Games Industry News Roundup- November 4th, 2025

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.

Amazon Briefly Takes New World Off Online Storefronts; Gaming Division Hit with Layoffs

Credit: Amazon Games

We’re leaping into the nightmare head-first this week, folks. Last week, Amazon announced that it would be letting go of 14,000 roles within the company, with the Amazon Gaming sector hit particularly hard. So hard, in fact, that it’s shutting down its most successful game: the MMO New World.

According to announcement from Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology at Amazon, the focus of the layoffs are “to get even stronger by further reducing bureaucracy, removing layers, and shifting resources to ensure we’re investing in our biggest bets and what matters most to our customers’ current and future needs.” Unsurprisingly, AI appears to be the big bet alluded to in the post, as Galetti made it clear that Amazon see’s vast potential in the tech.

“This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet,” Galetti writes, “and it's enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before (in existing market segments and altogether new ones).”

One of the hardest hit sections by the layoff is the Amazon Gaming division. In an internal memo to the gaming division obtained by Deadline, Steve Boom, vice president of Audio, Twitch, and Games at Amazon, announced significant staff reduction in several Amazon Gaming offices as well as halting all development on “AAA” titles, which is a polite way of saying New World is out, and Snoop Dog AI-Courtroom game is in.

The development team behind New World announced on the games webpage that the most recent content release will be the last for the game, and that servers will stay online through 2026 before being taken down. This estimate may have sadly been too optimistic, as the game was removed from online storefronts less than 12 hours after the announcement. Apparently, this was “unintentional” by Amazon and at time of writing the game can be purchased.

The developers eulogize the game in their statement, writing “Players of (New World) Aeternum: Your dedication and enthusiasm have made this New World adventure an unforgettable journey. We're deeply grateful for every moment you've spent helping build this extraordinary world alongside us. It has been an honor to share Aeternum with you, thank you for helping make this game something truly special.”

Rockstar Accused of Targeting Union Members in Mass Firing

Credit: Rockstar Games/Take Two Interactive

Every one-two punch of bad news needs that “two” punch to really bring the whole terrible thing together, and this weeks follow-up blow comes courtesy of gaming's most famous sleuth, Jason Schreier. According to his article on Bloomberg, Rockstar Games is facing backlash for firing between 30 and 40 people associated with union efforts at the company.

These staffers were spread between the Great Britain and Canada offices for Rockstar games, and Rockstar’s parent company claims that this string of firings was due to “gross misconduct” by the employees involved. The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) refutes this, and in an official statement accuses the workers of being targeted due to their participation in a trade union Discord server and calls the action a flagrant act of union-busting by Take Two.

Alex Marshall, the head of the IWGB, writes in a statement that “Rockstar has just carried out the most blatant and ruthless act of union busting in the history of the games industry. This flagrant contempt for the law and for the lives of the workers who bring in their billions is an insult to their fans and the global industry.”

The IWGB affirms in its post that it is committed to the legal defense of those affected by these firings. Take Two and Rockstar have not provided any further comments on the terminations at time of writing.

The First New Guild Ball Team in Over Five Years Hits the Pitch

Credit: Steamforged Games

As a palate cleanser, lets dive into the world of sports. Specifically, the sports that happen on your kitchen table with miniatures. Steamforged Games announced last week that a new minor guild, the Lumberjacks Guild, is coming to Guild Ball, as well as news that the entire current Guild Ball line will be available as STLs for purchase on My Mini Factory.

The Lumberjacks Guild is the first major release for Guild Ball since 2020, when development for the game was shut down by Steamforged. The game maintained a dedicated fan base, whose enthusiasm for keeping the game alive was a major factor in the announcement of Guild Ball's return in 2023.

This dedicated fan base, the Guild Ball Community Project (GBCP), played a pivotal role in the design of the Lumberjacks, contributing everything from rules design, background, playtesting, and art for the upcoming team. The team's play style revolves around an emphasis on teamwork and durability, trading some of the defensive abilities of the Mason cousins for more offensive output. The team also uses Log Piles to create obstructions and cover on the pitch, which can be manipulated by the team during a match. Two Lumberjack players have been revealed so far: their axe wielding captain, Oak, as well as Tinder, the team’s striker. Two Masons Guild players, Flint and Mallet, are also receiving alternate Lumberjack sculpts.

Following the success of Warmachine Digital, Steamforged is also moving forward with bringing Guild Ball into the 3d printing realm, announcing that STLs for every Guild Ball team will be available on My Mini Factory in the near future.

Team of Legendary Warhammer Developers to Pen Upcoming Godzilla TTRPG

Credit: IDW Games/Toho

Three legendary Warhammer designers are teaming up again for a rather unusual project: a brand new Godzilla roleplaying game.

The game, currently titled “Godzilla: The Roleplaying Game”, is based on the famous Kaiju's run in IDW Comics, and puts players in the role of members of the G-Force as they work to stop giant monster attacks around the globe. Godzilla: The Roleplaying game deviates from most popular TTRPGs by eschewing dice in favor of a 52 card playing deck to resolve encounters and actions, though it’s unknown what these cards will mean in the game at this moment.

Jervis Johnson shared his excitement for the project on in the official game reveal on GamesRadar, writing "When IDW first approached me about working on a role-playing game system, I was cautious until I found out that the game would be based on their fantastic Godzilla comics - at which point I immediately said 'Yes please, count me in!' Godzilla The Roleplaying Game is the first time I've had a chance to help design a fully-fledged RPG, and doing so with Gav and Mark and the IDW creative team has been a fantastic experience. I am really pleased with the way that the game system has come together, especially the way that using cards instead of dice has allowed us to include a number of novel game mechanics in the game system."

Godzilla: The Roleplaying Game marks IDW’s return to games after 5 years away, though the comic company promises that more projects based on IDW licenses are coming in the future. You can expect to make purposeful grimaces and terrible sounds next year, as the project will go live on Kickstarter in March with a predicted release around fall of the same year.

Wizards of the Coast Announces Plans to Sunset Project: Sigil by 2026

Credit: Wizards of the Coast

After a tumultuous development leading to the project being stripped down to its barest parts and sent limping forward into the digital world, Wizards of the Coast has decided to finally put its proprietary digital tabletop program, Sigil, out of its misery, with plans to shut it down in 2026.

“When we introduced Sigil, we imagined a powerful 3D virtual tabletop where you could share maps, minis, and environments with your friends and fellow players.” Wizards writes in an announcement about Sigil’s future. “While that vision inspired thousands of players and creators, we couldn't sustain the level of ongoing development support that Sigil—or our community—deserved. That’s on us. What we’ve learned from Sigil, and from your feedback, will guide how we approach future digital tools. We’ll take the time to do it right in pursuit of developing the best D&D experiences possible.”

Wizards of the Coast states that those who backed Sigil through the master tier subscription of D&D Beyond between March 1st, 2025 and October 23rd, 2025 will receive a 6 month master tier account subscription credit to their account, which appears to be the closest thing to a refund Wizards is offering in this matter. The Sigil service meanwhile will be open for continued use until the end of October 2026, at which time the servers will be shut down and Sigil will no longer be accessible.

Despite Hasbro’s stated goals of bringing more Dungeons and Dragons to the digital market following the runaway success of Baldur's Gate 3, it appears as though there are no explicit plans for Wizards to attempt another virtual tabletop program, stating in the Sigil Sunset FAQ that “While Sigil inspired thousands of players and creators, we realized we couldn’t sustain the level of ongoing support or the quality standard you deserve. Ending development allows us to focus our energy on building the best future digital D&D experiences possible, informed by everything we learned from Sigil and your feedback.”

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