The Midweek Memo #053

Hello ??

It's been another eventful week, with a brief but exciting Grand Theft Auto VI update, a common W for Valve, rumors of Apex Legends 2, yet another game cancellation, and Sony attempting to pull itself together.

To kick things off, Take-Two has confirmed that, despite previous rumors, GTA VI will not be delayed, with the game still scheduled for release later this year. However, EA's most recent update isn't as positive, with the publisher stating that Apex Legends "2.0" may become a reality due to the original game's declining popularity.

Meanwhile, Valve has updated Steam's policies twice this week, with the most recent change prohibiting aggressive in-game advertising.?

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has announced a new event that is not E3, but rather a business event featuring some major companies from various industries.

Unfortunately, not everything is going well this week, as Sega has confirmed that Football Manager 25 has been canceled after multiple delays. It has already begun to work on FM26, fortunately!

And, finally, Sony apologized to PlayStation owners who discovered their consoles were essentially useless due to an outage over the weekend by providing five extra days of PlayStation Plus and announcing a State of Play for later today.

But, before we get into everything this week has to offer, let's take a gander at our latest roundup of hot jobs! ??

Hot Jobs ??

50% of this week's hottest jobs are available globally!

[1] Technical Unity Animator, Animation Integration

?? Meme Wars ??? Remote Anywhere ?? Full Time ??? 5+ years exp

[2] Narrative Designer

?? Unknown Worlds ??? Remote Anywhere ?? Full Time ??? 2+ years exp

[3]?Community Manager

?? RAID Studios ???? Remote Europe ?? Full Time ??? 2+ years exp

[4] Partnership Manager

?? JAM Management ??? Remote Anywhere ?? Freelance ??? 2+ years exp

[5] UI Game Artist

?? SOFTGAMES ??? Remote Anywhere ?? Full Time ??? 2+ years exp

[6] Assistant Game Designer

?? EA ???? Vancouver, BC ?? Temp ??? 1+ year exp

[7] Technical Artist

?? Naughty Dog ???? Santa Monica, CA ?? Full Time ??? 0+ years exp

[8] Game Marketing Lead

?? Yodo1 ??? Remote Anywhere ?? Full Time ??? 5+ years exp

[9]?Graduate 3D Artist

?? Frontier Developments ???? Cambridge ?? Full Time ??? 0+ years exp

[10] Gameplay Animator

?? Survios ???? Remote US ?? Full Time ??? 2+ years exp

220+ new jobs?have been posted since our last newsletter. Feel free to check them out!

Big News ??

???Grand Theft Auto VI still on track to launch in Fall 2025, Take-Two confirms

• Back in March of last year, it was reported that GTA VI development had "fallen behind," which was alleged to be the driving force behind Rockstar ordering its remote workers to return to its physical offices. A 2026 release was then stated to be a "fallback plan" for Take-Two, but Bloomberg's Jason Schreier quickly dismissed the claims.
• However, Take-Two has confirmed that development is still on track, with a release date of Fall 2025 still being targeted. Previously, it was stated that Borderlands 4 would not be released at the same time as GTA VI, but rather before April 2026, indicating that a delay is highly unlikely.
• Meanwhile, other publishers are still hesitant to announce release dates for their major projects to avoid conflicts with GTA VI, which is expected to be the biggest video game launch of all time.

Other News ???

EA also held its latest financial meeting this week, confirming that it is preparing a "more meaningful update" for Apex Legends, which it describes as "Apex 2.0" despite previously stating that a sequel of any sort was not in its plans.

Meanwhile, Steam's newest policy prohibits developers from forcing players to engage with advertising to access gameplay, a common method of monetization in free-to-play mobile games. However, product placement is still permitted, so Final Fantasy XV's Cup Noodles aren't going anywhere.

The ESA, which formerly?organized the ill-fated?E3, is back with iicon, an invite-only business event that will be attended by Nintendo, EA, Microsoft, Sony, and many others next year. In contrast to E3, new projects are very?unlikely to be officially announced to the public.

On a much less positive note, Sports Interactive has announced that, due to several delays, it is unable to finish its overhauled Football Manager 25, resulting in the title's cancellation. The game would have been the franchise's first release in Unity, but it appears that the transition caused a number of issues.

Finally, Sony has given subscribers an additional five days of PS Plus after the PlayStation Network went down for nearly 24 hours over the weekend. Thankfully, Sony has already recovered, and a State of Play will be held later today.

???Apex Legends 2 could be a possibility as EA begins planning a "more meaningful update" to improve commercial performance

??Steam is banning games that force players to watch in-game advertisements

???E3 organizer announces new event, "iicon," with support from Nintendo, EA, and more

???Football Manager 25 has been canceled after multiple delays, Sega announces

???Sony offers five days extension to PS Plus memberships following this weekend's PSN outage

Indie Spotlight ??

This week's Indie Spotlight features a cool and unique model-building title that allows players to create some impressive dioramas, regardless of skill level!

Outside the Blocks, created by solo indie developer Micha? Kubas, is all about creating highly detailed structures and environments using easy to pick up tools and an impressive "modular architectural block system."

The game has no set objectives, and players can use a variety of structure styles, props, materials, natural elements, colors, and even add water levels to their diorama's glass dome. There's nothing stopping you from building a creepy manor house, a medieval-inspired tower, or even a simple farm filled with chickens!

While Outside the Blocks is pretty straightforward, its toolset is quite extensive, allowing those with experience to accomplish exactly what they want.?

Outside the Blocks does not yet have a set release date, but Micha? has?released a demo of the game on Steam?for those looking to give it a spin. Don't forget to use the built-in Photo Mode to show off your creations! ??

Getting Social ??

Check out some of our top LinkedIn job threads from the past week, including tons of remote roles and some exciting art and animation opportunities.

This week's remote thread?is jam-packed with global opportunities across a variety of areas!

DECA Games and Playrix have opened up a few early-career positions in customer service and data analysis, while tinyBuild and JAM are looking for fresh faces on the business side of things.

RAID Studios is on the hunt for a new social media manager from Europe. It will be competitive, but it's an exciting opportunity! ??

As always, you can find?more remote roles on our platform, with new positions added every weekday.

Our most recent art job thread?also features a strong selection of animation opportunities!

Rockstar North, the developer of GTA VI, is looking for someone with some experience to help create the game's top-tier cinematics. Meanwhile, Liquid Development has a few new remote art and animation positions available for those in North America.

Like the aforementioned remote roles, you can find a plethora of?art and animation opportunities?over on Hitmarker!

Bye-bye ??

It has been a more lighthearted week than the layoff-filled start to 2025, though we're pretty disappointed about Football Manager's cancellation. Thankfully, it appears that no one has lost their jobs as a result of it.

Don't forget that PlayStation's State of Play will air later today at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET / 10 p.m. GMT. It will run for over 40 minutes, so maybe Bloodborne will make an appearance...?

We'll see you all again next week,

Danny and the gang at Hitmarker ??