ByteAction - Issue 175

ByteAction is a newsletter for game developers and fans

Hello and welcome to the 175th 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:

Remedy Entertainment has appointed Jean-Charles Gaudechon as its new CEO starting March 1. While Remedy says he’s a strong fit for its current business phase, fans are reacting negatively online, mainly due to his background at EA and a sports-betting company, fearing a shift away from Remedy’s narrative-driven, single-player focus toward heavier monetization.

In other news, over 1,200 Ubisoft employees went on strike in protest of the company’s recent restructuring, planned future layoffs, and a return-to-office mandate. Five Ubisoft unions in France - STJV, Solidaires Informatique, CGT, CFE-CGC, and Printemps Ecologique - are participating, and the three-day walkout also affected workers at Ubisoft Milan.

Lastly, Nexon has reported record-breaking revenue for the third year in a row in its 2025 earnings. The company credits the growth mainly to its Dungeon & Fighter and MapleStory franchises, along with Arc Raiders, which has now sold over 14 million copies.

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The Byte

1. Recent layoffs at studios behind new live-service games highlight how brutally high-risk the model is, with only a few hits surviving while most struggle or fail.

The Action

2. Sega has written off $200 million from its $776 million acquisition of Rovio, admitting the Angry Birds maker underperformed expectations amid intensified competition and rapid changes in the global mobile games market.

Retro Byte

3. Best Retro consoles 2026.

Studio Byte

4. Cast Iron Games is a UK-based video game development studio founded in 2024 and part of the Pneuma Games Group as a sister studio to Double Eleven.

   The studio focuses on AAA co-development, technical support, and game porting across platforms like PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch (including Switch 2), PC and mobile, and is known for its strong technical expertise and team-first culture.

   Led by industry veterans Arden Aspinall and Jon Seymour, Cast Iron Games aims to build long-term partnerships with developers and grow toward full game development as it expands.

Legal Stuff

5. Microsoft has withdrawn its copyright claim against indie developer Unomelon.

6. The EU “Stop Killing Games” initiative has passed 1 million signatures, triggering formal submission to the European Commission to push for rules keeping games playable after support ends.

Acquisitions/Investments

7. Ironwood Studios raises $4m for its next IP.

8. Mattel is set to fully acquire mobile studio Mattel163 from Chinese publisher NetEase.

New Game Corner

9. Directive 8020 - May 12th, 2026.

   Directive 8020 is an upcoming cinematic sci-fi survival horror game developed and published by Supermassive Games (known for Until Dawn, The Quarry, and The Dark Pictures Anthology).

Resource Byte

10. Kilo AI

    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

Lead Unreal Programmer - Cast Iron Games - Wakefield, UK

Associate Lead Engine Programmer - Larian Studios - Barcelona, Spain

Senior Talent Acquisition Manager - Homa - Paris, France

Senior Technical Artist - Cast Iron Games - Wakefield, UK

Lead Platform Programmer - Cast Iron Games - Wakefield , UK

Senior Development Manager - Crytek - Frankfurt, Germany

Senior Audio Programmer - Rebellion - Oxford, UK

Senior Unreal Programmer - Cast Iron Games - Wakefield, UK

Lead Game Designer - Scopely - Barcelona, Spain

Senior Platform Programmer - Cast Iron Games - Wakefield, UK

Render Engineer - Wargaming - Berlin, Germany

Head of Client Side - Zeptolab - Serbia

Experienced Programmer - Cast Iron Games - Wakefield, UK

HR Manager - Shiro Games - Bordeaux, France

Lighting Artist - Naughty Dog - Los Angeles, CA

Lead Developer (Unity) - Univrse - Barcelona, Spain

Animation Director - Techland - Warsaw, Poland

Gameplay Designer - 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

11. Interview with Patrick Soderlund

    “We don't use AI to not have to hire people or replace people or job groups or voice actors. People have to take a step back and understand what it is and how it can be a big help to developers and be a tremendous benefit to players. I realize it is an intricate subject and discussion.”

    Patrick Soderlund

Events

12. Guildford Games Festival - February 20th, 2026

    The Guildford Games Festival is an annual community-driven event in Guildford, UK, celebrating the town’s vibrant video game development scene.

    It brings together game developers, students, fans, and industry professionals for a full day of talks, panels, workshops, playable demos, portfolio reviews, and networking, showcasing local studios and offering insight into careers and game creation. The festival supports the local games community, promotes talent and diversity, and highlights Guildford’s role as a major UK game-dev hub.