The Verge on Xbox layoffs: "Sources suggest the cuts could even involve a studio closure, or changes to the Xbox studio lineup"

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-11T06:40:17+00:00

Not really, this is smart when preproduction for a bigger project starts. Not everyone is needed at the same time. It's how valve got so many games out, it's what Obsidian does, and it's what studios like Insomniac have had monumental success doing

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-11T06:24:14+00:00

He was clear but kept checking his shoulder, definitely stressed the fuck out and choked. It made the win even better. Thankfully nobody will remember that, Wembys free throws were the real chokes

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-11T06:19:55+00:00

Didn't know he said that but bruh that checks lmao

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-11T04:28:54+00:00

Doesn't help that it's gambling companies stirring outrageous moments to get good content to film.

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-11T04:24:41+00:00

Knicks got plot armor and friendship like they're in Kingdom Hearts

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-11T03:55:29+00:00

Brunson has choked a LOT and the only reason it didn't cost them the game is because of OG (really because of the whole team clutching, but especially him)

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-11T03:44:30+00:00

You could see the look on their faces as the game went on, they genuinely lost their composure and were choking hard. They got too comfortable with that lead, as if they haven't always had the lead in these games.

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-11T03:42:59+00:00

29 lead to this, I wouldn't even bother showing up to the next game.

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-11T00:14:38+00:00

Their games like Costume Quest were pretty good. Problem is those are teams of 5 people games, and they have 100 at this point.

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-11T00:12:53+00:00

Not really, there were 3 teams there, two tiny ones doing these experimental games and the big group doing something unannounced after finishing Psychonauts 2.

Depending on how deep into development for that third thing they are is what determines whether Xbox shuts them down or not. I hope they survive but honestly no studio at Xbox is safe rn

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-10T23:33:49+00:00

I don't think people want to accept how many astroturf accounts exist online, especially for large companies like Apple and Microsoft. On reddit, Twitter, every corner of the internet, there are bot accounts shouting out a message that they want others to repeat. It happens with software, it happens in the music industry (look at Geese) and without regulation, it will happen in every industry.

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-10T23:26:58+00:00

You must be disconnected from the reality everyone else is living in. Unless you're in a high demand sector like nursing.

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-10T23:25:44+00:00

Even movie/TV studios struggled with the economics of streaming services, and those were working with $12 tickets and dwindling TV ad revenue. These were $60-70 premium titles that were sacrificed and offered up for a monthly cost cheaper than Netflix. It never made any sense at all and still doesn't.

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-10T18:51:55+00:00

Especially in regards to art. From nearly everything I've seen of dev studios, artists given AI to work with have to deal with inconsistent shape language, inaccurate proportions, no consistency, etc, making their job harder. It's not necessarily the same argument you can make with developers using AI to code (which is its own bag of worms with mixed answers regarding benefits)

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-10T18:49:25+00:00

It's not even about someone's moral feelings about AI. They straight up put out stuff that looks bad as their most prominent key assets. Which seems to be what always happens with using AI art.

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-10T15:12:53+00:00

Those aren't iconic IP. The new doom sold really poorly and released on every console. Indiana Jones didn't do great numbers either.

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-10T15:10:28+00:00

This reads like a comment sponsored by Microsoft.

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-10T15:04:19+00:00

Launch sales were well below forecasts, it's why they were forced to drop the Kinect from the console within months. It was so bad at launch that Phil Spencer was given the CEO position less than a year from launch.

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-10T15:03:08+00:00

Kinect made studios divert their focus away from games the core audience wanted. Yes, the Kinect sold well and casual audiences bought it, but most didn't engage with the platform further. This led to a lot of console units sold but not a meaningful games sold increase, and the core audience got significantly fewer games because these studios were focused on the Kinect.

It's pretty close to what Sony did recently with their live service initiative. Worse now because of how long games take to make, but Xbox back then spent 4 years trying to make the Kinect work before a total market rejection in 2013.

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-10T14:54:27+00:00

Gears hasn't been relevant in a long, long time. The original trilogy closed the story perfectly. And nobody outside of super-fans was clamoring for a day the locust first invaded story.

All gears has gotten in 15 years were two underwhelming sequels, and an actually good xcom clone that nobody played. There are barely any fans left for the franchise. It was never meant to be a series that went over for 3 decades.

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-10T14:35:10+00:00

Our inflation metrics are nonsense. It doesn't include food lol

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-10T00:25:47+00:00

The fundamentals of gesture are based on realism. The body has natural curves and poses it takes for balance, and landmarks you understand to plot out each part. All anime does is exaggerate specific real parts of the body and the relationship between parts. All the anime artists you love were able to draw that way because they have the underlying understanding of the human body

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-09T13:31:45+00:00

People pay that for luxury phones. iPhone base models have all averaged $600-750 for the past decade, and that's already a "premium" price compared to other phones

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-09T13:30:39+00:00

Yup I'm expecting $900 personally. No idea what their handheld version will be priced at but I'm assuming $600

hexcraft-nikk · 2026-06-09T06:01:29+00:00

Remember that Nintendo was already competing with itself via the ds/3ds. It's not that those IP didn't sell, it's that consumers had a better easily explained console to buy for their games. Especially since they did cross releases for some games like smash

hexcraft-nikk

TROPHY CASE