Author: Game Infliction

Employees at Call of Duty studio Raven Software, who formed the first Activision Blizzard union in 2022, have filed a complaint against the developer, Activision, and new parent company Microsoft.

According to Game File, the workers filed a complaint with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board under categories including Refusal to Bargain/Bad Faith Bargaining, Changes in Terms and Conditions of Employment, and Concerted Activities (Retaliation, Discharge, Discipline).

“After Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, our members were optimistic that they would progress quickly to a first contract at Raven Software,” Communications Workers of America (CWA) president Claude Cummings Jr. said. “Unfortunately, that has not happened. We encourage Microsoft to address the concerns raised in the Unfair Labor Practice charge and make reaching a fair agreement a priority.”

The CWA declined to comment on specifics of the allegations when contacted by Game File, but a Microsoft spokesperson said: “We are committed to negotiating in good faith.”

The CWA, under which the Raven Software employees formed their union, initially expressed support of Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. “It is a new day for workers at Activision Blizzard,” it said when the acquisition went through.

Things have seemingly turned sour, however, though it could be a while before the National Labor Relations Board makes its verdict.

Raven’s action is part of a growing labor movement within the video game industry that comes amid mass layoffs and studio closures. Paris-based studio Spiders recently announced plans to go on strike just weeks before its next game, Greedfall 2, goes on sale. In July, Starfield developer Bethesda Game Studios became the first Microsoft studio to fully unionize under the CWA, forming a “wall-to-wall” union of developers including artists, engineers, programmers, and designers. Sega of America’s union ratified a contract earlier this year.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

The developers of upcoming fantasy role-playing game Greedfall 2 have announced plans to strike in protest of management just a few weeks before the game comes out.

Paris-based studio Spiders, which also developed Steelrising and The Technomancer, published an open letter signed by 44 of the 95 staff to studio management including CEO Anne Devouassoux. Spiders is wholly owned by publisher Nacon, which IGN has asked for comment.

The open letter details “several years of known problems, which have been greatly amplified over the past year with the arrival of the current head of the company: instability, opposition to anticipating problems and securing working conditions, global mismanagement, turnover and recruitment problems, unacceptable delays in achieving gender equality and parity, important lack of transparency, denial of problems, refusal to acknowledge worker representation and blocked negotiations.”

Specifically on Greedfall 2, workers allege it has suffered a “difficult” production and there is “widespread anxiety and a loss of interest among employees.” The staff also said they have suffered significant crunch working on the game.

“For many, it translates into a fear of releasing a disappointing game at the end and/or a feeling of shame over their own work,” the workers said. “For some, it’s the last straw that pushes them to look for work elsewhere.”

Elsewhere in the document, the workers claimed that Greedfall 2’s budget “was reworked multiple times and its early access release postponed several times.”

“Management gives the impression of treating us like galley slaves in the hold of a ship, rowing on and on without ever knowing either the route or the destination of their journey,” the workers said. “Spiders feels like a ship sailing with no one at the helm.”

Greedfall 2 currently has an early access release date of September 24, 2024, with a plan to release the game in full less than a year later. According to staff, that seems unlikely.

“The early access release is painful, as attested by the several delays it suffered, and the complete release of the game less than a year later seems difficult to achieve, as there is so much left to do,” they said.

The staff published a list of demands and outlined a plan to strike the week of September 2. Pickets will be held in front of the company’s offices and online on a Minecraft server created for the occasion, the staff said.

The Spiders strike comes amid a growing labor movement within the video game industry as workers seek to protect themselves from mass layoffs and the threats posed by AI. In July, Starfield developer Bethesda Game Studios became the first Microsoft studio to fully unionize under the Communication Workers of America, forming a “wall-to-wall” union of developers including artists, engineers, programmers, and designers. Sega of America’s union ratified a contract earlier this year, with Activision’s QA workers announcing a union of their own.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

It appears that Crysis developer Crytek was at one point working on a battle royale-inspired Crysis project codenamed Crysis Next.

Very early gameplay, which hit YouTube last week, shows third-person shooting in a basic warm-up arena with Crysis’ trademark abilities and sound effects layered on top. Crytek is working to remove the footage from YouTube, with videos now displaying a message that confirms a copyright claim by the company. However, some remain live at the time of publication.

Crytek never announced Crysis Next, and it appears it was canceled in favor of Crysis 4, which was announced in January 2022. Crytek declined to comment when contacted by IGN.

Given the battle royale boom sparked by PUBG and Fortnite in the late 2010s, it’s perhaps no surprise to learn that Crytek experimented with the genre. Many developers tried their hand at capitalising on battle royale during the period, some successful, some less so, some even failing to launch. The canceled TimeSplitters reboot that was in development at the now shuttered Free Radical Design was reportedly originally pitched as a battle royale game to rival Fortnite. There will be many more such projects that failed to see the light of day.

Crysis is a first-person sci-fi shooter series known for its impressive visuals, cool nanosuit powers, and open-ended gameplay. The first game in the series, released in 2007, was often used as a PC benchmark given the demands it would make of PCs at the time. Crysis was so demanding that it spawned the now infamous catchphrase, “But can it run Crysis?”, which was used in the years following the game’s release to deliver a verdict on a PC spec.

The last mainline game in the series, Crysis 3, came out in February 2013. Crytek released remasters of the originals in recent years, but we’ve yet to hear more about Crysis 4 since its announcement and teaser two-and-a-half years ago.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Bandai Namco has confirmed today that the Japanese version of its anime-inspired MMORPG Blue Protocol will be “discontinued” on January 18, 2025. As a result, Bandai Namco also clarified that this also means any plans to release the game outside of Japan have now been cancelled.

“We have enjoyed a strong relationship with Amazon Games throughout the development of Blue Protocol, and both of our teams are disappointed that we will not be able to deliver the game to players around the world,” the company said in a statement published on the Bandai Namco website.

“We have worked hard to prepare for the release; however, we have come to the conclusion that it will not be possible to provide a service that satisfies all of you.”

Co-developed by Bandai Namco Online and Bandai Namco Studios, Blue Protocol’s worldwide release plans were revealed at The Game Awards in 2022. At that time, Amazon Games told IGN that the live service game had been in development since 2015.

IGN’s 2023 hands-on preview found Blue Protocol “absolutely gorgeous” and “fun as hell.”

IGN has contacted Amazon for comment.

Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can chat to him on Twitter @MrLukeReilly.

Stardew Valley is no stranger to nods to other games. Among other references, Patch 1.6 has a well-placed Terraria easter egg. Nevertheless, Stardew Valley has never really appeared in another games, though creator Eric Barone aka ConcernedApe definitely has some ideas in that front.

In a Discord conversation shared by Panedwards on X/Twitter, Barone talks about the possibility of a Stardew Valley collaboration, acknowledging that he’s open to a crossover and saying that he would love to have Pam in particular in Fortnite.

The creator of ‘Stardew Valley’ aka @ConcernedApe has been trying to make a @FortniteGame collaboration happen and is open to anything. pic.twitter.com/wnaEfgIc5q

— Panedwards (@Panedwards_YT) August 26, 2024

“It doesn’t have to be Pam though, I would be open to anything,” Barone adds. “Abigail & Sebatian could be good. Stardrop or Joja Cola item? Galaxy sword or slingshot?”

All of these items would be fun additions to Fortnite, and Stardew Valley’s aesthetic is certainly in line with Epic’s ultra-popular sandbox shooter. Pam would hardly look out of place next to Buff Peter Griffin, Solid Snake, and all the other Fortnite crossover characters. But could it actually happen?

Reached for comment, one of Barone’s representatives acknowledged that the screenshot is real, but added a bit of additional context from ConcernedApe.