Ares Interactive's "AI-enabled development, marketing, and live-ops" secures $70m in Series A Funding
Ares Interactive has raised $70 million in a new Series A round to build "a new generation of player-loved franchises."
Games Industry
Roblox debuts tool for players to AI-generate interactive in-game objects, promises "full scene generation" is coming
Roblox has announced a beta tool which enables users to create interactive 3D models from text prompts, an upgrade to its existing 3D asset generation tool revealed last year. The feature was announced in a blog post.
Build a Rocket Boy announces "reset" as part of new update and marketing push for MindsEye
Build a Rocket Boy has announced a "new phase of ongoing development" for its troubled open-world game MindsEye, marking the company's first notable PR push since the game's launch in June, but arriving alongside fresh controversy around the studio's founder.
EA net bookings jump 38% to over $3bn following Battlefield 6 launch
Electronic Arts has announced the preliminary results of its third fiscal quarter, reporting a 38% jump in net bookings to over $3 billion following the successful launch of Battlefield 6.
A Sea of Remnants studio visit offers a rare glimpse inside NetEase
With the pirate-themed Sea of Remnants, Joker Studio and NetEase are staking a claim not just for their approach to design, but on what is possible in both the genre for storytelling, and the cross-market potential for monetizing their work beyond the game itself.
UK games industry to receive dedicated SIC codes for development and publishing
The games industry will be recognised in the 2026 UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) framework, providing video game development and publishing with dedicated four-digit codes to accurately reflect the scale of the sector.
Take-Two pauses development on Borderlands 4 Switch 2 port
Development of Borderlands 4 on Nintendo Switch 2 has been paused, Take-Two Interactive has confirmed.
NBA 2K and Grand Theft Auto franchises boost Take-Two Q3 net revenue by 25% to $1.7bn
Take-Two Interactive has published its financial results for its third fiscal quarter, recording increases of 25% and 28% in net revenue and bookings respectively.
Take-Two CEO says "generative AI tools are driving costs and time efficiencies" but that its "worlds are handcrafted"
It's been a difficult week for Take Two Interactive. The company was one of many game publishers which saw their stock plunge following the debut of Google's AI Genie tool last week, with investors concerned that instantly-generated "playable worlds" would compete with traditional game releases.
Strauss Zelnick: "Generative AI has zero part in what Rockstar Games is building" with GTA 6
Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has told GamesIndustry.biz that the company is making extensive use of AI and "always has", but said it was deployed in tools rather than creativity, and "generative AI has zero part in what Rockstar Games is building" for GTA 6.
"We're not going to topple Steam" – Epic Games Store head Steve Allison heralds the path of co-existence
Steve Allison, GM of the Epic Games Store, is adamant that the vision was never to unseat Steam as the dominant player. "Steam is a huge part of the PC ecosystem," he says. "It's not going away. We're not going to topple Steam."
Epic Store saw record player count and 57% increase in third-party game sales in 2025, topping $400 million
Epic has claimed a 57% YoY increase in third-party game revenue on the Epic Games Store, a 4% increase in time spent in third-party games and a record level of 78 million monthly active users in December, in a blog post summarising its performance for 2025. The store now lists over 6,000 games.
Nintendo net sales up 99.3% as Switch 2 shifts 17.37m units
Japanese platform holder Nintendo continues to report impressive financial results, buoyed by the success of its Switch 2 hardware.
The days of the big deal are dead – hybrid funding stacks are the future | Opinion
Tim Browne is CPO and co-founder of the video game funding initiative Bright Gambit. Until 2024, he was a creative director at Avalanche Studios Group, and prior to that he held positions at King, Ubisoft, and Codemasters.
UK retailer GAME shutters last remaining standalone stores as it enters administration
UK high street retailer GAME is closing its three remaining standalone stores as managing director, Nick Arran, exits the company after nine years.
QA staff at Blizzard ratify union contract that gives "lasting protections in the workplace"
Quality assurance workers at Blizzard in Albany, New York, and Austin, Texas, have overwhelmingly voted to ratify a union contract at parent company, Microsoft.
Austin Wintory's Sword of the Sea score wins Grammy for best video game soundtrack | News-in-Brief
IGN Fan Fest returns in February, featuring exclusive reveals for Lego Batman and 007 First Light
Entertainment site IGN has announced its seventh digital Fan Fest event, comprising two days of livestreamed announcements, interviews and trailers for games, TV and movies. GamesIndustry.biz is owned by IGN parent company IGN Entertainment.
Developer behind Kickstarter's most successful MMO shuts down and lays off all 210 staff
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.
Indie game film adaptation Iron Lung earns $21.5 million on opening weekend
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.
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