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Goodbye Jason Voorhees, hello Michael Myers: Friday the 13th developer and publisher return with a new multiplayer survival horror game based on Halloween
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Goodbye Jason Voorhees, hello Michael Myers: Friday the 13th developer and publisher return with a new multiplayer survival horror game based on Halloween

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Halloween: The Game Reveal Trailer – Future Games Show gamescom 2025 – YouTube

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Seven years after IllFonic and Gun Media had to say farewell to their hit multiplayer survival horror game Friday the 13th, they’re back—except this time, it’s Halloween. Announced at today’s Future Game Show, Halloween is a “one-versus-many stealth horror experience” in which players don the creepy mask of Michael Myers to hunt down the citizens of Haddonfield, or work together as his potential victims in a desperate effort to stop him.

“Stick to the shadows as Civilians, seeking out Haddonfield residents to warn them and searching for a way to contact the authorities,” the press blast says. “As Michael Myers, give them a reason to fear the dark and cut the phone lines to prevent the police from ruining his favorite holiday. Whether playing solo in story mode, against bots offline, or facing others in online multiplayer, each mode rewards stealth, strategy, and skillful play.

“Staying true to the original film, IllFonic masterfully recreates the eerie atmosphere of Haddonfield across multiple maps and authentic locations. With a haunting ambience and score inspired by the legendary movie, Halloween brings the terror home in a new experience that will keep both old and new generations looking over their shoulders.”


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I’m not much of a horror fan so I’m really in no position to speak to the distinctions between the Friday the 13th and Halloween franchises—it’s all just freaky masks, huge knives, and screaming teenyboppers to me. But I do find it very interesting, and amusing, that IllFonic and Gun Media are coming back with a game that, superficially at least, looks so much like Friday the 13th. There will definitely be differences in gameplay: Players will alert NPC townsfolk and police to the looming threat, for instance, leading to “increasingly powerful and thorough neighborhood patrols” that will help even the odds against the killer.

But the bottom line is that a small group of soft, squishy locals are going to have to work together to survive an unkillable maniac who exists only to hack those locals into little bloody bits, and, well… that sure sounds like tomayto, tomahto to me.

I might be reading too much into it, but IllFonic co-founder and CEO Charles Brungardt also seemed to throw a little shade at his former partners while praising his new ones.

“Working with Compass International Pictures and Further Front has been a dream,” Brungardt said. “As rights holders of the film and producers on the game, they’ve shared incredible insights to help us stay true to the soul of the 1978 film. Their tremendous passion for Michael Myers has pushed us to craft something that fans of the franchise will truly appreciate.”

Friday the 13th: The Game, you’ll recall, was brought low by a dispute over the ownership of the franchise between Victor Miller, the writer of the original film, and Sean Cunningham, the producer and director of the film.

Halloween is set to launch sometime in 2026 and will be available for PC on Steam and the Epic Games Store. For now, you can take a closer look at what’s coming at halloweengame.com.

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'To put it bluntly, it was copying others': Former Dragon Quest producer says he left Square Enix because the developer was too focused on making 'safe' games
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‘To put it bluntly, it was copying others’: Former Dragon Quest producer says he left Square Enix because the developer was too focused on making ‘safe’ games

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Former Dragon Quest producer Ryutaro Ichimura says he left Square Enix because the developer and publisher was too focused on making “safe” games.

In a recent episode of ReHacQ (translated by Automaton), Ichimura says he had always planned to go independent eventually, but Square Enix’s way of handling things sped that process up significantly. According to him, the publisher has been pretty focused on “safe” projects over the last several years, which he wasn’t too keen about.

He says that in comparison to current-day Square Enix, the early days of Dragon Quest were all about innovation. “In Dragon Quest 2, you had a three-person party. In Dragon Quest 3, you could change jobs. In Dragon Quest 4, party members could fight using AI,” he said. “Each entry pushed the series forward, both through the evolution of game mechanics and by leveraging the latest hardware at the time.”


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It seems as though Ichimura wasn’t fond of Dragon Quest spin-offs like Builders—a more narrative-driven Minecraft—and the Pokémon Go-inspired Dragon Quest Walk. He says Square Enix pivoted to hitting its own version of popular games to try and nail some guaranteed winners, especially as Dragon Quest’s popularity outside of Japan wasn’t as stellar as it hoped. “To put it bluntly, it was copying others,” Ichimura said.

(Image credit: Square Enix)

Automaton notes that Ichimura calls the Dragon Quest spin-offs “pakuri kikaku,” meaning copycat projects. I do feel like that’s a little harsh in the case of Dragon Quest Builders, which feels like it does enough differently from Minecraft to shake off too many comparisons.

I also feel like if anyone is taking risks with strange games right now, it’s Square Enix. Does it put any effort into marketing any of them? Hell no, but it has at least tried to push out some weirder stuff like Foamstars (which, to be fair, was very Splatoon-coded), Harvestella, and The DioField Chronicle. And lest we forget Forspoken, a game that very much had the potential to be rad if it wasn’t, well, a bit boring.

I do agree with his sentiment at large, though: bigger games are getting safer, and we’re all suffering for it. Why reinvent the wheel when there’s a perfectly good one to slap another coat of paint on and roll out to the masses?

Games are getting more expensive to make and people are increasingly less willing to risk spending the dough on potential duds that get banished to a decades-long backlog. It’s a tough situation to be in on all sides, and while I don’t entirely agree with Ichimura’s sentiment, his frustrations are certainly valid.



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Devcom Developer Conference to be renamed Gamescom Dev
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Devcom Developer Conference to be renamed Gamescom Dev

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Devcom Developer Conference will be renamed Gamecom Dev starting from October 2025.

The name change, announced on the conference’s Keynote Stage on August 19, 2025, “firmly integrates the event into the Gamescom brand family and strengthens its presence in the international gaming industry,” an accompanying press release said.

“I am delighted about Devcom’s upgrade in positioning and its inclusion among the key Gamescom sub-brands,” said Stephan Reichart, managing director of game events GmbH and organiser of the Devcom Developer Conference.

“We’ve had an incredible, exciting, and at times very challenging journey with Devcom over the years.

“Right from the start, people kept asking, ‘So you’re the game developer side of Gamescom?’ That is why we decided to add the subtitle, ‘The official game developer conference of Gamescom.’ Now, everyone gets it – everything related to developer content happens at Gamescom Dev.

Established in 2017, Devcom Developer Conference is the official developer conference of Gamescom, organised by game events GmbH, a subsidiary of the German Games Industry Association (game).

The main Devcom Developer Conference takes place in Cologne, Germany, with this year’s event running from August 17 to August 19, ahead of Gamescom’s official start on August 20.

This year’s conference has featured panel discussions, talks, keynotes, fireside chats, roundtables, and workshops on topics including community management, game design, mental health, and more.

AI is a big topic at this year’s event, with a pre-Devcom survey revealing the conference’s speakers have “mixed attitudes” towards the technology.

Following the end of the main conference, from August 20 to August 22, there will be a Devcom booth in Gamescom’s B2B area.

“The Devcom Developer Conference has rapidly grown into one of the world’s most important events for game developers,” said Felix Falk, managing director of game and co-organiser of Gamescom.

“It has become a key pillar of the Gamescom family. By renaming it Gamescom Dev, we aim to create greater synergies with the other Gamescom formats and tap into new opportunities through closer integration with the Gamescom brand world. This will take our success story to the next level.”



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MindsEye developer undergoing layoffs less than a month after launch
Gaming Gear

MindsEye developer undergoing layoffs less than a month after launch

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Build a Rocket Boy has confirmed previous reports from IGN that it is undergoing layoffs less than a month after the tumultuous release of its first game MindsEye.

The Verge reached out to Build a Rocket Boy to confirm the layoffs, but they did not respond. In a statement made to IGN, Build A Rocket Boy wrote:

We can confirm that we have had to make the painful decision to notify our hardworking team of some internal changes at Build A Rocket Boy. While we are working to reassign roles for as many of those impacted by these changes as possible, sadly we are initiating a formal consultation process that may result in redundancies. This decision has not been made lightly, and we are committed to handling this process with transparency, fairness, and respect for all employees. We will provide further details to the team over the coming weeks.

MindsEye is a new futuristic, single-player narrative action game. It was billed as the starting point in an epic, interconnected universe by its creator, former Rockstar Games producer Leslie Benzies, who’s known for his work on the GTA series. Its release earlier this month was plagued by poor reviews, reports of major glitches, and even sponsored streams being cancelled moments before they were set to start.

MindsEye was supposed to be big. Build A Rocket Boy posted an in-depth roadmap filled with lots of new content updates stretched out over the rest of the year. There were also plans to add multiplayer and open-world elements with additional hopes that the game’s community would step up and provide their own labor.  “Hopefully some [players] will create compelling content we can then promote and make that part of our plans to push to other players,” Benzies said in an interview with gameindustry.biz.

Build a Rocket Boy has not confirmed the number of employees affected although IGN reporting suggested that around 100 workers would be impacted out of a total headcount of roughly 500. The company said in its statement it remains committed to delivering on its promises for MindsEye. But that will be exceedingly difficult in a climate where any new game with this kind of scope is fighting against forever games like Fortnite and Roblox.



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MindsEye developer reportedly prepping for layoffs after botched launch
Game Updates

MindsEye developer reportedly prepping for layoffs after botched launch

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MindsEye developer Build a Rocket Boy has reportedly started the layoff process at the studio, after an underperforming launch.

The report, written by IGN, states the developer has informed staff the redundancy process has begun, with sources claiming over 100 employees could be impacted.

A source who wished to remain anonymous told IGN the 45-day consultation process had begun, which according to UK law kicks into effect when over 100 layoffs are planned within a 90-day window.

You can watch our video review of MindsEye here!Watch on YouTube

This news comes after a launch which disappointed many eager fans waiting to play the game that had, originally, been touted as a rival to Grand Theft Auto. The game, since its release, has been plagued with bugs, performance issues, crashes, and what many have called ‘dated design’. Right now MindsEye is rated Mostly Negative on Steam, though a hotfix has been released to improve the game for those still eager to give it a try. However, even after the patch, things are still far from perfect.

Prior to its release, the CEO of Build a Rocket Boy suggested negative reviews had been paid for, though the publisher of MindsEye IO Interactive did not share this belief when asked by IGN.

In Eurogamer’s review of MindsEye, writer Rick Lane wrote: “although it shows some early promise, MindsEye is sunk by a ridiculous story, inconsistent writing, poorly designed mission scenarios, and utterly atrocious combat.”



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MindsEye gets patch update to make the dang game work
Game Updates

MindsEye developer Build a Rocket Boy reportedly laying off at least 100 employees

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MindsEye developer Build a Rocket Boy is preparing for a round of layoffs after the rough launch of its debut game, according to a new report from IGN. An anonymous source told the outlet there’s no definitive number yet as to how many people the studio is laying off, but it could be 100 or more.

UK labor law states that an employer that is proposing 20 or more redundancies at one “establishment” within 90 days must go through a process of collective redundancy consultation before the redundancies can go ahead. This means informing and consulting appropriate representatives of the affected employees to allow them to meet with the employer. This consultation must begin at least 30 days before the first dismissal (for cases of under 100 dismissals), or 45 days before (for more than 100 dismissals). According to the anonymous source, for Build a Rocket Boy’s case, a 45-day consultation period began on Monday, June 23. According to IGN’s report, Build a Rocket Boy has roughly 300 employees in the UK, so a third or more of its UK workforce may get laid off. The studio also employs about 200 people outside of the UK, and it’s unclear at this time if they’ll be affected as well.

MindsEye originally began as a game inside Build a Rocket Boy’s Roblox-like platform, Everywhere. That content platform isn’t out yet, and, with the studio’s impending layoffs, it’s unknown what the future holds for it.

MindsEye is out now for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.



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The big Leslie Benzies interview: MindsEye, Everywhere, and the double-edged sword of GTA
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MindsEye developer confirms layoffs as it “focuses on updates and performance optimization for MindsEye”

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MindsEye developer Build a Rocket Boy has confirmed it has “had to make the painful decision” to lay off staff.

The studio’s inaugural title was met unfavorably by both critics and players alike, with the team saying on Discord that it was “heartbroken” about the ongoing optimization and performance issues.

According to IGN sources and our understanding of the UK’s redundancy legislation, over 100 developers could be at risk of redundancy, although the studio itself has not confirmed how many jobs are now at risk.

“We can confirm that we have had to make the painful decision to notify our hardworking team of some internal changes at Build A Rocket Boy,” the studio said in a statement to GamesIndustry.biz.

“While we are working to reassign roles for as many of those impacted by these changes as possible, sadly we are initiating a formal consultation process that may result in redundancies. This decision has not been made lightly, and we are committed to handling this process with transparency, fairness, and respect for all employees. We will provide further details to the team over the coming weeks.

“The launch of MindsEye has been a significant milestone for Build A Rocket Boy, but we know that we still have a lot more to do to grow our community in the coming years,” the statement added. “The challenges we’ve faced have only strengthened our resolve and, while we are deeply saddened by today’s decision and thankful to our incredible team, this shift allows us to focus on delivering ongoing updates and performance optimization for MindsEye, while also ensuring the long-term success of Build A Rocket Boy’s future ambitions.”

Build a Rocket Boy’s chief legal officer and chief financial officer left the company a week before the game’s June 10 release.

Over 2300 developers have lost their jobs in 2025 so far, with cuts and closures at Freejam, Splash Damage, Piranha Games, Jar of Sparks, Ubisoft, ProbablyMonsters, Iron Galaxy, Sumo Group, Liquid Sword, NetEase Games, Toast Interactive, Night School Studio, Striking Distance, Until Dawn remake developers, Ballistic Moon, Eidos Montréal, PlaySide, AppLovin, Nerial, Reality Labs, and, most recently, there have been multiple cuts at EA, including Respawn, People Can Fly, and Jagex.



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"100% completing" Balatro has developer better "equipped" to design the next big update
Game Updates

“100% completing” Balatro has developer better “equipped” to design the next big update

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Balatro developer Localthunk has “100 percent completed Balatro”, making him better “equipped” for the next update.

In a message posted to social media, Localthunk said it was “a ton of fun to hunt for Completionist++” in his own game, saying he achieved the milestone by playing “a few runs before bed”.

If you don’t know what Balatro is, check this trailer out!Watch on YouTube

“It’s been a great part of my routine,” he said. “I think it’s also equipped me to better design the 1.1 update.

“Pumped to do it over again with the new content when it’s out!”

I have 100% completed Balatro!

Was a ton of fun to hunt for Completionist++. I play a few runs before bed and it’s been a great part of my daily routine. I think it’s also equipped me to better design the 1.1 update

Pumped to do it over again with the new content when it’s out! pic.twitter.com/T8Su601owB

— localthunk (@LocalThunk) June 21, 2025

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He accompanied his message with photographic proof, showing that on 20th June, he’d finally earned a gold sticker on every Joker, something less than 1 percent of all global players have managed to do thus far.

Responding to a commenter on Bluesky, Localthunk confirmed he’d reached the achievement by running a “mostly Ghost, some Painted and Yellow” deck, although “every now and then [he]’d throw in a random one too just for fun”.

Balatro recently passed 5m copies sold. That’s more than double the sales since last August, when the game passed 2m copies sold, and is estimated to have generated $4.4m two months after release on mobile alone.





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