Monster Hunter: What's Behind Capcom's Monstrous Success Marcel Kleffmann March 17, 2025 – 3 min read Share this post Monster Hunter Wilds © Capcom Global Gaming Report Q3 2026, Michael Metzger / © Drake Star / Michael Metzger Business G+ Drake Star: Gaming M&A, Private Financings and More in Q3 2026 Global technology investment bank Drake Star has released its latest Global Gaming Report for Q3 of 2026. The report covers M&A activity, private financing and IPOs in the games industry. This quarter saw robust gaming M&A activity, while gaming stocks rallied. By Marcel Kleffmann • 4 min read Business What Halo Studios’ Restructuring Signals About AAA Economics and Xbox Strategy In his latest newsletter, industry expert Zoran Roso uses Halo Studios as an example to analyse how the lethal combination of technical debt, corporate vendor tenure limits, and monolithic organizational design forced one of gaming’s most iconic IPs to completely pivot its operational playbook. By Zoran Roso • 4 min read According to Circana, the best-selling game in the US in August was: NBA 2K27 (Picture: Take-Two Interactive) Business US Video Games Market Remains Below Last Year’s Levels in August At US$4.26 billion, the US market saw a 9 per cent year-on-year decline in sales volume in August. This time, the drop in turnover is primarily attributable to software. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read Game composer Takeshi Furukawa (All photos: Takeshi Furukawa) People Game Music Makers: Takeshi Furukawa Game composer Takeshi Furukawa from Los Angeles has scored Planet of Lana I & II, The Last Guardian and Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender. We spoke to him about how game music has reached film music in professionality, refraining from middleware and more. By Pascal Wagner • 6 min read The Stortingssalen of the Norwegian parliament, who requested the report (Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0) Politics Norwegian Gaming and Foundation Authority Proposes Ways To Classify Lootboxes as Gambling At the request of the Norwegian Parliament and Ministry of Culture and Equality, the Norwegian Gaming and Foundation Authority has proposed three ways on how to amend Gambling definitions to protect consumer from loot boxes and skin gambling. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read Products G+ EA Sports FC 27 Has Sold Over 600,000 Units in Germany The exact sales figures have not been disclosed, but thanks to the game Sales Awards, one thing is certain: EA Sports FC 27 sold over 600,000 units across all platforms in Germany during its first month of release. By Stephan Steininger • 4 min read Events Splitscreen Croatia Announces Speaker Lineup The new games event at the Croatian coast Splitscreen has opened early bird sales and announced the speaker lineup, including Rami Ismail, Rebecca Lautner, Astrid Refstrup, Cristoffer Bodegard and many more. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read Global Gaming Report Q3 2026, Michael Metzger / © Drake Star / Michael Metzger Business G+ Drake Star: Gaming M&A, Private Financings and More in Q3 2026 Global technology investment bank Drake Star has released its latest Global Gaming Report for Q3 of 2026. The report covers M&A activity, private financing and IPOs in the games industry. This quarter saw robust gaming M&A activity, while gaming stocks rallied. By Marcel Kleffmann • 4 min read Politics SELL and Internet Sans Crainte Launch Awareness Campaign Ahead Paris Games Week Under the name “Enter the game”, the French games industry association SELL and Internet Sans Crainte have launched an online campaign designed to support parents in protecting young people whilst gaming, providing information on topics such as parental control systems and PEGI. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Global Gaming Report Q3 2026, Michael Metzger / © Drake Star / Michael Metzger Business G+ Drake Star: Gaming M&A, Private Financings and More in Q3 2026 Global technology investment bank Drake Star has released its latest Global Gaming Report for Q3 of 2026. The report covers M&A activity, private financing and IPOs in the games industry. This quarter saw robust gaming M&A activity, while gaming stocks rallied. By Marcel Kleffmann • 4 min read
Business What Halo Studios’ Restructuring Signals About AAA Economics and Xbox Strategy In his latest newsletter, industry expert Zoran Roso uses Halo Studios as an example to analyse how the lethal combination of technical debt, corporate vendor tenure limits, and monolithic organizational design forced one of gaming’s most iconic IPs to completely pivot its operational playbook. By Zoran Roso • 4 min read
According to Circana, the best-selling game in the US in August was: NBA 2K27 (Picture: Take-Two Interactive) Business US Video Games Market Remains Below Last Year’s Levels in August At US$4.26 billion, the US market saw a 9 per cent year-on-year decline in sales volume in August. This time, the drop in turnover is primarily attributable to software. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Game composer Takeshi Furukawa (All photos: Takeshi Furukawa) People Game Music Makers: Takeshi Furukawa Game composer Takeshi Furukawa from Los Angeles has scored Planet of Lana I & II, The Last Guardian and Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender. We spoke to him about how game music has reached film music in professionality, refraining from middleware and more. By Pascal Wagner • 6 min read
The Stortingssalen of the Norwegian parliament, who requested the report (Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0) Politics Norwegian Gaming and Foundation Authority Proposes Ways To Classify Lootboxes as Gambling At the request of the Norwegian Parliament and Ministry of Culture and Equality, the Norwegian Gaming and Foundation Authority has proposed three ways on how to amend Gambling definitions to protect consumer from loot boxes and skin gambling. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read
Products G+ EA Sports FC 27 Has Sold Over 600,000 Units in Germany The exact sales figures have not been disclosed, but thanks to the game Sales Awards, one thing is certain: EA Sports FC 27 sold over 600,000 units across all platforms in Germany during its first month of release. By Stephan Steininger • 4 min read
Events Splitscreen Croatia Announces Speaker Lineup The new games event at the Croatian coast Splitscreen has opened early bird sales and announced the speaker lineup, including Rami Ismail, Rebecca Lautner, Astrid Refstrup, Cristoffer Bodegard and many more. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
Global Gaming Report Q3 2026, Michael Metzger / © Drake Star / Michael Metzger Business G+ Drake Star: Gaming M&A, Private Financings and More in Q3 2026 Global technology investment bank Drake Star has released its latest Global Gaming Report for Q3 of 2026. The report covers M&A activity, private financing and IPOs in the games industry. This quarter saw robust gaming M&A activity, while gaming stocks rallied. By Marcel Kleffmann • 4 min read
Politics SELL and Internet Sans Crainte Launch Awareness Campaign Ahead Paris Games Week Under the name “Enter the game”, the French games industry association SELL and Internet Sans Crainte have launched an online campaign designed to support parents in protecting young people whilst gaming, providing information on topics such as parental control systems and PEGI. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
