Chinese esports organisation Invictus Gaming (IG) has officially announced its full line-up for the upcoming 2026 League of Legends LPL season.

The new players were announced through individual posts on the team’s official Weibo account, with four new players joining the team, as well as a new member of the coaching staff.

The organisation has picked up Korean top laner Lim ‘Soboro‘ Seong-min, mid laner Zhang ‘Renard‘ Xing-Che, ADC Ying ‘Photic‘ Qi-Shen, and Sun ‘Jwei‘ Jun-Wei. On the staff side, IG promoted Won ‘Mafa‘ Sang-yeon to the head coach position and brought in coach Lee ‘KaKAO‘ Byung-kwon.

For KaKAO, this marks a return to Invictus Gaming, 10 years after his last appearance on Invictus Gaming’s starting line-up as a jungler. Mafa, who served on the coaching staff in 2025, has been promoted to the head coach role following Yang ‘Daeny‘ Dae-in’s transfer to rivals BiliBili Gaming.

The new roster announcement comes shortly after Korean player Kang ‘TheShy‘ Seung-lok announced his plan to take a break from competitive play. His absence prompted IG to sign Soboro, formerly from BNK FearX’s academy. The other departure was ADC Chen ‘GALA’ Wei, who went on to join JD Gaming. His vacancy has been filled by Photic, who last played for LNG Esports.

Jwei comes from a strong 2025 campaign with FunPlus Phoenix, while Renard has been promoted to the tier-one scene after his last stint on Anyone’s Legend academy team.

While those two roster moves were needed, Invictus Gaming still brought in two additional players in the mid lane and support. According to the Global Contract Database (GCD), the organisation recently extended the contracts for mid laner Song ‘Rookie‘ Eun-jin, jungler Yan ‘Wei‘ Yang-Wei, and support Tian ‘Meiko‘ Ye, resulting in IG essentially having a seven-man roster.

On paper, the roster is not supposed to be highly competitive, although it will likely depend on which players IG is going to choose as the starting five. Given TheShy’s temporary absence, the team might rotate mid and support players to give new talents some on-stage experience at the start of the season

Invictus Gaming will have its first set of matches during the Demacia Cup, which kicks off on December 15th. The starting date of the 2026 LPL Split 1 has yet to be announced.

Japanese esports organisation VARREL is set to compete in VCT Pacific for the 2026 season after acquiring the roster of Ascension Pacific winners SLT Seongnam.

In a statement by Riot Games, VARREL has acquired the players and head coach from the South Korean organisation.

The new VARREL roster will see Go ‘C1ndeR‘ Jae-hyuk, Kim ‘Klaus‘ Min-hyuk, Shin ‘oonzmlp‘ Sang-beom, Kim ‘XuNa‘ Tae-geon, and Jang ‘zexy‘ Suk-hyun join as the starting five players.

Goo ‘TK9_주‘ Tae-kyun will continue to be the head coach of the squad and will be supported by analyst Kim ‘R3THME‘ Ki-woon and Seo ‘Rain‘ Hong-seung. The latter is the only new addition compared to the original SLT line-up, as Rain previously worked for Gen.G Global Academy.

With VARREL officially joining, all 12 teams for VCT Pacific have been confirmed. Aside from the Japanese organisation, Thai organisation FULL SENSE has joined the league following the removal of TALON Esports due to financial issues.

For VARREL, this marks the first time the organisation joins a tier-one league in VALORANT. It previously tried to gain a slot in VCT by participating in the VALORANT Challengers League (VCL) Japan in 2024, but the team was mainly around the mid-bottom of the league.

While it’s too early to say whether VARREL will be competing for the top spots, the team recently participated in the SOOP VALORANT League, finishing in the top four after defeating other VCT Pacific and 2025 VCT Champions teams. After beating DRX and Rex Regum Qeon, VARREL lost to the South Korean team T1 in the semi-finals.

Aside from VALORANT, VARREL is known for fielding several teams across multiple game titles, including Overwatch, Apex Legends, Tekken, Street Fighter, Rainbow Six Siege, and League of Legends.

It was a good night for Counter-Strike 2 at last night’s Game Awards 2025, as Valve’s FPS and French esports organisation Team Vitality walked away with victories. 

Counter-Strike 2 claimed the Best Esports Game award, while Team Vitality’s CS2 roster was named Best Esports Team.

Counter-Strike 2 beat out some of esports’ most recognisable games, which included Dota 2, League of Legends, VALORANT and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. The CS2 esports ecosystem in 2025, which is still ongoing with the Budapest Major, has hosted tier-1 events all across the world. 

According to Esports Charts, a total of seven events have recorded a peak viewership of more than 1m. Moreover, across these events, three different winners have been crowned — Team Vitality (IEM Katowice, IEM Melbourne, BLAST Rivals Spring, BLAST.tv Austin Major), Team Spirit (IEM Cologne), and FURIA (BLAST Rivals Fall). 

In fact, Team Vitality’s CS2 roster has won a total of seven Tier 1 trophies this year, with the team still in contention for an eighth at the Budapest Major. Similar to CS2’s award, Team Vitality was part of an impressive nomination list for Best Esports Team.

VALORANT Champions 2025 winners NRG, MLBB Mid-Season Cup champions Team Liquid PH and Dota 2’s The International victors Team Falons were all nominated for the award. Moreover, despite not winning the League of Legends World Championship, Gen.G Esports’ (Gen.G) dominance, both domestically and internationally, was recognised with a nomination. 

Gen.G’s success was also showcased at the Game Awards 2025 as the team’s mid laner, Jeong Ji ‘Chovy’ Hoon, was named Best Esports Athlete of the year.

Outside of the Game Awards’ dedicated esports categories, many other notable titles across the industry were celebrated. RPG Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 claimed a total of nine awards, including the coverarted Game of the Year trophy. 

Arc Raiders won Best Multiplayer, beating out the likes of Battlefield 6, which recently delayed its REDSEC esports plans to 2026. Moreover, Marvel Rivals and Fortnite lost out to No Man’s Sky for Best Ongoing Game. 

Best Fighting Game, which interestingly featured 2XKO in the nomination list despite being in beta, was won by Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. Meanwhile, in the Best Sports/Racing Game category, Mario Kart World defeated the likes of EA Sports FC 26 and F1 25. 

Finally, Best Content Creator was won by Charles ‘MoistCr1TiKaL’ White Jr, who is a co-owner of esports organisation Shopify Rebellion. Also on the nominations list was League of Legends personality Marc Robert ‘Caedrel‘ Lamont.

NetEase Games revealed the first trailer for Marvel Rivals Season 6: Night at the Museum during The Game Awards 2025.

The sixth season of the hero shooter arrives on January 16th, 2026 and brings a new character to the hero roster, Deadpool.

A two-minute animated trailer was broadcast at the awards show, offering fans a glimpse into Deadpool’s new look and voice in Marvel Rivals.

NetEase also hinted at the new plot for the next update, which follows the events of Season 5: Love is a Battlefield.

On social media, the official Marvel Rivals account wrote: “After Gambit’s attempt to steal a prized artefact from the Collector’s Museum, he and Rogue return to the scene of the crime in an attempt to escape. The Collector responds in the best way to avoid getting his hands dirty: by sending in his “top professional” and also… Deadpool…

“And the Merc with a Mouth opens the doors on every cage within the Collection, turning the Museum into the greatest intergalactic disaster this timeline has ever seen. But there’s a hunter on the horizon ready to put a stop to the antics.”

By the end of the nearly two-minute trailer at The Game Awards 2025, fans also got a first look at the second character arriving in Marvel Rivals Season 6.

Their identity has yet to be confirmed by NetEase, though the community speculates that she is potentially the monster hunter known as Elsa Bloodstone. Aside from a shot in the trailer showcasing her new look, everything from her voice to potential abilities has yet to be confirmed.

It’s unclear which order NetEase will launch the characters, but fans can either expect to play as the new character when Season 6 begins in January or in the mid-season update anticipated to launch sometime in February 2026.

This is the earliest that NetEase has ever revealed a new season before its release. In fact, its announcement arrives just before Season 5.5 goes live in the hero shooter.

It’s hard to gauge how exactly the two characters will shake up esports, especially as their kits are unknown. However, their addition will likely come with a variety of balance changes and Team-Up rotations, which is sure to impact events such as the seasonal championships.

Riot Games has announced that League of Legends and Arcane character Caitlyn will be the next champion coming to its fighting game 2XKO.

Caitlyn was unveiled at The Game Awards 2025 through Riot Games’ latest 2XKO trailer, which announced that she will be released in January 2026, alongside the game’s console release. Although the exact release date hasn’t been unveiled, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S users are expected to get access to the game sometime next month.

While the game developer didn’t showcase any gameplay for her, fans can expect the champion to have a similar move set to the MOBA counterpart, acting as a marksman with zoning abilities. Her traps and nets could also be featured in some way within her kit.

With Caitlyn soon coming to the game, 2XKO’s roster will have a total of 12 different champions. The current list includes Ahri, Blitzcrank, Braum, Darius, Ekko, Illaoi, Jinx, Vi, Warwick, Yasuo, and Teemo. The latter is the latest champion added to the game and was released on October 7th.

Riot Games previously stated that five characters and seasons will be released throughout 2026, meaning that four more are expected to join the champion gallery.

Earlier this September, Riot Games shared its plan to support the game’s esports scene by sponsoring 22 community-led tournaments, including events such as DreamHack Atlanta, through its sponsorship programme First Impact.

The latest tournament will be the Christmas Clash tournament, hosted by esports team FlyQuest and featuring a $3,000 (~£2,230) prize pool.

The tournament will be the final event of the Road to Frosty Faustings series, a three-week online showdown serving as a qualifier to the Frosty Faustings XVIII, a four-day-long festival established by FGC icon Mike ‘ElvenShadow‘ Boczar. The 2XKO tournament will take place on January 30TH, 2026, and feature an increased prize pool of $50,000 (~£37,565).

The release of Battlefield 6 marked the reemergence of a storied FPS series. And in the first phase of Season 1, we also got Battlefield RedSec. More than a bolt-on, the standalone BR experience from Ripple Effect Studios could give EA another popular esports contender: potentially drawing BR fans from Fortnite, Warzone, and EA’s own Apex Legends.

Reinforcing RedSec’s potential, EA had hoped that launching the free-to-play BR into esports would bolster take-up by gamers and pros alike. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone smoothly, and the current state of RedSec and its esports future seems to be mired in problems. And as we’ll see, it’s unclear if RedSec will successfully exfiltrate itself. 

Quietly released as part of Battlefield 6’s Season 1 Phase 1 “Rogue Ops” update, RedSec appeared after months of speculation. Initially, eyes were wide, and praise was plentiful. With combined BF6 and RedSec player numbers just over 300,000 (on Steam) the day before RedSec arrived, players then spiked to over 500,000, showing an immediate impact.

We’ve found RedSec fun, and it certainly offers a viable alternative to Warzone and other BR games, channelling Battlefield’s destructive and vehicle-based action. Its closing circle is deadly, and its Gauntlet Squad mode is a novel and fresh option. However, with no separate player numbers from BF6 itself, it’s hard to gauge success on Battlefield RedSec’s platforms.

While initial reviews, including ours, were mostly positive, recent community feedback has been mixed. This is due to reported technical issues, like hit registration and netcode concerns, as well as the lack of a Battlefield RedSec Solos option and an absent ‘no-fill squad’ toggle. Furthermore, claims of instability are exacerbated by accusations that bots are ruining matches.

With Battlefield 6 numbers on a clear downward trend, under 50,000 on Steam as we write, RedSec seems to have only confused matters when it comes to BF6’s potential success. Unfavourable comparisons of RedSec vs Warzone, also struggling for sentiment, have become louder, and these may have been easier to quash with thriving RedSec esports.

Sadly, that’s not the case. EA announced RedSec’s entry into esports in November, laying out the Battlefield RedSec Open Series for amateurs and the Battlefield RedSec Elite Series for professional gamers. The combined $1 million circuit was due to kick off this month, but this hasn’t happened. A December 8 post on the official Battlefield X account reads:

Three days later, on December 10, a second announcement confirmed that the Elite Series was postponed due to an ‘unforeseen technical issue’. That leaves both of Battlefield RedSec’s esports tournaments on ice until further notice, and means that the future of RedSec in the esports scene is, as of right now, uncertain, as live player counts tumble.

Regarding the Elite Series, the official Battlefield accounts’ statements make clear the title remains “fully committed” to “creating a competitive scene that’s built to last.” But a genuine question may be: how much of an audience will there be, given the declining player sentiment in the Battlefield community?

What is clear is that EA has the potential to dust off minor issues and knows plenty about competitive esports titles. Apex Legends’ Global Series is well-established, and the title has a solid following in the competitive scene, even as its popularity has waxed and waned over the last couple of years. This could encourage those keen to see RedSec succeed.

However, it does feel like EA having two Battle Royale titles vying for space and attention could be problematic. This is particularly so given that Battlefield 6 and RedSec are both struggling to stabilise, let alone foster flourishing communities of their own. Not ignoring that BF6 now has a lower player-count baseline than Apex, and it doesn’t feel like the falling line has quite bottomed out yet. EA may need to commit resources to game fixes and its profile.

Still, the publisher will likely continue to support both titles’ esports aspirations. While players may currently be less inclined to play RedSec (or Battlefield 6), a “build it, and they will come” approach may work for RedSec esports if the spectacle is big, slick, and loud enough. But we’ll have to wait until the New Year for the Open and Elite Series to emerge.

The Battlefield RedSec esports scene has gotten off to an inauspicious start, with the Elite Series and then the Open Series both postponed until the new year due to technical issues. Such issues can usually be fixed, but other problems may threaten RedSec’s potential as a fan-favourite esports title.

The Battle Royale experience is already up against another EA BR title in the shape of Apex Legends. But more importantly, player sentiment and game and feature issues both need attention to quell concerns arising in the community. The RedSec Elite and Open Series will return, but we’ll have to see how they register and if BF6 and RedSec can rally. 

Wildlight Entertainment, a studio founded by ex-Respawn developers, revealed its brand new PvP game, Highguard, at The Game Awards 2025.

The award show concluded with a nearly three-minute-long trailer showcasing the new first-person shooter developed by the team behind Apex Legends and Titanfall.

Players won’t have to wait long to experience Wildlight’s debut game, as Highguard will release as a free-to-play title on January 26th, 2026 on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5.

On its Steam page, the official description for Highguard reads: “From the creators of Apex Legends and Titanfall, comes Highguard: a PvP raid shooter where players will ride, fight, and raid as Wardens, arcane gunslingers sent to fight for control of a mythical continent.”

The self-described ‘raid-shooter’ consists of teams fighting for the possession of a Shieldbreaker, hoping to breach and destroy enemy bases in order to capture territory. Other gameplay elements were also revealed in the trailer, including mounts for traversal, Warden abilities, a mix of medieval and modern weaponry, and more.

Highguard is the debut game of Wildlight Entertainment, a studio formed in 2021 by veterans from Respawn Entertainment, and has been in development for the past four years. Highguard was the final reveal in The Game Awards this year, an honour typically reserved for major reveals and the most highly anticipated games.

Highguard boasts a lot of potential for a competitive scene; however, as of right now, there are no clear indications that this is a direction Wildlight Entertainment are taking. Moreover, whether or not it could foster an esports scene as popular as the Apex Legends Global Series remains to be seen.

Its unique gameplay loop, consisting of raiding other teams and capturing objectives, allows it to stand out from other esports titles. As a result, it may occupy a unique space in the shooter scene, separating itself from battle royales like Fortnite and tactical shooters like VALORANT.

The chances of a competitive scene forming ultimately hinge on how popular Highguard is once it releases next January, and what direction the developers wish to take the raid shooter should it become a success.

League of Legends professional player and esports legend Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok has collaborated once again with Wild Rift, this time to release a personalised Zed skin.

The special skin, called Galaxy Slayer Zed — Exquisite Edition, was showcased through a short trailer on the mobile game’s official social media channels.

Although Galaxy Slayer Zed was released in the PC version back in 2019, this version of the skin will be released exclusively on Wild Rift. The price and release date of the skin, however, have yet to be unveiled.

Although Faker hasn’t picked Zed in an official match since 2017, the assassin remains central to one of the most iconic plays of his career, delivered during a decisive game five series against longtime rivals KT Rolster in 2013.

Back then, Faker outplayed opponent mid laner Ryu ‘Ryu‘ Sang-wook, who was also using Zed at the time, in a heated one-vs-one.

The new Zed skin is being released as part of an ongoing partnership with Faker. Earlier this year, the T1 player took part in a promotional Wild Rift campaign for another one of his prized picks, Ryze.

With Galaxy Slayer Zed released, Faker receives his 10th personal skin and the second Zed skin after the one released for winning Worlds 2013. He is also set to receive his 11th sometime next year for winning his sixth League of Legends World Championship.

Faker is currently competing in the 2025 KeSPA Cup, an off-season tournament organised by Korea’s esports governing body. The event features 10 LCK teams, North American squads Team Liquid and Cloud9, and two all-star rosters from Japan and Vietnam.

T1 is currently in the top three and will face Dplus KIA or Hanwha Life Esports in the lower bracket of the knockout stage on December 13th.

NetEase Games recently released the Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 roadmap, giving players a significant look at what’s to come in the second half of the game’s fifth season. With a new hero and plenty of winter and Christmas-themed events and cosmetics, there is a lot for Marvel Rivals fans to look forward to. 

We’re going to look at everything you need to know about Marvel Rivals Season 5.5, including balance changes, hero team-ups and the upcoming skins. 

The Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 release date is December 12, 2025, but according to the roadmap, the season will also feature several smaller updates that will be released periodically. Here’s a rundown of the release information for Season 5.5

December 12: 

December 19:

December 26:

January 2: 

January 9:

January 16:

Iconic X-Men hero Rogue is the only new character coming to Marvel Rivals in Season 5. Rogue in Marvel Rivals is a Vanguard, which is the equivalent of a tank. Her powers revolve around absorbing the abilities of enemy heroes, but she is also a melee tank with strong punches and kicks similar to Emma Frost. She also grabs enemies, and can reduce the Ultimate charge of her enemies

While there are no entirely new team-ups in Marvel Rivals Season 5.5, one team-up has been removed, and three more have been altered. Let’s take a closer look at the upcoming team-up changes. 

The new map coming to Marvel Rivals in Season 5.5 is Jeff Land, themed around everybody’s favourite baby land shark, Jeff. The map is specifically for Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival special game mode, releasing on December 19. The map is a theme park themed entirely around Jeff, while Jeff’s Winter Splash returns as a unique game mode for the winter season. The mode has had a few changes. Players will now be able to create three different Jeff builds that have different special abilities. It also looks like the Cuddly Fuzzlefin skin will be making a return, but there will also be two colour variants this time around. 

The new half-season will include several new skins and an event that has a battle pass-like structure. The Marvel Rivals Season 5.5 skins confirmed by the roadmap are as follows:

There is also a mystery skin releasing on January 2, as well as the aforementioned Cuddly Fuzzlefin Jeff the Land Shark colour variants. 

There are several new events coming to Marvel Rivals Season 5.5. As well as a Holiday Special event, a New Year’s countdown and a mystery event called Pym Technologies Test Kitchen, there is also the Seeds of the Gardener event. This event is styled like a mini battle pass of sorts, with one skin available for free and two skins unlockable by purchasing the premium tier. 

There are plenty of changes coming to various heroes in the new half-season to create a more balanced experience for players. Check out the tables below for more info on each class and the heroes getting changes. 

That’s everything there is to know about Marvel Rivals Season 5.5. There is plenty of content to enjoy during the festive season, with several events and hero skins releasing within the next few weeks. Players are sure to enjoy getting to grips with the new hero Rogue, too. Marvel Rivals fans have a significant amount of content to keep them occupied until the next season drops on January 16, 2026. 

October 2025 saw a significant year-over-year decline in total gambling expenditures in Denmark, primarily due to a sharp drop in betting activity.

According to data released by the Danish Gambling Authority (Spillemyndigheden), the total amount spent on gambling for the month was DKK 599m (£70m), a decrease of 3.4% from October 2024.

The betting segment experienced significant movement, despite the market as a whole showing a slight decline. The monthly data shows that betting gross gaming revenue decreased 46.0% from October 2024, making it the only vertical to show a decline.

In contrast, during the same time period, gaming machines, land-based casinos, and online casinos all saw year-over-year increases.

Online​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ casinos were major contributors to growth in October as its expenditure went up by 24.4% compared to the same month last year.

Compared to the previous year, local casino spending rose by 6.0% whereas gaming machines recorded a slight increase of 0.6%.

Due to the increase in these other product areas, the total betting expenditure decreased by 3.4%.

Consolidated​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ figures from the previous months show that the numbers for October are just a continuation of the fluctuating pattern in betting in Denmark.

In September 2025, the Authority conveyed that Denmark’s total gambling expenditures had dropped by 0.9% year-on-year, a major part being a 34.9% decrease in betting as compared to September 2024. Yet again revenues for online and land-based casinos had gone up.

The October report aligns with this statement, noting that betting remains the primary factor contributing to the decline in overall gambling performance, while digital casino play continues to grow in the regulated market.