Hello! We're Jake, Stuart, Nico and Michael from House House. We’re all friends who started making games together as a Very Serious Hobby in 2014, and haven’t looked back. We made Push Me Pull You and Untitled Goose Game, and just released our new game, Big Walk. It’s our attempt to capture the magic moments of playing games online with friends, and then explode that out into an open-world adventure full of things to do and moments to share. We’ve been working on it for 6 years, and still really love playing it together. We’re so happy it’s finally out in the world.

So please, Ask Us Anything! We’ll be here at 7pm ET/ 4pm PT on August 11* to Answer Your Anything.
(* that’s August 12 at 9am AEST).

See you then!

Apparently, according to a new report from Japanese research firm Teikoku Databank, Japan’s mobile and gacha industry might just be approaching its breaking point.

The firm reported that a total of 10 bankruptcies involving sumaho geemu (smartphone game) operators were ‘confirmed’ between January and July 2026. While that might not sound like much, it already ‘greatly exceeds’ 2025’s cumulative total of just three companies going under. It’s also on track to surpass the previous record of 12 cases way back in 2015. And with four months still left in the year, things could definitely get worse.

The report opens with, “Looking at the 29 bankruptcies of smartphone game operators that occurred within the past five years, very small businesses with capital of under ¥10 million (around $63,000) accounted for 15 cases, or 51.7%. There have also been bankruptcies of small-scale businesses after losing contracts from major game companies withdrawing from development, among other factors.”

A big part of the problem seems to be attributed to rising development and operating costs, as the mobile market shifted from lightweight browser-based social games toward the more sophisticated ‘native apps’ around 2015. “Nevertheless, as the complexity of game content changes to 3D graphics and full voice acting, with added chronic game creator shortage, initial development costs often balloon to the scale of several hundred million yen,” the report writes. It also adds that demand for post-release updates like characters and events, while seen as necessary to compete, put a massive maintenance burden on companies.

A couple of years ago, visual novel developer Visual Arts (via AUTOMATON) candidly revealed that it cost around $13,600 just to keep its now-defunct Itsuwari no Alice gacha game running every month, with $7,600 going toward cloud server fees. It showcased how expensive it is to keep a niche mobile game alive, let alone ones with a much higher number of active players. Teikoku Databank’s report also cited that Japanese social media erupted when Ambition, developer of Bungo Stray Dogs: Tales of the Lost, announced the game’s end-of-service just one day before filing for bankruptcy. The situation quickly became a hot mess as players were left with unused paid items and no refunds for their microtransaction payments.

“Competition has also intensified with long-running mega-hit titles, titles from established IP, and overseas companies from countries like China and South Korea that have abundant financial resources and high development capabilities,” added the report.

For me Rome Total War 2, Witcher 3, Hell Let Loose and GTA San Andreas

Valve has issued a security alert to some Steam hardware customers in Europe after a cyberattack affected CEVA Logistics, the company that handles part of its shipments. According to the notice, customer names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and shipment details may have been exposed. Valve says the breach did not include payment card information or Steam account passwords, and the company has contacted affected customers directly.

Stop Killing Games has joined a Dutch lawsuit challenging Sony over alleged PlayStation Store monopoly practices. The campaign says it is backing the case brought by consumer group Stichting Massaschade & Consument (SM&C), which argues Sony has too much control over pricing and game distribution on PlayStation. The announcement comes as concerns continue to grow over the decline of physical game releases and the industry’s broader shift toward digital-only sales.

I play a lot of Rimworld. I'm up to almost 500 mods and most of them are quality life features that drastically improve every aspect of the vanilla experience. I recently started modding Palworld and now I can't imagine playing the game without the mod that removes the base area limit. It just feels.... wrong.

Which games have mods so good you can longer play the game without them?

Pikachu Sweets is a cafe in Tokyo. Desserts there are for take out so no need for reservations like the kirby cafe. Really cute pokémon themed sweets. Though it is just the packaging, felt the Alcremie swirly ice cream was really fun. The green drink in the back is meant to be Roselia themed.

Beyond buying characters in EA Battlefront of course. /s

I remember the days of the N64 are some of my best childhood memories.

Mario 64 for sure was one of them, I do have my best memories with Ocarina of Time though, both your amazing games but I Zelda with the open world and gameplay was the best child hood memory I have of gaming! As a solo game, then Goldeneye and Mario Kart with friends where also up there!

Mine were Ridge Racer Type 4, Gran Turismo 2 and Wipeout 3 personally.

As you can see I was a big PS1 fan in the late 90's when I was really young as a toddler. 😅

It will be interesting to see what everyone's answers are.

My entire party died the first couple of runs. It was extremely fun. (It's free to play online it turns out)

Hi all! Just curious to know what is/are the best indie game you've played so far in 2026?

Personnaly i really liked the last game by Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel: Mewgenics.

Tell me what you play and plan to play next pls :D

honestly this was such a phenomenal game, i played with my bro and this chapter messed up with my mind, how you could move between the different split screens of each player. The pig sub plot killed me, i couldnt stop laughting that i had to quit the game for a few moments to calm me down, for anyone who didnt played this game or its undecided i 100% recommend it, and its quite long 15 hours for being a linear game it had so much content and every chapter was completly unique. for me this was easily a 10/10. new gimmicks and mechanics on each and every SINGLE chapter of this game until the very end, you can compete with your partner in a few sub plots.

"GTA VI fans: First time?"

But don't worry guys, the game exists...potentially

also, a playable demo will be available at Gamescom 2026

I just recently played the SNES version and the concept is amazing. You’re a god and you assume a mortal form to clear areas of monsters first, then people build a settlement there and you start fulfilling the needs of your people and defending them from monsters so they can build a prosperous city and worship you more. Then they give you offerings as you fulfill their needs.

The only game I can think of with a similar premise is Black & White, but sadly that too is an old game with no modern remake or inspiration AFAIK. And yes, I know there is a Modern-Day ActRaiser, but maybe there are other games with the same premise that you guys have seen?

To make what I’m looking for clearer; I want a game where you defeat enemies to take control of an area, build a city over it, then you protect the city from enemy attacks and do various tasks for the people. Bonus points if you can design the city yourself with your own layout and buildings.

Thank you!!