Diego Argüello, Contributing Editor, News, GameDeveloper.comAugust 26, 20253 Min ReadImage via Rec RoomDeveloper Rec Room, the team behind the namesake user-generated content (UGC) driven social game, has laid off "about half" its staff.Announced yesterday via the official site, CEO and co-founder Nick Fajt wrote that both he and CCO and co-founder Cameron Brown made the decision, which they called a "business necessity based on the financial trajectory of the company" that doesn't reflect on the individuals affected."This is not a reflection on the talent or dedication of those departing—we wish we could keep every one of them," reads the announcement. "I’m gonna say that again, to make it clear this isn’t just 'one of those things you say in a layoff message'. We TRULY wish we could keep every one of these people on the team. But we can't. This is a reflection of the tough reality we face as a business and the change needed to give Rec Room a chance to thrive in the years ahead."According to the post, the laid off workers will continue to be paid for the next three months, receive health benefits for the next six months, and have the option to keep their laptop or desktop computer. Rec Room didn't specify how many people were affected.'The writing on the wall became very clear'Back in December 2021, Rec Room raised $145 million for its social platform, bringing the company's lifetime raised funds to around $294 million. According to Brown, the team invested "heavily in creation tools across PC, VR, consoles, and mobile," but the reality "has been harsh." The CEO claims the mobile and console versions never got to the point where "those devices were good for building stuff." Some of the efforts to bridge the gap, including the Maker AI tool, frustrated the studio's "more impactful creators." Related:At the same time, the lower-powered devices still fostered "millions of pieces of content," which reportedly put a strain on the team that had to come up with procedures to review it all. "Making all this run across every device was a massive technical challenge and burden. While our most skilled creators optimized their content cleverly, most creators didn’t—couldn’t, really, because we didn’t provide them with the necessary tooling."Last month, Fajt announced that Rec Room hit a "record-breaking month" for UGC sales thanks to the creations from players, with creator token earnings from room and Watch store sales increasing 47 percent year-over-year."We deliberately started with a small group of creators as the Avatar Studio tool is still in the early stages," Fajt wrote at the time. "All of the early joiners helped us iron out the workflow and onboarding, providing feedback on how to improve our systems and processes. With creators already finding success, we’re ready to expand."Related:Today's announcement continues by saying that supporting the aforementioned scope stretched the team thin, and began to "dig a financial hole that was getting larger every day." The CEO says the studio has been stuck in an "uncomfortable middle ground" during the past few years, wondering whether to keep pushing the internal UGC vision while potentially increasing the frustration of players and the team, or scale back the vision by cutting the team in half."Both paths were painful," Brown wrote. "But ultimately we got to a point where it was clear that staying the course meant low growth, a high burn rate, and no clear path forward. In a word: Unsustainable. The writing on the wall became very clear."Looking forward, Brown says the team will focus on "empowering our very best creators" and "ensuring Rec Room is a great experience for our players.""For those leaving—you will always be part of the Rec Room story," Brown wrote as a closing note about the layoffs. "We thank you for everything, and wish you the best for your next chapter. For those staying—we know this sucks. We know this hurts. Thank you for pushing forward with us—we have hard work ahead, but with a new focus we believe strongly in the future we can build together."Related:Game Developer has reached out to Rec Room for clarification on the number of workers affected.Read more about:Top StoriesLayoffs & Studio ClosuresAbout the AuthorDiego ArgüelloContributing Editor, News, GameDeveloper.comDiego Nicolás Argüello is a freelance journalist and critic from Argentina. Video games helped him to learn English, so now he covers them for places like The New York Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, and more. He also runs Into the Spine, a site dedicated to fostering and supporting new writers, and co-hosted Turnabout Breakdown, a podcast about the Ace Attorney series. He’s most likely playing a rhythm game as you read this.See more from Diego ArgüelloDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

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It feels like it's never been a better time to be a Virtua Fighter fan. I've loved this series since its inception, and seeing it again at Evo 2025 after a lengthy absence felt incredible. Both Virtua Fighter 5 REVO and the upcoming new Virtua Fighter game were heavily showcased at the event, and the sense of excitement around the series in the fighting game community and beyond has never felt stronger.With both the current and upcoming games featured at the show, we had the opportunity to chat with Seiji Aoki, the lead of Sega's Legacy Virtua Fighter team, and Riichiro Yamada, who is producing the New Virtua Fighter Project.One of Sega's announcements at EVO was the release date for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of VF5 REVO, now titled VF5 REVO World Stage. The title isn't just a multiplatform rebrand--it will be receiving a host of new updates like cross-platform play, with the crown jewel being a brand-new, dedicated single-player experience akin to the Quest Modes seen in past Virtua Fighter games.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy: Limited Edition (4K Blu-ray) $100 | Releases December 16 Preorder at Amazon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy: Limited Edition (Blu-ray) $95 | Releases December 16 Preorder at Amazon The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie trilogy is coming to 4K Blu-ray for the first time this holiday season. All three early '90s action films have been digitally restored by Arrow Films and will be bundled in two limited-edition box sets, both of which are available to preorder ahead of their December 16 release. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy 4K Limited Edition is available for $100, while the standard Blu-ray version is going for $95.Like most Arrow Video releases, these prices are likely to drop before release day. If you preorder now, you'll be eligible for any future discounts until Amazon ships your order. Keep in mind that Arrow Video Limited Editions are actually limited. The British distributor often reissues sold-out Blu-rays, but subsequent printings don't have the fancy packaging and collectible inserts. At the time of writing, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy is the No. 1 best seller on Amazon's movie and TV charts, so it wouldn't be surprising if the 4K set sold out. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy: Limited Edition (4K Blu-ray) $100 | Releases December 16 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)TMNT II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)The 4K Blu-ray edition of the original 1990 movie has been restored from the original 35mm camera negative. The second and third films in the trilogy were restored from the original 35mm interpositives.Along with native 4K (2160p) resolution, each film supports Dolby Vision and HDR10. For enhanced audio, the original movie has Dolby Atmos surround sound support. The sequels don't support Atmos, but surround sound is still offered with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Original lossless stereo audio is also available for all three movies.The Limited Edition includes multiple collectibles and premium packaging. Inside the limited-edition display box, you'll find a collector's booklet with retrospectives by Simon Ward, John Torrani, and John Walsh. Each film is packaged individually in a case with a reversible sleeve. The sleeves have original artwork by Florey.In terms of on-disc bonus content, so far we know there will be new director's audio commentaries for all three films as well as interviews with at least 15 actors and seven crew members.Arrow Video said the full list of extras will be unveiled on September 26, so the box set will have additional bonus features and possibly more collectibles.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy Features:Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) 4K restoration from original 35mm negativeDolby Vision / HDR10Dolby Atmos / Lossless StereoTMNT II (1991) & TMNT III (1993) 4K restorations from original 35mm interpositivesDolby Vision / HDR10DTS-HD MA 5.1 / Lossless StereoBound Collector's Booklet with retrospectivesReversible sleeves with original artworkLimited Edition display boxNew director's audio commentaries for each filmNew cast and crew interviews for each film Preorder at Amazon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy: Limited Edition (Blu-ray) $95 | Releases December 16 The 1080p version is made from the 4K restorations, so the films will almost certainly look and sound better than current Blu-ray editions. You'll get all of the same extras and on-disc bonus content with the standard Blu-ray Limited Edition. You will be missing out on Dolby Vision and HDR10, though. With the price difference currently only five bucks, it doesn't make much sense to buy this edition unless you don't have a dedicated media player or game console capable of playing 4K Blu-rays. Preorder at Amazon 35 years later, nothing quite compares to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The original movie is still an impressive showcase of practical effects, martial arts action, and it's surprisingly dark in its execution of the source material. In fact, depending on who you ask, it might have been too dark, as its sequels were much more family-friendly in comparison. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze was more slapstick in nature, while Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Turtles in Time might have jumped the shark with its time-travel story that saw the gang transported to feudal Japan.Continue Reading at GameSpot

First revealed in State of Play, and recently playable at Evo Las Vegas 2025, MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls, brings a fundamental shift to the tag-fighting genre. Arc System Works, Marvel Games, and PlayStation Studios have assembled to create a vibrant, stylized world, and after an intense 30-minute play session this past weekend, I’m counting down the days until I’m a Tōkon fighter again. Play Video Building a 4v4 team “The reason we went with 4v4 is actually because it’s something that’s never been done before in fighting games where players can switch characters,” says Kazuto Sekine, Game Director and Lead Battle Designer, Arc System Works. “We wanted to challenge ourselves to create a new tag fighter.” ​​ During my session, I had access to a set of all-star Heroes to create my team of four: ● Doctor Doom is slow but hits hard with magical and tricky range attacks.  ● Ms. Marvel is quick with high-risk, high-reward attacks. ● Storm is an aerial threat with deadly crossovers.,  ● Iron Man keeps enemies at bay with anti-air and other punishing moves.  ● Star-Lord was the most technical with his ability to switch between firearms and insane juggles. ● Captain America is a versatile all-rounder and a great entry point for new players. After some experimentation, I prioritized playing Storm and Star-Lord. I loved how their combos, personality, and flair were true to their characters (at one point, Storm sternly refers to Star-Lord as “Quill” when he’s goofing off, which I adored). Storm’s light and medium attacks are beginner-friendly and combo well into her Quick Skill, which is a character’s unique attack you activate by pressing R2. I also found success rushing in with Star-Lord, using quick blaster and melee combos right into his Ultimate, activated simply by pressing R1. The control scheme is pretty straightforward. Square, Triangle, and Circle are your light, medium, and heavy attacks, respectively, while X is the assemble button. All of your special attacks and skills are reserved for the triggers. L1 enables a quick dash, L2 is a quick Assemble ability, and R1 and R2 provide your unique attack and quick skills. How swapping between characters works Traditionally, in a tag fighter, you have to rotate through your entire team before the match is over, but in Tōkon your team shares one health bar. This means you don’t have to master the whole roster to be effective, and in that sense, can approach the game like a more traditional fighter if you choose to. At the start of the match, you can only control your lead character. As the skirmish progresses, you gain the ability to switch into your assist characters when you lose a round, performing a throw, or knocking your opponent into another section of the stage. It creates an interesting dance of being careful not to give your opponents more options to use against you while making sure you access your extended roster first, and who you would want as your first backup option. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image “Previously for all [tag fighters] in order to play them, you had to be able to control multiple characters,” says Sekine, “However, for our game, it was important for us to design it so that you would only actually need to be able to take control of one character. You only need to learn to play as one character in order to enjoy the game, and you can still see your other teammates coming in and out of the battlefield.” Where you would traditionally have a dedicated button to swap between your party, here you do it during assists. Once you successfully call in an assist you have a brief window to swap to them. This exchange creates a natural swap out in the chaos of battle and some stylish moments between characters. Tōkon cares about what is happening on screen at all times, so switching between characters in the middle of a combo, standing still, or even in the air creates unique animations, such as characters giving each other daps or quipping about needing to step in.  Accommodating different players’ fighting styles As I was studying my opponent’s moves, they took a different approach, focusing on supers and trying to bring out their team for full-screen spectacles. Where each character performs a quick combo, sending your opponent airborne while smashing them to the ground, ending in what I can only describe as a superhero pose-a-thon. The methodical vs manic approach created a fun back-and-forth between us, but the game was accommodating of both approaches and provided its own sense of satisfaction. “When it comes to the game’s design, it was very important for us to make this something that’s easy to get into, but has depth beyond that initial entry,” says Sekine. “One thing that we were very careful about when designing the game was to ensure that there is not any kind of mechanic or attack that someone who’s just getting started would not be able to perform. It would impede on the experience of new players.”  “When you press the Assemble button, depending on the situation and what’s going on in the match, the Assist will come out and perform a different action that’s suitable for that particular moment,” says Sekine. “By designing it in that way that we’re able to clearly communicate to the player when they should be calling in their assists, and make it easier for them to play.” Anime-inspired Heroes in action “At Marvel games, it’s really important for us to allow developers to put their own unique stamp on the Marvel Universe,” says Michael Francisco, Sr. Product Development Manager, Marvel Games. “In the case of Arc, it’s that fusion of Marvel and American comics with Japanese anime and manga, and you can see that reflected in the art style and the character designs.”  All the characters ooze charm, but the backgrounds also pack a lot of exciting details. Eagle-eyed fans should keep an eye out for interesting signage referencing heroes and events, pedestrians reacting to on-screen action, and easter eggs scattered throughout. It’s obvious a lot of care was put into building this world.  “It was very important for us to be able to create the visual excitement that should be entailed with [tag fighters],” says Takeshi Yamanaka, Producer, Arc System Works. “Since this is a 4v4 game, that means that we can have up to eight characters out on the screen at one time altogether, so we were careful when creating the visual composition of the screen to ensure that we convey that excitement.” The 4v4 fights begin next year MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls is set to release in 2026, and while I’m excited to see all the heroes, combinations, and worlds the game will take us too, I asked the team how they felt about creating something new that has never been done before in the fighting genre.  “It’s both scary and exciting, exhilarating and terrifying, at the same time,” says Francisco. “From the beginning, we all want to honor and respect the rich history and legacy of Marvel, while also forging our own path forward to create something new and innovative. So, we just hope fans are excited to see what we’ve come up with as a collaboration between all three parties.” 

It shouldn't be so hard for developers to receive credit for their work. Industry activists have been campaigning for years to create standardized crediting practices but the problem persists. Many developers still aren't being recognized for their contributions and it is a debilitating issue. It's not just a case of someone not seeing their name in lights. It's a practice that can hamper careers—especially those of industry newcomers who might be asked to prove they've worked on a shipped game.Localization and translation specialist Tamara Morales recently told Game Developer that freelancers, too, rely heavily on credits to bring in more work and show their experience. It's like a resume. Proper crediting is crucial for game workers that have been pushed to the margins, like contract workers or external teams.Unions could help standardize the crediting process and guarantee compliance.The struggle for developers to get proper recognition for their work in the industry has been well-documented. Often, individuals working for external support teams, like localization or quality assurance, will be omitted. Sometimes, studios will leave out the names of people who departed ahead of launch. Improper crediting doesn't always mean a person can't list a project on their resume, but it's—at best—unfair to the developers who worked on the game and aren't credited and, at worst, actively hampering careers. The impact varies from person to person and studio to studio—there’s a ton of inconsistency—but the problem remains pervasive.Related:Union contracts can deliver 'tangible, positive change across the industry'Nazih Fares, the vice chair of the International Game Developers Association's (IGDA) game credits special interest group, told Game Developer that while working as a public relations contractor for major game companies, they'd been left out of the credits for more than 50 games they supported. Their first game credit for Metal Gear Solid 5 was a 'special thanks' at the end of the roll call—something that didn't accurately represent the scope of their contributions.When they began specifically asking for credits, they were told the studio that had solicited their services didn't include external developers in their credits. "It was frustrating to be in that situation, and I knew that I wasn't the only one," Fares said. "It wasn't just me."The IGDA's game credits group published a lengthy paper on the best practices for game crediting in 2023, which includes standards that define an "inclusive" crediting philosophy. The group even built tools in Unreal Engine to streamline the task of importing credits into a game.Related:Industry consultant Tarja Porkka-Kontturi told us several studios have adopted those IGDA guidelines, but that "widespace implementation is still absolutely lacking."The problem is that the IGDA can't force companies to implement a standardized process—but contracts can. "I firmly believe that if unions and developers collaborated to embed fair crediting practices—such as the ones we've outlined in the IGDA Game Credits Guidelines—into collective agreements, it would bring tangible, positive change across the industry, globally," Porkka-Kontturi said. "As mentioned, this kind of inclusion in union contracts would not only strengthen the position of workers but also give studios a clear, standardized process to follow."Freelance writer and narrative designer Anna C. Webster also suggested unions can provide a pathway to standardization. "[Credits] are critical," she said. "Being properly credited on a title is essential to our individual careers as workers, and also just general fairness. Being able to say, 'Hey, I worked on this,' is important to show the work you did and not undercut labor in any way."Related:Webster is a member of the United Video Game Workers-Communications Workers of America's (UVW-CWA) organizing committee and the interim chair of the freelancing and contractors issues' committee. She said the standardization of video game credits is something the freelancing committee is particularly interested in. Hollywood unions, like the Writers Guild of America or the Producers Guild, have built out and enforced crediting rules. The video game industry doesn't have any overarching bodies to do that—so companies are still able to follow their own whims.Sega and ZeniMax unions successfully bargained for standardized crediting practices The Communications Workers of America told Game Developer that several video game industry unions, like Sega of America and ZeniMax Workers United, have already bargained for standardized credits in their contracts. Sega of America's contract, for instance, requires the company to credit all workers that contribute to its games—including "early QA testers."ZeniMax Workers United has two pages dedicated to crediting practices in its signed contract agreement. It sets out the following attribution guidelines:a) The Employer will credit all bargaining unit employees who are assigned (or ancillary) to the title and are employed 90 calendar days before a project’s full public release date. Anyone not employed 90 days minimum before the projected full release date will appear in “Special Thanks”, “Additional Credits” or some other equitable designation.b) Bargaining unit employees must work on the title for at least 30 calendar days before the credit lock date. Contributors below this threshold will appear in “Special Thanks”, “Additional Credits” or some other equitable designation.c) Bargaining unit employees will be credited by their lived name (first and last) and their role or nature of work at the time credits are created. In the event a bargaining unit employee updates their lived name with Human Resources, the Employer shall then update the publicly accessible list of credits, if available. Changes or updates to in-game credits will be at Management’s discretion.d) Credits shall be updated with credit given to those who meet these criteria for additional major releases related to the game (large updates, DLC, etc).The contract also has a section that lays out the visibility of credits, too. The credits have to be made available to anyone who plays the game, regardless of whether or not they've completed it. There's even a process that outlines how the company must be informed if mistakes are made, and if they want to change how their name appears. (The contract doesn't have any process—aside from being "at the employer’s discretion"—on how people who no longer work there can have theirs changed).Unions, then, have both collective worker power and legal strength to push back on a multitude of issues, including crediting problems. The union has resources that an individual may not, meaning workers don't simply have to trust an internal policy. They can also garner widespread cross-industry support. UVW-CWA, unlike the unions under Sega of America and ZeniMax, is a direct-join union. That means any game worker can join its ranks, regardless of where they work or whether they’re a freelance or contract worker.UVW-CWA currently has more than 500 members across the industry in North America and Canada. It works differently in that there isn't a contract between the union and specific companies. Instead, its power comes from the collective voice of members.The freelancing group under UVW-CWA is looking to create contract standards to help individual workers negotiate crediting terms into their contracts with companies. Webster said the union hasn't nailed down exact language just yet, but explained it could be useful, for instance, to ensure anybody who worked on a game for more than 30 days must be included in the credits."Game developers and publishers could work with unions in drafting a clause in the contract stating that all external collaborators are credited no matter how big or small that collaboration is," Morales added. Crucially, those clauses could be used to hold companies accountable if people are not properly credited. Morales said organizations like ATRAE are working to help people receive proper credits. That includes helping developers contact studios to make them aware of crediting issues in the hopes of delivering a fix.Studios don't always comply, but with contracts in hand—or a mass of worker support—that could change.