Here are the Games Industry Highlights | Week 14-15 | 2024

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀

 Roughly 150 workers at Sega of America, Inc. have become the first employees at a North American video-game company to ratify a union contract.

 Ubisoft is laying off dozens of customer service employees in the US and UK.

 Ex-Sega studio Relic Entertainment hit by fresh layoffs following sale.
Last year, Sega laid off 121 staff, now 41 additional jobs have been cut with more to follow.

Take-Two Interactive set to acquire Gearbox Entertainment. The transaction is valued at $460 million and expected to close in Q1 2025.

 The Triple-I Initiative announced a new showcase that focuses on big indie studios, airing on April 10
https://iii-initiative.com/

Newzoo’s annual report on the state of the PC & console gaming market is back and free to download:
https://newzoo.com/resources/trend-reports/pc-console-gaming-report-2024

 60 Percent of playtime in 2023 went to +6yo games.
The industry is growing, but the biggest names remain Fortnite, GTA, Call of Duty, and Roblox.

Rami Ismail will have to change his “50% of Vlambeer” opening introduction in talks, as he sold his shares to co-founder Jan Willem Nijman.

 Submissions are now LIVE for Day of the Devs: Summer Game Fest Edition 2024 (deadline April 12!) https://www.dayofthedevs.com/submit/

𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗴𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀

Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds announced the results of the first funding call for 2024. Congrats REVEAL game studio, Rocket Vulture, ROGUE6, Godspear Games, Slappy Inc., Pajama Llama Games and more!
Check the list of projects on Flemish Games Association‘s blog: https://www.flega.be/here-are-the-first-vafgame-funding-call-results-of-this-year-2/

 Beeswax Games announced NO PLAYERS ONLINE. A full commercial title based on the original game from 2019, built from the ground up.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2701800/No_Players_Online/

 Applications for the Belgian Games booth at gamescom have opened. Deadline, May 15: https://www.flega.be/apply-for-the-belgiangames-gamescom-booth/

Pandaroo Interactive has released Pawggle for free on Steam, their own take on the classic Peggle series:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2513230/Pawggle/

Cyborn shared the inspiration, development insights, and how Hubris came to be: https://www.blog.viveport.com/post/hubris-vr-development

 Two Flanders Game Hub events scheduled for tomorrow, 10 April in Ghent:
Geo-location for XR games: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/niantic-ar-playground-presents-webar-101-with-stijn-spanhove-tickets-872184777147
AI for Gamedev Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/ai-in-digital-arts-game-development-and-entertainment/events/299769831/

ForsVC partners with the Belgian Game Directory , a platform highlighting the rapidly growing gaming industry in Belgium. This partnership marks our commitment to boosting the Belgian gaming ecosystem. https://gameindustry.be/