Incredibly short-sighted to think that one of the most appealing aspects of console gaming simply doesn't matter to your audience, when the most engaged members of that audience are telling you in no uncertain terms that it absolutely does.

This Week in Videogames@thisweekinvideogames.com · 5d ago

Sony has addressed multiple questions regarding its decision to end physical disc production for PS5 games in January 2028. CFO Lin Tao reasoned that a large part of the business was already digital, and by discontinuing discs, “we don’t see that there will be any negative impact.”

Really excited about this. Over the past year we've made dozens of site improvements, added a comments section under each article and expanded our team. It felt like the right time to finally start building some community, and a Discord is a natural first step toward that goal. Come join us :P

This Week in Videogames@thisweekinvideogames.com · 4w ago

This Week in Videogames is a reader-funded website, and our independent, commercial-free nature is only possible due to paid subscriptions. By popular demand, we've just launched a Discord community as a new perk for financial supporters. We'd love for you to be a part of it.

Just very, very sad to see this team unceremoniously deconstructed after what they've built over their decades-long history.

This Week in Videogames@thisweekinvideogames.com · 4w ago

Weeks prior to major layoffs at id Software, co-studio directors Marty Stratton and Hugo Martin told This Week in Videogames that "muscle memory" and a well-trained team were key to the developer's consistency and success. id Software has released three Doom games, with expansions, in 10 years.

Does MS know that you need actual people to maintain an engine, or do they plan to let Copilot handle that?

This Week in Videogames@thisweekinvideogames.com · 4w ago

Despite a significant number of id Software coders being laid off as part of Xbox's sweeping cuts this week, id Software’s proprietary engine, id Tech, will still reportedly have a future. thisweekinvideogames.com/news/id-tech...

Laying so much as a finger on Obsidian (who delivered like 30% of your first party output over the past generation) or id Software (who released one of the most successful, creative and technologically polished trilogies of the past decade) is straight up vandalism.

idgaf the numbers are what they are, and they don't even include console which heavily skews in Destiny's favor. This situation is absolute insanity - one of the most nonsensical, ass-backwards decisions I've ever seen.

The studio behind Mixtape has remarked on its notably strong critical acclaim, which briefly saw it positioned as the highest-rated game on OpenCritic for 2026. "It was always about getting more people to listen to Devo and I think that’s probably happened," they told This Week in Videogames.

'Mixtape' Developers Pleased 'More People Listening To Devo' Following Acclaimed Debut

Coming-of-age title Mixtape debuted as one of the most acclaimed new videogames in 2026 to date. The developers are humbled by the reception.

thisweekinvideogames.com

I love when they dgaf any more and just start saying stuff.

This Week in Videogames@thisweekinvideogames.com · 4mo ago

Shuhei Yoshida, former head of Sony Worldwide Studios, has remarked that he was "fired" by then-CEO Jim Ryan "because I didn’t listen to him." Yoshida suggested Ryan "asked to do some ridiculous things, and I said 'No,'" before saying he highly enjoyed his subsequent PlayStation Indies role.

The critics were too harsh on the first Mario movie. The critics were equally harsh on the Mario Galaxy movie, but they weren't nearly harsh enough. That Times reporter had the right of it. I wish I brought a pen with me.

The actor behind Kliff in Crimson Desert has shared experiences with a seemingly ever-changing script during the recording process for the game. His comments reflect those attributed to former Pearl Abyss developers who claimed the game had a disorganised development due to internal power dynamics.

Crimson Desert Story and Characters Changed Significantly During Development, Says Lead Actor

Alec Newman described his five-year process as one with unknowing experimentation, an unclear and changing plot, and says he pushed for more meaningful narrative and character work.

thisweekinvideogames.com

Our team are devastated by this news. Patrick was an incredibly kind, generous and talented person. He truly loved this industry, and was so excited to cover it every day. His passion and enthusiasm were infectious. Just a huge loss. Our thoughts are with his family now. RIP Patrick, and thank you.

This Week in Videogames@thisweekinvideogames.com · 7mo ago

Patrick Dane, longtime games and entertainment journalist and News Editor at This Week in Videogames, has died in a motor vehicle accident. He was 34 years old.

Vince Zampella was the absolute best to ever do it. Literally. His impact across publishers, studios, franchises and genres was unmatched. Commercially and creatively he was an absolute juggernaut. A tremendous loss for this industry, and to those who were close to him. Rest in peace.

I think a lot of the discussion around AI isn't specific enough or informed enough, and that's why this piece from @edmondtran.bsky.social is so useful and important. These are actual concept artists spelling out in clear, unambiguous terms why Gen-AI is not only unhelpful, it's a nuisance.

This Week in Videogames@thisweekinvideogames.com · 8mo ago

We spoke to a dozen professional concept artists who are currently or have previously worked in game development about whether generative AI image tools have made their jobs any easier. Zero said it did. Most said it made things harder. thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/conc...

If Rockstar really is union busting, they cannot be allowed to get away with it. Every ounce of pressure matters, and having the British PM weigh in is probably not something Rockstar's executives saw coming: thisweekinvideogames.com/news/uk-prim...

UK Prime Minister Calls Rockstar Firings "Deeply Concerning"

Scottish Labour MP Chris Murray said Rockstar didn't "reassure me they are following employment law and I share concerns about union busting"

thisweekinvideogames.com

Don't expect the Steam Machine to console-priced: thisweekinvideogames.com/news/steam-m...

Steam Machine Price Will Be Close to PC of Similar Performance, Says Valve

Valve has spoken about its approach to the Steam Machine's price point, saying it expects a cost equivalent to the PC components inside it.

thisweekinvideogames.com

Absolutely essential viewing from @chrisbratt.bsky.social on Rockstar’s sackings, which appear to be the single most flagrant example of union busting in the history of the videogames industry. Rockstar has provided absolutely zero evidence to support any of their claims. youtu.be/c9nOwjeznjI?...

The Rockstar Workers Fired Before They Could Finish GTA 6

YouTube video by People Make Games

youtu.be

Oof

This Week in Videogames@thisweekinvideogames.com · 9mo ago

Sony CFO Lin Tao has elaborated on the company's decision to take an "impairment loss" against Bungie and Destiny 2. "...due to the changes in the competitive environment, the level of sales and user engagement have not reached the expectations we had at the time of the acquisition of Bungie."

Callous is a strong word but I do get where he's coming from. Obviously Team Cherry have the right to shadow drop a date, but given their blast radius it might have been better had other games (particularly smaller ones) had more heads up thisweekinvideogames.com/news/hell-is...

Silksong Release Date Surprise Was "A Little Callous", Says Hell Is Us Lead

"As the 'GTA 6 of indie'... to shadow drop something like this is a little callous," said creative director Jonathan Jacques-Belletête.

thisweekinvideogames.com

Oh we eating good this weekend. Review on the 25th of September #ghostofyotei

Not long now. In just a short time we'll finally be playing it (Garfield Kart 2 - All You Can Drift).

Such a great write up from @superdonk.bsky.social. He's a long time Skate enjoyer and honestly, his perspective is so illuminating since I only really remember the series for its funny bails. There's was so much more to it, and it seems as though big chunks of that stuff is missing in the reboot.

This Week in Videogames@thisweekinvideogames.com · 11mo ago

Our resident cool guy @superdonk.bsky.social has spent a good amount of time in EA's live-service Skate reboot. Sounds like it's in top shape mechanically, but the weirdly soulless wrapper sits at odds with the traditional vibes of the series (and culture). thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/ea-s...

Idk what dial YouTube turned but they definitely did something. Viewership is inexplicably down around 30% for myself and many channels I watch/follow. I've never blamed the algorithm for anything in my 10 years on YT, but this is too obvious to ignore. Spoken to others who have noticed it, too.

Extremely excited to have @victoriatran.bsky.social on board as a monthly columnist, providing insight into the world of indie games development and community management. Fantastic first piece too, covering the plague of clone games that plagiarize the work of game makers.

This Week in Videogames@thisweekinvideogames.com · 11mo ago

So what's up with all those clone games on the App Stores and eShops and Robloxes of the world? Just how big of a problem are they? Innersloth's @victoriatran.bsky.social gives us the lowdown in her new regular column, Indie Insight. thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/indi... [PAYWALLED]

This is how Zack Snyder should have marketed Man of Steel.

Played about 2 hours of the Battlefield 6 beta. Absolutely floored by how well it runs, how stable the netcode is, how excellent the maps are, how solid the gunplay/sound design is, how well classes/squads work. Could not be more of a contrast from the first impression of 2042 all those years ago.

Pretty big stuff out of Sony: an expected launch window for Marathon (this financial year), an announcement that Bungie will become a PlayStation studio in a more traditional sense, and acknowledgement of Sony's live-service blunders to this point.

This Week in Videogames@thisweekinvideogames.com · 12mo ago

Sony has addressed shareholders concerns regarding the delay of Marathon and its overall live-service strategy. Said CFO Lin Tao: "It’s not entirely going smoothly, but from a longer-term perspective... you see that there has definitely been change." thisweekinvideogames.com/news/sony-on...

Ralph "SkillUp" Panebianco has built a successful YouTube career with more than one million subscribers. So naturally, his next move is... to start a video game website? I spoke to Panebianco about his new venture ("no ads, no AI") and why he's doing it: www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

As Video-Game Media Struggles, Star YouTuber Launches New Outlet

Websites like Polygon and Kotaku are facing huge challenges, opening opportunities for newcomers

bloomberg.com

This is insane. Payment providers should not have the power to do this.

This Week in Videogames@thisweekinvideogames.com · last yr.

Games marketplace Itch.io has removed “all adult NSFW” content from search results and browse pages, following scrutiny from payment processors. The platform says the content will undergo a comprehensive audit, with "some pages being permanently removed." thisweekinvideogames.com/news/itch-io...

We asked the 1047 Games CEO how it could cost so much to maintain Splitgate 1. Here's what he had to say:

This Week in Videogames@thisweekinvideogames.com · last yr.

1047 Games CEO Ian Proulx has shared additional context around the decision to shut down Splitgate 1 servers, citing high costs, a lack of revenue, and low player numbers. thisweekinvideogames.com/news/splitga...

Splitgate developer 1047 Games is shutting down the original Splitgate, claiming that maintaining it was costing them 'hundreds of thousands of dollars'. The game was averaging 130 peak CC players on steam. Can any game devs enlighten me as to how it was costing 1047 that much to keep the game up?