The gaming industry is potentially transforming into the world of Web3 with a hard-core commitment to innovation for players and developers. An element that exhibits constancy is the quantity of fluctuations it experiences annually. The fourth quarter of the previous year, that is, 2023, alone witnessed some of the biggest unanticipated twists. This includes layoffs, leaks, and introductions to Web3 gems.
For starters, the world was shown clips of GTA VI before the official release. Even though it was put out in low resolution, the leaked clip did its job of generating the hype around the title that is coming out almost a decade from the time when GTA V made its way into the market. Rockstar was then forced to release the original clip before the scheduled release.
Nevertheless, GTA VI remains unhindered, with many gamers waiting for the next installment to land on their game boxes. The predecessor is still averaging more than 3.8 million players every day as of December 2023. It has sold more than 190 million units across the world.
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Insomniac Games suffered a cyberattack, making it prone to the leak of titles like Spider-Man 3, Venom, and the X-Men games trilogy. An unofficial sneak peek into Sony and Microsoft has made public the designs for the PlayStation 5 model and Xbox Series X.
E3, short for Electronic Entertainment Expo, has been canceled with an official confirmation made by the representatives. The last time it was canceled was in 2020, but that was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022 and 2023, E3 was met with fierce competition from individual events like the Xbox Games Showcase and Sony’s State of Play. Such events have successfully replaced the need to have E3 on the floor.
The worst side of the gaming industry in the last quarter of 2023 saw companies lay off employees in large numbers. For instance, ByteDance and Epic Games have let go of around 1,000 and 800 employees, respectively. Others on the unfortunate list are Amazon Games, Ubisoft Montreal, and Wildlife Studios.
An estimate for the industry says that almost 4,000 workers lost their jobs in the fourth quarter, while the total estimate for the year is as high as 9,000.
A legal battle between Google and Epic Games will move forward as Google could come up with an appeal to the ruling that has sided with Epic Games. They contested the terms of Google which state that in-app purchases must go through Google’s system. The Court did not favor the Internet giant, and they are now planning to file an appeal. If the case ends with Epic Games as the winner, it will change the dynamics of the app store plus title availability.
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Other crucial updates from the gaming world for the fourth quarter of 2023 mention Microsoft attaining the top rank as a game producer, Jim Ryan stepping down as the Head of PlayStation after 3 decades at Sony, and an investment worth $100 million by Nexon in the MapleStory universe to expand Web3.
