October 2, 2026

A GameDiscoverCo survey of 16,152 Steam players finds long-form YouTube is the biggest game-discovery channel at 57%, narrowly ahead of Steam itself at 55.8%. Age makes a major difference: 53.5% of under-18s discover games through TikTok/Reels-style short-form video, versus just 20.2% of 45–54-year-olds. Older players lean much more heavily on traditional games media, while Steam and word of mouth remain remarkably consistent across age groups.

Russia’s games trade association VIDO has published a national industry strategy aimed at making the country the seventh-largest games market by 2035. The plan calls for startup funding, investor tax breaks, specialized game-development education, export support and stronger industry representation in government. It also proposes a national games museum and monument to Tetris, while highlighting the industry’s growing dependence on state-backed funding and organizations affected by international sanctions.

Positive Impact Games’ ecosystem-restoration game The Regreening has surpassed 55,000 Steam wishlists, with more than 7,300 players participating in pre-release playtests that helped shape development. The “soilpunk fairytale” focuses on restoring wildlife and ecosystems through planting, crafting and recycling, with a new demo arriving ahead of October’s Steam Next Fest.

Bungie cofounder and Halo/Destiny creator Jason Jones has teamed up with bestselling author Margaret Stohl to launch Stone Kite, a new studio designed to create original worlds across games, comics, film, TV and literature from the outset. Its first universe, One Zero One, began as a manuscript by Jones and launches with a comic before expanding into prose, audio and screen projects. More than 200 creators are already contributing across Stone Kite’s upcoming slate.

Layer has launched Playables, an AI tool that turns prompts, screenshots, creative briefs or gameplay footage into complete HTML5 playable ads. Custom playables traditionally take 1–3 weeks and thousands of dollars per iteration; Layer says its system can produce a first draft in minutes and campaign-ready versions within hours. The ads work across AppLovin, Meta, TikTok, Google, Unity Ads and ironSource, and can be modified through chat prompts without engineering help.

Kenney has released Skyboxes Space, a free collection of five space-themed skyboxes featuring galaxy and nebula environments. Like Kenney’s other game assets, the pack is released under CC0, meaning developers can use and modify it freely without attribution.

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