Oh, you’re back. This week I’ve mostly been attempting to learn how to DM in a bid to convince my friends to immerse themselves in some D&D tomfoolery.
And by attempting, I mean I’ve tried and failed to mentally ingest the rather dense explainer included in the D&D Starter Set about nine times to no avail. There are how many dice? What exactly is initiative? Just how did we misplace the Lost Mine of Phandelver?
I’m sure I’ll get there in the end, but if you have any tips I’m always open to receiving reader mail. Advice on a postcard please.
The remaining hours of my fleeting waking life have been spent toiling away in the news mines—and there was plenty hidden in the digital depths.
This week, we saw Valve and Mastercard continue their squabble over the censorship of adult content, Nintendo increase the price of Switch hardware in the United States, and Raven QA workers secure their first ever union contract.
I also read some insightful articles from the fine folks over at Kotaku, Game File, and IGN—all of which have been smuggled into this week’s edition. Want to stay in the know? Then keep scrolling.
via IGN // Mark Darrah, the person who was at one point responsible for bringing EA and BioWare’s live-service dud Anthem to market, has published a fascinating new video detailing what went wrong with the now-infamous shooter. IGN has uploaded a sharp summary of Darrah’s testimony, which explains how executive pressure, internal secrecy, and a single arbitrary number ultimately derailed the project.
via VGHF // Woah! The Video Game History Foundation has acquired the rights to Computer Entertainer as part of its ongoing mission to preserve and catalog ever kernel of video game history it can find. The non-profit has digitised the magazine’s entire print run and released it into the creative commons, allowing anybody—I repeat ANYBODY—to use it for research. publication, or any other purpose they can dream up. History in motion, baby.
via VGC // After Bungie’s upcoming shooter Marathon received a rather, um, mixed reaction from players during a closed beta and was subsequently delayed, Sony has told investors it plans to keep the studio on a shorter leash. The Japanese company acquired Bungie in 2023 and said it would remain relatively independent. Now, however, Sony CFO Lin Tao has indicated those days are over. “We have gone through structural reform [with Bungie], as we announced last year, so this independence is getting lighter, and Bungie is shifting into a role which is becoming more part of PlayStation Studios, and integration is proceeding.” As for Marathon, the shooter is slated to launch during the fiscal year ending Match 2026.
via Game Developer // The PlayStation 5 has squeaked past 80 million lifetime sales after Sony bundled another 2.5 million consoles out of the door during Q1. The current-generation console has now sold exactly 80.3 million units in around five years. It’s a pretty hefty number but still well behind the lifetime sales of the PlayStation 4, which sold over 117 million units worldwide.
via Game Developer // The sweeping tariffs imposed by U.S. president Donald Trump look to be having an impact—just not in a way that’s benefiting consumers in the country. Earlier this week, Nintendo increased the price of hardware that’s about to celebrate a decade on shelves due to shifting market condition in the United States. Although the Japanese company didn’t mention tariffs specifically, the latest levies imposed by Trump included a 20 percent tariff on Vietnam—one of Nintendo’s major production hubs. Another masterstroke from Donald.
via Game File // Time Flies, a fascinating little puzzler about our fleeting time on this planet, launched at the end of July and is a morsel we think should be on everybody’s radar. The title enables players to tweak their difficulty settings by choosing a country of origin for their fly. The longer that country’s average life expectancy, the more time you’ll have to buzz around checking tasks of your bucket list. It’s a compelling if somewhat morbid approach—and one that might require frequent updates in order to accurately reflect the current state of the world.
via Game Developer // IGN parent company Ziff Davis just posted its “strongest quarterly revenue growth since 2021,” with gaming and entertainment revenue increasing by 7.5 percent year-over-year. Huzzah! Bonuses and champagne for everyone! In another reality, maybe. In this timeline, the conglomate instead chose to make eight members of the IGN team redundant, including some members of the IGN Union. 23 people were laid off across the board. Oh, those cuts also come after a massive acquisition drive. Go figure.
via Kotaku // Payment provider Mastercard has been catching flack for seemingly forcing Valve and Itch to curb the sale of adult and NSFW content on their platforms. The company was accused of pressuring both to adapt their policies at the behest of a anti-porn movement called Collective Shout. Confusion and anger understandably ensued. Mastercard eventually commented on the matter and said it hasn’t imposted restrictions “of any activity on game creator sites and platforms” and all was forgiven. Wait, scratch that last part. Valve quickly cast doubt on those claims in a statement to Kotaku and explained that while Mastercard did not communicate with it directly, the company did express concerns “through payment processor and banking intermediaries.” Feud reignited.
via Game Developer // Amid mass layoffs at Microsoft, a handful of QA workers within the company’s Raven Software subsidiary scored a massive victory this week after securing their first union contract. 19 members of the Game Workers Alliance-CWA ratified a contract after three years of bargaining, securing wage increases, crunch and layoff protections, expanded disability accommodations, and more. “Going from organizing to sitting across the table from one of the largest tech corporations in the world was a huge learning curve, but we never lost sight of why we were there,” said Autumn Prazuch, QA tester at Raven Software and bargaining committee member. “We fought hard for raises and job structures that will finally make QA a sustainable career path.” Hear hear.
