Top Stories

"It's a totally crazy market" – The seismic impact of the AI boom on video game hardware (10 min read)

AI data center demand has caused severe hardware shortages and price spikes. DDR5 RAM now costs 6-8x more than September 2025 levels, forcing game hardware makers and developers to source older DDR4 components at inflated prices. (GamesIndustry.biz)

Pearl Abyss sells CCP back to its CEO for less than half what it paid, plus $20 million in crypto (3 min read)

Pearl Abyss sold EVE Online developer CCP Games back to CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson for $100 million in cash and $20 million in token rights—less than half what it paid eight years ago. (GamesIndustry.biz)

CWA Canada president says Saudi buyout of EA should trigger 'virtually every alarm bell' (6 min read)

CWA Canada's union president warned that a Saudi PIF buyout of EA should trigger regulatory scrutiny over labor practices and governance. The statement signals potential labor and policy challenges for major foreign acquisitions in gaming. (Game Developer)

Business & Finance

Metacore restructuring to the tune of 'up to 160' redundancies (4 min read)

Metacore is restructuring with up to 160 redundancies across the studio. The move reflects broader consolidation pressures in the mobile games sector. (Game Developer)

Studios & People

Build a Rocket Boy reportedly hit with more layoffs (2 min read)

Build a Rocket Boy laid off 170 employees, leaving ~80 staff at the MindsEye studio. Affected roles included technical level design, audio design, and QA across multiple teams. (GamesIndustry.biz)

Kinforge dev Seeker Entertainment is furloughing staff (3 min read)

Seeker Entertainment, developer of Kinforge, is furloughing staff. The move reflects ongoing financial pressures in the indie development sector. (Game Developer)

Xbox announces leadership changes as it stops development of Gaming Copilot for console (4 min read)

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced major leadership changes and ended development of Gaming Copilot for consoles, phasing out the feature on mobile. The move signals a strategic shift in Xbox's platform priorities. (GamesIndustry.biz)

New Remedy CEO wants to preserve small budgets and break into Asia (5 min read)

Remedy's new CEO prioritizes protecting modest project budgets while pursuing expansion into Asian markets. The shift reflects a strategic pivot away from large-budget AAA development. (Game Developer)

AI/Tech & Tools

Pirate survival game Windrose was accidentally killing your SSD (3 min read)

Windrose was writing excessive data to SSDs (up to 108GB/hour), causing hardware wear. Developer Kraken Express patched the issue, reducing unnecessary CPU and disk usage during gameplay. (Eurogamer)

Culture & Community

IGN Entertainment releases internal data as public report, developed by Kantar and UC Berkeley (4 min read)

IGN Entertainment released the Generations in Play report analyzing age-based gaming consumption patterns across demographics. The research, developed with Kantar and UC Berkeley, highlights differences in how Gen X and Gen Z engage with games. (GamesIndustry.biz)

gg! see you in game!

— james