Microsoft Muse and much more

We are on vacation this week, but are still bringing you the top headlines. No main articles, but plenty of side quests to fill your gaming appetite. Let’s go! 

Side Quests

❎ Xbox has built an AI model that can generate “video game visuals and actions” and revive classic Xbox games. Read Xbox’s release statement. 

📱 How did Marvel Rivals celebrate reaching 40 million players and $2.9 billion in revenue? By laying off the game’s director and its entire Seattle design team. 

📉 U.S. hardware revenue is down 45% in January, while game spending is down 15%. 

📺 Twitch is limiting streamers to 100 hours of highlights and uploads, which some contend will purge huge swaths of internet gaming history.

🤠 Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 2 is live, and features heists, pickles, and Cowboy Bebop. 

🇸🇦 Pokémon Go developer Niantic is reportedly in talks to sell its game business to a Saudi-owned company for $3.5 billion. 

👩🏻‍⚖️ A Chinese mobile company paid The Pokémon Company a “substantial” copyright infringement settlement. 

🎴 The Final Fantasy Magic: The Gathering set adds a card that does 10,000 damage.

🚓 The PC version of Grand Theft Auto V will receive the same improvements recently added to PlayStation 5 and Xbox X / S.

👎 GameStop CEO cites “wokeness and DEI” in their plans to sell off their French and Canadian outlets. 

📧 Sony shared examples of “sexually charged” texts from former Destiny 2 director who claims Bungie fired him unfairly.

♟️ Arcane Wonders president Robert Geistlinger says between tariffs and razor-thin margins, “Board games are about to get more expensive.”

💰 Want to unlock all the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles content in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6? It will likely cost about $90. 

💻 According to a new report, Grand Theft Auto 6 may include Roblox-style user-created content.

⚖️ A Dutch consumer foundation is suing Sony for overpricing digital PlayStation games.

🖥️ Valve released the full Team Fortress 2 game code, encouraging completely new fan-made games.

🪙 Nintendo is ending its Gold Points rewards program. 

😘 “These kids do not care about romance:” a recent survey says young people want games about friendship more than romance.

🎮 FromSoftware didn’t want Sony to publish Dark Souls because it was “disappointed” by how Demon’s Souls was treated.

🖥️ Nvidia’s 50-series cards are dropping support for PhysX technology.

📈 Round numbers: Palworld hits 32 million players, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 sold 2 million copies and Pacific Drive sold 1 million copies.

New Releases this week:

Check out our article on 10 New Games to Play in February.

2/28: Monster Hunter Wilds (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
2/28: PGA Tour 2K25 (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)

Thanks for reading. If you enjoy our newsletter, tell a friend to subscribe!