Dennis Allard Crow 🔜 DICE

This week in Montréal the industry marked two serious milestones: the launch of Montreal Games Week and the return of MIGS 25. This is not just about one conference anymore. It is about a full week of games, business, culture and collaboration. For anyone in devs, publishing or services: - Week-long events equal more chances to engage, learn and network beyond the standard format. - Multiple formats (indie showcases plus B2B plus services) signal that external development and partnerships are front of mind. - Montréal continues to hold global relevance as a place for serious industry conversation and deals. Think about how you show up in this broader industry week, not just the big call event. #GameDev #Publishing #MIGS #MontrealGames #GamingIndustry

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The closure of Ubisoft Halifax and the layoffs at Rockstar are stark reminders of how quickly talent availability shifts. For Studio Heads, this is a signal to update your headcount planning immediately. When a studio closes, you have a window of about 2-3 weeks to engage pre-formed teams. These are groups of developers who already have shorthand, established workflows, and trust. If you have the budget, "acqui-hiring" a functional pod from a closing studio is one of the most efficient ways to scale. Don't wait for them to apply to your portal. You need to be proactive. #TalentStrategy #Hiring #GameJobs

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In the past 3 years, several teams in our games industry have unionized First, and I am sharing my personal opinion only, I offer all my support and credit to these teams. Unionizing takes courage and a willingness to build trust, coordinate, and challenge the status quo. These teams clearly felt unionizing was essential to protect their rights and working conditions and whatever your view, that conviction deserves respect. I’m always pro-labor because being pro-labor is being pro-human. People often ask why I’m so measured on this topic, though. It’s because unions are widely misunderstood. They’re not a cure-all, and I think it’s important to be clear about what they do and don’t protect. So, what does a union actually do and what doesn’t it? Here’s my understanding (and feel free to correct me): ✅ What a union can do: 🟢 Negotiate better wages, benefits, and working hours Collective bargaining is at the heart of unionization. It allows workers to secure legally binding agreements around pay, healthcare, PTO, and more. 🟢 Provide a structured grievance process Unions ensure that employee concerns are heard without fear of retaliation and offer a path for disputes to be addressed formally. 🟢 Offer legal support and protection in layoffs or disputes While unions can’t prevent all layoffs, they can negotiate the terms, such as severance, notice periods, recall rights, and provide legal assistance. 🟢 Push for more transparency and accountability from leadership Unions can advocate for visibility into business decisions that impact workers, giving teams more voice in the process. ⚠️ What a union can’t do: 🔴 Stop layoffs, project cancellations, or studio closures outright A union can influence how these happen, but not whether they happen. Market realities still rule. 🔴 Guarantee job security in a volatile, hit-driven industry If a game underperforms or a strategic pivot occurs, jobs can still be lost, even in unionized environments. 🔴 Prevent performance-related terminations Unions ensure due process, but “just cause” policies mean consistent underperformance or misconduct can still lead to dismissal. 🔴 Override management’s business or creative decisions A union can advocate, but it can’t dictate what games get made or how a franchise evolves. 🔴 Block global labor shifts or outsourcing trends I think about this the most. In an industry where wages in North America can be more than 3x higher than in other regions, companies may move roles abroad to manage costs. A union cannot stop these structural shifts. It can only negotiate for its local bargaining unit. Unions aren’t magic, but they’re a powerful tool, especially when you feel unheard. In my personal capacity, as Amir the human, I encourage you to learn more and to decide for yourself if unionizing makes sense. I care deeply about people in this industry, but I stay clear-eyed about what we can protect ourselves from and what we can’t.

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The delay of GTA VI to May 26, 2026 will have a number of impacts. Among them: - Revenue projections for the industry were based around the launch of this massive game. It’s exceedingly rare that a single title delay will have a tidal wave impact on the entire space. - Fall 2025 is suddenly a safe(r) moment to launch. The unknown of the specific release date was causing marketing challenges. - There is kindness in the delay coming with a specific release date. This is ultimately very helpful for the industry in planning for calendar 2026. - Take-Two investors have had to recalibrate since the Zynga acquisition. There was a level of expectation around this fiscal year’s performance (ending March 31, 2026). It will be interesting to see how investors react. Ultimately, this will yield a better GTA VI (which is the only thing Rockstar and Take-Two can and should be expected to prioritize). It will cause some additional industry-wide adjustments with regard to financial expectation. The firm release date is so helpful, however, that any downward effect can be mitigated in the long term as GTMs can now fully contemplate the biggest challenge in the release calendar.

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We've been implementing Neural Texture compression in #Assassinscreedmirage. The overall benefit results in better quality textures for less GPU memory usage (links in the first comment). If you followed the topic since our GDC2024 presentation ,this a very practical application of La Forge's mission to bridge the academic world with Ubisoft. #ubisoft #ubisoftlaforge #innovation 👇 "If you've been thinking, like I have, that we're still some way off seeing AI being used in games for more than just upscaling or frame generation, then it's time to think again" (...) "Enter stage left, neural texture compression to cut down on that memory demand. Given the state of the DRAM and SSD market right now, you can bet your last dollar that a whole heap of game developers will be looking closely at what Ubisoft has done to see if it can help out in their games, too"

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I sat in on a great panel yesterday during the 1st day of the Montreal International Game Summit (MIGS): “Visions of the Future for the Canadian Video Game Business”, hosted by John Nguyen and featuring Joshua Nilson, Christopher Chancey, and Lysane Perreault. It was an insightful and grounded conversation which gave a clear snapshot of where the Canadian industry stands today. Some of my key takeaways from the talk were the following: - After a tough 18 months or so, the market seems to be stabilizing with new projects and studios emerging, but the tone is more measured. - There’s a shift towards a stronger focus on productivity, profitability, and marketing. While the creative drive is still there, it's now more often being paired with business discipline. - Funding and publishing are shifting as risk tolerance is down, but that also means developers who prove traction (like strong wishlists or engaged audiences) enter those conversations with larger leverage. - Smaller, focused teams are becoming the new normal with a return to building steadily, rather than scaling recklessly. What stood out most to me was the emphasis on treating games as both creative and commercial ventures. I've written about this a few times already. That balance has always been a challenge for our industry but it’s exactly where long-term sustainability lives. A big thanks to the panelists for a candid and forward-looking discussion! I for one very much enjoyed it.

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Curious: Nintendo's initial reveal of the Switch 2 touted 4K, 120FPS, and VRR support. However, a notable change has been spotted on several of Nintendo's official regional websites: the removal of VRR mentions. Digital Foundry's Oliver Mackenzie highlighted this on the Canadian, US, and Japanese sites. As of posting this, the European site still includes this feature at present, suggesting a potential ongoing update across all Nintendo platforms...

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The game industry is going through a reckoning. In the wake of ongoing layoffs, I’ve been reflecting on some hard truths — and I don’t think I’m alone: 🎮 Not everyone will have a seat at the table over the next 3–5 years. Incredible talent will be sidelined, not due to performance, but due to circumstances. 🔁 Reinvention is no longer optional. Evolving your skills, adapting your role, and rethinking your trajectory will be essential — and that won’t be feasible for everyone. 📉 Player behavior is changing fast. What once worked — franchises, genres, monetization models — may not survive the shift in engagement and motivation. 🤝 We all played a part. Executive greed. Skyrocketing salaries during the boom. Over-reliance on “if you build it, they will come” without investing in community from day one. Lots more to discuss here, all boiling down to widespread industry complacency and irresponsibility. 🌍 And then there's what we can’t control. Tariffs. Interest rates. Platform ecosystems commanded so much player attention. Shook investors. Short-sighted financial decision. Acquisitions without strategy. There’s no easy answer here — but if we want this industry to thrive again, we’ll need new ideas, more humility, and a real commitment to change. For me, the only way forward is to keep learning, keep evolving, and keep reinventing. That’s why I’m building a company that reflects not just where the industry has been, but where I believe the biggest opportunities in gaming are headed next. The challenges are real — but so is the potential. Love y'all and wishing everyone the very best as they navigate what this all means for them. Hugs.

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