Fortnite layoffs, Pokemon Champions, Switch 2 price changes + more!

Duration: 09:41

Timestamps:

0:00 I HAVE THE POWER!!!

0:15 Epic Games, Fortnite layoffs

2:16 Pokemon Champions major changes

4:05 Switch 2 physical/digital game prices

5:35 QUICK BITS INTRO

5:50 Minecraft World theme park

6:27 Crimson Desert sells $3M copies

7:17 EverQuest Legends

7:48 Post-Game Depression is real

8:28 Colbert writes a Lord of the Rings movie

NEWS SOURCES:

MAINS

EPIC-LY SAD LAYOFFS

Epic Games has fired over 1,000 employees as Fortnite engagement continues to trend down.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/epic-games-lays-off-over-1000-employees-following-downturn-in-fortnite-engagement

Fruit Love Island joke https://www.dexerto.com/tiktok/fruit-love-island-is-the-internets-new-obsession-as-ai-videos-get-millions-of-views-3339289/

CEO Tim Sweeney released a public memo outlining the decision based on the company's need to make major budget cuts to keep the company funded and in a “more stable place.” The memo outlines that this layoff is part of a larger cost savings initiative to save more than $500 million of identified cost savings.

https://shorturl.at/jGpoQ

Editor: Screen shot of highlight and top of page “The downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025 means we're spending significantly more than we're making, and we have to make major cuts to keep the company funded. “

Many devs took to x to share their feelings on the decision that they were not made aware of until the memo.

https://x.com/GeorgeSokol/status/2036457941990346995

https://x.com/TheStevieT/status/2036465646561571164

Evan Kinney, one of the engineers who has worked at the company since 2017 expressed his genuine confusion given only last week he was debugging Fortnite’s new rivalry system while recovering from pneumonia.

https://x.com/evankinney/status/2036452221089391036

The layoff’s included fundamental staff like Vitaliy Naymushin, the artist Who Designed Jonesy, The Face Of The Game.

https://fortnite.fandom.com/wiki/Jonesy_The_First

Editor Jonesy bio and image

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7442257122463125504/?originTrackingId=mb2oTxfv6L8UYgh3kBTreg%3D%3D

Users on reddit have reacted and shared their thoughts on Epic’s jump to turning Fortnite into a “platform” similar to Roblox as part of the reason for this downturn. Another blamed the failure on Epic’s inability “ to support the massive upkeep they built up since it became a megahit nearly a decade ago.” https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/s/u8v7ITRJFA

Editor: Screenshot the top two comment “iceburg77779 and atahutahatena” they are the top 2 comments

These layoffs follow a recent hike in Fortnite V-Bucks prices, pointing to things not being entirely stable at Epic.

https://shorturl.at/JkABn

A user on X highlighted how absurd the Peak Scout skin pricing is, once 2.2× the cost of the game the skin is based on, now pushing nearly 3× after the V-Bucks increase.

https://x.com/cuzl_2/status/2035513578858356894

Amidst these layoffs Fortnite is also phasing out certain game modes like Rocket racing next week and the ballistic & festival stage on April 16th.

https://x.com/FortniteStatus/status/2036451164347109440

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says 'employers will see a stream of resumes of once-in-a-lifetime quality' after the company laid off more than 1,000 people

https://x.com/TimSweeneyEpic/status/2036622504353992902

BACK TO THE STADIUM

Mar 24th - Pokemon Champions April 8 Release Date And New Gameplay Details Revealed

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-champions-april-6-release-date-and-new-gameplay-details-revealed/1100-6538977/

https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/pokemon-champions-releases-on-nintendo-switch-and-nintendo-switch-2-on-april-8-2026

Launch trailer(1:59 shows a battle starting):https://youtu.be/pOfW-qdsvpU?t=119

Compilation of attacks at 4:37: https://youtu.be/pOfW-qdsvpU?t=277

Pokémon Champions' removal of IVs led to a "heated discussion" with one of the franchise's original devs | GoNintendo https://gonintendo.com/contents/59275-pokemon-champions-removal-of-ivs-led-to-a-heated-discussion-with-one-of-the

Quote: https://lmg.gg/UfrXF

Chansey image (show this beside the host when he mentions Chansey): https://img.game8.co/3396375/2c9693e5e217712a497c87471cafd1cf.png/show

Pokemon Champions Is Planned To Be Supported "Basically Forever"

https://www.thegamer.com/pokemon-champions-supported-basically-forever/

Even if that means adding 10,000 Pokemon quote

https://lmg.gg/9koW4

Pricing: https://lmg.gg/VuYxm

Pokemon world championships transition: https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/play-pokemon-competitions-transition-to-pokemon-champions-on-april-and-may-2026

Pokemon stadium cover art: https://gaming-cdn.com/images/news/articles/953/cover/pokemon-stadium-is-coming-to-nintendo-switch-on-april-12th-cover642bdf4b88079.jpg

PAY TO PLAY

Beginning in May Nintendo will implement Price Changes For First-Party Switch 2 Games, Depending On Whether They're Physical Or Digital

https://www.thegamer.com/nintendo-switch-2-first-party-game-price-change/

https://shorturl.at/gy20H

The announcement felt initially like an excuse to raise costs of Physical purchases as users on reddit expressed concern.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/1s3gr1k/about_nintendo_switch_2_game_pricing/

Editor: Reddit comments screenshot top threads

But thankfully Nintendo clarified that the price of physical games isn’t going up, expressing that Digital versions of Nintendo published games exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2 will have an MSRP that is lower than their physical counterparts. Noting that “Retail partners set their own prices for physical and digital games, and pricing for each title may vary.

https://rb.gy/4501cv

This announcement was made around the same time as a Bloomberg report on Nintendo's plan to cut Switch 2 production by 33%, a drop from 6 to 4 million units.

https://shorturl.at/oeWHZ

Memory shortages making buying sd card storage harder for consumers, general inflation issues surrounding the price of oil, and the Gta 6 typhoon according to Amir Anvarzadeh, Japan equity strategist at Asymmetric Advisors.

https://shorturl.at/q1kQs

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-24/nintendo-cuts-switch-2-output-by-over-30-on-weak-holiday-sales

QUICK BITS

THE KIDS YEARN FOR THE MINES

Mar 23rd - Mojang partners with Merlin Entertainments for the world's first Minecraft theme park, Minecraft World

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/mojang-partners-with-merlin-entertainments-for-the-worlds-first-minecraft-theme-park-minecraft-world

https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/holly-riordan/minecraft-theme-park

https://www.merlinentertainments.biz/newsroom/news-releases/2026/minecraft-chessington/

Renderings of the park: https://www.merlinentertainments.biz/media/8333/mc-world-entrance-sketch-a.jpg

https://www.merlinentertainments.biz/media/8331/handout_minecraft-world_5.jpg

Because what kid doesnt dream of being chased into a fiery abyss by a giant demon esque villager

https://www.merlinentertainments.biz/media/8332/handout_minecraft-world_1.png

CRIMSON OASIS

Despite initial fears from mixed reviewer scores on launch, Crimson Desert has sold 3 million copies in less than a week, up from 2 million in the first 24 hours alone.

https://wccftech.com/crimson-desert-sold-3-million-units/

Steam reviews have since climbed from Mixed to Very Positive

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3321460/Crimson_Desert/

Editor: Screenshot right above the Customer reviews for crimson desert and click the graph to show how sentiment has changed. March 20th for instance was mixed but it got better.

after Pearl Abyss pushed out rapid patches addressing controls, boss difficulty, and camp storage.

https://wccftech.com/crimson-desert-patch-adds-storage-howling-hill-camp/

There was also the Intel Arc situation, at launch the game flat out didn't work on Intel GPUs, and the devs initially told Arc owners to just get a refund.

https://videocardz.com/newz/crimson-desert-officially-does-not-support-intel-arc-graphics-cards-developer-tells-buyers-to-seek-refunds

Intel publicly clapped back saying they'd reached out "many times" with hardware, drivers, and engineering resources.

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/intel-suggests-it-was-snubbed-by-crimson-desert-dev-after-reaching-out-many-times-about-arc-gpus-company-says-it-provided-early-hardware-drivers-and-engineering-resources-to-studio

After the backlash Pearl Abyss reversed course and is now working on Arc compatibility, and while unoptimized, Crimson Desert now launches on Intel Arc.

https://videocardz.com/newz/crimson-desert-now-launches-on-intel-arc-pearl-abyss-changes-course

ALL THINGS TURN TO FROG

Mar 24th - Daybreak Games Announces EverQuest Legends, A Solo-Friendly Collaboration With Indie Studio Game Jawn

https://www.daybreakgames.com/press/daybreak/article/dbg-eql-announce

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/everquest-legends-announcement/

https://gameinformer.com/2026/03/24/everquest-legends-reimagines-the-classic-game-with-modernized-features-and-more-solo

They are doing a closed beta: https://www.everquestlegends.com/home

Launch trailer at 0:12: https://youtu.be/GAiNA03bMA8?t=12

Now you can relive your fantasy of being a seafaring frog. Because Everquest.

GAMES ARE FOR HAPPINESS

Mar 24th - New Scientific Study Concludes 'Post-Game Depression' Is Real, and It's RPGs That Have the Biggest Effect on Us

https://www.ign.com/articles/new-scientific-study-concludes-post-game-depression-is-real-and-its-rpgs-that-have-the-biggest-effect-on-us

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260319/Study-explores-post-game-depression-and-emotional-impact-on-players.aspx

RPG’s are the most susceptible: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260319/Study-explores-post-game-depression-and-emotional-impact-on-players.aspx#:~:text=Our%20research%20shows,is%20over%2C

But I have no idea what they are talking about. There's nothing emotionally damaging in video games at all!

Fade these clips over the host while he says he has no idea, like a Vietnam flashback. They should be opaque:

(2:29) https://youtu.be/AXZngNmIwlA?t=149

Nope nothing at all!:(1:17) https://youtu.be/BDhazVqxFs4?t=77

(3:51)https://youtu.be/mU2N2lM9igU?t=231

THE LATE SHOW WITH FRODO BAGGINS

Mar 24th - New LotR movie announced written by… Stephen Colbert

https://variety.com/2026/film/news/lord-of-the-rings-movie-stephen-colbert-warner-bros-1236698684/

https://deadline.com/2026/03/stephen-colbert-lord-of-the-rings-1236764923/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c33ldp22833o

Announcement video at 0:51: https://youtu.be/HMHh4L2626A?t=51

He says it'll stay faithful to both the books and the movies: https://lmg.gg/eZJS0

The hunt for gollum is coming out, are they trying to speedrun the destruction of the franchise?