development team Archives

AppWizard

August 21, 2025

2K cuts over 80 jobs at Cloud Chamber

2K Games has announced a workforce reduction at Cloud Chamber, impacting over 80 employees, or about one-third of the studio's staff, as part of a strategy to refine the development of the next BioShock installment. Rod Fergusson has been appointed to lead the studio and oversee the project. 2K president David Ismailer stated the importance of respecting the BioShock legacy while meeting fan expectations and noted the decision to downsize was made to rework certain core aspects of the game. Affected employees will receive communication regarding severance packages and support resources.

AppWizard

August 20, 2025

Lords of the Fallen’s creative leads were let go just months before the Lords of the Fallen 2 reveal: ‘Like Mournstead, no kingdom lasts forever’

Lords of the Fallen II is being developed by CI Games, following a 2023 reboot of the original 2014 title. Key departures from the development team include executive producer Saul Gascon and art director Alexandre Chaudret. Nathan Richardsson has been appointed as the senior development director, while James Lowe serves as the game director. Tyminski, another prominent figure, has implemented a "zero woke" policy regarding character creation options, emphasizing traditional male and female body types. The development of the 2023 version faced significant upheaval, with changes in studios and leadership, but it received a positive reception. The game is set to be released in 2026.

AppWizard

August 19, 2025

Dawn of War 4 is returning to Kronus with 4 playable factions, 4 campaigns, more than 70 missions and lots of base building

Dawn of War IV is set to launch in 2026, taking place on the planet Kronus, two centuries after The Dark Crusade, featuring the Blood Ravens. Players will encounter factions such as the Adeptus Mechanicus, orks, and necrons, each with unique campaigns. The development team is inspired by titles like Iron Harvest to recapture the essence of the original Dawn of War games. A recent trailer has generated excitement, and insights from playtests and developer discussions will be shared soon.

AppWizard

August 16, 2025

Original Hytale studio founder “in active discussions with Riot Games about acquiring” the Minecraft-inspired survival game after offering “10x what the true market value is”

Simon Collins-Laflamme, the founder of Hypixel, is in discussions with Riot Games to acquire the canceled survival game Hytale. He submitted a final counter offer to regain control of the title, which was canceled in June. Collins-Laflamme's offer reportedly includes a proposal to pay Riot "10x what the true market value is." He has begun hiring former team members to facilitate the game's revival. Hytale was inspired by Minecraft and had been in development for nearly a decade before its cancellation due to mismanagement. If Collins-Laflamme acquires the intellectual property, the timeline for reviving Hytale could take several years. Eric Barone, creator of Stardew Valley, has shown casual interest in the project.

AppWizard

August 14, 2025

Avakin Life hits Steam after 200 million users on mobile

Avakin Life, a social simulation game launched in 2013 by Lockwood Publishing, has over 1.5 million monthly active users and more than 200 million registered players. It has recently debuted on Steam Early Access, allowing players to experience features such as avatar customization, apartment building, real-time events, and multiplayer social hubs. The Steam version supports cross-platform progression, enabling mobile users to link their accounts. The game is available in 14 languages and is free to download. The development team aims to gather community feedback during the Early Access phase to enhance the user experience and maintain feature parity across platforms. A full launch is expected later in the summer of 2025.

AppWizard

August 14, 2025

Blizzard story and franchise staff form new union

Blizzard's Story and Franchise Development team has voted to establish a new union in collaboration with the Communications Workers of America, recognized by Microsoft, resulting in approximately 3,000 Xbox employees becoming part of a unionized workforce. The union aims to preserve company culture, ensure transparency in decision-making, and apply policies equitably. This effort follows successful contract negotiations by staff at Raven Software and ZeniMax with Microsoft, indicating a trend towards collective bargaining in the gaming industry.

AppWizard

August 6, 2025

Magical girl RPG Mirage: Miracle Quest announced for PC

French independent studio Toe Bean Club has announced its new project, Mirage: Miracle Quest, a magical girl RPG featuring innovative deckbuilding mechanics. The game will be available on PC via Steam, but the release date is not yet disclosed. Players will assume the role of Mirage, a young exorcist whose life is disrupted by a mysterious creature. The game combines traditional RPG elements with magical girl aesthetics and allows players to customize their gameplay through deckbuilding, fostering strategic approaches and character relationships. Screenshots showcasing the game's vibrant artistry and environments have been released.

AppWizard

August 2, 2025

Hyper Dragon Ball Z, the best free DBZ MUGEN game for PC, got its final update

The team behind Hyper Dragon Ball Z has released version 6.0 of the game, introducing new characters, stages, and finishing moves. This version is noted for its high production quality, comparable to commercial releases. It will be the last version built on the MUGEN engine, as the team plans to transition to IKEMEN for future development, which will address limitations and bugs of MUGEN. The game is available for download on various platforms, and a trailer showcasing the new features has been released.

Winsage

July 31, 2025

9 new features that arrived on the Windows 11 Insider Program during the second half of July 2025

During July 2025, Microsoft released seven preview builds for Windows 11, including updates from version branches 24H2 and 25H2, and builds 27913, 27909, and 27902 in the Canary Channel, with build 27902's ISO file available for download. Key enhancements included: 1. Click to Do improvements allowing image descriptions on AMD and Intel devices, previously exclusive to Qualcomm Snapdragon. 2. Windows Narrator now generates detailed descriptions of images, charts, and graphs for Intel and AMD processors. 3. A new "Recent activity" feature in the Privacy & security section lets users monitor third-party app access to AI functionalities. 4. AI agent functionality is being gradually introduced in the Settings app, starting with the August 2025 Security Update. 5. The Second Chance Out-of-Box Experience page has consolidated recommendations into a single interface. 6. Windows Search is testing a grid view for image search results. 7. The Notification Center now supports a fly-out from secondary monitors, displaying a full clock. 8. Task Manager has reintroduced a view showing processor usage metrics across various pages, with an option to revert to legacy metrics.

AppWizard

July 28, 2025

Super Mario Bros. Remastered Fan Game Hits PC Soon, Includes Lost Levels

Super Mario Bros. Remastered, a fan-made remake of the 1985 NES classic, will launch on September 13, 2025. Created by YouTube creator JoeMama, it features high-resolution graphics, widescreen support, improved physics, enhanced sound effects, and chiptune music. The game includes extensive customization options, allowing players to alter visuals and audio, as well as a built-in Level Editor for designing custom levels. It also incorporates classic titles like The Lost Levels and Super Mario Bros. Special, all benefiting from visual and audio upgrades. The development team is not using original assets to navigate legal issues, requiring players to supply their own NES ROM.