The threat of tariffs on China and the taxes impacting the video game industry have been delayed, but the threat still looms. Microsoft and Sony are responding by discussing dialing back manufacturing in China as a way to limit the impact of the tariffs if the Trump administration eventually follows through.
GameIndustry.biz reports via Nikkei that Microsoft and Sony are considering a reduction in console production in China along with other tech giants like Google, Amazon, Lenovo, and Acer looking to scale back their manufacturing in the area.
Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo submitted a joint letter asking for a specific clause in the tariff proposal to be removed. The companies inferred a scenario that the tariffs would cause an increased cost for consumers. With the next-generation right over the horizon, this would not only hurt business now but set the next cycle of home consoles back by a large margin.
The letter focused on a subheading that specified video game consoles and machines but arcade gaming would also be impacted by the tariffs. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are arguably the biggest representatives of gaming and all eyes are on them, but tariffs could send ripples all the way down to the smallest companies in the industry.
Trump recently announced intentions to delay the proposed $300 billion in tariffs. This likely sparked a sigh of relief from many potentially affected parties but changes are still being discussed. The delay could lead to significant modifications to the proposed tariffs but nothing is certain. These major tech companies seem to be preparing for a worst-case scenario and just the tariff threat alone could change the landscape of the industry.
Moving business out of China could push one side to reach an amicable deal sooner rather than later, but only if businesses are threatened on a large scale. An executive for one of the supply chains in China told the publication that “the industry consensus is to move an average of some 30% of production out of China depending on how important the U.S. market is” and that “everyone needs to come up with a plan.” The move out of China could curb the worst price increases that that tariffs will create but it’s still likely costs will be increased. China was likely the most inexpensive place to manufacture the PlayStation 5 and the next Xbox, Project Scarlett. Cultivating a new relationship with a different supply chain will come at a price.
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
After recently finishing the campaign, I can say that this installment is nothing like the recent releases and instead feels closer to the franchise’s roots. For the first time in a long while, the campaign comes across as well-crafted rather than rushed to hit a release date. It arrives three years after MW3, and you can see exactly where all that time went. It seems the studio finally made listening to player feedback a priority.
Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.
Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”
It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.
Outlanders is being developed by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group under license and supervision from Capcom. Unlike Rise, which appears to be the full console and PC game adapted for mobile, Outlanders is a free-to-play survival hunting game made specifically for phones.