TWIG #334 The $200,000,000 Greenlight Failures and Activision’s Tone-Deaf In-Game Ads

Deconstructor of Fun

The crew dives into a jam-packed week of industry news from Nintendo’s upcoming Switch 2 launch to Epic’s evolving Store strategy. We unpack the growing importance of social features in games and the buzz around the new D&D project from the Star Wars Jedi director.

Meanwhile, Elden Ring’s Night Reign expansion proves brutally satisfying, while Zynga quietly shuts down the studio behind Torchlight.

We also tackle Activision’s tone-deaf in-game ads and finish with a sharp Philosophy Corner: why do so many AAA green lights go wrong—and what game dev processes desperately need fixing? Don’t miss it.

03:46 Pride Month Reflections

05:14 Personal Updates

06:18 Rants and Industry Insights

09:31 LA Event Announcement

11:32 RIP Sims Co-Creator Tim Luo

12:58 Switch 2 Launch

18:32 Epic Games Unreal + Game Store

22:36 Social Features and Competition

25:10 Star Wars Jedi Director's New D&D Game

27:12 Elden Ring Night Reign: A Tough but Rewarding Experience

31:42 Zynga Shuts Down Torchlight Developer

33:09 Activision's Controversial In-Game Ads

35:28 The Problem with AAA Green Lights

41:02 The Need for Better Game Development Processes