IGN Cuts Veteran Staff Mid-Crunch, Union Says It Was Blindsided

Ziff Davis laid off an undisclosed number of IGN employees on 14 September, including long-serving video hosts Seth Macy and Brian Altano and tech writer Bo Moore — the latter on the same day his Steam Frame coverage ran on the front page. The IGN Creators Guild confirmed at least four union members were among those let go, calling the timing 'awful'. Ziff Davis has been running rolling editorial cuts across its games-media portfolio since acquiring Eurogamer and Rock Paper Shotgun in 2024, and with no publisher formally in place since John Davison left over a year ago, there's no obvious brake on that pattern.

Kotaku →

Elder Scrolls Lore Master Can't Land a Role After Bethesda Exit

Kurt Kuhlmann, a 20-year Bethesda veteran whose fingerprints are on Oblivion and Skyrim's lore, has been publicly unable to find work months after being laid off. His situation isn't unique, but his profile makes it impossible to ignore: if studios aren't hiring someone who built the foundations of one of the best-selling RPG series ever, the industry's appetite for senior creative talent is in a bleak place.

GamesRadar+ →

Fable Survived Xbox's Layoff Cycle — Playground Explains How

Playground Games has opened up about how Fable survived a decade in development while studios around it were cut or closed. The short version: Xbox ring-fenced it, apparently treating the IP as too culturally significant to let slip. It's a rare admission that platform holders do sometimes protect specific bets, even as the broader organisation sheds staff.

IGN →

Warhorse Is Building a Lord of the Rings RPG Alongside Its Next Kingdom Come Game

The Wikipedia entry for Warhorse Studios confirms the studio is developing two open-world RPGs simultaneously: a follow-up Kingdom Come adventure under creative director Prokop Jirsa, and a Middle-earth RPG led by Viktor Bocan. Running two AAA open-world projects at once is ambitious for a studio of Warhorse's size, but after Kingdom Come: Deliverance II's reception, publishers are clearly backing the bet.

Wikipedia →

WoW Veteran Claims AI Gave His Studio a 93x Speed Boost

Mark 'Grummz' Kern spent six months using AI tools to rip Unreal Engine out of his long-running project Em-8ER and replace it with a custom, AI-first engine. He's now claiming a 93x development speed increase and arguing that studios no longer need commercial engines at all. The number will raise eyebrows, and the methodology deserves scrutiny, but if even a fraction of that gain holds up it points to a meaningful shift in what small teams can do.

That Park Place →

Roblox Is Using AI to Let Anyone Build a Game — and That's Actually the Point

Roblox has been quietly building AI creation tools aimed at removing the technical barrier to game-making entirely on its platform. The company is also leaning on AI for content safety moderation alongside human review. Roblox's Analyst Day sent shares up 11% on the day, suggesting investors think the AI-creator bet has legs.

Analytics Insight →

Roblox Analyst Day Sends Shares Up 11% on AI and Engagement Features

Roblox stock climbed 11% on 14 September after analysts reacted positively to new AI and engagement features revealed at the company's own developer conference. It's one of the cleaner data points we've had on how Wall Street is pricing the AI-in-UGC-games story right now.

Investopedia →

Steam Accidentally Labelled an Indie Vampire RPG as Porn — Wishlists Doubled

Valve mistakenly applied an adult content rating to an indie vampire RPG, then reversed it. The developer reports the error was stressful but ended up doubling their wishlist count overnight. It's a useful, if chaotic, reminder of how opaque Valve's content classification pipeline still is for small studios.

PC Gamer →

Nintendo eShop Gets 63 New Games This Week, Including Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave

Sixty-three titles hit the Nintendo eShop this week, headlined by Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection, and Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter. The volume underscores both the eShop's continued growth as a release platform and the ongoing challenge of visibility for any given title in the pile.

iXBT Games →

The World's Biggest Indie Showcase Is Back Next Month With Eight World Premieres

Evil Empire's indie showcase returns in October, bringing eight exclusive world premieres and updates on Hela: of Mice and Magic, the new Among Us title, Pony Island 2: Panda Circus, and Outward 2, among others. For indie studios without the marketing budget to go it alone, this kind of consolidated showcase is still one of the most efficient ways to get in front of players.

MSN →

Persona 4 Revival Gamescom Demo Was Competent But Cautious

Shacknews got hands-on with Persona 4 Revival at Gamescom and found a game that carries over the responsive combat and strong UI design of Persona 3: Reload with no real surprises attached. That's not a criticism exactly, but for a series that used to feel like a genuine step forward, 'more of the same, done well' is a complicated pitch.

Shacknews →

Sony Is Sunsetting PlayStation Physical Discs — Hideo Kojima Has Thoughts

Sony has confirmed it is phasing out physical disc releases for PlayStation, prompting a wave of industry comment including from Hideo Kojima. The Resident Evil film director Zach Cregger says he's 'not a physical media guy', which is the kind of opinion that lands differently when your film opens in cinemas on 18 September. The end of PlayStation physical is a meaningful shift in how back-catalogues, ownership rights, and game preservation work.

GamesRadar+ →

TCG Card Shop Simulator Hits 1.0, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis Gets Its Next Episode

14 September brought the full launch of TCG Card Shop Simulator alongside a new episode of Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis and a character reveal for Fate/Extra Record. Relatively quiet by September 2026 standards, but TCG Card Shop Simulator in particular has built a surprisingly dedicated following in early access.

Simulation Daily →

GameStop Is Reopening Stores — Starting With at Least One in Ohio

GameStop has announced it is reopening 'select' previously closed stores, with CEO Ryan Cohen buying 1 million shares around the same time. The first confirmed reopening is in Brooklyn, Ohio. It's a small move, but combined with Cohen's personal investment it signals the company is making another attempt at physical retail rather than winding down entirely.

Fox Business →

Console Games Market Projected to Hit $125.83 Billion by 2030

A new market analysis projects the global console games market will reach $125.83 billion by 2030, growing at an 8.4% CAGR. The number is a press-release projection, so take it with appropriate salt, but the directional trend is consistent with other forecasts and supports the case that console gaming, despite the rise of mobile, is not a declining category.

openPR →

Indie Showcase Confirms Eight World Premiere Slots — Publisher Interest Still Strong

Evil Empire's upcoming indie showcase locking in eight world premieres signals that publisher and developer appetite for concentrated visibility moments remains healthy, even as individual marketing budgets tighten. The line-up includes Outward 2 and the new Among Us title, which suggests mid-tier and indie titles still see this format as a viable alternative to solo announcements.

MSN →