Here at Goonhammer, we know that it’s hard to keep track of all the news happening all the time in the games industry. So much is always going on with games of all sorts, and their related media, it can be a real blink-and-you’ll miss it situation.
That’s why every week, we round up five of the biggest stories in the gaming sphere from the past week in the Games Industry News Roundup. Our trusty news boy, Dan “Swiftblade” Richardson, is at the very real and cool Goonhammer newsdesk with the scoop.
Games Workshop Veteran Designer Joins Warcradle Studios
One of Games Workshop’s most senior rules designers, Robin Cruddace, announced that he’s joined Warcradle Studios as one of its new leaders of the rules development team.
“I’m really excited to be joining Warcradle Studios,” Cruddace says in the announcement post. “The team is filled with great people working on great games, and I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to come aboard and help develop the Dystopian Age and more.”
Cruddace made a name for himself as a longtime rules writer for Games Workshop, starting off by writing several codexes in fifth edition such as Codex: Tyranids and Codex: Imperial Guard. Cruddace later became one of the key designers for Games Workshop, and is credited as the lead designer for the Warhammer 40,000’s eighth, ninth, and tenth edition, where the popularity of the game skyrocketed.
Warcradle has not announced what projects Cruddace is working on specifically, or whether he’s designing any new games or working on existing systems like Dystopian Wars, only promising that more exciting news about what the future holds is coming soon.
Studio Behind Metal: Hellsinger Shuts Down
It appears that another video game studio has committed the cardinal sin of making a critically and commercially successful video game. The Outsiders, who developed the heavy metal-themed rhythm shooter Metal: Hellsinger, announced earlier this month that it’s closing its doors permanently.
This closure comes on the heels of the announcement that The Outsider’s parent company, Funcom, would be laying off many of its staff.
In a statement to Gamesindustry.biz, Funcom wrote, “The transition from development to long-term live operation, while also building towards a major console release next year, will require us to restructure our teams and focus our resources from across projects and studios. Unfortunately, this also means having to say goodbye to cherished colleagues.”
The Outsider’s last game, Metal: Hellsinger, was released in 2022 to critical success, and won several industry awards for its soundtrack that featured collaborations with popular bands such as Archenemy, Dark Tranquility, Black Crown Initiate, and System of a Down.
In their statement on Blusky, The Outsiders creative Director David Goldfarb shares his heartbreak over the studio closure, but promises fans that himself and his team are not giving up, and will “try to continue on in some new form.”
CMON Sells Global Headquarters
Well, things continue to be terrifically bad for CMON, who’ve been having the financial year from hell. According to their most recent financial report, the company is down $12 million in revenue from last year at this time, and has also parted with its global headquarters in Singapore to generate extra cash.
The sale of its Singapore headquarters generated around $2.4 million for the company in extra funds, but this hardly does anything to amend its lack of cash flow. According to the H1 report, CMON generated around $15 million in revenue in the first half of 2024, while only generating $3 million during the same time period in 2025. This is largely due to the complete drop off of crowdfunding sales for the company, which plummeted from $9.9 million in 2024 to $12 thousand in 2025.
In a financial update on Gamefound, CMON attributes this drop in sales to an unprecedented number of refund requests for its games, which only further stalls the fulfillment of these projects and causes more backers to cancel their pledges. “This cycle has snowballed and grown into one of the toughest challenges we have ever faced.” Cmon writes. “We know silence is frustrating. But with movement slowed on all fronts, regular communication about stalled projects seem counter-intuitive, and we’ve decided to keep it limited to only update when we have actual news to share.”
CMON has not publicly shared any plans for how it intends to operate going forward without a centralized global headquarters, or given any financial updates on how things are going in the second half of 2025 so far.
GAMA Publicly Shares 10 Year Plan
A one-two of big stories out of GAMA, as the company has both shared its 10 year plan to the public and its longtime executive director has stepped down from his position.
According to a report by Boardgamewire, the goal of GAMA’s ten year plan is to make the association the “epicenter” of tabletop gaming internationally. Spearheaded by its current president Nicole Bradely, this 10 year plan will focus on raising membership within GAMA to new highs, and focusing on bringing in major tabletop companies into the fold. Bradley is also pushing for lifting tariffs on tabletop games and materials, making several trips this year to Washington D.C to lobby the U.S government.
GAMA is also pushing for more anti-counterfeit measures, expansion of its retail partnerships, and moving it’s yearly convention from Kentucky to Baltimore to accommodate surging attendance.
GAMA has also renamed itself to reflect the company’s new purpose, rebranding as “GAMA: The Tabletop Games Association” (though, legally, the company’s name will still be the Game Manufacturers Association).
Cowabunga! Wizards Announces Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Crossover Magic Set
The mystery Universes Beyond collaboration first teased in September is a mystery no more, as Wizards of the Coast revealed at New York Comic Con that the heroes in a half shell are coming to Magic: The Gathering in Spring of next year.
The base set, which will release on March 6th, 2026, will be legal in all competitive Magic formats, and two additional special release sets will be released alongside the main set and are Vintage, Legacy, and Commander legal.
“This set draws from the entire history of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles media and offers a wide range of products to match,” Wizards writes. “Brand-new offerings like the Turtle Team-Up product are perfect for playing across generations. If you grew up watching the adventures of Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo, you can share those stories with a new generation of Magic players.”
Alongside a suite of new cards, the set will include several collectors items for TMNT fans, including four borderless headliner cards, one for each turtle, illustrated by original TMNT artist Kevin Eastman, and full-art pizza basic lands.
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