This Week in Videogames - TWIV

In the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, there is an island. It's 1,700 miles from the nearest major city. The population is 220 people. There's one Steam account. @jamiehore.bsky.social set himself the ridiculous task of finding the most remote gamer in the world. This is their story:

"[For] people that do invest in physical — the easiest way to lose something is not to support it," says Darren Simpson of UK games retailer, The Game Collection. Simpson was one of several speakers on a panel about the future of physical games at MCM London Comic Con. Here's a recap:

A petition calling on EA to continue developing the Mass Effect series has attracted over 200,000 signatures in five days. The petition calls on EA to either restart development internally or "consider licensing the Mass Effect intellectual property to another studio."

Xbox Chief Operating Officer Helen Chiang has left her position just three months after her appointment. Per reporting from Eurogamer, a source familiar with the situation said Chiang was allegedly "terminated for policy violations."

Microsoft has given subsidiary Arkane Lyon a one-month extension on its reported 13 November 2026 deadline to find a new buyer, following union pressure. The two parties will continue to "explore options, including finding a partner to support the studio through the development work still ahead."

"[For] people that do invest in physical — the easiest way to lose something is not to support it," says Darren Simpson of UK games retailer, The Game Collection. Simpson was one of several speakers on a panel about the future of physical games at MCM London Comic Con. Here's a recap:

Childhood memories of British seaside holidays and school trips inspire the spookiness of 'There Are No Ghosts at the Grand.' “When you look back at these memories, maybe 40 or 50 years later when the memory is vague, all you really capture is that feeling, and that feeling is the ghost story.”

Valve developer Mike Morasky has seemingly confirmed the existence of the project known as HLX, long rumoured to be a new Half-Life game. The HLX name has been regularly appearing in code updates for other Valve games that use its Source 2 engine, such as Deadlock, Counter-Strike 2, and Dota 2.

Epic Games has announced an 'AI MegaJam', offering a prize pool of US $65,000 for the best projects built in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite. Despite previously suggesting participants must use AI tools however, Epic has now said you can “use as little or as much AI as you want."

Canada’s New Democratic Party leader Avi Lewis has said that Canadian studio BioWare should "be given the first opportunity — and the federal support — to buy it and run it themselves" following its closure.

Childhood memories of British seaside holidays and school trips inspire the spookiness of 'There Are No Ghosts at the Grand.' “When you look back at these memories, maybe 40 or 50 years later when the memory is vague, all you really capture is that feeling, and that feeling is the ghost story.”

Valve developer Mike Morasky has seemingly confirmed the existence of the project known as HLX, long rumoured to be a new Half-Life game. The HLX name has been regularly appearing in code updates for other Valve games that use its Source 2 engine, such as Deadlock, Counter-Strike 2, and Dota 2.

“Every time we’ve designed an Xbox, we’ve heard internally and externally it’s the last Xbox," says Chris Kujawski, Senior Director of Design for Xbox hardware. "There’s going to be a place for [Xbox home consoles] for a long time,” he told TWIV, while conceding it "probably won’t be true forever."

“Every time we’ve designed an Xbox, we’ve heard internally and externally it’s the last Xbox," says Chris Kujawski, Senior Director of Design for Xbox hardware. "There’s going to be a place for [Xbox home consoles] for a long time,” he told TWIV, while conceding it "probably won’t be true forever."

A data breach at Capcom has exposed “certain customer information” related to Capcom ID. This includes 11.7 million records of emails, 43 records of information like gender and date of birth, and unauthorised changes to the Capcom ID passwords of 196 accounts.

Canada’s New Democratic Party leader Avi Lewis has said that Canadian studio BioWare should "be given the first opportunity — and the federal support — to buy it and run it themselves" following its closure.

Epic Games has announced an 'AI MegaJam', offering a prize pool of US $65,000 for the best projects built in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite. Despite previously suggesting participants must use AI tools however, Epic has now said you can “use as little or as much AI as you want."

TWIV has confirmed the regional pricing for Xbox's upcoming prepaid Cloud Playtime packages, as it applies to the US, UK, Europe, and Australia. 10 hours: US $3.99 / £2.99 / €3.49 / AU $5.95 25 hours: US $7.99 / £5.99 / €6.99 / AU $11.95 50 hours: US $11.99 / £8.99 / €10.99 / AU $17.95

TWIV has confirmed the regional pricing for Xbox's upcoming prepaid Cloud Playtime packages, as it applies to the US, UK, Europe, and Australia. 10 hours: US $3.99 / £2.99 / €3.49 / AU $5.95 25 hours: US $7.99 / £5.99 / €6.99 / AU $11.95 50 hours: US $11.99 / £8.99 / €10.99 / AU $17.95

A Nintendo Switch 2 owner claims to have achieved the first jailbreak of the console with the help of agentic AI tools. The news follows recent efforts from the homebrew community to jailbreak the PlayStation 5 on its current firmware.

Fortnite has returned to the App Store in Australia after the Federal Court ruled that Apple must open its ecosystem to alternative app stores and payment methods. Fortnite has already returned to the App Store in other regions. Apple has said it will challenge the decision.

Xbox has announced US pricing for "Cloud Playtime," prepaid blocks of time to use the company's cloud game streaming service. International pricing is to be confirmed. The company previously announced new time limits to Cloud Gaming for Game Pass subscribers, as well as ad-supported options.

EA has announced the closure of BioWare, the cancellation of the next Mass Effect and a mobile Sims title, and layoffs on the Skate team. 400 people will be affected. The news follows the completion of its private acquisition by a consortium led by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.

A new report from consultancy firm Vivrato, based on interviews with 100+ games industry leaders across North America and Europe, says that 94% of them are using some form of AI in their projects. Those surveyed suggested the depth at which AI has been integrated is still fairly low, however.

Roughly 60 Netflix Games employees have reportedly been laid off in a larger wave of redundancies at the streaming company, as subscribers’ engagement with games on the platform falls short of expectations. Only 3.5% of subscribers reportedly play games on Netflix every month.

A Fortune profile on Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has reported details on Project Helix, including projected price and release windows, and alleged tension with Windows teams over the operating system. It also claims the next waves of Xbox layoffs are tentatively set for November 2026 and January 2027.

EA has announced the closure of BioWare, the cancellation of the next Mass Effect and a mobile Sims title, and layoffs on the Skate team. 400 people will be affected. The news follows the completion of its private acquisition by a consortium led by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.

Former Sony Computer Entertainment chairman and CEO Ken Kutaragi has commented on the decision to end physical disc production for new PlayStation games. “I really understand [the upset] […] maybe it’s a mentality issue,” he said, adding that disc production may not be “economically reasonable."

A senior Microsoft business strategist has deactivated his Twitter account after making a series of posts encouraging AI adoption and declaring "we use AI, just as all companies do in 2026." "I’m happy to take the hit if it means hundreds at Xbox can stop pretending that they’re not using AI"

European age rating agency PEGI has begun updating the ratings of digital-only titles containing "paid random item" mechanics. Games like Overwatch, League of Legends, and Fallout Shelter are now rated PEGI 16 in accordance with the new criteria − the baseline for any title loot box-like mechanics.

Two indie developers have announced plans to scale back previously scheduled public playtests, and remove public demos of their upcoming games, due to fears of clone games developed using genAI. ReVamp developer Digital Sun called for platforms to "keep strengthening protections for original work."

Two indie developers have announced plans to scale back previously scheduled public playtests, and remove public demos of their upcoming games, due to fears of clone games developed using genAI. ReVamp developer Digital Sun called for platforms to "keep strengthening protections for original work."

Konami's Digital Entertainment president has downplayed the impact AI will have on the games industry, saying the “chemical reaction” of having the right people in development teams is hard to replace.

Wizards of the Coast has refused to recognise a union formed by the Dungeons & Dragons and Studio X (Magic: The Gathering) teams. It also failed to recognise a Magic: The Gathering Arena union back in May, after which members elected to unionise on their own regardless.

'Samson' developer Liquid Swords has been declared bankrupt by Swedish authorities after reportedly not paying its staff for months. Liquid Swords was founded in 2020 by Christofer Sundberg, the co-founder of Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios. It received investment from NetEase in 2022.

Tenebris Somnia is a horror game that mixes 2D pixel art gameplay with terrifying live-action sequences. @axelbosso.bsky.social chats with game director Andrés Borghi and New Blood CEO @dave.newblood.games about how it came to be, and its promise to be anything but ordinary.

In Showa American Story, Japanese culture rules over America. That takeover is aided by 100+ original tracks representing Japan’s most beloved musical eras. @nomoredaniels.bsky.social speaks to creative director and first-time songwriter Xiangyu ‘XY.Luo’ Luo about enka, city pop, and nostalgia.

The Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake might seem familiar to your muscle memory, but its world feels like a different place entirely. Two hours with the game made @edmondtran.bsky.social curious about the minor details of a place that feels lush and lived in, but we haven't really been to yet.

Dean Hall, creator of DayZ and founder of RocketWerkz, has announced that his new development framework Brutal will be open source and free to use. Hall criticises the likes of Unity and Unreal Engine, saying that the companies behind the engines "consistently fail to be accountable to developers."

An online community dedicated to supporting and tracking videogame reverse engineering projects has wound down following a recent influx of AI-created decompilations (decomps). Its organiser claims that the recent buzz around AI decomp projects has "warped decompilation into a hollow numbers game."

Unionised quality assurance testers at Activision have “overwhelmingly” voted for strike authorisation following delays to over two years of negotiations. "We are exploring every option available to secure the fair contract we deserve," said a committee member.

Activision’s Chief Marketing Officer, Tyler Bahl, has said in an interview with The Game Business that a “new sub-franchise” is being developed for the Call of Duty series.

Tenebris Somnia is a horror game that mixes 2D pixel art gameplay with terrifying live-action sequences. @axelbosso.bsky.social chats with game director Andrés Borghi and New Blood CEO @dave.newblood.games about how it came to be, and its promise to be anything but ordinary.

Total War: Shogun 2 - Complete Edition has been pulled from storefronts after launching to an 'Overwhelmingly Negative' reception. Players criticised the release for bugs, poor mod support, and accused the developer of using genAI upscaling for in-game art.

Big Walk will not be coming to Xbox "in accordance with the Palestinian-led BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement’s call to boycott Microsoft," per developer House House. BDS previously designated Microsoft as a boycott target, and called on users to boycott Xbox products in April 2025.

League of Legends Classic, which aimed to emulate the feel and meta of the early days of the MOBA, will be retired in January 2027 just five months after launch. Riot Games says that “most [Classic players] have gone back to other parts of League.“

Xbox is reportedly surveying users on how they would feel about a harder pivot to console exclusivity for the company, according to Windows Central. The survey apparently asked where users would play Xbox-developed titles if they were console exclusive, naming games like Fallout and Physint.

Big Walk will not be coming to Xbox "in accordance with the Palestinian-led BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement’s call to boycott Microsoft," per developer House House. BDS previously designated Microsoft as a boycott target, and called on users to boycott Xbox products in April 2025.