Xbox Game Pass helped me find my GOTY candidate. PBA Pro Bowling 2026. The only thing I'm joking about is GOTY, because that's a ridiculous concept that has no meaning in video games. However, this is game is great.

What you see happening at #Xbox is restructuring 101: - Reducing unit cost base - Collaborate - Make up for raw talent loss with knowledge & responsibility sharing

This #Roblox case is one to keep an eye on. The ramifications could be widespread, depending on how the legal system views an "employee" versus a user of a platform (or a hobbyist being paid via an intermediary). www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5_5...

1/ I've been saying this the Xbox restructure started. People have grossly misinterpreted Asha Sharma's comments around Game Pass. The CONTENT that Xbox used to flood the pipeline, prior to ABK, was largely unsuccessful (no matter how you look at it).

We are past the point where people should be pretending they don't know how a business operates, or that this is somehow out of the ordinary. TLDR: A business uses their most successful BUs to fund everything else. This is normal and expected.

I think it's perfectly reasonable to prefer physical media. I collect records of my favorite bands. I'm that old. 😄 However, people are mixing up sales ratio and what that means to the bottom line. Again, not that it makes anyone wrong, but it helps to have the context.

IO Interactive announced that an external partner (likely Xbox) has pulled out of Project Fantasy. This means IOI will need to balance the equation with layoffs (staff likely dedicated to the game and funded by the contract).

Sony: "Our studios might ask that their games go to as many platforms as possible, but we told them to zip it." 😄 (I'm just having some fun with what's being implied below. It's a business decision. I get it.)

At a small G&NS (#PlayStation) investor meeting, Sony executives emphasized that they are shifting to profitable growth per user (away from MAU growth). While they believe MAUs will continue to grow in the long term, they are signaling that a soft cap exists. Customer LTV is the focus.

An assessment of the situation, right from Xbox:

Sony's 2026 20-F contains their general business strategy for #PlayStation (G&NS division): (See thread for individual notes.) Source: www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/...

Leaving out PvE, when the dev team already built the components, is leaving money on the table. Boggles my mind why Marathon focused so much on a brutal PvP environment (at launch). They pushed people away that might have otherwise tried it.

A reminder that Embracer is splitting into two business segments. Fellowship and Embracer. Fellowship should appear on the main Stockholm market in 2027. Fellowship Entertainment: Tomb Raider, Metro, Kingdom Come, Dead Island, Darksiders and Remnant.

Capcom would like to expand their user base by turning Mega Man, Devil May Cry, and Ace Attorney into core franchises. More games, ports, and remasters from those franchises. Source: www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/d...

Capcom units sales for FYE March 2026 are a straight up anomaly in the games industry. They had several catalog titles move more units in the past FY than any point in time except their launch year. In the case of DMC5, it actually moved MORE than the launch year. www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/b...

MB rejects rumors that there has been a sudden "reverse course" on Xbox's exclusivity play / plans. (Obviously don't expect everything to go exclusive, we know that isn't plausible.)

Just because I find it interesting to discuss (I don't believe it's about to happen), here's what the #XBOX business looks like if it ran as a subsidiary: (Unclear how they handle ABK and Zenimax without it being real.) Remember, this is just "for fun."

Here's a bit of positive news regarding #Xbox: Forza Horizon 6 is still in the Global Steam top 10 for the week of June 2 - 9. It jumped a spot back up to 2nd position. However, I've been told that if it wasn't on Game Pass, they would have sold 80 billion more units. 😆

1/ This segment from the Xbox "reset" almost certainly means the company will be investing in their core mega-IPs, and cutting, or downsizing the non-core IPs / studios. They'll keep select small studios and BUs, but I expect a lot of downsizing in "non-core."

The following is a DM I sent to a friend when Phil Spencer retired. Unfortunately, what I thought was going to happen...happened. #Xbox over-extended, as did much of the industry.

1/ This statement, by Matthew Ball, is being taken out of context. MB is specifically referring to the STRATEGIC component of XBOX. For example, how they engage players, where they engage them, what steps they take at a global scale.

1/ Helldivers 2 boosted Arrowhead revenue significantly. Obviously we don't have the details on the HD 2 contract between Sony and Arrowhead, but thanks to the Swedish public financial reports, we can see their financials. www.allabolag.se/bokslut/arro...

Take-Two is reporting revenue and margin improvements by going around the app store payment processors. Good. The less Apple controls on payments, especially payments over the WWW, the better.

The CD Projekt Group Q1 investor call contained several questions about the shortcomings on the incentive plan: Songs of the Past was originally intended for 2026 but moved to 2027. There is one more product launch scheduled, but it isn't as ambitious as Songs. www.cdprojekt.com/en/wp-conten...

I've had multiple people, today, tell me that Sony didn't write off Bungie's assets (save for goodwill). Well folks, sorry to say this is directly from Sony:

The Destiny 2 vs. Marathon debate is a waste of time. D2 wasn't killed so that Marathon can live. They are somewhat independent decisions, even if built by the same studio.

1/ Given Take-Two's hefty predictions for #GTAVI, and how that is expected to boost their financials, let's look at their FY27 guidance (check the details). - Even with the GTAVI release, GAAP earnings are actually somewhat suppressed by the amortization charges they expect to take in FY27 ($624M).

My take on Sony's willingness to fund / support #Destiny 3 (or a game similar to it): TLDR: They probably aren't that excited about doing so.

Forza Horizon 6 reports over 6M players engaged (sales, game pass, etc.) Great game. The improvements over FH5, especially in the world map, make this a great sim-cade racer.

A bunch of people skipping out on work today. Hey, guilty as charged (not for this one since I've been playing for the past three days). #ForzaHorizon6