Oleg Bobrov

Jan 9, 2024 | gamedeveloper.com | Rod Humble |Oleg Bobrov

At the end of February 2023, I received an email from Arsenii Tarasov of GTP Media that ended with a postscript, “We love cats (and games about cats) too! :)”. Although I do love both cats and games about cats, these lines won’t be about our quadrupedal friends that unintentionally(?) dominated the Internet in less than a decade. Instead, these lines will focus on the vast field of the indie gaming scene, which I recently had the opportunity to explore to some extent.

Jan 9, 2024 | gamedeveloper.com | Rod Humble |Oleg Bobrov

PlayStation broke a platform record in December 2023 after attracting 123 million monthly active users (MAUs). The milestone was touted during the Sony's CES 2024 Press Conference (thanks GameSpot) and comes with the PlayStation 5 having just topped 50 million lifetime sales. It's a figure that suggests increased engagement during the third quarter of the fiscal year.

Jan 9, 2024 | gamedeveloper.com | Rod Humble |Oleg Bobrov

Last year it was rumoured that TikTok owner ByteDance, owner of Marvel Snap publisher Nuverse and other video game companies, was considering selling up and exiting the mainstream gaming market. Now, Reuters is reporting that fellow Chinese video game and tech conglomerate Tencent wants to purchase some of those assets from ByteDance. A ByteDance spokesperson told Reuters that talks with Tencent and other parties are ongoing but that a deal has yet to be reached.

Jan 9, 2024 | gamedeveloper.com | Rod Humble |Oleg Bobrov

Unity is laying off around 1,800 workers to "position itself for long-term and profitable growth."The engine maker reduced its headcount significantly during 2023 and intends to carry that trend into the new year, citing a need to restructure and refocus on its core business. The company confirmed the news in an SEC filing and said the layoffs represent 25 percent of its current workforce.

Jan 8, 2024 | gamedeveloper.com | Rod Humble |Oleg Bobrov

At a GlanceA full week into 2024, and the 20-year-old Steam has hit a new player benchmark. Within the first week of the new year, Steam has set a new peak for simultaneous players. As revealed by analyst Morwull, the platform reached 33.68 million concurrent players yesterday (January 7). As noted by WCCFTech, it's a small increase from the previous peak of near-33.6 millionCompared to the 30 million milestone of fall 2022, this is a 12.2 percent bump up.