Trion Worlds undergoing “workforce reduction”, possibly 30 people let go
Woe continues to befall Trion Worlds today, as Massively has reported on a “workforce reduction” occurring at the Redwood City-based developer/publisher. The prospective figure points at around 30 people being let go, and is another unfortunate event in Trion’s recent history. Two weeks ago, we mentioned the indefinite delay of Trion’s End of Nations beta, and while it’s impossible to consider whether this is a continuation of that chain of events, it’s hard not to wonder.
Now that the official developer for End of Nations is Trion, after taking over development from original dev Petroglyph, it seems like they might have a lot on their hands to handle. Between upcoming TV/game hybrid Defiance, continuing to support Rift, and taking on a new beast in finishing the EoN development, I’ve got to wonder how much work they’ve chewed off here. Developing two concurrent MMOs has to be a nightmare for most independent developers, but hopefully the people leaving Trion will be able to find new jobs quickly.
[Source: Massively]
THQ continues their descent into madness, starts giving away Metro 2033 on PC/Steam
In a move somewhere between “baffling” and “straight-up crazy-go-nuts”, THQ has decided to just give away copies of 2010’s Metro 2033 for the PC, right as the Humble THQ Bundle begins to finish up. All it takes is a single Facebook “like” of their Metro page, at which point you can download a copy with or without Steam.
All of this ballyhoo is more than likely a continued response to their flailing credit ratings as they try to stay in the running, but I have to admit that it’s kind of cool seeing a big-named publisher like THQ taking some steps into territory usually reserved for indies and, well, pirates. Maybe this is the first step in seeing a lower price point for games, and maybe it’s a cheap attempt at drumming up support and awareness for next year’s Last Light. Regardless, giving more people the opportunity to experience one of the more interesting shooters of the past couple years isn’t something you can really turn up your nose at. Having it on my 12 Games of Christmas list has let me appreciate it in a new light, and at the price of “free”, can you really turn it down?
[Source: Facebook]
Kinect Party launching December 18th, free(!) until 2013
The big follow-up to Double Fine’s Double Fine Happy Action Theater is dropping just a week from today on the 18th, and the most interesting part? According to a report from Polygon, it’s going to be free for the rest of 2012. After January 1st, it’ll bump up to $10 and include every activity in HAT; people who already own Double Fine’s first goofy Kinect game will get a $5 discount.
This isn’t the first time a game has been released for free on Xbox Live, and the fact that this is – to some extent – a demonstration of the crazy if limited abilities of the hardware itself makes Kinect Party seem like a wonderful choice for a free launch. We’ll have to see how many people snag up the dubstep simulator; I know for certain that if I had a working 360 and a Kinect, this would be on my download queue yesterday.
[Source: Polygon]
Angry Birds movie is getting made for 2016, this is a legitimate headline
Because it’s not enough to be on phones, t-shirts, blankets, Chrimbus trees, umbrellas, ceramic mugs, backpacks, bandages, wall decals, National Geographic, and water bottles, “entertainment” juggernaut Rovio is bringing the saturated Angry Birds franchise to where else but the silver screen? Eurogamer reports that there will be a CG-animated movie due out in Summer 2016. Rovio retains full creative control over the birds that don’t actually talk or do anything but cause massive property damage to porcine thieves.
I really can’t think of anything else to say about this. The idea of Angry Birds going from inception to movie status in a span of three years is laudable, I suppose, but…ugh. Ugh.
[Source: Eurogamer]
[divider]
Dyl-Questing – Guild Wars 2 is Doing a Thing for Christmas and It Seems Neat?
Guild Wars 2 is firmly entrenched as one of “those games” of 2012 for me. Immediately latching onto it after release did little to get me to stick with it, and I’m saddened to say I haven’t gotten a chance to finish out the leveling experience. Maybe this upcoming event will be the one that gets me back into the swing of things on Tyria.
[Source: Guild Wars 2]
No Comments