 |
| (Image Source: Xsolla) |
Xsolla, a global video game commerce company, and GDC Festival of Gaming recently announced the renewal of the Diamond level partnership for 2027. Together, Xsolla and GDC are creating opportunities for collaboration and connections for the video game developer community in San Francisco, California, U.S.A. Part of that effort is featuring the Xsolla Clubhouse in the expanded GDC campus experience, where the two will host the GDC Scholarship Program Powered By Xsolla. The program brings 75 game developers to San Francisco on March 1-5, 2027 with their passes and hotels fully covered.
Xsolla Chief Marketing and Growth Officer Berkley Egenes described, “By expanding our partnership on the GDC Scholarship program to 75 studios, we are giving even more developers the opportunity to showcase what they are great at — creating incredible video game experiences for players around the world. We are honored to collaborate with Informa to feature the Xsolla Clubhouse within the GDC Festival of Gaming campus. Our vision is to build all the things to help video game developers build successful businesses by creating an all-inclusive ecosystem for the community.” The game industry's premier annual gathering brings together developers, publishers, and innovators from around the world. GDC 2027 represents an unparalleled opportunity for emerging talent and studios to connect with industry leaders, discover partnership opportunities, and accelerate their video game business. To ensure the next generation of game creators can access this transformative experience, Xsolla and GDC have partnered to remove financial barriers for 75 scholarship recipients. Each scholarship recipient will receive a GDC Festival Pass and four nights of hotel accommodations during the event, ensuring they can fully participate in the conference experience. Recipients will also be invited to a co-hosted luncheon at the Xsolla Clubhouse as part of the broader GDC Campus experience, which spans Moscone Center and nearby official partner spaces on Howard Street. Scheduled between conference sessions, the luncheon will feature welcome remarks from Xsolla and GDC leadership and create meaningful connections between scholarship recipients, mentors, and industry veterans.
“GDC Festival of Gaming is excited to collaborate with Xsolla to ensure this scholarship program offers true accessibility into the video games industry. By supporting emerging creators from every background, GDC and Xsolla are investing in the future of our industry and ensuring the next generation of storytellers have the resources and connections they need to succeed,” said GDC Festival of Gaming President Suzy Pallett. The scholarship program anchors Xsolla's presence at GDC 2027 as a renewed Diamond partner. As part of the expanded GDC Campus experience, Xsolla's Howard Street location will serve as a hub for scholarship recipients and attendees all week, complementing the core conference programming at Moscone Center. Xsolla will manage the entire application process, from submission through selection. Applications open October 1, 2026. Learn more at Xsolla.com or by visiting https://xsolla.pro/GDC2027.
* * * *
Wehype And Twitch Partnership Expands Sponsorship Opportunities For Twitch Affiliates
 |
| (Image Source: PocketGamer.biz/Twitch) |
Wehype has partnered with Twitch to bring additional gaming sponsorship opportunities directly into the Twitch Sponsorship Dashboard. The integration allows eligible creators to discover Wehype sponsorship opportunities directly within Twitch. From there, creators can opt into campaigns, access campaign briefs and complete the activation through the Wehype platform.
The partnership launches as Twitch expands sponsorship access to Affiliates globally. Twitch says the expansion follows strong demand demonstrated through recent Minecraft sponsorship campaigns where more than half of participating paid streamers were Affiliates. For game publishers, the integration creates a more scalable way to reach nano and micro creators, a segment that has historically required significant manual outreach and campaign administration. An EA sponsorship campaign for Battlefield 6 is already live through Wehype as part of the rollout, providing an immediate example of how publishers can use the integration to connect with Twitch creators at scale. “The Minecraft campaigns have already demonstrated the role Affiliate creators can play in paid sponsorship programmes. What this integration changes is how efficiently publishers can connect with those creators, while making relevant opportunities much easier for creators to discover and access,” said Wehype Co-Founder and CEO Robin Åström. The partnership represents a significant milestone in Wehype’s relationship with the Twitch ecosystem. In 2016, Wehype began integrating with the Twitch API to run some of its earliest creator campaigns. Ten years later, Wehype campaign opportunities can now be discovered directly inside Twitch itself.
Wehype Chief Commercial Officer Philip Hübner, a former Twitch employee, believes the expansion can be particularly meaningful for creators earlier in their careers, stating, “For smaller streamers, sponsorship opportunities can make a real difference in turning streaming from a passion into something sustainable. These creators have historically had fewer opportunities to work with brands, and bringing those opportunities directly into Twitch can remove a lot of that friction.” Last August 20, 2026, Twitch announced that sponsorship opportunities are expanding to Affiliates globally. Affiliates who meet campaign criteria and complete Twitch’s Creator Sponsorship Certification can now become eligible for sponsorship opportunities through the platform. As part of the announcement, Twitch also confirmed its partnership with Wehype to bring additional third-party sponsorship opportunities directly into the Sponsorship Dashboard.
* * * *
Second Stage Launches GAMEMARKETER, A Go-To-Market Intelligence Platform For Steam
 |
| (Image Source: YouTube/Second Stage) |
Second Stage, the marketing intelligence company behind the PC and console marketing analytics and attribution platform TRACKS and game landing page builder ReadySet, recently announced the launch of GAMEMARKETER, a go-to-market planning platform built specifically for games on Steam. Steam is the most competitive storefront in games, but most marketing on it still runs on guesswork. The answers, like who the real competitors are, who the audience is, and how a launch will pace, are scattered across tools or never gathered at all.
GAMEMARKETER brings it all into one workflow: from raw data to a campaign plan ready to ship. GAMEMARKETER runs on a proprietary Steam intelligence database built by Second Stage covering more than 170,000 titles and updated daily. Instead of just reporting Steam's public numbers, it turns them into what a marketer actually needs to decide: real competitors, audience cohorts, product-market fit, the channels and creators that reach your players, unclaimed opportunity in your genre, and what players are really saying in reviews, all grounded in demand, sales, and revenue estimates modeled from Steam signals. That database powers Analyst, the platform's AI companion. Ask it a question in plain language, and it answers from Second Stage's own data and a games-marketing knowledge base rather than the open web. It isn't locked in a chat window either: your team can ask it directly inside tools like Claude or wire it into their own AI agents. Analyst does the gathering and the first draft; the judgment stays with your team. “Studios are making six-figure launch decisions on instinct, because the evidence to do better was never in one place. GAMEMARKETER puts the numbers, the market context, and the plan into one workflow. It turns research that used to take weeks into minutes — and puts every game on Steam in context, without the tooling, budget, or analyst time that it used to take,” said Second Stage Co-Founder Matthias Mirlach.
GAMEMARKETER is now available at https://gamemarketer.gg. Try out the free tier now and monitor up to 15 games with daily-digest alerts, plus a Slack and Discord bot, and browse any Steam game’s public metrics. Paid plans start from $69 per month.
* * * *
Built For Pros, Made For Champions: Razer Viper V4 Pro Arrives In eSports Green
 |
 |
| The Razer Viper V4 Pro eSports Green (bottom), designed for elite professional gaming performance and trubitastically endorsed by eSports world champions such as Faker (top) (Image Source: Razer) |
Razer™, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, recently announced the Viper V4 Pro eSports Green Edition, the newest addition to its eSports Green Collection, now available exclusively at Razer.com and select RazerStores. Priced at US$169.99 MSRP, the eSports Green Collection was created to celebrate Razer's identity and its enduring legacy in professional eSports. It is only natural that the Viper V4 Pro, Razer's newest eSports mouse, joins the lineup of the brand's most trusted competitive gear, from the DeathAdder V4 Pro, Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless 8KHz to the BlackShark V3 Pro and more, all in eSports Green.
Designed for elite performance, the Viper V4 Pro is endorsed by six-time League of Legends World Champion Faker and many more. Finished in eSports Green, Razer’s most advanced esports mouse carries the color that has become synonymous with the brand’s legacy of excellence. Built for the highest levels of competition, the Razer Viper V4 Pro carries forward a Viper legacy trusted across professional VALORANT. According to ProSettings.net, more than 3 in 10 tracked VALORANT pros use a Razer Viper mouse, while nearly half use a Razer mouse overall. That trust has translated into record-breaking performances and championship victories across titles including VALORANT, Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends, and Rainbow Six Siege, setting the benchmark that the eSports Green Collection was built to represent. eSports Green is the shade players reach for when there's a rank to climb, a queue to win, or a stage to walk out on. Wherever competitive gaming happens, eSports Green is already there. Bringing the signature Pantone 802C green to the precision-engineered surface of the Viper V4 Pro requires the same rigorous material calibration process applied across the eSports Green Collection. The result is a finish that is unmistakably Razer on any stage and under any lighting, faithfully delivering the iconic green that has defined the brand across two decades of competitive gaming. Trusted by the world’s top competitive players, the Viper V4 Pro Esports Green Edition delivers uncompromising precision and elite-level performance. Its speed, accuracy, and reliability have earned widespread recognition and industry-leading accolades. Built for champions, the Viper V4 Pro Esports Green Edition features:
• 52g Ultra-Lightweight Design: More agile than ever. This ultra-lightweight powerhouse is lighter than the previous generation, maintaining flawless balance and agility thanks to advanced mechanical and structural optimizations.
• Razer™ HyperSpeed Wireless Gen-2: Delivers industry-leading speed and reliability. Now over 60% more power-efficient with true 8000 Hz polling and 55% lower latency than previous generations.
• Razer™ Optical Scroll Wheel: No unintentional scrolls, pro-grade precision. More precise and durable than mechanical variants, pro-grade tracking and crucial tactile feedback required for high-precision gaming.
• Razer™ Focus Pro 50K Optical Sensor Gen-3: Next-level precision. Enhanced with 50K DPI, 930 IPS, and 90 G for unerring accuracy, with Frame Sync for just-in-time reporting.
• Up To 180 Hours Of Battery Life: Power through the competition. Enjoy up to 180 hours of high-performance gameplay on 1000 Hz or 45 hours on 8000 Hz.
• Razer™ Optical Mouse Switches Gen-4: Top-tier durability, tactility, and speed. A redesigned click mechanism delivers a staggering click lifecycle of over 100 million and greatly enhanced click feel – crisp, responsive switches that have been completely redesigned from the ground up.
More than a new colorway, the Viper V4 Pro eSports Green Edition is the next chapter in a collection inspired by the champions who have defined eSports and the players who aspire to follow in their footsteps. Used on the world's biggest stages and built for those striving to reach them, it represents a shared journey driven by passion, perseverance, and the pursuit of greatness. As eSports continues to grow, Razer remains committed to equipping the next generation of players with gear that mirrors their ambition and drive to win. For more information on the Viper V4 Pro eSports Green Edition, visit https://rzr.to/viper-v4-pro.
* * * *
iRacing Arcade Now Available On PlayStation 5 And Xbox Series X|S
 |
| (Image Source: YouTube/iRacing Studios) |
iRacing Studios and Original Fire Games are thrilled to launch the third-person arcade racer iRacing Arcade on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, now available for $24.99. Following a successful Steam launch earlier this year, iRacing Arcade is also today getting a massive new content update on all platforms, adding four-player local split-screen multiplayer, four new cars, and four new tracks with five layouts. All of this is in addition to the deep career mode, online multiplayer, and legendary cars, tracks and series the game originally released with.
The new content coming to PC and consoles with today’s update includes:
• Four-Player Local Split-Screen: Grab some controllers and enjoy fast, chaotic, competitive racing against your friends and family from the same couch.
• Four New Cars: Enjoy four new vehicles with the Formula Fangio (a '60s formula-style car), the Formula Turbo ('80s formula-style car), the Mercedes 190 E DTM car, and the Big Rig.
• Four New Tracks With Five New Layouts: Four new officially licensed circuits join the game, with Spain’s Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, France’s Circuit de Nevers – Magny-Cours, and Italy’s Autodromo Nazionale Monza – Grand Prix, Autodromo Nazionale Monza – Historic, and Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
iRacing Arcade takes some of the world’s leading cars and circuits and converts them into highly stylized versions designed for maximum fun, combining an adorable art style with the realistic fuel burn and tire wear that iRacing products are known for. Progress through a deep career mode as you build the fully customizable campus of your dreams, manage drivers and resources, and shape your journey from grassroots racing to motorsport glory. The game's key features comprise of:
• Iconic Cars, Tracks & Series: Experience the vibrant world of motorsport with stylized recreations of 18 legendary cars and 14 tracks including the world-class Barber Motorsports Park, Imola, Mexico City, and Miami circuits plus the FIA Formula 4, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTP class and Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
• Approachable Yet Authentic Racing: Race across multiple categories with a physics model that’s easy to learn yet endlessly rewarding to master, keeping you hooked as you chase the perfect lap in this accessible racer built for game controllers.
• Build A Motorsport Legacy: Rise from rags to riches in the extensive career mode as you build a fully customizable motorsport campus with garages, engine and chassis shops, plus R&D buildings to unlock in-race boosts, with no two campuses ever looking the same. Team management allows players to manage multiple series at once, with hired drivers available to keep your team on top of the racing world.
• Online Multiplayer: Compete in online multiplayer with up to 11 competitors worldwide, with custom lobbies to race against friends.
• Global Time Trials: Hone your racing line as you chase top times on the Global Leaderboards — or set the pace and let others chase you. With weekly rotations, the competition always stays fresh.
iRacing Arcade is co-developed and published by iRacing, the studio behind the most authentic motorsport racing simulation in the world, as well as the upcoming NASCAR 26, slated to be released on September 18, 2026, on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. iRacing Arcade is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam. Players can also enjoy a free demo of the game on Steam. For more information, visit www.iRacingarcade.com.
* * * *
NARAKA: BLADEPOINT Unveils Historic Hearthstone Collaboration, Becoming The First Non-Blizzard Game To Feature Official Hearthstone Content
 |
| (Image Source: Enduins/NetEase Games) |
NetEase Games and 24 Entertainment recently launched Phase 1 of the NARAKA: BLADEPOINT × Hearthstone collaboration. This one-way collaboration marks the first time official Hearthstone content has appeared in a non-Blizzard video game, the collaboration brings some of the card game’s most recognizable sounds, skins and surprises into the battlefields of NARAKA.
During the event, players can log in to claim the Murloc Headwear cosmetic for free, bringing one of Hearthstone’s most beloved creatures into the NARAKA universe. More of Hearthstone’s most iconic moments are making their way onto the battlefield. Players can recreate Anduin’s legendary “Wow!” moments with an in-battle speech bubble emote, while picking up high-rarity items from Troves may trigger the unmistakable announcements every Hearthstone fan knows: “Epic!” and “Wow… Legendary!” Even the thrill of opening a Hearthstone card pack is joining the fight. With the new Hearthstone-themed Trove skin, battlefield chests transform into classic card packs — combining the rush of discovering powerful loot with the excitement of revealing a legendary card.
And this is only the beginning as Phase 2 of the NARAKA: BLADEPOINT × Hearthstone collaboration is set to arrive in 2027, bringing even more surprises from the Tavern to the battlefield. Stay tuned to NARAKA: BLADEPOINT's online channels for more updates on the next chapter of this legendary crossover is still to come.
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NARAKANetease
• X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/NARAKATHEGAME
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NARAKABLADEPOINT
• Discord: https://discord.com/invite/narakabladepointofficial
