapurna Interactive to co-finance Control 2 and adapt Control and Alan Wake for film and TV.

8. Saudi Arabia, with 70% of its population being youth and 21 million gamers, is heavily investing in gaming to contribute SAR 50 billion to the GDP, create 39,000 jobs, and become a global leader in professional e-sports.

New Game Corner

9. No More Room in Hell 2 - October 31st, 2024

   No More Room in Hell 2 offers a spine-chilling co-op action horror experience for up to 8 players. Team up with your friends in the dark as you fight to survive in a dynamic, endlessly replayable zombie apocalypse.

Resource Byte

10. Rosebud

    Interactive journal for your mental health.

Who’s Hiring?

Technical Director - Bespoke Pixel - Barcelona, Spain

Art Director - Geometric Interactive - Copenhagen, Denmark

HR Manager - Deca Games - Berlin, Germany

Principal Game Developer - Sandsoft - Barcelona, Spain

Technical Director - Tripledot - Warsaw, Poland

Senior Game Designer - Embark Studios - Stockholm, Sweden

Senior Producer - Rovio - Barcelona, Spain

Senior Technical Designer - Cold Iron Studios - Remote, USA & Canada

Lead Animator - Ultimate Studio - Melbourne, Australia

Executive Producer - Demiurge Studios - Remote, USA

Senior Data Analyst - Original Games - Remote, Europe

Principal Level Designer - Firesprite - Liverpool, UK

Lead Character Artist - IOI - Barcelona, Spain

Senior UI/UX Designer - Klang Games - Madrid, Spain

Lead Engine Programmer - Ramen VR - San Francisco, CA

Recruiter - Larian Studios - Warsaw, Poland

Senior Producer - Haven Studios - Montréal, Canada

Lead VFX Artist - Sega Europe Ltd - Sofia, Bulgaria

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

11. Interview with Axel Torvenius and Jens Andersson - Machine Games

    “All your earlier work is useful for the next game you’re making. We’re bringing a lot of what we like to do into this game. This being a first-person adventure game, that’s absolutely influenced by our previous work. The story-driven approach, story being a major driving force of the game, the cinematic presentation, the immersion, all that stuff.”

    Axel Torvenius

Events

12. Gamesindustry.biz HR Summit - 18th September, 2024

    The GI HR Summit returns for its second year, bringing together HR professionals from the video game industry to address key challenges. Hosted at the Royal Institution in London, the 2024 event will feature keynote talks, roundtables, and the Best Places To Work Awards. Topics will include AI, health and wellbeing, leadership, diversity, generational work expectations, hybrid working, and morale during these challenging times