GamesBeat

To this growing community of industry leaders, The last few days reminded us what this industry is truly about. So many of you shared that this event felt different — more intimate, more authentic, more real. Thank you for being part of it. — GamesBeat

Former @XBOX COO Helen Chiang breaks her silence on her departure from Microsoft. After 21 years at @Microsoft, including eight years leading the @Minecraft franchise, Helen Chiang has spoken publicly for the first time about her recent departure from the company. In a LinkedIn post titled “Clarity is Kindness,” Chiang addressed the speculation surrounding her exit, firmly pushing back against reports that she was fired over a policy violation or left after being overlooked for the Xbox CEO position. Chiang, who was appointed Xbox's first Chief Operating Officer in July 2026, said she had not actively pursued bigger roles or increased responsibilities, explaining that her career progression had been driven by the opportunities the company presented to her. While she stopped short of sharing the full circumstances behind her departure, she raised concerns about how the situation was handled, emphasising the importance of fairness, accountability and consistent standards. Reflecting on her 21-year career at Microsoft, Chiang added: “This is not how I ever imagined my story here would end. And it is not the whole story.” Her public statement comes amid significant leadership changes and continued restructuring across Xbox, raising further questions about the company's direction under its new leadership. Read the full story from @GamesBeat's @alexleewastaken: gamesbeat.com/former-xbox-co… #GamesBeat #Microsoft #Xbox #GamingIndustry #Leadership #Minecraft #GameIndustry

EXCLUSIVE: @amazon is testing a new way to turn game advertising into playable experiences, with Crimson Desert’s no-download Twitch demo already driving traffic to the game’s Steam page. Built with Amazon Web Services’ GameLift Streams, the 20-minute browser demo loads in under three seconds, letting players try Pearl Abyss’ game without installing it. Average playtime is around five and a half minutes, and the demo has consistently ranked among the top one or two trackable links sending traffic to Steam. Amazon plans to expand the format to more parts of its business and potentially other partners. @alexleewastaken spoke with Pearl Abyss marketing director Will Powers and AWS global head of games industry business development Shayan Sanyal about the results and the future of interactive game advertising. “Engaging with an ad unit actively for over five minutes — that’s crazy,” Powers said. “They’re opting to do that, instead of skipping after three seconds.” Read the full story at @GamesBeat: gamesbeat.com/crimson-desert… #Gaming #Advertising #Twitch #GameIndustry

GB MAX Market Intelligence: Physicist Michio Kaku says AI will replace repetitive work, not creative work. He also predicts three-hour New York-to-Tokyo flights and a U.S.-China race to build the first workable quantum computer. Read the full story at GamesBeat: gamesbeat.com/renowned-physi… #AI #QuantumComputing

EXCLUSIVE: @StudioAtelico is launching an AI engine designed to bring smarter NPCs, dynamic dialogue and player-generated content into games without the cost or latency of cloud-based AI. The Atelico AI Engine runs directly on players’ devices and integrates with Unity, Unreal Engine and Godot. Its tools support image generation, speech, semantic search and AI-driven character behavior, while proprietary GPU scheduling is designed to prevent AI workloads from hurting game performance.  For developers, on-device processing also eliminates recurring cloud inference costs and keeps player data local. @deantak  spoke with Piero Molino, CEO of Studio Atelico, about the engine and how it could enable new kinds of gameplay while keeping developers in creative control. “The studios that succeed won’t be the ones using the most AI, they’ll be the ones using AI entirely in service of the player experience,” Molino said. Read the full interview at @GamesBeat: gamesbeat.com/studio-atelico… hashtag#AI hashtag#GameDevelopment hashtag#Gaming hashtag#GameIndustry

The future of the games industry depends on the connections that bring it together. Meet @icjman, Co-founder of @indieexchange, joining us as an emcee at GamesBeat NEXT 2026. 4 days left with only few tickets remaining. Be in the room → gamesbeat.com/our-gamesbeat-… #GamesBeat #GBMAX

"Gaming is shaping far more than entertainment — it’s influencing technology, culture, business, and how we connect with the world. At GamesBeat NEXT, leaders from NYT, EA, LinkedIn, Microsoft, MrBeast, Fandom, Amazon, Meta, Dentsu, and Zynga will be speaking, alongside former leaders from Xbox, Sega, Nintendo, PlayStation, and Sony. This is where industries converge, ideas become opportunities, meaningful partnerships take shape, and deals get done. Together, we’re building what’s next and recognizing gaming for what it is: a powerful force shaping the future of technology, business, and culture.  If you’re a business leader, we invite you to join us.   This $200 billion industry and interactive economy is helping define what comes next.  It’s time for everyone to pay attention." — Gina Joseph, CEO of GamesBeat GamesBeat NEXT 2026 is 4 days.  Let’s close out the year by building relationships, opening doors, and turning ideas into opportunities. Then let’s take that momentum into the new year. Join us at GamesBeat NEXT. Let’s think bigger, and build together → events.gamesbeat.com/next26/…