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Saudi-backed Assassin's Creed Mirage: Valley of Memories free DLC to be revealed later today
Game Reviews

Saudi-backed Assassin’s Creed Mirage: Valley of Memories free DLC to be revealed later today

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Assassin’s Creed Mirage: Valley of Memory – a free major update coming to the Ubisoft Blockbuster – has been officially teased via a new cinematic trailer ahead of a full reveal later today.

According to the teaser video description, that full reveal will arrive at 9AM PT / 12PM ET / 5PM BST / 6PM CEST.

The Valley of Memory DLC, first announced by Ubisoft in August, will be set in the ancient Arabian city of AlUla within Saudi Arabia. The DLC will include a new story chapter, new missions, and a variety of gameplay improvements.

Check out the teaser trailer for Valley of Memories here.Watch on YouTube

The DLC was reportedly developed thanks to a deal between Ubisoft and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, the national wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. Ubisoft declined to comment when asked by Eurogamer back in January.

The Public Investment Fund is part of Saudi Arabia’s ongoing attempt to diversify income for the oil-rich nation, as well as a dedicated push to improve its global image. Saudi Arabia has been criticised heavily for its history of human rights abuses, and blamed for the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Only last week, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund was part of a three-way bid to turn Electronic Arts private for $55bn. If approved, the American games industry giant will be saddled with $20bn in debt in 2027.



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Esports

RDR2 modder gives NPCs memories that players are forced to watch when they die

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A Red Dead Redemption 2 modder has turned the game into Westworld by giving NPCs their own memories.

Rockstar’s wild west classic Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the greatest games of all time and remains a must-play for anyone waiting for GTA 6.

Like most open-world titles, Red Dead gives players a ton of freedom with how they go about completing tasks and traversing the world, adding to its already immersive gameplay.

Now, Twitch streamer ‘Blurbs’ has found a way to give the game’s numerous NPCs even more backstory through “memories” that play when they die.

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While the goal is a “maximum guilt trip,” the scripts don’t exactly have the same dynamic dialogue you’d encounter playing naturally… but that’s because they were written by Twitch chat.

Red Dead Redemption 2 NPCs get memories for “maximum guilt trip”

The concept for the memory mod came from a viewer after Blurbs let fans suggest their worst ideas.

Basically, Blurbs modified the game to enter a special “cinema” mode showing NPCs in a slow-mo close-up right before he kills them.

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From there, the streamer recorded a series of scenes meant to be “flashbacks” and programmed the game so it loads these “memories” when an NPC dies.

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While this could, in theory, have been pretty emotional (much like Red Dead itself), Blurbs decided to get Twitch chat to write the scripts.

I modded RDR2 so that NPCs have *actual* memories you are forced to watch when they die. Maximum guilt trip.

I may have made a mistake letting Twitch Chat write the scripts however… pic.twitter.com/J7dGWdYKc9

— Blurbs (@Blurbstv) October 1, 2025

The result was a series of absurd dialogue referencing meme culture, One Piece, baseball, video games, and an assortment of other oddities.

“I may have made a mistake letting Twitch Chat write the scripts,” he admitted.

This is hardly the first time Blurbs’ Red Dead mods have gone viral. Back in August, he designed a mod that lets players throw Jack Marston like a tomahawk.

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A few weeks before that, he spent three days finding a way to mod himself into the game.





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Gaming Gear

Snapchat introduces a paid storage option for all the Memories hoarders out there

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Snap is imposing a new storage limit on Snapchat’s Memories feature, which has racked up impressive numbers since its introduction in 2016. According to Snap, users have saved more than one trillion Memories across its platform, and it’s now introducing “Memories Storage Plans” for users who exceed 5GB of Memories.

In a press release, Snap detailed that the introductory storage plan allows up to 100GB of storage for Memories for $1.99 a month. Snapchat+ subscribers, who pay $3.99 a month, will get up to 250GB of storage, while Snapchat’s highest-tier Platinum subscribers will get 5TB included with their $15.99 monthly cost.

Snap said that a “vast majority” of its Snapchat users won’t notice any changes since they’re far from hitting the 5GB limit. For users who hold onto thousands of Snaps, the company is now rolling out these storage plans. To ease the transition from unlimited storage to paid options, Snap will give anyone exceeding 5GB of Memories a year of temporary storage. These new storage subscriptions follow Snap’s latest paid option for its Lens+ subscription, which costs $9 a month.



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American Express
NFT Gaming

American Express Turns Travel Memories Into NFT Passport Stamps

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Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

American Express has rolled out a new way for cardholders to collect travel memories: blockchain-backed passport stamps that live on a public ledger. The stamps are meant to be keepsakes, not investments, and they are tied to in-person spending while traveling.

American Express Launches Passport Stamps

According to company information and reports, the feature — called Amex Passport — issues NFT-style stamps as ERC-721 tokens on Base, an Ethereum layer-two network.

Eligible cardholders must be US consumer cardholders with their cards linked to their online Amex account. Stamps are earned when a linked card is used in person in any of 130+ qualifying countries and regions, and past trips can be stamped retroactively for up to two years based on purchase records.

What The Stamps Show

Reports have disclosed that each stamp records simple details: the country or region visited, a date, and a short note such as a favorite meal or a memorable sight.

The stamps can be viewed in the Amex Travel app’s Passport section and can be shared to social media or saved to a camera roll. They are non-transferable, which means users cannot sell or move them to other wallets; they are intended strictly as personal mementos.

BTCUSD trading at $115,370 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView

How Travelers Can Earn Stamps

American Express Cardholders who pay with their Amex card, or via Apple Pay or Google Pay tied to that card, should trigger the stamp when they make qualifying purchases abroad.

Based on reports, the smart contract implementing the program was deployed roughly 25 days before the public announcement, and more than 20,000 stamps had been issued soon after launch. That early uptake suggests some interest among frequent travelers who already use Amex while abroad.

American Express: Privacy And Technical Notes

According to published coverage, American Express aims to limit what goes on chain. Stamps avoid putting personal information such as names or exact purchase details into the public ledger.

Still, the fact that entries live on a public blockchain means there are tradeoffs — some data about visits will be visible to anyone who inspects the contract.

The company says privacy safeguards are in place, but users who are cautious about on-chain traces should be aware of those limits.

What The Numbers Show

A customer survey cited around 73% of respondents saying they want more digital ways to mark trips, while about 56% said they miss getting physical passport stamps.

The initial list of eligible places covers 130+ countries and regions, and retroactive stamping reaches back two years. At launch the program applies only to US consumer cards; corporate accounts are not included.

Featured image from SOPA Images/Getty Images, chart from TradingView

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.



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Want a French-made RPG that takes inspiration from Japanese RPGs and was actually made by a team of 30? Edge of Memories should scratch that itch
Game Updates

Want a French-made RPG that takes inspiration from Japanese RPGs and was actually made by a team of 30? Edge of Memories should scratch that itch

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We’re all still recovering from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 fever, right? Whilst the dev has revealed there’s more set in the world of Maelle and pals to come, I can only imagine I speak for a fair few of us when I say: I want more French-made role-playing game goodness. To that end, I booked in some time at Gamescom 2025 to play something that may not be on your radar – a follow-up to 2021’s underrated Edge of Eternity curio, Edge of Eternity.

Now, if you just want more of the same turn-based catnip present in Sandfall Interactive’s emotional tour de force, I’m sorry to disappoint you: Edge of Eternity is more action-RPG than anything else. In a 30-minute demo at Gamescom, it felt more like a mix-up between Devil May Cry and Xenoblade Chronicles than the Final Fantasy X-aligned turn-based system we saw in Expedition 33. But that’s no bad thing: the modern take on old Japanese role-playing game tropes, all realised through a jaunty French lens, is more than worthy of at least a sliver of your attention.

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Let’s start with the pedigree: though the core team making this peculiar sequel is mostly French, there is some serious, well-established talent propping up the plucky young studio. Whether you’re looking at Chrono Trigger composer Yasunori Mitsuda (with NieR lyricist Emi Evans), Xenoblade Chronicles character designer Raita Kazama, orFinal Fantasy XV combat designer Mitsuru Yokoyama, there is storied talent everywhere you look in the game, and the collective work of these veteran devs actually melds really comfortably into a gorgeous, watercolour double-A title that is as refreshing as it is off-beat.

The game is set in the same world as the previous game, named Heyron, where a malignant presence called ‘the Corrosion’ has either killed or transformed the denizens of the planet into “misshapen abominations.” In just 30 minutes, I was privy to some cutscenes that reminded me of the darker moments in, say, Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood – all family trauma, death, and hopelessness – that set a contrasting tone to the bright, airy world of Heyron.

From what I can gather, the world is standard RPG fare (this isn’t a bad thing: sometimes, you can feel very at home in a trope, especially in this genre). You play as Eline, aided by Ysoris and Kanta in your party, as you set out on a quest to cure the Corrosion-afflicted continent of Avaris from its unnatural plague. You control Eline for the most part, but quick commands can be thrown out to your erstwhile companions so that they can modify your attacks and generate combos with you (I can see the influence of Final Fantasy XV, here, for sure).

Their bark is worse than their bite. | Image credit: Midgar Studio

There are elements (fire, ice, and thunder) and related abilities, of course, that allow Ysoris and Kanta to stack effects up on enemies, letting Eline swoop in with berserker rage and pile on the DPS. That Devil May Cry reference comes back with a vengeance here, because as Eline dishes out the hurt, she can charge up what we’d know as a ‘Devil Trigger’ and start to tap into the power of ‘the Corrosion’ in order to dispatch foes with prejudice.

The demo ended with a boss fight against some sort of malignant mass that was heaving with body horror limbs, claws, and all manner of grizzly bolt-ons. Timing commands to the support characters whilst hopping, attacking, and dodging – it felt great. There are times when you can tell the game is developed by a small team of about 30 (the world is quite sparse, and the zones you’re corralled through are simple in their layout), but when the combat is firing on all cylinders… well, I can see myself slurping this one up greedily.

If I’m being completely honest, the game has a PS3/360-era feel to it. But I’m not saying that as a pejorative: some of my best non-mainstream RPG experiences came from bizarre RPG efforts in the seventh generation of consoles. Titles like The Last Remnant, Eternal Sonata and Infinite Undiscovery became totems of the mid-2000s era for me, with the likes of Lost Odyssey and Tales of Vesperia representing the ‘high tide’ of the era.

Here’s a proper look at the game’s comabt.Watch on YouTube

I came away from my time with Edge of Memories thinking about those misspent months of my life (laughing with pals at Gamescom about the appalling ‘dinner dance’ in Infinite Undiscovery, especially). I think your mileage with Edge of Memories will vary drastically depending on how sugary your soft spot for that aggressively mid-era of role-playing games is, but I honestly found this game juicing on the nostalgia glands for a period of gaming history I didn’t realise I missed so much.

The game, coming to PS5 and Xbox Series and PC, is currently listed for a 2026 release, and carrying a £31.99 price tag. I think that’s the sweet spot; you’re not going to get a full, premium experience out of this, but at the right price point, it’s definitely going to be more than just a forgettable romp. I’ll be checking out the full release next year.



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The dangers of centralization, and of short memories
NFT Gaming

The dangers of centralization, and of short memories

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Disclosure: The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to the author and do not represent the views and opinions of crypto.news’ editorial.

What a golden age we live in! Bitcoin (BTC) is booming, and everywhere you look, someone’s offering you a chance to earn more.

Summary

  • Centralized crypto’s allure and risk — Big exchanges, lenders, custodians, and payment platforms dominate today, but history shows “Too Big to Fail” entities in crypto and TradFi often collapse spectacularly.
  • Disaster track record — FTX, Terra/LUNA, Celsius, 3AC, and Mt. Gox each lost billions due to mismanagement, over-leverage, hacks, or fraud — all amplified by centralization and opacity.
  • TradFi déjà vu — The 2008 financial crisis and Enron scandal mirror crypto’s failures, proving concentration of power without transparency is a recurring threat.
  • Lesson for BTC holders — “Not your keys, not your coins”: keep custody on decentralized blockchains, vet yield-earning platforms, and never assume disaster won’t happen again.

No one’s benefiting more from this golden age than The Big Guys. You know who these big guys are — centralized crypto exchanges, centralized lending and borrowing platforms, centralized custodians, and centralized payment and transfer platforms. If you’re a crypto investor, there’s a good chance one or more of these Big Guys are holding your money right now.

You might not see this as a problem. These centralized companies hold billions of dollars in assets. They are heavily backed by blue-chip investors and other fancy, big-name stakeholders, thus bolstering their reputation in the eyes of many. They also often require less expertise than decentralized systems, come with fiat-to-crypto conversion options, and can serve as a one-stop shop for your crypto trading needs.

Sounds…pretty great, right?

Ah, the danger of having a short memory. Go back a few years, or decades, and we encounter some of the worst disasters in crypto history — many of these caused by entities so large, you might have classified them as Too Big To Fail. And just as the supposed Too Big To Fail banks crippled everyone from whale investors to everyday blokes during the 2008 financial crisis, centralized crypto entities have brought us catastrophe after catastrophe.

And it’s going to happen again. And again. And again.

Don’t remember the collapses that underscore the risks of using centralized (rather than trustless) entities to handle your BTC? Here’s a brief refresher:

FTX / Alameda research collapse

Centralization failure: FTX, once the world’s third-largest centralized crypto exchange, collapsed in 2022 following misuse of client funds, insider trading, and shady leverage practices involving its FTT token and the crypto trading firm Alameda Research. Both FTX and Alameda were owned by the same person (Sam Bankman-Fried), who is now serving a 25-year prison sentence.

Amount lost: over $8 billion.

Terra / LUNA stablecoin collapse

Centralization failure: The TerraUST stablecoin relied on algorithmic pegging backed by LUNA tokens, rather than a more decentralized approach that would have included safer collateral design and more transparent governance and audits. The result: the market downturn of 2022 triggered a huge sell-off for LUNA, the death of TerraUSD, and the collapse of several other huge, centralized entities that engaged in opaque, risky behavior. 

Amount lost: around $45 billion.

Celsius Network & Three Arrows Capital (3AC)

Celsius offered too-good-to-be-true yields, and millions of users fell for it. Celsius’s ability to deliver those yields depended on shaky ventures, including huge exposure to TerraUSD. The disaster led to another round of criminal charges, in this case, CEO Alex Mashinsky getting 12 years for fraud and market manipulation. The Celsius fiasco resulted in at least $1.7 billion in losses, plus another $4.7 billion in trapped customer funds.

Three Arrows Capital was a superstar hedge fund that at its peak delivered sky-high returns for its customers. But relying on a single, centralized entity would again prove a disastrous decision, as 3AC’s over-leveraged positions in Terra/LUNA and other risky investments triggered a wave of losses that topped $3.3 billion.

Mt. Gox Hack and collapse

Centralization failure: Here, we’ll go back further, to the 2011-2014 run of Mt. Gox.

One of the first successful centralized crypto exchanges, Mt. Gox, at its pea,k handled about 70% of all BTC transactions. A hack prompted Mt. Gox to lose about 850,000 BTC in user funds — a sum worth nearly $100 billion today. While centralized exchanges have improved their security considerably in the decade-plus since this event, the massive scale of the Mt. Gox disaster still resonates for those smart enough to remember their crypto history, and the risk that any centralized crypto entity entails.

These crypto examples really just scratch the surface, though. There are countless examples of financial disasters in traditional finance that could have also been mitigated or even prevented completely with the help of decentralization and transparency.

2008 global financial crisis

With the housing market booming, some of the world’s largest banks and other huge financial institutions dove nose-deep into mortgage-backed securities, using sky-high leverage to grow their exposure, and thus their risk.

And then it all collapsed, with companies deemed Too Big To Fail going on to fail right out of existence. The U.S.-based global financial juggernaut Lehman Brothers was one of the biggest disasters, fizzling into bankruptcy and starting a Wall Street panic that spread across the world, crippling economies from Iceland to Greece and far beyond. The crisis wiped more than $10 trillion — that’s Trillion, with a T — in wealth off the face of the Earth.

Enron

At their core, blockchains are immutable public ledgers, ways for anyone to shine a light on financial transactions, using any desired timeframe.

The fall of Enron, a once-powerful U.S.-based energy giant, demonstrated what happens when you bury transparency in favor of greed. The company used many flavors of complicated accounting fraud to pump earnings reports and hide massive amounts of debt. Once the truth came out, Enron crashed, careening all the way to bankruptcy and wiping out $74 billion in shareholder value.

Takeaways

We could go on and on (search Thodex, Bitfinex, QuadrigaCX, and other crypto fiascos, as well as MF Global, Wells Fargo, Bernie Madoff, and other TradFi Hindenburgs, all of which could have been prevented or at least mitigated by decentralization). The bottom line is that centralization and opacity are the enemies of fair commerce, and they’re a constant threat – one not restricted to a long-ago moment of time, but rather a present-day menace to both society as a whole, and to your bags in particular.

The central tenet of crypto (and by extension, finance as a whole) should never be forgotten: “Not your keys, not your coins,” which means when it comes to your assets, trust no one but yourself.

So what does this mean for you, the BTC holder?

For starters, read the fine print. As safe as huge-name, centralized companies might seem, consider all the risks involved in handing custody of your assets over to someone else.

A viable alternative to centralized exchanges and custodians is decentralized blockchains. They enable you to retain exclusive access to your money via private keys.

Better still, a small number of decentralized options have started to emerge for people seeking to earn yield on their BTC. An even smaller number of decentralized blockchains and apps offer BTC investment options that pay out yield in real BTC.

So do your research. If you don’t, years from now you might ask yourself a painful question: Why did I think that disaster wouldn’t strike again?

Kevin Liu

Kevin Liu is CEO and co-founder of the Bitcoin ZKRollup GOAT Network (GOAT.network). He’ll be happy to chat about the importance of decentralization and the value of real BTC Yield on X.



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