Latest news with #Zenimax
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
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fresh from telling laid-off employees to console themselves with AI, Microsoft doubles down by advertising Xbox jobs with pathetic AI image: 'So tone deaf I hope it is satire'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The rollicking clown car that is Microsoft corporate leadership has outdone itself once again. Earlier this month Phil Spencer said Microsoft's gaming business has "never looked stronger" as he announced mass layoffs, which was swiftly followed up by an Xbox exec suggesting that affected employees use AI to console themselves. And now? A round of slow claps for Xbox's principle development lead Mike Matsel, another victim of terminal LinkedIn brain, who took to the social networking site this past weekend to announce some good news: we're hiring! Except… The post comes with an image that is clearly AI-generated (first spotted by Eurogamer). It shows a cartoon image of a woman smiling and wearing headphones in front of a PC: but look closer and you'll notice that this PC is very special, because the display is on the back of the monitor. Then you notice her eyes aren't on the front of the monitor either (I guess there's not much to see), and she's just staring gormlessly over the top and into the distance. The more you look the worse it gets: the shading on her top is all sorts of wrong; the keyboard just seems to have randomly shaped blocks rather than resembling a keyboard; there's a weird little divot between the thumb and index finger on the left hand. In other words, this is a classic AI-generated image, aka slop. The thing is, this is being posted by a senior figure at Xbox and is explicitly about hiring graphics designers. You'd think that might earn a bespoke visual for any hiring push. Tempting as it may be to dunk on Matsel, the guy also may be trying to keep his own job: Microsoft has said "AI is no longer optional" for its staff, and employees are being evaluated on how they use these tools. The first reply to the post is, appropriately enough, a poop emoji. "This is so tone deaf that I hope that it is satire," replies Kevin Catarino. "Does everyone left at Xbox have brain damage," wonders Rick Desilets. "Are you seriously posting a job ad for Xbox Graphics using this AI garbage? It looks like shit, man, what is happening over there?" "AI is a billion dollar industry, a lot of money and resources have been poured into this, and this is the result of it," says Joseph M. "My god, I don't believe in AI and I never will. It's not worth the hype or money. You could have just hired someone for cheap looking for help with their portfolio to do a much better job than this." Microsoft's latest cuts were a real bloodbath, with studios like The Initiative closed and several high-profile Xbox exclusives cancelled, including Rare's Everwild, an unannounced Zenimax MMO, and the excellent-looking Perfect Dark reboot. Since the start of 2023, Microsoft has fired over 20,000 people. It's also announced that it plans to spend $80 billion on AI this year. Well: I hope you all like hot garbage. Because right now, that's sure looking like the future of Xbox. Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Mirror
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Doom: The Dark Ages release date and how to start slaying up to two days before the official launch
Doom: The Dark Ages is coming to Xbox, PC and PS5 day one, with Game Pass subscribers getting it included as part of their membership. Doom: The Dark Ages is coming to Xbox, PC and PS5 day one, with Game Pass subscribers getting it included as part of their membership. It's been almost a decade since the Doom series reboot in 2016, and since then we've only had one follow-up with Doom Eternal in 2020. But after five years, we're getting a brand new series entry with Doom: The Dark Ages which is coming to PlayStation, Xbox and PC in May. While the first two titles in the rebooted series were multi-platform, after Microsoft bought Bethesda-parent company, Zenimax, in 2021, it was thought that the franchise would be skipping the PS5 going forward, but thankfully that's not the case. Xbox boss, Phil Spencer, offered IGN his reasoning for the decision in an interview last year, saying, 'Doom is definitely one of those franchises that has a history of so many platforms. It's a franchise that I think everyone deserves to play. 'When I was in a meeting with [id Software Studio Director Marty Stratton] a couple years ago, I asked Marty what he wanted to do, and he said he wanted to sell it on all platforms. Simple as that.' Obviously Xbox Series X |S owners get the added benefit of having the title be a day on Xbox Game Pass title, but we won't begrudge its absence from PS Plus given we're luck to see it on PS5 at all. Here's exactly when Doom: The Dark Ages releases and how you can play up to two days ahead of anyone else with early access. Doom: The Dark Ages release date Doom: The Dark Ages is set to release on Thursday, May 15 at 12am UTC according to the PlayStation Store listings in the UK, US, and AU. This reddit thread has also spotted the same time over on the Xbox store page, but it looks like it'll be a simultaneous global launch rather than midnight local time. This may be a placeholder as we often see games go live at midnight local time (or 12am EDT in the US dictating the time for all territories in the region), but we'll be keeping an eye on social media for official confirmation closer to the time. In the meantime, based on the game launching worldwide at 12am UTC, here's what that is for your region: Wednesday, May 14 5pm PDT 6pm CDT 7pm MDT 8pm EDT Thursday, May 15 12am UTC 1am BST 2am CEST 10am AEST If you're keen to play early, then you'll have to fork out for the Premium Edition, Collector's Bundle, or Premium Upgrade – all of which will give you up to two days early access for Doom: The Dark Ages, on the following dates: Monday, May 12 5pm PDT 6pm CDT 7pm MDT 8pm EDT Tuesday, May 13 12am UTC 1am BST 2am CEST 10am AEST As for the editions themselves, as well as early access, here's a brief summary of the price and what it gets you: Doom: The Dark Ages standard edition DOOM: The Dark Ages Void DOOM Slayer Skin Price: £69.99 / $69.99 / AU$119.95 Doom: The Dark Ages Premium Edition DOOM: The Dark Ages Up to 2-Day Early Access Campaign Add On Digital Artbook & Soundtrack Divinity Skin Pack Void DOOM Slayer Skin Price: £99.99 / $99.99 / AU$169.95 Doom: The Dark Ages Premium Upgrade (Xbox and PC only) Up to 2-Day Early Access Campaign DLC Digital Artbook and Soundtrack Divinity Skin Pack Base game required (sold separately) Price: £34.99 / $34.99 / AU$59.95 Bear in mind that if you're an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate member, you can grab the Doom: The Dark Ages Premium Upgrade for just £3.50 / $3.50 / AU$6; although give it's a day one release, that rules out the possibility of you playing early but the looks of things. But you'll still get all the other extras.
