Just Cause
Game
18 documents in the library are about Just Cause, from writers such as Game Developers Conference, Square Enix and Extra Credits. Each has a summary and key insights with the page they come from.
Connections
Each row is a game or company named alongside Just Cause, each column a document, oldest first. A mark means that document names it. Select a row to see those documents.
Just Cause sales and key figures
The Digital Entertainment segment, the company's core business, saw net sales fall to ¥130.4 billion due to high development amortization costs, heavy advertising spend, and underperforming titles like Just Cause 4.
Square Enix, 2019 · Square Enix Holdings 3Q FY2019/3 Financial Results Briefing, p. 3
The acquisition of Eidos Ltd. and the success of international titles like Final Fantasy XIII, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Just Cause 2 increased overseas revenue from 16.5% to 26.6% of total sales.
Square Enix, 2010 · Square Enix Annual Report FY2010, p. 11
Documents about Just Cause
Microsoft Stops Development on Contraband
Microsoft has halted active development on Contraband, an open-world co-op game set in a 1970s "smuggler's paradise," which was being developed by Sweden-based Avalanche Studios and published by Xbox.
- Microsoft has halted active development on 'Contraband,' an open-world co-op game from Avalanche Studios that had been in production for five years.
- Avalanche Studios confirmed the project is on hold while they evaluate its future, following the removal of the game's official trailer from Xbox's YouTube channel.
- This decision follows broader workforce reductions at Microsoft, which included cutting 4% of its total employees—approximately 9,000 jobs—and the cancellation of previously announced titles like 'Everwild' and 'Perfect Dark'.
Our Industry News (03/06/24 - 09/06/24)
The industry news summary for the week of June 3-9, 2024, highlights several key developments in the video game sector.
- Workforce reductions continue across the industry, highlighted by Behaviour Interactive cutting 95 staff, Avalanche closing two of its five offices, and Take-Two exploring the sale of its Private Division label.
- GameStop stock experienced extreme volatility during the week, surging 134% before retreating to a price of $27.
- Sony signaled a strategic pivot away from dedicated VR hardware expansion by announcing a $60 PS VR2-to-PC adapter for August 7, effectively cooling expectations for a PS VR3.
Our Industry News (20/05/24 - 02/06/24)
This industry news summary covers key developments in the video game sector from May 20 to June 2, 2024, alongside a comprehensive list of new game releases during the same period.
- Nintendo acquired Shiver Entertainment from Embracer Group to bolster its internal porting capabilities for high-profile titles like Hogwarts Legacy and Mortal Kombat 1.
- Microsoft is integrating OpenAI-powered Copilot tools into Minecraft and future Xbox titles, signaling a strategic industry shift toward generative AI for player experience enhancement.
- Ubisoft is prioritizing recurring revenue models by launching a new subscription initiative specifically for its live-service title Rainbow Six Siege.
Building a Mixing Sandbox for 'Just Cause 4'
The development of the audio mix for Just Cause 4 at Avalanche Studios centered on transitioning from a traditional, compression-heavy approach to a modular, system-driven "sandbox" framework.
- Avalanche Studios transitioned from a dynamics-driven mix in 'Just Cause 3' to a state-based, siloed architecture in 'Just Cause 4' to eliminate audio pumping and CPU-heavy side-chain compression.
- By implementing granular microstate snapshots for vehicle audio, the team reduced the authoring time for a single vehicle mix from several hours to just a few minutes.
- The team abandoned traditional side-chaining and compressor-based mixing in favor of a priority-based system that uses game-design parameters to modulate EQ, balance, and spatial imaging in real-time.
Maximizing Animation and Cinematic Content Workflows for 'Just Cause 4'
The production of Just Cause 4 required the creation of over 7,200 unique animations and 65 minutes of cinematic footage, a massive undertaking managed by a lean technical team.
- Avalanche Studios developed a centralized batch-processing tool driven by JSON configuration files to automate animation exports and transfers between Maya and MotionBuilder, significantly reducing the need for manual DCC interaction.
- To manage the complexity of a AAA open-world title with limited technical animation staff, the team implemented a 'driver root control' system that functions as a high-performance locator, allowing animators to bake and transfer animation across rigs with immediate space-matching functionality.
- The studio optimized locomotion workflows by implementing a distance-threshold script that automatically identifies and tags foot-plant positions by analyzing frame-to-frame world-space movement, effectively filtering out non-planted data.
Vehicle Physics and Tire Dynamics in Just Cause 4
The vehicle physics system in Just Cause 4 was designed to support over 100 diverse vehicle types within a large-scale open-world environment while maintaining a 30Hz simulation rate.
- To maintain stability in a 30Hz simulation, Avalanche Studios implemented friction clamps that prevent the physics model from diverging when applying high levels of grip.
- The team utilized a 'useful mass' heuristic to calculate friction clamping, which determines the ratio of vehicle mass represented by a single tire based on its relative wheel load.
- By decoupling the tire model from strict realism, developers can use steepness in friction curves to simulate 'feel'—where the slope represents grip levels and the leveling off of the curve simulates the sensation of sliding.
Square Enix Holdings Financial Results Briefing: Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2019
Square Enix Holdings reported financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, characterized by a divergence between top-line growth and bottom-line contraction.
- Square Enix grew net sales 8.2% to ¥271 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, but operating income fell 35.7% to ¥24.5 billion and net income attributable to parent shareholders dropped 28.5% to ¥18.4 billion.
- Revenue growth was driven by major HD game releases, namely Kingdom Hearts III, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Just Cause 4.
- The profit decline was attributed to high development and release costs, underperformance in the smart device and PC browser sub-segment, and the discontinuation of operations at Studio Istolia.
Square Enix Holdings Financial Results: Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2019
Square Enix Holdings reported financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, reflecting a period of revenue growth tempered by declining operating margins.
- Square Enix reported net sales of 271.0 billion yen for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, but operating income fell significantly to 24.5 billion yen, down from 38.1 billion yen in the previous year.
- The Digital Entertainment segment, the company's largest revenue driver, saw operating income drop from 43.4 billion yen to 29.0 billion yen, resulting in an operating margin contraction of 8.5 percentage points to 14.2%.
- Digital sales in the HD games segment have grown by an annual average of approximately 40% over the past five years, with digital downloads accounting for 40% of total HD sales in FY2019/3.
Tree's Company: Systemic AI Design in Just Cause 3
The systemic design of artificial intelligence in Just Cause 3 relies on a modular architecture that balances emergent, open-world behavior with the precise requirements of scripted mission content.
- Avalanche Studios utilized a hybrid AI architecture for Just Cause 3 that combined behavior trees for high-level logic with utility functions to rank and select optimal positions or targets based on environmental variables.
- Content designers were empowered to customize AI behavior by filling out exposed parameters in the engine, which were then dynamically read and utilized by the behavior trees at runtime.
- The team implemented modular 'micro-behaviors' as external tree objects, allowing designers to inject specific tasks—such as flying a helicopter to a point—into the main AI logic without requiring custom programming for every scenario.
Square Enix Holdings 3Q FY2019/3 Financial Results Briefing
Square Enix Holdings reported a challenging financial performance for the nine-month period ending December 31, 2018.
- Square Enix reported a 65.3% year-over-year decline in operating income to ¥11.7 billion for the nine-month period ending December 31, 2018, alongside a 4.8% drop in net sales to ¥179 billion.
- The Digital Entertainment segment, the company's core business, saw net sales fall to ¥130.4 billion due to high development amortization costs, heavy advertising spend, and underperforming titles like Just Cause 4.
- To improve operational efficiency and profitability, Square Enix will consolidate its eleven existing business divisions into four units starting in fiscal year 2020.
Square Enix Holdings Nine-Month Period Financial Results: Ended December 31, 2018
Square Enix Holdings reported a challenging financial performance for the nine-month period ending December 31, 2018, characterized by a significant decline in profitability compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.
- Square Enix reported a significant decline in financial performance for the nine-month period ending December 31, 2018, with net sales falling to 179.0 billion yen and operating income dropping to 11.7 billion yen, a 22.0 billion yen decrease year-over-year.
- The Digital Entertainment segment, the company's primary revenue driver, saw operating income plummet to 1.6 billion yen in the third quarter of FY2019, down from 7.9 billion yen in the same period the previous year.
- HD game performance was mixed; while titles like 'Shadow of the Tomb Raider' and 'Just Cause 4' bolstered sales, overall profits were suppressed by increased development amortization and higher advertising expenditures.
Gamescom 2018: Square Enix Line-up
Square Enix announced an extensive presence at Gamescom 2018 in Cologne, positioning the Japanese publisher, whose German headquarters sit in Hamburg, as a company back in strong form after a period of renewed momentum.
- Square Enix showcased a major 2018 release portfolio at Gamescom 2018, utilizing a 1,500-square-meter booth in Hall 9.1.
- The exhibition featured over 200 individual playstations to provide hands-on demonstrations for attendees.
- The primary lineup included high-profile titles such as Kingdom Hearts III, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Dragon Quest XI, Just Cause 4, Final Fantasy XIV, and the premiere of Life is Strange 2.