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Oct 8Thu
  1. Rock Paper Shotgun36

    AMD confirms FSR 4 is coming to handheld PCs this year, Steam Deck support could take until 2027

    AMD has confirmed plans to bring FSR 4 upscaling to the Radeon APUs used in handheld PCs, via both new APUs with native FSR 4 support and a lightweight version for older integrated graphics, both targeted for the end of 2026. RDNA 3-based handheld chips were already intended to get FSR 4 this year, but AMD has previously said RDNA 2-based Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED support will take until 2027. FSR 4 offers sharper visuals than FSR 3.1 at the cost of a smaller performance boost.

  2. GamesIndustry.biz30

    Hell Let Loose developer Expression opens new studio in Manchester "in response to what's happening in the talent market"

    Expression Games, the developer behind the Hell Let Loose franchise and co-developer on Star Wars Galactic Racer, has opened a physical studio in Manchester in response to the needs of its staff and co-development clients. The studio will not mandate office attendance or set working hours, and will continue to support remote working. CEO Errol Ismail said Hell Let Loose: Vietnam has sold a million units since its August release.

  3. Esports Insider62

    Brazil's Betting Ban Hits Counter-Strike Sponsorships and Leaves a Funding Gap

    Brazil's licensed betting sites went dark on Oct. 6 after President Lula signed Provisional Measure 1,394 on Sept. 25, whose Article 16 bans betting-related advertising and sponsorship aimed at the Brazilian public and required sponsor branding removed within 10 days. Vivo Keyd Stars paused its Counter-Strike 2 project indefinitely on Sept. 30 and released its players, LOUD dismissed a CS2 roster, and MIBR, Fluxo W7M and FURIA removed betting sponsors from some or all communications while Legacy and Imperial still displayed Rainbet and Gamdom. BetBoom had held Brazilian broadcast rights or sponsorship across much of top-tier Counter-Strike, including BLAST Latin American Portuguese- and Spanish-language broadcasts, PGL Brazilian rights and ESL FACEIT Group Brazil broadcasts through 2026, and the status of those deals remains unclear. The measure lapses unless Congress approves it, with a deadline in January or February 2027, an amendment deadline extended to Oct. 13 and an Oct. 25 presidential runoff shaping what comes next.

  5. VGC62

    Richard Garriott is officially regaining control of the Ultima series

    Game designer Richard Garriott has confirmed he will regain the rights to the Ultima series from Electronic Arts. He sold the series and his studio Origin Systems to EA in 1992 for $30 million, and under Section 203 of the US Copyright Act authors can terminate past copyright transfers after 35 years; he notified EA in April. Garriott said he gets the rights back officially in 2027 and is in active talks with EA about possible Ultima projects, after which he could re-release the earlier games or make sequels.

  7. Rock Paper Shotgun37

    Star Wars Zero Company studio Bit Reactor starts bringing furloughed devs back, with "more than half" of previous headcount reportedly returning to payroll

    Star Wars Zero Company developer Bit Reactor has begun returning some furloughed developers to payroll, with staff numbers reportedly back to "more than half" of what they were before the furloughs. Studio boss Greg Foertsch said they hope to "eventually bring as many people back as possible." The furloughs became public through an ongoing lawsuit between Foertsch and former COO Alison Kelly, and some staff reportedly remain unpaid.

  12. GamesIndustry.biz42

    Gardens Interactive, Founded by Veterans Behind Journey and Sky: Children of the Light, Raises Over $35m in Series B

    Gardens Interactive has raised over $35 million in a Series B round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, bringing its total funding past $70 million. The studio, co-founded by veterans of Journey, What Remains of Edith Finch, and Sky: Children of the Light, is developing its debut multiplayer title Project Gardens, described as a "shared fantasy adventure" with "social roleplay elements."

  13. IGN34

    Wardogs Streamer Banned for Exploiting Building Mechanics to Farm Money

    Streamer KatieRouu was banned from Wardogs for exploiting the game's building mechanics to farm in-game money. She and her squad placed sniper lookout towers around a FOB, let the enemy capture it, then fired mortars at the structures from another FOB to earn cash and convert it into gold for skins. Wardogs developer Bulkhead's CEO Joe Brammer confirmed the exploit has been fixed for Season 2 and said the ban is final.

  14. 触乐22

    Chongqing's Game Industry Faces a Turning Point

    Chongqing has built a distinct identity in China's game industry through titles like My Time at Portia, My Time at Sandrock and Dyson Sphere Program from Pathea Games and Youthcat Studio. Pathea now has over 300 employees and Youthcat nearly 20, yet talent still flows to Shanghai, Hangzhou and Chengdu, and local capital remains more familiar with manufacturing. The Chongqing mini-game industry base unveiled in October 2025 has brought in 34 companies with over 200 office staff, pointing to two possible parallel paths ahead.

  15. Push Square60

    Star Wars Zero Company Success Lets Bit Reactor Bring Back Furloughed Staff

    Bit Reactor has confirmed it is bringing some furloughed staff back to work to continue supporting Star Wars Zero Company. CEO Greg Foertsch said furloughing roughly 80% of the team before launch, after the studio ran out of money, was a difficult but necessary decision made internally without publisher EA's involvement. It is not yet clear whether everyone furloughed will return, and the studio says more updates on Bit Reactor and Zero Company are coming.

  16. 机核90

    Paramount Skydance completes $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery

    Paramount Skydance has formally completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, with the combined company renamed Skydance and its stock moving from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD. The all-cash deal carries an equity value of $81 billion and an enterprise value of $110 billion, with shareholders receiving $31.01666668 per share in cash. Studios including Rocksteady, NetherRealm, TT Games, Avalanche Software and WB Games Montreal now fall under Skydance, and it has not been announced whether they will be folded into Paramount's own games division.

    Why this: Paramount Skydance completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and readers can see the deal value, regulatory settlement terms, and where the game studios land.

  17. VGC66

    Sony sells more than 40 VR patents to Meta, seemingly closing the door on PlayStation VR

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records show Sony has sold 43 VR-related patents to Meta, and an agreement signed last December will eventually bring the total to over 400 global patents, including 180 in the US and 239 in Japan, China, Korea, Europe and other regions. PlayStation VR2 launched on February 22, 2023 at $549.99 / £529.99, and Sony published only two original games for it, Horizon Call of the Mountain and First Contact Entertainment's Firewall Ultra. In 2024 the headset got a price cut of more than 30% and PC support requiring an adapter, while Sony Interactive Entertainment's Eric Lempel called VR a meaningful but still nascent business.

  19. VGC40

    Gears of War studio head addresses layoff worries after E-Day release, says next game won't take 'nearly as long'

    The Coalition studio head Mike Crump has addressed reports that staff feared layoffs following the release of Gears of War: E-Day, telling the BBC that layoffs are out of the team's control and they should focus on shipping a great game. Crump said E-Day, which was largely built from scratch, will provide "a great foundation" for future entries, meaning the next game will not take nearly as long to make. Reports had said Xbox laid off story director Juan Vaca two weeks before release, and some staff worried about missing a contracted bonus tied to a Metacritic score, with the game currently at 87.

  20. GamesIndustry.biz62

    Fireshine Games acquires Necesse developer Fair Games

    Fireshine Games has acquired Danish indie studio Fair Games and its open world sandbox title Necesse. Fair Games founder and CEO Mads Skovgaard stays on as managing director and the studio keeps leading the game's direction and updates, while Fireshine handles publishing and porting. Necesse first launched in 2019 and has drawn an estimated 2.5 million players, with plans for continued PC support and additional platform ports.

  21. 游戏LOOK22

    September WeChat Mini Game Top 100: Churn Rate Falls to 23%, Only Call of Duty Mobile Breaks Into Top 50

    The September WeChat mini game bestseller Top 100 saw its churn rate fall from 25% in August to 23%, with only Call of Duty Mobile (No. 43) newly entering the Top 50 — the fewest new Top 50 titles so far in 2026. Zombie Cannon and Crazy Water World held the top two spots, while simulation management took three of the Top 10; among publishers, 37 Interactive Entertainment led with 7 titles, with Tencent Games and Dameng Longtu tied at 5 each.

  22. Eurogamer40

    Gears of War boss says the next game won't take seven years to make as he dances around the question of layoffs

    The Coalition studio head Mike Crump told the BBC the next Gears of War game "will not take nearly as long" to develop, after Gears of War: E-Day took seven years following Gears 5. He declined to give specifics on whether the studio plans layoffs, saying the team focuses on what it can control. E-Day is an Xbox console exclusive and has posted the series' best numbers on Steam, but The Coalition has not announced any future projects.

  28. Gematsu22

    WePlay Expo JAPAN 2027 set for April 2 to 4, 2027

    San-Ei Corporation and IID will host WePlay Expo JAPAN 2027 from April 2 to 4, 2027 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. April 2 will be a business day, while April 3 and 4 will be open to the public. WePlay Expo has been held in China since 2017, and this marks the first time a WePlay exhibition is held in Japan.

  29. 游戏LOOK47

    Bilibili's New Pet-Catching Game Shines! Lumi Hits 50 Million Yuan in First-Week Revenue on App, Expands to Mini Games

    Bilibili's self-developed vertical-screen pet-catching game Shines! Lumi generated 50 million yuan in its first week on the app market, entering the iOS top-grossing TOP 20 before climbing into the top ranks of WeChat mini games. The game emphasizes a hand-drawn art style, vertical-screen idle play and automatic pet catching, with a core loop that lets players experience collecting within about five minutes. Bilibili supported the dual-platform launch with in-site promotion, KOL content and holiday ad spending, validating its self-developed game strategy.

  30. 游戏LOOK60

    September game licences: 206 domestic and 3 imported titles approved, including miHoYo's Yuanchu Zhi Jie and Zulong's Lord of the Mysteries: The Fool

    China's National Press and Publication Administration published September approvals covering 206 domestic games and 3 imported games, plus 15 licence changes. Among the domestic approvals were 185 mobile titles, 2 client titles, 16 mobile and client titles, 2 mobile, client and web titles, and 1 game-machine title. miHoYo's Yuanchu Zhi Jie was approved for mobile and client, after an official QA said it would support PC at launch, while Zulong's Lord of the Mysteries: The Fool is a cross-platform RPG card game.

  31. 机核62

    Microsoft obtains GTA 6 cloud streaming rights, says it will not be exclusive

    Microsoft announced it has reached an agreement with Rockstar to obtain cloud streaming rights for GTA 6. Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball said Microsoft will not make GTA 6 streaming exclusive and will not use the deal to bring the game to PC, and Rockstar has not announced PC plans for GTA 6 as of publication. Microsoft had earlier adjusted its cloud gaming limits, capping Game Pass Ultimate users at 15 hours of streaming per month from November, Premium at 10 hours and Essential at 5 hours, with extra time purchasable in the Xbox store and the option also open to non-Game Pass users for streaming compatible games they own.

  33. IGN52

    Bit Reactor brings back some furloughed staff to continue supporting Star Wars Zero Company

    Bit Reactor CEO Greg Foertsch said in a public post on October 7 that some previously furloughed employees have returned to the team to continue supporting Star Wars Zero Company. He called asking team members to step away so close to launch an incredibly difficult decision and thanked fans for their response to the game. Sources told GameFile that Bit Reactor's payrolled staff now account for more than half of what it had before the furloughs, leaving a sizeable chunk of furloughed staff unpaid. Star Wars Zero Company launched in August 2026 and received a nine out of 10 from IGN.

  35. IGN36

    PS5 Adding Dedicated Crunchyroll Hub Next Spring

    Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Hideaki Nishino announced at the Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum that the PS5 home screen will get a dedicated Crunchyroll hub in Spring 2027, bringing together anime, anime-inspired games, and easy access to Crunchyroll. Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini said the partnership also includes the upcoming Ghost of Tsushima: Legends anime series. The PS5 had a worldwide installed base of over 92 million units as of earlier this year.

  37. PC Gamer42

    Blood Bowl 3 Is Being Replaced by Warhammer Blood Bowl: What Happens to Unspent Currency?

    Warhammer Blood Bowl, published by Slitherine, is currently in beta and will eventually replace Blood Bowl 3, with owners of Blood Bowl 3 getting it for free and their accounts transferring over. A Slitherine representative confirmed players will use the same BB account on both games, so all cosmetics, Warpstone and teams bought in BB3 will carry over instantly. Warpstone will still be used for cosmetics in the new game, but Slitherine said it is still thinking about how to handle teams.

  38. PC Gamer42

    Blizzard promises to make the blue elves in World of Warcraft: Forever look worse (positive)

    Blizzard has promised in a blog post to give the Skyborne, the new blue elves in World of Warcraft: Forever, a retro visual makeover before the game launches in November. Players using the "HD" model setting will see harsher lines and shapes on their druid forms, while those using "SD" models will get updated Skyborne early next year. The race costs $30 to unlock.

  40. Push Square43

    PS5 to Integrate Anime into Main Menu as Sony Tightens Ties with Crunchyroll

    PlayStation boss Hideaki Nishino confirmed at the inaugural Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum that PS5 will integrate anime into its main menu with a dedicated hub, beginning Spring 2027. PS5 owners can already access Crunchyroll via the console's dedicated app, but the new initiative will place the streaming service front and centre. Sony acquired the subscription-based platform for $1.1 billion in 2021.