PlayStation is reportedly rebooting Horizon Hunters Gathering following negative feedback from two closed playtests, with Guerrilla Games now considering a smaller traditional co-op experience.
A new analysis of 99,206 paid Steam games highlights the enormous gap between breakout hits and the vast majority of titles struggling to generate meaningful revenue.
Half of all analyzed paid games earned an estimated less than $3,622 over their lifetime.
The top 1% started at approximately $15.87 million in estimated revenue.
Steam released 19,714 games in 2024 and 23,107 in 2025.
More than 15,800 games have already been released on Steam in 2026.
Sandbox games currently show the strongest combination of median and top-end estimated revenue.
Other strong-performing genres include visual novels, simulation, RPGs, horror and point-and-click games.
2D and 3D platformers were among the weakest-performing genres in the analysis.
Japan’s smartphone game industry is facing a sharp rise in bankruptcies, with 10 mobile game operators going under between January and July 2026, according to research firm Teikoku Databank.
Rising development costs are putting pressure on smaller studios.
3D graphics and full voice acting have significantly increased production budgets.
Live-service games also require expensive post-launch updates and content.
Competition from well-funded Chinese and South Korean studios is increasing.
29 smartphone game operators have shut down over the past five years.
China’s gaming market is attracting increasing interest from Western developers, but a new Rokky study suggests many studios still lack a clear understanding of how the region’s gaming ecosystem works.
Hayden Panettiere, the actress known for Heroes, Nashville and her roles in major video game franchises, has died at the age of 36. No cause of death has been announced. "No signs of foul play," police said.
For gaming fans, Panettiere will be remembered particularly for two iconic roles:
Panettiere became widely known as Claire Bennet in Heroes and later starred as Juliette Barnes in Nashville. She also appeared in the Scream movie as Kirby Reed.
RIP
Shuhei Yoshida says he advised the Expedition 33 team not to call the game a “turn-based RPG” due to the negative JRPG stigma at the time. In the end they used the term “reactive turn-based battles” instead.
“It’s incredibly well-made, but it would be better not to call it a turn-based RPG. That alone might cause players to overlook it.”
The Stop Killing Games campaign may have strong support from players, but legal expert Dr. Celia Pontin says there could be a major gap between what the movement wants and what current laws and technology can realistically deliver.
"Are consumer rights being violated? Well, they already exist to be violated."
She says existing consumer protection and intellectual property laws create significant complications.
Modern games contain numerous layers of intellectual property, including code, artwork, music and voice performances. Handing a discontinued game over to players could therefore create complicated copyright and licensing issues.
She believes the campaign has nevertheless helped make consumers more aware of their rights when purchasing digital products.
Video game lawyer Haley MacLean says that anti-generative-AI clauses have become increasingly common in game development and publishing contracts, with virtually all of her current clients now explicitly opposing the technology.
MacLean says studios are increasingly adding these restrictions to reduce legal and commercial risks. One major concern is copyright and ownership.
Public perception is another major factor, with many developers worried about how players would react to AI-generated content.
Epic Games is working on native Linux support for the Epic Games Store, potentially making it much easier for Steam Deck users to access their Epic libraries without relying on third-party launchers.
Steam Deck users currently often rely on tools such as Heroic Games Launcher to access Epic and GOG libraries.
Native support could make it easier to claim and play Epic’s weekly free games on Linux devices.
Former Square Enix business development executive Jacob Navok believes Sony’s move toward a digital-only PlayStation ecosystem could eventually lead to lower game prices and more aggressive discounts on the PS Store.
Navok argues that competition between publishers is a major force behind game pricing.
He says digital storefront competition alone does not necessarily determine the final price because publishers set digital prices.
He pointed to Steam as an example of prices naturally falling as games compete for players’ attention.
Navok believes a more digital-focused PlayStation Store could encourage more sales and dynamic pricing.
Four California gamers have sued Sony over the "Buy Now" button on the PlayStation Store, alleging that the company misleads customers into believing they are permanently purchasing games when they are actually obtaining revocable licenses.
Australian advocacy group Collective Shout has released two reports documenting what it describes as a coordinated wave of online abuse targeting its all-women team following its 2025 campaign against certain adult games.
The reports were launched on August 12, 2026, at Parliament House in Canberra.
Members say the backlash included rape and death threats, doxxing and attempts to disrupt communications and financial systems.
The reports also document alleged AI-generated sexual and violent imagery targeting team members.
The Report characterizes the campaign as a “large-scale, multi-vector, coordinated campaign.”
The reports call for stronger responses to misogyny, coordinated misinformation, AI-generated abuse and large-scale harassment campaigns.
Stop Killing Games and DoesItPlay? are publicly backing a Dutch class-action lawsuit against Sony.
The lawsuit was filed by Dutch foundation Stichting Massaschade & Consument (SM&C).
SM&C alleges Sony's closed PlayStation Store gives the company excessive control over digital game sales and pricing.
The foundation says Dutch consumers pay about 47% more for digital games than for physical copies on average, even though digital distribution typically costs less to operate.
Mark Darrah, former Dragon Age executive producer, says developers should always listen to player feedback but not necessarily follow players' proposed solutions.
"Players are really, really good at identifying problems. What they're a lot less good at is identifying solutions."
"They're not developers, they're game players."
A former lead writer on Saber Interactive’s Rideshare Simulator claims they were replaced by ChatGPT during development and alleges that passenger voices were also AI-generated at the time.