#30 Weekly Gaming News Industry Trends Round Up

Tesla pulls its gaming computer from new vehicles. IGN Entertainment acquires Eurogamer, GI, VG247, and Rock Paper Shotgun. Epic Games fined for Fortnite in-game advertising. A Switch-bound cult-favorite RPG series pulled day before launch. Ubisoft cancels The Division Heartland, but Division 3 is still on track. New game from former GTA boss will be introduced via an upcoming audio series. The Kingdom Hearts franchise is finally coming to Steam. Ghost of Tsushima is PlayStation's biggest single-player PC launch ever. Fallout is coming to Fortnite Battle Royale. A new study reveals the main reasons people want to play games. Amazon Games expands its European presence with a new game studio. Xbox’s latest Transparency Report details AI usage in player safety and most gamers say it’s easier to be themselves in-game. All this plus much more!

Also in our weekly round-up:

• PC games market grew a lot more vs Console game market last year

• GTA parent company explains why it just canceled games

• Next iteration of big 2K games to be revealed at Summer Game Fest

• Ubisoft's planned free-to-play Division game is dead

• NBA Superstars arcade game recaptures the spirit of NBA Jam

• Change to come to Xbox Game Pass when COD is added

• MSI 2024 breaks record for most concurrent views in 7 years

• GameSquare launches FaZe Media, secures $11m in investment

• Grand Theft Auto 6 arrival date is set

Gaming News 🕹️

• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door review - step inside, the plumber RPG's back

• Atari's first 'Sprint' game in three decades launches on Switch next month

• Total War: Star Wars game reportedly in the works at Creative Assembly

• Fallout is coming to Fortnite battle royale based on new tease

• GTA parent company explains why it just canceled games

• Jadu AR launches season 1 for its multiplayer mobile AR game

• MultiVersus launch trailer reveals Jason Voorhees and the Matrix's Agent Smith

• Microsoft reportedly approves new game from Hellblade 2 developer Ninja Theory

• Call of duty: Modern Warfare III, Warzone Season 4 launches May 29 with new weapons, maps, more

• Horizon Chase 2 launching soon on Xbox, PlayStation platforms with online, crossplay

• Stellar Blade Studio's next game reportedly AAA action RPG titled Project Witches

• Devolver Digital's anniversary sale hints at unannounced upcoming games

• The Witcher 3 REDkit goes live alongside new patch that enables DLC-sized mods

• Stellar Blade might be heading for PC and a sequel is on the table

• Tomb raider I-III remastered's new collector's edition is locked and loaded with cool extras

• Ubisoft's planned free-to-play division game is dead

• Pocketpair to reveal new Palworld Pals at Summer Game Fest

• Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 gets December 2025 premiere date

• NBA superstars arcade game recaptures the spirit of NBA Jam

• Switch bound cult-favorite RPG series suddenly pulled day before launch

• Ghost of Tsushima is PlayStation's biggest singleplayer PC launch ever

• The Kingdom Hearts franchise is finally coming to Steam in June

• Ubisoft's COD-like shooter XDefiant is unplayable for many on launch day, when do the servers go live?

• Ubisoft cancels the Division Heartland, but The Division 3 is still coming

• Next iteration of big 2K games franchise will be revealed at Summer Game Fest

• Blacktop hoops debuts as VR basketball game

• V rising comes to PS5 on the 11th of June

• Popular medieval strategy city-builder Manor Lords surpasses 2 million sales in early access

• Grand Theft Auto 6 will arrive in fall 2025

• Undisputed – official release date announcement gameplay trailer

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 📈

• Microsoft will soon add AI copilot to Minecraft, offering real-time advice.

• The PC games market grew a lot more than the console games market last year, according to research firm

• Most gamers say it’s easier to be themselves in-game 

• New study reveals the main reasons people want to play games, 46% of players use gaming for self-expression and creativity

• ZBD Gen Z gamer study: spending habits, creators, bitcoin rewards report suggests

• Street Fighter 6 is launching Akuma by having thousands of Twitch viewers control him simultaneously, which I'm sure will go well.

• Pokémon Go plans to introduce item sharing within Parties

• With GTA 6 release coming up, Take-Two boss talks about setting game prices

• Xbox’s latest transparency report details AI usage in player safety

• How game cafes are bringing people together in New Zealand

• Resident Evil 1 remake is in production and will release in 2026, leaker says

• Ghost of Tsushima's PC port proves that PlayStation should do this sooner, as player counts pass every major Sony PC release

Web3 Games 🎯

• Jason Brink and his Gala allies leave, set up new org LFG

• Navigating NFT games: spotting the gems in a crowded market

• Monopoly-inspired game allows you to become virtual landlord in $200 billion metaverse

• Mythos Foundation partners with Polkadot to decentralize Web3 gaming

• Oasys gears up NFT game of Manga series ‘Captain Tsubasa’

• Param Labs raises $7 million to revolutionize Web3 gaming infrastructure

• Gala Games attacker returns Ethereum after $240 million token exploit

• Telegram founder says he’ll hold $7 million Notcoin gift until 100x

• Dated: Shrapnel STX3 playtest begins, 23rd May

• NFL Rivals hits $5 million in NFT trading volume thanks to quick swaps

• Immutable strengthens ties with Spielworks to expand rewards system

Industry News 🛡️

• IGN Entertainment acquires Eurogamer, GI, VG247, Rock Paper Shotgun and more

• Tesla pulls Steam from new vehicles as its new "gaming computer is no longer capable of playing Steam games"

• Activision opens new studio tasked with creating narrative-based AAA franchise with a view to develop a new IP

• Amazon Games expands European presence with new game studio in Bucharest

• Nintendo announces acquisition of Shiver Entertainment

• PlayStation London Studio issues heartfelt goodbye after Sony studio closure

• Baldur's Gate 3 developer opens new studio

• There will be changes to Xbox Game Pass when Call of Duty is added, report claims

• Inside Typical Gamer’s $2M bet on Jogo, his own UEFN studio

• Newzoo revises 2023 games revenue forecasts down to $184B

• 2004 Satoru Iwata interview has been remastered and presented in full

• New live-streaming platform SOOP partners with Faker and DRX

• Insomnia organizer Player1 events lay off staff, future of UK festival uncertain

• Epic Games fined €1.1m for Fortnite in-game advertising in the Netherlands

• GameSquare launches FaZe Media, secures $11m in investment

• Quadrant extends peripheral partnership with JBL Quantum

Level Up Your Hardware 🎧

• The world's largest chipmaker could flip a kill switch and remotely disable its machines in the event of an invasion

• All the big laptop makers are embracing Qualcomm's Snapdragon X, here are all the 'PC reborn' models available for pre-order now

• Secretlab MAGNUS heavy duty monitor arm review

• Logitech Pro X 60 keyboard review

• Every PlayStation console: a full history of release dates

• Outfit the ROG Ally with a slick set of new accessories from Dbrand

• Xbox reveals modular Proteus controller for gamers with disabilities

Esports Players & Teams News 🏆

• Liquid weighing up CadiaN's future

• Fnatic miss CCT Playoffs in BlameF's debut event

• MOUZ sweep Spirit to claim BetBoom Dacha title

• Liquid, AMKAL on to CCT Global Finals playoffs

• NAVI Javelins are challenging Pigeons' hold on women's throne

• 500 sign CeRq and oxygeN

• MSI 2024 breaks record for most concurrent views in 7 years

• Elimination rating: players who do (and don't) rise to the occasion

• MOUZ's #1, Spirit's return to action, Dallas favorites discussed on HLTV Confirmed

• Can ESL Pro League survive in a changing landscape?

• G2 Esports are out of the Mid-Season Invitational

• Xtreme Gaming are the unstoppable force at PGL Wallachia Season 1

• All twelve teams competing in VCT 2024: Masters Shanghai

• Monyet returned to the competitive scene with Rex Regum Qeon

• What to watch this week in VALORANT: VCT 2024 Masters Shanghai

• Team Liquid enters Mobile Legends Bang Bang by purchasing ECHO and AURA

• T1 vs BLG MSI 2024 lower bracket final recap – China’s last hope

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 🗓️Makes sense

• 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 lock on in Ghost of Tsushima

  Best weapons in Fallout 3

  The best-starting factions and map list for XDefiant

  Every exotic weapon and armor in Destiny 2: The Final Shape (so far)

  CoD: Warzone: how to unlock the Black Ops 6 "Sally" weapon blueprint

  Stop wasting ammo damage explained in Helldivers 2

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

This round is over..
We are reloading our ammo with gaming, industry, esports, news and trends intel for the next newsletter..

See you same time next week!
gmgames.gg