Microsoft Closing Studios, Switch 2 Reveal, In-Game Ads for EA

In this week's Gaming Fun Fact, we explore the days before the internet was widespread, but gaming was still alive and well. Today we push updates to our games all the time, to fix problems of all sizes, and even to overhaul entire experiences. But before high-speed internet, how did games get updated? Microsoft has closed down a collection of studios including Arkane Austin - the creator of Redfall, Tango Gameworks - the maker of The Evil Within and Hi-Fi Rush, as well as mobile developer Alpha Dog Games. This news comes as a sudden surprise to many, especially for Tango Gameworks given their recent success with Hi-Fi Rush. Nintendo has finally broken their silence on the Switch successor, presumably named the Switch 2, will be unveiled before April 2025 - according to Nintendo's President Suntaro Furukawa the reveal will happen within this fiscal year. EA is considering the addition of in-game ads within their AAA titles. As ads are working their way into more of our day-to-day experiences like Windows 11 and Prime Video, it seems only as natural as it is unfortunate that video games would befall the same fate. During a May 7th earnings call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson answered a question regarding "dynamic ad insertion" within their top-of-the-line experiences to which he responded that he sees advertising in games as a "meaningful driver of growth" but he wants to be "thoughtful" about how these potential ads could be implemented.