UK spending on video games plummeted by 29.4 percent during the first half of this year, while music and video sales grew.
Physical game sales fell by 40 percent to £111.7m compared to the first six months of 2023, while digital download sales fell 23 percent to £236.9m.
The numbers, reported by the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA), reflect a “soft new release schedule”, according to its latest report.
Newscast: Does the loss of day one launches make Xbox Game Pass pointless?
Concord, the upcoming 5v5 hero shooter from Sony’s Firewalk Studios, is bucking the battle pass trend, with its developer telling players, “You own Concord, Concord doesn’t own you.”
Firewalk Studios announced the news in a series of posts on social media, explaining Concord won’t have a battle pass because it “wanted to focus [its] attention on making Concord a rewarding and robust experience on day one, where just playing the game, levelling up your accounts and characters, and completing jobs yields meaningful rewards.”
In a seperate post, Concord gameplay animation director Mark DeRidder wrote, “No Battle Pass, folks. You own Concord, Concord doesn’t own you.”
It’s certainly an increasingly unusual, if not unwelcome, choice in a world where it feels like…
Read moreNetflix currently has over 80 games in development, with plans to release a game a month to its subscribers from this month onwards in its Netflix Stories section.
In its latest earnings call, Netflix’s co-CEO, president and director Gregory K Peters discussed the company’s plans for gaming and how it will achieve growth.
Where the company is moving quickest is with interactive narrative games, which Peters describes as “easier to build”. These are placed in the Netflix Stories narrative hub and it’s here the company will be launching a new game each month based on popular series like Emily in Paris and Selling Sunset.
Newscast: Does the loss of day one launches make Xbox Game Pass pointless?
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Read moreMobile game Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes is now available in early access on PC, following a successful closed beta.
The turn-based RPG from Electronic Arts was originally released in 2015 for mobile, but almost nine years later is making the hyper jump to PC.
Early access is available via the EA app, bringing options for higher resolutions, anti-aliasing support, mouse and keyboard controls, and a 60fps frame rate.
STAR WARS™: Galaxy of Heroes – Now on PC – Trailer
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Read moreAhead of the launch of Suicide Squad’s second season, Rocksteady has detailed the playstyle of Mrs. Freeze.
We’ve known of her existence already thanks to a roadmap, but now her unique traversal abilities have been revealed in a new blog post for Season of Frozen Hearts, as well as more about the Frozen Elseworld environment.
If you’ve seen Frozone from Pixar’s The Incredibles film then you’ll have an idea of what to expect from Mrs. Freeze, who can use her Ice Path to glide over land and through the air with ease. She can also create loops and platforms to dash around battles and shoot enemies from above.
Let’s Play Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League – IS IT A QUINNER OR A SINNER?
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Read more It’s time to drink and tea merry, Final Fantasy fans – Final Fantasy 14 and Gong Cha have come together for a brand new collaboration.
From now until 28th August, players can enjoy three FF14-inspired teas at participating outlets, as well as earn “special rewards, including the adorable Porxie King mount”.
12 of the Greatest Moments in Final Fantasy History
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Read more Star Citizen’s Foundation Festival is now live, and anyone curious about the game can jump on and try it for free from 12-19th July.
Developer Cloud Imperium says the festival – described as “a civic program in-lore aimed at strengthening community spirit” – is introducing an expanded “new player experience” that’s available for new and returning players, “as well as a Guide System to connect veteran pilots with newcomers to aid them on their space-faring journey”.
Star Citizen Live Q&A: Making Missions II-2
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Read moreLarian has detailed what Baldur’s Gate 3 players can expect from the seventh patch, due out in September.
As previously reported, the patch will include mod support and, in a new post on Steam, the studio has given a brief look at what some creators have achieved in the Closed Alpha.
But there are other additions coming too, including a much-needed tweak to split-screen play – dynamic split-screen mode – which allows players in multiplayer to split the screen and automatically merge it back into one when near each other.
Let’s Play Baldur’s Gate 3 CO-OP CHAOS! Baldur’s Gate 3 PC Gameplay
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Read more Indika publisher 11 Bit Studios is donating $50k to support Ukrainian children impacted by Russia’s devastating attack on Kyiv’s Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital.
The Polish studio said it was making the donation as “mere words would be empty without a meaningful act”.
Indika – Gameplay Trailer | PS5 Games
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Read moreMore than a decade on from the release of BioShock Infinite, the team working on a successor is now “ramping up”.
That’s according to senior cinematic designer Jeff Spoonhower, who took to LinkedIn to highlight more than 30 positions now open at 2K Cloud Chamber, the Montreal-based studio tasked with crafting a fresh entry in the beloved BioShock series.
Work to continue the BioShock series has been ongoing over the past 10 years, though has stopped and started at a selection of development studios.
Newscast: With the death of Keystone, will Xbox give up its streaming console plans forever?
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Read moreThe maker of Pokémon-like monster fighter Palworld has founded a new company, Palworld Entertainment, designed to “accelerate the multifaceted global development” of the game and the brand’s further expansion.
Palworld Entertainment is a joint venture with investment from the game’s developer Pocketpair and Sony, through its Sony Music Entertainment and Aniplex brands.
The latter will stock new Palworld merchandise via Aniplex Online – which should be good news for anyone wanting plush toy versions of their Pals.
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