Weekend Highlights (July 26-27)

PwC has forecasted that the gaming market will grow to $300 billion by 2029, 9 million people have played the Oblivion remaster, Quarantine Zone: The Last Check has reached a million wishlists on Steam and found a publisher—here are the main events in the gaming industry from this past weekend.

• The Czech city of Kutná Hora and other locations featured in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II are experiencing a tourist boom. According to calculations by O2, from April to June 2025, an additional 64,000 tourists visited these areas compared to the same period the previous year, marking a 15.8% increase in footfall. Interest in these locations has particularly surged among young people. For instance, the number of tourists under 25 in Kutná Hora has increased by 250%, at Trosky Castle by 290%, and in Suchdol by 310%.
• In 2024, global video game market revenues reached $223.8 billion, according to a report by the auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). This amount surpasses the combined revenue of the film and music markets. Analysts predict that over the next few years, the gaming market's average annual growth rate will be approximately 5.7%. Consequently, by 2029, revenues are expected to hit $300 billion.
• Bethesda Game Studios announced that the overall audience for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered has exceeded 9 million people. This figure includes both game purchasers and Game Pass subscribers. The milestone was achieved in a little over three months since the remaster's release on April 22, 2025.
• The studio Brigada Games partnered with Devolver Digital, which agreed to publish the zombie checkpoint simulator Quarantine Zone: The Last Check. The developers mentioned that the deal has provided them with more resources and opportunities to refine the game, although its release has been postponed from September to November 2025. Moreover, collaborating with Devolver Digital will help increase the game's already sizable audience. By the end of July, Quarantine Zone: The Last Check had been added to wishlists by over a million people, and the number of users who downloaded the demo exceeded 1.8 million.
• The creators of The King is Watching also shared their success. Studio Hypnohead and publisher tinyBuild reported that the strategy game sold over 100,000 copies in five days. Additionally, on Sunday, July 27, the game's online presence on Steam reached a record high of 17,988 players.