What’s the best way to buy a game, physical or digital? According to Maximum Entertainment CEO Christina Seelye, the two can help each other equally. Talking to Game Developer at Gamescom, she explained that selling physical versions of a game can help get more eyes on a title, particularly online. Amazon and in-person stores like GameStop go a long way, and that attention can spread to digital stores like Steam and PlayStation Network.

Sony Interactive Entertainment is giving an olive branch to developers in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. Its Hero Project incubator program will “identify promising local developers and support them” through mentorship and training programs." The program aims to “drive growth and innovation with developers in the MENA region,” and also “lower the barrier of entry and showcase the most incredible talents emerging from this region.” Studios based in countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq are eligible to apply.

Staff at Visual Concepts South were laid off earlier this week, according to ex-developers at the studio and others across the industry. At time of writing, it’s unclear how many were let go from the Orange County-based developer, but 3D artist Katlynn Woodward said the “majority” of her team were let go. Affected departments include art, production, and engineering. “After three incredible years at 2K Games Visual Concepts…I was affected by the recent layoffs,” wrote VFX artist Arnold Song.

Nintendo has revealed Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp will go offline on November 29. The good news? A paid version of the game will go online that same day. The free-to-play mobile spinoff launched in November 2017, and Nintendo called it an honor “to see everyone’s lovely, diverse campsites grow and flourish. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the many users who have loved Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.” As for the paid version, players will be able to transfer save data from the free Pocket Camp version by linking their Nintendo account.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ended its investigation into Apple over the company’s in-app payment system, as it “no longer constitutes an administrative priority.” The UK regulator first began its examination of how apps were distributed on the UK iOS platform in 2021. At the time, it believed Apple was in potential violation of the Competition Act. In 2022, the CMA proposed and then launched a full investigation into Apple and Google over their alleged mobile market dominance.

Hello! In this blog, I’ll share how, driven by my passion for game development, I built a team from scratch. Although I can’t write code or create amazing models, my management experience in an IT company provided a solid foundation for building a strong team. I started with an analysis of the gaming market. Statistics showed that a large portion of the market is dominated by mobile gaming. So why did I decide against developing a mobile game?

Borderlands 4 was revealed this week at Gamescom, and the looter shooter will be launching on Steam as opposed to the Epic Games Store (EGS). Controversially, both Borderlands 3 and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands launched on Epic’s storefront before eventually coming to Steam. The platform change was so noticeable that Gearbox head Randy Pitchford spoke on the shift, which is a begrudging one on his end. Speaking to old comments he made in 2019 about the EGS potentially ending Steam’s monopoly, Pitchford called those old thoughts “overly optimistic.

Another change is being introduced to Steam’s user reviews. As of today, reviews will be marked with a symbol to show the reviewer played it “primarily” on the Steam Deck. The icon is presented on the right side of the banner, and the Steam Deck playtime can be revealed by hovering over it. However, there’s currently no way to categorize any user reviews by handheld or PC usage. Alongside its current (and future) iterations, Steam Deck’s importance is reflected in its monthly top game charts, which includes the most-played games on the device.

At yesterday’s Gamescom presser, Bethesda revealed Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is coming to PlayStation 5 sometime in spring 2025 after its initial December launch on Xbox and PC. For Xbox head Phil Spencer, taking the title multiplatform is for the good of the brand. On a livestream following the event, Spencer explained the decision was in part spurred by the alleged success of games like Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves on PS5 and Nintendo Switch ports earlier this year.