This week's game industry news highlights several notable developments across game discovery, hardware sales, and consumer trends. The co-op pirate survival game Crosswind has climbed to the top of Steam's trending unreleased titles following a popular Alpha playtest. Meanwhile, Nintendo briefly revealed early sales figures for the Switch 2 console before pulling the data, and Steam announced the rollout of a new in-game performance monitoring tool.
Additional updates include shifts in consumer spending on video games among young adults, changes to Canada's digital services tax plans, and technical performance comparisons between SteamOS and Windows, reflecting a range of factors currently shaping the gaming landscape.
Crosswind Leads Steam Trending Charts
Crosswind dominates Steam trending charts
The co-op pirate survival game Crosswind has become the most followed unreleased game on Steam for the week of June 23rd to 30th. The title's surge in popularity follows a well-received Alpha playtest that drew significant player attention.
The top five trending unreleased games also included OKU in second place, which benefited from cross-promotion efforts, the free-to-play shooter Mecha Break in third, the survival horror game Resident Evil Requiem in fourth, and the train survival game Railborn in fifth. Other notable entries further down the list included Little Nightmares III, which saw increased interest due to the start of pre-orders, and Expedition: Into Darkness, a medieval co-op dungeon crawler with permadeath mechanics and a public playtest.
Nintendo Switch 2 sales figures briefly surface
Nintendo briefly published sales figures for the Switch 2 console, reporting that five million units were sold between June 5th and 30th, 2025. The sales were divided by region, with 1.8 million units sold in the Americas, 1.47 million in Japan, 1.18 million in Europe, and 550,000 in other regions. These figures were quickly removed from official channels, suggesting an accidental early reveal rather than an intentional disclosure. This temporary publication offers some insight into the early performance of the new hardware.
Nintendo Switch 2 Sales Figures Leaked
Canada scraps digital services tax
Concerns about Canada's proposed Digital Services Tax, which was expected to impact companies such as Valve, were resolved when the government announced it was scrapping the tax shortly before it was due to take effect. This decision followed statements from U.S. leadership indicating suspension of trade talks related to the tax. The cancellation avoids the imposition of new digital taxes and removes potential complications for international companies operating in Canada.
Steam rolls out in-game performance monitoring
Steam is introducing a new in-game performance monitoring feature designed to help users better understand how their hardware is performing during gameplay. The initial rollout targets Windows users with common GPU hardware, providing real-time data on the impact of system performance on gaming experiences. This move aims to increase transparency and assist players in diagnosing performance issues.
Young adults cut back on game spending
New research from Circana in the United States reveals that consumers aged 18 to 24 have reduced their spending on leisure items, including video games. The data shows a year-over-year decrease of between 20 and 25 percent in weekly spending on games as of April 2025. This trend correlates with increased credit card delinquency rates in the same demographic, suggesting financial pressures may be influencing entertainment choices.
Consumer Spending on Video Games Declines
Secondhand Switch 2 consoles carry risks
The Nintendo Switch 2 console enforces a permanent lock on devices that attempt to use unauthorized or hacked games. As a result, some locked consoles have appeared on the secondhand market. Buyers face risks because there is currently no way to remove the console lock. Potential purchasers are advised to verify that the console can connect to Nintendo's servers before completing a transaction to avoid acquiring unusable devices.
SteamOS outperforms Windows on portable hardware
Testing indicates that recent games tend to run at higher frame rates on SteamOS 3.7 compared to Windows 11 when played on Lenovo Legion Go S portable PCs. The reported performance drop when switching to Windows ranged from eight to thirty-six percent depending on the game and settings. These findings highlight the importance of operating system optimization in portable gaming hardware.
Lenovo Legion Go S Portable PCs
Additional industry updates
In July, Xbox Game Pass will add titles including Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4, Minami Lane, and Ultimate Chicken Horse. Twitch's CEO revealed that two-thirds of the platform's revenue derives from subscriptions, while one-third comes from advertising. Meanwhile, there are reports that Nintendo may increase pricing for the original Switch model in Canada starting in August.
AI company Runway announced plans to release generated video games later this year, a development that raises questions about the future role of AI in game creation. Microsoft issued an update to the Xbox 360 operating system that introduces dashboard advertisements promoting the Xbox Series S and X. The idle typing game Bongo Cat recorded nearly 200,000 concurrent users but generated only $3,800 in Steam revenue during May 2025.
Final thoughts
This collection of industry news reflects ongoing changes in gaming preferences, hardware adoption, and economic factors. The growth of co-op and survival games such as Crosswind, combined with hardware developments and shifts in consumer spending, illustrate a dynamic market adapting to new challenges and opportunities. Here is the list of all the games mentioned:
- Crosswind
- OKU
- Mecha Break
- Resident Evil Requiem
- Railborn
- Little Nightmares III
- Expedition: Into Darkness
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
- Minami Lane
- Ultimate Chicken Horse
- Bongo Cat
