Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music have filed a lawsuit against Anthropic, claiming that the company used pirated songbooks and song lyrics from "shadow libraries" to train its AI model, Claude. The lawsuit cites approximately 7 million books obtained through torrent downloads and web scraping, including unauthorized sheet music and songbooks. The plaintiffs are seeking statutory damages of up to 0,000 for each work that is found to have been willfully infringed. The lawsuit was filed on August 28, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, naming Anthropic and its co-founders as defendants. The plaintiffs allege that the data sources used for training included 5 million books downloaded from Library Genesis and 2 million from Pirate Library Mirror, as well as scraped song lyrics from licensed platforms Musixmatch and LyricFind. The use of BitTorrent for downloads introduces legal risks due to the simultaneous distribution of files. The lawsuit emphasizes the distinction between legally purchased and pirated materials, with prior cases indicating that downloads from pirate libraries constitute significant copyright infringement.
Cyberpunk 2077 was initially unsuccessful, plagued by bugs and glitches, particularly on PlayStation 4, leading to its removal from the PlayStation Store by Sony. After being reinstated six months later, it came with a warning about ongoing issues. CD Projekt Red's co-CEO Michał Nowakowski noted that the studio's ambition to develop the game primarily for PC contributed to its rocky launch, as they underestimated the challenges of scaling it for consoles. Learning from this experience, CD Projekt Red is adopting a more cautious approach for The Witcher 4, ensuring smooth performance across all platforms and addressing any issues before proceeding. The targeted release for The Witcher 4 is set for 2028, with a focus on quality and stability.
A hacker known as levarrishawk has decrypted the game assets of the Star Wars Galaxies Legends community server, raising concerns among developers and players. The Legends team confirmed that he used AI tools to access client-side game asset files, which include unique content from the server. Levarris has offered these decrypted files to other servers, and the team warned that any Legends-exclusive content appearing elsewhere may have originated from their assets. Levarris claims his motivations stem from a dispute regarding the use of development tools obtained through a "honeypot" scheme related to the original game. He criticized the Legends project for not sharing these tools with other developers in the community. Reactions within the community have been mixed, with some expressing disappointment in Levarris's actions.
The gaming industry is experiencing a surge in high-profile releases, including Grand Theft Auto 6, Control Resonant, Ace Combat 8, and Modern Warfare 4. However, the cost of entry has increased significantly, with flagship consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X now priced at least 0 above their launch prices. Microsoft is reportedly losing 0 per console sold, and the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 is expected to see a price increase. A shortage of memory and storage, driven by AI demands, has made essential gaming hardware more expensive. Mobile gaming and PC gaming are also affected, with graphics card prices projected to rise by 20% to 30%. The term “RAMageddon” has emerged to describe the doubling of memory prices since late 2025. Major companies like Microsoft and Sony are facing disappointing hardware sales, with projections of an 11% decline in PC shipments by 2026. The traditional model of game ownership is shifting towards a rental-like system, with digital sales tying ownership to accounts and licenses. Concerns about game accessibility have grown, leading to the Stop Killing Games movement. Nintendo's introduction of Game-Key Cards for resale has raised questions about long-term access, while Sony plans to end production of physical game discs by 2028. The average cost of AAA games has risen, with new titles like Mario Kart World for the Switch 2 priced at . Cloud gaming and subscription services further complicate ownership, as game availability is contingent on licensing agreements.
Commodore is set to launch the Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection, featuring the original six titles from the series, reimagined for modern platforms including PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Switch 2. The collection includes enhancements such as dual-stick control support, new game modes (Horde and co-op Rush), save states, screen filters, and rumble support. The titles included are Alien Breed, Alien Breed: Special Edition 92, Alien Breed 2: The Horror Continues, Alien Breed: Tower Assault, Alien Breed: 3D, and The Killing Grounds. A virtual museum will also be part of the collection, showcasing original media and insights into cancelled projects. The release is scheduled for September 24 on Steam, GoG, and the Epic Games Store, with availability on Xbox and PlayStation, while Nintendo Switch users will see it in Fall 2026. The collection will not be available for current or historical Commodore hardware.
Sony plans to phase out physical media for PlayStation consoles by 2028, leading to backlash from gamers concerned about the implications of a fully digital future. The transition raises questions about accessibility, ownership, and nostalgia for physical game collections.
A leaker known as "CyberLeek" has released gameplay clips of Grand Theft Auto VI, suggesting access to a playable build of the game. The clips feature a character named Jason engaging in various activities, including combat and piloting a plane. The game will include a dialogue system similar to Red Dead Redemption 2 and a new fuel depletion mechanic for vehicles. Take-Two Interactive's stock briefly declined due to the leaks but later rebounded. Files claiming to be the playable build have appeared on torrent sites, likely malicious. Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled for release on November 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles, with an official gameplay preview set to debut on Netflix on August 27. A PC version is expected to be released at a later date.
Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls has faced significant criticism since its PC release due to performance issues, including stuttering frame rates and network problems. A patch was issued, but many players still experienced difficulties. The console version has not encountered these issues, leading to speculation that the DRM in the Steam version may be causing high CPU usage. A cracked, DRM-free version has emerged, reportedly offering better performance, with players noting it is less taxing on CPUs and runs smoothly even on lower-end hardware. Social media has highlighted a nearly 40 FPS difference between the two versions. Concurrent player counts on Steam have dropped from a peak of 24,498 to 5,249 shortly after launch, as some players turn to the cracked version, which does not support online matchmaking. This situation raises concerns about the impact of DRM on gaming performance and could affect PC sales and the overall player base. The Marvel Tōkon social media account has indicated that further fixes for the PC version are forthcoming, but inquiries to Sony remain unanswered.
Sony will phase out physical discs for new PlayStation titles starting January 2028. GOG reassures gamers of ownership rights, allowing them to own and preserve purchased games on physical media. The Tomb Raider I-VI Remastered bundle is available for purchase, featuring enhanced versions of the classic series. All games on GOG are DRM-free, enabling players to download and burn titles onto discs. The process for burning games involves logging into the GOG library, downloading the offline installer, and burning the game file onto a disc. GOG also offers alternatives for game storage, such as external hard drives and cloud storage, ensuring long-term ownership without reliance on a launcher or internet connection. GOG has a selection of over 5,200 DRM-free games available for purchase.
