ByteAction - Issue 174
ByteAction is a newsletter for game developers and fans
Hello and welcome to the 174th edition of the ByteAction newsletter!
It’s been a wild month in the games industry, with additional waves of layoffs, predictions and interesting game releases. Here are the highlights of everything that’s been going on:
Although EA shareholders approved the $55B buyout that will reportedly leave EA in $20B debt , the the US Congressional Labor Caucus, backed by the Communications Workers of America union, has urged the FTC to thoroughly review the deal over concerns it could drive cost-cutting measures such as layoffs, offshoring, restructuring, or studio closures.
In other news, Netflix has revised its bid for Warner Bros Discovery’s streaming and film business to be fully cash-based, replacing its earlier cash-and-shares offer to add certainty and speed up shareholder approval. The move is aimed at strengthening Netflix’s position against a rival bid from Paramount Skydance, which continues to pursue Warner Bros despite repeated rejections.
Lastly, Meta’s recent decision to cut about 10 % of jobs at its Reality Labs division and close several internal VR studios has sparked industry concern about a potential “VR winter,” as the company shifts investment away from costly VR hardware toward AI-driven wearables and smart glasses. While Meta maintains it isn’t abandoning virtual reality entirely, investors and developers worry the reduced focus and slower growth could chill momentum in the broader VR market.
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The Byte
The Action
Retro Byte
Studio Byte
11 bit studios is a Warsaw-based indie developer and publisher founded in 2010, best known for making emotionally heavy, morally challenging games rather than pure escapism. They broke through globally with This War of Mine, which portrays war from a civilian perspective, and cemented their reputation with Frostpunk, a survival city-builder built around brutal ethical decisions.
Legal Stuff
Acquisitions/Investments
New Game Corner
Reanimal - February 13th, 2026
Reanimal is an upcoming co-op horror adventure game from Tarsier Studios, releasing on February 13, 2026 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2. Players control a brother and sister who must work together to explore a twisted, hostile island, solve environmental puzzles, evade grotesque creatures, and rescue their missing friends in a dark, atmospheric world that blends survival horror, stealth and cinematic platforming. The game supports solo play with AI for the second character as well as local or online cooperative multiplayer and aims to deliver a more unsettling, mature experience than its predecessors.
Resource Byte
Open source coding agent.
Who’s Hiring?
QA Engineer - Coffee Stain Studios - Gothenburg, Sweden
Senior Producer, Audio - That’s No Moon - Los Angeles, CA/Remote
Associate Lead Engine Programmer - Larian Studios - Barcelona, Spain
Senior Talent Acquisition Manager - Homa - Paris, France
Senior Development Manager - Crytek - Frankfurt, Germany
Senior Audio Programmer - Rebellion - Oxford, UK
Lead Game Designer - Scopely - Barcelona, Spain
Render Engineer - Wargaming - Berlin, Germany
Head of Client Side - Zeptolab - Serbia
HR Manager - Shiro Games - Bordeaux, France
Lighting Artist - Naughty Dog - Los Angeles, CA
Lead Developer (Unity) - Univrse - Barcelona, Spain
Animation Director - Techland - Warsaw, Poland
Senior Technical Producer - Escape Velocity Entertainment - Remote
Interested in sharing your job posts here? Just click on the button below for more info and reach out to tomas@byteaction.co
Dev Talks
“The ways in which game publishing contracts are generally written violate a lot of principles of what's an efficient contract. There are principles involved in how contracts should be done that help everyone. One of the principles is that risk should be borne by the party best able to bear that risk”
Tim Bender
Events
GamesForum Barcelona - February 10th-11th
Gamesforum Barcelona is a two-day industry conference in Barcelona focused on mobile gaming growth and monetization, bringing together developers, publishers, and UA and monetization experts to share strategies on user acquisition, ad and product monetization, and alternative growth. It features panels, roundtables, and networking with industry leaders and is considered a key event for professionals looking to accelerate mobile game success.