Pixel P&L: AWS Gaming Outage, Football Manager FIFA Deal, Sims Mobile Sunset

Welcome to another Pixel P&L edition. This issue takes 5 minutes to read. If you only have one, here are the 5 most important things:

• Monday's AWS outage exposed gaming's cloud dependency crisis, taking down Fortnite, Roblox, and Epic services for hours — read the full story below.

• ACE PRIME CORE wins VALORANT Mobile's first LAN in China as Riot commits $210M over three years to the platform.

• Football Manager secures multi-year FIFA licensing deal starting with FM26.

• The Sims Mobile shutting down in January 2026 after EA discontinued updates earlier this year.

• Microsoft confirms next-gen Xbox hardware in development with AMD while expanding through partnerships like ROG Ally handheld. 

Let's get into it.

🎮 On Our Radar: AWS Outage Highlights Gaming's Cloud Infrastructure Risk

What happens when millions of gamers suddenly can't access their favorite titles? Monday's AWS outage provided a sobering answer, taking down multiple games and services including Fortnite, Roblox, Epic Games Store, and Epic Online Services offline for several hours.

The disruption began at 12:41PM IST when AWS reported issues in its US-EAST-1 Region, caused by DNS resolution problems in Amazon's EC2 network. While Amazon announced full restoration by 3:31AM IST the following day, gaming platforms like Fortnite and Epic Games Store came back online around four hours after the initial outage, leaving players locked out during peak hours.

This incident spotlights a growing concern in the gaming industry: cloud dependency. Unlike traditional server outages that might affect a single game, AWS failures cascade across multiple platforms simultaneously. With more games adopting live-service models and cloud-based infrastructure, a single point of failure can disrupt entire gaming ecosystems.

Sports Interactive, FIFA Announce Multi-Year Licensing Partnership for Football Manager

Sports Interactive has secured a multi-year deal with FIFA to incorporate official tournament licenses into its Football Manager franchise, beginning with FM26.

The partnership grants SI rights to FIFA's premier competitions, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, plus the FIFA Women's World Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. The agreement marks SI's first formal licensing arrangement with FIFA.

The 2026 World Cup integration will feature official kits for all 48 participating teams, broadcast graphics, and tournament branding. SI plans to introduce a revamped International Management module through a content update for FM26 ahead of the tournament.

The licensing deal comes after SI cancelled Football Manager 25 in February due to significant development delays, despite Football Manager 24 achieving record-breaking performance in 2024. The FIFA partnership could be a move to bolster the franchise's competitive positioning and recovery trajectory.

China’s Inaugural VALORANT Mobile LAN Tournament Concludes

ACE PRIME CORE defeated EDward Gaming 3-1 at VALORANT Mobile's first LAN esports event, signaling Riot Games' aggressive push into China's mobile gaming market.

The Platform Finals, held at Guangzhou Canton Tower Plaza, featured a 300,000 CNY ($42,000) prize pool and drew live audiences. Eight teams competed in single-elimination brackets, with both finalists advancing to December's National Finals.

The tournament represents one of four pathways in VALORANT Mobile's national circuit, which carries a cumulative $418,000 prize pool. Major Chinese streaming platforms including Douyu, Huya, KuaiShou, Douyin, and Bilibili hosted online qualifiers, demonstrating strong platform partner engagement.

Riot Games has committed 1.5 billion RMB ($210 million) to develop VALORANT Mobile esports over three years, positioning the title against established competitor Call of Duty Mobile. Industry observers note former CODM professionals have already transitioned to the platform.

The National Finals at Aranya Grand Masters will consolidate talent from corporate, collegiate, and national qualifying pathways, as Riot builds infrastructure for potential global expansion.

⚡️Quick Bytes

Electronic Arts to Shut Down The Sims Mobile in January 2026

Electronic Arts will sunset The Sims Mobile on January 20, 2026, after delisting the game from app stores on October 20. Existing players can access the title until shutdown, though remaining in-game currency will not be refunded. EA discontinued content updates earlier this year without providing rationale for the closure. The 2018 Maxis-developed title cycled through multiple studios during its lifespan, including Firemonkeys and Slingshot Studio.

Microsoft Confirms Next-Gen Xbox Hardware in Development

Microsoft is developing next-generation Xbox hardware while expanding its gaming ecosystem through partnerships like the ROG Xbox Ally handheld. Xbox president Sarah Bond confirmed prototyping is underway with AMD, emphasizing the company aims to offer multiple options for different player types, from power users seeking cutting-edge performance to casual gamers wanting portable experiences. The announcement comes amid retailer concerns.

⚔️Side Quest

🤣Laugh:

📺 Watch: YouTube creator Just1n makes a compelling case that might change how you view your favorite games. He argues modern titles sacrifice genuine challenge for artificial engagement, using algorithmic matchmaking to manipulate your wins and losses. If you've felt less satisfied by gaming victories lately, this exploration of how older games created meaningful accomplishment versus today's retention-focused design will resonate deeply.

🎮 Play: At 50% off, Necesse delivers exceptional value. This settlement-building survival game captures early Terraria's rough-but-promising charm while adding unique colony management mechanics that beg for expansion. Despite minor balancing issues and UI quirks, the core gameplay loop is addictive. If you enjoy the genre, this price makes it irresistible.

📚 Read: Roblox's Curation team reveals exactly how they select games for Today's Picks homepage. Learn the qualitative factors (safety, originality, fun gameplay), quantitative metrics (D1/D7 retention, audience growth), and high-priority genres that increase your chances. Essential reading for Roblox game devs.

💡Did You Know

In just one year, Victoria 3 players collectively caused 860 quadrillion famine deaths, enough to depopulate Earth 107 million times over. That's 1.1 billion deaths per hour! Paradox Interactive released these staggering statistics for the game's third birthday, revealing players' questionable agricultural policies (or frighteningly efficient genocide). Despite the carnage, players created anarchist Prussia 1,476 times and logged 440 million hours of gameplay. Surprisingly, China proved the most popular nation, followed by Japan and the USA. Presidential democracy remained the favorite government type, with 61 million established, though players had far stranger constitutional options available.

📜 Quote of the Day

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