Browser-based games platform Arkadium has opened to third-party developers. The firm will offer developers a 75% revenue share model, and game makers globally can submit their titles to the Arkadium for Developers program. Arkadium aims to release 30 new titles from third-party developers in 2024 via the new initiative. Read more ..read more

BlizzCon is taking another break, as Blizzard announced its fan festival will skip this year. "After careful consideration over the last year, we at Blizzard have made the decision not to hold BlizzCon in 2024," the company said in a blog post. "This decision was not made lightly as BlizzCon remains a very special event for all of us, and we know many of you look forward to it. While we're approaching this year differently and as we have explored different event formats in the past, rest assured that we are just as excited as ever to bring BlizzCon back in future years." Read more ..read more

Age of Empires was originally launched for PC in 1997. Since then, the historical real-time strategy series has had multiple releases on platforms such as home consoles and mobile devices. With Age of Empires 4 pleasing fans on PC and Xbox, Microsoft is making another attempt to attract smartphone audiences with the upcoming Age of Empires Mobile. Development for the title began in 2021, but it currently does not have a planned release schedule. It is currently co-developed by TiMi Studio in partnership with World's Edge, and Xbox Game Studios serves as its publisher. Brayden Fan, studio gene ..read more

Meta reported its first quarter earnings after the close of trading yesterday, showing continued losses in its AR/VR Reality Labs division that were more then offset by growth and profitability in the rest of the business. Meta's story largely continued as it has, with the VR/AR division dragging on the success of the its various services like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, but not enough to keep the company from growing both revenues and profits. Despite losing money at a rate of more than $1 billion per month since June of 2022, Meta affirmed its commitment to Reality Labs, s ..read more

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly a decade since Stefano Petrullo formed Renaissance PR. Petrullo was well known to the UK games industry back in 2015, primarily for handling PR for Ubisoft, which included promoting games like Watch Dogs, Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry. He was well positioned to make the transition to being independent, but the rise of Renaissance in the years since has been nothing short of astounding. It has had almost 100 clients in that time, ranging from giants like Atari, Plaion, Team17 and Tencent, to indie giants such as Bulkhead, Curve, and Square Enix Collective ..read more

Game development is, in some ways, more accessible than ever. Between the ease-of-use of engines like RPG Maker to the release of titles like Game Builder Garage that gamify the act of development itself, there are countless ways into game development that do not require previous experience of coding or design. The opportunity for creation with engines like Unreal, Unity and more is enormous. But – just as with issues with accessible gaming itself – there are still obstacles to be overcome when it comes to making those engines available for everyone to use. That has huge implications for the ..read more

Facepunch Studios has received takedown notices from Nintendo and is currently in the process of removing all Garry's Mod content related to IP owned by the platform holder. The developer posted an update on Steam altering its community to the takedown notice, adding that all Nintendo-related workshop items will be removed. Garry's Mod, first released in 2006, is a sandbox title that allows users to create their own in-game items, or use assets from Valve's titles such as Half-Life, and experiment with them. Read more ..read more

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Steam has changed its refund policy, with pre-release playtime now factored in when considering eligibility for a refund. In a short update posted on its website, Valve simply said the change applies to games that are in pre-purchase and offer 'advanced access', adding: "Playtime acquired during the Advanced Access period will now count towards the Steam refund period." Previously, players were allowed to claim a refund if they had spent less than two hours in a game after release. Now, if they get access to the title prior to its launch, any time played during that period will count towards ..read more

Linden Lab, the developer of Second Life, has sold its payments business, Tilia, to Thunes. In the transaction with the global payments processor, Tilia will be rebranded to Thunes and remain in San Francisco. Thunes and Linden have also agreed to an exclusive five-year partnership as part of the acquisition deal. Payment processing and payouts will be provided to Linden. Read more ..read more