development projects Archives

AppWizard

August 24, 2025

The new game from Painkiller and Bulletstorm’s creators is a tropical survival shooter that looks a teensy bit like Far Cry, and it’s out in early access next month

Lost Rift is a survival game developed by People Can Fly, set in a tropical archipelago called Pioneer's Landing. It features cooperative gameplay and a PvP extraction mode where players can explore unstable islands for loot while competing against others. The game is set to launch in Steam early access on September 25th, offering at least 10 hours of PvE content alongside multiplayer expeditions. The studio has faced recent challenges, including layoffs and project reductions, making the success of Lost Rift important for its future.

AppWizard

June 1, 2025

‘We wish to express our deepest regret’: Bulletstorm and Outriders dev People Can Fly suspends unannounced projects in yet another wave of gaming layoffs

Sebastian Wojciechowski, CEO of People Can Fly, announced the indefinite suspension of two game development projects, codenamed Gemini and Bifrost, and a scaling down of the workforce due to unsuccessful negotiations with a publisher that left the studio without necessary resources. The suspension of the Gemini project is attributed to the publisher's failure to provide a draft for a content rider related to the Publishing Agreement and a lack of communication regarding the project's future. Despite these challenges, People Can Fly is still working on three unannounced projects, Bison, Echo, and Delta, and the development of Lost Rift is progressing, with a demo set to be released during the upcoming Steam Next Fest.

AppWizard

May 23, 2025

Embracer Group sees net sales across PC/console and mobile games fall in FY2024/25

Embracer Group's financial results for Q4 ending March 2025 show a decline in net sales to SEK 5.4 billion, down 6% year-on-year. The PC/console segment generated SEK 3 billion (down 2%), while mobile sales were SEK 943 million (down 31%). For the full fiscal year, net sales totaled SEK 22.3 billion, down 18%, with PC/console games at SEK 1.5 billion (down 27%) and mobile at SEK 5.3 billion (down 9%). The total number of game development projects decreased from 141 to 108, and headcount was reduced from 9,692 to 7,180, including 5,378 game developers. Despite these declines, the game Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 sold three million copies. Embracer reported organic growth of 30% in mobile game sales and 22% in PC/console sales. The company plans to release 76 games in FY 2025/26, including notable titles like Killing Floor 3 and Marvel 1943: Rise of the Hydra. A third AAA game has been postponed to 2026/27, and THQ Nordic's studio Campfire Cabal has resumed operations after a closure in 2023.

Winsage

March 15, 2025

I finally became a PowerToys convert years after I should have

PowerToys is a suite of free utilities developed by Microsoft for Windows 10 and Windows 11, originally created for Windows 95. It includes various tools such as: - FancyZones: Custom window layouts for desktop organization. - PowerRename: Bulk renaming of files with advanced capabilities. - Image Resizer: Quick image resizing from File Explorer. - PowerToys Run: Fast application launcher for opening apps, files, and executing commands. - Keyboard Manager: Key remapping and custom shortcut creation. - Color Picker: Identifies and copies color codes from the screen. - Mouse Utilities: Locates mouse pointer and highlights clicks. - Text Extractor: Copies text from images using OCR. - Always On Top: Keeps application windows visible above others. PowerToys Run is highlighted as a favorite feature, allowing users to launch applications and search for files efficiently, with support for plugins. The Workspaces feature helps users manage multiple tasks by defining specific applications and their screen positions. PowerToys integrates seamlessly with Windows, enhancing productivity for both power users and general users.

AppWizard

February 24, 2025

Dauntless, the monster hunting game we had before Monster Hunter came to PC, will shut down in May

Phoenix Labs has announced that its game Dauntless will shut down on May 29, 2025. The game struggled to maintain popularity after the release of Monster Hunter: World. In May 2024, Phoenix Labs faced layoffs and canceled several projects. Dauntless moved from the Epic Games Store to Steam in December 2024, but the transition was plagued by issues, leading to a decline in user ratings. By January 2025, the studio laid off a significant portion of its workforce. The studio was acquired by the crypto company Forte in 2023, which some speculate may have contributed to its decline. The future of another title, Fae Farm, remains uncertain.

AppWizard

February 12, 2025

Revenue up 49% at Remedy for 2024

Remedy, the Finnish games company, reported a 49.3% increase in revenue for the 2024 financial year, totaling €50.7 million, up from €33.9 million in 2023. The operating profit was negative at €4.3 million, an improvement from the previous year's deficit of €28.6 million. Alan Wake 2 sold over two million units. The company generated €12.3 million from operations, recovering from a €16 million loss the previous year. In Q4 2024, revenue rose 13.1% to €11.7 million. Development fees increased due to ongoing projects for Max Payne 1&2 Remake and Control 2, while royalties declined. By the end of 2024, Alan Wake 2 had recouped its costs and started generating royalties. The fourth quarter operating profit was €-1.4 million, improving by €11.4 million from the previous year's €7.2 million impairment loss related to Vanguard.

AppWizard

December 7, 2024

Caves Of Qud, one of the most exciting development projects in PC gaming, hit 1.0 this week

Caves Of Qud officially launched its version 1.0 after 17 years of development, introducing multiple endings, a revamped user interface, enhanced tutorials, and additional features. The release was made possible through a partnership with publisher Kitfox, which also created an official beginner's tutorial with YouTuber SBPlaysGames. The developers plan to take a break after nearly two decades of work but have two major feature arcs planned for the future. There is speculation about whether Freehold Games will pursue new projects. Caves Of Qud has been available on Steam Early Access for nearly nine years, and a comprehensive review is expected before the year ends.

Tech Optimizer

July 25, 2024

Crunchy Data Goes All-In With Postgres

Crunchy Data has been building a Postgres hosting business for transactional workloads for over a decade and is now aiming to take Postgres into the realm of analytics.

AppWizard

June 28, 2024

Report: Perfect World is laying over 1k staff off

Chinese games firm Perfect World has cut over 1,000 jobs, affecting nearly every department except for esports. The future of projects in development is uncertain, with conflicting reports on whether they are progressing or on hold.