Tag Archives: Video Games

Games, Gaming, Mobile, News

Resident Evil Survival Unit: A Strategic Spin on Survival Horror

Capcom has just pulled back the curtain on Resident Evil Survival Unit, a bold new mobile strategy game that reimagines the franchise’s DNA for handheld devices. Co-developed by Aniplex and JOYCITY, this title marks a significant departure from the traditional survival horror formula—without losing the eerie charm fans crave.

Unlike its console predecessors, Survival Unit leans into real-time strategy mechanics. Players will manage survivors, build fortified bases, and make tactical decisions in a city overrun by bioweapons. Think XCOM meets Resident Evil, with a mobile-first design philosophy.

  • Base-building & resource management: Restore a crumbling mansion into a stronghold.
  • Survivor deployment: Assign characters to roles based on their unique skills.
  • Combat tactics: Position turrets, lead squads, and adapt to enemy threats in real time.

Set in an alternate timeline, the game begins with the protagonist awakening in a mysterious hospital—used as a test subject by the infamous Umbrella Corporation. As the story unfolds, players navigate a fractured reality where familiar faces return in unexpected ways.

  • Original narrative: Separate from the mainline series, yet steeped in lore.
  • Moral choices: Ally with survivor factions or go rogue.
  • Exploration: Uncover secrets hidden in the ruins of a devastated city.

Fan-favorites like Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield, and Jill Valentine headline the roster, joined by lesser-known allies such as Barry Burton, Alyssa Ashcroft, and even the enigmatic Merchant. Each character brings distinct abilities to your tactical toolkit.

Legendary artist Yoshitaka Amano (of Final Fantasy fame) has designed an original creature named Mortem, a grotesque villain that embodies the game’s surreal horror aesthetic. Executive Producer Shinji Hashimoto facilitated this collaboration, promising more surprises in future updates.

Pre-Registration & Release Window

The game is slated to launch by the end of 2025, with pre-registration now live on the App Store and Google Play. Early adopters will receive:

  • Starter resources
  • Rare survivor gear
  • Speed-up items for cooldown mechanics
  • Milestone-based community rewards

According to Hashimoto, the franchise’s “unique survival element” naturally lends itself to strategic gameplay. With Resident Evil Requiem (RE9) continuing the mainline saga, Survival Unit offers a fresh, cerebral experience for fans craving something different.

Whether you’re a die-hard Resident Evil/Biohazard veteran or a curious newcomer, Resident Evil Survival Unit promises to expand the franchise’s reach while honoring its roots. And for those of us who value physical media and historical preservation—this mobile entry might just be the gateway to deeper conversations about how franchises evolve in the digital age.

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Resident Evil Survival Unit
Developer: Aniplex Inc.
Price: To be announced
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‎Resident Evil Survival Unit
Developer: Aniplex Inc.
Price: Free+
Featured, Games, Gaming, Playstation

Ghost of Yotei State of Play: The Deep Dive

A State of Play dedicated to Ghost of Yotei took place, and at the event, Sucker Punch Productions shared expectations for the game.

On the narrative side, it’s set 300 years after the events of Ghost of Tsushima. Ghost of Yotei centers on Atsu, a woman thirsty for revenge against a gang of assassins known as the “Yotei Six,” who killed her family in front of her. She takes on the pseudonym of Onryo (ghost) to begin her revenge in the mountains of Yotei, Japan.

Game mechanics include:

  • A task draw system among investigation cards, which will help you have alternate tasks and find both primary and elective objectives.
  • Rewards within Yotei through hunting wanted people.
  • Skills earned at relaxation/meditation sites.
  • An arsenal based on authentic Japanese weapons (Katana, Kodachi, Kunai, double-blade, bombs, and more).
  • Synergy with a mysterious wolf helps even in battles with multiple enemies.

A detail that adds realism to the game: depending on your performance in battle, you can even be disarmed if it’s poor, and stealth will be important, and its effectiveness will depend on the weapon in use.

Your arsenal is how you define your fighting style, and of course, the game will include cosmetics for visual preferences.

Additionally, the game will feature a resource and Atsu status upgrade system simulated as camp rest scenarios, which helps increase the chances of progression and also fosters allies.

Key Gameplay Mechanics

FeatureDetailsSource
Investigation CardsA card-based system tracks leads and unlocks bounties across Mount Yotei2
Guiding WindWaypoint-free breeze mechanic returns to subtly direct you2
Camp SystemEstablish camps to cook, play music, and recruit NPCs2
Combat ArsenalDual katanas, ōdachi blade, kusarigama sickle, plus a wolf companion2
Disarm MechanicPerform quick parries to strip enemies of their weapons2
Special Visual ModesKurosawa-style black-and-white filter; Samurai Champloo lo-fi beats mode2

Built from the ground up for PS5, Ghost of Yotei showcases:

  • Ray-traced lighting, HDR bloom, and snow effects
  • Instantaneous load times via the PS5 SSD
  • Rich environmental storytelling in Hokkaido’s historic Ezo region, complete with dynamic weather and wildlife behaviors

The main soundtrack was directed by Toma Owora, relying heavily on traditional Japanese instruments along with lo-fi tracks composed by the director of the anime Samurai Champloo. The game also includes the ability to play the game with Japanese dialogue. There will also be a Photo Mode.

Ghost of Yotei will also feature a Kurosawa mode, which will apply a black and white image filter as a tribute to classic Japanese films.

The game will be released on October 2nd, and in addition to the standard, Premium, and Collector’s Editions (which will be sold exclusively through PlayStation Direct), there will be a limited-edition PlayStation 5 console inspired by the game. It will feature two color finishes and will include a digital version of the game with DLC additions, also available for those who pre-order the base game.

One will feature a gold finish in the kintsugi art style, which is based on repairing ceramic materials with gold coatings. The other will feature a black finish, based on the Sumi-e art style, which specializes in the use of black ink with a brush. This edition, like the Collector’s Edition, will be sold exclusively through PlayStation Direct, while the gold version will be available globally.

Editorial, Featured, Gaming

It is time to talk about Meld if you haven’t already had a conversation

Last year, while researching lightweight streaming tools, I stumbled across Meld Studio mentioned in a few community threads. Its promise of pro-grade features without the usual resource drain sounded too good to ignore. I bookmarked the project, but life—and a relentless OBS setup—kept me from digging deeper.

Then, out of the blue, community manager iSageSen reached out with a personal invitation. The timing couldn’t have been better: fellow content creator Killswicth from RegimentGG had just commiserated with me over OBS’s tangled settings, CPU spikes, and that maddening latency when switching scenes live. Suddenly, Meld wasn’t just another app in the crowd; it was my next experiment.

From day one Meld Studio has been 100% free—no limits, no watermarks, no account needed. The team has already signaled that future monetization will come via optional add-ons and a plugin marketplace, not by locking up today’s free features behind a paywall. As one early user put it: “Everything you love about OBS with Adobe-like effects, it’s free, it will eventually have add-ons. And it’s faster, uses fewer resources.”

This approach keeps the core experience accessible for everyone, while giving power users the choice to invest in specialized effects, advanced audio tools (like VST3 plugins), or bespoke scene packs down the line.

Now, With version 0.9.3.4, Meld Studio tackles two of streaming’s biggest pain points head-on:

Better Media Layer Capabilities,

Now you can customize your media layers so that you have more control over what they do.

  • Play the media clip when layer becomes visible,
  • Hide the layer when media is done playing,
  • Freeze your media on the last frame when it is done playing,

Vertical Replay Clip

Want to share your epic moments from your vertical canvas? Now you can use the replay clip feature with your vertical canvas to share instantly with your audience!

This was a update later after the 0.9.3.1 which offers also two high demand featured with:

  • Instant Clip Replays
    Capture and replay the prior 90 seconds of your live feed instantly—no pre-buffer setup required.
  • Dual Bitrate Recording
    Stream at a stable, lower bitrate for your audience while saving a high-bitrate master file for spot-on VOD edits.

Beyond these headliners, the release smooths out B-frame performance, refines audio track sorting in the mixer, and adds one-click Kick integration. It’s the kind of polish that turns fiddly configuration into set-and-forget confidence.

How Meld Stacks Up Against OBS

FeatureOBS StudioMeld Studio v0.9.3.4
Clip ReplayRequires external pluginBuilt-in, instant 90-second buffer
MultistreamingThird-party tools neededNative, unlimited, free
Bitrate RecordingSingle-track onlyDual bitrate (stream + master)
Resource UsageHigh CPU/GPU impactOptimized, lightweight
Audio Track ManagementManual routingAutomated sorting in mixer

Meld’s built-in multistreaming is a revelation for anyone juggling multiple audiences—and yes, it’s totally free:

  • Unlimited Destinations
    Simultaneously stream to Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook Live, Kick, or any custom RTMP endpoint.
  • Effortless Setup
    Navigate to File → Preferences → General → Add Output. Then toggle each platform live from the top-right panel.
  • Zero Watermarks or Hidden Limits
    No surprise caps, no embeddable logos—just raw, direct feeds across every network you choose.

Whether you’re courting the desktop gamers on Twitch or chasing vertical-video views on TikTok, you can do it all without extra apps or subscription fees.

Meld Studio’s ethos has remained rock-solid since day one: a fully free core experience. While the team’s roadmap hasn’t been made public due being a small but laser-focus team, it has been promises optional premium add-ons—think advanced VST3 audio plugins, bespoke scene packs, and specialized effects—rather than gating today’s features behind paywalls.

It is true that recently Meld team via CEO Joel Clay, acknowledged that as a company, they will need monetize their service, but it will NOT be with everything they had launch with Meld Studio so far and I can guess that this is including the multistream cloud service.

What we can expect to be at Premium will be the in-house capacity of Meld Studio on editing video and content directly, but we are pending to know how this will make people chose over free alternatives like HitFilm Express, DaVinci Resolve or if there are good considerations over paid services like Adobe After Effects or Wondershare Filmora Sute.

I am eager to already know!

From my first tentative mention of Meld last year to that direct message from iSageSen, this journey has been about more than new software—it’s been about rethinking how we share our stories live. Version 0.9.3.4 isn’t just an update; it’s proof that streaming can be powerful, accessible, and flexible all at once.

While I am in a gaming livestream hiatus, Meld either way has served me on content creation without the need of going live, so there is no deyning that Meld Studio has given creators a taste of freedom. And by keeping the core free and promising add-ons over paywalls, they’ve set a new bar for what every streamer should expect from their toolkit.

Games, Gaming, News

Steel Hunters will be sunset

In a move that’s become all too familiar in the live-service landscape, Wargaming has announced the sunset of Steel Hunters—its ambitious mech-based PvPvE shooter—just three months after its early access launch. The servers will officially shut down on October 8, 2025, marking the end of a short-lived but passionate experiment.

A Promising Launch, A Swift Decline

Released in April 2025, Steel Hunters was Wargaming’s attempt to break away from its legacy titles like World of Tanks and World of Warships. With its sleek mech designs, faction-based customization, and destructible environments, the game promised a fresh take on competitive multiplayer. Early impressions were hopeful, with some players drawing comparisons to Titanfall and Hawken.

But despite its potential, Steel Hunters struggled to maintain momentum. Peak concurrent players on Steam barely reached 4,479, and by July, that number had plummeted to under 100. The game’s “mixed” reviews cited a lack of roadmap, slow updates, and a confusing progression system as major pain points.

In a heartfelt blog post, Wargaming addressed the community:

You’ve given us so much passion and support but unfortunately we’ve come to the conclusion that continuing development is not sustainable. We know this isn’t the news anyone wanted to hear and we genuinely share in your disappointment.

What Happens Now:

Let’s make these final months special together!

  • Servers Will Stay Live for 90 Days: We want you to enjoy Steel Hunters fully until the very end so we’ll be keeping the game servers running for three months from today. Expect them to shut down around October 8th.
  • Custom Games: In the coming weeks we’ll roll out custom game support so you can play with your friends set up community matches and create some final memories together.
  • All Hunters Fully Unlocked: As a thank you for your dedication we’re unlocking every Hunter for all players with the new game mode – including Hunters nobody has seen yet. Try them out explore and have fun!
  • Farewell Tournament: We’re also planning a goodbye tournament to celebrate your love for competition and the amazing community you’ve built. More details soon on Discord.

We are immensely grateful for your time feedback memes and the countless memorable battles we’ve shared. From the very first days of Alpha you’ve shaped Steel Hunters with your energy creativity and dedication and we’re honored to have had you on this journey. We couldn’t have wished for a better community and we’ll miss you all dearly.

Thank you Hunters for everything.

The demise of Steel Hunters isn’t just a story of one game—it’s a reflection of the broader challenges facing live-service titles. In an era where players are entrenched in ecosystems like Fortnite and Call of Duty, new entries struggle to carve out space. Even with solid mechanics and a passionate dev team, Steel Hunters couldn’t overcome the inertia of a saturated market.

Creative Director Sergey Titarenko once admitted that sticking to the World of Tanks IP might’ve been safer. Instead, the team chose to innovate—and while it didn’t pan out, that risk deserves recognition.

Steel Hunters may be fading into digital oblivion, but its brief existence offered a glimpse of what mech shooters could be in the modern age. For fans of physical media and gaming preservation, this is yet another reminder of the fragility of digital-only experiences. When the servers go dark, so too does a piece of gaming history.

If you played Steel Hunters, now’s the time to jump back in, unlock everything, and make some final memories. And if you didn’t—well, maybe it’s worth booting up just once, before it’s gone forever.

STEEL HUNTERS – Steel Hunters Sunsetting – Steam News
A farewell to Steel Hunters: final updates, full unlocks, and our thanks to the community.
Source/Via
Games, Gaming, News

While Stop Killing Games reached goals, Video Games Europe pushes back

In December 2023, Ubisoft’s decision to shut down servers for its decade-old racer The Crew ignited a grassroots outcry over the impermanence of today’s online-only games. What began as player frustration morphed into the Stop Killing Games movement—an EU Citizens’ Initiative demanding legal safeguards so titles remain playable even after publishers pull the plug.

The petition argues that treating games as perpetual goods, then rendering them unplayable, amounts to planned obsolescence that throttles cultural preservation and robs consumers of lasting value. As of July 2025, over 1.2 million Europeans have signed on, triggering formal debates in Brussels.

Video Games Europe Pushes Back

Video Games Europe—a major lobbying arm for EU developers and publishers—warns that forcing perpetual support would:

  • Dramatically inflate development costs for live-service and online-only titles
  • Curtail creative freedom by mandating private-server or single-player fallbacks
  • Introduce legal fallout around data protection, moderation, and cybersecurity once official infrastructure closes

Their statement emphasizes that service shutdowns follow careful commercial reviews and come with advance notice to comply with consumer-protection laws.

We appreciate the passion of our community; however, the decision to discontinue online services is multi-faceted, never taken lightly and must be an option for companies when an online experience is no longer commercially viable.

We understand that it can be disappointing for players but, when it does happen, the industry ensures that players are given fair notice of the prospective changes in compliance with local consumer protection laws.

Private servers are not always a viable alternative option for players as the protections we put in place to secure players’ data, remove illegal content, and combat unsafe community content would not exist and would leave rights holders liable.

In addition, many titles are designed from the ground up to be online-only; in effect, these proposals would curtail developer choice by making these video games prohibitively expensive to create.

The Core Tension

  1. Preservation Advocates
    • View games as cultural artifacts deserving long-term access
    • Demand offline or fan-server alternatives be enshrined in law
    • Cite risks of digital vanishing acts for gaming history
  2. Industry Stakeholders
    • Argue that not all games can be decoupled from live-service economies
    • Highlight risks and costs of maintaining legacy code and hardware
    • Warn of liability for harmful community content on unsupervised fan servers

This clash spotlights a broader question: can we guarantee digital heritage without stifling industry innovation or imposing unsustainable burdens?

Gaming’s future may hinge on hybrid solutions that respect both sides:

  • Time-limited Preservation Funds: Subsidies for maintaining key titles for a defined grace period.
  • Open-Source SDK Releases: Developers could share tooling to empower secure, community-run servers.
  • Tiered Sunset Notices: Graduated shutdown phases, starting with reduced features and ending with full offline executables.

Such ideas aim to safeguard cultural legacy without forcing studios to underwrite perpetual online operations.

As a creator or fan, how would you champion game preservation in a way that’s fair to both players and developers?

Beyond legislative wrangling, independent archivists, emulation communities, and museums are experimenting with hardware preservation and legal-archival licensing. Exploring partnerships between publishers and cultural institutions might be the next frontier for ensuring no digital world ever truly goes dark.

Featured, Games, Gaming, News

BioWare and EA Confirm Anthem will have its server shutdown in 2026

In a move that surprises no one but still stings for many, BioWare and Electronic Arts have officially announced the end of Anthem. The troubled live-service looter shooter will have its servers permanently shut down on January 12, 2026, rendering the game completely unplayable. For a title once heralded as BioWare’s bold leap into the future, this marks a quiet, somber conclusion to a saga defined by ambition, missteps, and missed potential.

First unveiled with cinematic flair at E3 2017, Anthem promised a lush alien world, customizable mech suits called Javelins, and seamless co-op action. It was BioWare’s attempt to blend its narrative pedigree with the loot-driven gameplay of titles like Destiny and Warframe. But when Anthem launched in February 2019, it was clear the game wasn’t ready.

  • Development Hell: Reports later revealed that Anthem’s core design wasn’t finalized until just months before its reveal. The game had been in development since 2012, but much of it came together in a chaotic final year.
  • Critical Reception: Critics and players alike cited a lack of content, repetitive missions, and technical issues. Despite its stunning visuals and promising flight mechanics, the game felt hollow.
  • Anthem 2.0 Cancelled: In 2020, BioWare announced plans for a full overhaul dubbed Anthem Next. But by February 2021, that reboot was canceled as the studio shifted focus to Dragon Age: The Veilguard and the next Mass Effect.

According to EA’s official blog post:

  • Anthem will be delisted from EA Play and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on August 15, 2025.
  • Players can no longer purchase the game or its premium currency as of July 3, 2025.
  • Any remaining in-game currency can be spent until the servers go offline.
  • Once the servers shut down, the game will be completely unplayable, with no offline mode planned.

Anthem’s demise is more than just the end of a game—it’s a cautionary tale. It highlights the risks of chasing trends without a clear vision, of launching before a game is ready, and of abandoning core studio strengths in pursuit of market share. BioWare, once synonymous with deep RPGs like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, found itself adrift in unfamiliar waters.

The shutdown also reignites debate around game preservation. With no offline mode, Anthem will vanish entirely—a digital ghost. This has fueled movements like Stop Killing Games, which challenge the legality and ethics of rendering purchased games unplayable.

For those who stuck with Anthem, who found joy in soaring through its skies or customizing their Javelins, this is a bittersweet farewell. The game may not have lived up to its promise, but it wasn’t without merit. And for a brief moment, it dared to dream big.

If you’ve ever played Anthem, now’s the time to revisit it—before the lights go out for good.

Anthem Game Update
We have an important update to share regarding Anthem.
Source/Via
Breaking, Games, Gaming, News, Xbox

A New Front for Super Earth: Helldivers 2 will land on Xbox this Augusts

After dominating PlayStation 5 and PC with its frenetic co-op warfare, Helldivers 2 is finally storming Xbox Series X|S on August 26, 2025. Pre-orders are live at $39.99, matching its price on other platforms. Expect:

  • Full cross-play with PS5 and PC friends
  • All core stratagems, missions and Warbond Battle Pass content intact
  • Optimized 4K visuals and up to 60 FPS on Xbox Series X|S

This marks PlayStation Studios’ first self-published arrival on Xbox, underscoring a growing trend of console-brand détente and in an interesting note, also on August 26, 2025, Microsoft unleashes Gears of War: Reloaded—the definitive remaster of the 2006 blockbuster—onto Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC and Steam. Key highlights include:

  • True 4K campaign at 60 FPS; multiplayer up to 120 FPS
  • All Ultimate Edition DLC (bonus act, maps, characters) at no extra cost
  • Cross-play and cross-progression across every platform (sign-in with a Microsoft Account required)
  • Day-one availability on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass
  • Free upgrade for existing digital owners of the Ultimate Edition

This release shatters two decades of exclusivity, inviting both Xbox and PlayStation communities to relive Marcus and Dom’s origin story.

Head-to-Head Release Snapshot

FeatureHelldivers 2Gears of War: Reloaded
Release DateAugust 26, 2025August 26, 2025
PlatformsXbox Series X & SS, PS5, PC
Price$39.99$39.99
Cross-PlayYes (PS5, PC & Xbox)Yes (all platforms)
Cross-ProgressionNot supported at launchYes (with MS Account)
Game Pass Day-OneNoYes
Upgrade PathN/AFree for Ultimate Edition digital owners

August 26 becomes a landmark date: PlayStation’s breakout live-service hit joins Xbox’s storied cover-to-cover remaster in one epic dispatch. Gamers gain unprecedented flexibility—whether you’re rallying Super Earth’s bravest or chainsawing Locusts, the war for inter-platform unity is officially won.

Breaking, Business, Featured, Games, Gaming, News

Perfect Dark Remake is no more as The Initiative closes its doors

Xbox’s recent announcement that it has canceled the long-gestating Perfect Dark reboot and shuttered the high-profile studio The Initiative has sent shockwaves through the gaming industry. This decision, shared in an internal memo by Matt Booty, Xbox Game Studios head, reflects a broader strategic realignment amid sweeping layoffs at Microsoft Gaming.

Perfect Dark, first released by Rare in 2000, earned its reputation as one of the industry’s best sci-fi first-person shooters. Its blend of espionage, futuristic gadgets, and branching story paths won critical acclaim—and cultivated a devoted fanbase itching for a modern revival. Early reports placed the reboot at The Initiative, Xbox’s marquee studio founded in 2018 to drive “A-list” exclusive blockbusters. The project’s long, quiet development spurred high expectations that, ultimately, never materialized.

The Initiative: A Studio with Sky-High Ambitions

  • Founded: 2018 in Santa Monica, California
  • Mission: Deliver new flagship Xbox franchises on par with series like Halo and Gears of War
  • Key hires: Industry veterans from Naughty Dog, Blizzard, Crystal Dynamics
  • Public unveiling: “Unannounced AAA sci-fi IP” teased at Xbox events, widely presumed to be Perfect Dark

Despite its talented roster, The Initiative struggled under heavy scrutiny and shifting corporate priorities. The studio’s closure marks the first shuttering of an Xbox Game Studios outfit in Microsoft’s latest round of cuts.

Windows Central got a hold on Xbox Game Studios leader Matt Booty’s internal memo to its umbrella of gaming studios after the confirmation of the cancellation:

Following Phil’s note, I want to share more about the changes to the Studios business units.

We have made the decision to stop development of Perfect Dark and Everwild as well as wind down several unannounced projects across our portfolio. As part of this, we are closing one of our studios, The Initiative. These decisions, along with other changes across our teams, reflect a broader effort to adjust priorities and focus resources to set up our teams for greater success within a changing industry landscape. We did not make these choices lightly, as each project and team represent years of effort, imagination, and commitment.

Our overall portfolio strategy is unchanged: build games that excite our players, continue to grow our biggest franchises, and create new stories, worlds, and characters. We have more than 40 projects in active development, continued momentum on titles shipping this fall, and a strong slate headed into 2026.

For those directly affected, we are working closely with HR and studio leadership to provide support, including severance, career transition assistance, and where possible, opportunities to explore roles on other teams.

To everyone across our studios: thank you. Your creativity and resilience continue to define who we are. I believe in the strength of our teams and the direction we’re taking on the path ahead.

Microsoft’s decision to cut Perfect Dark’s reboot and close The Initiative underscores a harsh reality: even the most hyped AAA ventures can be sacrificed to corporate strategy and market pressures. For fans, it’s a painful reminder that beloved franchises aren’t immune to business calculus. Yet from seeds of cancellation often springs creativity—whether through new studio alliances, fan passion projects, or smaller teams daring to dream big.

Looking forward, we’ll be watching how Xbox rebalance its portfolio, which studios rise to fill the gap, and whether Perfect Dark will ever return in another form. In the meantime, revisiting the original Rare classics seems the best way to keep the spy-shooter flame alive.

Breaking, Business, Games, Gaming, News, Xbox

Zenimax’s Blackbird & Rare’s Everwild are the collateral of Microsoft Gaming shake-up

The immedate aftermath of Microsoft confirming that it would eliminate roughly 9,000 roles—about 4% of its global workforce—as part of a company-wide effort to streamline operations and reallocate resources to high-priority areas like cloud and gaming, we already have som collateral as the layoff impacted the development of two not-so-secret projects.

For a recap, Microsoft’s gaming arm was notably impacted, with cuts spanning:

  • Xbox central teams and global operations
  • Mobile-gaming giant King (Candy Crush)
  • ZeniMax Media’s marketing and development staff across Europe and the U.S.

These reductions follow earlier rounds in January, May and June, underscoring an ongoing pivot toward a leaner structure and greater agility.

BREAKING: As part of today's cuts, Xbox has canceled the troubled Rare game Everwild, according to people familiar. News on the job cuts is coming in drips — not sure why Xbox didn't announce it all at once — but I'll report what I can as I confirm it.

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2025-07-02T14:04:33.426Z

BREAKING: The new MMORPG project from Zenimax Online Studios, maker of Elder Scrolls Online, has been canceled as part of the Xbox layoffs, sources tell Bloomberg News. The project, code-named Blackbird, had been in development since 2018. Still more news to come this morning.

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2025-07-02T15:05:30.540Z

Zenimax Online’s “Project Blackbird” Shelved

In the wake of the layoffs, Microsoft canceled the long-gestating MMORPG at ZeniMax Online Studios, code-named Project Blackbird. Key details:

  • Development began in 2018 under ZeniMax Online, creators of The Elder Scrolls Online
  • Blackbird represented the studio’s next major online IP after over seven years of work
  • Cancellation was confirmed by Bloomberg via sources familiar with the Xbox cuts

That means after years of concepting, prototyping and testing, the team’s resources will be redirected toward existing live services and new first-party content.

Rare’s Everwild Cut Loose

One of Rare’s most mysterious projects, Everwild, was also canceled as part of the gaming-division layoffs:

  • First revealed in late 2019 as a nature-driven “eternal” multiplayer experience
  • Promised to blend magic, exploration and community without traditional combat
  • Confirmed canceled by VGC, Eurogamer sources and Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier following the Xbox job reductions

After nearly a decade of fits and starts—including a complete restart in 2021—Everwild will no longer proceed.

ProjectStudioCodenameStartedCanceledNotes
Project BlackbirdZeniMax Online StudiosBlackbird2018Jul 2 2025Cancelled due to Xbox-division layoffs
EverwildRareN/A2019Jul 2 2025Cancelled amid layoffs after troubled, decade-long dev

What’s Next for Microsoft Gaming

With Blackbird and Everwild axed, Microsoft Gaming will likely:

  • Double down on Bethesda and Activision Blizzard franchises
  • Push hardware innovation, including next-gen consoles and handhelds
  • Expand cloud gaming partnerships and infrastructure investments

The layoffs and cancellations signal a tougher era for big-budget experimental IP—at least until emerging technologies deliver clearer paths to profitability.

Microsoft’s July 2 announcement marks both an end and a new beginning: while two flagship internal projects have been cut, the tech giant is reallocating its creative firepower toward subscription growth, blockbuster sequels and innovative delivery platforms. Gamers and developers alike will be watching closely as Xbox reshapes its roadmap for the years ahead.

Business, Gaming, News, Xbox

Microsoft Confirms 9,000 Layoffs as It Doubles Down on Gaming and Xbox

Microsoft kicked off its 2026 fiscal year on July 2, 2025, by announcing it will cut approximately 9,000 jobs—just under 4% of its global workforce—across multiple divisions, including sales, Xbox, and global operations. The move continues a broader restructuring effort aimed at flattening management layers and refocusing resources on high-growth areas.

Previous reductions this year included a sub-1% performance-based cut in January, over 6,000 roles in May, and at least 300 more in June, underscoring Microsoft’s commitment to streamlining its structure for greater agility.

Gaming and Xbox: The New Growth Drivers

As Microsoft trims headcount, it is simultaneously doubling down on its gaming business—viewed internally as one of the company’s key engines for future expansion:

  • July 2025 Game Pass highlights such as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 and High on Life demonstrate day-one blockbuster releases for subscribers, cementing Game Pass as a must-have service.
  • The June Xbox Games Showcase unveiled the new ROG Xbox Ally handhelds, first-party titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and long-awaited sequels such as The Outer Worlds 2 and Grounded 2, signaling a hardware and software push designed to captivate players everywhere.

Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella has consistently emphasized that resource realignment is essential in a dynamic market. By reducing headcount in certain corporate layers, the company can:

  1. Free up budget to invest in cloud infrastructure, AI integration, and gaming content.
  2. Accelerate decision-making by flattening reporting hierarchies.
  3. Position Xbox and Game Pass at the core of its consumer strategy, leveraging subscription-based recurring revenue.

This management-layer reduction mirrors moves by peers like Amazon and Meta aiming to stay nimble amid slowing global tech spending.

Implications for Employees and the Gaming Community

For affected employees, Microsoft has outlined severance packages, career counseling, and internal placement efforts. Across the Xbox organization, some roles will shift from traditional product marketing and sales to focus on content acquisition, cloud streaming, and community engagement.

For gamers, the reallocation of resources should translate into:

  • Larger, more frequent Game Pass day-one releases.
  • Continued hardware innovation, from consoles to handhelds.
  • Expanded cloud-gaming experiences via Xbox Cloud and new partners like ASUS.

Also, The Verge got a copy of the internal memo that Microsoft Gaming CEO that shared with all the Xbox business, Xbox Game Studio and Activision Blizzard King:

Today we are sharing decisions that will impact colleagues across our organization. To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft’s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness. Out of respect for those impacted today, the specifics of today’s notifications and any organizational shifts will be shared by your team leaders in the coming days.

I recognize that these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger. The success we’re seeing currently is based on tough decisions we’ve made previously. We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities. We will protect what is thriving and concentrate effort on areas with the greatest potential, while delivering on the expectations the company has for our business. This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come.

Prioritizing our opportunities is essential, but that does not lessen the significance of this moment. Simply put, we would not be where we are today without the time, energy, and creativity of those whose roles are impacted. These decisions are not a reflection of the talent, creativity, and dedication of the people involved. Our momentum is not accidental—it is the result of years of dedicated effort from our teams.

HR is working directly with impacted employees to provide severance plan benefits (aligned with local laws), including pay, healthcare coverage, and job placement resources to support their transition. Employees whose roles were eliminated are encouraged to explore open positions across Microsoft Gaming, where their applications will be given priority review.

Thank you to everyone who has shaped our culture, our products, and our community. We will move forward with deep appreciation and respect for all who have contributed to this journey.

Phil

Microsoft’s July 2 announcement marks a pivotal moment: while it streamlines legacy operations, the tech giant is betting big on gaming as a cornerstone of its long-term growth. As Xbox hardware and Game Pass ecosystems expand, both employees and gamers alike will watch closely to see if this strategic pivot delivers on its promise of “gaming everywhere, for everyone.”