Game design critic Josh Bycer discusses what makes a good horror game. He also wrote a whole book on the subject!

The University of Arizona history department has launched a new initiative in collaboration with Microsoft. Students will be able to earn credits by engaging with special content in Age of Empires IV.

The Mass Effect franchise might expand into TV in the future, as Amazon Studios is reportedly in talks to develop a series based on popular games. However, there are not many details available about the project.

Epic Games has announced an acquisition of Harmonix, a studio known for its Rock Band series. The team will create special music content for Fortnite as a part of the game’s shift towards the metaverse. The financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed.

HypeHype, formerly known as Frogmind, has raised €13 million from Supercell. The company will spend this investment to develop and support its own platform, which allows users to create and remix their own mobile titles.

CD Projekt RED developers have discussed the process of creating nonlinear gameplay in Cyberpunk 2077. They explained why variability is not always great for a huge game like this, as the team had to spend too much resources on small elements.

Activision Blizzard has faced criticism from another platform holder. Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser called the latest news in the harassment scandal distressing and claimed that Nintendo has already taken action.

tinyBuild has announced its expansion by adding publisher Versus Evil and its internal studio Red Cerberus to its family. The deal could be worth up to $31.3 million.

Kojima Productions has opened a new office in Los Angeles, which will be focused on producing films, TV series, and music. The division will be led by Riley Russell, who previously worked at PlayStation for 28 years.

Microsoft has made Game Pass the key element for the Xbox growth. Analytics from Newzoo used Bethesda titles and Outer Wilds as an example to show how the subscription service helped boost classic AAA games and small indie hits. 

Over the weekend, Star Citizen reached another milestone, surpassing $400 million in crowdfunding. The controversial game has been already supported by more than 3.3 million players, although it still has no release window.

Bobby Kotick has stated that he would consider stepping down from his role as Activision Blizzard’s CEO if he can’t quickly solve the ongoing workplace issues. The company stock, meanwhile, continues to decline in the wake of the latest events.

Famous game writer Chris Avellone has shared more details about his work on Dying Light 2. Contrary to popular belief, he didn’t write the whole story and just did a few quests for the upcoming game.

Popular streamers have refused to take part in the upcoming Genshin Impact event on Twitch. It happened after miHoYo put forward a list of requirements that a lot of content creators found too strict.

Activision Blizzard continues to demand Bobby Kotick’s resignation as more than 1300 workers have already signed a petition. Xbox head Phil Spencer, meanwhile, expressed his concerns over the latest events, saying that Microsoft is now reevaluating its relationship with the controversial company.

A group of modders behind reversed engineered versions of GTA III and GTA: Vice City has responded to a lawsuit by Take-Two. The team insists that their actions and works are protected under fair use and shouldn’t be punished by law.

According to Tim Sweeney, the metaverse has a chance to become a “multitrillion-dollar part of the world economy.” And Epic Games’ ongoing battle with Apple and Google is a part of the company’s ambitions in this area.

Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has slammed Activision Blizzard for not doing enough to properly address ongoing issues. The publisher’s leadership, on the other hand, still has a lot of faith in Bobby Kotick despite the latest accusations.

While Paradox says it is satisfied with the development progress of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, it is still not ready to reveal the name of the studio that has been working on it. The company thinks it is better to give the team time to focus on the creative process.