Capcom Q1 profit surges 📈 CodeDev Performance Guys 🚀 side work clauses ⚖️

Top Stories

'I have been hunted down by HR reps, lawyers, and comms people:' Developers discuss the pain and prevalence of side work clauses (11 min read)

Developers across multiple studios report side-work clauses in employment contracts are broadly restricting personal projects, with some facing legal threats for work done outside company time. Double Fine's 2023 documentary revealed Microsoft's stance that rejected side projects create "messy boundaries" the publisher might revisit later. Wizards of the Coast unionizing workers claimed in May 2026 that approval processes for side work receive "blanket denials" or go unanswered indefinitely. Multiple developers described enforcement as aggressive, with some pursued by HR, lawyers, and communications staff over personal projects. Legal experts note many clauses exceed what state and federal law permits, but workers bear the burden of challenging them. (Game Developer)

CodeDev launches optimisation division The Performance Guys (2 min read)

UK co-development studio CodeDev launched The Performance Guys, a specialist optimisation division focused on project-critical performance work for Unreal, Unity, and proprietary engines. The division, staffed exclusively by engineers and technical artists, has worked on Hangar 13's Mafia: The Old Country, Epic Games projects, and an unannounced AAA title. CodeDev claims one cross-console overhaul reduced memory usage by up to 50%. The studio developed an internal Performance Intelligence tool that provides more detailed data than Unreal Insights and identifies CPU bottlenecks and thread-execution issues. CEO Myke Parrott said optimisation work is often delayed until late in development and partners repeatedly requested dedicated help. (GamesIndustry.biz)

Pragmata and Resident Evil franchise boost Capcom's Q1 ordinary profit by 81% to $252.5m (2 min read)

Capcom reported Q1 ordinary profit of $252.5 million, up 81% year-on-year, driven by new IP Pragmata and strong catalogue sales. Pragmata sold 2.5 million units worldwide after launching in April, reaching 1 million copies in two days. Resident Evil Requiem exceeded 8 million units sold; catalogue titles including RE4, RE2, Devil May Cry 5 (14 million cumulative), and Street Fighter 6 (60 million cumulative) fueled growth. Digital Earnings segment net sales reached $333 million, up 83%. Capcom remains on track to meet full-year forecasts of $1.3 billion in net sales and $367.5 million in net income. (GamesIndustry.biz)

Business & Finance

Epic taps Blizzard's Battle.net lead to fix the Epic Games Store as Steam dominates (3 min read)

Epic Games hired Martin Keely, former SVP of Blizzard's Battle.net, as the new VP and GM of the Epic Games Store. Keely replaces Steve Allison and will focus on improving player, creator, and developer experiences as Epic competes with Steam's dominance in PC gaming. (GamesRadar)

Ex–Dragon Age Producer Calls EA A ‘Hedge Fund With A Video Game Hobby’ (3 min read)

Former Dragon Age producer Mark Darrah said EA functions as "a hedge fund with a video game hobby," citing the publisher's focus on annualized sports franchises and difficulty shipping one-off titles. He expressed skepticism that Dragon Age will return given BioWare's current focus on Mass Effect and EA's sprawling portfolio of dormant IPs. (Kotaku)

Studios & People

John Hight steps down as Wizards of the Coast president (2 min read)

John Hight is stepping down as Wizards of the Coast president effective September 1 after two years in the role, transitioning to an advisory position. He previously led the Warcraft franchise at Blizzard for nearly 13 years. (GamesIndustry.biz)

"Across the industry, we don't think enough about how we match the scope to what we're making" – Mike Bithell on why the world needs an im-slim (8 min read)

Bithell Games downsized to three people after 2025 layoffs, following poor sales of Tron: Identity (~9,000 units) and Tron: Catalyst (~16,000 units). Mike Bithell is now developing Vampirium 1997, a smaller-scope immersive sim, and argues the industry needs to better match project scope to available resources. (GamesIndustry.biz)

AI/Tech & Tools

Retro handhelds by Retroid, Ayaneo, and more could be in for a world of price pain thanks to Qualcomm chipset hikes (3 min read)

Qualcomm plans to raise chipset prices by double digits, threatening affordability of retro handhelds like Retroid Pocket and Ayn Thor. Manufacturers including Retroid are working to keep prices stable despite the cost pressures. (GamesRadar)

Xbox is back online, tech lead pledges "we'll do better" so similar failures "can't ruin your night again" after outage stopped fans playing digital and physical games (3 min read)

Xbox suffered a major outage caused by a failing external licensing service, preventing sign-ins, game library access, and game launches across digital and physical titles. CTO Scott Van Vliet pledged a full post-incident review, focusing on why a single service failure cascaded so broadly and how to prevent recurrence. (GamesRadar)

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