Patch Notes #65 - weekly gaming digest

Welcome to the 65th edition of Patch Notes. Let’s get this bad boy going.

This edition will cover the week from 23 March to 29 March.

What caught my attention

Epic laid off over a thousand people this week. Sweeney followed up by telling the market they’d be receiving resumes of “once-in-a-lifetime quality.” Fortnite still makes billions. Disney is still in, and yet. The industry has been doing this for three years straight, and it’s not getting any less grim.

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TLDR

• Epic Games laid off 1,000+ workers despite billions in annual Fortnite revenue, with CEO Tim Sweeney telling the market they’d be receiving resumes of “once-in-a-lifetime quality.” (Polygon)

• Sony raised PS5 to $649.99 and PS5 Pro to $899.99 in the US, with a ~£90 hike in the UK, starting April 2, citing global economic pressures. (Eurogamer)

• Four Nacon subsidiaries — Spiders, Kylotonn, Cyanide, and Nacon Tech — filed for insolvency. (GamesIndustry.biz)

• John and Brenda Romero stated that the current industry crash is worse than the 1980s recession, following the downsizing of Romero Games. (Eurogamer)

• PUBG: Blindspot ceases operations on March 30 after less than two months in early access. (GameSpot)

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Full roundup

• Indie stealth game Lizard State was announced, inspired by classic PS2-era games featuring a spec-ops character crouch-walking past a guard in a sewer. (PC Gamer)

• DLSS 5’s AI-generated game enhancement received negative reception in the gaming community while V-Rally 3 on Game Boy Advance with its 16MHz processor garnered praise. (IGN)

• Epic Games laid off 1,000 workers despite billions in annual Fortnite revenue. (Polygon)

• Crimson Desert Patch 1.01 rolled out on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, removing some AI-generated art, adding five new mounts, and making control and quality-of-life tweaks. (Polygon)

• Digital Extremes released a side-by-side comparison trailer for Warframe on Switch 2 versus Switch, highlighting higher resolution textures, improved lighting, DLSS support, and 60fps target. (Nintendo Life)

• Death Stranding 2’s PC port pushed sales past 2 million copies. (PC Gamer)

• Epic CEO Tim Sweeney stated the studio will solve insurance for programmer Mike with terminal brain cancer caught in the mass layoff. (PC Gamer)

• Game Freak designed Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen remakes primarily to appeal to girls and the elderly. (Polygon)

• Team Cherry released a patch for nine-year-old Hollow Knight addressing a slightly longer than intended mechanic in the final boss fight. (Eurogamer)

• Vitality swept NAVI to win BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026. (Hotspawn)

• Elder Scrolls: Blades is shutting down on mobile and Switch on June 30, with all store items now ultra-cheap. (PC Gamer)

• Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Season 2 DLC character Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star launches in June. (Gematsu)

• Outsider AAA studios from outside traditional gaming heartlands are making epics like Black Myth: Wukong, Phantom Blade Zero, and Kingdom Come. (Polygon)

• Former Warhorse Studios translator alleges being fired to be replaced by AI. (Eurogamer)

• Microsoft’s Project Helix could be better for gamers than Series X but worse for Xbox by enabling play anywhere. (PC Gamer)

• Ubisoft celebrated its 40-year anniversary on March 28, with Zombi released in 1986 as its debut game. (GameSpot)

• RPG Maker will soon allow games in the style of Octopath Traveler in its first major visual overhaul. (PC Gamer)

• Meta reportedly laid off around 700 workers across several divisions including Reality Labs. (GamesIndustry.biz)

• Switch 2 version of Devil May Cry 5 rated as Devil Hunter Edition by Taiwanese ratings board. (VGC)

• German games market grew 4% in 2025 to €9.4 billion driven by console hardware sales, particularly Nintendo Switch 2 launch. (GamesIndustry.biz)

• Capcom released a free update for Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection adding powerful Royal Monsters, with story DLC potentially arriving sooner than expected. (Eurogamer)

• LPL issued a lifetime ban to TES jungler naiyou following a match-fixing case. (Sheep Esports)

• Supergiant Games announced Hades II coming to Xbox and PlayStation on April 14, 2026, included in Xbox Game Pass. (RPG Site)

• Hades 2 console release trailer teases a new steamy scene alongside bonus content and quality-of-life improvements in the April 14 update. (PC Gamer)

• Star Wars: Zero Company features a Fire Emblem-style permadeath mode where characters can die permanently. (GameSpot)

• Overwatch revealed only 32% of players stayed loyal to Winston until the end of the Conquest event. (PC Gamer)

• John and Brenda Romero stated the current video game industry crash is worse than the 1980s recession after downsizing Romero Games. (Eurogamer)

• Sony announced price increases for PS5, PS5 Pro, and Portal starting April 2 due to global economic pressures, with the base PS5 rising around £90 in the UK. (Eurogamer)

• Sony raising PS5 to $649.99 and PS5 Pro to $899.99 in the US starting April 2. (Polygon)

• Pearl Abyss CEO confirmed Switch 2 R&D for Crimson Desert is underway as the game nears 5 million sales, with compromises required. (VGC)

• Pearl Abyss CEO sympathized with player disappointment over Crimson Desert’s story, acknowledging it could have been better. (IGN)

• Crimson Desert reached Very Positive on Steam and 3 million sales, with Pearl Abyss promising continued improvements. (PC Gamer)

• Top Esports announced the return of JackeyLove and the arrival of Tian in the jungle for LPL Split 2. (Sheep Esports)

• Team Heretics added FEBIVEN as positional coach in the LEC. (Sheep Esports)

• NLC payment issues highlight broader esports industry problems, with frequent reports of unpaid players, casters, and staff. (Esports Insider)

• Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone denied any leaks and confirmed marriage candidates won’t get hitched without player involvement. (PC Gamer)

• Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End confirmed for season 3 with a 2027 release window announced at Anime Japan. (Polygon)

• Path of Exile’s richest player and item trading kingpin was banned, with a plea to restore over 1,500 items, some of which can never be recreated. (PC Gamer)

• PUBG: Blindspot early access from ARC Team ceases operations on March 30 after less than two months. (GameSpot)

• Persona 4 Revival was absent from the March Xbox Partner Showcase, with no Persona 6 appearance either. (Polygon)

• Amazon’s God of War series cast a Lost and For All Mankind actress as Freya, Queen of the Valkyries. (Eurogamer)

• Sony testing dynamic pricing on the PlayStation Store, with Stellar Blade spotted at $39.89 and $20.99 in Brazil versus the normal $69.99. (Eurogamer)

• Ryu Ga Gotoku’s Stranger Than Heaven spans five distinct time periods and five Japanese cities, confirmed to be set in the Yakuza universe. (Eurogamer)

• Pragmata’s devs created human-made assets designed to mimic the uncanny feel of LLM-generated art. (PC Gamer)

• Former Apex Legends developer was rehired by Respawn after leaving for Highguard, which shut down earlier this year. (Eurogamer)

• Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said employers will see resumes of “once-in-a-lifetime quality” after laying off over 1,000 people. (PC Gamer)

• Fortnite layoffs included artist Vitaliy Naymushin, who designed Jonesy after 11 years at Epic. (GameSpot)

• Horizon Chase Turbo, developed by Aquiris (now owned by Epic), is being delisted in June. (PC Gamer)

• Fortnite producer asked for patience post-layoffs as the team picks up the pieces, with unknown impacts for the rest of the year and beyond. (Eurogamer)

• Saros begins with protagonist Arjun Devraj waking on an alien planet, similar in setup to Returnal’s Selene Vassos on Atropos. (GameSpot)

• Pro World of Warcraft player disconnected mid-fight in the Midnight world first race after forgetting to use a WoW token to renew his subscription. (PC Gamer)

• Infamous WoW guild exploited their way to a world first in the Midnight raid until Blizzard voided their instant 300 million damage. (PC Gamer)

• Unity beat Q1 financial estimates, powering upcoming titles like Hollow Knight: Silksong, Peak, and Replaced. (IGN)

• Wuthering Waves coming to Xbox as a Play Anywhere title in July with Game Pass subscriber perks. (RPG Site)

• Capcom patching Alex’s storyline in Street Fighter 6 after fan outcry over incest references involving his second cousin and step-sister Patricia. (Eurogamer)

• Microsoft hosted the March 2026 Xbox Partner Preview showcasing third-party partners. (IGN)

• Meta Quest usage reached an all-time high in 2025 with over 100 titles generating more than $1 million in gross revenue, despite studio closures and layoffs. (GamesIndustry.biz)

• Mega Man DLC pack released for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds including two racers, a new car, track, and music. (VGC)

• Minecraft’s Tiny Takeover update overhauled baby mobs, with product manager Anna Lundgren saying nothing is off the table for future drops. (GameSpot)

• War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius shuts down in Japan on May 28, a year after the global server closure. (RPG Site)

• SaGa series illustrator Satoshi Kuramochi left Square Enix in February 2026 to go freelance. (RPG Site)

• LFL secured at least one spot for the Esports World Cup EMEA Qualifier. (Sheep Esports)

• Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio revealed a new trailer for Stranger Than Heaven at the March 2026 Xbox Partner Preview. (IGN)

• Hunter: The Reckoning - Deathwish announced at Xbox Partner Showcase for Summer 2027, set in the World of Darkness. (Eurogamer)

• AdHoc Studio bringing Dispatch to Xbox Series S/X, PC, and Cloud this summer as a Play Anywhere title. (Eurogamer)

• GSC Game World announced the Stalker 2: Cost of Hope expansion for Summer 2026 at Xbox Partner Showcase, set at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (Eurogamer)

• Devolver Digital and Behavior Interactive announced Serious Sam: Shatterverse, a co-op roguelite FPS for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. (Eurogamer)

• Neuralink patient raiding World of Warcraft hands-free after 100 days with the implant installed calls it pure magic. (PC Gamer)

• Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream demo released with a robust character creator, and Nintendo’s strict media sharing rules are already being tested. (IGN)

• Donkey Kong Bananza uses a smart approach to 3D asset recycling. (Game Developer)

• Disney committed to building a games and entertainment universe with Epic Games inside Fortnite, despite the layoffs. (GameSpot)

• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 director defended DLSS 5, saying no haters will stop it and calling it an uncanny beginning. (PC Gamer)

• Four Nacon subsidiaries including Spiders, Kylotonn, Cyanide, and Nacon Tech filed for insolvency. (GamesIndustry.biz)

• Chainsaw Man chapter 232 concluded the manga with 1.1 million views on Manga Plus, surpassing One Piece. (Polygon)

• Pokémon Champions director Masaaki Hoshino discussed the fighting game spirit behind the competitive battler. (VGC)

• Marathon sold roughly 1.2 million copies worldwide, with the majority on Steam rather than PlayStation per analyst estimates. (Eurogamer)

• Team17 parent Everplay reported flat revenue but a 10% gross profit increase for 2025. (GamesIndustry.biz)

• Peter Molyneux’s Masters of Albion enters Steam early access April 22, with closed beta registration closing soon. (Eurogamer)

• Super Mario Bros. Wonder updated to version 1.2.0 with tweaks for the Switch 2 Edition. (Nintendo Life)

• Pokémon Champions development director wants turn-based battles to continue forever, amid the Legends: Z-A real-time shift. (GameSpot)

• Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition patch in mid-April improves input lag, rewind, and save data. (Nintendo Life)

• Forza Horizon 6 PC system requirements revealed with modest specs, launching May 19. (IGN)

• Marvel Rivals confirmed for Switch 2 by Marvel Games executive producer Danny Koo. (Nintendo Life)

• YellOwStaR appointed as France’s ENC 2026 National Team Manager. (Sheep Esports)

• New claims of discrimination in the ERL League of Legends esports scene from a pro player post. (Sheep Esports)

• Warframe now available for Switch 2. (Gematsu)

• CoD: Black Ops 7 and Warzone Season 3 launches April 2 with new maps, guns, a new Verdansk POI, Zombies map, and free Endgame mode. (GameSpot)

• Pokémon Pokopia player recreated Breath of the Wild’s Rito Village and Divine Beast Vah Medoh in-game. (Nintendo Life)

• Nintendo setting digital prices lower than physical for Switch 2 first-party exclusives starting with Yoshi and the Mysterious Book at $59.99 digital and $69.99 physical. (Nintendo Life)

• CI Games and Hexworks released a Lords of the Fallen II Umbral Gameplay trailer. (Gematsu)

• Mewgenics confirmed for Switch 2 and PS5 one month after its PC launch on Steam. (Eurogamer)

• Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege REDACTED event runs March 25 to April 8 with a stealth gameplay twist. (Hotspawn)

• Pokémon Champions getting a free update for Switch 2 at launch. (Nintendo Life)

• Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Welcome Version demo available now, with save transfer confirmed for the full game. (Eurogamer)

• Mario Wonder’s Switch 2 Edition features Bellabel Park with multiplayer challenges and solo content. (VGC)

• Bungie shifting Marathon endgame content so players won’t be forced to choose between ranked and Cryo Archive weekend queues. (Eurogamer)

• Cygames ending Shadowverse service on PC and mobile on June 30, 2026, after ten years, with crystal and card bundle sales now ceased. (Siliconera)

• Pokémon Pokopia’s second limited-time event adds Sableye in late April. (Eurogamer)

• Half-Life 2 writer Erik Wolpaw stated some at Valve are looking at AI tools but he is not worried. (PC Gamer)

• Pokémon Champions boosts Mega Meganium, vindicating Chikorita from Gold and Silver in competitive play. (Polygon)

• Genshin Impact Luna VI update on April 8 adds character Linnea and new Monstadt locations including Temple of Space. (Siliconera)

• Granblue Fantasy: Relink - Endless Ragnarok ‘Meet the Crew: Eustace’ trailer released. (Gematsu)

• Persona 6 and Persona 4 Revival remained absent from Atlus’s 2026 plans shown at the Xbox Partner Showcase. (Polygon)

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate Gold Edition released on Switch eShop, bundling the base game with the Casey Jones expansion and Metalhead DLC. (Nintendo Life)

• Gotcha Gotcha Games released a teaser trailer for a new RPG Maker project. (Gematsu)

• Saros gameplay shown for three hours covering the opening area, shield mechanics, weapons, exploration, eclipse events, and a boss fight. (GameSpot)