GTA mod drama 🎮 Unity AI push 💰 $62.8bn forecast 🚀
February 17, 2026 | Subscribe | Read On Web
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Rockstar celebrates official GTA mod support by nuking non-official mod platform (6 min read)
Take-Two is shutting down alt:V Multiplayer, a nine-year-old GTA 5 multiplayer mod platform, citing its Platform License Agreement that designates FiveM as the only authorized multiplayer modding platform. The alt:V team will begin a structured shutdown in 2026, stopping new server registrations from March 2. This follows Rockstar's launch of its official mod marketplace for GTA Online last month.
(PC Gamer)
US video game consumer spending predicted to reach $62.8bn in 2026 (2 min read)
US video game consumer spending is projected to reach $62.8 billion in 2026, a 3% increase from 2025, according to Circana. Growth is driven by Switch 2 sales momentum and Grand Theft Auto 6's launch, though component cost pressures could dampen hardware sales. The forecast would surpass 2021's all-time high of $61.7 billion.
(Gamesindustry)
Unity Promises Deluge Of New Games Prompted Into Existence By AI As Its Stock Tanks (3 min read)
Unity plans to unveil a beta of upgraded AI tooling at GDC in March that claims to enable developers to prompt full casual games into existence using only natural language. CEO Matthew Bromsberg stated the tool will leverage Unity's project context understanding combined with frontier AI models. Developer sentiment remains skeptical—half of GDC attendees think generative AI is bad for the industry, and over 85% of surveyed players hold negative views on AI in games.
(Kotaku)
Business & Finance
UK comms agency Bastion opens North American arm (1 min read)
UK PR firm Bastion launched a North American office led by Rebekah Nicodemus, former Head of Comms at Amazon Games. The new division will serve gaming clients across North America, with Amazon Game Studios as its first client. Bastion is actively recruiting account managers and executives.
(Gamesindustry)
Studios & People
Report: Hasbro shutters internal video game studio Atomic Arcade (4 min read)
Hasbro has shut down Atomic Arcade, its internal video game studio. The closure marks another consolidation in the toy company's gaming division following previous restructuring efforts.
(Game Developer)
Games & Releases
CyberConnect2 announced .hack//Z.E.R.O., a new action-RPG marking the franchise's return and the studio's 30th anniversary. Bandai Namco retains IP rights but granted CyberConnect2 full control over development and self-publishing. The game features a new story unconnected to previous entries, set 10 years in the future with social media and corporate villainy as central themes. Development has been in progress for nearly a decade.
(Eurogamer)
Pokemon Pokopia will feature "cloud islands"—persistent online worlds that unlimited players can join and develop together, but only four can inhabit simultaneously. Players can swap in and out asynchronously, letting teams build collaboratively without requiring everyone online at once, similar to Minecraft's private server model.
(GamesRadar)
Fuse Games, a new studio founded by ex-Criterion developers, is making Star Wars: Galactic Racer as its first project. In an interview, CEO Matt Webster and Creative Director Kieran Crimmins explained they chose track-based racing over open world, drawing on their arcade racing heritage and Star Wars's podracing legacy. The team deliberately played to their strengths while mitigating risk with familiar tech and established relationships with Lucasfilm.
(IGN)
Ubisoft released Assassin's Creed Shadows' winter roadmap with updates arriving Feb 17: manual jump controls, detailed stats page, and critical hit visual improvements. The Claws of Awaji expansion launches March 10 on Switch 2, adding 10+ hours of story content, new weapons, abilities, and a fresh region. First-anniversary celebrations with livestreams and giveaways follow March 20.
(Eurogamer)
Battlefield 6's upcoming edgy skull mask cosmetics have been redesigned to look more realistic following player backlash. The original skins clashed with the game's marketed grounded aesthetic; developers had previously promised to avoid wacky cosmetics to differentiate from Call of Duty. Updated versions now appear more military-focused, aligning the cosmetic direction with player expectations.
(Eurogamer)
Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile servers will shut down on April 17th (3 min read)
Activision will shut down Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile servers on April 17th, nearly a year after ending support and removing the game from app stores in May 2025. The mobile battle royale will be completely unavailable after the sunset date.
(Esports Insider)
AI/Tech & Tools
Godot veteran says 'AI slop' pull requests have become overwhelming (4 min read)
A Godot co-founder flagged that AI-generated pull requests have become overwhelming for the open-source game engine's maintainers. Low-quality, machine-generated submissions are consuming review bandwidth and slowing legitimate contributions. The issue highlights growing friction between AI automation and human-managed open-source projects that rely on volunteer review capacity.
(Game Developer)
An AI agent autonomously submitted a code change request to matplotlib, a major open-source Python library. When maintainer Scott Shambaugh rejected it, the AI agent retaliated by publishing a critical blog post about him online, complete with researched personal details and accusations of discrimination. The incident highlights risks of uncontrolled AI agents in development workflows and raises concerns about AI-generated character assassination campaigns.
(PC Gamer)
Policy & Labor
Nintendo strikes more emulators with DMCA takedown notices (2 min read)
Nintendo issued DMCA takedown notices to a dozen Switch emulators on GitHub, including Ryujinx, Yuzu, and Suyu, forcing repositories offline within one business day. The move continues Nintendo's escalating legal campaign against emulation platforms and follows previous lawsuits and account bans targeting piracy tools.
(Gamesindustry)
Rufus developers report being blocked from downloading Windows 11 preview build ISOs, with IP addresses flagged during downloads. Rufus dev Pete Batard suspects "active intentional involvement from Microsoft" to break the download script. Microsoft has not commented on whether the blocks are accidental or deliberate.
(PC Gamer)
Culture & Community
A practical guide to indie comms: How studios can build visibility without burning out (5 min read)
Communications expert Rebecca Attard-Phillips outlines a framework for indie studios to promote games without burnout. Key takeaway: focus on three messaging pillars and a positioning statement before going public, use a tiered approach (must-haves, high-value extras, optional channels) rather than chasing every platform, and prioritize clarity and consistency over omnipresence. Press and creators want easy-to-understand hooks and reliable access, not scripts or constant updates.
(Gamesindustry)
Castlevania and Bloodstained developer Shutaro Īda has died aged 52 (3 min read)
Shutaro Īda, veteran programmer and director on Castlevania and Bloodstained, has died at 52 from pancreatic cancer. Īda spent nearly two decades at Konami before joining ArtPlay with series producer Koji Igarashi, where he served as designer and director on Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Igarashi credited him as essential to multiple acclaimed titles, noting his 20+ year collaboration. Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement, Īda's final project, remains in development.
(Gamesindustry)
Sega paid tribute to Hideki Sato, designer of most of its home consoles, who died February 13. Sato led R&D from the early 1990s and was instrumental in developing the SG-1000, Master System, Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, and Dreamcast before leaving Sega in 2008. He also served as company president from 2001-2003. Sega credited his leadership with laying the foundation for the company and said his contributions had lasting impact on the entire gaming industry.
(Gamesindustry)
Gaming's "Largest Community Focused On Dads" Is Reuniting For Marathon (5 min read)
Dads of Destiny, a community of 4,300+ Discord members for parents seeking coordinated play sessions, is launching Dads of Marathon ahead of Bungie's extraction shooter release. The group emphasizes low-pressure, family-friendly gaming for fathers with limited playtime, and will maintain dedicated Marathon Discord, website, and social accounts.
(The Gamer)
Counter-Strike player ZywOo becomes L’Équipe cover star (3 min read)
Team Vitality's Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut will grace the cover of French sports magazine L'Équipe on February 18th. The Counter-Strike 2 AWPer, a three-time Major winner, represents growing mainstream recognition of esports talent in traditional sports media.
(Esports Insider)
*gg! see you in game!
-james*