We have prepared a digest of the main news for August 1, 2026, for Players readers.
On August 1, 2011, Valve officially unveiled The International — the very first Dota 2 world championship. At first glance, it was just the announcement of a new tournament, but this exact day marked the beginning of a competition that later became the most prestigious in the esports world and changed the entire industry forever.
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey sparks a major comeback for Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Following the premiere of Christopher Nolan's movie "The Odyssey," the popularity of Assassin's Creed Odyssey surged noticeably. According to Alinea Analytics, the daily active player count increased by 90% within ten days after the film's release.
Razer Announces Acquisition of StreamElements Assets
Global gamer brand Razer has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of the cloud-based platform for streamers, StreamElements, from its former holding company, Live Momentum Ltd. This move is part of Razer's long-term strategy to build a comprehensive ecosystem for content creators that brings together hardware, software, and affiliate programs.
Dispatch launches on Xbox Series with Xbox Play Anywhere support
The animated interactive series Dispatch by AdHoc Studio is now available on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. Along with the release, the game received full Xbox Play Anywhere support, allowing digital copy owners to play it on both Xbox consoles and PC via the Xbox PC App.
During the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris, Ray Ng, Head of Esports Ecosystem at MOONTON Games, revealed details of a large-scale expansion strategy for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Despite already being one of the most popular esports titles with a dominant audience in Southeast Asia, the company aims to actively conquer Western markets by building local ecosystems.