Fortnite Flies High on Consoles

Missouri coming to American Truck Simulator, a TLOU2 documentary is on the way, and a new CTO at Activision

Author

Bobby Voicu
January 15, 2024

2024 should see the use of generative AI tools growing in the gaming industry to help simplify some asset creation processes, notably for UA purposes – Alexandre de Rochefort, CEO, Gameloft

Hey there!

📣 If you only read one piece of news today 📣

🚌 Fortnite's popularity on consoles has skyrocketed. 

Players have spent over 1.6 billion hours on the game in November 2023, surpassing combined playtime in major titles like GTA V and Call of Duty.

🎉 But we have so much more:

A Complete Edition of Wo Long is coming soon, including all 3 expansions.

Double Loop Games is closing and Lost Boys Interactive is experiencing significant layoffs.

And Netflix Games might have been saved by GTA.

Don’t miss The Power-Up Chronicles section at the end of this newsletter. It has stories about

  • Generative AI in Gaming

  • Unreal Engine 5 on Steam Deck

  • 2024 predictions in gaming industry

Now let’s go:

Welcome to The Power-Up #58

Game-Up

🚛 American Truck Simulator is expanding its journey with the announcement of a new Missouri expansion, following Nebraska and Arkansas, bringing the total number of explorable states in the game to 16. Specific release dates for these states are yet to be announced.

⚔️ Titan Forge Games and Hi-Rez Studios have announced Smite 2, a sequel to the original Smite, built from scratch in Unreal Engine 5, with plans for release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

🥷 Koei Tecmo has announced a Complete Edition for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, which includes the base game and its three expansions. This edition, priced at approximately 50, will be released on February 7. 

🥽 Vertigo 2, a highly anticipated sci-fi VR adventure game by solo developer Zach Tsiakalis-Brown, is set to release for PSVR2 on January 15th after multiple delays.

🚀 Some of the games launching this week:

  • January 17: Atlas Wept (PC)

  • January 18: Bulletstorm VR (PS VR 2, PC, Meta Quest), DreadOut (Switch), Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (PS4/5, Xbox One/S/X, PC, Switch)

  • January 19: Another Code: Recollection (Switch), Arclands (PC), The Cub (PS4/5, PC, Switch), The Last of Us Part 2: Remastered (PS5)

Round-Up

📺 Naughty Dog will release, on January 19, Grounded 2: Making The Last of Us Part 2, a free official documentary on YouTube, detailing the development journey of The Last of Us Part 2. 

🚌 Fortnite's popularity on consoles has skyrocketed, with players spending over 1.6 billion hours on the game, in November 2023, surpassing combined playtime in major titles like GTA V and Call of Duty.

🗡️ Laurence Fishburne joins the cast of The Witcher Season 4 as Regis, a 400-year-old higher vampire. The season will probably premiere in 2025. 

Biz-Up

📈 In Japan, Sony's PS5 sales escalated to 2.6 million units in 2023, marking a 124% increase YOY and achieving the highest single-year hardware sales for PlayStation since the PS2 in 2004. Despite this hardware success, the PS5 lagged in software sales, with the top ten best-selling games in Japan all being for the Nintendo Switch.

🚨 Netflix Games wasn’t doing amazing, and then they launched GTA: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition on the platform and things started to get better. Year over year, 2023 saw 180% more game installs on the Netflix service. What is next, then?

🖼️ GameStop is shutting down its NFT marketplace next month due to regulatory uncertainties, marking a further reduction in its crypto-related services.

Industry Level-Up

🚪 Double Loop Games is closing after four years due to challenges in funding and marketing, especially within the mobile gaming sector. The studio has raised over $10.5 million to date across two investment rounds in 2020 and 2021. Most of the team will join Scopely's GSN Games subsidiary for a new project.

😔 Lost Boys Interactive, a Gearbox-owned studio with over 400 employees, experienced significant layoffs, with former staff describing the event as "massive." The extent of the layoffs, which impacted various disciplines and levels, remains unclear, as Gearbox and parent company Embracer have yet to comment.

🤝 Natalya Tatarchuk has been appointed as the new CTO of Activision Publishing, where she will guide the technology strategy for titles like Call of Duty. This is the first major leadership change at Activision since former CEO Bobby Kotick's departure.

💬 The messaging tool of choice for gamers everywhere, Discord, just announced they laid off 17% (170 jobs) of the workforce. They do this “to sharpen our focus and improve the way we work together to bring more agility to our organisation”. Frankly, I hated the Slack-ification of Discord, so I hope they reverse that and focus on the main service.

The Power-Up Chronicles

As generative AI becomes more prominent in the gaming industry, studios must consider its capabilities and integration into existing workflows, while also navigating potential legal challenges related to publicity rights, intellectual property, and privacy.

The evolving legal landscape, with pending lawsuits and changing terms of service, requires careful consideration of the rights granted to and by generative AI tools, the ownership and licensing of AI-generated content, and the management of privacy and security concerns.

➡️ Read the article on Game Developer.

Despite initial concerns, Unreal Engine 5 has proven to be surprisingly compatible with Valve's Steam Deck, with tests on early UE5 titles like RoboCop: Rogue City and Immortals of Aveum showing playable performance above 30fps on medium settings. Although the Steam Deck's hardware requires some compromises, such as reduced resolution and graphics settings, the overall performance is adequate for a satisfying gaming experience.

➡️ Read the article on Eurogamer.

The gaming industry in 2024 is set to navigate a landscape of contrasting trends and significant changes. Industry professionals anticipate a rise in AI utilization in game development and an increased focus on efficient and cost-effective production methods. This shift includes a growing interest in indie projects and a careful balance between high-budget endeavors and smaller, less risky investments.

➡️ Read the article on GameIndustry.biz

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Stay powered-up until next time.

Bobby & Andrei

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Did you know?

American Truck Simulator was first announced in 2013 and was launched on February 2, 2016.

The game is the parallel sequel to Euro Truck Simulator 2, the spiritual successor of 18 Wheels of Steel, and the fifth installment in the Truck Simulator series.

Since its release, the game has sold over 2 million copies on Steam.