#58 Weekly Gaming News Industry Trends Round Up

Ethereum shooter 'The Machines Arena' coming to Steam and PS5—without crypto features. Axie Infinity’s treasury grew by $4 million in 2024. Assassin's Creed Shadows release delayed to March as Ubisoft's board consider a company sale. Astro Bot, Indiana Jones, and Helldivers 2 lead 2025 DICE Awards nominations. Squid Game: Unleashed reaches over 10m installs. The latest Call of Duty patch has broken multiplayer matchmaking. The Last Of Us Part II will be unplayable in over 100 countries. PowerWash Sim kills off VR support in a bid to provide "job security" for the team and new Square Enix policy will clamp down on harassers, bigots, and "unreasonable" compensation requests. All this plus much more!

Also in our weekly round-up:

• Amazon reveals 16 titles heading to Prime Gaming in January

• How did these hit games find their first 1,000 players?

• The US government wants to start protecting you from Robux scams

• How Microsoft can turn Windows PCs into an Xbox

Gaming News 🕹️

• Assassin's Creed Shadows release delayed to March as Ubisoft's board consider a company sale

• Astro Bot, Indiana Jones, and Helldivers 2 lead 2025 DICE Awards nominations

• Squid Game: Unleashed reaches over 10m installs

• The latest Call of Duty patch has broken multiplayer matchmaking

• The Last Of Us Part II will require a PSN account to play on PC, making it unplayable in over 100 countries

• Rumours suggest more Xbox games will be coming to PS5 and Switch

• Witcher 3 director's vampiric dark fantasy action-RPG The Blood of the Dawnwalker gets first trailer

• Hit city-builder Manor Lords has been updated with two new maps and a heap of changes

• Hitman: World of Assassination tops 75 million players

• Splash Damage is scaling down after scrapping Transformers: Reactivate

• Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii new combat features revealed

• Hatsune Miku is coming to Fortnite dressed as a kitty cat

• Monster Hunter Now x Monster Hunter Wilds collab coming in February

• Xbox Developer Direct to show off Doom: The Dark Ages and more on January 23rd

• Five Nights at Freddy's 2 set leaks give us our first peek at a terrifying pizzeria

• Amazon reveals 16 titles heading to Prime Gaming in January

• Black Ops 6 & Warzone Season 2—release date, new content & battle pass

• Baldur's Gate 3 dev Larian says its 'full attention' is on its next game, 'media blackout'

• Delta Force Mobile has been delayed to summer 2025

Web3 Games 🎯

• Ehereum shooter 'The Machines Arena' coming to Steam and PS5—without crypto features

• Pixels CEO teases staking for $PIXEL, more details coming soon

• Axie Infinity’s treasury grew by $4 million in 2024

• Upcoming blockchain gaming events listed for early 2025

• Play taps Forte to accelerate web3 adoption efforts

• Web3 MMORPG RavenQuest is set to launch a full-featured mobile version on January 16

• Web3 gaming franchise Super Champs has officially revealed Kigu, an AI-powered streaming agent designed to engage fans

• Farm Frens Telegram game snapshot dated ahead of Ethereum airdrop

Trends 📈

• Nearly half of Cyberpunk 2077's 5,000-person team worked on localizing the game

• How did these hit games find their first 1,000 players?

• The US government wants to start protecting you from Robux scams

• Nintendo Switch 2 leaks are everywhere. Here's why they persist

• How Microsoft can turn Windows PCs into an Xbox

• PowerWash Sim kills off VR support in a bid to provide "job security" for the team

• Ubisoft Faces its most challenging year in its history

Industry News 🛡️

• Two weeks into 2025, three studios are already closing down

• Ubisoft appoints advisors to oversee strategic options and decisions

• Infinity Nikki generates $16m in player spending on mobile

• Turkish mobile studio Grand Games secures a $30 million investment

• Infinite Reality secures $3bn in funding for its expansion initiatives

• New Square Enix policy will clamp down on harassers, bigots and "unreasonable" compensation requests

Level Up Your Hardware 🎧

• Valve will officially let you install SteamOS on other handhelds as soon as this April

• Nintendo Switch 2 reveal imminent, reports suggest it could arrive soon

• New Sony patent could use AI and a camera pointed at your fingers to predict button presses

Esports Players & Teams News 🏆

• OpTic Shotzzy snaps on social media against other CDL pro players

• Nickmercs has left FaZe Clan after five years with the brand

• INTERVIEW: EG's Coach Potter says 'Yay has to prove he's not just a Chamber main'

• Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 preview – a cinematic masterpiece in progress

• OpTic assembles Halo 'super squad' for the 2025 season

Guides, Tips and Tricks 🗝️

• All Destiny 2 illusory anchor locations in 'Kell's Fall'

• All gas station locations in Fortnite are listed in this guide

• Best Counter-Strike 2 practice modes to sharpen your skills

• How to unlock Astronomer Joker in Balatro step-by-step

• Where to find Belladonna in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 (best location)

• How to play Tejo in VALORANT – tips and tricks

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