As the ravening shitbeetles of the Edwinphage overran the coral fortifications of the neighbouring Aspect kingdom, filling the air with the moist crunch of mandible on polyp, it occurred to me that I don't feel as much like a horrible doomsday cockroach as I should. We'll circle back to that feeling. Endless Legend 2 launches into early access on 22nd September, and I've now spent around 20 hours with it. I've previously praised its new/reborn factions and retreating ocean mechanic, and I plan to carry on praising, but there are definitely some more comprehensive issues I'd love Amplitude to address as this splendid scarab of a turn-based strategy game rumbles toward 1.0.

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Earlier this year, Microsoft laid off a lot of people and cancelled projects at various subsidiary game studios, as part of what company CEO Satya Nadella has whimsically called the "enigma of success". Elder Scrolls Online developers ZeniMax Online Studios were among those making cuts - they buried an unannounced project codenamed Blackbird, which was reportedly a nimble MMO shooter of some kind. In the process, studio head Matt Firor also left the company. Unionised staff members have described the reductions as "inhumane", demoralising and counterproductive, with one worker commenting that "a lot of practical knowledge just disappeared overnight".

Now, studio game director Rich Lambert and game director Nick Giacomini have been chatting a little about where ZeniMax Online Studios is going next. They still have plenty of ideas for new game projects, apparently, but for the moment, the focus appears to be on streamlining the update process for ESO.

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