Pixel P&L: Kratos $13.5M Raise, ESL Impact Suspended, Discord Breach

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:

• Indian startup Kratos Gamer Network raises $13.5M to fight bot fraud with blockchain verification.

• ESL FACEIT Group suspends women's Counter-Strike circuit despite recent success of its initiative.

• Game Pass potentially cost Black Ops 6 $300 million in sales, raising questions about subscription profitability.

• Discord's customer service partner breached, government IDs exposed.

• Nintendo denies AI lobbying claims after politician's accusations spark rare formal response . 

Let's get into it.

Indian Gaming Startup Kratos Gamer Network Raises $13.5 Million

Kratos Gamer Network, an Indian gaming and blockchain verification startup, raised $13.5 million from Prosus Ventures, Jump Crypto, and Accel, bringing total funding to $43.5 million.

The company built a blockchain protocol that verifies real users for gaming companies, AI startups, decentralized finance protocols, and consumer apps, helping them avoid bots while allowing users to earn money for participation.

Gaming firms use KGeN's platform to onboard high-retention players, while the company also serves AI companies sourcing human feedback and DeFi protocols reaching verified traders. KGeN claims 38.9 million verified users and partnerships with over 200 companies across 60 countries, reporting $48.3 million in annualized revenue.

"KGeN solves the hardest problem in consumer growth: trust," said Manish Agarwal, elder council member at the company and former CEO of Nazara Technologies.

ESL FACEIT Group Suspends Women's Counter-Strike Circuit Amid Financial Pressures

ESL FACEIT Group announced that it will suspend its women's Counter-Strike 2 circuit, ESL Impact, following Season 8's conclusion in November, citing an unsustainable economic model.

The decision, revealed October 3rd, ends seven seasons that attracted major esports organizations and fostered female talent. The closure comes despite recent progress: in January, Imperial Fe became the first all-female team to qualify for a premier mixed-gender tournament, IEM Katowice 2025, competing against elite squads like Team Vitality and NAVI.

ESL FACEIT Group stated its commitment to diversity remains a core value, though no replacement circuit has been announced. The suspension leaves female Counter-Strike without a major competitive platform, prompting concern about the scene's future viability.

MIBR, FlyQuest Red, and Imperial Fe jointly pledged continued investment in women's Counter-Strike. However, with no large-scale tournament organizer stepping forward, teams and players face uncertainty about where to compete and showcase their skills in the coming months.

⚡️Quick Bytes

Microsoft Defends Xbox Game Pass Price Increases, Cites Expanded Content

Microsoft defended its Xbox Game Pass price hikes, telling The Verge it is adding significant value to justify the increases. Director of gaming communications Dustin Blackwell said the service now includes over 400 titles globally and 75 day-one releases annually, representing a 50 percent increase from last year. The company acknowledged price increases are difficult but said it is listening to player feedback and reinforcing offerings with additional content across its tiers.

Discord Customer Service Partner Breached, Government IDs Potentially Exposed

Discord disclosed that hackers breached a third-party customer service partner and attempted to extort money from the company. The breach potentially exposed user data including government IDs used for age verification, names, email addresses, payment details, and support messages, but not passwords or full credit card numbers. Discord is notifying affected users via email and has revoked the partner's system access. The incident highlights security risks of age verification requirements recently mandated in the UK and some U.S. states.

Nintendo Denies Lobbying Japanese Government Against Generative AI

Nintendo issued a rare formal denial after Japanese politician Satoshi Asano claimed the company was lobbying against generative AI to protect intellectual property. Nintendo stated it has had no government contact on the issue and will continue protecting its IP regardless of AI involvement. Asano retracted his claim and apologized for inadequate fact verification. 

Game Pass Potentially Cost Black Ops 6 $300 Million in Sales

Microsoft internally projected Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 lost $300 million in revenue by launching on Game Pass, according to Bloomberg interviews with former employees. Despite setting series sales records, 82 percent of full-price purchases occurred on PlayStation 5, where Game Pass is unavailable. The figure highlights ongoing questions about the subscription service's profitability, with analysts estimating millions of new subscribers would be needed to offset traditional sales losses.

Amazon Expands Luna Cloud Gaming With Premium Titles for Prime Members

Amazon is overhauling its Luna cloud-gaming service, adding premium titles including "Hogwarts Legacy" and Xbox's "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle" for Prime subscribers. The company is also launching "GameNight," a lineup of original party games. Since its 2022 launch, Luna has struggled to establish itself as a standalone gaming platform, remaining largely bundled as an Amazon Prime perk rather than a competitive cloud-gaming service.

⚔️Side Quest

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💡Did You Know

Three gaming giants, Nintendo, Sega, and Namco, once collaborated on an arcade board. Built on GameCube hardware, the Triforce arcade board was a rare collaboration that brought Nintendo's home console technology to arcades, an unusual move for the company. The board featured enhanced specs including increased RAM and arcade-specific features. Notable games included F-Zero AX, Mario Kart Arcade GP, and The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures arcade test units. Despite its technical prowess and the star power behind it, the Triforce had limited adoption, with only around 15 games released before being discontinued in 2006.

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