Vince Zampella, Call of Duty co-creator and head of Battlefield, Respawn Entertainment and Ripple Effect Studios, has died. NBC4 reports that Zampella was killed in a single-car crash in Southern California. He was 55 years old.

Blizzard president Johanna Faries says that the company is looking to establish a launch cadence of “one to two” major releases each year. Faries told Bloomberg that due to the company’s forward-thinking restructure, she believes each franchise team knows where their games will be in three years.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has had two awards it previously won at The Indie Game Awards revoked, including Game of the Year. The event organiser says that “Sandfall Interactive did in fact confirm that GenAI was used in the making of Expedition 33,“ which goes against eligibility criteria.

We spoke to a dozen professional concept artists who are currently or have previously worked in game development about whether generative AI image tools have made their jobs any easier. Zero said it did. Most said it made things harder. thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/conc...

Joanna Dark actor Alix Wilton Regan says was "as shocked, surprised, and devastated as everyone else" when the Perfect Dark reboot was cancelled, and developer The Initiative shuttered. "To my knowledge, we were pretty far along. I’d done entire chapters of this universe," she said.

Larian Studios will host an Ask Me Anything (AMA) in 2026 about its upcoming title, Divinity. It comes after the studio received backlash over its reported use of generative AI in its process. “We’ll do an AMA featuring our different departments… you’ll get the opportunity to ask us any questions"

Riot Games has announced that it’s working on a major overhaul of League of Legends, set to launch in 2027. A report from Bloomberg, which noted that the update is being referred to internally as League Next, expedited the official announcement of the project.

Bloomberg has reported that workers at Naughty Dog recently underwent a seven week, mandatory overtime period. The directive was made to complete an internal demo of its upcoming title, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, for review by Sony after the production missed multiple deadlines.

Marathon's art director, Joseph Cross, has confirmed that he’s left Bungie. He told Kotaku that it was his decision to leave. The departure follows news of Marathon's release window in March 2026, as well as the resolution of art plagiarism accusations that occurred in May 2025.

Indie horror game Horses has sold over 18,000 copies and made approximately US $65,000 in net revenue. Developer Santa Ragione says it's enough to pay back royalties and loans, but not enough to fund a new project, and “does not erase the impact of what happened.”

The lawsuit between Sony and Tencent over Tencent’s Light of Motiram has ended in a confidential settlement for an undisclosed amount. Described as a “slavish clone” of Sony’s Horizon series, the game no longer has store pages on Steam or the Epic Games Store.

Storied Bioware designer James Ohlen has left his position as studio head of Archetype Entertainment, which is set to ship its debut game, Exodus, in early 2027. Bloomberg reports that Ohlen, who founded the company in 2019, has stepped down as part of a wider reshuffle at Wizards of the Coast.

Steam has seen over 19,000 new game releases so far in 2025, a new record for the platform. In 2015, Steam only saw 2,822 games released. Analysts point to the democratisation of game creation as the major factor.

We spoke to a dozen professional concept artists who are currently or have previously worked in game development about whether generative AI image tools have made their jobs any easier. Zero said it did. Most said it made things harder. thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/conc...

Xbox consoles saw a 20% decrease in games launched on the platform in 2025, according analyst estimates. Approximately 896 games were released for Xbox platforms in 2025, compared to 1,115 in 2024. Nintendo platforms saw 3,138 releases, and PlayStation saw 1,347 -- both increases.

Isometric battle royale Supervive is the latest ambitious live service game to announce its closure. Developed by former Riot and Blizzard developers, the studio cited unsustainable playercounts. “This experience has really made us think about the kinds of games we want to make going forward."

A new report from Variety suggests that Disney is reluctant to collaborate with Roblox because it doesn't believe it's a safe platform. Roblox is currently facing several lawsuits related to child safety concerns in the US, and has been banned in several countries.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has seen a meaningful sales spike after winning nine categories at The Game Awards, according to market analytics firm Alinea, along with a strong uptick in Game Pass users trying the game for the first time.

Brian Fleming, co-founder and head of Sucker Punch Productions, has announced his departure from the studio in 2026. He says he's seeking new opportunities and exploring various industries. Fleming's departure follows the retirement of Insomniac Games founder and CEO Ted Price in January 2025.

As we collectively look back on the best games of 2025, @gamediscoverco.bsky.social breaks down the new Steam games from this year that sold well *and* had the average player engaged for dozens of hours. Are they all winners? thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/game... [PAYWALLED]

Ubisoft has acquired the rights to the upcoming free-to-play MOBA 'March of Giants' from Amazon, along with the development team at Amazon Games Montreal. The creative director of the game previously served as Creative Director on Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege before leaving for Amazon in 2020.

French President Emmanuel Macron has praised Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Sandfall Interactive for their wins at The Game Awards. Macron previously pointed the finger at videogames in relation to the country's 2023 riots, which he later took back. "Video games are an integral part of France."

Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi has returned to Japan after his latest project, To a T, “didn’t sell well.” He told GamesRadar he would consider working with Namco again. "I have some interesting ideas for Katamari Damacy only I could come up with... it would be a very interesting project.”

Team Cherry has announced Hollow Knight: Silksong - Sea of Sorrow, a free expansion slated for 2026. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDFE...

Bungie has set a release window of March 2026 for its extraction shooter, Marathon. The date lines up with the end of Sony's fiscal year and previous suggestions from the company. Bungie says it has made several improvements since the game's Closed Alpha playtest, which received middling feedback.

Games industry layoffs appear to have slowed in 2025, but the exact number is unclear. Industry advocate Amir Satvat says, “a meaningful number of layoffs simply never enter the news cycle,” including “quiet reductions, regional cuts, and contractor or games-specific teams..."

Horses developer Santa Ragione says the studio is "very much suspended," despite the attention the game received for its ban on Steam. “We were literally at the top of the best selling games on GOG for multiple days. If that had happened on Steam, I could stop working for the rest of my life.”

As we collectively look back on the best games of 2025, @gamediscoverco.bsky.social breaks down the new Steam games from this year that sold well *and* had the average player engaged for dozens of hours. Are they all winners? thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/game... [PAYWALLED]

The Kirby Air Riders development team will soon disband, director Masahiro Sakurai has announced. With the game considered content complete, Sakurai said the development team would aim for one more balance patch before putting it to rest.

Xbox Studios head Matt Booty has commented on the relatively weaker launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. "Shipping a major franchise like clockwork every year is a really difficult task, and I’m really proud of what the team did to move the franchise forward." “It’s not just about the launch"

Quantic Dream, a studio known for its single-player, cinematic narrative titles, is making a competitive MOBA. That's odd. @patrickdane.bsky.social went into a recent playtest to discover that, surprisingly, there are some pretty neat ideas. But it still has some significant hurdles to overcome.

Horses developer Santa Ragione says the studio is "very much suspended," despite the attention the game received for its ban on Steam. “We were literally at the top of the best selling games on GOG for multiple days. If that had happened on Steam, I could stop working for the rest of my life.”

Workers at id Software have voted in favour of union representation under the Communications Workers of America. The id Software union joins almost 4,000 union-represented workers at Microsoft. Several unions have formed in the last year, primarily at Activision and Blizzard teams.

The UK Workers Union (IWGB) has contested new claims from Rockstar regarding the employees it recently fired. Rockstar told IGN that the workers "distributed and discussed confidential information (including specific game features from upcoming and unannounced titles) in a public forum."

Two new Star Wars games, two new Tomb Raider games, and the return of Mega Man were just some of the numerous announcements that made up the bulk of The Game Awards. Here's a concise list of over 35 announcements and trailers to skim through:

Remedy has said that Control Resonant "not a safe sequel," with its new melee combat and action RPG focus. "This is not a Soulslike game. I want to be very clear about that," said creative director Mikael Kasurinen, while commenting, "We know what the competition is... expect combat to be good."

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took home a total of nine trophies at The Game Awards, including Game of the Year. Hades II won Best Action Game, while Hollow Knight Silksong won Best Action/Adventure. Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei, despite seven nominations apiece, went home empty handed.

Two new Star Wars games, two new Tomb Raider games, and the return of Mega Man were just some of the numerous announcements that made up the bulk of The Game Awards. Here's a concise list of over 35 announcements and trailers to skim through:

Remedy has said that Control Resonant "not a safe sequel," with its new melee combat and action RPG focus. "This is not a Soulslike game. I want to be very clear about that," said creative director Mikael Kasurinen, while commenting, "We know what the competition is... expect combat to be good."

Fortnite has returned to the US Google Play Store, following a lengthy legal battle between Epic Games and Google, which the companies resolved in November. It had previously returned to Android devices in 2024, along with iOS in the European Union, but only through the mobile Epic Games Store app.

A new Saudi Arabian gaming conference is being organised in a joint venture that includes Game Developers Conference (GDC) organiser Informa. The event says it plans to host 20,000 attendees, 300 exhibitors, and 500 developers and studios. No specifics regarding participants have been shared yet.

Fallout: New Vegas writer John Gonzalez has spoken to PC Gamer about the second season of the series adaptation, which visits New Vegas. He noted, "there’s no credit for that, there’s no residuals for that. And that’s something that I understood doing the work early on."

At least three frog-themed games (including one from the creators of Fall Guys), some terrifying nurses, one talkative crab, and two dog-themed surprise releases filled out the latest Day of the Devs showcase. Catch up on all the trailers and developer talks in our concise roundup:

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has addressed the contentious firing of over 30 Rockstar Games employees during a parlimentary Question Time. He said the accusations of union busting were "deeply concerning," asserted the right of workers to join unions, and said ministers would look into the case.

Geoff Keighley has spoken about maintaining the celebratory nature of The Game Awards in the face of industry issues. “It’s a very difficult needle to thread... I don’t have all the answers about the right way to do this.” Keighley was interviewed by The Game Business, of which he is a co-founder.

Capcom has told investors that it will aim to continue its 12 consecutive years of profit growth by leveraging franchises that sit outside its core offering. The company mentioned it would pursue new releases and remakes in the Mega Man, Devil May Cry and Ace Attorney franchises.

Wirm, Woodworm, Wyrmspace – Weirdly, a lot of games about worms in the Frosty Mini, a showcase of games from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Here's a roundup of all the games that were featured:

1990s thrift store management, 1980s post-apocalyptic survival, bug catching + dating, and a surprise release for a game inspired by Rhythm Heaven were all on the slate during Wholesome Snack 2025. Catch up on all the announcements with our concise roundup:

Netflix co-CEO Gregory Peters has said that the US $82.7 billion acquisition bid for Warner Bros. "didn't attribute any value to [WB Games] from the get go." He acknowledged the "great work" Warner Bros. had achieved in games, but said it was "relatively minor in the grand scheme of things."

Activision has stated that it will “no longer do back-to-back releases of Modern Warfare or Black Ops games." The announcement comes just one month after the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which appeared to have a notably weaker launch performance than 2024’s Black Ops 6.