Games Industry News Roundup- March 31st, 2026

Here at Goonhammer, we know that it’s hard to keep track of all the news happening all the time in the games industry. So much is always going on with games of all sorts, and their related media, it can be a real blink-and-you’ll miss it situation.

That's why every week, we round up five of the biggest stories in the gaming sphere from the past week in the Games Industry News Roundup. Our trusty news boy, Dan “Swiftblade” Richardson, is at the very real and cool Goonhammer newsdesk with the scoop.

Sony Announces Price Increase for PS5

Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment

We’ve got bad news for you in the roundup this week if you’re in the market to buy a six year old gaming console at an affordable price.

In a blog post published last week, Sony announced that it’s increasing the price of all PS5 models by at least $100 starting on April 2nd, 2026.

“With continued pressures in the global economic landscape, we’ve made the decision to increase the prices of PS5, PS5 Pro, and PlayStation Portal remote player globally.” Isabelle Tomatis, Vice President of Global Marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment writes. “We know that price changes impact our community, and after careful evaluation, we found this was a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide.”

According to the following post, prices for all Playstation 5 models are set to go up by at least $100, with several versions of the console set to receive even greater price hikes, such as the PS5 Pro, jumping up $150.

Tomatis did not go into any more specifics about the reasonings for the price increase in the blog post, but the ongoing global memory card crisis is a likely candidate. The memory shortage has affected the entire video game industry, causing RAM card prices to soar and even potentially delaying the release of upcoming next gen consoles like the PS6.

This is the second time that Sony increased the price of the PS5 in the span of a year, though the last price increase did not affect the United States. In other regions, such as the EU, UK, Japan, and Australia, the PS5 jumped up around $50 in price. This round of increases did affect US customers alongside the rest of the world, and Sony joins both Microsoft and Nintendo in making major pricing increases to their consoles in recent memory.

Awaken Realms Vows “No AI Art” for Upcoming Board Game Following Public Outcry

Credit: Awaken Realms

Board Game Development studio Awaken Realms has been in hot water with the board gaming community at large for its use of AI generated assets in its previous releases. Awaken Realms is finally addressing the issue In a recent statement on the crowdfunding page for its most recent release, Concordia: Special Edition, vowing that no AI generated assets will be used in the final product.

Awaken Realms is no stranger to generative AI, using the technology several times in the past to generate art assets. The most notable instance of this was for 2024’s Puerto Rico 1897: Special Edition, when widespread backlash against AI art used in the crowdfunding page prompted publisher Ravensburger to step in and have the images removed.

The most recent game from Awaken Realms, Concordia: Special Edition, hit crowdfunding earlier this month, though the memory AI art hangs over the whole project. Since its announcement, users have flocked to BoardGameGeek to give the game a tidal wave of negative reviews, citing the use of AI art, and forcing Awaken Realms to respond.

“So, first things first,” Awaken Realms writes in an update on the Games Crowdfunding page, “in this project, in the final game, there will be no AI art. Human artists will be involved in everything. This has also been clearly stated from the beginning in our contract with PD-Verlag.”

This does not preclude the use of AI during the development process however, with Awaken Realms later elaborating “However, we do use some AI tools during prototyping, mock-ups, and various initial phases of concept work (and honestly, it is really hard not to, as eg, Photoshop alone, which is our artists’ main tool, has already tons of built-in AI features). This makes it easier to test the game visually, iterate, find the best solutions and compositions, and, from there, start working on the final assets.”

PD-Verlag, the company behind the original release of Concordia in 2013, has since stated that they’ve spoken extensively with Awaken Realms and can assure supporters that no AI will be in the final product. PD-Verlag is aware that the technology is being used in the development and prototyping stage, and is okay with that process provided none of those assets end up in the final game.

Epic CEO Vows to Provide Life Insurance to Ex-Employee with Brain Cancer Following Mass Layoffs

Credit: Epic Games

Last week, we wrote about the stunning layoffs of around 1,000 employees from Epic Games because apparently you, yes YOU, are not spending enough money on Fortnite. If you thought “man, this can’t get any more tragic” then, well, you must be new here.

According to a report from Kotaku, one of those employees that was laid off has terminal brain cancer, and after catching heat on social media Epic is scrambling to provide life insurance for them.

Mike Prinke, a veteran programmer at Epic, was one of those laid off in the recent sweep. Prinke is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, which was well known by his peers at Epic as he would frequently use paid leave to attend doctors' appointments and treatment. With Epic firing Prinke, his family faces more than just a loss of income, but also loses access to his life insurance policy.

Prinke’s wife, Jenni Griffin, took to Facebook to write about the family’s struggles and try to get Epic’s attention. “So now, as I face the reality of losing my husband… I’m also facing the reality of what type of funeral/burial I can afford. How I will keep a roof over our heads. How I will protect our son and the life we built together. What will happen to our dogs.”

Griffin notes that Prinke’s cancer is considered a pre-existing condition by insurance providers, preventing them from getting any coverage, and that time is of the essence as Prinke could have a serious health episode at any time.

“I truly believe that if the people who made this decision understood the full human impact, they would not have intended this outcome. Mike is not just a number. He is a father. A husband. A person deeply loved.”

The post went viral on other social media websites, such as Reddit, which understandably made a whole lot of people really, really mad. Mad enough, fortunately, to get Epic’s attention.

“Epic is in contact with the family and will solve the insurance for them.” Tim Sweeny, Epic’s CEO, wrote on social media. “There is high confidentiality around medical information and it was not a factor in this layoff decision. Sorry to everyone for not recognizing this terribly painful situation and handling it in advance”

Prinke and his family has not yet provided any further details about what Epic Games plans to do to support them, nor has the company made any follow up statement about the planned support.

Don’t Panic Games Pushes into American Market with California Office

Credit: Don't Panic Games

French games publisher Don’t Panic Games is continuing its expansion strategy into the North American market by opening an office in California, according to Boardgamewire.

Don’t Panic games is responsible for French localizations of several popular board games, such as Final Girl, Champions of Midgard, and Fantasy Realms, as well as the publishing of its own in-house titles, such as strategy board game Above. Alongside these offerings, Don’t Panic purchased the rights to Anastyr and Hel: The Last Saga from CMON last year as CMON tried to escape some of its financial woes by selling off several major IPs.

The success of titles like Above in the North American market has inspired Don’t Panic to open a California office, allowing for Don’t Panic to expand its offerings of English language localizations and expand the retail availability of its titles.

Emma Recher, one of the three employees at the new office, also hopes that the North American outpost will help Don’t Panic navigate tariff troubles under the current administration.

“Our approach is to stay flexible: planning conservatively, reviewing sourcing and logistics options on an ongoing basis, and working closely with our partners to protect continuity of supply as much as possible.” she told Boardgamewire in an interview. “The current environment is challenging for everyone in the industry, but we believe the best response is to remain pragmatic, adaptable, and transparent with our partners.”

Lord of the Rings Sequel Film Announced, Stephen Colbert Picked to Co-Write Script

After several film and TV adaptations that failed to live up to the lofty heights set by Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Hollywood has made the bold decision that surely this time will be different by announcing a new major film set in the LotR universe, with noted superfan Stephen Colbert brought on to co-write the script.

According to the official synopsis provided by the Hollywood reporter, the new film will be called Shadows of the Past and takes place after the events of the trilogy. “Fourteen years after the passing of Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure.” the synopsis reads. “Meanwhile, Sam’s daughter, Elanor, has discovered a long-buried secret and is determined to uncover why the War of the Ring was very nearly lost before it even began.”

Colbert elaborates further on the plot, citing early chapters that weren’t adapted in Jackson’s films as inspiration for Shadows of the Past.

The thing I found myself reading over and over again were the six chapters early on in The Fellowship [of the Ring] that y’all never developed into the first movie back in the day,” Colbert told Hollywood Reporter. “It’s basically chapters ‘Three Is Company’ through ‘Fog on the Barrow-downs,’ and I thought, Oh wait, maybe that could be its own story that could fit into the larger story. Could we make something that was completely faithful to the books while also being completely faithful to the movies that you guys had already made?”

Colbert is joined on the writing team by his son, screenwriter Peter McGee, and LotR veteran Philippa Boyens. Other notable names on the production team include Fran Walsh, another vet from Jackson’s trilogy, alongside Peter Jackson himself.

Shadows of the Past does not currently have a release date set and is still in pre-production, and is the second big budget Middle Earth film currently in the works, with the other being Andy Serkis’s The Hunt for Gollum, which is currently in active development.

As for how this relates to the world of gaming, while Games Workshop hasn't made any statement on if it will adapt any characters from the film for Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, it's a pretty safe bet that the new movie will also herald new models. Whether the movie is bad or good, MESBG fans win either way.

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