Crystal Dynamics: Celebs Rumors

An undisclosed number of the company’s 17,000 employees will be let go and certain game projects will be paused or outright terminated, along with other efficiency and overhead-reduction efforts that will take place in phases between now and March 2024, Wingefors said Tuesday.Embracer published an open letter explaining the news alongside a standard press release.“I am asking all our managers to lead and act with compassion, respect, and integrity,” Wingefors wrote in the open letter, following the layoff announcement. “Throughout each phase and wherever possible, we will work to ensure that affected team members receive information first.

Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty has shared that the upcoming reboot of Perfect Dark is being done “very carefully” so that it works for modern-day audiences.During a Pax West 2022 interview, which was shared on Twitter (September 2), Booty was asked how one reboots Joanna Dark – the protagonist of Perfect Dark – in the modern age. To this, he said, “very carefully,” going on to add, “those things they don’t always age well…”Booty doesn’t clarify this statement, but by the way the question is asked and answered he could be referring to the design choices of Joanna Dark when the game originally launched in 2000.Matt Booty describes rebooting Perfect Dark for the modern day as "Very Carefully".He also describles the game as a cross between a Bourne Identity and James Bond.

Embracer Group has today announced that its acquisition of Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal and Square Enix Montréal is complete, following the agreement in May 2022.The acquisition sees Embracer Group taking ownership of the three development studios alongside a host of intellectual properties (IPs) including Tomb Raider, Deux Ex, Legacy of Kain and “more than 50 back-catalogue games from Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.” according to an announcement on its website.Today (August 26) Embracer Group has announced that “all conditions for the transaction, including regulatory approvals, have now been fulfilled and the transaction may be completed.” The acquired studios will form the 12th operative group under the leadership of Square Enix America and Europe CEO, Phil Rogers.In a statement on the acquisition, Rogers said, “Embracer is the best kept secret in gaming: a massive, decentralised collection of entrepreneurs whom we are thrilled to become a part of today.”Embracer Group completed the acquisition for a reported £253.6million ($300million), with the valuation raising some eyebrows, but was decided on the basis that there was “limited competition for acquisition of the assets” (via, Euro News).

Square Enix could be opening a new studio in the West.The application appeared on the database last week on August 17 where it was filed, created and formalised, and it currently appears to be pending  (via VGC).It looks like the new Western studio will be called Studio Onoma and will focus on developing and “publishing of computer game software and video game software.”The application also includes additional details for the services and goods the studio will provide, such as strategy guides, posters, casual clothing, toys, games, and playthings, “namely action figures, [and] handheld battery-operated games”. Square Enix Newco Limited is listed as the trademark applicant, which is a recently established company in London, England.Earlier this month, it was reported that Square Enix is looking to sell off stakes in Western studios in a bid to “improve capital efficiency.” This follows the sale of Crystal Dynamics and Eidos to Embracer Group back in early May. The deal was worth around £240million ($300million) and included Square Enix studios Crystal Dynamics, Square Enix Montréal, and Eidos.In July, the founder of Eidos, Stephane D’Astous, stated that the Final Fantasy publisher may have sold its Western developers to gear up for a Sony acquisition.At the time, he said: “If I read between the lines, Square Enix Japan was not as committed as we hoped initially.

Embracer acquired “Tomb Raider” game developer Crystal Dynamics and all corresponding IP from Square Enix in a deal worth $300 million.

Square Enix’s recently sold Eidos-Montréal studio has said that the Japanese company may have sold its western developers to gear up for a Sony acquisition.Stephane D’Astous made the comment on Tuesday (July 26), after resigning from Eidos-Montréal in 2013 due to the “lack of leadership, lack of courage and the lack of communication.”D’Astous has said that he’s heard Square Enix sold off many of its western IP and studios like Crystal Dynamics, Square Enix Montréal and Eidos-Montréal to Embracer Group to make itself more palatable for a potential Sony acquisition (via GamesIndustry.biz).“If I read between the lines, Square Enix Japan was not as committed as we hoped initially. And there are rumours, obviously, that with all these activities of mergers and acquisitions, that Sony would really like to have Square Enix within their wheelhouse,” explained D’Astous.

Xbox livestream on Twitch may have accidentally revealed that She-Hulk is the next hero joining the team on Marvel’s Avengers.The stream saw Marvel’s Avengers’ lead designer Brian Waggoner playing alongside streamer Techniq, with the pair discussing the recent inclusion of Jane Foster AKA The Mighty Thor in the game.From there, Techniq started talking about his foray into the world of acting before revealing that “my acting coach is actually the voice of She-Hulk. I won’t say her name because I don’t think that’s public knowledge yet but I think it was announced,” he says with Waggoner replying “Nope.

Square Enix has announced that Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor is coming to Marvel’s Avengers next week.Sharing the news yesterday on Twitter (June 22), the publisher revealed that the Mighty Thor will be headed to the game as part of the previously announced free 2.5 update on June 28.“Jane’s Mighty Thor is an unstoppable force of nature that new players and seasoned vets alike will want to experience,” said Marvel’s Avengers art director, Jeff Adams. “We hope that you enjoy the assortment of awesome outfits created for her.”Gaze upon the glory of the Mighty Thor!Art Director Jeff Adams is here to discuss the design philosophy in some of the Mighty Thor's iconic comic-inspired Outfits.⛈️ https://t.co/cAOSAbTgJC pic.twitter.com/HPAzD4iq7r— Marvel's Avengers (@PlayAvengers) June 22, 2022As the new developer blog further explains, Jane Foster will also receive four outfits after her release.

Embracer Group has just got in on the action after buying some major Western Studios from within Square Enix, including Crystal Dynamics, the studio famous for rebooting the Tomb Raider series.

Crystal Dynamics will still work on the Perfect Dark reboot with The Initiative following news that the former studio will be acquired by Embracer Group.Earlier today (May 2) it was announced that Square Enix has decided to sell much of its western development arm for around £240million ($300million USD), with that including Tomb Raider and Marvel’s Avengers developer Crystal Dynamics.Since then, Xbox-owned studio The Initiative has quote tweeted Crystal Dynamics statement concerning the acquisition, confirming that the studio is still working on the upcoming Perfect Dark game.“We’re excited to see Crystal Dynamics take these next steps with their studio. Our teams have made great progress in building Perfect Dark together as co-development partners, and we will be continuing this work with them in their next chapter.”The deal is also set to include Square Enix Montréal, Eidos-Montréal and the Thief and Legacy Of Kain franchises.The upcoming Perfect Dark game appears to be undergoing development troubles, as director Dan Neuburger left the studio in February and “fast and furious” losses were reported to be taking place there as well.This news means that at present, Crystal Dynamics is supporting Marvel’s Avengers, co-developing Perfect Dark and in the early stages of a new Tomb Raider title.As confirmed in April, the next Tomb Raider game will run on Unreal Engine 5 as Crystal Dynamics wants to “push the envelope of fidelity”.“This new engine translates into next-level storytelling and gameplay experiences,” said franchise general manager Dallas Dickinson.

Marvel’s Avengers, developer Crystal Dynamics has shared that Jane Foster: The Mighty Thor is coming to all platforms in the future as a playable hero.

Marvel’s Avengers has confirmed it will be adding Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor as part of its 2.5 update.The news follows on from the reveal that Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster will seemingly be taking up the Mighty Thor mantle in the upcoming Marvel Studios film Thor: Love And Thunder.However, Crystal Dynamic has said that the movie has no impact on their latest updates. “Our Hero designs are driven first and foremost by their core comic book identities, so, as a fellow wielder of Mjolnir, her suite of abilities will have a lot in common with the Odinson’s, however she will also have elements that are distinctly Jane,” the studio said.

Unreal Engine 5 presentation from Epic Games, developer Crystal Dynamics announced it was starting work on the next instalment of the Tomb Raider series.Franchise general manager for Tomb Raider, Dallas Dickinson, explained that the team is proud to be a part of the launch of Unreal Engine 5, saying:“This new engine translates into next-level storytelling and gameplay experiences, and that’s why we’re thrilled to announce today that we’ve just started development of our next Tomb Raider game, powered by Unreal Engine 5.”“Our goal is to push the envelope of fidelity and to deliver the high-quality cinematic action-adventure experience that fans deserve from both Crystal Dynamics and the Tomb Raider franchise. We can’t wait to take this journey together.”The developer was behind the most recent Marvel’s Avengers title, which got a pretty big patch at the end of March.

The Initiative, the studio working on a reboot of Perfect Dark, is facing significantly high turnover and issues with slow progress.As reported by VGC, as many as half of Perfect Dark‘s core development team have quit The Initiative over the last year.VGC reports that this includes “most” of The Initiative’s senior design team. Last week, it was discovered that Dan Neuburger – game director at The Initiative – was one of the senior members that left.Departures include two senior system designers, a lead level designer, two senior writers, a design director, and more.The report claims that from speaking to several senior developers, “a lack of creative autonomy and slow development progress” were attributed to this departure.

Gex may be set to return after a trademark for the title was filed by Square Enix.On December 15, Square Enix moved to secure the IP for European territories.Literally, nothing is known about it beyond that. But that hasn’t stopped Gex-heads running wild about the possibility of a remaster of the series or an entirely new entry.Possibly a Gex-as-a-service wherein players from all around the world join forces and explore the land of Gex, making terrible pop-culture references as they go.If you’re unfamiliar, and why wouldn’t you be, it’s not the 90s anymore, Gex is a platform game developed by Crystal Dynamics.

PlayStation-exclusive Spider-Man DLC for Marvel’s Avengers will not feature any direct, playable narrative component.Instead, the “With Great Power” add-on will reveal its story through audio logs and illustrated cutscenes. Players will unlock these entries by completing challenges in the Avengers Initiative section, home to Marvel’s Avengers’ multiplayer missions.It appears Spider-Man’s exclusivity to Sony platforms may be part of the reduced story focus.

Crystal Dynamics has released a new Marvel’s Avengers trailer showing Spider-Man ahead of a November 30 release.Spider-Man is finally making his way into Marvel’s Avengers as a PlayStation exclusive hero later this month. Ahead of the release Crystal Dynamics has released a trailer showing the web-slinger fighting off several bad guys in a not-so-friendly neighbourhood alley.Things turn against Spidey as foes surround him.

Crystal Dynamics has said it is removing paid XP boosts from Marvel’s Avengers by the “end of today”.The news was broken on the official Marvel’s Avengers subreddit, r/PlayAvengers, which is a “developer supported community,” with the post itself tagged as being written by a developer.Since the forms of paid XP boost were added to the title less than a month ago, the decision to include them in the game has been reversed.​​”We apologize for not responding sooner to your concerns about the addition of paid consumables in the Marketplace,” the post reads.

Allen Maldonado (Sneakerheads, The Last OG) and Shadow of the Tomb Raider video game franchise alum Earl Baylon have joined the voice cast of Netflix and Legendary’s Tomb Raider anime series. It is based on the Square Enix action-adventure video game that has spawned comic books and three feature films, with a fourth on the way. Maldonado and Baylon join previously announced Hayley Atwell, who voices iconic adventurer Lara Croft. The announcement comes as part of Square Enix, Crystal Dynamics, and Eidos-Montréal Tomb Raider 25th anniversary celebration today.

Shadow Of The Tomb Raider has received a notable increase in performance since Denuvo anti-piracy DRM was removed.After Square Enix removed Denuvo from the two most recent Tomb Raider games, DSOG has reported that Shadow Of The Tomb Raider runs much better without the controversial software.During benchmark tests ran across versions of the game with and without Denuvo, DSOG found that on the highest settings there were small improvements in performance without Denuvo.However, running the game on the lowest settings – again, on both versions – resulted in a larger improvement of 17fps in average framerates for the Denuvo-free copy.Once Hyper-Threading (a CPU feature that allows games to execute multiple tasks at once) was disabled, the copy

Xbox Game Studios boss, Matt Booty, has discussed how Xbox “jumped at the chance” to work with Crystal Dynamics on its upcoming Perfect Dark reboot.In an interview with Kinda Funny Games and transcribed by VGC, Booty explained the thought process behind Xbox’s plans:“I think we’re at a point in the industry where if you’ve got a team like the Crystal Dynamics team that becomes available, which has got great pedigree, good success, just a lot of skill, and through connections—you know, the fact we’ve got Daryl Gallagher at The Initiative, who knows some folks there—and they become available, going back to what are my jobs day-to-day, it would just be, I’d be remiss to [not] say ‘we’ve got to find a way to make this work’.”As he continued,

Tomb Raider, footage of what the 2013 reboot could have been has been officially shared online.While 2013’s Tomb Raider was a grittier take on a younger Lara Croft, which became the ‘Survivor trilogy’, it was originally meant to be more of a survival horror title.Information and footage of Tomb Raider: Ascension has appeared online over the years, but over the past week, the Tomb Raider YouTube channel has officially shared artwork and prototypes of the cancelled game for the first time (thanks, PCGamesN).After first sharing early concept art, yesterday (October 19) the channel uploaded early footage of Tomb Raider: Ascension.

Marvel’s Avengers has just added the ability to buy XP and resource boosting consumables with real money – reneging on an earlier promise to avoid this.Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have angered the Marvel’s Avengers fanbase by adding the option to purchase in-game boosts with real money.These consumables, available in the game’s marketplace, give players a boost to character XP or resource collecting, and can now be purchased with credits – bought with real money.Items such as the Hero’s Catalyst grant a temporary boost to the amount of XP gained or number of resources looted while playing.

Hot on the heels of the Black Panther addition to ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ it seems Square Enix and developer Crystal Dynamics is keen to get more people playing the game, and so it’s been announced that the title is coming to Xbox Game Pass for PC, Console, and Cloud.

Marvel’s Avengers will be coming to Xbox Game Pass on September 30, including all post-launch heroes and missions.In an announcement today (September 28) on the Xbox Blog, it was revealed that Marvel’s Avengers will be coming to Game Pass at the end of this month (September 30). The game has recently celebrated both its first anniversary and launched a massive expansion – Black Panther: War For Wakanda.Black Panther: War For Wakanda is the biggest expansion in Marvel’s Avengers history, including a new hero, two new villains, a new area, enemies, and missions.

Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that PlayStation-exclusive Spider-Man will have his own cutscenes and story in Marvel’s Avengers.Whilst answering questions on Discord, (Thanks, TheGamer) Crystal Dynamics’ Dan Matlock confirmed that Spider-Man will be arriving as an “event” and would therefore have his own story and dedicated cutscenes “for sure”.Spider-Man was intended for inclusion in Marvel’s Avengers in early 2021, exclusively for PlayStation owners. Despite delays and a troubled launch for the game, Senior Game Designer Scott Walters assured fans the web-slinging superhero was still on his way.“In terms of what we can say now, we’ve always scheduled and looked to bring Spider-Man out in 2021 for PlayStation owners.

Perfect Dark reboot The Initiative has announced it is working with Crystal Dynamics on the game. The announcement was shared by The Initiative on Twitter this morning (September 24), which reads: “Perfect Dark update! We are partnering with Crystal Dynamics, the world class team behind character-driven games such as Tomb Raider, to bring this first-person spy thriller to a new generation.”Perfect Dark update! We are partnering with Crystal Dynamics, the world class team behind character-driven games such as Tomb Raider, to bring this first-person spy thriller to a new generation. pic.twitter.com/EiqjU99wMa— TheInitiative (@TheInitiative) September 24, 2021“The teams couldn’t pass up a chance to work together,” the post added.

Crystal Dynamics released Marvel’s Avengers one year ago. To celebrate, a free bundle is available in the store, and a new roadmap is incoming.Marvel’s Avengers players will be able to claim a limited-time bundle during the anniversary event, which is live until September 9.

Crystal Dynamics has released an update for Marvel’s Avengers, which nerfs Black Panther’s Nehanda costume and removes Denuvo anti-piracy software.Marvel’s Avengers‘ latest update has removed the exploit that allows Black Panther players to deal incredibly high amounts of damage. The patch notes say, “An unintended damage buff for Black Panther tied to the Nehanda gear no longer occurs.

Marvel’s Avengers had a free trial weekend on Steam, PlayStation, and Stadia, and it proved to be a massive success in attracting new players.As originally spotted by TheGamer, the free play event on Steam set a 24-hour peak of 10,161 players when the game usually averages only a few hundred concurrent users at a time.While that player peak doesn’t hit the heights of its launch period which achieved nearly 32,000 Steam players last September, it’s a big increase for a game that’s previously been struggling to garner players.The reason behind it? Part of it may be due to the recent announcement that the Black Panther War For Wakanda expansion is out on August 17.

Square Enix has confirmed that the Marvel’s Avengers Expansion: Black Panther – War for Wakanda DLC will launch on August 17. The new content drop will arrive as a free update to all owners of the game. Black Panther will become the third playable superhero made available, following Clint Barton and Kate Bishop (both are known for using the Hawkeye moniker in the comics).Furthermore, the War for Wakanda expansion is described as the “most content to Marvel’s Avengers since the game’s launch”.

Square Enix has launched a new update for Marvel’s Avengers, bringing high-level endgame challenges to the multiplayer superhero brawler.Live now, the free “Omega Level Threat: Family Reunion” update will see the Avengers fighting a new wave of highly powered enemies, including Super Adaptoids and AIM battle tanks. Missions are designed to challenge teams of players with the game’s “top tier of difficulty”, and reward them with high-end gear for their efforts.Developer Crystal Dynamics advises that the new Omega Level missions will require a full four-player strike team at Power Level 145 – although, perhaps seeking to drive home the planned difficulty, it recommends that the game’s maximum Power Level of 150 is best.

Marvel’s Avengers‘ War For Wakanda expansion will reportedly be around 7-8 hours long, the longest DLC yet.According to Entertainment Weekly, the latest DLC will add a new single-player mission that will bring the length of Marvel’s Avengers total campaign to about 25 hours.The base game campaign takes around 11-12 hours to beat, with both Hawkeye expansions clocking in at around four and two hours each, as How Long To Beat states.

Crystal Dynamics has revealed brand new concept art for the upcoming Marvel’s Avengers War For Wakanda expansion.As spotted by TheGamer, the first look has been revealed for the upcoming Black Panther-inspired DLC, featuring the fictional country of Wakanda.The developers took to Twitch for its latest “Updates with the Devs” stream to share new details on War For Wakanda, including sharing the development process as well as the mentioned concept art.Twitter user avengers_acy managed to capture the concept art and post it for fans to see.

Perfect Dark, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has said that the reboot will add some diversity to a predominantly male first-party lineup.Phil Spencer was speaking on the IGN Unlocked podcast when he commented “I think it’s awesome that, for us, we can focus on a female protagonist in our line-up”, noting “we don’t have a lot of that” in the Xbox first-party lineup.Following up, he states “I think Joanna offers a lot of modern opportunities that I love to see the team focusing on”The upcoming reboot was first announced in 2020 and is being developed by The Initiative, a studio that is part of Xbox Game Studios.Studio Head Darrell Gallagher has a positive history of franchise reboots – during his time at Crystal Dynamics, he was Studio Head for

Marvel’s Avengers bug reported yesterday (June 22), which exposes PS5 users’ IP addresses during gameplay, is being fixed by Crystal Dynamics.Video game journalist Paul Tassi first highlighted the bug after a response to an earlier tweet about Outriders read “Crystal Dynamics just doxxed me showing my IP on stream in game.”Tassi checked out the bug himself, confirming that it showed his IP address during gameplay.Uhhh can confirm Avengers is showing people’s IP addresses ON SCREEN as of this patch, I can see my own https://t.co/MLThi2V7lx— Paul Tassi Must Be Stopped (@PaulTassi) June 22, 2021Crystal Dynamics were quick to respond, urging players to “refrain from streaming” until the issue was resolved.The developer confirmed it was working