Video Game News for the Last week of March 2025

Over the past week, the video game industry has seen several significant developments:

Nintendo Announces Switch 2 Release Date and Pricing

Nintendo has revealed that the Switch 2 console will launch on June 5, 2025, with a starting price of $449.99 in the United States. The higher price point reflects concerns over potential cost increases due to renewed tariffs affecting global supply chains. To mitigate these risks, Nintendo has shifted production to Vietnam. The Switch 2 features a 7.9-inch LCD screen, 256GB of storage, and enhanced chat and video functions. Despite these upgrades, some fans have expressed disappointment over the lack of transformative changes and the $80 price tag for games like Mario Kart World. Nonetheless, analysts remain optimistic about strong sales driven by high demand.

Cyan Worlds Lays Off Approximately Half of Its Team

Cyan Worlds, the studio renowned for creating the iconic PC game Myst, has laid off about half of its staff to secure the company's long-term future amid challenging industry conditions. The 37-year-old indie developer let go of twelve employees and is now focused on securing financing for upcoming projects. Cyan's most recent release was a remake of Riven, Myst's sequel, launched last summer.

Unity CEO Matt Bromberg Discusses Strategic Shift

Matt Bromberg, CEO of Unity, has outlined his strategic shift aimed at improving relationships with customers following previous management decisions, such as the controversial runtime fee. Bromberg emphasizes listening to customers, restructuring internal management, and making disciplined investments to rebuild trust and deliver better value. He remains optimistic about the gaming industry's future, anticipating innovative gameplay, new distribution platforms, and evolving business models despite current challenges. 

Jagex Announces RuneScape: Dragonwilds

Jagex, the developer behind the popular MMO RuneScape, has announced RuneScape: Dragonwilds, a new survival and crafting game set in the traditional fantasy world of the original 2001 MMO. Developed with Unreal Engine 5, Dragonwilds offers modern visuals and allows solo play or co-op with up to three friends. Players will engage in activities like building, crafting, and fighting, with a special emphasis on magic powered by a force named Anima. The game is set to launch in early access on Steam in spring 2025.

Roblox Enhances Parental Controls

Roblox has implemented three new parental control features to enhance the safety of children on its platform. These updates include the ability for parents to block individuals on their child's friends list, report suspicious accounts, and control access to specific games and experiences through Experience Blocking. Additionally, parents can now gain insights into their child’s screen time, viewing the top 20 experiences their child has engaged in over the past week and blocking any inappropriate ones. These features require accounts to be linked and verified through an ID or credit card. Roblox has also enhanced its AI-driven voice-scanning system to monitor millions of minutes of voice chat daily in seven new languages, ensuring a safer environment.