Top Stories

Following CEO's AI Doubts, Take-Two's AI Team Is Shrinking (2 min read)

Take-Two has laid off its head of AI, Luke Dicken, along with an undisclosed number of teammates — despite CEO Strauss Zelnick publicly stating the company is "actively embracing" generative AI across hundreds of internal pilots. (Push Square)

References to PC development track records have largely disappeared from the profile descriptions of overseas PlayStation Studios. (17 min read)

PlayStation Studios quietly updated its official studio bios to remove PC development credits and emphasize PlayStation-exclusive output. The change aligns with recent reports that Sony plans to stop releasing single-player PS5 titles on PC. 🚨 (GameSpark)

Studios & People

MechWarrior dev Piranha Games lays off 30% of staff, says CEO (4 min read)

Piranha Games, the studio behind MechWarrior, has cut 30% of its workforce according to the company's CEO. No specific headcount or reason for the reduction was provided in the announcement. (Game Developer)

Jason Blundell announces his new-new studio, Magic Fractal (1 min read)

Former Call of Duty: Black Ops creative lead Jason Blundell has formed Magic Fractal Studios, his third studio since leaving Activision Blizzard in 2020. Dark Outlaw Games, his previous Sony-backed studio, was shut down just weeks ago before releasing any games. (Engadget)

Games & Releases

Star Wars Zero Company studio founder praises Lucasfilm and Respawn for taking a chance on a tactics game (6 min read)

Bit Reactor founder Greg Foertsch credited Lucasfilm and Respawn for greenlighting a tactics game under the Star Wars IP with a brand-new studio. The comments highlight how rare it is for major licensors to back niche genres from unproven teams. (PC Gamer)

GTA Streamer Turned Dev Launches Cash Heist City in Fortnite (4 min read)

JOGO Studios, founded by streamers Typical Gamer and MustardPlays, launched Cash Heist City — a GTA-inspired open-world map built entirely in Unreal Editor for Fortnite. The studio's previous UEFN experiences have collectively surpassed 400 million plays. (IGN)

'There are times when you want to put GTA down and pick up something else,' Samson studio founder says: 'I think there's a space for us there' (6 min read)

Liquid Swords founder Christofer Sundberg is pitching Samson, his open-world crime brawler, as a complement to GTA rather than a competitor — a smaller-scale alternative for when players want a break from Rockstar's behemoth. (PC Gamer)

AI/Tech & Tools

Is GTA 6‘s Long Development The Result Of A Complete Engine Rebuild? It’s Probably More Complicated Than That (7 min read)

A former Rockstar audio engineer speculates GTA 6's long development stems from a full RAGE engine rebuild. A source close to Rockstar clarified it's more likely an iterative evolution building on both GTA V and Red Dead Redemption II tech. (Kotaku)

Policy & Labor

Veteran Halo developer of 17 years accuses the studio of blacklisting, fraud, and "multiple harassment campaigns" (5 min read)

Halo Infinite art director Glenn Israel, a 17-year franchise veteran, is publicly accusing Halo Studios leadership of blacklisting, fraud, and harassment campaigns. He also claims a Microsoft HR rep threatened retaliation after he filed formal complaints in June 2025. (GamesRadar)

Cult-Hit Successor Jeopardized After Crowdfunding Company Sends The Money To The Wrong Person (3 min read)

Japanese crowdfunding platform Ubgoe failed to deliver roughly half of the 54 million yen raised for Shibuya Scramble Stories, claiming it sent funds to the wrong account. Producer Jiro Ishii is now pursuing legal action against the platform. (Kotaku)

Culture & Community

Warframe community director says 'nothing in our games will be AI-generated, ever' (6 min read)

Digital Extremes community director Megan Everett confirmed the studio has a blanket no-AI policy for both Warframe and Soulframe. The statement adds Digital Extremes to a growing list of studios publicly rejecting generative AI in game content. (PC Gamer)

gg! see you in game!

-james