Rocket Boy
Game
19 documents in the library are about Rocket Boy, from writers such as Video Games Industry Memo, Game World Observer and Hit Points. Each has a summary and key insights with the page they come from.
Connections
Each row is a game or company named alongside Rocket Boy, each column a document, oldest first. A mark means that document names it. Select a row to see those documents.
Documents about Rocket Boy
Games Media Crisis Deepens, Bloober Hunts Weird Horror Titles, and New York Games Week Soft Launches
This weekly edition of The Game Business newsletter and podcast, published October 1, 2026 by Christopher Dring, covers games media layoffs, Bloober Team's new horror publishing ambitions, and the abrupt launch of New York Games Week, along with a roundup of industry news.
- The games media industry is facing severe contraction, with recent layoffs at Future (Gamesradar/Techradar), Metro, and Popverse following earlier cuts at IGN and Restart, driven by declining search traffic and the rise of AI.
- Bloober Team is expanding its horror portfolio through its 'Broken Mirror' label, which currently has five projects in development, including the licensed title 'Saw: Genesis' and the Switch 2 exclusive 'Onyx: The Dark Grip'.
- New York Games Week is soft-launching on October 4, 2026, as a decentralized event series intended to test a new industry gathering model before a full-scale rollout in 2027.
Noxious Fumes
Nathan Brown's Hit Points newsletter (issue #397, September 2026) argues that the western triple-A industry should answer its crisis by copying Japan, and Capcom in particular, rather than waiting for sweeping fixes like AI or the overthrow of capitalism.
- The Western triple-A game industry is facing an existential crisis driven by unsustainable development costs, prompting calls for a shift toward the financially disciplined model used by Japanese developers like Capcom.
- Capcom maintains profitability by keeping budgets in check, retaining long-term staff, and avoiding decade-long development cycles for tentpole franchises like Resident Evil and Monster Hunter.
- The industry is increasingly reliant on 'Myhrvold’s Law,' where software expands to fill available computing power, leading to bloated development that many industry experts argue must be reined in.
Hit Points #373: Serious Hat
Nathan Brown's Hit Points newsletter for 8 May 2026 pairs a personal reflection with a weekly roundup of game industry news.
- Nintendo is increasing the price of the Switch 2 by $50/€50, effective in August, citing changes in market conditions and global economic outlook.
- Both Microsoft and Sony reported significant declines in hardware sales, yet are focusing on next-gen offerings; Microsoft with 'Project Helix' and Sony increasing investments for its next-generation platform.
- CCP Games, maker of EVE Online, bought itself back from parent company Pearl Abyss for $120 million (less than half of the 2018 acquisition price of $225 million), rebranding as Fenris Creations and securing investment from Omega Ventures and Google's Deepmind.
Another Group of MindsEye Authors Has Been Laid Off
Build a Rocket Boy, the studio behind the poorly received MindsEye, has gone through another round of layoffs, according to a May 2026 news report that cites Kotaku's sources.
- Build a Rocket Boy has reduced its workforce to approximately 80 employees following a recent layoff of 170 staff members.
- The studio’s current headcount represents a 90% reduction from its peak size of over 800 employees.
- The downsizing aligns with public statements made in March 2026 by co-head Mark Gerhard, who expressed an intent to reduce the team to at least 100 people.
Roblox’s Age-Based Accounting
Roblox's April 2026 announcement of Age-Based Accounts, a dual-tier system for under-16s, is examined through an interview with Tim Scott, the company's Senior Director of Public Policy EMEA, and the author's analysis.
- Roblox is implementing a dual-tier Age-Based Account system by June 2026, restricting communication and content access for users aged 5–8 (Roblox Kids) and 9–15 (Roblox Select).
- To ensure compliance, all experiences must now undergo developer identity verification, real-time testing by users over 16, and formal rating assignments aligned with IARC standards.
- Over 50% of the platform's total user base has already completed the age verification process, which utilizes technology with an accuracy range of approximately 1.4 years for minors.
Games for Change London: Schedule Announced, 02/04/2026
Games for Change London takes place on Wednesday 15 April 2026 at the Leonardo Tower Bridge Hotel, and its full schedule is now confirmed.
- The Games for Change London conference will take place on April 15, 2026, at the Leonardo Tower Bridge Hotel, featuring over 45 speakers and 150 attendees focused on leveraging player communities for social impact.
- Major industry partners supporting the event include Roblox, Xsolla, Ubisoft, and Supercell, with scholarship programs provided by organizations like UK Game Angels to support students and indie developers.
- Conference programming includes a UNICEF-led workshop on the RITEC Design Toolbox for children’s well-being and sessions on using games to influence urban design and sustainable consumer behavior.
Nintendo has generated nearly $2.2 billion from mobile games so far
The global gaming industry is currently navigating a period of significant volatility, marked by high-profile commercial setbacks and organizational instability.
- Nintendo has generated nearly $2.2 billion in total revenue from its mobile gaming portfolio.
- Japan is Nintendo's most critical mobile market, accounting for approximately 46% of total mobile earnings due to higher per-user spending.
- Fire Emblem Heroes is the primary driver of Nintendo's mobile success, contributing roughly 50% of the company's total mobile revenue.
Discord Data Breach, Warcraft Goes Aggro on Mods & Where Can you Buy an Xbox? | Games For Breakfast
The modern gaming industry is currently defined by a tension between aggressive monetization strategies and the practical realities of consumer behavior.
- World of Warcraft is restricting third-party add-ons in the upcoming 'Midnight' expansion, aiming to end a long-standing 'silent arms race' of UI customization while retaining specific accessibility hooks like text-to-speech.
- Discord is facing a data breach, prompting industry criticism regarding the storage of age-verification data and calls for more secure, ephemeral verification methods.
- The game 'Mind's Eye' has struggled commercially, holding only a 39% positive rating on Steam after 2,206 reviews, highlighting broader publisher-side issues in game development and marketing.
From Leadership to Layoffs: June 26, 2025
This article, published on June 26, 2025, examines the challenges facing leadership in the video games industry amidst a period of significant layoffs and studio closures.
- The video game industry is facing a critical shortage of senior talent, with estimates suggesting that only 50% of the required experienced professionals remain active in the workforce.
- A reliance on short-term financial returns and formulaic live-service projects has created systemic instability, leading to widespread layoffs and studio closures.
- Chasing market fads is a failed strategic approach because development cycles are too long to capitalize on fleeting trends effectively.
How Two of the Most Hyped Game Studios Became Cautionary Tales
The gaming industry is currently witnessing a wave of high-profile studio failures and performance struggles, driven by unsustainable spending, lack of oversight, and a misalignment between venture capital models and AAA game development.
- The venture capital model, characterized by rapid scaling and exit strategies, is fundamentally misaligned with the long, capital-intensive development cycles required for AAA gaming.
- The Believer studio closed in under two years after burning through $55 million in funding without delivering a viable product, demonstrating the risks of providing large capital injections without rigorous milestone-based oversight.
- Build A Rocket Boy, despite raising hundreds of millions in capital, failed to achieve market success due to poor execution, outdated gameplay, and the departure of key executive leadership.
Session: From Spawn to Scale – Navigating Funding Rounds In The Gaming Industry - Rick Verma.
This presentation outlines the operational and financial requirements for gaming companies as they navigate various funding stages, from seed rounds through series D. The core thesis emphasizes that as gaming startups scale, they must proactively build robust, automated financial infrastructure to meet escalating investor…
- Gaming industry funding experienced a sharp contraction, falling from approximately $11 billion in 2022 to under $3 billion in 2023.
- Investors have shifted their focus away from pure content plays toward scalable platform technologies and infrastructure, though early-stage seed funding remains resilient.
- Founders must transition from manual spreadsheet-based processes to automated financial infrastructure to avoid payment failures, compliance risks, and administrative bottlenecks as they scale.
Midnight Caller
This document provides an early review of the Nintendo Switch 2 console and its launch titles, alongside commentary on recent industry news.
- Tencent has acquired a 15% stake in Arrowhead Games, the developer of Helldivers 2, for $80 million.
- Tencent has also invested in Lighthouse Games, a studio founded by former Forza developer Gavin Raeburn that is currently looking to expand its 130-person staff by approximately 50 employees.
- The Nintendo Switch 2 has launched with a premium hardware focus, featuring improved haptics, Nvidia-powered performance, and a system-transfer process that allows for the migration of user data between consoles.