GameRiot - Gaming News in 5 Minutes

Next Edition

Today's briefing is locked—14 stories, 2 running hot.

consumer rightslegislationdigital ownership

US Lawmaker Proposes "Power To The Players Act" to Protect Video Game Ownership

US Representative Ritchie Torres is set to introduce new congressional legislation aimed at fundamentally changing how digital video game purchases work in America. Dubbed the "Power To The Players Act," the bill targets the widespread industry practice of selling games as licenses rather than true purchases, with Torres arguing that consumers are effectively being handed "rentals disguised as sales." His position is clear: "When you pay for a game, you should own it."

16h ago

Trending

BDS BoycottHouse HouseBig Walk

Big Walk Is Skipping Xbox Because of the Pro-Palestinian BDS Boycott

Melbourne-based developer House House, best known for Untitled Goose Game, has confirmed that its cooperative puzzle-adventure game Big Walk will not be released on Xbox. The studio cited its support for the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which lists Microsoft as a priority boycott target. Big Walk launched on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC, but House House says it will withhold an Xbox release until Microsoft is removed from the BDS priority list.

16h ago

Trending

GTA 6Rockstar GamesTrailers

GTA 6 Launch Trailer Drops Over a Month Before November Release

Rockstar Games has surprised fans by dropping the official launch trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 on October 15, 2026, more than a month ahead of the game's November 19 release date. The roughly 90-second trailer, set to original music from French electronic duo Justice, showcases the sun-soaked state of Leonida and puts protagonists Jason and Lucia front and center. Highlights include high-flying heists, a tense police chase, and more than a few steamy moments between the two leads, including a shower scene that has quickly become the talk of the internet.

16h ago

Trending

PlayStation PlusPS PlusMafia The Old Country

PlayStation Plus October 2026 Lineup Announced with Mafia: The Old Country

Sony has confirmed the PlayStation Plus game catalog additions for October 2026, and by most accounts it is one of the strongest monthly lineups the service has seen in quite some time. Headlining the Extra and Premium catalog is Mafia: The Old Country, the newest entry in 2K's beloved crime saga, joined by co-op fungal shooter Mycopunk, Tales of Arise, and the return of Horizon Forbidden West, which is coming back to the service after a previous stint. Rounding out the spooky-season additions is Poppy Playtime, making October's slate feel like a well-curated Halloween treat for subscribers across both tiers.

1d ago

game preservationdecompilationAI

AI Decompilation Wave Forces Major Community Tool to Shut Down

A wave of low-effort, AI-generated decompilation projects has dealt a serious blow to the game preservation and modding community, ultimately forcing a major community decompilation tool to announce its shutdown. Over the past month, gaming social media has been flooded with reports of bad actors using artificial intelligence to rapidly decompile, port, and reproduce game code with minimal effort or understanding, overwhelming community spaces that were built around collaborative, high-quality reverse engineering work. The tool's maintainers cited this surge of AI-assisted abuse as having fundamentally broken the community spirit that made their platform worth running in the first place.

16h ago

See all stories today