Moonton has unveiled the official anthem for the M7 World Championship of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. The song is performed by the Indonesian group No Na and is presented as the tournament’s official musical theme.

Introduction: The 2026 release calendar is already shaping up to be one of the most diverse in recent memory. Major studios and beloved indie creators alike are preparing sequels, remakes and bold new experiments. Below is a comprehensive look at the projects that have generated the most buzz so far — their creators, platforms, release windows and the gameplay and narrative directions each title promises.

Published 02.01 at 22:20. Three teams — Natus Vincere, Virtus.pro and PARIVISION — have been officially invited to participate in the qualification stage for BLAST Slam VI.

AM have filled the final spot in their starting five by signing Can 'kyuubii' Ali, who arrives from BIG Academy. The 20-year-old had spent the previous six months in BIG's academy setup after being demoted from the main squad and has been active in the lower tiers of the European online scene.

Independent studio Mindfish, best known for the game Atomic Heart, published an illustrated roundup of its 2025 highlights on social media, listing the studio’s most notable achievements and announcements from the year.

Published on January 2 at 22:20. Organizers have extended invitations to three teams — Natus Vincere, Virtus.pro and PARIVISION — to take part in the qualification stage for the sixth edition of BLAST Slam.

The Duffer brothers, creators of the Stranger Things series, have confirmed they will produce another television series set in the same universe. In an interview with a major entertainment outlet, they said the new spinoff will give fans some answers to questions left open after the main show concluded.

Update (20:35 MSK): New information from CS2NEWS has contradicted an earlier OFFSTAGE report. According to CS2NEWS, their sources say negotiations never progressed to the point of discussing a concrete transfer fee for Sergey "Ax1Le" Ryhtorov.

A player using the nickname Santaclaus has turned their World of Warcraft residence into a miniature Star Wars display and shared the result on Reddit. The project converts the space around the house into a themed diorama that echoes spacecraft and machines from the famed science fiction saga.

Czech organization SINNERS have announced the signing of Romanian AWPer Mădălin-Andrei "MoDo" Mirea, bringing the active roster back to five players after the squad moved Peter "Pepo" Ružička to the bench in December.

A Dota 2 enthusiast on Reddit drew attention to several oddities in the naming of in-game abilities, arguing that some spells would logically belong to different heroes based solely on their names. The user assembled a list of roughly twenty such examples and shared it with the community.

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Streamer Alexander "Nix" Levin commented on recent discussions about a possible artificial increase in League of Legends' online numbers, arguing that the sharp rise in interest is easily explained by the release of the animated series Arcane.

Esports organization Astralis is reportedly considering signing Swedish AWPer Lav "phzy" Smidebrant to its Counter‑Strike 2 lineup, according to information obtained by HLTV from unnamed sources.

Fans of sports anime will be familiar with Haikyuu!! — a series about friendship, rivalry, grueling training, and the high-energy matches of high school volleyball. The story follows Shoyo Hinata, who loves the sport and joins Karasuno High with the dream of competing against top opponents. Below are profiles of fifteen of the brightest, most interesting and strongest characters from Haikyuu!!, summarizing their teams, positions, key traits and what sets them apart.

Dota 2's average concurrent player count in December 2025 reached a nine-year high, registering 594,200 players, according to Steam Charts. The game's peak concurrent users for the month climbed to 903,000, marking a significant spike in activity compared with recent years.

Astralis is expected to announce the signing of Swedish AWPer Love 'phzy' Smidebrant, multiple people familiar with the situation said. The move would make phzy the team's primary sniper ahead of the new season.

Dota 2 player Ilya 'ALOHADANCE' Korobkin recently spoke about a memorable storyline from the anime Naruto, describing how one particular scene affected him emotionally. He singled out the sacrifice of Granny Chiyo in episode 31, titled 'Legacy,' of Naruto Shippuden — the moment when the elderly woman gives her life to bring Gaara back — as especially powerful.

William "mezii" Merriman, a member of Team Vitality's CS2 roster, reacted to being named among the top‑12 players in HLTV's ranking for 2025. The player shared his thoughts on the social network X following the announcement.

Average monthly online figures for the extraction shooter ARC Raiders have decreased by 13.26% over the two months since the game's PC release. According to Steam Charts, the game's average concurrent players fell from 264.4 thousand to 229.3 thousand, while its peak concurrent users slipped from 459 thousand to 438 thousand during the same period.

HLTV.org has revealed the player who occupies the 12th spot in its ranking of the best Counter-Strike 2 players for 2025: William "mezii" Merriman, a member of Team Vitality.

Russian streamer Igor Filatov, known as iLTW, announced plans to significantly slim down after reacting to an insulting message in his chat. The exchange drew attention online after a short excerpt circulated on social platforms, prompting discussion among his audience about his reaction and future intentions.

William “mezii” Merriman made his debut in HLTV’s Top 20 Players of the Year after a standout 2025 that saw him deliver in the sport’s biggest moments. Across Super-Elite events he posted a 1.17 average rating and collected three Exceptionally Valuable Player awards, including two at Majors — a peak that pushed him into the year’s spotlight.

Alexander "VooDooSh" Shalchinov spoke publicly about the criticism he receives and reflected on how often people try to discourage others from starting something new. He warned that listening to those voices can prevent any progress. His comments were reposted by the LEGENDWP DOTA 2 channel in Telegram.

European organisation 9INE has announced that the buy-out clause for Swedish AWPer Love "phzy" Smidebrant has been triggered, and the player has left the team's active lineup. The club confirmed the change as the transfer clause was executed, prompting his departure from the roster.

Epic Games Store has launched a giveaway for Total War: Three Kingdoms. Players can add the game to their personal libraries at no cost until January 8 at 19:00 Moscow time (MSK).

Vladimir Kuzminov, known in the Dota 2 scene as Maelstorm, announced that he has signed a contract with the bookmaker BetBoom. The caster confirmed the partnership publicly and said the collaboration will open new opportunities in his professional activities for 2026.

Vikram Reddy, an insider with links to Valve, sent New Year greetings to the Dota 2 community and singled out support players in his message. He expressed a wish that the coming year would shine a brighter light on the support role and its contribution to matches.

Edgar Naltakyan, known in the scene as 9Class and serving as a support player for PARIVISION in Dota 2, posted a New Year greeting and a recap of his professional season on his personal Telegram channel. In the message he both congratulated his followers and reflected on his match activity over the past year.

An independent investigation has accused Riot Games and Tencent of manipulating statistics for League of Legends and Valorant, claiming that popularity metrics were artificially inflated ahead of major industry ceremonies, including The Game Awards and the Esports Awards.

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What draws viewers to eSports beyond flashy matches and tournament trophies? Besides great plays, many fans tune in for outspoken players, heated rivalries and scandals that spill out of the game and into public life. This review looks back at the most resonant conflicts and controversies of 2025, presented roughly in chronological order.

Streamer Alexander "Nix" Levin spoke about his attitude toward Dota 2 and League of Legends, focusing on their visual styles and the way matches feel. His comments were shared on the LEGENDWP DOTA 2 Telegram channel.

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Azbayar "Senzu" Munkhbold’s inclusion on HLTV’s Top 20 Players of 2025 marks an historic moment: a player from a fully Asian roster — and specifically from Mongolia — has broken into the list. The 19‑year‑old rifler earned the recognition after an outstanding season in which he collected four EVPs and produced a 1.30 rating during The MongolZ’s run to the BLAST.tv Austin Major grand final.

Aleksei 'Qikert' Golubev is set to leave MIBR, according to a report from a Brazilian outlet. His expected departure follows the organisation's announcement earlier this week that coach Jhonatan 'jnt' Silva had parted ways with the team, making Qikert the second exit in as many days for the Brazilian side.

Metizport have moved 16‑year‑old Liam "MaiL09" Tügel to the bench after concluding the organisation has struggled to find the best role for him within the current lineup. The club said the decision reflects difficulties with role allocation rather than a severing of ties with the young player.

Streamer Ilya Davydov, better known as Maddyson, shared his view on New Year’s celebrations in a post on his personal Telegram channel. He said that, with age, the holiday has lost its meaning for him.

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Epic Games Store has announced the next title in its holiday giveaway: players can add Chivalry 2 to their libraries at no cost for a limited time. The promotion is part of the store's seasonal campaign offering a rotating selection of free games.