nDreams VR Closures | Marathon Returns | GTA 6 Leak & Preorder Signals

nDreams, one of VR gaming's most established studios, has announced plans to close two internal development teams and cut up to 78 roles across all levels, including senior leadership. The closures target the Near Light and Compass studios, which were responsible for some of the company's most ambitious VR projects.

The announcement comes amid what nDreams describes as a "challenging" games market, reflecting broader pressures facing VR-focused developers as the segment struggles to achieve mainstream adoption. This follows Meta's earlier decision to shutter Twisted Pixel, Sanzaru Games, and Armature Studio in January.

After three decades, Bungie has revived its classic franchise with the all-new Marathon, launching on March 5 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. First revealed at the 2023 PlayStation Showcase, the extraction shooter marks Bungie's ambitious attempt to establish a new live-service franchise beyond the Destiny universe.

The game drops players into a competitive PvP extraction loop set in a mysterious sci-fi world, blending Bungie's signature gunplay with high-stakes loot mechanics. Early reception has been mixed, with praise for the core gameplay feel but questions about long-term content depth and monetization structure.

Grand Theft Auto 6 continues to dominate headlines as new gameplay footage reportedly leaked online, showing an open-world bridge scene with vehicles and boats. The footage, allegedly held on someone's phone for four years, offers a tantalizing glimpse at the game's scale and visual fidelity.

Simultaneously, GTA 6 title IDs have been spotted in the PlayStation Store database, fueling speculation that Rockstar may soon open preorders. Notably, two separate title IDs were found, leading to theories about a standalone GTA 6 Online application. Take-Two confirmed in its latest earnings call that the November 19 release remains on track, with the marketing campaign set to begin this summer.

Blizzard has launched World of Warcraft: Midnight, the MMORPG's 11th expansion and one of its most anticipated updates in years. The expansion introduces player housing for the first time in WoW's 20-year history, alongside new regions, the Haranir allied race, and a fresh campaign arc that continues the Worldsoul Saga.

Player housing has been the most requested feature in WoW's community for over a decade, and Blizzard's implementation allows players to customize personal spaces with items collected throughout the game world. The expansion also brings significant endgame overhauls and new social systems designed to strengthen community bonds.

Nintendo's first Indie World showcase of 2026 delivered a packed 15-minute presentation featuring 18 indie games for Switch and Switch 2. The event included several surprise shadow drops, with Blue Prince, Rotwood, and Minishoot' Adventures becoming immediately available.

Highlights included Klei Entertainment's Rotwood launching as a Switch 2 console exclusive, the Patapon-inspired rhythm roguelite Ratatan getting a July release date, and Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault returning with its dungeon-shop hybrid gameplay. The showcase reinforced Nintendo's strong commitment to indie developers on its new platform.

Unity has quietly confirmed that Unity 7, the ambitious next-generation overhaul first announced at Unite 2024, is no longer in development. The project, which promised consolidated render pipelines, CoreCLR migration, and built-in DOTS/ECS, received zero mention at Unite 2025 in Barcelona. The Unity Developer Roadmap now shows all planned Unity 7 features shipping as incremental Unity 6.x updates instead.

Adding to developer frustration, Unity simultaneously announced a 5% increase to Pro and Enterprise subscription costs, alongside changes to DevOps and Havok Physics plans. The cancellation of Unity 7 represents a significant strategy shift, opting for evolutionary improvements over a revolutionary rebuild.

The Godot Engine team has released Dev1 and Dev2 builds of Godot 4.7, kicking off the feature development phase for the next stable release. These early builds introduce significant new capabilities including a VirtualJoystick controller, DrawableTexture API for dynamic texture creation, and Windows HDR support.

Building on the momentum of Godot 4.6's January release, which brought Jolt Physics as default and up to 7x faster 2D rendering, the 4.7 cycle targets advanced rendering features. Vulkan raytracing pipeline improvements and Path3D collider snapping highlight the engine's continued push toward AAA-capable tooling for its open-source community.

The GDC 2026 State of the Game Industry report reveals a complex picture of AI adoption: 36% of game industry professionals now use generative AI tools in their work, yet 50% believe the technology is having a negative impact on the industry. The disconnect between adoption and sentiment underscores deep concerns about job displacement, content quality, and IP ownership.

Meanwhile, data from Google Cloud research shows 90% of developers have integrated AI into their workflows in some capacity, though usage varies dramatically between studios (30%) and publishers or support teams (58%). On Steam, 22% of games released in 2025 ticked the AI content disclosure, with projections suggesting a third of all 2026 releases will follow suit.

Slay the Spire 2, the highly anticipated sequel to one of the most influential roguelike deckbuilders ever made, officially launched into early access on March 5. The sequel builds on the original's card-battling foundation with new characters, expanded mechanics, and refined strategic depth that fans have been waiting years to experience.

The original Slay the Spire essentially defined the roguelike deckbuilder genre, spawning countless imitators and establishing a template that continues to influence game design. The sequel aims to evolve the formula while maintaining the tight balance and replayability that made the first game a phenomenon.

Mobile gaming continues its dominant march, with industry analysts projecting approximately $132 billion in revenue for 2026, up from $126 billion in 2025. The segment now captures nearly 50% of all global gaming revenue, dwarfing both console (28%) and PC (23%) combined market shares.

Honor of Kings led February 2026 mobile revenue at $135 million on iOS alone, followed by Last War: Survival ($128.2M) and PUBG Mobile ($118.2M). Emerging markets are driving the growth surge, with Turkey leading at 28% spending increase, followed by Mexico (21%) and India (17%). As user acquisition costs remain high, studios are shifting focus to retention strategies and deeper engagement mechanics.

Nintendo has launched Pokemon Pokopia exclusively on Switch 2, marking the franchise's first foray into the life simulation genre. Players take on the role of a human version of Ditto, tasked with transforming a desolate landscape into a thriving Pokemon community through crafting, building, and creature interaction.

The game ditches traditional Pokemon battle mechanics entirely, instead focusing on cozy gameplay loops reminiscent of Animal Crossing. Players cultivate gardens, construct habitats, and form bonds with Pokemon inhabitants. The title represents Nintendo's strategy to diversify the Pokemon brand while leveraging the Switch 2's enhanced capabilities for a more visually rich simulation experience.

Eurogamer, one of the most respected names in games journalism, has suffered significant staff reductions under parent company IGN. The cuts target senior members of the editorial team and eliminate the entire four-person video department, raising concerns about the future quality and independence of one of the industry's longest-running publications.

The layoffs come shortly after IGN's acquisition of Eurogamer, and reflect broader consolidation trends in games media. The gaming journalism sector has been hit particularly hard by shifts in advertising revenue and audience fragmentation, with several major outlets reducing staff or shutting down entirely over the past two years.