Greg Street

Such a sad situation for Arkane Studios Austin. No team deserves to be shutdown like this. I played a lot of Redfall and enjoyed it. This isn't all corporate greed and stock prices; we as fans have a role in this as well. I'm not saying that we shouldn't critique or call out unkept promises during development. Far too often when we criticize, we lose the human element behind these large projects. Those at Arkane, Bethesda Game Studios, タンゴゲームワークス（Tango Gameworks）, this is not your fault. This situation does not define you or your talents. Move forward when you are ready, and let's help you find your new home. We are stronger together! https://lnkd.in/gjyF6F6t - Unknown Worlds https://sds.com/careers - Striking Distance https://lnkd.in/gmjKux5M - KRAFTON and PUBG #myplesha #gamedevjobs #KRAFTON #gamesindustry #hiring

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At Consensus in Austin this past week I was both excited and disappointed. Let me explain my experience 👇 In this space to build something truly special you have to believe in something. Something that you can explain to someone like they are 5 yrs old. I didn't see a ton of this but there were a few. I heard a lot of pitches that were uninspiring full of buzzwords but there were some that I knew were the real deal within the first 2 minutes. Many will throw out big numbers or talk a big game but when you go through due diligence they fall flat. Many are pushing the space forward but there's a lot of noise, the space is fragmented with seemingly a million chains, protocols, and dApps that nobody asked for. There is a massive explosion right now, the space is on the upswing and people are excited as they should be. Don't get it twisted though, there's only going to be so many winners in the end and there will be a big contraction. It happens with every tech cycle. So how do you do win? The tech has to be really good At least 2x to 3x better ideally Your story has to be better. Do something different! You need someone that can explain the narrative to get the attention you need consistently and that really understands your audience. Leveraging trusted KOL's in the space also helps. The team needs to be able to execute You can only sustain on hype for so long, If you don't ship others will and you'll lose your window. Remove friction so both mainstream users and crypto natives alike can participate ideally. There's only so many crypto natives to go around, we are still very early but removing friction is key to surviving in a bear and thriving in a bull. You need money and incentives to do it all. Having the right network of investors and having the right monetization strategies makes a big difference. Do what you love with people that you like We've been fortunate at Ex Populus and being a core contributor at Xai Games to work with people that we actually enjoy being around. Here's some rockstar people that I met recently that are worth checking out, some of which we're building with and others that are just doing great things in the space: Max Kaufman ⚡️Nick Greenawalt Franco De Cesare Matt L. Nick Frontera Michael Israel Atif Khan Sam Barberie Chase Allred Vincent Ferretti David S. Maxim S. Rimas Jonušauskas Rodri Fernández Touza Nicole Maffeo Danny Soifer dan burke + a few others If I missed you in Austin or are working on something I should know about feel free to drop me a line! Keep your eyes peeled for exciting partnerships announcements in the near future 😉

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

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Games industry DESPERATELY needs to unionize. Since December my LinkedIn feed has been a sea of people looking for work because they've been laid off, due to the "business strategy" of laying people off when you want to look more profitable in Q1 of the next year, or just "trimming the fat"/ "improving efficiency". I won't say my experience was exactly like this necessarily, but I was recently laid off in January, though I haven't marked myself as looking for work due to many reasons, partly being the lack of jobs, all the bots and spam on this website, and the crushing damage to my self-confidence. Either way, NO ONE should be made to feel this way. I've even heard of people getting laid off mid parental leave, or while they're on vacation with limited internet access, THIS IS DESPICABLE. What's worse is in this industry we all experience imposter syndrome, and anytime this happens you can't help but think we're terrible at our jobs, if only you'd worked harder, spent more of your own time improving your skills, you would be essential enough to the company to keep on, but they still could let you go, so it doesn't even matter. CEOs or in general the entire C-suite of people should be held accountable and publicly shamed. If your business strategy is to hire as much talent as possible, realize you can't keep on all that talent, and then lay them off, then you are incompetent, and should not be given a pat on the back for at least giving severance, when you're just following the lowest requirements of the law. The people who you've laid off are people who have built your company and kept the lights on. You can't just use the excuse, "that's just the way the industry is", that's a weak excuse. There are industries that experience frequent lay offs but have a union and support, such as some plants in the auto industry, and the workers have fought hard for years so that they would have those benefits and salary top-ups. Of course that's not always the case and things could be better, but we shouldn't just sigh and be like "it is what it is", and keep trying to work within the system when the system is broken. I'm just mad right now, for myself, but mostly for my friends, and people I don't even know that work in this industry, because I know these devs are hard working people that are constantly learning and trying to improve, and they are now doubting all their skills and feeling like they're not good enough. As for the people who make these mass lay off decisions a regular occurrence, I would like to say something that may even hurt my career and job opportunities, but deserves to be said, and which many devs would like to say or even scream, Fuck you.

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At the heart of EVERYWHERE is ARCADIA! ARCADIA is our building tools, self-publishing system, and library of assets and community-made content. Check the basics of building in ARCADIA out in the video below! #gamedev #UGC #gamedevjobs

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TONIGHT AT 6:30 PM join us for an improvised version of PVP Circuit and help us rebuild our local community brick by brick. I still can't believe I get to work in the video game industry. My 6-year-old would laugh, and then cry once she realized what it means to work in the creative technology sector. That's why IMO everyone could use some levity during these unprecedented times. Join us for a fun evening to raise funds for the Trevor Project. Event link >>> https://lnkd.in/g7tBuP6d Frequently Asked Questions: What if I can't attend the event? - If you can't make it, please consider purchasing a ticket to help us raise money for charity or get one on behalf of someone impacted by layoffs. What if I want to join but can't justify the cost? - If you want to join but find the cost prohibitive, DM me and we'll make it happen (see point above). Do I have to pitch at the event? - No, you don't have to pitch if you prefer to observe. It’s a great way to see how it's done. Will there be another event like this? - We plan to host our community again, but I can't specify if this event will be the focus. #gamesindustry #event #comedy <3

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So sorry to hear about layoffs at Modern Wolf, with 6 staff members being affected. The news broke last night, with my former CA colleague George Willard posting the news, as well as providing information about those also laid off to support re-hiring as quickly as possible. You can find that here: https://lnkd.in/eEXWSgNQ To those impacted by these layoffs, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI: This resource contains around 1,200 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eu2bjadW ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 1,900 jobs worldwide across all links. It also talks about interview tips and questions to practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/etPj22BE 🕹 Quality Assurance: This resource lists over 450 QA jobs worldwide. This post also talks about the craft of QA and contains tips and interview practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/dwwVjZuc 📑 Game Production: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also contains info about game production as a whole and GDC talks. Link: https://lnkd.in/gxDvFM-Z 📢 Marketing & Community: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also gives an intro into game marketing and community management. Link: https://lnkd.in/e5MuViug 🎶 Audio and Sound Design: This resource lists around 190 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eSkPSsWf 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev: This resource lists around 290 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/ePG57_7v ⚙ IT, Helpdesk and DevOps: This resource lists around 140 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/e8ZsuiZh 🎮 Game Design: This resource lists around 480 jobs worldwide. https://lnkd.in/dCv_hQXv 🥈 Second, 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/ 🥉 Third, If you have worked in publishing, please message me. I am looking for quite a few roles right now! ⬅ 🎖 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 ❤️ #layoffs #gamesindustry #jobsingames #modernwolf

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Small productivity hacks for employers: when planning capacity for a new project, factor in "shrink." Shrink is a common operational / call centre metric that basically allows you to account for all the expected(and unexpected) unproductive time when a service rep won't be available to take calls - think: training, lunches, breaks, headaches, random things that come up but you can't think of right now. I hope managers never assume someone will be productive 100% of the time. So you figure out what 100% output would look like and then deduct shrink from that. Doing that gives you a more accurate sense of what you can accomplish with your bandwidth without setting false expectations and burning out your team. It creates a buffer in your operations. It also creates a sense of trust with your team, which will see you as a leader who really cares about them. Because now they know: - they can take care of their sick child,  - or they can go to the vet with their pet, - or they can even study new things that help them evolve professionally or personally, and still get their things done great, on time and schedule. If you want productivity, you must first understand people. Real leaders know that goals are hit when people are happy. They prioritise people over profits. This means you need to: - create a safe work environment  - respect their personal life - build a growing context - offer flexible work - give a fair pay. In other words, you need to step up for them. And you know who will benefit the most from this? Working Parents. #whatifthingsgoright

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Good morning, friends. A topic I often discuss with many of you regarding game job searches is the importance of not fixating on a dream company. Many of you ask, "It's not that easy. There's this place I've always wanted to work at. What do you really mean by this?" Let's unpack this a bit. You don't truly know what a dream company is until you're in the job process and have vetted the organization. It's not about good or bad companies; it's about whether the job's attributes align with what you and your family are looking for. For example, you know how much I love Nintendo and Blizzard. People often ask, "If you're so into Nintendo and Blizzard, why don't you work there?" These are fine places to work, but let's break it down. First, Blizzard and Nintendo, at my seniority level, don't allow remote work and haven't for as long as I know, certainly since I graduated college. This makes it impossible for me to work there even if I wanted to. Secondly, both companies are strict about what staff posts on social media and the types of activities they engage in outside of work. I'm fortunate that at Tencent, my employer supports my current work situation and is exceptionally supportive of my community involvement and personal expression, as long as I do it in my personal time. They understand how important this is to me and acknowledge that, after my family, it's the most important thing in my life. They recognize that people can schedule posts or do things in the evening, making it appear as though there is content throughout the day, even if it's not done during work hours. These may seem like small things, but if your number one hobby is a big part of your life, it's significant. If work location is non-negotiable, that's crucial too. Loving a company's games, IPs, or imagining yourself there is great, but as life progresses, you'll find that the focus shifts from macro to micro details - what the work environment is like, how they approach work-life harmony, and other external factors. I'll always be a fan of many companies, advocating for them, supporting them, and loving their titles. But for my current needs and my family's needs, Tencent Games is my dream company situation. You may also find that as your needs and your employer's needs change, your dream company might become another. So, I encourage you not to think about this concept in the abstract. When you dig in, it all comes down to the particulars.

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Are you a PR rep, media, or content creator in games? I wanna get some feedback from you as we dig into Terminals.io improvements. When it comes to platforms for key requests and distribution, newsletter/press release distribution (and reception), online press kits, etc. what are your major pain points? TLDR: In the coming months we're going to put some more polish on our Terminals.io platform (if you haven't checked it out yet, do!), and we're looking for some input. What can we do better? What are we missing? What do none of the tools you use/encounter do that you wish they did? Any insight is helpful!

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Listen, I'm no prude or pearl clutcher but this is such an important topic. 1) You have team members that don't drink for a number of reasons and making booze your only form of team bonding or celebration leaves them out or forces them into uncomfortable positions. The opposite of the assumed goal. 2) Gaming as an industry in particular has rampant sexual harassment and abuse. Involvement of alcohol does not help. This isn't fear mongering - I know of, have seen, or experienced several incidents. 3) You don't have to go totally dry 100% of the time to be safe and inclusive, but you do need to factor in safety measures. It wouldn't hurt to stop making booze the primary activity as well. If you need a selfish reason, the liability alone isn't worth it.

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CEO accidentally admits he's mostly useless! 😲 Zoom CEO, Eric Yuan, makes it clear that "90%" of his job could be done by a fancy auto-reply. Apparently, he thinks 90% of all jobs involve emails and meetings that can be replaced with AI-generated responses. I don't know which is stranger - that the CEO of *ZOOM* is trying to eliminate meetings (the very thing that makes them money), or that a CEO just implied 90% of his job does not require any real effort, thought, or innovation. (Also, no learning, problem-solving, brainstorming, synthesizing of new information, etc...) Perhaps, he should return 90% of the $28M he made in compensation this year...clearly he has done little to earn it. Article here: https://lnkd.in/gvv297Fn

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Today I want to tell a story. I've been holding onto it for a specific circumstance, but in case that doesn't happen, forgive the rough edges. For the longest time, I wanted to be a games journalist. I've known how to play games and deconstruct their mechanics ever since I spent many school summer holidays playing the same Playstation games over and over. I would be the kid that would read games magazines, mostly for the cheat codes, on occasion spotting an article about the next Pokemon game that I just had to tell my friends about. I was never taught or told that being a "critic" or "journalist" was a career, let alone in games. Media Studies wasn't even a subject my high school taught until sixth form options, so I'd have to get by with learning how to deconstruct the written word - often Shakespeare or "Of Mice and Men" - in English Literature class. Jump forward to 2014/5. I was in University, with the freedom to learn about "the media" and online video (YouTube) as I had experienced through college. Despite being on a TV Production course, and though we students all knew the influence social media was going to play in our careers, games were still part of my plan. Through friendships and unsuccessfully trying out for the Student Union's monthly news series as a "games correspondent", I was able to work on a project with a criminology student who also liked games. He ran his own YouTube channel, as I had done under many brands and guises over the years, but he was more consistent. I came on board as his camera operator during EGX Rezzed and we made a few interview videos together. One of which I want to bring to the attention of Hyper Luminal Games. Yes, happy birthday Hyper Luminal! 🎉 We've both changed since this video about Big Crown Showdown! Congrats on releasing Pine Hearts - a wholesome cosy game that is a love letter to the simple life in Scotland. I can't wait to play the full thing - Melissa kindly showed me it at WASD this year, it really was charming! Things have a weird way of coming back around. I don't believe in karma, but I've been watching the work of many studios that I admire and wondered where I fit, thinking maybe there are some answers in my previous work. So, this little story is tale of never forgetting your roots, and celebrating them where you can! Also, if I may be a bit cheeky: If you ever have the availability Hyper Luminal, I would love the chance to join your team! I can assure you my on-screen presence and ability to manage events & communities is far better than what I could manage 10 years ago. I'm happy to work on a relocation plan up to Dundee, be that to work for the core studio under Melissa's expert & bubbly guidance, or having the opportunity to scout for Little Nook's next great wholesome story to share. Here's to both our next chapters! Video:

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It is awful. Truly awful. Around 15% of Intel Corporation's staff (meaning over 15,000 people) are facing layoffs this year. I want to provide as much support as I can about this happening. I know that Intel is not a games studio, but the amount of support they are giving games studios is not to be under-estimated. When I worked at other games studios in the past, we had wonderful working relationships with them, getting support through driver optimisations, supporting technical tests, even offering to feature our games on their network and providing exclusive access to gamers to our closed alpha or closed beta tests. This kind of relationship was special. Regardless of which areas of Intel are going to feel layoffs, with 15% of the workforce, that will be felt everywhere in the organisation. Those of you who worked even remotely in gaming, 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 ❤️ #intel #layoffs

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Paradox Interactive announced today that Double Eleven, the developer behind Prison Architect 2, will be stepping away from the project after nine years with the Prison Architect franchise. Good news first, construction on Prison Architect 2 isn't being halted! Co-development studio Kokku, who's been working on the game since 2023 and previously collaborated with Double Eleven, will take the lead in bringing the sequel to completion. The news comes with a hint of complication. While Prison Architect 2 passed certification, negotiations between Paradox and Double Eleven for continued development reached an impasse. Technical hurdles, particularly with memory usage and minimum specifications, emerged during final testing. Paradox, likely wary of past performance issues (think Cities: Skylines 2), emphasizes their commitment to delivering a high-quality sequel that honors the Prison Architect legacy. Kokku, a Brazilian studio with a history of co-development and outsourcing on major titles like Horizon Forbidden West and Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War, is now at the helm to ensure Prison Architect 2's smooth launch. The Prison Architect series, which began in 2015 with the original simulation/management game, is still on track for a 2024 release with Prison Architect 2. While the development team has shifted, fans can rest assured that work on this highly anticipated sequel continues. (source: https://lnkd.in/dWtBvDhN)

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Obviously something went horribly wrong with Concord. I hope someday we'll hear from devs who worked on this game. 8 years is a long dev time, and to see it all comes crashing down in just a few weeks must be devastating. I often hear that people don't want hero shooters anymore, and I think its mostly true. Ive clocked-in in about 30 hours in Deadlock, and its clear to me that this game has a lot more in common with MOBA than a hero shooter. Concord seemed heavily inspired by Destiny PvP, with great overall production value. To go head on with a game like Overwatch, that has been providing a lot of very high quality content, now for Free, almost a decade later is very very risky. Especially when your game is Buy to Play. And let's talk about Overwatch, Overwatch has arguably one of the best production value I have seen in any multiplayer game. Overwatch is a landmark game. This is really the truth. And now imagine, players got tired of a game that has put the bar extremely high for any other hero-based game. A lot of us seem to forget about that. I just launched Overwatch today, again, and it reminded me of how every detail from the UI, the characters, the branding, is all so pixel perfect. Multiplayer game development and release is tough. A lot of empathy goes towards the Concord team, for what could have been. #Concord #Gamedevelopment #Gaming #VideoGames #overwatch #Sony #PS5 #multiplayer

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Some great tips from Alex Gombos on how to write a resume that helps you get past the filters of an ATS!

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I just left a video call with yet another game studio executive trying to navigate having secured initial funding and now running out of cash with a potential closure of their studio looming. In addition to sadness, I can’t help feeling as though both the investors and the studio headed down an unnecessarily dangerous path from the start. Investors can play a critical role in the success of a game studio by providing capital and expertise. However, applying traditional investment models may cause developers to pivot from best practices in order to secure the investment. The unintended consequence is that risks can be added instead of mitigated, and it is important for both parties to navigate together carefully to avoid common pitfalls. Examples of these risks include making a game larger to increase potential returns, hiring a big internal team to maximize enterprise value, setting unmovable deadlines to keep the dates of future returns in place and, as faced by the studio I just spoke with, providing only initial funding. These decisions may lead to a riskier project to manage and one that is not attuned to the challenging reality that finding fun cannot be promised by a given date. Starting full production too soon is a recipe for the studio to risk cost overruns while piloting a battleship when the agility of a speedboat is still required. Without a clear funding path, a studio can end up burning investment capital intended for development on pitching and demos. Games are not well suited to ‘build ten things fast, expect nine to fail and one to skyrocket’. They need to be nurtured by oversight which advances step by step towards success. This doesn’t mean a game should be finished at all costs, it just allows the investor and developer to pull the plug on a project that is not coming together before full production, so that the team can focus on the next opportunity while there is money left in the bank. The good news is that digital games sell forever, and game franchises are strong platforms to build upon with sequels and additional content. For investors open to long term cash generation, games are a great match. If a fund has a maturation date, successful IP can be sold based on future revenues. Fundamentally, rather than pressing for a quick home run, the most consistent returns come from supporting quality studios making games iterated through feedback from the team, testing with consumers and learnings from the industry. This approach lays the groundwork for developing “singles and doubles” into powerhouse franchises. The greatest investor impact comes from adapting fund structures and return models to account for development best practices. Success hinges on a strong partnership of developers and investors together forging new ground that is aligned to the unique dynamics of the game industry.

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