Episode 211: EA Sportswashing (News Show)

We've been head-down doing developer things (more on that very soon)! That makes this quite the episode. Earnings! Circana! EA is now privately held! Microsoft is biffing it! Roblox is screwed! And much, much, much more!

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TIME STAMPS

• [00:03:36] - Circana Report on U.S. Video Game Spending for July 2026
• [00:17:45] - Microsoft Q4 FY26 Earnings, Console Price Hikes
• [00:32:02] - Sony Q1 FY27 Earnings
• [00:39:25] - Nintendo Q1 FY27 Earnings
• [00:47:34] - Capcom Q1 FY27 Earnings
• [00:52:57] - Sega Q1 FY27 Earnings
• [00:59:00] - Square Enix Q1 FY27 Earnings
• [01:09:50] - Take-Two Q1 FY27 Earnings
• [01:14:35] - Remedy Entertainment Q2 FY26 Earnings
• [01:19:40] - Investment Interlude
• [01:44:53] - Quick Hits
• [01:51:07] - Labor Report
• [02:11:37] - Indie Games of the Week

SOURCES

• Earnings Release FY26 Q4 | Microsoft
• Xbox UK and Europe console price hikes revealed - and it's even worse than we expected | Eurogamer
• Q1 FY2026 Consolidated Financial Results | Sony
• Consolidated Results for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2025 and 2026 | Nintendo
• Consolidated financial results for the 1st Quarter of FY2026 | Capcom
• Consolidated Financial Results for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2026 (Japanese GAAP) | Sega
• SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGS CO., LTD. ANNOUNCES FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE THREE-MONTH PERIOD ENDED JUNE 30, 2026 | Square Enix
• Remedy Entertainment Plc: Half-Year Financial Report January–June 2026: CONTROL Resonant set to launch on September 24th | Remedy
• Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Reports Results for Fiscal First Quarter 2027 | Take-Two

INVESTMENT INTERLUDE

• EA Announces Completion of Acquisition by PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners | EA
• Judge sets March 2027 trial on Paramount-Warner Bros deal | Reuters
• Tripledot Studios acquires Supersonic from Unity for $40m | GamesIndustry
• Secret Mode opens new Sheffield studio to support internal titles | GamesIndustry
• Deus Ex and Dishonored designer Harvey Smith has a new studio making immersive sims | Engadget
• Devolver wants to delist because indie publishing is not 'compatible' with public trading | Game Developer
• Epic Games sells ArtStation and Sketchfab to KitBash | Game Developer
• Roblox shares plummet by 70% after the company reports persistent decline in player numbers, and of course the solution involves AI | PC Gamer

LABOR REPORT

• Double Fine Laid off 23 People | Double Fine on Bluesky
• Bethesda layoffs include the artist responsible for designing Skyrim's khajiit and argonians, who had been at the company for 27 years | PC Gamer
• Candy Crush maker King has declined staff's collective bargaining agreement | Game Developer
• BREAKING: Netflix to shut down two more game studios | Game File
• Report: Crossfire dev That's No Moon lays off 14 staff | Game Developer
• Witcher multiplayer spin-off Project Sirius hit by fresh layoffs | GamesIndustry
• The studio behind Blumhouse-published horror game Crisol: Theater of Idols has reportedly shut down | VGC
• Court orders Midgar Studio to liquidate after failing to secure a buyer | GamesIndustry
• Report: FIFA World Cup developer Refactor Games shuttered by Delphi Interactive | Game Developer
• The Ambitious Open-World Cyberpunk Action Game Troy Baker Was Working On Gets Hit With Mass Layoff | Kotaku
• Studio founded by former Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes GM lays off staff | Game Developer
• The Alters and Frostpunk developer 11 Bit Studios is laying off 20 employees | Game Developer

INDIE GAMES OF THE WEEK

• Manda - The Incident at Galley House, Developed by William Rous and Evil Trout
• Mike - Rogue Eclipse, Developed by HUSKRAFTS