Stephan Zielke

Freier Autor für die @GamePro_de, Guide-Meister, Katzenpapa und König des Backens.

[Stephan Zielke @GamingUndKatzen]

Ich hasse alles daran.

[GameVerse @TheGameVerse]

[LEAK] Far Cry 7 New Details

- 72-hour time limit to complete the story
- Sons of Truth
- Rescue your kidnapped 6 family members
- Weapon durability
- Safehouses
- PvEvP extraction mode
- Dynamic wildlife like Grizzly Bears, wolves, Foxes, Deers.

Via Leaker Rogue (not official)

[Stephan Zielke @GamingUndKatzen]

Ich finde die Offenheit sehr erfrischend, auch wenn das Thema nicht das beste ist.

Die wenigsten geben zu wie sehr ihre Marke am Arsch ist. Hat meinen Respekt.

[ASHA @asha_shar]

This is an important email I sent today to all employees at XBOX:

Team,

We are beginning the most significant restructure in XBOX history. After careful consideration, I've made the difficult decision to reduce our team by approximately 3,200 throughout FY27. This will include approximately 1,600 role eliminations today, and in addition, four studios will leave XBOX to new management. I recognize that a year-long restructuring creates additional challenges. Unfortunately, it is not possible to make all the necessary changes in a single day, and I wanted to be direct about the scale.

I know this is painful. These changes will directly affect people who have poured their creativity into building XBOX. Many joined us through acquisitions, while others were recruited here, or sought us out because they loved this industry and loved XBOX. Today's decisions do not reflect their talent or dedication.

Our business today is not healthy. We are operating at margins that are 3–10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses. We entered Gen 9 with a smaller install base and a higher cost structure. To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multi-platform, and a broader portfolio of content. While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected. As that happened, our core business weakened, and we added more teams, more investment, and more time, hoping for a better outcome. And now the industry is facing the most severe hardware crisis in its history. We must reset XBOX.

First, we will reset our content portfolio.

Since 2018, we have aggressively expanded our studio portfolio while the number of games created each month across the industry now outpaces the last ten years combined. We now find ourselves competing not only with the largest publishers, but also with smaller independent studios. It is neither possible nor desirable to own every great independent studio. We have also learned that we are not the best home for every type of studio; in a typical year, we lost 64 cents for every dollar we invested. As we reset XBOX, we will help independent creators succeed by providing open development tools and audiences to realize their vision.

Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions will return to management and transition to independent studios with their IP, catalog, and runway for their next games. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have entered terms to join new ownership with funding to complete and grow Senua and State of Decay 3. In France, Arkane’s management is beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options.

We are also making reductions across other units, and in some cases, shifting investment to focus on higher priority projects. These changes vary in size across Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King, Mojang, and XBOX Game Studios. None of our first party publicly announced games or projects are being cancelled as part of these reductions.

In addition, Mojang and King will now report directly to me. These two studios have increasingly become platforms and are our largest by monthly active players. They bring critical geographic, demographic, and differentiation to XBOX.

Second, we will reset our platform.

We know that great technology gets better when it gets simpler, not bigger. Today, in some parts of the company, work passes through as many as 14 layers of management. Our platform teams are 40% larger than they were at the start of this generation, even as our player base and playtime have declined. That complexity has slowed decisions, blurred accountability, and made it harder to deliver for players. As we reset XBOX, we will simplify.

We will reduce management layers to no more than 5, and where possible, 3. We will deliver success through a flatter organization that is built around makers (individual contributors focused on building), player-coaches (leaders who remain deeply involved in the work while developing their teams), and directly responsible individuals (DRIs) who own key decisions and outcomes. And we will streamline how we work across our tools, with a cleaner code base, shared services, and 50% reduced vendor spend.

Third, we are resetting how we operate.

As XBOX grew our headcount, we became more fragmented. Teams, studios, and functions often operate independently, and it became harder to work towards a shared goal, make the right tradeoffs, and get things done.

For the first time, we are establishing a Chief Operating Officer with end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services. Helen Chiang has been promoted to this role and will report directly to me. Over nearly two decades at XBOX, Helen has helped build some of our most important businesses, from XBOX Live to leading Mojang and the Minecraft franchise. She will bring our businesses together under one operating model, making sure we make clear investment decisions, learn from our successes and failures, and hold ourselves accountable for results.

Thank you, Dave McCarthy, who is retiring after 17 years with XBOX. Dave has played a defining role in building the platform that millions of players rely on every day and has been a trusted partner through many of the biggest moments in XBOX's history. We wish him all the best.

These changes are about a bigger future for XBOX, not a smaller one. The next decade of gaming will be larger, more global, and more creative than anything we've seen before. This year, we'll invest as much in XBOX as we ever have, but we'll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making XBOX where the world plays and creates.

I want XBOX to be one of the few companies that entertains more than a billion people each day and gives everyone the opportunity to create and connect. I know we can achieve this goal. XBOX has many of the most beloved franchises in entertainment history, talented studios around the world, and we will return to growth in 2027.

History is full of companies that mistake longevity for inevitability. We will not be one of them.

Asha

[Tom Henderson @_Tom_Henderson_]

PlayStation Wants to ‘Revitalize the Market’ with New Live Service Games
https://t.co/1mdvFtkq5X

[Stephan Zielke @GamingUndKatzen]

Ich war immer jemand der alle drei Konsolen zu Hause hatte. Nintendo, Xbox und Playstation.

Aber wenn so die nächste Hardware Generation aussieht, also ähnliche Preise für PS6, Xbox Helix und Switch 3, dann werde ich in Zukunft mich für eine Konsole entscheiden müssen.

[Valve @valvesoftware]

Steam Machine is here, and you can sign up now:

Steam Machine 512GB
Steam Machine 2TB

Plus bundled versions with Steam Controller
Learn more and sign up here: https://t.co/dSr8sbm8db

[Dude767 @DudeOnly767]

Jrpg fans eating good for a while, don't let anyone ruin your fun with petty complaints

[Stephan Zielke @GamingUndKatzen]

Könne sie das blöde Vieh nicht einmal aus einem einzigen MH rauslassen?

[Monster Hunter @monsterhunter]

Kushala Daora, the Steel Dragon. Its mere presence alone invites catastrophe to the Forbidden Lands. #Ascendance

[Official ATLUS West @Atlus_West]

An entirely new story is about to unfold.

Persona 6 is officially announced for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, Xbox Cloud, Steam, and PlayStation 5!

Wishlist now on Xbox: https://t.co/Qoo79L2yuN

[Shinobi602 @shinobi602]

September...

9/3: Blood of Dawnwalker
9/8: Phantom Blade 0
9/15: Wolverine
9/24: Silent Hill Townfall
9/24: Control Resonant
9/25: Onimusha Way of the Sword

#StateofPlay #PS5 #Xbox #Steam

[Stephan Zielke @GamingUndKatzen]

Ich bin an einem Punkt an meinem Leben, wo es mich nicht mehr die Bohne interessiert, ob Bungie dicht macht oder nicht.

[PlayStation @PlayStation]

Marathon Season 2 starts June 2

⚬ Pitch-black runs in Night Marsh
⚬ New defensive Runner Shell: Sentinel
⚬ A fresh start with a full gear reset

Play the full game on PS5 during Open Play Week June 2–9: https://t.co/Oe9J4ML1BI

[Stephan Zielke @GamingUndKatzen]

Also wenn man RPGs mag und Kenshi nicht kennt, dann kann man demjenigen auch nicht mehr weiterhelfen.

[Eurogamer @eurogamer]

An unforgiving RPG I bet you've never heard of has sold more copies than some triple-A games. https://t.co/O1paJJgp43

[FarWestFox🦊🤠 @FarWestFox1]

My message to Bungie after all the news.

[Λ2 @DMC_156]

And all came from Capcom

[Stephan Zielke @GamingUndKatzen]

@PaulTassi @GHBSmith As a guide writer I did play 10-14 hours a day.

[Stephan Zielke @GamingUndKatzen]

Bei Sony haben sie doch gesoffen. Ich mag meine PS5 Pro wirklich gern. Aber 900 Euro ist eine Frechheit. Ich meine das Teil hat nicht mal ein scheiß Laufwerk.

Was soll denn bitte die PS6 kosten? 1.199 oder gleich 1.499.

Kosnolen sollten eine günstige Alternative zum PC sein.

[PlayStationDE @PlayStationDE]

Wichtige Preisaktualisierung für PS5 und PlayStation Portal: https://t.co/voVlrTIkzk

[Stephan Zielke @GamingUndKatzen]

Es ist sehr befriedigend zu sehen, nachdem sich alle wieder über die ach so dummen Games Journalisten lustig gemacht haben, Leute am ersten Rätsel von #crimsondesert scheitern oder keinen Pfeil anzünden können.

Gar nicht so einfach ohne die Guides der Journalisten jetzt?

[KAMI @Okami13_]

Crimson Desert has a staggering amount of content for the 100%.

• 76 unique bosses
• 467 unique characters
• 29 different mounts
• 110 different factions
• 401 creatures to discover
• 355 crafting blueprints
• 573 territories to explore
• 150 different materials
• 430 feats
• 94 secret collectibles

[Stephan Zielke @GamingUndKatzen]

This. Genau so ging es mir auch mit #crimsondessert

In 100 Stunden nicht ein einziges Mal Langeweile. Tolle Bosskämpfe, Erkundung vom Feinsten und eine Welt, in der man versinken kann.

Story hat mich null interessiert, war bei Zelda aber nicht anders. 9/10.

[Paul Tassi @PaulTassi]

‘Crimson Desert’ Review (PC): I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This via @forbes

I've played for 100 hours. I've never been bored. It's a 9.5

https://t.co/9OiM9mlM5i

[Stephan Zielke @GamingUndKatzen]

Oh nein. Das Spiel sieht super nice aus.

[VGC @VGC_News]

Yakuza series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi's studio is reportedly facing closure after publisher NetEase indicated that it will pull funding for its debut title, Gang of Dragon.

https://t.co/l6OxdzOQeo