Square Enix Is Making Major Moves, But Is It Enough To Save The Publisher? - The Home of Play Podcast ep.113

Happy Monday!   Square Enix has sold off three of its major studios, in an effort to try to stop more financial losses. Will it be enough to save the company though? As usual we have some thoughts about that. Sony makes more serious investments towards their future with live service games. Prince of Persia is being moved to another studio, and we don't expect to see it for quite some time. Lastly Hanger 13 parts ways with studio head, but announces a new Mafia game at the same time. We've got another packed show this week ,so lets just get into it! Remember you can send your comments, questions or complaints to our email [email protected] This week on Episode 113 of The Home of Play podcast we discuss the following: 00:01:51 - Weekly Update with Steve and Chris. 00:11:44  - SoftBank, Sony back $60M round for gaming infrastructure software startup AccelByte - GeekWire 00:16:59 - Now PlayStation is also hiring for an acquisitions manager - VGC/Game Informer 00:19:22 - PS5 Stock Issues Could Last Into 2024 as Chip Shortages Continue - Push Square 00:22:42 - Sony’s proposed Bungie acquisition is reportedly being scrutinized by the FTC - VGC 00:25:51 - Final Fantasy 16 Trailer Coming Soon, Game's Basically Complete - Push Square 00:28:48 - Crytek Hires Hitman 3 Director To Lead Crysis 4 - Game Informer 00:32:02 - Video game market revenue forecasted to hit $200bn for 2022 - GamesIndustry.Biz 00:34:24 - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake development handed over to Ubisoft Montreal - VG247 00:39:14 - Mafia 3's Hanger 13 Studio Head and Founder Haden Blackman Steps Down After 7 Years - IGN 00:43:25 - New Mafia Game in Development, Is a Prequel to the Trilogy. - Push Square 00:46:18 - Guillemot family is considering to purchase Ubisoft - GamesIndustry.Biz 00:50:03 - Embracer Group to Buy Multiple Square Enix Studios and IPs in Huge Acquisition - Push Square 00:57:35 - Square Enix Says Embracer Acquisitions Allow It to Invest More in the Blockchain, AI, and the Cloud - IGN 01:01:07 - Square Enix Retains Just Cause, Life Is Strange, Outriders IPs - Push Square 01:03:03 - Outriders studio has ‘yet to receive any royalties’ as the game hasn’t broken even - VGC 01:13:28 - 'Multiple Sources' Said Sony Is Buying Square Enix, Allegedly - Push Square 01:16:14 - Review Round Up 01:17:15 - Your Homework for the Week: Star Wars Day Discounts PS5, PS4 Games from a Galaxy Far, Far Away - Push Square Acclaimed Historical Survival Medieval Dynasty Planned for PSVR2 - Push Square FIFA 22 is testing cross-play multiplayer soon, but it won’t be coming to FUT - VGC All Dying Light Owners Automatically Upgraded to Enhanced Edition - Push Square Summer Game Fest 2022 set for June 9 - VG247 Hitman 3’s Freelance mode moved into the second half of the year, roadmap shows what’s ahead - VG247 Call of Duty: Vanguard underperformed because no-one wanted a WW2 game, says Activision - VG247 The Quarry features a "death rewind" mechanic that lets you undo your fatal mistakes - VG247 NFT sales ‘have declined 92% since their peak’- VGC