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Relentless Software launches Digital Division, more titles coming soon
Relentless Software is the UK company behind Blue Toad Murder Files for the PSN and Quiz Climber for iOS, and it recently announced that it is opening up a new "Digital Division" to expand its various releases through digital distribution. The Digital Division is separate from the console department inside the company, and going forward, Executive Director Andrew Eades says that it will "steer" original IP from the company in both social and mobile spaces. Relentless has also hired a former EA producer named James Wright, and he says that opening the division will "bring more fun, accessible and ground-breaking titles across several platforms for non-gamers." Up next for Relentless, the company plans a version of Quiz Climber called Rivals, the console side of the company will continue to grow the Buzz! quiz game franchise for Sony, and Relentless says it has lots of other unannounced projects in progress at this time.
Buzz! developer lays off 20 in rebuilding phase; ex-staff form Full Moon studio
Within in the past two weeks, approximately 20 employees of Relentless Software -- makers of quiz game franchise Buzz! and charming puzzler The Blue Toad Murder Files -- were let go. The developer announced as much this week, with director and co-founder Andrew Eades telling GamesIndustry.biz, "We have recently restructured the company to work on a variety of different projects and different platforms." According to Eades, the layoffs are part of the studio's previously revealed plans to reshape itself into a multiplatform developer. In fact, Relentless is actually hiring new staff as part of its rebuilding effort. "Our real strategy going forward is to change the company from a disc-based, console games company only -- which is what we were; we were only PlayStation 3; we were only console; we were only quiz, in fact. We wanted to change the company to have much more breadth and embrace the new digital platforms we saw coming in," Eades reiterated. Thankfully, just as quickly as the layoffs took place, a new studio was born out of the bad news: Full Moon. Representative Kalvin Lyle told GI.biz that "no animosity" is felt towards Relentless, and that some of the Full Moon staff are even looking forward to working with their old coworkers in the future. "I can't speak for everyone, but I think we're trying to make the best of it," Lyle said. Full Moon will focus on "casual gaming and digital distribution," though no projects are in the works just yet. Beyond news of the restructuring, Relentless announced its next project, an iPhone quiz title (shock!) named Quiz Climber. The game has players answering questions in order to advance up friends' leaderboards, represented by a tree in the game. EA-owned Chillingo will publish the title and says the game will arrive sometime this spring. [Image credit: jaygooby]
'Buzz' dev Relentless expands digital strategy as PlayStation exclusivity deal ends
Relentless Software, the UK-based creator of the Buzz! trivia games for PlayStation platforms, is now free from an exclusivity deal with Sony and looking to pursue a digital distribution strategy that would bring its games to a wide range of internet-connected devices. "That's my aim," co-founder Andrew Eades told GamesIndustry.biz, "to make games for anyone who has a TV." "The whole retail market is becoming very much about pillar titles for a hardcore audience," said Eades, citing Activision's perennial standout Call of Duty and its difficult to match, multimillion dollar budget as good reason to move away form the disc-based business, "so we have to find a new way to get to our audience, and that is digital, episodic, various different platforms, including PlayStation -- that remains our main platform." The platform-exclusivity deal with Sony ended on good terms last year, and Relentless will continue to look to PlayStation Network for long-term revenue in its new, fremium-based Buzz!: Quiz Player iteration, along with ongoing sales of its self-published episodic mystery game, Blue Toad Murder Files, which debuted on PSN in late 2009. (It was released for PC in November.) "The interesting thing we've found out with Blue Toad is that, almost a year after its first launch, we're still selling it in different ways," Eades explained. "We've had a sixty percent uplift in sales through the Advent Calendar Theme Bundle pack. You can't do this on disc." This realization appears to be the guiding light in the studio's new focus to expand its digital distribution efforts to more platforms. Relentless is at work on a new game for next year, to be followed by the launch of a new IP. "PlayStations and Xboxes have a place under many people's TVs, but there's also satellite boxes, Apple TVs, Google TVs, internet-connected TVs," Eades observed. "They all have more and more computational power, and that's all we need -- that processor power to deliver our games and the internet connection to distribute them -- and we're in the living room just as any broadcast TV is." [Image source: Relentless]
Blue Toad Murder Files adding PlayStation Move support
Relentless' PSN murder mystery puzzle game joins the ever-growing list of games to support the PlayStation Move motion controller. Available now in Europe, and coming soon to America, a new patch will add pointer support to the Blue Toad Murder Files. Sorry, there's no "waggle" support. To coincide with the holidays and the newly released patch, Relentless is offering a price break on the entire season pass. Episodes 1-6 can be purchased in one bundle for £9.99 / €12.99 / $14.99. That's a pretty good per-episode value, we reckon.
Blue Toad Murder Files organized on PC this November
We know, we know -- you're really into solving murder mysteries, but you still don't own a PlayStation 3. You'll be glad to hear that Blue Toad Murder Files is finally heading to the PC, having completed its episodic launch on the PlayStation Network. All six episodes of the relentlessly British puzzle game (from the creators of Buzz!) will be available as of November 24 from "online games distribution sites," in addition to the game's official website, for $19.99 (£14.99). Oh, you don't have a PC either? Look, maybe it's time we had a talk. We're just ... worried, that's all.
Finish the Blue Toad Murder Files this week
Have you been working your way through Relentless Software's PSN whodunnit mystery game? While it took over three months for the first three episodes to cross the Atlantic to the US, we're glad to report that the final three episodes are coming much sooner. In fact, you can expect the second half of the Blue Toad Murder Files on the North American PlayStation Store this week: specifically, April 29th, according to a recently-posted tweet. For those not in the know, Blue Toad Murder Files is a puzzle game enveloped in a wonderfully-acted murder mystery. Imagine a more British version of Professor Layton, if you will. Relentless confirmed the pricing for these three episodes: $7.49 for each individual episode, and a $14.99 discounted bundle for the final trio. You can also get the entire series for only $29.98. %Gallery-91975%
European PSN releases for April 8
There's a handful of mysterious offerings in this week's European PSN update -- the most notable being the launch of chapters 4 - 6 of Blue Toad Murder Files, which, by its very nature, is extremely mysterious. Then there's the mystery of the misspelled moniker of Freekscape: Escape from Hell and, finally, the mystery of "no, seriously, what the hell is FirstPlay, and why am I paying £8.99 for three months of it?" Let the sleuthing begin! Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
European PSN releases for March 25
[Famitsu] Last week's sale continues, joined by even more discounts. If you wanted to buy something on PSN before -- particularly a Sega product -- and it was too expensive, you should check the list this week. Odds are, it's cheaper now! In less bargain-oriented news, there's now a Mega Man 10 dynamic theme. Sony finally found the right weapon against which our resolve is weakest. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
European PSN releases for February 25
There's new content for both PS platforms in the latest PSN Euro update, ranging from an unimaginably beefy demo for Darksiders, W!Games' strategy title Greed Corp, the The Secret Armory of General Knoxx expansion for Borderlands, the totally free third installment of Blue Toad Murder Files and a PSP demo for The Eye Of Judgment Legends. Check out the full list of releases after the jump! Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
Blue Toad Murder Files: Episode 3 to be free in February
Relentless Software's episodic PSN murder whodunit, Blue Toad Murder Files, continues next month. Best of all, it'll be available for the low price of free. Episode 3 will release in Europe on February 25th and will be free for one month. The free DLC will require Episode 1 to be installed which -- as you've deduced if your detective skills are sharp enough -- isn't free. Episodes 1 and 2 are currently available together for £9.99 (€12.99). The remaining three episodes (4-6) of the Blue Toad Murder Files will then release on April 8th in a bundle for £9.99 (€12.99). Unfortunately for the rest of us, an American release has yet to be announced. Too bad, because this charming Professor Layton-esque game is a perfect family-friendly addition to the PSN. %Gallery-74684%
Blue Toad Murder Files teaser has the best accent ever
If you happen to pass us on the street within the next few days, you're probably going to hear us exclaim "maaaaahhdaaaaah" at seemingly random intervals. There's a good reason for that -- the latest teaser for the episodic, co-op mystery series Blue Toad Murder Files features the single greatest narrator ever featured in any trailer, ever. There's something strangely poetic to his cadence, and, of course, to his impassioned dialect every time he utters the third word in the game's title: "Maaaahhdaaaah." Absolutely brilliant. Check out the trailer above, and make sure you stick around until the very end. That's when the narrator really hits his stride.
Blue Toad Murder Files first trailer warns of big mystery in Little Riddle
In addition to the LucasArts adventure game renaissance and Telltale Games' continued efforts in the genre, Relentless Software is bringing a new episodic adventure series to the PlayStation 3's digital distribution service this December titled Blue Toad Murder Files. Aside from the handful of screenshots we got with the game's December 17 release date announcement last month, we had yet to see it in video form until the Euro PS Blog put up a video earlier today. The game's developer promises two more trailers before it releases in a few weeks, but we suggest you head after the break and check out this one right now. Beyond getting a look at the game's art style in action, it features a British narrator repeatedly saying "Muuurder." How could you go wrong? %Gallery-74684% Congratulations to Andrew on being the first to comment. You've been emailed a free Battlefield: Bad Company 2 beta code. Click here, for more information on this giveaway. Official rules apply.
Blue Toad Murder files for December 17 release
Relentless Software is prepping the first episode of its PSN adventure game, Blue Toad Murder Files: The Mysteries of Little Riddle, for a December 17 release. The studio's first self-published game is inspired by classic murder mysteries of yesteryear, with players having to figure out "whodunnit." The first screenshots of the game showcase interrogations and puzzles, making good on our wish for a game "like Professor Layton meets ... uh, murder."Unique to the Blue Toad Murder Files is the promise of "one to four player co-operative gameplay." Our interest is certainly piqued by that feature, and we're hoping it'll amount to something a bit more significant than one person holding the controller while three other people yell in their ear.%Gallery-74684%
Relentless Software penning the Blue Toad Murder Files for PSN
Murder! Frogs! Relentless Software, most famous for its work on the Buzz! games, is branching off into quite a different project. Appearing exclusively on the PlayStation Network, the Blue Toad Murder Files is an episodic murder mystery adventure. Details are slim, but the game's official site promises that "mysteries" will be "revealed" in September.This is Relentless' first self-published game, and the team is clearly excited to work on a non-trivia project. Executive Director, David Amor, told us, "We're really excited to be self publishing this. The murder mystery genre has been a staple in TV, books and movies for years and we think we've come up with a great videogame interpretation." If it's like Professor Layton meets ... uh, murder, we're game.
