EA layoffs 💼 oh and Ubisoft layoffs 💼 Tencent pulling back from Japan 🇯🇵

Top Stories

EA Lays Off Unknown Number Of People Ahead Of Expected $55 Billion Sale To Saudi Arabia (4 min read)

Electronic Arts laid off an unknown number of employees across recruitment, customer support, trust and safety, and IT teams, marking at least the third layoff round this year. The cuts affected remote U.S. roles and EA's Hyderabad office, where some employees had been with the company over a decade. An internal email to the Fan Care team cited adapting to "fans' changing needs" and moving work to different teams, locations, or service partners. (Kotaku)

Ubisoft eliminates 93 roles in San Francisco (3 min read)

Ubisoft laid off 93 employees at its San Francisco office, confirmed by a California WARN notice. The cuts follow studio closures in Winnipeg and Belgrade (340 job losses) and a 54% year-on-year decline in net bookings. (Game Developer)

Report: Tencent plans to exit investments in Japanese studios like Story of Seasons developer Marvelous (1 min read)

Tencent is evaluating exits from minority stakes in Japanese studios including Marvelous, developer of Rune Factory and Story of Seasons, as part of a global portfolio reassessment. The firm may sell stakes back to management even at a loss if synergies have lapsed. (GamesIndustry.biz)

Games & Releases

Volunteer-led RTS BAR signs publishing deal with Hooded Horse (3 min read)

Beyond All Reason, a volunteer-led RTS, signed a publishing deal with Hooded Horse after seven years of development. The IP and open-source code remain with the BAR team; multiplayer stays free, while a paid "BAR Premium Edition" launches on Steam. (GamesIndustry.biz)

Valve's Steam Machine starts at $1,049 with 512GB storage and no controller (3 min read)

Valve's Steam Machine starts at $1,049 for 512GB without a controller; 2TB models cost $1,349. A randomized reservation system runs through June 25, with shipping beginning June 29 across North America, UK/EU, and Australia. (Engadget)

AI/Tech & Tools

EA: AI is delivering "faster prototyping" and a "real rise in creativity" in its studios (2 min read)

EA's Laura Miele says AI has enabled faster prototyping, removed tedious tasks, and sparked a "real rise in creativity" across the publisher's studios. CEO Andrew Wilson previously estimated over 50% of EA's development processes will benefit from generative AI. (GamesIndustry.biz)

Godot confirms it tolerates 'some AI assistance' but rejects 'vibe coded' tag (4 min read)

Godot maintainer Rémi Verschelde clarified the engine tolerates limited AI assistance for translation and single-line code completion, but rejects contributions made entirely with generative AI. The foundation remains critical of AI usage and does not accept "vibe-coded" submissions. (Game Developer)

Policy & Labor

Obsidian sued in class action lawsuit over alleged "systematic pattern of wage and hour violations" (2 min read)

Obsidian Entertainment faces a class action lawsuit alleging systematic wage and hour violations, unpaid overtime, and failure to provide meal breaks under California labor law. QA lead Victoria Turner filed the suit covering all nonexempt California employees from October 2021 onward. Obsidian denies all allegations. (GamesIndustry.biz)

gg! see you in game!

— [james](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesrjennings/)