Bad times coming?

We have to evolve if we are to survive!– Warden Cole (The Callisto Protocol)

The hype around Starfield is real. There's also a lot of business moves that are shaking up smaller studios. Oh, and Dolby Atmos coming to PlayStation 5. So hit the play button.

Round-up of the day

🔊 All PS5 games featuring the console's Tempest 3D Audio will automatically receive support for Dolby Atmos, according to Sony's senior sound design supervisor, Loic Couthier. Games requiring bespoke support for Dolby Atmos will need patching. (link)

🌌 Starfield's 125GB download will be available for preloading on Xbox and PC from August 9th, with Game Pass subscribers having early access from September 1st via a $35 upgrade bundle. I actually got the GamePass just for this game, I can hardly wait for it! (link)

🚨 Crazy stuff: Influencer Kai Cenat's no permit PS5 giveaway in New York City's Union Square leads to chaos. About 2000 "PlayStation enthusiasts" caused disorder, tearing down barricades and throwing debris at police. It required around 1000 officers in riot gear to restore order and it resulted in six detentions, including Cenat. (link)

Biz Reel

Inworld AI has raised $50 million in a funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, increasing the company's total valuation to over $500 million. The fresh capital will be channeled towards R&D, hiring, infrastructure investment, and launching an open-source version of the company's Character Engine. (link)

Final Fantasy 16 didn't really meet Square Enix's expectations in terms of sales. Even if it sold 3 million copies in the first week. Following its Q2 2023 earnings report, the company's share price dropped by nearly 15%. This is due to a 65% profit decrease, despite a 14% increase in revenue (link)

Striking Distance Studios, creators of The Callisto Protocol, has laid off 32 employees as part of a strategic effort to realign the studio's priorities. The decision came following the game's underperformance, falling short of its sales expectations. (link)

This is always sad news: Embracer Group has started shuttering smaller studios amid a large-scale internal restructuring. Most notably, Campfire Cabal, which was only established in September last year and led by Jonas Wæver, creator of the Expeditions series, was among those closed, never getting the opportunity to release a game. (link)

Did you know?

Starfield is Bethesda Game Studios' first new intellectual property in over 25 years.

It has roots in the studio's early ventures into space-themed games dating back to 1994 and has been described by director Todd Howard as "Skyrim in space." The game, which has been in active development since the release of Fallout 4 in 2015 was announced in 2018, when it was already in a playable state. Starfield will launch on PC and Xbox on September 6.