Top Stories

Fortnite returns to iOS worldwide, excluding Australia, as Epic prepares for "final battle" over App Store fees (3 min read)

Epic relaunched Fortnite on Apple's App Store worldwide except Australia, citing expectations that US federal courts will require Apple to disclose its fee structure. The relaunch follows Apple's statement to the Supreme Court that regulators globally are monitoring the case to determine Apple's commission rates. Fortnite remains blocked in Australia due to what Epic calls an "illegal payment arrangement," pending court resolution or Apple's agreement to lawful payment terms. (GamesIndustry.biz)

CI Games and Epic Games terminate Lords of the Fallen II publishing deal (3 min read)

CI Games and Epic Games have terminated their publishing agreement for Lords of the Fallen II. The developer will now self-publish the game. CI Games cited the need for creative control and a publishing model better suited to the studio's vision as reasons for the split. (Game Developer)

Meet Seed, the planet-sized society simulator (10 min read)

Klang Games is developing Seed, a planet-sized society simulator where players design Seedlings that semi-autonomously inhabit the persistent world of Avesta. The game simulates tens of thousands of NPCs across servers, with players shaping economies, relationships, businesses, and laws. Two co-founders previously worked at Eve Online maker CCP Games; CEO Mundi Vondi conceived the "everything simulator" concept to solve MMO world emptiness by making NPC activity continuous regardless of player login status. (GamesIndustry.biz)

Business & Finance

Sony won't be bringing any more single-player games to PC, says PlayStation Studios boss (2 min read)

PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst told staff that Sony will no longer bring single-player narrative games to PC, keeping them exclusive to PlayStation consoles going forward. (GamesIndustry.biz)

Sony announces PlayStation Plus price rises "due to ongoing market conditions" (1 min read)

Sony raised PlayStation Plus Essential tier prices effective May 20, increasing one-month subscriptions to $10.99 USD (from $9.99) and three-month plans to $27.99 (from $24.99) in select regions. Current subscribers are unaffected unless their subscription lapses. (GamesIndustry.biz)

The Crumbling Backbone of Korea's Game Industry (4 min read) [기자25시] 무너진 게임업계의 '허리'

Korea's Big 4 game companies (Netmarble, Nexon, NCSoft, Krafton) earned over 4 trillion won in Q1, while seven mid-tier firms combined for only 767.8 billion won—19% of the Big 4's revenue—highlighting growing revenue polarization in the domestic market. (더게임스데일리 tgdaily)

How Fireshine Games backed a winner with Far Far West (6 min read)

Fireshine Games' Far Far West sold 250,000 units in 48 hours on Steam Early Access, reaching one million within two weeks. CPO Jasper Tanner-Barnes explained the publisher looks beyond wishlists—examining Discord communities, TikTok engagement, and social momentum to predict success, noting a game with few wishlists might perform strongly elsewhere. (GamesIndustry.biz)

AI/Tech & Tools

Advanced Shader Delivery banishes long loads and shader stutter on first time launch, but only for certain games and there are a number of other caveats too (5 min read)

Advanced Shader Delivery reduces first-launch shader compilation stutter and loading times, though support is limited to certain games and has additional caveats. (PC Gamer)

Culture & Community

Original Doom soundtrack to be inducted into US National Recording Registry (1 min read)

The original Doom soundtrack, composed by Bobby Prince in 1993, was inducted into the US National Recording Registry. It is the third video game soundtrack to receive this honor, following Minecraft: Volume Alpha and Super Mario Bros. theme. The registry highlighted Prince's MIDI innovation in ensuring sound effects cut through music. (GamesIndustry.biz)

Tom Kane, Star Wars And Voice Acting Legend, Has Died At 64 (4 min read)

Tom Kane, a prolific voice actor who played Yoda in Star Wars games and Takeo Masaki in Call of Duty, died at 64. Kane had been retired from voice acting since suffering a stroke in 2020. (Kotaku)

gg! see you in game!

— james