Jez also touches on Arkane -
“Indeed, at least from my end, I've heard there's no plans to actually end development on Blade, although there's clearly some major potential restructuring going on here.”
According to Game File, Sony has informed publishing partners that they will still be able to place re-orders for existing PlayStation disc games even after physical disc production for new releases ends in January 2028.
Source: https://www.gamefile.news/p/epic-leaker-settlement-playstation-fallout
This comes from a source who runs a small British game developer in Scotland (not Rockstar).
This was true as of two weeks ago.
Microsoft has been offering small deals to developers with experience i.e., ones that have had success on Microsoft platforms, but not necessarily set the world alight with their games. Indie developers with no publisher.
Deals offered are:
- £1,500,000 in funding.
- Game must be released in under 1 year after funding received.
- Game must be released to Game Pass.
- Game must be exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem for one year.
- Developer will receive a small cut for each hour played, once the £1,500,000 has been paid back.
My source has not yet committed to this deal, but many small developers have been considering. The amount of cash available is dependent on where the developer is located and previous success.
Microsoft believes they can make their money back aiming for these smaller experiences with external developers.
https://xcancel.com/abreddit/status/2073460192293888462?s=46
Seems to also include a reference to the infamous Coldplay CEO Kiss Cam fiasco from last year
EDIT: Yes people post news about video game movies here. Don’t act sarcastic or shocked literally every single time someone posts leaked/rumored information about video game adaptations when it happens here constantly.
This probably means Arkane isn't getting shut down but rises questions about what happened to Blade. Or maybe MachineGames & Arkane will merge together ?
- After making a few recent project ekur leak videos that were getting buzz online, 3 halo studios current devs reached out to Rebs just a few days back and confirmed that project Ekur is now cancelled.
- The Devs revealed that Ekur was 100% real and was actively worked on til summer of 2025. It's development stalled after the ce remake was running into some development issues, and a large portion of the Ekur team were forced to move across to ce to help.
- It's unknown whether it was cancelled cause most Devs moved to ce, or that they just happened to change plans for future games and Ekur was cancelled.
- This doesn't mean there aren't still multiplayer projects being built. Expect late this year to have a reveal for the next mp game.
- This next part is rebs own speculation: He thinks now that the next mp game will be a more classic Halo game.
The newsletter states that “We understand Rare may be effected in any restructuring”
Patrick Garratt stated on BlueSky “Was told last night that Rare’s on the block. Free one for you, friends”
The most relevant parts of the article below:
> In early 2025, we came across an Xbox advertisement highlighting the advantages of both physical and digital formats for its video games. At the time, its release seemed imminent, just a few days after our discovery at most. However, no trace of this video has ever been found since, suggesting that the campaign was simply cancelled.
> The 42-second video began with a simple question: "Physical vs. digital games. Which is best for you?" Xbox then detailed the advantages of each format:
> Physical version : keep your copy of the game, enjoy limited and Collector's editions, and be able to lend or share the game with your friends.
> Digital version : pre-install games for immediate access on launch day, easily switch between titles, and access exclusive digital editions.
> The advertisement ended with an open question: "What will you choose?" This reflected a clear desire on the part of Xbox to let its players choose rather than deciding for them.
https://xcancel.com/multiversusie/status/2073132011842125842?s=46
Some more information:
-The above image is just a skin for her (very likely based on her Vampire persona or something to do with Apocalypse)
-America Chavez is not planned currently
-Jubilee is a Strategist
Grubb addressed the Obsidian situation on the latest episode of his Game Mess Decides podcast, the tldr was that he checked with his sources and confirmed that at least at one point Obsidian was in the discussion to be shut down or sold. Seems like, according to him, the confusion stems from Xbox making decisions/changing their mind "within a 24 hour period" when in the past it would have taken weeks/months.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thegamebusiness/p/xbox-divided-over-its-future-and
“Today, the mood is different. Xbox is looking to reallocate where it spends money. The company wants to invest in its big franchises, and to do that, it needs to cut from elsewhere. Studios such as Compulsion, Ninja Theory, Double Fine, Obsidian, Undead Labs and others are deep in negotiation with Microsoft to avoid closure. The impact of this will likely reverberate across the business.”
https://salzburg.orf.at/stories/3360879/
"If you’d hoped the backlash to Sony’s boneheaded decision to cease manufacturing game discs in 2028 could be reversed, a new report coming out of Austria makes it incredibly unlikely.
The write-up claims the company’s facility in Thalgau has been preparing for this transition for some time, and while the good news is it won’t result in layoffs, it sounds like PlayStation is very much committed to an all-digital future.
The report says that 600,000 discs roll off the Austrian assembly line right now, and PlayStation accounts for roughly 50 per cent of that. However, it anticipates that just 10 per cent of said orders will remain in 2028.
Anticipating this, it’s re-training staff and modifying equipment to switch to optical microlens manufacturing, with the transition already well underway.
Optical microlenses are used to focus and direct light in the smallest possible space, with “one application [being] a car turn signal that is projected onto asphalt”.
The worrying thing for fans hoping Sony changes course here is that employees are already being reassigned to the new technology now, meaning it’s highly unlikely this particular facility will be able to go back.
If planning around this has already been underway for several months, I think PlayStation may now be locked into this future, and that means no amount of external pressure is going to change the outcome."
Jason: “FWIW this isn't true, although I suppose it could become true real soon given Sharma's reported new direction.”
EDIT: Jason re-iterates in the same thread that Obsidian have not been working on Fallout: “What I do know is that Obsidian has not been working on a Fallout game.”
Previous rumour: https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/s/psN1bndKGQ
https://www.youtube.com/live/gQvHd7m\_pSw?si=Sn71YY-6AmkF77OP
Timestamp 1:06:20
"Blade sounds like it was pretty far along, they were going to begin debuting it in some way later this year, and maybe even release it next year. It sounds like it needed more time and they just didn't want to pay for that."
Bear in mind this was two days ago, and with Xbox changing their minds on a seemingly daily basis, who knows what could happen.
>February-appointed Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has brought a “start-up mentality” into the organization, asking teams that are used to weeks of planning and countless meetings to turn things around in days to hours.
>The announcement of Xbox Series price increases last week was reportedly thrown together the same day, after Apple announced its own price increases.
>Certain Xbox studio heads also feel Sharma is listening too much to consultants rather than the developers making the games.
>Numerous people within Xbox who spoke privately to The Game Business feel there is too much “listening to Twitter” happening at Xbox, questioning the organization’s reinvestment in hardware amid an ongoing component crisis and a declining console market, and doubting the impact of an exclusive Gears of War: E-Day on hardware sales.
>“We’re chasing a declining market with franchises that are past their prime,” said one studio boss.
>Another studio boss, when asked about Xbox’s recent decisions, shrugged and said, “After Activision, this is Amy [Hood] and Satya [Nadella]’s Xbox now.”
The Game Business has just made a tweet confirming they were mistaken in reporting that Obsidian is being considered for closure, following Jason Schreier debunking their reporting:
https://xcancel.com/thegamebusiness/status/2072723341325037790
> Obsidian was listed as a company in negotiation with Xbox over potential closure. This was a mistake.
Reporting by Jason Schreier: https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/s/smKUAo913
Previous reporting by The Game Business: https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/s/ORkkYbY1Ix