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On July 9, a business conference for developers and publishers titled "Gaming Industry" took place in Moscow. Below are the main outcomes of the event

On July 14, studio FLEXUS officially announced its new game—a cooperative airplane crew simulator called Dear Passengers. The project instantly rode a wave of popularity

The mobile game Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem is set to be discontinued on October 15, 2026

Joseph Burba, the head of ZeniMax Online Studios, was among those affected by last week's layoffs at Xbox, which impacted leadership at the studio.

The Russian app store RuStore will no longer be owned by VK. Its management has decided to buy it out.

This conclusion was reached by the analytics company Sensor Tower. They calculated the revenue of companies from in-app purchases (IAP) in their games from Google Play and the App Store.

Mergers and acquisitions continue in the iGaming market. Merkur Group announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire the American online gambling provider White Hat Studios.

As part of the restructuring at XBOX, the team at ZeniMax Online Studios has lost about half of its employees. It has been reported that the affected individuals include some executives.

Google Corporation has agreed to allow third-party app stores on Google Play. Initially, a court attempted to force them to do this, but Google actively resisted. However, after negotiations with Epic Games, they decided to make concessions.

In the case of the crisis at GFA Games studio, there's a new twist. This time it's a positive one: the Moscow Arbitration Court has rejected the bankruptcy claim against its Russian legal entity, LLC "GFA Games"

After a career spanning 35 years in the industry, Glen Schofield has declared his retirement.

The launch of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced turned out to be one of the most successful in the recent history of the series. The latest article is filled with numerous figures and charts on the game's results, a contextual comparison with the franchise's historical sales, as well as reflections on Ubisoft's detrimental penchant for vague wording and distorted metrics

Google Corporation has agreed to allow app stores from other companies on Google Play. Initially, a court tried to compel them to do this, but Google actively resisted. However, after negotiations with Epic Games, they decided to make concessions.

11 Bit Studios, the developer of The Alters, has revealed job cuts impacting 20 positions.

The gaming industry is currently going through tough times: many studios are conducting layoffs, and some are even shutting down. Amidst this, quality control manager at Arrowhead, Dave Gallacher, sharply criticized the leadership of certain companies.

As a result, the game climbed to the 30th spot on the list of the most anticipated games on Steam, situated between Hell Let Loose: Vietnam and Tides of Annihilation

Neural networks have become a standard tool for Japanese studios involved in developing online games. One way or another, all the teams surveyed by the Japanese Online Game Association (JOGA) utilize them.

The CIRSA group of companies acquired a controlling stake in the Paraguayan operator Slots del Sol. This allowed it to enter the Paraguayan gambling market, securing a presence in both the land-based casino segment and the iGaming segment

While many XBOX subsidiary studios are actively laying off employees, King continues to operate with the same team. This was reported by the MobileGamer portal, citing sources.

The creator of Dead Space will no longer be making games. He announced his retirement in a video on LinkedIn.

The studio 1047 Games is once again hit by a wave of layoffs — just a few weeks after the team shooter Empulse launched in early access. The exact number of employees affected by the layoffs is still unclear.

According to a recent report by investment bank Aream & Co., the second quarter of 2026 saw mergers and acquisitions within the gaming industry totaling $2.3 billion, across 54 deals. This represents the highest activity level in the sector since 2022.

Compulsion Games, the studio behind "South of Midnight," has declared its willingness to collaborate with and provide support to other studios after becoming independent from Xbox.

The gaming platform Roblox continues to be at the center of legal disputes

Despite the last few years being marked by mass layoffs in the gaming industry, the Japanese holding company Koei Tecmo is actively growing and does not intend to slow down.

Steve Allison, who previously served as a vice president at Epic Games, has taken on the role of chief business officer at Saber Interactive

The gaming industry is expected to face a significant decline in console shipments this year, analysts at S&P Global predict.

Ubisoft aims to decrease its dependence on single game releases by shifting to a "more selective model" that emphasizes its back-catalog and live service games for income.

MY.GAMES celebrated a significant milestone as the zombie shooter Left to Survive turned eight years old. In honor of its anniversary, the company shared some key metrics about the game

1047 Games studio has been hit by another wave of layoffs — just a few weeks after the release of the team-based shooter Empulse in early access. The exact number of employees affected by the cuts is still unknown

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) released a report for the previous year. According to the document, the collective gross revenue of the organization's members from iGaming increased by 34% year-over-year to 18 billion euros, despite heightened tax burdens and regulatory restrictions in several markets

Publisher PlaySide is very pleased with the results of its released black-and-white cartoon shooter, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire. The company has released a new report detailing the project's successes

The UK Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) has criticized Sony's decision to stop producing discs for PlayStation consoles starting in 2028. They are convinced that this move will deal a significant blow to the multi-million dollar market.

Ubisoft published a report on the company’s performance for the past fiscal year, covering the period from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026. As noted by Game File journalist Stephen Totilo, a line about the “fun” side of microtransactions was removed from the document.

In July 2026, two typhoons hit the coast of China in quick succession: first "Maysak" and then "Bavi." Torrential rains caused severe flooding, affecting over 300,000 people. The situation remains dire, so local gaming companies decided to help combat the natural disaster

This week, GamesIndustry.biz is focusing on external development, highlighting the dedicated studios that play a significant role in creating some of the world's largest games, though they seldom receive recognition for their contributions.

KRAFTON, the parent company of the game's developers from ReLU Games, announced reaching the milestone

According to estimates by data company Aliena Analytics, Steam's revenue reached $11.1 billion in the first half of the year, representing a 14.5% increase compared to the same period last year. This figure marks the platform’s highest recorded revenue for a half-year period.

Sony's decision to stop producing PlayStation discs starting January 2028 has caught the attention of Mexican politicians. They intend to request that Mexico's antitrust regulator conduct an investigation into the company's gaming division

In response to feedback from players and content creators, Electronic Arts has eliminated microtransactions from EA Sports College Football 27.

Every year, mobile games generate more and more revenue in India. According to MIXI Global Investments, citing data from Sensor Tower and AppsFlyer, by 2029 their revenue in the country could reach $2.4 billion

The prediction platform Polymarket is no longer available in Italy. The decision to block it was made by the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM)

Ubisoft released its report on the company's performance for the last fiscal year, which spans from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026. As noted by Game File journalist Stephen Totilo, the document no longer includes a line about the "fun" side of microtransactions

The European Commission will not oppose PlayStation's move away from discs, layoffs have hit id Software Frankfurt, and sales of the Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake have exceeded 2 million copies — here are the main events in the gaming industry from this past weekend

A post on social media from id Software's account has confirmed that the studio retains "the crew we need to build the games and tech we're known for" despite significant staff reductions in the Xbox portfolio, which had sparked concerns that the company might stop maintaining the idtech engine used for Doom, Wolfenstein, and the recent Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Employees who are part of a union at Bethesda Game Studios plan to initiate a strike next week as a reaction to widespread layoffs at Xbox

Analysts at Aream & Co. prepared a report on gaming deals in the second quarter of 2026. According to their observations, the investment market significantly revived during this period.

Amid the layoffs happening at XBOX, the id Software studio has lost many developers of the id Tech engine. In light of this, rumors have spread that there is virtually no one left to support the tool, but Microsoft has dispelled them

Despite the absence of traditional AAA blockbusters, June was rich with successful titles across various genres and formats. There were also some surprises. More details on sales, revenue, and other metrics of the main releases from the past month can be found in our regular column

The South Korean company Kakao Games has decided to increase its shareholder value. To achieve this, it plans to take radical measures by canceling some of the shares it previously repurchased from shareholders.