- I still buy and prefer physical media: books, magazines, movies and video games. The only digital versions of games for my PlayStation 5 that I “own” are those that are either from digital-only games or codes from studios. So I’m disappointed that Sony decided it’s going to stop releasing disc versions of its games come January 2028. As you can imagine, gamers aren’t taking this well. I’m not happy, either. Yes, as a PC-first player, I’ve long dealt with digital-only sales. However, PC is an open ecosystem, where other stores can offer discounts and packages, and I don’t pay for access to online multiplayer “perks” that make up for the lack of discs.
- Esports tournament organizer Blast reported over $133 million in revenue, noting this was 40% year-over-year growth. It also said it was expanding its investments in competitive gaming, clarifying that this would all be associated to esports and esports productions, not standalone gaming content.
- Clinton Sparks’ Global Gaming League is adding a tournament platform with GGL Primes. Players can either subscribe to the platform or play for free to win prizes and level up the ladder. (The paid tier does offer more events and prizes). As you climb the ladder, you become eligible to get drafted by a GGL team.
- The idea behind Games Workshop’s Blood Bowl tabletop game is fantastic: “Warhammer, but it’s football.” Nacon has published Cyanide Studio’s Blood Bowl video games for some time, but now that it’s going insolvent, Slitherine (one of the top companies for strategy game development) is taking over publishing duties, per GamesIndustry.biz.
- FIFA Heroes, the first sanctioned soccer game from the body since its split from EA, now has 1 million downloads and counting on consoles and mobile.
- ESL FaceIt’s Dreamhack gaming-festival series signed a five-year renewal with its presenting sponsor, Elgiganten (an electronics retailer in Denmark and Sweden). In addition to naming rights on events and other activations, the deal includes a Community Hall for all types of gaming and associated activities (such as painting miniatures).
- Krafton’s recent PUBG Nations Cup 2026 in Seoul set a record for the event, drawing 13.2 million views, with peak viewership hitting 810,000 for the Grand Finals (which Brazil won).
- Football Manager’s database is now available to FMDB Pro, making its profiles of over 760,000 soccer players and more available for real-life recruiting for FMDB Pro’s 40 clubs, federations and organizations.
- 2K Sports has a couple of Fourth of July-themed items and events for its sports games. For WWE Supercard, it’s showcasing a July 4-themed Bob Backlund card that’s available now. For PGA Tour 2K25, it’s offering July 4-themed apparel (see the image above for an example) and the “Land of the Tee” quest. Both are live now.
Gaming speed reads
