PickFu and Utopia Analytics have shared a report on toxicity, misogyny, and missing moderation in online games. According to the data, most online gamers experienced or witnessed different forms of harassment from other players.

Genshin Impact’s community has been making a lot of content and art ever since the game’s launch. And now they have full rights to sell fan-made merchandise, thanks to miHoYo’s newly issued guidelines. There are a few restrictions, but the rules are still quite friendly.

WN Media Group has revealed the program for its two upcoming events in the USA. Between the two conferences, 40 talks are planned. Here are some of the topics that have caught our editorial team’s collective eye.

Since May 21, all 18-year-olds living in France can obtain a €300 loan as part of the Culture Pass initiative. They can spend money on different cultural activities and products. And now Microsoft has announced that it will also offer them free access to Xbox Game Pass for PC.

Texas remains one of the most promising and welcoming states for game developers. The latest anti-abortion law, however, might affect companies located there, as it might become harder for them to hire women.

A court has denied Apple’s request to pause orders requiring the company to let developers add links to third-party payment solutions outside the App Store. It still must make changes to its policies by December 9.

Unity has announced an acquisition of Weta Digital, a New Zealand-based VFX studio, which was co-founded by Peter Jackson. The deal worth $1.62 billion is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.

SocialPeta has published a report of market features and preferred game types in different regional markets in Asia. Here are the key takeaways from the study.

Q-Games will revive cooperative free-to-play game The Tomorrow Children, which was exclusively released on PS4 five years ago and shut down later. The Kyoto-based studio managed to secure the IP rights from Sony and plans to re-launch the title.

AudioMob, which provides audio ads in mobile games, has raised $14 million in Series A funding at a current valuation of $110 million. The company has already collaborated with music artists Nas and Ed Sheeran, as well as brands like Intel and Jeep.

Niantic has shared its vision of a “real-world metaverse” by launching the Lightship, an AR developer kit (ARDK) for AR experiences. On top of that, the company also opened a $20 million fund for developers.

Among Tree, a sandbox survival title developed by FJRD Interactive, will come out on Steam on November 10. The studio said that it is ready to move on to the next project after the game has been in early access for over a year. However, players are disappointed to hear the news, as Among Tree still lacks content updates and looks unfinished.

Ubisoft has announced pay raises across its studios in Canada. It should prevent developers from leaving the company. The move, however, raised concerns among employees that it will only make inequalities more visible.

Konami has announced the removal of two Metal Gear Solid games from digital storefronts. The publisher said it has some issues with licenses for archive footage used in these titles.

Last week, Devolver Digital officially went public, raising $261 million at a $950 million valuation. On top of that, the publisher also announced an acquisition of three studios, including creators of the Stronghold series.

Annapurna. Versus Evil. Raw Fury. Is working with these publishers a dream come true for indie devs? Alex Goodwin, the solo creator of much anticipated title Selfloss, has been there, done that. In an interview with Game World Observer, he shares his experience and warns fellow creators to curb their enthusiasm.

While Square Enix calls Marvel’s Avengers an “ambitious title,” it acknowledges that it turned out to be a disappointment. The company has addressed the issues, citing the pandemic and wrong management decisions as reasons for its failure.

QA engineers sometimes don’t get the credit they deserve in the games industry. So Eidos Montreal writer Jocelyn Baxter took the time to explain why QA shouldn’t be underestimated, noting that former testers wrote a major part of Guardians of the Galaxy.

Netflix has started to roll out games on its mobile app. Starting November 3, Android users will be able to download and play five titles with no ads or in-app purchases.