We shouldn't assume all generative AI is terrible or infringing - Tim Sweeney

Hey there.

Halfway to the weekend, and don't forget that today is THE day: Starfield is launching on Xbox and PC, and Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming to PS5.

Also, are gaming careers unsustainable? Find out in our Biz Reel section.

In other news, we have a rumor about RDR3, a statement about AI from Epic Games boss and a lot of players for CSGO. We also have our weekly section, The Power-Up Chronicles, with stories about gaming journalism, Monopoly Go and Netflix games.

Let’s play!

Welcome to The Power-Up #8

Round-up of the day

🤖 Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, expressed that the Epic Games Store welcomes titles using generative AI technology, contrasting Valve's cautious stance due to legal uncertainties around AI-generated content. And Valve is not the only one, actually. Humble Games may restrict AI usage in future publishing contracts.

👿 Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden warns that non-endemic companies like Google and Amazon pose a threat to the gaming industry. And YouTube just announced their “Playables” gaming effort, just to underline Shawn Layden’s warnings.

🎣 According to a wild rumor, Red Dead Redemption 3 could be in works at Rockstar Games. If true, the game could be like six-seven years away and could be a prequel to the prequel. 

📈 The excitement around Starfield increased Xbox Series X sales by a staggering 1000% on Amazon. I feel this proves the studio acquisition model Phil Spencer uses to grow the sales of the consoles. And I wonder where will it go with the acquisition of Activision/Blizzard.

🙌 CSGO has consistently achieved over one million peak concurrent players every month for an entire year.

🏆 And, talking about player numbers, here’s the top of the most downloaded mobile games in August.

🤦‍♀️ And, before closing this section, remember our last The Power-Up? (you can read it here, if not). Well, we announced eFuse launched a Creator League supported, among others, by Mr. Beast. 2 days later, the League is “postponed” and eFuse is firing people. Influencers in the gaming league said they were misled about the NFT aspect.

Biz Reel

🤬 Survey reveals many game developers find their careers unsustainable due to issues like crunch, low pay, and lack of benefits, prompting calls for industry-wide unionization.

Sumo Group acquires Midoki, the studio behind popular games like Plunder Pirates and Knighthood, to join its Sumo Digital division.

One type of games are not present in the App Stores right now: real money games (from casino games to straight betting ones). That was policy for a long time, but Google might start allowing real-money games in the Play Store.

About 10 years ago I opened Candy Crush Saga for the first time and promptly dumped $200 in “research” for my gaming company, MavenHut. Just to give you an idea, the game only had several hundreds levels then, compared to thousands now. Since then, Candy Crush was constantly at the top of Match3 games. But recently, Royal Match took the puzzle throne from Candy Crush Saga. Royal Match had $112M in revenues and 14.6M downloads in July, compared to Candy Crush Saga with $104M and 14.4M downloads. 

Game Central

Mortal Kombat 1 Premium Edition will inklude 5 days early akcess, but also Kombat Pack, early access to DLK charakters, a Jean Klaud Van Damme skin and 1250 Dragon Krystals. It will also kost more: $109.99, versus $69.99 for the Standard Edition. Kan’t wait for it!

The Chinese Room, the team behind Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, is now confirmed to take over the development of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, targeting a late 2024 release window.

Nintendo releases Pikmin Finder, a mobile AR game where you find plant-animal hybrids in your surroundings. They used Pokemon Go’s studio Niantic’s 8th Wall web-based development platform.

Ratings board listings in Germany and the US hint at an unannounced Minecraft edition for Xbox Series X/S.

The Power-Up Chronicles

Gaming journalism faces a crisis of relevance and sustainability, increasingly dependent on creating walkthroughs and strategy guides for hit games rather than in-depth analysis and reporting. This shift caters to advertising algorithms but dilutes the industry's unique value. The lack of early review codes for blockbuster games like Starfield threatens the economic viability of many outlets. Simultaneously, game developers can bypass traditional media to reach their audience directly, while the risk of AI taking over basic reporting looms large. This fragile ecosystem leaves the future of gaming journalism uncertain, impacting its ability to offer insightful critiques and hold the industry accountable.

➡️ Read the entire feature by Brendan Sinclair, Managing Editor, on GamesIndustry.biz 

Scopely's Monopoly Go, initially conceived as a midcore PvP game akin to Clash Royale, underwent a major pivot to become a Coin Master-inspired casual game that has grossed nearly $180 million to date. The team shifted their focus after realizing players preferred a more social experience and capturing the essence of the original Monopoly game's "get rich" fantasy. Guided by massive playtests and deep internal research, the team optimized every detail, from dice roll mechanics to social elements. Led by Massimo Maietti, the international team of over 150 staff members is now focused on sustaining the game's early success by enhancing its social features and possibly incorporating ads.

➡️ An article by Neil Long on Mobilegamer

Netflix is cautiously entering the gaming sector as a way to stay relevant and offer a more diverse entertainment portfolio to its subscribers. Spearheaded by Leanne Loombe, vice president of external games, Netflix aims to provide a variety of mobile games, some of which will be tied to popular Netflix series like Stranger Things. Rather than making a loud entrance, the company is taking a measured approach to understand the gaming landscape, focusing initially on mobile games to mitigate financial risk. Their strategy has been praised for its potential to be more in tune with what gamers want, as opposed to other media companies that have struggled to successfully transition into gaming.

➡️ An article by Steffan Powell on BBC.

That’s it for today. Thank you for reading. Stay powered-up until next time.

Bobby & Andrei