#53 Weekly Gaming News Industry Trends Round Up

Axie Infinity' developer Sky Mavis lays off 21% of staff, confirms new game. Pac-Man nfts to fuel Pokémon Go-Like scavenger hunt in Tokyo. South Korean loyalty app SK Planet to integrate Mocaverse. Big time releases PVP wagering mode on 2nd December. Splinterlands unveils new endless Survival mode for its players. Dr Disrespect isn't just joining Rumble, he's helping run the platform. FIFA rivals’ mobile NFT game coming from makers of ‘NFL Rivals’. YGG unveils onchain guilds on Coinbase’s Base, expands blockchain ecosystem in the Philippines. Grand theft auto community devastated by GTA 6 announcement. Hitman has cut ties with Conor McGregor after court ruling. Fortnite just raised its battle pass price for the first time ever. Thieves allegedly steal a truck packed with $1.5 million in Oculus headsets. Plus the Golden Joystick awards 2024 – we have all award winners.

Also in our weekly round-up:

• Fortnite is now selling digital shoes for your character skin

• Team falcons win first Overwatch Champions Series World Final at the event

• US and European games consumer spending is up for October

• Sniper Elite Battle Royale spin-off reportedly canceled after losing funding

• Activision addresses Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's ranked play cheaters

• Microsoft Edge Game assist lets you check out guides, tips and videos without leaving your game

Gaming News 🕹️

• Grand theft auto community devastated by GTA 6 trailer announcement no-show after moon theory debunked

• Golden joystick awards 2024 – all award winners

• Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. will mark the series debut on Steam

• Black Myth: Wukong devs tease December surprise for the 2024 GOTY contender

• Fortnite just raised its battle pass price for the first time ever

• Empyreal, a new sci-fi action-RPG, announced for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S

• Sniper Elite Battle Royale spin-off reportedly canceled after losing funding

• Committing fraud is the name of the game in SpreadCheat, a love letter to Excel

• Rainbow Six Siege finally getting full cross-play, many years later

• Steam adds proper season pass support: if a DLC is cancelled, companies have to refund customers

• Star Wars: Hunters confirmed for PC via Steam Early Access in 2025

• Assassin's Creed Shadows reveals new stealth gameplay details

• Overthrown launches in early access for Xbox Series and PC on December 5

• Final fantasy 7 rebirth director says fans don't want DLC as much as they want Part 3

• Baldur's gate 3 restricts consoles to 100 mods per save because they "can only juggle so many files at once"

• Fortnite's permanent OG mode will have its own battle pass

• Nintendo Switch Online gets beloved Game Boy Donkey Kong platformer

• Stalker 2 has sold 1 million copies in two days

• Masterfully silly brawler Gang Beasts gets surprise update with driveable cranes and Hitchcockian bird attacks

• AFK Journey named Google Play's game of the year

• Fortnite chapter 6 leaks point to Godzilla crossover

• Nintendo shutting down Switch eShop and other services in China in 2026

• Future mortal kombat 1 DLC cancelled after poor expansion sales, it's claimed

Web3 Games 🎯

• South Korean loyalty app SK Planet to integrate Mocaverse

• Big time releases PVP wagering mode on 2nd December

• Splinterlands unveils new endless Survival mode for its players

• Dr disrespect isn't just joining Rumble, he's helping run the platform

• Axie infinity' developer Sky Mavis lays off 21% of staff, confirms new game

• FIFA rivals’ mobile NFT game coming from makers of ‘NFL Rivals’

• Pac-man nfts to fuel Pokémon Go-Like scavenger hunt in Tokyo

• YGG unveils onchain guilds on Coinbase’s Base, expands blockchain ecosystem in the Philippines

• Nexon launches second playtest of Maplestory N ahead of 2025 launch

• XPLA and gall3ry team up for Hello PAL NFT event

• Limit break enhances its NFT creator-first protocols for developers

• Immutable and altura collaborate on marketplace tech and rewards program

• Mythical’s fifa rivals due out in summer 2025 for fans

• Price of sand surges as The Sandbox marks 5 years since first land NFT sale

• Wemade and japanese animation studio Toei to launch blockchain game based on DenDekaDen IP

Trends 📈

• Activision addresses call of Duty: Black Ops 6's ranked play cheaters

• Microsoft Edge Game Assist lets you check out guides, tips and videos without leaving your game

• Fortnite is now selling digital shoes for your character skin, with Nike Air Jordans costing around £7

• Niantic is building a 'geospatial' AI model based on Pokémon Go player data

• How do you know when your game is good? Here’s our guide

• What Blizzard is doing to make sure World of Warcraft never gets old

• Square enix and Lightspeed team up to bring Final Fantasy XIV to phones

• Minecraft is getting two theme parks, with the first due in 2026

• Samsung launches free mobile cloud gaming platform for Galaxy devices

• 2K games removes launcher from all Steam and Epic Games Store titles

• Xbox is shutting down the Avatar Editor app and offering refunds starting in January

Industry News 🛡️

• Thieves allegedly stole a truck packed with $1.5 million in Oculus headsets

• Koei Tecmo wants to prioritize AAA games and to further distance itself from the mobile market

• Interview: Path of Exile 2 game director details end-game and more

• Indie game platform Itch.io now requires developers to tag AI content

• Inside the fall of GAME: "no games, no accessories - instead we received 136 Zendaya action figures"

• Fromsoftware parent company confirms Sony's acquisition interest in gaming

• Bandai Namco dissolving online studio after Blue Protocol's collapse

• Xsolla establishes Asia-Pacific HQ in Busan to grow country into another global dev hub

• Playstation finds two new execs for its mobile game division

• US games consumer spending up by 10% after Black Ops 6 launch

• Game investment and M&A deals pull ahead of 2023 at $10.38bn for Q1-Q3

• European video game sales jumped 12% in October on the back of blockbuster launches

• CD Projekt reports 49% plummet in sales revenue in Q3 2024

• Hitman has cut ties with Conor McGregor after court ruling

• Bioware veteran's studio shuts down before releasing a game in its lifecycle

• Microsoft pauses certain players' Windows updates over Ubisoft-game stability issues

Level Up Your Hardware 🎧

• Best gifts for gamers: our favorite accessories, games and merch for consoles and PC

• Steam controller 2 and new VR controller both reportedly in the works at Valve

• PS5 pro owners say some games look worse after upgrades

• New nvidia geforce RTX 5070 Ti specs leak online with details

• Xbox cloud gaming: how to stream your own games with ease

• Sony reportedly prepping PlayStation 5 portable, plans to battle Nintendo's handheld dominance

• PlayStation 5 pro PSSR upscaler is not a great fit for 4K resolution in games with low internal resolution like Alan Wake 2

Esports Players & Teams News 🏆

• Overwatch players have Stockholm Syndrome': Bogur speaks about Deadlock taking over

• Team falcons win first Overwatch Champions Series World Final at the event

• Major changes (including team packs) are coming to the OWCS in 2025

• Lol worlds 2024 final hit 50 million peak viewers during the event

• Shanghai major opening stage first matchups revealed for fans

• Free fire world Series Finals 2024 records highest viewership in two years

• Why did t1 choose Doran as their League of Legends top laner

• IESF elects new board and committee members in latest general meeting

Guides, Tips and Tricks 🗝️

• Stardew Valley animal guide – how to raise animals and slow heart decay

• How to find and beat the Rumbling in Attack on Titan: Revolution

• All Street Fighter ranks | how to hit Master

• Best movement settings in Black Ops 6

• Brighter Shores Scout leveling guide: how to level up fast

• How to get one-shot kills in Black Ops 6 quick and easy

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