Notable hacker and ironically named Gary Bowser Lost Ark Gold was sentenced to 40 months in prison after they pled guilty to piracy-related charges last Friday. Bowser was a key member of Team Xecuter, a group of hackers that produced and sold modded hardware that allowed players to play pirated Nintendo Switch games (among other devices the group supported). Nintendo openly thanked the U.S. government's efforts in sentencing Bowser and others in the hacking group, as they "curb illegal activities on a global scale that cause serious harm to Nintendo and the video game industry." 

Battlefield 2042 Refund Petition Reaching Nearly 200,000 Signatures 
Almost 200,000 disgruntled Battlefield fans have signed a Change.org petition demanding refunds for the struggling release of Battlefield 2042. The latest entry in EA's military simulation shooter has dealt with a notoriously controversial launch; from major server and performance issues, to missing features from other Battlefield titles. Paired with a $70 price tag, thousands of fans have supported the petition which alleges Battlefield 2042 is an example of "abuse and bullying from multi-billion dollar corporations who make unfinished games and false advertisements."

Composers of the Halo series, Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, are alleging that Microsoft has neglected to pay adequate royalties to them both. Both composers and their joint company (O’Donnell Salvatori Inc.) enacted a lawsuit in June of last year, and will move to mediation with Microsoft at some point in February, according to an interview with Eurogamer. O'Donnell and Salvatori are alleging the royalties date back 20 years, when the two were composing for Bungie as freelance employees, prior to Microsoft acquiring buy Gold Lost Ark the studio and O'Donnell becoming a full-time Bungie employee.