You got your Squid Games in my Roblox!

You will soon be seeing more branded content in Roblox, as the company struck a licensing deal with a few notable companies. Find out which ones below. Also, Vice’s gaming arm censored one of its writers. Find out all the details and the rest of the news from the past week.  Let’s go!

Roblox gets Stranger (Things)

You will soon be seeing more Like a Dragon and Stranger Things in Roblox. 

Creators on the Roblox gaming platform will soon be able to license characters and content from select Netflix, Lionsgate, Sega and Kodansha franchises. Some of these include Stranger Things, Squid Game, Like a Dragon, Saw, Divergent, Now You See Me, and Twilight. In a press release, Roblox discusses the collaboration:

Until now, licensing IP was a complex and time-consuming process. Potential licensees had to negotiate with a variety of stakeholders and submit to regular reviews, and the process could take months. Not only did rights holders struggle to discover interested creators, but the nature of the process meant that only a select group of larger studios were able to benefit. To keep pace with the iterative nature of development on Roblox, full of user-generated experiences that creators are continually evolving and updating, we recognized the need to provide creators with a flexible, simple-to-use licensing solution.

The content does not come cheap, as the IP holders take between 50-85% of a game’s revenue. Developers will also need to apply and meet certain criteria to use the licensed content. For example, to use Sega’s Like a Dragon license, an experience will need to draw over 1,000 daily active users.

In other news, Roblox is rolling out new safety features within their platform. In order to have unfiltered chats, users will need to scan a government ID or submit a facial scan. This is designed to give teens on the platform more freedom than younger children, but still less than an adult.

Vice censors reporter

Vice’s gaming arm Waypoint recently had a couple of excellent articles by reporter Ana Valens on how an Australian organization called Collective Shout managed to get games banned from Steam. The first article discusses Collective Shout’s “powerful allies,” and how it targeted popular games like HuniePop and Detroit: Become Human with outlandish claims. The second focuses on how Collective Shout took responsibility for getting games banned from Steam by putting pressure on payment companies. 

Both of these fantastic articles are now only available on the Internet Archive, as Savage Ventures, the owners of Vice, demanded they be removed.

Valens has since quit writing for Waypoint, and discussed the situation at length on her Twitch channel. Aftermath has a deep dive into this story that is worth a read. We wish Valens luck in finding a legitimate news site to write for in the future.

Side Quests (more stories worth reading)

🎣 We played Cast n Chill, a beautiful fishing game for the PC. Come for our thoughts, stay for the review haiku. 

👻 Ubisoft confirmed it is working on a new Ghost Recon game.

📺 Microsoft abruptly closed its movies and television store, but says those who own content on the system will still be able to view it. 

🤿 In a recent interview, Valve founder Gabe Newell says "I get up, I work, I go scuba diving, work some more." 

🍿 Upcoming PlayStation game Ghost of Yōtei is getting its own popcorn bucket at Sony-owned Alamo Drafthouse. The theater chain will also show a selection of classic Samurai movies. 

👵🏻 The Guardian looks at how millions of seniors are playing video games, and how adults over 50 represent nearly a third of U.S. adult gamers.

🤖 Nearly 8,000 games on Steam have disclosed that they use Generative AI, up 800% this year. 

🚓 An Italian YouTuber was raided by police and could face jail time for reviewing handheld devices that came pre-loaded with retro games.

🤷🏾 The fired executives of Subnautica 2 are suing Krafton, saying the studio sabotaged the game’s release to save money. Krafton did extend the deadline for developers working on the game to receive their bonuses. 

🤖 Candy Crush developer King is laying off 200 employees who are allegedly being replaced by the AI tools they helped build. 

🏎️ 12 years after its initial release, Grand Theft Auto V is finally coming to Saudi Arabia. 

🍌 Nintendo discussed how Donkey Kong Bananza was initially slated for the original Switch, and why it was redesigned for the Switch 2. 

🌑 Netflix released a new video game based on Zack Snyder‘s “Rebel Moon” film franchise. 

👨‍👦 Ubisoft’s newly spun off division named its new co-CEOs, which included the son of the current Ubisoft CEO. 

🎥 Nintendo announced its casting for Zelda and Link in their new movie based on the video game. 

🤖 A new report says AI-generated reviews are threatening Steam’s integrity. 

🎮 Therapists are using video games like Minecraft as a means of self-expression and mental health support to help vulnerable children. 

👏🏼 2025’s version of Summer Games Done Quick raised over $2.4 million for Doctors Without Borders. 

☹️ The studio behind Oblivion Remastered is reportedly laying off 300 people.

👁️‍🗨️ Nintendo is doing another mysterious Switch Online playtest.

New Releases this week:

Check out our article on 12 New Games to Play in July.

7/22: Luto (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
7/23: Wheel World (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
7/24: Killing Floor 3 (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
7/24: Wuchang: Fallen Feathers (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
7/25: Death Relives (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)

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