EA has confirmed plans to remove "all paid progression options from Road to Glory and Online Dynasty" in EA Sports College Football 27 after players launched the CFBPlayNotPay campaign against offline microtransactions. https://bit.ly/4wD5rYk

Deer & Boy is a delightful little Limbo-like that will probably draw a tear or two unless you're dead inside. took me 4.5 hours, puzzles are pretty simple, definitely borrows from other games like it. But it's got a lot of heart. store.steampowered.com/app/1803140/...

Take a moment to guess how much money Star Citizen raised this May, which looks to have been its biggest fundraising month ever. ... go on, guess ... no, an actual number ... in the millions ... seriously just guess a number ... go crazy. how big could their biggest month be? ... $45M!!!

Do they sell a Harry Kane pillow in England? Cuz dude is sofffffft. I kid, I kid....

E3 began to fall apart the moment manufacturers stopped showing NPD PowerPoint slides. Makes you think.

It was such a trainwreck. I loved it.

Had a delightful chat with @nolanerdcast.bsky.social all about first gaming memories, loving games in the middle of *all this*, and how he ended up in PR and how I got into whatever this gig I'm doing is. He's just getting this podcast going, and is a super cool cat. Check it out if you'd like.

I love this article so much. Publishers can provide any sales data they wish in any detail conceivable yet doing so is exceptionally rare - and in a digital only future it will only become more so.

This extraordinary post from Microsoft's head of comms appears to be in reference to an Xbox lay-off narrative by Fox News and others that does not appear to be grounded in reality

Leading with compassion and honesty is insanely difficult. Taking risk while accepting accountability requires strength that is genuinely soul destroying. But it’s the only way. It is the only way. Find your strength. You will get things wrong and you will pay for it. But you will keep trying. 👊❤️

Having fewer sociopaths in gaming would be a good thing, I reckon.

So, Ashly Burch (voice actor of Aloy, Tiny Tina and Chloe from LiS) has a new-ish channel focused on mental health. Recently, she posted a guided meditation video. I had never done any kind of meditation before. But I gave it a go a few days ago and found it cool. Idk, if you want to check it out.

Someone reboot the sim. This one is toast.

...what

"The other staff we spoke to said they were “living in fear” about where the axe might fall next. One studio leader admitted they didn’t know what Xbox expected from them right now, and whether there was anything they could do to avoid job cuts." At some point one wonders if this is the intention.

Some big DEBATE ME energy in the replies and, like, no. I'm tired. We're all tired. Just go play a game or read a book or walk off a tall cliff or something idk.

"...content creators who were given early access to the game have also stated that these microtransactions were not available in the preview builds they were granted access to" Of course. Hey SDS... don't yall get any ideas for The Show here.

Game Pass wasn't the bad idea. The bad idea was trying to shift Xbox into a subscription-based service group with a massive sub count to align with things like Office 365 in the first place. If anything was going to be able to meet that goal, it was Game Pass. The goal itself was unrealistic.

I think if you needed any more evidence that the cuts are shortsighted and focused on cutting as deep and as fast as possible with little regard for the future, this is pretty definitive. That engine felt like magic in some spots. A colossal waste of talent and resources.

I see I need to make a clearer point. Framing things this way puts the blame on the consumer - the consumer that spends hundreds of millions of dollars on subs every month - as though it is their fault for freeloading. But is it the consumer's fault that the model was built the way it was? No.

Whoa. I didn't know Xbox Game Pass was free. Weird. What is this. "The problem with it was that (DOOM: The Dark Ages) was played by millions of fans, but many played it for free on Game Pass."

Imagine doing this to id and saying with a straight face "grow and extend an enduring portfolio of franchises players love"

How long can a Fallout take to make, 6 weeks? Surely axing a huge part of the staff will help. Just sprinkle some AI on it.

UPDATE: I've obtained a WARN notice filed in Texas that reveals 136 employees have been laid off at id Software (including remote workers), with another 22 people being ousted at Bethesda Game Studios' office in Austin. The overwhelming majority of those laid off were CWA union members.

Jason breaks down the math on PlayStation going digital (and why Xbox is also extremely likely to as well). In a potential world of $1k+ consoles which could result in a reduction of the installed bases on new consoles (if they can even get made), the console mfgs will prioritize profitability.

Great reporting, as always. If the goal is to sell subscriptions, you do exactly what Xbox did with Game Pass. Problem is, outside of the enthusiast core, few cared. The mass market didn't want to play lots of different games. It wanted to play Fortnite, Minecraft and Roblox.

One way you can show Microsoft your concern is here through the XBOX Player Voice feedback platform: feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/ide...

Very noticeable how out of the loop partners have been on moves like PS halting the production of physical discs and suddenness with which Xbox cut contracts. Big orgs are putting partners to the sword, carveing out templates for monolplies, and asking them what they're gonna do about it?

For some people, video games are about the wonder of exploring strange, thrilling, action-packed worlds but for me the joy of video games has always been all about moving to a franchise-centric planning strategy to better focus resources on long-term growth and stability amid broader restructuring.

Step 1 - Cancel games Step 2 - Decimate development Step 3 - Introduce AI UGC creation tool Step 4 - ??? Step 5 - Profit?

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. 1/5

Oh god. They're going to try to Roblox-ify Xbox, aren't they. Lean into UGC and the free labor that comes with. Sheezus.

Thinking again about how wonderful Belgium is.

"Clarity is Kindness"

I want to re-emphasize one part of this Xbox story: Half of the 3,200 cuts are happening today and half are happening in the next 12 months. In other words, even people who survived today's layoffs will have to spend the coming year wondering if they're going to be next.

For everyone quoting that 1B a year number, take note of "play Xbox games OR use Xbox services" - but what does Xbox services include? "Xbox CEO Asha Sharma says there are one billion people who play Xbox games or use Xbox services every year... The aim is to get that to one billion players daily."

Studios in the Bethesda organization like id Software (Doom) and ZeniMax Online Studios (Elder Scrolls Online) are not shutting down but are cutting a significant number of staff this morning, per sources.

Seriously. This is a bloodbath now with promises of further suffering in the future. And trying to keep a AA studio alive in this economy is practically a death sentence. There are no silver linings, just a big corporation inflicting misery on a lot of people for their own bottom line.

"you do not, under any circumstances, "gotta hand it to them""

"CEO Asha Sharma wants Xbox to reach 1bn players a day (it currently hits 1bn a year)." Oh.

BREAKING: Xbox will cut 3,200 jobs as part of a major reorganization, and divest from five studios: - Compulsion and Double Fine will go indie - Ninja Theory and Undead Labs will be sold - Arkane to enter consultation process Here's the full story: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Xbox is preparing to lay off around 3,200 individuals, part ways with Compulsion Games, Double Fine, Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, and possibly Arkane Lyon in what CEO Asha Sharma is calling "the most significant res... https://kotaku.com/xbox-layoff-3200-most-significant-restructure-history-2000712836

Xbox announces plans to cut 3,000 jobs as part of a major restructure. It has also split from four studios - Double Fine, Compulsion Games, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs. It’s seeking a new home for Arkane Lyon, too. Full FAQ through here. www.thegamebusiness.com/p/xbox-plans...

Employees are being notified

Circana Player Engagement Tracker - US Top 10 Titles by Total Weekly Active Users (Not Concurrent) - W/E Jun 27, 2026 - Meccha Chameleon replaces Counter-Strike 2 at the top of the Steam WAU chart - Abyssus debuts at 22 on Xbox with Game Pass - Deltarune jumps from 116th a week ago to 15th on Steam

Anyways, 007 First Light has been a blast. The set pieces are quite incredible, and having such a high production value single player story based game in 2026 is quite the treat.

Gonna age like milk on a 102 degree day.

To be fair, the post did say the policy applied to new games. This whole thing is just a signal that PS6 won't include a disc drive is all.