Top Stories

"The problem with online toxicity, that's something that we can solve today" – The AI system that promises to detect signs of grooming (4 min read)

Norwegian company Aiba has developed Amanda, an AI tool that monitors voice chat to detect grooming, bullying, radicalisation, and social manipulation in near real-time, enabling moderators to intervene. The system is available through the Odin voice chat platform from German firm 4Players. CEO Hege Tokerud named the tool after Amanda Todd, a Canadian girl groomed online 15 years ago who died by suicide; Todd's mother supports the project. The tool emerges as regulators worldwide—including the EU's Digital Services Act, the UK's Online Safety Act, and PEGI—tighten online-safety rules for gaming platforms. (GamesIndustry.biz)

Google Play Store Deletes Clone Of Nintendo’s Tomodachi Life After It Gets Over 50,000 Downloads (4 min read)

Google Play removed a Tomodachi Life clone that accumulated over 50,000 downloads. Reddit users reported multiple shameless knockoffs of 2026 games including Subnautica 2, Tomodachi Life, and Paralives on the Android store. Clones evade takedowns using misspelled names like "tomo life" or "Tomodochi: Live The Dream Life," while others use exact titles or add generic words. Some incorporate AI-generated assets; others directly rip source material. The clones' store pages often misrepresent themselves through keywords like "obby" to pose as different app types. (Kotaku)

Business & Finance

"I don't think we can ask people to pay $30 for a pixel art game" - How Mina the Hollower's modest $20 price point may have saved developer Yacht Club Games (6 min read)

Yacht Club Games' Mina the Hollower sold 300,000 copies in its launch weekend at a $20 price point, exceeding the studio's 200,000-copy threshold for success. The developer previously stated selling fewer than 100,000 copies would put the studio in trouble. (Eurogamer)

PlayStation first-party game sales show a decline since 2020 (3 min read)

Sony's first-party game sales dropped from 58.4 million units in FY20 to 28.9 million in FY24, marking a 50% decline. FY25 showed slight recovery at 32.1 million. Astro Bot sold 1.5 million in nine weeks but 37% of buyers hadn't purchased other first-party software. (Game Developer)

Games & Releases

Here's Everything Shown During The PlayStation State Of Play, From God Of War Laufey To Marvel's Wolverine And More (3 min read)

PlayStation's June 2026 State of Play showcased 20+ games including Marvel's Wolverine, God of War Laufey, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, Silent Hill: Townfall, and Dune: Awakening, among others. The presentation was one of Sony's longest showcases in recent years. (GameInformer)

Summer Game Fest 2026 Guide: A Complete Schedule Of Every June Gaming Showcase (6 min read)

Summer Game Fest 2026 runs throughout June with major showcases from PlayStation (June 2) and Xbox, plus smaller events highlighting indie games, Black creators, Latin American studios, and women-led developers. The week-long festival replaced E3 as gaming's primary summer announcement venue. (Kotaku)

gg! see you in game!

— james