As the Simpsons X Fortnite collab ends later today, there’s been plenty to like for longtime fans of the animated show, as well as players of Epic Games’ free-to-play battle royale. Launching on November 1 and ending with the ‘Zero Hour’ event in a few short hours, the mini-season has been a huge success, with roughly 2.5 million players daily, a rise of 700,000 from the previous month.

But as with many things, there’s always room for improvement. The Simpsons x Fortnite collab isn’t immune to this, with a bunch of opportunities missed, regardless of how good Springfield took over the Fortnite map over the month. With this in mind, we’re listing five things below that could have made the mini-season one of Fortnite’s very best.

Over the month, many characters have been made available to purchase in the Fortnite Item Shop, but nowhere near as many as fans were hoping to see. Krusty the Clown, Moe the bartender, and the in-universe cartoon Itchy and Scratchy have been available, but there could have been far more.

From one of the Stonecutters cult-members, to Smithers, Snake the robber, and others like Chief Wiggum and Principal Skinner. It’s a shame that more skins weren’t available to buy in this mini-season. In addition, the skins for earning all the Battle Pass rewards were Homer, as well as Homer covered in radioactive goo. It was disappointing, and there could have been a real opportunity for another character to be the reward, such as villain Hank Scorpio or Poochie.

Make no mistake, the transformation of Fortnite’s map into Springfield, along with the cel-shaded look to better reflect the animated show, has been impressive. Being able to visit places like the Power Plant, Kamp Krusty, and the Simpsons’ home and neighbourhood has been very fun. However, one can’t help but feel that there could have been far more places on the map that could have appeared throughout the mini-season.

For example, Itchy and Scratchy Land that appeared in season six, or the television studio that houses Krusty the Clown, the news reporter Kent Brockman, and many more, as well as Mount Splashmore from season two. All of these could have appeared after one of the animated shorts aired, complete with new missions and new characters to hire as support. Instead, we got the same map, but with purple radioactive goo towards the end, which left a few players feeling slightly disappointed.

Granted, there have been a couple of weapons, like Krusty’s Mr Blasty gun, as well as a few items made available as axes, such as the Homer Wonderbat from season two and an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon axe. However, one can’t help but feel that far more could have been made available from November 1.

From Homer’s Bowling Ball as a throwable weapon, to the Inanimate Carbon Rod, as well as Ned Flanders’ left-handed nunchucks from the season three episode, ‘When Flanders Failed’. There could have been many more rare weapons that could have lasted for the entirety of the Fortnite x Simpsons crossover. Instead, players could use four weapons inspired by the show, which feels like a missed opportunity.

Vehicles in Fortnite have been a huge feature of the free-to-play game since they arrived in August 2020. They’ve slowly evolved from being shopping carts and cars, to gunships and even the Power Rangers’ Megazord from the previous season. But for the Simpsons x Fortnite mini-season, to say there haven’t been many vehicles to use from the show is an understatement.

Like the lack of unique weapons, there could have been a plethora of vehicles to choose from. From the Plow King truck to the Canyonero and Chief Wiggum’s Police Cruiser, as well as the left-handed roadster that Mr Burns buys from the season three episode, ‘When Flanders Failed’, Epic Games would have been spoilt for choice here. Instead, players were limited to The Simpsons’ family car.

As we approach ‘Zero Hour’, it’s looking less likely that we’ll see new bosses in addition to what players have been fighting against, such as Krusty the Clown, Evil Homer, and Witch Marge. Each of these bosses offered their own challenge in how they attacked and could be found, but with just three to face, there were plenty from the Simpsons’ history that could have appeared for the mini-season.

From Hank Scorpio, featured in season seven’s ‘You Only Move Twice’, to Dr Colossus and his ‘Collosso-boots’, there could have been plenty who had the potential to appear across the Springfield map, each offering their own set of challenges and unique weapons to collect once they were defeated. Granted, there might be one more to face as Zero Hour arrives, but it’s a shame that there were no surprises to see across the month.

Fans of both The Simpsons and Fortnite have enjoyed this mini-season. From the map being completely transformed into Springfield, to watching the four animated shorts that link both the show and the game, it’s been a fun month, but there could have been more done in certain areas. Having so few vehicles and weapons inspired by the show to use feels like a big miss, along with a handful of characters to buy as skins that felt like an afterthought.

However, despite what could have been improved or what should have happened, there’s no denying that the Fortnite x Simpsons mini-season has been a huge success. Almost three million players have logged onto Fortnite throughout November, according to tracker.gg, which is an increase of almost 700,000 from the month before.

Shopify Rebellion Gold has qualified for the VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2025 Grand Final after winning today’s Lower Bracket Final.

The reigning Game Changers Champion eliminated Brazilian team MIBR in the BO5 series by 3-1 and will now face Team Liquid Brazil in tomorrow’s Grand Final.

Moreover, Melanie ‘meL‘ Capone and her squad will be competing in the Game Changers Championship Grand Final looking to secure a historic three-peat.

Shopify and MIBR’s first encounter on Pearl a few days ago concluded with a dominant 13-1 victory for the North American team. 

However, this time around, the Brazilian opponent held its ground to close out the attacking half at an even 6-6 scoreline before achieving an early second-half winning streak. Only two rounds away from securing revenge on Pearl, MIBR ultimately succumbed to Shopify’s on-the-fly adaptations and confident mid-round calling, losing the map by 13-11.

Duelist player Karnthida ‘dodonut’ Chaisrakeot contributed massively to her team’s victory, delivering a kill-death ratio (KDA) of 25/13/8 and 193 average damage per round (ADR).

For Split, MIBR chose a more modern double-duelist team composition over Shopify’s traditional Breach pick. This strategy paid off as the Brazilian squad had a dominant 9-3 showing on the defence side.

With rejuvenated confidence, thanks to numerous clutch rounds, it was only a matter of time until MIBR claimed its map pick by 13-6.

Nicolas ‘srN’ Niederauer was the best-performing player of map two. On Raze, she scored a KDA of 20/11/6 and an average combat score (ACS) of 303.

Corrode kicked off with six consecutive round wins for MIBR. But once Shopify replied with six rounds of its own, the Brazilian team looked shaken. MIBR could only win one more round before its competitor reached match point in the best-of-five (BO5) series.

Throughout the back-and-forth battle, it was Shopify’s in-game leader (IGL) meL who consistently fragged out. The smokes expert achieved an impressive 20/8/12 KDA and 180 ADR.

On Abyss, Shopify was well prepared to punish MIBR’s repetitive Cypher setups in B site to finish the first half with 8-4 on the board.

Although MIBR pulled off multiple successful A-hits in the second half, the round deficit was too much to overcome. Shopify eventually locked down A to close out Abyss at 13-11 and the series by 3-1.

The top-fragging player on this final map was Sarah ‘sarah’ Simpson with a KDA of 23/16/12 and 303 ACS. 

Following today’s victory, Shopify Rebellion Gold is headed for the Game Changers Championship 2025 Grand Final tomorrow.

The BO5 series will be a rematch between the North American team and Team Liquid Brazil, which previously defeated Shopify in the Upper Bracket Final by 2-1. Whilst Shopify is looking to take revenge for its first Game Changers Championship series loss in three years, Liquid is hungry to lift its first-ever global trophy.

To witness which team will make Game Changers history tomorrow, fans can tune into VALORANT’s Twitch and YouTube channels at 8 AM GMT.

Miary Zo is coming to Tekken 8 in December and a recent Dev Talk video has discussed the fighter’s background, powers, and design.

While Miary Zo was initially met with a lot of criticism from the FGC, the Dev Talk video has changed some opinions about her.

When Miary Zo was first announced, the FGC was underwhelmed. Game Director Katsuhiro Harada was even forced to tell fans on X (formerly Twitter) that her generic looks were the result of some sort of bug and not because developers just made all female characters have the same body shape and facial features.

He then made some very minor changes to her face that didn’t seem noticeable. At this point, the fighting game crowd wasn’t too excited about her arrival.

Now, developers have revealed more insight into Miary Zo’s design and abilities in two extensive Dev Talk videos. Round 1 discussed Miary Zo’s concept and design while Round 2 discussed her fighting and stage.

According to Harada, Miary Zo grew up around animals and began imitating their movements, which sparked her interest in martial arts. Soon, the top fighters from around the world were visiting Madagascar just to challenge her.

Things changed when Miary Zo started noticing strange markings all over her body. She eventually fell ill with a fever. When she woke up, she had the power of the Fighting God.

The Fighting God first appeared in Tekken 3 as referenced by the Ogre from Mexico. However, developers explained in the Dev Talk that there are multiple Ogres from various regions. The one in Madagascar is seen as benevolent and is worshipped as a deity.

With the Fighting God power, Miary Zo can stretch her arms like a snake and has a long, ringtail lemur-like tail. These special powers primarily manifest during Heat, enabling her to clash with other fighters who possess similar abilities.

Comments on the Dev Talk videos indicate that the perception of Miary Zo is largely positive, with many players excited to see her in action now that they have a better understanding of what sets her apart. The FGC has remarked on developers putting effort into her design and backstory, which is a big difference from how players felt before when they saw initial images of her face.

As the FGC grapples with frustrations brought on by gameplay updates in Season 2, competitive players are looking forward to Season 3 to see if Miary Zo and balance changes will make the game feel healthy and more complex again.

As the backlash to Season 2 continued, Harada had written on X: “I personally do not think this backlash is at all unjustified. I recognize that it is a natural occurrence and we have no choice but to respond by continuing to update.”

Miary Zo is coming to Tekken 8 on December 5th (December 2nd for Early Access).

Fortnite has officially confirmed the return of its collaboration with the League of Legends Netflix series, Arcane, with the release of Chapter 7 Season 1.

Arriving on November 29th, Arcane-themed Jinx and Vi skins will be released in the Item Shop for a limited period of time. In addition to this, their lego variants will also be available in the LEGO Fortnite experience.

According to the trailer released by Epic Games, the Arcane Jinx bundle is confirmed to include Jinx’s Dream Monkey back bling, while the Arcane Vi bundle will feature the Punching Practice emote and the Memories of Zaun back bling.

However, if all of the previous items make a comeback, here is what the bundles will offer:

The costs of the bundles have not been revealed yet; however, based on the previous pricing, they will be available for 1,800 V-Bucks each.

It has been over three years since the Arcane cosmetics made an appearance in the Fortnite Item Shop back in February 2022, giving fans who missed out previously a rare chance to finally collect them.

With the release of Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 1, Epic Games will be introducing a series of Ranked Cups called Road to Unreal. Players will have to compete in these events, with at least one cup taking place daily from December 5th to 21st, and climb the leaderboard to earn exclusive rewards. 

Not only this, but the top performers will qualify for the ultimate Duos Battle Royale Unreal Cup, scheduled for December 20th, where the participants will battle for a massive prize pool of $1,000,000 (~£754,850).

Italian football club Como 1907 has announced its entry into the video game space with the launch of the Como Gaming Club.

The initiative will serve as a creative space, hosting community sessions and collaborating with creators and partners.

In its announcement, Como 1907 explained that the project is ‘not framed as an esports department,’ but will instead engage with the wider gaming and esports ecosystem.

Ryan Shelton, Chief Revenue Officer of Como 1907, said:

“The launch of the Como Gaming Club is a natural next step in our mission to connect Como 1907 with new generations and emerging cultural spaces.

“Gaming and esports are their own culture and language, and if we were going to enter that world, we knew we had to do so with intention, a clear identity and a long-term vision.”

The Como Gaming Club has launched with a dedicated Instagram page where the latest updates will be shared. Additionally, the club has revealed that it is developing its first line of merchandise, including a gaming jersey made in collaboration with Team Falcons, which will debut at Milan Games Week.

Como 1907 has also announced that Anders Vejrgang will join as the new EA FC 26 pro player. He is an accomplished competitor in the scene, winning the FC Pro 24 World Championship last year. He will represent the club, donning its new colours and insignia, in the upcoming eSupercup 2025 and the eSerie A Goleador 2026.

“Bringing Anders on board speaks to the level of thought, care, and seriousness we’re putting behind this project,” Shelton added. “This isn’t a side quest. It’s a community we’re committed to building.”

Como 1907 continues to engage with the esports scene by participating in various events such as the League of Brands, a national tournament for Italian companies. As of writing, the team has reached the final four and will next compete on November 30th, 2025.

Global esports organisation Team Liquid has signed a new sponsorship deal with online sports betting service Duelbits.

According to a release, the esports team will create content to promote responsible and safe gambling, with activities centred on fan engagement for Counter-Strike 2 and Chess. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.

This marks the first major global sports betting partnership for Team Liquid. The brand will be displayed on Team Liquid’s Counter-Strike Jersey at the Counter-Strike 2’s StarLadder Major in Budapest this weekend, when the team will begin its campaign in Swiss Stage 2. For this tournament, Team Liquid will be competing for a share of the $1.25m (~£945,844) prize pool.

Founded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Duelbits has established a strong reputation in the betting space, especially when it comes to crypto gambling. It’s not the first time the company has collaborated with an esports team. Back in 2022, Brazilian esports organisation paiN Gaming also signed a deal with Duelbits.

With this, Team Liquid further expands its portfolio of partners, which includes the likes of gaming hardware brand Alienware, gaming chair company Blacklyte, web3 blockchain platform Sui, and digital payment solutions VISA, among others. Its latest collaboration was with the open-world MMORPG, Sword of Justice.

Ranked 11th on the latest VRS rankings, the team has been slowly building a strong streak of success from September 2025.

The team finished in the top four at FISSURE Playground #2, and continued this momentum with two other third-place finishes at the Birch Cup and the CS Asia Championships. At the latest PGL Masters Bucharest, Team Liquid was eliminated by Portuguese team SAW in the quarterfinals.

Victor Goossens, Team Liquid founder and Co-CEO, commented on the partnership: “Sports betting has always been interesting to Team Liquid because it adds a new layer to how fans engage with competition.

However, we also recognise that it’s a complicated space, which is why we want to dedicate our efforts to education and responsibility. Duelbits sees things the same way, and we’re glad to find a partner that supports a shared goal.”