The new Spider-Man movie felt so much like the Insomniac games. Also, whoever thought ‘you know what Spider-Man needs? The Punisher’… give them a raise
Christopher Dring
@dringo.bsky.social
Games Business Journalist and Analyst. Editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Game Business. As seen on: GamesIndustry.biz. MCV. BBC. The Guardian. Sky. Doctor Who Magazine.
Our monthly report for paid subscribers is here for June! We reveal the best-selling games on PC, console and mobile. We tell you how well the consoles did in the US, Japan and UK. And we dive into the games that saw the most trailer views and articles. www.thegamebusiness.com/p/the-state-...
The State of Games: June 2026
The World Cup impacts the game charts, it was a bad month for consoles and a good month for new announcements
thegamebusiness.com
This week we have some fun by talking about which video games, outside of GTA, are going to sell best over the next four months... using data, of course. www.thegamebusiness.com/p/the-legend...
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is the most anticipated game of 2026 (that isn’t called Grand Theft Auto)
Plus, we chat Call of Duty, Blood of the Dawnwalker, Marvel’s Wolverine, Star Wars, Gears of War and more
thegamebusiness.com
"Warframe has always felt like a bit of an underdog story." www.thegamebusiness.com/p/destinys-b...
Destiny’s biggest rival Warframe has had ‘two years of massive growth’
Digital Extremes believes in console growth, and discusses the ‘careful’ development of its second game
thegamebusiness.com
In the UK, Xbox console sales are up for the first six months of the year. It’s the only platform holder to sell more consoles in H1 2026 vs 2025 Meaning, Switch 2 has overtaken GameCube sales in the UK.
Another big live service success story in today's The Game Business Show and Newsletter
The Game Business@thegamebusiness.com · last wk.We speak to Digital Extremes president Sheldon Carter on why Warframe is going through a period of 'massive growth', while rivals like Destiny are not. Plus, we chat about its cautious approach to its next game... and why it still believes in consoles www.thegamebusiness.com/p/destinys-b...
In today's edition of The Game Business Micro (that's our mini podcast for paid subscribers), we look at Xbox's (and Amazon's) latest efforts to get game streaming working. With console prices as they are, might it work this time? www.thegamebusiness.com/p/xbox-amazo...
Xbox, Amazon and Netflix try to make game streaming relevant – The Game Business Micro
This week, we dive into Xbox’s new ad experiment and chat about the role of game streaming in the current climate
thegamebusiness.com
I had a big chat with Amazon about whether Luna can help with the pain of $1,000 game machines, reaching an audience that might not exist, games it wants to sign, 007: First Light, Netflix’s Unhinged… and actually wanting Maverick’s Clutch after all
The Game Business@thegamebusiness.com · 2w agoLuna games (including Indiana Jones, Hogwarts Legacy and more) can now be streamed directly via the Prime Video app. We speak with Amazon's Jeff Gattis to discuss this, plus taking on consoles (or not), 007, and reaching tens of millions of players www.thegamebusiness.com/p/amazon-lun...
The sequel to last year's big RuneScape interview. I found out that half of Old School RuneScape players are not 'old school' players. Plus, RuneScape has stopped its decline, but it still isn't growing after last year's monetization changes... Bellamy says big news is coming in October
The Game Business@thegamebusiness.com · 2w agoJagex CEO Jon Bellamy tells us that RuneScape is ready to take on World of Warcraft. He also talks about the financial 'pain' caused by changing monetization, the 12m RuneScape fans who play on Nintendo, and how Old School RuneScape won over young people www.thegamebusiness.com/p/runescape-...
1,000 sales would have got you No.9 in the UK physical charts last week.
Mat Piscatella@matpiscatella.bsky.social · 2w ago2 PlayStation video games sold more than 10k physical units in the US during week ending July 11, 2026. 7 have sold more than 100k physical units year-to-date. Source: Circana Retail Tracking Service
The new Micro is here!
The Game Business@thegamebusiness.com · 2w agoIn today's edition of The Game Business Micro (paid subscribers), we discuss the retirement of Glen Schofield, his struggle to find funding, and why we wish he'd change his mind. Plus, Bethesda moves to reassure fans, employees and industry www.thegamebusiness.com/p/dead-space...
Regarding the Bethesda news… With so much noise around the Xbox job cuts, I can see why the company is moving to reassure fans, staff and the industry that there is a plan and things are progressing. But while there’s still 1,600 cuts to come, things will remain unsettled
EA joins us as the publisher pushes harder into in-game advertising for PC and console games
The Game Business@thegamebusiness.com · 3w agoThis week, we dive into adverts for PC and console titles. We're joined by EA's ad boss, who talks us through the company's plans, including developing games with ads in mind www.thegamebusiness.com/p/ea-console...
I loved chatting with Sean about Netflix's Unhinged. I'm quite excited by what Netflix is doing. Rather than competing with PlayStation/Xbox/Nintendo/Steam etc, it's trying to win over people who might not be traditional console/PC gamers. And Unhinged is a glimpse into how they might do that
The Game Business@thegamebusiness.com · 3w agoWe speak to Netflix's head of narrative games Sean Krankel about the release of hit horror game Unhinged. We chat building games for Netflix's 700m users (some of which are non-gamers) and the future of narrative games on the streaming platform. www.thegamebusiness.com/p/interview-...
In this week's The Game Business Micro, a major retail group has criticized PlayStatipn's plan to kill the disc, and we wrap up the news from Xbox's 1,600 cuts. www.thegamebusiness.com/p/retail-tra...
Retail trade body condemns PlayStation’s plan to kill the disc – The Game Business Micro
Plus, all the latest around Xbox’s brutal cuts
thegamebusiness.com
Every month, we produce a market report for paid subscribers of The Game Business. It covers PC, console and mobile games, press coverage, trailers, and hardware sales. This week, we're covering May, featuring Forza, Bond, Batman, Subnautica and more www.thegamebusiness.com/p/the-state-...
The State of Games: May 2026
Big month for Forza, Bond, Batman and Subnautica. Tough month for PlayStation
thegamebusiness.com
Thanks to the always brilliant Dringo for having me on to talk about launching @respec.net, keeping @rpgsite.net healthy, and the broader challenge of navigating what is as challenging a time in games media as it is in the business we cover. A lovely chat as always
Christopher Dring@dringo.bsky.social · 4w agoThis week, @apzonerunner.com and I chat games media, Xbox and his new website. Plus, Atari's Andreas Deptolla joins us to discuss Europe, going beyond retro, and turning MobyGames into our very own IMDB
This week, @apzonerunner.com and I chat games media, Xbox and his new website. Plus, Atari's Andreas Deptolla joins us to discuss Europe, going beyond retro, and turning MobyGames into our very own IMDB
The Game Business@thegamebusiness.com · 4w agoIn today's The Game Business, Xbox staff fear the axe, the number of video game journalists continues to plummet, Eurogamer writers launch new site, and we chat to Atari's new president about (among other things) its 'IMDB of video games' www.thegamebusiness.com/p/the-number...
I've always been super impressed with Saber. They make good games, they don't over-spend, they have a huge line-up, they're well liked... it's taken me longer than I'd have liked to chat with them (and time was limited). But do check this one out (and sorry for all the Turok questions)
The Game Business@thegamebusiness.com · 4w agoIn today's edition of The Game Business, we speak to Tim Willits, the Chief Creative Officer of Space Marine 2 developer Saber Interactive, where he shares the company's secret to making AAA games on a reasonable budget. www.thegamebusiness.com/p/saber-we-c...
I find it very interesting that Minecraft developer Mojang is reporting directly to Asha Sharma. And that she has appointed the former Minecraft boss Helen Chiang and metaverse expert Matthew Ball into C-suite roles at Xbox.
I and a good number of very talented game devs were laid off by Obsidian as part of the Microsoft sacrificial rituals this morning. If you or anyone you know is looking for a Senior Writer/ND with more than two decades' experience in titles like Dragon Age and Mass Effect, please let me know!
Big cuts, but Xbox has managed to avoid closing any studios today. Double Fine and Compulsion go indie. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs will have new owners. Arkane Lyon process starts today. CEO Asha Sharma wants Xbox to reach 1bn players a day (it currently hits 1bn a year).
The Game Business@thegamebusiness.com · last mo.Xbox announces plans to cut 3,000 jobs as part of a major restructure. It has also split from four studios - Double Fine, Compulsion Games, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs. It’s seeking a new home for Arkane Lyon, too. Full FAQ through here. www.thegamebusiness.com/p/xbox-plans...
Today's The Game Business Micro looks at the latest set-back for the Stop Killing Games campaign, plus we run through the big stories of the last week (paid subscribers only) www.thegamebusiness.com/p/publishers...
Publishers score US victory against Stop Killing Games – The Game Business Micro
Plus, Ubisoft hires a veteran leader for Creative House 2, and IO seeks a new partner for Project Fantasy
thegamebusiness.com
Podcast: Nobody is happy with PlayStation Join @jordanmiddler.bsky.social @scully1888.bsky.social @dringo.bsky.social and @andyrobinson.bsky.social as they chat about the week in news. Watch: youtu.be/YyM2r9YIDl0 Listen: lnk.to/VGC
In today's The Game Business, we have news of a divided Xbox, we discuss PlayStation killing the disc (with some new market stats) and chat to Midwest's Ben Kvalo on a more sustainable future of the video game business www.thegamebusiness.com/p/xbox-divid...
Xbox divided over its future, and do people even buy physical PlayStation games?
Plus, we’re joined by Midwest Games CEO Ben Kvalo to discuss a flexible future for game publishing
thegamebusiness.com
A big, special history episode this week, celebrating the career of Jason Rubin with some very famous friends
The Game Business@thegamebusiness.com · last mo.In today's very special edition of The Game Business, we tell the story of Jason Rubin, from his first computer to Crash Bandicoot, to South Park to Meta. This episode also features famous faces from the history of games www.thegamebusiness.com/p/seven-thin...
I dive into Bungie this week. Our Micro newsletter/show on Monday is usually for paid subscribers (Tuesday and Thursday, our main shows, are free). But today, it's free-for-all! Enjoy
The Game Business@thegamebusiness.com · last mo.The Game Business Micro is free today! And in this one, I dive into Bungie... plus a bit of chat about the latest console price rises www.thegamebusiness.com/p/why-did-pl...
“We started it at the worst time possible: most major funds in video games wanted to get out of video games. Everyone wanted to talk about AI, defence, pharma, or robotics, and we just wanted to talk about video games" www.thegamebusiness.com/p/retailer-w...
Retailer warns of GTA console stock shock. Plus, why is Russian propaganda still on Steam?
And we chat to the creators of a new $50 million games fund aimed at ‘visionaries’
thegamebusiness.com
A bumper Show today featuring the excellent George Osborn, where we tackle politics, Saudi Arabia, China, Russian propaganda, misogyny, racism and... the price of the Steam Machine. On the Newsletter, we also share concerns from a major retailer about console stock this Christmas
The Game Business@thegamebusiness.com · last mo.In today's The Game Business, one retailer warns of console stock shortages this Holiday, plus we discuss a new $50m game fund. But our big chat is with George Osborn about his book Power Play, and how games are used by Governments for political gain www.thegamebusiness.com/p/retailer-w...
How an influencer at E3 2018 led to EA making a new Skate, Dead Space and College Football game www.thegamebusiness.com/p/fans-were-...