Danielle Riendeau

New York

EIC @gamedevdotcom, @BerkleeCollege adjunct, BJJ Purple Belt 🤼‍♀️, hobbyist game dev, runner, volunteer EMT. She/her. https://t.co/wnU3UiWf9h

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Articles

Jade Raymond steps away from Haven Studios

1 month ago | gamedeveloper.com | Danielle Riendeau

Industry vet Jade Raymond has stepped away from Haven Studios, the outfit she founded in 2021. A Haven Studios representative confirmed the departure following the initial Bloomberg report on the leadership change, however both the company's statement and internal news of the departure reportedly came without context as to why Raymond was moving on. "Jade Raymond has been an incredible partner and visionary force in founding Haven Studios," reads that statement provided to Bloomberg.
NCSoft invests in TX-based studio founded by id, Naughty Dog alums

1 month ago | gamedeveloper.com | Danielle Riendeau

NCSoft announced a strategic equity investment in Emptyvessel, a new studio staffed by veterans from heavy hitters like Activision, Naughty Dog, id Software, Disney and more, to help bring its cyberpunk tactical shooter Defect to market. It's the latest investment in the Korean publisher's increasingly global portfolio, discussed at length in our interview with CEO of NC America Jeonghee Jin.
Vox sells Polygon to Valnet in a blow to video game market

1 month ago | gamedeveloper.com | Danielle Riendeau

Vox media has sold Polygon, its video game and entertainment publication, to Valnet, owner of several entertainment brands including Collider, TheGamer, and GameRant. "Many" staff have reportedly been laid off in the sale. The news broke as workers took to Bluesky and other social media platforms to announce they are now out of a job, including editor-in-chief Chris Plante. Layoffs in games media have run paralell to massive layoffs in games.
Is Blue Prince's success due to 'social play?'

2 months ago | gamedeveloper.com | Danielle Riendeau

I may be slightly obsessed with Blue Prince, developer Dogubomb's recently released adventure/puzzle/mystery game that sees players drafting rooms in a massive, surreal manor, teasing out clues with each action and each day.
Ubisoft spins off new subsidiary for three of its biggest franchises in partnership with Tencent

Mar 28, 2025 | gamedeveloper.com | Danielle Riendeau

Ubisoft has just announced its latest "transformation" by starting up a new subsidiary for some of its biggest and most battle-tested franchises. Confirming the whispers earlier in the month, the new company (as yet unnamed) comes with an investment of a cool €1.16bn (around $1.25 billion USD) from Chinese conglomerate Tencent, which will own a minority stake.
art directing the style and lives of an indie-pop band

Mar 17, 2025 | gamedeveloper.com | Danielle Riendeau

IGF finalistWe Are OFK (now also known as Pop. Love. Panic!) is a beautifully animated game/interactive series about a virtual indie pop band's origins. In this free GDC Vault video (embedded above) co-art director Nafisah Tung dives deep on how they and the team contributed to the style and personality of the characters.
5 devs that made an impact

Dec 20, 2024 | gamedeveloper.com | Danielle Riendeau |Chris Kerr |Bryant Francis

+1Danielle Riendeau, Chris Kerrand 1 moreAt a GlanceIt's not especially easy to make games in the best of times, let alone now. These are a few of the developers we’d like to send a special note of kudos to. It is redundant to the point of comedy to say 2024 was a difficult year to be a game developer (or a human being in general, but right now, we're talking about workers in an industry undergoing such turmoil).
Build a Rocket Boy acquires PlayFusion

Dec 10, 2024 | gamedeveloper.com | Danielle Riendeau

Build a Rocket Boy (BARB) has just announced its acquisition of UK-based PlayFusion. Via press release, veteran Rockstar developer (and former Rockstar North president) Leslie Benzies' developer/publisher has scooped up PlayFusion. As part of the deal, PlayFusion CEO and CTO Mark Gerhard will serve as Co-CEO next to Benzies.
Game Developer Podcast Ep. 48

Nov 27, 2024 | gamedeveloper.com | Danielle Riendeau

Nothing helps dull the sharp edges of the holidays quite like an addicting mobile game in your pocket, and nothing helps foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of said mobile game quite like a podcast interview with one of its lead developers.
Some Sega Classics games to be delisted in December

Nov 7, 2024 | gamedeveloper.com | Danielle Riendeau

At a GlanceSega is delisting a number of its Sega Classics titles next month across Steam and consoles. On December 6, a number of Sega Classics titles will be delisted from Steam, Nintendo Switch, and the Xbox and PlayStation ecosystems. The publisher made the full list of delistings available in an article , noting that all owned and downloaded games will still be available in players' libraries.