VR experts say that Meta's pullback is "concerning" in the short term
Experts from the world of virtual reality have described Meta's decision to close three studios and make layoffs to its metaverse-focused Reality Labs division as "concerning".
Games Industry
Xbox aims to be "more consistent" with launching first-party titles on PlayStation 5
Roblox claims Bruno Mars Steal a Brainrot performance drew a record 12.8 million concurrent users, issued 5.4 million brainrot collectibles
Roblox has said that a performance of Bruno Mars's new single in the platform's user-created Steal A Brainrot mode attracted 12.8 million concurrent users, which it described as a "single artist record for most-watched virtual concert" on the platform. The activation issued custom "Brunito Marsito" brainrot collectibles to attendees, who accumulated a total of 5,428,644 of them.
UK Video Games Council pushes for further government support
The UK Video Games Council has pushed for further government support of the industry, arguing that the country has a wealth of talent but not less support than other parts of the world.
Ubisoft's restructure plan spooks the markets, and it's not hard to see why | Opinion
It's fair to say that it's been a rough decade for European publishers. The last bastion of Britain's long-established publishing houses, Codemasters, was bought by EA in 2021. A couple of years later, one of the continent's largest publishers, Sweden's Embracer Group, hit the financial skids and was forced to divest or shut down many of the studios it had bought in a spending spree over the prior years.
US lawmakers ask FTC to "thoroughly" review $55bn EA deal, warning of potential negative impact on workers
The United States' Congressional Labor Caucus has written to the Federal Trade Commission to raise concerns about the potential impact of the proposed $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts led by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Inkle says TR-49's $7 price point was experiment to encourage "an impulse, 'jump in' mindset"
The narrative director at indie developer Inkle, Jon Ingold, has said that pricing its recently-released title TR-49 at $7 was a means of encouraging players to buy the game as an "impulse" purchase rather than waiting.
Manor Lords publisher Hooded Horse's CEO argues game agreements violate contract principles
The CEO of Manor Lords publisher Hooded Horse, Tim Bender, has detailed his company's approach to developer contracts, saying that the way most legal agreements in the space are written "violate a lot of principles of what's an efficient contract".
Fable set for Autumn 2026 launch on Playstation as well as Xbox and PC
Playground Games has announced a release window for Fable, which is set to launch in Autumn 2026.
Starbreeze reportedly makes another round of layoffs
Payday developer Starbreeze has reportedly conducted a second round of layoffs in two months.
US video game spend up 3% in December, fuelled in part by 24% increase in subscription services | US Monthly Charts
US consumer spending on video games reached $5.9 billion in December 2025, an increase of 3% year-over-year (YoY). This rise was partially fuelled by an increase in subscription services spend, which rose 24% from December 2024.
Unity launches Walmart SDK to "seamlessly integrate products" into games
Walmart has released a free, official commerce software development kit (SDK) for Unity developers to "seamlessly integrate Walmart products, or your own merchandise via the Walmart marketplace, directly into your projects."
Korean acquisitions, buying for back catalogue, and filling the content gap: video game investment and M&A trends for 2026
At Pocket Gamer Connects London this week, a panel of well-known games industry investors gathered to discuss "Investment and M&A Trends for 2026". GamesIndustry.biz was there, and the general message of the talk was to expect a slightly rosier outlook for merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the current months, even though the overall picture remains somewhat risk-averse, with funding still hard to find.
Fallout Season 2 is Prime Video's sixth most-watched series of all time
Fallout season 2 has already become Prime Video's sixth most-watched series of all time in four weeks.
Wildgate maker Moonshot laying off unspecified number of staff
The developer of Wildgate, Moonshot Games, is making some job cuts due to the title not being able to sustain itself.
Industry networking platform MeetToMatch acquired by 1SP Agency
Rovio announces partnership with Kingsoft Shiyou to bring Angry Birds back to China
Angry Birds will return to the Chinese market after two years in a partnership with Rovio and Kingsoft Shiyou.
Trash Goblin developer launches crowdfunding campaign to back new merch store
UK indie Spilt Milk Studios has launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund a permanent merch store, starting with a collection of products based on its 2025 release Trash Goblin. The studio is hoping to "both generate revenue for the studio to help us prototype new ideas and to deliver delightful goodies to our fans," co-owner Nicholas Lovell said.
UKIE's Tencent-backed Video Games Growth Programme returns with 30-strong cohort of studios
UK games trade body UKIE has revealed the 30 studios that are taking part in its second-ever Video Games Growth Programme.
EB Games announces closure of all stores in New Zealand
This is a feed of the latest articles from GamesIndustry.biz.