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Logo and screenshot via Game Developer
This is going to be brisk. I’m off to Valencia tomorrow and have to trawl through reams of financial reports before then (lucky me), so I only really have time to question why everyone seemed to lose their mind this week when Xbox revealed it will be introducing a new Xbox boot up screen next Wednesday.
There’s no doubt that Asha Sharma has ushered in some positive changes at the division since taking over from Phil Spencer. Lowering the cost of certain Xbox Game Pass tiers and ditching plans to integrate Copilot into the platform are obvious wins, although it has to be said she is only really backtracking on the questionable decisions made by her predecessors.
It’s giving big “we’re all trying to find the guy who did this” energy.
I’m not trying to call out anybody in particular here, but I think it’s important to remember that every crumb of information is not news. If it looks like marketing, smells like marketing, and is being championed by an official Xbox social media account that primarily deals in marketing? Well… you get the picture.
Related:Pokemon Go owner Scopely ‘reorganizes’ Stumble Guys team
I wouldn’t mind so much (okay, that’s a lie), but it wasn’t even a quiet news week. As you can see by the cascade of headlines below, there were plenty of substantial stories worthy of our collective time. We can probably do a bit better, eh?
GameStop tables $55.5 billion takeover bid for eBay
via Game Developer // U.S. video game retailer wants to buy eBay for a whopping $55.5 billion. The company said the offer includes $20 billion in debt financing, but GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen crashed and burned when pressed by CNBC for more information as to how the company will actually finance the deal. Positive signs.
GameStop CEO Accused Of Auctioning Off History From The Game Informer Vault As Part Of His eBay Acquisition Stunt
via Kotaku // If you weren’t already confident that the eBay deal is Properly Serious, Cohen seemingly started flogging cherished memorabilia from the fabled Game Informer Vault in an apparent effort to finance the move. The GameStop CEO then claimed his eBay account had been suspended by the powers that be.
EVE Online studio CCP Games turns independent and rebrands as Fenris Creations
via Game Developer // Icelandic studio CCP Games—best known for developing sprawling sci-fi MMO EVE Online—has rebranded as Fenris Creations and taken a minority investment from Google Deepmind, the AI division that’s currently tinkering with a bunch of generative AI gubbins. The move comes shortly after CCP—erm, I mean Fenris—regained its independence from former owner Pearl Abyss.
Related:Former Epic Games VP appointed Saber Interactive’s chief business officer
CWA Canada president says Saudi buyout of EA should trigger ‘virtually every alarm bell’
via Game Developer // Does anyone other than EA boss Andrew Wilson have even a shred of optimism about the publisher’s proposed takeover at the hands of Saudi Arabia and Donald Trump’s son-in-law? CWA Canada president Carmel Smyth is the latest high-profile figure to question the move and has called on the Canadian government to place the deal under the microscope in the interest of national security.
2K lays off staff working on free-to-play shooter Project Ethos, while hinting at “new direction and focus”
via GamesIndustry.biz // Take-Two owned publisher 2K has laid off a number of workers at internal studio 31st Union, which is currently working on free-to-play shooter Project Ethos. In an internal memo seen by GI.biz, studio head Ben Brinkman said the job cuts were made to enable the studio to work more “quickly and nimbly.” Don’t you just love it when companies treat employees like ballast?
Xbox appoints new internal leaders and ditches Copilot AI
via Game Developer // Xbox has named a raft of new internal leaders in an effort to transform its fortunes. New Xbox boss Asha Sharma also confirmed the company is ditching plans to integrate Microsoft’s Copilot AI into its platform ecosystem. The news comes with Xbox hardware revenue in consistent decline.
Related:Dead Space co-creator Glen Schofield retires
New Remedy CEO wants to preserve small budgets and break into Asia
via Game Developer // Newly-appointed Remedy CEO Jean-Charles Gaudechon oversaw his first earnings call this week and said the Alan Wake and Control maker can thrive by prioritizing smaller budgets (in comparison to the studio’s triple-A rivals) and breaking into new markets such as Asia. He said the Finnish studio’s refusal to move “too fast too quickly” has paid off following a turbulent year that saw FBC: Firebreak fall short of expectations.
Wizards of the Coast declines to voluntarily recognize game worker union
via Game Developer // Unionizing Magic: The Gathering Arena developers at Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro hoped their employer would choose to voluntarily recognize the union by May 1, 2026. Yet, that deadline soon came and went without a direct response from the company, but staff organizing under the United Wizards of the Coast-CWA banner remain undeterred. “We still maintain that the success of our union is inevitable,” they said in a statement.
Nintendo is raising Switch 2 prices around the world
via Game Developer // It felt like it was only a matter of time until Nintendo followed in the footsteps of Microsoft and Sony and raised the price of console hardware. That proved to be the case, with the Japanese company this week confirming the Switch 2 will be receiving a price hike later this year in key regions such as Japan, Canada, the United States, and Europe.
About the Author
Senior Editor, News, GameDeveloper.com
Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton.
