Game or gamble? Parents target Roblox

"It was more that they would like to do something in the future, but not now, which became a 'NO' for us." - Lars Wingefors, Embracer Group CEO

As we gear up for the weekend, let us serve you a fresh platter of gaming goodness. Today we're diving into the bittersweet farewell of the Xbox 360 Store, the controversy swirling around Roblox and some big moves in the gaming scene.

Let’s start the game.

Round-up of the day

I’m a big fan of handheld PC devices. I ordered a Steam Deck the moment I could. I will order PlayStation Project Q the moment it becomes available. So I’m happy to see other devices in the market. Lenovo Legion Go looks like a hybrid device that strikes a balance between the Steam Deck and the Nintendo Switch. (link)

Over 1,220 exhibitors from 63 countries are expected to attend Gamescom, starting August 22. (link)

The total number of players of Hi-Fi Rush has exceeded 3 million since its release on January 25 this year, for the Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Xbox Game Pass. (link)

All things come to an end - on July 29, 2024, the Xbox 360 Store will close, after 18 years. This won't impact your capability to play previously purchased Xbox 360 games or DLC. (link)

Continuing on a console note, Epic Online Services expands free crossplay overlay to consoles (link)

There’s more and more AI in gaming (on all levels):

• NCSoft has developed and released a collection of AI language models called VARCO LLMs to help developers create new content including images, texts, and digital humans. (link)

• Room 8 Group announces new partnership with Zibra AI (link)

Biz Reel

Bad timing – “Painful”collapse of $2B deal was about timing, not about terms, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors says. (link)

A consequence of the collapse is that Embracer will close some studios (link)

According to a purported class action brought by parents, Roblox allegedly acts as an illegal gambling ring that preys on children. (link)

Savvy Games Studio, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's public investment fund-owned Savvy Games, has rebranded to Steer Studios. “An exciting milestone in its journey”, says CEO Brian Ward. (link)
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Umsatzspitze! - In Germany, PS5 sales in the first half of 2023 tripled compared to the same period last year. (link)

We recently told you about Play Ventures’ 3rd fund that just launched. Well, the first fund had a 1.5x return for their investors in less than 4 years. (link)

Monolpoly GO! Doubled Revenues with an in-app event (link)

Game Central

Baldur's Gate 3 preloads start for PlayStation 5 on August 31, for Digital Deluxe Edition - early access on September 2 - and on September 4 for Standard Edition - launch on September 6. (link)

Starfield preloads started yesterday for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Preloads via Valve's store will begin on August 30. You will need 140 GB of space on PC, 126 GB on Xbox. (link)

Quantum Error, a cosmic-horror first-person shooter developed in Unreal Engine 5 by TeamKill Media, will be launched on November 3. (link)

Vroom! The Crew Motorfest has gone gold and will be launched on September 14 on PS4/PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Amazon Luna. (link)

Alan Wake 2 is delayed 10 days and will launch on October 27. It is a busy period in gaming and Remedy wants to “give players more space to play everything”. Initial release date (October 17) was in the same week as Spider-Man 2 (October 20). (link)

The Walking Dead: Destinies announced for PS 4/5, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Switch and PC. It reshapes the events of Seasons 1 to 4 of the AMC original series. $49.99, no date announced yet. (link)

Did you know?

First Alan Wake game was launched in 2010, in the same week as the first Red Dead Redemption game, so initial sales were slow.

Sales for the first two weeks reached 145,000 units while Red Dead Redemption had reached 1.5 million during the same period.

However, Alan Wake was – allegedly - the second-most-illegally copied Xbox 360 game of 2010, with more than 1.1 million downloads. It includes a feature where if "pirated", the character wears an eye patch during the game.

Up to 2015, Alan Wake has sold more than 4.5 million copies, according to Matias Myllyrinne, CEO of Remedy at that time.