Image: Push Square
A summer of utter carnage reportedly awaits the games industry, as mega publishers like Sony, Microsoft, and others look to cut entire studios loose.
This is according to reputable French journalist Sylvain Trinel, who took to social media overnight in response to the ongoing chaos over at Xbox.
Trinel comments that Xbox’s (frankly unforgivable) situation — in which several active development outfits are facing imminent closure — is “just the beginning of a massive bloodbath for studios owned by publishers”.
He then highlights French companies like Don’t Nod and Quantic Dream, before making a broader claim that mass layoffs are “expected in many well-known studios”.
As recent reports have outlined, both Don’t Nod and Quantic Dream are facing serious financial troubles. The former is seeking funding for its current project before its own reserves are bled dry, and the latter has been consumed by production woes across the board.
“It’s going to be a catastrophe,” Trinel continues.
He goes on to drop more names: “I’d take a look at what’s going on at id Software, Bethesda, and BioWare. The echoes I’ve been able to pick up tonight are far from encouraging. This really is just the beginning.”
Indeed, if Trinel’s sources are accurate, then we could be looking at an industry-wide culling — at least here in the west.
So what about Sony? Well, the PlayStation maker obviously owns some of the most successful studios on the planet — but apparently, that won’t be enough to save it.
Replying to a query about Bungie and its somewhat strugging multiplayer shooter Marathon, Trinel writes: “Keep an eye on the month of July (but not necessarily for the studios you’re talking about).”
Naturally, this post has already sparked speculation amongst PlayStation fans; developers like Media Molecule (Dreams) and Bend Studio (Days Gone) have been mentioned due to a distinct lack of presence across the PS5 generation.
Obviously, we’ll have to wait and see whether Trinel is on the money with all this, but at this point in time, it’s certainly not difficult to imagine the state of the games industry getting much worse before it gets better.
[source x.com]
Robert (or Rob if you’re lazy) is an assistant editor of Push Square, and has been a fan of PlayStation since the 90s, when Tekken 2 introduced him to the incredible world of video games. He still takes his fighting games seriously, but RPGs are his true passion. The Witcher, Persona, Dragon Quest, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Trails, Tales — he’s played ’em all. A little too much, some might say.