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Epic Games is introducing Easy Anti-Cheat support for Linux, Mac, and the Steam Deck through its Epic Online Services toolkit. The Fortnite maker had already made Easy Anti-Cheat available to Windows developers for free, and is now extending the same courtesy to creators on Linux and Mac. Notably, the technology will also be supported on Valve's upcoming Steam Deck console, which is being pitched as a jack-of-all-trades machine capable of running a plethora of Steam titles in portable or docked mode. http://dev.epicgames.com/en-US/home --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

Apple has been hit with a permanent injunction that will prevent it from prohibiting links to third-party payment options on the App Store as a result of the Epic v. Apple lawsuit. As reported by The Verge, the injunction was issued by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers in a bid to increase competition and transparency, and will seemingly allow developers to more effectively highlight alternative payment methods on the App Store -- and in some cases, in applications themselves. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/epic-v-apple-case-results-in-permanent-injunction-that-could-pry-open-the-app-store full documents https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21060631/apple-epic-judgement.pdf --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

Valve has announced that the Steam Deck Dev Kit request form is now open for developers. Valve dropped the announcement and request form over in the Steamworks forum, informing developers that Dev Kit supplies are limited, and they’ll be reviewing requests on a case-by-case basis. Developers interested in acquiring a kit and developing software specifically for the platform can link with other developers on the Steam Deck forum. If you’re working on a game for Steam right now and are trying to determine if you need a Dev Kit—you should definitely remember that Valve has promised most games will work on the platform thanks to Proton, which allows many Windows games to run on the Linux-based Steam OS that powers the Steam Deck. Valve has said that “most games” tested on the Steam Deck are running fine and at 30 frames per second, but cross-checking websites like ProtonDB does show that some games aren’t properly optimized to run on the OS at this moment. So if you’re itching for that Dev Kit, you can request one from Valve here. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

It was a challenging first half for the fiscal year of 2021 for CD Projekt. But even after enduring a rough launch for Cyberpunk 2077 and the subsequent delisting of the game from the PlayStation digital store, the Polish parent company of CD Projekt Red and GOG.com still turned a profit—albeit a smaller one than the same period in 2020. Per its financial report for the six month period ending June 30 2021, CD Projekt’s revenue rose from 344 million PLN in the first half of 2020 (about $89 million) to 470.6 million PLN (about $123.6 million) in the same half this year. CD Projekt leadership also stated that it’s aiming to have versions of The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 available for PS5 and the Xbox Series X|S available by year’s end. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/cd-projekt-revenues-rise-profits-slide-in-rough-first-half-of-2021 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Grand Theft Auto maker Rockstar Games, has filed a lawsuit against the modders who reverse engineered Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City. As spotted by Rockstar Intel, the lawsuit claims the mod team deliberately "sought unlawfully to copy, adapt, and distribute to the public infringing source code for two classic GTA titles." It adds that both projects, better known as 're3' and 'reVC,' are evidence of copyright infringement as they enable players to install and run GTA III and Vice City on multiple platforms, including those on which they never saw an official release, and feature unofficial enhancements. Lawsuit https://github.com/GTAmodding/re3 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

This change apparently went into effect in 2020 but was noticed yesterday by AskAboutGames editor Andy Robinson while reviewing the rating for inkle’s latest interactive story game Overboard. Overboard is a reverse murder-mystery simulator where the player attempts to get away with murder on a cruise ship. The game does feature mild violence, suggestively sexual themes, and depictions of alcohol use. But a scene where you can play Blackjack with another character caused the ratings board to apply a PEGI-18 rating to the game. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/gambling-in-your-game-will-now-automatically-land-it-a-pegi-18-rating --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

Longtime BioWare general manager Casey Hudson has revealed his next adventure after departing the Mass Effect studio last year. That new project? A new game development studio with a small, agile team and flat organization structure at its center. Hudson unveiled Humanoid Studios, today, teasing the new company as something "built to unleash the creative freedom of developers - bringing innovation and artistry to players through an all-new IP." As to what that new IP is, Hudson and Humanoid are keeping that quiet for now. However, while the website is light on information, job listings for a number of vacancies the fledgling studio hopes to fill offer more insight into its goals. "Humanoid Studios is a new videogame company founded on the axiom that creative freedom and independence lead to better, more innovative games. We believe in the power of small, agile teams, and a flat organizational structure, where everyone is empowered to make decisions and help drive the project vision," explains one listing. More on Humanoid, and those vacant positions, can be found here. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/384323/Casey_Hudsons_new_Humanoid_Studios_focuses_on_the_charm_of_small_agile_teams.php --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

Vela Games, the Dublin-based studio established in 2018 by a group of former Riot and EA developers, has raised $17.3 million in Series A funding to build out its debut title. The funding round was led by Novator with additional investment from Ubisoft and LVP, and will allow Vela to continue working on 'Project-V,' its codenamed debut release that's being pitched as a skill-based co-operative experience in the newly defined 'Multiplayer Online Co-Operative' (MOCO) genre. Vela had previously raised $6.9 million to build a 25-person development team to refine its design, and the latest funding round comes after the company successfully launched its first public play testing period earlier this year. The new investment will allow Vela to continue expanding its team, with the company having added talent from Blizzard, Epic, Riot, and Moon Studios in recent months, while also providing financial support ahead of a secondary test phase later this year. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/384279/Vela_Games_raises_173_million_to_create_debut_coop_title_codenamed_ProjectV.php June 30, 2021 | By Chris Kerr --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

A group of former Riot Games developers have established a new studio called Amihan Entertainment. Amihan co-founder Naomi McArthur, formerly a senior game designer at Riot, broke the news on social media and explained she'll be leading the design on the nascent studio's debut title. McArthur established Amihan alongside Kenneth Liu, who'll be serving as company CEO and previously worked as revenue lead at Riot, and Paul Loy, a former Riot technology lead who'll now be working as Amihan's chief technology officer. According to Amihan's company page on Linkedin, the team will be focused on developing "uplifting, lifelong games" for everyone and will be a fully remote enterprise. "Started by a trio of ex-Riot co-founders, Amihan is an early, venture-backed game studio that aims to craft uplifting, lifelong games for all humans," it reads. "Our work-from-anywhere team is 100 percent fully remote, and we truly champion the idea that diversity of experience empowers us to build world-class IP." McArthur has promised to share more details about Amihan soon, but for now posted some early concept art online (shown below). --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

Room 8 Group has opened a new studio in Canada to provide creative, development, and management services to development partners working on free-to-play mobile titles and console games. The video game holding company provides external development support to studios worldwide, and has worked on notable projects including Control, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and World of Tanks. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/384394/Room_8_Group_opens_Montreal_studio_to_offer_external_support_to_more_developers.php June 30, 2021 | By Chris Kerr --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

A number of developers appear to be speaking out about the quality of support (or lack thereof) from Sony in regards to pricing and placing games on the PlayStation store. As with all things happening on Twitter you have to pick through a few threads to find the key details, but the gist is this: numerous developers are alleging that Sony offers little support when indie developers want to put their games on sale or meaningfully promote their game in the PlayStation store at launch. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/384410/Developers_express_ire_over_PlayStations_promotional_policies.php --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

Turkish mobile studio Dream Games has raised $155 million in Series B funding to continue supporting its debut title, Royal Match. The latest funding round was led by Index Ventures and Makers Fund, and means Dream is now valued at $1 billion. The Istanbul-based company was established by a group of former Peak Games employees in 2019 and had already raised $50 million in March this year. Dream CEO and co-founder Soner Aydemir explained the cash will be used to "grow [Royal Match] everywhere," with the match-3 puzzler having climbed into the top-20 grossing charts in the UK, US, and Germany within three months of launch while also racking up over 6 million monthly active users. "We are very focused on making great games that appeal to all types of players across the globe," said Aydemir. "We are very proud of the early success of Royal Match and will utilize the investment to grow the game everywhere. We are very excited about our investors’ confidence in the potential for Dream Games." https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/384428/Mobile_studio_Dream_Games_nets_155_million_in_funding_at_1_billion_valuation.php --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

Wildlife Studios has opened a new Los Angeles studio called Foxbear Games that will be led by former Marvel Strike Force game director Jonathan Durr. The mobile game company explained that Foxbear will operate independently and work to create RPG titles that bring different audiences to the genre. The news comes a few months after Wildlife opened two other studios in Never Forget Games and SuperWow Games, meaning the company now has three in-house studios under its umbrella. Source https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/384437/Wildlife_taps_former_Marvel_Strike_Force_director_to_lead_new_studio_Foxbear_Games.php July 1, 2021 | By Chris Kerr --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

Drop Fake, a new studio helmed by former EA vice president Katherine de Leon, has raised $9 million to develop multiplayer social games that move people, starting with a cross-platform 4X strategy title for PC and mobile. As reported by GamesBeat, the studio was established with the remit of championing authenticity and diversity in both its game projects and company culture. Source: July 1, 2021 | By Chris Kerr --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

he makers of VRChat have picked up $80 million in funding in a round of Series D investments led by Anthos Capital, with participation from Makers Fund, GFR Fund, and other investors. Per a press release, the company said it intends to build on the services currently used by over 40,000 concurrent users. The $80M will be used to “expedite development of a creator economy,” develop a “social discovery system for more meaningful experiences,” and expand the software to other VR platforms. VRChat has stood out as a somewhat unexpected success in the VR World—it’s not a game, but a social space where users can goof around and socialize using custom-made, sometimes copyright-skirting avatars. The platform has risen to mainstream attention on a number of occasions—including after the 2020 election—where a group of users recreated the site of former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani’s ill-fated election press conference in the parking lot of Four Seasons Landscaping in Philadelphia. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/384176/VRChat_scoops_up_80_million_in_funding_with_help_from_Anthos_Capital.php --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

Mobile developers will soon be able to reach PC audiences with little added effort on their part thanks to a new feature announced for Microsoft's upcoming operating system, Windows 11. For the first time, Windows will allow its users to download and run Android apps directly to their PC via the official Microsoft store app launching with Windows 11. Interestingly, Android-maker Google doesn't seem to be particularly involved in the process. Instead, the Microsoft Store will directly host games and apps from the Amazon Appstore, Amazon's partially third-party storefront most commonly seen on Android and Amazon's own Fire devices. June 24, 2021 | By Alissa McAloon --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

Microsoft has told The Verge a new policy change that allows Microsoft Store developers to keep 100 percent of revenue from payments made via their own or third-party systems won't apply to video games. Yesterday we noted that Microsoft would be allowing developers to use their own or third-party commerce platforms within the redesigned Microsoft Store without paying Microsoft any fees -- essentially letting them keep every single drop of revenue if they choose to go that route. While it's still a notable policy change, the Xbox maker has confirmed that game developers won't be able to take advantage of it when it comes into effect on July 28, although the company didn't offer an explanation as to why. It's an interesting stance given Microsoft recently outlined plans to offer Microsoft Store game developers an 88 percent revenue share from August 1, 2020,  marking a fairly sizeable increase on the 70 percent split it currently offers. At the time, Xbox Games Studios head Matt Booty said the upswing was designed to encourage developers to "bring more games to more players, and find commercial success from doing so." That policy, however, wasn't extended to game developers on Xbox consoles, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella suggesting that higher platform fees make sense on consoles because the hardware itself is being subsidized by Microsoft. Source https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/384131/Everybody_but_game_devs_can_earn_more_on_the_Microsoft_Store_starting_July_28.php June 25, 2021 | By Chris Kerr --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

Two leakers have been told to pay The Pokemon Company a sizable $150,000 each in damages along with attorneys' fees after taking and uploading photographs of an unreleased Pokemon Sword and Shield strategy guide to the internet back in 2019. As reported by Polygon, The Pokemon Company initially filed the lawsuit because the leaks revealed some unannounced features and information including the Gigantamax forms of certain Pokemon. The company was unsure who was responsible for the leaks when it filed the suit, but after an investigation has named the culprits as Bryan Garcia Cruz and David Andino Maisonave, the latter of whom worked at the company hired to print copies of the strategy guide, LSC Communications. "Defendant (David Andino Maisonave) took pictures of The Pokemon Company's unreleased strategy guide on or about November 1, 2019. Defendant shared the illicit pictures of the strategy guide with a friend who also knew defendant Bryan Garcia Cruz," reads a court filing. "Defendant's friend shared the pictures of the Strategy Guide in a group chat that included Mr. Cruz. Mr. Cruz then posted the pictures taken by Defendant on the Internet." In its original lawsuit, The Pokemon Company said the leaks -- which spread around the internet despite being met with takedown requests -- had resulted in actual damages, lost profits, and reputational damage. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/383988/Pokemon_leakers_told_to_pay_150000_each_in_damages_to_The_Pokemon_Company.php June 23, 2021 | By Chris Kerr --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

Microsoft has quietly announced that its special refund provisions for CD Projekt Red's infamous Cyberpunk 2077 are coming to a close due to improvements made to the game since its catastrophic December launch. The Xbox maker, along with PlayStation and CD Projekt itself, rolled out a special refund policy following Cyberpunk 2077's debut in late 2020 when it was rapidly discovered that the console versions of the game weren't functioning nearly as well as advertised. According to a support page update, Cyberpunk 2077 will instead start to use the company's standard refund policy for digital games as of July 6. "The team at CD Projekt Red continues to work hard to improve the experience of Cyberpunk 2077 for Xbox players and has made a number of updates," reads Microsoft's note. "Given these updates, Microsoft will be returning to our standard digital game refund policy for Cyberpunk 2077 on July 6 for both new and existing purchases." https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/384036/Microsofts_special_Cyberpunk_2077_refund_policy_ends_July_6.php June 23, 2021 | By Alissa McAloon --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

Steam's regional pricing feature allows devs to sell games for different prices depending on where the purchaser is located, a utility that aims to scale each game's price to better match income in different countries throughout the world. While the system makes buying reasonably priced games a possibility for people in countries where $60 USD is an unreasonable sum, the well-intended feature also makes it possible for Steam users to purchase games way below the going rate for their actual country of residence. Steam's latest change aims to make regional pricing much harder to abuse by decreasing how many times Steam users can change their account's location. Changes spotted by the folks at SteamDB note that, moving forward, an account's country can only be changed once every 3 months. This follows other changes over the years meant to cut down on unscrupulous use of regional pricing such as requiring an account's location to match that of its payment method. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/384037/Steams_latest_change_aims_to_prevent_buyers_from_gaming_regional_pricing.php June 23, 2021 | By Alissa McAloon --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support