It’s about feeling comfortable with not owning your game – Philippe Tremblay, Director of Subscriptions, Ubisoft

Hey there!

🎉 But we have so much more:

Dave the Diver developer, Mintrocket, has announced a new game – Wakerunners.

Prison Architect’s sequel will launch in March and it will be 3D. And Martha is Dead is set for a film adaptation. 

And Street Fighter 6 has already sold over 3 millions units. 

Now let’s play:

Welcome to The Power-Up #59

Game-Up

🧟‍♀️ Rebel Wolves, a studio founded by former CD Projekt members including Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, has officially announced its first project, a dark fantasy RPG titled Dawnwalker. The game is expected to be a single-player open-world RPG. 

⚔️ An Elden Ring DLC, potentially the Shadow Of The Erdtree, seems imminent after a recent SteamDB page update, with expectations of more detailed information and a possible release date to be announced soon.

🥷 The updated PS5 store page for Rise of the Ronin reveals details about its three main factions: Sabaku, Tobaku and Obei. The game, set in the Bakumatsu era and featuring historical and fictional characters, is scheduled for release on March 22 exclusively for PS5.

🛸 Mintrocket (Dave the Diver) has announced Wakerunners, a top-down team battle game set in a dystopian sci-fi future, featuring 4v4 and 5v5 skirmishes with seven unique characters. A demo will be available during Steam Next Fest starting February 5. 

👮‍♂️ Prison Architect 2 will be released on March 26 on PC, PS5 and Xbox S/X. The game evolves from its 2D predecessor with enhanced 3D visuals and deeper prisoner interaction systems and it will cost $39.99.

Round-Up

👾 The long-rumored Halo battle royale project, codenamed Project Tatanka and developed by Certain Affinity, has reportedly been canceled after years of development. 

🤴 Ubisoft rebrands its Ubisoft+ subscription service, aligning with the Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown release, and advocates for a shift towards game subscriptions over ownership, amidst concerns about long-term access and game continuity.

🤖 Ned Luke, the voice actor for Michael in GTA 5, criticized AI company WAME for using a chatbot mimicking his voice, leading to WAME removing the chatbot and related promotions.

👊 Street Fighter 6 reached over 3 million units sold, continuing the global popularity of the Street Fighter series which has cumulatively sold over 52 million units since its debut in 1987.

📺 Martha is Dead is set for a film adaptation by LKA in collaboration with Studios Extraordinares, following the story of twin sisters in Tuscany during 1944.

🥽 Apple Vision Pro headset, launching February 2 for $3,500, will offer 150 3D movies and immersive series, supporting streaming services like Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, with high-resolution displays and unique features like "Travel Mode."

Biz-Up

🛑 UK retailer GAME confirms it will cease video game trade-ins, aligning with its integration into Frasers Group and the logistical challenges of merging systems in an era of declining physical game sales. 

⚖️ The Supreme Court rejected appeals from Epic Games and Apple, upholding a decision that Apple must permit third-party payment options in its App Store.

📈 In 2023, video game sales in Europe increased by 1.7%, with a total of 182 million PC and console games sold, led by EA Sports FC 24 and Hogwarts Legacy. Console sales in the region surged by nearly 42%, primarily driven by a 177% increase in PlayStation 5 sales.

🎿 Whiteout Survival reached $400M in revenues in just 11 months, under a year.

📉 Tencent's investments in external companies dropped by 87% over two years, from 299 deals in 2021 to just 39 in 2023, with a focus on healthcare, corporate services, AI startups, and video games.

🥽 Mixed Reality headset developers Magic Leap announced a $590 million (!!!) investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. With the launch of Meta Quest 3 late last year and the February launch of Apple’s Vision Pro, this space is getting hotter.

💰 Istanbul based Pine Games raises $2.5 in pre-seed VC investment to create casual games with a branded side.

🤑 3thix raised $8.5 million to monetize web3 games. The space still moves forward, albeit at a slow speed.

📢 And talking about monetization, Gamelight ad platform provides 12% of all Match3 games ad spending. All due to AI improvements.

Industry Level-Up

😔 Netspeak Games Ltd CEO Callum Cooper-Brighting announced the redundancy of approximately 25 roles at the company despite the successful soft launch of their game, Sunshine Day. 

😔 PTW, formerly known as Pole to Win, has laid off 45 employees across various departments and global teams, contributing to nearly 3,000 industry layoffs in early 2024.

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

Bobby & Andrei