Is AI taking the fun out of fantasy football? For years, fantasy football has given every armchair manager the space to back up claims they could do a better job than the real thing. Whether you're competing against workmates, family members or strangers, the ability to pull together your own dream team is irresistible to millions of football fans. The competitive pastime has spawned a whole industry of content creators offering weekly tips for anyone looking to gain an edge as they sift through stats and manage transfers. Recently, more players have been turning to Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for advice - but not everyone agrees they have a place in the virtual dugout.

The second season of Fallout - Prime Video's mega-hit based on the popular video game series - has landed. Set in a post-apocalyptic future where Earth has been ravaged by nuclear war, the first series was a commercial and critical hit, impressing long-time fans and viewers who'd never played before. Its surprising success had a huge impact on Bethesda Softworks, the developer of its source material, bringing back lapsed players and creating new ones along the way. Key creatives from the company have told BBC Newsbeat about working with the show's producers, and what the success of the programme means for the future of the games. The first season of Fallout arrived at a turning point for Hollywood video game adaptations.

The latest season of Netflix's The Witcher has landed - with one big difference. Former lead actor Henry Cavill has been replaced as main character Geralt of Rivia by Liam Hemsworth. The Australian has stepped in for the final two seasons of the fantasy show, based on a popular series of novels and video games. Previously, British actor Cavill had portrayed the title character, a monster hunter with supernatural abilities known as the White Wolf. When he announced he was passing the torch to Hemsworth in October 2022, describing him as a fantastic actor, not all fans agreed.

Grand Theft Auto made him a legend. In July this year workers at Build a Rocket Boy, a video game studio in Edinburgh, were called to an all-staff meeting. Their first ever game, a sci-fi adventure called MindsEye, had been released three weeks earlier - and it had been a total disaster. Critics and players called it broken, buggy, and the worst game of 2025. Addressing staff via video link, the company's boss, Leslie Benzies, assured them there was a plan to get things back on track and said the negativity they'd seen was uncalled for.

Fans have reacted angrily after Microsoft announced price increases to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service. The company announced that the most popular tier of its Netflix-style video games system - available to PC and Xbox players - would rise by more than 50% from £14.99 to £22.99 per month. Reacting on social media, loads of fans said they had cancelled their Game Pass subscriptions, with some reporting the service's cancellation page had crashed due to demand. BBC Newsbeat has asked Microsoft if the outage was linked to a surge in visits. In a blog post detailing the changes to Game Pass, Microsoft said it would offer three tiers - Essential (£10 per month), Premium (£14.99) and Ultimate (£22.99).

Video games are taking longer to make, but why? It's been 84 years... or so says the meme. For video game fans, it can certainly feel like it, as the gap between big releases gets longer. Earlier this month Silksong, the highly anticipated sequel to 2017's Hollow Knight, was finally released . And don't get us started on Grand Theft Auto 6.

If you're a black or Asian user of gay dating app Grindr, then it's possible you've encountered racism while using it. Some users of the app have said they've come across what they believe are discriminatory statements on other profiles - things like "no blacks and no Asians". Others say they've faced racist comments in conversation with users when they've rejected their advances. Now Grindr has taken a stand against discrimination on its platform and says no user is entitled to tear another down for "being who they are". It's launched the #KindrGrindr campaign to raise awareness of racism and discrimination and promote inclusivity among users. It says it will ban users who "bully or defame" others and will remove offensive language from profiles.

When you think of game development, you might imagine hundreds of people working at huge studios like Sony or EA. But independent developers, or indies, make big games too. These are small teams, often with modest budgets, who make games without creative input from investors. Popular farm simulator Stardew Valley and chaotic co-operative game Overcooked were built on desks in bedrooms - yet both have been recognised by BAFTA . We headed into the woods in central Sweden to visit Stugan, a programme that brings indies from the UK and all over the world to the Nordic countryside to work on projects side-by-side. There we asked three teams one simple question: Can anyone make games?

We've all heard the headlines: Video games cause addiction, violence, and distress. Ludectrophobia (a fear of video games - but we all knew that) has evolved since the 1980s as each decade brought new concerns. "Gaming disorder" is now even an official medical condition. Video game producer Johnny Chiodini says it's important to look at the good done by games. His YouTube series Low Batteries examines how video games help players cope with their mental health struggles.

Science fiction has long been criticised for its lack of racial diversity and inclusion. It's rare to see a lead character who isn't white. One study of the top 100 highest-grossing films in the US showed that just eight of those 100 movies had a non-white protagonist, as of 2014. Six of those eight were Will Smith, according to diversity-focused book publisher Lee and Low Books. The long-term exclusion of people of colour from science fiction offers up an interesting paradox.