Ubisoft staff back Activision Blizzard protests, decry 'ingrained culture of abusive behavior' "By choosing profit over our security, you are literally toying with our lives. We should not have to choose between work and our safety."

---

  Resident Evil Village and digital sales help Capcom deliver record Q1 net sales First quarter net sales reached record levels at Capcom thanks to new releases like Resident Evil Village and bumper digital sales.

---

1 Solidarity and tension on display during employee walkout at Blizzard HQ Gamasutra stopped by the employee walkout at Blizzard’s Headquarters in Irvine, CA. We saw equal amounts of solidarity and exhaustion among participating employees.

---

1 Despite continuing supply woes, Sony has sold over 10 million PlayStation 5 consoles The PlayStation 5 has hit a huge milestone: The console has officially surpassed 10 million sold, and it managed to do so in less time than it took even the PlayStation 4.

---

  Nintendo's mobile game Dr. Mario World is shutting down after only two years Dr. Mario World, one of Nintendo's recent forays into the world of mobile games, is going offline this November. Once the game's online features go dark, it will no longer be playable whatsoever.

---

5 ActiBlizz CEO apologizes for lawsuit response, but protesting devs say his statement falls short While the actions shared by Kotick promise positive change, the developers responsible for organizing the Activision Blizzard Walkout say those changes still fall short of what employees need from leadership.

---

  Blog: GDC 2021 Wrapup - The Best Slides of the Event For every GDC, Chris Zukowski recaps the conference not by the best talks but by the best slides so that you can get back to making your games and not watching talks. Here's the latest roundup.

---

  Gaining observability over multiplayer games A studio can gain a level of comfort by logging in to a server dashboard and getting metrics on the state of your multiplayer game launch. But it isn’t always as easy as that.

---

  Q&A: Defining the detail-driven gameplay of Dyson Sphere Program Dyson Sphere Program tasks players with building an impossibly massive power source capable of saving all of humanity. Here's how a team of five took on a project of planetary scale.

---

  Sony, Infinity Ward alumni launch new studio That's No Moon with Smilegate backing A number of Southern California game developers have launched a new triple-A studio called That's No Moon with a $100 million investment from Korean publisher Smilegate.

---

  Get a job: DNABLOCK needs a Senior Unreal Developer (C++) DNABLOCK is currently seeking an energetic, experienced and creative team member to work as a Senior Unreal Developer.

---

2 World of Warcraft devs promise renewed focus on inclusivity A surprise statement from the World of Warcraft team promises both to work for inclusivity in the workplace and promises changes inside the MMORPG starting today.

---

  Microsoft blames declining Xbox game and service revenue on third-party games Microsoft's Q4 results are light on game numbers, but the company says that its video game-related revenue rose, while Xbox content and services revenue dropped from 2020.

---

  What the 'data explosion' means for game production in the next decade (spons.) Brad Hart, CTO of version control software at Perforce, explains what he sees are game production's biggest challenges in recent years, and what challenges lie ahead.

---

1 Activision Blizzard employees to walk out in support of lawsuit Updated: A number of Activision Blizzard employees will stop work on Wednesday and protest in front of Blizzard's campus after a lawsuit.

---

2 You'll need vaccination proof or a negative COVID-19 test to enter PAX West The organizers of PAX West have announced that exhibitors and attendees will be required to present proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID test to enter the convention next month.

---

  Facebook freezes Oculus Quest 2 sales over potential skin irritant Facebook has put a temporary freeze on sales of its Oculus Quest 2 headset following reports of adverse skin reactions to the foam used to cushion the VR headset's display.

---

1 Superhot VR devs remove self-harm elements from the game: 'You deserve better' The Superhot team has made the decision to remove scenes relating to self-harm from Superhot VR, noting in a recent Steam news post that they "regret it took us so long" to make the change.

---

  Guns, but make it fashion: more on making Valorant's stylish cosmetics Riot Games producer Preeti Khanolkar and art director Sean Marino discuss the decisions that drive the creation of Valorant's high-tier, premium-quality cosmetics.

---

  A 'live-action' Pokemon show is headed to Netflix Lucifer showrunner Joe Henderson is apparently attached to write and executive produce a 'live action' Pokemon show for Netflix.

---

  When Steam wishlists don't convert: a case study Working out how your game is going to sell at launch - even if you’ve accumulated a lot of apparent interest and Steam wishlists - can feel like communing with the great beyond. We get into it.

---

4 Don't Miss: Why you should rethink how your company handles in-house harassment Double Loop Games CEO Emily Greer discuses how companies can prevent abuse and harassment before it starts, and how they can better respond to toxic behaviors in the workplace.

---

2 Activision Blizzard employees push back against leadership's lawsuit response Over 1,000 current and former Activision Blizzard employees have penned an open letter condemning the company's response to a lawsuit filed by California Department of Equal Housing and Employment.

---

  Get a job: NPD Group is hiring a Data Engineer Lead The NPD Group is looking for a Data Engineer Lead. Apply today!

---

1 Jam City changes course, no longer going public via $1.2B merger The now-canceled deal would've also included the acquisition of Montreal-based mobile publisher Ludia.

---

[Read More]