Nine days before GTA 6, Take-Two says pre-orders run far above its expectations and that waiting for it held back other games, its own NBA 2K27 included

The stories

25 on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

1. 01

   Nine days before GTA 6, Take-Two says pre-orders run far above its expectations and that waiting for it held back other games, its own NBA 2K27 included

   4 million

   copies of NBA 2K27 sold, below Take-Two's forecast

   still the series' second-best launch, Take-Two says [1]

   7.71 million

   GTA 6 pre-orders by 5 November, by Sensor Tower's count

   74% of them for the PS5 [6]

   21%

   expected rise in Take-Two's costs this quarter, mostly GTA 6 marketing

   the game comes out on 19 November [1]

   235 million

   copies of GTA 5 sold so far

   across 3 console generations [4]

   What happened

   • Take-Two, the company that owns GTA's maker Rockstar, says GTA 6 pre-orders are far above its own expectations. [1]
   • GTA 6 comes out on 19 November for the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. [2]
   • Take-Two's own basketball game, NBA 2K27, sold 4 million copies but missed its forecast. [3]
   • Its boss, Strauss Zelnick, said "GTA 6 coming has had an influence on the consumer". [3]
   • Sensor Tower, a firm that tracks sales, put GTA 6 pre-orders at 7.71 million in a 5 November report. [6]
   • It found 74% of them were for the PS5. [6]
   • Early reports say the $100 Ultimate Edition is outselling the $80 standard one. [5]
   • Take-Two counts that extra $20 as recurrent consumer spending, money spent after the first sale. [4]
   • IGN says GTA 6 pushed many publishers to move their games away from November. [3]
   • The Blood of Dawn Walker, Onimusha, Marvel's Wolverine and Control Resonant all came out in September. [3]
   • Take-Two called NBA 2K27's launch window "unusually busy". [1]
   • Take-Two expects $3.35bn to $3.5bn in sales this quarter, the months of GTA 6's launch. [7]
   • It expects its costs to rise about 21% this quarter, mainly from marketing GTA 6. [1]
   • Rockstar and PlayStation will hold a GTA 6 music festival in Miami on 21 November. [8]
   • Tickets go only to people who win an online lottery, with 2 tickets each at most. [9]
   • PlayStation has an exclusive marketing deal for the game. [10]
   • In London, the department store Selfridges sold out a £2,500 GTA 6 jacket on 9 November. [11]
   • Selfridges is also selling a real copy of a car from the game for £1 million. [12]
   • Pre-loading has begun, so buyers can download all 212GB of the game before launch day. [12]
   • Files found in the download mention multiplayer, though Rockstar calls GTA 6 a single-player game. [13]
   • There is no PC version yet, and Take-Two has declined to reveal its PC plans. [14]
   • People have used AI tools to copy popular games onto devices they were never made for. [15]
   • Last month a copy of GTA 5 was made playable in a web browser, then pulled offline. [15]
   • Zelnick told investors Take-Two is "utterly focused on enhancing our technical defences" against such copies. [16]
   • He also said AI has made game art easier, but "making a big hit" is as hard as ever. [16]

   Who is involved

   Take-Two is a games publisher that owns Rockstar, maker of GTA, and 2K, which publishes NBA 2K. [3]

   • Take-Two Interactive the games publisher that owns Rockstar and 2K; it says GTA 6 pre-orders are far above its plans
   • Rockstar Games the studio that makes GTA; GTA 6 comes out on 19 November
   • 2K publishes NBA 2K
   • PlayStation exclusive marketing deal
   • Strauss Zelnick Take-Two's chief executive; he says waiting for GTA 6 held back NBA 2K27
   • Karl Slatoff Take-Two's president; he says it is hard to know why NBA 2K27 sold less

   How it unfolded

   GTA 5, the series' last game, has sold nearly 235 million copies across 3 console generations. [4]

   Kotaku notes GTA 5 still sells roughly 5 million copies every 3 months. [5]

   1. September rival games launch together
   2. 19 Nov GTA 6 comes out on PS5 and Xbox Series [2]
   3. Last year Rockstar fires 31 staff
   4. Near 19 November tribunal ruling due
   5. 19 November GTA 6 comes out
   6. 21 Nov Rockstar's GTA 6 festival in Miami [8]
   7. 4 Sep NBA 2K27 comes out in a crowded month [3]
   8. 9 Nov Take-Two says GTA 6 pre-orders are far above its plans [1]
   9. This week GTA 6 pre-loading begins [12]

   Why it matters

   IGN says other publishers may struggle, because some players are skipping their games to wait for GTA 6. [3]

   Kotaku notes GTA 6 is the only game in Take-Two's plans with a firm release date. [5]

   How it works

   Marketers call the part of a buyer's spending that one company wins its share of wallet.

   Kotaku suggests some buyers saved their money for GTA 6 instead of NBA 2K27. [17] Take-Two owns both games, so that money stays with Take-Two. [3]

   Zelnick told Bloomberg: "If your lunch is going to be eaten, I'd rather be the one eating it". [7]

   Seen it before

   A family saving for one big holiday skips the small day trips in the months before it.

   Why bosses racing into AI say handmade work will earn more

   Economists call it economic rent: when AI makes pictures and games cheap and plentiful, the money moves to what stays rare.

   The twist

   Cheap AI pictures do not make Disney's characters cheap. Only Disney may use those characters, so they become the part of every Disney picture that nobody else can sell.

   The picture

   An AI-made pictureanyone can make

   vsvs

   A famous characterone owner

   Step by step

   1. 1 AI tools make new pictures, clips and game art cheap
   2. 2 So far more of them get made, by almost anyone
   3. 3 What anyone can make sells for less
   4. 4 What AI cannot make more of stays rare: a famous character, a hit, work buyers trust is handmade
   5. 5 The owners of those rare things can charge extra, and economists call that extra economic rent

   The same force, elsewhere today

   Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

   • Take-Two says GTA 6 pre-orders are far above its plans

     Strauss Zelnick said AI has made game art easier, while making a big hit is as hard as ever.

   • Disney makes Adobe its AI partner

     Disney's new AI models learn only from its own characters, so the tools get cheaper while the characters stay Disney's alone.

   • Skydance's boss bets on AI

     David Ellison expects AI to cut what films cost, and said it makes famous characters and live events more valuable, not less.

   • An AI copy of El Empleo goes viral

     The copy was quick to make, but its 5 million views came from a famous short that took 2 years to draw.

   Where you've seen this

   Handmade furniture

   factories made chairs cheap, and a chair made by hand now costs more, not less

   Live concerts

   a song costs almost nothing to stream, while a ticket to see the singer in person costs more

   Phone cameras

   once everyone could take a photo, the right to use a famous photo still had to be paid for

   The catch

   The extra goes only to rare things people already want. A handmade game nobody has heard of earns no premium, and buyers must be able to tell handmade work from AI-made work.

   And the whole of it

   The artists whose sketches feed Disney's new models, the game workers Skydance laid off and the players paying $80 for GTA 6 are all inside this change. Each of them sees one corner of it, and nobody can yet see where the extra money will settle.

   The truth

   • What is really going on Take-Two says GTA 6 pre-orders are far above its expectations, and the game has already moved the year around it: rivals crowded into September, and Take-Two's own NBA 2K27 missed its forecast. [1] [3]
   • Why it works on people A pre-order count nobody will publish lets everyone imagine the biggest number possible. [7]
   • Take-Two's president, Karl Slatoff, said it is "really hard to know exactly" why NBA 2K27 sold less. [17]
   • Take-Two's top forecast of $3.5bn for the launch quarter is slightly below the $3.51bn analysts expected. [7]
   • On Monday SAG-AFTRA, a US actors' union, backed Rockstar workers' choice to form a union. [2] Zelnick declined to comment on it to Variety. [2]
   • Who gains Take-Two — It owns both NBA 2K27 and GTA 6, so money a player saves from one for the other stays with it. [7]
   • Who pays Publishers that moved games to September — In dodging GTA 6 they launched against each other instead. [3]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How many people have pre-ordered GTA 6.

     Take-Two will not say, calling the raw numbers potentially misleading. [7] Sensor Tower's 7.71 million is an outside estimate. [6]

   • Nobody knows yet

     When GTA 6 comes to PC.

     Take-Two has declined to reveal any PC plans. [14]

   • Nobody knows yet

     What the tribunal will decide about the 31 staff Rockstar fired.

     Its ruling is expected close to GTA 6's launch on 19 November. [18]

   What comes next

   A Scottish tribunal on Rockstar's firing of 31 staff last year is expected to rule close to 19 November. [18]

   GTA 6 comes out on 19 November, and the Miami festival follows on 21 November. [9]

1. 02

   Skydance cuts game jobs after its merger

   What happened

   • Skydance Games has laid off at least 25 people, a month after its parent merged with Warner Bros. [19]
   • A Skydance spokesperson said the company had decided "to scale down some of our projects". [31]
   • The people cut include producers, writers, engineers, level designers and artists, TheWrap reports. [19]

   Who is involved

   Skydance is what Paramount renamed itself after buying Warner Bros Discovery. [30] The deal closed on 6 October. [31]

   Its game arm now also holds Warner's studios, such as Avalanche, which made Hogwarts Legacy, and Rocksteady. [32]

   • Avalanche made Hogwarts Legacy
   • Rocksteady

   How it unfolded

   1. 6 October the merger closes
   2. A month later game jobs are cut

   Why it matters

   The merged company has promised investors at least $6 billion in savings, including job cuts. [31]

   How it works

   Employment lawyers call a job cut because its work is no longer needed a redundancy.

   Skydance says it is scaling down projects, and the roles on those projects go with them. [31]

   Seen it before

   When two school clubs merge, they need one set of organisers, not two.

   The truth

   • What is really going on On the same day, the bosses of Take-Two and Skydance told investors AI makes games and films easier to make, while Skydance's game arm cut at least 25 jobs. [16] [23] [19]
   • TheWrap counts at least 25 people laid off. [19] Insider Gaming counts at least 30, Kotaku reports. [33]
   • Who pays Skydance's game workers — Producers, writers, engineers and artists lost their jobs as projects were scaled down. [19]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How many Skydance game jobs went, and which projects were scaled down.

     Skydance gave no number. [31] TheWrap counts at least 25 and Insider Gaming at least 30. [19] [33]

2. 03

   Tripwire lays off 36

   What happened

   • Tripwire Interactive, the studio behind Killing Floor and Maneater, laid off 36 people on 9 November. [20]
   • A source told PC Gamer that roughly 40 to 50 people are left. [21]
   • The cuts came days after Tripwire widened its publishing arm to help small independent studios. [20]

   Who is involved

   Embracer Group, a company that owns many game studios, bought Tripwire in 2022. [20]

   How it unfolded

   It is the studio's second round of cuts this year, after 23 people lost their jobs in March. [20]

   1. March 23 laid off
   2. November 36 laid off

   Why it matters

   The team that is left is working on Maneater 2 and Killing Floor 3. [20]

   How it works

   Media economists call games a hit-driven business: a few hits pay for everything else.

   Tripwire has struggled to repeat Maneater's success, and Killing Floor 3 draws a fraction of its 2016 game's players. [21]

   Seen it before

   A band with one hit song plays smaller halls when its next album sells less.

   The truth

   • Who pays Tripwire's staff — It is their second round of cuts this year, after 23 people lost jobs in March. [20]
3. 04

   Zelda console lifts Switch 2 sales

   What happened

   • A Zelda-themed Switch 2 gave the console its best week of 2026 in US dollar sales, Circana says. [25]
   • The $520 console came out on 29 October, before the Ocarina of Time remake on 5 November. [25]
   • US spending on all game consoles that week was 81% higher than a year earlier. [34]
   • In the UK, the remake is the biggest boxed game launch of 2026 so far, The Game Business reports. [26]
   • Its first week was about 35% bigger than Breath of the Wild's. [26]

   Who is involved

   Circana, a firm that tracks shop sales, counted the week to 31 October. [34]

   How it unfolded

   1. 29 October Zelda console, $520
   2. 5 November Ocarina of Time remake

   Why it matters

   Nintendo needs hits like this, after its Switch 2 sales fell 41% in a quarter following a price rise. [35]

   How it works

   Economists call a console and its games complements: each makes the other worth buying.

   The $520 Zelda console comes without the game, which costs $60 to $70 on top. [25]

   Seen it before

   A new phone sits in its box until you have an app you want to use on it.

   The truth

   • Who gains Nintendo — A special console sold without the game lets it sell fans two things, at $520 and then $60 to $70. [25]
4. 05

   Disney makes Adobe its AI partner

   What happened

   • Disney has made Adobe its official AI partner, in a deal lasting several years. [22]
   • Together they will build AI models trained on Disney's own characters, places and drawing styles. [22]
   • Disney's park designers already use it to turn hand-drawn sketches into finished concept art. [36]

   Who is involved

   Adobe makes Photoshop and Firefly, its tool that makes images with AI. [22]

   • Adobe official AI partner

   How it unfolded

   Disney's planned $1 billion OpenAI deal collapsed before any money changed hands. [36]

   Why it matters

   The money terms are secret, and the deal comes as Disney cuts thousands of jobs, Cartoon Brew says. [36]

   How it works

   Lawyers call permission to use a work that belongs to someone else a licence.

   The models learn from Disney's own art, so Disney calls their results "commercially safe". [22]

   Seen it before

   An essay built only from your own notes cannot be accused of copying anyone else.

   Disney's new AI models learn only from its own characters, so the tools get cheaper while the characters stay Disney's alone.

   The idea, in story 01: Why bosses racing into AI say handmade work will earn more →

   The truth

   • Who gains Adobe — It becomes Disney's official AI partner and gets more space on Disney's media platforms. [22]
   • Nobody knows yet

     What Disney is paying Adobe.

     The money terms have not been made public. [36]

5. 06

   Skydance's boss bets on AI

   What happened

   • David Ellison, head of Skydance, said AI could be "the biggest creative unlock in modern history". [23]
   • He said Terminator was made for $4 million in 1983, and would need $60 to $70 million today. [23]
   • He expects AI to help his studios make films and shows faster and cheaper. [37]
   • Skydance plans to spend $30 billion a year on films, shows and sports rights. [37]
   • He also said "there will always be a premium for truly hand-crafted storytelling". [23]

   How it unfolded

   He said it on his first earnings call since Skydance took over Warner Bros. [37]

   Why it matters

   He said AI makes famous characters and live events "more valuable, not less". [23]

   How it works

   David Ellison expects AI to cut what films cost, and said it makes famous characters and live events more valuable, not less.

   The idea, in story 01: Why bosses racing into AI say handmade work will earn more →

   The truth

   • Ellison is heir to his father Larry Ellison's fortune from Oracle, which THR calls AI-powered. [37]
6. 07

   DC Studios bosses step down

   What happened

   • James Gunn and Peter Safran will step down as heads of DC Studios on 1 December. [38]
   • In just over 4 years they released 3 films and 4 TV shows. [38]

   Who is involved

   DC Studios makes the films, TV shows and cartoons about DC's heroes, such as Superman. [38]

   Jeremy Latcham, a former Marvel Studios executive, will replace them. [39]

   • Gunn and Safran leaving
   • Jeremy Latcham taking over

   How it unfolded

   This year's Supergirl film did poorly at the box office, Kotaku says. [39]

   Why it matters

   Planned projects include the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow and a second Creature Commandos season. [38]

   The change comes under Skydance, which took over DC's owner, Warner Bros. [38]

   The truth

   • Kotaku calls the change unexpected, since Gunn and Safran's plan for DC had only just begun. [39]
7. 08

   Epic keeps Jazz Jackrabbit from its creator

   What happened

   • Cliff Bleszinski, who designed Gears of War, says Epic Games refused him the rights to Jazz Jackrabbit. [28]
   • Epic, which makes Fortnite, added Jazz to Fortnite earlier this year. [28]
   • Bleszinski says Epic claims it fully owns Jazz, though neither side can find the paperwork. [28]
   • He says Epic still pays him from sales of the old game on GOG, a PC game store. [28]

   Who is involved

   • Cliff Bleszinski the creator
   • Epic Games says it owns Jazz

   How it unfolded

   He says he drew the rabbit at about 17, and made the game at Epic in 1994. [28]

   1. Age 17 draws the rabbit
   2. 1994 the game comes out

   Why it matters

   Bleszinski says any new game like it from him would have to be a "spiritual successor" instead. [28]

   How it works

   Lawyers call work made for an employer work for hire: the employer owns it.

   Bleszinski signed with Epic as a teenager, and that lost contract would settle who owns Jazz. [28]

   Seen it before

   A poster a pupil paints for the school fair usually stays with the school.

   The truth

   • Who gains Epic Games — It keeps using Jazz Jackrabbit in Fortnite while the old contract stays lost. [28]
   • Who pays Cliff Bleszinski — He cannot make a new Jazz Jackrabbit game himself, and says he would have to make a look-alike instead. [28]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Who owns Jazz Jackrabbit on paper.

     Bleszinski says neither he nor Epic can find the contract he signed as a teenager. [28]

8. 09

   German group warns over EU age rules

   What happened

   • Game, Germany's games industry group, has warned about a planned EU law called the KIDS Act. [40]
   • It also lets new EU-wide codes of conduct set age ratings for games. [40]
   • Game warns that one game could then be rated 12+ in one store and 16+ in another. [40]

   Who is involved

   • USK Germany
   • PEGI most of Europe

   How it unfolded

   The KIDS Act, drafted in September, aims mainly at social media, with a ban for children under 13. [40]

   Germany rates games with USK labels, and most of Europe uses PEGI labels. [40]

   Since a change this year, PEGI rates games with loot boxes, paid boxes of random prizes, 16+. [40]

   Why it matters

   Parents rely on these labels, and Game says the law could make them stop matching. [40]

   The truth

   • Game's head, Felix Falk, wants the industry's own labels kept: "Games are not social networks". [40]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether the EU KIDS Act will override PEGI and USK ratings.

     The law is still a draft, and Game's warning is about codes that are not yet written. [40]

9. 10

   Activision blocks a Warzone match-picking app

   What happened

   • Activision has started blocking Warzone Agent, a paid app that lets Call of Duty players pick easy matches. [29]
   • Ricochet, Activision's anti-cheat system, tells players to close the app before they play online. [29]
   • It has removed more than 20,000 boosting accounts, whose skill rating was rigged, since Modern Warfare 4 launched. [29]

   Who is involved

   Players call it lobby shopping: checking rivals' skill before joining a match. [29]

   Why it matters

   Skipping the matchmaking can ruin matches for dozens of other players. [29]

   How it works

   Game designers call the system that sets up fair matches the matchmaking algorithm. [29]

   Warzone Agent shows each lobby's skill first, so its users skip hard ones and post big kill counts. [29]

   Seen it before

   Someone who checks every team before choosing one at the park never plays a fair game.

   The truth

   • Activision stopped short of saying the app's users will be banned. [29]
   • Who gains Warzone players who do not use the app — Blocking the app stops its users from dodging the matchmaking that sets up fair games. [29]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether Warzone Agent's users will be banned.

     Activision's statement stops short of saying so. [29]

10. 11

    Nintendo hires an archivist

    What happened

    • Nintendo of America is hiring a digital archivist to organise its records of old consoles and games. [41]
    • The job is a 12-month contract to set up an internal library. [41]
    • One duty is interviewing long-serving staff to capture what they know. [41]

    How it unfolded

    PlayStation and Blizzard are building similar archives of their own history. [41]

    Why it matters

    These archives are mostly private, but old material can return as extras in remastered games. [41]

    How it works

    Archivists call this records management: deciding what to keep, and how to find it again.

    A pile of documents nobody can search is as good as lost, GamesRadar notes. [41]

    Seen it before

    A box of family photos with no names on the back means little to the grandchildren.

    Good news

    • Nintendo says the archive will keep its history "preserved for future generations". [41]
11. 12

    An AI copy of El Empleo goes viral

    What happened

    • An Instagram account posted an AI-made copy of El Empleo, an award-winning 2008 cartoon short from Argentina. [24]
    • The 30-second copy drew more than 5 million views in under 24 hours. [24]
    • The account, Nightframe, had only about 16,000 followers. [24]
    • Its caption led viewers to AI Film School, which sells AI filmmaking lessons for $49 a month. [24]
    • Co-director Patricio Plaza objected, and the copy was taken down. [24]

    How it unfolded

    The original took 2 years of drawing by hand on paper, Cartoon Brew says. [24]

    Why it matters

    Plaza said the copy infringed the film's copyright and used it to make an AI business go viral. [24]

    How it works

    The copy was quick to make, but its 5 million views came from a famous short that took 2 years to draw.

    The idea, in story 01: Why bosses racing into AI say handmade work will earn more →

    The truth

    • The account's owner told Cartoon Brew: "I'm a student running my Instagram page as a hobby". [24] They deny making money from it. [24]
    • Who pays El Empleo's directors — Their short was copied without being asked, to promote someone else's AI school. [24]

    Good news

    • An AI copy of El Empleo, an Argentine cartoon short, was taken down after its co-director Patricio Plaza objected.
12. 13

    Rob Run takes off before GTA 6

    What happened

    • Rob Run, a free cops-and-robbers game for thousands of players, has taken off on Steam. [42]
    • Its Steam page says AI was used to make some of its graphics. [42]
    • Its Steam reviews are "Mixed", with complaints about playing alone and logging in. [42]
    • GamesRadar likens it to a home-made GTA Online. [42]

    Why it matters

    It took off days before GTA 6. [42] GTA 6's own online mode is not expected until 2027, insiders say. [13]

    How it works

    Marketers call this riding a trend: launching while people already want something like it.

    With GTA 6 everywhere, Rob Run's cops-and-robbers idea is easy to share in funny clips, GamesRadar says. [42]

    Seen it before

    An ice-cream van parks outside the stadium on match day.

13. 14

    A Japan-only PlayStation Portal gets storage

    What happened

    • Sony will take pre-orders in Japan from 13 November for a PlayStation Portal with built-in storage. [43]
    • It costs 39,980 yen, the same as the current model. [44]
    • It works only in Japanese and needs a Japanese PlayStation account. [43]

    Who is involved

    The Portal is a handheld that streams PS5 games rather than running them itself. [44]

    How it unfolded

    Last year Sony cut the price of a Japan-only PS5 from 73,000 to 55,000 yen. [44]

    Why it matters

    Kotaku says high prices next to Japanese wages, and the Switch's success, have shrunk Sony's lead there. [44]

    The truth

    • Sony says it will confirm the storage's "future functionality" later. [43]
    • Nobody knows yet

      What the Japan-only Portal's storage is for.

      Sony says it will confirm the future functionality later. [43]

14. 15

    Capcom's million-sellers grow

    What happened

    • Capcom updated its list of games that sold over 1 million copies, counted to 30 September. [27]
    • Onimusha: Way of the Sword, new this year, has sold 1.7 million copies. [27]
    • The Resident Evil 4 remake reached 17.1 million, after 1.1 million more since June. [27]
    • Resident Evil Requiem has sold 8.5 million, and Monster Hunter Wilds 12.2 million. [27]

    Why it matters

    Older games keep selling: the Resident Evil 2 remake added 600,000 to reach 20.3 million. [27]

    How it works

    Publishers call older games that keep selling year after year their back catalogue.

    Street Fighter 6, an older game, still added 300,000 copies since June to reach 7.5 million. [27]

    Seen it before

    A bakery's best bread sells every day, long after the new cakes stop selling.

    The truth

    • The list counts copies, not money, so it does not show what each game earned. [27]
15. 16

    God of War Ragnarok tops PlayStation's earners

    What happened

    • God of War Ragnarok is PlayStation's highest-earning game of this console generation, Alinea Analytics estimates. [45]
    • Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is close behind, with $1.3 billion from 19.1 million copies. [45]
    • Ghost of Yotei made $410 million in about a year, with no PC version. [45]

    Who is involved

    Alinea, a research firm, puts it at just over 20 million copies and $1.4 billion. [45]

    Why it matters

    That success did not save Ghost of Yotei's maker, Sucker Punch, from layoffs. [45]

    The truth

    • These are estimates by Alinea Analytics, not figures from Sony. [45]
16. 17

    Dark Heresy set for 28 January

    What happened

    • Owlcat Games will release Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy on 28 January 2027. [46]
    • It comes to PS5, Xbox Series and PC first, and to Switch 2 later. [46]
    • Dark Heresy is a story-driven role-playing game in which players hunt heresy for the Inquisition. [46]

    Who is involved

    • PS5, Xbox, PC first
    • Switch 2 later

    How it unfolded

    It follows Owlcat's Rogue Trader, set in the same Warhammer 40,000 universe. [47]

    Why it matters

    PC Gamer notes Owlcat games have often launched rough and improved later. [47]

    How it works

    Game makers call an early test that players can join a beta: an unfinished game tried by real players.

    Dark Heresy's founders can play its beta now, and the beta shuts on 7 January to prepare the launch. [46]

    Seen it before

    A school play holds a dress rehearsal before the first night.

17. 18

    Silksong promises free content packs

    What happened

    • Boxed copies of Hollow Knight: Silksong arrive from 10 November, more than a year after the game came out. [48]
    • The printed manual says the game "will expand with free content packs". [48]
    • It calls Sea of Sorrow, an add-on already announced, the "first giant expansion". [48]

    Who is involved

    Team Cherry, the small studio behind it, gave Sea of Sorrow a 2026 window and still no date. [48]

    Why it matters

    Players of the first Hollow Knight got plenty of free updates, so many expected the same. [48]

    The truth

    • The manual gives Sea of Sorrow no date, saying only that it is "Coming Soon". [48]

    Good news

    • The free packs promise new abilities and enemies at no extra cost, the manual says. [49]
18. 19

    A new Dragon Quest for phones

    What happened

    • Square Enix announced a new Dragon Quest game for iPhones and Android phones on 9 November. [50]
    • It is called Dragon Quest RPG: The Cursed Tree and the Chosen Isle. [51]
    • Square Enix planned to show its trailer on 10 November. [50]
    • Its videos in Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean suggest a worldwide release, Siliconera says. [51]

    Who is involved

    • Square Enix the publisher
    • The Cursed Tree and the Chosen Isle the new game

    How it unfolded

    1. 9 November the game is announced
    2. 10 November its trailer is shown

    Why it matters

    Siliconera says the RPG name points to a traditional Dragon Quest rather than a spin-off. [51]

    How it works

    Business teachers call closing a product that no longer pays its way sunsetting it.

    Dragon Quest Tact arrived in the West in January 2021 and closed there in February 2024. [50]

    Seen it before

    A shop that stops selling enough closes, even if its regulars still love it.

19. 20

    Nier: Automata's 366GB update fixed

    What happened

    • Square Enix has fixed a Nier: Automata update that made the PC game take up 366GB. [52]
    • The game should take about 50GB. [52]
    • The update added Chinese and Korean text. [52]
    • The official Nier account wrote: "Apologies for any inconvenience caused." [52]
    • At 366GB it was bigger than the 212GB GTA 6 needs to pre-load, GamesRadar notes. [52]

    Why it matters

    While it was broken, players were told to uninstall its add-ons to bring the size down. [52]

    The truth

    • Square Enix has not explained what went wrong, PC Gamer notes. [53]
20. 21

    Switch owners can gift games from 17 November

    What happened

    • Nintendo will let Switch and Switch 2 owners give games as gifts from 17 November. [54]
    • Gifts can go only to people in the same Nintendo family group, of up to 8 people. [54]
    • The system update that prepares it, version 23.5.0, is out now. [54]

    How it unfolded

    Family groups can already lend game cards to each other for up to 2 weeks. [54]

    Why it matters

    Friends outside a family group still cannot send each other games. [54]

    The truth

    • Nintendo has not yet given step-by-step details of how gifting works. [54]
21. 22

    A Hollywood film for Noah of the Blood Sea

    What happened

    • Tyrus Pictures, a Los Angeles film studio, plans a live-action film of the manga Noah of the Blood Sea. [55]
    • It wants to start filming in 2027, Deadline reported on 9 November. [55]

    Who is involved

    The manga, by Yu Satomi, follows a cruise ship where passengers die because of vampires. [55]

    How it unfolded

    It ran online from August 2018 to June 2021, and was collected in 5 books. [55]

    1. 9 November Deadline reports the plan
    2. 2027 filming due to start
    3. August 2018 the manga starts
    4. June 2021 it ends, in 5 books

    Why it matters

    The manga will also get an English release in North America. [55]

    How it works

    Film producers call this kind of deal an option: a paid right to make the film later.

    Tyrus is taking that right from Takeshobo, the manga's Japanese publisher. [55]

    Seen it before

    A deposit on a bike holds it for you while you save up the rest.

22. 23

    Kodansha names its global manga winners

    What happened

    • Kodansha, a big Japanese manga publisher, named 7 grand prize winners of its global manga contest. [56]
    • Winners come from the UK, Uruguay, Brazil and Italy, among others. [56]
    • Each wins 300,000 yen, about $1,893, and an editor to help them debut. [56]
    • Another 21 entries won an Encouragement Prize, each with an editor too. [56]

    How it unfolded

    The contest ran worldwide from 20 April to 22 July, in English or Japanese. [56]

    1. 20 April entries open
    2. 22 July entries close

    Why it matters

    Kodansha runs the contest to help artists outside Japan learn how manga is published there. [56]

    How it works

    Publishers call looking for new artists before rivals find them talent scouting.

    Kodansha gives each winner an editor, so their first published work is shaped for its magazines. [56]

    Seen it before

    A football club's youth trials find young players before other clubs sign them.

    Good news

    • The 7 newcomers will now work with Kodansha editors, and their winning works go online from December. [56]
23. 24

    Dungeon Crawler Carl tops October's graphic novels

    What happened

    • Dungeon Crawler Carl's newest volume was the best-selling graphic novel in US bookshops in October. [57]
    • Two Yen Press series, including The Summer Hikaru Died, also made the top 20, with their first volumes. [57]
    • The final volume of Lore Olympus entered the chart too. [57]

    Who is involved

    That comes from Circana BookScan, which covers about 85% of US print book sales. [57]

    Why it matters

    ICv2 calls Dungeon Crawler Carl the breakout graphic novel of the year. [57]

    The truth

    • ICv2 ranks the books by copies sold, and keeps the real sales counts for paying readers. [57]
24. 25

    Fans keep a board game remake's funding open

    What happened

    • Fans kept the Arkham Horror Remastered crowdfunding campaign going 108 hours past its deadline. [58]
    • It has raised more than $5.7 million on Gamefound, a crowdfunding site. [58]
    • Each new backer resets a 10-minute timer, and the campaign ends only when nobody backs it. [58]

    How it unfolded

    The game is a remake of a 2005 edition, and it will not be sold in shops. [58]

    Why it matters

    Fans who miss the campaign cannot buy it later, GamesRadar says. [58]

    How it works

    Behavioural economists call the pull of a chance you might lose loss aversion.

    Arkham Horror Remastered will never reach shops, so backing it now is the only way to get it. [58]

    Seen it before

    A shop's "last day of the sale" sign brings in people who meant to wait.

    Good news

    • Fans of a 2005 board game kept its remake's crowdfunding open 108 hours past the deadline, raising more than $5.7 million.