There are, littered throughout the history of video games, certain years of radical, fundamental change. We can look at the major crashes in the US games industry in 1977 and 1983, where bloated software libraries and hardware gluts destroyed confidence in the medium and cleared out dozens of companies. We can also look at the arrival of the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1994, which made 32-bit processors and rendered 3D visuals the entire focus of the industry, expunging a generation of competing products, from the Philips CD-i to the Atari Jaguar. I think 2023 could be one of those years of radical change, not because of some major new technical landmark, but because the structure of the games industry is now dissolving and remaking itself. First, we're going to see a lot more consolidation this year, as major corporations bet on continued growth in the gaming sector.

Gaming company Square Enix will reduce its developer presence in the West with the sale of the studios behind franchises Tomb Raider, Deux Ex and Thief to Sweden's Embracer Group for $300 million. The latest in a series of deals in the video games industry, the sale announced on Monday includes studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal and Square Enix Montreal, affects 1,100 employees and is expected to close in the July-September quarter. Square Enix, whose major franchises include Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, said the proceeds will be used to invest in areas such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and the cloud. The Tokyo-based company last year said it was reviewing its portfolio to adapt to industry trends such as the focus on the "metaverse," or the idea consumers will spend more time in virtual worlds. Embracer, which has a reputation for acquisitions and a war chest of 10 billion Swedish krona ($1.02 billion), said the deal will give it a pipeline of more than 230 games including 30 big-budget AAA titles.

The Japanese gaming company behind Final Fantasy is selling off three studios, including the rights to hit franchises including Tomb Raider, in a $300m (£240m) deal. Tokyo-based Square Enix has sold US-headquartered Crystal Dynamics and Canada-based Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal to the Nasdaq-listed Swedish gaming group Embracer. The deal includes the intellectual property (IP) rights to games such as Tomb Raider, which has sold more than 88m units, Deus Ex, Thief and Legacy of Kain. It also includes 50 back catalogue games and will add 1,100 staff to Embracer, taking its global headcount to more than 14,000. "We are thrilled to welcome these studios into the Embracer family," said Lars Wingefors, co-founder and group chief executive at Embracer.

Gaming company Square Enix will reduce its developer presence in the West with the sale of the studios behind franchises "Tomb Raider," "Deux Ex" and "Thief" to Sweden's Embracer Group for $300 million. The latest in a series of deals in the video games industry, the sale announced on Monday includes studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal and Square Enix Montreal, affects 1,100 employees and is expected to close in the July-September quarter. Square Enix, whose major franchises include "Final Fantasy" and "Dragon Quest," said the proceeds will be used to invest in areas such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and the cloud. The Tokyo-based company last year said it was reviewing its portfolio to adapt to industry trends such as the focus on the "metaverse," or the idea consumers will spend more time in virtual worlds. Embracer, which has a reputation for acquisitions and a war chest of 10 billion Swedish krona ($1.02 billion), said the deal will give it a pipeline of more than 230 games including 30 big-budget AAA titles.

The next generation of video game consoles just got its first official release date: Nov. 10 for Microsoft's Xbox Series S all-digital system. Priced at $299, the Xbox Series S console is expected to launch in tandem with the flagship Xbox Series X system, for which Microsoft has not yet announced a release date or price. The Xbox Series S will play new games timed to the new consoles' release, but rely on downloaded games as it will not have a Blu-Ray Disc drive. In a video posted on Twitter Tuesday, Microsoft says the Series S will be 60% smaller than the Xbox Series X. Apple event on Sept. 15:Don't look for new iPhones just yet, analysts say The system will have a 512 GB solid state drive, but will likely let you add additional drives to store more games and data.

Games publisher 2K will charge £5 more for its forthcoming NBA 2K21 basketball game on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles. It is the first company to reveal how it will price software for the next-generation machines. Sony and Microsoft have yet to reveal how much they plan to charge for the new hardware. One analyst said it was not unusual for new console games to be priced at a premium. But it is an added factor for gamers to consider at a time when finances are under strain because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sony unveiled an impressive roster of video games in the works for its PlayStation 5 launch later this year and finally gave a peek at what the new console looks like. But the big reveal was the futuristic console with a black-center sandwiched between artsy white waves. A slightly thinner digital PS5 model without a disc player was also revealed for players who want to deal with only downloaded games. "I think the hardware was one of the most exciting things we got to see," said Geoff Keighley, who hosted Summer Game Fest video shows on the YouTube Gaming channel before and after Sony's event said most weren't sure a console would be revealed. The console "feels like stands on its own. It has a towering presence to it," he said.. Jim Ryan, president & CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, during the pre-recorded video event described the PS5 as "our most striking console design yet."

The other streaming war – bringing video games to the cloud – is heating up. Google flips the switch Tuesday on its Stadia cloud gaming service, which lets you stream games to your television, computer, tablet and Android phone. Stadia lets you play marquee video games without the need of a game console or PC to house the game. Instead your game resides on Google's expansive array of data servers. As part of the monthly subscription fee, Stadia stores your games and connects you with other gamers in games that support multiplayer gaming.

'God of War' is one of five new games coming to Sony's PlayStation Now cloud gaming subscription service. PS Now is also getting a price cut to $9.99 monthly, from $19.99. Been thinking of giving Sony's PlayStation Now cloud gaming service a spin? Now you have even more reasons. For starters, the video game maker is reducing the price of the subscription service to $9.99, down from the previous monthly charge of $19.99.

When Sony Corp. unveiled a cloud gaming pact with archrival Microsoft Corp., it surprised the industry. Perhaps no one was more shocked than employees of Sony's PlayStation division, who have spent almost two decades fighting the U.S. software giant in the $38 billion video game console market. Last week, the companies announced a strategic partnership to codevelop game streaming technology and host some of PlayStation's online services on Microsoft's Azure cloud platform. It comes after PlayStation spent seven years developing its own cloud gaming offering, with limited success. Negotiations with Microsoft began last year and were handled directly by Sony's senior management in Tokyo, largely without the involvement of the PlayStation unit, according to sources familiar with the matter. Staff at the gaming division were caught off guard by the news.