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.

In the first half of 2026, Steam generated $11.1 billion, according to data from the analytics company Alinea Analytics. Its semi-annual revenue has never been this high before

Red Rover Interactive is set to cut 22 positions and has postponed the launch of its inaugural game, Enginefall, until 2027.

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

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has been appointed by the United States Federal Reserve to co-lead its Productivity and Jobs task force.

In the wake of the launch of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, Ubisoft Barcelona has commenced layoffs, impacting 51 workers.

Playtech's stock price surged by 18% on the exchange in one day. This was investors' reaction to the publication of preliminary results for January to June 2026, as the company showed results that exceeded analysts' expectations

Employees of the Barcelona division of Ubisoft could not avoid mass layoffs, reports Insider Gaming.

On the evening of July 9, Ubisoft released the remake of Assassin's Creed Black Flag. The game received mixed reviews on Steam

Information continues to emerge about the situation at id Software in light of the XBOX restructuring. Among other things, it has become known that the layoffs at the studio were far more extensive than initially anticipated.

GameDiscoverCo analysts tried to find out what Steam users think about games created using artificial intelligence. To do this, they surveyed 3,800 people

The gaming industry in New Zealand is experiencing growth, with total studio revenues increasing by 17% to reach $829 million in the 2025/26 period, aided by the Game Development Sector Rebate (GDSR)

On July 8th, Unknown Worlds studio released a major update for Subnautica 2, which added numerous improvements to the game. To mark this occasion, the developers also shared new official sales figures for the title

While the head of Sony is selling his shares, the head of tinyBuild is buying more. Alex Nichiporchik, the CEO of tinyBuild, announced the purchase of an additional 430,000 shares of tinyBuild for 46,950 pounds sterling ($62,800)

Hiroki Totoki, the President and CEO of Sony, suddenly decided to dispose of a significant portion of his shares in the corporation. He sold 225,000 securities, which is 56% of his holdings

Supercell has revealed an initiative to provide Africa-based studios with equity-free grants ranging from $20,000 to $200,000.

Only recently, Owlcat Games reported 2 million sales of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, and now good news has arrived about another of their games. The studio announced that the upcoming Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy has already been added to almost a million wishlists

The conflict between former Marathon game director Christopher Barrett and the companies Sony and Bungie has been successfully resolved.

Chris Barrett, the former director of Marathon, has reached a settlement in a legal case involving Bungie and Sony concerning allegations of misconduct

The slot-specializing studio RubyPlay has agreed to acquire 100% of the shares of the B2B platform Splash Tech. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval, and its financial terms have not been disclosed

According to reports, Obsidian has begun work on a new Fallout game following the cancellation of multiple undisclosed projects.

Information continues to surface about the situation at id Software in light of the XBOX restructuring. Among other things, it has become known that the layoffs at the studio were far more extensive than initially anticipated

Considering the Game Pass subscribers, the overall audience for the game should be even larger

Nintendo has announced that in Europe, sales of its original Switch console, along with its Lite and OLED editions, will cease next year.

Employees of Build a Rocket Boy (BARB) are planning a demonstration outside the company's Edinburgh headquarters this weekend. The protest is in reaction to a fan event that was advertised as "all-expenses-paid."

In recent weeks, developers have actively shared the source codes of their projects. Now, Smartly Dressed Games has joined the list by publishing the code of the zombie sandbox game Unturned on GitHub.

Apple lost its case against the European Commission. During the proceedings, the corporation, among other things, attempted to argue that it should not be wholly classified as a "gatekeeper" — owners of digital platforms who control the dynamics within their segment

Nintendo has revealed plans to shut down Mario Kart Tour on both iOS and Android platforms by September 2026.

Investment in the gaming market continues. Bold Games, a Turkish studio specializing in mobile game development, announced that they have secured funding.

Analysts from Alinea Analytics believe that the upcoming Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced has every chance of becoming a highly anticipated hit for Ubisoft. In their assessment, the game has already performed excellently even before its release.

This week, several hundred members of the Communication Workers of America experienced job cuts at Xbox as part of a large-scale layoff initiative.

In 2024, Saber Interactive released Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, a hit action game whose audience exceeded 12 million people this April. As the studio's creative director Tim Willits admitted, the game's release significantly improved the team's position in the industry

Next month, Nexon will assume the publishing responsibilities for Overwatch on PC in South Korea, a role previously held by Blizzard.

In recent weeks, developers have increasingly begun sharing the source code of their projects. Now, the studio Smartly Dressed Games has joined the list by releasing the code for the "zombie sandbox" game Unturned on GitHub.

Andreas Deptolla, previously the Chief Technology Officer at Atari, has been named the president of Atari Europe.

Flutter Entertainment announced upcoming layoffs in the PokerStars online poker platform team. These will take place as part of a restructuring.