Midia Research: Global games industry estimated to reach $236.9bn in 2025Report highlights that as the IMF projects a global inflation rate of 4.2% this year, the "global games market is essentially flat" News by Sophie McEvoy Staff Writer Published on March 20, 2025 The global games industry is predicted to increase by 4.6% in 2026 to $236.9 billion, and is expected to reach $280.1 billion in 2031.This is according to a new report by Midia Research, which notes that as the International Monetary Fund has projected the global inflation rate to be 4.2% in 2025, "the global games market is essentially flat."Looking at software, the firm predicts revenues to rise by 4.4% year-over-year to $203.2 billion in 2025. It highlights gains from "several premium releases" this year and in 2026, including Grand Theft Auto 6 and "Switch 2 launch-window games" as well as titles such as Monster Hunter Wilds and Assassin's Creed Shadows. By 2031, software revenue is estimated to grow to $237 billion.PC software is "predicted to outpace other segments towards 2031," reaching $44.5 billion in 2025 compared to $41.6 billion in 2024.Console software is estimated to reach $47.9 billion this year compared to $45.1 billion last year, while mobile is forecast to reach $110.9 billion in 2025 compared to $108.1 billion compared to 2024.Hardware revenues are projected to grow by 8.4% YoY to $20.6 billion, driven by the Switch 2 launch. This follows a decline of 19.9% in 2024 "when Xbox struggled due to its focus on services and off-platform revenues and the original Switch neared the end of its life cycle." Hardware revenues are estimated to reach $24.6 billion in 2031.According to Midia, a key change for the rest of the decade is a refocus on premium titles following an "oversaturation of live-serve games". As a result, in-game revenue is forecast to decrease to 67% by 2031.The firm predicts that consoles will continue to be the most popular choice for premium games, with the ecosystem taking up 60% of the market share compared to 38% on PC.As for multi-game subscription services, the report says that while revenues may see a boost from price increases and the potential addition of ad-based tiers, it has "reached maturity."Midia highlights how Call of Duty's addition to Xbox Game Pass helped overall subscription service numbers rise by 16% YoY to $11.8 billion in 2024. It predicts this amount to grow further in 2025 to $13.1 billion, followed by $18.5 billion in 2031. Image credit: Midia ResearchThe number of global players is expected to increase in 2025 to 3.27 billion, and even further by 2031 to 4.02 billion. Midia notes that cross-entertainment is adding potential consumers via adaptations such as HBO's The Last of Us and Amazon's Fallout.However, it predicts that "most new players will enter the market via emerging countries and regions such as Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa." Midia notes that as internet access and online infrastructure continues to improve, more players will emerge from these areas."Things will continue to be difficult in the games market, and these challenging market conditions mean developers are being forced to think smarter to succeed," said Midia games analyst Rhys Elliot. "Luckily, the industry is teeming with some of the smartest, most creative, and passionate minds in the world. Just don't expect double-digit growth."Elliot continued: "Laying off the employees who create value is short-sighted. After all, a big reason why Nintendo, FromSoftware, and Naughty Dog are so successful is because they retain and nurture talent long term."My recommendation: less waste, less trend-chasing, more innovation, more data-backed segmentation and better (read: humane) treatment of the people in the industry creating value. The market can't keep catering to the same gamers and expect the pie to grow."You can find the full report on Midia's website.

A new Ark: Survival Evolved expansion trailer from publisher Snail Games has been resoundingly condemned by the Ark community for being filled with evidence of appalling generative AI imagery.The trailer was released in the wake of Snail Games GDC announcement of its in-house developed new expansion map, Ark: Aquatica. The studio describes the expansion as a non-canonical side story to Ark in an ambitious underwater setting featuring 95% of gameplay taking place beneath the surface.This is disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourselves, wrote Irish YouTuber Syntac in response to the trailer. This statement from the popular Ark-oriented video creator, who has over 1.9 million subscribers, is currently the top comment on the Ark: Aquatica trailer. Comments from other viewers are unanimously and similarly negative, decrying the trailer as pathetic and embarrassing. The trailer is rife with traces of AI slop, including schooling fish blurring in and out of existence, a hideously deformed hand clutching a spear gun, a levitating octopus floating in front of a shipwreck that doesnt know whether its a rock or not, human feet that morph into floppy flippers, and more.Marvel as this man's foot magically turns into a fin.For its part, original Ark: Survival Evolved developer Studio Wildcard has immediately distanced itself from the discussion, clarifying on social media that Ark: Aquatica is not being being developed by its team, and that Studio Wildcard remains entirely dedicated to the production of Ark: Survival Ascended & Ark 2, and were excited to bring Ark: Lost Colony to you later this year!Since missing its previously planned late 2024 release window the future of Ark 2 has been unclear amongst fans, but Studio Wildcard confirmed this week that development on the dinosaur survival sequel is continuing. It also revealed Ark: Lost Colony, a new expansion for Ark: Survival Ascended that will lead into the sequel.Ark: The Animated Series star Michelle Yeoh reprises her role in the trailer.PlayLuke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.

Enormously influential video game publisher Electronic Arts has been synonymous with sports games for decades. The success of the Madden NFL and EA Sports FC franchises has led EA to expand its footprint into the realm of esports, regularly hosting tournaments, fan events, and brand activations that both organize and celebrate the communities around these games.A major factor in EAs success in the esports programs around its biggest titles, including the hero shooter Apex Legends, is Monica Dinsmore, Head of Esports. Dinsmore identified esports as a gateway for younger gamers to get introduced and interested in real life sports, something EA is perfectly placed to encourage and facilitate with its EA Sports titles. With EAs esports programs, players not only find EAs sports game more accessible and inviting, but foster an interest in the sports themselves through EAs numerous partners with the professional leagues and teams.Dinsmore hosted her own panel at SXSW 2025 in Austin, Texas, Engaging the Core: Esports as a Player Retention Tool, speaking to her years of experience in the esports scene. Since joining EA in 2021, Dinsmore has organized numerous events and programs to record-breaking attendance as a testament to her expertise. After her panel, Dinsmore met with Den of Geek over coffee to discuss EAs role in shaping the future of esports.Prior to joining EA, Dinsmore was introduced to esports through her work with Riot Games, observing the power of these public events firsthand at a League of Legends tournament in Seoul. Seeing how much the game mattered to both players and the community around it, Dinsmore not only parlayed that experience into her work with EAs esports brands, but doubled down and expanded upon it, with each game getting its own series of events and programs. That entails not just chasing viewership on streaming platforms, but encouraging players to get involved themselves, whether its participating in events or competing in the games various tournaments. The cornerstone of this is EAs couch to champion programs, showcasing that a video game champion can come from anywhere.A guy called Henry [Leverette] won the Madden Championship Series last year. He picked up the game during COVID and he became the first millionaire from playing Madden. It was in a short amount of time, he got his family out of poverty by playing video games, Dinsmore says about one of EAs biggest esports feel-good stories.Youve also got athletes who are playing Madden, she says. I love seeing that engagement where its a big deal to them with what their rating is and where they show up in the game. We have some cool collaborations with Henry. Hes good friends with [Dallas Cowboys linebacker] Micah Parsons. He teaches him how to play Madden and they stream together.Similar sensibilities inform developing the esports scenes around Apex Legends and EA Sports FC, with the Apex Legends Global Series and the multifaceted FC Pro program, which includes the FC Pro Open for players of all skill levels, the international FC Pro World Championship, and the FC Pro Leagues, leveraging EAs continued partnerships with numerous soccer entities worldwide. EAs commitment to publishing renowned soccer games has remained as its partnership with FIFA has changed in recent years, with EA holding licensing partnerships with over 19,000 players, 700 teams, 100 stadiums, and 30 leagues, including MLS, the Premier League, and Bundesliga. For Dinsmore, EA taking a more autonomous role with its soccer titles allows for an unprecedented opportunity to work with their league partners in shaping the esports scene and its narrative.The thing that has been unlocked for me and my team in the FC world is now we own the entirety of the ecosystem, Dinsmore explains. We have the couch to champion part, we have the League Partner portion of the program, with all the league partners operating their own esports programs within this window of time, and we own the championship.For all global success in cultivating the EA Sports esports programs, including brand partnerships, Dinsmore keeps sight of the spirit of the community that she witnessed in South Korea years ago. EAs next major Apex Legends event will be a massive LAN party in New Orleans, featuring an open tournament with 160 teams coming in to link up together and play at the local convention center. For Dinsmore, events like this keep the signature esports energy and passion alive as it revisits its roots, albeit on a grander stage.Its very rare that you actually get to see, in-person, all the impact that your work had on those people that are so passionate about what you do. Thats another thing that keeps me coming back, Dinsmore says. For the latest Apex Legends Global Series [in Sapporo, Japan], we had 3,400 people come through those doors and my job on the floor, every single time, never gets old.From staying aware of esports roots to bringing in new generations of players to the games, the importance of Dinsmores role extends beyond just what she does directly for EA, but also in fueling fan interest in established sports for new generations through EA Sports titles. This is something picked up on by the biggest professional leagues in the world, leading to collaborative partnerships with EA to build out their respective esports communities through high-profile events.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Esports is a gateway for Gen Z and Gen Alpha to get introduced to real-life sports, Dinsmore observes. MLS, Premier League, Bundesliga, all the big ones have esports programs that are contractual with EA for us to help us put these programs on and then they exist within our ecosystem. Why they care about esports is to reach a younger demographic.EA has long been a household name in the gaming community, especially for sports games. With Dinsmore at the helm of the veteran publishers esports communities, EA has not only focused on a revamped approach to esports, but is quickly changing how the industry thinks about its own esports strategy and partnerships beyond just people tuning in to see their favorite players compete on the world stage.

Mar 20, 2025Ravie LakshmananCybercrime / MalwareThe Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine (CERT-UA) is warning of a new campaign that targets the defense sectors with Dark Crystal RAT (aka DCRat).The campaign, detected earlier this month, has been found to target both employees of enterprises of the defense-industrial complex and individual representatives of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.The activity involves distributing malicious messages via the Signal messaging app that contain supposed meeting minutes. Some of these messages are sent from previously compromised Signal accounts so as to increase the likelihood of success of the attacks.The reports are shared in the form of archive files, which contain a decoy PDF and an executable, a .NET-based evasive crypter named DarkTortilla that decrypts and launches the DCRat malware.DCRat, a well-documented remote access trojan (RAT), facilitates the execution of arbitrary commands, steals valuable information, and establishes remote control over infected devices.CERT-UA has attributed the activity to a threat cluster it tracks as UAC-0200, which is known to be active since at least summer 2024."The use of popular messengers, both on mobile devices and on computers, significantly expands the attack surface, including due to the creation of uncontrolled (in the context of protection) information exchange channels," the agency added.The development follows Signal's alleged decision to stop responding to requests from Ukrainian law enforcement regarding Russian cyber threats, according to The Record."With its inaction, Signal is helping Russians gather information, target our soldiers, and compromise government officials," Serhii Demediuk, the deputy secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said.Signal CEO Meredith Whittaker, however, has refuted the claim, stating "we don't officially work with any gov, Ukraine or otherwise, and we never stopped. We're not sure where this came from or why."It also comes in the wake of reports from Microsoft and Google that Russian cyber actors are increasingly focusing on gaining unauthorized access to WhatsApp and Signal accounts by taking advantage of the device linking feature, as Ukrainians have turned to Signal as an alternative to Telegram.Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.SHARE

FactSet is looking for a talented senior software engineer to join a newly expanded Design System engineering team based in So Paulo, Brazil. The new team joins the existing cross-functional Design System team, with engineering members part of the Client Experience and Engagement Engineering department within the Platform Infrastructure Engineering horizontal. The Design System team is responsible for shared infrastructure that focuses on providing engineers, product developers, and designers with the tools to create modern and consistent user interfaces for their applications. As a member of this newly expanded team, you will partner closely with the existing engineering team members and other cross-functional members of the broader Design System team to operate as one. In this role you will increase developer efficiency across the company, leading to better solutions for FactSets clients. Some of the projects that we work on to achieve this goal:Design System component library FactSet's next-generation UI framework for building responsive and accessible applicationsGrids making tabular data accessible for allCharting modernizing the charting experienceGenerative AI improving self-service support for engineering consumersIn this role, you will:Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product managers, designers, open-source developers and other stakeholders, to understand business requirements, define project scope, and ensure quality standards are metDrive the end-to-end software development lifecycle, ensuring timely and efficient deliveryProvide hands-on technical expertise and guidance in designing, developing, and implementing software solutions using TypeScript and Vue.jsConduct regular code reviews to maintain code quality, adhere to best practices, and ensure compliance with coding standardsStay up-to-date with emerging web development technologies and industry trends, evaluating their potential impact on the teams projects and making recommendations accordinglyMust work hybrid at least 2 day per weekMust be Fluent in English both Verbal & Written Over time, you will find opportunities to impact the larger FactSet engineering community. For example, by working with the Web Guidance Group or other cross-team working groups, you will have visibility into how FactSets teams make decisions and the ability to present your perspective.Minimum Requirements: 3+ years of experience working professionally as a Software Developer building web applicationsCritical Skills: A passion to provide value by enabling other developersIn-depth knowledge of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)Strong fundamental knowledge of HTML, CSS, JS, and WAI-ARIA in the browserExperience using JavaScript, TypeScript and a modern web framework such as Vue or ReactHighly Desired Skills:In-depth knowledge of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)Strong fundamental knowledge of HTML, CSS, JS, and WAI-ARIA in the browserExperience with build tools and server-side JS in NodeJSExperience with automated testing including browser-based tests for accessibilityExperience with CI/CD automation and at least one cloud providerExperience with Scrum, Kanban or Agile software development in generalExperience working with or contributing to open-sourceprojectsEducation: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, a related technical field or equivalent experience

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Playing the waiting game.It looks like we've got a small update on the status of Hollow Knight: Silksong and this time it comes from the world of Xbox.Fans of this long-awaited title have been given some hope recently with the ID@Xbox director Guy Richards acknowledging how this title is still part of the company's future lineup. Unfortunately, there's no mention of an exact date or time frame as to when it might drop in the latest Xbox Wire post, but hey - plenty of fans seem to appreciate the shout out!Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Pruna AI, a European startup that has been working on compression algorithms for AI models, is making its optimization framework open source on Thursday.Pruna AI has been creating a framework that applies several efficiency methods, such as caching, pruning, quantization and distillation, to a given AI model. We also standardize saving and loading the compressed models, applying combinations of these compression methods, and also evaluating your compressed model after you compress it, Pruna AI co-fonder and CTO John Rachwan told TechCrunch.In particular, Pruna AIs framework can evaluate if theres significant quality loss after compressing a model and the performance gains that you get.If I were to use a metaphor, we are similar to how Hugging Face standardized transformers and diffusers how to call them, how to save them, load them, etc. We are doing the same, but for efficiency methods, he added.Big AI labs have already been using various compression methods already. For instance, OpenAI has been relying on distillation to create faster versions of its flagship models.This is likely how OpenAI developed GPT-4 Turbo, a faster version of GPT-4. Similarly, the Flux.1-schnell image generation model is a distilled version of the Flux.1 model from Black Forest Labs.Distillation is a technique used to extract knowledge from a large AI model with a teacher-student model. Developers send requests to a teacher model and record the outputs. Answers are sometimes compared with a dataset to see how accurate they are. These outputs are then used to train the student model, which is trained to approximate the teachers behavior.For big companies, what they usually do is that they build this stuff in-house. And what you can find in the open source world is usually based on single methods. For example, lets say one quantization method for LLMs, or one caching method for diffusion models, Rachwan said. But you cannot find a tool that aggregates all of them, makes them all easy to use and combine together. And this is the big value that Pruna is bringing right now.Left to right: Rayan Nait Mazi, Bertrand Charpentier, John Rachwan, Stephan GnnemannImage Credits:Pruna AIWhile Pruna AI supports any kind of models, from large language models to diffusion models, speech-to-text models and computer vision models, the company is focusing more specifically on image and video generation models right now.Some of Pruna AIs existing users include Scenario and PhotoRoom. In addition to the open source edition, Pruna AI has an enterprise offering with advanced optimization features including an optimization agent.The most exciting feature that we are releasing soon will be a compression agent, Rachwan said. Basically, you give it your model, you say: I want more speed but dont drop my accuracy by more than 2%. And then, the agent will just do its magic. It will find the best combination for you, return it for you. You dont have to do anything as a developer.Pruna AI charges by the hour for its pro version. Its similar to how you would think of a GPU when you rent a GPU on AWS or any cloud service, Rachwan said.And if your model is a critical part of your AI infrastructure, youll end up saving a lot of money on inference with the optimized model. For example, Pruna AI has made a Llama model eight times smaller without too much loss using its compression framework. Pruna AI hopes its customers will think about its compression framework as an investment that pays for itself.Pruna AI raised a $6.5 million seed funding round a few months ago. Investors in the startup include EQT Ventures, Daphni, Motier Ventures and Kima Ventures.

A Swedish startup aiming to build a hyperscale cloud company in Europe has raised 50.6 million ($55 million) in Series A funding. Evroc, as its called, says its laying the foundations for a secure, sovereign and sustainable hyperscale cloud to reimagine the digital future of Europe.The announcement comes amid growing calls to create a European tech stack, one independent of U.S. tech firms and the shifting political landscape. Just this week, a coalition from across Europes tech industry called for radical action from lawmakers to reduce the regions reliance on foreign-owned digital infrastructure, pushing for homegrown alternatives to apps, AI models, chips and the full gamut of cloud services.Evroc aims to capitalize on this momentum. The three-year-old company plans to build data centers and an array of cloud services. At its launch in 2023, Evroc outlined plans to establish eight data centers by 2028. Today, it says it has two co-location facilities in Stockholm and another two in Paris.By the end of second quarter of this year, the company expects to have two additional facilities operational in Frankfurt, with work already underway on its first flagship data centers in Sweden and France, scheduled for completion in 2026 with AI workloads as a primary focus.They [.] are designed for the energy density required for AI, where racks can consume 20 times what a traditional server rack can, Evroc CEO and founder Mattias strm (pictured above) told TechCrunch. Both will be equipped with liquid cooling but will also host compute and storage servers.Evrocs formal launch is slated for later this year, with strm adding that it is already working with early beta customers in industries requiring a high need for sovereignty, including defense, public sector, health care and financial services. He also hinted at additional data centers coming next year, though the company isnt ready to confirm specifics.Digital sovereigntyEuropes digital sovereignty agenda is nothing new. In fact, most U.S. tech giantsare already investinginlocal infrastructureto ensure compliance with EU data residency regulations. AI darlingOpenAI also recently unveileda new offering that allows customers to process and store data in Europe.But with geopolitical tensions on the rise, strm argues that control over Europes infrastructure matters more than just server locations.For example, Donald Trump last month signed an executive order authorizing economic sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands, accusing it of illegitimate and baseless actions against the U.S. and Israel. These sanctions affect how tech companies can serve organizations, with a Guardian report indicating that the ICC relies heavily on Microsofts Azure cloud for storing data.Elsewhere, Elon Musk now a central figure in U.S. governmental operations has previously admitted to throttling Ukrainian access to Starlink satellites, operated by his company SpaceX. More recently, he claimed that Ukraines entire frontline would collapse if he chose to turn it off. Although Musk later backtracked, the incident served as yet another reminder of the importance of infrastructure independence. And its also why the EU is forging ahead with plans for a own sovereign satellite constellation to rival Starlink.I simply want Europe to control its own destiny, strm said. And while were at it, try to build something that is better.Geopolitical turmoil aside, the AI revolution means that organizations previously reliant on on-premises infrastructure must now consider the cloud to fully leverage AI.Several European startups are already building cloud infrastructure in Europe, including Frances FlexAI, Finlands DataCrunch, and Nebius in the Netherlands an entity that emerged from the ashes of Yandex last year.However, while many of these players focus on AI computing, Evroc aims to build an extensive, developer-friendly hyperscale cloud thats more akin to AWS and its ilk.The bulk of Evrocs 60-plus employees are focused on software development, spread across Sweden, France, and the U.K. strm noted the London hub wasnt originally planned but became necessary to attract top talent from major tech firms.Im actually very excited about our London office that wasnt part of the initial plan, but in order to get extremely smart people that are working for the hyperscalers, it was the right decision, strm said.Show me the moneyWhen Evroc launched out of stealth two years ago with 13 million in funding, strm told TechCrunch he planned to raise as much as 3 billion in capital within a couple of years. By August of last year, news broke that Evroc had raised 42 million as part of its Series A, and now the round has closed at 50.6 million with investments from U.S.-European venture firm Blisce, EQT Ventures, Norrsken VC, and Giant Ventures.There is no escaping the elephant in the room, though. Building anything close to what the hyperscalers have built requires a near-bottomless pit of cash so does Evroc still plan to raise billions?Thats still the case, but the key here is [first] getting that software stack, strm continued. Europe has a lot of data centers, but we dont really have that cloud. This equity round is really helping us build the software stack.The company plans to raise significantly more capital later in 2025, following a funding model similar to other cloud infrastructure players such as CoreWeave, which has grown its footprint by borrowing against collateral such as Nvidia chips.Building out data centers will require a lot of additional investment, but the good news is that you can finance that with debt, strm said.