March 31, 20253 min readTop U.S. Scientists Speak Out against Climate of Fear Wrecking U.S. ResearchDespite fears that speaking out will make them targets, top researchers warn that the Trump administrations wholesale assault on U.S. science will harm the nationBy Dan Vergano edited by Dean VisserDemonstrators take part in a "Stand Up For Science" rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2025. Alex Wroblevski/AFP via Getty ImagesIn an SOS to the public, about 1,900 top U.S. scientists are warning that the Trump administrations moves against researchers imperil the nations health, economy and national security. In this open letter, released on Monday, the signatorieswho are all members of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and include Nobel Prize winnerscall on the administration to cease its wholesale assault on U.S. science.The letter notes that its signatories are speaking out as individualsnot as representatives of the National Academies or their home institutions.The full text of the letter is below.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLEWe all rely on science. Science gave us the smartphones in our pockets, the navigation systems in our cars, and life-saving medical care. We count on engineers when we drive across bridges and fly in airplanes. Businesses and farmers rely on science and engineering for product innovation, technological advances, and weather forecasting. Science helps humanity protect the planet and keeps pollutants and toxins out of our air, water, and food.For over 80 years, wise investments by the US government have built up the nations research enterprise, making it the envy of the world. Astoundingly, the Trump administration is destabilizing this enterprise by gutting funding for research, firing thousands of scientists, removing public access to scientific data, and pressuring researchers to alter or abandon their work on ideological grounds.The voice of science must not be silenced.The undersigned are elected members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, representing some of the nations top scientists, engineers, and medical researchers. We are speaking out as individuals. We see real danger in this moment. We hold diverse political beliefs, but we are united as researchers in wanting to protect independent scientific inquiry. We are sending this SOS to sound a clear warning: the nations scientific enterprise is being decimated.The administration is slashing funding for scientific agencies, terminating grants to scientists, defunding their laboratories, and hampering international scientific collaboration. The funding cuts are forcing institutions to pause research (including studies of new disease treatments), dismiss faculty, and stop enrolling graduate studentsthe pipeline for the next generations scientists.The administrations current investigations of more than 50 universities send a chilling message. Columbia University was recently notified that its federal funding would be withheld unless it adopted disciplinary policies and disabled an academic department targeted by the administration. Destabilizing dozens of universities will endanger higher educationand the research those institutions conduct.The quest for truththe mission of sciencerequires that scientists freely explore new questions and report their findings honestly, independent of special interests. The administration is engaging in censorship, destroying this independence. It is using executive orders and financial threats to manipulate which studies are funded or published, how results are reported, and which data and research findings the public can access. The administration is blocking research on topics it finds objectionable, such as climate change, or that yields results it does not like, on topics ranging from vaccine safety to economic trends.A climate of fear has descended on the research community. Researchers, afraid of losing their funding or job security, are removing their names from publications, abandoning studies, and rewriting grant proposals and papers to remove scientifically accurate terms (such as climate change) that agencies are flagging as objectionable. Although some in the scientific community have protested vocally, most researchers, universities, research institutions, and professional organizations have kept silent to avoid antagonizing the administration and jeopardizing their funding.If our countrys research enterprise is dismantled, we will lose our scientific edge. Other countries will lead the development of novel disease treatments, clean energy sources, and the new technologies of the future. Their populations will be healthier, and their economies will surpass us in business, defense, intelligence gathering, and monitoring our planets health. The damage to our nations scientific enterprise could take decades to reverse.We call on the administration to cease its wholesale assault on U.S. science, and we urge the public to join this call. Share this statement with others, contact your representatives in Congress, and help your community understand what is at risk. The voice of science must not be silenced. We all benefit from science, and we all stand to lose if the nations research enterprise is destroyed.The views expressed here are our own and not those of the National Academies or our home institutions.Here is a link to the signatories.

RuneScape: Dragonwilds is a new survival crafting game from JagexHere be dragons.Image credit: Jagex News by Lottie Lynn Guides Editor Published on March 31, 2025 Jagex is stepping beyond the realm of MMORPGs with the release of RuneScape: Dragonwilds - an open world survival crafting game. Best known as the developers behind the long running MMORPG RuneScape 3 and its spin off, Old School RuneScape, Dragonwilds will be mechanically different to these games but is set within the RuneScape universe.Alone or alongside three players, RuneScape: Dragonwilds will see you venturing to Ashenfall - a forgotten continent on Gielinor (the planet where RuneScape is primarily set), where you'll use magic and level up skills to carve out a life for yourself in the wilds. Here we find echoes of the MMORPGs, as it wouldn't be a game in the RuneScape universe without skills and the progression system will be on hand to supply you with new skills, crafting recipes and abilities to aid in your survival. Image credit: JagexTo see this content please enable targeting cookies. You'll also be able to wield Anima - also known as the living energy of the universe, source of all magic and what the Wilder Gods eat to sustain their eggs. Outside of what I'm sure you'll agree is very interesting RuneScape lore, Anima has a variety of uses in Dragonwilds, such as summoning axes for instantaneous tree cutting or repairing armor after a tough battle. Image credit: JagexSurvival won't be easy though. Ashenfall is home to forgotten secrets and legendary RuneScape monsters, which means there be dragons. Where there's dragons you can also reliably find fire, chaos and the increased chance of being eaten. The task of defeating the Dragon Queen is on your shoulders though, so best to get over any fears about the last fact pretty sharpish. Luckily, there does seem to be some popular RuneScape characters on hand to help (or at least, people who resemble them). Pretty sure I spotted the Wise Old Man wearing his definitely legally acquired party hat Left: A dragon. | Right: The Wise Old Man (possibly). Image credit: JagexOn the development of RuneScape: Dragonwilds, Jagex CEO Jon Bellamy has said: "From the very beginning, community feedback has been at the heart of RuneScape: Dragonwilds."Bellamy added closed alpha tests have already been conducted and Jagex will be "listening to player feedback when building the game throughout Early Access". RuneScape: Dragonwilds will launch in Early Access in Spring 2025. Though you can add it to your Steam wishlist today and, if you'd like to learn more, there will be a Twitch livestream covering the game at 5pm (BST) on Tuesday 15th April.

DF Direct: Do Switch and Switch 2 Virtual Game Cards point towards an "adorably all digital" future?We think not - because Nintendo has the most to lose from abandoning physical sales.Image credit: Nintendo/Digital Foundry Blog by Will Judd Deputy Editor, Digital Foundry Published on March 31, 2025 Ahead of Wednesday's Switch 2 reveal event, Nintendo announced a new feature for its Switch consoles: virtual game card. In short, you can now link multiple Switches together to share digital games, with a game that is ejected from the first unit then becoming playable on the second, without the hassle of setting "primary" and "non-primary" Switch devices. It could point towards Nintendo edging towards the same "adorably all digital" future espoused by Microsoft in leaked documents, but does it? To discuss this, and the rest of the week's tech news, Digital Foundry's John, Alex and Oliver assembled for DF Weekly #207. The discussion kicks off 40 minutes into the episode, with our panellists concluding that this isn't a move towards the digital-first approach taken by Microsoft and Sony, but rather a quality-of-life feature that comes into play just as owners of Switch consoles pick up a Switch 2. So what's the issue that Nintendo is trying to solve here? In short, right now you can nominate one Switch as your "primary" console, with all others being "non-primary". The primary console can play all games offline, but non-primary consoles have to be online to run games - which is a pain if you wanted to play a digital game on a flight or anywhere else with limited connectivity. DF Weekly #207 is perpetrated by John, Alex and Oliver, in a rare Rich-less episode. Watch on YouTube0:00:00 Introduction0:01:17 News 1: Nintendo Direct - Metroid Prime 40:11:02 Pokmon Legends: Z-A0:22:08 Patapon, Everybody's Golf, Tomodachi, Dragon Quest, Witchbrook, Shadow Labyrinth, Gradius, Marvel Cosmic Invasion0:33:02 Switch 2 C button leak and Nintendo Today app0:40:01 News 2: Nintendo introduces Virtual Game Cards0:54:01 News 3: Switch 2 game rollout revealed?1:00:33 News 4: Witcher 4, Intergalactic to arrive after 20261:09:51 News 5: Alex's Nvidia driver woes1:19:36 News 6: John's GDC thoughts1:32:44 Supporter Q1: What's your favourite GPU of all time?1:39:07 Supporter Q2: Will Valve release a Steam Deck 2 soon?1:44:31 Supporter Q3: Should PC settings be changed to improve branding?1:52:02 Supporter Q4: Could Xbox One have succeeded if it had been better introduced?2:00:12 Supporter Q5: Is disc degradation a concern with Blu-ray media?The new system seems fairly promising by comparison. Just as you can take out a physical Switch cartridge from your console and loan it to a friend or family member - or just put it in another Switch you own, eg travelling with a Switch Lite, - you'll be able to "eject" a virtual cartridge from one device and "load" it onto another, using a bespoke menu. You need internet connectivity to load and eject, but after a game is loaded, it's available thereafter regardless of conditions. Family sharing also looks to have been improved in the new paradigm, with a simple screen for lending a game to a member of your (up to eight person) Nintendo family group. Family sharing comes with more stringent requirements though, with a 14 day use window - after which the transfer has to be reauthorised - and requiring both Switches to be within physical proximity for the transfer to work. However, you can still use the old family sharing system if you prefer. The key thing here is that the virtual game card system lays the groundwork for a future where it's likely that most Switch 2 purchasers will already have an original Switch console of some flavour lying around - and one that should remain useful even after the new hardware debuts, with Nintendo seeming likely to adopt a similar cross-generation strategy to that of Xbox and Microsoft with their ninth-generation consoles. Now transferring digital games between those two platforms becomes much more manageable, and you can easily pass off your old Switch to a friend or family member if you're all-in on Switch 2. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Beyond this, it's worth looking at the current state of affairs when it comes to physical retail presence. You'd have to say that Nintendo is leading in this aspect, certainly in their home market of Japan, with Microsoft having almost wholly exited the sector and Sony also shifting towards a more digital-first outlook. That means that Nintendo has the most to lose from the switch to digital games, especially given their focus on an extremely wide target market that may be a little less comfortable with digital purchases - especially parents or grandparents buying games for children, a scenario where physical games have huge advantages. The new virtual game card uses a familiar metaphor that feels more intuitive at first blush than those of Nintendo's rivals, but it's hard to see the company abandoning its tried-and-tested approach to physical media any time soon. The rest of the Direct is well worth watching, with coverage of some other interesting titbits from the Nintendo announcements - including the Switch 2's C Button and potential game roll-out strategy. Elsewhere, Alex vents over the current state of Nvidia drivers, John shares his hands-on experiences from GDC and we have a series of cracking supporter questions, starting with what the best graphics card (and GPU generation) of all time is. It's obviously the RTX 5090 in terms of raw performance, but our hosts have slightly more retro tastes. Thanks to our supporters for submitting great questions as always, and if you're interested in getting involved yourself - and getting access to high-quality video downloads of everything we do, exclusive production notes each week and plenty more, check out the DF Supporter programme on Patreon!

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereBitReactors long-teased Star Wars X-COM game is expected to be formally announced later this month. Slightly ruining the surprise, in-game screenshots of the new tactics game have leaked ahead of the games reveal, and it looks so good I might just cry.While weve all been waiting for a proper RTS game set in the galaxy far, far away since Empire at War, which Creative Assembly might actually be working on, BitReactors merging of Lucasfilms iconic sci-fi IP and X-COM gameplay sounds like a perfect match. While we cant gleam whether or not the game is a resounding success from just a few images, it certainly looks like its headed in the right direction.Star Wars X-COM looks absolutely sickReported by MP1ST, a number of in-game screenshots of the new tactics game were released on an artists porfolio. Dated for a mid-2023 build of the game going by the codename Bruno, the early version of the turn-based tactics game looks exactly like youd expect from an X-COM version of Star Wars.Set after the events of Revenge of the Sith, one image shows Bo Katan taking cover behind a crate with a 95% Hit Chance of throwing a thermal detonator at a standard Stormtrooper. Other characterssuch as a red R5 droidcan also be controlled.These screenshots are nearly two years old at the time of writing. This means that the project may look even better and be far more advanced by the time we see it in action. Nevertheless, the screenshots of this early version are already massively exciting and show a tonne of potential for the upcoming tactics game.SOURCE: MP1STSOURCE: MP1STOther screenshots show that the game will also include other aspects found in rival tactics games. Players will be able to upgrade gear at the Armory, buy weapons on the Black Market, engage in Special Ops and more.The UI for the Star Wars X-COM game also show off controller buttons in the games UI. While theres no doubt that the game will also be available on PCanything otherwise would be sillythe developers have clearly focused on also making the game play well with a controller.BitReactor is expected to reveal its Star Wars game on April 19th at the annual Star Wars Celebration. Hopefully, well also see some other games in development such as Sabers still in-development Knights of the Old Republic game.Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereDiablo 4 Hardcore players are finding themselves murdered for no reason in the latest version of Blizzards ARPG. With no response from the RPG developer at the time of writing, players enjoying their hardcore run have found themselves losing their characters due to a nasty new bug.Numerous players on the Diablo 4 subreddit have shared a new issue related to the Tree of Whispers in hardcore runs. A number of players that have randomly lost their hardcore characters in the games latest update all surrounding the in-game location.Diablo 4 Tree of Whispers kills hardcore charactersShared on the Diablo 4 subreddit, player Bubbly_Sky_1753 explained that the walked away from the blacksmith at the Tree of Whispers and was met with a deceased character. As a hardcore run, this character can not be recovered.Another player, who shared a video clip here, revealed that they also died at the Tree of Whispers. However, this character died while going through their stash. After leaving the stash, their character immediately died with no hint as to why they were killed.While Blizzard has pledged to release less buggy updates as it focuses on quality rather than quantity, there are obviously still huge issues that end up slipping through the cracks. Alongside seasonal releases moving to avoid conflict with Diablo 3, theres now more care being given to post-launch updates on the fourth game.Nevertheless, players are upset at the rise of the new Diablo 4 glitch with some claiming they wont be playing the gameat least in a hardcore run.Thats why I avoid it, one player said. If something like this happened or a Disconnect on a character that had hours into it would drive me insane, props to the folks that play it.At the time of writing, Blizzard has yet to formally address the bug. Considering the developers long history of watching its community to flag issues, its no doubt been seen by the team. Nevertheless, we at VideoGamer have reached out to Blizzard for comment. Diablo 4Platform(s):PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/XGenre(s):Action, Action RPG, RPGSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

The roughly 14,000 residents of Ipswich, Massachusetts, probably didnt expect four-time Grammy winner Ed Sheeran to host a pop-up in their small coastal town to promote his new single, Old Phone, but thats exactly what the English singer-songwriter did, in the form of a cozy pub. For one day onlyFriday, March 28fans flocked to the temporary establishment to hear Sheeran perform while drinking Guinness and noshing on classic bar fare, including roast beef sandwiches and french fries. The musician offered AD a sneak peek of the immersive setting, which doubled as the location for the songs music video.The space, built by Pink Sparrow, was done up like an authentic pub like the ones found throughout the UK and Ireland. An old-fashioned wood-paneled bar, brown leather booths, a dartboard, and dark green walls lined with memorabilia decorated its interior. At the heart of the pub, overlapping vintage patterned area rugs anchored a lounge area where Sheeran performed.The pub featured nods to Ipswich Town Football Club and more memorabilia.Photo: Mark SurridgeLocals began to speculate early last week when a structure called The Old Phone Pub began taking shape in a parking lot of the towns historic district. Then, Sheeran confirmed his plans during an interview with Jimmy Fallon on March 26. Its a full working pub, he told Fallon before debuting the song from his upcoming album, Play. The music video is basically the build of the pub with everyone locally, he explained. And then to get entry into it, you have to go on your old phone and find an old message or a video that means a lot to you and send it in, and then afterwards we're going to project them on the walls. Sheeran told Fallon that the idea for the song occurred to him while looking through messages and photos inyou guessed ithis old phone.We wanted The Old Phone to feel like it had always been there, albeit suspended between worldspart Ipswich, UK, part small-town New England, and part something more imagined. It was rich with layersarchitectural and emotionaland had to do a lot at once: support a performance, create intimacy, and tell a story, Cat Garcia-Menocal, Pink Sparrows creative director, tells AD. It needed to perform like a cinematic environment but also feel emotionally grounded, like a pub youve always known. That push and pull between the real and the constructed, between architectural realism and emotional storytelling, was central to the design decisions we made.

Behind the Scenes: Agony By Alina Khan on March 31, 2025 Behind the Scenes Discover the creative process behind the dystopian surrealist artwork 'Agony' with Nguyen Bao.INTRODUCTIONHey there! Im Nguyen Bao, a 3D Visual Artist based in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.I've been a 3D Visual Artist for three years. I love creating and experimenting with visual art, expressing myself, and exploring the unconscious mind through 3D art. My work is influenced by various styles such as futurism, surrealism, dystopia, utopia, and grotesque.INSPIRATIONMy inspiration mainly comes from movies, art, or anything related to futurism, surrealism, and dystopia. I've always been a huge fan of surreal artists like Zdzisaw Beksiski, Mariusz Lewandowski, Peter Gric, and H.R. Giger. That kind of art makes it hard for me to look away.For this particular piece, I wanted to give it a nightmarish atmospheresomething beautifully dark. I'm combining a woman with an organic surrounding as she's slowly being devoured by it. It was titled Agony to evoke a more disturbing feeling.PROCESSPC Specs: MSI Z790 i7-14700k 128GB RAM ProArt RTX 4060ti 16GB Software: Blender ZBrush DAZ Studio PureRef GoB (Addon) References:Collecting references is the most important step before you start creating anything. I used PureRef here, the most convenient and efficient software for managing references. As I already mentioned, I wanted to merge a woman with an organic surrounding, so I started looking up the works of the mentioned artists (Zdzisaw Beksiski, Mariusz Lewandowski, Peter Gric, H.R. Giger, etc.) as well as other artists' works, as long as they were related to dystopia and surrealism.Blockout:After collecting enough references, I started to block out the basic shape of everything before bringing it into ZBrush to start sculpting.During the blockout stage, I used Bezier curves and sphere objects, then manually adjusted their shape with proportional editing in Edit Mode. You can also use the Grab brush in Sculpt Modewhatever works best for you.For the ground, I used the built-in addon A.N.T: Landscape and experimented with Noise Type and Effect Type, adjusting them with proportional editing if needed to achieve the desired result. After spending a while on the blockout stage and composition, everything looked like this with a base Genesis 8.1 Female model from DAZ.I used a 20mm lens camera for this scene.Sculpting:After the blockout stage, I exported everything to ZBrush using the GoB addon, which allows you to transfer objects between Blender and ZBrush with a single click. (I already provided the link to the addon above, so you can check it out.)Example how the addon GoB works:After finishing the sculpting, I transferred everything back to Blender. They were all high-poly models, but there was no need to optimize them since nothing needed to be rigged or animatedthe final result was just a still image.Texturing:Nothing complicated at alljust a PBR bone texture from ArtStation with box projection and SSS (Weight: 1, Radius: 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, Scale: 0.5). I used Pointiness with a Color Ramp to create the desired detail mask and increased the base color value to 3 using the Hue/Saturation node to enhance the sculpted details.Then I added AO.Final look (before/after the mask and AO added)Node tree:Lighting:I added some large area lights for the whole scene, plus two more spotlights for the main object and a principled volume cube.Here is how the lights affect the scene.Added some more smoke VDBs to create a bit more depth:Compositing:I created a group node using Add and Screen blending modes with some curve adjustments to refine the look. The rest was used to slightly increase overall saturation and add a vignette effect.Before and after.Thats how powerful the compositing is!After the render finished, I just added a bit more color grading and noise!RENDER: Agony Thank you for reading! Please check out my social media if you want to see more of my work!About the Artist Nguyen Bao (@lame.ostrich), a 3D artist from Ho Chi Minh, works at GudLag Creative and SQUR.CRE. His art blends futurism, surrealism, dystopia, utopia, and grotesque elements, fusing dreams and reality.Links

By Isaac Schultz Published March 31, 2025 | Comments (16) | A woman in a lab coat examining a vial. Nuttapong Punna A Nature poll of more than 1,000 scientists revealed that 75% of them are considering leaving the United States due to the uncertainties caused by the Trump administrations slashing of federal and university funding. Since the second Trump term began, it has slashed research funding to universities and federal agencies purportedly in the name of efficiency, potentially hamstringing the countrys ability to move the needle on scientific discovery. The recent poll indicates that the administrations actions may also imperil the countrys standing as an oasis for scientists fleeing uncertain or outright hostile attitudes abroadconsider Nobel Prize winners Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and Enrico Fermi, among many other scientists who flocked to the United States as fascist governments rose across Europe in the early 20th century. As the recent poll shows, the chilling effect may cause a brain drain as researchers across fields seek greener pastures elsewhere. According to Nature, the numbers looking to leave were even higher among researchers early in their career, such as PhD students and postgraduate researchers. As the poll shows, 548 of 690 (79.4%) of postdocs are thinking about leaving, and 255 of 340 (75%) are weighing the decision. Europe and Canada were among the top choices for relocation, Nature says. Many researchers who spoke to Nature indicated that they did not want to leave the U.S., but the administrations attitudes made it clear that there would be better opportunities to conduct scientific research abroad.Earlier this month, Frances Aix Marseille University said that several dozen scientists in the U.S. had responded to a call it put out offering safe harbor to Americans seeking to leave the country. The researchers who expressed interest were from institutions including Stanford, Yale, NASA, the National Institutes of Health, among others. The second Trump administration has science objectives firmly in its crosshairs. Since January, the administration has reportedly laid off thousands of federal workers at agencies including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),and the National Park Service(NPS), and cut funding across a wider swath of institutions and programs.Assuming best intentionsjust as a thought experiment, so suspend your disbeliefthe administration is attempting to streamline the government by reducing wasteful spending, making U.S. agencies and institutions as efficient as possible in their pursuit of discovery. You can now relieve yourself of those optimistic musings. The governments directives have wreaked havoc on the efficiency of these institutions, according to experts who spoke to Gizmodo, and risk undoing years of progress at home and abroad. But some of the cuts are also done in line withProject 2025, a conservative movement that seeks toaggressively cut backon environmental protections in the name of liberty and personal freedoms. So while some of the layoffs are purportedly driven by the bottom line, they are also in lockstep with the ideological framework of the administration.This month, the Trump administration is considering cutting funding to domestic HIV prevention effortswalking back the frankly credible agenda Trump outlined in his first term to combat HIV, with a goal of eradicating the virus domestically by 2030. Its not clear who on HIVs side has sway with the Trump administration, but they evidently have infectious appeal. The funding changes are happening in lockstep with cultural shifts urged by the administration, especially through the White Houses eagerness to dismantle programs and language advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), which has become a lightning rod in conservative circles as a boogeyman representing the woke agenda.Last week, NASA Watch first reported that NASAs DEI Sanitation Squad had removed graphic novels from the agency website that told the fictional story of the first woman to walk on the Moon. No woman has ever walked on the Moon, though the Artemis missions will change thatthough its now less clear if thats an agency priority. If the United States wants to retain its stature as a bastion of scientific discovery, it must show the bright and budding minds stateside that there is opportunity for them to build their careers and become leaders in their fields. Over the last few months, the Trump administration has dispelled them of that notion, and it looks like it will continue with its agenda, full steam ahead.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Isaac Schultz Published March 26, 2025 By Isaac Schultz Published March 25, 2025 By Isaac Schultz Published March 22, 2025 By Thomas Maxwell Published March 5, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published March 3, 2025 By Isaac Schultz Published February 28, 2025

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Hope HarderJoy, Rage, Collaboration, Uncertainty, and Optimism: the state of the video game industry from GDC 2025In 2025, it feels like the intention is to force the powers that be to build something better.Image credit: VG247 Article by Alex Donaldson Assistant Editor Published on March 31, 2025 A common phrase around the video game industry last year was the mantra of Suvive til 25. Times were hard, layoffs were rife - and people felt bad. But a new year could only bring better, right? Well, 2025 has so far proved that 2024s motto was a little over-optimistic to say the least - but hanging out at 2025s Game Developers Conference, it does feel as though brighter times could at last be on the horizon.Thats probably the grand theme of GDC, a conference where I spent more time catching up with people and hanging out than I did seeing new video games or chasing down stories. One specific analysis seems to have taken hold, in that few seem disposed to deny that things are pretty fucked up right now - but many are finally feeling properly optimistic for the future, which wasnt true for the jittery, nervous mood of 2024.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. On the ground in the Moscone Convention Centers expo halls, GDC felt a little smaller. For starters, key partners and mainstays like Unity and Epic had eschewed booth, which always has the effect of making the entire show shrink in scope. In a sense, it reminded me of those later E3s when companies like Sony and EA took their business off-site, leaving everything in the normal show feeling like something was missing. So, yes, GDCs show floor looked more meagre - but more notable, undoubtedly, was the reduction in foot traffic.Lets not mince words: in headcount terms, the industry has certainly shrunk. Forcibly, at the hands of layoffs caused by money-grubbing executives, company mismanagement, and pandemic boom over-reach. A wander around GDC and the surrounding complex of hotel lobbies and restaurants on any given day of the show appears to reflect that.Theres more factors besides, though. GDC passes are notoriously expensive, and as people tighten their belts perhaps theyre too frivolous an expense. Official GDC attendance numbers pin the number of badges issued as roughly the same as last year, so more flat than a decline. But a time-honored tradition of GDC has always been folk attending without a pass, taking up meetings around the convention center while others are in town. Several of the best meetings I take to see games are tucked away in coffee shops or hotel rooms, games most often quietly booted up on a Steam Deck which is then surreptitiously handed to you.These badgeless people - arguably the industrys most in need of GDCs networking, appeared to be fewer this year. In this, we have to look at the geopolitical situation, as those from many countries and backgrounds reconsider their willingness to travel in the face of well, you know, everything.But at the same time, at the fringes of the convention, it feels as though a wind of change is gradually beginning to quietly howl. At events like E3, notable absences from the show floor felt like and ultimately were signs of an existential shift - but at GDC it all feels rather like the natural generational ebb and flow instead. After all, much of the wheeler-dealing done at GDC takes place in private suites, over dinners, or in eager hobnobbing in crowded hotel lobby bars. That hasnt changed, which makes the scale of the show floor much less relevant.Speaking to people taking more substantive meetings at the event, its clear that the reduced size isnt necessarily a negative thing. A couple of high-flying executive types, speaking casually and off-the-record, seemed pleased with their progress at the event - perhaps showing that a reduction in size and attendance can also serve as a reduction in noise, allowing space for the meetings that remain to thrive. And individual developers seemed enthused, too - even those working for publishers that have recently laid people off appeared to have a tad more optimism now. Punter's eye view of the GDC 2025 main hall entrance. | Image credit: GDC 2025Im feeling more hopeful, yeah, one developer mused to me in an after-hours catch-up. Honestly, last game, it feels like it was just a total miracle we shipped. But right now, at least, it feels like Im moving in the right direction. My new project is starting out in totally the right way. Its a world of difference.While Westerners are wary of recent pains, one other thing has to be said: developers from the East have a more positive outlook in general. One Japanese developer reveals that they find it a little hard to identify with some of the fearful undertones in talks and casual chatter from their Western colleagues because things are currently pretty great in Japan. This perhaps offers a glimpse of one curious truth: Japan is back, and China is rising - which means the West is going to have to match that energy. Thankfully, the more positive vibes suggest that could be happening.What Im saying, I suppose, is that the joy of video games felt a little more alive at this years GDC. The number of times I bumped into an old acquiatance fizzing with excitement over a new idea or project - people that were utterly dejected 18 or 24 months ago - was significant. This is still a hard-nosed business, of course, and so optimism on the ground is cold comfort if youre at home job hunting after some executive slashed your job in order to make sure they can afford their next yacht. But the art and expression of gaming was more on display in happier faces, in joyous alternate control scheme showcases, and in an awards ceremony that was brilliantly diverse and representative of those who make up the industry. Crucially, those lost and absent were not forgotten - with the awards underlining the dangers of AI, the cruelty of layoffs, and the industry's dangerous habit of haemorraging experienced talent. Stuff needs calling out - and folk were doing it.Collaboration proved an interesting theme, too. From Nvidia, AMD, and Intel standing on the same stage together exciting exposing graphical advancements theyre all behind, to most of gamings major publishers pulling together under industry body the ESA for a fantastic new accessibility initiative, theres a greater sense of brands working together for the greater advancement of the form. You can go your own way. | Image credit: GDC 2025Amidst the joy, theres the serious stuff, obviously. I experience endless discussions abound about tariffs - which companies are most exposed, who is prepared, and who isnt. I sit through excruciating debates about AI that, with careful application of alcohol, escalate quickly. AI is everywhere, from the curious and interesting implementation (Nvidias focus on using AI to enhance performance seems more reasonable, for instance) to nonsense job-stealing guff that creates dubious-quality results. But I was pleased to see that web3 crap appears to have been mostly excised, that particular bubble seemingly on its way to not quite burst, but more fizzle out of existence with a whimper.And while job security is still an issue, where last years GDC was home to a collective pre-arranged primal howl into the void, this year its instead home to an organized and loud protest march for unionization, announcing the launch of a potentially powerful new union. That juxtaposition perhaps sums it up best: last year was fit for a scream of rage, while this year that anger is perhaps not replaced, but channelled. Channelled into organization, into demands, into calling out bad behavior, and into developers getting back in the saddle to build exciting new games.Most I meet are still, it has to be said, more than a little nervous - but theres a forward-looking vibe that is distinctly less toxic than last year. People are excited about making games again. In 2024, the mantra was just to survive. In 2025, it feels like the intention is to force the powers that be to build something better.