Electronic Arts has just concluded its final year as a public company with record-breaking sales. *Control 2* is making progress and remains within budget. The latest update on Microsoft’s “return to Xbox” initiative features a new startup logo. Welcome to your *Kotaku* Checkpoint summary for May 6, 2026, where we introduce a new member of the Xbox team who presents an intriguing *Guitar Hero* analogy regarding AI.
GameStop’s innovative CEO Ryan Cohen recently appeared on the OpenAI-owned TBPN network to mitigate issues surrounding his eBay acquisition attempt after an appearance on CNBC left him sounding as though he had just been concussed. The stock has yet to bounce back from its post-cable-news downturn. GameStop staff are not impressed.
### EA experienced an outstanding year, largely due to *Battlefield 6*
The top-selling game of 2025 catapulted the soon-to-be Saudi Arabia-owned publisher to an impressive annual sales figure of $8.026 billion. Despite quarterly earnings reflecting a year-over-year drop in live-service revenue, investors can still expect a generous dividend ahead of their private equity buyout slated for this summer.
“Thanks to our talented teams and disciplined execution, we achieved a record FY26, underscored by the remarkably successful launch of our renowned *Battlefield* franchise,” CEO Andrew Wilson stated in a press release. “With the recent completion of a debt process that saw strong investor interest and our ongoing positive interaction with regulators, we are eager to close the transaction and the opportunities it presents.”
This earnings report follows just two months after an unspecified number of *Battlefield 6* developers were let go across the company, despite the title’s significant success. “We’ve made specific adjustments within our *Battlefield* organization to better align our teams around what is most important to our community,” EA declared in a statement at that time. “*Battlefield* continues to be among our top priorities, and we are committed to investing in the franchise, driven by player feedback and insights from Battlefield Labs.”
### We might see *Final Fantasy 7 Remake* part 3 DLC
Part 1 received *Intergrade*, part 2 received nothing. What about part 3? That is contingent on “how strongly fans continue to support *Final Fantasy 7* as both a game and a franchise,” Naoki Hamaguchi stated in a recent interview with ntower (via Gamesradar). He remains “open to exploring those possibilities proactively.”
### *Control 2* was developed for an estimated $50 million and Remedy aims to maintain this approach
“The team and the studio have performed excellently to stay on course. They have done remarkable work to create a triple-A game on a relatively modest budget. This is something we have seen from Remedy before and will see again,” new CEO Jean-Charles Gaudechon noted during a recent earnings call (via Game Developer).
He added, “Honestly, there is something quite extraordinary about the way games are developed and managed at Remedy. It hasn’t always been that way, I recognize. There have been challenges in the past. However, the team has done outstanding work on *Control Resonant*.”
### Xbox is introducing a new boot-up logo
A new boot-up experience is on its way next Wednesday. Turn the sound up!
### Full-priced game purchases have become a rare luxury
According to a recent survey of gaming audiences by IGN Entertainment, 62 percent of players no longer purchase full-price games. “[Gen X] comes from a perspective of midnight openings for full-price games, console bases… [they] want to extract as much value as possible from each purchase,” stated company SVP of marketing Karl Stewart (via GamesIndustry.biz).
He further explained, “In contrast, Gen Z lives in a world of platforms… games are everlasting, and community and social interaction are essential to their identity. They desire to be part of a community where they can assert, ‘I’m the most knowledgeable. I know the most about this game.’”
### Investors may be pushing Nintendo to increase the Switch 2’s price
The company’s stock price has declined for five consecutive months as it keeps the price steady on a $450 console, even though Sony and Microsoft have raised prices on their devices. Bloomberg reports that investors are looking for Nintendo to implement a similar price adjustment to “safeguard” profit margins on the Switch 2. Naturally, Nintendo must ensure robust sales of the new console, and so far, there have been numerous reasons for players to hold onto the previous generation version.
### *Dying Light* franchise director departs after 13 years
Tymon Smektala joined Techland in 2013.
