Tale as old as Time

Embracer Group, the holding company that has spent recent years acquiring studios and publishers from across the globe, has announced that it is preparing?? to enter a phase of restructure, which is expected to result in the closure of numerous studios within the company's?? portfolio.

"Today we announce a comprehensive restructuring program that will enable us to realize untapped potential in Embracer Group and better optimize the use of our resources" begins a statement by Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors. "Across the group, we are now initiating multiple actions to strengthen our cash flow generation and leverage our portfolio of IPs to become a stronger comp??any and setting out on a stable future to build even greater games to the benefit of gamers and? fans across the globe."

In a separate, "open letter" however, Wingefors confirmed that studio closures and layoffs wi??ll b??e taking place as part of the restructuring process.

"Embracer currently engages close to 17,000 people and while that number will be lower by the end of the year, it is too early to give an exact forecast on this," wrote Wingefors."It is painful to see talented team members leave. Our people are what make up the very fabric of Embracer. I understand and respect that many of you will be worried about your own position a??nd I don’t have all the answers to all questions. I want to be clear that the decisions abo?ut this program were not taken lightly."

"The reality is that the quicker we a?ct, the sooner we emerge as a stronger company."

Embracer Group is currently one of the biggest and most influential holding companies in media in general and gaming in particular. The Swedish conglomerate's vast portfo?lio of studios includes Gearbox Entertainment, Koch Media, THQ Nordic, DECA Games, Plaion, Asmodee, Crystal Dynamics, Saber Group, as well as all the respective subsidiaries and a large list of independent studios.

"The actions will include, but not be limited to, closing or divestments of some studios and the termination or pausing of some ongoing game development projects," continues Wingefors. "It will also include decreased spending on non-development costs such as overhead and other operating expenses. We w?ill reduce third-party publishing and put greater focus on internal IP and increase external funding of large-budget games."

The restructuring process will happen in phases, effective immediately unti?l March 2024.

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The magnetism of a giant lady in a big ol' hat

Two years on from its initial release, (yep, two years), Capcom's gothic-horror title Resident Evil Village is still selling copies and scaring players worldwide �This morning, the publisher announced that the latest, (well, chronologically latest), entry in the survival horror series has surpassed eight ?million s?ales.

Resident Evil Village sees returning protagonist Ethan Winters journey into a grim European village, searching for answers following a violent attack on his home and family. There, he will encounter creatures and citizens beyond his?? darkest nightmare, coming face-to-face with a menagerie of monsters and demons, as well as the four lords of the land �namely Karl Heisenberg, Salvatore Moreau, Donna Beneviento & Angie, and the iconic Lady Dimitrescu, whose impact on the title's marketing, and therefore sales, cannot be overstated.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKocYiRHYlI

Following the game's initial release in May 2021, an expansion pack, Winters' Expansion, was released in October of last year, which added new features and an additional campaign, Shadows of Rose. While the switch from "classic" Resi to the modern, first-person Resi has not been to everybody's taste, it cannot be denied that the evolution of the series has been incredibly impressive, borne out in both the critical and praise heaped upon the titles, as well as the titles' respective sales figures �A VR edition of Resident Evil Village was also developed t??o launch alongside the PlayStation VR2 hardware.

Resident Evil Village is av????ailable now on PlayStation, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch (via cloud)

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Merger creeps closer toward completion

China's State Administration for Market Regulation has concluded its investigation into Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion (USD) purchase of publisher Activision Blizzard, concluding that it has no issue with the transaction taking place and thus offers "uncondi??tional" approval.

With the region's antitrust regulators taking no issue with the controversial merger, China joins a growing number of parties to offer Microsoft their backing in the merger, which will see the Xbox owner take proprietorship of franchises such as World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and Call of Duty �The latter brand being, ultimately, the lynchpin of this long and drawn-out acquisition process.

"China's unconditional clearance of our acquisition of Activision Blizzard follows clearance decisions from jurisdictions such as the European Union and Japan, bringing the total to 37 countries representing more than two billion people," wrote Microsoft in a statement to press outlets. "The acquisition combined with our recent commitments to th??e European Commission will empower consumers worldwide to play more games on more devices."

As noted in the statement, Microsoft has already sought and found approval from Brazil, South Africa, Japan, Ukraine, and the European Union. The UK did not offer its backing of the merger, with Microsoft set to appeal. The final boss, as it were, ultimately comes down to Microsoft's home territory of North America, where the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has actually filed suit in order to block the merger from taking place.

The case is expected to go to trial this August, with the losing par?ty ab??le to appeal the verdict.

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Moar lyke Sonic the Expensivehog, right?

Sega has announced that it might be next in line to move the price-point of its major releases up to $70, following in the footsteps of all other games publishers who have decided making money isn't worth it if you aren't making all the money.

The considerations were noted during a Q&A conference held following the publishing of Sega's latest financial report. Sega Sammy CEO Haruki Satomi and CFO Koichi Fukazawa were asked if the studio planned to follow the lead of publishers such as Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros. Interactive.

"In the global marketplace, AAA game titles for consoles have been sold at $59.99 for many years, but titles sold at $69.99 have appeared in the last year," noted the du??o, in a translation of the m??eeting provided by VGC. "We would like to review the pr??ices of titles that we believe are commensurate with price increases, while also keeping an eye on market conditions."

Frankly, this foreplay is tiring. $70 price tags are coming, from pretty much all AAA publishers, and to dally around the idea that you're "watching the market" is the same tiptoeing corpo-speak that surround other ideas, such as DLC, NFTs, and other con?tentious trends that publishers are secretly desperate to utilize. Given the?? current economical climate, the pricing is rough, but this "Hmm... maybe, we'll have to see" song-and-dance is the real eye-roll-inducing element.

What the shift to $70 gaming �a trend that essentially began in the fall of last year �will mean for the market in the long term is still a little up in the air. But, given the incredible financial success of $70 titles such as Warner Bros.' Hogwarts Legacy, Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, and, most recently, Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it seems v??ery likely that all major publishers will eventually adopt the model, for its guaranteed sellers at the very least.

Sega suggests it could become the latest publisher to raise game p?rices to $70 [VGC]

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Only that pesky Wii Fit board lies in its path

Last week, Nintendo finally launched its long-awaited Switch sequel The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom �And while Nintendo typically tends to keep its cards close to i?ts chest regarding game sales, the numbers crunchers operating the UK Charts have already released some impressive stats.

As curated by Gfk, (and reported by GamesIndustry.biz), Tears of the Kingdom saw the second biggest Nintendo launch ever in the UK �that's including all week one sales figures for all Wii, Game Boy, and SNES releases. Regarding revenue, the sky-high sequel is beaten out only by the 2007 exerciser Wii Fit, due to the expanded price of the Wii Fit Board peripheral. In terms of units sold, Tears of the Kingdom sits in fourth place after Wii Fit, and the combined sales taken from sibling Pokemon titles, such as Pokemon Sun & Moon or Pokemon Sword & Shield.

Essentially, when viewed from a non-peripheral, non-double-pack standpoint, Tears of the Kingdom essentially had the biggest UK launch in Nintendo history �And that's just referencing physical sales in one territory. When you factor in the success that was no doubt seen across th weekend in Japan and North America, then Tears of the Kingdom looks set to be an abso?lute all-timer for Nintendo, definitely resting in the? premier league of the company's sales charts.

This is emphasized by industry analyst Mat Piscatella, who suggests that Nintendo's latest could find itself lingering in the sales charts "for years", much like its Switch sibling Mario Kart 8.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now on Nintendo Switch.

Tears?? of the Kingdom is the second big??gest Nintendo launch in UK history [GamesIndustry.biz]

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Sixth consecutive year of growth for veteran developer

Capcom has released its latest financial earnings report, which records the sixth consecutive year of profit growth for the Resident Evil and Street Fighter? publisher �The publishing of the new report has also affected the company's share value, which spiked to an all-time high earl??ier this morning.

According to the numbers, Capcom sold 41.7 million games for the period ending March 31, 2023. This number not only represents a 10 million sales boost from the previous year, but is also the largest year-on-year sales growth in the company's entire history. The boost in sales is attributed to two titles in particular: survival horror remake Resident Evil 4 and the epic fantasy adventure Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak.

These impressive sales figures also include the continued success of the Capcom catalog, with titles such as Devil May Cry 5, Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 2 & 3, Monster Hunter World, and The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. Capcom already has several more titles on deck for the remainder of 2023, including dino-hunter Exoprimal and handheld remaster Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. Capcom's biggest upcoming release, however, is inarguably Street Fighter 6, which launches on PC and console platforms June 2. The publisher has already set a target of 10 million sales for the new sequel.

The Capcom success story can be traced back to the launch of Monster Hunter: World back in the winter of 2017. Following a period of decline that saw disappointing launches for Street Fighter V and Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, Monster Hunter: World would not only g?o on to be the publisher's best-selling release of all time, but would kick off a series of hugely successful releases for Capcom, resulting in the most lucrative period in the c??ompany's 40-year history, as defined in today's report.

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One billion Switch games sold to date

Nintendo has revealed the newest sales figures regarding its Nintendo Switch platform, which sees the console?? pass the 125 million unit mark, as well as hitting an all-time record in regards to s?oftware sales.

According to the data, 3.07 million Nintendo Switch consoles were sold during the first quarter of 2023, (ending March 31), which pushes total unit sales to 125.62 million. While an additional three mill?ion sold Switch consoles is not to be sniffed at, it does represent a huge 22% sales drop on the previous year, continuing a downward trend for Switch hardware sales in general. At this rate, it seems very unlikely that the Switch will surpass the sales of Nintendo's best-selling hardware, Nintendo DS, which closed on a staggering 154 million units �making it the second best selling console of all time.

Nintendo is openly aware of the sales decline, but still hopes to sell a further 15 million units by the end of March 2024. Speaking in a conference call attended by Bloomberg,?? Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa called the target "a bit of stretch", but hopes that the holiday season will help the company t??o hit its targets. Furukawa said that no new or upgraded hardware was being factored into the prediction, somewhat furthering whispers that the company has no plans to release a new edition of the Switch in the near future.

In regard to software sales, Switch has shipped 1.036 billion games since its launch, which is the most titles ever shipped for any Nintendo platform. The three best-selling first-party titles remain Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (53.79 million), Animal Crossing: New Horizons (42.21 million), and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (31.09 million). Nintendo's next major release, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, launches this week, and is expected to car??ry the lion's share of the company's software revenue for 202?3.

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That's a helluva lot of Bison dollars

According to Capcom president Haruhiro Tsujimoto, the veteran publisher is hoping that its next major release, Street Fighter 6 will sell a mighty 10 million copies over the course of its lifespan. Tsujimoto made the comments earlier this week in an interview with Japanese publication Famitsu.

"The Street Fighter series is our flagship title, so we had no hesitation in investing in it," Tsujimoto said, in comments translated by VGC. "Over the past few years, multiple titles in the Resident Evil series have sold 10 million copies, and the Monster Hunter series now has tit??les that are aiming for 20 million copies."

"Street Fighter V has already sold over seven million copies, so if we can make use of our digital sales experience, we should be able to aim for 10 million copies with the next game. That’s why we’re trying to do everything we couldn’t do before with Street Fighter 6 �that’s why we’re where we are today."

//www.youtube.??com/watch?v=ilw0??xDkfk2Q&ab_channel=StreetFighter

Capcom's lofty goal has obviously been targeted due to a variety of different factors. Street Fighter 6 is already expected to draw a wider single/casual player audience than its predecessor, thanks to its variety of side-modes including Arcade, Survival, and the lite-RPG "World Tour" mode. In addition, Street Fighter 6 will be available on Xbox platforms, a privilege not afforded Street Fighter V, which will also help bolster the numbers.

Finally, word of mouth from recent betas and playtests, as well as demo downloads have been extremely positive, which obviously gives the number-crunchers a little more reason to be pretty confident in the new sequel's reception. Capcom has been on something of a roll ever since the 2018 launch of Monster Hunter World, which would fast become its greatest-s??elling release of all time.

Street Fighter 6 launches June 2 on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms. Be sure to check out our recent report on a full build, the internet's joy at Cammy's new friend, and the 10 characters that I think who make a fine fit as post-launch DLC.

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Get set for 26 sequels

In a moment that seemed inevitable from the day one, Illumination's colorful flick The Super Mario Bros Movie has surpassed $1 bi??llion USD in global box office takings.

The Nintendo-infused adventure is officially the first film to do so this surpassing, surpassing the likes of Marvel's Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, Warner Bros.' John Wick: Chapter 4, and FOX' Avatar: The Way of Water. It also becomes one of only a handful of films to take 10 figures since the COVID-19 pandemic, joining pictures such as Top Gun: Maverick, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Jurassic World Dominion.

//www.youtube.com/watch??v=RjNcTBXTk4I&ab_channel=Illumination

Directed b?y Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, the movie sees Mario (Chris Pratt) whisked away to the Mushroom Kingdom, where he joins newfound pals Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) and Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) on a quest to rescue his missing brother Luigi (Charlie Day) while also freeing the kingdom and its people from the tyranny of the evil Bowser (Jack Black).

While critics have been fairly negative toward the film's writing, breathless pacing, and use of licesend music, clearly this was a movie that was always set for success, and has brought families and Nintendo fans flocking to the theaters in droves. Given The Super Mario Bros Movie's success in comparison to the previously "Cannot Miss" superhero genre, we can likely expect a rush on video game projects from the Hollywood bigwigs. If Marvel's incoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 doesn't make similar bank, t??hen it's almost guaranteed that the suits will hitch themselves to the new bandwagon.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is now showing at theaters worldwide.

‘Sup?er Mario Bros. Movie�Officially Smashes ??$1 Billion Globally [Variety]

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Virtual Insanity

Sega legend Yu Suzuki has announced that he is teaming with metaverse company OASYX to create a collection of NFTs based upon his legendary fighting series, Virtua Fighter. The dreadful idea is expected to be the first step in a serie?s of metaverse projects for the i?conic game director.

A total of 1000 NFTs are?? currently in the works, debasing the likenesses of 11 Virtua Fighters from the fi??rst three releases in the series, (so we at least know that Eileen is safe, for now). The new range of NFTs is expected to form the base for a future release of further "metaverse avatars"

"During my time as a director at Sega, I initially developed Virtua Fighter using innovative 3D computer graphics technology, which was cutting-edge and industry-leading at the time,"? said Suzuki in a statement. "Since then, the Virtua Fighter series has grown to be loved by many players and continues to be supported by numerous fans today."

"Through my work supervising the development of OASYX’s unique worldview, I am delighted to combine innovative technology in the form of blockchain-based NFTs, with three titles from the Virtua Fighter series? to create new entertainment for a wide range of gaming fans."

Sega has been practically salivating at the prospect of diving into the metaverse, while simultaneously attempting to assure fans that it is wary of the controversial blockchain technology. As is the case with many other toe-dippers in recent months, both Sega and Suzuki seem completely unperturbed by the market's inability to find consistent success, demonstrated by the complete collapse of cryptocurrency company FTX, the embarrassment of Meta, the dropping Google Search numbers, or fan anger displayed towards Ubisoft, Square Enix, and other studios getting on board the rocket to nowher??esv??ille.

Yu Suzuki is working on?? a range of Virtua Fig??hter NFTs [VGC]

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B for big business

Way back in the year 2008, my first ever front-page post for Destructoid asked if ultra-expensive, realistic-looking AAA games were where the industry was going. Flash forward nearly 16 years later, and most of the enduring, popular new intellectual properties since then haven't come AAA at all, and instead hail from what you might call "B budget" developers. Human Fall Flat, Five Nights at Freddy's, Genshin Impact, Among Us, Fall Guys, Fortnite, Vampire Survivors, and Rocket League are j??ust a few of the non-AAA games that went on to find big, sustained audiences sinc?e then.

The list of games like this to both launch well and continue to perform well is a lot longer than the list of new, multi-mil??lion-dollar, AAA franchises that achieve the same goals in a similar timeframe.

We don't know how much all these "B budget" games cost, but we can guess that if Fortnite originally cost $300K to produce, the likes of Among Us were likely much less. Player Unknown's Battlegrounds, one of the most played games of all time, started off as a fan mod fer cripes sake! And some of the few new AAA IPs that did manage to take off in the last decade largely found their footing thanks to goodwill built up from their developers' work on less-than-AAA budgeted games. Elden Ring would have never taken off without diehard Souls fans, Cyberpunk 2077 wouldn't be anywhere without the loyalty of fans of the original Witcher games, and so on.

From that perspective, the days of single-player, hyper-realistic games with long expensive cutscenes or othe??r barriers to actual gameplay could be over. Some of the most well-known games in the world in 2023 aren't trying to muscle attention away from casual shoppers in brick-and-mortar stores like Toys 'R' Us or GameStop. They are games that make for great "Let's Play" videos, are fun to share screenshots or stories about on social media, stream well, and can be picked up and played by a wider audience.

It doesn't always take a lot of money to make them. So why doesn'??t AAA make more games like that?

[caption id="attachment_368574" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image credit No Breaks Games[/caption]

The AAA culture bubble

AAA gaming, like most media cultures, exists in its own insular little world. Human Fall Flat sold 40 million copies since its release in 2016, but despite the fact that it's clearly the kind of game that makes a lot of people really happy, you can be sure that it never, ever had a chance of winning one of Geoff Keighley's Game Awards. Those prizes will inevitably go to a game that either attempts to be like a serious Hollywood movie, and/or involve some "auteur" talent from outside of games, like Norman Reedus or George R.R. Martin. When it comes to cute, silly, gleefully game-y games like Human Fall Flat, AAA executives are quick to handwave their success away. They're seen as flukes, and their suc??????????????????????????cess is perceived to be based entirely on luck.

The fact that they do a better job than most AAA games at? engaging the average player is largely ignored.

This leads to a weird sort of risk aversion where AAA devs feel like they need to spend a massive amount of money to assure that, regardless of what trends are happening at that moment, that their game will be "objectively superior" to the rest. And I get it. It's much harder to predict which quirky, highly accessible game will be the next one to become a phenomenon. But it's also likely that it won't be a AAA game with realistic graphics and a focus on a big, complicated single-player story, because no game like that has sold more than 30 million copies in a long time. GTAV was probably the last one to do that, and it was released?? a decade ago.

[caption id="attachment_368571" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image credit Krafton Inc.[/caption]

It's not as though the risk of AAA games with a big marketing budget selling absolutely nothing isn't there. The capacity to bomb is still strong. AAA titles like Forspoken and The Callisto Protocol are two recent examples. Their AAA publishing, budget, and marketing efforts failed to make them hits. While they never had the potential to be the next Tetris or Minecraft, they don't even look poised to become "cult hits" like No More Heroes. Moving forward, we can guess that all-new, single-player-focused, big-budget IPs will be more and more of a lose-lose proposition. For AAA, there will always be a ceiling for success, marked by a line where the enthusiast market ends, and the mainstream market begins. But there is no bottom to how hard they can fail.

The irony is, the same factors that limit how big AAA games can get are the same factors that make them appealing to publishers. It's much easier to be a big fish in a relatively small enthusiast market than it is to try to swim in the blue ocean against massive mainstream hits like Roblox or League of Legends. And, ??for now, AAA still has the power to craft a niche culture where only they have the resources to make games that will be perceived as "important".

[caption id="attachment_368580" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image credit Rockstar Games[/caption]

Maintaining dominAAAnce

I was laughed off of the internet once for theorizing that home console controllers have become increasingly complicated over the years in order to push away players who are more likely to criticize AAA games. I can see how that might sound paranoid, but just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you. Just look at the amount of hate people have gotten for suggesting that tough boss fights be skippable, or that games should always have eas??y modes. The level of venom that the Wii and the DS received for valuing "casuals" was wild to witness. AAA marketing had worked for years to instill a weird pride in people for playing difficult, complicated games, and with that pride came the urge to shame anyone who took a different road.

You'd think that AAA publishers wouldn't want to create an audience that repels potential new customers from getting into gaming, but as many politicians know, winning elections isn't about getting everyone to like you?. If using divisive, mean-spirited rhetoric pushes 50% of voters away so much that they don't even want to think about politics, but also excites 30% of the remaining people, then that only leaves 20% of?? the population who may vote against you.

And in AAA, every vote costs at least $60 to cast, making the barrier to entry much higher than voting in most of the world's political elections. Expensive to make, expensive to buy games do even more to alienate any reviewer who may consider playing a GTA or CoD game for review and say, "??It's too long, divisive, or meanspirite??d."

If the only people playing your games are the ones who are predestined to love them, then you've already guarante??ed a win.

[caption id="attachment_368584" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image credit InnerSloth LLC[/caption]

But that can't last forever, especially with something as awesome as video games. Eventually, people are going to find them and love them, no matter how much you try to alienate them. As a result, the urge from the old guard to fight back can lead to some pretty strange comments. You see something similar happening in the film industry, where directors who love making movies about real people will complain that superhero blockbuste??rs aren't "real cinema". What they're really trying to say is, they preferred the days when the movies they loved to make were also the movies that the industry valued the most. They want to continue to be the ones to establish what "good" and "bad" movies are, so they can continue to easily get financing for the kinds of movies they like making.

If controlling the standards for quality in your medium is the #1 way to avoid risk in any art industry, you can bet your sweet bippy that AAA will do its darndest to exercise that control. That's why Bethesda's Hi-Fi Rush was such an anomaly. The game was a huge hit, despite not being a typical AAA game. In fact, that's exactly why it did so well. It was a massive breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale market filled with games aiming for the same s?afe, AAA goals.

But if Bethesda and other AAA publishers continue to make that type of game, they are going to implicitly admit that you don't need a ton of money to make something really popular. The emperor's new high-res, photorealistic clothes will be off, and they'll have to compete wit?h other publishers and developers on a much more even playing field. It's enough to give your average AAA CEO low-budget nightmares.

[caption id="attachment_368591" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image Credit Sony Santa Monica[/caption]

Delaying the inevitable

Just like fossil fuel companies that desperately want to keep their good thing going until either electric cars, government regulation, (or the planet Earth itself), says that the party's over, AAA publishers really don't have much reason to embrace the truth right now. If the vocal minority online, which is still made up of millions, keeps believing that they are number one, it will keep that FOMO feeling alive in those with enough disposable income to splurge on a $60 or $70 title just because it got a lot of reviews/awards/buzz online. As long as they maintai?n their stature with the loudest voices in the enthusiast market, then they are going to keep making plenty of money.

That said, I think it's inevitable that their brand of game will eventually lose the capacity to even appear "important" to anybody. AAA games in long-running franchises like God of War, which appeal to both older players like me and the kids who care about AAA gaming history, are going to continue to do well for at least another decade. It's not a coincidence that these games tend to be about aging parents and their up-and-coming, game-loving children, because that's exactly who's still buying them. Eventually, the generation brought up on disc-based home consoles will hit their 60s and 70s, leaving the Minecraft-loving tablet and phone?? gaming generation to fully?? inherit the medium.

By 2050, the current style of AAA games will look "retro" a?t best, like how N64 games look to us now.

And, by then, making realistic-looking games will be as cheap and easy to do as it is to use art-generating apps today. The games that win the popularity contests will be the ones that give people the opportunity to work out their stress and live out their fantasies in the most novel and interesting ways, regardless of how much money was put into them. It could be that The Last of Us ma??y really end up being one of the last of the single-player-focused, stor??y-heavy, AAA-budget franchises that will appeal to anyone but the most diehard of video game fans.

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It was... inevitable

The extremely compelling mobile card game Marvel Snap has had a stupendous launch, having raked ??in just over $?50 million USD in revenue since its launch on iOS and Android platforms in October 2022.

The digital tabletop title �the first game from Californian studio Second Dinner �sees players build a deck of heroes and villains from the famous comic book brand, before going to battle in strategic, turn-based gameplay. Players can earn or purchase various new cards in order to build up their deck, and take part in limited-time events, seasons, and tournaments. Currently, the title is enjoying an Ant-Man-themed event, in collaboration with the recent Marvel Cinematic Universe release Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania.

//www.youtub??e.com/watch?v=GNuq6E3enZQ&ab_channel=MarvelEntertainme?nt

Due to the exciting nature of the game's roster as well as a short playtime of only a few minutes �Marvel Snap won over a huge community of players at Quicksilver speed. Roughly 12 million players downloaded the title in its launch month with around $30 million in revenue pulled in by January of this year. Of course, many mobile titles enjoy this burst of incredible success in their opening six months, and time will tell whether Marvel Snap will continu?e to grow over the remainder of 2023. But given the popularity of the Marvel brand, and the overall quality of the game itself. I would expect those microtransaction bucks to keep rolling in for the foreseeable future.

Marvel Snap is available now on iOS? and Android platforms. A console version is also in the works.

??Marvel Snap hits $50m revenue, 18m downloads since launch [mobilegamer.biz]

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Maidenless, not Moneyless

Publisher Bandai Namco and developer FromSoftware have proudly announced that smash hit RPG Elden Ring has surpassed a mighty 20 million shipments and digital sales since its initial launch on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox p??latforms in February 2022.

The last time sales figures were offered up for the award-winning adventure, sales and shipments were somewhere in the region of 16.5 million, meaning that Elden Ring has shifted a further 3.5 ?million copies in the fall and winter seasons. It is incredibly likely that the slew of Game of the Year awards received by the title, (including our own), helped to put it on the radar for those yet to hear of its plau??dits.

//www.?youtube.com/??watch?v=DOrtKh8Vv3g&ab_channel=Destructoid

Elden Ring, written by FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki and Game of Thrones scribe George R. R. Martin, sees the player's custom protagonist explore the grim, fallen kingdom of The Lands Between, meeting allies and enemies, battling monsters, and confronting demigods on a quest to repair the shattered "Elden R??ing", said to be the anchor of order for the entire land?.

Following a long and intensive period of development and marketing hype, Elden Ring launched to universal praise at the start of 2022, raising the bar for the year's releases and fending off many hopefuls to be crowned the best title of the year by a great number of outlets. PvP and other new features were added to the title in October of last year, with players eagerly antic?ipating further DLC later this year.

Elden Ring is available n?ow on PlayStat??ion, PC, and Xbox platforms.

Related: When does the new Elden Ring DLC release? on Dot Esports

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Zombie Splats & Palico Cats

Capcom has updated its "Platinum List" depicting the veteran studio's best-selling title titles of all time �And despite several position swaps, the list's Top 20 remains completely dominated by two of the publisher's most consistent and loved franchises: Resident Evil and Monster Hunter.

Various entries in the premier survival horror franchise take up a total of seven slots in the Top 20, spearheaded by 2017's Resident Evil 7: Biohazard at No.3, 2019's Resident Evil 2 at No.4, and 2009's Resident Evil 5 at No.6. The series' most recent entry, 2021's Resident Evil Village, sits at No.8 with an impressive 7.4 million total ??sales.

For a franchise once considered niche, there's no denying Monster Hunter's incredible success. The fantasy franchise takes up an amazing nine slots in the Top 20, almost half of the entire premier league. 2021's Monster Hunter Rise sits proudly at No.2, while Monster Hunter World: Iceborne rocks 10 million sales at No.5. Of course, 2018's incredibly successful Monster Hunter World sits at No.1 with a still bewildering 18.6 million sales, cementing its pos??ition as the best-sellin??g Capcom release of all time.

2023 will see the release of several new Capcom releases, with the highly anticipated Resident Evil 4 and Street Fighter 6 both expected to deliver sales gold for the publisher. Both of these titles have the potential to claim places within the Platinum List in time �with Capcom already expecting the nostalgic love for Resident Evil 4 to ensure last-minute success for the fiscal year. Regardless, Capcom is on a roll and It will be interesting to see the lay o?f the land for the studio as Gen 9 continues.

The Top 20 of Capcom’s Platinum Titles list is as follows:

1. Monster Hunter: World (2018) 18.6m

2. Monster Hunter Rise (2021) 11.7m

3. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017) 11.7m

4. Resident Evil 2 (2019) 11.2m

5. Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (2019) 10m

6. Resident Evil 5 (2009) 8.6m

7. Resident Evil 6 (2012) 8.6m

8. Resident Evil Village (2021) 7.4m

9. Street Fighter V (2016) 7.0m

10. Devil May Cry V (2019) 6.5m

11. Resident Evil 3 (2020) 4.6m

12. Street Fighter II (1992) 6.3m

13. Resident Evil 2 (1998) 4.96m

14. Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak (2022) 4.9m

15. Monster Hunter Freedom 3 (2010) 4.9m

16. Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate (2017) 4.3m

17. Monster Hunter Generations (2015) 4.3m

18. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (2014) 4.2m

19. Monster Hunter 4 (2013) 4.1m

20. Street Fighter II Turbo (1993) 4.1m

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Cream 'o' the crop, rise to the top, yeeeah!..

Skybound Entertainment has made a committed financial investment in indie studio MegaCat Studios, the developer working on fun-looking, ring-rocking RPG WrestleQuest.

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Skybound Entertainment has not released a figure for its investment, but the site's sources believe it to be in the "multi-million" region. As a publisher Skybound currently holds IPs such as The Walking Dead and Escape Academy, while also owning physical distribution rights for titles such as Cuphead, Psychonauts 2, Untitled Goose Game, Gang Beasts, and more recently Striking Distance Studios' The Callisto Protocol.

//www.youtub??e.com/watch?v=AtpjlXOviKA&ab_channe?l=SkyboundGames

Pittsburgh-based MegaCat Studios has released several low-key titles in its young life, including games for retro platforms such as the NES and the Sega Mega Drive. WrestleQuest represents the indie outfit's biggest and most promising title to date, blending strategic RPG combat with the Day-Glo, territory-era world? of pro wrestling. Alongside a roster of original characters, WrestleQuest will also star real-world grapplers such as The Road Warriors, Sgt. Slaughter,  Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Andre the Giant, and Macho Man Randy Savage.

It is reported that MegaCat intends to use Skybound's investment to help with the financial side of project development, while also noting that the partnership will give the small studio access to IP and publishing resources. With the release of WrestleQuest just four months away, this exciting venture looks set to ?prope?l MegaCat well into 2023 and, hopefully, beyond.

WrestleQuest launches May 2023 on PlayStation, PC, Xbox, and ?Nintendo Switch.

Skybound ?makes multimillion-dollar investment in Mega Cat Studios [GamesIndustry.biz]

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And that's not even including The Big N

As the year's end shuffles into view, number-crunching firms are taking a look back at the last 12 months to recognize patterns, facts, and figures as they pertain to gaming, retail, prices, sales, and player behavior �And a new report from the statisticians at NewZoo offers up some interesting reading.

NewZoo places its estimate for the global games market ??value at a staggering $184.4 billion USD. This accounts for almost game sales, on PC, console, and mobile platforms. It should also be noted that this already impressive figure does not take into account Nintendo game sales, as the publisher has always been weirdly prudish when it comes to revealing its own bottom line.

Of this total market value, $51.8 billion manifested through console games, with a further $38.2 billion pulled in by downloaded/boxed PC titles, and $2.3 billion from browser-based PC games. Of course, mobile gaming takes the lion's share, with a massive $92.2 billion in total revenue. This sector was led by the continued dominance of titles such as TiMi Studios' Honor of Kings, and PUBG Corporation's PUBG Mobile, which continue to earn billions year-??on-year from the global market.

When it comes specifically to console gaming, around 72% of all game sales were digital downloads, with only the remained 28% accounting for physical releases. This continues a trend we have witnessed for many years now, with each consecutive year seeing more and more customers opting for digital game purchases over boxed copies. Again, this figure does not include Nintendo Switch software, which represents perhaps the last real bastion of high-street retail gaming purchases.

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500 responses scrapped for being 'unintelligible'

As the furor continues around Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion purchase of publisher Activision Blizzard, global regulators continue their investigation??s into the sale and any potential antitrust issues raised by the coming together of two of?? the most powerful companies in the gaming industry.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority, a British regulatory body looking into the sale,?? has revealed the results of a public survey held in October, wherein The CMA asked customers whether they were in favor or against the deal being completed. Around 2,600 email responses were recorded, with around three-qua?rters of the replies being in favor of Microsoft completing its purchase.

Of the 2,600 emails, only 2,100 qualified for the survey, with the remaining 500 being tossed for "[containing] abusive content (with no other substantive content), or were blank, unintelligible, stated to be from non-UK consumers, or not in English". Of the remaining ballots, several arguments for the purchase included the belief that Microsoft needs the purchase in order to become competitive against Sony and Nintendo, and that the deal was seen as no different from Sony's securing of franchises such as Silent Hill, The Last of Us, and Final Fantasy.

The Microsoft/Activision sale was announced one year ago, but still hangs in the balance. The American FTC has filed suit in order to delay the completion of the purchase while investigations continue, whereas several territories �including Brazil, Serbia, and Saudi Arabia �have already offered their full support of the purchase. It seems difficult not to imagine Microsoft bullishly completing the deal when all is said and done, especially if it chooses to bite the bullet on numerous concessions surrounding cash cow Call of Duty, but, regardless, ??the ink currently remains a long way away from drying.

75% of public comments on Mic?rosoft/Activision in favor of deal [GamesIndustry.biz]

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5.1 million sales in launch week

While everybody, from developer to media to players, was expecting Sony Santa Monica's epic sequel God of War Ragnarok to light up the cash registers with the fury of Helios, perhaps nobody was quite expecting it to immediately become the fastest-selling launch in PlayStation's entire history, as decreed by the industry giant itself.

Over the course of its debut week, God of War Ragnarok shifted a staggering 5.1 million combined physical and digital copies, not only breaking launch records for the long-running mythological franchise, but also beating launch records for every single first-party game in PlayStation history, dating right back to the brand's debut in 1994. That's a meaty ??feat.

God of War Ragnarok is available now on PlayS?tation platforms.  And it seems folks are into it.

//twitter.com/P??layStation/status/1595432230750674945?s=20&t=qSazuZ38JJ6L0vCuhO6bzg

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Blood Money

Recent bullet-pumping sequel Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II continues to smash all-time series records, with the stunning revelation that Activision's latest military shooter has raked in a staggering $1 billion USD in revenue within its first 10 days of release.

This financial feat is just the latest in a series of records broken by Modern Warfare II, which is already the fastest-selling entry in the series to date and also broke the storied franchise's milestone for Most Concurrent Steam Users, (with a peak of 263,174 players on launch night). The previous record to hit the Big Billion was held by the excellent 2012 entry Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, which hit the 10-digit mark in 15 days.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeVapCrI1pY

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II continues the reboot/reboot storyline that began with 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The plot details a violent, globe-trotting campaign that sees Task Force 141, once again headed up by Captain Price, attempt to dismantle a dangerous arms cartel that threatens to bring death and destruction to the United States. In curious fashion, the game works as both a brand new title and a prequel to the previous Modern Warfare releases from the mid??-'00s.

Following on from the relatively blah welcoming received by 2021's Call of Duty Vanguard. Activision will no doubt be breathing a sigh of relief that, for now at any rate, the Call of Duty franchise remains untarnished from both a popularity and financial standpoint, with MWII's success like?ly pointing to further years of entries in one of the industry's most lucrative franchises.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available now on???? PlayStation, PC (Steam/Battle.net), and Xbox.

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Pokemon Legends: Arceus leads the charge

Nintendo has released its latest financial earnings report, ?revealing that its Nintendo Switch hardware, now appr??oaching its sixth year of release, continues to perform magnificently for the iconic publisher.

Nintendo has sold?? a grand total of 114.33 million Switch units worldwide since the console's release in the spring of 2017, with 3.25 million units shifting in the most recent financial quarter. Of course, what is a console without software? And Nintendo is also sitting pretty in that department, with 64 million game sales taking place over the past three months, taking the grand total of Switch game sales to an incredible 917.59 million.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4RynqpahT8

While you'd be forgiven for assuming 916 million of those sales were Mario Kart Deluxe, it seems that the success story of 2022 has been the colorful shooter Splatoon 3, which has sold 7.9 million copies since its launch in September, already smashing series records as the fastest-selling entry to date. Monolith Soft's adventure Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has also seen relatively modest success, with 1.72 million sales worldwide since its July 22 release date. The biggest seller, however, has been Pokemon Legends: Arceus, pulling in a?? whopping 13.91 million sales since its January r?elease.

Later this month, Nintendo will release another Pokemon title in the form of double-header Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. These anticipated titles will no doubt round? out what has been a pretty sharp year for both the Nintendo Switch platform and the publisher as a whole, still riding high despite the ongoing march of the ninth generation.

Here are the global sales figure??s for Nintendo's 2022 Switch releases:

• Pokemon Legends: Arceus â€?(13.91m)
• Mario Party Superstars â€?(8.07m)
• Splatoon 3 â€?(7.90m)
• Nintendo Switch Sports â€?(6.15m)
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land â€?(5.27m)
• Mario Strikers: Battle League â€?(2.17m)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 â€?(1.72m)

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Biggest opening in franchise history

Activision has proudly announced that its recent release Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II has smashed all previous launch records held by the storied franchise, having raked in an incredible $800 million USD in sales o?ver the course of its initial launch weekend.

Released on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms on October 28, Modern Warfare II immediately became the most successful entertainment product of 2022. Not only has the rat-a-tat-tat sequel beat out the Call of Duty franchise's own launch record �previously held by 2011's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 �but MWII has also surpassed the combined opening box office revenue of blockbuster movies Top Gun: Maverick and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

//twitt?er.com/CallofDuty/status/1587416310199336963?s=20&t=H6WN?N-O6lyY3nphogrdQ7w

As previously reported, Modern Warfare II also smashed all previous Call of Duty records in regards to concurrent Steam players this past weekend, with an amazing 263,174 players logging in simultaneously on Sunday, October 30. These impressive numbers will most certainly be welcomed by the money men at Activision Blizzard, given that 2021's Call of Duty: Vanguard was one of the franchise's most underperforming releases �Though, obviously, "underperforming" in a CoD sense just me?ans "mega-millions" ins?tead of "ultra-millions".

As always, however, the new release has not been without its fair share of controversy. Some players were bewildered by a sequence in the Modern Warfare II campaign in which the player points guns at unarmed civilians in order to "de-escalate" a situation. Additionally, a real-life hotel situated in Amsterdam is considering legal action after their resort ??was allegedly featured in a violent action sequence without the company's consent.

A Call of Duty title asking for forgiveness instead of permission? Shock Horror!

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is available ??now on PlayStation, PC, ?and Xbox platforms.

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Over three million consoles moved in last quarter

Sony Interactive Entertainment has released its financial results for fiscal year ending? September 30, 2022, which shows that its most recent hardware platform, PlayStation 5 (PS5), has smashed past 25 million global shipments ?since its initial launch in November 2020.

According to the data, the shiny white behemoth shipped 3.3 million units in the most recent quarter, more or less matching the same period in 2021 and thus presenting steady sales for the (admittedly expensive) hardware. While there have been some struggles getting the ninth generation off to a strong start �??impacted by production woes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the cost of living crisis �it appears that sales of the PS5 system remain relatively comfortable for the time being.

In addition to the hardware figures, SIE also revealed that there are currently 45.4 million PlayStation Plus subscribers, though this figure is down some 1.8 million users from the same time frame one year ago. Much like Microsoft's the Xbox Game Pass service, it seems that PlayStation is continually stru?ggling to grow its subscriber base, which had seen nothing but growth u??ntil the 2021 economy slump. Still, 45 million players is nothi??ng to be sniffed at, and so it is unlikely that the publisher will be too concerned.

Further decline was seen in total game sales, with PS4 and PS5 combined software sales d??own a huge 13.9 million units over 2021, for a grand total of 62.5 million games sold. 63% of all full game sales were digital purchases �demonstrating that while the digital market c??ontinues its inevitable growth, physical media is not quite ready to be consigned to the garbage pile just yet.

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Captain Price is Right

As inevitable as death, taxes, or Hamster's Arcade Archives release, Activision's newest entry to the Call of Duty franchise, Modern Warfare 2, is enjoying an incredibl?e launch  I??n fact, the Steam edition of the billion-dollar head-popper has already broken the series record for concurrent players on its first day.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, available today on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms is currently entertaining an amazing 192,524 players as of this writing. While this number, in itself, is already the highest number of concurrent CoD Steam players to date, this isn't even the peak, as MW2 already hit a pretty nutso high of 238,522 players durin??g its first hour of l??aunch.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeVapCrI1pY

That's a stunning 100,000+ players more than the previous record, which has been held by the original Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer since 2010. Once North America wakes up and has its first cup of Joe, it will be interesting to see if this peak number can be smashed even further. Of course, this Steam count represents only one faction of the CoD playerbase, with many choosing to play ??on PlayStation, Xbox, or Activision Blizzard's own Battle.net app.

The success of the newest Call of Duty title has been something of an annual inevitability, with even "lesser" entries such as last year's Call of Duty: Vanguard still pulling in sales numbers and player figures that most games can only dream of. And it seems, some 18 years from the series' initial inception �and despite perpetual complaints that the series has "peaked" �Call of Duty will remain one of video? gaming's most lucrative and fiscally reliable franchises.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available now on PlayStation, PC (Steam/Battle.net??), ?and Xbox.

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Green(ish) Light

Microsoft has released its financial details for the first quarter of its fiscal year �While the statistics are something of a mixed bag, it has been a significant, positive season for the Xbox brand, with strong hardware sa?les leading to an overall revenue increase of around 11% year-on-year.

The continuing economic slump has been tough on Microsoft, which has seen a decline in many of its sectors. Revenue for operating software Windows dropped by a mighty 15%, while Xbox game sales were also down by a much more manageable 3%. The drop in game sales is likely due to the worldwide cost of living crisis, as well as an increased interest in subscription service Xbox Game Pass. Thus, even ??if Xbox game sales are down, there is something to?? be said for Game Pass' growth.

More positive news came in the form of the publisher's Intelligent Cloud server division, which saw a stellar year-on-year revenue increase of 20%. As previously mentioned, much of Xbox's decline was offset by the growing sales of Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles. The sales of Xbox hardware and engagement with the Xbox Game Pass service �now boasti??ng over 20 million subscribers?? �will clearly look to carry to load as Microsoft pushes through this continued downswing in customer spending.

Of course, the more negative elements of the report are ha??rdly about to bankrupt the company. Microsoft's overall revenue for the period still totals somewhere in the region of $50 billion USD, while its net income, even with a huge 14% drop, still saw the company pull in around $17.6 billion. MS is not going to be scratching for change anytime soon.

It should also be noted that the publisher recently laid off hundreds of employees across its entire workforce. Additionally, MS remains adamant in seeking approval for its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

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Subscription service the cornerstone of Xbox brand

According to new statistics published by Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE), celebrated subscription service Xbox Game Pass raked in a staggering $2.9 billion USD in revenue over the course of 2021. The figure was published in a CADE report on the Microsoft/Blizzard acquisition.

The figure, shared by TweakTown and reported by GamesIndustry.biz, offers up one of the first dollar amounts for the increasingly popular service, which offers its subscribers access to a huge library of? new and classic games on both the Xbox and PC platforms. No further information about the eye-watering figure was released, with the figure focusing solely on Xbox subscribers, eschewing PC?? players.

Assuming that the listed figure is accurate, Xbox Game Pass makes up something in the region ?of 18% of all Microsoft's Xbox revenue for 2021 �a year that generated a total revenue of just over $16 billion. The Xbox Game Pass service has continued to grow in both its userbase and its global reputation since its initial launch in the summer of 2017, and currently boasts a huge 25 million subscribers.

Earlier this year, Sony Interactive Entertainment launched its own Game Pass competitor in the form of the revamped PlayStation Plus service, which utilizes a tier-based system to offer games from all eras of the PlayStation platform to its subscribers. Subscription gaming is fast proving itself both rewarding for the players themselves, and very profitable for the publishers, leading one to wonder whether future generations of console gaming will explore the possibilities?? of gaming subscriptions as a core concept.

Game Pass ?reportedly made $2.9bn on consoles in 2021 [GamesIndustry.biz]

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Paint Party kicking in right now

Nintendo's colorful arena shooter series made its grand return last month, with the arrival of madcap multiplayer release Splatoon 3 �And, according to new figures in Famitsu, it appears to have had nothing less than the prov?erbial blockbuster launch, raking in physical and digital sales worldwide and taking the retail market by storm in Japan in particular.

In fact, for September 2021, Splatoon 3 sold 2.7 million physical copies in the territory, which accounts for an incredible 69% of all of Japan's gaming retail for the month in question. Previously, Nintendo had already celebrated Splatoon 3 shifting 3.45 million copies in a mere three days, making it Japan's fastest-selling Nintendo Switch release ever. Splatoon 3 has been the most dominant seller in series' history, which is unfathomable when you consider hosts Pearl ??& Marina have tak?en time out for this entry.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ODI00fgeS0

On the hardware front, Japan also shifted a further 500,000 Nintendo Switch units in September, suggesting that Splatoon 3 has also been a major platform mover in the territory. And, while Nintendo is not particularly forward in the revelation of its games' sales figures, we also know that Splatoon 3 has also been a success overseas, scoring the series its first Number One in the UK sales charts.

Splatoon, as a franchise, has gone from strength to strength with each consecutive release. The series' success goes beyond the engaging gameplay and fun multiplayer action, with Splatoon successfully building a true community of players, as happy to hang around Inkopolis and share emotes and sketches as they are to run around covering the floor and walls in Day-Glo colors. Splatoon may have started out as a typical team shooter, built it has become something more, with fan art, live shows, a healthy competitive scene, and merchandising all helping to grow the franchise into so??mething very special.

Splatoon 3 sold 2.7m boxed copies in three weeks [GamesIndustry.biz]

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Current gen titles to sport top-tier prices

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemo?t has confirmed that the publisher is to adopt a $70 USD price tag for all of its major releases going forward. The new price point, which is fast becoming industry standard, will be applicable to all of the publisher's "AAA" titles.

Speaking in a recent interview with Axios, Guillemot noted that the price change was in-line with other publishers in the industry that have also decided to add a further $10 to the Recommended Retail Price (RRP) of their biggest releases, particularly for current platforms such as PS5 and Xbox Series X. The first Ubisoft title to release at the new price will be the current-gen edition of Skull & Bones �scheduled to launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X in November. Future releases such as the upcoming Assassin's Creed Mirage are also e??xpected to adopt the new pricing? scheme.

While many will understandably groan at the inevitable price hike, Ubisoft is by far the first publisher to take this step, and is in fact one of the few outliers in this particular situation. 2K Games' NBA 2K20 was the first title to launch at $70 back in 2020. Other publishers, such as Activision, Sony, and Square Enix, would follow suit �putting out premium titles such as Returnal and Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, even on the traditionally "cheaper" PC platform. Future blockbuster releases, such as the PS5 edition of God of War Ragnarok, are also expe???cted to retail at the new price point.

Ubisoft Yves Guillemot interview [Axios]

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You Brella Believe It

Nintendo's super-colorful, super-messy sequel Splatoon 3 has now been unleashed upon the public and is already proving itself to be an incredible sales success. In Japan alone, the Switch shooter has already shifted a staggering 3.45 million copies in its first three days of release, breaking previous Switch release records in the country. The news was broken in a weekend press statement by the publisher.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ODI00fgeS0

Launching on September 9, Splatoon 3 sees the return of madcap, team-based, multiplayer gameplay, as squid kids and octolings battle to out to capture territory across various modes and maps. Splatoon 3 features all of the paint-sloshing action that is the franchise's trademark, set against a slightly more dystopian landscape �the aftermath of Splatoon 2's final Splatfest favoring "Chaos" over "Order."

But, despite the series' general popularity, I'm not sure that anybody was expecting the new sequel to be a record-breaker, having already become the fastest-selling Nintendo Switch title in its native Japan. It should also be noted that these figures do not include sales from Europe and North America, which will no doubt add to the incredible number and see Splatoon 3 nes??tle comfortably in place as one of 20??22's best-selling releases.

Splatoon 3 is available now on Nintendo Switch. Check out Chris Carter's review right here.

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Beating out Blu-ray, CDs, and other platforms

The Entertainment Retailer's Association (ERA) has issued statistics charting the UK sales of all "entertainment products" for 2022 so far �and it seems that the British public cannot get enough of Nintendo Switch games, with their physica?l iteration being the highest-grossing ??media available on the high street.

Bo?xed Nintendo Switch titles have raked in a healthy £?88.7 million (around $102m USD) in revenue since January 1, 2022, outselling PlayStation's PS4 & PS5 releases (£79.6 million) and Xbox One and Series releases (£17.8 million). Away from gaming, Switch titles even outsold other forms of physical media, including music CDs (£68.9 million), DVDs (£66.8 million), and Blu-rays (£52.1 million).

Interestingly, vinyl album sales have skyrocketed, and sit in second place with a hefty revenue count of £79.6 million. This is somewhat understandable, as much of the entertainment scene has made the ?shift to digital formats, whereas vinyl collectors are highly unlikely to make such a move to the digital sphere. Oh, and also, vinyl albums cost a fucki??ng fortune.

"Vinyl’s rise and rise seems unstoppable," notes ERA CEO Kim Bayley. "For a 74-year-old analogue format to eclipse the digital-age technology of games platforms is quite extraordinary. 10 years into its long climb back to favour, the vinyl revival is most definitely here ??to stay."

Ironically, despite sitting on top of the pile, Nintendo Switch UK sales have actually decreased from last year, wit?h sales down around 12% when compared to the same period in 2021. Of the aforementioned formats, only PlayStation games, Blu-ray, and vinyl saw any growth on the previous year's chart.

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Military Might

It's no controversial statement to say that Activision's shooter franchise Call of Duty is something of a golden goose within the gaming industry, having raked in billi??ons of dollars worth of revenue over the course of the past two?? decades. As such, the military shooter franchise currently finds itself at the center of an increasingly bitter feud between Sony PlayStation and Xbox over the brand's uncertain future.

While Microsoft's purchase of Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard is yet to be approved and completed, PlayStation is already getting antsy about whether the cash cow is getting set to become an Xbox exclusive. Despite Xbox boss Phil Spencer previously stating that PlayStation fans can expect to play Call of Duty titles "for many years" post buyout even going as f??ar as to sign a contract guaranteeing Sony as such, PlayStation's Jim Ryan has now pu?blicly called the terms of the agreement "inadequate on many levels."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=r72GP1PIZa0

"Microsoft has only offered for Call of Duty to remain on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony ends," revea??ls Ryan in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. "After almost 20 years of Call of Duty on PlayStation, [The Microsoft] proposal was inadequate on many levels and failed to take account of the impact on our gamers. We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft's proposal un?dermines this principle."

While Phil Spencer is yet to respond to these comments, he has previously noted that he believes the terms of the PlayStation/Xbox Call of Duty contract represent "an offer that goes well beyond typical gaming indust??ry agreements."

Aside from possibly Grand Theft Auto, there is perhaps no one brand that can make executives so itchy that they'd openly call out their disdain in public. While the terms of the deal are not readily available, it appears that Call of Duty will continue to release on PlayStation (should the Microsoft/Activision purchase go ahead), for at least the following three-to-four titles. Playing the long game, Ryan clearly sees the potential for the franchise to become an Xbox/PC exclusive heading into the back half of the decade, and is already taking steps to make sure his brand does not lose a piece of the lucrative Call of Duty pie. You'll forgive me for raising a sky-high eyebrow at the idea ?it's "for the gamers."

It should be noted that these types of deals are nothing new, and that PlayStation itself has previously paid ?through the nose to ensure it has its own range of third-party exclusives (though many of these are, admittedly, also available on PC). In this case, however, we're essentially talking about the crown jewels of gaming, and as such this whole situation is likely to stay particularly ugly.

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