Hello, and welcome to the Summer Game Fest edition of The Game Business Micro!
This is usually our exclusive mini podcast for paid subscribers. But today, as a treat, this one is free for all. And we’ve even got some exclusive bits for you, including a follow-up chat with IO Interactive boss Hakan Abrak about 007: First Light.
Plus, we share early data from an impressive Summer Game Fest, and discuss Xbox’s return to console exclusivity.
Enjoy!
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Xbox reignites the console war
In Brief: Xbox has announced its big upcoming Gears of War game will not be coming to PlayStation 5 after all. Gears of War: E-Day will now launch on Xbox and PC on October 6. Xbox also announced that new IP Clockwork Revolution will only launch on Xbox and PC in 2027.
What You Need To Know:
Xbox had been releasing all of its games on PC, most of its games on PS5 and some of its games on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 in an effort to improve the profitability of its titles and become the biggest video game company in the world. However, this has been negatively impacting sales (and engagement) of its Xbox Series S and X platform, with PS5 holding a commanding lead this generation.
There have been calls from Xbox’s most vocal fans to make games exclusive again.
Gears is a big title in North America, but it does have a global audience. The last game, Gears 5, sold 750,000 copies in Europe.
Last year’s Gears of War Reloaded saw the series come to PS5. The PS5 version managed 580,000 players during its launch month (Ampere data), which is not insignificant, but that represents just 27% of the game’s console players (excluding PC). Of course, the Xbox version was accessible via Game Pass, which will have boosted figures there.
Xbox says there will be more exclusive games in the future, but not live service titles. Most of the games it showed at Summer Game Fest are being released on PlayStation.
My Take:
There had been rumblings that Xbox was going to experiment by not releasing one of its games on console. But this went beyond that. This suggests there’s a fundamental strategic shift that has been decided upon within Xbox.
Gears of War: E-Day is a very Xbox-friendly title. And it was always likely to perform best on Microsoft’s console, and potentially PC, too.
But it still had potential on PlayStation. The remastered version of the original Gears of War managed nearly 600,000 players in a week. You might be able to argue we’re looking at a million fewer players for E-Day as a result of this decision.
And will it make a difference? Are people going to buy an Xbox for Gears of War and Clockwork Revolution? It’s hard to say. But, of course, this isn’t just about one title. Over time, the platform will strengthen as more console exclusive games arrive.
The decision comes at an interesting time. On one hand, GTA 6 is likely to reignite interest in console gaming, and Xbox will want to make sure it’s a viable option when new players come in for that game in November.
But on the other, consoles are more expensive than ever and proving prohibitive to buy. Well over 50% of console owners in the US are part of $100,000 households, according to Circana.
Regardless over whether the strategy will prove to be the right one, we are certainly seeing a more competitive Xbox. The console wars of old appear to be returning.
And although console fanboys are exhausting, a bit of competition is clearly a good thing. Console competition generates excitement amongst audiences, and encourages innovation and investment from the platform holders. In the end, everyone should benefit.
But what’s the long game? CEO Asha Sharma summed up the contradiction at the heart of Xbox. She said on stage at a recent Bloomberg Tech event: “We’re the number two publisher in the world, and in order to be a great publisher, you must have your games reach large audiences to play. At the same time, we’re increasingly becoming a platform, and in order to become a platform, you must have exclusive content and services.”
What Xbox is trying to do is have its cake and eat it. Can it really be the world’s biggest games publisher and a viable platform full of exclusive games? And not just achieve that, but achieve it to a level that Microsoft demands?
It’s hard to say. But it’s certainly an exciting watch.
Summer Game Fest 2026 peak viewership jumps 20%
In Brief: Summer Game Fest saw record-breaking peak viewers of 3.6 million during its Friday livestream, a rise of 20% year-on-year (LevelUp Analytics). 2025’s event was the previous best with three million viewers. There were over 8,000 co-streams (up 25% year-on-year), with 7.3 million hours watched (up 30%). The event was headlined by major franchises including Resident Evil Veronica and Final Fantasy VII: Revelation.
What You Need To Know:
There were 5,071 editorial articles about Summer Game Fest publisher in less than a day. Last year, 3,747 articles were produced over two days. (Press Engine data).
There was also a 37.9% increase in publications covering the event.
Other key reveals included the return of 1666: Amsterdam from Assassin’s Creed creator Patrice Desilets, Guild Wars 3, a major Monster Hunter Wilds expansion called Ascendance, a new strategy shooter called Crossfire, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, an ‘indie’ Sonic game Sonic Pico Park, Saw Genesis, Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush, and two new Cuphead titles.
There were also new trailers for Virtua Fighter, Alien Isolation 2, Stranger Than Heaven, Gen Atlas, Star Wars Zero Company, The Wolf Among Us 2, Star Wars Galactic Racer, Control Resonant, Clutch and The Blood of the Dawnwalker.
Meanwhile, Sony’s State of Play event also performed strongly, with 2.9 million peak viewers, up 38% over the year before (LevelUp data). The key games featured there included Marvel’s Wolverine and God of War: Laufey.
The data isn’t quite in for the Xbox showcase, which also saw reveals and trailers, including Persona 6, Gears of War and Halo. It also promoted a new 25th anniversary green Xbox console.
My Take
This was a real step-up for the Summer Game Fest week.
Of course, The Game Business is part of the same family, and we have our own conference during this period. I am not an impartial judge. But last year was a mixed bag. The SGF showcase was strong, but the rest of it was quiet, including the in-person physical events.
This year, it’s been strong from start to (nearly) finish. All the showcases were full of big announcements (so far, Nintendo hasn’t gone yet). And the Play Days physical event was bustling, with loads of exhibitors, games, press and creators. There’s a small scale E3 vibe about this one.
Part of this will be due to GTA 6 and the need from publishers and developers to work harder (and smarter) in the face of increased competition. GTA 6 is impacting the release schedule in such a way that certain months, like September, October and February, are jam packed with new titles, and game companies are desperate to make sure their one doesn’t get drowned out.
But beyond the marketing metrics, this felt like a positive morale boost for the industry. In the face of constant cuts and studio closures, it’s nice to have a week that reminds us that video games is a fun, strong medium full of impressive looking games made by talented people. I hope for another big Summer Game Fest in 12 months.
007: First Light nears profitability after one week
In Brief: 007: First Light is nearly profitably after selling 2.7 million units worldwide in a its first week.
“This went above and beyond [our expectations],” said CEO Hakan Abrak to The Game Business. “It is a very, very well received game. It’s a Bond game, and the best Bond game on PlayStation and PC. It seems to be working really well.
“We’re getting very close to [profitability]. The trajectory looks really good. There are obviously some royalties and models that are involved in this. But it is looking like that is going to be a very solid scenario, and will be profitable faster than we thought we would. 2.7 million week one. Now we’re a couple of days after that, and we haven’t completely confirmed the physical part of it, so we’re probably at three million now.”
More from Abrak:
Over the next year, IO Interactive has a roadmap of free updates and additions to the game, including a new story chapter. “We’re not one to do a big blockbuster release and then it cools off,” Abrak told us. “We are going to massively support this and keep the content going and the world expanding, as we did with Hitman.”
There is a question over whether Amazon, which took over ownership of the Bond IP mid-way through the development of 007: First Light, will continue to work with IO or head in a different direction. “Amazon is a huge company,” Abrak said. “We have a fantastic relationship with them. And there will be news, soon, about this in the near future.”
The developer hopes to sell more copies of the game once GTA 6 launches in November. “We are definitely thinking about that opportunity, because we know there is going to be a lot of lapsed players buying a PlayStation again because of GTA. A third-person narrative experience… having played the GTA campaign, and after looking around, I’m sure Bond could be a candidate for them to play afterwards.”
At Summer Game Fest, IO Interactive announced a partnership with Saber Interactive to remake the original three Hitman games. Abrak said Saber approached them about the idea. “Saber is seeing massive momentum, and their passion and approach to reignite this was something that appealed to us.”
Other older IO games include Mini Ninjas, Kane & Lynch and Freedom Fighters. The first two are still the property of former IO Interactive owners Square Enix. But what about Freedom Fighters? “IO has done many different IPs, and IPs we’ve prototyped and not seen the light of day,” Abrak explained. “So, we like to fool around with things. And we’ve been fooling around with some Freedom Fighters stuff, but right now it’s Hitman, Bond and our new IP [Project Fantasy].”
Meanwhile…
Paramount Games has formed, bringing together the Skydance development teams with the Paramount Games licensing division. The firm has announced two new projects at Summer Game Fest, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin by Platinum Games and Star Trek: Shadow Frontier by Bloober Team. It’s also working on Marvel 1943. We will have a full interview with the new Platinum Games tomorrow (Tuesday, June 9).
Merge Mansion creator Metacore is cutting 159 jobs in Finland and closing its offices in Germany and Sweden, ahead of an acquisition by Supercell. Supercell was already the largest shareholder for the mobile developer. Metacore CEO Mika Tammenkoski said: “We have built an organisation with growth ambitions that have not materialised as expected.” Supercell believes it can turn the game around and that its best years are ahead of it
UK publisher Secret Mode has acquired Chained Together from Anegar Games. The co-op platformer was released in June 2024 and has sold more than 10 million copies.
That’s it for today! If you enjoyed that, and you’re not already a paying subscriber, we do these every Monday morning. So join us!
Looking ahead, we have The Game Business Live event today, so expect something from us around that. Tomorrow, we have a bumper extended interview with the new Paramount Games. And on Thursday, you can watch our on-stage interview with Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball.
Until then, thank you for reading.
