
Chief Executive @RocketWerkz Video Game Studio. Be friendly! My tweets are law.
New Zealand
Joined August 2012
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Dean Hall retweeted
Replying to @Ahwoo_Official @rocket2guns
Down with game stores next
Devs and Gamers take full control
Dean Hall retweeted
I’m so sorry for everyone at id Software affected by these layoffs.
I know what it feels like to leave id while id goes on. It’s a strange and painful thing to step away from a place that holds so much of your work, friendships and history.
The people at id have done a great job moving that legacy forward. DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein are not easy names to carry on, especially in today’s industry. The last few games showed real care, skill and respect for what those worlds mean to people.
A note on digital preservation: id's history is critically important to the history of games. I’ve preserved id’s complete early history from our start at Softdisk through to August 6, 1996, including materials and assets that, as far as I know, id itself no longer has. I hope someone is doing the same for the company’s ongoing legacy (the work, code, assets, stories and the people behind them).
I’m thinking of everyone at id today, and everyone else affected by yesterday’s layoffs. Romero Games was there a year ago. I know how devastating it is, and my heart's with all of you.
Dean Hall retweeted
I've seen comments like "the MS layoffs weren't so bad".
re: id software.
Reports are that 50% (95ish of 200) of the studio was laid off. Here are some quotes on other details:
“Tools, programming (except a couple), Quake Champions team, testing team. All gone.”
“Yeah seems like all they left was leadership and art/design. I think Xbox forgot quakecon is next month.”
It really does sound as if id is now a support team for Bethesda/others. Rip idTech, which was amazing. Maybe Machine Games will carry it on or maybe it will be dropped for future games?
But the read is that id is essentially dead. At least for the time being. Yes, the studio wasn't closed and half still have their jobs. That's great.
re: the studios set free by MS to be sold or mgmt returned. One view is this is great. For MS they get decent PR for being "good guys". But the truth is that in at least one case (and maybe others), retaining the IP in such a case was written into the original contract when MS purchased them. Second, these studios now are out of the MS lifeboat, on their own, and will have short time to find new deals or funding and they will make it or not. Never mind they sold to MS originally to avoid this grind and be 'safe'. Yes they have a second chance but more layoffs may simply be deferred and outside the current umbrella of today's layoff round, so MS doesn't really get the bad PR of simply shutting studios down. This means continual worry by the employees and stress for mgmt.
re: Arkane. Same as the above but timing and process is different due to French labor laws, etc.
The layoffs are still happening. A substantial portion of Obsidian was let go today (near 1/3). Worries that they now don't have the staff to complete current projects. Deep layoffs at Zenimax Online. Even Bethesda or Activision studios were hit (with a minor round and numbers that are small enough that it reads more like "everyone has to take a hit, even the star studios"). More details will emerge, but it's a lot of people.
So it's bad. Real bad. Good luck to all affected.
Dean Hall retweeted
Kitten Space Agency has won the NZX Creative Technology Solution Award at the NZ Hi-Tech Awards.
As Dean Hall (@rocket2guns), CEO of @rocketwerkz and @Ahwoo_Official, said on stage: games can inspire, and inspiration should be free.
Thank you to everyone supporting the mission.
Dean Hall retweeted
Replying to @SurviveIcarus
Icarus: Dangerous Horizons is available on STEAM now. (PC Edition)
🔗store.steampowered.com/app/1…
Dean Hall retweeted
We built a studio, we made a game, and I'm really proud of both. Before we close the doors at Midsummer Studios I'd like to share a glimpse of Burbank, the game we poured our hearts into.
It's like "Life Sims + The Truman Show," but it's more than that. I believe people are storytellers, and I want them to share whatever stories and characters they can dream up. Burbank let's you do that.
We have moments playing this game where characters come alive in a way we've never experienced. And for an old game developer like me that's special.
What you're about to see is definitely pre-alpha. But this game was a dream of mine, our team made it come true, so watch and dream with us.
Dean Hall retweeted
If you’ve been waiting to jump into #Stationeers, now’s the moment. It’s 33 percent off on Steam for a limited time.
🔗store.steampowered.com/app/5…
Dean Hall retweeted
Meet Stefan Moluf, a @rocketwerkz programmer bringing nearly 12 years of real-world aerospace experience into Kitten Space Agency. Quietly helping make things feel a little more grounded, even when they are heading for space. 🚀🐾
#kittenspaceagency #ahwoo #rocketwerkz
Dean Hall retweeted
See for yourself... Download Kitten Space Agency at ksa.ahwoo.com 🚀
#kittenspaceagency #ahwoo #rocketwerkz
Dean Hall retweeted
#ArmaReforger #MakeArmaNotWar 2025 Jury Profile - @rocket2guns
One of the Arma franchise's most famous modders will be judging your MANW 2025 submissions!
Also known as "Rocket," Dean Hall is the creator of the DayZ IP. He is responsible for the development of the highly successful DayZ mod for Arma 2, and joined @bohemiainteract in 2013 to work as the Project Lead on the standalone @DayZ game. Dean has since gone on to found @rocketwerkz and continues to create unique and innovative gameplay experiences.
Dean came up with the concept for DayZ while serving in the New Zealand Army, after being injured during a jungle survival skills training exercise while on exchange with the Singapore Armed Forces. The concept has gone on to inspire one of the most popular gaming genres of the past two decades.
As a former modder, developer, and now studio lead, Dean looks forward to reviewing MANW 2025's entries as a jury member, and seeing if one (or more) of our talented community members might just be making the next big "thing" for the gaming industry, like some modders before them.
Dean Hall retweeted
Chasing this story and reached out to Unity for comment to get both sides. To me, this is an odd one. If you've missed the details it seems like it may sort itself out... in Dean's case at least. But if you're a Unity dev and experienced something similar let me (or Dean) know.
So @unity has threatened to revoke all our licenses. We asked for evidence. They provided five examples of "licenses breaches", none true. Two of them are employees at another local studio. We've been paying over USD 30k a year, for over a decade.
reddit.com/r/gamedev/comment…
Dean Hall retweeted
Replying to @rocket2guns @unity
We had a similar experience—got strange emails from an engine company’s sales team claiming we were breaching ToS and pushing us to switch to an industrial license. They provided no evidence, and we confirmed we were compliant after reviewing the ToS multiple times. After we pushed back, they eventually stopped.
Felt like a pressure tactic to us. We used their engine for a different game—not Space Engineers—but I won’t be using it for any project ever again.
We’re now fully focused on developing with our own VRAGE3 engine, which we’re really excited about!
Keep fighting Dean👍🫡
Dean Hall retweeted
Really excited to begin the search for a Chief Technical Officer to join the team at @ArrowheadGS
Join us and be our technical Gandalf!
Need as much signal boost as I possible can get on this one folks!
jobs.arrowheadgamestudios.co…
Dean Hall retweeted
Modular building (blueprint building) is one of the core innovations in SE2 ... but this is only the start, there's so much more we plan to do with it.
Space Engineers 2 Modular Copy & Paste ⚙️
➡️ youtube.com/watch?v=79Pw_Zvl…
Full Newspost: 2.spaceengineersgame.com/spa…
Preorder: 2.spaceengineersgame.com/sto…
Creation & Destruction Never Felt This Good!
Dean Hall retweeted
So immensely proud of you, my love. It makes me remember the countless msgs we’ve received over the years of ppl saying how your content has gotten them through tough times, and how the community gave them a place of belonging and safety. That’s what that 50m represents to me 🥹
Dean Hall retweeted
Absolutely chuffed to bits! 🥹 5M and 50M watched hours awards, and just celebrated 12 years of streaming. It’s been an amazing journey, and all thanks to you, the incredible 42nd. Much love @Twitch for these! So excited to share what I’m cooking with you all in the future 🙏💜
Dean Hall retweeted
New Space Engineers update is out: Contact💪
Space Engineers: Contact 🤩
⚔️ PvE Encounters
⚙️ Prototech
🛠️ Toolbar Improvements
🥰 Inset Connector
🪐 ...and much more!
➡️ youtube.com/watch?v=911cyEKb…
Blog: blog.marekrosa.org/2024/10/s…
Full Changelog: support.keenswh.com/spaceeng…
Store: spaceengineersgame.com/game/…
#SpaceEngineers #PlayStation #NeedToCreate
Dean Hall retweeted
🚨 We are looking for a Project Lead for our new unannounced project. This position is ideal for someone who is goal-oriented, has excellent organizational skills, can manage a larger team, and has successfully completed several game or IT projects. The candidate should also be fully proficient in Czech and English. 🎮
Find out more about the position at the link below (in Czech only).
👉 careers.bohemia.net/position…
#hiring #job #BohemiaInteractive #gaming #career #ProjectLead


























