Lee Kirton

More terrible news today with Payload Studios announcing that they had to make reductions in staff due to the economic climate. You can find the full detail, as well as references for those affected, here: https://lnkd.in/eyKhTqEZ 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/e2qSeKk6 You can find over 5,600 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 ❤️ #payloadstudios #layoffs

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SpaceBourne 2 is so close to finale. As DBK Team, we are working on an epic & touching story. Here is the fascinating cinematic about the hero's past, and the truth will reveal itself soon. Watch the preview from here 👇👇 https://lnkd.in/d5nE75iF

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The BFI has today announced grants of £510k for innovative projects supporting UK games development - and very proud to say we're one of four recipients. Our project is to build toolkit for self-publishing games, and it starts right now - with the toolkit going live in 2025. We'll will work with industry to build this new resource, with a cohort of studios working on an upcoming release and a suite of experts helping feed in. More details here: https://lnkd.in/e8YTp-pq. If you're interested in being part of it you can apply here: https://lnkd.in/eNNBnThr Congrats to the three other creative ideas in the mix for this too – and we're grateful to the BFI for recognising what we and others plan to deliver. (You can see the full BFI announce here: https://lnkd.in/ec3uMRHJ) Changes abound across various parts of the games sector so it's great to see projects looking to keep pace with that and make a difference. These programmes can do a lot in a short space of time: I'm writing this post from one of our Game Changer sessions. That programme has run on a similar model and has already created 20+ jobs in games. While it feels like there's more challenges than ever in our world, there are great things being done to help create more opportunities for everyone.

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Not a great weekend: Ballistic Moon (who are currently working on the rebuilt and enhanced Until Dawn) and Toadman Interactive (who have been working on titles such as EvilvEvil, Immortal Unchained, Everquest, Planetside 2, Vermintide 1 & 2) have both announced layoffs in the past few days. I am truly sorry to hear about this, as both studios are amazing. 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/e2qSeKk6 You can find over 5,600 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 ❤️ #ballisticmoon #toadmaninteractive #layoffs

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The Sumo Group closures really have broken me a bit, and I need to rant about the state of things. I'm sorry if it seems I'm glossing over all the closures before this one, but so many ex-students went there, so many ex-colleagues passed through there, and so my timeline is just filled with people looking for work. We keep talking and talking about the economic factors involved, Brexit and Covid and this and that ... the thing I can't stop thinking of is that in my life I've watched the world slowly pitch into a place of despondent capitalism. Art has become more about making stars and fame than helping people escape and reflect. A drive for "truth" and objectivity has resulted, paradoxically, in people putting more stock in spreadsheets and numbers than people. I can't help but feel that if you're bleating about finance and trade deals and business decisions, you're ignoring the fact that general support for artistic and creative endeavours has declined sharply and is still declining, even in the so-called "art world". Games are ultimately always going to be the first to fall in a culture war against creativity, because games are ultimately and profoundly pointless things. That's the whole majesty of the medium: they make us feel profound feelings, they help us explore our existence by being separate from reality, but to do so they MUST bring us nothing tangible in return. The truth is that our industry will probably bounce back to some degree, but it's not any financial structures or cost systems that will save game development as a medium and an art form - it's a cultural shift to recognise the importance of expressive and explorative subjective art in the world today, and the need to support creative endeavours without the pressure of financial recompense.

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🦆Their is no such thing as too much ducktape. 🏷️Label everything. 👩‍🎓Educate junior technicians and production staff. 🤷There is nothing to gain from making your job look harder then it really is. 💯This system currently has every input and output maximum to facilitate 8 different jobs. We are running: •A live event with announcement and background music •Game show players audio for broadcast •Cut away interview audio for broadcast •Live Commentary audio for broadcast •Commentary headphone mix •Directors monitor mix •30 minute delayed Audio for Gambling Board regulations •TalkBack microphones to various stations ⏭️▶️⏮️These mixes are all automated with scenes and custom softkeys so that any section of the production can we monitored with the push of a button. #Streaming #Tipoftheday #Multitasking #Soundengineer #Qu24 #Allenandheath

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Friends, after a series of very important but tough posts around Project Flagpole and the statistics for how challenging it is to get into the games industry, one of our community regulars asked me to share something very uplifting for those looking for a position. Absolutely. It Only Takes One Remind yourself that it only takes one successful application. It's easy to feel discouraged by rejections, but each rejection is not a definitive statement about your value as a candidate. Job searching is not about a trending pattern; it’s more binary. You just need one person to recognize your potential. Think about my own experience: I have a lot of solid experience in BD, strategy, and operations, but in games, I only have about four or five years. I have a lot of education and various hard and soft skills, but I've definitely done more varied things rather than only having one single-minded track, which some people may like and others may not. Also, some value a lot of education and things like MBAs, and some don't. A big part of my life mission is significant multitasking with Amir Satvat's Games Community and my family responsibilities while also doing my job well, which is not only good humanity but also good moral business because we are all people first working in the games industry. Some people understand and handle that; some don’t. For me, working remote is non-negotiable. Some people understand that; some don’t. I'm very positive and upbeat, and many of you know that from our community interactions. Some people like that; some don’t. You don’t need a hundred or ten or even five employers to understand your unique profile; you just need one. Someone out there is going to covet what you offer - they just haven’t found you yet. I encourage you to see the application process as finding that one employer who recognizes your worth. Stay positive and keep searching. Today, this week, or this month might be the time you find that one employer and then it won't matter what anybody else thinks. This is, again, why I encourage people to go as wide as possible with both industries outside of games and looking at all ~3,700 companies charted by our community rather than only the 5-10 everybody applies to - you have more chances of finding that one employer. Best of luck to all of you! Amir

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Check out this great review of Outcast: A New Beginning by Adam Mitchell https://lnkd.in/eZ4TEPvi

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Back in Westminster today for the launch of Westminster Games Week! We have had a fantastic reception from new and established MPs and Peers keen to talk about the UK's world-leading video game and interactive entertainment industry. Over the next three days Ukie has organised a series of round-tables, Parliamentary events, networking receptions and private conversations aimed at securing the long-term interests of our industry. The "mood music" around our industry is encouraging - the new Government have consistently referred to us as a key industry in their growth agenda and we have had really good conversations with officials and Parliamentarians. Now we need to translate positive sentiment into concrete support. We all looked with envy at the Independent Films Tax Relief announced recently (although based as it was on a market failure argument I'm not sure it's the exact path we want to follow!). We need to ensure that we're building a supportive financial environment for people to scale and grow their games business. Video games and interactive entertainment are a massive success story, but sustaining and growing that success on a sustainable basis needs Government to work hand-in-hand with industry to ensure that the right support mechanisms are in place. It promises to be an exciting week!

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2nd Book Progress – Industry Convictions   Last week’s progress was good. I am closing in on the end of the theory chapter. Producer Angelo is explaining a lot of the basics to the team clearly and respectfully, since they must unlearn some outdated and unhelpful behaviours. One aspect of what I am exploring at the moment is the convictions one can find within the games industry. Firm beliefs of people in decision-making positions. Things like: 🥵 Crunch is necessary for success. 💰 Bigger budgets produce better games. 🏆 Good games sell themselves. 📊 Metrics over intuition. ❌ Failure is not an option. 🤝 Multiplayer and social features extend game life. 🥇🥈 There are only two types of teams, those that deliver and those that do not. ❤ Passion is the only thing that matters.   For each of those beliefs, there are compelling arguments for and against. For example, that crunch is definitely not necessary for success if you approach your development in the right way. Or that failure should be an option if you want to have any originality in your game. Or that intuition is often what makes a game commercially viable in the first place rather than a market analysis. Now I am wondering if I got a good list here or if I missed some more obvious ones. Maybe LinkedIn hivemind can help me out a bit?   #gamedesignimpossible #writing #gamedevelopment #gamedesign

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Hi everybody, I'm very sorry to have heard that Traega Entertainment had to downsize most of its staff today, as reported in a post by its Game Director Tony Mann. https://lnkd.in/edhWamQ5 To those 19 gamers affected at Traega: 🔗 Please visit AMIRSATVAT.COM, our community's games jobs resources hub with 14 resources that will help you find work. These resources are free and updated regularly. 🔗 Resource 10 is our games org support posts. There you will find a template. If someone on your team can own populating that with information from individuals on your team, with their consent, I will get the finished product edited and out to the community, hitting 100,000 eyeballs. I have done 94 of these, working directly with games teams, and they are highly effective in increasing visibility. To our community: please do your part in making a difference. Some options include: -Spreading the word. Every reshare of this post is appreciated to raise visibility as to these situations. - Offer Support: While you certainly can do it through our community's resources (at amirsatvat.com we present 13 ways you can help), any advice lent, listening ear provided, or other support given is appreciated for those navigating these changes. - Join Our Movement: Become part of our network of volunteers at AMIRSATVAT.COM, providing support to our colleagues in the games industry. Together, our collective of over 84,000 people has enabled 1,700+ jobs and 29,000 community coaching conversations, and we're just getting started. More importantly, this network and its content seeks to provide a daily source of encouragement in this tough time. Thanks for stepping up for our friends at Traega, as outlined below: Character Art: Mike Waver Daniel Gallagher Concept: Dan Carpenter Environment Art: Andrew Baker Cutlar Nordyke Animation: Derek Zivolich Tech: William Harvey Brian Gordon Design: Ken Eland Alexander Loughran UI: Michael Scala Engineering: David Ollman Simon Barker Benjamin Miles Kirk Sexton Production: Karrah Yanta Business Operations: Mike Dixon QA: Chad Finley Troy Way

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🚨 Can Nostalgia create a path back to games industry growth? 🚨 💡 ⤵ I went to watch Inside Out 2 with my daughter on Saturday (well worth a watch!) and one of the new emotions was Nostalgia. Whilst only playing a minor role for 13 year old Riley in the film, it is an emotion increasingly being felt by publishers and gamers. Whether it be big scale returns of old PC classics or emulator apps cropping up on mobile, it is clear that many players are looking for a Nostalgia hit! But Why? Well for me retro gaming scratches a number of intrinsic needs; 1. Familiarity - An old pair of slippers, moulded to you, is just more comfortable than a shiny pair of Air 1s. 2. Mastery - No one likes being a noob. If players can skip learning and get straight to the fun, they will. 3. Community - Who doesn't love getting the old gang back together... Reminiscing. Laughing. Smiling. From a publisher perspective it makes a lot of sense too. Large amounts of the initial development costs have been sunk already, you have a clear target audience to go after and you have the opportunity to turn back the clock and learn from last time. Nostalgia doesn't have to stunt innovation. In Old School RuneScape we have worked with our community to create entirely new quests, game modes and map expansions whilst staying true to the retro vibe players are looking for. And there are more games coming.... I saw today a 2005 server save of Habbo Hotel is being dusted off and relaunched tomorrow with a community-led voting approach.... sounds familiar 🤔 Good luck Sulake. Hope the launch goes well. So we have Old School RuneScape and now Old School Habbo... Come on Lance Priebe lets get the band back together with some Old School Club Penguin! 🐧 🐧 🐧 What other retro games do we need next? #nostalgia #gaming #mmo #gamesindustry #insight

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No squatch sightings last weekend...but wow...what a week since. A massively productive one for The Glitch (on all fronts), and apparently some other things happened around the industry as well...huh. Alright...let's-a-go: OMY@C 🤘 ⛏ - Metallica will be in Fortnite soon. The event is called "Metallica: Fuel Fire Fury," and it will kick off on June 22nd. The San Francisco band got on the Fortnite Festival stage yesterday - so if you're curious...hop on in there. RIP Cliff. RIP Eddie. 🍎 - Apple's WWDC was this week...and their formal entry into Ai was the big takeaway. "Apple Intelligence," was the name they landed on. Essentially, it's Ai integrated through every aspect of their various OS's...adding personal context to everything. My first reaction was...do I want that though? On one hand, this feels like the first real indication of where consumer Ai is headed...on the other: privacy? A big part of Apple's presentation of their Ai is "setting a brand-new standard for privacy in Ai." So...they're well aware of the line that's being crossed. Apple's 5-minute video overview (on their site) shows you how "Ai for the rest of us" will work...and it's easy to be cynical about it. A squirrel DJ...cool. Custom emoji's...neat. Still...you should watch it. When app devs finally start building for this though...look out. PREDICTION: iPhone 16 will be the best selling iPhone yet. The 6 sold 222M units total...71.5MM units in it's first 3 months...so we'll know by year's end how this crazy statement is trending. 📺 🎮 - Mike Verdu will soon be leaving his role as VP of Netflix Games (and starting a new role with the company). Speculation is rampant about what this means for the games unit. It's possible that it means...nothing at all. I'm still massively bullish on the gaming opportunity for Netflix. My personal opinion is that transmedia is the biggest, most exciting play here...but I've also heard there are internal headwinds on that. 🤷‍♂️ 🍷 ⛵ - I'm not going to Cannes...again. Maybe some day. I'll drink rosé and look important at home...again. I'm not bitter. 📺 🎮 - Follow Friday: Two nerds with a webcam...that you absolutely should be following if you're in the games business: 1) Chris Melissinos (Principal Evangelist for Amazon Web Services (AWS) - Video interviews with games industry legends, deep retro dives, and discussions on the top news. 2) Alexander Seropian (Founder/CEO of Look North World) - Host of "The Fourth Curtain," is always a headliner event. 📺 - Palm Royale (Apple+). Kristen Wiig as a social climber in 1960's south Florida. So good. Save a grasshopper for me. 🎵 - Spotify's "Daylist" - pull the throttle back a bit with your list names though. "90's Indie Twee Friday Afternoon," might be accurate...but it's embarrassing. 🎮 - It's been 2 weeks since I picked up Hogwarts Legacy and Vampire Survivors...haven't started either yet. THAT's how busy it's been.

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Does anyone know anyone of consequence at Channel 5? Just look at this title card. Do you remember flying in a plane that has an engine at the back and only on the left wing in the 1970s? Were physics different then? Because that’s a leaning tower of sausage if ever I saw one. Illustrators are out of work across various media industries. There must have been a budget for a title card. But no, they had to use the latest AI fad instead of putting some of the budget on the title card and give a poor soul some reprieve. The ultimate in laziness. You know with the millions who may be put out of work by AI (and the hundreds of thousands who are currently out of work in games, tv and illustration) you have to wonder where the budget from advertising is going to come from - if nobody can afford to buy anything. Because they’re not working. Because of laziness like this. Do some actual creative work. Budget for an illustrator. Honestly seeing stuff like this makes me unbelievably sad and angry. Be better. #generativeai #channel5 #paramount

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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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Today's update from my ongoing process of engagement and learning about the UK video games and interactive entertainment industry is about the value of talking to people, particularly face-to-face. This might be an early candidate for the 'this is not an insight' awards, but bear with me.... So, my 'first 100 days' plan, such as it is, is essentially about building relationships, learning about the industry, engaging with members and shaping an overall picture of what the industry needs and how my organisation can help. In this process, there is nothing better than getting out and speaking to the broadest range of stakeholders to start to build up an overall picture of where the organisation needs to go. I've learnt over the years to approach these conversations with an entirely open mind and to ask questions rather than trying to advance a view. The honest truth, coming into an industry as an outsider, is that there are layers, connections, meanings and ideas which you won't begin to understand at the beginning which can have a profound impact on your overall direction and priorities. Take, for example, a concept which is becoming increasingly central in my thinking about our future strategy - that the industry sits in its own unique category at the intersection of creativity, technology and community. Each of those words, and the concept of the exciting boundary intersection between them, comes from a conversation. 'Creativity' came from speaking with a group of Trustees about the art of making video games - the sheer creative vision and energy it takes to release a game which captures the hearts and minds of players. 'Technology' came from speaking with a stakeholder in Scotland who reminded me that video games have always pushed boundaries - asking 'why not?' and testing the limits of new technologies to deliver amazing player experiences. But it was only yesterday that Luke Hebblethwaite, Head of Games at BAFTA slotted in 'community' as the missing piece - yes, games occupy an exciting space at the meeting point of code and creativity, but the magic ingredient that breathes life into them is the communities they inspire. Both in-game and in people's daily lives, games bring people together, create shared experiences and connect people in a way that crosses all boundaries. In all of these conversations, I take lots of notes. What you end up with is a bit of a 'stream of consciousness', but over a period of weeks, concepts begin to emerge, structures take shape and a sense of direction and purpose starts to come together. The point is fast approaching whereby I need to consolidate all of this into a simple, compelling strategy and action plan. But the sense of 'discovery through conversation' won't stop there - once the plan is live, I will continue to get out and meet as many people as possible both to hear their critiques and their ambitions and to build a coalition towards bringing the vision and strategy to reality.

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Awful news just now with Microsoft announcing it is laying off around 650 employees in its gaming division today. The latest cuts come months after Microsoft laid off 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees, and after the closure of several game studios, including Redfall developer Arkane Austin. Xbox chief Phil Spencer announced the layoffs to employees in an internal memo this morning. The cuts are related to the Activision Blizzard deal, and Spencer makes that clear in his email. (source: https://lnkd.in/eKW9aiaX) 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/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 ❤️ #xbox #layoffs

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The experts' guide to mobile games monetisation: Part one

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