Howdy-ho, gamerinos! What have you been playing this week? I took the weekend to emotionally recover from playing The Last of Us: Left Behind, and if The Last of Us 2 is even half as emotional I’ll be crying about Ellie and Joel well into 2021. Death Stranding was also big news this week, and I have guiltily and furtively set aside the rest of my to-play pile and am downloading as I write.

Aside from Death Stranding, here’s what else made the news this week.

China Plans to Implement Gaming Restrictions for Minors

China’s State Administration of Press and Publication shared a notice that outlined new curfews and restrictions on how long minors can play online games. Officials say this is an effort to combat gaming addiction, which the World Health Organization recognized as a mental health condition in 2018. The new regulations will also cap microtransactions. Furthermore, players must register their gaming accounts with authentic identifying information so officials can accurately pinpoint minors. It is unclear how these regulations will affect adult players and offline games.

Should Punishments Be Lessened if Your Livelihood Depends on a Game? Ninja Thinks So.

Earlier last week, Epic Games handed down a lifetime ban to YouTuber Jarvis Khattri after he posted a video of himself playing Fortnite with an aimbot cheat. Later, during a stream, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, the most prominent Fortnite player in the world, called the ban unfair and said that punishments for content creators with a following like Khattri (and ostensibly himself) should be less severe than those given to regular folks. Naturally, this incited an interesting conversation about whether cheating is worthy of a lifetime ban and whether punishments should be adjusted depending on a person’s influence. What do you think?

EA Employees’ Twitter Accounts Were Hacked Following FIFA 20 Drama

After repeated abusive misconduct and harassment toward Electronic Arts employees, EA permanently banned top player Kurt Fenech from competing in official tournaments. Fenech posted multiple videos attacking FIFA opponents and EA Sports staff members. Unfortunately, this type of harassment and toxicity toward EA’s community managers and developers has been common—even from pro players—since the game’s release.

Following Fenech’s ban, the Twitter accounts of several EA community managers were hacked, with hackers posting messages in support of Fenech. These accounts were quickly deactivated, citing employee safety.

It’s been a tough month for EA. Last week, Eurogamer published an investigation of a “dodging Discord” first exposed by popular streamer Nick Bartels in late October, which pro players have been using to coordinate wins and secure prizes.

In Other News…

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