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Anbernic has begun removing the option to buy its Android gaming handhelds with pre-loaded microSD cards, according to reports. The change comes just days after the company faced accusations that these bundled cards contained pirated games.
New York Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres plans to introduce the Power to the Players Act, which would direct the FTC to ensure consumers actually own purchased video games rather than licensing them, and to require offline modes when publishers shut down servers. The bill cites NBA 2K25 as an example, noting the $70 game will be delisted October 30 and lose online server support by December, just two years after release.
Valve has launched a new Steam feature called achievement sets, which lets developers organize a game's achievements into separate groups covering the base game, DLCs, or limited-time seasonal content. Each set gets its own progress bar and a 'set complete' trophy shown on a player's profile, and Valve has also redesigned the Steam Achievements page to summarize overall and per-set progress. The feature is currently available in the latest Steam client beta, with titles like Portal 2, Team Fortress 2, Forza Horizon 5 and Crusader Kings III already supporting it.
Rockstar Games published the launch trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 on Thursday, featuring a new track from Justice with Tame Impala, SZA and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. The trailer introduces protagonists Jason, a former soldier with a troubled past, and Lucia, whose phone call sets the story in motion. The game is set to launch Nov. 19 on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5.
Bluesky announced at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 that its experimental Attie platform now lets users build websites, games, quizzes and polls using AI, not just custom social feeds as before. CEO Toni Schneider described it as 'vibe coding' for communities, with creations tied to users' AT Protocol identities and built using either a user's own AI model or open-weight options.
Riot Games announced it will shut down League Classic after Season 3 concludes in early January 2027, citing dwindling player interest. Before then, the studio plans to add windowed queues in regions with long matchmaking waits and continue adding champions through 2026's remaining patches. Riot said it hopes to revive the mode later, likely as a limited-time event with changes based on feedback.
Representative Ritchie Torres has proposed federal legislation that would direct the FTC to create rules guaranteeing that purchased video games are owned outright rather than licensed, and would require games with online-dependent features to offer offline modes before servers are shut down. Torres cites NBA 2K25, which is being pulled from digital stores on October 30 and losing its servers on December 31, as an example of the problem the bill targets.
A day after Epic Games launched a preview of its new 'vibe-coded' launcher touting faster load times than Steam, Valve shipped a small Steam update that cut cold-boot time to about 5.23 seconds, edging out Epic's roughly 5.47 seconds. Epic's launcher still posts a slightly quicker tray-restore time, but Steam now leads on the core startup metric Epic had used to market its new client.
Bluesky's Attie AI tool, which debuted earlier this year as a way to build custom feeds, has been expanded to let users create small social apps such as games, polls, and dashboards. These apps can then be shared as standalone websites. CEO Toni Schneider described the tool at TechCrunch Disrupt as a form of 'social vibe coding' for communities.
At the Microelectronics 26 forum in Sochi, Russian chip designers demonstrated homegrown processors by running classic video games on them. Baikal Electronics showed its BE-U1000 RISC-V microcontroller powering a business-card-sized console and an NES-styled device called Ushka, while Elvis displayed its Hypercom-U Arm-based SoC and MCST showed Elbrus-powered gaming PCs.
A roundup highlights eight recently released games—including Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, Dressmaker, and Heartworm—as options for players during a quiet stretch before major upcoming releases. The games span genres from challenging platformers to relaxed dress-design simulators to retro-styled survival horror, and are available across PS5, Xbox, Switch, Steam, and PC.
Rockstar Games has published a new "launch" trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI, about a month before the game's release. The 90-second clip, captured entirely on PS5, showcases the Miami-inspired Vice City setting and features a new track from electronic duo Justice, who are scoring the game.