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Marcus Rashford celebrates Man United return with special tribute
1Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has hinted at his stance on wearing the No. 9 shirt at Old Trafford. The English forward was handed the iconic shirt this summer after returning from his tem...
Motorcycle wreck in Chase County sends Topeka man to Newman Regional Health for treatment
A Topeka man suffered possibly serious injuries when his motorcycle crashed in southern Chase County early Thu...
Mold, warm shrimp and a car crash: Latest Reno health inspections
A car accident, moldy strawberries and raw shrimp and pork left out overnight prompted closures and citations during health inspections in mid-August.
Sony's PlayStation disc plant is losing 10 percent of its volume in 2028, not 90
Sony’s PlayStation disc plant is losing 10 percent of its volume in 2028, not 90 Sony won’t license disc pressing to anyone else, Microsoft does, and a former PlayStation boss thinks that’s the whole problem. When Sony DADC chief Dietmar Tanzer spoke with an Austrian broadcaster in July about PlayStation disc production at the Thalgau plant, a number of press outlets misunderstood the report, writing that production would fall to a tenth of current levels. It won’t. Sony DADC confirmed to Game this week that the figure is a 10 percent decline, not a decline to 10 percent. “To clarify and avoid any misleading information: in that statement Dietmar anticipated an overall product volume decline by 10 percent, not a decline down to 10 percent,” a spokesperson with Sony DADC told Game. That figure covers 2028. Tanzer didn’t put a number on the years after, and the spokesperson declined to comment further. What we do know is that on July 1, PlayStation announced that physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028 and that the transition has no impact on games that have already released in disc format or will be releasing in disc format prior to that month. “So, there will be reorders going to the market after January 2028,” the Sony DADC spokesperson said. “For details around that I would ask you to liaise with the PR team from PlayStation, as we can’t speak or comment on their behalf.” PlayStation officials did not respond to questions about reorders or other disc-related matters. But I did recently speak with Shawn Layden, Game Industry Strategic Advisor and former chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios, who called a future without physical PlayStation discs “depressing, but solvable.” then added, “I think.” The chief hurdle to third-party manufacturing of collector’s editions or any other version of a PlayStation game disc is that Sony owns the proprietary process to press those discs, Layden said. “And unless they decide or determine a way to license that to some of these bespoke disc manufacturers, there’s no way to make it happen,” he said. Layden was careful to add that he understands the concept but doesn’t have “line of sight on the particulars.” “Depressing but solvable, I think.” — Shawn Layden Microsoft already licenses replication to outside plants. Xbox discs are pressed by manufacturers Microsoft certifies as Authorized Replicators, a term defined in its publisher agreements, with the approved list set at the company’s sole discretion and Microsoft retaining the right to halt manufacture. The structure is still in place today: publishers select an Authorized Replicator in Partner Center and submit a bill of materials created with a Microsoft representative. Sony, by contrast, presses PlayStation discs through Sony DADC, its own manufacturing subsidiary. No one I spoke with said they were in discussions with Sony about doing that, and PlayStation hasn’t responded to questions about whether it would be open to a licensing deal. There is an obvious reason Sony might not want to. Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad pointed it out on the day of the announcement: it’s a platform-led decision, he wrote, designed to cut costs, eliminate the resale market, and drive all revenue through the PlayStation Store. The math is not subtle. On a $70 third-party game sold through the PlayStation Store, Sony keeps $21. Sold at retail, Ahmad says, it earns about half that. Licensing disc replication to an outside manufacturer might not be worth it. And even if it were, it seems unlikely that such a deal would come from boutique companies like iam8bit, which sells collector’s editions of video games. “We would absolutely love to find a way forward to continue making physical PlayStation games,” said Jon Gibson, co-owner and co-creative director of the company. “We are big believers in giving humans the option to truly own media. If we can play a role in helping make that a reality for the future of PlayStation games, count iam8bit in!” If it were to happen, it would most likely be with a company like Conectiv Supply Chain Solutions, a Memphis-based manufacturer of optical discs and vinyl records that also runs third-party logistics, fulfillment and distribution for packaged media. The company, which was formed in 2025 when Los Angeles private equity firm Variant Equity Advisors purchased Vantiva’s Supply Chain Solutions division, traces its lineage back to Technicolor. When it sold the division, Vantiva described the business as having served video game creators for more than 25 years. Conectiv is also buying, not shrinking. Last month it acquired SDS, the distributor for Universal and Warner Bros. home entertainment, consolidating those studios’ packaged-media pipeline from pressing plant to retail shelf. I reached out to Conectiv and its CEO, but haven’t heard back. Layden pointed to music and books in our discussion about the ongoing value of physical media. “No one ever saw the comeback of cassette tape,” he said. “And vinyl didn’t so much come back. The flame went down, the fire’s dying, but the ember was always there, and it just kind of came back. Much like the book business. We thought we’d all be on Kindles right now. “I believe that physical media is crucial and important. One of the things that makes us gamers, one of the core game mechanics, going back to the beginning of time, is collecting stuff. “Did you get all the diamonds in Crash Bandicoot? Did you get all the stars in Mario? And we like to collect our games. And we have a game shelf. And we put all our boxes up there. And if you’re super hardcore, when you buy a game, you buy two copies, right? One stays in the shrink wrap, and you play the other one. What happens to that important cultural part of the gaming world? You know, we buy the steelbook and the three-disc Final Fantasy set and the figurine and, you know, you can’t download any of that. “What happens to that?” And Layden believes it shouldn’t have been a revenue question for PlayStation. “This was a core thing to the experience of our most devoted fans,” he said. “Yeah, it’s fan service. Why would we take that away? Well, we can’t afford to. It’s already 120 bucks, you know, limited edition special purchase onyx box version of whatever, and those sell at a higher rate than the box selling at $69.99 does. So yeah, the market has said they will continue to buy them. You’re just saying you just don’t want to make them anymore.” Layden said he was recently talking with someone about these sorts of business decisions and how they’re made. Too often, he said, it’s all about the financials and nothing else. “OK, we can do this and save this much money, or we can invest this to look at that outcome, or we can do this and have this happen over there, or move this team to Sri Lanka,” he said. “But each one of those, someone also has to have a ledger there saying, ‘OK, what is the brand impact from that move?’ “Iif you can’t resell it, do you really own it?” — Shawn Layden “If we do that, dollars and cents work out. I get it. That’s just math. But what’s the brand impact? Are people going to say, ‘Good move, you guys?’ Or are they going to say, ‘We hate you guys. Quit doing that.’ And sometimes they say, ‘We hate you.’ Then you take a note and say, OK, how much of that can we live with? How much ‘we hate you’ is OK. And when does it go over the line? “I see a lot of companies making decisions which, objectively speaking, I don’t know what the dollar end of that was for you, Mr. Company, but your brand value just dropped 30 percent. So I hope it was worth it.” Of course, shifting to a digital-only model for games raises other issues beyond simply wanting to collect. The biggest is ownership. Layden pointed out that once you go to a streaming-only or download-only model, it’s just a digital footprint on a hard drive. “What does ownership mean anymore?” he said. “It’s a genuine question. Well, in fact, it’s not even a question anymore. It’s like you are shifting the model from ownership to accessibility. “And what’s always been true, which people forget, is you’ve never been able to sell your iTunes library. And you can’t sell your PlayStation download library. So if you can’t resell it, do you really own it?” The touching tribute found in the credits for Star Wars Zero Company. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Interview and Hands-On with a Minoan Masterpiece Star Wars Zero Company hands-on: Attack Astromechs, permadeath, and delightfully fatal Rube Goldberg tactics Control Resonant opens up as you get stronger — and as characters start trusting you
From playing with Rashford to non-league and new career
Ten years after lining up with Marcus Rashford for Manchester United, Joe Riley tells BBC Sport about his new career - and why he does not miss full-time football.
Is Hearts' McPake poised to gatecrash Pocognoli's Scotland squad?
Josh McPake has made a significant impact since joining Hearts. Could he now do the same for the Scotland national team?
Tesla Introduces 'Automatic Collision Evasion' for Manual Drives
Tesla has quietly added a major new active safety capability to its vehicles, turning its autonomous driving software into an emergency crash-prevention tool
"This is the worst crash we've seen since the 1980s," says Tim Sweeney
Industry experts speak to Edge Magazine deputy editor Alex Spencer about how the industry is facing "Crash 2.0"
Sacramento police investigating “rash” of downtown business burglaries
(FOX40.COM) — The Sacramento Police Department is investigating what it called a “rash” of downtown business burglaries that have occurred since Monday night. Police provided the genera…
Cornell science educator David Kornreich, Ph.D. ’01, dies at 52
David Kornreich, Ph.D. ’01, who taught physics and astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences, died Aug. 30 in a plane crash near Ithaca. Kornreich, a native of Houston, Texas, was 52.
Car crashes into southwest Oklahoma City business
Car crashes into southwest Oklahoma City business
OHA reports new measles exposures at 3 Portland-area clinics, hospitals
Oregon health officials are warning people about new measles exposure sites at hospitals in Portland and Gresham.The Oregon Health Authority and Multnomah Count
AI Agents Are Learning to Skirt the Rules. Can Businesses Keep Them Under Control?
“Companies have no reliable way to know how a model will behave under pressure.” That concern inspired SnowCrash Labs, an AI safety startup with Darden alumni and student connections.
Maryland business owner killed in pedestrian crash remembered as musician and mentor
A Maryland business owner was killed in a pedestrian crash in Gaithersburg. His loved ones are remembering Craig Budd Sr. as a loving father, grandfather, mentor and musician.
North Adams businesses rebuilding after truck crashes into storefront
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. (NEWS10) — Two businesses in North Adams have been picking up the pieces after a truck crashed into their storefronts Thursday night, shattering both the outside and inside…
Scientists Crashed An Unusual Sea Urchin Party And Were Delighted To Discover They Were All Wearing Hats
“There is just so much about this that is magic.”
How Dolly Parton helped after Reba McEntire’s band died in plane crash
Remembering how Dolly Parton helped her friend Reba McEntire after the “Fancy” singer’s bandmates died in a 1991 plane crash.
🎥 Messi scores four, Inter Miami humiliate CF Montréal!
A memorable evening for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in Major League Soccer (Matchday 22).Last night in Florida, La Pulga and the Herons thrashed CF Montréal at home: 7-1!Messi was the star of the sh...
Perry Township business set to reopen after vehicle crashed into building
Sweet T’s Cafe, a restaurant and bakery in Perry Township, is set to reopen after a vehicle crashed into the front of the business.
Most Business Advice Is 'Trash,' Says Kalshi CEO. But There’s a Catch
Great leaders know when to trust their instincts and when seeking advice is the smartest move they can make.
NASA Can’t Save Its Swift Telescope From Crashing To Earth But It’s Not Going Down Without A Fight
Restarting its science instruments means it can continue to monitor the cosmos until the bitter end.
Marshall Street Crash Under Investigation; Businesses Remain Closed Until Damage Repaired.
Glass litters Tres Ninos' floor on Friday. Right, the front logo from the truck is screwed into the plywood covering the front of the building. NORTH ADAMS, Mass....
Maresca salutes 'unbelievable' Cherki after Man City star sinks Palace
Enzo Maresca hailed Rayan Cherki's "unbelievable" performance in Manchester City's 4-1 thrashing of Crystal Palace on Friday."His performance off the ball was unbelievable.
Perry Twp. business forced to close after bus crashes into front door
The Perry Township business is temporarily closed after a wayward bus smashed into the front door.
Photos: SUV crashes through doors of business in Rocky Ridge Plaza
Friday morning an SUV crashed through the doors at SwimRite, located in Rocky Ridge Plaza.The fire department confirmed there were no injuries.
'GTA 6' Cyberleek update: Meme coin crashes as leaker cashes out
This is how it was always going to go.
Viral dashcam video leads to prison for insurance scammers
Four people pleaded guilty to charges related to the incident and two other staged crashes for big insurance payouts.
Unlike needy Keir, trash-talking Andy speaks a language Trump understands
Burnham has nothing to hide as he prepares to meet president he once called poisonous. It may actually win him more respect
Ravens wideouts battle physical Commanders secondary at joint practice
Ravens wide reciever Rashod Bateman torched the Commanders’ cornerbacks at joint practice on Wednesday.
WATCH: El-Sayed praised ‘beautiful’ sense of community abroad while trashing US as 'White supremacy'
Abdul El-Sayed praised Egypt's community life and called Americans "deeply atomized" in a podcast, adding to resurfaced remarks criticizing U.S. culture.
Multi-vehicle crash near ramp to Business US-220 causing delays in Roanoke
A multi-vehicle crash is causing delays in the City of Roanoke on Wednesday, according to VDOT.
'Our grief is not raw material' for Husted Senate ad, family says in call for removal
A central Ohio family who died in a fiery car crash is front and center in an Ohio Senate race ad − and their relatives want it taken down.
Daniil Medvedev contemplates pickleball career, curling in pre-U.S. Open changeover crash-out
The 2021 U.S. Open champion meditated on the sporting possibilities available to him one year on from a total meltdown in New York.
Sport break into Série B top six; Novorizontino thrash Athletic
Sport moved into the Série B top six with a 3-0 win over América-MGCredits: Paulo Paiva/Sport Club do RecifeSport moved into the Brasileirão Série B top six with a 3-0 win over América-MG on Mond...
AFR responds to crash that led to business fire
AFR responds to crash that led to business fire
Minister tells social media firms to take down dangerous driving content in wake of fatal A66 crash in Middlesborough
Defence minister says police ‘need time’ but ‘in the meantime’ the government has told platforms to take down content glorifying dangerous driving
Minister tells social media firms to take down dangerous driving content in wake of fatal A66 crash in Middlesborough
Defence minister says police ‘need time’ but ‘in the meantime’ the government has told platforms to take down content glorifying dangerous driving
Chargers injury update: Rashawn Slater returns to practice
The Los Angeles Chargers' offense just got a massive piece back on the field.
Ballad Health: 3 injured in Milligan crash remain hospitalized
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Three of the Milligan University cyclists injured in a crash that killed two of their teammates remain hospitalized as of Sunday. Ballad Health announced on Sunda…
Rashawn Slater returns to Chargers practice
The Chargers got a key piece of their offensive line back at practice on Saturday.
A Disney Career That Started With Emptying Trash: Leadership Lessons For Every Business
What makes Disney’s customer experience so memorable? Shep Hyken shares lessons from Disney veteran Cheryl Christensen on culture, leadership, feedback, and service.
Winner and Loser of the Week in Florida politics
Byron Donalds and others land the plane as Mike Caruso crashes and burns.
Country music singer returns to stage after nearly dying in crash earlier this year
The singer nearly died and his dog was killed in a wreck.
Summer Internship Gives Ali Bennett ’27 Crash Course in Sports Analytics | Pomona College in Claremont, California
Mathematics major Ali Bennett ’27 was one of three students who completed a summer Pomona College Internship Program (PCIP) in an athletics field. Her apprenticeship with the San Francisco Seagulls Baseball Academy revealed a possible career path.
The Next Market Crash Is Coming — Here's How to Prepare Your Business
There is going to be another significant stock market contraction. History guarantees that much. What history doesn't tell us is when.
NASA shares first images of SpaceX moon crash site
The Falcon 9 upper stage created a 60-foot-wide crater on the moon on August 5.
Want A Modern Warfare 4 Beta Code? Just Talk Trash
Talk s***, get hit (with a free code)?
Why AMC Entertainment (AMC) Shares Are Trading Lower Today
Shares of theater company AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) fell 3.7% in the afternoon session after it reported a spike in app and site outages during the “Dune: Part Three” ticket drop, on a weak day for risk assets. Forbes, citing Downdetector, said more than 1,000 outage reports came in after tickets went on sale, mostly against the mobile app — crash-on-launch, “Failed to fetch,” and rate-limit errors. The operational miss hit a high-demand IMAX/IMAX 70mm release and is a reminder that AMC’s app
Bail revoked for man charged in fatal Hingham Apple store crash
Bradley Rein is facing charges that include second-degree murder in connection with the 2022 crash that killed one and injured nearly two dozen.
Raccoon crashes through ceiling of Allegheny County business, leaving owner with canceled orders
“I thought I was dreaming when I saw glowy eyes.” A raccoon broke into a Carrick business, leaving behind a mess that forced the owner to temporarily close.
After traumatic health ‘crash,’ Austin Tice’s mom renews search for answers
Austin Tice, a Marine Corps veteran, was abducted during a 2012 reporting trip to Syria.
After traumatic health ‘crash,’ Austin Tice’s mom renews search for answers
Austin Tice, a Marine Corps veteran, was abducted during a 2012 reporting trip to Syria.
Fortnite officially reveals Sora, Crash, Spyro, Mega Man, Persona and other gaming crossovers for its next season
Chapter 7 Season 4, Override, focuses on other video game characters…
Now It Will Be Sonic's Turn To Have A Gun In New Fortnite Update
Mega Man, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro and Jazz Jackrabbit join Fortnite’s ever growing IP pit in ‘Gaming Legends’ trailer
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4 Trailer Reveals Gaming Legends Collabs
The official trailer for Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4: Override dropped on August 16, showcasing collabs with Sonic the Hedgehog, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Persona 5's Joker, Mega Man, and more. Sonic
Country singer returns to stage after nearly dying in crash: ‘Saturated with anxiety’
The singer broke his neck in a wreck in February.
Rash: This primary season, the Midwest is a political science laboratory
Though some fared better than others in the primaries, the competitiveness of progressives this year suggests Donald Trump has radicalized the Democratic Party, John Rash writes.
‘Big Brother’ star Chuk Anyanwu responds to Taylor trashing his game
‘Big Brother’ star Chuk Anyanwu responds to Taylor trashing his game, and explains why he thought he had the votes to stay.
Concrete truck overturns, crashes into Dallas business, authorities say
Emergency crews are assessing damage after a concrete truck crashed into a commercial building along West Northwest Highway.
BREAKING: Netflix to shut down two more game studios
Netflix is sticking with video games but once again reducing the number of studios it owns making games. The streaming giant is closing Los Angeles-based Night School studio, which it acquired in 2021 and plans to close Helsinki-based Moonloot, which was founded in 2022. Just six weeks ago, Night School had released Unhinged, a novel 30-minute first-person horror game, streamable on TVs to Netflix users. The game was hailed by Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters in a call with investors. Six weeks later, Night School is closing. Prior to its Netflix tenure, Night School had developed the award-winning supernatural thriller Oxenfree. A second Oxenfree game followed after the purchase, as well as a mobile game designed to tie in to an episode of the Netflix show Black Mirror. Netflix attributed the studio closures to a prioritization around kids gaming, party games, story-driven fare and games with mainstream hooks, such as a recently released FIFA game. “We see an opportunity to be more focused in our execution, so we are making organizational changes to the business to match those priorities,” a Netflix spokesperson told Game File. Netflix is also cutting jobs from its internal games team. A rep declined to say how many jobs were being lost by these cutbacks. “We are incredibly grateful to the talented colleagues we’re saying goodbye to today. We thank them for all their contributions to Netflix, and wish them the best,” the rep said. Netflix started releasing video games, initially on mobile as a free bonus to subscribers, in 2021. By 2023, Mike Verdu, then the head of Netflix’s game operations, was telling me that the company was committed to growing carefully, as it offered more games and built up internal game studios. At the time, it hadn’t made any gaming job cuts. Since then, Netflix has altered its approach. In 2024, it shut down Team Blue, a start-up studio led by ex-Call of Duty and Halo developers that was exploring making a high-end first-person game for the service. Last October, Netflix shut down another studio, Boss Fight, shortly after Peters praised the team’s Squid Game game to investors. (One of Boss Fight’s main developers now works on the Netflix FIFA game for outside studio Delphi.) And in December, Netflix sold cozy game studio Spry Fox back to its founders. Amid all of this, Netflix has shifted from emphasizing mobile games to offering games through TVs and PCs, via streamed connections, with phones used as controllers. That’s how Night School’s Unhinged worked, along with games such as Boggle and Party Crashers that have collectively helped the Netflix game controller app chart well on mobile app stores. The studio cuts leave Netflix with a central gaming team that works with external developers, and a dedicated first party studio in, Helsinki-based Next Games, which produced many of the company’s couch-centric party games. The move away from having a roster of internal game studios aligns with Netflix’s own approach to shows and movies, which are largely produced externally. The company owns few TV/film production studios of its own. The gaming industry overall is seeing large holders of multiple studios cut back, with Sony, Ubisoft, Embracer, Microsoft and other giants closing or selling off studios. Cuts in California-based studios, where costs often run relatively high, have been particularly acute. Netflix has faced skepticism about its gaming plans for years. The moves today are likely to fuel them, and the company has few upcoming projects to counter the narrative. Among the few hinted, acclaimed independent studio Don’t Nod said last year it was working on a game tied to a major Netflix franchise.
Rashford, Mainoo & transfers - Carrick calls for more signings
Before his first full season as Manchester United head coach, Michael Carrick explains why the club need more players, discusses why he is in a privileged position and talks Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo.
Marcus Rashford transfer news: Tottenham should sign Man Utd forward, says ex-Spurs midfielder Jamie O'Hara
Jamie OHara was speaking on Sky Sports Tottenham summer special podcast; the show also features Sky Sports News Michael Bridge and Lyall Thomas, who analyse Spurs summer window so far, discuss the business still needed and answer your questions ahead of the new season
Mock Crash Kicks off Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Campaign on Health Science Campus
UToledo Health joined local law enforcement and health agencies to stage a realistic drunk driving crash simulation outside the Lloyd A. Jacobs Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center.
Is Second-Year Leap Coming For Seahawks' Rashid Shaheed?
Set to become more of a receiver in 2026, is Shaheed about to take his game to a new level in Seattle?
Car crashes into Trap House Chicken on Normandy Blvd.; owner says business will stay open
A car crashed into Trap House Chicken on Normandy Blvd. Wednesday afternoon, sending the popular restaurant into cleanup and recovery mode — but its owner says the doors will stay open.
Car crashes into business in Huntington Beach
Injuries were reported after a car crashed into a business Wednesday in Huntington Beach. The crash was reported in the 6000 block of Edinger Avenue. Details about what led to the crash were not immediately available. At least part of the car appeared to end up inside the store, one of several in the strip mall. Patients were transported to…
Rashee Rice: Jail time was "learning experience" and "reality check"
Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice had an unexpected 30-day offseason jail stint, due to a positive THC test while on probation for felony charges arising from a 2024 street-racing incident.
Kalshi CEO slams founders for being over-reliant on ‘mostly trash’ business advice—he founded his now-$22 billion prediction market as a college grad
Kalshi’s 30-year-old CEO says most business advice is ‘trash’—he doesn’t read management books or listen to podcasts: ‘I’m gonna make it up as I go’
Crash closes southbound U.S. 41 Business in Venice
The incident happened about 6:45 a.m. at the intersection of U.S. 41 and San Marco Drive.
Former Donegal footballer McHugh passes away
Former Donegal All-Ireland winner James McHugh passes away following a car crash in County Cavan.
Chicago taps Fitch senior director as new CFO amid rash of exits
Ashlee Gabrysch, who is no stranger to the city's finances, will be the third person serving as Chicago's chief financial officer in less than a year.
Wisconsin’s Roller Coaster of a Democratic Primary Race for Governor Crashes to an End
Democrats appear likely to nominate a democratic socialist for governor. How did they get here?
Saber's newest game trailer takes a shot at Gearbox's CEO, if you look closely
The first hint that something might be up with the recent debut trailer for Saber Interactive’s Rideshare Stimulator is an unusual choice of words—aside from that second one in the game’s title. “Don’t take your passengers too seriously,” the trailer’s narrator says, as he describes this upcoming game. It a car game about the gig work of driving eccentric people to their destinations, a riff on Crazy Taxi. And then, he says: “When I think I’ve met the randiest of passengers, someone even stranger gets in.” “Randiest”? That suggests “randy,” which usually means having strong sexual desire. Yet none of the oddball backseat occupants featured in the trailer seem particularly lustful. One is an old man who considers his grandson a failure, another shares the theory that birds might control traffic lights, another says he’s banned from an aquarium. A little later, there’s a license plate, shown 63 seconds into the trailer, on the front of an SUV: USB DRV It’s a Texas plate. The symbol between those letters is a cog wheel. If you know, you know. That’s a reference to Texas-based Borderlands game development studio Gearbox Software (their logo features a cog wheel). More specifically, it’s a reference to Gearbox’s CEO Randy Pitchford, who in 2018 found himself explaining the nature of video he’d saved on a USB drive that was found at a Medieval Times restaurant before being returned to the studio: “It was ‘barely legal’ porn. This girl’s handle was ‘Only 18.’” The “girl” in the video had committed a solo sex act that Pitchford, an avid practitioner of magic, found remarkable. “I realized, this is not a sex worker…This is a fucking magician.” Back then, the USB drive was central to competing lawsuits against Gearbox by the studio’s former lawyer and by Gearbox against him. A settlement in late 2019 “exonerated” Pitchford, per the Hollywood Reporter. The USB story has resurfaced at times, now in a trailer from a company that not long ago was corporate brethren with Gearbox. Saber vs. Gearbox The head of Saber told Game File that the reference is payback. “The dig is because Randy took shots at Embracer in Borderlands 4,” Saber CEO Matt Karch told me when I asked him about the license plate. “Without Embracer, Randy is performing magic tricks at birthday parties for a living.” Having interviewed Karch during a cross-country flight in late 2024, I can confirm that Karch was unimpressed with Pitchford during their time both working in the Embracer group. I’d approached him not out of surprise that there was animosity but that it was manifesting publicly now. Gearbox was founded in 1999, worked on a port of Halo early on, and developed hit series such as the loot-based sci-fi shooter Borderlands before it was purchased by The Embracer Group in early 2021 for $363 million (with a possible earn-out of over $1 billion, if certain targets were hit by 2027). Saber was founded in 2001, worked on a remaster of Halo early on, had a big hit with zombie shooter World War Z and was purchased by Embracer in early 2020 for $150 million, with a potential earn-out of up to $375 million. For a few years, the Embracer group was a voracious acquirer of game studios. Then, as investment dried up, it choked. In March 2024, Embracer sold Saber to an investment company controlled by Saber CEO Matt Karch, and it sold Gearbox in an all-stock deal to long-time Borderlands publisher Take Two Interactive. Other studios were shut down. Hundreds of developers were laid off. Gearbox didn’t say much about their Embracer experience, nothing too direct, at least. In the summer 2024, Pitchford told reporter and occasional Game File contributor Nicole Carpenter that Borderlands 4’s story was in some way thematically connected to Gearbox’s experience at Embracer: “There’s this cultural and emotional shift in me, personally, and at the studio. What does it mean to trade some autonomy for organization?” When Borderlands 4 came out, there was something stranger: the matter of “Embracer’s Bluff,” a location in the game featuring an AI-powered toilet and a large trash dump, according to a detailed Kotaku account of the place. Gearbox never commented on it; Take Two never got back to me about it when I asked them last year. By contrast, since Saber exited Embracer, Karch has been one of Embracer’s biggest defenders, casting their management as well-meaning and supportive despite the layoffs and studio closures that resulted from their excessive expansion. Like others, Saber’s Karch saw Embracer’s as a shot. With Rideshare Stimulator’s trailer, he’s returned fire. “It’s amazing to me how fast people forget those who went above and beyond for them,” Karch told Game File. A rep for Gearbox did not comment by press time. Game File is a reader-supported publication. Your backing makes my reporting—including any coverage of trailer-based beefs—possible. Good news! I’m currently running Game File’s first big sale of 2026. You can get a one-year subscription for 23% off. Click here to take advantage of the limited-time offer. And thank you for your support! Item 2: In brief… 🚫 Wal-Mart has laid off the staff of Restart, a games media outlet launched in 2024, Aftermath reports. 🟥 A GTA VI preview is on the way, at last, via an “extended look” that will premiere, unusually, on Netflix at 3pm ET on August 27, then officially go live elsewhere six hours later. Last week, Game File noted that Take Two label Rockstar Games is overdue for showing off GTA VI, based on the timing of the initial hands-off previews of GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2. During a call with investors, Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said pre-orders for GTA VI were “unprecedented and astonishing,” but added the company can’t predict how many of those pre-orders represent bonus sales vs. sales that otherwise would have been made at launch. During the same call, Zelnick was noticeably bullish on the future of playing games over streaming cloud connections (predicting wider adoption in three or so years). He sounded unbothered by Sony’s plans to stop making discs for new games (he said the business is 90% digital already and predicted that there could still be limited edition physical editions of games “in the same way there’s still vinyl in the recorded music business.”) 👀 Take Two wrote off $43 million in their spring quarter after deciding “not to proceed with further development of an unannounced title in its pipeline from a third-party developer.” 🤔 Some rare age-demographics from a big publisher: Capcom recently told investors that “users in their 20s account for approximately half of the users of both Pragamata and Resident Evil Requiem.” Item 3: The week ahead Tuesday, August 11 Game releases: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered (Switch 2; already out for PC, PS5, Xbox) continues the Bethesda strategy of putting Elder Scrolls games on everything; Royalty Free-For-All is a Smash Bros.-style fighting game featuring public domain characters such as Mother Goose brawling with Oliver Twist in a stage based on the original Little Shop of Horrors movie. Wednesday, August 12 Game release: Pro Jank Footy (PC, console) is an arcade-style Australian Rules Football game with increasingly ridiculous rules, the more you play (I enjoyed the Steam demo) Thursday, August 13 Game release: Super Mario Sunshine (Switch 2, originally released in 2002 on the GameCube) is released for Switch 2’s Nintendo Switch Online service. This game is the black sheep of 3D Mario games. It’s the successor to the breakthrough Super Mario 64 and the rare Mario game built around a single (vacation resort) theme. Mario’s got a water-spraying backpack, a Yoshi pal and a lot of blue coins to collect.
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