Good morning!

I hope your coffee’s strong, your backlog’s ignored, and your Battlefront II aim is still cracked, because we’ve got a stacked one this week.

In this edition, we’ve got:

• A full-on redemption arc for Battlefront II (yes, seriously)

• CDPR flexing harder than a Witcher on leg day

• And DOOM: The Dark Ages proving Game Pass ≠ profit

It’s a chaotic week in gaming, and I’m here to break it all down for you.

Let’s get into it. 👇

TOP STORY

Battlefront II: The Comeback Nobody Ordered... But We’re Glad It Happened

You remember Star Wars Battlefront II, right? That game from 2017 that EA basically lit on fire and rolled through the streets while shouting “PRIDE AND ACCOMPLISHMENT!” Yeah, that one.

Well... it’s back.

How big is the comeback?

• Player counts have allegedly hit 150k+ across all platforms.

• Yes, in 2025. For a game that launched in 2017.

• Game Pass, Steam, console… it’s popping off everywhere.

A quick history lesson (for the younglings)

At launch, Battlefront II was a textbook example of corporate greed speedrunning PR disasters. The core issue?

👉 Loot crates that made Vader pay-to-win.

You either paid real cash for OP star cards or you grinded like a medieval serf. People lost it, governments got involved, Disney reportedly made some very angry calls, and EA panic-patched the whole thing into a slightly less predatory mess.

Also, shout out to the most downvoted Reddit comment of all time, courtesy of EA's "sense of pride and accomplishment" gem. Still iconic.

So... why’s it popular again?

• It’s actually a good game now. Like, really good.

• EA stripped out the monetization sludge and left behind a visually stunning, content-rich, Battlefield-but-with-lightsabers kind of game.

• Oh, and Andor has been crushing it on Disney+, probably helping fuel that Star Wars itch.

The bad news?

Progression is still a slow grind, and unless you’re rocking legendary star cards like the lifers, you’re gonna get Force-choked in multiplayer. But at least now it’s a fair fight (in theory).

What’s next for the series?

Some ex-devs want to remaster this game properly, fix the grind, polish the bones, repackage it for 2027 or so. Not a sequel, just Battlefront II: Less Screwed Edition. The idea kinda slaps, but let’s be real:

EA + Disney + expensive licensing = probably not happening.

But hey, if they dropped a Star Wars Helldivers-style game tomorrow, we’d all be in. Just... maybe don’t tie my Force powers to a credit card this time?

Check out my video on it below 👇

LATEST NEWS

GENERAL

• DOOM: The Dark Ages pulled a fast one, 3 million “players” sounds great ‘til you realize most paid $12 on Game Pass, not $70 retail. Less than a million actual copies sold. For DOOM. Yeah, that’s a faceplant for a franchise built on ripping and tearing. (via 80.lv)

• Wakanda… never. EA just snapped Black Panther out of existence before we even saw gameplay. Cliffhanger Games is gone, the project’s dead, and EA’s now laser-focused on Battlefield, Sims, and whatever Apex is still doing. Bold move, Cotton. (via TechRaptor)

QUICK LINKS

• Warhammer 40,000 Maker Games Workshop Is Doing So Well It’s Giving $27 Million to Its Staff.

• 70% of games with online requirements are doomed, according to Stop Killing Games survey.

• Baldur's Gate 3 dev calls Randy Pitchford's $80 Borderlands 4 comments "gross".

• The Battlefield subreddit's good vibes nosedive into outrage after DICE announces there'll be no class weapon restrictions in Battlefield 6.

• Kratos actor Christopher Judge says working on God of War "changed my whole perspective on the world" and "what it really means to be a man".

• Sony confirms discounts on PS5 consoles, accessories and software starting this week.

LATEST VIDEO

Cyberpunk 2 Is Real. CDPR's Rich. And We’re Eating Good.

CD Projekt Red just dropped their Q1 earnings report, and no shocker here, they're printing zloty. Like, "we didn’t launch anything major, and we still made bank" kind of rich.

🦾 The Headlines You Actually Care About:

• Cyberpunk 2 is officially in pre-production. The sequel to Night City’s glitchy glow-up is now a real thing, not just a Twitter dream.

• Phantom Liberty has sold over 10 million copies. For an expansion. That’s not just good, it’s “restore your faith in DLC” good.

• Witcher 3 just passed 60 million copies sold. That’s “move over, Skyrim” territory.

Also, apparently Cyberpunk 2077 runs shockingly well on the upcoming Switch 2. Yeah, we were shocked too.

And if you care about charts, dividends, and corporate flexing, CDPR’s financials are straight-up obnoxious in the best way. Net profit margins? Thicc. Dev headcount? Growing. Confidence? High. Ego? Deserved.

🎥 Want the full breakdown? Watch the video here.

WHAT’S TRENDING?

via sullygnome.com

MOST POPULAR:

The Twitch throne is still held by Just Chatting, though it's losing a bit of steam. Elsewhere, the usual gaming suspects are still pulling serious eyeballs:

🥇 Just Chatting – 54,072,015 hours watched (📉 -8.8%)
🥈 League of Legends – 20,762,972 hours watched (📈 +24.2%)
🥉 Grand Theft Auto V – 18,517,686 hours watched (📉 -7.7%)
🎯 Counter-Strike – 14,125,702 hours watched (📉 -38.4%)
🎓 Streamer University – 27,030,729 hours watched (📈 +Infinity, basically)

Side note: Streamer University came outta nowhere and absolutely melted faces this week. That’s a +27 million jump in hours. Unreal.

TRENDING:

These titles are having their moment, big gains, wild surges, and surprising resurrections:

🎓 Streamer University – +27M hours (Yep. Still real. Still exploding.)
🔥 Dota 2 – +4.3M hours (📈 +50.0%) (TI-hype in May? Why not.)
🌐 IRL – +2.8M hours (📈 +52.1%) (Backpack streamers eating again)
🎉 Special Events – +2.1M hours (📈 +99.0%) (What were the events? Doesn’t matter. People watched.)
👑 League of Legends – +4.1M hours (📈 +24.2%) (LoL refuses to die.)