Latest news with #GodofWar
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
"A giant black hole sucking everything in, and spitting out bones": Devs react with anger and concern as yet more Microsoft layoffs see huge cuts and cancellations at game studios
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. As part of broader layoffs at Microsoft affecting several thousand people, multiple studios and teams under the Xbox umbrella have seen significant cuts, cancellations, and closures of their own – the fourth big wave of such redundancies in roughly 18 months. Devs across the industry responded to the news – which seems to have reached affected employees in confusing and disconcerting patches, assuming they were informed at all before seeing it reported elsewhere – by expressing concern for the direction of Xbox and the games industry, support for affected employees, and frustration at yet another case of workers cashing leadership's checks. Many current and/or former Xbox studio employees shared word of the layoffs on social media. One employee says Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, who's been covering the layoffs in social media updates as staggered confirmations roll in, "is getting these updates almost faster than I, an impacted employee at Zenimax Online Studios, am. Which is creating a borderline slapstick layer to this experience." Schreier reported that the rollout has been such a mess that some Zenimax employees were abruptly locked out of their Slack accounts without explanation or notice, left wondering if they still have a job or if there's just been collateral damage to company logins. "This literally just happened to my coworker as we were in the middle of a conversation," one Zenimax employee says. "Just a giant black hole sucking everything in, and spitting out bones," says Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director Michael Douse, sharing a post reporting some 9,000 layoffs across Microsoft. In a statement to GamesRadar+, Microsoft confirmed that the total layoff impact is "less than 4%" of the company, which was last estimated at around 228,000 people, so the math roughly checks out. "While I'm excited for more games, it's important to remember that behind all the PR and hype is the simple truth that they bought portfolios, not people," Douse continues. "When you're bought, they're not buying *you*. Consolidation is bad for jobs. Bad for the industry. Bad for consumer rights. Growth shouldn't come at the expense of people, it should be for the people." Veteran animator Robert Morrison, known for the likes of The Last of Us and God of War, writes: "The long time problem in the video game industry is too many people in leadership positions have been allowed to fail upwards. People that have made poor decisions with bad ideas, contributing to project cancellations, low sales, and studio closures. Good at talking and good at making friends, but not good at making great games. They keep their jobs, they keep getting promoted, and everyone else has to pay the cost." Indie dev and consultant vet Rami Ismail examined a message sent to staff by Xbox boss Phil Spencer. "One mistake people make with these letters is assume they're written for humans, but they're not," Ismail said. "There's no contrast. They're written for shareholders, & for them, this text is just a non-stop parade of good news. Record numbers? All verticals up? Layoffs?! What a feast, for them, what a feast." Bonnie Patterson, "lead narrative designer on unannounced console shooter," responded to another report noting 9,000 affected staff. "9000 people who have poured every inch of their hearts and souls into titles just so they can make people happy, watching everything they made just get dumped like it was worthless," she says. "It wasn't worthless. We aren't worthless. The world is just fucked." "Today is just another travesty in the game industry," says Respawn veteran and former Halo dev Patrick Wren. "Every day it's hard to see what the future of this industry is." After 7 years of development, Elder Scrolls Online developer's new MMO is reportedly canceled amid wider Xbox layoffs. Solve the daily Crossword
Geek Tyrant
28-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
GOD OF WAR Series Will Embrace the Game's Emotional Tone, Even If the Showrunner Has a Lack of Gaming Skills — GeekTyrant
Amazon's God of War TV adaptation is currently is development with Ronald D. Moore at the helm, and while he's not exactly slaying trolls on a PlayStation, he's fully committed to honoring the emotional and mythic core of the franchise. Moore, known for Battlestar Galactica , For All Mankind , and Star Trek: The Next Generation , recently opened up at San Diego Comic-Con about his approach to adapting the beloved PlayStation series, and how a lack of gaming skills won't stop him from telling an authentic story. Moore told IGN: "It was just when I started watching it, I started looking at the cutscenes together, and there's so much material there, and I really responded to the characters. 'I responded to the story of Kratos and his son, and then they set out on this epic journey in this world that was finely detailed and really interesting, and there's a lot of combat and interesting monsters along the way. 'But I kept coming back to this story of father and son, and it was just emotional and it was different, and I hadn't seen anything like that before." Moore emphasized that the series will stick close to the source material, aiming to replicate the emotional weight and epic scale that made the Norse-era God of War games a standout. "There's this epic journey, this heartfelt story of these two men setting out on this thing to honor the memory of his wife, Atreus' mother. So it has this emotional heart, but there's this sense of history of who Kratos is, this mystery about his past, what he represents, the emotions that he's going through. 'So there's a weight to it, but not so much weight that there's not enjoyment along the way and there's spectacle and there's lots of things going on in this world." Moore then admitted he approached the project with fresh eyes and no gamer bias. "I'm not a gamer," he confessed, adding: "I knew the title, but I didn't really know what the story was, so I didn't really know what I was going to be looking at, and I was just taken with it. And so I said, yeah, I'd love to do it. I think it's really interesting." That doesn't mean he hasn't tried to get hands-on with the source material. 'I've tried to play it. I continue to try to play it, but I grew up in the arcade era, so I can bang away, just give me a Defender console or an Asteroids console, I'll kick your ass. But it's just a different thing. 'My family can do it. My wife can play video games. My wife plays Skyrim, but I lack the muscle memory of my thumbs. And so Kratos is fighting the troll, and I'm constantly like, okay, which one's the B button? No, I'm dead. It is that kind of thing. But I try.' The live-action God of War series was first announced in 2022, the result of a collaboration between Amazon Studios, Sony Pictures Television, and PlayStation Productions. The show will follow Kratos and Atreus through the events of the Norse saga, diving deep into their relationship and the mythological chaos they encounter. Two seasons have already been ordered, with production expected to begin in 2026. Casting has yet to be revealed. For now, it's clear that the emotional backbone of the series is in capable hands, even if those hands can't quite remember where the B button is.
Time of India
28-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Makers of Amazon's God of War TV series share an update about upcoming adaptation
The showrunner for Amazon 's live-action TV series based on the popular God of War gaming franchise has shared new details about the upcoming adaptation. The show's makers have confirmed that it will remain largely faithful to the 2018 game. Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con, Ronald D. Moore, the series showrunner and former executive producer of Battlestar Galactica, stated that while the show will not be a frame-by-frame remake, it will honour the spirit of Sony Santa Monica's source material. With this series, the makers plan to bring the story of legendary Kratos to TV screens. What Amazon's God of War TV series said about the show In a statement to Collider, Moore said: "This world and this universe are really rich, and it's interesting, and it's really been fun to adapt. It's an adaptation, so it's an adaptation-slash-interpretation as you go into live-action, and it's been really fun to sort of go, 'Wow, there's a lot here we can play with. Okay, we want to keep the story. We want to keep the characters and the spirit of it'. There's all this stuff that you can keep turning to for inspiration. It's really been interesting.' Moore also mentioned that game director Cory Barlog is closely involved with the project. He also referred to Barlog, who led the development of 2022's God of War sequel Ragnarök, as a "genius." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Do You Speak English? You May Be Able To Work a USA Job From Home in Bangladesh US Jobs | Search ads Undo 'I've had several meetings with Cory, and you ask Cory, 'Well, tell me about the backstory of this or how this works', and he just can talk because he holds it all in his head. And I usually pride myself about, as a showrunner, I can hold the season in my head. I know what the 10 episodes are, and I can tell you about them. Cory can tell you the whole thing in every possible way - all the mythology, how it connects one to the other, what the puzzles were, why they did this, and what that artifact did. It's really impressive. I mean, it is like a gigantic novel, even bigger than the Outlander novels, which is a lot to digest,' Moore added. In a separate interview with IGN, Moore suggested that elements from Kratos' earlier adventures before Santa Monica's God of War reboot could be included. 'You'll have to wait and see,' Moore said. Currently, the 10 episodes of Moore's God of War adaptation are still in the "scripts" phase, with filming potentially starting in 2026, he noted. Boat Aavante Prime 5.1 5000DA soundbar review: DOLBY ATMOS POWER! AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sony Santa Monica might not be ditching God of War for its next game according to industry insider
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Sony Santa Monica's next game is reportedly the studio's "next big thing" Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier responded to speculation, claiming that the studio's new game isn't a new IP, "but might feel like one" Schreier also claimed that the sci-fi game rumors are not true The next game from God of War developer Sony Santa Monica reportedly won't be a new IP, "but might feel like one". That's according to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier (via Eurogamer), who responded to speculation on ResetEra after initially writing about the studio's next project. "Cory Barlog's game is Sony Santa Monica's next big thing," Schreier said. "Last time I spoke to anyone about it (a month or two ago) it was going well." After sharing this tidbit, fans went on to theorize that the game could be a new IP, which Schreier has now denied. "I'll put it this way: it's not a new IP but it might feel like one," Schreier explained. "Maybe that's why people are confused. Please don't ask me more questions about this - if I wind up reporting more information at any point in the future it'll be in an article, not on a forum." There's also been speculation over the years that Cory Barlog, the director of God of War, will be making a sci-fi game next at Sony Santa Monica, but Schreier claims that this isn't correct "And that the sci-fi stuff (that people have apparently believed for years now?) is nonsense," he said. Rumors of Sony Santa Monica developing a new IP sprang up last year, but there's no official word from the studio on what it's currently working on. A third God of War game is also a possibility, but the studio hasn't confirmed if it plans on continuing the series after launching God of War Ragnarok in 2022. You might also like... The Nintendo Switch 2 is the company's least ambitious console to date, but its improvements are astronomical I've spent 40 hours exploring Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and it's an incredible sequel that builds upon its unique predecessor to become a masterpiece I've spent 150 hours with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and the Switch 2 Edition is an incredible upgrade
Indian Express
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Ghost Of Yotei's Gameplay Trailer: This sequel might have outdone its predecessor in one swift blow. Watch
It's tough to cement yourself as a proper franchise in the gaming world because, in all honesty, there are already too many of those. Another formidable task to take on is making an open-world game, and that too is difficult for the same reasons. Competing with legendary franchises like GTA, God of War, and Far Cry might be something game developers would duck from, but the people over at Sucker Punch Productions are definitely not running away from a fight. They have just released the gameplay trailer for their upcoming title Ghost Of Yotei, and it looks like the game might break the records held by the beloved and moving Ghost Of Tsushima. The developers provide an insight into the whole story behind the game while describing all the different features that have been made available for the users. The protagonist of the story is a woman named Atsu, who is returning to her hometown after 16 years in order to take revenge for her family's death. The developers have pulled from Japanese myths and legends, and Atsu is believed to be an onryō. According to Japanese folklore, an onryō is a spirit that is driven by wrath and thirst for revenge. As Atsu moves forward in her journey, her ghost legend will only grow, as will the bounty on her head, inviting more challenging foes as the game proceeds. ALSO READ: 007 First Light announcement trailer: James Bond is a bullet looking for a target in the new game, watch In order to level up her prowess as a fighter, the players will need to find certain clues to hidden areas of the game. They can also stumble upon secret locations titled 'Altars of Reflection', which will inspire Atsu and will give the players the ability to choose a new skill. The developers claim to have made a world that can suit everyone's playing style like a perfect glove. The players will be able to choose whether they want to explore the world, focus on the main story, or complete other side quests. This does beg the question if players will be able to level up Atsu before getting very far in the main storyline or maybe before even starting it. The weapon arsenal available is wide and varied, including katanas, spears, kusarigama, odachi, and dual swords. Their weapons have a personality of their own, as different weapons will be effective in particular situations, and all weapons will have their own skill tree to climb. In her pursuit of the Yotei Six, the group of mercenaries that killed her family, Atsu can act as a bounty hunter, investigator or just a straight-up punisher. The developers say that the entire experience will be slow, and they will not be rushing the players through anything; in fact, they encourage the players to go exploring and take the game forward one discovery at a time. The game will be coming out on PlayStation 5 on October 2, 2025.
