The Situation in the EU: Overbearing Bureaucracy With Deep Pockets Stephan Steininger April 11, 2025 – 3 min read Share this post © European Union 2024/Dennis Lomme Business The Safe-Bet Crisis: Why Live-Service ”Wrappers“ Are Imploding In this week’s “Update”, Zoran Roso asks whether the industry is still designing games for pure enjoyment, and he suggests that the industry may have fallen into a dangerous corporate trap of designing for operational efficiency instead of creative taste and is facing a brutal reality check. By Zoran Roso • 4 min read John Hight, President of Wizards of the Coast, has sent out letters to unionising workers at the company. (Hasbro) Business Wizards of the Coast Not Voluntarily Recognizing Union With letters urging workers to "consider" their decision, Wizards of the Coast's President John Hight has made clear that the company will not voluntarily recognise the unionisation efforts of the Magic: The Gathering Arena team. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read Spellcasters Chronicles is going to be shut down on 19 June (Quantic Dream) Business French Union STJV Reacts to Probable Layoffs at Quantic Dream After Quantic Dream and NetEase have shuttered Spellcasters Chronicles after only four months of live service, french game workers union STJV has published demands to halt layoffs and for management to take responsibility. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read Warhammer Skulls © Games Workshop Products Everything Unveiled at the 10th Anniversary of Warhammer Skulls The Warhammer Skulls showcase marked its 10th anniversary with announcements, premieres and updates for a range of Warhammer video games. In addition to these reveals, Warhammer Skulls marks the start of annual sales across several major digital storefronts, which will run until 28 May. By Marcel Kleffmann • 5 min read Leon Ries, DOSB Board Member for Youth, is part of the initiative (DOSB) Esports German Olympic Committee Establishes DOSB E-Sports gGmbH The German Olympic Committee has established a new esports initiative. The DOSB E-Sports gGmbH goes into operation on 1 June. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read People Jenni Wergin Joins House of Games Team as Developer Relations Manager With the opening of the House of Games fast approaching, operator Wista Management is also strengthening the project team and has brought Jenni Wergin, an experienced industry expert, on board as Development Relations Manager. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read Campus Game Studies Watchlist 2026 #20 The Game Studies Watchlist newsletter, curated by Prof Dr Rudolf Inderst, is published weekly on GamesMarket. This week's topics include Disco Elysium, Analog Game Studies and more. By Rudolf Inderst • 2 min read The Winners of the Finnish Game Awards 2026 © Finnish Game Developers' Association / Neogames Finland Association Awards The Winners of the Finnish Game Awards 2026 The Finnish Game Awards 2026 saw a variety of winners, including a robot adventure game, a distinctly Finnish winter driving game, an adrenaline-fuelled techno shooter game, and a number of outstanding Finnish game developers. By Marcel Kleffmann • 3 min read Italian Video Game Awards © IIDEA Awards Finalists for the 2026 Italian Video Game Awards IIDEA, the Italian video game industry association, has announced the nominees for the 14th Italian Video Game Awards. By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
Business The Safe-Bet Crisis: Why Live-Service ”Wrappers“ Are Imploding In this week’s “Update”, Zoran Roso asks whether the industry is still designing games for pure enjoyment, and he suggests that the industry may have fallen into a dangerous corporate trap of designing for operational efficiency instead of creative taste and is facing a brutal reality check. By Zoran Roso • 4 min read
John Hight, President of Wizards of the Coast, has sent out letters to unionising workers at the company. (Hasbro) Business Wizards of the Coast Not Voluntarily Recognizing Union With letters urging workers to "consider" their decision, Wizards of the Coast's President John Hight has made clear that the company will not voluntarily recognise the unionisation efforts of the Magic: The Gathering Arena team. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read
Spellcasters Chronicles is going to be shut down on 19 June (Quantic Dream) Business French Union STJV Reacts to Probable Layoffs at Quantic Dream After Quantic Dream and NetEase have shuttered Spellcasters Chronicles after only four months of live service, french game workers union STJV has published demands to halt layoffs and for management to take responsibility. By Pascal Wagner • 2 min read
Warhammer Skulls © Games Workshop Products Everything Unveiled at the 10th Anniversary of Warhammer Skulls The Warhammer Skulls showcase marked its 10th anniversary with announcements, premieres and updates for a range of Warhammer video games. In addition to these reveals, Warhammer Skulls marks the start of annual sales across several major digital storefronts, which will run until 28 May. By Marcel Kleffmann • 5 min read
Leon Ries, DOSB Board Member for Youth, is part of the initiative (DOSB) Esports German Olympic Committee Establishes DOSB E-Sports gGmbH The German Olympic Committee has established a new esports initiative. The DOSB E-Sports gGmbH goes into operation on 1 June. By Pascal Wagner • 1 min read
People Jenni Wergin Joins House of Games Team as Developer Relations Manager With the opening of the House of Games fast approaching, operator Wista Management is also strengthening the project team and has brought Jenni Wergin, an experienced industry expert, on board as Development Relations Manager. By Stephan Steininger • 1 min read
Campus Game Studies Watchlist 2026 #20 The Game Studies Watchlist newsletter, curated by Prof Dr Rudolf Inderst, is published weekly on GamesMarket. This week's topics include Disco Elysium, Analog Game Studies and more. By Rudolf Inderst • 2 min read
The Winners of the Finnish Game Awards 2026 © Finnish Game Developers' Association / Neogames Finland Association Awards The Winners of the Finnish Game Awards 2026 The Finnish Game Awards 2026 saw a variety of winners, including a robot adventure game, a distinctly Finnish winter driving game, an adrenaline-fuelled techno shooter game, and a number of outstanding Finnish game developers. By Marcel Kleffmann • 3 min read
Italian Video Game Awards © IIDEA Awards Finalists for the 2026 Italian Video Game Awards IIDEA, the Italian video game industry association, has announced the nominees for the 14th Italian Video Game Awards. By Marcel Kleffmann • 2 min read
