5 Video Game Things I Learned | 2026 May 23 - May 29
Another week gone! Another week of learned things form the video game industry! This week actually surprised me with how much video game news there was for me to work with. Video game news can sometimes get sparse close to big events like next week’s Summer Game Fest. Nonetheless, here are five things from the past week. We’re talking about some huge things with a lot of publicity like Unreal Engine 6 and another DLC for The Witcher 3 after a decade. We also have more industry-related news with the unionization of Wizards of the Coast employees and massive increases in Steam Deck prices.
Unreal Engine 6 Is Here Already
On Memorial Day, Epic Games released a short teaser for Unreal Engine 6, and it has my head spinning a bit. It’s hard to believe that Epic already has their sights set beyond Unreal 5 when it still doesn’t feel like it’s been around for very long. Epic officially released Unreal 5 in 2022.
However, I’ve had to remind myself that Unreal 5 first got announced in 2020, so it’s actually been around six years since the last reveal of the next Unreal Engine iteration. Also, last year, Tim Sweeney estimated that the preview builds of Unreal 6 wouldn’t arrive for another two or three years. So it could be as far as 2028 before we even see a preview build. Unreal 5 spent about a year in early access before officially releasing to developers. If we assumed a similar timeline for Unreal 6, this means it could be as late as 2029 before the engine actually releases, putting seven years between it and its predecessor. That’s pretty standard.
Even more interesting is the literal vehicle used to show it off during the reveal. Rocket League, a game built on and stuck in Unreal Engine 3, was the centerpiece of the teaser. There are concerns about how Unreal 6 will change the physics of the game, but I trust developer Psyonix and Epic to keep the game feeling accurate to how fans expect.
The Witcher 3 Is Back
Wow! 11 years after the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and 10 years after the release of the last DLC for the game, Blood and Wine, CD Projekt Red has announced a new DLC for the RPG hit.
I played through some of The Witcher 3 and never touched either of its predecessors. I still believe that someday I will finish the game, but it just didn’t grip me like I hoped it would. Oftentimes, I suffer from mission paralysis in RPGs; I feel like I need to experience everything the developers throw at me. In recent years, I’ve gotten better at telling myself it’s okay forget about some of the side quests and just experience the main quests if that’s what I truly want out of my gameplay experience, so I’ll get there someday.
Regardless of anyone’s personal opinions on the game, though, this announcement is huge. According to current data, The Witcher 3 slots in as the ninth best-selling game of all time at roughly 65 million units sold. It’s a huge deal. Other than that, I don’t have a whole lot of thoughts about it other than my initial statement: wow!
I did have one theory about the DLC. My theory was that when some group of people at CD Projekt Red got together in a meeting room some years ago, they discussed the next entry in The Witcher franchise. I believed they landed on either their current concept for The Witcher 4 or this DLC, Songs of the Past. They liked Songs of the Past better as a DLC, so they did it. However, my girlfriend loves The Witcher and tells me that my theory doesn’t make any sense given the ending of The Witcher 3, without spoiling it for me. I trust her judgement, but I do like my little hypothesis. It at least gives an explanation for why this sudden DLC drop after a decade.
Steam Deck Prices Skyrocket
Who could’ve saw this coming, except for everybody with ears and/or eyes? Prices are going up. I don’t think anyone was expecting Steam Deck prices to rice quite to the levels that they did, though. Steam Deck OLED models have jumped from $549 to $789 for the 512 GB version and $649 to $949 for the 1 TB version. These jumps are substantial, but in my opinion, they make sense. Some people have been comparing this price increase to that of the Nintendo Switch 2 (an increase of only $50 from $449 to $499). However, I think the following factors need to be considered:
Nintendo Switch 2 and Steam Deck are not on the same level in terms of popularity. Even if the Steam Deck was the same price as the Switch 2, it would not be as popular. I doubt Valve can receive the same types of discounts on buying components in bulk that Nintendo can.
To further that point, Nintendo currently produces multiple consoles. The original Switch is still selling and is poised to become the best-selling console ever when it surpasses PlayStation 2’s sales figures. This gives Nintendo even more components to purchase, giving them an even steeper discount, theoretically. I would be shocked if Nintendo is paying the same price that Valve is per component.
I’m not super familiar with business-to-business communications between hardware companies like Nintendo and component manufacturers. However, I have to believe that a company like Nintendo that has been producing home video game consoles and handheld consoles since the 1980s has stronger, more established networks when it comes to hardware manufacturing. And I have to believe that if that’s the case, Nintendo can get an even steeper discount based on those preexisting relationships and historical track records.
Nintendo famously uses the razor blade model, and that’s how console sales have worked for years. For the unindoctrinated, the razor blade model is the idea of selling the razor at a loss knowing that the customer will continue to buy razor blades. Through those razor blade sales, the company can make a profit per customer on selling the razor. The Switch is a razor. Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, and other games available on the Switch 2 are the blades. Valve doesn’t really have this same model. The introduction of the Switch 2 spurs development for that console to capitalize on the audience that would own it. The Steam Deck does not do that. Very few developers out there are developing directly for the Steam Deck. If any. And the Steam Deck doesn’t take any extra percentage of revenue from developers for their games being available on the Steam Deck. Because of this, Steam can’t rely as heavily on this model that Nintendo has perfected.
The Steam Deck is a more sophisticated piece of hardware than the Switch 2. That’s just a fact. The specs are higher for the Steam Deck, and the base components cost more. That cost is passed on to the consumer. It has been since the Steam Deck’s release.
The demand for the Steam Deck is pretty high at the moment compared to its restricted supply. Basic economic principles show that this leads to a higher price point.
So was it shocking that prices for the Steam Decks rose this much? Absolutely. Is it unfounded? No, I don’t believe so.
Wizards of the Coast vs. Unions
The developers of Magic: The Gathering Arena at Wizards of the Coast, the publisher of Dungeons & Dragons, have been undertaking efforts to unionize for roughly a month now. Initially, the union set a deadline of May 1, 2026, for Wizards of the Coast to recognize the union voluntarily. With that date come and gone, employees have reported receiving daily emails with anti-union content for multiple weeks leading up to a letter in which Wizards of the Coast further vilifying unionization.
To be clear, the letter (posted in full by multiple Wizards of the Coast employees) is far from a union-busting or threatening message. The letter has a large focus on promoting the employees’ right to vote on the matter in any way they see fit. However, it also makes the company’s stance very transparent. Wizards of the Coast highlights that “Outcomes are not predetermined,” and employees “could end up with more, the same or less than [they] have now.” The letter ends by communicating the belief that “Our future is stronger when we work together. We believe your voice is strongest when it is heard directly. Not through a third party.”
Unfortunately, once a company has approached this point in unionization, a letter like this can’t do very much. Companies love to talk about the importance of employees having their own voice. In this case, avoiding a union and communicating/negotiating directly with the company makes each employee’s voice stronger. I would argue that when a company has made it clear that they will not or cannot enact change despite the individual voices of their employees, those voices are actually stronger when they are together. That’s the whole point of a union. That’s why it’s called a union. Companies can more easily ignore the voices of employees when those voices are fragmented and siloed. However, Magic: The Gathering Arena developers have decided that they want to be heard, so they have been forced by the company to speak together.
I think just about any employee would say that they would prefer to never have to be a part of a union. Unfortunately, that would be in a perfect reality where their employer doesn’t fail to provide safe, sustainable, and inclusive work environments.
Fable Delayed
Well, this stinks.
I never played any of the Fable games because they were before my time as an avid player. They strike me as games that would certainly appeal to me. Because of that, this reboot of the franchise excites me. I enjoyed getting more details during the Xbox Developer Direct on January 22. The game was set to release in Fall of 2026. Now, the official window has moved to February 2027. I will say, I like receiving a solid month for the release instead of a generic “2027” delay. However, I only feel that way if Playground Games can actually hit the target.