#29 Weekly Gaming News Industry Trends Round Up

Dubai launches ‘gaming visa’ to boost gaming industry. Nintendo Switch successor has a codename: MUJI. V Rising hits 100,000 concurrent players on Steam. Pixels breaks 1 million daily active users. Shrapnel STX3 is about to begin. A new Roblox event called The Classic is coming. Fortnite removes Yoda backbling following crashes. Square Enix overhaul gives hope to Final Fantasy 7 on Xbox. Compact mode continues evolving in the Xbox app on PC. Xsolla quarter report highlights impact of Digital Markets Act on mobile games. Xbox President Sarah Bond responds to Bethesda studio cuts, points to lack of industry growth and need to manage the business 'through this moment of transition' and suggests Call of Duty 2024 will launch straight into Game Pass. All this plus much more!

Also in our weekly round-up:

• Zelda LEGO is supposedly coming this September

• New Doom reveal hinted at by Zenimax trademark

• Red Dead Redemption PC may finally be real as Rockstar updates site

• Your PC is about to advertise Game Pass to you

• Success can't save your favorite game studios anymore

• EA are thinking about inserting adverts into games

• Microsoft plans to open its own mobile games store this summer

• Remedy will launch Alan Wake 2: The Original Soundtrack

• Square Enix's American and European departments to be hit by layoffs

Gaming News 🕹️

• Square Enix overhaul gives hope to Final Fantasy 7 on Xbox

• Rumour: Zelda LEGO is supposedly coming this September

• Sonic Rumble is a battle royale coming to mobile

• Fortnite removes Yoda backbling following crashes and Fortnite Season 3 Chapter 5 Start Date is fast approaching

• Sony and Lego are collaborating on a project based on Guerilla's Horizon franchise, leaker teases

• Pre-orders for Ghost of Tsushima on PC are being canceled in countries without PSN access

• New Roblox event called The Classic is coming, according to multiple leaks

• PUBG is bringing back Erangel classic map for a limited time

• Xbox Exec Suggests Call of Duty 2024 to launch straight into Game Pass

• Hades 2 Devs already fixing the most annoying thing in the game and and is a hell of a time even in early access

• The Rogue Prince of Persia gets new Early Access release date at the end of May

• Next Battlefield game will have connected multiplayer and single-player offerings, made by series’ biggest team yet

• V Rising hits 100,000 concurrent players on Steam

• Valorant Player Count 2024: The rise of Riot Games’ FPS in Esports & global popularity

• MultiVersus shows off The Joker in gameplay trailer

• Beat 'Em Up Big Helmet Heroes announced for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC

• Sony Commits to PS5 and PC FPS Concord coming out in 2024

• World Video Game Hall of Fame announces 2024 inductees

• Compact Mode continues evolving in the Xbox App on PC

• Nearly all Nintendo 64 games can now be recompiled into native PC ports to add proper ray tracing, ultrawide high FPS

• A free PS1 emulator for iPhone is burning up the App Store charts

• Fallout 4 gets better next week with more graphics and performance options and fixes

• Experiencing Tekken 8 crashes? Nvidia admits to ongoing driver bug with 10-series cards

• Monster Hunter series sales soar past 100 million as the world braces for Monster Hunter Wilds

• Red Dead Redemption PC may finally be real as Rockstar updates site

• Where are all the PS5 Games?

• Valheim Ashlands update just dropped out of nowhere

• Blizzard's internal Diablo 4 playtests are a 'cursed problem' as you need to spend your life playing our game,' designer says

• New Doom reveal hinted at by Zenimax trademark

• Frontier confirms plans for a third 'Jurassic World Evolution' game

• The Best Esports Games for 2024

• 10 Best story-driven games on Switch to play in 2024

• Best Career Mode Sports Games to play in 2024

• Here's when Homeworld 3 launches in your region

• Assassin's Creed Japan game emerges from the Shadows

• Formula E and Ubisoft announce Trackmania collaboration

• League of Legends patch 14.10: Corki rework, new items, boots

• Nintendo just revealed a NES speedrunning collection inspired by an ultra-rare 1990 cartridge

• Destiny 2’s three new free PvP maps are now live

• Outlast style paranormal horror game launches on Steam to 82% rating

• Excellent free Steam Payday rival adds casino heist mission

Non-Fungible Conference is “so back” in Lisbon: 28-30 May
Celebrate the NFT culture

The Non-Fungible Conference (NFC), leading conference on Web3 and NFT, returns to Lisbon on May 28th, 29th, and 30th, 2024. The 3rd edition of the event in the Portuguese capital will gather key leaders of the Web3 universe to celebrate art, fashion, gaming and much more at the iconic Carlos Lopes Pavilion in Parque Eduardo VII, Lisbon. In 2023, over 4400 participants, 200 speakers, 70 sponsors, and dozens of international artists, brands, and media attended this experimental event.

Trends 📈

• Dubai launches 'gaming' visa to boost gaming industry

• Nintendo will continue to support physical media and "maximise" all software sales

• Success can't save your favorite game studios anymore

• Gen.G acquires League of Legends data platform Your.gg

• EA are thinking about inserting adverts into games - but don’t worry, it’ll be “very thoughtful”

• Tomb Raider is the next videogame-based series coming to Prime

• Chris Pratt expects "lots" of Mario and Nintendo movies over the next decade

• Garena announces anime adaption of Free Fire

• Skillz CEO says company isn’t done fighting bots in mobile gaming

• Stellaris director insists “ethical use of AI is very important to us” after generating voices in latest DLC

• Your PC is about to advertise Game Pass to you, thanks to Microsoft

• Remedy will launch Alan Wake 2: The Original Soundtrack

• The unseen hero: sound’s impact on gameplay and player engagement

• Assassin's Creed Infinity will have a strong focus on microtransactions

• This new VR mod for Content Warning makes monster hunting feel super immersive

• Which games were just the perfect length?

• Pokémon Go developer shifts work on Peridot virtual pet franchise to launch VR experience

• “I want to see beautiful Counter-Strike” – s1mple launches esports education project

• The future of streaming sports, esports, and gaming unveiled at Streaming Media NYC

• 100 days later, Neuralink’s first human patient is now using his brain implant to play Slay the Spire

• Microsoft sets its sights on your phone as it plans to open its own mobile games store this summer

• Roblox teams with Netflix on virtual "theme park" Nextworld to bring Stranger Things, One Piece, and more to millions of players

• The Resident Evil franchise has sold an astonishing 157 million units

Web3 Games 🎯

• Ethereum Card Battler ‘Cross the Ages’ launches CTA token, raises $3.5 million

• Galactic Hubs launches $50,000 grants program to expand Alien Worlds ecosystem

• Solana Game 'Nyan Heroes reveals token launch amid play-to-airdrop push

• Dated: Shrapnel STX3 playtest begins, 16th May

• Ethereum Strategy Game 'Apeiron' reveals $1 million esports championship

• Pixels breaks 1 million daily active users

• Guild of Guardians becomes top-traded gaming NFT collection ahead of global launch

• Fantasy Top Volume jumps as Crypto Twitter NFT game adds 40 new heroes

• Enjin launches revamped Spark Program

• Rug.fun turns minting Ethereum meme coins into a competitive game

Industry News 🛡️

• Xbox president Sarah Bond responds to Bethesda studio cuts, points to lack of industry growth and need to manage the business 'through this moment of transition'

• Square Enix's American and European departments to be hit by layoffs

• Iconic Arts raises $3.1M to create original properties for games and Hollywood

• PS5 now at 59 million sold, Sony announces two new PlayStation CEOs

• Switch "Joy-Con drift" class action lawsuit dismissed after five years

• Warner Bros. says the failure of Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League contributed to a $200 million hit to revenue

• Poland raids Sony over alleged PlayStation abuse

• EA CEO wants games to be a platform for socialization and self-expression

• Jamango raises $2.5M to launch browser-based game maker this year

• Subscrible launches ad-free mobile game catalog

• Ex-XCOM and The Sims devs launch Midsummer Studios to reinvent life sims

• Sharp Alpha closes $25M+ Fund II to back gaming, sports, media startups

• Xsolla quarter report highlights impact of Digital Markets Act on mobile games

• Steam is now banned in Vietnam

• Media City Qatar and SNRG launch Qatar Esports Forum

• Tundra Esports announces new official supplier partnership with Gladiator PC

• Nintendo is done paying Elon Musk for X integration

• US Commerce Secretary says if China seized TSMC it would devastate the US economy, as it buys 92% chips from the Taiwanese manufacturer

Level Up Your Hardware 🎧

• Nintendo Switch successor has a codename: MUJI

• Fnatic launches premium mousepad lineup

• Gamesir X2s controller review – upgrade your mobile gaming experience

• Redragon K585 DITI review: an affordable one-handed keyboard for esports lovers

• Alienware m16 R2 review: when less power makes for a better laptop

• Logitech Litra Glow review: small streaming light, big impact

• The best times to buy a PlayStation 5 every year

• Best capture card for Nintendo Switch

• Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) review

• This retro Rust mini gaming PC is stunning and we want it

• MediaTek and Nvidia are gearing up to tackle the AI PC market hand-in-hand, with an all-new chip

• Make your white PC gaming setup dazzle with this new Razer gear

  Steam Deck users need to download this free performance boost update

Esports Players & Teams News 🏆

• Team Vitality and R8G Esports join forces to enter Rennsport

• Scuderia Ferrari Esports Team and Red Bull Sim Racing's Frede Rasmussen victorious in F1 Sim Racing World ...

• T1 wins against G2 at MSI 2024

• How Tekken 7 changed Arslan Ash's life forever: the untold story

• T1 vs. G2 showdown makes history as MSI 2024 hits record peak viewers

• Donk reveals his CS2 practice routine

• Why gaming and esports talent management is still growing up in 2024

• BLEED yay announces a temporary break from VALORANT esports

• Fnatic KRIMZ on the toughest player to go against, new maps

• Bang Bang sees Team Vitality esports club acquire top female team Bigetron Era

• siuhy on Vitality match: "They also need something special up their sleeve against us"

• FNATIC eliminated against Team Liquid at MSI

• Esports World Cup 2024 - teams, format, & watch live

• G2 Esports stuns with clean sweep victory, eliminates LPL team from MSI

• TenZ claims CS2 is “more fun” than VALORANT and “fundamentally better” in one aspect

• Krafton India Esports bans 13 BGIS 2024 teams in its third ban wave

• Russian Esports Federation refuses to use neutral flag for IESF events

• BLEED sign Nawwk and Jkaem

• B8 claim first title with headtr1ck in CCT Series 2

• MOUZ qualify for IEM Cologne with EPL title

• FaZe Apex debunks rumors of FaZe Clan moving out of CS

• NIP and Complexity invited to YaLLa Compass

• MOUZ deny Dust2 punish pick to edge out BetBoom in Belgrade

Tournament, League & Season News 🏅

• Champion of Champions Tour Global Finals announces format details

• Ghana Esports Federation set to organise 'Esports Master League FC24 tournament'

• BLAST announces inaugural Dota 2 tournament, starting November 2024

Events 🗓️

• Game Music Festival 2024 May 4 - May 4

• Digital Dragons 2024 May 19 - May 21

• Nordic Game Spring 2024 May 21 - May 24

• Central Asia Game Show 2024 June 6 - June 8

• XP Game Summit 2024 June 13 - June 14

• DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 June 14 - June 15

• HIT Games Conference Barcelona 2024 June 20 - June 21

• Gamescom Latam 2024 June 26 - June 30

• TwitchCon Europe 2024 June 26 - June 30

• Games for Change Festival 2024 June 27 - June 28

• Develop:Brighton 2024 July 9 - July 11

Guides, Tips and Tricks 🗝️

• How to play Hulk in Marvel Rivals

• Super Mario 64 player finally found a way to open that 'Unopenable' Cabin Door without cheats

• Skyrim Speedrunner reveals bizarre and brilliant method to reach level 80 and kill infamous Ebony Warrior in Under 10 Minutes

• How to summon Andariel in Diablo 4

• All boss rewards in Hades 2 & how to use them

• Top 10 all-time Call of Duty zombie maps

• This one Valorant skin will instantly improve your gameplay

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

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