Gamasutra editor Alex Wawro continues our annual series of year-end roundups by looking back at some of the big events that shook up the game industry in 2018.

A lot of long-simmering game industry issues boiled over in 2018.

As we noted yesterday while looking back at the trends that defined the games business this year, many longtime studios executed big layoffs or shut down entirely.

Unionization in the game industry is a hot topic again, and in 2018& Game Workers Unite coalesced and seemed to focus years of chatter into meaningful statements and action.

After years of giving chase, French media giant Vivendi finally gave up on trying to acquire Ubisoft and sold off its entire stake in the company to (among others) Ubisoft, Tencent, and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Iconoclasts finally came out!

2018 was a long one. Before we put it behind us, let’s think about which bits we’ll still be talking about in the year ahead.

The closure of Telltale Games (and Capcom Vancouver and Carbine and Bandai Namco Vancouver and Wargaming Seattle and…)

Telltale Games wasn’t the only studio to fall this year, but it was among the biggest and the most beloved. 

Despite clear signs of trouble (including reports of a toxic work environment, a big round of layoffs last year and a legal fight with ousted CEO Kevin Bruner) it was still a shock when Telltale initiated its “majority studio closure” in September, effectively laying off over 200 people with no warning and no severance.

They weren’t alone, either; Telltale’s sudden shuttering happened within days of Capcom Vancouver closing and Big Fish laying off over a hundred people, meaning the game industry lost two big studios and over 500 jobs in the course of a week. In retrospect, this seems a particularly bad year for mass layoffs in the game industry: 

While Skybound Entertainment works to finish up Telltale’s final Walking Dead game with at least some of the original developers, the once-beloved studio’s abrupt shutdown and failure to pay workers what they’re owed (inspiring at least one class action lawsuit) drove many to ask: will Telltale’s failure be a catalyst for industry reform? 

Valve implements rev-share tiers that favor the biggest earners (as indies flounder)

This year Steam’s polite dominance of the PC games industry appears shakier than ever, seen perhaps most clearly the week Valve announced it was formally creating new rev-share tiers that give big sellers a break.

By cutting its take on big earners (the standard 30 percent take drops to 25 percent on all post-September earnings over $10 million, and 20 percent over $50 million), Valve seems to be making a serious play to keep top game makers from taking their work elsewhere in the years ahead.

This has never been more viable, now that multiple publishers (including Bethesda, Ubisoft and Electronic Arts), and it comes right as Epic and Discord are opening up their own online game marketplaces with much better rev-share rates.

Most importantly, Valve is making this concession to big game makers even as smaller devs continue to struggle with discoverability problems in a market overflowing with remarkable games. Low-profile or niche games can easily get lost in the mix, especially when Valve is tweaking Steam’s recommendation algorithms in ways that drastically affect some devs’ earnings.

Once upon a time, just getting your game on Steam meant nearly guaranteed sales success; now, most devs could be forgiven for seeking greener pastures in which to launch their next game.

FTC agrees to investigate loot boxes in games (closing out a year of loot box backlash)

“Loot box” reward systems have been a thing in games for years, but after the Battlefront II imbroglio of 2017 they caught the attention of media outlets outside of games. Fast-forward to the end of 2018 and they’re now firmly in the sights of gambling regulators around the world, with countries like Belgium and The Netherlands branding them a potentially illegal form of gambling.

This has already caused devs like Valve, Square Enix, and ArenaNet to modify or stop selling games in those regions, and it’s likely that more devs will be impacted in the new year as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission commits to investigating loot box monetization schemes and their influence on young players. 

British game devs get their first-ever union (amid rising tides of unionization talk)

Talk of unionization in the game industry is nothing new, but action remains a rarity. Not so this year, when the United Kingdom chapter of pro-union activist group Game Workers Unite signed on to become an official branch of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, effectively creating the U.K.’s first game dev union. 

It’s a notable step forward for game industry labor activists, and it should give devs a fresh opportunity to observe what (if any) effect organizing can have on your local game industry. This is important because practical examples of organized labor in this business are still rare (though some do exist), and it caps off a year of reinvigorated conversations about unionization in the game industry. 

(Photo courtesy of @GWU_UK)

Game Workers Unite has been a driving voice in those discussions all year (or at least, since the IGDA unionization roundtable at GDC), but the focus has been on how to curb the game industry’s predilection for precarious, high-pressure jobs that burn people out and push them into other fields at a steady clip.

After a year filled with big layoffs and high-profile stories of toxic, mismanaged, or just plain poor work environments at various game companies ( Riot, ArenaNet, Rockstar et al), those discussions are sure to continue — and the U.K.’s first game industry union is likely to play a key role.

The Epic Games Store launches (bringing the Store Wars to a head)

The continuing success of Fortnite Battle Royale has pushed developer Epic Games in some surprising new directions, most notably towards backing the strongest Steam competitor to date. In launching its Epic Games Store with an 88/12 revenue-share split across the board, the company made a specific pitch to devs: we can take care of you better than Steam can.

While some devs don’t buy it, the evidence is compelling: Fortnite claims over 200 million registered players across all platforms, and while the Epic Games Store reaches only the PC portion of that audience, the company aims to build out a cross-platform market. There’s a (comparatively) small number of games competing for attention on the Epic store, and no paid ads to clutter up search results. 

Perhaps most importantly, Epic’s 12 percent take is among the lowest in the business (narrowly beaten by Discord’s 90/10 rev-share split), and the company waives its royalties on Epic Games Store sales of Unreal Engine games. At the end of a year in which Steam faced fresh competition from Discord (which also boasts over 200 million users) and other would-be game merchants, Epic’s decision to throw its Fortnite-fed weight around in Valve’s territory may create a fresh wave of opportunities for game devs in the year ahead. 

Want to read more about the best of 2018? Don’t miss our look at the 5 trends that defined the game industry this year, and keep your eyes peeled for more end-of-year reflections and lists from the Gamasutra team!

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Last year, we updated Office.com with a new experience focused on two simple things: helping users get the most out of Office and getting them back into their work quickly. The streamlined site has clearly resonated with customers, and now more than 40 percent of Office 365 web users start their work by visiting Office.com.

Starting today, we’re bringing this experience to Windows 10 in the form of an app, simply called Office. It’s now available to Windows Insiders (Fast) and will roll out to all Windows 10 users soon. The app itself is free and it can be used with any Office 365 subscription, Office 2019, Office 2016, or Office Online—the free web-based version of Office for consumers.

A few key reasons to use the app include:

• Quickly switch between apps. See all your Office apps in one place and switch between them with a single click.
• Get back into your work. Jump to your most recently used documents, pinned documents, and documents shared with you—whether they’re on your local machine or stored in OneDrive or SharePoint.
• Find what you need. With Microsoft Search integrated prominently, you can quickly find the apps, documents, people, and sites you need to get your work done.
• Tailor it to your organization. Organizations can apply company branding and integrate other line of business applications through single sign-on to customize the experience for their users.

The Office app will replace the My Office app, which currently helps users manage their Office 365 subscriptions. If you already have the My Office app, you will get the new Office app through an automatic update in the coming months. Otherwise, you can download it from the Microsoft Store. Starting this summer, new Windows 10 devices will come with the Office app already installed—making it easier than ever to start using Office on a new PC.

Let us know what you think

We are excited to share this initial release with the Windows Insiders, and we’ll continue to improve the experience based on your feedback. Please let us know what you think via the feedback link under Settings within the app.

Hamster has revealed that Arcade Archives Donkey Kong Jr. will be made available on the Nintendo Switch eShop later this week, officially launching on 21st December.

Just in case you need reminding, Donkey Kong Jr. was first released in arcades back in 1982. Serving up a lovely dose of classic Nintendo platforming action, the game sees Donkey Kong being captured and caged-up in his latest encounter with Mario. You play as Donkey Kong Jr., making your way to the top of each level to set him free.

Players must skillfully jump and hang on to vines, avoid all enemies, get to the top, and steal the cage’s key from Mario to be successful. You can see the game in action via these two screenshots below which have actually been taken from the Virtual Console release.

Donkey Kong Jr. joins both Puzzle Bobble and Puzzle Bobble 2 in this week’s complete Hamster lineup, plonking even more retro goodness on Nintendo’s modern machine. It’ll be available this Friday for $7.99 / €6.99 / £6.29.

Are you a fan of Donkey Kong Jr.? Will you be coughing up the cash to play it one more time? Let us know below.

The latest issue of V-Jump has revealed new details about Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission for the Nintendo Switch.

Published by Bandai Namco and developed by Dimps Corporation, the digital card game will support online battles, matching players against opponents of an equal skill level. There’ll also be “real battles” that affect player rank and change the ruleset every two hours. If you don’t have the online subscription, there’ll also be local offline battles, requiring two Switch units.

In addition to the confirmation of online multiplayer, the magazine also revealed Goku: Xeno, Vegeta: Xeno, Jiren and a hero upgrade card will appear in the game. The first copies of the game released in Japan will include an unlock for three super powerful UR cards as well.

If you’re a Dragon Ball fan or are perhaps interested in digital card games, this might be one to keep an eye on. The title was rated by the Australian Classification Board in November, suggesting an announcement for the game locally shouldn’t be too far off.

Is this a game you would be interested in playing online? Leave a comment below.

Out of all the simulation games on the market that have been given mobile adaptations, Kalypso Media’s tongue-in-cheek Tropico seems to be the one players have been clamouring for the most. It’s finally available on the App Store (for iPad users only), thanks to PC-to-iOS masters Feral Interactive, and the construction and management simulator feels just as over-the-top and joyous as it did when it first sprang onto the scene.

Step onto a gorgeous plot of land on one of several small Caribbean islands as you come into power over your newly-adopted citizens. Your main goal in Tropico is to remain in power as the all-powerful ‘El Presidente.’ This can be accomplished in several different ways, most of which involve building structures like clinics, pubs, police stations, casinos, churches, and a whole set of other locations your citizens will need.

Then, you need to serve up edicts through which you’ll control and appease your citizens and those culpable for keeping you afloat. For instance, you can beg the United States to help you with foreign aid if you find yourself in a pickle, or raise rents when you decide you’ve been too easy on the people, money-wise. These Edicts are extremely important in terms of how the game plays out and are important to keep an eye out.

Most of your time, however, will be spent trying to figure out how to make money. You’re nothing without your cash reserves, at least not really, and as such you need to figure out ways to manufacture items, attract tourists, or sell cash crops so you can start rolling in the dough. When you have those things in place, you need to focus on your people, the true heart of Tropico.

You can learn a lot about the citizens of Tropico by checking your Almanac, which contains all the information you need to keep quick tabs on the populace. Names, relationships, education, political ideology, and more can be found here. From here, you need to decide where you’re going to employ your citizens, what they’ll do on a day-to-day basis, and how you’ll keep them happy.

You’ll need to take care of their needs, like sleeping, going to religious services, staying healthy by visiting the doctor, and enjoying themselves with fun night club shows and stuffing themselves with food. If you can’t keep them happy, you’ll find yourself being protested against, see your citizens taking part in uprisings against you, or simply voting against you. There’s so much to keep track of that it can seem overwhelming, between the multifaceted Edicts, construction, keeping your people happy and safe, and figuring out how best to rule your island. Luckily, the game does a great job of giving you plenty of reading material to explain it all, with nuanced tutorials and explanations that make things very clear when you need assistance.

Tropico‘s mobile iteration is a premium game (it’s $11.99) but there aren’t any microtransactions to concern yourself with. You simply need only pay once, and all features are unlocked at the onset. There are plenty of them, too. You can start with a regular Tutorial or an Advanced Tutorial to get your bearings, tackle the Campaign, or play around in Sandbox mode. Campaign Mode finds you completing missions and unlocking new islands as you go, where Sandbox mode gives you the freedom to explore anywhere at the onset while playing around as you see fit.

There are 15 islands to unlock Campaign mode, starting with St. Helena and the modest goal of exporting 8,000 units of bananas. There’s a variety of different avatars to choose from as well, from Fidel Castro or Che Guevara to some ridiculous characters, like ‘Voodoo Pizzaman’ or ‘El Pollo Diablo’, an obvious nod to Breaking Bad‘s Walter White, otherwise known as Heisenberg.

If none of these characters strike your fancy, you can always create your own with a fairly rudimentary avatar editor. Customizing their looks doesn’t give you many options, but you do get a chance at naming your character, choosing a background and qualities, and other important traits that will ultimately shape your game. It’s a nice addition to the roster that lets you make Tropico feel truly ‘yours’, and players will no doubt want to take advantage of it.

Your background and traits will give you advantages and disadvantages in-game. If you come from a privileged background, you’ll have a leg up in terms of industry. If one of your traits happens to indicate you were brought into power by the CIA (a real one that can be selected) you won’t have many expectations foisted upon you by the people. There are a wide range of traits that offer multipliers and point bonuses, all of which you’ll have to keep an eye on if you want to truly succeed and remain in power. Selecting one of the 18 built-in characters ensures you’ll have an eclectic mix of personalities, but creating your own avatar can bring challenges as well. This is part of what gives the game such a satisfying amount of replay value.

Of course, the challenge when it comes to bringing PC-centric strategy titles to mobile devices always lies within the user interface. Without a keyboard and mouse to navigate, it can become a cumbersome waltz to pinch and zoom to inspect elements of the screen, place structures, or even inspect what’s going on in your “kingdom” of sorts.

Tropico on iPad has been given a specially redesigned interface specifically for play on mobile devices in an effort to combat these issues. While it doesn’t reinvent the wheel in terms of alternate control schemes, it’s serviceable enough that it doesn’t detract from the overall experience in any way. It’s still a bit cumbersome to try and navigate large areas of the map via pinching and dragging, but the interface overall is one that’s been improved to the best of the staff’s ability. It’s just not a game that’s truly meant to be played on mobile, so some sacrifices understandably have to be made – you don’t have a mouse for those precise movements here.

Feral Interactive brought what it calls the ‘Dictator’s Desk’ to the game, or a bar where you can quickly access your most important in-game commands such as Intel, your Avatar, a list of Edicts, Overlays, Construction projects, and your Almanac. It’s all quite attractive, resembling a nice cherry desktop with attractive icons that look less like a taskbar and more like someone’s messy office. It gives the whole thing a nice, homey feel even though you’re an all-powerful dictator. The UI is fantastic, and the bar is a great addition to the game – it’s the map navigation that’s finicky, but as previously stated, that’s something to be expected when it comes to games like these on mobile.

In terms of controlling things on a larger screen, Tropico is also making its way to iPhone in 2019, but there’s no word just yet on which models will end up supporting it. Given the iPad’s requirements (iPad 5th and 6th generation, iPad Pro 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generations) it’s safe to say it’ll require plenty of processing power. But this is a game you’ll want to stick to on iPad, where you have the extra screen real estate.

With Tropico 6 headed for release next year, this port is a great way to experience where it all began (for the modern games, at least), especially since it’s such an accessible way to play the game without fussing with a PC or getting it to run smoothly. It looks great, plays well, and it’s got everything you remember from the original and then some. Ready to take on the role of El Presidente? Your people are waiting.