Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors has told investors the PC / Console segment is the ‘bad guy’ within the company. Outlining why Embracer has stopped providing hard guidance each quarter, Wingefors said there’s some “lumpiness” within Embracer’s PC / Console business that prevents it from looking too far into the future. Case in point: Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, which is being published by Embracer subsidiary Deep Silver, was just delayed until February 2025 (thanks Eurogamer).

Crytek released the 1896 update for Hunt: Showdown last week, and PC players have returned to the multiplayer shooter in droves. Per SteamDB, the game reached a new peak of concurrent players with 60,124 players on its August 15 release. According to PCGamer, that’s well up from its last high of 41,255 players in October 2023. Significant updates and new expansions (or an incoming sequel) often revitalize a game’s community. In Hunt’s case, 1896 was deemed by Crytek to be the start of a “whole new era” for the game, which turns five years old on August 27.

Publisher North Beach Games is going international and opening a new studio over in Prague. The offshoot will be headed up by creative director and CTO Sam Edwards, along with general manager Tomáš Pšenička. Its core team will work directly in Prague, while some staff will be working remotely. Chiefly, North Beach’s new team is tasked with creating and supporting more survival crafting games. This duty extends to assisting smaller third-party studios by providing them a “technical, design, and art resource.

A new survey from the Game Developer Collective shows developers remain at an impasse when it comes to generative AI. Of those asked, 30 percent believe the technology will reduce development costs in the next 12 months. Conversely, 8 percent are certain it’ll lead to rising costs, while 35 percent are skeptical and 20 percent think its impact will be insubstantial. GenAI is controversial both in and out of games, and the survey shows it’ll remain divisive for some time.

Adam Boyes, longtime co-CEO of Iron Galaxy, has departed the Rumbleverse studio. Per the developer’s website, he’ll remain with the company until the end of the year. Chelsea Blasko will then take the reins as its sole CEO. Boyes joined Iron Galaxy in 2016 after stints at Starbreeze, PlayStation, and Capcom. He noted he stayed “twice as long” here than his earlier jobs, which speaks to “[Iron Galaxy’s special culture and the outstanding people who work here.

UK publisher Kwalee has launched an Arabic-language edition of its mobile game platform Hitseeker for studios in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. For creators in that part of the world, they’re able to use the platform and its resources in their native language (or English). Beginner developers can also access tools like a library that covers core skills and concepts. Hitseeker “simplifies” the development process for mobile studios, and let them test, publish, and optimize games.

Oh, would you look at that. Welcome to the first ever edition of Patch Notes! Newsletters are unequivocally in these days and instead of succumbing to crippling FOMO (that’s ‘fear of missing out’), we figured we’d join the party. Patch Notes will be a casual hangout for the cool cats. A brooding, low-lit jazz bar filled with people who ‘get it.’ It’s your favorite breakfast served in bed. A hallowed space for deep, pensive contemplation.

Longtime Quantic Dream writer Adam Williams has departed the studio after almost a decade. He already has his next job lined up: he’ll be starting his own independent, currently unrevealed studio. “I’ve already been in touch with many of you guys at Quantic Dream and Lucasfilm, to thank you for everything on Detroit and Eclipse,” he wrote. “It’s been a great adventure.” Williams joined in 2015, and served as the lead writer on Detroit: Become Human and Star Wars Eclipse.

Fortnite, Fall Guys, and Rocket League Sideswipe have dropped back onto iOS and Android handsets via The Epic Games Store. As promised earlier this year, Epic will use its marketplace to relaunch key titles on mobile platforms following a protracted legal battle with Apple and Google. The Epic Game Store is currently available for download on iPhone within the European Union, where the recently introduced Digital Markets Act prohibits Apple from blocking third-party platforms.