Latest game development news from across the industry
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Babylon.js 9.26.0 is the standout for graphics/tooling teams: the new OpenUSD WebAssembly loader makes it much easier to preview and integrate USD assets directly in the browser. It also adds object ID geometry texture support, which should help with picking, selection, and editor-style workflows. For teams building web-based DCC or runtime tools, that’s a pretty meaningful pipeline win.
GamesIndustry.biz reports Heart Machine is at risk of closure after a publishing deal collapsed, forcing the Hyper Light Drifter studio to lay off nearly all staff. Studio head Alx Preston said the team has no immediate funding, and the company is now trying to help affected developers find new roles.
Ars Technica details how Valve is extending SteamOS beyond Proton with two newer compatibility layers for the Steam Frame. FEX handles x86-on-Arm translation, while Steam Play adds another path for Windows games, aiming to broaden support without forcing developers into immediate ports.
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Game Developer reports that Shinji Mikami will be inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame at the 2026 DICE Awards. Goichi Suda will present the honor to the Resident Evil director, recognizing a career that helped define modern survival horror and action design.
GamesIndustry.biz reports that Polyarc Games is shutting down after 12 years, ending the studio behind Moss and Glassbreakers. The Seattle team said it is winding down active development, and it has shared a recruiting spreadsheet to help affected staff. The closure comes just two months after Moss: The Forgotten Relic launched.
XBox Wire says Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is being framed around a “story so far” recap, signaling the next entry is being positioned as a continuation rather than a clean reboot. For developers, that usually means tighter continuity in characters, factions, and mission stakes, with less room for a soft reset. Specific gameplay or production details haven’t been shared yet.
Red Blob Games dug into a surprisingly thorny text-generation problem: choosing a or an based on pronunciation, not spelling. The practical takeaway for procedural text systems is that simple first-letter checks fail on cases like unicorn and hour. The write-up also shows the exception set is small enough to model cleanly.
GamesIndustry.biz has revealed the first UK finalists for its 2026 Best Places To Work special awards, with NaturalMotion Games leading on five nods. Rocksteady Studios follows with four, while Jagex, Playground Games and Rare each picked up three. Winners will be announced in London on October 1, alongside the HR Summit.
Leadwerks says version 5.2 adds OpenXR support, broadening VR hardware compatibility across modern headsets, including Steam Frame. The update also improves the VR template with more natural hand motion, higher-precision physics in VR, and built-in locomotion options for dash and teleport movement.
GameFromScratch reports that VOID is a new free, MIT-licensed .NET/C# 2D framework aimed squarely at XNA and MonoGame developers. It’s pitched as a lightweight, modular base that supplies the core systems most games need, making it a potentially easy on-ramp for teams wanting a familiar C# stack without a heavier engine.
XBox Wire says Sea of Thieves Season 21 arrives with a free play weekend from September 17 to 21, opening the pirate sandbox to everyone without Game Pass. Rare is also adding the Parley Pennant for crews looking to negotiate, plus seasonal rewards tied to Talk Like a Pirate Day and a new sweepstakes.
GamesIndustry.biz reports that 1312 Interactive has raised $1 million in seed funding to expand its publishing infrastructure. The India-based PC and console publisher plans to use the money for emerging markets, plus production, marketing, QA, localisation, and distribution support for partner studios.
Game Developer reports that Activision Blizzard is facing a lawsuit from a former employee who says she endured sexual harassment and retaliation during her 14-year tenure. The complaint accuses 10 men of misconduct, adding to the publisher’s long-running workplace culture problems. For studios, it’s another reminder that HR failures can become major business and production risks.
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GamesIndustry.biz reports that Criterion is now firmly a Battlefield studio, with Battlefield 6 marking a deeper role than its earlier support work. The Guildford team says its Burnout-era focus on momentum, spectacle, and controlled chaos still shapes its design, even as the studio grows to 164 staff across two UK sites.
XBox Wire says Outright Games and Hasbro are bringing Clue Junior into Hasbro Games Junior Collection later this year. The digital version keeps the deduction loop simple for younger players, while adding stats, leveling, unlocks, and local multiplayer for up to four on one console.
Babylon.js 9.26.1 lands as a patch release with a few developer-facing upgrades that matter for asset pipelines and bundle size. The biggest additions are a new MultiTexture class, a dithered tile fade material plugin, and broader FBX loader coverage. There are also fixes for GPU particles, USD import, and tree shaking.
AMD GPUOpen says ADLX 2.0 adds AI extensions and MCP servers so apps can monitor, manage, and optimize AMD graphics hardware. For game teams, that opens the door to agent-driven tooling that can inspect GPU state, automate tuning, and surface actionable diagnostics without custom low-level plumbing.
Bohemia Interactive has taken a minority stake in Enjoy Studio, the team behind Everwind. The move deepens a relationship that should give the studio more room to build while keeping its independence. For developers, it’s another sign that strategic investment is still a live path for funding ambitious projects.
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GamesIndustry.biz reports that Hookshot has launched Steam Hype, a new PC site built around Steam discovery and curation. The outlet will focus on notable releases, updates, and Valve hardware, aiming to stand out in a crowded market by spotlighting what’s actually worth playing now.
Godot 4.8 dev 6 lands sooner than usual after macOS startup crashes and Android Play Store upload failures were fixed. The snapshot also adds screen-space contact shadows for directional lights, a cleaned-up 3D toolbar, and a batch of editor, input, rendering, and XR fixes.
Roblox is opening the door for developers to ship experiences as standalone apps on other stores while keeping the same revenue-share economics as the Roblox app. That could give teams more reach and packaging flexibility without giving up the platform’s monetization model. The exact stores, rollout timing, and publishing workflow haven’t been detailed yet.
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