Christopher James

Ubisoft Toronto confirms reports of 33 layoffs If your role is affected by this news, please make use of the support available across our three platforms. Specifically, I recommend checking out the Games Org Support Posts in Home 1. These resources are highly effective, with ample data to back their success. I won't pretend there are easy solutions but our community's only goal is to make things a little easier for as many people as possible. We have a ton of data showing that, for all candidates, your chances of finding a games role double (from 5 to 10%) over 12 months if you regularly use all our resources versus not. Additionally, recently I presented a 100% update to our Games Jobs Workbook, with 3,600 companies fully updated and nearly 14,000 roles fully updated. Of our 18 resources, this is the most powerful tool we have to help you. https://lnkd.in/d6x5NHMZ (Resource #8) I'm so sorry to hear this report and I will, as always, do my best to do something about it rather than just talking. Home 1 - 🔗 AMIRSATVAT.COM: Our main hub provides 18 resources to assist you in finding work, featuring a fully updated design. - 🔗 Games Org Support Posts: Find a template at AMIRSATVAT.COM (Category 4, Resource 10). If you can provide information from your team (with their consent), I’ll help edit and disseminate the final product, reaching 100,000+ people. These posts are highly effective in increasing visibility, and we've done 99 of them. Home 2 - 🔗 Discord: Join us at discord.gg/amirsatvat, our live extension of community resources. With over 4,300 members, we are currently in an open-join phase. Home 3 - 🔗 LinkedIn: Our community here includes nearly 91,000 members, with 1-3 daily posts offering support and career assistance in the games industry. How the Broader Community Can Help: - Spread the Word: Reshares and comments on this post amplify the visibility of these resources. - Offer Support: Utilize the 16 ways listed on AMIRSATVAT.COM under "How You Can Help" to assist, or simply lend an ear or advice on our Discord server. - Join Our Movement: Volunteer with us at AMIRSATVAT.COM to support our colleagues in the games industry. Our network has facilitated over 2,100 jobs and 39,000 coaching conversations to date, the largest impact of any games organization on earth, and has been visited by millions of gamers lifetime.

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If you are going to MIGS, there will be two Canadian Studios: Honour Bound Game Studios Inc. and Bonkers Builders by Emmanuel Proulx and Richard Lalancette, Which has two upcoming games. PC Games have not been announced yet. Palworld, Stardew Valley, and Slime Rancher 2 like: The adorable and diverse seedlings, with cute designs and charming animations, will make players want to collect and care for them, driving engagement and attachment to the game. Sci-Fi, Pet Collection, Farming, Live Sim Soon on Xbox, Steam + Deck, Switch Coop: 4-player local co-op Media: https://lnkd.in/dM-X2M64 And  Infinite Onslaught, is a retro-styled arcade shooter that brings the intensity and excitement of classic games to modern players. With a demo set for release in 2025, Infinite Onslaught is the first-ever "Keyboard Basher" game. It offers a unique experience that combines the nostalgia of 1990s arcade cabinets with cutting-edge gameplay mechanics. Has Licensing & Patent. 😎 👆 Media: https://lnkd.in/dHr6CqGb #gamingnews #gaming #videogames #gamingindustry #gamingevents

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Another week, another round of layoffs, another studio closure, and another blow to the Vancouver game dev scene. Game development in Vancouver has been on life support for the past few years, and what a shocking fall from grace in comparison to how things looked in the early to mid-2000s where you couldn't throw a BC roll (sushi reference) without hitting a triple-A studio! You can blame more favourable tax credits in other Canadian provinces (which doesn't help!) but that's not the real reason for the decay, is it? We're not really competing against other provinces within our country, we're competing with a global talent market and a shift to remote work that has driven game development to lower cost regions that can produce stuff that's just as good as anything we can make. It's a shock and a wake-up call, perhaps too late. Everyone is on survival mode right now and there are still rough waters ahead. Today doesn't seem to be the day for big-picture industry analysis, but when the dust settles and the pain of layoffs is not so fresh for people, it'll be time to sit down and ask ourselves some tough questions about how we got here. I'm getting tired of saying it, but my heart goes out to all those affected by the current round of layoffs and closures. 💔

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I'm so sorry to report that to hear that, as announced by their CEO and Studio Head tamura koji, that Challengers Games Corp. is closing. If your role is affected by this news, please make use of the support available across our three platforms. Specifically, I recommend checking out the Games Org Support Posts in Home 1. These resources are highly effective, with ample data to back their success. Home 1 - 🔗 AMIRSATVAT.COM: Our main hub provides 17 resources to assist you in finding work, featuring a fully updated design. - 🔗 Games Org Support Posts: Find a template at AMIRSATVAT.COM (Category 4, Resource 10). If you can provide information from your team (with their consent), I’ll help edit and disseminate the final product, reaching 100,000+ people. These posts are highly effective in increasing visibility, and we've done 99 of them. Home 2 - 🔗 Discord: Join us at discord.gg/amirsatvat, our live extension of community resources. With over 4,200 members, we are currently in an open-join phase. Home 3 - 🔗 LinkedIn: Our community here includes over 90,000 members, with 1-3 daily posts offering support and career assistance in the games industry. How the Broader Community Can Help: - Spread the Word: Reshares and comments on this post amplify the visibility of these resources. - Offer Support: Utilize the 15 ways listed on AMIRSATVAT.COM under "How You Can Help" to assist, or simply lend an ear or advice on our Discord server. - Join Our Movement: Volunteer with us at AMIRSATVAT.COM to support our colleagues in the games industry. Our network has facilitated over 2,100 jobs and 39,000 coaching conversations to date, the largest impact of any games organization on earth, and has been visited by millions of gamers lifetime.

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Gamescom is upon us 🍻 glad to be back and moderate this key roundtable about "Game Discovery" together with a terrific panel of experts. Join us and participate - we're going to dive into lots of practical knowledge on how to do things, discuss, debate and share our daring opinions about what's missing, which trends to follow and what is the future of game discovery. From finding your key discovery hooks early, to developing strategies for marketing and community while utilizing a planning framework, all through researching & trying new tools, harnessing data, thinking outside the box, and developing a growth mindset. Come and ask these seasoned experts and myself everything you wanted to know. Erik Peterson - Biz Dev @ Steam Benoit Clerc - Head of Publishing @ Nacon (Robocop, Terminator, Greedfall 2) Charlotte Cook - Global Commercial @ Team 17 (Hell Let Loose, Overcooked! 2, Golf with Friends) Jeremy Fielding - Head of Community @ Stunlock Studios (V Rising) Gregory Queste - CEO @ Trailsparker and veteran brand marketing Tuesday 20.8 - 3pm - at Stage 13 More details: https://lnkd.in/dsgwJQZH

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The best narrative in mobile games isn't the main course. It's the sauce. Its quality isn't about the depth of the story. And certainly not about the amount of text. It's all about how it helps the gameplay achieve its goals: • Engage players more deeply in the FTUE • Provide a native presentation of game mechanics • Offer clear long-term motivation • Give additional meta rewards for gameplay Consider Project Makeover. The story and characters aren’t the most complex. But the narrative creates a powerful emotional desire to transform "ugly ducklings into swans" and performs its task excellently. No need to add narrative everywhere in the game. It can harm the experience. Use narrative as a tool to assist gameplay.

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Come learn about Xsolla's strategies to improve your mobile games revenue.

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724 New Roles from 514 Companies - New Games Jobs! 1,774 Total Roles Added Since 10/1/24! https://lnkd.in/d6x5NHMZ Looking for new opportunities in games? Check out Resource #11 - the most robust new games roles resource out there! Combining it with Resource #10 (Games Jobs Workbook - our long-form flagship resource updated every 1-2 months) offers the most comprehensive view of the games job market worldwide. I run a 9-step process to keep everything clean and automated - wiping roles every 2 weeks to ensure fresh, accurate data. When the role was posted How it categorizes across our 20 standard community functional groups Dedupe for the same roles in multiple locations Clean out miscategorized roles Tell you where the role is Tell you if it's remote or not - for real Tell you if it is a reposted role or not with conditional formatting - for real Give you a direct link to apply Explore more and dive into your next big opportunity! Always free and without ulterior motives, for gamers!

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Stoked to reach the milestone of 50+ player reviews on Hive Jump 2: Survivors, just a day after 1.0 launch. https://lnkd.in/g2yMxnDa That "Very Positive" review label matters a lot to Steam when deciding how "valid" our game is (not to mention impacting customer perceptions). It's a hard label to achieve. It has to come from paying players. It excludes any players who received a promotional key (hence the two numbers in the GIF). It also filters by your languages preferences and region, to some extent, too. So, yes, stoked to say the least that our team at Graphite Lab has met this mark with our first sequel. Of course, if you want to add to the good vibes with your own review, all you have to do is pop over to Steam and for the price of a latte you too can see what all the fuss is about. https://lnkd.in/g2yMxnDa If you are curious about the impact reviews have on games released through Steam, take a look through this 2022 article. It gets right to the point and (for the most part) is still valid today. https://lnkd.in/g9D5feGC

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What is the most promising game type in 2024? Feel free to explain your choice in the comments!

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Oh wow, you do not hear that often.... The entire staff of Annapurna Interactive, the video-game publishing division of Annapurna studio, resigned this month following a dispute with its owner. Annapurna Interactive President Nathan Gary and his team had been negotiating with Megan Ellison to spin off the video-game division as an independent entity. When Ellison pulled out of the negotiations, Gary and other executives resigned and were followed by around two dozen other staffers. “All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectively resigned,’’ Gary and the group said in a joint statement. “This was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make and we did not take this action lightly.” (source: https://lnkd.in/ehvi33Wg) To those who have resigned, if you are looking for new opportunities, please check them out here: 🥇First, reach out to us at People Can Fly Studio, we have many roles open right now in Canada, the UK, Ireland and Europe, please check them out here: https://lnkd.in/eWpV5PbA 🥈Next, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past months I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines, and I would urge you to check them out, if anything just to see what would be available to you: https://lnkd.in/ePywd2kq You can find over 6,000 jobs there. 🥉 Third, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ I urge you to check out the areas in particular about CV support and mentoring, as these will help you no matter what industry you are hailing from or are looking into going next. 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #annapurnainteractive #resignations

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In the Gaming world, Democracy prevails 🎆 Sony's swift response to community feedback on Arrowhead Game Studios's Helldivers 2 is a testament to player power. Cheers to all Helldivers 2 players! When Players' Voices are heard, it's a Victory for All 😄 Here's to a brighter future for Gaming 🎮 For those unfamiliar with the issue, here's an article to keep you updated https://lnkd.in/gqNVQVeh #JBlaze #Helldivers2 #Sony #Democracy #Gaming #ArrowheadGameStudio #PlayerVoices #Gamers #GamingForAll #Crossplay

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The recent layoffs at Inflexion, Humanoid and the Edmonton devs impacted by the closure of Worlds Untold hit close to home. The game dev community is strong, but we need to look out for each other. In that spirit, I’d like to draw your attention to the work being done at the Scaffold Institute. Their new cohort is specifically for devs impacted by the layoffs, and could hopefully provide an opportunity for those impacted. It’s supported by provincial and federal funding so there’s no cost to you.  I've been in one of their Cohorts for most of the year, and I’ve found the experience very worthwhile. The networking with other Alberta devs is invaluable, and the scheduled talks are packed with insights. If you're a game dev looking for your next move in Alberta, I’d recommend you check out Scaffold's program. They'll help you navigate the Canadian game dev landscape, from mentorship and networking to understanding the financial resources available if you choose to start your own studio. Of the recent Alberta studios successful at applying through the CMF for funding, almost all were enrolled at Scaffold. If you’re curious to learn more, check out the program brochure here https://lnkd.in/gZpaTtZA I know firsthand how disorienting and stressful layoffs can be. I've been there, and it's tough. But this industry is full of incredibly talented and resilient people. Let's keep supporting each other, sharing opportunities, and building amazing things. The future of Alberta game dev is bright if we work together and support each other! ✨ And here’s the hashtags. 😊 #gamedevcommunity #albertacreatives #gamedev #alberta #layoffs #support #community #mentorship #yegtech #yyctech

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𝐀𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭 - shares appreciated (they REALLY DO help) - my door is open for casual chats or intros on this role. Recently re-titled so please check out the JD even if you've seen it already. 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐅𝐗 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭. (ignore the link title of Lead, it hasn't pulled through yet). 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 Spliced Inc. - fully remote role but our 𝐚𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 studio is located in the heart of Altrincham. Be as hybrid, onsite or remote as you want. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐠 - You're either already a principal, want to be a principal or you're happy to sidestep from a lead into this role. Regardless, you'll be a part of a small team (+1) that sits in our Tech Art org and have access to some of the best talent the industry has to offer. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 - you thought I was going to spill the beans? 🤣. AAA, stylized, UE5, Houdini/Embergen, Blueprints. That's your lot but, will tell more once you're in process, of course :). 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭? - Either apply or simply message me with your interest. We have 5 steps but don't let that put you off, we can crank through them in a week or so. You'll get a solid feel for our vibe and people and you'll get to meet our founder who will personally take you through the game at the end of the process. Click below for a glimpse of your [potential] future 💚. #vfx #splicedinc #neteasegames #welovejobs

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How to accelerate your career in game development? Think "one level higher." 🔹 If you're a junior or mid-level:  -- Consider how your task affects the team's work. 🔹 If you're a lead or senior:  -- Focus on how your team's work impacts the entire project. 🔹 If you're a producer, director, or PM:  -- Think about how your project fits into the company's strategy. 🔹 If you're a CEO or executive:  -- Ensure the company's results align with stakeholder interests. 🔹 If you're a stakeholder:  -- Align your assets with market interests. Always try to understand the bigger picture.

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Narrative games are in an interesting spot. I was in a mentoring group for Toronto indie devs in Hand Eye Society's Futures Forward program, which primarily supports games as a form of creative expression. There were eleven pitches, which were largely based around personal and cultural stories or perspectives. As a queer, visible minority, migrant woman in the game industry, I absolutely LOVE this, of course. I think there's opportunity, though, to help guide narrative projects to increased commercial viability across the industry. Much of what gamers expect out of games - narrative or otherwise - shifts season to season, but I'm still seeing pitched projects suffer from old-world brain. The standard walking sim, QTE one-shot, bare-bones puzzle adventure, and the illusion of choice to deliver strong narratives have been done to exhaustion. I think there will always be room for them, to be fair. However, more and more players are looking for varied first-run experiences, choices that actually matter, replayability, immersion, engaging art styles and music, and - well - gameplay. Why not stand out? Will this apply to every game? No. But too many narrative games pitched today still focus solely on the narrative and not enough on the game. Venba (venbagame.com) is a fantastic example of successfully employing some of these aspects in a clever and impactful package (read: I was destroyed by the end and recommend it to immigrant gamers any chance I get). In Stars and Time (instarsandtime.com) has some pretty clear gameplay and visual inspirations that act as an effective vehicle for its storytelling. Slay the Princess (slaytheprincess.com) just gets it. Then there's the risk factor for investors and publishers. Narrative games generally have much higher word counts to localize, cultural sensitivities or simply appeal to check against on a global scale, less game design-centered devs or development planning, how to market around spoilers, what to offer consumers post-launch, delivery of the final writing and storytelling production based off early concepts and sometimes pre-writer-on-staff, etc. There's not enough space to write out all my thoughts on this subject - and I haven't even touched on HOW to pitch a narrative game, even with modern design elements in mind. So I implore narrative game designers to really dig deep into the landscape - past, present, and future (seriously, pay attention to announcements, please!). What has worked well? What hasn't? What are lessons you can learn from both? Who is your game for and what games do they play and like? I really want to experience your story. I would love to see your game reach and have impact on the many lives who need it. And I'll see you at the next LudoNarraCon (ludonarracon.com). Edit: I must add that I don't run LudoNarraCon. :) That event is run by the good folks at Fellow Traveller, helmed by the lovely Christopher Wulf. (For those asking to be included.)

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Now that Timbre is officially closed -- and my heart goes out to all those affected -- I think someone should ask WTF Sumo Digital Ltd was thinking in making this drastic cull. You have a team of about 100 folks who -- just based on the outpouring of support and collective love between them; I know nothing about the studio itself -- seem to have been a high-functioning group of developers who had worked together for up to 2 years (obviously some of them were newish, as the median time employed was about a year; I saw some layoff notices from people who'd been hired within the past 2-3 months, so this suggests the leadership team had no idea the closure was coming, unless they are just evil...). Anyone who has built a team understands the value of having folks across many different disciplines who work well together. There is significant value in this, and you don't just throw it away. I understand Sumo decided they needed to make 15% cuts to save costs, but then why not cut 15% uniformly (more or less) across all your studios and the parent org? If you are cutting 250 people worldwide across multiple studios (I count 14 studios: https://lnkd.in/gxmRTJcz), why then cut 100 of them in one place? 250 people across 14 studios is less than 20 people per studio (some of the Sumo studios have 100s of people). You could have cut 15 from Timbre and kept 85 employed. Could they not have sold the studio to another publisher? Or found a buyer from outside games? Both Relic and Phoenix were bought by non-game buyers (private equity in Relic's case, a blockchain company in Phoenix's case), so there's clearly money from outside the industry looking to invest and own a piece of the games business, even in super expensive Vancouver. This doesn't seem like just another "oh whoops we overhired during COVID" story. What, did you set up an entire new studio from scratch and hire 100 people between 2022 and 2024 by mistake? Tencent bought Sumo a while ago. Tencent has more money than anyone. Did Tencent not want this studio? They could have spun it out from Sumo. Microsoft? Ubisoft (they used to have a Vancouver studio...)? Anyone? Nobody out there wanted a team of 100 folks who knew how to work together and had built some amount (maybe a lot?) of a game together before they were unceremoniously shut down? No publisher wanted to pick up the game and continue to float the studio until it shipped? There's been a lot of love being generated from the demise and aftermath of this studio. But where's the rage?

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More shocking news this evening with two more studios being shut down. I will do a post for each of them, since their contributions have been profound over the years. Ready At Dawn Studios had been one of the reasons I got into game development and bought a PSP, with the studio's credits include PSP games Daxter, God of War: Chains of Olympus and God of War: Ghost of Sparta, while its last PlayStation exclusive was 2015’s PS4 title The Order: 1886. Since then, it has developed well received VR games including Lone Echo and Lone Echo 2. Today, it was shut down by Meta, with an attempt to keep as many people as possible within Meta as possible. Those of you who are affected by this, please make use of my resources below: 🥇First, reach out to us at People Can Fly Studio, we have many roles open right now in Canada, the UK, Ireland and Europe, please check them out here: https://lnkd.in/eWpV5PbA 🥈Next, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past months I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines, and I would urge you to check them out, if anything just to see what would be available to you: https://lnkd.in/eWvkdYjk You can find over 6,000 jobs there. 🥉 Third, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ I urge you to check out the areas in particular about CV support and mentoring, as these will help you no matter what industry you are hailing from or are looking into going next. 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #readyatdawn #layoffs

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Bit late talking about this one but huge news coming from 343 Industries, both a re-brand to Halo Studios and confirmation that they are switching development to Unreal. 🗞️ This comes off the back of 343's struggles with development of Halo: Infinite. We've seen many other studios move away from their own engines to Unreal, notably CD Projekt Red! Are proprietary engines going out fashion? 🤔 For those who have worked on both proprietary engines and Unreal, what have you found to be the key advantages of working with Unreal? #gamedev #unreal #halo

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