IGN’s Rebekah Valentine shares numerous disheartening and startling revelations in a comprehensive exposé on Bungie’s current internal situation. The impending prospect of Sony completely absorbing Bungie in the coming months is becoming overshadowed by a more pressing concern—what strategic steps will present leadership take to motivate and drive company forward today.

Releasing earlier than scheduled to combat an unfortunate leak, the GTA VI trailer is here. Featuring our protagonist Lucia, her partner in crime, the usual fast cars and parties, on a backdrop of Vice City and Floridian madness. Set to release in 2025 (though no mention of PC), it’s looking fantastic - love the apparent Bonnie & Clyde vibe. Wonder how many billions this will make.

There’s a new trailer showing gameplay from the upcoming SPINE, “a single-player story rich action game focused on intense close-quarters gun fights with aesthetics of Gun fu movies”. Really like the styling - makes me think cyberpunk Sifu with guns. Will have to see how this all translates into actual gameplay.

Elden Ring’s upcoming expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, is “progressing well”, according to producer Yasuhiro Kitao. In a new interview, he hinted at ‘new battles and characters’, drawing comparisons to Bloodborne’s huge and beloved DLC. Despite no confirmed release date, FROMSOFT are assuring smooth development.

Following the announcement last month, Rockstar have confirmed the first trailer for GTA VI will release Tuesday, December 5, 9AM ET. We love announcements of announcements of announcements.

Coinciding with their Autumn Sale, the Steam Awards nominations are back, enabling players to vote for their top games in 11 categories. Getcha votes in!

The seminal Half-Life turns 25 this weekend, and Valve are celebrating with a substantial update which restores launch day content, introduces fresh multiplayer maps, and provides insights into the original development team’s work. As part of the festivities, there’s also an excellent documentary produced by the Noclip production crew.

Australian game designer Luke Muscat has put out a great, 40 minute retrospective on the history and challenges of designing the mobile classic, Jetpack Joyride. His last one, ‘How I designed Fruit Ninja’, was also terrific - love hearing these stories.

Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 are in the spotlight with eight nominations each for the upcoming Game Awards on December 7. Considered by some as the ‘Oscars of the gaming industry’, the ceremony promises heightened competition this year with a myriad of acclaimed releases. Be sure to getcha votes in!

gamesindustry.biz have kicked off their Australia Games Week with a great deep dive into the Australian market, its expanding audience and flourishing community of developers, and overall growth. Lots of interesting insights here, and this is part of an ongoing series of articles this week, all of which you can check out here.