The Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2 development has been a rollercoaster for a while now. Paradox Interactive has revealed that it was close to canceling the production. Eventually, the company decided to go ahead with development and now hopes that players will love the game.

There have been a lot of discussions about the relevance of game reviews, as more players find them useless or don’t know how the whole process looks behind the scenes. Even game journalists agree that the whole system should be changed, although no one seems to know the right solution.

Embracer Group has acquired Beijing-based mobile studio Jufeng to further expand into the Chinese games market. The Swedish holding company also bought eight mobile games to expand its portfolio.

M.O.B.A. Network, which acquires, develops and operates gaming communities, has snapped up gaming forum ResetEra.com for $4.5 million. The company has paid $3.55 million upon closing the deal, with another $1 million to be paid by 31 December 2021.

ArenaNet co-founder Jeff Strain has announced game development studio Possibility Space, which is now working on an announced AAA title. It is made up of former employees of Valve, Ubisoft, Oculus, and other prominent companies.

Mishura Games, which was founded by former Limestone devs, has issued a statement ahead of the Aeon Must Die! release. The studio claims that publisher Focus Entertainment doesn’t have full rights for the IP.

In this article, Michał Malewicz, UX designer and CEO of digital design and development agency HYPE4, discusses the UI of Deathloop by Arkane Studios.

Last year, Epic Games filed lawsuits both against Apple and Google. More than a year later, the Android maker decided to answer and file its counterclaim. According to Google, it is owed financial relief.

Ubisoft has introduced a new evaluation attribute for its employees called “Act as a role model.” The staff, however, demand the removal of it, saying that it might be used in favor of abusers.

Raw Fury and Dj2 Entertainment have announced their partnership. The production company will bring some of the publisher’s video games to film and television.

PlayStation Studios seems to have a new head of its mobile division, Nicola Sebastiani, who previously was the content head of Apple Arcade. The appointment is in line with Sony’s plans to bring more IPs to mobile.

Soon after California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) objected to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) planned settlement with Activision Blizzard, the EEOC filed its own opposition. This conflict will probably make the whole situation even more complicated.

Apple has taken the next step in its long-lasting legal battle with Epic Games. The company filed a notice of appeal against California’s court ruling, saying that the upcoming changes in the App Store policy might be harmful both for iOS users and developers.

Singaporean studio Virtuos has been reportedly working on an “unannounced AAA action adventure game remake” since 2018. The information was spotted on a LinkedIn page of one of the company’s former devs.

Recontact Games co-founder Simay Dinc has started a special program for Turkish kids from small villages. It aims to teach them to code, create video games, and treat them as a form of interactive art.

Tencent continues to invest in Western developers by acquiring  21.97% of Bloober Team shares for PLN 77.6 million ($19.5 million). The deal makes the Chinese tech giant the biggest shareholder of the Polish studio.

Industry veteran Philippe Sauze, formerly Vice President / Head of Activision Blizzard EMEA, has joined MY.GAMES to lead the company’s European division.

Marvel’s Avengers now offers more in-game purchases to players, including XP and resource-collecting boosts. The new monetization elements have been added to the game, although Crystal Dynamics previously stated that IAPs wouldn’t affect gameplay.

French publisher Nacon announced that it has acquired 100% of the Ishtar Games studio. This deal will also include the launch of the new Ishtar label, which will “develop the creation and marketing of high-potential “independent” games.”