The recent PlayStation blackout boycott reportedly had no "significant" change in player engagement with the platform, according to an analyst.
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Last month, fans organized a boycott against PlayStation for the last week of August as a way of protesting the company's decision to abandon physical media. The boycott asked players to avoid playing their PlayStation, make purchases on the console, or renew any subscriptions to services like PlayStation Plus. Many questioned how effective this would actually be, given the blackout overlapped with the gameplay reveal of GTA 6, which would inevitably drive pre-orders for the game, and the beta for Modern Warfare 4.
As it turns out, it apparently wasn't very impactful. Circana analyst Matt Piscatella noted that the company saw no significant changes in player counts or overall platform engagement on PlayStation during this period. No numbers or hard data were provided on what changes there might've been, but it appears to be negligible. This may come as disappointing news to those who are trying to make their voices heard.
As of right now, it seems unlikely PlayStation is going to back down on its stance regarding physical games, especially as Grand Theft Auto VI likely won't suffer from a lack of a disc. Rumors have suggested that the next Xbox console was planned to have a disc drive prior to the recent "reset." If that's still the plan, Xbox may try to fill the hole left in the physical market with its next console. Microsoft is staying tight-lipped on how it plans to approach physical media with its next-gen console, but it has started implementing features that let players digitize their physical libraries.
Next year will be the final year for PlayStation's support of physical media, meaning games like God of War Laufey and potentially Intergalactic: Heretic Prophet will be the last physical PlayStation exclusives. Maybe something will change, but you probably shouldn't hold your breath.
Cade Onder
Freelance Writer
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
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The King Is Watching developers Hypnohead have announced The Crab Is Walking, a roguelite city-builder in which you alternate between arranging tetromino-shaped city districts on the back of a colossal crustacean, and sending out armies of Mad Maxalots to slaughter wasteland insects. Unlike in The King Is Watching, you do not have to actively train your gaze on your crab metropolis to stop it slacking off.
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I am amusing myself imagining the cycles of brainstorming that led from one game's setup to the other. "The King Is Wattling? The King is Swatching? The King Is Walking? Nonsense, Kings do not walk, they have sedan chairs. Hang on, what other things can be Kings? Lions? Ridiculous, you could never build a city on a lion – their spines are too narrow. Crabs though? Crabs have nice flat backs." I must point out that the developers appear to have already gotten bored with their own premise - one of the monstrous scuttling cities in the screenshots is actually a spider. Such a slap in the face for carcinologists! Here's a trailer.
They're promising "deep strategy combined with short runs". Each run you pick a different Ride to found a settlement on, and a different Rider to lead your folks into battle against the post-apocalyptic wildlife. Each Ride/Rider combo is productive of different playstyles. "Play to your advantages, work with your weaknesses, and find the pair that works for you," the devs advise. "The rabbit was fast. The turtle was persistent. You have a giant crab." OK, Hypnohead, are you referencing a proverb or can I build a city on a rabbit in this game? Because if that's the case, I'm going to report you for false advertising.
Between battles with the chittering wretches of the vast sandy nothing, you'll arrange and combine districts on a grid to either increase production, fuel your Ride, or bolster your army. I'm not sure how the combat aspect works, exactly, but it looks like an autobattler in the trailer.
In a Steam blog post, Hypnohead address the question of why they aren't (currently) making The King Is Watching 2. "We’re still working on The King is Watching and releasing new content for it, so this isn’t the time for a sequel," they comment. "Our next update will focus more heavily on gameplay variety, and we already have a rather large folder full of ideas for where its central mechanic could go next. We also understand much better what players enjoy about the game, and we’ll be carrying those lessons into everything we make from here. So, who knows? Perhaps one day that folder will become something more…"
They add that "The Crab is Walking gives us room to attempt things that weren’t possible or practical in The King is Watching," which might sound farcical out of context, but is actually about how they've come along as artists and designers. "We’re working with a different resolution, allowing for more detailed pixel art and more elaborate animations," the devs go on. "We’re also introducing more sophisticated unit behaviour, combat statistics, and a more convenient, polished interface."
The Crab Is Walking has no release date yet, but playtests will begin in 2027. Clawsome! Read more on Steam.
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Sydney Sweeney's nearly nude ad is drawing backlash — but she might have the last laugh
Analysis by
James Faris
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Sydney Sweeney has a history of provocative work.
Chris Delmas / AFP via Getty Images
Sydney Sweeney's nearly nude ad campaign has been met with backlash — but the stunt could pay off for sports prediction app Novig, an upstart looking to rival giants Kalshi and Polymarket.
The ad campaign shows the "Euphoria" and "The White Lotus" star, bare aside from some strategically placed sports equipment. Sweeney also took an equity stake in Novig, the company said.
Sydney Sweeney's partnership with Novig stirred up controversy.
Novig
The campaign was mocked online by "Saturday Night Live" alum Chloe Fineman and drew a wave of criticism, including from female Olympic athletes who said it sexualized women's sports.
"I can't describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this," wrote Ariarne Titmus, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, on her Instagram story, according to multiple outlets.
Nicky Vita, the head of strategy at advertising agency JOAN London, said the campaign felt "a bit lazy."
"You've used the oldest trick in the book, which is just: 'Sexy girl talking to men while looking super sexy,'" Vita said.
Still, for little-known Novig, betting on an age-old trope might have worked.
"Think of the audience: it is generally younger men, and sex sells," said Steve Schonberg, a New York-based marketing consultant.
Novig's social media mentions spiked more than ninefold after Sweeney's campaign was released, according to data firm Peak Metrics. Nearly half of the posts about it were neutral, and there were nearly twice as many favorable posts (32.8%) as unfavorable (17.5%). Peak Metrics looked at data from X, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Threads, and Bluesky.
"From an awareness point of view, the fact that people are talking about it days after launch is a good thing," Vita said. "A few days ago, who even knew about Novig?"
Sweeney has become known for provocative work, both in scripted projects and in the ad world. She raised eyebrows with her "great jeans" ad with American Eagle last summer. Despite online blowback, American Eagle's CEO said the clothing brand saw "business growth" after its ad campaign with Sweeney. Months later, American Eagle ran a follow-up campaign that alluded to the original.
Can Novig capitalize on a short-term publicity boost?
Novig started in 2021, and this year it closed a $75 million Series B funding round that valued it at $500 million, the company said.
Far more people have heard of Novig now that its logo has appeared next to a mostly nude Sweeney, though there's a big difference between creating social media buzz and bringing in new customers.
"It will be interesting to see if Novig can translate this big ad moment into sustained interest," said Jessica Pratt, Peak Metrics' VP of marketing.
Most of the social media conversation about Novig's campaign focused on Sweeney, as Peak Metrics found that only 4% of posts were about the sports prediction app itself.
Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky told Front Office Sports in an interview that the Sweeney campaign was a big bet that made up "the bulk of our marketing dollars going into football season." Fortinsky didn't specify how much the company was paying Sweeney or spending on this ad.
One risk: Novig's marketing stunt could hurt its brand credibility and trust, especially among women.
"There's a difference between awareness and credibility," Schonberg said.
That said, Sweeney's new ad hasn't caused as much of an uproar as her American Eagle jeans one, which became a flash point in the culture wars. Critics called the ad a racist dog whistle. The brand denied this, and the outsize publicity coincided with a rise in the company's stock price and earnings.
When risky ads stir up controversy, CMOs should "look at hard facts as opposed to just listening to social media and the mainstream media," American Eagle CMO Craig Brommers previously told Business Insider.
"I do think that 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans' will be on my marketing gravestone — it is a once-in-a-lifetime campaign," Brommers said.
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James Faris
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The companies had accused Apple of favouring OpenAI’s ChatGPT over rival AI chatbots.
Elon Musk’s X Corp and SpaceXAI have dropped their antitrust lawsuit against Apple, ending a legal challenge that accused the iPhone maker of conspiring with OpenAI to shut rivals out of the generative artificial intelligence market.
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The companies said in a court filing on Monday that they had moved to dismiss their claims against Apple. The filing did not give a reason for the decision or say whether the parties had reached a settlement.
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The lawsuit, filed in August 2025 in United States federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, accused Apple and OpenAI of violating US antitrust law through an agreement that made ChatGPT the only generative AI chatbot integrated into Apple’s iPhone operating system.
X and SpaceXAI, which develops the Grok chatbot, argued that Apple’s arrangement gave ChatGPT access to billions of potential user prompts through features including Siri, Apple’s Writing Tools and the iPhone camera. They said the deal deprived competing AI companies of access to users and made it harder for rivals to build scale.
The companies also alleged that Apple disadvantaged competing AI chatbots through its App Store, including delaying app reviews and manipulating rankings.
In its complaint, X and SpaceXAI said Apple and OpenAI had effectively combined their positions in the smartphone and AI markets to reinforce each other’s dominance, accusing the defendants of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act and Texas antitrust law.
Apple and OpenAI separately sought to have the lawsuit dismissed last year. US District Judge Mark Pittman rejected both motions in November, allowing the case to proceed.
OpenAI accused Musk of waging a “campaign of lawfare” against the company in a court filing. Musk has pursued several legal challenges against OpenAI, including a separate lawsuit that alleged the company had abandoned its original mission to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity rather than for profit. OpenAI defeated that lawsuit in May.
X and SpaceXAI said on Monday that they would continue pursuing their claims against OpenAI, which remains a defendant in the case. They did not explain why they were abandoning their claims against Apple.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer application in history in the months following its launch in late 2022. %!s()
The day after the Premier League’s Manchester derby, one of the biggest games in club football, the conversation is not dominated by the teams’ performances or players’ individual brilliance but by a controversial refereeing decision that allowed a seemingly offside goal to be overturned.
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Erling Haaland’s controversially awarded goal for Manchester United in Sunday’s derby at Manchester United bagged his team three vital points and, more importantly, bragging rights over their rivals.
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The result left thousands in the red half of Manchester feeling cheated and the plot thickened later in the day when the refereeing body revealed that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) made the wrong call.
The 2026-27 Premier League season has barely completed its first month, but it is not wonder goals or last-minute saves making the headlines. Instead, VAR is the most hotly contested debate among fans, experts and managers who feel hard done by the use of technology.
Current and former United players, including club legend Wayne Rooney, labelled the use of VAR “horrendous”, while football experts told Al Jazeera the technology has become “far too dominant” in decision-making.
So how did we get here and what’s the fuss about VAR in the modern game? Al Jazeera Sport breaks it down:
What is VAR and how does it work?
VAR is a refereeing support tool designed to enable the checking, reviewing and correction of clear and obvious errors during a match, according to FIFA.
Football’s global governing body introduced the technology that is now used in over 300 competitions worldwide.
It was intended to be a combination of human expertise and technological accuracy, but has instead become a sour topic in football circles.
A dedicated team of video match officials (VARs) review decisions made by the on-field referee and speak directly with the match official via an audio communication system before a conclusion is reached.
First used in 2018-19, the VAR technology relies on video replays and reviews decisions related to four categories: goals, penalty decisions, direct red card incidents and mistaken identity.
VAR reviews Erling Haaland’s goal during the Manchester derby on Sunday [Michael Regan/Getty Images]
What was the VAR controversy in the Manchester derby?
During the season’s first Manchester derby at Old Trafford, with City down to 10 players, striker Haaland scored in the 60th minute, slotting home at the back post from Josko Gvardiol’s cross.
The linesman initially disallowed the goal, suggesting Haaland was offside, but VAR overturned that decision, which caused controversy and left United fans furious.
While Haaland was played onside by Patrick Dorgu’s boot, his City teammate Enzo Fernandez, who dived to try to head the ball before Haaland, was in an offside position.
Replays showed Fernandez did not touch the ball, so the goal was given and it eventually proved to be the game-changer.
What was VAR’s explanation?
Premier League Match Centre posted on X after the goal to say the VAR “determined that Haaland was in an onside position” and “deemed that while in an offside position, Fernandez didn’t play the ball”.
Did Pro Ref admit the VAR mistake?
The refereeing body, Professional Game Referees (Pro Ref), admitted that the decision to allow Haaland’s goal was an “error of judgment”.
It said that VAR “did not recognise the likely impact” of Haaland’s teammate Fernandez, who attempted to head the ball from an offside position.
“The on-field decision was offside against Erling Haaland – that was checked by VAR and he was found to be in an onside position,” the statement said.
“In the same attack, it was established that Enzo Fernandez did not play the ball and therefore that makes any offside offence subjective. However, on this occasion, the VAR did not recognise the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review.
“Contact has been made with Manchester United this evening to acknowledge what we deem is an error of judgment. A review of the incident will take place.”
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland scored his goal from close range [Scott Heppell/Reuters]
Will football leagues stop using VAR?
Despite the wide-ranging criticism and repetitive errors, the use of technology is here to stay.
Al Jazeera has sought confirmation that VAR will continue to be used across all Premier League fixtures for the ongoing season and understands there will be no change.
What do the experts have to say?
Former United forward Rooney, who played for the Reds between 2004 and 2017, said the goal was “surely offside”, adding that Martinez was impacted by Fernandez’s movement.
“I am so sick of VAR,” Rooney said on the BBC’s Match Of The Day.
“It is horrendous; it takes all the emotion out of the game and to not see it… anyone who has played the game recognises he is offside. To get it so wrong is baffling.”
Gary Neville, former United captain who is a TV pundit for Sky Sports, said he expects a “massive inquest into the goal, which I think was wrongly given”. He added the decision left him so confused that he “needed the offside rule explained” to him.
Meanwhile, others have called for a “balance” in the use of VAR.
“VAR has become far too dominant in decision-making; the referee should be the primary decision-maker and should decide when he needs assistance with a call,” football presenter Joe Morrison told Al Jazeera.
He called for an increased use of pitch-side monitors by referees.
“He [referee] is out there in the middle, he is in the ‘zone’ and understands the context of what is happening around him instead of someone sitting remotely in a room in Stockley Park, West London,” said Morrison.
Should referees be held accountable for VAR errors?
Football expert Morrison thinks the best way of making VAR and referees more accountable for their controversial or incorrect calls is to make their decisions public.
“Both live on the field of play like rugby, and post-match. I would even start a post-match debrief with journalists as a matter of course,” he added.
How did Manchester United react?
Manchester United boss Michael Carrick was angry and baffled by the decision.
“I just don’t get it, I really don’t get it. I can’t understand how we’re trying to help referees, putting so many layers behind them, so many people, bodies and screens, and they can’t make the right decision,” Carrick told a post-match media conference.
Lisandro Martinez, the United defender at the centre of the controversy, said he was clearly impacted by the presence of his international teammate Fernandez and branded the goal an “injustice”.
“I went to him because he was in front of me. That’s why Haaland was free at the back,” Martinez told Sky Sports. “Five or six people [officials] doing this kind of mistake in the Premier League is unacceptable.
“We have to go home with this injustice.”
Michael Carrick’s Manchester United have slipped to 13th in the league standings [Carl Recine/Getty Images]
Has VAR caused more drama this season?
Yes. In the same match week, Arsenal conceded a penalty early in the second half of their 2-0 win over Sunderland after Ezri Konsa was penalised for wrestling Dan Ballard to the floor in the box.
Referee John Brooks awarded a penalty and the decision was checked and confirmed by VAR.
Although goalkeeper Raya went on to save Enzo Le Fee’s spot-kick, Arsenal boss Arteta was furious as pictures showed Ballard was also pulling Konsa as the pair fell to the ground inside the box. On Monday morning, British media reported Arsenal will contact Pro Ref over the incident.
“We have to go through what was done today that, in my opinion, is not acceptable,” said Arteta. “I watched it 20 times, and I cannot find a way to understand how they think to give a penalty in that situation or the way the VAR has not intervened.”
Earlier, questions were raised about VAR’s decision to allow Harry Maguire’s goal to stand in Man United’s 5-2 thrashing of Ipswich Town despite the ball coming off his arm, while manager Oliver Glasner said VAR should not have intervened to rule out a potentially match-winning goal from Neco Williams in Nottingham Forest’s 0-0 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
What do fans think of VAR?
When the Premier League introduced VAR in the 2019-2020 season, it said the reason was to curb mistakes that can change the outcome of a match, but seven years later, more than 75 percent of fans do not support the continued use of VAR, a survey by a football supporters group found in March.
The survey saw almost 8,000 fans of top-flight clubs participate and results showed that 75.7 percent did not support the use of VAR in football, with 91.7 percent saying VAR had removed the spontaneous joy of goal celebrations. %!s()
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