The tech giant likes to test and tweak. Stadia promised to change the industry and failed to deliver. From a report: Google’s streaming video game service Stadia had ambitious plans to disrupt the gaming industry, which is dominated by consoles. The tech giant had planned to pack Stadia with original content, announcing two years ago that it was hiring hundreds of…
Tag: Game Developers
Chromebooks Outsold Macs Worldwide in 2020, Cutting Into Windows Market Share
New numbers show 2020 was the first year that Chromebooks outsold Macs, posting impressive market share gains at the expense of Windows. From a report: Computers powered by Google’s Chrome OS have outsold Apple’s computers in individual quarters before, but 2020 was the first full year that Chrome OS took second place. Microsoft’s Windows still retained majority market share, but also…
Creator of DirectX Dies at Age 55
The Wall Street Journal looks back to the days when Windows was “a loser in the world of computer games.” But to change that, Eric Engstrom and his cohorts “secretly hired programmers to get the work done, and they had to do an end run around partners like Intel,” remembers VentureBeat. Long-time Slashdot reader whh3 shares The Wall Street Journal’s report:
Windows…
Unity Will Groom 80,000 Game Developers With Education Initiative
Unity Technologies hopes to groom 80,000 people for game jobs over three years with an education initiative aimed at helping people learn how to program and develop games. From a report: Unity is paying for this program with help from its initial public offering, in which it raised $1.3 billion at a $13.6 billion valuation in September. At the time, it…
Two Leaders of Videogame Piracy Group Arrested
On Friday America’s Department of Justice announced: Two leaders of one of the world’s most notorious videogame piracy groups, Team Xecuter, have been arrested and are in custody facing charges filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle… The indictment alleges the defendants were leaders of a criminal enterprise that developed and sold illegal devices that hacked popular videogame consoles so they…
Microsoft’s Xbox Expands, Buying ZeniMax Media and Fallout Maker Bethesda For $7.5 Billion
Microsoft’s Xbox team significantly expanded its list of game development studios on Monday, announcing the purchase of ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion in cash. From a report: The entertainment company owns several industry-leading game developers, including Bethesda Softworks, the maker of the post-apocalyptic Fallout games and the fantasy series the Elder Scrolls. It also owns id Software, known for its Doom,…
Videogames Are Setting New Records For Simultaneous Users
Forbes reports that in a world filled with school closings and social isolation, gaming has surged:
– Steam, the most popular digital PC gaming marketplace, reached new heights Sunday, drawing a record 20,313,451 concurrent users to the 16-year-old service, according to third-party database SteamDB – Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, released by Steam-owner Valve in 2012, seems to be the top beneficiary of the…
Developers Say Google Didn’t Offer Enough Money To Make Stadia Games
After years of development and hype, Google’s long-rumored push into video games arrived last November, with the launch of Google Stadia. Google Stadia isn’t a game console, nor is it a game platform, really — it’s a digital storefront run by Google where you can buy individual games. It’s a hugely ambitious new platform, and it aimed to be the Netflix…
Blizzard Now Claims Full Copyright For Player-Mode ‘Custom Game’ Mods
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: As influential as Warcraft III was in the real-time strategy genre, the game’s most enduring legacy might be as the basis for genre-defining, fan-made custom game spin-offs like Defense of the Ancients (aka Dota) and Auto Chess in its wake. Now, Blizzard is taking steps to ensure it retains complete ownership of…
Support Grows For Unionizing Video Game Industry, Survey Finds
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Hollywood Reporter: Ahead of the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) — which is dedicated to the art and science of making video games and set to take place March 16-20 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco — the results of the organization’s eighth annual State of Industry report were released Friday. Surveying nearly…