Top Stories

Mobile revenue remained flat across 2025, but PC gaming "sees another record year" | Sensor Tower State of Gaming 2026 (3 min read)

Sensor Tower's 2025 report shows mobile revenue grew just 1% to $82 billion while PC and console gaming surged 13%. PC saw record Steam sales and game releases driven by AA/AAA publishers. Battlefield 6 topped PC/console sales; strategy games dominated mobile. Mobile is shifting toward retention and monetization of existing players as downloads shrink. (Gamesindustry)

UK advertising regulator issues Enforcement Notice targeting loot boxes (4 min read)

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority issued an Enforcement Notice targeting loot box mechanics in games, citing concerns about how they're advertised to consumers. The action signals regulatory scrutiny of randomized reward systems and their marketing, requiring developers to review advertising claims and disclosure practices around loot box odds and mechanics. (Game Developer)

New York sues Valve over loot box-driven gambling (3 min read)

New York sued Valve over loot box mechanics in Steam games, alleging they constitute illegal gambling. The lawsuit targets the randomized reward system and its potential appeal to minors, marking an escalation in state-level scrutiny of monetization practices in the gaming industry. (Game Developer)

Studios & People

Skate Developer Full Circle Hit With Layoffs as EA Looks to 'Better Support' the 'Long-Term Future' of the Game (2 min read)

Full Circle, developer of EA's free-to-play Skate reboot, has announced layoffs affecting an undisclosed number of staff as part of a team restructuring. EA said the changes aim to "better support" the game's long-term future. The studio did not disclose how many employees were affected or their roles. This marks the latest in a series of EA layoffs spanning 2024-2025, including cuts at Respawn and the closure of Cliffhanger Games. (IGN)

Riot Games confirms layoffs within publishing division (3 min read)

Riot Games confirmed layoffs within its publishing division, continuing a broader trend of workforce reductions across the gaming industry. The company did not disclose specific headcount figures or affected teams in its announcement. (Game Developer)

Games & Releases

'Really Glad to Have Some Space': Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Developer Breathed Sigh of Relief After GTA 6 Delay | IGN Fan Fest 2026 (2 min read)

GTA 6's delay to November 19 gave LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight breathing room for its May 29 launch. TT Games Head of Production Jonathan Smith told IGN the studio is "really glad to have some space" after originally facing a May 26 conflict with Rockstar's game. The open-world Batman title launches on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, with a Switch 2 version following later. (IGN)

Modders file a Square Enix job application after it ballses up yet another FF7 release: 'Let us help you' (6 min read)

Square Enix released a new version of Final Fantasy 7 on Steam with 3x speed mode, disabled random encounters, autosave, and battle enhancements. The update landed to "Mostly Negative" reviews due to framerate bugs, worse texture filtering, and general quality concerns. Modders from Tsunamods noted the 2013 modded version offered better features and visuals, satirically offering their services to Square Enix. (PC Gamer)

Project Windless creative director says the developers chose a 9-foot warlike rooster goliath as their protagonist because literally 'every candidate' interviewed to work on the game wanted to play as one: 'All of them—and we were like, OK' (8 min read)

Project Windless, Krafton Montreal's open-world action RPG based on Korean fantasy series The Bird That Drinks Tears, features a 9-foot sword-wielding rooster warrior as protagonist. Creative director Patrik Méthé revealed the studio chose the unconventional hero because every developer candidate interviewed for the project wanted to play as one. The choice has resonated with players since the game's reveal. (PC Gamer)

AI/Tech & Tools

Genshin Impact's Privacy Policy indicated players' voice comms data may be used to train AI models (5 min read)

Genshin Impact's privacy policy previously disclosed that players' voice communication data could be used to train AI models. HoYoverse quietly removed this clause from the policy after it was spotted by users. The policy allowed opt-out through service settings. HoYoverse has been transparent about using generative AI in upcoming projects, including an Unreal Engine 5 MMO with AI-driven systems. (Eurogamer)

Modder takes Valve's AI measures one step further with a browser extension that adds an unavoidable gen AI warning to Steam games to cut out the slop (4 min read)

A modder created a browser extension for Firefox and Chrome that surfaces Steam's AI-generated content disclosure as an unavoidable pop-up before the game page loads, rather than buried at the bottom. Valve requires developers to disclose AI use, but the extension makes compliance more visible to players. Note: the extension only detects existing disclosures—games without proper AI statements will still slip through. (GamesRadar)

Policy & Labor

How recent laws impact game design, from in-game chat to notifications (11 min read)

Game developers must navigate an expanding regulatory landscape in 2026, including the DMCCA, EU Digital Services Act, and upcoming Digital Fairness Act. Key compliance areas include eliminating dark patterns (misleading prompts, false urgency, FOMO tactics), disclosing loot boxes clearly in store listings with accurate odds, and ensuring transparent virtual currency pricing. Activision Blizzard faced Italian regulatory action for aggressive UI design targeting children; developers should avoid emotive prompts, pre-set exploitative defaults, and the "money in + chance + money out" loot box formula. Belgium and the Netherlands are banning or restricting loot boxes entirely. (Gamesindustry)

Culture & Community

Hades devs: accidentally inventing a subgenre was 'surreal' (5 min read)

Supergiant Games developers discuss how creating Hades unexpectedly established a new subgenre of roguelike action games. The team reflects on the surreal experience of watching their design choices influence an entire category of games that followed, reshaping player expectations around progression and replayability in the genre. (Game Developer)

As Arc Raiders streamers lose patience with the shooter over cheaters, former PUBG community lead says you "can't do much" except manually join games and kick them yourself (5 min read)

Streamers Shroud and Ninja have publicly complained about rampant cheaters in Arc Raiders. Ex-PUBG community manager Hawkinz shared that manual intervention—joining games to ban cheaters—was the only effective approach, though it required unofficial off-hours work. He notes companies lack incentive for streamer-specific moderation, as it consumes resources and risks favoritism accusations. (GamesRadar)

Resident Evil Requiem's Umbrella Corp Escalates Fake Lawsuit Against the Real-Life Nissin Noodles — Complete With Over-the-Top Ad Campaign (3 min read)

Capcom's Resident Evil team staged an elaborate fake lawsuit campaign promoting Resident Evil Requiem, with the fictional Umbrella Corp. suing real-life Nissin Noodles over their Cup Noodles product. The joke escalated across multiple posts featuring mock courtroom complaints and a bizarre infomercial from Japanese retail company Yume Group. Nissin played along with witty responses, sparking significant engagement among Japanese-speaking fans ahead of the game's launch. (IGN)

gg! see you in game!

-james