As we head into our summer break and prepare for Gamescom, we’re launching a new column to give you a weekly overview of gaming news. Don’t worry, our Find Your Indie special will still be coming. We also want to take this moment to thank all of you; we just hit 50,000 monthly views this month. Here are the most important gaming industry news that caught our eye this week.
In July 2025, both itch.io and Steam implemented significant content moderation policies targeting NSFW (Not Safe For Work) material, primarily due to pressure from payment processors like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal. This action was spurred by campaigns from the Australian advocacy group Collective Shout, which criticized the platforms for hosting content they deemed objectionable, particularly focusing on a controversial game titled No Mercy.
The game No Mercy was a 3D visual novel featuring themes of sexual violence and incest. It was briefly available on Itch.io and Steam in April 2025 before being banned due to public backlash and media attention, notably from UK-based radio station LBC and Collective Shout. The group used this game as a focal point to launch a broader campaign against adult content on both platforms, issuing an open letter to payment processors accusing Steam and Itch.io of hosting “hundreds of rape, incest, and child-abuse games.”
Collective Shout, an Australian nonprofit described as an “anti-porn” group, targeted payment processors to pressure platforms into removing NSFW content. They claimed responsibility for Steam’s initial delisting of adult games and later influenced Itch.io’s actions. Critics argue their tactics amount to financial censorship, leveraging the dependency of platforms on payment providers to enforce content moderation.
On July 15, 2025, Steam introduced new guidelines prohibiting content that violates “the rules and standards set forth by payment processors and card networks.” This led to the removal of hundreds of adult-themed games, primarily those involving themes of sexual violence, rape, or incest. Valve confirmed the changes were in response to payment processor demands.
On July 24, 2025, Itch.io announced it had “deindexed” all NSFW content from its browse and search pages, effectively hiding these titles from public view unless accessed via direct links. This impacted an estimated 21,000+ games tagged as NSFW, including not just pornographic content but also games with mature themes like mental health, queer narratives, or eating disorders.
The dominance of Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal in digital transactions is seen as a key issue, enabling them to act as de facto content moderators. Payment processors’ blanket policies fail to distinguish between harmful content and legitimate artistic expression, risking the suppression of diverse voices. The reliance on vague “NSFW” tags, which can include anything from explicit pornography to discussions of trauma, worsens the issue.
WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers is a Soulslike action RPG which was developed by Leenzee Games and published by 505 Games, and then released on July 24, 2025, for PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and Microsoft Store, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and is available on Xbox Game Pass day one.
Set in the fictional land of Shu during the late Ming Dynasty, the game follows Wuchang, a pirate warrior afflicted with amnesia and a mysterious “Feathering” condition, navigating a plague-ridden world filled with supernatural enemies. Despite its ambitious vision and strong launch, it has faced significant backlash on Steam due to performance issues, reflected in its “Overwhelmingly Negative” user reviews. On its launch day, WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers achieved a peak of 131,518 concurrent players on Steam, as reported by SteamDB.
Critics have generally praised WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers for its innovative mechanics, such as the Impetus Repository (a complex skill tree akin to Final Fantasy X’s Sphere Grid), customizable combat, and atmospheric world design. It holds a Metascore of 75 on PC and 83 on Xbox Series X/S, with outlets like IGN and GameSpot giving it 8/10 for its engaging combat and level design, despite noting inconsistent difficulty and occasional “gotcha” ambushes
On the other side, Steam user reviews have been overwhelmingly negative, with only 16–24% of reviews positive at various points post-launch, earning the game an “Overwhelmingly Negative” rating initially, later improving slightly to “Mostly Negative” (30% of 16,090 reviews are positive). The main reason for the negative reviews is poor performance and optimization issues on PC, particularly tied to Unreal Engine 5 (UE5):
Some negative reviews from Chinese players arise from cultural issues. They expected the game to show the Wuchang Uprising against the Qing Dynasty but criticized its focus on the Ming Dynasty and exclusion of Qing enemies, despite the fantasy setting. Leenzee Games and 505 Games also issued a statement acknowledging performance issues, expressing regret for the negative experiences, and confirming they are working on a patch to address optimization, pricing anomalies, and missing pre-order rewards.
Two classic Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) video games, Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone and Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard, are being re-released on Steam in mid-August 2025 by publisher SNEG Ltd. These titles, originally launched in 2004 and 2005, have been modernized with quality-of-life improvements to ensure compatibility with modern PCs while preserving their original gameplay and retro feeling.
In Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone, an action RPG title, players control a party of three characters, switching between them in real-time to utilize their unique abilities: Rannek’s melee combat, Illius’s spellcasting, and Zhai’s stealth attacks. The game features fast-paced, combo-driven combat with a focus on battling iconic D&D creatures like bugbears, slaadi, and yuan-ti.
On the other side, Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard offers a unique mix of RTS and RPG mechanics, combining large-scale army management above ground with dungeon-crawling RPG adventures below ground. Above ground, you command armies in traditional RTS fashion, managing resources and units. Below ground, you control smaller hero-led parties in RPG-style exploration, battling monsters and collecting loot that enhances above-ground units.
On July 25, 2025, South Korean publisher Krafton, known for PUBG: Battlegrounds and Subnautica, acquired Eleventh Hour Games, the indie studio behind the action RPG Last Epoch, for $96 million (about 132.4 billion KRW). Founded in 2018 by Judd Cobler, Eleventh Hour Games will operate as a Krafton subsidiary, keeping its leadership and creative control while benefiting from Krafton’s publishing, live-service support, and infrastructure.
Last Epoch entered Early Access in April 2019 and hit version 1.0 in February 2024, peaking at over 264,000 concurrent Steam players. With Krafton’s backing, Eleventh Hour Games plans to grow the franchise, possibly with console releases, better seasonal content, and new features. Studio founder Judd Cobler said the partnership will help them “deliver things we’ve only dreamed of”.
The Nintendo Switch 2 achieved a record-breaking 5,011,250 units sold worldwide in its first month (June 2025), according to VGChartz estimates, making it the biggest hardware launch in video game history. This surpassed the previous record set by the PlayStation 5, which sold an estimated 2.76 million units in November 2020 over three weeks, and outperformed the original Nintendo Switch’s first-month sales of 2.33 million units in March 2017.
Global hardware estimates for June 2025 according to VGChartz (Followed by lifetime sales):
Global July 5, 2025 hardware estimates:
CRITICAL REFLEX has announced two new titles joining its CR Channel label, set to release on PC this October. Eclipsium from Housefire and CARIMARA: Beneath the Forlorn Limbs from Bastinus Rex bring visually stunning and eerie narratives that blend surreal aesthetics with innovative gameplay.
Eclipsium plunges you into a dark, surreal world devoid of sunlight, where the landscape constantly shifts. In this horror adventure, you’re searching for a faint light that guides you through danger and uncertainty. The game focuses on atmosphere and abstract fear rather than classic horror elements, delivering an unsettling and thought-provoking experience. A demo version is also available on Steam.
CARIMARA: Beneath the Forlorn Limbs introduces you to a haunting fairy tale inspired by Norman folklore. You play as Carimare, a small magical creature that doesn’t speak, instead using magical cards to communicate and solve mysteries. Your mission is to perform an exorcism by answering a spirit’s questions, which requires exploring a darkened cottage and the surrounding world to find the right cards. This point-and-click adventure lasts between 30 minutes and an hour.
A recent X post went viral, racking up 25 million views in just one day. The post featured a concept for a retro-style, first-person adventure game, bringing to mind classics like Elder Scrolls Arena. However, it’s not what you think it is. It’s AI generated image turned into a video. One viral retweet even said: “I would commit crimes to play a full game like this.”
However, excitement quickly turned to confusion for many as they scrolled down. The creator then invited 3D artists to “slide into his DMs” to help make the game. This seemed promising until more details emerged: the stunning visuals were not from a game engine, but were AI-generated with Midjourney and animated using other AI tools.
The “concept” being purely AI-generated, not a playable game, quickly turned into disappointment. This shows a key difference: while AI can create interesting concept images, it’s far from making a full video game. Building a complex game like the one in the viral video is incredibly hard, needing huge human effort that AI tools can’t yet match.
Interestingly, creator of this video first asked Elon Musk on X to invest in his game, saying it used X AI tools. This reply was later deleted. However, the takeaway is clear: while AI can generate fascinating ideas, turning those ideas into a functional, immersive game remains a task for human developers. This post also clearly shows that a game concept like this can succeed in modern day if done correctly.
SLOTS & DAGGERS is an upcoming retro-fantasy roguelite game developed by solo indie developer Friedemann, known for creating SUMMERHOUSE and co-creating ISLANDERS and Superflight as part of Grizzly Games. Published by Future Friends Games (CloverPit, The Cabin Factory), the game was announced on July 24, 2025, with a planned release on PC via Steam later in 2025.
It reimagines roguelite combat with a slot machine as the core mechanic. Each spin decides your actions (attacks, potion use, or spellcasting) based on the symbols that appear. Quick reflexes and strategic timing (pressing at the right moment) help you optimize outcomes. Between runs, you upgrade weapons, equipment, and abilities, unlocking items that boost slot results.
Friedemann, reflecting on his previous work, described SLOTS & DAGGERS as a deliberate departure from the cozy, meditative SUMMERHOUSE, a 2024 city-building game praised for its relaxing gameplay. He stated: “After my last game SUMMERHOUSE, I wanted to make something radically different. Something faster, with numbers, fights, and goblins!”
The Nintendo Switch 2 launched on June 5, 2025. Newzoo, a gaming analytics firm, shared insights on third-party launch titles’ performance, using digital sales data from the Nintendo eShop in six major markets: the US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. Excluding physical sales, the analysis covers units sold and revenue in June 2025, showing how third-party developers are faring in the Switch 2 ecosystem.
The top third-party Switch 2 launch games by units sold in June are:
Rematch, developed by Sloclap and published by Kepler Interactive, is a multiplayer action football game that launched on June 19, 2025, for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC, with day-one availability on Xbox Game Pass.
Rematch is a fast-paced team game where groups of 3, 4, or 5 players compete in six-minute matches. It follows real-life sport rules but builds on Sloclap’s action game experience (Absolver, Sifu). You control one player, focusing on passing, shooting, dribbling, tackling, and goalkeeping. Each action has its own system, requiring you to learn techniques to outplay opponents.
Since release (including launching day one with Game Pass), Sloclap’s wonderfully physical take on the game has passed 3 million Xbox players. Not only that, but Rematch broke an Xbox record before it even came out – its Xbox Insider beta saw every available slot filled faster than any game before it.
Official Xbox Blog Updates
Critical Role, the Dungeons & Dragons-inspired media company known for its livestreamed tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) campaigns, has partnered with AdHoc Studio, an indie game developer based in Los Angeles, to collaborate on multiple projects. This partnership includes the development of Critical Role’s first-ever video game, set in their fantasy world of Exandria, and contributions to AdHoc’s upcoming narrative-driven game, Dispatch.
The collaboration began organically when Travis Willingham, Critical Role’s CEO and a veteran voice actor, received an audition for Dispatch. Impressed by the game’s design, tone, and storytelling, he reached out to AdHoc Studio to explore further creative opportunities. This led to a meeting in fall 2024 between Willingham, Laura Bailey, AdHoc CEO Michael Choung, and co-founder/COO Nick Herman in Studio City, where the teams connected over shared creative goals.
Dispatch is an interactive narrative game described as a “superhero workplace comedy.” You take on the role of a former superhero working at a dysfunctional hero agency, managing emergencies by dispatching heroes while navigating office drama. The game features a choice-based gameplay loop, where your decisions impact the story and outcomes, combined with management mechanics. It is set to release later in 2025 on PC and consoles.
The esteemed British studio The Chinese Room, known for narrative games like Dear Esther and Still Wakes the Deep, has announced that it has successfully completed a management buyout from Sumo Digital, thereby becoming independent once again. With two new original projects in the works and continued collaboration on Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 with Paradox Interactive, The Chinese Room shows no signs of slowing down.
The decision to buy out the contract was prompted after Sumo Group announced a shift in its business focus to development services in February 2025, which didn’t align with The Chinese Room’s need for funding new original projects. “We were working on new ideas that required investment, and that was no longer possible within Sumo’s new model,” explained studio director Ed Daly in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz.
Daly confirmed that layoffs occurred during the preparations for independence, reducing the team to 55 developers. “It was a very difficult period as we sought the studio’s future outside of Sumo,” he said, adding that no further layoffs are planned.
| Game | Release Date | Price | Developer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hell Clock | 22 Jul, 2025 | 19,50€ | Rogue Snail | Mad Mushroom |
| The King is Watching | 21 Jul, 2025 | 14,99€ | Hypnohead | tinyBuild |
| Abiotic Factor | 22 Jul, 2025 | 33,99€ | Deep Field Games | Playstack |
| Wildgate | 22 Jul, 2025 | 29,99€ | Moonshot Games | Dreamhaven |
| Killing Floor 3 | 24 Jul, 2025 | 39,99€ | Tripwire Interactive | Tripwire Interactive |
| UnderMine 2 | 22 Jul, 2025 | 19,50€ | Thorium | Thorium |
