The video games industry is unpredictable. If you'd told us this time last year that a previously unknown French studio would claim game of the year, Battlefield 6 would knock Call of Duty off the top of the annual charts and that Saudi Arabia would buy gaming giant Electronic Arts (EA) we'd have been... sceptical. So you'd have to be very sure of yourself - or very foolish - to try and predict what's going to happen in the year ahead. Luckily, we're not in the crystal ball business here at BBC Newsbeat, but there are a few things we can be confident video game fans should keep an eye on in 2026. GTA 6: Will it actually arrive in 2026?

Actors in the video game industry are going on strike. On Thursday, the union representing voice and motion-capture performers announced they would be walking off the job after talks with major video game companies broke down over concerns over AI protections. The work stoppage is set to begin Friday. "We're not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members," Fran Drescher, the president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), which represents the performers, said in a prepared statement. When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can live--and work--with, we will be here, ready to negotiate." Several members of SAG-AFTRA are currently at Comic-Con International in San Diego for panels and other appearances. They will still be able to honor their obligations this weekend "given the close proximity" of the strike announcement to the event, which runs through Sunday. "Solidarity," Dragon Age: The Veilguard voice actor Erika Ishii posted on X. "We'll be fulfilling contracts at SDCC but afterwards we hold the line." Last year's Hollywood strikes greatly reduced the number of performers able to participate in Comic-Con events. Tensions over AI between SAG members and major video game companies have been high for months. Negotiations between the two sides began in earnest in October 2022. Members voted to authorize a strike in September of 2023. "Eighteen months of negotiations have shown us that our employers are not interested in fair, reasonable AI protections, but rather flagrant exploitation," Sarah Elmaleh, SAG's negotiating chair for the Interactive Media Agreement (IMA) that covers video game workers, said in a statement. "We refuse this paradigm--we will not leave any of our members behind, nor will we wait for sufficient protection any longer." In the video game industry, actors regularly lend their voice, likeness, and even movements to projects. Voice acting and motion-capture are a crucial part of game development, even as AI begins to change the way developers create their games. Despite success on other points, video game companies and SAG have been unable to find common ground on AI. "We are disappointed the union has chosen to walk away when we are so close to a deal, and we remain prepared to resume negotiations," Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the video game companies involved in the negotiations said in a statement to WIRED. That group includes companies such as Activision, Disney, Electronic Arts, Insomniac Games, Take-Two, and Warner Bros., among others. "We have already found common ground on 24 out of 25 proposals, including historic wage increases and additional safety provisions," Cooling said. "Our offer is directly responsive to SAG-AFTRA's concerns and extends meaningful AI protections that include requiring consent and fair compensation to all performers working under the IMA.

The major labor union representing performers and broadcasters may branch out its historic strike for better working conditions to include the performers who bring video games to life. On Friday, more than a month after its current strike began, the SAG-AFTRA union's national board announced that it was seeking a strike vote against major video game companies like Activision and Disney Character Voices International. After more than a year, according to the union, its negotiations for better pay and protections against artificial intelligence in gaming have reached an impasse. While video game performers are part of SAG-AFTRA, their contracts are separate from the theatrical, TV, and streaming contracts that other members are currently striking over. "Once again we are facing employer greed and disrespect," wrote SAG-AFTRA's president, Fran Drescher.

There are many calls made by referees that are still debated by fans even to this day. This includes the controversial goal given to George Hurst in the 1966 World Cup Final, which allowed him to score a hat trick. Who can forget Diego Maradona's famous handball in 1986, which resulted in a goal against England? FIFA is trying to not only reduce such infamous moments but to help out the referees who often do not have a clear sight of what's going on. This is why the officials at FIFA have been experimenting with new AI technology that can track player motions and allow the referees to make more accurate offside calls.

When Roe v. Wade was overturned, Team Meat, creator of classic platformer Super Meat Boy, had one thing to say: "The Supreme Court can go fuck itself." It's been little more than a week since the court handed down its landmark ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, ending the legal right to abortion in the United States. A person's ability to get the healthcare they need will now be determined by a patchwork of state-by-state laws and policies. Team Meat's tweet, composed by the company's social media manager, is the organization's official stance on the matter. "Everyone at Team Meat stands by this fully," cofounder Tommy Refenes tells WIRED.

We are excited to bring Transform 2022 back in-person July 19 and virtually July 20 - 28. Join AI and data leaders for insightful talks and exciting networking opportunities. Many artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are used to classify, organize or reason about data. Generative algorithms create data using models of the world to synthesize images, sounds and videos that often look increasingly realistic. The algorithms begin with models of what a world must be like and then they create a simulated world that fits the model. Generative AIs are frequently found in various content creation roles.

Activision Blizzard has been hit with multiple lawsuits alleging a sexist and discriminatory workplace culture. Activision Blizzard has been hit with multiple lawsuits alleging a sexist and discriminatory workplace culture. Workers in one division of Activision Blizzard, the major video game company behind popular franchises such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Candy Crush, have voted to join the Communication Workers of America. The employees unionizing are 28 quality assurance testers at Raven Software, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. The final vote count was 19 votes in favor, 3 against.

'Special Report' All-Star Panel reacts to the Senate voting to block a bill that would'codify' abortion nationwide. The Washington Post is facing accusations of activism over a report urging video game companies to take a stand on Roe v. Wade as the Supreme Court mulls overturning the decades-long precedent protecting the legalization of abortions on a federal level. On Wednesday, video game reporters Nathan Grayson and Shannon Liao penned a piece with the headline, "As Roe v. Wade repeal looms, video game industry stays mostly silent," documenting how giants in the gaming world are largely staying out of the abortion debate. The article began by citing Bungie, the "Destiny 2" studio owned by Sony that published a statement "in support of reproductive rights" that decried the overturning of Roe v. Wade among other studios and indie developers. The reporters appeared to side with the company as it faced viral backlash from critics, writing, "Bungie, for its part, stood firm."

Playing video games for a living is not the plum gig it might seem to be. There are the hours (long). And the tedium (it's not known as "quality assurance" in the industry for nothing). "Pay is the hardest thing to advocate for in quality assurance, because they want to make it seem like you're testing video games, so you should be thankful," says Jessica Gonzalez, a former senior QA analyst at Activision Blizzard who is now helping to organize a union drive of 34 game testers at the company's subsidiary Raven Software. Until recently, those testers were making $15 an hour, less than the cost of living in Madison, Wisconsin, where the unit is based.

Tech conglomerate Tencent caused a stir last year with the announcement that it would comply with China's directive to incorporate facial recognition technology into its games in the country. The move was in line with China's strict gaming regulation policies, which impose limits on how much time minors can spend playing video games--an effort to curb addictive behavior, since gaming is labeled by the state as "spiritual opium." The state's use of biometric data to police its population is, of course, invasive, and especially undermines the privacy of underage users--but Tencent is not the only video game company to track its players, nor is this recent case an altogether new phenomenon. All over the world, video games, one of the most widely adopted digital media forms, are installing networks of surveillance and control. In basic terms, video games are systems that translate physical inputs--such as hand movement or gesture--into various electric or electronic machine-readable outputs.