Fredrik Liljegren

Curious: Nintendo's initial reveal of the Switch 2 touted 4K, 120FPS, and VRR support. However, a notable change has been spotted on several of Nintendo's official regional websites: the removal of VRR mentions. Digital Foundry's Oliver Mackenzie highlighted this on the Canadian, US, and Japanese sites. As of posting this, the European site still includes this feature at present, suggesting a potential ongoing update across all Nintendo platforms...

65

6 Comments

On March 20, 2025, the Entertainment Software Association unveiled the Accessible Games Initiative at the Game Developers Conference. This initiative is a collaborative effort to ensure everyone can experience the power of play. Video games connect us, inspire us, and open worlds of possibility. But for many players, accessibility barriers can limit their ability to fully enjoy these experiences. That’s why we’re proud to work alongside our fantastic Accessible Games Initiative founding member companies — Electronic Arts (EA), Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Ubisoft — in this cross-industry effort to provide players with clear information about the accessibility features available in video games.   Together, we’re building a future where players everywhere have the chance to share in the magic of video games.    Learn more at:  https://lnkd.in/enRqBih4

120

4 Comments

Rockstar Games is planning to make a huge UGC play with Grand Theft Auto VI, potentially positioning the game as a major metaverse player. They have been collaborating with top creators from platforms like Roblox and Fortnite, as well as existing GTA content creators, to develop custom experiences within the GTA VI universe. By embracing UGC, Rockstar aims to transform GTA VI from a standalone game into a dynamic creator platform, potentially redefining how people play and create in GTA. Rockstar is already a gaming giant and this move is going to only help them grow even more! Read the full article from Alexander Lee here: https://lnkd.in/e2bXDHWb

146

12 Comments

“The video game industry is approaching $200B in global revenues and so nearly any business plan is worth funding!!” At least, that was the sentiment a few years ago. With the deflation in investor enthusiasm tied to failed returns from this euphoria, spending on new projects has dropped dramatically. Even so, pitch materials still often reference the entirety of interactive to entice funders. In addition, many pundits looking for compelling angles commonly use statements like “Roblox has grown 30% since last year and dwarfs the concurrent player base of Battlefield 6 – traditional game developers had better transition if they want to remain in business!” This is false equivalency. What do mobile F2P, PC/Console premium, online, Roblox/UEFN, VR, casino and web games have in common? They are interactive experiences and require similar development roles to create them. Because of this, they have been placed under a single entertainment umbrella, but in reality they target vastly different markets. A typical mobile slots player was not lured away from League of Legends. Someone might enjoy each of these, but this is no different than liking to both watch baseball and to play Clash of Clans. Certain interactive segments even have more in common with other media, such as strategy games and tabletop games, than with other video games. It is the 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘺 of entertainment that is zero sum, so UEFN player growth may well be a much larger problem for social media apps, TV and recreational sports leagues than for PC gaming. As Netflix CEO Reed Hastings indicated back in 2019, “We compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more than HBO”. The consequences of mistaking ourselves as one homogenous industry are hindering forward progress. We are still clearing the terrible wreckage from oh-so-many new IP $100M+ PC games that have been scrapped one after another. When an investor is looking at a pitch for a premium PC/Console game, what should matter is the size, stability and growth of the PC/Console premium game industry. At DDM, we have seen so many game pitches untethered to this market reality. As an industry we are all navigating the consequences of funder hubris and outsize project expectations. It is certainly true that there is a struggle to find an audience given the tsunami of entertainment content, yet marketing difficulties have been a consistent complaint since the first game disks & cartridges were sold. Throughout 2025, we have seen one PC game success after another on a regular cadence, many from smaller companies, who have sized their projects correctly and created community. It is vital to remember that we are many industries! It is incumbent on all of us to scale appropriately and take risks accordingly in order to weave sustainability into interactive. With this, investor and publisher confidence will continue to return in measured ways, strengthening industry stability and generating a lot more positive news.

157

16 Comments

There’s been talk lately about how publishers are “dead”. I heard it again during a recent GDC panel I was on, so I feel compelled to address a narrative promoted by some non-publishing companies and individuals. Their declarations remind me of “the PC is dead” or “Consoles are Dead”. Both of these statements of shuffling off the gaming coil have been going on for almost 20 years in some cases. They appear to be somewhat premature. They also don’t seem to take the evolution of a product or service to meet the consumer’s needs into account. The truth is, we all need to make adjustments—publishers, investors, everyone—to meet the future’s needs, not yesterday’s problems. When I talk with developers, they generally focus on two things: The need for funds. The need for marketing and publishing expertise. Funding requests come in many forms: full funding, finishing funds, marketing, QA, localization, porting, you name it. Every deal is different, and we get hundreds of inquiries each month. We’ve said this for years: we operate under two types of currencies—Cash and Time. Sure, some teams self-publish successfully, but the ones we partner with often need one (or both) of those currencies. In just the last three weeks, we’ve sent out four term sheets—three already signed—and we’re working on five more. These deals follow what some might call a “traditional” publishing model, at least from an indie perspective, but we strive to make ours more flexible, collaborative, and fair. Real-world interest and tangible deals suggest that developers still want—and need—publishers who can evolve alongside them and support them in their goals. As a publisher, my viewpoint might seem biased. “Look at me, we’re still relevant!” But if the conversations I’ve been having over the last 12 months are any indicator (running DB) or the last 10 years (running Versus Evil), publishers and investors in games are still very much needed—especially today. I’m happy to talk more about it with anyone directly, but we can and will continue to show that the publishing model is alive and well. Is the publisher dead? Let me know what you think. #GameDev #Publishing #IndieGames #GameIndustry #DigitalBandidos #RebootBlue #RebootDevelop

163

47 Comments

I am seeing lots of indie devs freaking out over Matthew Ball’s deck. Remember while he can speak big industry trends, he has zero data from Steam and loses entire classes of games like Rust, lethal company, project Zomboid etc I mention project zomboid in particular as that decade plus old game has over 40k concurrent this morning but Matthew has no insight into those numbers so it doesn’t exist in any of his data. Plus Matthew has a history of making up facts to fit a thesis. See his almost yearly metaverse book release which each year seems to predict it is coming next year. My favorite “fact” was on a podcast he claimed as proof it was coming that Tesla is building a virtual San Francisco with all their Lidar data from cars driving in the area… teslas don’t use lidar… but what are facts when you are trying to grab attention with wild claims? So while yes, it is rough out there. Yes some players are sticky to decades old games but would they just bought their new yearly game or all of a sudden start buying indie games? Is there still space for niche indie titles? Sure but it’s competitive, but not nearly as bleak as Matthew makes it out. So make your game, build your audience and when it hits like Manor Lords or something, just don’t tell Matthew.

329

64 Comments