Ninja Scooter
Member
This and crackdown announcement trailers were pure fan service. Makes me wonder how far (if even at all) either were in development when they showed thise trailers.
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Studio Behind Phantom Dust Reboot Shuts Down, MS still working on it
- Thread starter Nibel
- Start date
There were definitely people excited for it and treated it as very positive news. It was an act that Microsoft was focusing on games again, developing their own exclusives, and was a decent portion of the positivity they received for their E3 conference.
ChosenPredator
Banned
this explains why they were hiding the studio so hard
snoopeasystreet
Member
The Last Guardian vs Phantom Dust. The race is on!
Dyson Industries
Banned
Shocking. I hope those developers who were laid off on a whim are able to find new jobs soon.
Steverulez
Member
I don't think they are big enough to do PS and this at the same time. They incubating a new idea but I doubt they have staffed up sufficiently to do it. I suspect they have another studio in mind for it.
Cow Goes Moo
Member
damn that's so sad
1.21Gigawatts
Banned
If the studio worked on Sunset Overdrive, development for Phantom Dust probably hadn't even started when they revealed the game. Just concepts.
I wonder why they revealed it so early. Its not the only game either, there were quite some 2016 or maybe even 2017 games revealed in 2014.
I wonder why they revealed it so early. Its not the only game either, there were quite some 2016 or maybe even 2017 games revealed in 2014.
DarthWalden
Banned
That's sort of where my line of thinking was... From the sounds of it the guys at Microsoft In charge of the reboot (Ken lobb, Adam isgreen) had a very specific idea of what they wanted for this game so maybe they farmed it out to a bunch of Studios and awarded the final contract to the best bidder. This sort of thing actually happens from time to time in the industry I'm in.
Or that could just be hopeless optimism.
The first bullet point in Darkside studio's "About" section:
Breaking the layoff cycle
People get laid off all the time in the game industry. Often this is because there is downtime during or between projects, and developers don't want to pay for people to sit around. Darkside is a client of SID and is treated just like other clients. Darkside games go through the same pipeline, which is constantly flowing with great games. We don't have to worry about significant down time.
Ouch.
Breaking the layoff cycle
People get laid off all the time in the game industry. Often this is because there is downtime during or between projects, and developers don't want to pay for people to sit around. Darkside is a client of SID and is treated just like other clients. Darkside games go through the same pipeline, which is constantly flowing with great games. We don't have to worry about significant down time.
Ouch.
bananafactory
Banned
Makes no sense. If they hadn't even seen the game why shut it down?
Man-is-Obsolete
Member
Man, was really looking forward to that. I still remember the former idol hands dev posting about that in kind of a drunk state lol.
Samurai G0SU
Member
someone had taxes to pay and funding that place was on the list of un-necessary! I bet MS and Darkside are mutually sad about this.
Well prepare for a new trailer about phantom dust with the tag line, more information in the coming future.
it's okay though, i probably wasn't going to pick it up anyway.
Well prepare for a new trailer about phantom dust with the tag line, more information in the coming future.
it's okay though, i probably wasn't going to pick it up anyway.
Steverulez
Member
I think all of their games revealed in 2014 will be out before 2017, personally. Crackdown might be later in 2016 but I think Scalebound will be an early 2016 game.
Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
Except that they didn't close production on it, this dev just isn't working on the game anymore. Halo 5 will most definitely be out this year. And QB will most definitely be shown during e3.
Hexa
Member
It was pretty obvious that a lot of games that they were showing wouldn't be out for quite a while, but they were in a tough spot in terms of good will and peoples expectations of them for the future, so you can't really blame them. It certainly helped out a good deal I think.
Yeah, it's okay that people lost their jobs because you weren't going to buy it anyway.
Primethius
Banned
Ah man, terrible news.
This was one of my most anticipated XB1 titles. Hopefully, development continues normally and it does come out, soon enough.
This was one of my most anticipated XB1 titles. Hopefully, development continues normally and it does come out, soon enough.
Shpeshal Nick
aka Collingwood
I doubt this game is happening. Might have been intended as vapourware all along just to gain "hardcore cred" at E3 and then hope everyone forgets about it.
Kinda like what Sony's doing with TLG.
Kinda like what Sony's doing with TLG.
Freeman
Banned
You can't show up empty handed on conferences, they showed what they had.
I'm surprised about how restrained Sony is being this gen compared to last gen when it comes to showing games in early stages. I don't mind knowing in advance, even if it lead to frustration.
Are you high
Jesus Christ some of you guys man lol.
Omnistalgic
Member
The concern is real...
Didn't this happen to KI, franchise seems to be doing just fine. I hope ppl don't go all "What is going on at ND?"
Didn't this happen to KI, franchise seems to be doing just fine. I hope ppl don't go all "What is going on at ND?"
Diddy Kong
Banned
"You know Darkside Game Studios, we really are the Phantom Dust"
Hey, I never said it was a good idea! (it was especially stupid in Sega's case, considering the limited resources they had).
Maybe the second prototype was started later (shortly before the CG reveal) because they weren't sure of the direction the project was taking under Darkside Games, and they've now just cancelled the original, now that they're confident that they have a better replacement...
I dunno, I just find the fact that we never had the studio confirmed, and now they've been cancelled on, yet the game itself apparently not scrapped to be kinda strange. It's a pretty unique sequence of events.
I didn't like the direction the game was going at all(they westernized it the fuck up based on the CG trailer and basically made sure it had nothing to do with the original Japanese game), but fuck..i really hate people loosing their livelihoods like this. Hopefully those affected can land with grace
Ol No Bones
Banned
I don't know why people think this is some kind of joke. If this game doesn't release many people wont get one of the most creative and overlooked games ever. The original is outstanding. I'm sad for the studio that closed too.
Zeouterlimits
Member
Ugh, what a shame.
I.. wish we could hear more about the situation.
I.. wish we could hear more about the situation.
Steverulez
Member
I can't see Microsoft announcing a game at E3 which a big ol' expensive CGI trailer just to get "hardcore cred" with no intention of making something.
Development issues happen, I'm not saying it will come out (although I think it will) but given how MS do their outsourcing I suspect they just gave it to someone else for whatever reason.
Double Helix got bought, a bit different.
Doug Heffernan
Member
Ken Lobb seemed very passionate about it in a recent interview.
I would bet that it will come out.
The KI stuff happened because Double Helix got aquired by Amazon. The Phandom Dust news is a bit different. MS could have handled this a lot better.
Also: There was a lot "What is going on at ND" comments early last year when some of their devs left the studio.
Regret Upon Approval
Member
The lack of a developer name I guess could've have been treated as a flag for a while now.
BTS is iffy, they got swapped cause of acquiring a notable IP.
Scalebound we know the developers well.
Crackdown, Kampf hasn't alluded to any sort of difficulties despite the developer remaining unknown still. At least I think its unknown.
Phantom Dust strikes me as a game that would never be a system seller. It could be very successful targeting a niche audience on a controlled budget, releasing on all platforms, but won't make a dent in hardware sales.
I can see why an exec would cancel the project from a practical standpoint, despite hating it from a consumer perspective.
I can see why an exec would cancel the project from a practical standpoint, despite hating it from a consumer perspective.
Stare-Bear
Banned
I wish I was...
I just take everything Microsoft says with a grain of salt. Especially after the past two years...
KingJ2002
Member
This... if the game was no further than concepts in a trailer then there was a good chance that the game was very far off (like late 2016 - early 2017 retail release) or worse planned to be rushed out the door to fit a release schedule.
overall... sucks to hear a studio shut down and people needing to find new gigs... here's hoping they all land on their feet.
Ol No Bones
Banned
We have no idea what was going on in that studio. It could have been going terribly and they decided to switch directions and developers.
Microsoft won't delay a Halo game out of the holidays, no matter what state it's in. Just look at MCC.I wish I was...
I just take everything Microsoft says with a grain of salt. Especially after the past two years...
Doug Heffernan
Member
Except it's not canceled...
"We can confirm that development of the title continues. We look forward to sharing more details on the game as we get closer to release."
ChosenPredator
Banned
the thing that really trips me out is that in all the interviews with Adam Isgreen/ken lobb they made it sound like the studio was utlra special that was chosen...
(I found it on twitter) I even posted this awhile back
so confusing.
(I found it on twitter) I even posted this awhile back
so confusing.
Shpeshal Nick
aka Collingwood
Makes sense, but its the (rumoured) way this happened that makes me think its not happening at all.
TheUnsunghero26
Member
Do we know if there was a team at MS also working on it, similar to KI? Adam Isgreen is involved with it, right?
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