This article is part of ExDev Week. Read more

This week, we're looking at external development on GamesIndustry.biz, spotlighting the hardworking studios that often have a major hand in designing some of the world's biggest games, but that rarely get to take a bow in the limelight. Read more

Estimates from data firm Aliena Analytics suggest Steam generated $11.1 billion in H1 revenue, up 14.5% year-over-year, marking the platform's highest half-year revenue on record. Read more

Electronic Arts has removed microtransactions from EA Sports College Football 27 in response to feedback from players and content creators. Read more

A social post from the account of id Software has stated that the studio still has "the crew we need to build the games and tech we're known for" after dramatic staff cuts across the Xbox portfolio lead to claims that the firm would no longer maintain the idtech engine used to create Doom, Wolfenstein and the recent Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Read more

Union members at Bethesda Game Studios will strike next week in response to mass layoffs at Xbox. Read more

When Asha Sharma passed the 100-day mark at the helm of Xbox last month, the consensus assessment was cautiously positive – but as I wrote at the time, Sharma's role so far had mostly been crowd-pleasing positioning statements, and the genuinely hard choices would need to be made soon. Read more

Red Rover Interactive plans to lay off 22 employees, and has delayed the release of its debut title Enginefall to 2027. Read more

The United States Federal Reserve has appointed Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to co-lead its Productivity and Jobs task force. Read more

Times are bleak in the games industry, and they're no less challenging in the media that covers it. Twenty years ago there were dozens of print magazines and hundreds of games websites pumping out daily news, previews and reviews. Those numbers have declined steeply over the following years, and while the pandemic drove a brief spike in audiences and revenues that mirrored that of the wider games market – prompting a short-lived and ill-fated round of consolidation – the media landscape is now dominated by a small number of behemoths, with video influencers increasingly dominating conversation and marketing plans. Read more