Nintendo announces Switch OLED with minor improvements

Nintendo has finally announced its long-awaited new Switch model but without many of the rumoured upgrades.

The new Switch OLED, as its name suggests, boasts a new display that should improve some of the complaints about previous models having poor contrast and brightness. However, the rumoured bump to 1080p hasn’t materialised and the screen is still just 720p.

Nintendo has increased the screen size from 6.2-inch to 7-inch so a boosted resolution would have been even...

6 July 2021 | Gaming

Developers claim that PlayStation is particularly difficult to work with

Independent game developers have bemoaned the difficulty of working with PlayStation over Xbox and Nintendo.

Iain Garner of independent game publisher Neon Doctrine recently posted a tirade on Twitter where he suggested that getting prominent promotion on the store of a “very successful console” that “does not have Games Pass” (i.e not Xbox, and presumably meaning PlayStation) costs at least $25,000.

Video game publication Kotaku first published the story and...

2 July 2021 | Gaming

Report: The gaming industry has become one of the UK’s top employers

The UK’s gaming industry has mostly shrugged off a wider pandemic-induced slump to become one of the country’s top employers.

Global recruiter Robert Walters and data provider Vacancysoft have published a report called ‘Gaming: Perfect Play for Growth’ which highlights the continued strength of the UK’s video game industry.

The UK is home to some of the most iconic video game studios in the world including the likes of Rare, Codemasters, Rockstar North,...

11 November 2020 | Gaming

Developers can now peek under the hood of the Amnesia games

The developers of the legendary Amnesia horror series have made their code open source to help teach and inspire others.

Code for Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs is now available in full on GitHub.

In a blog post, developer Frictional Games wrote:

“This doesn’t mean that the game is suddenly free. It just means that people are free to use the source however they want as long as they adhere to the GPL3 licence. The game and all of...

24 September 2020 | Gaming

Microsoft joins App Store backlash after xCloud game streaming blocked

Microsoft has joined the growing number of developers who are disgruntled with the App Store’s policies after its game streaming service xCloud is blocked.

Apple’s notorious “walled” platforms have become more open in recent years, but some frustrating policies remain which restrict developers and lead to a poorer experience for Cupertino’s customers.

Game streaming services are growing in popularity – especially with 5G rolling out – but there's a notable...

7 August 2020 | App Stores

GDC: Game developers are working longer, delaying releases due to COVID-19

The first State of the Industry report from the Game Developers Conference (GDC) has been released since COVID-19 turned all of our lives upside down.

GDC’s latest report is aptly called the ‘Work From Home Edition’ and highlights how game developers have been forced to adapt in these difficult circumstances.

As with many jobs, a lot of software development was already shifting to being done remotely – it just took a pandemic to speed up the transition. Of the...

17 July 2020 | Gaming

Opinion: PS5 and Xbox Series X audio upgrades will be as impressive as their visuals

With the upcoming consoles, audio technology will finally get a generational leap alongside visual fidelity.

One of the most intriguing parts of the PS5 technical announcement was that of the Tempest Engine. System architect Mark Cerny quite rightly said that audio hasn't received the same attention as visual upgrades over the years, despite it being an essential part of the experience.

Sony started its work on a 3D audio system out of necessity for its PlayStation VR...

13 July 2020 | Gaming