Top Stories

Most of Highguard Studio Has Been Laid Off Says Former Dev, Wildlight Confirms Cuts (2 min read)

Wildlight Entertainment laid off most of its staff just two weeks after launching free-to-play shooter Highguard. The studio confirmed the cuts while retaining a core team to support the game. Highguard peaked at 97,249 concurrent players on Steam at launch but dropped to 4,524 two weeks later, despite debuting in top 10 weekly active users across platforms. (IGN)

Analysts on Ubisoft cost-cutting and the myth of 'sustainable growth' (9 min read)

Industry analysts are scrutinizing Ubisoft's cost-cutting measures and questioning the viability of "sustainable growth" strategies in gaming. The story examines how major publishers are balancing profitability with development investments, and what those financial pressures mean for studios and developers. (Game Developer)

Arc Raiders Publisher Boasts That the Game Has 'Significantly Exceeded Expectations' and Now Sold 14 Million Copies (2 min read)

Arc Raiders has sold 14 million copies and reached roughly 960,000 concurrent players in January, according to publisher Nexon's latest financial results. The extraction shooter, developed by Embark Studios, has "significantly exceeded expectations" with approximately six million weekly active users. Nexon plans sustained content drops and live events to maintain momentum. (IGN)

Business & Finance

Unity reports Q4 and fiscal year 2025 financial results "comfortably exceed" guidance, led by "exceptional performance from Vector" (3 min read)

Unity reported Q4 revenue of $503 million, up 10% year-over-year, exceeding guidance. Create Solutions grew 8% and Grow Solutions 11%, driven by Vector's mid-teen sequential growth representing 56% of Grow revenue. Former CEO David Helgason and IronSource founder Tomer Bar-Zeev departed the board. Unity forecasts Q1 2026 revenue around $485 million with double-digit Create growth. 📈 (Gamesindustry)

Studios & People

Hinterland confirms layoffs after delaying The Long Dark sequel (4 min read)

Hinterland Studio confirmed layoffs following its announcement that The Long Dark sequel, Blackfrost, is being delayed. The company did not disclose specific headcount numbers or affected departments. (Game Developer)

10 Chambers co-founder Hjalmar Vikström leaves after 10 years (1 min read)

Hjalmar Vikström, co-founder and chief development officer of 10 Chambers, has left the Stockholm studio after nearly 11 years. Vikström cited burnout, noting "these past years have taken their toll," and plans to transition to indie development with a focus on smaller projects and personal health. He expressed pride in GTFO's journey from a nine-person Early Access release to its 1.0 launch. (Gamesindustry)

Games & Releases

Treyarch makes adjustment to sniper rifles for Call of Duty esports (3 min read)

Treyarch is removing aim assist from sniper rifles in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Ranked Play, aligning casual competitive rules with Call of Duty League and Challengers restrictions. (Esports Insider)

Middle Fingers, Sausage Armour, and Housing Inspectors — Masters of Albion is Definitely a Peter Molyneux Game (7 min read)

Peter Molyneux's 22Cans is launching Masters of Albion in early access April 22 as a god game blending Populous, Dungeon Keeper, and Black & White with modern design. The game emphasizes player freedom through a manipulable hand interface, no construction timers, and emergent systems like housing inspectors and moral alignment shifts. Chapter one of a planned trilogy will feature an epic narrative alongside city-building and RPG-style quests. (IGN)

Mewgenics Has Its Own Resetti Who Will Destroy Your Run If You Save Scum (3 min read)

Mewgenics, Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaeil's cat-breeding roguelike, has a hidden character named Steven who punishes save-scumming. Quit a run without saving and Steven warns you; attempt it again and he inflicts "Deja Vu" disorder on your cats. On the fourth attempt, Steven takes over and plays your run—poorly. The character is a callback to McMillen's earlier work and shows how developers can enforce playstyle integrity through creative design. (Kotaku)

"It's not coming this weekend": Marathon isn't getting a surprise preview drop just yet, Bungie confirms, but you will see the Destiny 2 studio's new shooter at State of Play (5 min read)

Bungie's upcoming shooter Marathon will debut new gameplay during PlayStation State of Play on February 12 at 2 pm PT, followed by a developer livestream at 3 pm PT featuring game director Joe Ziegler. The announcement addresses community speculation about a surprise early access drop. (GamesRadar)

Blizzard Launches Warlock DLC for Diablo 2: Resurrected, 25 Years After the Original Game's Release — and It's Also Now on Steam (2 min read)

Blizzard launched the Reign of the Warlock DLC for Diablo 2: Resurrected today for $24.99, adding a new class never in the original game alongside enhanced Terror Zones and quality-of-life updates like loot filters and stash stacking. The remaster is also now available on Steam. Warlock arrives in Diablo 4 on April 28 and Diablo Immortal this summer. (IGN)

AI/Tech & Tools

Resident Evil 4 Remake Slammed On Steam For New DRM That Makes The Game Run Worse (3 min read)

Capcom swapped Resident Evil 4 Remake's DRM from Denuvo to Enigma, causing significant PC performance drops. Testing shows framerates falling from 140+ to low 90s, with CPU strain increasing by 1.9ms and up to 20% performance loss during gameplay. Digital Foundry called the result "not acceptable" and highlighted a broader issue: publishers treating PC versions as "mutable testbeds" without budgeting DRM resource requirements into performance targets from the start. (Kotaku)

All models of Steam Deck are sold out in the US and fingers are inevitably already pointing at the memory crisis (6 min read)

All Steam Deck models sold out in the US while UK inventory remains available. The shortage likely stems from the ongoing memory crisis affecting component sourcing, which has already delayed Valve's Steam Machine launch. Valve hasn't officially commented, leaving speculation about whether supply constraints or panic buying drove the US sellout. (PC Gamer)

Culture & Community

Industry leaders honour Vince Zampella at DICE Summit (2 min read)

Industry leaders including Todd Howard, Geoff Keighley, and Hideo Kojima paid tribute to Vince Zampella at DICE Summit, honoring the Respawn co-founder and Call of Duty co-creator who died in December. Speakers highlighted his mentorship, ability to nurture talent, and commitment to prioritizing players and craft over shortcuts. Kojima noted Zampella's influence on establishing Kojima Productions. (Gamesindustry)

*gg! see you in game!

-james*