Asia Gaming Beat: 1st March 2025

This week on our gaming recap, we have some Malaysian developments as well as esports titles getting their day in Olympic-caliber sun.

The Big Picture

Malaysian animation studio Les Copaque and game maker/asset-makers Streamline Studios are teaming up to create an Upin & Ipin open world game. The game is slated to be out this year and will be for PC and consoles. Initial teasers and gameplay footage allude to the title being open-world and third-person, with action, platforming, and minigames being the main activities. The title will retain its bright artstyle and core themes of family and adventure, meaning it’ll be an all-ages title.

While the prospects of a Malaysian-made game from two prominent companies are well and good for the Malaysian digital industry, there are the proverbial elephants in the room that need addressing. Les Copaque has an alleged reputation of low pay for their staff and nepotism, while Streamline Studios has yet to compensate the employees they have let go since February of 2024. So if you see more social media feeds of positive buzz on the Upin & Ipin game more than negative ones from ex-staff, at least you have a sense of where some of the production money for the game has allegedly gone to. 

We love to support the games and animation industry as much as we can. If the game gets international acclaim, all the better! But at the same time, is it worth overworking people and putting them in sweatshop conditions? Where the only way to go up in this line of work is submitting to alleged cronyism instead of meritocracy? 

Short Beats

Warner Bros. has cancelled its upcoming Wonder Woman game, as well as shut down its game studio Monolith Productions. The company has also shut down Play First Games (MultiVersus) and Warner Bros. Games San Diego. 

Xbox role-playing game Fable is being pushed back to 2026. 

The Olympic Council of Asia has announced the following games will be medalled events: Mobile Legends, Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, The King of Fighters XV, Pokemon Unite, Honor of Kings, League of Legends, PUBG Mobile, Naraka: Bladepoint, Gran Turismo 7, eFootball, and Puyo Puyo Champions. 

Pocketpair, the company that made survival game Palworld, has given its developers the day off on 28 February to play Monster Hunter Wilds. 

After a 3-year hiatus, original VTuber Kizuna AI has returned but is now focused on doing music. 

Op-Eds

We suggest some Monster Hunter clones to buy if you feel Monster Hunter Wilds is too expensive to buy. 

Here are our thoughts on the recent Sonic Racing Crossworlds and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves beta during the weekend of 22nd February. 

Games Out This Week

Monster Hunter Wilds is the latest entry in the action RPG series where you team up with other hunters equipped with giant weapons as you kill giant monsters and beasts. You also team up with cat slaves called Palicos and take the spoils of hunted beasts to craft better weapons and gear. You do all of this either solo or with online friends as you uncover the connection between the people of the Forbidden Lands and the locales they inhabit.

Ninja Five-O is a re-release of a classic 2D sidescroller action game originally on Game Boy Advance. As ninja Joe Osugi, utilize a wide variety of masterful ninja skills to uphold justice by solving treacherous crimes such as bank heists and hijackings. Use unique ninjutsu moves to protect the city of Zipangu and take down the evil Mad Mask bosses. 

Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection is a collection of all 14 Yu-Gi-Oh! Digital games from the era of the Game Boy, now for PC and Nintendo Switch. 

Recommended Viewing

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the upcoming Terminator game Terminator 2D: No Fate by Bitmap Bureau. 

In the very rare instances of people doing their jobs instead of being shills, Kinda Funny Games put the spotlight on Jason Schreier breaking down the decline of Warner Bros. games division.