#348 | Warning Brothers

In 2022, approximately 8,500 people lost their jobs in the games industry. In 2023, that number rose to 10,500, and just last year it ballooned to an unfathomable 14,600. Will it be worse this year? That's currently unknowable, but one thing's certain: Industry playing and spending habits are radically changing, and the newest victim of the environment (and loads of really bad choices along the way) is Warner Bros. Games, which shut down three studios (including the vaunted team Monolith Productions, cancelling its Wonder Woman project in the process) while declaring it's all-in on very specific IP, but nothing more. Is WB Games' meltdown a cautionary tale? Or is it a simple example of more-of-the-same? With seven out of 10 PlayStation 5 players playing at least one of the 10 most popular games on the platform -- and with an astonishing 40% of playtime on PS4 and PS5 spent with those 10 games, and those 10 games alone -- we are nearing an inflection point. There are too many people making too many games alongside too little interest in much of what's being released, and frankly, the bloodletting is nowhere near finished. We discuss. Plus: PSVR2 gets a major price cut, THPS 3+4 Remastered leaks via ratings, Black Myth: Wukong sells huge on PlayStation 5, Sony-published Midnight Murder Club gets a release date, and more. Then: Inquiries from our beloved listeners. How hyped are we for Death Stranding 2? What do we make of the rumors of a God of War-related announcement slated for March? Could we define the term "Eurojank"? Will Chris ever get another haircut again in his entire life?

Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:28:36 - Colin's lower octave

0:36:39 - Does Chris need a haircut?

0:42:10 - Imagine Dragons in space

0:46:06 - Colonoscopy customer service

0:51:59 - Ohio slander

0:59:20 - PSVR2 price cut

1:10:43 - Sony stashing PS5s in US

1:23:43 - 40% of playtime is on 10 live service games

1:34:52 - Sony sued over digital monopoly

1:43:11 - THPS 3+4

1:48:40 - Konami and Bloober sign a new deal

1:54:44 - Black Myth: Wukong sold 5 million copies on PS5

1:57:27 - Midnight Murder Club is coming to early access

2:05:18 - What Are We Playing?

2:21:52 - Chaos at WB Games

3:14:25 - PS Plus Essentials

3:27:43 - Circana January stats

3:33:00 - Death Stranding 2 Special Edition extras

3:37:06 - God of War returning

3:40:40 - Did Quantic Dream get away?

3:47:11 - Everything is a meta-verse

3:54:07 - Addicted to maps

3:58:30 - Eurojank

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