Some storms just hit a local video game studio thanks to some breaking discoveries. Let’s dive right in this week’s drama.

The Big Picture

Upin and Ipin Universe, the new upcoming open-world adventure game from Les Copaque and Streamline Studios, is coming out on 17 July. 

However, a bunch of allegations have showed up that paint a bleak picture of Streamline Studio. An Nmia Gaming report stated recently that staff are not paid on time, and even had to work up to two months without pay. Furthermore, their ability to get their money was tied to the completion of a second project that is pro-bono. This is allegedly having someone’s pay held hostage if they do not complete extra work shoved in their faces. 

We reported last year that Streamline Studios Malaysia has yet to compensate its laid-off staff. Furthermore, the Upin & Ipin Universe Steam forums are banning people who bring up these allegations in their pages. 

It’s really sad to see hardworking artists being treated as nothing more than disposable resources, especially from a company that supposedly is helping its local industry grow. We hear a lot of game industry issues from bigger companies on an international front, but to hear all this happening in our backyard is disheartening. This just makes people either switch to a different field for stability’s sake, or just make their own company and attempt not to use these deplorable practices. 

We should also cite that this isn’t just exclusive to the local games industry. Streamline Studios’ current partner in the project, animation studio Les Copaque, also has its own dirty laundry out in the open. In Les Copaque’s case, its underappreciated and harrowed talents, tired of the alleged nepotism and favouratism going on behind-the-scenes, ended up leaving to form their own studios and eventual success stories. 

Perhaps the same could happen to Streamline Studios’ ex-talents?    

Short Beats

As stated above, Streamline Studios has allegedly skipped paying its employees for months while adding more projects. In addition, the studio has yet to fulfill its promise of paying back missing EPF payments for its current staff. 

The Twisted Metal TV show, adapted from the PlayStation 1 racing game series, will have its second season broadcast on streaming services starting 31st July. 

STALKER 2 will be out on PlayStation 5 later in 2025 with PS5 Pro enhancements. 

PlayStation will be releasing a Ghost of Yotei limited edition PlayStation 5 console and bundle this 2nd October.

We get our first look at Ken Masters of Street Fighter fame in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. He will be available to play in Summer 2025.

The co-founders of Unknown Worlds, who created the Subnautica games, are suing publisher Krafton for “betrayal” and issues with Subnautica 2 early access.

Games Out This Week

Everdeep Aurora is a new 2D indie game for PC where you play a cat with a drill who has to explore underground to uncover the titular Everdeep. Features tunneling, old-school Gameboy-esque pixel art, and a unique world to tunnel through. 

Backyard Baseball ‘01  is the second Backyard Baseball game, and the fourth overall game, in the Backyard Sports franchise. Build your roster from iconic Backyard athletes and legendary MLB players. Strike out opponents, hit homers, and earn hilarious Power-ups.

Patapon 1+2 Replay is a remaster of the two previous Patapon action strategy rhythm titles that came out for the PlayStation Portable years back. This remaster has you commanding Mystical Drums to lead your Patapons through a grand adventure to Earthend. 

Recommended Viewing

PlayStation has revealed 20 minutes of new Ghost of Yotei gameplay, the sequel to hit action-adventure samurai game Ghost of Tsushima. It features improved open world samurai/ninja action, a couple of cinematic modes based on the styles of prolific directors like Takashi Miike, and a couple of limited edition PlayStation 5s. 

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