AI, Layoffs, RAM Shortages, Studio Closures, Price Increases, Rising subscription costs, $80 Dollar Games and now – The Death of Physical Media. The Video Game industry is in a crisis right now and has become unaffordable for many. Let’s talk about how we got here.
Disclaimer: Video is an opinion only and has been provided for entertainment purposes only
Games Shown:
00:15 Resident Evil Requiem
02:03 The Crew Motor Fest
02:30 Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
02:37 Assassin’s Creed Unity
03:03 V-Rally (Game Boy)
03:15 Batman: Return of the Joker (NES)
03:41 Super Metroid (SNES)
03:46 Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
03:55 Crash Bandicoot
04:05 Super Mario 64
04:07 Phantasy Star Online (Dreamcast)
04:11 Silent Hill 3
04:15 Halo 2
04:23 Sonic 2 (Genesis)
04:49 Unreal Championship
05:15 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
05:40 Grand Theft Auto V
06:49 Call of Duty Warzone
08:06 Days Gone
08:09 The Last of Us Part I
08:15 Animal Crossing: New Horizons
08:55 Hi-Fi Rush
10:15 Demon’s Souls Remake
11:57 Resident Evil 3 Remake
12:10 Mafia: The Old Country
12:19 Resident Evil 7
12:30 Fable 2
12:40 Sekiro
12:50 No Man’s Sky
12:55 Ninja Gaiden Black
13:01 The Matrix UE5 Demo
13:40 Crimson Desert
14:18 Starfield
15:14 Mina the Hollower
15:55 Star Fox (Nintendo Switch 2)
16:50 Super Mario Land
16:54 Quake Rally
17:05 Mirror’s Edge
17:25 Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Timestamps:
00:00 – Current state of the industry
03:02 – How did we get here?
08:04 – Overspending/Acquisitions
09:24 – When it came crashing down
11:04 – The Gamers perspective
13:54 – Is it really that bad?
16:05 – Games will live on
17:35 – Outro
Sources:
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2026-06-15/studios-in-microsofts-xbox-division-brace-for-closures
https://gamingbolt.com/starfield-was-in-development-for-8-years-new-game-plus-confirmed
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/4128260/view/533251118084390920
https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/ram-prices-rise-nearly-50-173317474.html
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/06/25/xbox-console-price-update/
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/pc/steam-machine-pricing-starts-at-1-049-for-512gb-model
https://blog.playstation.com/2026/03/27/new-price-changes-for-ps5-ps5-pro-and-playstation-portal-remote-player/
https://www.nintendo.com/us/whatsnew/price-revision-for-nintendo-switch-2-system/
https://blog.playstation.com/2026/07/01/physical-disc-production-ending-in-january-2028-for-new-games-releasing-on-playstation-consoles/
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/metal-gear-solid-delta-snake-eater/
https://www.honestgamers.com/news/10530/sony-closes-wipeout-developer-sony-liverpool.html
https://www.destructoid.com/wipeout-developer-sce-studio-liverpool-closed/
https://kotaku.com/concord-shutting-down-closing-servers-refunds-ps5-1851638566
https://sonyinteractive.com/en/press-releases/2021/sony-interactive-entertainment-to-acquire-bluepoint-games/
https://sonyinteractive.com/en/press-releases/2022/sony-interactive-entertainment-to-acquire-haven-entertainment-studios-inc/
https://news.microsoft.com/features/microsoft-to-acquire-zenimax-media-and-its-game-publisher-bethesda-softworks-for-7-5-billion/
https://news.microsoft.com/source/2022/01/18/microsoft-to-acquire-activision-blizzard-to-bring-the-joy-and-community-of-gaming-to-everyone-across-every-device/
https://www.blog.udonis.co/mobile-marketing/mobile-games/embracer-group-layoffs
https://sonyinteractive.com/en/press-releases/2022/sony-interactive-entertainment-to-acquire-leading-independent-videogame-developer-bungie/
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/microsoft-closes-arkane-austin-tango-gameworks-and-alpha-dog-studios
https://www.theverge.com/games/881578/sony-close-bluepoint-games-studio-remaster-remake-demons-souls-shadow-colossus-god-of-war
https://nichegamer.com/ready-at-dawn-studios-shut-down-by-meta/
https://www.reddit.com/r/xbox/comments/1lq85nb/breakdown_of_all_july_2nd_2025_xbox_layoffs/
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/report-xbox-closes-the-initiative-and-cancels-its-perfect-dark-reboot
https://www.vice.com/en/article/xbox-layoffs-could-be-the-largest-in-gaming-history-says-insider/
https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/xbox-game-pass-users-are-canceling-subscriptions-so-fast-that-microsofts-website-is-struggling-to-keep-up-and-i-dont-blame-them
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