Here at Goonhammer, we know that it’s hard to keep track of all the news happening all the time in the games industry. So much is always going on with games of all sorts, and their related media, it can be a real blink-and-you’ll miss it situation.
That’s why every week, we round up five of the biggest stories in the gaming sphere from the past week in the Games Industry News Roundup. Our trusty news boy, Dan “Swiftblade” Richardson, is here with the scoop.
Rooster Teeth Closes Its Doors
One of the first pioneers in online content creation, Rooster Teeth, announced last week that the company is shutting down after 21 years of operation.
Founded in 2003, Rooster Teeth was one of the first megastars of the modern internet with its series Red Versus Blue, a comedy based on the Halo franchise. Since this humble beginning, Rooster Teeth expanded rapidly and launched several other successful projects, such as RWBY, Achievement Hunter, and Funhaus.
After changing owners several times, Rooster Teeth was acquired by Warner Bros Discovery in 2022. Following this acquisition, Rooster Teeth would leave YouTube to host videos on its own platform in 2023 in an attempt to increase company revenue. Despite these efforts, Rooster Teeth did not find the success needed to continue operation, and Warner Bros has begun the process of shutting down the company.
Jordan Levin, General Manager of Rooster Teeth, writes about the challenges facing the company in an internal memo. “…it’s with a heavy heart I announce that Rooster Teeth is shutting down due to challenges facing digital media resulting from fundamental shifts in consumer behavior and monetization across platforms, advertising, and patronage.”
The process of shutting down Rooster Teeth is expected to take several months. Warner Bros notes that this will not affect operations of Rooster Teeth’s podcast division, The Roost, which will continue operation after Rooster Teeth shuts down while Warner Bros looks for a buyer.
Capcom Gives Pay Increase for its Employees
Japanese video game giant Capcom announced it will be raising the pay of its team across the board.
The largest increase comes in an over 25% increase to the base salary of entry level employees at Capcom. This planned increase is set to begin in fiscal year 2025, and takes the monthly starting pay from $1,590 per month to $2,006 per month. Starting in fiscal year 2024, Capcom also stated its intention to raise the salary for all positions in the company about 5%.
Additionally, all current Capcom employees will be receiving a one time bonus payment. This includes any new team members brought on in fiscal year 2024.
Capcom has had a very strong few years. 2023 alone saw the release of two critically and commercially successful games, Resident Evil 4 Remake and Street Fighter 6. Capcom is celebrating this success by sharing it with its team, saying, “With this increase in starting salary, Capcom is pursuing further investment in human capital and the acquisition of exceptional talent.”
Games Workshop Announces Adepticon Preview with some Teasers
One of tabletop gaming’s largest annual conventions, Adepticon, kicks off next week, and Games Workshop has already begun teasing its preview event at the convention.
Set to run between Wednesday, March 20th to Sunday, March 24th in Illinois, Adepticon describes itself on its Twitter/X page as, “The ultimate for gamers, by gamers independent convention experience in miniature wargaming hobby.” This year, as well as hosting thousands of wargame enthusiasts, Adepticon will host over 675 different events, ranging from painting competitions to high level tournaments.
Among these will be a preview event hosted by Games Workshop, showing off some new releases for the near future. Taking place on March 20th at 10PM CST/ March 21st at 3AM GMT, the preview event will feature releases for Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, Underworlds, War Cry, Kill Team, and The Old World.
Age of Sigmar fans look to be in for a big treat this time, specifically. Not only has Games Workshop shown off what looks to be some sort of Ossiarch Bonereaper bone tiger for either Underworlds or Warcry, but a separate teaser trailer released on Sunday is promising big change to the Mortal Realms. The trailer features a dark town, the sound of rat squeaks that seems like its almost certainly Skaven nonsense, and a tagline “Sigmar lied” before a bolt of lightning cuts the trailer off at the end.
Could this be the teaser for a new edition of Age of Sigmar? We will have to watch next week to find out.
Board Game Publisher Ninja Division Files for Bankruptcy
Ninja Division, a board game publisher with multiple unfulfilled Kickstarters, announced that it is filing for bankruptcy, leaving the fate of its current backed projects in limbo.
Ninja Division first made waves in the scene in 2014, with a successful Kickstarter for the Super Dungeon Explore line called Super Dungeon Explore: Forgotten King. This project raised $1.2 million and was successfully shipped to backers.
Since then, Ninja Division has run into problems with its future projects. These projects on Kickstarter, which include more Super Dungeon Explore expansions and a second edition for Relic Knights. Ninja Division was plagued with setbacks, including dissatisfaction with the rules for the Super Dungeons Knights expansions led Ninja Division to start from scratch with the rules set, and the lead designer’s medical problems limited his ability to work for several months. By 2019, facing dwindling finances, the company announced that it had let most the staff go, but was still working to fulfill its crowdfunding promises.
Seven years after its successful funding, Super Dungeon Explore: Legends has still not been released to backers, and Ninja Division filed for bankruptcy. According to Boardgamewire, the company’s assets from the bankruptcy petition range between $1 to $10 million. As of this writing, the fate of the unfulfilled kickstarter campaigns is unknown.
Legendary Dragonball creator Akira Toriyama Passes Away
Last week, the Dragon Ball official news page announced that the series creator, Akira Toriyama, passed away due to acute subdural hematoma at age 68.
Toriyama’s art has been an influential part of some of the most recognizable pieces of media in the world, including Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest. His most famous work, Dragonball, first started serialization in Shonen Jump magazine in 1984 before becoming an international phenomenon. Dragonball is now one of the highest grossing media franchises of all time, and permanently changed the face of pop culture. Dragonball is cited as one of the most important works for manga’s rise to international popularity, and Dragonball Z, the anime centered around Dragonball’s adult arc, was a cornerstone of the Toonami programming arc that popularized anime in the west.
A private funeral ceremony was held for close friends and family of Toriyama following his death, and future plans for a public gathering to celebrate his life are still uncertain. What is certain is that Toriyama will be dearly missed by millions of international fans.
And that wraps it up for our Games Industry News Roundup this week! Join us again next week for more news about the tabletop games industry and related media.
Have any questions or feedback? Have an interesting tabletop news story we should be including in our round-up? Drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com. And if you want regular updates in your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter.
