Enshrouded was the darling of the survivalbox world when it emerged in 2023 and hit early access in 2024, and Keen Games has labored ever since with updates (eight large ones, in fact) that kept it in the public eye. This one, however, might be its most important: It’s finally launching this fall. “After over […]
EXCLUSIVE: Ella Balinska is the newest addition to Beach Read, 20th Century Studios’ adaptation of the New York Times bestseller from Emily Henry, which is in production in Toronto. Balinska’s role is being kept under wraps. She joins an ensemble led by Phoebe Dynevor and Patrick Schwarzenegger, which also includes Andie MacDowell, Kevin Bacon, Kristin Davis, Tig […]
Long before Heroes of Might & Magic enjoyed a triumphant return to form with Olden Era, we had King's Bounty: The Legend, a strategy-RPG in the classic HoMM mold only with a single gigantic world map rather than discrete levels, and some quirky ideas about courtly marriage. Infamously, this was the game where you could marry a frog or a zombie.
The most recent sequel toned down the whimsy and ended up being much blander for it. Fortunately, you can skip that and go back to where it began with a newly freshened up King's Bounty: The Legend for modern PCs. Now it fully supports widescreen resolutions without those uggo black bars down the side of the screen. The maximum zoom-out distance has been doubled and the UI's been given a readability pass.
It's also got a bunch of modern Steam features like achievements, trading cards, and a points shop. There's a dedicated Steam Workshop too, though at the moment the only mod is one that undoes one of the aforementioned readability changes and restores the Original Fonts.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, Owlcat Games’ CRPG set in the Darkness of the 41st Millennium, has reached another important milestone with more than 2 million copies sold across PC and consoles. Additionally, the game will receive a physical debut this October in collaboration with Silver Lining, as the Voidfarer Edition launches on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2.
Since Rogue Trader’s launch in 2023, more than 2 million players have become captains of their own voidships, recruited a crew of strong and fanatical companions, and built their own private empire in the Koronus Expanse. The game has since gone on to launch three expansive DLCs, all completely integrated into the main story, alongside new companions, quests, and mechanics, with more on the horizon.
Players have been contributing a myriad of feedback on what they love and hate and what they would like to see in the game. For example, companions and how well they are written are one of the most important aspects of the game.
The companion deemed the most interesting is still Seneschal Abeldard, who takes his duty to represent the von Valancius dynasty very seriously, and there are still many players whose dearest wish is to be able to romance Sister Argenta.
Starting October 15, 2026, prospective players and collectors on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 will also have the opportunity to purchase a physical edition of the game, for the very first time. Produced by Silver Lining, the physical Voidfarer Edition contains the main game, both Void Shadows and Lex Imperialis DLCs, as well as a number of digital goods and exclusive in-game items.
Sony Interactive Entertainment announced Thursday it's laying off a "significant number of employees," according to a memo by CEO Hermen Hulst. The layoffs include "most of the Destiny team and some Marathon team members," as well as operations staff that support Bungie.
In the memo to staff then posted on the Sony blog. "We have made the decision to reduce Bungie’s workforce, affecting a significant number of employees, including most of the Destiny team and some Marathon team members," Hulst wrote. "There are also reductions across SIE teams that support Bungie’s operations. Those impacted at Bungie and within SIE are being informed today."
Bungie's social media accounts confirmed the news, writing, "With great sadness, we are announcing a reduction in force as we reorganize Bungie." The company wrote the changes are "necessary to best position the studio now and for the future."
In May, Bungie announced that it would stop support for Destiny 2. The game received its final update on June 9; it will remain playable, but there will be no more new content. Many fans feared layoffs would follow after the company's announcement, with Bloomberg reporting that layoffs were planned.
Hulst wrote that the decision was made over the past few months.
"Over the past several months, together with Bungie leadership, we reviewed the studio’s long-term direction, development priorities, resource needs, and role within our broader portfolio strategy," Hulst wrote. "We explored multiple alternatives before concluding that a reduction was necessary to align the studio’s resources with its current priorities and long-term goals."
Hulst did not expand on what those alternative strategies were, nor did he confirm just how many people are impacted in this layoff. Forbes estimated in April that Bungie employed around 800 people, with a rough split between Destiny and Marathon. A representative for Sony Interactive Entertainment referred Aftermath to Hulst's memo when asked for information about the number of staff impacted.
A Bungie representative, on the official social media accounts, said that leadership recognizes that Destiny 2 "fell short of expectations" in the past few years. Bungie first released Destiny in 2014, and the sequel was released in 2017. Bungie went independent from Activision in 2019, before Destiny 2 became a free-to-play game in 2020. In 2022, Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired Bungie in a $3.7 billion deal.
Destiny and Destiny 2 sustained a dedicated player base for much of of its lifespan, but the leadership has made some questionable decisions. One of the biggest game impacting ones was the removal of the base game's story and its expansions in 2020; Bungie called the removal of these pieces as content entering the "content vault." The removal of key narrative details meant Destiny and its story were even less accessible to newcomers, and that existing players could no longer access their favorite missions. Destiny 2's first expansion, The Witch Queen, was a hit, but the Lightfall expansion in 2023 was widely considered a disappointment. That same year, Bungie delayed its next expansion, The Final Shape.
Weeks before the delay, Bungie enacted a series of mass layoffs. Bungie axed 100 roles, around 8% of its staff of 1,200 at the time, Bloomberg reported. The studio was "running 45% below projections for the year," according to the report, as the player base declined. In 2024, Bungie laid off 17% of its staff, accounting for 220 roles. Then-CEO Pete Parsons said the layoffs impacted "every level of the company, including most of our executive and senior leader roles." At that time, Parsons said Bungie had more than 850 employees left working on Destiny and Marathon.
Thursdays' mass layoff has seemingly hit all parts of Destiny 2's development: art, gameplay design, analytics, narrative, visual effects, quality assurance, and more. The easier, and devastating, question to answer may be which parts of the team aren't impacted. It's a devastating end to a project that hundreds of developers have spent more than a decade working on.
Bungie wrote on social media the studio's future projects are "in early incubation," and it expects to say more in the future. The studio had been reported to be working on several different incubation projects over the past few years, one of which is code-named Gummybears. It's said to be a MOBA and Super Smash Bros. hybrid; it's unclear if it's still in development after the game was moved from Bungie to a new studio under the PlayStation banner. Bungie was also previously working on a game codenamed Payback, a Destiny offshoot. Bloomberg reported the game was cancelled, months before the 2024 mass layoff, so staff could focus on Marathon. Another mystery game, codenamed Matter, was canceled in 2020; a second, similar project was canceled in 2022, according to IGN.
Following devastating layoffs at Bungie, studio head Justin Truman is reportedly stepping down. Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier reported the news on Bluesky, writing that "people familiar with the situation" have confirmed this to the news outlet.
Truman has served as Bungie's studio head for less than a year, taking the role after former studio head Pete Parsons announced his departure last fall.
The news comes shortly after Bungie shared a post across social media platforms explaining that, due to Destiny 2 falling "short of expectations these past several years," "most" of the Destiny team has been laid off. The studio also confirmed that “some” members of the Marathon team and the Sony Interactive Entertainment team that supported Destiny are being laid off as well.
Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Herman Hulst weighed in on the situation via Sony's official website, writing:
“Over the past several months, together with Bungie leadership, we reviewed the studio’s long-term direction, development priorities, resource needs, and role within our broader portfolio strategy,” Hulst wrote. “We explored multiple alternatives before concluding that a reduction was necessary to align the studio’s resources with its current priorities and long-term goals.”
What this means for Marathon--or a potential Destiny 3--is uncertain, though Bungie stated it will "share more about that future" later.
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