Xbox's Massive "Reset" Leaves Thousands Jobless While Pokémon GO Turns 10 and Switch 2 Gets a Battery Upgrade!

July 7, 2026 · 41 sources

A Decade of Catching 'Em All: Can you believe Pokémon GO launched 10 years ago today? To celebrate the monumental milestone, a major 10th-anniversary broadcast is scheduled for this Thursday, July 9, while developer Niantic officially changes its name to 'Scopely Explore' following its massive $3.5 billion acquisition.
Switch 2 Upgrades & Ports: A new Switch 2 hardware revision featuring a replaceable battery is officially rolling out to Europe this autumn, alongside tweaks to its weight and capacity. In the meantime, the current Switch is still flexing with the surprise launch of Rhythm Heaven Groove, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is slated to hit the hybrid console this August.
Leaks, Sets, and Charts: New LEGO Pokémon sets continue to leak, showcasing an incredible new Arcanine build alongside the highly anticipated Eevee set. On the software side, the creature-collecting sensation Palworld is finally graduating from Early Access with its massive version 1.0 update this month, while EA SPORTS FC 26 takes the UK's number one chart spot thanks to World Cup fever!

Epic Cracks Down on Leakers: Fortnite leakers, beware: Epic Games has officially settled its lawsuit against a former contractor who was caught leaking crossover secrets. The settlement sends a very clear message to anyone trying to spoil the battle royale's highly secretive in-game events and collaborations.

The $69 Billion Hangover: The gaming industry is reeling from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's brutal "reset," which has resulted in over 3,200 employees being laid off alongside four studio closures. This devastating move highlights the ongoing fallout of Microsoft's massive Activision Blizzard acquisition, even as Xbox bizarrely pushes a new goal to "entertain" a billion people daily.
Game Pass Strategy Falters: Despite the immense, continuous popularity of the Call of Duty franchise, Microsoft expected Xbox Game Pass to have 77 million subscribers by now. Internal reports reveal the service only sits at 30 million, leading Sharma to publicly admit that their core subscription strategy has fundamentally failed.

Indie Dominance & Cheating Woes: Shockingly, 2026’s best-selling game so far is a single-developer indie title called Meccha Chameleon! However, the massive success comes with a dark side, as dishonest players are now scanning images to auto-paint their in-game models, completely ruining the creative spirit of the game.
Refund Policy Abuse: A frustrated solo developer is imploring Valve to revisit its Steam refund policy because players are buying their game, beating it in under two hours, and returning it for a full refund. It's a stark reminder that consumer-friendly policies can sometimes be heavily abused to the detriment of indie creators.
Team FOLON Moves Forward: The brilliant minds behind the massive Fallout: London mod recently confirmed that their next standalone game is progressing "swimmingly" and is much further along than originally planned. Fans will just have to wait a bit longer for their Last Orders DLC to drop.

Steam Machine Miracles & Retro Finds: Valve's highly anticipated Steam Machine is officially landing in players' hands, and that dreaded "red line of death" isn't quite as scary as we thought, with many consoles miraculously coming back to life! In other Valve hardware news, retro hunters are losing their minds after a second OG Steam Controller prototype was just found at a local Goodwill.
Summer Sales and MMO Worries: If you're looking to build out your PC library, the Green Man Gaming Summer Sale is live right now with thousands of heavy hitters available for less than $10. Meanwhile, The Elder Scrolls Online fans are deeply concerned after reports emerged that the MMO lost as much as half its development team during the recent Xbox layoffs, forcing a complete roadmap re-evaluation.

Industry Shakeups: Following the massive Xbox restructuring, Undead Labs reportedly won't be required to bring State of Decay 3 to Xbox Game Pass under its new ownership, signaling a huge shift in Microsoft's ecosystem strategy.
The Fight for Physical Media: French left-wing leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has loudly declared that "Players have rights too!" in a passionate political defense of physical game discs, actively pushing back against the industry's all-digital future.
TCG and RPG Updates: Atlus officially announced Persona 6 at Summer Game Fest 2026, leaving RPG fans incredibly hyped for the future. In the tabletop space, the Disney Lorcana: Attack of the Vine! set drops as the thirteenth expansion for the hit trading card game, while over in Japan, a wild Pokémon charity tournament featuring whistling and pizza acrobatics champions will grant winners a trip to the 2027 Pokémon World Championships!