Game industry business news

Eric Neustadter – one of the creators of Xbox Live – has announced his exit from Microsoft after nearly two decades with the firm. Engadget reports on the departure. Neustadter is best-known for evolving Xbox Live from a network of in-house desktop computers to a multi-platform service boasting 39m users, …

Here’s a marketing tie up fit for a quiet Friday afternoon. Bethesda has partnered with Carlsberg to release a Fallout branded beer inspired by Vault-Tec Industries and the multi-award winning Fallout videogame series”. Although presumably that doesn’t mean it tastes like it’s been left to rot for decades in an …

Superdata’s worldwide digital games report for September has shown an annual 11 per cent increase in sales. Overall the digital games market was worth $5.4bn. The biggest growth was seen in digital console game sales, which shot up 29 per cent to $326m. That’s despite the number of console players …

Audiomotion MD Mick Morris has left the company after 17 years to pursue a new and fresh challenge”. Operations director Brian Mitchell will now take the reins at the Oxfordhire-based studio. Morris joined Audiomotion in 1998, and became MD in 2003 after the company left the GBH/Kaboom group. The mo-cap …

The digital-only release of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water (known as Project Zero in the UK) in the US has left some unable to play the game. Kotaku reports that the eShop download weighs in at 15GB. Nintendo has to date released two versions of the Wii U – …

Mass media firm targets position on the board

Sony has revealed that it has no first-party titles for its Vita handheld in development as the platform holder shifts resources to the PlayStation 4. In an interview with Japanese games publication 4Gamer – translated by DualShockers, thanks – SCE’s SVP Masayasu Ito said that Sony isn’t developing any triple-A …

Game engine giant Unity is backing next month’s Interface, signing up as a partner for the event. The company joins Localize Direct, Audio Kinetic, Sold Out and Green Man Gaming who are all lining up to support the indie developers attending Interface, which takes place on Thursday November 12that St …

Sega has announced a publishing partnership with the developers of mobiel racing title, Motorsport Manager. The studio is based in Guildford and was co-founded by Christian West in January 2014. Their first release, Motorsport Manager, went straight to the top of the iOS charts in ten regions when it debuted …

Despite Ubisoft’s protestations, Vivendi has increased its financial interest in the publisher. Bloomberg reports that Vivendi has added to the 6.6 per cent stake it acquired in Ubisoft last week to 10.4 per cent, and indicated that it could expend it further. It has also upped its Gameloft stake from …