Bite By Night: Latest Update Log

He’s a really useful engine. So sayeth the sacred texts surrounding star of at least one million mods Thomas the Tank Engine. He’s also a really fast engine. Or, at least one of his mates is. So demonstrateth the social media clips I’ve been watching of folks going as fast as possible in Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor. One of them’s confirmed that it’s possible to beat the real life world speed record for steam trains – which has stood since 1938 – in the freshly released train game.

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Our chums at PlayStation have shared more about Kemuri, the giddy new third-person action game from a team lead by former Tango Gameworks developer and E3 2019 scene-stealer Ikumi Nakamura. In case you missed the 2023 announcement, it casts you as an athletic yokai hunter swooping and flipping around a “sprawling vertical city”. The obvious reference point is Ghostwire: Tokyo, Nakamura’s previous and more ponderous yokai-hunting project for Tango. She left the studio before that game’s completion, but she appears to have brought a lot of the same inspirations to Kemuri. Here’s a video.

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**Quantic Dream’s ‘Spellcasters Chronicles’: A Rapid Cancellation and Implications for the Studio**

On May 20, 2023, Quantic Dream, the studio famous for games like *Detroit: Become Human*, revealed the sudden termination of its first new title in eight years, *Spellcasters Chronicles*. This free-to-play Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game was pulled from Steam just three months post-launch, with servers anticipated to shut down in June. This quick choice has sparked worries not only regarding the game’s performance but also about considerable layoffs within the studio, possibly impacting up to 95 team members.

The aftermath of *Spellcasters Chronicles* has elicited strong backlash from the French union **Le Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo** (STJV), which has linked the project’s failure to mismanagement at the top. The union’s announcement underscored that the game, initially intended to be a “moderately-sized” project, did not satisfy player expectations and was fraught with poor planning and execution. Management, including director David Cage, has been criticized for failing to address the business model and the game’s financial viability during its development.

The union claims that numerous critical blunders transpired during the production phase. They indicated that a deficiency in oversight and continual revisions resulted in team burnout and a deteriorating production schedule. Management’s reliance on external factors as reasons for the failure, instead of owning up to their choices, has been labeled as flawed. The union maintains that the substantial investment in a precarious market, without synchronizing with current player expectations, played a role in the game’s demise.

Quantic Dream has tried to reassure stakeholders by claiming that its other significant project in development, *Star Wars Eclipse*, remains unaffected by the outcome of the *Spellcasters* cancellation. However, uncertainty surrounds the employees as they consider the reassignment of staff from the unsuccessful MOBA to the forthcoming narrative-driven game.

The union conveyed strong opinions regarding the possible reorganization of personnel, suggesting that dismissing the competencies of those who contributed to *Spellcasters* as unfit for *Star Wars Eclipse* undermines their abilities. Such assertions have raised alarms among employees concerning job stability and the studio’s treatment of its workforce, especially in view of the proprietary tools being developed and the recent team structures centered on project requirements.

Moreover, the influence of NetEase, the Chinese conglomerate that purchased Quantic Dream in 2022, has come under fire. Reports indicate that NetEase may have coerced the studio to abandon *Spellcasters Chronicles* too soon and with insufficient marketing initiatives, further exacerbating its swift decline.

The union expressed dissatisfaction over management’s presumption of guaranteed success for *Spellcasters Chronicles*, disregarding any issues raised by employee representatives regarding the risks of the project. They pointed out that the absence of backup plans for failure revealed a troubling level of incompetence that ultimately resulted in job losses for employees.

As Quantic Dream navigates the consequences of canceling *Spellcasters Chronicles*, the studio encounters a pivotal moment that could reshape its future. The management’s strategies, decisions, and treatment of the workforce will likely come under intensified scrutiny as they aim to recover from this major setback. The situation serves as a poignant reminder of the capricious nature of game development, where aspirations can rapidly give way to challenges that impact livelihoods.

As this chapter concludes, the industry will closely observe how Quantic Dream adjusts and rebounds from the unexpected termination of their ambitious project.