General Gaming News.

[Chimpzy]

(UPD) Sandfall Interactive bans a comic book called L'Académie Clair-Obscur - IG News

Update on March 9, 2026, at 3:26 p.m. Sandfall Interactive has finally responded to this controversy. In a brief message posted on X, the French studio…

news.instant-gaming.com

I just received a letter from a lawyer representing the game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from Sandfall Interactive.
They are demanding that I stop selling my comic published by Drakoo called Académie Clair-Obscur, claiming it is trying to capitalize on the game's undeniable success.

***** please, you don't own a 400 year old term just because you made something popular, Sandfall. I'm guessing this is some overzealous trademark lawyer. If not, Sandfall's inner Ubisoft may be showing.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

But the real reason for the complaints is that they are doing the Destiny Shader thing that everyone hated meaning that cosmetics you earn all only good for one time use.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Since as BrawlMan pointed out there are already Sword Art Online games, I have no idea what audience they're attempting to pick up here, unless they're just trying to get more money out of the SAO audience. Which, fair enough, but.

It's really weird, isn't it? They keep making more shows and games for a consistent audience that can only be the most dedicated of people at this point. I have no idea if any of it is any good (I doubt it).
Personally, I'm one of those weirdos that despite really not liking much of anything SAO these days (the show/games/etc), there's still something in the back of my mind that can't quite let parts of it go.
Yes I am aware there are better series for this concept ( . hack), yes I know SAO is dogshit. But I dunno, there was something kind of magical about it when it first hit the scene back in the day. When I was a teen I was one of those people really taken by the original show (namely the Aincrad arc), so this new game being set in the world that had my eye in the first place and seeing what they had/have in mind for it without it being linked to the garbage main cast is intriguing and does have my interest.

Unless this is alternate universe where you become the hero, and Kirito never existed or died somewhere?

Fingers crossed!

 

[BrawlMan]

Yes I am aware there are better series for this concept ( . hack), yes I know SAO is dogshit. But I dunno, there was something kind of magical about it when it first hit the scene back in the day. When I was a teen I was one of those people really taken by the original show (namely the Aincrad arc), so this new game being set in the world that had my eye in the first place and seeing what they had/have in mind for it without it being linked to the garbage main cast is intriguing and does have my interest.

Even back in the day, I was not a .hack fan, but let's go with that. All I know is that the third SAO game on PS4 gets a lot of love from most fans.

@The Rogue Wolf, @CriticalGaming, and @FakeSympathy, some positive impression on Marathon from Nick at Second Wind.

​

 

[FakeSympathy]

5 years after it was revealed, KOTOR remake is "still in development," Saber boss confirms, as we await any morsel of info on the reimagined BioWare Star Wars RPG

"That's all I can say"

www.gamesradar.com

"Yes, it is still in development," Wilits told IGN. "That's all I can say." And, indeed, that's all he did say, choosing not to address the long-percolating rumors – and courtroom testimony – about the KOTOR remake's troubled development.

By the time it comes out, no one will probably care. I am willing to bet Fate Of The Old Republic will come out before this, and we can all gush on the spiritual successor rather than the remake

 

[Dreiko]

Turns out it's SAO the game.

It takes place during the original run of the first season, where you play as one of the thousands of souls trapped in the game. It's gonna be a single-player experience, where your custom character will have their own arc.

It's an interesting concept, but I wonder how much impact you will have to the story? Unless this is alternate universe where you become the hero, and Kirito never existed or died somewhere?

Kirito exists but you’re a normie so you don’t have much of a positive impression of him. You’re just trying to survive and he’s the beater pretty much. I expect they will let you power up and maybe even join Heathcliff’s guild so you can participate in the higher floor battles. Also they will prolly do the same thing they did in hollow fragment where they retcon the story and have you actually beat all 100 floors.
SAO games all have way better story than the anime somehow and it’s very weird. Only Alicization was better in the anime imo. Not sure how this will turn out since it’s more like a side game rather than a more fleshed out retelling of the anime. It could be great or it could be generic.

I kinda wish they instead did a game about the 80 years Kirito and Asuna lived in the game before their memory wipes. That could be a game and a half right there.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

I kinda wish they instead did a game about the 80 years Kirito and Asuna lived in the game before their memory wipes. That could be a game and a half right there.

Yeeeah, but then we have to deal with Kirito and Asuna...

SAO games all have way better story than the anime somehow and it’s very weird. Only Alicization was better in the anime imo. Not sure how this will turn out since it’s more like a side game rather than a more fleshed out retelling of the anime. It could be great or it could be generic.

It's hard to tell if the stories are much better with the god awful translations XD Especially in Hollow Fragment, and slightly less so Hollow Realization (it's been ages so I don't remember if it was any decent). Couldn't say if the later games were much better, but I have to imagine so

 

[Dreiko]

Yeeeah, but then we have to deal with Kirito and Asuna...



It's hard to tell if the stories are much better with the god awful translations XD Especially in Hollow Fragment, and slightly less so Hollow Realization (it's been ages so I don't remember if it was any decent). Couldn't say if the later games were much better, but I have to imagine so

I played it in JP so I didn’t rely on the translation. They just fleshed out the plot a ton more. Gave chars more time to shine. In the anime I totally didn’t care for Asuna to the point I was glad she was in a coma for the Alfheim arc and was replaced by the infinitely superior Sugu. But in hollow fragment and lost song they actually have a ton of moments where there’s a relationship being built through a series of sidequests. There’s even an actual fade to black sex scene in the alfheim game lol. And then going into hollow realization they actually had an AI copy of Sachi of all people to give closure to that part of early season 1. Apparently in the net novels Sachi actually was proto-Asuna, she was in a relationship with Kirito not just a party member before dying, so there was a bit of a nod to that in the way the AI was.

 

[BrawlMan]

NetEase to Stop Funding Nagoshi Studio as It Cuts Back on Gaming

NetEase Inc. will cut off funding to the studio led by Yakuza franchise creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, the latest to be affected by the Chinese company’s broader strategy to shrink game development activities.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[Brokencontroller]

Did I skim over it or did that page totally neglect to mention the price of the battle pass and its actual contents?

Woof, The Marathon Battle Pass Is Bad

At least the reward passes don't expire, but that's about the only good thing I have to say about these things

kotaku.com

There's another article on it. The game is super monetized which really isn't a surprise.

IMO the game doesn't have enough content to be worth $40 unless you wanna spend way more money for battle passes and skins and all that bullshit. So fuck Bungie's greedy garbage.

 

[FakeSympathy]

NetEase to Stop Funding Nagoshi Studio as It Cuts Back on Gaming

NetEase Inc. will cut off funding to the studio led by Yakuza franchise creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, the latest to be affected by the Chinese company’s broader strategy to shrink game development activities.

www.bloomberg.com

I do want to see this game see the light of the day, even though I am wondering how different it will be from Yakuza and Like A Dragon series.

But it's probably a good thing that they are trying to cut ties with Netease. That publisher can go pound sand. Netease probably realized it won't be a constant flow of income, and trying to cancel it.

 

[Dreiko]

I do want to see this game see the light of the day, even though I am wondering how different it will be from Yakuza and Like A Dragon series.

But it's probably a good thing that they are trying to cut ties with Netease. That publisher can go pound sand. Netease probably realized it won't be a constant flow of income, and trying to cancel it.

Imagine how many games like this could have used the hundreds of millions Sony wasted on concord. Every time I start to feel bad about piling on failures like it and highguard I remind myself of all the gems we’re missing out on cause people are investing on failure shooters.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Imagine how many games like this could have used the hundreds of millions Sony wasted on concord. Every time I start to feel bad about piling on failures like it and highguard I remind myself of all the gems we’re missing out on cause people are investing on failure shooters.

"All we have to do is recreate Fortnite and we'll make Fortnite money."

 

[Dreiko]

"All we have to do is recreate Fortnite and we'll make Fortnite money."

I don’t know how much it cost to make Fortnite but I’d be seriously surprised if it cost more than a yakuza game lol. Clearly throwing money at a furnace isn’t how you make Fortnite.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

I don’t know how much it cost to make Fortnite but I’d be seriously surprised if it cost more than a yakuza game lol. Clearly throwing money at a furnace isn’t how you make Fortnite.

You know this. I know this. Investors only know "If we duplicate Popular Product X, we'll make Popular Product X's money".

 

[BrawlMan]

I do want to see this game see the light of the day, even though I am wondering how different it will be from Yakuza and Like A Dragon series.

But it's probably a good thing that they are trying to cut ties with Netease. That publisher can go pound sand. Netease probably realized it won't be a constant flow of income, and trying to cancel it.

Imagine how many games like this could have used the hundreds of millions Sony wasted on concord. Every time I start to feel bad about piling on failures like it and highguard I remind myself of all the gems we’re missing out on cause people are investing on failure shooters.

You know this. I know this. Investors only know "If we duplicate Popular Product X, we'll make Popular Product X's money".

Nagoshi Studio reportedly facing closure, after NetEase ‘pulls Gang of Dragon funding’ | VGC

Yakuza series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi announced Gang of Dragon just three months ago…

www.videogameschronicle.com

Some additional context news I want to highlight:

Ouka Studio, the Tokyo-based developer behind Square Enix’s Visions of Mana, was also closed in 2024. Other Japanese studios, like Goichi Suda’s Grasshopper Manufacture and Resident Evil producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi’s GPTRACK50, have pushed ahead with release plans without NetEase’s continued support.

Grasshopper and TRACK50 left NetEase, but both are still in business.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Battlefield 6 Studios Reportedly Hit With Layoffs

EA is reportedly laying off developers across the various studios that worked on the first-person shooter

kotaku.com

EA has done an EA.

 

[FakeSympathy]

Battlefield 6 Studios Reportedly Hit With Layoffs

EA is reportedly laying off developers across the various studios that worked on the first-person shooter

kotaku.com

EA has done an EA.

Not a studio closure. They are getting soft!

I guess BF6 wasn't as big of a success that they wanted. Gee, I wonder why? /s

 

[Chimpzy]

Battlefield 6 Studios Reportedly Hit With Layoffs

EA is reportedly laying off developers across the various studios that worked on the first-person shooter

kotaku.com

EA has done an EA.

Depends on what kind of layoffs these are:

"Game is done and we're not in full production anymore, we don't need 500 people right now" layoffs

or

"Game did terrible, and to make our numbers look better, we gonna cut costs" layoffs

or

" Game did great, and to make our numbers look even better, we gonna cut costs" layoffs

The latter would of course be the most EA

 

[thebobmaster]

It didn't do terrible. Just the opposite, Battlefield 6 was the biggest game of 2025 in the US.