This Week in Videogames

Big Walk is causing households to find ways to play alone, together. Francisco Dominguez speaks to the parents of gaming families and developers House House about the unintended social dynamics their game has created. “Go to your room.” Those words usually spell bad news for kids, who can soon expect to be sent to solitary confinement, ushered away by parents craving peace and quiet, or simply warned that bedtime draws near.

In Brief Saber Interactive has denied renewed claims that it fired a former Lead Writer so it could “use ChatGPT” in the development of its recently announced title, Rideshare “Stimulator” Narrative designer Stella Sacco, who previously worked as a Lead Writer at Saber, reiterated previous claims that she had been “replaced” with ChatGPT “midway through development” on the project Saber CEO Matthew Karch denied the accusations in a statement to This Week in Videogames, suggesting her...

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy received the series’ first official Latin American Spanish translation at the end of 2025. Diego Nicolás Argüello spoke to the localization team in charge of the project to learn more about the challenges of adapting puns, assessing multiple regional and cultural sensibilities, and the importance of the human touch in the age of artificial intelligence.

In Brief: Lightspeed LA has announced it’s laying off staff due to changing the “creative and development direction” of upcoming game Last Sentinel GamesBeat claims that 80 employees have been impacted Lightspeed Studios, a subsidiary of Tencent Games, says that North America remains “a cornerstone” of its gaming strategy despite the cuts to its LA studio Tencent-owned studio Lightspeed LA has confirmed it will be laying off staff as it shifts the “creative and development direction” of its...

> > Videogames Are Rediscovering the Jump Cut #007:FirstLight #Feature #Mixtape After decades of videogames trying to recreate the one-shot take, 007 First Light and Mixtape are bringing back the art of the jump cut in 2026. But even though they’re quick in execution, they’re not always easy to implement, as Francisco Dominguez finds out. In the language of cinema, each and every punctuation mark is a cut.

In Brief: EA has removed controversial new microtransactions from two modes in College Football 27 Disappointed players voiced their concerns about the microtransactions using hashtags on social media and leaving negative reviews on Steam EA admitted it “missed the mark with the introduction of paid progression options” and said there will be “greater transparency and communication” ahead of the next game in the series EA has removed some of the new microtransactions introduced into College...

> > The Cult of Jason Blundell #CallofDutyZombies #MagicFractal Beloved Call of Duty Zombies director Jason Blundell has weathered two failed studios and PlayStation deals since leaving Treyarch. Now, he’s trying it for a third time, and the enthusiasm supporting him doesn’t seem to be waning. Edward Lee speaks to those close to Blundell to understand why. “It was and still is surreal.

In Brief: Red Rover Interactive has initiated “a restructuring process that will lead to a reduction in roles” After several employees at the Enginefall developer took to LinkedIn to look for new positions, Red Rover confirmed the restructuring in a statement sent to This Week in Videogames The restructuring arrives roughly a week on from Enginefall’s appearance at Steam Next Fest June 2026 Red Rover Interactive, the developer of upcoming survival shooter Enginefall, has initiated a round of...

In Brief: Square Enix is facing accusations of using AI-generated art in the cover art for Kingdom Hearts Collection [I~III] Fans have pointed out inconsistently drawn hands, buildings, and illustrations that appear copied from previous assets in the cover art Some have posited that the art is the work of Kingdom Hearts character designer Tetsuya Nomura, but aspects have been modified with AI Following the announcement of Kingdom Hearts Collection [I~III] during the 9 June 2026 Nintendo...

> > Sega Cancels ‘Super Game’ Project, Pulls Back on Free-to-Play In Brief: Sega has released its full-year earnings results for FY2026 The company reported increased sales and decreased profits compared to FY2025, and a “net loss” due to impairment losses on Rovio and Stakelogic Sega also confirmed the cancellation of its ‘Super Game’ project and said it’s lowering the priority of free-to-play titles Sega has published its full-year earnings results for FY2026 (1 April 2025 to 31 March...