It’s time to take another look at what’s been happening in the world of gaming this week, so draw up a chair and enjoy our roundup while basking in the increasing sunshine.
There’s plenty to go over as usual; whether it’s smaller indie showcases (before the big stuff really starts to kick in come summer) or industry insider news, you won’t want for juicy gossip while we’re recapping this week.
Without further ado, let’s get started. Here’s our roundup of what’s been going on in the gaming industry this week!
Surgeon Simulator developer Bossa lays off staff
Unfortunately, we must start this week with some sobering news. Bossa Studios, developer of Surgeon Simulator and I Am Bread, announced this week that it would lay off more staff.
The studio says it’s scaling back its operations and focusing on smaller games that it can deliver sooner, rather than bigger projects that will take time to create.
However, that shouldn’t affect the release of the upcoming Worlds Adrift-style open-world sandbox Lost Skies, which Bossa says is still proceeding apace.
Two smaller showcases bring announcements aplenty
This week saw the airing of the ID@Xbox showcase and the Annapurna Interactive Showcase, both of which are aimed at spotlighting smaller indie games that might not otherwise get much oxygen.
During the Annapurna presentation, we got release dates for games like photography sim Lushfoil and cosy adventure Wanderstop, and there’s a sequel on the way for puzzler Cocoon as well.
ID@Xbox, meanwhile, brought more updates regarding the upcoming Lies of P DLC, and the presentation also heralded the shadow-dropping of Balatro on Xbox Game Pass, so that should give us another excuse to procrastinate.
Dauntless will shut down in May
Monster Hunter-esque action RPG Dauntless will be shutting down in May, its developers announced this week. The decision follows mass layoffs at developer Phoenix Labs.
Technically, Phoenix Labs doesn’t provide any kind of reason for Dauntless’ shutdown, but it’s not hard to figure out why it’s happening given the aforementioned layoffs.
It’s also probably got something to do with the immensely unpopular Awakening update, which was intended to serve as a sort of “new beginning” for Dauntless but which instead appears to have heralded its demise.
Konami and Bloober Team are working on a new game together
This week, it was revealed that Konami and Silent Hill 2 remake developer Bloober Team will be continuing their partnership on another project.
Of course, neither studio wants to say exactly what that project might be at this point, but we do know that it will be based on a Konami IP, although Konami hasn’t said which one.
The obvious guess is, of course, another Silent Hill game; after all, no other Konami property feels quite right for Bloober Team, so while the studio might be working on a Metal Gear title, we doubt it somehow.
Warner Bros. closes down Middle-earth developer and two other studios
In more industry news, Warner Bros. announced this week that it is closing down Monolith Productions, the developer of both Middle-earth: Shadow games and the upcoming Wonder Woman game (which has also been cancelled).
As well as Monolith, Warner is also shutting down Player First Games, the developer behind fighting game MultiVersus (which turned out to be a flop when it was released in full last year).
In a statement, Warner Bros. said its decision to close the studios was “very difficult” but that it’s all part of getting the gaming wing of the company “back to profitability and growth in 2025 and beyond”.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is already on PS Plus
Normally, we wouldn’t spotlight a single game’s inclusion on the PlayStation Plus service, but we thought it was worth noting that BioWare’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard is already being included as part of the service’s Essential lineup.
Given the size and scope of the game, that might feel like an unusual decision, but EA admitted earlier this year that the game flopped (and bizarrely seemed to blame the failure on its lack of live-service elements).
The other two games being included as part of PS Plus this month are platformer Sonic Colors: Ultimate and retro collection Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, by the way.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A launches later this year, new gameplay revealed
This week, Nintendo held a new Pokemon Presents showcase intended to show off what’s happening in the world of the Pokemon franchise, and…well, honestly, it turns out not much is.
The biggest news from the showcase was a new release window for Pokemon Legends: Z-A (well, sort of); the game will launch in late 2025, and it’ll feature a more active battle system that allows your Pokemon to physically dodge attacks.
Elsewhere in the showcase, we saw a new battling game by the name of Pokemon Champions, as well as updates for existing games in the series like Pokemon TCG Pocket and Pokemon Go.
The Callisto Protocol developer lays off staff
Sadly, it’s time for more layoff news. This week, it was reported by former employees that The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance Studios has laid off employees.
According to the company’s former concept art director, “most” of the developers at Striking Distance have been laid off, while engineer Seth Spitkoski points to “many” staff being affected.
A statement given by parent company Krafton later confirmed the layoffs, claiming that they’re part of an effort to remain “agile”. In-development projects have not been affected, apparently.
Monster Hunter Wilds launches to break series records
The newest Monster Hunter game was released this week, and the title broke Steam records for the franchise when it launched, as well as for Capcom as a whole.
The game reached well over 1.3 million players at its peak, which is easily the highest total a Monster Hunter game has ever seen on the platform, as well as the highest reached by any Capcom game.
That’s despite players complaining of poor PC performance, with the game currently sitting at a “Mixed” rating on Steam across over 55,000 reviews.
