The head of Amazon Game Studios, Christoph Hartmann, is parting ways with the company amidst layoffs that have cut around 16,000 jobs across Amazon. The move comes as Amazon winds down its gaming ambitions, shifting focus to its cloud gaming service Luna.

Hartmann's departure was reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, on the same day as Amazon announced a massive round of layoffs that will impact around 16,000 people company-wide. The move follows a previous round of layoffs last October that cut 14,000 jobs, hitting Amazon Game Studios particularly hard as the company scaled back its AAA development projects.

Christoph Hartmann has a long history in the games industry, from working on the original Grand Theft Auto to co-founding 2K Games in the early 2000s, and he was brought on board by Amazon Games in 2018. More recently, Hartmann may be more notorious for saying that AI wouldn't take jobs in games as they "don't really have acting."

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Microsoft has posted its earnings results for the latest quarter and while it's been a strong period for the company as a whole, the Xbox gaming division is struggling. Though Microsoft posted an overall revenue increase of 17% year-on-year, gaming revenue is down 9%--with console sales making up a large part of that decline.

Microsoft's Q2 FY26 results generally look great for the tech behemoth, with the company boasting a staggering $81.3 billion revenue largely driven by its cloud and business divisions, but Xbox isn't looking so healthy right now.

Microsoft's gaming division revenue declined 9% as a whole, with a 5% decrease in revenue from content and services, which includes Game Pass. Microsoft explains that this decline can be mostly attributed to strong first party content the year prior, and predicts that Q3 will see a similar decline in the single digits for the same reason.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

A survival adventure game in the Antarctic. A small child lands on the frozen earth and sets out alone to reach the South Pole. For an important appointment.

John finds himself trapped in a mysterious world, as it can happen to all of us from time to time. He can see a glow in the distance, though. It's not clear where it comes from, but it looks like that's the beginning of his adventure. And yours. Start your emotional odyssey, a journey during which you'll have to create your own path and face the consequences of the choices you make. Everything will depend on them, your choices. Help John on his journey of personal growth. Unravel the nuances of human reactions to fear. Surprising exploration, fast paced combat, complex choices and allegorical characters, all intertwined with a psychological narrative in this hand-drawn 2D action-platformer.

The game is a mystery adventure centering on the idea of a historical figure having surreptitiously bequeathed a fictitious estate, following the drama that plays out among the characters faced with an enigma extending all the way into their modern world. The tale unfolds in an ancient castle in 1981, 36 years after Hitler's death. 18-year-old protagonist Noah is determined not to turn out like his father, but, beyond that, he has no idea of the kind of person he wants to be. Noah takes part in a mysterious auction held at the old castle, and, as someone living in the 1980s, comes to terms with the absurdity of the trauma the war left behind, learning of the truths hidden deep within those affected, ultimately closing in on the big secret his father has been concealing.

Reach a summit never climbed before in this survival-climber from the creators of Furi and Haven. As pro climber Aava, you embark on the ascent of Mount Kami, a summit that has never been reached. Along the journey, meet unexpected companions and hear from those left on the ground. Discover the mountain's history and decide what Aava is willing to sacrifice to achieve her dream. Explore the mountain, read the rock face from the ground and plan your route carefully to reach the top. Solve problems while on the wall to navigate difficult sections. You can climb on anything, so choose your path wisely!

One of the big reveals from the recent Xbox Developer Direct was the first gameplay showcase for the Fable reboot, and now a top Microsoft boss has further hyped it up. Craig Duncan, the head of Xbox Game Studios, said in an interview that the Fable reboot is coming together well, specifically singling out the game's so-called "Living Population" feature as being "mind-blowing.

He said this to GamesRadar amid a response to a question about if he felt it was a "risk" for developer Playground to make an RPG after working exclusively on the Forza Horizon series since 2012. He said Playground working on Fable is "really about this relentless pursuit of excellence."

Duncan said Playground made the Forza Horizon series "bigger and bigger" with each new installment, "But what does that mean for Fable?"

Continue Reading at GameSpot

As one analyst predicts that the Nintendo Switch 2 will see a price increase this year, another analyst suggests that the Mario maker's Switch successor may not maintain the same sales figures as its predecessor.

IGN reported an in-depth story about the Switch 2's holiday season, speaking to several analysts around the world to understand whether it really had a bad holiday. The short answer? Not really, as declining sales are expected for a console with a somewhat established base. The long answer? Kind of, particularly because the Switch 2 didn't have a big blockbuster exclusive to bolster sales going into the holiday season. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is good--as evidenced by GameSpot's 8/10 review--but it's not a Mario or a Zelda, so the name cache wasn't there to elicit fervent purchasing during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ampere Analysis' games industry analyst and researcher, Piers Harding-Rolls, told IGN that it's for this reason--alongside the predictable success of the Switch due to environmental conditions--that the Switch 2 wouldn't sell as well as the Switch did.

"When the original Switch launched, it followed a failing Wii U generation--there was a lot of interest, but hype and momentum built up in the run-up to the holiday sales at the end of 2017," Harding-Rolls said. "This time around at the Switch 2 launch, demand was predictably high because of the success of the Switch. Following a record launch, it's not surprising that Switch 2 sales have not been able to maintain the same massive sales lead [as] the original Switch. For the record, Switch 2 shipments in 2025 should outperform the original Switch in 2017 and over a shorter period of time. Then there is the whole macroeconomic situation, less disposable income, and higher-priced hardware. This may be softening demand to an extent, especially as lots of new games are still available on the original Switch."

Continue Reading at GameSpot