What's the best way to buy a game, physical or digital? According to Maximum Entertainment CEO Christina Seelye, the two can help each other equally.Talking to Game Developer at Gamescom, she explained that selling physical versions of a game can help get more eyes on a title, particularly online. Amazon and in-person stores like GameStop go a long way, and that attention can spread to digital stores like Steam and PlayStation Network.Seelye noted Maximum itself has shown this "time and time again…there is no cannibalization." Citing the choice to release a physical collection of the Five Nights at Freddy's games, she claimed doing so helped digital sales for those individual games go "up and up and up."

Read more

Another publishing label from an indie developer has entered the fray, this time from Owlcat Games. The Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader studio formed a label with a focus on narrative-driven titles.These games don't have to be RPGs, but must still "emphasize strong storytelling, rich characters, and immersive worldbuilding." For more "gameplay-first" titles with multiplayer focus, Owlcat indicated those would fall under its separate META publishing label.After self-publishing Trader and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, the studio wanted to help teams in similar situations. Its ultimate aim is to "deliver new, exciting experiences akin to what we as a studio aim to create ourselves."

Read more

Former developers at Scopely and Unity have together to found the new studio, Outer Haven Games.Stationed in California, the five-person team is already in development on its debut project, an RPG by the name of Techno Infierno. It's also currently hiring for an art director and development engineer.Heading up the respective product and business end of Outer Haven are Austin Ashcraft and Stephen Fong. Ashcraft helped launch and grow Star Trek: Fleet Command at Scopely, while Fong headed up Unity's business and strategy department.Meanwhile, Dead Space and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare writer Chuck Beaver, Scopely narrative designer Kevin Cullen, and Voodoo Detective musician Eric Ackerman make up the studio's core creative talent.Outer Haven marks the third new studio to sp…

Mixrift, a new studio specializing in games for the Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro, has raised $1.6 million in a seven week long pre-seed funding round. With its new money, the developer is looking to create "in-demand" games for mixed reality devices.Three firms were singled out as leading the charge on the investment: Outsized Ventures, SOSV, and Underline Ventures. The two Ventures co-lead the funding.According to Mixrift co-founder/CEO Bobby Voicu, the funding will help it further "rapidly prototype games" that get published and solicit player feedback and improvement.The press release notes that mixed reality has still yet to gain proper mainstream traction. Mixrift wants to make games with easy to understand mechanics that could effectively court a more casual au…

Weeks after revealing a set of changes to Apex Legends' battle pass, Respawn is making adjustments in light of criticism from players.In the original set of changes, seasons would be split in two, and players would pay $10 or $20 (depending on the pass) for the premium track. With the new update, which was announced on X, the split model won't change, but players can earn AC to buy premium passes once again on September 17.Before that point, they can get the premium pass by completing "simple in-game challenges" that'll roll out with the first half of Season 22 on August 6."We recognize we could've handled the changes better," said Respawn. "That's on us."As show below, battle passes are now split into four tiers: free, Premium (which …

SAG-AFTRA video game performers will hold their first strike picket on Thursday, August 1, outside WB Games Inc in Burbank, California.The union called a strike last week in a bid to force major studios to include AI protections in the Interactive Media Agreement that covers performers in the game industry.SAG-AFTRA has spent around 18 months negotiating with studios to secure better working conditions, wage increases, and AI protections–but claimed employers failed to provide the latter.

SAG-AFTRA striking to avoid "flagrant exploitation"

"Eighteen months of negotiations have shown us that our employers are …

Dungeons & Dragons owner Hasbro has tapped former World of Warcraft general manager and SVP, John Hight, to lead Wizards of the Coast as company president.Hight spent 12 years at Blizzard, overseeing all development and commercial activities on key titles like World of Warcraft Hearthstone, and Warcraft Rumble. He also steered development on the console version of Diablo III and multiple expansions for World of Warcraft.Hasbro described Hight as an "industry titan" and explained he will oversee the company's network of gaming studios and digital licensing agreement. He will also lead strategy on key franchises including Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons, the latter of which is back in vogue thanks to the meteoric success of Baldur's Gate 3.Chris Cocks,…