| Game World Observer

Supercell’s five-year streak of no new games continues with shutdown of Clash Mini and its merger with Clash Royale

Supercell is constantly working on new games, but most of them get killed at various stages of development. Clash Mini has now joined the unfortunate list after more than two years of soft launch.

Industry News March 15

BG3 tops annual list of Steam Deck’s most played games, with 9 indie titles breaking into top 20

Valve has published a list of the most played games on Steam Deck over the past 12 months. While it is full of evergreen hits, there are also a few relatively fresh titles that have managed to make it to the top.

Industry News March 15

Respawn appears to be one of victims of EA’s mass layoffs, but Apex Legends remains “huge priority”

As Electronic Arts’ recently announced restructuring gains momentum, even developers working on the company’s most successful games are not safe. It appears that Respawn Entertainment has been hit with layoffs.

Industry News March 15

Far Cry franchise hits 90 million players: ranking best-selling games in series

The Far Cry franchise is turning 20 years old later this month. To celebrate the anniversary, Ubisoft has revealed its lifetime audience. Let’s also look at data on the most successful games in the series.

Featured March 14

All games killed by Supercell: it has 30+ titles in its graveyard, from Zombies Online to Clash Mini

Supercell has a long history of killing games at various stages of development. Let’s take a look at all titles that have been officially discontinued by the Finnish company since its browser-based MMO Zombies Online.

Industry News March 14

Tim Sweeney unleashes most Sweeney-esque tirade against Valve over Steam’s 30% cut in newly released 2018 emails

Some of you may remember an antitrust lawsuit against Valve filed by Wolfire Games back in 2021. The court case recently entered a new phase, revealing some internal data, including never-before-seen emails from Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney.

Market Analysis March 14

Outlook: US games market could fall 2-10% in 2024 as industry needs more hits like Helldivers 2 and Palworld

Circana analyst Mat Piscatella has shared his thoughts on the current state of the video game market. He expects 2024 to be a tough year with a high level of uncertainty around sales, hardware, and content.

Industry News March 14

Who is Beacon Interactive, new owner of Saber Interactive established by its former CEO and Embracer exec

Beacon Interactive has been named as a buyer of parts of Saber Interactive through a deal with Embracer Group. Taking a closer look at the new owner, it can be assumed that Saber bought itself out of the Swedish holding company through a newly established entity.

Deals March 14

Embracer’s $247 million sale of Saber Interactive detailed: divested studios, games, and exit from Russia

Embracer Group has officially announced the divestment of one of its key operative groups, Saber Interactive. The Swedish holding company, however, will retain some of the assets and games in development.

Industry News March 13

Google Play adding support for native PC games, with new API enabling UA outside of mobile

Google is expanding its Google Play Games service by adding several important features. One of them is support for games built specifically for PC.

Industry News March 13

Mysterious Triple-i Initiative emerges, teased by indie devs behind Vampire Survivors, Slay the Spire, and more

It appears that a group of indie studios have decided to join forces for a mysterious collaboration. The so-called Triple-i Initiative brings together studios behind games like Vampire Survivors, Darkest Dungeon, Slay the Spire, and more.

Industry News March 13

Resident Evil 4 remake tops 7 million copies sold in less than year: how it compares to other RE games

The Resident Evil 4 remake, one of the most successful games of 2023, has reached a new milestone. It has now cemented its place among the best-selling titles in the entire franchise.

Industry News March 13

Discord turning into game distribution platform with new SDK allowing third-party devs to build playable apps

Discord is expanding its Activities feature by letting third-party developers build games that can be played directly on the platform. The company has also opened up funding opportunities for creators through a new pitch program.

Industry News March 12

New indie AAA studio Emptyvessel unveils itself with former id Software, Naughty Dog, and Activision devs at helm

A new AAA studio started by industry veterans has emerged. Emptyvessel, led by former id Software, Naughty Dog, Gearbox, and Activision developers, bills itself as a developer-founded, developer-first company.

Industry News March 12

Forza Horizon 5 jumps almost 60 positions on Steam charts, while Dragon’s Dogma 2 climbs into top 10

There were a bunch of notable changes on the Steam charts last week. Several older titles managed to return to the leading positions, while players are also actively pre-ordering the upcoming Dragon’s Dogma 2.

Industry News March 12

Monster Hunter: World hits 25 million copies sold, with entire franchise approaching 100 million mark

Monster Hunter: World has reached a new sales milestone. Six years after its launch, it remains the most commercially successful game in the franchise, which has just celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Industry News March 11

Indie game Backpack Battles hits 100k copies sold, also peaking at over 32k concurrent players

It’s always great to see indie games succeed in the market. Backpack Battles, an auto-battling RPG with an interesting hook, is doing really well on Steam right now, exceeding the expectations of its creators.

Industry News March 11

Stellar Blade developer Shift Up to go public at projected valuation of $2.3 billion

Although the investment climate in the games industry remains turbulent, a new large public offering is on the way. South Korean developer Shift Up recently applied to be listed on the Korea Stock Exchange.

Industry News March 11

Success of Ori and the Blind Forest saved Moon Studios from bankruptcy, and two games eventually sold 10 million copies

Ori has been one of the most successful Metroidvania series of all time. And Moon Studios probably wouldn’t be in the industry today if it weren’t for the first game’s commercial performance.

Roundtable Discussion March 8

Roundtable discussion: OpenAI’s Sora in game development, imminent revolution or tool with its limitations?

Last month, OpenAI unveiled its new text-to-video model Sora, causing a stir among professionals and casual users alike. Although it is yet to be released publicly, we decided to discuss whether it can be used in game development, as well as its potential pitfalls and limitations, with experts from ZiMAD, Skywaylab, Playkot, Lost Lore, and Charisma.

All publications of the author

Supercell’s five-year streak of no new games continues with shutdown of Clash Mini and its merger with Clash Royale

BG3 tops annual list of Steam Deck’s most played games, with 9 indie titles breaking into top 20

Respawn appears to be one of victims of EA’s mass layoffs, but Apex Legends remains “huge priority”

Far Cry franchise hits 90 million players: ranking best-selling games in series

All games killed by Supercell: it has 30+ titles in its graveyard, from Zombies Online to Clash Mini

Tim Sweeney unleashes most Sweeney-esque tirade against Valve over Steam’s 30% cut in newly released 2018 emails

Outlook: US games market could fall 2-10% in 2024 as industry needs more hits like Helldivers 2 and Palworld

Who is Beacon Interactive, new owner of Saber Interactive established by its former CEO and Embracer exec

Embracer’s $247 million sale of Saber Interactive detailed: divested studios, games, and exit from Russia

Google Play adding support for native PC games, with new API enabling UA outside of mobile

Mysterious Triple-i Initiative emerges, teased by indie devs behind Vampire Survivors, Slay the Spire, and more

Resident Evil 4 remake tops 7 million copies sold in less than year: how it compares to other RE games

Discord turning into game distribution platform with new SDK allowing third-party devs to build playable apps

New indie AAA studio Emptyvessel unveils itself with former id Software, Naughty Dog, and Activision devs at helm

Forza Horizon 5 jumps almost 60 positions on Steam charts, while Dragon’s Dogma 2 climbs into top 10

Monster Hunter: World hits 25 million copies sold, with entire franchise approaching 100 million mark

Indie game Backpack Battles hits 100k copies sold, also peaking at over 32k concurrent players

Stellar Blade developer Shift Up to go public at projected valuation of $2.3 billion

Success of Ori and the Blind Forest saved Moon Studios from bankruptcy, and two games eventually sold 10 million copies

Roundtable discussion: OpenAI’s Sora in game development, imminent revolution or tool with its limitations?