Sony's announcement that it will stop producing physical discs for newly released games starting in 2028 sparked online backlash from physical media fans. PlayStation sales data from September tells a different story, as 'Marvel's Wolverine' sales figures prove there's still a huge market for discs.
Circana's Mat Piscatella shared data from the firm's latest U.S. sales report showing spending on Switch 2 Game-Key Cards rose 631% in 2026, offsetting a 3% drop across all other physical media types and lifting total physical media spending by 5%. Major Game-Key Card releases this year include Pokémon Pokopia, Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, and Resident Evil Requiem, with Elden Ring climbing from position 41 to position 7 on the charts. Piscatella also confirmed the Switch 2 led the U.S. hardware market in both unit and dollar sales for the August and 2026 year-to-date periods.
Publisher 11 bit studios and developer Team Instant Defeat have announced Volatiles, a fast-paced top-down roguelike action game coming to PC via Steam. A release date was not announced. Each run starts with a single tile and expands as players fight alien hordes, gather experience, and level up, with new tiles offering weapons, upgrades, healing, tools, defenses, and risky synergies.
Publisher Curve Games and developer Dream Reality Interactive have announced Lazare's Sacrifice, a narrative deckbuilder retelling the French Revolution, launching for PC via Steam in 2027. Players take on the role of condemned General Lazare Hoche, dueling historical figures in psychological card battles within Carmes Prison. It is crafted in collaboration with Damien Monnier, creator of the original Gwent, and features a Story Mode and a Tower Mode.
Xbox announced a new division called Xbox XP that will handle film and television adaptations, consumer products, partnerships, and live experiences, led by former Mojang president Kayleen Walters. It covers four areas: Xbox Pictures, Xbox Products, Xbox Partnerships, and Xbox Places. The announcement comes as Xbox is laying off thousands of workers and closing studios.
Best Buy is reviving midnight launches for the Zelda-themed Switch 2 tied to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The Triforce-themed console has sold out within seconds since Nintendo announced it, even with constant restocks, and the in-store launch offers a bot-free way for fans to buy one.
GSD data cited by The Game Business puts physical copies at 35% of Marvel's Wolverine PS5 sales, rising to 51% in Europe. Ampere Analysis reports the game sold 2.16 million units across digital and physical, with physical at 45% for Silent Hill: Townfall, 36% for The Blood of Dawnwalker and 30% for Onimusha: Way of the Sword. Sony has not shared official sales data and still plans to stop producing boxed PlayStation games from January 2028.
Wizards of the Coast confirmed to IGN that the Warhammer 40K Commander Decks will receive a "small reprint" that will soon be available to distributors and stores. The pre-constructed decks had been incredibly expensive, and the reprint should make them more widely available.
Ampere sales data indicates that 35% of Marvel's Wolverine launch sales came from the physical disc version, with the boxed share reaching 51% in Europe at launch. The PS5 exclusive sold around 2.16 million units in September, making it the second-best-selling PS5 game that month behind EA Sports FC 27. Sony announced this summer that PS5 game discs will no longer be produced for games launching after January 2028.
Marvel Tokon Far Exceeds Expectations in US Sales Charts, PS5 Dollar Spend Up https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2026/10/marvel-tokon-far-exceeds-expectations-in-us-sales-charts-ps5-dollar-spend-up
Happy Broccoli Games, the studio behind Duck Detective, announced that its fully-voiced interactive mystery thriller Apple Crumble will launch for PC via Steam on December 3. Set during your grandma's 84th birthday party, the 60 to 90 minute walking simulator tasks players with uncovering which guest is out to kill her.
Xbox has created a new division called XP to bring its franchises to film, TV, theme parks, and more. Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball said the upcoming Minecraft theme park is "the first of many theme park placements to come," suggesting future Xbox attractions will appear in existing parks rather than a dedicated Xbox park. The Minecraft theme park is set to open in the UK next year at Chessington World of Adventures.
A Reddit post says Richard Garriott is officially regaining control of the Ultima series. The post offers no further details.
Veteran developer Glen Schofield has retired from the games industry, with his last project being The Callisto Protocol at Krafton's Striking Distance Studios in 2022. He says Krafton's decision to launch the game in December 2022, months before the March 2023 date he had been promised, forced the team to ship a pared-down version amid COVID disruption. Schofield added that he finished all the DLC and put out 86 patches, while Krafton was not interested in a pitch for a second Callisto Protocol game.
Beethoven & Dinosaur's Mixtape took three prizes at the Australian Game Developer Awards 2026, including Game of the Year, Excellence in Art and Excellence in Sound Design. Tempo Lab Games' rhythm title Bits & Bops won two awards, while Canberra-based Uppercut Games was named Studio of the Year. The ceremony also introduced the inaugural GCAP Legacy Award, won by Riot Games principal software engineer Tony Albrecht.
Microsoft announced Xbox XP, a new division spanning film and television, consumer products, strategic partnerships, and live experiences, led by former Lucasfilm executive and Mojang president Kayleen Walters. XP has four investment areas: Xbox Pictures, Xbox Products, Xbox Places, and Xbox Partnerships, with Mari Angelidou-Smith taking over Mojang and both reporting to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma. Xbox already has a second Minecraft movie, a third season of Amazon Prime's Fallout, a Call of Duty film, and a Netflix Diablo animated series in the works.
California-based Gardens Interactive announced on Wednesday it raised over $35 million in a Series B round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, bringing total funding to over $70 million. Investors include Zenith Capital, Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Accel, Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors, Bayshore and former Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield, with the family office of late Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi reinvesting. Led by co-founder and CEO Stephen Bell, the studio's debut is a shared-world fantasy adventure it calls a strandbox, with designer Chris Bell citing Death Stranding, GTA roleplay and Arc Raiders as influences and a closed pre-alpha now open for sign-ups.
Circana's August 2026 US sales report has NBA 2K27 as the month's best-selling game, with Madden NFL 27 in second place and its Kickoff Bundle version in fourth. Five of the top 10 were new releases, including Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls at third, Star Wars Zero Company at fifth, and Big Walk at eighth. On the 2026 year-to-date chart, NBA 2K27 moved into third while Resident Evil Requiem remains on top.
Xbox announced a new division called XP, led by former Mojang president Kayleen Walters, with four areas of focus: Xbox Pictures, Xbox Products, Xbox Places and Xbox Partnerships, aimed at earning more revenue from franchises such as Fallout and Minecraft through licensing deals. Mojang also has a new CEO, Maria Angelidou-Smith, who spent nearly a decade at Meta working on Facebook groups, events, creators, search, profile and monetisation. Xbox is currently carrying out multiple rounds of layoffs that will ultimately cut 3,200 people.
Xbox announced a new XP business unit focused on transmedia brand extensions, including the Fallout TV series and the Minecraft World theme park. The division will be led by current Mojang Studios president Kayleen Walters, with Reddit chief product officer Maria Angelidou-Smith taking over at Mojang. XP covers four areas: Xbox Pictures for film and TV, Xbox Products for licensing and merchandise, Xbox Partnerships for sponsors and brand partners, and Xbox Places for broadcast, events and theme parks.
NBA 2K27 topped the US August charts and became the third-best-selling game of 2026, according to Circana data, after entering early access on August 26. Six new releases made the August top 10, with Madden NFL 27 second and Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls third, while Elden Ring jumped 34 places to No.7 after its Nintendo Switch 2 version launched on August 28. Total US consumer spend on video games fell 9% to $4.3 billion, and hardware unit sales dropped 15% year-on-year to 559,000.
Xbox announced a new film, TV, and entertainment division called XP, led by former Mojang president and Lucasfilm veteran Kayleen Walters. XP covers four areas: Xbox Pictures, Xbox Products, Xbox Partnerships, and Xbox Places, and Microsoft said it is not a production company but will seek partners across film, TV, physical experiences, and consumer products. Microsoft also named Maria Angelidou-Smith, previously Reddit's chief product officer, as the new CEO of Mojang.
Microsoft announced a new Xbox division called XP, made up of Xbox Places, Xbox Pictures, Xbox Partnerships and Xbox Products, with a focus on cross-media work such as film and TV. It will be led by Kayleen Walters, formerly studio head of Mojang Studios and vice president of franchise development at Microsoft. Xbox Places will oversee the Minecraft theme parks opening in the US and UK, backed by over £85m of investment from Mojang and Xbox and expected to open between 2026 and 2027.
Xbox announced a new entertainment division called XP, headed by Kayleen Walters, who previously worked at Mojang and Lucasfilm. The division combines the company's existing film and TV, consumer products, strategic partnerships and live events businesses into four areas. Microsoft has said its long-term goal is to become the world's largest entertainment company.
In an internal note to Xbox employees, Microsoft said Kayleen Walters is moving from Mojang to become President of XP, a new Xbox division, while Maria Angelidou-Smith joins Xbox as CEO of Mojang and Minecraft on October 19. Both report to Asha. XP, a play on Experience Points, covers four areas: XBOX PICTURES, XBOX PRODUCTS, XBOX PARTNERSHIPS and XBOX PLACES. Maria previously led Facebook Groups and other products at Meta and served as Chief Product Officer at Reddit.
Same story, shown on the selected item Microsoft forms new XBOX division XP, led by President Kayleen Walters
Xbox announced a new internal division called XP covering film and television adaptations, consumer products, partnerships, and live experiences. Mojang president Kayleen Walters, who spent eight years at Microsoft on Minecraft and executive produced A Minecraft Movie, will head it. Former Reddit chief product officer Maria Angelidou-Smith replaces her at Mojang.
Wizards of the Coast has confirmed to IGN that it did a small reprint of its four Magic: The Gathering Warhammer 40K Commander Decks, originally printed in 2022 as part of Universes Beyond, and they will be available to distributors and stores soon. Fans and WPN retailers should check with their distributors, as availability may vary by region. Wizards did not confirm whether the all-foil Collector's Edition versions would also be reprinted, and no price was given for the reprints, which originally retailed at a $59.99 MSRP.
Xbox CTO Scott Van Vliet said the team has heard developer feedback and agrees that bringing a game to Xbox should be easier than it is today. He said Xbox is starting with areas that create unnecessary friction, including its concept and publishing processes. Xbox boss Asha Sharma also said at a recent Microsoft HQ meeting that the goal is to simplify publishing across Xbox consoles and PC.
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.
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.
Gardens Interactive has raised over $35 million in a Series B funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, bringing its total funding to more than $70 million
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."
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.
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.
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.
PC Gamer magazine's issue 428 UK / 416 US features World of Warcraft: Forever as its cover story, claiming world-exclusive hands-on access to Blizzard's reboot of classic WoW along with interviews with key developers. The issue also includes a preview of Total War: Warhammer 40,000 and a review of The Blood of Dawnwalker, and is priced at $4.99 in print.
Fireshine Games has acquired Fair Games, the developer of Necesse and a Danish indie studio. The deal was described as a defining moment for the studio.
Xbox has denied reports suggesting it obtained exclusive game-streaming rights for Grand Theft Auto 6. Eurogamer relayed the response and linked to its report.
Santa Sunrise's Santa Studio has opened the Steam store page and released the first trailer for Laica, a first-person 3D survival horror game planned for 2027 with Japanese voice acting and Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese subtitles and interface. Players live alongside the mysterious girl Laica on a space station and travel between daily life and a dark world roamed by alien monsters. It is published by ambr, marking the company's first title as a publisher.
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.