Between GameStop and Ryan Cohen’s clownery and new Xbox leadership’s 100-day death march, it’s another grim moment for the game industry. Former OpenAI head (now Xbox CEO) Asha Sharma laments the hardware crisis caused by… AI. We’re all trying to find the guy that did this, after all.
Look… Sharma is no doubt a sin eater, but as she perches herself on the glass cliff, how many people will suffer? Also: Ubisoft attempts to embargo news of studio closures and layoffs, Destiny 2 rides into the sunset, and… it’s earnings time, so we get to talk about why profits don’t save jobs.
You can support Virtual Economy’s growth via our Ko-Fi and also purchase Virtual Economy merchandise!
TIME STAMPS
- [00:10:24] – Circana Report on U.S. Video Game Spending for April 2026
- [00:21:33] – Sony FY2025 Consolidated Financial Results
- [00:27:34] – Sega Consolidated Financial Results for FY2025-26
- [00:31:20] – Nintendo Consolidated Financial Results for FY2025-26
- [00:39:02] – Nintendo’s Ongoing Patent Lawsuit Hits Another Snag
- [00:42:17] – Square Enix Consolidated Financial Results for FY2025-26
- [00:45:37] – Capcom Consolidated Financial Results for FY2025-26
- [00:51:01] – Embracer Group Financial Results for Q4 and Full Year FY2025-26
- [00:53:21] – Take Two Financial Results for Q4 and Full Year FY2025-26
- [01:05:52] – Investment Interlude
- [01:16:21] – Quick Hits
- [01:35:24] – Labor Report
SOURCES
- FY2025 Consolidated Financial Results | Sony
- Sony raising prices on PS Plus | PlayStation on Twitter
- Sony Is Being Sued For Allegedly Retaining ‘Substantial Windfall’ Generated By ‘Illegal’ Tariffs | Kotaku
- Consolidated Results for the Years Ended March 31, 2025 and 2026 | Nintendo
- Notice Regarding Price Revisions for Nintendo Products and Services | Nintendo
- Nintendo’s Ongoing Pokémon Patent Lawsuit Takes Another Hit | Kotaku
- Consolidated Financial Results for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2026 | Sega
- Consolidated Financial Results for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2026 | Square Enix
- Consolidated Financial Results for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2026 | Capcom
- Embracer Group publishes Interim Report Q4 | Embracer Group
- Opinion: Lars Wingefors is out of his mind | Game Developer
- Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Reports Results for Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 | Take-Two
INVESTMENT INTERLUDE
- eBay Rejects Unsolicited Proposal from GameStop | eBay
- GameStop increases stake in eBay to more than 6% | Reuters
- Sensor Tower acquires AppMagic | GamesIndustry
- Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada is back, but this time at his own studio backed by old fighting game rival SNK | Eurogamer
- Indika dev Odd Meter raises $5m to fund next project | GamesIndustry
LABOR REPORT
- Xbox Plans Significant Layoffs as It Transforms Under New CEO | Bloomberg (Paywall)
- Bungie Plans Layoffs After Ending ‘Destiny 2’ Development | Bloomberg (Paywall)
- 2K lays off staff working on free-to-play shooter Project Ethos, while hinting at “new direction and focus” | GamesIndustry
- Report: WWE 2K26 dev Visual Concepts is laying off staff | Game Developer
- Last Flag studio lays off staff as game from Imagine Dragons brothers misses targets | GamesBeat
- MercurySteam “initiates a workforce adjustment process” | GamesIndustry
- Alliance Studios to close after 7 years of creating branded experiences within Fortnite | GamesBeat
- Team17 has laid off members of its marketing and communications department | Game Developer
- Merge Mansion dev Metacore lays off 159 employees, closes studios in Germany and Sweden | GamesIndustry
- Embracer-owned VR developer Vertigo Games closes Amsterdam studio | Game Developer
- Ubisoft is shutting down its Winnipeg studio | Mobile Syrup
- Ubisoft closing Winnipeg and Belgrade studios and making further layoffs | Game Developer
- Pokémon Go Scans Quietly Trained the Navigation Tech Now Headed Into Military Drones | Drone XL
- Double Fine is the latest team at Microsoft to unionize | PC Gamer