Betawatch: Blue Protocol runs a network test in Japan
And there we go: Another round of network testing has begun in Japan for Blue Protocol. Bandai Namco promised it would happen in March,...
How Final Fantasy XIV’s localization improved after the relaunch
The Final Fantasy XIV localization has a distinct character to it, part of what makes the story and its characters so memorable for fans....
Eden Eternal starts pre-registration… and offers players NFTs for participation
If you were looking forward to the relaunch of Eden Eternal under X-LEGEND, we have some bad news for you. It's not exactly the...
Ubisoft Paris is accused of developer crunch and poor project management by French game workers union
Solidaires Informatique, the French game workers union that has been working with employees at Ubisoft Paris since the developer's widespread sexual harassment claims came...
E3 2023 has officially been cancelled
This probably isn't going to come as a surprise to anyone, but it's still a significant announcement. E3 2023 has been cancelled outright according...
Australian parliament proposes ratings changes to games with lootboxes and ‘simulated gambling’
It appears that the Australian parliament is looking to make some moves against games with lockboxes, or at the very least a half-measure: The...
Vague Patch Notes: Can anyone really cover games objectively when there’s suffering built-in to them?
In July of 2021, we started a roundup tag in our tag cloud that most of us probably didn't expect to still be using...
Electronic Arts lays off hundreds of employees as part of a ‘restructuring’ plan
Pink Easter eggs may be in season, but over at Electronic Arts, employees are filling up their baskets with pink slips instead. The video...
Disney axes its fledgling metaverse division as part of a 7,000 employee layoff round
How long does it take for the House of Mouse to decide the metaverse isn't worth it? Roughly a year, apparently, as Disney has...
Donkey Crew announces new survival game Bellwright as Last Oasis begins fourth year of early access
You know how it goes. You're enjoying a normal one, just chilling and vibing, and then suddenly the constabulary shows up all, "uh, so...
Activision-Blizzard and NetEase’s breakup was caused by long-brewing disputes and alleged threats
One of the biggest MMO and gaming stories capping off the end of 2022 and spilling over into the start of 2023 was the...
Sega, Tencent, and Ubisoft are the latest game studios to drop out of this year’s E3
It was already bad enough for E3 2023 that Sony, Nintendo, and Xbox all elected to leave the show behind; now the show is...
Japan drops Microsoft/Activision-Blizzard antitrust probe as lawmakers scrutinize Japanese gaming market
Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick released a memo to his staff (and everyone else in the entire world) on the ABK Substack (which exists) last...
Ultima Online’s Richard Vogel discusses the horrors of player behavior in an open PvP sandbox
Gaming historians have long documented that Ultima Online was something of a communal wild west when it created its open FFA PvP sandbox -...
UK regulator finds Microsoft’s Activision-Blizzard buyout won’t harm competition or Call of Duty on PlayStation
The see-saw ride of findings and statements from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority continues, as the governing body has now put forth an...
PvPvE dungeon crawler Dark and Darker was booted off Steam over stolen code allegations
Back in February during the Steam Next Fest demo event, we cast a light on Dark and Darker, a first-person PvPvE dungeon crawler from...
Nexon dives further into NFT and blockchain games with MapleStory N and a MapleStory Universe ecosystem
Readers might remember that Nexon's push into crypto has gone as one might expect, with $40M disappearing into the void in 2021 and continued...
NCsoft hypes up its visual and AI engine tech in a trailer for narrative title Project M
Our coverage of a trailer for a single-player game might seem like we've lost the plot on paper, but this is less about the...
Activision-Blizzard’s diversity and inclusion goals are out of sync with its corporate action
Activision-Blizzard has released a full-year review of its diversity, equity, and inclusion stats for 2022 this week, and the first thing readers will notice...
Vague Patch Notes: The objective truth of ‘objectivity’ in games journalism
All right, folks, real talk: Originally there was going to be a much more sober and depressing column this week, but then this week...
