Platforms

Sony's second PlayStation 5 price increase in under a year took effect on April 2, pushing the PS5 Pro to $900 and the standard console to $650 as AI-driven memory demand and trade tariffs compress margins across the gaming hardware industry.

Epic Games lays off roughly 20 percent of its workforce, citing a Fortnite engagement downturn that began in 2025 and over $500 million in targeted cost savings.

Microsoft announced Project Helix at GDC 2026, a next-gen Xbox on a custom AMD SoC that plays both console and PC games natively, with developer kits shipping in 2027.

Valve's cube-shaped SteamOS console faces component shortages that have already shifted the release window twice, but the company insists all three new hardware products will ship this year.

After 38 years at Microsoft and 12 years leading Xbox, Phil Spencer retires. Xbox president Sarah Bond simultaneously resigns, replaced by CoreAI division head Asha Sharma.

Matthew Ball's State of Video Gaming 2026 finds a $195.6B industry where record revenues mask falling margins, a funding drought, and China's growing dominance over global growth.