🍪 Spending Habits, Joseon Magic, and Courtroom Comebacks
Hello there, fellow number-crunchers and lore-lovers. Today’s Game Cookies From Newzoo’s deep dive into Western gaming wallets, to a magical Joseon-era adventure reveal, to Epic winning another antitrust battle — today’s mix is as global as it is varied. We’ve also got Nintendo revving up Switch 2 production, Remedy juggling wins and misses, and a debate about when not to add mechanics to a game.
đź’µ Newzoo: North American Gamers Spend $325 a Year
North American players are the world’s biggest gaming spenders, averaging $325 annually, according to a Newzoo and Tebex report. That’s more than triple the spend of Eastern gamers, and far above Europe’s $125. Together, North America and Europe account for 46% of global gaming spending despite being home to only 20% of players.
📢 “Today’s players want to know what they’re paying for – and why.” — Liam Wiltshire, Tebex
🦊🍪 Our Take: So basically… devs are milking the same whales instead of fishing for new ones. Expect more overpriced skins, “exclusive” DLC, and battle passes no one finishes. And hey, if you’re in Europe? You’re apparently the “discount bundle” crowd now. Congrats.
🪄 Woochi the Wayfarer Brings Joseon Fantasy to Unreal Engine 5
NEXON GAMES and Lore Vault announced Woochi the Wayfarer, an action-adventure game based on the classic Korean novel The Tale of Jeon Woochi. Players step into the role of a magical trickster fighting injustice, with a world built from traditional Korean monsters, music, and cultural references — scored by Parasite and Squid Game composer Jung Jae-il.
📢 “We plan to present a game that will appeal to gamers of all cultures.” — Yonghyun Park, Nexon Games CEO
🦊🍪 Our Take: Looks gorgeous, sounds amazing — but Nexon’s “global appeal” talk has us on alert. If they try to sand down the Korean identity to chase mass market tastes, it’ll just end up as another bland “open world with magic” game. Let the Joseon weirdness shine, or don’t bother.
🌊 BG3 Dev Defends Mafia Game’s Lack of Swimming
After Mafia: The Old Country went viral for not letting players swim, Larian Studios’s Michael Douse recalled a similar critique of Baldur’s Gate 3. His take? Not every mechanic is worth the cost to implement.
📢 “Endlessly layering on mechanics maketh a good game not.” — Michael Douse, Larian Studios
🦊🍪 Our Take: Finally, a dev saying what most won’t: you don’t need every checkbox feature some random exec saw in Skyrim. You know what’s worse than not swimming? Swimming that feels like garbage because you added it just to say you could.
📱 Fortnite and Epic Games Store Returning to iOS in Australia
Epic Games has won another court case against Apple and Google, paving the way for Fortnite and the Epic Games Store to return to iOS in Australia. A judge ruled both companies’ app store practices were anticompetitive, though consumer law breach claims were rejected.
📢 “This is a win for developers and consumers in Australia.” — Epic Games
🦊🍪 Our Take: Yeah, it’s a win… but let’s not pretend Epic is doing this out of pure gamer love. This is about controlling the payment pipe — and taking their 12% cut instead of Apple’s 30%. The upside? At least players might save a buck or two.
🎯 Remedy “Unsatisfied” with FBC: Firebreak Sales — But Control Hits 5M
While FBC: Firebreak underperformed on Valve corporation Steam, it saw stronger numbers via console subscription deals. CEO Tero Virtala says the team is working on fixes and expects a September update to boost interest. Meanwhile, Control has surpassed 5 million units sold, aided by Remedy Entertainment Plc regaining publishing rights earlier this year.
📢 “Commercially, we were unsatisfied with the launch-phase consumer sales of FBC: Firebreak.” — Tero Virtala, Remedy
🦊🍪 Our Take: Translation: Game Pass carried this thing. And that’s fine, but if your first self-published title bombs on its main sales channel, you’ve got a marketing or gameplay problem. Luckily Control is still printing money — otherwise, this would sting a lot more.
🚀 Embark Studios Ends ARC Raiders Playtests Ahead of October Launch
With release set for October 30, ARC Raiders will skip further public tests. Embark Studios says it’s now focused on polish, building on lessons from The Finals.
📢 “Our focus is now on polishing and expanding the experience.” — Embark Studios
🦊🍪 Our Take: Ending public tests early is like saying, “Trust us, we got it” — right before walking into the final boss fight blindfolded. If it hits, great. If not, get ready for a very loud October.
🎮 Nintendo Boosting Switch 2 Production
Supply chain data suggests Nintendo is increasing Switch 2 manufacturing for the holiday season, with suppliers PixArt and Hosiden reporting double-digit forecast bumps.
📢 “This revision reflects an increase in orders received from Nintendo.” — Hosiden
🦊🍪 Our Take: Nintendo’s about to flood shelves with Switch 2s like it’s 2006 again — and scalpers are already licking their lips. Let’s just hope they also remember to make enough docks and Joy-Cons this time.
- Staycynical about who “wins” in court.
- Keepcalling out features that exist just for a bullet point.
- Remember — whales pay the bills, but sometimes they’re steering the ship.
