#61 Weekly Gaming News Industry Trends Round Up

Dr Disrespect's former studio Midnight Society has closed down. ZED RUN to sunset with final event. New BGA AI Gaming Report exploring how Web3 projects leverage AI agents. Faraway Games launches RIFT platform to supercharge your AI agents. Forza Horizon 5 coming to PS5 in the spring. EA reveals Battlefield 6 playtest signup. PlayStation Plus drops PS4 games. MultiVersus ends live service as season 5 is its last. BioWare focuses on Mass Effect 5, sucking up all of EA’s resources. Assassin's Creed art book leaks on adult cartoon site. You can now search 1500+ old game magazines online using a free tool. Switch sales drop significantly. Generative AI art made without human "creativity" cannot be protected by copyright laws. All this and much more!

Also in our weekly round-up:

• Nintendo bans foreign eShop payments in Japan

• The console wars are over and nobody really won

• Marvel Snap developer to self-publish, mostly, following unplanned outage

• Indiana Jones hits 4 million players, but Xbox revenue and hardware sales fall

• BGA looking for a Co-President with focus on diversity and women's representation

Web3 Games 🎯

• Dr Disrespect's former studio Midnight Society has closed down

• DraftKings settles NFL union suit over NFT pay dispute

• Web3 RPG Gigaverse ROM NFT mint sells out in minutes

• ZED RUN to sunset with final event, $100K ZED tokens up for grabs

• Fableborne raise $12.4M to supercharge $POWER token airdrop

• Beamable raises $13.5 million

• Faraway Games launches RIFT platform to supercharge your AI agents

• Laton Ventures raises 50 million to invest in gaming startups

• Mighty Bear Games secures $4 million

• TVM Ventures launches new $100 million fund

• Sei Foundation launches new $65 million fund

The Blockchain Game Alliance Round-Up

• Major industry shift revealed in BGA's Annual Report as Gaming professionals now dominate Web3 (52.5%), surpassing blockchain experts. Digital asset ownership remains top priority at 71%.

• Historic leadership opportunity as BGA seeks Co-President to join Sebastien Borget, focusing on diversity and women's representation in Web3 gaming. Applications now open

• Web3 projects leverage AI agents in the new AI Gaming Report exploring how to enhance player and developer experiences, featuring multiple case studies from BGA members

• BGA February Magazine launches with updates on Wanderers, Hyperplay's onboarding solutions, Helika analytics, Dot.Play's gaming hub, and 2025 event schedule including NFT Paris.

Gaming News 🕹️

• Forza Horizon 5 switches tracks to PlayStation 5 in the spring

• Spider-Man 2 PC port hit with negative reviews over poor quality

• PlayStation Plus will stop giving out monthly PS4 games starting next year but Sony makes PSN optional on PC games with new incentives for signing in

• BioWare betting it all on Mass Effect 5 after even more layoffs as staff loaned to other EA studios may not be returning

• Dune Awakening designed with controller in mind despite launching on PC first

• MultiVersus season 5 is to end on May 30 as Warner and DC smash 'em up disappointing performance of the live service game

• Helldivers 2's latest update secretly added shovels to the game — and players are trying to unearth the reason why

• The Sims 1 and 2 re-released for franchise's 25th anniversary

• EA reveals promo vid of the next Battlefield and establishes community playtest collab for playtesters to play it early. Here is How To Sign Up and test Battlefield 6

• Gran Turismo 7 update 1.55 packs in four new cars and more

• Avowed headlines February's Xbox Game Pass. Here are all the titles announced

• The PS Plus monthly games for February 2025 gets heisting with Payday 3

• Indiana Jones hits 4 million players, but Xbox revenue and hardware sales fall

• Assassin's Creed Shadows spoilers splurged on adult cartoon website as Art Book Leaks Online Showing 200+ Pages of New Art

• Microsoft's indie-focused ID@Xbox games showcase returns this month and the Summer Game Fest dates confirmed

• A Valentine's Day PlayStation showcase might be headed our way

• Capcom games showcase coming next week, with Monster Hunter Wilds stream right after

• Meet Absurdaverse, GTA 5 writer Dan Houser's next big project

Trends 📈

• Generative AI art made without human "creativity" cannot be protected by copyright laws

• Nintendo lowers FY forecast as sales drop 31% to $6.1bn as Switch performing 'below expectations' but Nintendo boss says Switch 2 anticipation not to blame for falling Switch 1 sales

• Marvel Snap developer to self-publish, mostly, following unplanned outage

• Xbox hardware sales decline as Game Pass sets quarterly revenue record

• Sumo Group to refocus business on "development services for partners" they are ditching original franchises to focus exclusively on co-development work

• Sony partially pulls back on account linking requirement for PC games

• The console wars are over and nobody really won

• Japanese Nintendo Switch eShop payment crackdown bans overseas cards and PayPal as Nintendo to cease foreign payment on digital stores

• Why a 43-year-old video game just won a Grammy

• FromSoftware is not chasing a trend with Elden Ring Nightreign

• Forza Horizon 5 on PS5 isn't the end of Xbox, but it's a change that cannot be reversed

• Former PlayStation boss is optimistic about Xbox's multiplatform strategy and Game Pass "Doesn't Hurt Game Companies," Says Doom Co-Creator

• The future of game subscriptions: challenges and strategies for growth

• You can now search 1500+ old game magazines online using this free tool

Industry News 🛡️

• Konami revises forecasts as profits increase 38% to $560m due to Silent Hill 2 remake selling over 2 million copies

• Favourite game no longer playable? UK government says it won't tighten rules to punish publishers who switch off servers

• Hideki Kamiya reveals more PlatinumGames execs have left the studio

• A TV adaption of Beyond: Two Souls is in early development

• PlatinumGames loses more game directors, reveals former vice president Hideki Kamiya

• That's all folks - another Warner Bros live-service bites the dust

• ESA issues statement on tariffs and industry impact as Trump tariffs will bring "significant harm" to US developers and players

• Sony PlayStation State of Play reportedly set for next week

• Activision raises $2.6 million for Los Angeles fire relief efforts via Call of Duty DLC and more

• Platinum Games scrubs website, removes previously announced Project G.G.

Level Up Your Hardware 🎧

• Nintendo doing every thing it can to prevent scalpers and bots from ruining the Switch 2 launch

• Looking for a gaming phone? Check out these three excellent options

• Nvidia's new RTX 5080 and 5090 graphics cards are sold out everywhere

• The PS4 generation isn't over quite yet — but it's finally getting close

• Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 review: big expectations, small gains

• Valve is building a 'Steam Console' to rival PS5 and Xbox, rumour claims

• Switch 2 Joy-Con rumored mouse feature is "definitely intriguing," Civ dev says

• Elgato's popular audio-mixing software is getting a big upgrade

• Alienware RTX 50-Series gaming PCs are up for preorder for a small fortune

Esports Players & Teams News 🏆

• Overwatch 2 removes its newest mode from competitive play

• Livid Overwatch 2 fans are asking for refunds after paid skin is made free a day later

• CS2 match decided by coin flip after both teams forfeit

• VALORANT patch 10.02 notes – all changes and fixes

• CS2 caster rages at Liquid player's 'inexcusable' misplay

• Six Invitational 2025 – schedule, teams, prize pool, and where to watch

• Those guys are frauds': Drazah fires shots at LAT after securing Madrid major GF

• INTERVIEW: FaZe aBeZy and Cellium talk dominance – 'no one can beat us'

• INTERVIEW: LAT Scrap and Ghosty on being the CDL's 'godlike' super team

• Overwatch is dead and gone': Ninja thinks Marvel Rivals has killed the competition

• HCS 2025 details – schedule, teams, format, and prize pool

• CDL Major I: Royal Ravens pick up pace following OpTic Texas elimination

• OpTic Shotzzy wants more EU majors thanks to Madrid crowd

• Four years after Microsoft acquisition, esports site Start.gg goes independent with some changes

• New trailer gives Apex Legends players a glimpse of the game's sixth anniversary

Gaming On Screen 🎬

• Just Cause film adaptation lands Jack Ryan writer

• The Last of Us Abby isn't as muscular as Part 2's because it "doesn't play as big of a role in this version" but Season 2 Will Feature 'Pretty Brutal' Content Cut From the Game

• Clair Obscur Expedition 33 movie underway before the game's even out

• Marvel star randomly reveals plan to revive Sleeping Dogs movie project

• Beyond Two Souls TV series announced, produced by the game's star

• Sonic 3 is the second-highest grossing video game movie of all time

• Fallout New Vegas lead writer returns to Obsidian, but says its not for New Vegas 2

• Xbox is everywhere and Ubisoft is nowhere: Insider Gaming weekly podcast

• IGN UK podcast 785: our Xbox games series tier lists

• The Sleeping Dogs movie is in development and we're hearing Shang-Chi star Simu Liu is set to play Wei Shen

…Gaming News Continued 🕹️

• All WWE 2K25 ratings & roster confirmed so far—every superstar, legend & DLC characters

• Riot explains why Arcane erased a League of Legends champion

• Fortnite leak reveals upcoming Jujutsu Kaisen wave 2 skins

• Red Dead Redemption 2 has set another all-time peak record on Steam

• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown sold 1.3 million units in its first year

• Tomb Raider spin-off game is coming to mobile 15 years after console debut

• Destiny 2 Heresy has missing voice lines due to ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, Bungie warns

• Dying Light franchise has hit 45 million players in 10 years

• Jean-Claude Van Damme's Kickboxer is getting a game from ex-Call of Duty devs

• Helldivers 2 players are alarmed by a new spacetime meter on the map

• Xbox's Age of Mythology and Age of Empires 2 remasters heading to PS5 this year

• Minecraft now has cold and warm cow variants to join the pigs in beta

• As Time Surrenders is a dirt-filtered stealth 'em up lurking in the shadows of Metal Gear Solid V

• OlliOlli World and Rollerdrome have been de-listed from Steam and nobody knows why

• N64 classic Ridge Racer 64 comes to Nintendo Switch Online

• Sniper at Work is a game of crafty first-person assassination with a touch of Hitman's sandboxing

• Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man shifts Peter Parker's origin story thanks to a Marvel favorite

• WWE 2K is coming to Netflix games this year

• Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 review

• Killing Floor 3 launches on 25th March 25 with closed beta in February

• Is This Seat taken is a polite and cosy puzzler where you have to consider other people's feelings

• Breakout Beyond puts a new angle on Atari's classic brick-breaker

• Dune Awakening's early 2025 release date is looser than you might think

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 "the top-selling game on Xbox and PlayStation" last quarter

• MLB The Show 25 gameplay trailer reveals new features

• Far Cry New Dawn getting 60 FPS update on Xbox Series and PS5

• Roll7's critically acclaimed skating games OlliOlliWorld and Rollerdrome mysteriously yanked from Steam

• Bloodborne 60 fps mod targeted by Sony DMCA takedown

• Wreckfest 2 early access release date scheduled for March

Guides, Tips and Tricks 🗝️

• How to farm banana coins in Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (and other helpful tips)

• The Sims 1 cheat codes list

• The Sims 2 cheat codes list

• Where to find a launch pad in Fortnite OG

• Best PPSh-41 loadout, class build in Black Ops 6

• Diablo 4 players reach infinite damage through a new game-breaking bug

• All Spider-Man 2 suits and how to unlock them

• How to get back to Trosky in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2? (answered)

• All Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 achievements and how to unlock them (guide)

• All Yuanbao locations in GTA Online

Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest news and announcements!

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