There are some interesting notes in the memo sent to Xbox workers by Sharma and Booty (republished on Xbox Wire) but phrases like 'Core before more' and 'Outwork the problem' sound like something you'd hear a personal trainer blast at their latest recruit.

I highly recommend playing To a T if you'd enjoy hearing a giraffe sing about baking bread for sandwiches and procuring dairy products.

Here's a neat thing if you're a composer working in the UK!

Beware the toll. Heed the goats. (This is my Titanium Court review)

IGN is hiring! We're looking for a US-based news editor working West Coast hours. They will report into me (hello, I'm the director of news at IGN!), and get to do all sorts of cool stuff about video games and entertainment. Lots more at the link! www.ziffdavis.com/careers/jobs...

Here's Blossom Arcade founder @loxeni.bsky.social with some production advice for indies straight from the hallowed halls of London Games Fest.

The *idea* of Xbox Game Pass is fantastic but the implementation (read: overpromising from the outset) has evidently been a nightmare.

NEW: IWGB union workers have taken legal action against MindsEye creator Build A Rocket Boy over alleged privacy violations. Separate legal claims have also been filed against the studio accusing it of mishandling a redundancy process that took place last summer.

Btw, I did specifically ask why Panic is banning all forms of genAI aside from coding but didn't really get a clear response. Still, here's the statement the company sent over:

Latest edition of VGIM for my paid subscribers recounts the opening night of London Games Festival, an intriguing Roblox dinner chat and what it’s like when a live broadcast interview takes a surprising turn. www.videogamesindustrymemo.com/p/short-stor...

Look, if they vibe coded their way into this, surely they can vibe code their way out of this. Right? RIGHT?

Ahead of my NYU talk on the history/future of games journalism, I want to test a theory about how small/big games media is: Please share links to where you get games reporting/criticism. They can be a site, blog, YouTuber, streamer, social handle, podcast. They must be places/people you trust.

When you’ve got a night shift at Barad-dûr.

Ubisoft Halifax workers have agreed a confidential settlement with Ubisoft. The French publisher shut down the studio earlier this year, shortly after employees voted to unionize.

Video game lawyer implores devs to understand ownership and swerve generative AI

Hint: A short dev cycle, ditty budget, and a back-catalog owned by the studio!

I got a new post up for Game Developer! I spoke with the dev team behind Pragmata to learn how they made Capcom's take on a combat-puzzle action game.

Zipping towards London Games Festival bright and early. Will be kicking around the Self-Publishing Toolkit sessions today and Games for Change tomorrow. Give me a nudge if you want to say hello!

Hello! A quick question for anybody who reads b2b-focused game industry publications, specifically: What do you want from your news coverage? In your view, what is that cements a particular outlet or reporter as a trusted source? Sound off below, please!

Good morning! I highly recommend anyone who thinks they might possibly interested to apply for my job at IGN. It is a fantastic (UNION!!!!!) job working with the absolute best people. I have loved it with all my heart. You will too. www.ziffdavis.com/careers/jobs...

Btw, I asked Nexon whether it could explain how exactly Mono Lake works to better understand how it guides the decision making process. I also asked whether it’s essentially an internal genAI platform. Here’s the response a company representative sent over:

NEW: During a recent capital markets briefing, Arc Raiders publisher Nexon explained how it's betting big on AI and revealed newly-appointed chairman Patrick Soderlund will oversee a company reset that will result in project cancellations. "Fewer bets" with "more conviction" is the new mantra.

If you're an Epic Games employee who would like to confidentially share your views about the layoffs, please do reach out. I would be very interested to hear how you feel this is being handled and communicated by company leadership. My DMs are open. Signal QR is pinned. Email in bio.

It really is every bit as brilliant as you'd expect.

Every 'this is how I use AI as a journalist' piece is just some lunkhead admitting 'I didn't want to read and internalise this information so I asked a famously unreliable LLM to do it for me.' You might as well just get 'do not hire me, I am a dolt' tattooed on your forehead.

brb need to stock up on Switch 2s before the inevitable price hike

The cost of aging video game hardware continues to rise amid a key component shortage, geopolitical instability, and a widespread financing downturn. Meanwhile, the biggest studios (employers) keep betting on projects that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to bring to market. Puzzle me THAT.

Project Hail Mary is very, very good sci-fi. Impeccably shot. Oozing with charisma. A truly wonderful adaptation. BUT When I saw it last night people in the cinema applauded when the credits rolled. Is this a thing now? I have never experienced this in my 32 years of existence.

Look, sometimes you start writing a news story and it turns into a blog because some OPINIONS cannot be contained. This is one of those moments.

Look, sometimes you start writing a news story and it turns into a blog because some OPINIONS cannot be contained. This is one of those moments.

As someone who often flirts with creative writing I found this advice pretty useful. Compelling hooks and plot threads are valuable for luring people in, but they'll only stay if they care about your characters—and that means you need captivating dialogue.

I asked Epic to confirm the status of Harmonix and Mediatonic following the latest layoffs and received the below statement in response. Some Harmonix staffers have indicated they were laid off over on LinkedIn, and Mediatonic was reportedly decimated by cuts in 2023. I wonder how many are left?

If you're an Epic Games employee who would like to confidentially share your views about the layoffs, please do reach out. I would be very interested to hear how you feel this is being handled and communicated by company leadership. My DMs are open. Signal QR is pinned. Email in bio.

Reading Sweeney's email to staff and it just feels properly tone deaf. There's the implication that Epic has nobly fallen on a sword by duking it out with Apple and Google over Fortnite payments (costing it revenue in the process), and then the wry remark about the cuts being unrelated to AI.

Union workers send a message to game industry execs: 'Let go of the power now, or be forced to let go of it later.'

We're having a theme week! As part of that, we've got two sales for you: $1 for your first month of our Reader tier: aftermath.site/03-20-2026-0... OR $75 for a year of our Member tier, which gives you access to our Discord and a merch discount: aftermath.site/03-20-2026-0...

If you were someone pinging critics with ‘it’s just lighting cleanup’ a few days ago, I need you to use this as a jumping off point to thinking about your susceptibility to talking points and marketing rhetoric more generally. It was right there in front of all of our faces.

Does anyone else who's played Marathon solo feel the maps are a tad sparse? Like, when it hits the fan it HITS THE FAN but there are runs where I literally won't see another player.

Kill your inner bureaucrat.

The perception of video games and studios as speculative investment opportunities is doing irreparable harm to the industry and its workforce. Idiocy of the highest order.

We're looking for someone to work with us! Reposts appreciated <3

NEW: Krafton has agreed to sink around $1B into a fund established by South Korean defense company Hanwha Aerospace, which is known for developing precision-guided munitions and supporting the U.S. Navy. The deal is part of a wider push into what the Subnautica publisher calls "physical AI."

NEW: Krafton has agreed to sink around $1B into a fund established by South Korean defense company Hanwha Aerospace, which is known for developing precision-guided munitions and supporting the U.S. Navy. The deal is part of a wider push into what the Subnautica publisher calls "physical AI."

This was one of the most outlandish (complimentary) games I saw at Day of the Devs. It’s what I assume is an incredibly accurate take on aussie rules football where you can weaponise portals, seagulls, and your dad’s car.

Journalism is a talent business! Imagine Amazon trying to compete in any other field and saying to the best of the best "if you don't like it here leave"

BREAKING: A Delaware judge has ruled that Krafton must *reinstate* Ted Gill, the fired CEO of Subnautica 2 maker Unknown Worlds. In the ruling, the judge accuses Krafton's CEO of using ChatGPT to come up with a strategy to get out of paying Unknown Worlds a $250 million bonus. Story coming shortly

Oh, go on then.

Pokopia be like: - Collect berries - Build a cute cottage - Befriend Squirtle - Read journal about how mankinds hubris poisoned the world forever separating loved ones and dooming civilization - Have a picnic!

This little blighter is also on his way back to the UK with me.

Flying back to Manchester in a few hours. I’m going to miss that sweet sweet vitamin D.