🍪 Big Deals, Quiet Cracks, and the Cost of Control
Hello there, industry builders, platform fighters, and long-suffering optimists.
Today’s headlines span secret billion-dollar partnerships, legal pressure squeezing creators, a delayed shooter finally speaking up, and the familiar gravity wells of AAA dominance pulling resources back toward scale.
The throughline is power. Who has it, how it’s exercised, and who absorbs the friction when systems tighten.
Epic and Google’s $800M Relationship Comes to Light
Court proceedings in the Epic Games vs Google case surfaced details of a previously undisclosed commercial relationship between the two companies. According to testimony reviewed by Judge James Donato, Epic committed to spending roughly $800 million over six years on Google services, tied to Android marketing and broader technical collaboration.
Testimony from Epic CEO Tim Sweeney framed the relationship around Fortnite as a metaverse platform and Unreal Engine’s relevance to Google’s broader technical ecosystem. While both sides denied co-developing a single product, the scale of the agreement drew judicial scrutiny due to its timing during settlement discussions.
🦊 Kiki: I’ve seen this movie before. Publicly, companies talk about ecosystem freedom. Privately, they still sign massive infrastructure and marketing deals with the same gatekeepers they fight in court. That doesn’t make the lawsuit fake, but it does show how dependent even the loudest challengers remain on platform scale. When the bill hits eight hundred million, ideology always learns to coexist with logistics.
🍪 Chip slowly stacks gold coins, one wobbling at the top.
VR Modding Runs Into the Wall Again
VR modder Luke Ross announced a pause on Patreon activity following two DMCA takedowns, first from CD PROJEKT RED and later from 505 Games, related to VR conversions for Cyberpunk 2077 and Ghostrunner.
Patreon complied automatically. Ross removed access to more than 40 mods to avoid further legal exposure, citing the cost and complexity of contesting DMCA claims. This follows similar action taken against Ross in 2022 by Rockstar Games over GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 VR mods.
🦊 Kiki: This is the same pressure cycle every time. Big publishers don’t need to prove harm. They only need to assert belief. Creators shoulder the legal risk, the platform flips the switch, and the work disappears overnight. VR keeps losing talent this way, not because people stop caring, but because the rules make persistence expensive and silence cheap.
🍪 Chip reaches for a headset, then hesitates and pulls back.
Highguard Finally Talks Ahead of Launch
After weeks of silence following its Game Awards finale slot, Highguard has announced a launch showcase scheduled for January 26, 2026. The presentation promises gameplay, year-one plans, and a deeper look at systems.
Developed by Wildlight Entertainment , a studio formed by ex-Respawn developers, Highguard launches as a free-to-play PvP raid shooter set in fantasy environments. The lack of communication ahead of launch sparked skepticism, now replaced with a compressed information release window.
🦊 Kiki: This kind of rollout is risky, but I get why teams do it. When expectations spiral early, silence can feel safer than drip-feeding uncertainty. The real test isn’t the showcase. It’s whether the systems hold up once players start stress-testing every promise in public.
🍪 Chip taps a calendar nervously.
Battlefield 6 Dominates 2025 Sales
According to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, Battlefield 6 was the best-selling game in the US for 2025, overtaking the full-year charts despite December being led by Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.
The year’s top sellers also included NBA 2K26, Borderlands 4, and Monster Hunter Wilds. On the hardware side, Nintendo Switch 2 sold 4.4 million units in the US, outpacing the original Switch’s launch trajectory and offsetting broader hardware declines.
🦊 Kiki: Scale still wins. When a franchise lands, it absorbs attention, shelf space, and mindshare all at once. This is why publishers keep doubling down on known IP. The margins forgive fewer mistakes now, so success stories concentrate faster and failures get buried sooner.
🍪 Chip plants a tiny Battlefield flag.
Mass Effect 5 Signals Production Momentum
BioWare has posted a senior job listing for a Production Director on the next Mass Effect, describing the role as a high-impact leadership position reporting directly to project director Michael Gamble.
The listing emphasizes large-scale AAA experience, RPG expertise, and long-term production leadership. With concept art dating back to 2020 and rumors placing release beyond 2028, the hire suggests a transition into heavier production phases.
🦊 Kiki: When studios hire production leadership this late, it usually means the groundwork is done and the real pressure phase begins. Mass Effect carries weight, not just commercially but emotionally. That makes execution slower, louder, and far less forgiving.
🍪 Chip peers at a star map, spinning slowly.
Stay watchful — power tends to surface during legal footnotes and job listings.
Keep building — even when systems feel stacked, momentum still comes from shipping.
And remember — control always has a cost, and someone always pays it.
🦊 Kiki · 🍪 Chip · ⭐ Byte · 🦁 Leo
