The Industry News section is designed to offer comprehensive updates and analyses on various elements shaping the video gaming industry. This includes, but is not limited to, mergers and acquisitions, financial earnings, company strategies, and technological advancements. By focusing on the structural developments within the gaming industry, Industry News aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of the factors affecting market trends and company performance.
THQ Nordic has revealed it currently has 12 unannounced games in development across its internal studios and publishing partners. The publisher made the disclosure through its official Steam news channel, signaling a substantial pipeline of projects beyond its publicly known slate. This volume of undisclosed titles suggests an aggressive growth strategy for the Embracer Group subsidiary.
Dwayne Johnson has responded to the harsh critical reception of Disney's live-action Moana remake, which holds a 31% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes despite an 88% audience rating. The film opened to just $95 million globally against a $250 million budget, but Johnson emphasizes the cultural significance of Polynesian representation on screen.
Nintendo sold 3.82 million Switch 2 consoles in the quarter ending June 30, down from 5.82 million during the system's launch quarter a year earlier. The company maintains that life-to-date adoption still compares favorably to the original Switch, though the year-on-year decline reflects the natural cooling after massive pent-up demand. Software sales rose across the board, with Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream moving 7.96 million copies in three months and Mario Kart World reaching 15.39 million total.
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formally demanded the U.S. government stop using characters from Mario, Pokémon, and Naruto in official social media posts without permission. The requests, made at least twice in June 2025 through diplomatic channels, cite copyright concerns and potential brand damage from pro-war content. Japanese fans have amplified the pressure through a petition that reached the Cabinet Office and drew international media attention.
Sony has begun placing advisory stickers on PlayStation 5 consoles and disc drives warning that physical game disc production will end in January 2028. The stickers confirm that newly released games will only be available digitally after that date, though existing discs will remain playable. The move follows CFO Lin Tao's confirmation of an all-digital future during a July investor Q&A.
Charlie Lopresto examines whether Nintendo's recent output — from the Switch 2's uninspired hardware to repetitive remakes — signals a departure from the company's defining philosophy. The piece traces this tension back to the 2000 Spaceworld reveal and Gunpei Yokoi's "Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology" doctrine.
Rumours of a secret unannounced Elder Scrolls game have been debunked after former Bethesda developer Griffin DeClaire clarified his LinkedIn bio referred to The Elder Scrolls 6. The clarification comes amid Microsoft layoffs that impacted DeClaire and other studio staff.
Circana data shared by analyst Mat Piscatella shows the most-played games on PlayStation and Xbox are nearly identical, dominated by long-running live service titles and annual sports releases. Fortnite leads both platforms while only one new game appears in each top 20 list. Steam stands apart with a more diverse lineup including indie hits and unreleased titles.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has revealed why the studio fought to keep Sadie Sink's casting as Jean Grey secret until Spider-Man: Brand New Day's release. The film opened to $930 million worldwide in its first weekend, validating Marvel's strategy of preserving the opening weekend surprise for audiences.
Marvel announced Wonder Man Season 2 in March 2025, then reversed course on July 30, canceling the series despite signed contracts and cleared schedules. Showrunner Andrew Guest revealed the writers' room was set to start in August with production beginning early 2026, and the first episode had already been completed.
