Ubisoft layoffs / cancellations, Highguard launch, Marathon's prospects + more!

Duration: 10:30

Timestamps:

0:00 guys i was just getting milk chill

0:15 Ubisoft cancels games, wants layoffs

1:53 Highguard launch

4:10 Marathon launches next month

5:50 QUICK BITS INTRO

6:03 UK lawsuit against Valve can proceed

6:53 Xbox launches on PS5 to be 'consistent'

7:48 EA's FC 'The Grounds' open-world

8:23 Dispatch censored on Switch

9:12 Capcom tried to make Leon Kennedy hot

NEWS SOURCES:

MAINS

SACRE BLEU!!

26 - Ubisoft proposes to cut 18% of workforce at France headquarters as part of ‘major reset’ plan (SACRE BLEU!!)

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ubisoft-proposes-to-cut-18-of-workforce-at-france-headquarters-as-part-of-major-reset-plan/

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ubisoft-launches-voluntary-redundancy-process-to-cut-200-jobs-from-paris-head-office

Restructuring plan image: https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/info1_gi.png?width=690&height=388&fit=crop&quality=85&format=jpg&auto=webp

After cancelling six games https://www.ign.com/articles/ubisoft-cancels-6-projects-including-prince-of-persia-sands-of-time-remake-closes-2-studios-and-confirms-further-layoffs-in-major-company-restructure

https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/jan/22/ubisoft-cancels-projects-and-announces-restructure-in-fight-to-stay-competitive

Jan 28th Ubisoft update: French Ubisoft workers vote to strike

https://www.engadget.com/gaming/ubisoft-173241918.html?src=rss

Union Statement https://bsky.app/profile/stjv.fr/post/3mdiakqixmj2m

Thrust of the story is that UBISOFT is disintegrating

Watch Dogs Franchise Reported “Dead” Following Ubisoft Restructuring, Tim Henderson says the whole franchise is dead

https://www.enduins.com/news/watch-dogs-franchise-reported-dead-following-ubisoft-restructuring

https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/ubisoft-reportedly-kills-watch-dogs-franchise-as-insider-says-ip-is-completely-dead-3309238/

Clip from Insider gaming: https://youtu.be/8rRejJWM3jg?t=3548

26 - Prince of Persia remake actress spent 3 years working on the game, filmed marketing two months ago, and wasn’t informed of its cancellation

https://frvr.com/blog/news/prince-of-persia-remake-actress-spent-3-years-working-on-the-game-filmed-marketing-two-months-ago-wasnt-informed-of-its-cancellation/

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/its-just-as-if-it-never-existed-following-ubisofts-prince-of-persia-remake-cancellation-actor-discusses-losing-three-years-worth-of-work

Video address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY0hv4QFIak

Quick! Someone grab the dagger of time so we can go back and email this actresses agent

Other Sources:

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/22/ubisoft-shares-plummet-after-assassins-creed-maker-cancels-six-games.html

CAUGHT OFF GUARD

Former devs from well-known shooter franchises (Apex, Titanfall, CoD) formed independent studio, thought they could hit lightning in a bottle twice

Geoff Keighley offered to promote game at Game Awards INSTEAD of shadow drop

Left a gap between TGA and game launch

Game flopped

26 - Highguard launches to negative reviews on Steam

https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/s/AsMRNDu6Ob

A shitload of people are playing this game and the DO NOT LIKE IT

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/fps/hours-after-launch-highguard-has-mostly-negative-reviews-and-a-peak-of-97-000-players-on-steam/

Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4128260/Highguard/#app_reviews_hash

Game developers are listening to users and attempting to fix

Post about patch: https://x.com/PlayHighguard/status/2016708434008429021

Another post about the patch: https://x.com/PlayHighguard/status/2016710064002998521?s=20

BUT Highguard's Steam rating goes from 'Mostly Negative' to 'Mostly Positive' when filtering reviews left by people with over 3 hours of playtime: https://www.gamesradar.com/games/fps/highguards-steam-rating-goes-from-mostly-negative-to-mostly-positive-when-filtering-reviews-left-by-people-with-over-3-hours-of-playtime/

So if you’re explicitly filtering for people who like the game then it seems like people like the game.

Geoff liked the game and wanted to help with the game awards but it backfired: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/ultimately-we-could-have-made-a-different-trailer-highguard-ceo-responds-to-that-poorly-received-game-awards-reveal/

Alt: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/highguard-was-planned-as-a-shadow-drop-but-geoff-keighley-had-another-idea/1100-6537655/

They had originally planned to shadowdrop the game but they couldn’t pass up the offer to get placement at the Game Awards. And they didn’t really highlight the gameplay with it. And they explained the silence after the game awards as wanting to just focus of shipping the game and hoping that the game spoke for itself

https://kotaku.com/highguard-game-awards-trailer-rust-hero-shooter-interview-2000663137

28- Highguard Store Page Removes Mention Of Apex Legends And Titanfall

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/highguard-store-page-removes-mention-of-apex-legends-and-titanfall/1100-6537736/

RUN IT BACK

Marathon launches March 5, a week from today

https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/Article/marathon-releases-march-5-2026-new-trailer-and-more

Announced in 2023 https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/24/bungie-unveils-marathon/

Resurrection of Bungie’s older shooter series, a precursor to Halo https://gamesbeat.com/bungie-and-playstation-resurrect-marathon/

Then Bungie was gutted by parent company Sony https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/destiny-creators-bungie-lay-off-220-people-and-form-new-studio-within-sony-to-stave-off-financial-ruin

The alpha was disappointing - people didn’t want another extraction shooter

https://youtu.be/jFzR8bN13FA?t=18

0:18 - gameplay

https://gamerant.com/marathon-alpha-players-request-delay/

So Bungie followed gamers’ advice to delay it https://www.eurogamer.net/bungies-marathon-reboot-delayed-indefinitely-in-response-to-passionate-fan-feedback

Art theft issue, was eventually ‘resolved’

https://x.com/4nt1r34l/status/1923067988871147605

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-marathon-art-theft-debacle-has-been-resolved-to-my-satisfaction-according-to-the-artist-bungie-stole-from/

And game director was replaced https://www.vice.com/en/article/marathon-gets-a-new-creative-director-three-months-before-release-and-players-are-panicking/

But since that time, another extraction shooter has launched and become super popular: ARC Raiders https://youtu.be/IpeJjQDXNAE?t=71

1:11 - gameplay

And now, there’s a chance that ARC has whetted players’ appetite for an extraction shooter that’s more focused on PvP than PvE https://www.shacknews.com/article/147515/marathons-delay-has-been-good-actually

Even if the game is a flop when it launches next week, it was all worth it just for the STUNNING art direction and trailers https://youtu.be/fvbEnWLRo1s?t=43

0:43 to 0:48

1:14 to 1:19

5:48 to 5:55

https://youtu.be/1_tFPT5X2hs?t=37 (0:37)

Thanks to former Art Director Joseph Cross https://www.instagram.com/joseph.a.cross/?hl=en

And emmy-winning animation wizard Alberto Mielgo, who defined the whole look for the Spider-Verse movies http://www.albertomielgo.com/spiderverse

It will go out aura farming

https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2026/01/27/if-marathon-fails-at-least-it-will-go-out-aura-farming/

QUICKBITS

LEGAL HOT WATER

Valve Corporation will face a £656m lawsuit in the UK over alleged unfair prices on its global online store, Steam, following a tribunal ruling that the case could continue.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/s/whvhGshM1F

Legal action over 'unfair' Steam game store prices given go ahead

Better source https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2g1md0l23o

Original Source - Tribunal Ruling allowing the suit to move forward: https://www.catribunal.org.uk/judgments/16407724-vicki-shotbolt-class-representative-limited-v-valve-corporation-judgment-cpo

Report on original Lawsuit:https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwwyj6v24xo

Valve is being accused of rigging the market and taking advantage of UK gamers by shutting out competition in the PC gaming market. According to the claim, Valve "forces" game publishers to sign up to so-called price parity obligations, preventing titles being sold at cheaper prices on rival platforms, enabling Steam to charge an "excessive commission of up to 30%" forcing consumers pay too much for purchasing PC games and add-on content.

TAKE THE BAG

26 - Xbox aims to be "more consistent" with launching first-party titles on PlayStation 5

Playstation universe: https://www.psu.com/news/microsoft-aims-to-be-more-consistent-with-its-ps5-release-schedule-says-xbox-game-studios-chief/

Tech Radar: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/the-head-of-xbox-game-studios-says-were-going-to-try-and-be-more-consistent-with-its-ps5-game-release-strategy

Polygon: https://www.polygon.com/xbox-clears-up-its-stance-on-ps5-versions-on-day-one-up-to-a-point/

Cool that Xbox’s promise to its users is the same thing I promise my girlfriend every 6 months or so

We need you to show up more consistently, it can't just be grand gestures every year when you realize you forgot my birthday

OPEN WORLD GAMING, REAL WORLD PROBLEMS

27- EA Trademarks ‘FC The Grounds’ For New Open-World Mode

https://insider-gaming.com/ea-trademarks-fc-the-grounds-for-new-open-world-mode/

Gam3s: https://gam3s.gg/news/ea-fc27-the-grounds-rumor/

https://www.gamingbible.com/news/ea-fc-27-open-world-netflix-free-fifa-651635-20260129

Twitter post: https://x.com/gamer_matheusx/status/2015964505176441211

Image of WWE 2k “The Island”: https://assets.2k.com/1a6ngf98576c/6h1Ron1tJyEUsz8BsNJGeG/08372648e3d43ef1b28a9cef3b252545/UpdatedScreenforIM.png

You can play as Kyle Walker

Your mistress is GOING TO TELL YOUR WIFE UNLESS YOU BUY HER A FERRARI

EA SPORTS, ITS IN THE GAME, AND ALSO THE REST OF THE WORLD, WHICH INCLUDES THE GAME

INVISI-PROBLEMS

28 - Despite all the hentai games, Nintendo won't allow episodic superhero hit Dispatch on Switch uncensored

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/adventure/despite-all-the-hentai-games-nintendo-wont-allow-episodic-superhero-hit-dispatch-on-switch-uncensored/

"The core narrative and gameplay experience remains identical"

https://www.eurogamer.net/dispatch-switch-switch-2-censored-adhoc-comment

Nintendo Wire: https://nintendowire.com/news/2026/01/29/dispatchs-belated-switch-1-and-2-ports-will-feature-censorship-for-explicit-scenes/

Conker urinal matt photo: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/conker/images/6/64/ConkerUrinalMat.png/revision/latest?cb=20231027225133

RESIDENT HOTTIE

Female Capcom Staff Had A Mission To Make Leon Kennedy As Hot As Possible (and he looks like a dickhead) - https://thegameslayer.com/news/female-capcom-staff-leon-kennedy-hot/

. Leon’s sporting a new “hot uncle” or “ikeoji” look

Original source on the interview with Koshi Nakanishi: https://automaton-media.com/en/news/resident-evil-requiems-leon-kennedy-became-a-hot-uncle-thanks-to-hawk-eyed-female-capcom-staff-who-reviewed-even-the-finest-wrinkles-on-his-neck-director/

Alternate source if needed: https://gamerant.com/resident-evil-requiem-leon-kennedy-gameplay-story-evolution/

Leon has many fans among Capcom employees,” Nakanishi said, “and women in particular were pretty strict when reviewing his design. They would point out and comment on even the finest details like the wrinkles on his neck.”

Pukes

Quotes:

“rather than the visual aspects, he was getting a lot more opinions on how to build Leon’s personality,”

“eon would definitely not act like that in this kind of situation. So, there were more opinions about what he’s like on the inside compared to his looks, “

Joke: You just don’t know him like I do!

OLD Reddit post where people going nuts over this old guy: https://old.reddit.com/r/residentevil/comments/1dk0iux/leon_kennedy_is_so_hot_its_making_me_insane/

Other jokes

Looks like a weekend dad

Looks like the kind of guy who “forgets” to bring his wallet to dinner “oh can you get this babe”

It’s just funny that a group of female developers were told to come up with the hottest guy ever and the guy they came up with is the 42 year old version of the guy who fucked my prom date

Looks like the kind of guy who has dreads in all his college pics