October 1, 2026

The Atlantic explores the rise of LitRPG, fiction built around video-game mechanics like levels, XP, inventories and skill trees. The breakout example is Dungeon Crawler Carl, which began as self-published serialized fiction and has now sold 17 million copies, with a TV adaptation on the way. The piece looks at how gaming culture, Royal Road-style serialization and progression systems are pulling new audiences, mostly men, who weren’t previously recreational readers.

Game industry veteran Don Daglow reflects on surviving 55 years of crashes, layoffs and technological shifts, from the 1983 game crash through today’s difficult market. His advice to developers is to expect constant change, stay focused on the craft, and adapt rather than trying to predict where the industry goes next. Daglow also argues that today’s disruption could create an unusually good opening for smaller and indie teams.

Global game content revenue is forecast to grow 23% to $229.1 billion by 2030, according to Omdia. PC gaming and Asia-Pacific are expected to be major growth drivers, while the industry increasingly relies on spending from existing players rather than expanding the overall audience.

The Witcher 3 has reached a new all-time high of 120,000+ concurrent Steam players following the launch of its free Remastered edition. That beats both its 92,000-player 2015 launch peak and the 103,000-player surge sparked by Netflix’s The Witcher in 2020. This shows how a substantial free refresh can revive an enormous back catalogue years later.

Former Guerrilla Games and Crytek AI developer Jose Escribano has released htn_planner, an open-source C++ framework inspired by AI systems used in AAA games like Horizon. It uses Hierarchical Task Networks (HTNs) to let developers build complex NPC decision-making and planning systems, with an editor, debugger, hot reload, benchmarks and integration tools included. It’s available under the MIT license.

Trapster has launched a creator marketing platform built specifically for game studios, replacing fixed influencer fees with a pay-per-view CPM model. Its beta included 252 studios and 800+ creators, generating a reported 177 million views and 2 million+ game wishlists. Participating studios included Wargaming, Kwalee, Techland and Owlcat Games, while Trapster says it has already processed more than $750,000 in campaign spending.

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