RallyCarDelta Gaming

I work in a big corporate thing. I discuss business & games.
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[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

@AngusTPaterson @MikeyJayRaymond Basic math is hard, apparently.

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

@stoffstoff @Toshiro0yama Right. We should ignore nonsense responses like that. It's devoid of logic and understanding about why this is a problem. It has nothing to do with someone being "soft" and not enjoying PvP. I like PvP. I never asked for it to be taken out of DMZ.

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

All the PvP die hards figured out they can camp the story missions in CoD DMZ. Story missions are now a nightmare of people there to ruin the experience. They aren't attempting to PvP, they're just jumping in when the story combat starts, picking up easy kills.

People who claim that DMZ should be about tension, or the difficulty about telling friend from foe, are lying to you. They want to rack up hundreds of easy targets that can't fight back.

It's not even PvP (which I don't mind), it's just griefing. Most people running story missions have garbage tier equipment. There's nothing for PvPers to gain except ruining the game for someone else.

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

@HassleCoff54 Yep. Kind of funny how those groups align. Nearly every argument against SBMM can be stripped down to its most basic component: I want to run amok in a lobby filled with people who can't shoot back.

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

@warandnoise True. I can only comment on it from here, and sort of gauge direction from previous statements.

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

On Oct 21, 2026, EA released an employee memo that detailed the future of the company. It also included the confirmation that Bioware would be closing. I reviewed it, and summarized my thoughts here: https://t.co/IHU564HYnC

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

@warandnoise The Sims is probably fine. I don't know if we'll actually see much more out of Skate. They will have much thinner road map at this point.

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

PULLUP Entertainment released their Q2 26-27 report (includes H1 26-27 numbers).

Overall, the quarter benefitted from strong back catalog sales, led primarily by #SpaceMarine2. The entirety of H1 26-27 came in under H1 25-26, as the previous year contained strong comparables and deferred revenue.

Highlights:

- Q2 Revenue: 57M EUR (+7%)
- H1 Revenue: 101.5 EUR (-23.5%)

- Strong back catalog support from Space Marine 2. 15M players.

- "Despite the excellent response from players, with 92% positive reviews on Steam, the launch of Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy was not as dynamic as expected." (Translation: Sales were weaker than expected.)

- The company has several releases lined up for Q4.

Thoughts?
A mediocre quarter for PULLUP, but Space Marine 2 continues move units. The new Plague Tale game is off to a weaker-than-anticipated start, but they are hopeful for consistent back catalog sales.

https://t.co/hxhBDkYzuE

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

@_Rondo5 @JezCorden @GoodGameKofi

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

@JezCorden @GoodGameKofi Right. Not even close. Saying that PS would have fixed the issue of profitability is missing the forest for the trees.

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

@thedeadbrother @rhaxten_ I would like to see aggression based match-making in DMZ, but that would likely depend on the population, and if they can even handle that type of system.

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

The number of people who have said "fight back" is just comical. You have to laugh.

How, exactly, do I do that when I didn't even have a chance to react? They are already there, camping out, waiting for the sequence to start.

It's just garbage tier gameplay. I like PvP, I play other extraction shooter, but this is just griefing, plain and simple.

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

Nope. They won't. It's easy to see why EA doesn't want to spend another 3 years waiting for ME. Even if it was a success, what did it cost? What would be the ROI if they don't sell millions upon millions of units.

I wish they had the chance. I really do. In a perfect world where money doesn't matter, I would say let them try again. Here, that's not the case

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

I've seen this general question come up many times:

"If EA / Xbox / whoever are reducing team size, and closing studios, doesn't that reduce future revenue potential?"

Broadly speaking, it does not, at least not in the current "AAA" industry, especially in the inflated "Western" studios.

In the Bioware example, I guarantee you that future Bioware cash flow was no longer priced in. It just wasn't. Bioware has been immaterial to result for a long time. Unfortunately, that means they look like a loss factory when it comes to ROI, and anything they were working in either had no value assigned to it, or it was too far out to be considered.

As for other layoffs, whether EA or Xbox, the targeted cuts were largely from P&Ls that were already priced out. Meaning, they had no future projection of positive ROI. While no one wants to hear it, moving those employees to other projects would actually create slower, more complex teams. The biggest poison pill in Western / NA "AAA" gaming are teams that have become so large and unweildy, that any benefit from adding MORE people to the team is largely outweighed by the cost of the team and project slow-down that occurs when more people become involved.

Point being, layoffs are painful. No one wants to be in one. Yes, a company can often lay off the wrong skills, or cast too wide a net. It does happen.

However, in the aggregate, the "AAA" layoffs are not simply a product of bad management. They are a result of the economics of the industry right in front of us. While mistakes will happen, the bigger story is in the macro, not the micro.

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

The $500M number that's being associated with E-Day is absolutely NOT the cost of the project, or it's capitalized labor cost.

That ridiculous number is even higher than the napkin math that you get when you run out The Coalition's total cost of business over 7 years.

Throw in some marketing for the studio and maybe you get to $500M.

Regardless, what The Coalition has cost to run / employ over 7 years is not cheap, and it's one of the biggest poison pill in "AAA" gaming.

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

@Colteastwood @Welfare_JBP @ballmatthew This definitely the cost rate of the industry multiplied out over 7 (or so) years.

This is not the capitalized project cost of E-Day (or even the cost "bucket" associated to the project specifically - MSFT tries to avoid a lot of capitalized cost until software is defect free).

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

@baundiesel It's interesting because it looks like all the lessons from Veilguard were learned, at least in terms of marketing.

This had a ton of traditional ME appeal in it.

I can't say it would have worked out, but it's a nice trailer.

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

@fluid1227 Yep, look at what happened with beta DMZ. It devolved into another version of WZ once the causals and semi-casuals realized the hardcore PvPers wanted to "own" the mode.

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

@mmandommech I guess we'll find out. We really don't know until we do. It's a great mode, but it can easily tip into a bad experience, round after round.

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

I do wish that they had been given a chance to finish it. ME 1-3 are still some of the best games out there. The series needed another game, for better or worse.

I don't pretend that Bioware was ready though, and it seems they still had a long road to go. That appears to have killed the project, or at least EA's patience.

[RallyCarDelta Gaming @GameOverThirty]

Space Marine 2 has reached 15M players; a big milestone for a game that absolutely deserves it. Saber and Focus have a generational hit on their hands.

Now load the holy ammunition and remember, the Emperor protects.

[Focus Entertainment @Focus_entmt]

Space Marine 2 has reached 15 million players! 🥳​

We couldn’t have hit this incredible milestone without you. To everyone who joined the fight and spread the word: thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

And welcome to our newest Space Marines. For the Emperor! 🪽