Some weeks the multiplayer business news is all patch notes and expansion dates. This isn't one of those weeks.

Instead, the latest batch of industry headlines covers advertising, an arrest, a corporate reshuffle and a denial from Xbox's CEO. None of it will change your raid night this weekend. All of it says something about where the platforms and publishers behind our favorite online games are heading.

Discord wants advertisers to feel at home

Discord, the chat app that has become the default meeting place for guilds, clans and LFG groups, is building out its advertising business. It's hard not to read that as part of a broader push that likely strengthens its IPO ambitions, the plan to list the company on the stock market.

Read More

Minecraft Dungeons II is out.

That's the headline, and it's a big one for anyone who has spent an evening clearing blocky dungeons with friends on the sofa. The co-op action RPG officially launched on September 29, 2026, bringing the dungeon-crawling spin-off back for a second round. It is live on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Plenty of new releases compete for attention in the multiplayer space. Very few of them carry the Minecraft name. That alone makes this one worth a closer look, because Minecraft is still one of the most popular franchises around, and a sequel to its co-op spin-off will almost certainly pull in players who wouldn't normally touch an action RPG.

Read More