Disclaimer: I am about to opine about football. Please ignore this entire introduction if you have zero interest in hearing my bristling thoughts on the England national team.
We have liftoff. England 4, Croatia 2. A positively titillating performance from Thomas Tuchel’s ravenous Three Lions, who lived up to their namesake by tearing the opposition apart like a tender lump of porterhouse.
Alright, I might be getting slightly carried away, but England have a penchant for putting fans through the wringer. During the first half, they managed to do precisely that. A penalty only scored on the second attempt. Two goals conceded (but you have to credit Croatia for bagging at least one banger).
Was it going to be a case of ‘same old, same old’ in Dallas. A good performance but nothing to show for it? Not this time. Jude Bellingham saw to that mere minutes into a blistering second half with a fine finish into the bottom corner. England could have score five or six had Croatian keeper Dominik Livaković not been possessed by the patron saint of world-class saves.
There was a sense of inevitably with every England attack that finally burst into reality when Marcus Rashford finished off a sublime counter. Is it coming home? Not quite. But this was an England team filled with desire, intent, resolve, and dare I say it, belief—one determined to play on the front foot no matter the cost. Tuchel has made it clear that his team will win or lose on their own terms, and I suspect that means we’re in for quite the ride over the next few weeks. Ghana can’t come soon enough.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming!
via Game Developer // Rockstar suffered a setback in its bid to quash union busting allegations at a preliminary tribunal in the UK, with the company failing in its bid to have blacklisting claims thrown out ahead of a final trial that’s set to begin in October. UK union IWGB describes blacklisting as the “practice of compiling information about workers involved in union activity in order to discriminate against them.” One worker said the decision marks a “huge moment” for those ousted by the Grand Theft Auto maker last year.
via Game File // Sony has tweaked its description of PlayStation’s “business environment and strategy” in a new SEC filing to emphasise that it is very, very keen to leverage generative AI. “Sony is utilizing AI to unleash the creativity of studios and further enhance the PlayStation experience,” reads the updated section, which also warns about the impact of an ongoing memory crisis. More irony please.
via Bloomberg // Multiple Xbox studios are purportedly at risk of being shuttered with Microsoft reportedly preparing to make significant cuts in July. Sources have told Bloomberg that Double Fine and Compulsion Games are two studios at risk of closure, although it’s claimed they could still be given the chance to return to independence. It’s going to be a rough few weeks.
via Game Developer // Life is Strange developer Don’t Nod has confirmed that Tencent has pulled back as an investor in the short term, meaning it must now seek additional financing in order to ensure its survival. The company said it is currently “working on several levers” to extend its cash runway but acknowledged that securing financing remains “challenging.”
via VGC // Here’s a truly fascinating news item. The Shibuya ward in Tokyo is trying to convince Japanese citizens to send a portion of their taxes to the region by offering Final Fantasy 14 items in exchange for a contribution. I wonder whether I can convince Manchester City Council to dish out some Oasis merch in exchange for my regular donations?
via Game Developer // Epic is taking some big swings with Unreal Engine 6 (and I suspect there’s a chance developers won’t approve of them all). The company said the latest iteration of its popular engine will utilize Verse as its gameplay programming model in service of building “persistent, large-scale, live experiences with thousands of contributors.” It also claims content, code, and economics will become “portable and interoperable across games, ecosystems” through open standards, and explained generative AI tech such as Claude and Gemini will be integrated into the Unreal Engine 6 pipeline in a major way. Thoughts on a postcard, please.
via Game Developer // The UK government has announced a ban on social media for under 16s and confirmed that video games—which won’t be banned outright—will face some restrictions if they include “high-risk” features such as livestreaming or online chat functionality. It’s currently unclear which platforms will be impacted by the move. The ban is scheduled to come into effect in Spring 2027.
via Firezide Chat // Veteran reporter and GLHF content director Kirk McKeand has launched a new bi-weekly interview series focused on the fine art of conversation. So far, McKeand has delivered fascinating chinwags with industry figures including former Bethesda head of publishing Pete Hines, LookingForGame founder Lucy James, and Star Wars Battlefront II scribe Mitch Dyer.
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