#68 Weekly Gaming News Industry Trends Round Up

Arbitrum DAO mulls winding down 'unsustainable' Web3 gaming fund. SingularityNET and Star Atlas partner to combine Web3 games and AI Agents. Immutable declares win for Web3 gaming as SEC ends investigation. Japan's Prime Minister will not tolerate shrine destruction in Assassin's Creed Shadows as Government worried about imitation attacks. Several builds of unreleased games are leaking, including Riot Games' 2XKO. GTA 6 map in GTA 5 mod suffers takedown, creator believes it was 'probably too accurate' and 'could have ruined the surprise'. Balatro leads GDC Choice Awards 2025, wins GOY. Verdansk returns to Call of Duty Warzone the biggest changes are listed. And Xbox Blog post accidentally leaks "Steam" tab in a possible UI update, immediately removes any evidence of its mistake. All this and much more!

Also in our weekly round-up:

• The UN contacts Helldivers 2 studio about giving a talk on psychological defense against manipulation

• VividQ unveils 3D holographic gaming experience with COD: MW II

• Five takeaways from GDC 2025: A quieter year, AI was the big trend, and the engine wars go silent on the show floor

Web3 Games 🎯

• Arbitrum DAO mulls winding down 'unsustainable' Web3 gaming fund

• SKALE announces $2 million grant program for indie game developers

• SingularityNET and Star Atlas partner to combine Web3 games and AI Agents

• Immutable declares win for Web3 gaming as SEC ends investigation

• Sony-backed Japanese fan platform YOAKE partners with OpenSea on first NFT drop

• MetaGravity launches Quark multiplayer game engine

• TRALA unveils web3 version of legendary basketball franchise FreeStyle

• Forgotten Runiverse launches global early access on March 26

• Yeet secures $7.75 million to launch crypto-focused casino and sportsbook

• Fableborne announces new preview playtest: Sorcery Unfolds

• PlaysOut raises $7M at $70M valuation to expand mini-game ecosystem

• Gotchi Guardians now playable in browser, adds GHST rewards and new features

• Aethir and SuperScaleHelps studios skip downloads and cut costs

• GameStop follows Strategy's lead with bitcoin acquisition plan, $1.3 billion note offering

Gaming News 🕹️

• Several builds of unreleased games are leaking, including Riot Games' 2XKO

• GTA 6 map in GTA 5 mod suffers takedown, creator believes it was 'probably too accurate' and 'could have ruined the surprise'

• Balatro leads Game Developers Choice Awards 2025, wins Game of the Year

• Verdansk returns to Call of Duty Warzone — here are all the biggest changes

• Could The Witcher 4 be targeting the PS6 and next-gen Xbox, given it won't be out until 2027 at the earliest?

• Double Exposure won GDC Award for Social Impact, but layoffs meant nobody collected it

• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is out on April 17 for PS5

• Assassin's Creed Shadows has reached 2 million players, besting Origins and Odyssey

• Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 will get a lot more Xbox games in 2025

• Discord revamps overlay and desktop to make PC gaming easier

Trends 📈

• VividQ unveils 3D holographic gaming experience with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

• Report: Half of all mobile players have received real-world rewards from games

• Xbox Blog Post accidentally leaks "Steam" tab in a possible UI update, immediately removes any evidence of its mistake

• The UN contacted Helldivers 2 studio about giving a talk on "psychological defense against manipulation"

• 'It's okay to make a small game:' Astro Bot director Nicolas Doucet says tiny ideas contain huge potential

• Riot Games on why successful modern studios rely on cloud infrastructure

• How Assassin's Creed Shadows strengthened Ubisoft's process for bringing history to life

• Helldivers 2 boss says industry doomed to "unnecessarily brutal" layoffs while "chasing after the battle royales"

• European Commission targets exploitive virtual in-game currency practices

• Japan's Prime Minister 'will not tolerate' shrine destruction in Assassin's Creed Shadows as Government worried about 'imitation attacks'

Industry News 🛡️

• Five takeaways from GDC 2025: A quieter year, AI was the big trend, and the engine wars go silent on the show floor

• Midia Research: Global games industry estimated to reach $236.9bn in 2025

• GDC draws nearly 30K attendees and returns to SF in early March 2026

• German games market drops 6% to €9.4bn in 2024

• Opus Major raises $10m in seed funding round

• United Videogame Workers union launches at GDC 2025 in partnership with CWA

• Nintendo, Microsoft, EA and others unite to make accessibility messaging a priority

• Wizards of the Coast lays off 90% of Project Sigil staff

• You are Phil Spencer. Which Ubisoft IP do you buy?

• Apple Arcade is reportedly unprofitable without subscription bundle

• Reality of Twitch viewbotting exposed by streamer slip-up

• Game Informer is back and the whole team is returning with it thanks to a new owner: Neill Blomkamp's video game studio

• The issues game developers are facing in 2025 | IGDA interview

Level Up Your Hardware 🎧

• New PS5 update brings big changes to activity settings

• PlayStation Solar-Powered controller detailed in new "Operation Device" patent

• Nintendo Switch 2 to feature 120 Hz LCD screen with VRR and HDR support

• Nvidia cuts RTX 50-series prices across Europe

• Samsung unveils next-gen Odyssey gaming monitors with immersive 3D and OLED

Esports Players & Teams News 🏆

• PlayStation Solar-Powered controller detailed in new "Operation Device" patent

• Nintendo Switch 2 to feature 120 Hz LCD screen with VRR and HDR support – Rumor

• Nvidia cuts RTX 50-series prices across Europe

• Samsung unveils next-gen Odyssey gaming monitors with immersive 3D and OLED

Gaming On Screen 🎬

• Flying Lotus says his sci-fi horror-thriller Ash 'was made for the gamers'

• Video game book and documentary interviews

• Split Fiction film in the works, as bidding war for rights begins

• The Last of Us showrunner wants Nick Offerman to voice Wario in the Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel

• If there is no The Last of Us 3, would Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann keep the TV show going past the games?

• Game Scoop! 803: The Spoiler-Free Assassin's Creed Shadows episode

• Stop harassing developers over video games - Insider Gaming Weekly

• Feature The Pocket Gamer Podcast Episode 25 New releases, acquisitions and the (not so) Perfect Pitch

• Blockchain gaming weekly roundup: 21st March

…Gaming News Continued 🕹️

• Steam's latest sale is all about city builders with discounts on Oxygen Not Included, Frostpunk and Project Highrise

• Frosthaven video game adaptation announced, closed beta coming next week

• Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days release date revealed for April

• Konami's Deliver At All Costs gets May release date

• Palworld crossplay update released, full patch notes revealed

• The First Berserker: Khazan review

• Revenge of the Savage Planet co-op preview – Goo for two?

• JDM: Japanese Drift Master drops a new trailer on its way to release in May

• 33 Immortals – Is 33 players the magic number for hack and slash multiplayer?

• Wreckfest 2 Early Access gives a brief look at another smashingly good time

• Practice makes perfects in Forestrike's martial arts brawler

• The best racing games to play right now

• Palworld too 'beefy' for Switch, studio rep says, but Switch 2 'worth considering'

• 7 great games you can finish in one sitting

• Minecraft is getting vibrant with its visuals

• 7 cool indie games from GDC 2025

• The System Shock 2 remaster comes out June 26th

• Epic Games Store's latest free PC and mobile games are here

• Flight Simulator pops up on PlayStation Store, but it's not what you think

• Split Fiction players invited to see studio's next game after beating rock-hard secret level

• InZOI is now the number one most wanted game on Steam

• Marvel Rivals Esports is already building strong rivalries and solid viewership

• Delta Force issues thousands of 10-year bans to clamp down on cheaters

• Underwater psychological horror game Dark Mass announced for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC

• Forza Motorsport brings back legendary track for 20th anniversary

• Drug-selling game explodes on Steam charts, surpassing Assassin's Creed Shadows

Guides, Tips and Tricks 🗝️

• Assassin's Creed Shadows – How to get resources

• Assassin's Creed Shadows – Best hideout upgrades (and how to fill it with pets!)

• 33 quick Assassin's Creed Shadows tips in no particular order

• All allies in Assassin's Creed Shadows and how to recruit them

• How to get nourishing extract in Monster Hunter Wilds

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