From GRAMMY buzz to billion-dollar projections, game audio continues to ride the front edge of the industry’s momentum. With major acquisitions, community meetups, legal headlines, and some very creative workarounds making waves, we’re bringing you the key stories shaping our space, one soundtrack, system update, and studio deal at a time.
GRAMMY Season Begins: Submit Your Game Soundtrack
It’s that exciting time of year—GRAMMY submissions are officially open!
The Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) is once again authorized by the Recording Academy to submit entries for Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media at the 68th GRAMMY Awards (2026).
Deadline: August 26, 2025
Eligibility: August 31, 2024 – August 30, 2025
Pro tip: Early submission = lower fees
If you’re not a Recording Academy member, G.A.N.G. can submit on your behalf. Let’s celebrate the amazing soundtracks our community has created.
For more information: https://www.audiogang.org/grammy-submission-instructions/
G.A.N.G. Hang: Orange County Meetup Incoming
We’re gathering in Orange County on Tuesday, August 5 for a G.A.N.G. Hang at Dave & Buster’s! Come by for an evening of good conversation, industry networking, and complimentary appetizers.
Location: 661 Spectrum Center Dr, Irvine, CA
Time: 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Who’s Invited? Everyone in the game audio community!
Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/orange-county-gang-hang-tickets-1553439923629?aff=oddtdtcreator
It’s a great chance to connect IRL with friends, collaborators, and new faces.
Questions? [email protected]
2025 Game Developer Salary Survey Now Live!
Game Developers Conference (GDC) has launched the game industry’s most comprehensive compensation study and needs YOUR input. Help us track salary trends, document the impact of recent layoffs, and explore changing work arrangements across the game development landscape. Whether you’re a programmer, artist, designer, or in management, your experience matters. The confidential survey takes just 10-15 minutes to complete and covers compensation, job security, work arrangements, and industry outlook.
Your participation helps create the transparency we all need to build a stronger game development community.
TAKE SURVEY: https://gdconf.typeform.com/salarysurvey25
Never Miss a Beat – G.A.N.G. Launches New Events Calendar
Looking to stay in sync with the game audio world? G.A.N.G. has launched a brand-new Events Calendar on our website! From G.A.N.G. Hangs to industry conferences and developer meetups, it’s now easier than ever to keep track of what’s coming up.
Just head to audiogang.org and click Events—everything you need is in one tidy place.
Discord Age-Checks Stir Privacy Concerns in the UK
Following the rollout of the UK’s Online Safety Act, Discord has implemented its K-id age-verification system—requiring users to scan a face or ID to access mature content. While Discord deletes the data after confirmation, privacy advocates have raised red flags over surveillance concerns.
Users have already found creative workarounds—some using Death Stranding’s photo mode to trick the scanner with protagonist Sam Porter Bridges’ face. Others are bypassing the system entirely via VPN.
Wwise 2025.1 Brings Major Workflow Upgrades
The latest Wwise update—2025.1—delivers a suite of powerful features designed to streamline daily workflows and improve accessibility for teams of all sizes and skill levels.
Among the most notable additions is the Media Pool, a new view that places audio files front and center in your creative process. Whether you’re importing, auditioning, or mixing, it’s now easier than ever to find and work with the content your project needs.
The update also brings a long-requested overhaul to UI clarity, with renamed and simplified hierarchies, plus new tools like RTPC Mute/Solo, Event Limiting, and the Multiband Meter—giving sound designers even more real-time control over dynamic mixing.
For Unity and Unreal developers, expect smoother experiences too: the Unity Wwise Browser has been enhanced, and the Wwise Unreal Integration now fully supports dynamic dialogue workflows.
Audiokinetic’s Damian Kastbauer reflects on the renaming of “Actor-Mixer” to something more intuitive:
“It’s bittersweet. As a long-time Wwise user, that term was iconic—but this change will open doors for newcomers and make the toolset even more approachable.”
Wwise continues to evolve into a scalable, flexible platform—without sacrificing its deep power or community-driven direction.
https://www.audiokinetic.com/en/blog/wwise-2025.1-whats-new
Video Games Are Outpacing Music and Film—By a Lot
According to a new PwC report, the global games industry earned $224 billion in 2024—already eclipsing the combined revenue of music and movies. And by 2029? Analysts expect it to approach $300 billion.
While streaming services are feeling the pinch from tighter wallets and market saturation, video games remain a resilient form of entertainment. Releases like GTA 6 and the Nintendo Switch 2 are expected to keep the momentum going.
Hopefully this will lead to new opportunities for game audio professionals.
Krafton Acquires Last Epoch Studio in $96M Deal
Krafton—the publisher behind PUBG—has acquired indie ARPG studio Eleventh Hour Games for $96 million. Best known for Last Epoch, the studio will maintain full creative control while gaining support for publishing and live ops.
Founder Judd Cobler says the deal gives them “the resources to create the very best ARPG in the genre.” The move comes amid Krafton’s broader push to secure big IPs, including recent investments in Hi-Fi Rush and Subnautica.
The acquisition cements Last Epoch’s place in the spotlight—and signals major growth ahead.
Lastly, at our previous meetup, the audio community was treated to a series of inspiring micro talks from experts within our community. One standout presentation was delivered by Andy Martin, who gave a talk on environmental soundscape recording.
That’s it for now. Whether you’re submitting a soundtrack, meeting up in Orange County, or tracking the industry’s next big leap—we hope you’re feeling inspired.— The Game Audio Network Guild