Bungie, Game Informer, and Earnings Reports | Kaser Focus

It turned out to be a much more emotional week than I expected, not to mention another busy week. For starters, we had another round of layoffs at a major gaming company — in this case, Bungie. The company laid off 220 people after CEO Pete Parsons admitted that those running the company were “overly ambitious” and stretching themselves too thin. They also reportedly promised Sony things they couldn’t deliver, according to anonymous sources speaking to Game File.

Another blow this week came when GameStop shut down legendary gaming news site Game Informer without warning, also laying off its entire staff. Game Informer is literally the same age as me and I’ve been reading it for as long as I’ve been into video games — so seeing its light go out so suddenly is an emotional blow. Even today, I still check the site at least once a week: its organized calendar of game releases for the year has always been helpful in keeping track of that particular column. It’s now unavailable, as the entire site has been replaced by a farewell landing page.

Additionally, while it’s not necessarily emotional, it’s another week of looking at earnings reports from major companies. Presenting visuals and numbers regarding the fate of each company can be a bit daunting — Nintendo’s report, for example, shows the Nintendo Switch approaching the end of its twilight years as sales decline. Additionally, according to Microsoft’s quarterly report, while Xbox content and services revenue (also known as Game Pass) is growing, Xbox hardware revenue is declining rapidly, and has been since the last quarter.

On a personal note, I’m continuing my refreshing playthrough of Dragon Age: Inquisition — something I realized only after posting the last Kaser Focus that I never explicitly said I was doing to prepare for The Veilguard. I’m also taking advantage of this week, which has a relatively light release schedule, to start playing games I’ve missed so far, including games like Turnip Boy Robs a Bank and Vampire Therapist. Variety is the spice of life.

What to play this week

What’s new:

• Thank God you’re here!
• Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
• Convallaria’s Sword
• Garden Path
• The minds beneath us
• Kitsune Tails
• Place for sale

What’s new in subscription services:

• SteamWorld Heist (Prime Gaming)
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Prime Graphics)
• Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness (Prime Gaming)
• Tomb Raider: Final Revelation + Chronicles (Prime Gaming)
• XDefiant (Amazon Luna)
• Batman Arkham Knight (Amazon Luna)
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Amazon Luna)
• Wobbledogs (Amazon Luna)
• Horizon Chase Turbo (Amazon Luna)
• Ultra Kill (Amazon Luna)
• Monster Truck Championship (Amazon Luna)
• Kunai (Amazon Luna)
• Young Souls (Amazon Luna)
• Wonder Boy (Amazon Luna)
• Cyber ​​Knights: Flashpoint (GeForce Now)
• Darkness and Gloom (GeForce Now)
• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (GeForce Now)
• Stormgate Early Access (GeForce Now)
• Vampire Survivors+ (Apple Arcade)
• Temple Run: Legends (Apple Arcade)
• Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (Nintendo Switch Online)