Xbox boss Spencer says Series S compatibility requirement isn’t going away
- No plans to allow the release of Series X exclusive games
Tuesday, 28 January 2025
Game News Round-Up
Daily curated games-industry news digest for 28 January 2025.
General2 stories
Xbox has enlisted a veteran Gears of War studio to co-develop the next series entry
- Gears of War: Judgement studio People Can Fly is co-developing Gears of War: E-Day
Business2 stories
Ubisoft announces studio closure as it lays off 185 staff
- Founded in 2002 as FreeStyleGames by a group of former Rare and Codemasters veterans, Ubisoft Leamington had most recently worked as a support studio on the Tom Clancy's The Division series, and also assisted development on games such as Star Wars Outlaws, Skull and Bones and Far Cry 5.
- A small number of Leamington staff will be retained under remote contracts. Additionally, Ubisoft offices in Düsseldorf (formerly Blue Byte), Stockholm and the Newcastle-based Ubisoft Reflections will be downsized.
Dauntless and Fae Farm studio Phoenix Labs lays off "majority" of employees
- The developer has faced multiple rounds of layoffs since its acquisition by blockchain company Forte Labs in 2023, starting with job cuts impacting 9 percent of its workforce in May that year. A further 34 layoffs followed seven months later, with an additional 140 jobs being cut last May. Layoffs have continued into 2025.
- The studio says it'll share more about the fate of Dauntless and Fae Farm "in the coming weeks"