FIVE @ 5: TESTRONIC NEWS ROUND-UP

Another busy week for games industry news, rumours and analysis, taking in EA’s Investor Day statements, predictions on the games industry’s future, return to office rulings and, of course, those Nintendo Switch 2 leaks…

European games media heavyweight Eurogamer is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary with whole bunch of articles looking back at the past two decades and a half. And all are well worth a look. But this particular piece asks where the industry might be in the next 25 years. The short answer the team has offered is: “It's a topic that seems intrinsically linked to where the?world?will be in 25 years. The prevalence of AI, the growth of cloud systems and the continued improvement in VR/AR technology all loom large - but there's also real positivity here for the future of our favourite medium as it continues to mature.” But the really interesting answers come from the games dev professionals themselves – and you can find out what their predications are here - https://shorturl.at/51yNZ

But to the here and now, and EA’s Investor Day statements – as ever – generated much media coverage, as well as discussion within the industry itself. The US games giant bullishly revealed that it expects to "outpace market growth and drive margin expansion through fiscal year 2027", expounded its belief in AI when it comes to productivity, announced an EA Sports app, plus a "modern-day next-level Battlefield experience". Gamesindustry.biz has the full lowdown here - https://shorturl.at/vyWQZ

Over to France and the country’s biggest games business, Ubisoft, which has made the news thanks to the introduction of its new BTO (back to the office) plans. As highlighted by Pocketgamer.biz, the company wants employees back in the office for a minimum of three days a week. Although many of its studios already have this policy, Ubisoft wants the working practice rolled out across all offices. Read more here - https://shorturl.at/VxOlR

More Switch 2 ‘leaks’ and rumours this week, as TechRadar reveals, with a number of images of the new Nintendo console doing the rounds recently. Cue excitement across social media – although, of course, these are rumours and we’ll still have to wait until Nintendo makes any official announcements. But check it out here - https://shorturl.at/z3L9H

And finally this week, Metro has crunched the numbers on a Circana report into US gamers, which suggests that 70% of people Stateside play games, and they’re getting more ‘hardcore’. The report also highlights the dominance of the mobile sector in the market. Take a deep dive into further stats here - https://shorturl.at/dTj8G

What are your thoughts on the rumours about the Switch 2 console? And where do you think the games industry will be in 25 years? We’d love to hear from you!

Photo by?Roman Kraft?on?Unsplash

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