Update February 11, 2026: Intrepid Studios stated on 31st January that the studio was closing and 210 staff would lose their jobs on February 2nd. The company reported this to California authorities under the terms of the state's WARN act. A US law firm has commenced an "investigation" into challenging the layoffs, on the basis that the firm did not give employees sufficient notice of the closure.
A low-budget horror film based on indie game Iron Lung earned $21.5 million on its opening weekend, thanks to the involvement of YouTuber Mark Fischbach, better known as Markiplier. Its success, off a reported production budget of $3 million, points to the significant transmedia potential of even smaller game adaptations.
Poppy Playtime was released on Steam in 2021, tasking players with exploring an abandoned factory stuffed with terrifying toy-like creatures, including the iconic, blue-haired Huggy Wuggy. It quickly became a phenomenon: according to Video Game Insights, the game has sold around 3.2 million units on Steam alone, with millions more players on console and mobile.
The CEO of retailer GameStop, Ryan Cohen, has said he wants to acquire a publicly traded company.
Microsoft's latest financial results make for grim reading for anyone invested – emotionally or otherwise – in the future of Xbox. The headline figure is that revenue from the company's gaming operations fell by 9% year-on-year in the three months from October to December last year, but within that is the really dramatic figure: a 32% crash in hardware revenue.
Tech giant Google has started to open access to its latest AI tool, Project Genie, which allows users to create "playable worlds".
The Supreme Court of Austria has ruled that the loot boxes in the FIFA games do not constitute gambling as they do require some skill.
Update, February 4, 2026: AdHoc Studios issued a statement last week regarding the censorship of Dispatch on Switch platforms, citing that the title did not meet Nintendo's guidelines and it "made changes that would allow [it] to release on their platform."
The UK Court of Appeal has ruled that unauthorized removal of RuneScape's in-game currency can be classed as criminal theft.
Women in Games today has launched a new manifesto calling for "rebalancing gender representation and fairness across the global video games industry."
GDC organisers Informa have said they have not seen any drop in planned attendance by overseas visitors, despite escalating industry concern over both costs and the current US political situation.
Entertainment website IGN has announced a year-long editorial celebration to mark the brand's 30th anniversary, including a series of longform interviews with key figures from the games and entertainment industries, the return of LA event IGN Live, and a games and retro merchandise partnership with Humble Bundle. Humble Bundle and GamesIndustry.biz are both owned by IGN parent IGN Entertainment.
The Game Developers Conference, now rebranded as the GDC Festival of Gaming, has released its 2026 State Of The Game Industry survey, revealing a broad range of insights from professionals across different sectors.
Swedish games firm Paradox Interactive has reported a 162% decrease in its operating profit for the three months ending December 31, 2025 due to the poor performance of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2.
"The games industry has been the best and the worst of times for me," said Jessica Curry in an interview with Radio 4's Woman's Hour on January 28. "It's extraordinarily hard to exist as a woman, it kind of broke me in many ways."
Dr Ryan Cushley-Spendiff is a lecturer at Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University. He is attached to the Centre for Business and Insolvency Law.
This is a feed of the latest articles from GamesIndustry.biz.
