Studio | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Tue, 27 Feb 2024 16:28:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Studio | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Supermassive Games faces layoffs as games industry woes continue https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/supermassive-games-faces-layoffs-as-games-industry-woes-continue/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/supermassive-games-faces-layoffs-as-games-industry-woes-continue/#respond Mon, 26 Feb 2024 15:30:12 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=649701 Supermassive Games appears to be the latest game studio to run into financial issues. Over the past year, thousands of developers have lost jobs due to various cuts at companies across the games industry. Now, it is being reported that Supermassive, the studio behind Until Dawn, The Quarry and other horror titles, could be shedding …

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Supermassive Games appears to be the latest game studio to run into financial issues. Over the past year, thousands of developers have lost jobs due to various cuts at companies across the games industry. Now, it is being reported that Supermassive, the studio behind Until Dawn, The Quarry and other horror titles, could be shedding around half of its workforce. 

Supermassive Games is best known for Until Dawn, a fantastic PS4 exclusive that is due to get a remake for PS5 and PC later this year, although that remake is being handled by an entirely different studio under Sony's direction, with Supermassive not involved in the project. Unfortunately due to “significant challenges” within the games industry, the UK-based studio may be letting go of almost half of its 300-person strong staff, as reported by Bloomberg.

Supermassive Games has already confirmed the Bloomberg report, stating that it is set to undergo a ‘restructuring' due to financial issues. The studio currently has around 300 employees, and around 150 employees are expected to be let go. Just last month, the studio's founders left the company, a move that now appears to have been a red herring.

Since the release of Until Dawn in 2015, Supermassive Games has worked on some PSVR titles, as well as its own line of episodic horror games known as The Dark Pictures Anthology and the 2K-published spiritual successor to Until Dawn, The Quarry, which didn't do quite as well as the original game.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: A downsizing of this level will no doubt have a significant impact on upcoming projects from Supermassive. The chase for growth and consistently bigger and more impressive titles is catching up across the industry and after a tough 2023 for layoffs, it seems we can expect even more in 2024. 

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Krafton acquires ‘The Ascent’ developer Neon Giant https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/joao-silva/krafton-acquires-the-ascent-developer-neon-giant/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/joao-silva/krafton-acquires-the-ascent-developer-neon-giant/#respond Mon, 14 Nov 2022 12:15:24 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=582146 In a surprise announcement during Krafton's latest earnings call, the company announced it has acquired Neon Giant, the developer behind The Ascent. That makes it the fifth acquisition in the span of two years. Unlike most acquisitions, neither of the two companies has made any public announcements. Instead, we've learned about it through Krafton's Q3 …

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In a surprise announcement during Krafton's latest earnings call, the company announced it has acquired Neon Giant, the developer behind The Ascent. That makes it the fifth acquisition in the span of two years.

Unlike most acquisitions, neither of the two companies has made any public announcements. Instead, we've learned about it through Krafton's Q3 financial report (via PCGamer), which also had some more information regarding what Neon Giant is working on.

As it seems, The studio is working on an open-world FPS, and expanding to open up another branch in Canada to work on a new project, currently known as “The Bird That Drinks Tears”. This title is based on a popular series of Korean fantasy novels created by Yeongdo Lee with the same name. A teaser trailer for this project was released in September.

Neon Giant has only released one game so far, and that's The Ascent. Overall, the game was well-received, aggregating an Opencritic score of 73 (56% recommendation) and a Steam user score of 76%. It was also a day-one title for Xbox Game Pass.

Neon Giant is Krafton's fifth acquisition since May 2021. Other recently acquired companies include 5minlab Corporation (Smash Legends, Baam Squad and Toy Clash), Unknown Worlds (Subnautica and Moonbreaker), Thingsflow (Hellobot), and Dreamotion (GunStrider: Tap Strike, Road to Valor: World War II and Ronin: The Last Samurai).

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Krafton has grown a ton since the success of PUBG, with multiple studios spanning across the world. 

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PlayStation is building a new internal studio in collaboration with Naughty Dog https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/mustafa-mahmoud/playstation-is-building-a-new-internal-studio-in-collaboration-with-naughty-dog/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/mustafa-mahmoud/playstation-is-building-a-new-internal-studio-in-collaboration-with-naughty-dog/#respond Wed, 26 Oct 2022 10:00:53 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=580084 Sony has spent the past many years cultivating a small army’s worth of development studios, both through internal growth as well as through external acquisitions. It looks like the console manufacturer is currently building a brand-new internal studio in partnership with PSS Visual Arts and Naughty Dog. As part of a job listing for a …

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Sony has spent the past many years cultivating a small army’s worth of development studios, both through internal growth as well as through external acquisitions. It looks like the console manufacturer is currently building a brand-new internal studio in partnership with PSS Visual Arts and Naughty Dog.

As part of a job listing for a Senior Producer at PlayStation Global, the company revealed that they are currently working on building a new internal studio, saying:

“Sony PlayStation is building a new internal game development team in partnership with PSS Visual Arts, an award-winning, full-production group, that specializes in Animation, Motion Capture, Cinematics, Art, and Scanning. This is the same world-class team known for its contributions to the Last of Us franchise!”

Offering additional details, the listing states that “this high visibility project is being developed in collaboration with Naughty Dog. Though currently unannounced, we have a clear vision and plan to release. Using our existing expertise and premier talent, we will guarantee a high visual quality bar for the game and a compelling experience for our players.”

Nothing was revealed regarding what this game might be, however whatever it is, it’s clear that it is intended to be rather large in scope. When it comes to game animations and cinematics, few titles do it better than The Last of Us, and so to see the team working on a new game and in collaboration with Naughty Dog is exciting indeed.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the details released so far? Are you excited for it? What do you think the game will be? Let us know down below.

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Cyberpunk 2077’s core team is forming a new US-based studio for sequel https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/cyberpunk-2077s-core-team-is-forming-a-new-us-based-studio-for-sequel/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/cyberpunk-2077s-core-team-is-forming-a-new-us-based-studio-for-sequel/#respond Thu, 06 Oct 2022 10:00:53 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=577342 Earlier this week, CD Projekt Red revealed its roadmap of upcoming titles, ranging from a new trilogy of Witcher games to a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel. While The Witcher will continue to be developed at the company's main studio in Poland, Cyberpunk's sequel will be created at a newly set up studio in the United States. …

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Earlier this week, CD Projekt Red revealed its roadmap of upcoming titles, ranging from a new trilogy of Witcher games to a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel. While The Witcher will continue to be developed at the company's main studio in Poland, Cyberpunk's sequel will be created at a newly set up studio in the United States.

Cyberpunk 2077's sequel, codenamed ‘Orion', will be developed at a newly set up CD Projekt Red office in Boston, Massachusetts, according to Paweł Sasko. Sasko worked as the lead quest designer on Cyberpunk 2077 and was promoted to Quest Director for the upcoming Phantom Liberty expansion, as well as the game's upcoming sequel. Sasko later added that he is still working on Phantom Liberty for now, but the focus will shift to Project Orion after that.

Sasko and a few other members of the ‘core team' for Cyberpunk 2077 will be moving to start up this new studio in Boston. The team will be assisted by CD Projekt Red teams in Vancouver, Canada, and Warsaw, Poland.

There is no timeline for when we'll see Project Orion. Cyberpunk 2077 production took many years, and while they've built an excellent version of Night City already, the next game might not use the RED Engine, and may instead move over to Unreal Engine 5, much like the next Witcher trilogy. If true, they may not be able to reuse assets from the original game. With that in mind, we'll have to be patient.

The announcement of Project Orion also seems to confirm that Phantom Liberty will be the only expansion for Cyberpunk 2077. After that, all focus will shift towards the sequel.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Are you looking forward to Cyberpunk's sequel?

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Activision’s Beenox is opening a second studio for Call of Duty and ‘additional ambitious projects’ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/activisions-beenox-is-opening-a-second-studio-for-call-of-duty-and-additional-ambitious-projects/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/activisions-beenox-is-opening-a-second-studio-for-call-of-duty-and-additional-ambitious-projects/#respond Thu, 31 Mar 2022 14:37:47 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=555682 Activision has a ton of studios under its wing but unfortunately over the last decade, many of them have been relegated to support studio status in an effort to keep the Call of Duty franchise afloat. Soon, Activision studio, Beenox, will be opening up a second studio specifically to work on Call of Duty and …

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Activision has a ton of studios under its wing but unfortunately over the last decade, many of them have been relegated to support studio status in an effort to keep the Call of Duty franchise afloat. Soon, Activision studio, Beenox, will be opening up a second studio specifically to work on Call of Duty and “additional ambitious projects”. 

Activision Blizzard confirmed the move this week, confirming that the second Beenox studio will be located in Montreal, Canada, a well-known game development hub, acting as home to many other game studios. As reported by VGC, the new studio will allow Beenox to continue growing, with the goal of attracting 400 employees across both locations.

Recently, Beenox has contributed to the development of various Call of Duty titles, as well as Crash Bandicoot 4. Before that, the studio would help with development on the Skylanders franchise, and if we turn the clock back even further, the studio also developed a set of Spider-Man games, including Shattered Dimensions, which went on to be a cult classic.

Once the second studio is set up and staffed, Beenox will continue to work on Call of Duty and other projects, but we have no further details at this time. Currently, Microsoft is in the midst of acquiring Activision Blizzard – assuming the deal goes through, we may see some of these Activision studios spinning up their own projects to give Game Pass a boost.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I'm hoping some of these lesser-known Activision studios will have a chance to grow and develop their own games again under Microsoft. While the spotlight is primarily on Blizzard and the main studios responsible for Call of Duty, Activision has a lot of smaller studios that previously made excellent titles prior to Call of Duty's explosion in popularity. 

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Netflix acquires Next Games to expand game streaming efforts https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/netflix-acquires-next-games-to-expand-game-streaming-efforts/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/netflix-acquires-next-games-to-expand-game-streaming-efforts/#respond Wed, 02 Mar 2022 15:17:19 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=552336 Netflix is continuing its push into the video game market. Recently, Netflix officially launched ‘Netflix Games' as part of the streaming service and since then, the company has been shopping around for independent studios to develop games for the platform. Previously, Netflix acquired Oxenfree developer, Night School Studio. Now, Netflix has added another studio to …

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Netflix is continuing its push into the video game market. Recently, Netflix officially launched ‘Netflix Games' as part of the streaming service and since then, the company has been shopping around for independent studios to develop games for the platform. Previously, Netflix acquired Oxenfree developer, Night School Studio. Now, Netflix has added another studio to its roster – Next Games. 

Next Games is based in Finland and is traditionally known for developing mobile games. Previously, the studio has worked on licensed titles, including The Walking Dead: No Man's Land and Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales.

Having had experience working with Netflix previously, Next Games became a prime target for acquisition. The deal is worth €65 million and will see Netflix take over Next Games some time in the second quarter of 2022.

Under Netflix, Next Games will “be able to build a portfolio of world class games”, which will debut as part of the growing Netflix library of titles.

KitGuru Says: Netflix isn’t aiming to rival consoles or create Triple A titles at this point in time. However, it will want engaging, non-graphically demanding indie games. Now we'll just have to wait and see what Next Games delivers.

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Witcher 3 director forms new studio to create ‘dark fantasy’ RPG with Unreal Engine 5 https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/witcher-3-director-forms-new-studio-to-create-dark-fantasy-rpg-with-unreal-engine-5/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/witcher-3-director-forms-new-studio-to-create-dark-fantasy-rpg-with-unreal-engine-5/#respond Wed, 16 Feb 2022 15:23:57 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=550517 After leaving CD Projekt Red, Witcher 3 game director, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, has formed a new studio with a handful of other veteran game developers – with the main goal of delivering a new AAA dark fantasy RPG. The new studio, Rebel Wolves, is now active and is working on its first game, a dark fantasy …

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After leaving CD Projekt Red, Witcher 3 game director, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, has formed a new studio with a handful of other veteran game developers – with the main goal of delivering a new AAA dark fantasy RPG.

The new studio, Rebel Wolves, is now active and is working on its first game, a dark fantasy RPG built with Unreal Engine 5. A small number of former CD Projekt Red developers have moved over to Rebel Wolves, which plans to stay small and lean as a company, expanding to around 80 employees over the next few years. The studio hopes to be a place where veteran game developers can “re-ignite their passion”.

As pointed out by IGN, those joining Rebel Wolves from CD Projekt Red includes director Tomaszkiewicz, design director Daniel Sadowski (Witcher 1), Narrative director Jakub Szamalek (Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077), animation director Tamara Zawada (Witcher 3) and art director Bartlomiej Gawel (Witcher 1-3).

This first game will aim to “evolve the cRPG genre”, which could be a hint that this game will be PC exclusive for a time.

KitGuru Says: We're still a long way off from seeing this game in action, but its another promising indie studio to keep an eye on in the future. 

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Nintendo has no plans to acquire new studios in wake of new Sony and Microsoft deals https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/nintendo-has-no-plans-to-acquire-new-studios-in-wake-of-new-sony-and-microsoft-deals/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/nintendo-has-no-plans-to-acquire-new-studios-in-wake-of-new-sony-and-microsoft-deals/#respond Sun, 06 Feb 2022 10:00:25 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=549170 In recent years, we've seen both Sony and Microsoft buying up a number of studios to aid in their first-party game development efforts for their console platforms. Many have been wondering if Nintendo will also join in to avoid falling behind, but as it turns out, the company isn't worried about the current arms race …

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In recent years, we've seen both Sony and Microsoft buying up a number of studios to aid in their first-party game development efforts for their console platforms. Many have been wondering if Nintendo will also join in to avoid falling behind, but as it turns out, the company isn't worried about the current arms race and has no plans to join in. 

Following on from Nintendo's latest earnings report, President Shuntaro Furukawa, explained during a Q&A session that Nintendo doesn't see acquisitions as being beneficial. Instead, Nintendo will stick to its organic growth approach to avoid losing “Nintendo DNA” amongst its first-party development group.

“Our brand was built upon products crafted with dedication by our employees, and having a large number of people who don’t posses Nintendo DNA in our group would not be a plus to the company”, Furukawa said. However, according to Bloomberg, Nintendo does have 100 billion Yen (roughly 867m USD) lined up to beef up its development studios and continue to expand organically.

While Nintendo is one of the big three console makers, the company has always operated in its own lane, leaning on its own roster of strong IP and rarely worrying about competition from Sony and Microsoft. Looking ahead, Nintendo has a huge year lined up too, with the sequel to Breath of the Wild, Bayonetta 3, Pokémon Legends Arceus as well as rumoured Fire Emblem and Xenoblade titles.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Nintendo's catalogue of IP is so strong that I see little need for them to go on a shopping spree to add more and it seems Nintendo execs currently feel the same way. If Nintendo were to acquire another studio, who would you like them to target? 

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Dr Disrespect sets up his own video game studio ‘Midnight Society’ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/dr-disrespect-sets-up-his-own-video-game-studio-midnight-society/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/dr-disrespect-sets-up-his-own-video-game-studio-midnight-society/#respond Thu, 16 Dec 2021 16:56:37 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=543941 Guy Beahm, better known as Dr Disrespect, has a long history with the gaming industry, having previous experience as a map designer before launching his streaming career. Now, Beahm is taking on a more active role in the industry, setting up a new games studio called Midnight Society.  Beahm will be joined by Robert Bowling …

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Guy Beahm, better known as Dr Disrespect, has a long history with the gaming industry, having previous experience as a map designer before launching his streaming career. Now, Beahm is taking on a more active role in the industry, setting up a new games studio called Midnight Society. 

Beahm will be joined by Robert Bowling as Studio Head and Quinn DelHoyo as Creative Director. Together, the trio will be growing Midnight Society into a full studio and will work on Triple A projects. Bowling and DelHoyo both have prior experience in the industry as well, with the former having worked at Infinity Ward and the latter coming over from 343 Industries.

Midnight Society is co-founded by Sumit Gupta, who previously founded the esports platform ‘BoomTV'. As you would expect from this group, Midnight Society will be making a PvP multiplayer game, utilising Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5.

The studio's main goal is to embrace the ‘Day Zero Community', indicating players will be brought in early to see in-progress content and provide feedback throughout development of the game. You can also expect to see other big-name streamers playing the game once it is ready for launch.

KitGuru Says: Dr Disrespect has often critiqued and offered feedback on games he actively plays on stream. Now, we'll have the opportunity to see what his ideal competitive shooter would look and play like. There's no word on when we can expect to see Midnight Society's first game in action, but hopefully we'll have more updates in 2022.

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IO Interactive reportedly working on new fantasy IP with Xbox https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/io-interactive-reportedly-working-on-new-fantasy-ip-with-xbox/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/io-interactive-reportedly-working-on-new-fantasy-ip-with-xbox/#respond Fri, 30 Apr 2021 06:43:18 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=513783 IO Interactive has been independent for a few years now and is rapidly expanding to take on additional projects. We know that a James Bond game is in the works, but IO also has a new studio set up in Barcelona working on a secret project. According to sources this week, the Barcelona studio is …

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IO Interactive has been independent for a few years now and is rapidly expanding to take on additional projects. We know that a James Bond game is in the works, but IO also has a new studio set up in Barcelona working on a secret project. According to sources this week, the Barcelona studio is working on a new fantasy IP, in partnership with Xbox. 

According to Windows Central, Xbox Game Studios Publishing has a number of third-party partnerships set up and one of them is with IO Interactive:

This new game will be based on a new IP and will take on a fantasy setting, complete with dragons. At this point, development is still early, with the team working on prototypes and setting the foundations for what could be a long development cycle.

Since this is a project so early in development, we don't expect an official announcement or reveal anytime soon.

KitGuru Says: IO Interactive is mostly known for Hitman, so it is going to be very interesting to see what the studio can deliver when it branches out into new genres. Would you like to see IO Interactive's take on a fantasy game? 

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The studio behind Life is Strange and Vampyr is expanding https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/the-studio-behind-life-is-strange-and-vampyr-is-expanding/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/the-studio-behind-life-is-strange-and-vampyr-is-expanding/#respond Fri, 29 May 2020 10:58:53 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=469679 DONTNOD Entertainment has made quite the name for itself over the course of this console generation. To date, the studio has released successful titles including Life is Strange, Vampyr and Remember Me. Now, some of that money is being used to expand the studio.  Today, DONTNOD CEO, Oskar Guilbert, announced that the developer will be …

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DONTNOD Entertainment has made quite the name for itself over the course of this console generation. To date, the studio has released successful titles including Life is Strange, Vampyr and Remember Me. Now, some of that money is being used to expand the studio. 

Today, DONTNOD CEO, Oskar Guilbert, announced that the developer will be opening up another studio based in Montreal, Canada. The new studio will work alongside the main team in France, aiding in the creation of more ambitious games.

Here is the full quote from Guilbert: “We are delighted to share our plans of expansion with the opening of this new office in Montréal, completing the talented team working out of Paris. Our goal is to create video games as close as possible to our community’s expectations. With this new international team, we will be able to envision even more ambitious titles and keep writing wonderful stories for our players.”

At the moment, DONTNOD Entertainment has around 250 employees, making it one of the bigger independent studios around today. Soon, the studio will begin hiring in Montreal, a diverse developer hub filled with talent from the likes of Ubisoft, EA, Microsoft and more.

KitGuru Says: I really enjoyed Life is Strange, the second game in particular seemed a lot bigger and more ambitious. Hopefully with another studio joining the ranks, we'll see more great things coming from DONTNOD as we head into the next generation of consoles.

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Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition features Quadro RTX and Intel 10th Gen https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/laptops/matthew-wilson/razer-blade-15-studio-edition-features-quadro-rtx-and-intel-10th-gen/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/laptops/matthew-wilson/razer-blade-15-studio-edition-features-quadro-rtx-and-intel-10th-gen/#respond Thu, 28 May 2020 16:12:29 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=469588 Razer is bringing some upgrades to the Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition, bumping up hardware specs to include Intel's latest 10th Generation processors and the Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000.  The Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition is designed as a mobile workstation, with enough power to properly serve the professional creator market. That starts with the …

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Razer is bringing some upgrades to the Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition, bumping up hardware specs to include Intel's latest 10th Generation processors and the Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000. 

The Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition is designed as a mobile workstation, with enough power to properly serve the professional creator market. That starts with the new 8-core Intel 10th Gen Core i7-10875H, which has a normal speed of 2.3GHz but can boost all the way up to 5.1GHz using Intel Thermal Velocity Boost technology.

Here are the technical specifications:

  • Model- Razer Blade 15 Quadro Studio Edition
  • CPU- Up to Intel Core i7-10875H CPU
  • GPU- Up to Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000
  • Display- 4K/60Hz OLED with HDR400 and Touch
  • Storage- 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD
  • RAM- 32GB Dual Channel 2933MHz
  • OS- Windows 10 Pro
  • Battery- 80Wh
  • I/O- USB 3.2 Gen 2 x3, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, Thunderbolt 3
  • WiFi- Intel Wireless AX201 and Bluetooth 5.1
  • Dimensions- 0.70″ x 9.25″ x 13.98″ / 17.8mm x 235mm x 355mm
  • Weight- 4.85 lbs / 2.2 kg

Razer has 15-inch laptops offering graphics options all the way down to a GTX 1660Ti, but for those wanting a workstation grade GPU, the Studio Edition packs a Quadro RTX 5000 with 16GB of GDDR6 memory. That VRAM pool would be somewhat wasted in games, but for intensive animation, modelling, editing apps etc, it will come in handy.

The Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition will start at $4299.99 in the US and Canada. It will begin shipping in Europe and other territories later this year.

KitGuru Says: It would certainly be interesting to see one of these put through its paces. What do you all think of the latest addition to the Blade 15 lineup? 

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Google Stadia is looking to open game studios in Tokyo and London https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/mustafa-mahmoud/google-stadia-is-looking-to-open-game-studios-in-tokyo-and-london/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/mustafa-mahmoud/google-stadia-is-looking-to-open-game-studios-in-tokyo-and-london/#respond Sat, 02 Nov 2019 11:46:35 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=434009 It appears that Google Stadia is here for the long run. After recently announcing it would be opening its first games studio in Montreal, Stadia Games and Entertainment now look to be planning to open 2 more studios, one in London, and the other in Tokyo.  Google Stadia is Google’s attempt to enter the video …

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It appears that Google Stadia is here for the long run. After recently announcing it would be opening its first games studio in Montreal, Stadia Games and Entertainment now look to be planning to open 2 more studios, one in London, and the other in Tokyo. 

Google Stadia is Google’s attempt to enter the video game market, while approaching it from an angle that is uniquely Google. A streaming only video game service is certainly ambitious, and it seems Google is willing to put the time, effort and money to see it succeed. 

While Google Stadia will be partnering with some of the biggest game publishers in the world to put their games on Stadia, what can be seen with the current generation of consoles is this: Exclusives sell consoles. Google now appears to be adhering to that rule. Google announced last week that its first games studio would be opening in Montreal. Following that however, it seems like Stadia Games and Entertainment is already looking to open two other studios.

(Source: wccftech)

Google has posted job listings for “Executive Game Producer” in both London and Tokyo. Google has offices in Tokyo and London, and so creating studios in those cities makes perfect sense. It would also allow Google to offer 3 uniquely different types of games, with the studios using their different surroundings and life experiences as a basis for their creativity.

Google is already showing a much greater level of support to Stadia than many of its previous services, indicating that they may be in this for the long run. It’ll certainly be a long time before Stadia is able to match Sony’s lineup of studios (of which they currently have 15), but if Google continues on its current trajectory, then Stadia might end up being a big player in the video game market after all.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Google's commitment? Do you believe that Google is serious about the video game market, or will Stadia suffer the same fate as Google Plus? Let us know down below.

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Crytek to shutter five of its seven studios https://www.kitguru.net/professional/development/jon-martindale/crytek-to-shutter-five-of-its-seven-studios/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/development/jon-martindale/crytek-to-shutter-five-of-its-seven-studios/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2016 09:22:41 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=315281 Following news that months have gone by without many of Crytek's employees being paid at all, the long-time video game company has now announced that it is closing five of its seven studios. While Frankfurt and Kiev-based studios will remain, those in Hungary, Bulgaria, South Korea, China and Turkey will be closing for good. Crytek …

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Following news that months have gone by without many of Crytek's employees being paid at all, the long-time video game company has now announced that it is closing five of its seven studios. While Frankfurt and Kiev-based studios will remain, those in Hungary, Bulgaria, South Korea, China and Turkey will be closing for good.

Crytek has been around since the late '90s, where it spent several years developing prototypes which ultimately turned into the original Far Cry. Crysis followed a few years later, showing the true potential of the CryEngine it ran on. The ‘can it run Crysis?' meme helped cement Crytek's position as one of the premier game developers in the world when it came to aesthetics.

However in recent years Crytek has struggled. Although its engines continue to be some of the best looking in the world, it's own games haven't been as well received. More recently however our sources told us that mismanagement, a lack of focus from executives, poorly timed experiments and not leveraging established IPs, has lead Crytek to a point where it just doesn't have much capital left.

warface

The sale of Warface should at least guarantee back-pay for developers out of pocket.

With employees resigning left and right and wages for work from months prior still unpaid, Crytek is now consolidating to see if the company can be saved.

“Our focus now lies entirely on the core strengths that have always defined Crytek – world-class developers, state-of-the-art technology and innovative game development, and we believe that going through this challenging process will make us a more agile, viable, and attractive studio, primed for future success,” Crytek said in a statement.

According to Eurogamer, wages for currently out of pocket employees are set to be paid in the near future. That's supposedly now possible because Crytek has sold off the rights to its Warface free to play shooter to a Russian company.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Of course this isn't going to console those who are now set to lose their jobs at the various studios around the world, nor those who already left Crytek's main studios. These are very talented individuals with experience at one of the most renowned game developers in the world though, so hopefully they can find work. 

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One of the minds behind Rick and Morty is making VR Games https://www.kitguru.net/professional/development/jon-martindale/one-of-the-minds-behind-rick-and-morty-is-making-vr-games/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/development/jon-martindale/one-of-the-minds-behind-rick-and-morty-is-making-vr-games/#respond Fri, 26 Aug 2016 10:14:18 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=304292 Rick and Morty co-creator and voice actor, Justin Roiland, has announced that he's starting his very own virtual reality game development studio, along with Epic Games alumni, Tanya Watson. It's called Squanchtendo and we know this because “Little Splzooshly,” the new studio's mascot, told us all about it in a short comic strip. Although there's …

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Rick and Morty co-creator and voice actor, Justin Roiland, has announced that he's starting his very own virtual reality game development studio, along with Epic Games alumni, Tanya Watson. It's called Squanchtendo and we know this because “Little Splzooshly,” the new studio's mascot, told us all about it in a short comic strip.

Although there's a lot of words in said comic, with Splzooshly taking us through who the two founders of the company are, what they've worked on (Watson previously helped create Gears of War 1-3, Bulletstorm and Fortnite), there's a lot of silliness in the character too – as you might expect from the kind of mind that can create the burp filled universe of Rick and Morty.

squanch

Read the full strip on the official blog

The actual details of what the company plans to work on aren't that deep. It's going to make VR games, though in what genre remains unclear. We do see Splzooshly using an HTC Vive, so it may well be some sort of roomscale experience, but it would be silly not to make sure any game work with the Rift too if they can.

For now, Squanchtendo is just letting everyone know that it's alive, it's working on things and it's looking for other people to work on those things with it. Currently there are open positions for programming, production, admin, art and design.

squanch2

You do need to live in (or be willing to move to) Los Angeles County, California, or Wake County, North Carolina though, so it's not open to just anyone.

KitGuru Says: Remember that this company isn't making the Rick and Morty VR game, that's being developed by Owlchemy Labs, so who knows what Roiland and co can come up with. What would you like to see out of the new studio?

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EA withdraws ‘Ghost’ trademark after Ubisoft dispute https://www.kitguru.net/professional/development/matthew-wilson/ea-withdraws-ghost-trademark-after-ubisoft-dispute/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/development/matthew-wilson/ea-withdraws-ghost-trademark-after-ubisoft-dispute/#comments Mon, 29 Feb 2016 16:54:52 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=285663 Update: A few weeks back, Ubisoft and EA were butting heads a little bit over a trademark for the word ‘Ghost'. EA had applied for the trademark in relation to its Need for Speed development studio, Ghost Games. However, Ubisoft argued that this could have an impact on its Ghost Recon trademark and could potentially confuse …

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Update: A few weeks back, Ubisoft and EA were butting heads a little bit over a trademark for the word ‘Ghost'. EA had applied for the trademark in relation to its Need for Speed development studio, Ghost Games. However, Ubisoft argued that this could have an impact on its Ghost Recon trademark and could potentially confuse people.

Now, a NeoGAF member has discovered that EA has gone ahead and withdrawn its trademark application for Ghost so the legal squabble should now be over. It isn't known yet what effect this will have on EA's Ghost Games development studio. It could just operate as normal with no trademark or EA could potentially change the name to something that it can have a legal hold over, either way, EA has yet to say anything about that publicly.

Original Story: Ubisoft and EA are currently having a bit of a legal squabble over a trademark to the word ‘Ghost'. EA applied to trademark the word last year for its Ghost Games studio, which works on Need for Speed. However, Ubisoft isn't too fond of this as the publisher believes it conflicts with its own trademark for Ghost Recon, which it has been using since 2001.

EA filed for the Ghost trademark in March last year and it was first opposed by Ubisoft back in August. However, legal action was finally filed on the 29th of January this year, with Ubisoft's lawyers arguing that the Ghost Recon trademark has been in use since 2001, long before EA started using the word in relation to Ghost Games and before EA's own trademark was filed.

tom_clancy_ghost_recon_wii-wide

The legal filing centers around the potential for confusion surrounding EA's use of the word Ghost and Ubisoft's own Ghost Recon trademark, since in both cases the word would be applied to games and online services.

However this pans out, it is unlikely that EA will rebrand Ghost Games under a different name. Instead, it may just end up abandoning its attempt to trademark the name. EA ran into a similar situation recently with the upcoming indie game ‘Unravel', the game's name isn't changing but EA did abandon the trademark after confliction with a children's board game.

KitGuru Says: I don't really think many people would confuse Ghost Games the EA studio with Ghost Recon the Ubisoft game series but it seems that lawyers don't agree. What do you guys think of this? 

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Konami shuts down Metal Gear Online studio ahead of PC release https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/konami-shuts-down-metal-gear-online-studio-ahead-of-pc-release/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/konami-shuts-down-metal-gear-online-studio-ahead-of-pc-release/#respond Tue, 03 Nov 2015 18:05:51 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=274016 While Konami is still denying that Kojima has left the company, it does appear to be shutting down more of his studios. According to reports circulating today, Konami has shut down the Kojima Productions LA studio, which was responsible for Metal Gear Online, despite the fact that the multiplayer component isn't due to arrive on …

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While Konami is still denying that Kojima has left the company, it does appear to be shutting down more of his studios. According to reports circulating today, Konami has shut down the Kojima Productions LA studio, which was responsible for Metal Gear Online, despite the fact that the multiplayer component isn't due to arrive on the PC until early next year.

Metal Gear Online has arrived on the Xbox One and PS4, though the PC version was pushed back in order to get the base game out earlier in September. Rumours of the closure emerged yesterday on Twitter, with several developers tweeting out about the job losses.

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During its heyday,  the LA studio employed over 50 developers, who all helped do additional work for Kojima's Japan studio. The studio was renamed to Konami LA earlier this year and now it is gone completely, which could be yet another sign that the publisher wants to exit Triple A game development at some point in the future, despite statements to the contrary.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Hopefully this doesn't mean that Metal Gear Online won't be coming to the PC after all. It does seem odd to shut down a studio that still has a project due out in a few months time. 

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CD Projekt Red denies rumours regarding EA takeover https://www.kitguru.net/professional/development/matthew-wilson/cd-projekt-red-denies-rumours-regarding-ea-takeover/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/development/matthew-wilson/cd-projekt-red-denies-rumours-regarding-ea-takeover/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2015 11:40:46 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=267857 With the launch of The Witcher: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt Red has comfortably made a name for itself in the mainstream gaming market, which would make the studio quite attractive to larger publishers. GOG has also become more popular over the past year, which has spurred rumours that CD Projekt Red may be in buyout …

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With the launch of The Witcher: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt Red has comfortably made a name for itself in the mainstream gaming market, which would make the studio quite attractive to larger publishers. GOG has also become more popular over the past year, which has spurred rumours that CD Projekt Red may be in buyout talks with EA.

Apparently, an employee of CD Projekt Red got in touch with site DSOGaming to say: “I’m employee of CDProjekt Red and I have some bad news to share with you. Our management is probably talking with Electronic Arts about potential take over. Electronic Arts representatives are currently visiting our studio and meeting with top management. We are not going to release any game soon, so for sure it’s not about any publishing deal, so the only possible reason for EA guys being here is that they want to buy us.”

4070_the_witcher_3

The employee did provide a payslip as proof of his employment. However, it seems that the rumour was completely fabricated and has been dispelled by the studio's co-founder, Marcin Iwinski: “We usually don't comment on rumours but this one has become quite viral and we think it deserves to be put to bed. We are not talking with anyone regarding selling CD Projekt Red or GOG.com. Period. And the payslip is a fake – it was not issued by our company.”

Right now, CD Projekt Red is focussing on wrapping things up for The Witcher: Wild Hunt, with the first expansion launching on the 13th of October. There will be a second expansion next year and then the company will start thinking about the future of the franchise. Aside from that, the studio also has a game called Cyberpunk 2077 in the works, though there won't be any news on that until 2017.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Given CD Projekt Red's recent success, it wouldn't be too surprising to hear about talks with major publishers. However, it seems that the studio is content doing things on its own terms for now, which is great news as its last few games all turned out well.  

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Sony sets up studio to create Project Morpheus games in UK https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/sony-sets-up-studio-to-create-project-morpheus-games-in-uk/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/sony-sets-up-studio-to-create-project-morpheus-games-in-uk/#comments Tue, 19 May 2015 13:52:26 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=250104 Sony has gone ahead and set up a new first party studio to create virtual reality games for the upcoming Project Morpheus headset. The studio will be located in North West England and it will focus entirely on developing for virtual reality. News of the studio first broke when  Sony started advertising for new job …

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Sony has gone ahead and set up a new first party studio to create virtual reality games for the upcoming Project Morpheus headset. The studio will be located in North West England and it will focus entirely on developing for virtual reality.

News of the studio first broke when  Sony started advertising for new job positions. The developer is still in the early stages, in a statement sent to Eurogamer a Sony representative said: “We are still in the early planning phase with this studio, and are currently focused on hiring the right team. We look forward to sharing more news and formal announcements in the near future.”

sony-gdc-2015-project-morpheus-prototype

Sony revealed its virtual reality plans last year with Project Morpheus. The device is set to launch for consumers over the summer next year, it will run with the PlayStation 4, rather than the PC. It is likely that Sony will show off something at E3 next month.

Sony is going to have some competition come next year though, Valve is launching The Vive in collaboration with HTC at the end of this year. Then next year, Oculus is finally launching the Rift, the headset that most people seem to be after so far.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Sony has a lot of great first party studios and has launched some memorable games over the years. Are there any Sony franchises you would like to see come to Project Morpheus?

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Lost Planet 3 developer ceasing operations https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/lost-planet-3-developer-ceasing-operations/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/lost-planet-3-developer-ceasing-operations/#comments Tue, 05 May 2015 19:03:43 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=248176 It looks like we are about to lose another game development studio as Spark Unlimited, the team behind Lost Planet 3, is ceasing its game development operations. All employees at the studio have also unfortunately lost their jobs, which is never good news. Spark Unlimited also developed Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z and Call of Duty: …

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It looks like we are about to lose another game development studio as Spark Unlimited, the team behind Lost Planet 3, is ceasing its game development operations. All employees at the studio have also unfortunately lost their jobs, which is never good news.

Spark Unlimited also developed Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z and Call of Duty: Finest Hour. The studio's Schief Technical Officer (CTO), John Butrovich, told Polygon that Spark Unlimited would no longer be developing games. He also went on to say that some important members of the team refused to move on to other projects, which led to the shutdown of the game development studio.

f1aea1666dc8dad092ae61a48d097456

The CTO also told Game Informer that Spark Unlimited was definitely ceasing operations. The studio did have a free to play game in the works, which could have been a good source of revenue but that has now been cancelled.

From the sounds of it, the company will refocus and begin working in other areas, rather than developing its own games.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Spark Unlimited weren't a prolific developer, in-fact, most of you probably haven't heard of them. Nevertheless, it is always a shame to see a game developer shut down or see large amounts of people laid off. 

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Does poor availability lead to piracy? https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/does-poor-availability-lead-to-piracy/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/does-poor-availability-lead-to-piracy/#comments Mon, 02 Feb 2015 12:36:47 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=233457 The Motion Picture Association of America recently released a statement claiming that complaining about availability with movies was ridiculous, as clearly there are many legal avenues to go down when it comes to buying and renting movies in your own home. However research suggests that most of the top-torrented films of the day aren't available …

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The Motion Picture Association of America recently released a statement claiming that complaining about availability with movies was ridiculous, as clearly there are many legal avenues to go down when it comes to buying and renting movies in your own home. However research suggests that most of the top-torrented films of the day aren't available anywhere online, so is it the case that availability is still an issue?

That's something that TorrentFreak wanted to investigate, which is why it dug up statistics on the top 10 most pirated movies at the moment. They included the likes of Interstellar, American Sniper, Taken 3, The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies and John Wick, none of which are available anywhere to buy or rent legally at home. In-fact, the only one in the top 10 of the most torrented films of last week that could be, was Gone Girl.

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Mcconaughey seen here doing an impression of the MPAA's understanding of piracy.

This seems to counter the point that MPAA president Stan McCoy tried to make last week when he said:

We need to bust the myth that legal content is unavailable.  Creative industries are tirelessly experimenting with new business models that deliver films, books, music, TV programs, newspapers, games and other creative works to consumers.”

Indeed the digital landscape of movie availability is better than ever before, but as any UK Netflix viewer, or media-starved-native-Australian knows, getting access to it can be quite difficult. You need to use a VPN to get around region blocks for much of it, or at the very least pay for subscriptions to multiple different on-demand platforms in order to guarantee that some of the new movies and shows will be available.

The fact that The Interview made such a splash by releasing simultaneously digitally and in (select) cinemas is a great example of how rare such availability is. The fact that it managed to recover its costs without a big theatre chain backing it should show too that the market for digital releases is there. If it hadn't been limited to the US alone, it may have done far more than just recover its budget.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: As it stands, the moment a TV show is off the air or out of a cinema, often the only way to watch it is to pirate it. If that wasn't the case, if it was available to buy or rent immediately after a cinema run, or better yet, during it, you have to imagine piracy rates would be far lower than they are currently. Itunes and Spotify's impact on music piracy are testament to that. 

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Bose accuses Beats Electronics of patent infringements https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/headphones/anton-shilov/bose-accuses-beats-electronics-of-patent-infringements/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/headphones/anton-shilov/bose-accuses-beats-electronics-of-patent-infringements/#respond Fri, 25 Jul 2014 22:56:00 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=204859 Bose Corp., a maker of high-end audio equipment, on Friday filed a lawsuit against Beats Electronics, which is about to become a part of Apple. Bose accused Beats of infringing multiple patents. Separately, Bose demanded the U.S. International Trade Commission to ban sales of infringing products in the U.S. Bose said in the filing that …

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Bose Corp., a maker of high-end audio equipment, on Friday filed a lawsuit against Beats Electronics, which is about to become a part of Apple. Bose accused Beats of infringing multiple patents. Separately, Bose demanded the U.S. International Trade Commission to ban sales of infringing products in the U.S.

Bose said in the filing that Beats had willfully infringed upon five of its patents that relate to the company's “active noise reduction” technology, which was first used in Bose products for the military in the 1980s and released for consumers in 2000, reports Reuters news-agency. Bose claims that Beats uses its intellectual property in its Studio and Studio Wireless lines of headphones.

Separately, Bose filed a complaint with the U.S. ITC demanding to prevent Beats’ noise-cancellation headphones from being imported into the United States from China.

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“We are committed to protecting our investment, protecting our customers, and defending the patents we own,” a Bose representative said in a statement.

It is unclear whether Bose had contacted Beats regarding the patent infringements and whether the companies even attempted to settle out-of-court.

Recently Apple agreed to buy Beats for $3 billion. Once the deal is closed, the Bose lawsuit will be another legal battle that Apple will have to fight. At present Apple is battling Samsung Electronics in various courts.

Apple and Beats did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It is unclear whether Bose sued Beats because the latter is in process of becoming a part of Apple, or because the maker of fashion headphones was reluctant to license Bose’s intellectual property for far too long. In any case, a legal action against Apple as well as eventual settlement may bring a lot of advantages (both in terms of publicity and benefits) to Bose.

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Murdered: Soul Suspect dev shuts down https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/murdered-soul-suspect-dev-shuts-down/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/murdered-soul-suspect-dev-shuts-down/#comments Thu, 03 Jul 2014 10:02:44 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=201348 Murdered: Soul Suspect developer, Airtight Games, has shut down shortly after the release of its final game. A sign was put up outside of the Redmond HQ stating that the company was closing down and that all of its office equipment was up for sale. Airtight recently released Murdered: Soul Suspect, which was published by …

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Murdered: Soul Suspect developer, Airtight Games, has shut down shortly after the release of its final game. A sign was put up outside of the Redmond HQ stating that the company was closing down and that all of its office equipment was up for sale.

Airtight recently released Murdered: Soul Suspect, which was published by Square Enix but it also made Quantum Conundrum and Dark Void for Capcom.

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Back in April, Airtight let go 14 staff members as part of “necessary restructuring”. The company posted a goodbye message on Twitter:

Thanks to all of the fans, family, friends and colleagues who supported us and made the last 10 years possible. Thanks to all of the amazing people that worked on Dark Void, Quantum Conundrum, Murdered, Soul Fjord, Pixld and DerpBike.”

There was no mention of the company closing on its Facebook page or on its official website.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I was looking forward to Murdered Soul Suspect but I've yet to get around to playing it. It's always a shame when a game studio shuts its doors, what did you guys think of Airtight? Did you play any of its games?

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Meet Microsoft’s new first party studio: LXP https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/meet-microsofts-new-first-party-studio-lxp/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/meet-microsofts-new-first-party-studio-lxp/#respond Wed, 12 Mar 2014 09:08:42 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=181776 Microsoft has big plans for internal development and has pushed them forward with the creation of a new first party studio, known as Leap Experience Pioneers, featuring a logo that looks rather similar to a certain flying/falling Austrian of recent fame. Just under a week ago, Microsoft filed a new trademark for LXP, sending people …

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Microsoft has big plans for internal development and has pushed them forward with the creation of a new first party studio, known as Leap Experience Pioneers, featuring a logo that looks rather similar to a certain flying/falling Austrian of recent fame.

Just under a week ago, Microsoft filed a new trademark for LXP, sending people into a flurry of speculation: was this a new Microsoft game? A new smartphone handset? A new division? Ultimately it was an abbreviation of its new first party studio, which was created in true corporate style, with the use of a creative firm to generate its brand and identity.

Ultimately, this is the logo, animated and still that it came up with:

leapexperience

That same creative agency site also produced a blurb on the new studio:

“Leap Experience Pioneers (LXP) are an in-house games developer for Microsoft based in the US. Although they had been in existence for some years they thought it was the right time to define their identity. Something that all parts of their business could relate to, but more importantly, be inspired by. They considered themselves pioneers (as their name suggests) and wanted to encapsulate the spirit of fronteering Americans – combining a cowboy with an astronaut with attitude.”

powerrangers
Isn't that what these guys are supposed to be?

Surprisingly, Microsoft initially filed for a trademark for the name, “Leap Experience Pioneers,” back in August 2012, but the trademark expired early this year, with the software giant instead now owning the rights to LXP.

KitGuru Says: Micorsoft's first party studios have a pretty good track record of producing some very memorable games and series. 343 made Halo, Turn 10 made Forza and Rare made Viva Pinata. It'll be interesting to see what becomes of this studio and what it can create. 

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God of War studio hit with layoffs https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/god-of-war-studio-hit-with-layoffs/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/god-of-war-studio-hit-with-layoffs/#respond Wed, 26 Feb 2014 07:30:36 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=179204 Sony Santa Monica, a studio mostly known for the God of War series has had to cut its work force down and cancel an unannounced project this week, despite moving in to a new office and attempting to expand just last month, Sony has confirmed. “SCEA can confirm that we have completed a reduction in …

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Sony Santa Monica, a studio mostly known for the God of War series has had to cut its work force down and cancel an unannounced project this week, despite moving in to a new office and attempting to expand just last month, Sony has confirmed.

“SCEA can confirm that we have completed a reduction in workforce at Santa Monica Studio. This is a result of a cycle of resource re-alignment against priority growth areas within SCE WWS. We do not take these decisions lightly. However, sometimes it is necessary to make changes to better serve the future projects of the studio. We have offered outplacement services and severance packages to ease transition for those impacted.”

god-of-war-image

The developer's latest game, God of War: Ascension, underperformed significantly after releasing in March last year. Once DLC support for the game was finished, the game's Director, Todd Papy, left the studio- so it's safe to say that the company has had a bumpy ride over the last year or so. Right now the employees left at Sony's first party studio are helping to work on some upcoming PS4 titles such as The Order 1866.

KitGuru Says: It's always a shame when people lose their jobs, hopefully the former Sony employees find their way to new projects soon. I'm a little curious to know what the cancelled unannounced title was, do you guys have any guesses?

Source: IGN

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Microsoft closes down Victoria studio https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/microsoft-closes-down-victoria-studio/ Fri, 06 Dec 2013 09:13:33 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=166000 Despite the fact that it only announced an expansion of the Canadian based Victoria development studio last year, Microsoft has announced that it'll be shuttering it. While a large expansion was announced and planned in 2012, ultimately growth wasn't quite as high as expected, though this will still leave around 30 people out of work. …

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Despite the fact that it only announced an expansion of the Canadian based Victoria development studio last year, Microsoft has announced that it'll be shuttering it. While a large expansion was announced and planned in 2012, ultimately growth wasn't quite as high as expected, though this will still leave around 30 people out of work.

In a statement to TimesColomist, Microsoft said: “This was not an easy decision, but one guided by our desire to centralize development in our Vancouver studios,” the company said. “We are working closely with all employees affected by this change to identify open positions in other studios, and we remain committed to doing business in British Columbia.”

nextlevel
That next level is a warpzone right back to level one

Previously the closed studio was said to be working on “next-level,” interactive games and services, though no projects were officially announced and no games were ever released. Perhaps with 30 odd people out of work, one of them will come forward with a hint at what they were working on.

The reason nothing was finished though, is presumably because they didn't get much of a chance. The Victoria based studio hasn't even been around very long, only two years or so at this point, so this shutdown seems very reminiscent of EA's closure of Victory Games, the developer of Command and Conquer (Generals 2) which itself had only been in operation for three years.

KitGuru Says: Good luck to those that are out of work this close to Christmas. Nasty timing.

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