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Evening Reading - July 2, 2026
This edition of Shacknews Evening Reading covers various game reviews and updates, including Rhythm Heaven Groove and Doom: The Dark Ages. It also highlights industry news such as PlayStation ending physical disc production in January 2028, Godot banning generative AI code, and Krafton paying bonuses while CEO Ted Gill resigns. The article also features internet curiosities and memes.
Comings and Goings
Despite earlier reports, Xbox is retaining Obsidian Entertainment, according to sources familiar with the situation. Separately, fewer than 10 employees remain at the studio Thick as Thieves.
Evening Interviews
Developers from Rocksteady Studios have expressed that the commercial failure of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has made them reconsider their desire to create video games. The game, published by Warner Bros. Games, received significant criticism and underperformed commercially.
Marvel’s Blade is Seemingly “Pretty Far Along” With Reveal Planned for 2026 – Rumor
Rumors suggest that Arkane Studios' Marvel's Blade is far along in development, with a potential reveal planned for 2026 and release in 2027. Despite reports of delays and Xbox potentially not wanting to fund further development, the game's existence is not officially confirmed, nor is the fate of Arkane Studios or other Xbox-owned studios like Compulsion Games and Ninja Theory.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Developers Thought About Leaving the Industry
Former Rocksteady Studios developers Axel Rydby and Johnny Armstrong discussed the challenging development of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, revealing that executive decisions focused on monetization led them to question their passion for game making. The developers also shared their experiences with the game's numerous delays and the studio's inexperience with multiplayer titles, ultimately leading them to leave Rocksteady and pursue new projects like Secret of Circadia.
Cyberpunk 2077 Has Sold 40 Million Copies in Its Lifetime
CD Projekt RED announced that Cyberpunk 2077 has sold over 40 million copies worldwide since its December 2020 launch, with the Phantom Liberty expansion selling 10 million copies by May 2025. The developer also confirmed that the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 anime is arriving this Fall and that Project Orion, the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, has entered pre-production.
Halo: Campaign Evolved Studio Confirms Physical Release Will Include Disc in the Box
Halo Studios has confirmed that the physical release of Halo: Campaign Evolved will include a disc, addressing fan concerns following Rockstar Games' decision to omit discs from Grand Theft Auto 6. The game will also feature a robust Machinima mode, replacing a traditional photo mode, and will be optimized for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and handheld systems like the Steam Deck.
Thick as Thieves Studio Hit With More Layoffs, Left With “Fewer Than 10” Employees
OtherSide Entertainment has undergone further layoffs, reducing its staff to fewer than 10 employees, who are now focused solely on maintaining the co-op stealth game Thick as Thieves. The studio has no plans for future games following the cancellation of a project codenamed Argos and a reduction in scope for Thick as Thieves, which was originally envisioned as a PvPvE immersive sim. The studio's director, Jeff Hickman, stated that the current industry landscape makes their signature lengthy development cycles for immersive sims commercially unviable.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney suggests AI could've saved Destiny 2 and will "enable games like Destiny to thrive!"
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney suggested that a lack of generative AI adoption may have contributed to Destiny 2's struggles, stating that the technology could enable games like it to thrive. He also criticized Valve's policies regarding AI disclosures in games, arguing they hinder developers. The article explores the potential role of AI in accelerating game development and content creation.
Meta has released an app for making generative AI games
Meta has released a new app designed for creating generative AI games. The app, named Pocket, is listed in app stores but appears to be unavailable in the United States at this time.
"I can't do this again": Suicide Squad designer says Rocksteady's live service flop made him want to quit games, and warns "as an industry we are severely losing our way"
Former Rocksteady developers Johnny Armstrong and Axel Rydby have spoken out about the traumatic development of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, with one stating the experience made him want to quit the industry. They describe how shifting priorities and a focus on recouping investment led to a loss of creative passion, warning that the industry is losing its way by prioritizing sales over developer passion.
Donkey Kong 64 PC recompilation rejects "AI vibe coding" as devs try to build a port of "actually good quality before our competitor releases their poorly made one"
Developers working on a PC recompilation of Donkey Kong 64 have announced their project to preempt a potentially lower-quality version being developed by a competitor. The team emphasizes their commitment to high quality, rejecting the use of AI-generated code, and aims to release their version later this summer.
Destiny 2 community manager calls out "leaders who made multiple years of poor decisions" as former Bungie VP shares post blaming industry implosion on the market
Destiny 2 community manager Dylan Gafner responded to a discussion about the games industry's current state, suggesting that leadership's poor decisions over multiple years are a significant factor, not just market conditions. This comes after former Bungie VP Mark Noseworthy shared a post that placed blame primarily on the market. Gafner clarified his comments were not a personal attack but stemmed from conversations with former colleagues affected by recent Bungie layoffs.
"I could feel myself coming apart at the seams": Suicide Squad leads on almost leaving the games industry after its failure
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League co-director Axel Rydby and associate design director Johnny Armstrong considered leaving the games industry due to the game's troubled development and public failure. They discussed the shift from Rocksteady's traditional single-player games to a live-service model, the pressure from Warner Bros. executives, and the eventual decision to move on. Both developers have since started a new studio and are crowdfunding their upcoming game, Secret of Circadia.
Slay the Spire 2 engine creators will allow only ‘human-authored’ code from now on, for very obvious reasons
The creators of the Slay the Spire 2 engine have announced a new policy requiring all code to be human-authored. This decision aims to address concerns related to artificial intelligence and its role in game development.
CEO of major Japanese studio says employees get pay raises if they ace a quiz about its games, because that's…
Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino has implemented a unique pay raise system where employees can earn more money by passing quizzes about the company's games. Hino believes that deep knowledge of Level-5's titles is a genuine skill that increases employee efficiency and streamlines workflows, justifying the cost of the raises.
Destiny 2’s next patch is delayed into next week thanks to Bungie’s mass layoffs
Bungie has delayed the next patch for Destiny 2 into next week due to recent mass layoffs impacting the development team. The patch, which focuses on bug fixes, was originally scheduled for Tuesday. Some of the fixes included in the delayed patch were being worked on by employees who were let go.
Phasmophobia developers talk 1.0 and ghost rework at Shacknews E4 2026
Kinetic Games developers Daniel Knight and Ana Dukakis discussed Phasmophobia's upcoming 1.0 update, slated for 2027, during an interview at Summer Game Fest 2026. The update will feature a complete overhaul of the horror experience with new audio and visual changes, as well as a rework of all ghost models.
Former Call of Duty frontman launches new studio with a 'Stop Killing Games'-style mission statement: If the…
Former Call of Duty strategist Robert Bowlling has co-founded a new studio called //18.bravo, aiming to "stop killing games" with a focus on "forever play" and community-driven longevity. The studio's debut project will not be a live service game and will feature dedicated servers and optimized P2P architecture. Bowlling also plans to open-source code and assets if the studio ceases operations, promoting a replicable model for game preservation.
That's a bummer: Frictional's Soma follow-up Ontos has been delayed into 2027
Frictional Games has delayed its upcoming title, Ontos, from its original 2026 release window into 2027. The studio cited the game's ambitious scope in terms of size, scale, story, and gameplay as the reason for the postponement. Ontos is described as a sci-fi horror game set on the moon, following a search for answers about the protagonist's estranged father.
