This Week in Videogames
thisweekinvideogames.com
This Week in Videogames
@thisweekinvideogames.com
No ads. No AI. Just videogame coverage that matters.
Pinned
Among Us x Stardew Valley! Terraria x Don’t Starve Together! Balatro x Literally Every Other Game!

You might've noticed more and more indie game collaborations popping up, and wondering how and why they came to be.

Well wonder no more! Innersloth's @victoriatran.bsky.social explains:

[PAYWALLED]
What's With All the Indie Game Crossover Collaborations? - Indie Insight
Ever wonder why there seem to be so many indie crossover collaborations? Innersloth's Victoria Tran shares some of the rationale.
thisweekinvideogames.com
Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada has clarified statements he made on potential pay-per-view tournaments.

Following media coverage of an interview he conducted with The Game Business, he said, "you would have to interpret it extremely negatively to think that I was trying to make streaming paid.”
Tekken Producer Clarifies Statements on Pay-Per-View Tournaments, Saying It's "Unlikely"
Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada has clarified comments he made about potentially charging pay-per-view for professional Tekken events.
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Reposted by This Week in Videogames
How do you approach making a game like Resident Evil, making it as scary as possible while appealing to as many people as possible?

We chat with Resident Evil Requiem producer Masato Kumazawa about haunted houses, disempowered protagonists, fresh development talent, generative AI, and iOS ports.
Capcom Talks Resident Evil Requiem - Interview
A chat with Resident Evil Requiem's producer about making scary games for broad audiences, new platforms and technology, and fresh blood.
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Destiny 2 director Tyson Green has remarked in an interview with IGN that the game's most recent expansion, The Edge of Fate, "didn't work."

“I think we’ve been taught a bunch of hard lessons about what our players want... we don’t want to be a dead live game, we want to keep building Destiny."
Destiny 2 Director Admits The Edge of Fate Expansion "Didn't Work"
Destiny 2 director Tyson Green has spoken about the game's most recent expansion, The Edge of Fate, admitting that it didn't go to plan.
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:15 AM
How do you approach making a game like Resident Evil, making it as scary as possible while appealing to as many people as possible?

We chat with Resident Evil Requiem producer Masato Kumazawa about haunted houses, disempowered protagonists, fresh development talent, generative AI, and iOS ports.
Capcom Talks Resident Evil Requiem - Interview
A chat with Resident Evil Requiem's producer about making scary games for broad audiences, new platforms and technology, and fresh blood.
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has shared comments regarding his perspective on generative AI diclosures.

"It makes no sense for game stores, where AI will be involved in nearly all future production."

"Why stop at AI use? We could have mandatory disclosures for what shampoo brand the developer uses."
Epic Games' CEO Tim Sweeney Says Steam's AI Disclosure "Doesn't Make Sense"
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has said that game store having a tag that indicates a title is made with the use of generative AI "doesn't make sense".
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Paradox has taken a US $37.4 million writedown of development costs for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2.

“The responsibility lies fully with us as the publisher," it said. "The game is outside of our core areas, in hindsight it is clear that this has made it difficult for us to gauge sales."
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Publisher Takes $37 Million Write-Down
Paradox Interactive took the blame for the failure of Bloodlines 2, with CEO Fredrik Wester calling the game "outside of our core areas"
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 28, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Nintendo will acquire Bandai Namco Studios Singapore, which will be renamed Nintendo Studios Singapore.

The Southeast Asian developer has in the past provided development support for Splatoon 3 and Tekken.

It also released its first original title this year, a 3D platformer called Hirogami.
Nintendo Acquires Bandai Namco Studios Singapore to Strengthen Development Structure
Nintendo has announced that it has agreed to acquire Bandai Namco Studios Singapore to strengthen its development pipeline.
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 27, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Major games shipping with major UX/UI issues are becoming a more regular occurrence.

We ask a UX consultant why that might be.
Football Manager 26 and When User Experience Goes Wrong
At launch, Football Manager 26 players discovered the UX was only just warming up. We asked an expert: why do devs leave UX until extra time?
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:01 PM
After launching in June and being unlaunched in July, the portal-themed arena shooter Splitgate 2 will launch out of beta once more in December 2025.

The CEO of developer 1047 Games, infamous for his "Make FPS Great Again" stunt, also indicated that he will not be at The Game Awards.
Splitgate 2 Will Be Relaunched In December, Five Months After Being Unlaunched
1047 Games has announced that Splitgate 2 will be relaunching earlier than expected with the full game coming "later in December"
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Developers behind Ubisoft's genAI project Teammates, which turns NPCs into "living companions," have emphasised the role of creatives in an interview with Game Developer.

"It’s a super cool tool, but it can do bad stuff… If we didn’t do the work that we did, it would just create generic content."
Ubisoft AI Developer Says It’s “A Super Cool Tool, but It Can Do Bad Stuff”
Ubisoft previously revealed Teammates, an R&D AI experiment that turns NPCs into "living companions"
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:45 AM
Embracer Group has announced that it is divesting from Star Trek Online developer Cryptic Studios and Remnant 2 publisher Arc Games (formerly Gearbox Publishing), just four years after acquiring both.

The companies will be sold to the Arc Games management team for approx US $30 million.
Embracer Group Divests From Arc Games and Cryptic Studios, Four Years After Acquisition
Embracer Group has announced an agreement to sell Cryptic Studios and Arc Games for US $30 million four years after acquiring both.
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 27, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Splash Damage, the studio behind games like Gears Tactics, Brink, Dirty Bomb, and the multiplayer component of several Gears of War titles, has announced a company-wide redundancy consultation period.

The studio says all roles will be under consideration.
Splash Damage Enters Studio-Wide Layoff Consultations
Following a sale to private investors, the studio behind Gears Tactics announced a redundancy consultation affecting all roles.
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:12 AM
"I was deeply invested in the overarching intrigue of a mysterious driver, a time loop, and the massive web of family dynamics and small town intentions..."

"Unfortunately, the final few hours of Rue Valley completely threw away the choices and characters that I had spent so much time mulling over"
Rue Valley Review
Rue Valley is a fascinating time loop game with intriguing systems that starts off strong, but throws everything away in its final hours.
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, director of The Witcher 3 and The Blood of Dawnwalker, has shared thoughts about genAI use in game development.

“It can help, but not replace [creative people]" he said, while disclosing using AI as placeholder VO. "I don’t feel that games created with only AI will have soul."
The Blood of Dawnwalker Director Doesn't Think Games Made With AI "Will Have Soul"
Former The Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz says AI "can help" creative people, "but not replace them"
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Santa Ragione, the studio behind horror title Saturnalia, has claimed that its upcoming game Horses has been banned from Steam without clear reason.

The studio says it has nothing to do with the recent adult content restrictions, but says Steam has denied clarifications and appeals for two years.
Saturnalia Developer's Upcoming Horror Game Banned From Steam
The studio claims that its upcoming title Horses has been banned from the platform without "any detail… on what to change or remove"
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7‘s opening week sales in Europe are 63% lower than Battlefield 6‘s, according to market data from GSD.

The game is also reportedly down over 50% in Europe compared to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, though circumstances are significantly different this year.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Launch Sales 63% Lower Than Battlefield 6's in Europe
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has disappointed in Europe, with the latest game falling behind competitor Battlefield 6 in opening week sales.
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:43 AM
FX has ordered an anthology series adaptation of Ubisoft's Far Cry, reports Variety.

It will star Rob Mac (It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia, Mythic Quest), who will also executive produce.

Noah Hawley (Fargo, Alien: Earth) will also executive produce.

variety.com/2025/tv/news...
November 25, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Reposted by This Week in Videogames
Among Us x Stardew Valley! Terraria x Don’t Starve Together! Balatro x Literally Every Other Game!

You might've noticed more and more indie game collaborations popping up, and wondering how and why they came to be.

Well wonder no more! Innersloth's @victoriatran.bsky.social explains:

[PAYWALLED]
What's With All the Indie Game Crossover Collaborations? - Indie Insight
Ever wonder why there seem to be so many indie crossover collaborations? Innersloth's Victoria Tran shares some of the rationale.
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:09 AM
A new report from People Make Games claims discussions amongst Rockstar employees about internal Slack policy changes led to the firing of 30+ workers.

The supposed change removed non-work-related channels and emote statuses, which workers discussed in a union Discord, leading to an investigation.
Rockstar Allegedly Fired Union Employees Over Slack Policy Change Communications, Suggests Report
A new report from People Make Games claims that discussion amongst Rockstar workers about Slack policy changes led to the firing of 34 workers.
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Among Us x Stardew Valley! Terraria x Don’t Starve Together! Balatro x Literally Every Other Game!

You might've noticed more and more indie game collaborations popping up, and wondering how and why they came to be.

Well wonder no more! Innersloth's @victoriatran.bsky.social explains:

[PAYWALLED]
What's With All the Indie Game Crossover Collaborations? - Indie Insight
Ever wonder why there seem to be so many indie crossover collaborations? Innersloth's Victoria Tran shares some of the rationale.
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Reposted by This Week in Videogames
Why is Hollywood suddenly so obsessed with mining videogames for ideas, and more importantly, making sure they get it right?

We get some industry perspectives, including BAFTA Award-winning actress of film, TV, and games Jane Perry (Hitman, Returnal)
Videogames Are a “Natural Goldmine” in Film Industry’s Hunt for the Next Great IP
"What we're seeing in games now are really sophisticated narrative designs," says actress Jane Perry. "The same ingredients that would make a great film or TV series."
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:00 PM
IO Interactive's CEO thinks the developer has gotten the "single-player live-service" formula right.

"World of Assassination is an example showing that everything doesn’t have to be on steroids and crazy."

He also claims that the success of Hitman completely funded development of 007 First Light.
IO Interactive CEO Says "We're Onto Something With Single Player Game-as-a-Service"
IO Interactive has spoken about the success of Hitman World of Assassination's service model, saying it's a safer bet than multiplayer games.
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 23, 2025 at 6:00 AM
Valve has reiterated that it expects the Steam Machine to cost about as much as a PC made of equivalent hardware.

"Right now is just a hard time to have a really good idea of what the price is going to be because there’s a lot of different things that are fluctuating.”
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
November 22, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Why is Hollywood suddenly so obsessed with mining videogames for ideas, and more importantly, making sure they get it right?

We get some industry perspectives, including BAFTA Award-winning actress of film, TV, and games Jane Perry (Hitman, Returnal)
Videogames Are a “Natural Goldmine” in Film Industry’s Hunt for the Next Great IP
"What we're seeing in games now are really sophisticated narrative designs," says actress Jane Perry. "The same ingredients that would make a great film or TV series."
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Valve says it's working on anti-cheat compatibility issues for online games on SteamOS.

A Valve developer remarked that the company has opened up its platform APIs for developers to work with.

They caveated that "game developers will have to decide at their own rhythm" to build support, however.
Valve Addresses Steam Machine Anti-Cheat Concerns, Says It's Working Towards Support
Developers and publishers will have to "decide at their own rhythm" if they want to make their games compatible with SteamOS and the Steam Machine.
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:00 AM