Bryant Francis

2 days ago | gamedeveloper.com | Bryant Francis

At a GlanceMiddleware developer Havok has long been a quiet force driving advancement in 3D technology for big budget games. At GDC 2025, the company announced a new pricing scheme for devs on budgets under $20 million. Though not affordable, the new plan shows how Havok is adapting to the "surprising agility of the industry."For 25 years the logo of middleware tech company Havok has graced the loading screens of big-budget games from across the industry.

6 days ago | gamedeveloper.com | Bryant Francis

Rip and tear and press 'L2' until it is done. At a GlanceDoom: The Dark Ages is id Software's next big entry in the Doom franchise. The game isn't that drastically different from its predecessors, 2016's Doom and 2020's Doom Eternal. With competing 'boomer shooters' building momentum on PC, will a parrying mechanic be enough to make the game a success? id Sofware's Doom: The Dark Ages is the next big test of Microsoft's $7.5 billion purchase of parent company ZeniMax.

1 week ago | gamedeveloper.com | Bryant Francis

At a GlanceA federal appeals court has denied the FTC's demand to halt Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The acquisition—concluded in 2023—is still under a paused internal investigation at the FTC. The United States Federal Trade Commission's demand that the federal courts halt Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard (which wrapped up in late 2023) has been dealt what might be a fatal body blow.

1 week ago | gamedeveloper.com | Bryant Francis

At a GlanceNintendo recently changed the Nintendo Switch eshop's top charts to rank games based on revenue, not downloads. The update has a huge impact on which developers will gain visibility when players browse for games. Last week Nintendo made a major update to the Nintendo Switch online store (referred to as the "eShop")—but you'd be forgiven if you hadn't heard about it.

1 week ago | gamedeveloper.com | Bryant Francis

At a GlanceA judge has rejected Bungie's motion to dismiss a plagiarism lawsuit filed against the Destiny 2 maker in 2024. Bungie's evidence included third-party footage of Destiny 2 that is no longer playable and links to other fan content.