Google Removes Doki Doki Literature Club From Play Store
Google removed the popular visual novel Doki Doki Literature Club (DDLC) from its Play Store on April 8, citing violations of its terms of service related to the game’s depiction of sensitive themes. The indie title, originally launched on PC in 2017 and later ported to iOS, Switch, and PlayStation, has been praised for its nuanced portrayal of mental‑health issues. Creator Dan Salvato and publisher Serenity Forge issued a joint statement acknowledging the removal while emphasizing the game’s positive impact on players. They are pursuing reinstatement and exploring alternative Android distribution methods.
The First Berserker: Khazan Studio Neople Announces Restructure of Dev Teams
Neople, a Nexon subsidiary, announced a reorganization of its development teams as The First Berserker: Khazan moves into its final phase. The company emphasized that the shift is a strategic reallocation of talent, not a layoff, and will support live‑service...
Rockfish Games Lands €8m Grant as Germany Boosts Game Industry Support
German federal authorities have expanded their video‑game fund to €125 million ($135 m) and awarded Rockfish Games the program’s biggest grant—€8 million ($8.6 m) over five years. The money will cover roughly 45% of the $21.6 million budget for the next Everspace title, allowing the...
New Matchmaking Platform Sail.game Launches to Combat "Discovery Fatigue" Between Developers and Publishers
Industry veterans Vladimír Geršl and Guillaume Jamet have launched Sail.game, a curated matchmaking platform that connects game developers with publishers. In early access the service logged over 13,000 interactions and onboarded more than 200 verified publishers. Developers pay a €99...
Mobile-Focused Studio Coffee Stain Malmö Shuts Down
Piranha Games, the Canadian studio behind MechWarrior 5: Clans, announced a layoff affecting 38 employees across writing, art, design, and engineering. The cuts follow the game's under‑performance in attracting new players, falling short of sales targets set by parent company Enad Global 7...
Tickets Go on Sale for Consumer Event IGN Live 2026, Returning to LA on 6 June
IGN Entertainment has opened ticket sales for IGN Live 2026, a two‑day consumer gaming event in Los Angeles on June 6‑7. The expo will feature exclusive game reveals, new trailers, celebrity interviews, and a showfloor with hundreds of playable titles, including...
Eidos-Montréal Announces 124 Job Cuts; Studio Head David Anfossi Departs After 19 Years at Developer
Seattle‑based VR developer Polyarc Games announced on April 1 that 30 employees were laid off after the company failed to secure funding following the cancellation of a major project. The studio, founded in 2015 and backed by a $3.5 million seed round...
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Sales Top 2 Million | News-in-Brief
Pixelberry Studios, the creator of the popular Choices mobile series, has reportedly laid off staff, though the company has not issued an official statement. Layoffs were disclosed by former employees on LinkedIn at the end of last week. The studio...
Unity Sees Growth in Engine Revenue, Shuts Down IronSource Ad Network in Favour of Vector AI User-Acquisition Platform
Unity announced it will shut down the IronSource advertising and user‑acquisition network on April 30, 2026 and will divest its Supersonic publishing arm. The move is framed as a simplification effort that lets the company double‑down on its AI‑driven ad platform, Vector,...
Crimson Desert Studio Pearl Abyss's Share Prices Stabilize as Sales Top 3 Million
Ziff Davis has partnered with European media group eMense to operate IGN France, adding the French edition to its growing portfolio that already includes IGN Benelux, Nordic and Germany. The existing editorial team, led by Erwan Lafleuriel, will remain in...
Newly Revealed Nordic Game Speaker Line-Up to Include Planet of Lana Devs
Nordic Game 2026, held May 26‑29 in Malmö, unveiled a star‑studded speaker roster that includes Wishfully’s Adam Stjärnljus and Klas Eriksson, Raw Fury’s Juliette Auverny‑Bennetot, and DICE’s Anna Norrevik. The conference also launches its first AI Track, featuring talks on human‑led...
"Heavyweights Ruined the Industry... Now We Live on the Indies" Nordic Game Embraces Smaller Devs and Games with Soul
Nordic Game’s 2024 program, led by director Jacob Riis, pivots sharply toward indie developers, showcasing over 100 new indie titles and a People’s Choice Award. Riis argues that heavyweight studios have narrowed player choice, prompting a creative backlash that now fuels...
Team17 Parent Company Everplay Reports 10% Profit Increase in 2025
Everplay, the parent of Team17, posted flat revenue of £166 million (≈ $208 million) for FY2025 but saw gross profit rise 10% to £76.3 million (≈ $95 million). The increase stemmed from ending low‑margin physical distribution, which lifted gross margins, while new releases generated an 80%...
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Dead by Daylight Maker Behaviour Has Bought the Studio Behind 7 Days to Die to Create "a Portfolio of Horror...
Behaviour Interactive, the Canadian studio behind Dead by Daylight, has acquired Texas‑based The Fun Pimps, the developer of 7 Days to Die. The deal, terms undisclosed, aims to build a portfolio of horror IPs, adding 7 Days to Die’s 20 million‑plus...
Nintendo Reportedly Adjusting Switch 2 Production After Weak Holiday Sales
Nintendo is scaling back Switch 2 production to 4 million units this quarter, down from an initially planned 6 million, after weaker-than-expected holiday sales in the United States. The console’s US sales lagged despite strong performance of the lower‑priced variant, causing the stock...
Mojang Partners with Merlin Entertainments for the World's First Minecraft Theme Park, Minecraft World
Jest, the first marketplace for SMS and RCS messaging apps, has launched the Jest Games Fund to accelerate developers creating games for the RCS ecosystem. The fund offers three progressive tiers—Explore ($40,000), Scale (up to $200,000) and Flagship (up to...
Nintendo Reportedly Planning Revised Switch 2 Model with Replaceable Battery in EU
Jest, the first marketplace for SMS and RCS messaging apps, has launched the Jest Games Fund to back studios creating games for the RCS messaging ecosystem. The program offers three funding tiers—$40,000 Explore, up to $200,000 Scale, and up to...
Unknown Worlds Co-Founders' Lawyers Accuse Krafton of "Intentionally Leaking" Subnautica 2 Release Date
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) announced it will not adopt the sweeping age‑rating changes introduced by Pan‑European Games Information (PEGI), citing potential confusion for consumers. PEGI’s new framework, effective June, expands ratings to cover paid random items, time‑limited offers,...
CD Projekt Sales Rise 9% in 2025, Driven by Cyberpunk Franchise
CD Projekt reported 2025 sales revenue of 867 million PLN, a 9% increase year‑on‑year, driven primarily by the Cyberpunk franchise. Net profit surged 33.7% to 594 million PLN, helped by a fivefold jump in the goods‑and‑materials segment after the Cyberpunk Ultimate Edition launched on...
Hades 2 and Date Everything Lead Gayming Awards 2026 Nominations
The sixth annual Gayming Awards announced their nominees, with Supergiant Games' Hades 2 and Sassy Chap Games' Date Everything each earning three nods across 14 categories. Hades 2 joins five other titles—Ball x Pit, Blue Prince, Ghost of Yōtei, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and South...
Embark "Mutually Parts Ways" With Co-Founder Rob Runesson Following Sexual Misconduct Allegations
Ubisoft has appointed former Tencent and 2K veteran Julien Bares as general manager of its newly‑formed Creative Houses 3 and 5, while Thomas Andrén takes the helm of a new Creative Network that will provide production capacity across the studios. Creative House 3 will...
"Can We Meaningfully Predict How Things Go?" How AI Could Shape How Publishers Invest
Joost van Dreunen, co‑founder of Aldora, explains how small language models (SLMs) can replace slow, multi‑week market‑intelligence processes in the games industry. By fine‑tuning a 7‑billion‑parameter model on a decade of structured and unstructured data, Aldora aims to deliver on‑demand, secure...
"We Will Support Dead by Daylight as Long as We Can" – How Behaviour Evolved the Horror Hit Into a...
Behaviour Interactive’s horror‑multiplayer title Dead by Daylight exploded from a modest 300,000‑copy forecast to over 60 million copies sold in a decade. Originally a filler project born from the abandoned Naughty Bear prototype, it grew from a 30‑person effort to a studio‑wide...
Hasbro CEO Thinks the Video Game Industry Needs to "Think About Things Differently"
Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks told The Verge that soaring development costs and modest industry growth require a new approach to video game production. He highlighted the need to tap talent in Southeast Asia, China, and Eastern Europe and to experiment...
Embark Studios Head Patrick Söderlund Explains How Arc Raiders Was Made on "a Quarter of the Budget" Of a AAA...
Embark Studios, a 360‑person Swedish developer, launched Arc Raiders in October 2025, selling over 14 million copies despite a development budget estimated at about $75 million—roughly a quarter of a typical AAA title. CEO Patrick Söderlund says the studio achieves AAA‑level quality...
Will There Actually Be Any Such Thing as a Project Helix "Native" Game? | Opinion
Microsoft unveiled Project Helix at its GDC keynote, positioning it as a high‑end hybrid console that runs both PC games and legacy Xbox titles. The device will use an AMD‑based system‑on‑chip similar to current Xbox hardware but will be priced...
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins Game of the Year at Game Developers Choice Awards 2026
Larry Hryb, famed as Major Nelson, has been hired as community development consultant for Commodore International. The appointment follows Christian Simpson’s 2025 acquisition of the dormant Commodore brand and his plan to reboot it through fan‑centric strategies. Hryb will leverage his...
New Research Shows over 90% of Gamers Find Playing with AI-Powered NPCs to Be "Enjoyable and Rewarding"
Newzoo’s 2026 report projects PC gaming revenue will overtake console revenue by 2028, driven by a 6.6% CAGR versus 4.4% for consoles. The combined PC‑console market is expected to reach $103.7 billion, with total revenue climbing from $88.3 billion in 2025 to...
Until Dawn Remake Dev Ballistic Moon Has Closed
A University of Bristol and Meaning Machine study of 68 gamers playing the AI‑driven murder‑mystery game Dead Meat found overwhelming approval for AI‑powered NPCs. Ninety‑five percent rated the experience enjoyable, while 97% found it rewarding, and 75% felt they could...
Games with Loot Boxes Will Be Rated PEGI 16 From June, as Part of Sweeping Changes to the Age-Rating System
Starting in June, PEGI will assign a PEGI 16 rating to any game that includes paid random items such as loot boxes, while social‑casino titles move to PEGI 18. The new framework also grades in‑game purchases, daily‑quest incentives and unrestricted online chat,...
Google Unveils New AI Cloud Tools to Support Game Development
Google Cloud unveiled a new AI‑driven game development engine at GDC, integrating Gemini 3 Pro, Flash, Gemini Enterprise and Vertex AI. The platform introduces autonomous AI agents that automate repetitive tasks such as testing, code generation, and asset pipelines, while offering a...
Sega Responds to Concerns After Recording $200 Million Impairment Write-Down for Rovio
Google Cloud unveiled the next phase of its “Living Games” platform, embedding autonomous AI agents into its cloud infrastructure. The suite combines Gemini 3 Pro, Gemini Enterprise, Flash and Vertex AI to automate testing, code writing and asset generation for developers. Demonstrations...
Jobs Roundup: March 2026 | ProbablyMonsters Expands Its Leadership Team
ProbablyMonsters announced three senior leadership hires—Jonathan Lander as CPO, David Reid as CMO, and Mark Subotnick as CPO—bringing deep publishing, marketing, and product expertise from Bethesda, Behaviour Interactive and internal studio roles. Kasedo Games appointed publishing veteran Timea Edvi to broaden...
Valve Sued by The Performing Right Society for Allegedly Using Its Members' Musical Works "without Permission"
Roblox announced two new developer initiatives—Incubator, a six‑month mentorship for seasoned teams, and Jumpstart, a rolling program for newer and experienced creators. Both provide subject‑matter experts to help refine concepts, build audiences, and scale games. The launch coincides with age‑checked...
A Guide to Identifying Cheating in Online Video Games in 2026
The 2026 cheating landscape in online games has been reshaped by generative AI, allowing virtually anyone to build sophisticated cheating tools. Traditional hacks such as wallhacks and memory manipulators persist, but new AI‑driven bots and "humanized" models now mimic realistic...
The Logic of Platform Exclusivity Remains Undefeated | Opinion
Sony is reversing its recent experiment with PC ports, scrapping plans for upcoming first‑party titles like Ghost of Yotei. The move follows disappointing sales – only about 6% of God of War Ragnarök players were on PC – and a failure...
GDC Awards 2026 to Recognise Don Daglow and Rebecca Heineman
The Game Developers Choice Awards announced Don Daglow will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award and Rebecca Heineman will be posthumously honored with the Ambassador Award. Daglow’s five‑decade career includes over 100 games and founding Stormfront Studios, while Heineman contributed to...
How Steam Changes and a China Strategy Helped TinyBuild's The King Is Watching Hit 500k Sales
TinyBuild’s "The King is Watching" reached over 500,000 copies after a strategic pivot to roguelite mechanics, improving replayability and player engagement. The shift aligned with Steam’s evolving tag‑based recommendation system, which helped the game find a niche audience without relying...
Next-Gen Xbox Console, Codenamed Project Helix, Will Play PC Games
Game Republic New Horizons has created an international advisory board of more than 20 industry veterans to shape its 2026 conference. The board includes leaders from Kickstarter, Revolution Software, Double Eleven and other key players. The three‑day event will run...
New VR Publisher Launched to Help Devs Innovate and Survive Until VR's "True Breakout Moment" Arrives
Kevin Joyce, veteran XR marketer, launched Evolution Publishing to back indie VR studios amid a market downturn. The publisher uses a revenue‑share model without taking equity, aiming to nurture innovative titles until VR reaches a mainstream breakout. Joyce cites Meta’s...
Build a Rocket Boy Confirms More Layoffs Amid Further Claims of "Organized Espionage and Corporate Sabotage"
Build a Rocket Boy announced another round of layoffs, citing organized espionage and corporate sabotage that hampered the launch of its latest title, MindsEye. CEO Mark Gerhard said an investigation with external partners has produced overwhelming evidence and is moving...
Former Blizzard CCO and Bonfire CEO Rob Pardo to Present Keynote Address at GDC Festival of Gaming
Rob Pardo, former Blizzard chief creative officer and co‑founder of Bonfire Studios, will deliver the keynote at the GDC Festival of Gaming on March 12. His talk, “An Odyssey in Building Games That Last,” will draw on his three‑decade career...
Turkish Mobile Developer Vento Games Secures $4m in Seed Round Funding
Google announced a major overhaul of its Play Store fee structure following its settlement with Epic Games. The standard in‑app purchase commission drops from 30% to 20%, with an extra 5% service charge applied in the EEA, UK and US....
Gamescom 2026: Registered Exhibitors up 15%, More than 40 Countries Taking Part
Gamescom 2026 has broken exhibitor registration records for the third consecutive year, with a 15% increase over 2025 and participants from more than 40 countries. The event will feature pavilions from 23 nations and introduces a new Gamescom Business Ticket...
"We Now Have a Clear Vision for How Sumo Fits Into the New World" - Inside the Slimmed-Down Sumo Group
Sumo Group, now owned by Tencent, has shed roughly 15% of its workforce, closed its Timbre Games studio and sold several subsidiaries to concentrate exclusively on co‑development and work‑for‑hire services for external IP. The co‑CEOs, Gary Dunn and Andy Stewart,...
Killing Floor Dev Tripwire Interactive Lays Off 23 Employees
The UK's Insomnia Gaming Festival, scheduled for 30 April‑3 May 2026, has been cancelled. Organisers say reduced investment from major technology and hardware brands left insufficient sponsorship and exhibitor presence. The event, to be run by a consortium that includes Modern Wolf,...
Warner Bros. Discovery Is "Rebuilding Its Video Game Pipeline" After a "Significant" 2025
Capcom’s new Resident Evil Requiem is being released in Japan with black‑box censorship that obscures graphic gore, a move that many players say shatters immersion. The censorship stems from the CERO Z rating, which applies to console versions even though...
Netflix Backs Out of Warner Bros Deal, Declines to Match Paramount Skydance's Raised Offer
Splash Damage announced the acquisition of Gamepires, the developer behind the survival title SCUM, in a deal financed by Emona Capital. Chief financial officer Ben Hopkinson will step into the role of CEO for the combined entity, merging Splash Damage's...
How Recent Laws Impact Game Design, From In-Game Chat to Notifications
2026 marks a turning point as a wave of regulations—DMCCA, the EU Digital Services Act, the upcoming Digital Fairness Act, the AI Act and others—target core game mechanics. Dark‑pattern practices, UI prompts, loot‑box disclosures, virtual‑currency pricing and player‑generated communication are...
Clint Hocking, Creative Director of the Next Assassin's Creed, Leaves Ubisoft Following Restructure
Sensor Tower’s State of Gaming 2026 report shows mobile game revenue barely budged, rising just 1% to $82 billion while downloads slipped. In contrast, PC and console revenue jumped 13%, driven by a surge in AA and AAA releases and a record‑breaking...