Stores and publishing

Hideaki Nishino, the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, expressed his intention to "revitalize" live-service projects by integrating both first-party and third-party content.

The corporation did not specify how many times console owners pre-ordered the game

A year and a half ago, the Russian-speaking team Studio Rassvet announced their debut game, "No Small Change," about a night kiosk vendor who engages in philosophical conversations with customers on New Year's Eve. Since then, the project has managed to make its way into several hundred wishlists on Steam

According to Circana, sales of the PlayStation 5 in the United States declined by 58% in May compared to the same month last year, marking the smallest number of units sold in May since 2000. Conversely, Xbox sales experienced a 12% year-on-year decrease, resulting in the lowest May sales figures ever recorded for the console.

A group of 48 Chinese developers was dissatisfied with the commission in the App Store. They filed a complaint against Apple with the State Administration for Market Regulation of China

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney gave an extensive interview to PC Gamer. During the conversation, he shared his opinion on Steam's requirement to label games created using artificial intelligence, among other topics.

Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, criticized Valve's decision to implement disclosure labels for projects utilizing AI on Steam, describing it as "really irresponsible".

Microsoft revealed that starting August 2, there will be a worldwide price hike for the Xbox, citing rising expenses related to console storage and memory. The price for the 512 GB models will rise by $100, while the 1TB models will see a $150 increase. Meanwhile, the 2TB version will be discontinued. Pricing details for international markets have not yet been confirmed by the company.

Google Corporation has confirmed that it still plans to reduce the commission rate in its app store. It first announced its intentions back in March ahead of the conclusion of its long-standing legal battles with Epic Games.

The organizers of the Game Republic New Horizons conference have revealed the initial lineup of speakers set to appear in its Investor Zone.

This was announced by the Brazilian publisher and developer Afil Games.

Recently, the media reported that in July, Microsoft's gaming division is planning to implement mass layoffs. Ahead of this, several former XBOX employees told the Game Developer portal that it is highly likely senior management will use the layoffs as a means of "revenge" against the workers

Google Corporation confirmed that it still plans to reduce the commission size in its app store. It first announced its intentions back in March in anticipation of concluding years-long legal disputes with Epic Games

Sony appears to be implementing "stricter guidelines" as it severs relationships with publishers accused of distributing "shovelware," including the Brazil-based Afil Games

Jagex, the developer behind RuneScape, has revealed it has entered into two publishing partnerships to introduce RuneScape: Dragonwilds to audiences in Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia

Traditionally, following the Steam Festival of Demos, we prepare a detailed report on the results of the major projects and overall trends. We will also share some less obvious conclusions, as well as discuss anomalous cases and unsuccessful manipulations

Valve, the prominent gaming company, has acknowledged that the price of its Steam Machine hardware exceeds their preferred cost threshold.

Steam users have shown great interest in the new installment of the legendary strategy franchise Stronghold. They added Stronghold 4 to their wishlist a quarter of a million times just two weeks after the game's announcement.

Last week, Epic Games released an updated version of the Unreal Engine, labeled 5.8, which did not go unnoticed by Microsoft. In turn, the corporation released a special set of GDK plugins designed to simplify game development for the XBOX ecosystem on PC

Beyond All Reason (BAR), a large-scale real-time strategy game managed by volunteers, has entered into a publishing agreement with Hooded Horse

Steam has revealed the pricing details and highly restricted availability for the Steam Machine, designed as a counterpart to the popular Steam Deck for desktop and living room use. The device will come in two storage options: a 512GB model priced at $1,049 USD / £879 GBP and a 2TB version costing $1,349 USD / £1,149 GBP. Availability will be decided through a lottery system that begins accepting entries today

According to reports, PlayStation has altered its approach to releasing first-party titles on PC. This decision is influenced in part by the limited revenue generated from these games.

Starting in 2025, a law in California mandates that digital stores must inform customers that they are selling licenses to access games, rather than the games themselves. Four American gamers believe that the PlayStation Store is violating this law.

In the eyes of consumers, the Summer Game Fest has become something of a replacement for the game announcements once made at the now-defunct E3. To clearly demonstrate the marketing impact of this series of events, we have prepared a detailed report—with charts, tables, and a wealth of data on dozens of games of varying scales and for different platforms

The achievement was announced by the creator of Meccha Chameleon, a Japanese solo developer known by the nickname lemorion_1224

VK announced the expansion of features for the Russian mobile application store RuStore.

Microsoft’s gaming division may undergo significant “downsizing.” As reported by Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, XBOX is preparing to part ways with at least three teams.

Microsoft's gaming division might undergo significant downsizing. According to Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, Xbox is preparing to part ways with at least three teams

According to The Verge, the staff at Senua developer Ninja Theory were reportedly informed during a call on Monday, June 15, that the studio faced the possibility of shutting down. Employees were told that the company was actively seeking a buyer.

Craig Duncan, who was at the helm of Xbox Games Studios for a year and a half, has exited his position, as reported by The Game Business. Additionally, his chief of staff, Louise O'Connor, is leaving as well, having served for less than a year

Microsoft is reportedly contemplating the possibility of separating its Xbox division into an independent entity or restructuring the gaming segment as a fully owned subsidiary.

Matthew Ball, recently appointed as Xbox's chief strategy officer, has stated that the recent increase in hardware prices presents an opportunity for game streaming.

XBOX head Asha Sharma and content director Matt Booty have published a letter to the staff. They did not comment on the rumors about upcoming layoffs in the division but acknowledged that XBOX is indeed going through tough times

Ubisoft is not the only company planning significant staff reductions. According to Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, Microsoft's gaming division will also part ways with some employees.

According to reports, Xbox is contemplating significant job cuts, informing employees that it is necessary to "reassess [...] our investment priorities for the next five years." The company has also cautioned that "we've become too reliant on vendors to operate our systems and must become more self-reliant as an engineering culture to build for the future."

According to sources cited by GamesIndustry.biz, Ubisoft has implemented additional job cuts as part of its ongoing restructuring efforts. The company is shutting down its studios in Winnipeg and Belgrade and is considering further modifications in Barcelona and within its global publishing division. It is reported that 380 positions could be affected.

A few days after its release, we can confidently state that the remake of the first "Gothic" has come to fruition, including from a commercial standpoint. Today, we'll examine the project's journey to release, its initial metrics, and also delve into the historical sales data of the franchise

According to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, the gaming industry ought to concentrate on lowering the costs of hardware production instead of exclusively targeting the creation of "most premium, high-performance consoles".

On June 9th, Destiny 2 received its final content update called Monument of Triumph. It attracted many gamers, eager to both say goodbye to the game and prove to Bungie that the series should not come to an end.

At the beginning of the year, the Russian team Cats Who Play released their new game, a real-time military strategy called "Gostomel Bogatyrs." Initially, the new release came out on VK Play (February 24), and later landed on Steam (March 31). It's now known how the game performed on both platforms.

Matthew Ball, the Chief Strategy Officer for Xbox, has provided further details regarding the company's renewed focus on platform exclusives. This follows the recent announcement that Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution will not be released on platforms other than Xbox.

Another piece of news about wishlists was shared by the Russian-speaking Team VAC and publisher Spaghetti Cat

At the start of its summer showcase, Xbox announced that Gears of War E-day will not be available on PlayStation 5. Additionally, inXile's Clockwork Revolution will also not be released on the Sony console.

Microsoft Corporation has taken a step towards developers who create games using the Godot engine. The company announced the release of a special demo project designed to simplify the process of launching their games on Xbox on PC

After two months of beta testing, the Steam team has officially redesigned the store's homepage. They made a number of targeted improvements.

The scandal surrounding Valve's alleged monopoly in the PC store market has unexpectedly extended to Microsoft. Two gamers from the United States have sued the corporation, claiming it helps maintain high prices on Steam.

In 2023, Valve’s head Gabe Newell provided testimony in a legal case against Wolfire Games, which accused the company of monopolizing the PC store market. A transcript of his speech was recently obtained by Bloomberg.

The consulting company Nordicity, commissioned by King — the creators of the hit puzzle game Candy Crush — conducted a study. It examined the situation in the European mobile gaming industry based on the results of 2025. We have compiled the key figures from the report

Sales of PlayStation's first-party games rose from 28.9 million to 32.1 million copies in fiscal year 2025, indicating a gradual enhancement over the last five years.

The head of Polden Publishing, Kirill Oreshkin, analyzed where indie games on Steam get their wishlists. He shared his observations on LinkedIn