Daft Punk’s Fortnite Experience became a shared moment of nostalgia and discovery, proving that music still connects generations better than any algorithm ever could. For longtime fans, it was closure. For Gen Z, it was Discovery. (pun intended) And for brands, it was proof that music’s storytelling power can still move entire generations. Within days, their influence surged: 🎧 +25.9% Spotify listener growth (25.1M monthly) ▶️ +41% YouTube view lift (73M+ in Sept) 💬 +84% TikTok likes (8.3M total) 🔎 +312% Google searches — their biggest spike in a decade Fans called the Fortnite experience “a perfect final concert,” blending nostalgia and new discovery in one shared world. And it’s no surprise they partnered with a gaming giant like Epic. Daft Punk fans over-index 2.26x for gaming, with affinities that read like a map of modern fandom: 🎮 Nintendo (2.91x) | PlayStation (2.36x) | Marvel (2.45x) | Star Wars (2.91x) | DC (2.27x) 🎨 Plus strong ties to Art & Design (1.71x) and Television & Film (1.66x) — audiences fluent in story-driven, cinematic worlds. UPROXX is the only way to guarantee your brand shows up alongside Daft Punk — inside their official YouTube videos and across CTV. 👉 Swipe through to see how UPROXX puts brands inside the cultural moments where art, gaming, and music collide. #UPROXXStudios #ArtistInsights #DaftPunk #Fortnite #MusicMarketing #GamingCulture #CTV #BrandPartnerships #Storytelling

Gaming is a data driven business, but gaming is also art. Art history teaches us that arguably every great movement arose in opposition to the established status quo. The rebels would often start by just wanting to do things differently. Salon des Refusés, for instance, was a self explanatory name for Manet’s opposition to the establishment. Then the movement would grow and articulate itself until it itself became the new establishment and inspired counterculture. It’s noteworthy, that some of the most exciting titles of the past few years were from teams that went off the beaten path. Black Myth: Wukong went with a mythological IP that wasn’t part of the Greek-Nordic-Egypt triumvirate. Expedition 33 challenged what production polish needs to be for AAA ambitions, and what gamers really care about. Silksong dared to stay quiet for 5 years building the most anticipated indie title in ages, and then shocked the world with its pricing strategy. Sometimes it feels like the gaming industry spends too much time studying past success stories, and is recursively pushing itself into oblivion, similar to how the movies and TV-show space have done it. When you dare to do something different there is no track record to back up the choices you’ve made, and the risk is enormous. However, gaming isn’t just a business, it’s art. So, if we want to keep evolving, we have to keep trying to do things that seem scary and even impossible. To quote an old sports catchphrase: “for the love of the game”!

🚨 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝑮𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝑮𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 3 𝑫𝒂𝒚𝒔. 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝑯𝒐𝒘. 🚨 In August 2024, a game from a little-known Chinese studio stunned the world. 10 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒏 83 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔. 3 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒚𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒂. The game? Black Myth: Wukong The studio? Game Science The inspiration? The legendary novel Journey to the West But behind this cultural earthquake was a story of grit, sacrifice, and belief. 🧵 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 Founded in 2014 by Feng Ji, a former Tencent developer, Game Science wasn’t a giant like Sony or Nintendo. It was a dream. In 2018, the team made a bold leap into AAA development. They quit jobs. Sold property. 𝑾𝒆𝒏𝒕 4–5 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒛𝒆𝒓𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆. Investors laughed. The industry ignored them. AAA from China? A joke. But the team persisted. They read Journey to the West over 100 times. Visited cultural sites. Built 1.2 billion models for the Monkey King’s armor. 🎬 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐫 In 2020, Game Science dropped a surprise trailer. The internet exploded. Millions of views overnight. But hype is cheap. Gamers had been burned before. Most expected it to flop—or never release. Instead, the trailer attracted talent, funding, and belief. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘰 140. 𝘛𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢 5% 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦. 🌍 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 2024: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐤𝐞 Black Myth: Wukong launched worldwide on PC and PS5. 10M copies sold in 3 days $600M in revenue 96% positive reviews on Steam 4.6 stars on the App Store Tourism to featured sites surged by 300% 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵: Elden Ring: 12M in 16 days Hogwarts Legacy: 12M in 13 days Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: 10M in 3 days Wukong joined this elite club—as a brand-new IP from a first-time AAA studio. 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐄𝐫𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 For the first time, China wasn’t just the biggest gaming market—it was the biggest creator. Black Myth: Wukong proved: A Chinese studio can build a global AAA hit Fresh IPs can compete with billion-dollar franchises Gamers crave new worlds—not just sequels In 2024, China entered the arena. And the world felt the quake. #GamingIndustry #Innovation #ChinaTech #BlackMythWukong #GameScience #AAA #JourneyToTheWest #Leadership #Creativity #UnderdogStory #gaming

Some assert that the audience for real-time strategy has moved on, but aggregate concurrency suggests that there is still a playerbase -- RTS has just been eclipsed by other genres. Could a new game change this? The high-water mark for RTS happened in 2010 with StarCraft II. There have been new releases since then, but sales data suggests that none produced even a quarter billion dollars in revenue, which is below the bar for major publishers. RTS is respected but feared. Most players have heard of RTS, perhaps even played in the past, but complexity is a deterrent. Meaningful growth will require making the genre more approachable without compromising depth. I believe the potential for such innovation exists. However, I also believe the likelihood in the current environment is low. Funding is scarce, and emerging from the shadow of the greats is an expensive proposition. Major studios are understandably reluctant to make big investments when other genres are producing bigger and more dependable returns. The opportunity cost is deemed too high when that same money performs better elsewhere. For this reason, EA is unlikely to invest in RTS under their new masters. There have been rumors that Microsoft might make another "Age" game. I hope so, though they face the headwinds I described. Blizzard will not start a new RTS any time soon: the most passionate advocates there have all moved on. Sega is continuing to make Total War games. They've alternated between original IP and licensed IP, so I'll be curious to see what's next. Speaking of licensed IP, Playside announced Game of Thrones: War for Westeros at the last Summer Games Fest. I expect this to be their best-selling RTS so far. King Art Games is releasing a new WarHammer 40k RTS in 2026. This series has a consistent audience. Relic Entertainment is experimenting with faster development cycles, and they have a long history with RTS. I believe that Relic will make games that deserve attention, even if I'm mindful that faster also usually means smaller. Slipgate Ironworks took a smart approach: focus on an established audience, an established formula, and keep the budget modest. I expect them to stick to this playbook, and they deserve credit for executing well. There are a plethora of other studios working independently. BAR and Broken Arrow have passionate communities. Starlance is punching above their weight. Sunspear is still cooking. Petroglyph continues to adapt. Day9 is brewing something. Blackbird, Shiro, Oxide, Northplay... dozens of other independent studios are continuing to innovate. Could one of these be disruptive? It's certainly possible. Sometimes innovation comes from scrappiness. But everyone is facing similar funding challenges right now, and funding tends to impact potential. I believe that RTS will continue at its current modest scale until someone can take another big swing that connects. Meanwhile, please support the work from all these studios -- long live RTS!

What if your Platinum trophy wasn’t just text on a screen, but something you could hold in your hands? Sony is experimenting with exactly that, as Simon Pulman highlighted. They’re piloting a system where players can only buy collectibles if they’ve unlocked specific in-game trophies. In Ghost of Tsushima, for example, you need the “Mono No Aware” or “Living Legend” trophies before you can even access the merch store. Why this works: Exclusivity is earned. Access isn’t about the biggest wallet, it’s about the hours of effort, mastery, and persistence. That instantly raises the perceived value. Collectibles extend gameplay. The trophy doesn’t just stay on your console, it unlocks a physical artifact that continues the story in the real world. Emotional connection. Fans aren’t buying fabric or plastic. They’re buying a reminder of who they were when they earned it, the late nights, the failed attempts, the rush of finally seeing that trophy pop. That memory is what gives the object its power. This is clever because it ties merchandise directly to the emotional arc of the player journey. It’s not a T-shirt, it’s proof of mastery. For smaller and mid-size studios, this approach is absolutely possible, but it does require the right resources and partners: - Integration between game systems and fulfillment, -Authentic product design that reflects the IP’s DNA, - Logistics partners who can deliver globally. It’s not easy, and that’s exactly why it stands out. Sony is pointing toward a future where digital progression and physical rewards are seamlessly linked. Studios that find scalable ways to build that bridge, even at a smaller scale, will create collectibles that aren’t just products, but personal stories fans keep forever.

Can background music work by doing almost nothing? In sandbox and open-world games, the best soundtrack is often one that steps aside, detached from mechanics, yet deeply connected to the mood. This concept piece is built around a delicate piano interlude, supported by subtle synth strings and mellow Lo-Fi textures. The “nothingness” becomes its strength: music that doesn’t push, but accompanies, letting the game world breathe. This Minecraft-inspired music works perfectly for sandbox games, immersive open-world experiences, and game music projects, where background music must feel more like a companion than a driver. 👉 Check the first comment for my gig link if you’d like to explore original Lo-Fi video game soundtracks tailored for your project.

Video Games Are Becoming Hollywood’s Strongest IP — and Driving Gameplay in Return What started as Hollywood chasing Gen Z’s gaming obsession has become a self-reinforcing cycle. According to new Ampere Analysis data, video game adaptations don’t just bring stories to new screens—they send millions back into the games themselves. Some eye-opening numbers: 🎮 Amazon’s Fallout series created 14M new game players — 80% of whom had never played before 🎮 TV adaptations drive 203% player growth vs. films’ 48% 🎮 Even Netflix’s modestly received Devil May Cry delivered a 358% surge in gameplay 🎮 HBO’s The Last of Us brought in 4M new gamers And this is only the beginning. With Call of Duty, Street Fighter, Metal Gear Solid, and Elden Ring adaptations on the way, the cycle is accelerating. 👉 The lesson for brands: Video games aren’t just the next big IP frontier—they’re ecosystems. 🎬 Adaptations don’t just monetize fandom, they manufacture new fans. 🕹️ Screen exposure doesn’t dilute gameplay—it supercharges it. 📺 Games aren’t just another content category—they’re the cultural engine driving TV, film, and beyond. Hollywood once thought it was borrowing relevance from gaming. Turns out, it’s fueling it.

Dream Games has made a highly strategic move by introducing the 2x Multiplier Token in Royal Match, shifting the double-reward mechanism from a timed window to a consumable, per-level accelerator. This change fundamentally alters player demand, moving from the pressure of a session countdown to the strategic management of a banked inventory. The token’s primary impact on monetization is the creation of a new, orthogonal revenue vector targeting successful clears, which constitute the majority (60–70%) of playtime previously under-monetized. It complements the existing near-miss spend on extra moves, adding a second scalable sink without introducing a complex secondary hard currency. This consumable allows for price discrimination—small packs for casual users and large stacks for competitive bracket climbers—enabling ARPPU uplift while maintaining the game's simple economic structure. From a LiveOps and design perspective, the token provides a level of deterministic control that the timed boosters lacked. A token guarantees 2× output on one level clear, giving designers a precise, stable knob for calibrating event speeds and progression tracks. They can now manage the pace of seasons, passes, and album collections purely by adjusting the token's drop rates and pricing, rather than risking economy churn by constantly re-tuning base rewards. The core long-term risk of the 2× Multiplier Token is the potential for Feature Creep and Event Inflation. By designing events around the accelerated progress enabled by this, the developers must continuously raise the milestone requirements to challenge paying players. This action fundamentally devalues the base 1× reward rate, making it feel like a slow "tax on progress" for non-paying users, which ultimately risks their long-term engagement and retention.

(Press Start) The screen I recall from several of Electronic Arts (EA) games growing up in the 2000's. There's a very interesting thread in this week's Electronic Arts LBO that I've been noodling on. Societal shifts take shape over time. It used to be that faith, folklore, history and other agents played a big role in how the social side of our society was defined - and they still do play a role. Then came sports - and of course innovation. The industrial revolution. The age of the internet, mobile and so on. The other agent at play? Gaming. It has played and continues to play an increasingly key role in modern entertainment. We're closing in on 50% of the global population as part of the global gaming DAU. Quietly but consistently, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) has been making a bet that gaming will continue to play a key role in how the social / entertainment side of society will evolve. They made a growing number of bets on gaming - in Niantic, Embraced Group, Nintendo, Activision Blizzard, Take-Two interactive, Capcom and so on. Now, they've made a bet on the 800 LB gorilla in the space taking a majority stake in EA. The Saudi economy played a key role in shaping the world through oil production....and now, there's another bet expecting to play a key role, through gaming. Whether or not AI will be a boon or a bane for EA's gaming library remains to be seen - but it's clear that one party is making a bigger bet in gaming than others.

Snark Attack!!?? The usually reserved Finnish games industry bit back against some media trash talking this week on the opening panel of Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki! The spicy exchange came from a panel of experienced Finnish games professionals including Small Giant Games, Critical Force, MiTale, NeoGames and the IGDA, and at one point even included a rhetorical reference to the number of products that expert critics had shipped of late, "How many games? Was it zero?" Ouch! Whilst there was a typically Finnish candid approach to industry challenges, (changing business models, a tougher investment landscape, increased competition and cost, and the somewhat mystifying slowdown of the previously excellent government support), the mainstay was a passionate takedown of some wilder remarks made recently about their Industry. Contrary to claims made in posts by Deconstructor Of Fun's Michail Katkoff, some of which were read out on stage, the panel countered that: - A sizeable pool of talent very much remains and is not being 'sucked up by Supercell' (who are actively bringing in more new faces to the Finland) - Many of the 'old guard' senior figures who sold out have NOT retired but remain very much involved in existing or new companies - Investment IS happening (c. €80M pumped into 23 companies in 2024). - Finnish company business models have always been widely varied (not slavishly following Supercell's small teams model) and are adapting to new market realities Ultimately, the proof is in the pudding, and Finland remains a European leader in the mobile games market, alongside a healthy, award-winning PC/Console business. With both employees (4,300) and companies (270) sitting at record levels, the industry delivered a respectable €2.85 bn of turnover in 2024, (a number expected to rise in 25), and has added a collective €3.5bn of tax revenues to the Finnish govt coffers over the last decade (a remarkable return of 22x for every Euro the government invested in the sector). Crucially, this exchange very much set the tone for a busy, engaged and overall optimistic showcase of the regional industry and beyond - where new opportunities such as D2C, AI and Transmedia were enthusiastically embraced. TLDR version? There are obviously real challenges for the global games market, but contrary to media snark, rumours of the Finnish Games Industry decline have been wildly exaggerated! Hopefully that message was loud enough to be heard around the world... even in Athens? #pgconnects PocketGamer.biz