Pixel P&L: A Bloodbath for Gaming Stocks

Today’s Pixel P&L spotlights the slump in global gaming stocks following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs. We’re also covering full details of JetSynthesys’ Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL) Season 2, Ubisoft’s newly reported title, the end of ESL Pro Tour for StarCraft II, and more.

📊 Gaming Stocks Today

Global gaming stocks slumped Monday as investors reacted to new U.S. tariffs announced by President Donald Trump. The measures, aimed at correcting trade imbalances, have raised concerns over rising costs, supply chain disruptions, and potential delays across the gaming industry.

Japanese companies led the downturn. Sony dropped over 10%, while Nintendo fell 7.85% after delaying U.S. pre-orders for the Switch 2 due to tariff-related uncertainty. Publishers also took a hit: Bandai Namco (-7.37%), SEGA Sammy (-7.29%), Capcom (-6.61%), Square Enix (-5.62%), and Konami (-5.19%) all posted losses. 

Gaming companies in other countries were also affected. China’s Tencent fell 8.76%, while NetEase is down by 8.45%. In the U.S., companies like Electronic Arts, Take Two Entertainment, Roblox Corp, and more have posted single-digit drops.

JetSynthesys Reveals GEPL Season 2 Details, Prize Pool Increased to ₹3.05 Crore

JetSynthesys has released full details for Season 2 of the Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL), its mobile gaming tournament built around Real Cricket. Set to take place in Bengaluru from April 27 to May 2, the tournament will feature 34 matches and a prize pool of ₹3.05 crore, up from ₹2.51 crore last year.

While the season was announced earlier, this week’s update confirmed the full schedule, format, and team structure. An auction held on April 3 helped finalize team rosters, with six franchises selecting from a pool of 100 players using fixed purses. The franchises spent a total of ₹56.65 lakh in the auction to sign marquee and tiered players.

New franchise owners include Lenskart CEO Peyush Bansal, Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, and Sara Tendulkar. Their involvement reflects growing investor appetite for mobile-first gaming properties in India. The league is part of JetSynthesys’ broader strategy to grow its presence in digital entertainment and competitive gaming.

⚡Quick Bytes

Ubisoft Developing Turn-Based Tactics Game in Rainbow Six Universe

Ubisoft is developing a turn-based tactics game set in the Rainbow Six Siege universe, according to a report from Insider Gaming. The title is targeting a release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and potentially Nintendo Switch 2 within the next one to two years. Designed with a top-down camera and gameplay reminiscent of XCOM, the game will feature Rainbow Six operators in mission-based scenarios such as hostage rescues. The project may eventually be housed under Ubisoft’s new Tencent-backed subsidiary. The Rainbow Six brand remains a core IP for Ubisoft, even though its most recent entry, Rainbow Six Extraction, fell short of expectations.

ESL FACEIT Ends StarCraft II Pro Tour Amid Financial Pressures

ESL FACEIT Group has announced it will discontinue the ESL Pro Tour for StarCraft II starting in 2025, citing financial challenges. Launched in 2020, the circuit hosted over 48,000 matches and awarded $6 million in prize money. Despite initial success with events like IEM Katowice, declining funding made the tour unsustainable. ESL said it could no longer maintain the quality and scale expected by fans. The final SC2 event under the ESL banner will take place at this year’s Esports World Cup, with no future circuit planned beyond 2025.

Brawlhalla Moves 2025 Esports Circuit to Challengermode

The 2025 Brawlhalla esports season will be hosted on tournament platform Challengermode, following a new partnership. All official competitions, including the Spring Championship and annual World Championship, will run through the platform. The first events are set for April 12–13. Now in its tenth year, Brawlhalla’s competitive roadmap includes community, seasonal, and invitational Royale tournaments. Challengermode previously hosted events for Madden NFL 25 and raised £2 million in late 2024 to expand its operations.

⚔️Side Quest

📺 Watch: Take a trip through gaming’s awkward relationship with advertising. From retro advergames to modern mobile pop-ups sneaking into your $70 console titles.

🎮 Play: If Lethal Company and Content Warning had a chaotic, gore-soaked cousin with a press pass and a death wish, Headliners would be it. Equal parts terrifying and hilarious, and absolutely worth a night of mayhem with friends.

📖 Read: What do a banned anime, a giant robot, and a dictator have in common? This heartfelt deep dive into Voltes V explores how a cheesy 70s cartoon became a symbol of rebellion, family, and Filipino identity across generations.

🧑‍🎓 Learn how video games can level up the way you learn.

💡Did You Know

In 2002, Nintendo, Sega, and Namco actually joined forces to create an arcade board called the Triforce. Named after the legendary relic from The Legend of Zelda, this GameCube-powered system was designed to cut development costs and make it easier to port games between arcades and consoles. Nintendo licensed its IPs while Sega and Namco did the heavy lifting in arcades, with Sega launching Virtua Striker 2002 as the first title. 

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