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.
Wizards of the Coast Introduces the Magic: The Gathering Commander Brackets with Public Beta
Last year, following the disbandment of the volunteer Rules Committee, Wizards of the Coast announced it was working on a new bracket system for balancing decks in Commander. Last week, Wizards of the Coast finally gave players a more complete look by announcing the Commander Bracket Beta.
The new bracket system divides commander decks into five different tiers of power, based on the intended play experience and types of cards in each player’s deck. The most basic and restrictive level is meant for completely casual play, while the highest level is intended for a competitive metagame environment.
Included with the bracket system is a list of cards known as Game Changers. These cards are considered to be extremely powerful in the Commander format, and their use in games is more limited in the lower brackets to promote a more laid back environment. At high brackets, these cards are fully allowed without restriction, unlike banned cards which are not allowed at all.
The brackets are being rolled out by Wizards as a beta test, and the Commander Format Panel (CFP) made a point that the brackets are open to future change based on feedback from the Magic community. MagicCon Chicago will be the first major test of the system, with potential unbans or structural changes happening thereafter.
For more on this story, you can read about what the Goonhammer Magic writing team thinks here.
Unity Announces Mass Layoffs as Company Shifts Direction with Flagship Engine
The games industry layoffs keep coming in hot in 2025, with Unity undergoing another round of layoffs last week, including the dissolution of entire divisions within the company.
According to reporting from the website 80 Level, several Unity employees posted on their Linkedin accounts about being let go from Unity on February 11th. One employee mentioned that they found out they’d been let go from the company in a 5 AM email, and that he would lose access to his workstation and account by the end of the day. While the exact number of those laid off is currently unclear, we do know that this is a widespread firing within the company that includes entire teams being let go, like the behavior division within Unity.
The CEO of Unity, Matthew Bromberg, sent a company wide memo to Unity staff the same day, which was obtained by 80 Level. In it, Bromberg states that the company is shifting its focus to prioritise ad revenue found in mobile games and AI, since in his view the company’s efforts are currently stretched too thin. Bromberg closes the email by stating that there will be a company wide town hall for those within Unity to attend at a later date.
While Unity was once a leader in accessible game engines for burgeoning developers, it seems that this latest round of layoffs and the memo from Bromberg has laid this era to rest.
Mecha-Dragons and Pirate Trolls Face Off in Next Warmachines Starter Box
Steamforged Games announced a new two-player starter set for Warmachine, focusing on the game’s two current beast-focused factions: The draconic Khymeara and the seafaring Southern Kriels.
This new set, called “Shadow and Scum”, sees the release of a new cadre force for each of the factions contained within, consisting of a warcaster, character warbeast, unit, and solo. The starter box will also include a quickstart guide for games of Warmachine to streamline learning games.
The Shadow and Scum box is the second Warmachine release to be produced in hard plastic instead of resin, with the first being the Khadow v Cygnar two player starter set released last year. Shadow and Scum is currently available for preorder on Steamforged’s website and will be released on March 27th. It will be available while stocks last, after which the Cadres will be made available separately.
Combat Patrol Magazine Coming to US Market
Combat Patrol, a magazine for Warhammer 40,000 designed to let players slow grow a new army and learn how to play Warhammer at their own pace, is coming to US markets later this year after being previously only available in UK and portions of the European market.
Over the course of the magazine run, subscribers will receive the contents of nine combat patrol boxes, as well as a model not normally included in the combat patrol box, for the following factions: Space Marines, Tyranids, Aeldari, Chaos Space Marines, Orks, Leagues of Votann, Genestealer Cults, Astra Militarum, and World Eaters. For an additional cost, subscribers can be upgraded to premium status and gain access to an additional premium model for eight of the factions included in combat patrol (sorry, World Eaters fans).
The magazine is produced in partnership with Hachette Partworks, who also produced the sister magazine for Age of Sigmar, Stormbringer. The magazine will run subscribers $15 per issue pretax, released weekly, or $18 weekly pretax for those who wish to upgrade to a premium subscription status.
Kickstarter Adds New Features as Crowdfunding Competition Grows
With other crowdfunding platforms like Gamefound starting to creep in on the space once dominated by Kickstarter, the company is stepping up their game to maintain their dominance. Last week, Kickstarter shared an upcoming 2025 roadmap of new features designed to improve the quality of life for both those running campaigns on the website, as well as those who wish to support them.
One of the biggest highlights of this roadmap for backers are new features like the Pledge Over Time program, which allows for payment in two week increments rather than all at once. Already a feature on competitor sites, Kickstarter made it a priority to expedite the rollout of this feature, and it is present in currently live campaigns like the board game from Rock Manor Games, StarDriven: Gateway. Kickster plans on keeping this feature to a small group of vetted creators for now, before rolling it out site wide this spring.
Other major features in this roadmap include a plan to boost project discoverability, protect backers from potentially higher risk projects, and an overhaul of the pledge manager interface for creators on the platform.
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