ByteAction - Issue 162

ByteAction is a newsletter for game developers and fans

Hello, and welcome to 162nd edition of ByteAction newsletter! This will be the last edition of 2024, and we will see each other again some time in mid January.

Last week Astro Bot won the Game of the Year ward at The Game Awards. In fact Astro Bot took home several other awards during the night, including Game Direction, Family Game, and Action/Adventure Game.

In other news, GSC Game World owner Maxim Krippa announced that Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl game has already become profitable.

Lastly, for some more good news - The Jingle Jam charity event raised £2.7 million in two weeks through livestreams by over 800 creators, including TommyInnit, The Spiffing Brit, Smosh Games, and The Yogscast.

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The Byte

1. The Game Awards' 10th anniversary show set a record with 154 million global livestreams, a 31% increase.

The Action

2. Linden Lab invested $1.3 billion in creating the virtual world Second Life, which launched in 2003 during the early days of the metaverse. They have also paid out $1.1 billion to creators.

Retro Byte

3. 20 years of Nintendo DS.

Studio Byte

4. Stellar Entertainment Software, founded in 2016. The company specializes in high-quality game development, offering services in engineering, art, and design. Their portfolio includes remastered editions of popular titles such as "Burnout Paradise Remastered" and "Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered."

   Stellar Entertainment is also involved in co-development projects, contributing to games like "Knockout City," "Sea of Solitude," and "STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order."

Legal Stuff

5. Epic Games is suing Fortnite player Sebastian Araujo for alleged cheating during tournaments.

6. Johnny Gioeli of Crush 40 is suing Sega of America, claiming ownership of the Sonic Adventure 2 theme song "Live & Learn," alleging he created and produced it independently and holds the original master recording.

Acquisitions/Investments

7. Aonic Group received $160m investment.

8. Dark Passenger, founded by ex-Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 developers, raised $3M for their Feudal Japan-inspired stealth-action game.

New Game Corner

9. Sniper Elite: Resistance - January 30th, 2025

   With excellent sniping mechanics, stealth, and tactical third-person combat, Sniper Elite: Resistance shifts the award-winning series' focus to a covert war deep in occupied France, far from the front lines.

Resource Byte

10. Linear

    Linear is a modern software development platform that simplifies managing issues, projects, and product roadmaps.

Who’s Hiring?

Senior Gameplay Engineer - Bulletfarm - Remote, USA

Data Analyst - Wargaming - Vilnius, Lithuania

UI/UX Artist - Vertigo Games - Amsterdam, Netherlands

Senior Producer - T-Minus Zero - Remote, USA

Lead Game Designer - Litio - Remote

Recruiter - Roblox - San Mateo, CA

Lead Producer - Demiurge - Remote, USA

VFX Artist - Limit Break - Tokyo, Japan

Senior Game Designer - Coffee Stain - Gothenburg, Sweden

Director, Global Partnerships - Unity - Remote, USA

VFX Artist - That’s No Moon - Los Angeles, CA

Senior AI Programmer - Climax Studios - Edinburgh, Scotland

Senior Games Recruiter - Genies - San Mateo, CA

Senior Producer - Starbreeze Entertainment - Stockholm, Sweden

Lead Character Artist - IOI - Barcelona, Spain

Lead Engine Programmer - Ramen VR - San Francisco, CA

Technical Producer - Haven Studios - Montréal, Canada

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 CDPR devs

    “That “bit” left us excited to see more. The trailer, which teased that it was being rendered on an “unannounced Nvidia GPU,” set imaginations running wild. CDPR fans have had five solid years of teases and trailers for Night City-tinged content, making a return to the dark world of The Witcher all the more of a compelling tone switch.”

    Phillipp Weber

Events

12. January 28th - 30thth December 2024

    Arctic Game Dev 2025, organized by Arctic Game and Agora Gaming Partners, connects Nordic and UK developers with publishers, investors, and experts from Europe and North America.