PSN’s Most Downloaded PS5 And PS4 Games For 2021 Revealed, And Call Of Duty Wasn’t #1

Sony has revealed the most-downloaded PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 games on PSN in 2021, and for the first time in years, Call of Duty was not No. 1

For PS5, NBA 2K22 topped the charts for 2021 in the US and Canada, with FIFA 22 taking the top spot in Europe. Call of Duty: Vanguard finished second for the year in both regions, while Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Battlefield 2042 both cracked the top five charts in the US/Canada and Europe.

In a potentially notable development, Call of Duty ends its multi-year run as the most-downloaded game on PSN. Black Ops Cold War was No. 1 in 2020, while Modern Warfare topped the charts in 2019.

One of the biggest success stories of the year is Among Us landing at No. 6 in Europe, which appears to be a very good result considering the game was released halfway through December. It performed better than juggernauts like Far Cry 6 and Resident Evil Village, among others.

On PS4, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V was the most-downloaded game of the year in the US and Canada, some seven years after the game was originally released on the platform. Beat Saber, meanwhile, was the most-downloaded PSVR game in the US/Canada and Europe, while Fortnite was the biggest game in the free-to-play category across regions. Check out the charts below to see more.

PlayStation 5

US/Canada

NBA 2K22Call of Duty: VanguardSpider-Man: Miles MoralesMadden NFL 22Ratchet & Clank: Rift ApartCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold WarMLB The Show 21Resident Evil VillageFar Cry 6

EU

FIFA 22Call of Duty: VanguardFIFA 21Spider-Man: Miles MoralesBattlefield 2042Among UsKena: Bridge of SpiritsFar Cry 6It Takes TwoAssassin’s Creed Valhalla

PlayStation 4

US/Canada

Grand Theft Auto VCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold WarMinecraftNBA 2K22Call of Duty: VanguardMadden NFL 22NBA 2K21Red Dead Redemption 2MLB The Show 21Mortal Kombat 11

Europe

FIFA 22Grand Theft Auto VMinecraftFIFA 21Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold WarThe Crew 2Red Dead Redemption 2The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Game of the Year EditionCall of Duty: VanguardThe Forest

PlayStation VR Games

US/Canada

Beat SaberJob SimulatorSuperhot VRGornSwordsman VRCreed Rise to GloryVader Immortal: A Star Wars VR SeriesThe Walking Dead: Saints & SinnersRick & Morty: Virtual Rick-alityThe Walking Dead Onslaught

Europe

Beat SaberJob SimulatorSuperhot VRCreed: Rise to GlorySwordsman VRThe Walking Dead: Saints & SinnersGornRick & Morty: Virtual Rick-alityVader Immortal: A Star Wars VR SeriesAstro Bot Rescue Mission

Free-to-Play (PS5 and PS4)

US/Canada

FortniteCall of Duty: WarzoneRocket LeagueSplitgateApex LegendsGenshin ImpactDestiny 2Rec RoomBrawlhallaRogue Company

Europe

FortniteRocket LeagueCall of Duty: WarzoneeFootball 2022Genshin ImpactApex LegendseFootball pES 2021 LiteBrawlhallaDestiny 2SplitgateRead MoreGameSpot – Game News

Stalker 2: Heart Of Chernobyl Delayed To December

GSC Game World has announced that it has delayed the release of STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl to December 8, 2022. The game was previously planned to launch on April 28.

“These additional seven months of development are needed to fulfill our vision and achieve the desired state of the game,” GSC says in a statement. “STALKER 2 is the biggest project in the history of GSC, and it requires thorough testing and polishing. We are convinced that development should take as long as necessary, especially in the case of such a project.”

While it says the decision to delay the game was not an easy one, GSC wants to deliver an experience that will live up to players’ expectations. The studio mentions that it will have more information and updates to share later this year.

pic.twitter.com/E4bdKVmzxV

— S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OFFICIAL (@stalker_thegame) January 12, 2022

STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl is launching on PC and Xbox Series X|S as a console exclusive, as well as coming to Xbox Game Pass on Day One. Microsoft reportedly only has a three-month exclusivity period for the game.

Last month, GSC World announced that the game was going to feature a metaverse and had plans to incorporate NFTs. However, due to fan backlash, the studio eventually retracted its statement and decided to cancel anything related to NFTs for STALKER 2.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Xbox Series X|S Reach 1 Million Sold In The UK After 108% Growth And Biggest December Ever

The Xbox Series X|S family of consoles have surpassed 1 million units sold in the UK since launch in November 2020, according to data from GfK reported by GI.biz.

December 2021 was the biggest month for Xbox Series X|S sales since launch, and the 108% month-over-month uptick in December specifically was attributable to more Series X units being in stock, the report said.

Microsoft itself does not announce Xbox sales numbers, so third-party reports and other estimates are the main way figures are divulged. Recently, an analyst estimated that the Xbox Series X|S consoles combined to ship 12 million units since launch globally.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer told The New York Times recently that the demand is outpacing supply for new consoles, despite supply being as big as it’s ever been.

“When you think about trying to go get an Xbox or a new PlayStation right now in the market, they’re really hard to find,” Spencer said. “And it’s not because supply is smaller than it’s ever been. Supply is actually as big as it’s ever been. It’s that demand is exceeding the supply for all of us.”

Sales numbers for video games in the US will be announced on January 18, which is when the NPD group will divulge the best-selling consoles and games for December 2021 and the full year. Keep checking back with GameSpot for more.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Kirby And The Forgotten Land Release Date, New Trailer Revealed

One of Nintendo’s first big releases of 2022 is Kirby and the Forgotten Land for Nintendo Switch, and now the game has a release date and a new trailer.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land will launch on March 25, Nintendo has announced. A new trailer also has also been released that shows off some of the incredible-looking levels and Kirby’s unique abilities.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a 3D platformer that takes players to a “mysterious world” where they inhale enemies to steal their abilities–some of the new ones include the Drill and Ranger. Players are trying to save the kidnapped Waddle Dees, and the game also supports co-op, with a second player controlling Bandana Waddle Dee.

In other Kirby-related news, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards will be among the games available in the N64-centric expansion of the Nintendo Switch Online service.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Sony Is Still Making More PlayStation 4 Consoles Until The End Of The Year – Report

Sony is reportedly going to produce more PlayStation 4 consoles through 2022 in order to allegedly help offset the pressure on the company’s PlayStation 5 console production.

According to a new report from Bloomberg, Sony allegedly told its assembly partners late last year that it would continue making more PlayStation 4 consoles until the end of 2022. Sony had never officially announced that it would discontinue the PS4, but the report mentions that the company’s original plan was to stop assembly at the end of 2021.

However, a Sony spokesperson said that the company did not plan on discontinuing the console and confirmed that it would remain in production this year, saying, “It is one of the best-selling consoles ever and there is always crossover between generations.”

Interesting article but not sure how meaningful this is when the plan is to ship ~1m PS4s in 2022. Chart below for perspective.

PS5 will continue to remain supply constrained in 2022, but this additional supply of PS4s seems more about keeping a low cost option in some markets. https://t.co/XoFCQIfFpc pic.twitter.com/8QQFudJs4A

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) January 12, 2022

Sources close to Bloomberg say that about a million PS4 consoles will be produced this year but the amount is subject to change depending on demand. The last generation console uses less advanced chips, is simpler to make, and is a budget-friendly alternative to the PS5. Additionally, more production orders also provide Sony room to negotiate with manufacturing partners for a better deal.

The latest generation of consoles has been hard to find due to the global shortage of semiconductors. Even last-generation consoles have been difficult to secure and as a result, PS4 prices skyrocketed last year.

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Post-Apocalyptic Survival Game Forever Skies Announced By Polish Studio

Polish independent studio Far From Home has just announced its first project with a gorgeous teaser. The game, called Forever Skies, is a first person action survival game, set on an uninhabitable, post-apocalyptic version of Earth, IGN reports.

Far From Home is an independent Polish game studio, founded by industry veterans whose titles include games like Chernobylite, The Medium, Dying Light, Divinity: Original Sin, and Dead Island. The new studio aims to produce next-gen “AA+” games, while staying independent and working with a small team. The studio currently consists of 23 developers, many of them having previously worked on big-name AAA titles.

Forever Skies follows a scientist exploring a version of Earth that has been rendered uninhabitable by a climate crisis. The remains of humanity live in orbit, but are being threatened by a disease that the main character now has to find a cure for.

The game’s first teaser shows off Forever Skies’ main concept, with much of its action taking place on crumbling buildings, towering above the layer of toxic clouds that make the ground uninhabitable. The player is tasked with exploring and researching in this sky-high world, with the game incorporating classic survival elements like base-building, crafting, and planting crops. While details on combat are still murky, it’ll be present in the gameplay, with players eventually having to face whatever threats are lurking beneath the Earth’s deadly cloud layer.

Far From Home CEO Andrzej Blumenfeld told IGN that the game’s setting was inspired by the real-world impacts of climate change in Cracow, Poland, adding that Forever Skies is explicitly intended to be about the dangers of climate change.

The focus on viruses and medical experimentation was already a part of the game before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Blumenfeld added, though the team at Far From Home ended up having to tweak how it was presented, in light of changing attitudes to disease and medical science due to the pandemic.

Forever Skies is expected to launch in early access for PC later this year, and initially will be a single-player experience. Far From Home intend to release the game at a later point on next-gen consoles, as well as adding the option to play in co-op.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Apex Legends’ Original Octane Design Is Freaky And Addicted To Drugs Extracted From Alien Spiders

The Art of Apex Legends is out today and it includes concept art and developer commentary for the characters, maps, and weapons found in Apex Legends leading up to Season 7: Ascension. Of particular note is the commentary surrounding the creative process for Apex Legends’ first 15 characters, including the interesting tidbit that Octane started out as a far more monstrous-looking legend.

“Octane’s design was originally a character addicted to drugs extracted from alien spiders,” Respawn lead writer Ashley Reed and EA senior copywriter Sumari MacLeod write in The Art of Apex Legends. “His early sketches were meant to make people feel uncomfortable.”

They certainly do. The accompanying sketches of Octane’s earlier designs depict the high-speed daredevil with misshapen limbs of goblin-like proportions (his arms are nearly as long as his legs and his fingers appear claw-like), while tubes of glowing liquid crisscross his body like a demonic spider web. It also appears like his mask fully covers his face or is a part of a helmet, giving Octane’s head an exoskeleton-like appearance with fangs and mandibles. Based on those early designs, it seems like the original Octane was mutating on account of his drug addiction, slowly becoming more spider-like over time. It’s freaky.

The book also showcases how these scary arachnid designs slowly morph over time to what Octane looks like now, as Respawn changed the character to be addicted to sports and finding his next adrenaline high as opposed to alien spider drugs.

Octane’s origins are also noteworthy because it may explain the Apex Legends Octane Edition, which includes an exclusive legendary skin for Octane alongside a Charge Rifle skin and weapon charm. Everything in the Octane Edition is spider-themed–a detail I’ve always found odd until today. Folks with arachnophobia can appreciate that the legendary Arachnoid Rush Octane skin in the Octane Edition is nowhere near as disturbing to look at as Octane’s original designs.

The Art of Apex Legends includes a few other interesting tidbits about the other legends too. I won’t list them all–need to save a few surprises for those picking up the book–but another of these stories is too good not to share. It’s about Pathfinder.

Pathfinder, as it turns out, used to be a very different character. Instead of the happy-go-lucky robot he is, The Art of Apex Legends reveals, “Pathfinder’s design used to be a sad, angry, and snarky robot who hated humans. Lots of his early sketches were red-eyed killing machines. There was even a mechanical Rambo version. We ended up making him a happy robot to differentiate him from Revenant.”

I love this because it reveals two things. First off, the Apex Legends Pathfinder Edition includes the legendary Full Metal Robot Pathfinder skin, which transforms the forward scout into Rambo–another instance of Respawn using a special Apex Legends edition to release a skin based on an early concept for a character. And second, that Revenant and Pathfinder were being designed around the same time, further highlighting how Respawn is designing these characters way ahead of their release, seeing as Revenant didn’t launch until a year after Apex Legends’ launch.

All I know, I’m eagerly hoping Respawn announces The Art of Apex Legends Vol 2 because I need to learn about the design backstories for the legends that have come out since the end of Year 2. There’s got to be stories for Fuse, Valkyrie, Seer, and Ash.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Call Of Duty: Vanguard Mid-Season Patch Notes Reveal A Focus On Multiplayer Improvements

Sledgehammer Games has detailed the patch notes for Vanguard‘s multiplayer and Zombies ahead of the upcoming Season 1 Reloaded update. While appearing light on new content for multiplayer, the developer says players should see significant changes to gameplay and bug fixes with this mid-season update.

Call of Duty players can’t stop, drop, and roll when they’re on fire, and incendiary grenades have been frustratingly overpowered since the equipment was introduced at the beginning of Season 1. Thankfully, the patch notes promise a nerf to the incendiary grenades as well as perk adjustments to give players new ways to counter fire damage. The Dauntless perk will now give immunity to fire and burning effects, which include incendiary rounds, flamenaut killstreak, and any lingering fire on the ground. Additionally, the Fortified perk will now reduce fire damage taken by 30%.

The update also brings a balancing pass to buff Vanguard’s sniper rifles. Previously, the snipers felt a little too slow to be viable choices, but these mid-season adjustments should make sniping a bit easier. The Type 99 sniper is receiving a reduction to aim flinch and ADS time, the 3-Line Rifle also is getting a reduction to ADS time, and a Kar98 sniper adjustment will allow the gun to retain its one shot kill potential for chest shots when smaller-caliber ammo is used.

Players can also expect adjusted spawns on Vanguard’s smaller maps, including a tweak to spawns for Domination on Dome. The developer says that the spawns have been drastically reworked for the Control game mode to prevent players from spawning directly on teammates. Out-of-map Control spawns on Tuscan have also been corrected for this update.

Sledgehammer Games continues to iron out the issues with many of Vanguard’s camo challenges. The update offers fixes for some of the STG-44 assault rifle’s lingering challenge bugs, and the Katana unlock challenge should properly track player progress. Stability improvements were also included to prevent a host of crashing issues, and Xbox Series X players should no longer experience game crashing with the CDN setting enabled.

As previewed earlier by Treyarch, the Season 1 Reloaded patch notes for Zombies mode detail a new feature, map location and objective, but most notably will include the option to play a more traditional round-based experience within the Der Anfang map.

The full patch notes can be found below, as shared by Sledgehammer Games. All of these adjustments come paired with the new Season 1 DLC announcements, which include a collaboration with the Attack on Titan franchise.

Call of Duty Season 1 Reloaded will arrive as walkouts continue in protest of surprise contract terminations within Raven Software’s QA team. Activision Blizzard faces lawsuits and other investigations related to alleged sexual harassment and discrimination against women.

MULTIPLAYER UPDATES

Stability

Several sources of packet burst have been identified and resolvedSeveral sources of Multiplayer crash errors have been identified and resolvedXbox Series X players will no longer experience game crashing with CDN setting enabledPlaying with keyboard and mouse will no longer result in ‘controller needed’ message

Spawns

Spawn logic has been tuned to improve small maps with higher player countsAdjusted spawn logic for Domination on DomeSpawns in Control mode have been significantly adjusted to: Prevent out-of-map spawns on TuscanPrevent spawning in the enemy’s line-of-sight on BocagePrevent players from spawning directly on teammates

Weapons & Equipment: Bug Fixes

Attack / Guard Dog kills now count towards Panzerfaust Camo ChallengesSTG “Reptilian” Camo Weapon Challenge is now tracking Bloodthirsty killsSTG “Predatory” Camo Weapon Challenge is now tracking MultikillsKatana unlock Challenge is now tracking properly3-Line Rifle can now be reloaded with the ZF4 3.5X Rifle Scope equippedAddressed an issue that prevented the “Kill an Enemy While They Have a Spy Plane Active 5 Times” challenge from tracking in the Counter Measures career challengesAddressed an issue where care packages would land out of reach when playing Armageddon on Tuscan and Daus HausPlayer selected camos will now appear during the match intro sequenceLocked Camos and attachments can no longer be swapped onto unlocked weaponsA bug resulting in missing Post-Match Flow has been fixedA bug resulting in Type 100 Blueprint “Thunderhead” being invisibly in the pre-match countdown has been fixed

Weapons & Equipment: Balancing Changes

WeaponsM1 Garand Reduced RecoilType 99 Reduced Aim FlinchReduced ADS TimeRetain One Shot Kill potential for chest shots when smaller caliber ammo is used3-Line Rifle Reduced ADS TimeKar98 Retain One Shot Kill potential for chest shots when smaller caliber ammo is usedAmmoHollow Points Removed damage range penaltiesEquipmentStun Grenade Reduced Stun Grenade damage in Hardcore modesReduced how long players are affected by Stun GrenadesIncendiary Grenade Damage has been reducedKillstreaksMortar Barrage Duration of Mortar Strike has been reducedNumber of Mortar Strikes per streak has been reducedAddressed issue where Mortar Barrage deployment was inconsistentPerksHigh Alert Slight delay added before Perk activates after being seen by an enemyDauntless Gives immunity to fire and burning effects including Incendiary Rounds, Flamenaut, and lingering fire on the groundFortified Reduces fire damage taken by 30%Reduces excessive damage of all explosives

Maps

Polish pass to improve and fix player collision issues with map environmentsOverall polish pass on Destructibles throughout all maps

UI/UX

“Seasonal Challenge” menu is now present in the Challenges tabPlayers will no longer experience visual rank swapping between players in Private MatchesThe Objective progression bar will no longer clips into reticlesUnintended distortion of MVP images has been fixedThe continuous post-game level-up animation when players reach Prestige 3 has been fixedStore: menu navigation has improved when viewing and toggling between Bundles

ZOMBIES

Survival Gameplay

VoidSurvival gameplay comes to “Shi No Numa” in the Void, accessed from Von List’s Office in Stalingrad.Rounds are advanced by defeating increasingly difficult endless waves of zombies, rather than by completing Objectives.After completing 3 rounds in the Void, players must choose to Flee or Survive. Choosing Survive continues to spawn waves of zombies until players choose to escape, or if the game ends when all players go down.Players earn 5,000 bonus Essence for every 3 rounds completed in the Void.After surviving 12 rounds in the Void, players earn a reward that prevents Perks from dropping below Tier II upon going down for the rest of the match.The Pack-a-Punch machine is available in “Shi No Numa” when in the Void.Players can return to Stalingrad to upgrade their Perks, Covenants, and Artifacts after surviving 3 rounds in the Void, and can return to the Void at any time.

Locations

Von List’s OfficeExplore this previously closed-off area of Stalingrad to discover new narrative intel and the portal to the Void.

New Feature

Tome of RitualsInvest Sacrificial Hearts at the new Tome of Rituals to upgrade Artifacts up to four tiers in-game.

Artifact Upgrades

Frost BlastTier I – Freezes normal and Special enemies for 3 seconds once they have been in the Frost Blast zone for 0.5 second.Tier II – Increases the Frost Blast radius by 100%.Tier III – Increases the number of charges from 1 to 3.Tier IV – Frozen normal enemies are insta-killed when damaged.Energy MineTier I – Stuns normal and Special enemies hit by Energy Mine for 3 seconds.Tier II – Explodes 3 times in a row with a 0.75 second delay between explosions.Tier III – Increases the number of charges from 1 to 3.Tier IV – Increases the explosion radius by 66%.Aether ShroudTier I – Automatically reload weapons when activated.Tier II – Deal 500% bonus melee damage while active.Tier III – Gain 50% move speed while active. Duration extended from 5 seconds to 8 seconds.Tier IV – Increases the number of charges from 1 to 2.Ring of FireTier I – Normal enemies inside the ring take damage equal to 2% of their max HP every second.Tier II – Players within the ring use ammo from stock.Tier III – Staying within the ring for up to 10 seconds increases the duration from 15 seconds to 20 seconds.Tier IV – Staying within the ring for up to 10 seconds increases your damage bonus from +50% to +75%.

Pack-a-Punch Camos

Three unique camos added to the Pack-a-Punch machine.Weapon camo will now change in appearance with each Pack-a-Punch upgrade up to Tier III.Pre-Packed loot weapons will display Pack-a-Punch camos after being picked up from Sturmkreigers or the Mystery Box.

Weapons

Combat ShieldNow available in Zombies loadouts and the Mystery Box.Mitigates a portion of damage from the direction the player is facing when raised. Cannot break.Protects the player’s back from partial rear damage when stowed.

Weapon Unlock Challenges

New weapon unlock challenges added to Zombies for the Katana melee weapon and new Welgun SMG via Create-a-Class: Katana: In Zombies, get 5 rapid kills with a Melee weapon during 50 different Portal Objectives.Welgun: In Zombies, get 5 rapid Critical Kills with an SMG during 50 different Portal Objectives.

Support Weapons

Warmachine and Deathmachine now available in the Support tab at the Crafting Table.Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Apex Legends Dark Depths: How To Earn All Of The Event’s Free Rewards

Dark Depths, the latest Apex Legends event, is live now through February 1, bringing new cosmetic items and a new Arenas map to the game. In addition to that, the event also brings with it three free reward tracks, each one lasting for one week. Here’s everything you need to know about completing the Dark Depths free reward tracks.

Free reward track overview

All three Dark Depths reward tracks

Dark Depths features three reward tracks, each available for one week of the event. This means that during the event, players will need to earn 3,000 event points each week in order to secure all of the free rewards. Players can earn 100 crafting materials, a loading screen, and three Apex Packs in terms of basic rewards. There are also 60 battle pass stars included in the free reward tracks, which equates to six battle pass levels. There are fewer than 30 days left until the end of the Season 11 battle pass, so six battle pass levels will probably go a long way.

The bigger rewards available are three epic holosprays, an epic Alternator skin, and an epic Revenant skin. Players can also earn a Dark Depths Apex Pack, which guarantees one non-duplicate item from the Dark Depths cosmetic collection.

Here are the dates for each reward track:

Week 1: January 11-18Week 2: January 18-25Week 3: January 15-February 1

Challenges

There are five event challenges, all of which are fairly simple to complete. One challenge is for completing matches of any type. There are challenges for getting knockdowns in Arenas as well as winning Arenas matches. The final two challenges are for dealing damage in battle royale matches and finishing in the top ten. Each challenge has a second tier to complete, meaning there is a total of 1,500 points available each day, if you max out all of the challenges.

The challenges reset daily and are the same each day. This means that reaching the highest reward on each week’s reward track could be done in only two days, if you grind for it. If not, playing a few matches of either battle royale or Arenas each day during the event should also get you the highest reward without too much extra effort.

If you’re looking to check out the new Arenas map Habitat, check out GameSpot’s Arenas mode guide for tips and tricks. If you want to get better with the static defender, check out GameSpot’s Wattson character guide.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Popular Streamers Pokimane And Disguised Toast React… To Getting Banned On Twitch

Turns out that even the most popular streamers aren’t free from the DMCA strike ban hammer. In the past week, two high profile Twitch streamers–Pokimane and Disguised Toast–have received Twitch bans following both streaming popular animated series on their channels. While the reason for these bans has not been officially confirmed by the streaming platform, all signs point to both instances revolving around copyright infringement–and both streamers have some thoughts.

Luckily for Imane “Pokiman” Anys, who received her ban Friday, January 7 while streaming the Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender, her account has already been restored. Considering Pokimane is one of the site’s biggest streamers, boasting a staggering 8.5 million followers, her swift sentence is not all that surprising. According to the streamer’s tweets, she was banned from accessing her channel for 48 hours, after which she held a 12 hour long stream on Monday morning discussing the “fair” and “inevitable” punishment.

just to be clear, i’m not surprised and i don’t think this is unfair. imo, it was inevitable that publishers would take action, on me or someone else, during this react meta.
will chat more about this monday, when I can further elaborate on the situation! 💜

— pokimane (@pokimanelol) January 9, 2022

As for Jeremy “Disguised Toast” Wang, the future of his channel is more uncertain, but it looks like you could be waiting a long time before you see him grace the site’s front page. Banned on Monday, January 10 after streaming the popular anime series Death Note, it appears the streamer could be waiting up to a month to have his channel reinstated–something both Toast and his fellow streamers seem just a bit shocked by. Toast addressed the ban on Twitter, writing “Whelp, looks like I’ll be seeing you guys in a month” to his 1.5 million followers.

welp, looks like i’ll be seeing you guys in a month

— Toast (@DisguisedToast) January 11, 2022

Shortly after his tweet, streamers Ludwig, Hasanabi, Hafu, Bnans, Peter Park, and several others expressed surprise at the lengthy sentence. While Pokimane might have found her ban period fair, many have raised questions around the length of Toast’s punishment, which seems grueling in comparison. However, Twitter user Petr Fogl was quick to point out Toast apparently streamed “100+ episodes” of Death Note on his channel, which could contribute to the month-long ban.

It really isn’t, he watched 100+ episodes. He is lucky it’s not more.

— Petr Fogl (@PetrFogl) January 11, 2022

Unfortunately for Twitch streamers participating in what’s now being referred to as the “TV meta”–a new trend some streamers are jumping on wherein they try to attract more viewers to their channel by streaming popular shows–this is the danger that comes with the territory. Over the past few years, the streaming service has notoriously cracked down on DMCA violations, ultimately implementing a three-strikes policy that can result in a streamer’s channel being deleted.

While some have argued over the severity of Twitch’s enforcement, as well as expressed frustration with how justice is unevenly doled out depending upon a streamer’s popularity, as of right now it seems like the platform isn’t ready to budge on their DMCA bans anytime soon. With such high profile bans, it seems likely that more streamers may back away from such a high-risk, high-reward method of growing their channel, though only time will tell.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News