The Midweek Memo #029
G'day ??
Layoffs are back with a vengeance this week, with Bungie letting go of over 200 employees and Jam City laying off 10% of its workforce due to "economic concerns". Bungie's situation has deteriorated to the point where its employees are calling for the CEO's resignation. ??
Elsewhere, Xbox has announced its plans for Gamescom later this month and there has been confirmation that Sony Santa Monica is working on a new IP after years of focusing on God of War.
Over at Activision, Call of Duty fans were excited to hear about a build of Black Ops 6 that was accidentally leaked to anyone with a PS4 dev kit. As expected, a lot of gameplay and information has been shared online ahead of its multiplayer reveal on August 28, despite Activision's attempts to remove clips and images.
Before we dive deeper into all of that, though, let's kick things off with some new job listings!
Hot Jobs ??
Seven of this week's vacancies are open to entry/junior-level candidates! ??
?? Black Sun Productions Inc. ???? Remote USA??? Temp???? 5+ years exp
?? ZeptoLab ???? Remote Europe ?? Freelance ??? 1+ year exp
?? Gameloft ???? Bucharest ?? Internship ??? 0+ years exp
?? 2K ???? Las Vegas, NV ?? Temp ??? 0+ years exp
?? Gameloft ???? Bucharest ?? Internship ??? 0+ years exp
?? Daybreak Games ???? San Diego, CA ?? Full Time ??? 1+ year exp
?? EA ???? Remote USA ?? Full Time ??? 3+ years exp
?? Yodo1 ??? Remote Anywhere??? Full Time ??? 3+ years exp
?? Blizzard Entertainment ???? Irvine, CA??? Temp??? 1+ year exp
?? Bandai Namco ???? Irvine, CA ?? Full Time??? 1+ year exp
Over 210 new positions?have been posted in the last seven days, so there are plenty of opportunities to catch up if you haven't yet! It was our busiest week for quite some time, thankfully.
Big News ??
Other News ???
Sadly, Bungie is not the only company to confirm layoffs this week. Mobile developer and publisher Jam City has announced that it is cutting approximately 85 jobs, representing around 10% of its workforce, due to "lower-than-expected game performance in several of [its] key titles."
On a much less galling note, Xbox has revealed its Gamescom plans for later this month, which include a booth with over 50 playable first and third-party games, as well as multiple theaters showing exclusive previews of upcoming games.
Meanwhile, Activision is likely in a panic after players with PS4 dev kits gained access to a build of Black Ops 6, resulting in the leak of gameplay, weapons, maps, modes, and other details. The publisher has since attempted to remove the posts, but, unsurprisingly, they keep popping up across the internet. ??
Over on the blue side, Sony's Santa Monica Studio, the developer behind God of War, is reportedly working on a new IP. Not much is known yet, but the senior and lead character artist for 2016's God of War and its sequel, Ragnar?k, is overseeing the character development pipeline.
Getting Social ??
Here's a peek at two of our most-viewed?posts since we last landed in your notifications:
This week's remote job thread?features some bangers, including several positions at Insomniac Games! ??
Other notable roles include two entry-level global Counter-Strike influencer management gigs?and game designer positions at ZeptoLab and Full Circle in Europe and North America, respectively.
We post new remote positions every weekday, though many of them have recently been senior-level opportunities asking for at least five years of experience...
This could be one of the most unique games we've featured in the newsletter so far. Solo indie developer osuika has been working on games for Panic's unique little handheld console Playdate, which has a black-and-white 1-bit screen and a hand-crank.
Their latest project is "Office Chair Curling," which is exactly what it sounds like. Players must spin and ride an office chair to the other side of an office, avoiding hazards such as spills, safety signs, and other chairs, to land in the center of a target.
The game will be available on Playdate and?Itch.io?soon, but you can follow its development over on?osuika's X account?where they regularly post updates featuring new content.
Cool Resources ??
This week, we thought it would be best to share a resource that can benefit everyone, regardless of where they are in the world.
Pavol Buday's?Game Conference Guide?keeps track of every gaming conference, festival, trade show, and summit, adding each event to a handy calendar that includes a date, location, and description. ??
Networking is more important than ever in the industry, with fewer opportunities than ever available and many companies playing safer by hiring people they already know as they are more aware of their abilities.
While you can certainly build up some relationships online through the likes of Discord and LinkedIn, physical events can be an even better way to connect with people near you.
Peace ??
As always, we hope that those affected by not only the Bungie and Jam City cuts but any other recent layoffs and closures can find a new home soon. Good people losing jobs at a huge company is always particularly galling, especially on the heels of a great release like Destiny 2's The Final Shape.
To end on a less somber note, we're excited to find out what Santa Monica Studio is cooking up, as it has been decades since it has led development on a new IP. Its debut release was a racing game, so we have no idea what genre to expect!
See you all next week,
Danny and the gang at Hitmarker ???
3D Modeler
6 个月I was checking out the QA position that was listed, but when I click the the next page says "The Job listing expired Aug 8 ". It's the Hitmarker page, but wasn't sure if it was info for just that page, or from the game studio.
Yuemeng Dai Suraj T. Isaac S. Akash Singh Jim Watkins David Stéfano Tine Schenck Alexander Jennings Rewant Verma Maria Alexis Sales Elijah Finn ?? Gianna Brooks Lucie Desrousseaux Madison Johnson Scott R. Quan Nguyen Josh Seven Owen Griffiths #startingamingjobs #entrygamingjobs #gamedevsstartingout