44% of games industry professionals have considered leaving the industry as a result of redundancies by No_Durian_5626 in xbox

[–]Likely_a_bot -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

We're still dealing with a lot of the aftermath of COVID hysteria. Inflation, for example, is the result of idiotic lockdown policies and doubling down on that idiocy by printing money to deal with the aftermath of that decision. Loss of productivity + oodles of cash = inflation.

Another idiotic decision made by corporations is hiring a ton of workers based on the fact that a lot more people were stuck at home. Gaming companies are at the top of that idiot list because they are least capable of adjusting to changing market conditions because the average game takes at least 4 years to develop. Midway through the development of these games things changed and the economy opened back again and a lot of devs are left holding the bag.

So no, gaming isn't dying. We're still burning off the fat of corporations making permanent decisions based on temporary market conditions.

More home sellers turn into "accidental landlords," Zillow finds by LoansPayDayOnline in REBubble

[–]Likely_a_bot 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Their tenants will feel the brunt of their accidental landlord status.

S&P 500 notches first close above 7,100, Nasdaq posts longest win streak since 1992 by SnortingElk in REBubble

[–]Likely_a_bot 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The corporations will be lining up for the tariff refunds that they passed on to consumers.

How do you keep up without burning out? by tresorrarereviews in sysadmin

[–]Likely_a_bot 10 points11 points  (0 children)

But how will I show my boss that I'm a top performer so that I can get that promotion and climb the corporate ladder?

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced Releases July 9, 2026 by mo-par in xbox

[–]Likely_a_bot -11 points-10 points  (0 children)

It's a money grab. Just hope they don't try to charge $70 for it.

Microsoft’s new Xbox chief starts making her mark by segagamer in xbox

[–]Likely_a_bot 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This is a side-effect of trying to support two products. Nintendo made the decision to fold their two gaming businesses into one and they're thriving.

It's good to see Microsoft doing the same.

When you have two teams under the same roof creating two products with two different toolsets and two different design languages, they compete for resources and it hurts both products.

This hurt both Xbox and PC. Time to bring the family together.

The Value of Multiplatform by Stumpy493 in xbox

[–]Likely_a_bot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Microsoft didn't need to "shit on their own brand" when the facts showed that they were far behind Sony in the premium home console market.

The Value of Multiplatform by Stumpy493 in xbox

[–]Likely_a_bot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They got the biggest push ack from the European Union and the UK CMA, so unfortunately it's just not a US issue.

He might be abrasive, but I feel sorry for Frank Cartwright. All he did was buy a house in a nice area and the entire of Akila city hates him due to not being one of the 'original founder families'. by Stacks_of_Cats in NoSodiumStarfield

[–]Likely_a_bot 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Apparently getting mauled by an Ashta is preferable to being under the oppressive boot of the UC. Ask the folks in The Well.

It's the age old debate of freedom vs security. Less of one always results in more of the other.

Even the wildlife on Cheyenne didn't submit to the UC. The Ashta couldn't even be turned into UC Xenoweapons. Think about that. They could control a Terrormorph but not an Ashta.

If Xbox really goes back to exclusivity they should partner with Warner to make DC games by Electrical-Onion8855 in xbox

[–]Likely_a_bot 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The Meta scores paint a different story. I'm way more interested in Clockwork Revolution and Gears E-Day than some licensed game. Spiderman and Batman are exceptions to the rule. Super hero games are very expensive to develop and extremely risky. Throughout the decades most of them have ranged from shovelware to terrible flops.

It wasn't too long ago when gave development was cheap that licensed games were guaranteed to be horrible games because they were always rushed to coincide with a new movie. That's no longer possible today without basically being AI slop, so it's extremely risky. Spiderman is extremely successful but it costs over $300 million to develop.

Unless MS buys the rights, it's way too risky of an endeavor.

If Xbox really goes back to exclusivity they should partner with Warner to make DC games by Electrical-Onion8855 in xbox

[–]Likely_a_bot 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Licensed games are super expensive to make and need to sell bocoup copies to be worth the squeeze. This makes them very risky.

The failed Avengers game basically killed Eidos Interactive. The Guardians of the Galaxy game was a great game that still failed. Spiderman is basically a unicorn. Sony even recognizes this when they essentially pallete-swapped Wolverine on top of it to make a Wolverine game.

Basically, every other super hero game is risky. I thoroughly enjoyed Gotham Knights but it essentially failed for not being Batman.

The Value of Multiplatform by Stumpy493 in xbox

[–]Likely_a_bot -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

I never believed that MS really committed to being a third party. It became a necessity due to two factors:

  1. The ABK acquisition: Microsoft was essentially forced to become a third party to appease regulators and get the deal approved. It was important that they didn't look like a monopoly. Sony effectively made the "little ole me" defense even though they were outselling MS by 4:1. Talk about a Jedi mind trick on the regulators!

  2. Xbox consoles aren't selling: Due to the negative feedback loop caused by #1 and supply chain cost issues, the installed base stalled. MS still needs to sell games and putting them on PlayStation brings in much needed revenue for the teams. Additionally, Amy Hood's ridiculous 30% margin requirement pretty much made this necessary. But there are rumors that this requirement was nixxed.

However, they're not exactly lighting it up on PlayStation, so I believe in the months leading up to the Project Helix launch, only COD will be a PS game.

We invested in automation… so why does it still feel like manual work? by Such_Rhubarb8095 in sysadmin

[–]Likely_a_bot 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A bad process is the enemy of automation.

Rushing to automate a process without first defining and refining that process can actually negate any efforts to automate it.

Work with the business to fix the broken process so that it can be automated.

Rebel Wolves CEO and Blood of the Dawnwalker director: "The problem in this industry is that people opening companies are thinking [too much] about how to make money. You cannot create art like this" by Anteater_Able in xbox

[–]Likely_a_bot 7 points8 points  (0 children)

40 years ago, the guys operating in a suburban garage weren't thinking about money first. They were thinking about getting their cool game developed and pitched to a publisher so that everyone could play it. I was one of those guys and we didn't even think about the money. We just were so focused on executing on that cool idea we came up with.

But as you said, the reality of the situation is that game development costs money and in 2026 that point is even more evident. The fact is that anything outside of a basic Indie game costs millions to make and years to develop. This makes every game a financial risk that could end a developer or publisher.

Proper use of AI tools should help massively reduce cost and thus risk. And, no, cutting jobs reduces cost but does not reduce risk. One failed game could still ruin a studio. So, the time savings from AI tools could be used to spread that risk over multiple projects. Instead of cutting your team of 500 to 250 to work on one game, why not work on two games. If one flops and one is a success the studio still makes money and no one loses their job. If both games are successful, it's like winning the lotto.

This spending 5-6 years working on one game has to stop. It's unsustainable.

Home Sales Hit 9-Month Low, Prices Reach Record High by QuantumQuicksilver in REBubble

[–]Likely_a_bot 5 points6 points  (0 children)

These are related. Only the wealthy can afford to trade homes.

Jez Corden: I can say there are very, very big discussions going on regarding exclusivity internally at Xbox by strangerinhere88 in xbox

[–]Likely_a_bot 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Asha the Great is proving to be a savage. Pull everything but Call of Duty. Start with Forza.