11 verified briefings on Gaming. Each story includes a plain-English summary, why it matters, and the concrete action engineering teams should take.
The European Commission has rejected a proposal to legally require game publishers to keep discontinued games playable, despite a petition with 1.3 million signatures. The EU will instead pursue a voluntary industry code for game preservation.
Microsoft is closing Ninja Theory, the acclaimed studio behind the Hellblade series. The move is part of a larger Xbox restructuring, with several other studios reportedly in talks to spin off from the company.
The California State Assembly has passed the 'Protect Our Games Act'. The bill requires video game publishers to keep games accessible to players who purchased them, even after official support ends. This could mean maintaining servers or providing an offline patch for certain modes.
The upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI is so anticipated that rival game studios are avoiding its launch window. This is causing a major shift in the industry's release calendar, with a packed fall season but an empty November.
A new third-party firmware enables select modern Blu-ray drives to read and rip game discs from older consoles, including the GameCube, Wii, and Xbox 360. This development allows owners of physical media to create digital backups for preservation and use in emulators on a PC.
The Arduboy FX-C is a new credit card-sized handheld console designed for portability. It packs significant entertainment value into a thin form factor, combining the best features of previous models with new upgrades. Its compact size offers a refreshing alternative to larger handhelds on the market.
A bipartisan bill, the Gambling Disorder Health Study Act, has been introduced in the US. It calls for a federal study into gambling addiction as online betting expands. The study's findings could lead to new regulations impacting gaming, fintech, and ad-tech companies operating in the space.
Valve has raised the prices for its Steam Deck OLED models. The 512GB version is now $789, up from $549, and the 1TB model is $949, up from $649. The company attributes the significant increase to rising costs for memory and storage components, but both are now in stock.
Microsoft has appointed Matthew Ball, a well-known games analyst and investor, as the new chief strategy officer for Xbox. Ball's extensive experience in analyzing market shifts is expected to help guide Xbox's hardware and console strategy as it faces increasing competition in the gaming industry.
Microsoft's Deputy CISO for Gaming, Aaron Zollman, discussed the unique security challenges in the gaming sector. With over 500 million monthly active players on platforms like Xbox and PC, the scale presents distinct security demands compared to traditional enterprise environments, requiring specialized strategies.
Nintendo is trying to patent a touchscreen-based monster-catching mechanic, a move that could affect games like Palworld Mobile. Japan's patent office has initially rejected the application, citing a lack of a sufficient inventive step over existing technology. Nintendo can still appeal or amend its claims.