🍪 AI Blunders, NSFW Backlash & the JRPG Comeback
From Nintendo’s grip on speedrun events to Riot’s awkward AI anniversary slip, today’s newsletter captures a gaming industry caught between control, chaos, and quiet rebellion.
Let’s break it all down.
🚫 Nintendo Tells Charity Speedruns: Ask First
RTA in Japan, a major charity speedrunning event, revealed it was blocked from using Nintendo games unless it applies for individual licenses in advance. Nintendo’s legal team intervened because RTA is now a registered legal entity — and prior use was deemed “unauthorized.”
📢 “As a legal entity, [RTA] would have to ask for permission in advance.” — Nintendo
🥠 Our Take: It’s not a “ban,” but it’s definitely a warning shot. Nintendo’s control obsession strikes again — even when the event is for charity. In an era of fan-driven celebration, forcing speedrunners into bureaucratic hoops feels tone-deaf. It’s also a chilling precedent for events worldwide.
🎂 Riot’s AI-Generated “Aniversary” Video Backfires
Riot Games shared a cringe-inducing, likely AI-generated video for Wild Rift’s third anniversary on Chinese social media. The video featured visual glitches, rubber-faced crowds, and a misspelled “Aniversary.” Riot later pulled it and admitted it “did not hit the mark.”
📢 “We can and will do better.” — David Xu, Exec Producer, Wild Rift
🥠 Our Take: This is what happens when you outsource your soul to AI. The silence around its AI origins makes it worse — players know, and they’re not dumb. “Slop” like this erodes trust and cheapens community celebrations. If Riot won’t even own it, they’ll likely repeat it.
📊 Unity Praises AI-Powered Ads Despite Flat Growth
Unity‘s Q2 revenue dipped by 2%, but the company declared it a win thanks to its AI ad platform, Unity Vector, which drove a 15% increase in ad network performance. CEO Matthew Bromberg called this an “inflection point” and emphasized AI as the key to Unity’s rebound.
📢 “Unity Vector is transforming our growth prospects.” — Matt Bromberg, Unity CEO
🥠 Our Take: Unity is pushing AI ads as their redemption arc — and maybe it’s working. But let’s not forget: this comes after mass layoffs and a still-recovering trust deficit. AI won’t fix a broken reputation unless Unity also fixes its relationship with developers.
🧭 JRPGs Still Fighting the “Uncool” Stigma
Guillaume Broche, director of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, says turn-based JRPGs are still seen as outdated, despite strong sales and creative breakthroughs. He argues that open-world games shifted media narratives, but players never truly gave up on the genre.
📢 “I could talk about the prejudice [towards JRPGs] forever.” — Guillaume Broche
🥠 Our Take: This isn’t nostalgia — it’s a genre revival. JRPGs are still dismissed in AAA circles, but they’ve evolved while staying true to form. Games like Persona, Sea of Stars, and now Clair Obscur show that turn-based combat still hits when it’s polished, beautiful, and purposeful.
🪓 IGN Staff Cut as Ziff Davis Keeps Acquiring
Ziff Davis laid off 8 IGN Entertainment employees — 12% of its unionized staff — just one month after acquiring three new companies. IGN Union reports the layoffs followed successful events like Summer Game Fest and Comic-Con, sparking outrage over corporate priorities.
📢 “Without us, there is no IGN.” — IGN Union Statement
🥠 Our Take: This is more than corporate greed. Gaming media is under siege from two fronts — internal cuts and external trust erosion. Audiences are fed up with “woke” coverage and biased reviews, while parent companies chase cost-cutting over credibility. It’s a brutal time to be in games journalism.
💥 Vile: Exhumed Released for Free After Steam Ban
Cara Cadaver’s horror game Vile: Exhumed was removed from Steam after being flagged for “sexual content with depictions of real people” — despite no nudity or explicit scenes. In protest, the dev released it for free under a Creative Commons license at vileisbanned.com.
📢 “This censorship of my work is a direct attack on creative expression.” — Cara Cadaver, Final Girl Games
🥠 Our Take: This is exactly what everyone feared: “acceptable horror” now depends on credit card policies. Vile is raw, adult, and uncomfortable — but that’s the point. If we start filtering art by corporate risk teams, we kill the very purpose of horror.
Stay sharp, Keep it weird, Remember: when banks control games, the horror isn’t fiction anymore.
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