Business news Battlefield, Cyberpunk 2077, Farming Simulator 22 … the business news of the week
Sales figures, studio buyouts, financial reports, developers’ transfer window, investments … if these subjects interest you, you are in the right place. We offer you an update on the business news of the past week.
Battlefield: major changes announced for the franchise
In the wake of the complicated launch of Battlefield 2042, Electronic Arts has decided to make several internal reshuffles in order to put in place the future of the license, we learn in an article by GameSpot. First of all, DICE studio general manager Oskar Gabrielson will be leaving the company. He will be replaced in his post by Rebecka Coutaz, who managed Ubisoft Annecy for nearly ten years.
Another significant change, veteran Vince Zampella has been made responsible for the Battlefield franchise. Co-founder of Respawn Entertainment, Zampella has made a name for himself in the past working on Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, Titanfall and Apex Legends. He will share his responsibilities with Byron Beede, former general manager of the Call of Duty license, recruited by EA last June. The American publisher has also decided to call on Marcus Lehto, one of the creators of Halo. He is currently in the process of establishing a new studio in Seattle, whose role will be to create narrative content for the Battlefield franchise. For its part, the Ripple Effect studio, to which we owe the Portal mode of Battlefield 2042, is working on “a new experience” for this same game. Overall, the number of developers dedicated to the Battlefield franchise is brought to “grow significantly”.
EA has also expressed its desire, still unclear for the moment, to create a “Battlefield connected universe”. No concrete details at this time, but Zampella has indicated that all possibilities are being explored. After the successes of Call of Duty Warzone and Apex Legends, we can easily imagine the arrival of a free-to-play, knowing that a Battlefield Mobile is already in preparation.
“In the immediate term, EA told GameSpot that DICE, Ripple Effect, and Lehto’s new Seattle studio will work together to develop and improve Battlefield 2042. The other Battlefield games and experiences in the pipeline are meant to serve as expansions, in a way. to some extent, of the new Battlefield universe EA is trying to create. There are no details yet on what new games and experiences EA intends to create or when they will be released. “, summarizes GameSpot. EA’s primary objective therefore remains to improve Battlefield 2042, which this week hosted a third update bringing many fixes, weekly missions and even improvements to the interface.
CD Projekt unveils its results and takes stock of its projects
CD Projekt unveiled its financial results for the quarter going from July to September 2021. If the Polish firm achieved an increase in turnover, profits are down compared to last year. In question: the disappointing performance of Cyberpunk 2077 after its record month of launch (13 million sales), but also higher expenses than last year (27.3 million euros against 17.3 million euros) , generated by Cyberpunk 2077 post-launch follow-up (fixes, PS5 / Xbox Series patch, expansion) and studio buyouts (Digital Scapes, The Molasses Flood). Another disappointment: PC game store GOG.com, which reported a net loss of one million euros this quarter.
CD Projekt results
| Period | Turnover | Operational profit | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| July to September 2021 | $ 30.8 million | 3.2 million euros | 3.4 million euros |
| July to September 2020 | 22.3 million euros | 6 million euros | 4.8 million euros |
In the balance sheet of CD Projekt, a graph shows the current distribution of the workforce according to the projects, knowing that the firm has 660 developers. We discover that the team in charge of fixes and new-gen optimization of Cyberpunk 2077 is losing more and more members. Conversely, the team dedicated to the first expansion of the game is strengthening, a sign that its development is accelerating. The next game update (1.5) will arrive in early 2022, along with the PS5 / Xbox Series patch. As for the new-gen version of The Witcher 3, it is not mentioned on the graph because it is developed by an external studio, Saber Interactive. It is expected in the second quarter of 2022. On the side of Gwent and The Witcher: Monster Slayer (Spokko), no significant change is to report. Finally, note that the president of CD Projekt, Adam Kiciński, has announced that the group is not looking for a buyer or an investor.
Nacon: declining results and postponements
The time has also come to take stock for Nacon, which has published its results for the semester from April to September 2021. The figures logically suffer from the comparison with those of last year, boosted by the exceptional dynamics of the video game market during the months of confinement. But the main thing to take away from this assessment is that the French publisher has decided to postpone four games “in order to optimize future income”. The narrative RPG Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong therefore shifts its release from February to May 19, 2022, while Blood Bowl 3 is no longer expected before the next fiscal year, April 2022 at the earliest. Finally, the Train Life: A Railway Simulator and Hotel Life: A Resort Simulator simulations will remain in Early Access longer than expected.
Nacon results
| Period | Turnover | Operational profit | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| April to September 2021 | 73 million euros | 4.5 million euros | 3.8 million euros |
| April to September 2020 | 86.6 million euros | $ 13.9 million | $ 9.6 million |
The next few months will therefore be calm for Nacon, which will be content to launch Cricket 2022 and the console versions of Roguebook. Things will be livelier during fiscal year 2022/2023 (April 2022 to March 2023): the publisher plans to release 15 games during this period, including Steelrising, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, Session (version 1.0) and Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown. Enough to anticipate an annual turnover of between 250 and 300 million euros.
MercurySteam (Metroid Dread) and 505 Games team up for an action-RPG
After being illustrated by developing Metroid Dread on behalf of Nintendo, MercurySteam continues with the announcement a partnership with the publisher 505 Games. The two entities will work together on a third-person action-RPG set in a dark fantasy world, responding to the code name “Project Iron”. This will be a new license which will be jointly owned by the studio and the publisher. “We are delighted to be working with the team at MercurySteam, a proven studio that has created many phenomenal licenses over the years. With the creative vision and talent of MercurySteam and the experience of 505 Games, gamers can expect a high quality, engaging and challenging video game “, said Raffi and Rami Galante, co-CEOs of Digital Bros., the parent company of 505 Games.
Founded in 2002, MercurySteam is based in Spain, in Madrid. The studio is known for developing the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow trilogy between 2010 and 2014, Metroid Samus Returns, Metroid Dread, and the TPS coop Spacelords.
Farming Simulator 2022: a remarkable launch with 1.5 million copies sold
Casually, the Farming Simulator franchise is a huge success. Born in 2008, it sold more than 25 million copies worldwide before the release of the latest opus, Farming Simulator 22, on November 22. A particular episode since it is self-published by Giants Software, which decided to end its long collaboration with Focus Entertainment. The Swiss studio will therefore recover most of the profits made by the game, and we can already say that the harvest looks good: Farming Simulator 22 had the franchise’s best launch with 1.5 million sales a week after its release on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Stadia. It was particularly well received on Steam where it recorded a peak of 105,636 simultaneous players, twice as many as the previous opus (Farming Simulator 2019).
