Weekly Roundup: Resident Evil Requiem Breaks Records, Gaming Site “Hires” AI Writers, GameTank Smashes Funding Goal, and More
A real grab-bag of industry news this week, from survival horror to a DIY games console. Here’s what’s what in the world of video games.
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Resident Evil Requiem Sells Over 5 Million Copies
In news that will surprise absolutely no one, Resident Evil Requiem sold more than 5 million copies by March 4, less than a week after its release. This puts it ahead of the other two fast-selling games in the franchise: Resident Evil 6, which shifted 4.6 million units within its first week, and the well-received Resident Evil 4 remake, which sold 4 million copies a week after release.
Capcom revealed the news in a press release that also highlighted how Requiem “was developed using RE ENGINE, Capcom’s proprietary game engine, which allowed the company to deliver visuals in photorealistic detail, including the characters’ skin, teary eyes, and flowing hair, as well as the translucency of light.”
Requiem marks 30 years of the Resident Evil franchise, which started in 1996 and has, as of December 2025, sold a combined 183 million units.
Video Game Sites Swamped With AI Writers
Resident Evil Requiem was also in the news this week for a less-than-ideal reason, as it was the subject of a game review written entirely by AI. The 9/10 review was posted on the Video Gamer site and appeared on Metacritic, until people realised that it didn’t go into proper details about the game and instead delivered empty, weird platitudes like “It bonds the trauma of Raccoon City with modern design sensibilities, proving there is plenty of life left in this undead horse.”
It was also highlighted, by other gaming journalists, that this isn’t the first or only time the site has done this. Lewis White, a former writer for VideoGamer, posted on LinkedIn earlier this week about what led to this happening.
“Back in August 2025, VideoGamer was acquired by ClickOut Media. It was a horrific acquisition with poor communication, and many VideoGamer writers – myself included – left for a new site due to ClickOut Media’s association with gambling.”
“Additionally, the website now features seemingly completely AI-generated articles with author profiles that boast AI-generated profile pictures which lead to fake Twitter accounts with stacked bios to cheat Google’s SEO and EEAT.”
ClickOut Media owns and operates a huge range of other gaming, and gaming-related, sites, including The Escapist, AdventureGamers, and Esports Insider. However, all of these sites – as with VideoGamer – now feature heavy online gambling content, such as “Best Online Casinos with Real Money Games USA 2026” (on The Escapist) and “CoinPoker Launches 100% Rakeback Deal” (Esports Insider).
Gendel Gento, a games journalist based in Tokyo, also weighed in on the controversy with a take that echoes public sentiment: “So-called AI might have its uses, but GenAI is a tool for the lazy, mediocre and talentless,” he posted on LinkedIn. “If you use it to generate writing or other media, you’re not a writer or an artist, you’re a fraud. You’re also a thief by association, since you’re willingly using a tool trained on the stolen work of generations of real artists who don’t get a dime for their unwilling role in training the tools that will replace them.”
Sony Faces Court Battle in the UK
An antitrust, class-action, lawsuit has been brought against Sony in the UK, with regards to its digital storefront for the PS5. Alex Neill, a consumer champion with 20 years experience, is bringing the case to court on behalf of an estimated 12.2 million users, for a share of almost £2 billion (the estimated amount gamers have been collectively overcharged by).
The claim focuses on how Sony has a “near monopoly on the sale of digital games and add-on content through its control of the PlayStation Store,” as outlined on the official PlayStation Claim site. This in turns allows Sony to charge 30% commission on every purchase, with the knock-on effect being that prices for consumers are higher than they should be.
“The move from games sold as physical disks to games sold digitally has seen the introduction of in-game content, where players must now also pay to progress, unlock more features, or customize their experience with new characters or weapons,” the site also reads. “Games are now designed to incentivise players to spend as much money as possible (including children).”
Unless Sony offers an out-of-court settlement, it’ll go to trial on March 10. Neill is working with Milberg London LLP, a solicitor firm known for its Competition Litigation practice. The firm is also currently seeking compensation from Valve for overcharging UK players for games on Steam.
“Competition law is there to protect consumers and ensure that markets work properly,” said Natasha Pearman, a partner at the law firm. “When they don’t work properly and consumers are harmed, collective actions of this kind provide consumers with a voice and a way of holding big companies, like Valve, to account.”
Real-Life “Fantasy Console” GameTank Smashes Funding Goal
Inspired by “fantasy consoles” like PICO-8 and TIC-80, the GameTank is a DIY games console that allows both emulation and game development. The CrowdSupply campaign ended recently with $54,945 raised (the initial goal was $30,000), and is for pre-built GameTanks that also ship with blank cartridges – these can have ROMs flashed on to them, effectively letting gamers turn an emulated game into a physical copy.
GameTank is the brainchild of Clyde Shaffer, a former Software Engineer for Facebook based in Port Washington, NY. “I wanted to build something different, something weird, something with its own earnest individual character from its engineering decisions,” Shaffer said in a YouTube video filmed in a suitable retro style.
“Rather than looking back at a vintage aesthetic, I was looking forward to new ways to play with simple hardware,” he added. “Being open source invites people to get involved in any way that excites them.”
Anyone who knows their way around a circuit board, or would like to have a go at building their own games console, can download all the necessary schematics and details from the official GameTank site or GitHub. Otherwise, the pre-built GameTank ships with a controller, a blank cartridge, and a cartridge flasher. Plus, a physical copy of Accursed Fiend, an 8-bit RPG developed by Shaffer (there are currently over 40 games specifically made for the system).
