The main events of the weekend (March 8-9)

The market for virtual goods in Counter-Strike 2 reached a record $4.3 billion, Playdead's co-founder threatened another co-founder of the studio with a lawsuit over a LinkedIn image, and the online presence of Split Fiction on Steam exceeded 259,000 people. Here's a recap of the major events in the gaming industry over the past weekend.

Split Fiction

The market for skins and other virtual goods in Counter-Strike 2 has been steadily growing, reaching a record high of $4.3 billion at the end of last week. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing data from Pricempire. For comparison, this market was valued at $3.7 billion in January. As Bloomberg noted, this market has proven to be financially more stable than some traditional assets. For instance, the S&P 500 index has dropped by $2 trillion since January, and the price of Bitcoin has decreased by $11,000. According to analyst Joost van Dreunen of Aldora, skins in Counter-Strike 2 represent a non-traditional investment segment, where item rarity, player engagement, and other unconventional factors influence value.
The conflict between Playdead's co-founders (authors of Limbo and Inside) ignited almost a decade ago and it appears to still be unresolved. Recently, Dino Patti shared on social media that Arnt Jensen has been threatening him with various lawsuits for years. In early March 2025, Patti received another legal threat. Playdead's lawyers contacted him, claiming he violated the studio's copyrights by posting a LinkedIn update in November 2024 with a development story of Limbo and attaching an “unauthorized” game image. Playdead demanded Patti pay 500,000 Danish krone ($72,600) as compensation for the unauthorized use of the image. Furthermore, the lawyers pointed out that the NDA and other contract terms prohibit Patti from sharing details of Limbo's development with the public. “By providing readers with insights into the development process of Limbo, you falsely create the impression that you played a significant, including creative, role in the game's creation,” reads their letter. Patti left Playdead in 2016 and soon after founded another studio called Jumpship.
Take-Two Interactive filed a lawsuit against the Chinese trading platform PlayerAuctions, where players sell items, in-game currency, and accounts for GTA Online. The company stated that the platform owners are violating its copyrights and enabling illegal user activities. Take-Two Interactive estimates that PlayerAuctions owners could have earned over $100 million from sales commissions.
Another lawsuit was filed against Epic Games. The plaintiffs, two parents from the U.S., are acting on behalf of their children. They accused Epic Games of using deceptive practices in Fortnite. According to them, Fortnite developers create the illusion of scarcity with timers in the in-game store that count down to the end of a sale or the item’s removal. The parents pointed out that sometimes, even after the timers expire, the items remain in the store and are available at the purportedly discounted price. In a statement to the media, Epic Games denied the accusation, stating that the lawsuit contains factual inaccuracies. Specifically, the company mentioned that they removed the timers from Fortnite in 2024.
Over the weekend, Steam users were actively playing Split Fiction. On Sunday, March 9, the cooperative newcomer from Hazelight Studios set a new record for concurrent players on the platform, reaching 259,003 people at one time. It is now the second most popular release of 2025 on Steam, following Monster Hunter Wilds (which had over 1.38 million concurrent players). Additionally, Split Fiction secured the 51st spot on the list of games with the highest concurrent players in Steam's history.