Is leaning into "hometown pride" a winning formula for games studios?

If you'd told me 15 years ago that I'd no longer have to trek halfway across the world to LA to see the biggest games of the festive season and beyond, I'd have bitten your hand off. Yet as I work through endless showcases and reveals from the comfort of my sofa, I'm not sure I can cope with much more.

The games industry may still be cautious in a lot of spaces, but it’s increasingly getting out and about again.

It’s going to be scrappy and imperfect, but it’s better than stasis, and I think we’ll be proud when we look at back at how we adapted to our new normal.

Come on then, who’s ready to announce their own “Mega Game?”

“CDs? They’ll never beat good ol’ vinyl”. “What do you mean all your music is on that iSong thing? What’s wrong with CDs?”. “Nope, I’m not paying a subscription for music, I’m sticking to my iPod, consider me retro.”

You might love something, but that doesn’t make it good for everybody. Two bits of news related to Xbox Games Pass appear to deepen the polarisation of opinions on the contribution of Netflix-like subscription services for gaming.

Mistakes happen - it’s how you recover that matters. In my first week as a freelancer 15 years ago, I offered a games industry leader I was trying to convince to hire me a 15% disco*unt if they worked with me.

As cliché the term may be, it truly is an unprecedented time in the games industry. At once, we are hearing of record revenues, while also seeing studios closing, some before they’ve even had a chance to launch their first project.

It feels like we’ve been bathing in the shadow of Grand Theft Auto VI for as long as I can remember. The weight of expectation for its November release is now even heftier than when we last discussed it late last year.

In the noughties, Xbox was strongly associated with hardcore gamers, bringing with it a level of prestige for both brand and player. Being an Xbox gamer was an identity, one of two social groups that defined friendships: green or blue.

Being real - things are challenging in the games industry at the moment, but these issues are not as seismic as those the world of social media is facing. This week’s civil court ruling found that Meta and Google had made their social platforms “addictive by design” will be the tip of the iceberg and a day of reckoning in so many ways.

It’s a weird time to be a games industry watcher. More and more are playing games and sales continue to grow, but the sector is moving through an unrivalled period of change and restructuring, and that can be hard to reconcile.

To measure the mood at GDC this week depends on whether you are a glass half full or half empty type of person.

You know what’s big in Germany? On this occasion, we can skip my cliched Hasselhoff gags and go straight to the punchline of the story - Gamescom.

RAMageddon conjures up the image of a bunch of long-forgotten Latvian metallers - but the impact of Silicon Valley hoarding the world’s entire memory component inventory for at least the next year is going to impact us all in many ways, not least the price of the Samsung Galaxy S26 flagship smartphone revealed this week - a fifth more expensive than its predecessor. Let’s hope the games industry doesn’t turn this crisis into a drama.

I’ve given up explaining how I make a living these days - I just assure my loved one it’s legal but varied. I was booked late Sunday for a 5:05am Monday morning appearance on BBC Radio 5 Live to unpack a series of government announcements around the potential social media ban for under 16s - and Sir Keir Starmer putting “tech giants on notice” they would be acting tougher, closing loopholes in the Online Safety Act and protecting young people.

It’s been a big week for our team, and for me personally, with the launch of Bastion America. I’ve been buzzing with energy since my first conversation with Ravi and Dean about building a North American agency within the Bastion network, and it’s been so fun to finally share the news with clients, partners, and friends throughout the game industry.

The world’s a pretty confusing place at the best of times right now - but having spent a week arguing with the supporters of an AI generated meme on X, I found the result of a random legal case delivered last week in London taking up what was left of my brain.

One of the big industry stories this week is Ubisoft’s decision to shelve its remake of the 2003 classic: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, along with five other projects.

I love a surprise, and Valve certainly dropped a decent one this week, in an era where it’s almost impossible to do so. Their pitch-perfect six minute reveal video showed off three new pieces of hardware where most people were expecting the reveal of a new Steamdeck. Valve’s well-executed move also has me thinking several steps ahead - and wondering what this means for next-gen console development.

God bless The Simpsons - the world’s longest running cartoon series. Yeah - of course it’s not as good as it was, but like Top Gear repeats on Dave, it feels like one of the last constants in our rapidly changing world...

Earlier this month, Circana released new data showing that most players (about 63%) only buy one or two games a year. What implications will this have as we move into 2026?

Amazon’s refocused and rebooted Luna games streaming service has become an unexpected hit. Launched in March 2022, Luna has always been a sleeper from Amazon - it’s competent, technically able and very stable with a handful of decent games...

Now, the industry wants to go one step further and is seeking an additional Games Growth Relief for projects up to £15m - and if you look at the amount of subsidies dished out to other industries, surely it’s a no brainer?

If you’re reading this on Friday, 10th October it’s World Mental Health Day - which alongside World Doughnut Day are the only two of “these days” I continue to recognise. I’ve had my own mental health struggles over the years, yet have experienced no such issue when it comes to doughnuts. This year on World Mental Health Day I’ve made a note to myself - and it reads ‘do more gaming.’

Remember this next time you’re in a lift with a German politician. How many industry bodies does the games sector really need? Judging by an interesting new project this week launched by the European Games Developer Federation and Video Games Europe - the continent’s large trade organisation - the more the merrier...

The new Interactive Entertainment Scotland organisation will act as the voice of Scottish games companies and advocate for policies that continue the growth of the country’s games industry - as part of UKIE...

Earlier this week I saw the headline “Your Car is now an Xbox” - which has real 1980s BBC Tomorrow’s World energy - a crazy future concept sandwiched between Eastenders and Top of the Pops that stuck with me for decades. But it’s true - your car can actually be an Xbox in 2025 - and I’m really pleased we’re seeing more and more of our devices becoming legit games platforms.

Today, we're unveiling our Annual G2M Video Games Marketing Survey. We asked marketers in the games industry how they’re navigating a market that’s noisier, faster-moving and more competitive than ever, and some of the answers might surprise you. From budgets that no longer stretch far enough, to new strategies and emerging trends - the findings help paint a clearer picture of where industry campaigns may be heading.

Happy 45th Birthday Pac-Man. If he was a human - Pac would be battling stiff knees, heart disease from all those power-pills and type-2 diabetes from munching all those ghosts. Thankfully - our games heroes don’t need to age - but how does one keep a franchise relevant?

With IGN reaching over half a billion people a month in over 100 countries, its audience should be considered as good a barometer as any. We can see that interests and appetites are changing the market - but that gamers are still just as excited and passionate about their hobby than ever before.

Two stories from the last week conflated all of these points into a bit of a heatwave soup. Firstly - the monstrous 800% spike in use of generative AI in game development on Steam over the last year, and secondly - a dubious AI band which generated millions of listens for fake albums.

A minor on-air slip during a BBC Breakfast segment on retro games – placing an NES cartridge into a SNES has sparked an outsized response online this week, with some questioning the broadcaster’s credibility. But as games reaches ever broader audiences, is it time the enthusiastic community showed a little more understanding toward honest mistakes and focused instead on celebrating mainstream moments that get it right?

No matter how things change, they still stay the same. Having spent years defending the games industry from sensationalist headlines around violence and age-ratings, I’ve spent a considerable chunk of my week celebrating the legitimacy of Esports, and its value to the UK.

Sloclap’s multiplayer football title Rematch has already reportedly drawn over 1 million unique players just 24 hours after launch, making it another overnight hit from a French studio following Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s success in March. But what is it about Rematch which is just so appealing to players - and can it finally challenge the hegemony of EA FC as the king of football games?

The world is full of strange takes. I saw someone on X taking objection to the fact governmental support for the UK games industry had been largely ignored by the media this week - themselves largely ignoring some rather significant developments elsewhere. While the news cycle has moved on - there’s still time to look at this and be cheerful that games’ elevation into general government consciousness has been secured.

Cannes Lions’ website modestly describes itself as the “world’s biggest celebration of history-making creativity”, but its representation of the games industry feels to me like anything but.

With the rise of handheld gaming once again in full swing, the upcoming Asus ROG Xbox handheld has one gamer feeling like it’s 1990 all over again. As Nintendo’s Switch 2 smashes records and Microsoft expands its Xbox ecosystem, the potential for a streamlined, Xbox-optimised Windows handheld could shake up the market. For portable play on planes, trains, and everywhere in between, this might just be a game-changer.

From midnight queues to celeb-filled launch parties, Will Guyatt wonders if the magic of a console launch still survives. With the Nintendo Switch 2 looming, leaks and overexposure risk spoiling the fun – but there’s still hope for surprises, strong titles, and a worthy follow-up to a much-loved handheld.

With MCM Comic Con 2025 just around the corner, Will Guyatt asks the question - do games events still matter?

Is the nature of 2025 US politics likely to affect the video games industry? Will Guyatt shares his take.

So far, that’s all we’ve seen of Grand Theft Auto VI and as least 12 seconds of that was a large purple VI with “coming 2025” beneath it. Were getting closer and closer to the mid point of 2025 and we’re still no clearer on when GTA VI drops - but that’s not stopping both gamers and the industry seemingly clearing the way to ensure nothing comes in the way of a visit to Leonida.

We all love a surprise, as long as it’s a good one, right? This week, gaming got its very own - with Bethesda confirming, revealing and releasing a remade Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in 24 hours, quicker than Craig David. So - it’s a “remaster”, but the rapid reveal and launch of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has captured the imagination of gamers in a way that other vintage returns have seemingly failed to do so.

On reading that semi-retired footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo was set to “star” in the forthcoming Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves game. Will Guyatt discusses the growing collaboration between celebrities and the games industry.

Will Guyatt discusses a bold wake-up call to the games industry highlighted by Netflix's Adolescence. The time for defensiveness is over. As public scrutiny returns with fresh force—fuelled by headlines, high-profile critiques, and real societal concerns—this rallying piece urges the industry to confront hard truths, reject complacency, and lead with accountability.

Will Guyatt examines the insights from Bastion's Times Are Changing report, which highlights the growing disconnect between game developers and the media outlets that have long championed their work.

The relationship between the industry and games media has never felt more strained than it does today. In our report, Times are Changing - we’ve spoken to some of the world’s leading games journalists to get their views on the future of games media and its role in the industry.

If your energy bill rose by 53% overnight, wouldn’t you be out on the streets demanding regime change? I know I would, so it’s hardly surprising to see the reaction to the unexpectedly high price rise for the Xbox Games Pass. So peeved were gamers that they managed to cause the Game Pass cancellation page to crash...

Will Guyatt reflects on how gaming has evolved from cheeky pixelated crushes to powerful platforms for connection, empathy, and escape. With new research revealing that today’s youth crave friendship, safety, and meaning over romance, this piece asks whether game narratives are keeping up with changing expectations.

Will Guyatt dives into the chaos of modern game discovery—and finds hope in an unexpected place. Powered by human insight rather than algorithms, Ludocene is a new platform likened to a dating app for games. Could it hold the model for better discoverability in the industry?

The 2024 edition of the Bastion G2M Annual Video Games Marketing Survey. A market report to capture and provide a snapshot of the challenges and opportunities marketeers across the video games industry face today.

To close off Pride Month, we interview Anne-Lou Grosbois-Favreau, Global Brand Manager at Square Enix and Star Limit Break Mentor who highlights the transformative power of diverse stories in games.

Sumo adapted its own in-house scheme to create, Evolve, a new programme available across the industry. Jenny Muhlwa, Learning & Development Partner Consultant at Sumo Group discusses the background to the initiative, the details of the course and what she hopes it can achieve.

A discussion with ReedPop’s Event Director Jennifer Martin on the return of live events post COVID.

Maria Sayans, CEO of ustwo games, speaks to Bastion about the award-winning studio’s unique approach to game development and recent success with Desta: The Memories Between.

An exclusive interview with Simon Bennett, founder of multi-BAFTA award winning British studio Roll7, makers of OlliOlli World and Rollerdrome.

We speak to Sam Barratt, the UN Environment Programme’s Chief of Youth, Education & Advocacy, about what games can do to fight climate change.