The Game Business Show

This week, we speak to Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red about Nintendo Switch 2. We find out what it learnt from The Witcher 3 on the last Switch, how Nintendo consoles can help unlock new players and why other publishers should really think hard about having a full physical version This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegamebusiness.com/subscribe

In the latest edition of The Game Business Show, Chris Dring is joined by James Batchelor as they look at the numbers behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and we talk to publisher Kepler on the launch of the new smash hit Japanese-style RPG.Plus, we discuss the new date for Borderlands 4 and Ziff Davis going after OpenAI. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegamebusiness.com/subscribe

In the latest episode of The Game Business Show, we speak to Remedy's Creative Director Sam Lake on his experience creating Alan Wake 2, his lifetime achievement award from GDC, coffee, working with Annapurna Pictures and, erm, Moomins This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegamebusiness.com/subscribe

This week on The Game Business Show, we take a look at the drop in video game articles, we discuss the Oblivion remaster launch, and Jackbox Games reacts to Netflix entering its world of party games. Our guest hosts this week are former IGN, Gamer Network and ReedPop media experts Jon Hicks and Kat Bailey This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegamebusiness.com/subscribe

We chat to Warhouse co-founder Daniel Vávra, who is also director and lead writer on the smash hit RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, about the challenges of making AAA games in today's games industry, the role of video game reviews, the importance of relatable stories, the growth of the team and what comes next for the studio This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegamebusiness.com/subscribe

In this episode of The Game Business Show, we delve into the physical games market and why it remains vital even in 2025. We also cover tax breaks in Canada, the current mayhem caused by US tariffs and share our impressions on Nintendo Switch 2. The show is co-hosted by The Logic’s Brendan Sinclair, who is the former managing editor of GamesIndustry.biz. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegamebusiness.com/subscribe

We meet with the producers behind the Sonic movie and the Tomb Raider TV show to discuss the Minecraft movie, and the risks of adapting video games to the big and small screen This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegamebusiness.com/subscribe

In this episode of The Game Business Show we reveal the impact of the Minecraft TV show on its video game counterpart, and look at how these tie-ins generally are boosting sales of the games (or not). We also discuss a new game studio built by veterans looking to forge a more sustainable future, and we learn more about a new indie games event taking place in India this weekend. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegamebusiness.com/subscribe

We speak to game analyst and Epyllion CEO Matthew Ball on the back of his hugely popular 230+ page report, to discuss the growth opportunities for video game companies. Including AAA mobile games, streaming, handheld consoles and PCs, Roblox and much more This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegamebusiness.com/subscribe

Christopher Dring reflects on the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal, including the debate over its price, the possibility of competing with Sony, and what will really define the machine's long-term success This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegamebusiness.com/subscribe

In today's The Game Business Show, it's a Nintendo Switch 2 special. Christopher Dring is joined by guest host Lucy James (GameSpot) to discuss the new console, the line-up, the pricing and whether third-party games can succeed on the platform.Also featuring GAME Managing Director Nick Arran on the fact digital games are cheaper than physical, leading game analyst Matthew Ball and Virtuos' Ryo Nakagawa. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegamebusiness.com/subscribe

Helldivers 2 was the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever when it launched last year, a feat nobody saw coming. Over the following months, the game saw its audience fall sharply and its Steam user score collapse.In our exclusive interview with Shams Jorjani, the CEO of Helldivers developer Arrowhead Games, we learn all about the studio's 'summer of pain', how things got so bad, and how the game managed to recover. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegamebusiness.com/subscribe

We speak to Netflix Games president Alain Tascan about the TV giant’s bid to disrupt the industryPlus! Hear our views on Ubisoft's new division with Tencent and Nintendo's Switch 1 Direct This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegamebusiness.com/subscribe

The Game Business speak to seven leading video game investors to discuss how they're feeling about the industry in 2025, what deals they're doing, what they're not doing, and why companies simply need to accept the 'new normal' This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegamebusiness.com/subscribe

Hello hello! Welcome to the very first The Game Business Newsletter. It’s a treat to have you here with us. We’re kicking things off with all things GTA, and the industry’s preparation over its launch… but what does the data say?Plus, we chat about the launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, discuss the Trump Tarrifs and report back from GDC regarding the ESA’s new accessibility mission.You can read all about it below. But if reading’s not your bag, why not listen (or watch) The Game Business Show, where I’m joined by Game File’s very own Stephen Totilo to discuss those very same topics (plus plenty of GDC chat). You can watch it above, or download it via all good podcasting platforms.1:Huge games prepare to flee GTA6 launchThree major video game publishers have told The Game Business they are ready to delay their games to avoid Grand Theft Auto 6.Rockstar’s first GTA game in 12 years is due for release at the end of 2025, and game companies are holding off confirming their Q4 release slate until the developer makes its move.“Rockstar games always suck a lot of money and, more importantly, time out of the market,” said the boss of one of the world’s biggest game publishers. “We don’t want to be anywhere near that. We are working up multiple different plans for our titles.”Another senior exec added: “Even without GTA. it’s immensely difficult to find free time for new games to shine. Time is the real scarcity for us, not money. It’s tough out there.”The comments follow EA boss Andrew Wilson admitting it might push back its major Battlefield relaunch due to “some things happening in the year that may cause us to think differently about our launch timing”. The firm says it expects the game to be ready to hit its FY 2026 release window, but it will consider an alternative window to ensure it has the “appropriate time, energy, and player acquisition opportunity for this Battlefield to be all that it needed to be.”A European boss of a AAA publisher told TGB that the real issue is if the game launches at the end of October or early November.“We don’t want to launch just before or just after the game. If it arrives in late October, that means you either have to launch early – which a lot of people seem to be doing with the recent glut of summer release dates. Or go later, putting you up against the Black Friday sales.”It’s not just new releases facing this challenge. TGB spoke to two developers of Top 10 live-service games, and they also admitted that they don’t plan any significant updates to their games during the GTA 6 launch window.“GTA 6 is basically a huge meteor and we will just stay clear of the blast zone,” one studio boss told us. “We will nudge our releases back or forward three weeks to avoid it. Of course, the problem is everyone is going to do the same. So three to four weeks before or after GTA 6, you’re going to get a load of games dropping content in what they believe will be the safe zone.”Another developer added: “There’s no point swimming against the current. We just need to prepare to win players back once the excitement has started to die down.”The companies we spoke to told us that it’s the uncertainty that’s playing havoc with their planning, with publishers preparing for multiple eventualities. “If we move out to 2025, what if Rockstar do, too?” asked the same European boss. “Will we have time to push our game up? Or will we have to delay further? It’s stressful.”But is the industry overreacting?The last time a new Grand Theft Auto was released was back in September 2013 and it immediately became the biggest entertainment launch in history. 50% of all game revenue made during that month in the US was for GTA 5 (Circana data), despite the game only arriving half-way through the month.In the UK, GTA 5 accounted for 89% of all games sold during the week of its release (Nielsen/GfK figures) and 94% of revenue. For the first three weeks on sale — which also featured the launch of FIFA 14 — Grand Theft Auto 5 accounted for two thirds of all games sold in the UK. And it’s those first three weeks that publishers have been calling the “blast zone”.Player behaviours have shifted significantly in the 12 years since GTA 5. Just because GTA 5 took upwards of 90% of the market at launch in 2013, doesn’t mean GTA 6 will in 2025. Nevertheless, history suggests GTA is going to have an outsized impact on the market, even before considering the additional pent-up demand for this sequel. Are any games safe?This is a tough one. Working with data firm Ampere, we can see which games cross-over most with Grand Theft Auto (across Steam, PlayStation and Xbox), but the data doesn’t go back as far as the GTA 5 launch. That means that the cross-over figures we’re looking at will primarily be Grand Theft Auto Online players.So naturally, the games that have the most cross-over are online service-based games. In October (when Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launched), 12.3% of CoD players also played GTA. That’s even higher for EA

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