Weekend Highlights (May 23-24)

Microsoft agreed to pay an additional $250 million in the deal with Activision Blizzard, Nintendo ramped up the production of Switch 2, and Unreal Engine 6 was announced—here's a recap of the main events in the gaming industry over the past weekend.

Microsoft is close to settling a lawsuit from the Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-Fonden (AP7). In 2022, AP7 accused the leadership of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard of collusion. Allegedly, the corporation offered then-Activision Blizzard head Bobby Kotick a chance to "save his skin" from a discrimination and harassment scandal, in return for the opportunity to buy the company for less than its actual worth. Almost four years later, the parties decided to settle. Under the agreement, Microsoft promised to pay Activision Blizzard shareholders an additional 30 cents per share, totaling approximately $250 million. Notably, Microsoft did not admit any wrongdoing. It stated that it agreed to the concession because continuing litigation with the fund would have taken too much time and money. Meanwhile, AP7 withdrew its allegations. Now, the settlement proposal needs court approval.
Nintendo has approached gaming hardware manufacturers with a request to produce 20 million units of Switch 2 by March 31, 2027, according to Bloomberg sources. This is significantly higher than its sales forecast. The company previously stated its plan to sell 16.5 million Switch 2 consoles in the current fiscal year. Serkan Toto, an analyst from Kantan Games, told Bloomberg he believes Nintendo is intentionally underestimating its forecast to later exceed it. Last year, the company did the same, initially announcing plans to sell 15 million Switch 2 units but ended up shipping 19.86 million.
Epic Games announced the sixth version of the Unreal Engine in a rather unusual way. During a Rocket League championship in Paris, they presented a short video announcing the game's upcoming transition from Unreal Engine 3 to Unreal Engine 6. The company did not share any details, offering only a few clips and the engine's logo. The initial footage suggests that Unreal Engine 6 will deliver more realistic graphics. However, Epic Games' work on Unreal Engine 6 is no secret. In May 2025, company head Tim Sweeney mentioned that a preview version of the updated engine would be released sometime between 2027 and 2028, combining the capabilities of Unreal Engine 5 and the Unreal Editor for Fortnite.