Economy of Extremes - The State of Gaming In Early 2026

Episode 242

2026 is looking to be an eventful year - between increasing hardware prices, the upcoming Steam hardware, and the ever-looming GTA VI, there's something to consider for just about everybody! Today, we take stock of the games industry in early 2026 and make some predictions for how the year will go. As always, we conclude with the games we're playing (Palworld, Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak). This episode was recorded in January 2026. Intro and outro music composed for Gametalk by Dylan Chase.

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Timestamps:

0:00 - Opening Banter

6:41 - Hardware Inflation

16:21 - Increasing Domination of Free to Play Games

24:03 - VR's Dwindling Mindshare

35:10 - Nintendo's 2026

45:05 - Xbox's 2026

54:44 - PlayStation's 2026, GTAVI, and Other Upcoming Games

1:11:22 - Palworld

1:24:53 - Monster Hunter Portable 3rd

1:32:36 - Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak