The Art Of Struggle.

Epic Games is introducing Easy Anti-Cheat support for Linux, Mac, and the Steam Deck through its Epic Online Services toolkit. The Fortnite maker had already made Easy Anti-Cheat available to Windows developers for free, and is now extending the same courtesy to creators on Linux and Mac. Notably, the technology will also be supported on Valve's upcoming Steam Deck console, which is being pitched as a jack-of-all-trades machine capable of running a plethora of Steam titles in portable or docked mode. http://dev.epicgames.com/en-US/home

Apple has been hit with a permanent injunction that will prevent it from prohibiting links to third-party payment options on the App Store as a result of the Epic v. Apple lawsuit. As reported by The Verge, the injunction was issued by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers in a bid to increase competition and transparency, and will seemingly allow developers to more effectively highlight alternative payment methods on the App Store -- and in some cases, in applications themselves. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/epic-v-apple-case-results-in-permanent-injunction-that-could-pry-open-the-app-store full documents https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21060631/apple-epic-judgement.pdf

Valve has announced that the Steam Deck Dev Kit request form is now open for developers. Valve dropped the announcement and request form over in the Steamworks forum, informing developers that Dev Kit supplies are limited, and they’ll be reviewing requests on a case-by-case basis. Developers interested in acquiring a kit and developing software specifically for the platform can link with other developers on the Steam Deck forum. If you’re working on a game for Steam right now and are trying to determine if you need a Dev Kit—you should definitely remember that Valve has promised most games will work on the platform thanks to Proton, which allows many Windows games to run on the Linux-based Steam OS that powers the Steam Deck. Valve has said that “most games” tested on the Steam Deck are running fine and at 30 frames per second, but cross-checking websites like ProtonDB does show that some games aren’t properly optimized to run on the OS at this moment. So if you’re itching for that Dev Kit, you can request one from Valve here.

It was a challenging first half for the fiscal year of 2021 for CD Projekt. But even after enduring a rough launch for Cyberpunk 2077 and the subsequent delisting of the game from the PlayStation digital store, the Polish parent company of CD Projekt Red and GOG.com still turned a profit—albeit a smaller one than the same period in 2020. Per its financial report for the six month period ending June 30 2021, CD Projekt’s revenue rose from 344 million PLN in the first half of 2020 (about $89 million) to 470.6 million PLN (about $123.6 million) in the same half this year. CD Projekt leadership also stated that it’s aiming to have versions of The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 available for PS5 and the Xbox Series X|S available by year’s end. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/cd-projekt-revenues-rise-profits-slide-in-rough-first-half-of-2021

Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Grand Theft Auto maker Rockstar Games, has filed a lawsuit against the modders who reverse engineered Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City. As spotted by Rockstar Intel, the lawsuit claims the mod team deliberately "sought unlawfully to copy, adapt, and distribute to the public infringing source code for two classic GTA titles." It adds that both projects, better known as 're3' and 'reVC,' are evidence of copyright infringement as they enable players to install and run GTA III and Vice City on multiple platforms, including those on which they never saw an official release, and feature unofficial enhancements. Lawsuit https://github.com/GTAmodding/re3

This change apparently went into effect in 2020 but was noticed yesterday by AskAboutGames editor Andy Robinson while reviewing the rating for inkle’s latest interactive story game Overboard. Overboard is a reverse murder-mystery simulator where the player attempts to get away with murder on a cruise ship. The game does feature mild violence, suggestively sexual themes, and depictions of alcohol use. But a scene where you can play Blackjack with another character caused the ratings board to apply a PEGI-18 rating to the game. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/gambling-in-your-game-will-now-automatically-land-it-a-pegi-18-rating

Longtime BioWare general manager Casey Hudson has revealed his next adventure after departing the Mass Effect studio last year. That new project? A new game development studio with a small, agile team and flat organization structure at its center. Hudson unveiled Humanoid Studios, today, teasing the new company as something "built to unleash the creative freedom of developers - bringing innovation and artistry to players through an all-new IP." As to what that new IP is, Hudson and Humanoid are keeping that quiet for now. However, while the website is light on information, job listings for a number of vacancies the fledgling studio hopes to fill offer more insight into its goals. "Humanoid Studios is a new videogame company founded on the axiom that creative freedom and independence lead to better, more innovative games. We believe in the power of small, agile teams, and a flat organizational structure, where everyone is empowered to make decisions and help drive the project vision," explains one listing. More on Humanoid, and those vacant positions, can be found here. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/384323/Casey_Hudsons_new_Humanoid_Studios_focuses_on_the_charm_of_small_agile_teams.php

Vela Games, the Dublin-based studio established in 2018 by a group of former Riot and EA developers, has raised $17.3 million in Series A funding to build out its debut title. The funding round was led by Novator with additional investment from Ubisoft and LVP, and will allow Vela to continue working on 'Project-V,' its codenamed debut release that's being pitched as a skill-based co-operative experience in the newly defined 'Multiplayer Online Co-Operative' (MOCO) genre. Vela had previously raised $6.9 million to build a 25-person development team to refine its design, and the latest funding round comes after the company successfully launched its first public play testing period earlier this year. The new investment will allow Vela to continue expanding its team, with the company having added talent from Blizzard, Epic, Riot, and Moon Studios in recent months, while also providing financial support ahead of a secondary test phase later this year. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/384279/Vela_Games_raises_173_million_to_create_debut_coop_title_codenamed_ProjectV.php June 30, 2021 | By Chris Kerr

A group of former Riot Games developers have established a new studio called Amihan Entertainment. Amihan co-founder Naomi McArthur, formerly a senior game designer at Riot, broke the news on social media and explained she'll be leading the design on the nascent studio's debut title. McArthur established Amihan alongside Kenneth Liu, who'll be serving as company CEO and previously worked as revenue lead at Riot, and Paul Loy, a former Riot technology lead who'll now be working as Amihan's chief technology officer. According to Amihan's company page on Linkedin, the team will be focused on developing "uplifting, lifelong games" for everyone and will be a fully remote enterprise. "Started by a trio of ex-Riot co-founders, Amihan is an early, venture-backed game studio that aims to craft uplifting, lifelong games for all humans," it reads. "Our work-from-anywhere team is 100 percent fully remote, and we truly champion the idea that diversity of experience empowers us to build world-class IP." McArthur has promised to share more details about Amihan soon, but for now posted some early concept art online (shown below).

Room 8 Group has opened a new studio in Canada to provide creative, development, and management services to development partners working on free-to-play mobile titles and console games. The video game holding company provides external development support to studios worldwide, and has worked on notable projects including Control, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and World of Tanks. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/384394/Room_8_Group_opens_Montreal_studio_to_offer_external_support_to_more_developers.php June 30, 2021 | By Chris Kerr