GameWorldObserver.com: online magazine about video games industry

GTA 6 breaks three YouTube records in 24 hours, standing out among most viewed game trailers of all time

Although GTA VI is not expected to come out until 2025, it is already making waves and smashing records with just one teaser. Let’s take a look at its numbers and compare them to other notable video game trailers.

Industry News Yesterday

Paradox Interactive to raise regional prices by 40-70% in currencies that fluctuated off its benchmarks

Game publishers around the world continue to adjust their regional prices, and Paradox Interactive is no exception. The Crusader Kings publisher will soon raise prices for both its live games and titles that are no longer actively supported.

Industry News Yesterday

League of Geeks lays off 50% of employees due to poor sales of Jumplight Odyssey and lack of funding

League of Geeks, an Australian studio with a 15-year history, has made a tough decision to cut over half of its staff. This also affected the entire Jumplight Odyssey team.

Industry News December 5

Horizon Zero Dawn returns to Steam charts, while Lethal Company continues to tower above CS2, PUBG, and other hits

Thanks to discounts, some older games have managed to return to the top-selling charts on Steam. However, indie hit Lethal Company still outperforms all others, including evergreen titles like Counter-Strike 2.

Industry News December 5

Rockstar set to break records with GTA VI trailer: how its metrics compare to reveals of previous games

Rockstar has finally unveiled the first teaser trailer for GTA VI. As expected, it quickly turned into the industry’s biggest news, generating dozens of millions of views within hours.

Industry News December 5

tinyBuild hit with layoffs amid financial struggles, months after it warned of possible reorganization

tinyBuild appears to be another studio to conduct layoffs. This comes just months after the publisher saw its shares plunge due to weaker-than-expected financial performance in the first half of 2023.

Industry News December 4

Starfield hits 12 million players as Microsoft aims to keep people playing for years to come, just like Skyrim

Starfield remains one of the most played games from Xbox’s first-party studios even three months after its launch. So it is no surprise that Microsoft considers it one of its most important releases and has plans for its long-term support.

Game Development December 4

How Mintrocket used Unity to blend 2D and 3D graphics in Dave the Diver, global hit that sold over 2 million copies

Fun gameplay aside, one one of the factors behind Dave the Diver’s success was its combination of pixel art and 3D graphics. Here is how a small team at Mintrocket managed to create the game’s appealing visuals using the Unity engine and its tools.

Industry News December 4

Game Pass is “financially viable”, with Microsoft spending $1 billion per year to bring third-party games to it

Many things about Game Pass and the entire ecosystem around it are still shrouded in mystery. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has now shed some light on the service’s strategy and certain elements of its business model.

Industry News December 1

Supercell games have 200 million MAU, with 68% of Clash of Clans players coming to it via word of mouth

Iwo Zakowski, head of marketing at Supercell, has shared some new data about the company’s games, including its biggest hit — Clash of Clans.

Game Development December 1

Mark Darrah on target audience and decision-making: “Running your design as a democracy is not a good way to go”

Targeting the right audience for a game is one of the most important tasks for developers. Acclaimed developer and former BioWare producer Mark Darrah has opened up about the decision-making process and who should make the final choice.

Industry News December 1

Baldur’s Gate 3 sales could exceed 7.5 million copies, given that its was completed by 1.3 million players

We still don’t know the official sales of Baldur’s Gate 3. But Larian Studios has now revealed how many players have completed the game, which opens up room for some napkin math and speculation.

Market Analysis November 30

What indie devs say about 2023 games market: overcrowding, uncertainty about future funding, but faith in recovery

Despite many great releases, 2023 hasn’t been all that good (to put it mildly) for people making games. Here are the prevailing sentiments among developers about the current state of the market and the possible future.

Industry News November 30

Honkai: Star Rail named Game of the Year by both Apple and Google, following in footsteps of Genshin Impact

App Store and Google Play have announced the winners of its annual awards. Let’s take a closer look at the best games in various categories.

Industry News November 30

CI Games expects Lords of the Fallen to generate $100 million in net revenue over years

Lords of the Fallen has been a commercial success for publisher CI Games. The company has now shared its ambitious revenue target for the game.

Industry News November 29

New victims of Embracer’s restructuring: 50 Fishlabs employees to be laid off, Free Radical Design might be closed

Embracer Group’s cost-cutting restructuring continues. Free Radical Design and Fishlabs appear to be the latest studios to be affected by the process.

Industry News November 29

Unity to close offices in 14 locations and lay off 265 employees, bringing total job cuts in 2023 to over 1,100

Unity has decided to terminate an agreement with its subsidiary Weta, a VFX studio co-founded by acclaimed filmmaker Peter Jackson. This will result in another round of layoffs for the engine maker.

Industry News November 28

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty hits 4.3 million copies sold, as CD Projekt reports best Q3 in its history

CD Projekt has released its financial report for the third quarter ended September 30. The company has achieved significant growth in revenue and net profit, with Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty reaching a new milestone.

Industry News November 28

Lethal Company becomes top-rated game of 2023 on Steam, also breaking into top 5 new titles by peak concurrent players

Lethal Company continues to gain momentum following its successful launch on Steam. In addition to its chart-topping positions, the co-op indie horror is now the top-rated game of 2023 on the store.

Legal November 28

How devs can protect their games, problems with patent trolls, and other legal issues in games industry

The seventh episode of Games and Names, a games industry podcast launched by AppMagic in partnership with WN Media Group, is here. It is dedicated to a really complex yet important topic — the legal side of the games industry and how developers can protect the results of their creative work.