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Strategy

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Bitcoin Giant Strategy Dodges Multi-Billion Tax Liability Following IRS, Treasury Guidance: TD

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In brief

  • The IRS and Treasury Department issued new guidance.
  • Strategy no longer expects to become subject to CAMT.
  • Shares rose 4.6% to $337 on Wednesday as Bitcoin jumped.

Strategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, is no longer anticipating a multi-billion tax liability from an increase in the value of its $75 billion stockpile, following a clarification from the IRS and Treasury Department on Tuesday.

In a 71-page document, the regulators said that firms are not required to incorporate unrealized gains or losses on the value of digital assets into calculations on whether they are subject to a 15% corporate alternative minimum tax (CAMT) that was established in 2022.

In an SEC filing, Strategy said that it plans to follow the guidance and, as a result, it “no longer expects to become subject to CAMT due to unrealized gains on its Bitcoin holdings” in 2026 and beyond. In June, Strategy told investors that it expected to pay CAMT liabilities.

“Thanks to yesterday’s action on behalf of the IRS, that potential scenario is no longer off the table,” TD Cowen analyst Lance Vitzanza wrote in a Wednesday note, adding that the action removed “a significant source of potential overhang for Strategy.”

Strategy shares rose 5% to $338 on Wednesday, according to Yahoo Finance. Over the past six months, the company’s stock has advanced 10% from $293 in April.



Vitanza noted that Strategy may have been forced to navigate a cash tax liability that could’ve potentially been billions of dollars starting next year, “likely continuing to the extent Bitcoin continues to appreciate in dollar terms,” he added.

Strategy’s performance coincided with a rise in Bitcoin’s price, as investors mulled a government shutdown in the U.S. Over the past day, its price had risen 3% to $117,500, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko, while jumping 42% from $85,000 in April.

Earlier this week, Strategy notched its third smallest Bitcoin purchase of the year, while pocketing $100 million from its latest raise, as dividend payments on preferred shares approached.

Strategy, which hasn’t sold a single Bitcoin since it began stockpiling the asset in 2020, is sitting on a massive unrealized gain when it comes to its Bitcoin holdings. So far, it’s spent $47.4 billion on Bitcoin, leaving a current unrealized gain of close to $28 billion.

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Sei’s Strategy in Asia: Compliance First, Institutions Next

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Layer-1 blockchain Sei is using Japan’s licensing regime and partnerships with global institutions as the cornerstone of its expansion into Asia, according to Lee Zhu, the network’s director of growth for APAC.

Speaking with Decrypt ahead of a packed week at Token2049 in Singapore, Zhu said Sei secured the necessary approvals in Japan last year, enabling listings on Binance Japan and OKX Japan. 

Japan’s exchange licensing process is among the most stringent globally, making it a rare early entry for a Layer-1 blockchain.

“Clearer regulations in these markets help the team determine the best path forward and allocate resources effectively,” Zhu said. “By staying compliant and responsive to regulatory changes, Sei aims to support further growth and ensure long-term success in the APAC region.”



Sei’s institutional pitch is underpinned by Circle’s native USDC deployment on Sei and tokenization efforts led by Apollo through Securitize. Zhu said these integrations lower friction for exchanges and unlock a “gateway” for structured products and derivatives.

Unlike rivals Solana and Sui, Sei combines high throughput benchmarks with EVM compatibility, a move Zhu said eliminates switching costs for the 90% of developers already coding in Solidity.

In Korea, Sei ranks among the top three by trading volume, Zhu said, despite its lower market capitalization and TVL relative to larger competitors. He also pointed to pockets of growth in GameFi and SocialFi, where Sei has, on some days, outpaced Solana in daily active users.

Zhu described the next 12 months as balancing two tracks: onboarding institutions through RWA tokenization and building a broader developer base in talent-rich hubs like Vietnam and Indonesia. He said that while high throughput “is a filter” for institutions, without capacity, “you’re not even in the door.”

Asked how Sei will weather market downturns, Zhu said the team was built during a bear market and operates with a “prudent, impact-focused” mindset. 

“In crypto, if you survive, you stand a bigger chance to be successful,” he said.

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ZIGChain price jumps 22% as BTCS allocates $30m to ZIG treasury strategy
Crypto Trends

ZIGChain price jumps 22% as BTCS allocates $30m to ZIG treasury strategy

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ZIGChain price jumped double digits to hit highs of $0.11 amid a major digital asset treasury announcement by Europe-based firm BTCS.

Summary

  • ZIGChain price rose by more than 22% as price broke to highs of $0.11.
  • The token’s value jumped as BTCS announced a $100 million raise and $30 million allocation to its ZIG digital asset treasury strategy.

ZIGChain, the layer 1 blockchain aimed at the democratization of wealth generation through real-world asset tokenization, saw its native token’s price soar by more than 22% to hit highs near $0.11.

The surge to the intraday high, the highest price level for the altcoin in over a month, came amid an announcement by publicly-traded firm BTCS. In an update, BTCS, the largest European digital asset treasury company, said it had raised $100 million in a new funding round.

BTCS plans to use proceeds of this Series G raise for its crypto treasury strategy, with $30 million going into a ZIGChain (ZIG) treasury strategy.

🚨 Europe’s largest listed digital asset treasury, @BTCS_SA, has announced a $30M strategic allocation to accumulate $ZIG.

This is a powerful vote of confidence in ZIGChain’s vision for democratizing wealth generation through Real World Asset tokenization. https://t.co/DAC5ioXOx3

— ZIGChain (@ZIGChain) September 29, 2025

BTCS eyes ZIG yield

An expansion to the company’s diversified treasury strategy will also see 60% of the funds deployed towards exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) and 10% to Core (CORE). Deployment into BTCS’s active treasury strategy, unlike the passive “buy and hold” playbook popularized by Strategy.

BTCS’ approach aims to deliver operational revenue and yield – even during episodes of flat markets.

“The inclusion of ZIGChain in BTCS’s treasury strategy highlights a broader shift toward productive digital asset treasuries,” said Abdul Rafay Gadit, co-founder of ZIGChain and member of BTCS’s Supervisory Board.

He added:

“Unlike passive holdings, validators and staking rewards create recurring revenue streams while directly strengthening the networks themselves. We see this model as a sustainable path forward for listed companies seeking transparent and resilient exposure to digital assets.”

ZIGChain price last traded above current levels in late August, while its year-to-date highs of $0.13 came on January 18. The ZIG token traded at the all-time peak of $0.22 in April 2021. Notable ecosystem platforms for the layer 1 chain includes Zignaly, a regulated social investment platform and Zamanat, a Shariah-compliant RWA tokenization platform.





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Crypto Trends

Peter Schiff Explains Why Strategy (MSTR) Should Have Bought Gold Instead of Bitcoin

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Analysts mapped a slow-grind path for bitcoin and flagged $112,000 as the trigger while gold advocate Peter Schiff revived the gold-versus-bitcoin debate by challenging Michael Saylor’s BTC treasury bet for his firm.

CoinDesk Senior Analyst James van Straten said bitcoin’s market structure has shifted alongside gold’s repricing.

He expects a slow, stair-step advance supported by steady ETF inflows, with 10–20% pullbacks along the way. He compared the setup to gold in the early 2000s, when prices climbed for years but often paused for healthy corrections.

In his framing, bitcoin may sometimes lag gold and sometimes outperform it, yet he still sees bitcoin leading on total returns over a full cycle.

Read More: Bitcoin Trails Equities, Metals, and USD in Q3. Here Is a Key Level to Watch for Next Move

Michaël van de Poppe focused on near-term levels.

He called sub-$107,000 a buy zone, signaling where he thinks dip buyers are likely to step in. He also pointed to $112,000 as the ceiling to beat. A clean break and hold above $112,000 on UTC closes would, in his view, confirm strength and broaden risk appetite, the point at which flows often rotate into large altcoins. That is what he means by “altcoin mode.”

Euro Capital CEO Peter Schiff, meanwhile, challenged Michael Saylor’s strategy by contrasting Strategy’s bitcoin exposure with a hypothetical gold program.

His core claim is liquidity. He argued that tens of billions of dollars in gold could be sold with limited market impact, while trying to exit a similar bitcoin position could hit prices hard and set off copycat selling.

Supporters of bitcoin would counter that any large seller could stage exits over time and use over-the-counter channels, but Schiff’s point is that gold’s market depth offers more flexibility to very large holders.

CoinDesk Research analysis

  • Window: Sept. 27, 09:00 UTC to Sept. 28, 08:00 UTC.
  • What happened: According to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis data model, bitcoin consolidated in about a $692 band (~1%), between $109,156.82 and $109,849.28.
  • Support showed up: repeated holds near ~$109,400 late on Sept. 27 (UTC).
  • Resistance formed: ~$109,750 capped rebounds in that same late-evening window.
  • Final 60 minutes: between 07:09 UTC and 08:08 UTC on Sept. 28, price popped to $109,663.84 at 08:03 UTC, then settled near ~$109,580, turning ~$109,575 into fresh, short-term support.
  • Read-through: Support ~$109,400–$109,575; resistance ~$109,750. A UTC close above ~$109,750 sets up $110,000–$111,000. Lose ~$109,400, and ~$109,150 is next.

Latest 24-hour and one-month chart read

  • 24-hour context (as of Sept. 28, 14:41 UTC): price near $109,724 sits above ~$109,400/109,575 support and below ~$109,750 resistance. A break and hold above ~$109,750 (UTC) points to $110,000–$111,000, with $112,000 the broader momentum trigger many traders watch. A slip back under ~$109,400 risks a retest of ~$109,150, then ~$108,500.
  • One-month context: after mid-September highs near ~$117,000, bitcoin has compressed into the $109,000–$112,000 area. Reclaiming and holding $112,000 would likely reignite upside momentum. Failing that, more sideways consolidation is the base case rather than a trend break on its own.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.



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Crypto launchpads have a broken implementation strategy
NFT Gaming

Crypto launchpads have a broken implementation strategy

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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.

Crypto launchpads have missed the opportunity to make investing accessible for retail investors. Although launchpads helped standardize token sales in the post-ICO chaos and provided a better entry point compared to CEX listings, they were not designed to onboard retail. The problem is not with launchpads per se — it’s more about a flawed implementation strategy.

Summary

  • Launchpads are broken for retail investors: High staking thresholds, long vesting periods, and weak due diligence make participation risky and exclusive, despite 64% of retail investors wanting in.
  • Barriers hurt small investors: Complex ROI metrics, token lockups, and inflation risks leave everyday investors at a disadvantage, while failed projects amplify losses.
  • Next-gen launchpads shift the model: Some platforms are ditching staking requirements, offering refundable token sales, and lowering entry thresholds so even $100 investors can join.
  • Quality and inclusivity are the future: With rigorous vetting, open access, and investor-friendly terms, launchpads can finally rival VC-style opportunities while protecting retail participants.

Most launchpads have steep entry barriers for retailers with long token vesting periods, steep staking benchmarks, uncertainty of failed project investments, and weak due diligence procedures. Consequently, everyday investors, with limited capital reserves, find it difficult to participate in fundraising, despite 64% of them demonstrating eagerness to invest. 

Launchpads must reinvent themselves and undergo a complete overhaul if they want to cater to retail investors. And that will happen when the next-gen launchpads become an open, inclusive space without a long list of prerequisites for the low to mid-range investors.

Launchpads have an implementation problem

Originally, launchpads served as a platform for investors to access opportunities that were previously exclusively reserved for VC funds and angel investors. But launchpads often come with elaborate vesting requirements to ensure participants’ skin in the game.

Resultingly, a substantial chunk of purchased tokens is not available during the token generation event, or TGE. Rather, they’re distributed over a long-drawn-out schedule with complicated terms and conditions for unlocking tokens. Although staking provides some safeguard against pump-and-dump scams, high staking thresholds restrict widespread participation from retail investors. 

Compulsory staking undermines the inclusive ethos of launchpads. For low-potential projects, staking can also be a problem for investors. The gradual inflation in token supply leads to further price depreciation if the project demand doesn’t increase with time. Consequently, investors run the risk of a loss if their investments don’t generate substantial returns.

There are two parameters for investors to determine the efficacy of project launches on launchpads —  an average all-time high ROI and current ROI. But for the layman, such complicated metrics often create barriers to a seamless investment. Instead, a refundable token sale model provides a better safety net and peace of mind for retailers, even if their investment fails.

Not all projects will have a good ROI, especially those that overpromise and underdeliver. New investors may get swayed by the expectations of outsized returns, but it often doesn’t come true. This happens because the projects create hype before TGE and then fail to follow the roadmap or keep up with product launches.

Most launchpads are now onboarding projects without filters or due diligence checks. Without the necessary infrastructure and experience in incubating new projects, launchpads are bound to fail. Lack of vetting can be detrimental for investors since they lack the resources to do a full background analysis of new project launches.

Therefore, crypto launchpads need fixing — by rethinking compulsory vesting schedules, token sale models, and lowering entry barriers for retail investors.

Making crypto launchpads accessible for everyone

Some launchpads have identified the problems early on. And they’re actively trying to make crypto fundraising an open and inclusive space for everyday investors.

Future-proof launchpads won’t have native token staking-based allocation tiers. Instead of gated participation, new launchpads will have open access without requiring platform tokens.

These launchpads don’t force investors to stake collateral for participation. So, even if someone has just $100, they can own a portion of the next crypto unicorn. Lowering the investment benchmark is a critical step towards opening up the space for small and medium retailers.

Launchpads that don’t require token vesting free up liquidity. This empowers cash-strapped investors to participate without any constraints. Further, investors needn’t worry about unsuccessful or failed project tokens because they won’t remain locked out for months.

A few launchpads even offer refundable token sale models. Such refundable mechanisms give investors the freedom to redeem their investments if they’re not satisfied with a project’s token performance.

By positioning the investor at the centre of the fundraising economy, launchpads are reinventing themselves. As investors have more power over their decisions, early-stage projects will be forced to be responsible towards their roadmap and product launches.

Consequently, launchpads must also introduce rigorous checks and due diligence to ensure projects perform well. High-quality startups will provide investors with long-term revenue generation and prevent scams.

VC firms and angel investors have experienced, qualified teams that invest in promising, high-potential projects. It’s time for launchpads to also provide the same rigorous vetting for retail investors, prioritizing quality over quantity. Coupled with an easy onboarding and signup process, future launchpads must break away from complexities and high barriers, without compromising on their standards.

While a few launchpads have already started the transformation to fix existing problems, it hasn’t yet reached mass adoption. Until all launchpads start executing the solutions, retail-driven crypto fundraising will always lag.

If the crypto industry has to progress, it must bring retail capital into its fold. And thus retail-friendly launchpads will play a key role in helping crypto come of age.

Hatu Sheikh

Hatu Sheikh is the founder of Coin Terminal. He previously co-founded DAO Maker. He has been involved in web3 since 2017, having advised dozens of teams, including NEM, Injective, and MultiversX, while seed investing in over 100 projects, including Mantra, Avalanche, and Big Time Studios. In 2024, he began construction of a $100M, 250,000 sqft luxury business park for startups in Dubai. 



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Seasonality, Strategy (MSTR), Nvidia (NVDA) And Others Offer Mixed Signals
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Seasonality, Strategy (MSTR), Nvidia (NVDA) And Others Offer Mixed Signals

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This is an analysis post by CoinDesk analyst and Chartered Market Technician Omkar Godbole.

As we approach the final quarter of 2025, the following key charts provide valuable insights to help crypto traders navigate the evolving market landscape.

Bullish seasonality

Seasonal trends suggest a bullish Q4 outlook for both BTC$109,398.64 and ETH$4,010.26, the top two cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Since 2013, BTC$109,398.64 has delivered an average return of 85% in the final quarter, according to data from Coinglass, making Q4 historically the strongest period for bulls.

Seasonality leans bullish for BTC and ETH. (Coinglass)

November stands out as the most bullish month, with an average gain of 46%, followed by October, which typically sees a 21% increase.

ETH$4,010.26 also tends to perform well in the last three months of the year, although its strongest historical returns have been in the first quarter since inception.

BTC’s 50-week SMA support

Bitcoin’s price has dropped by 5% this week, consistent with the bearish technical signals and looks set to extend losses to late August lows near $107,300. If bulls fail to defend that, the focus will shift to the 200-day simple moving average at $104,200.

The ongoing price decline, combined with bitcoin’s historical pattern of peaking approximately 16 to 18 months after a halving event, may scare bulls.

However, such concerns may be premature as long as prices remain above the 50-week simple moving average (SMA). This moving average has consistently acted as a support level, marking the end of corrective price pullbacks during the current bull run that began in early 2023.

BTC’s weekly chart in candlesticks format. (TradingView/CoinDesk)

Traders, therefore, should closely watch the 50-week SMA, which is currently positioned around $98,900, as a key level for broader market direction.

XRP/BTC compression

XRP, often called the “U.S. government coin” by firms like Arca, has surged 32% this year. However, despite this strong rally, the payments-focused cryptocurrency remains confined within a prolonged sideways trading range against Bitcoin (XRP/BTC), showing limited relative strength.

The XRP/BTC pair has been confined within a narrow trading range since early 2021, resulting in over four years of low-volatility compression.

Prolonged range play in XRP/BTC. (TradingView/CoinDesk)

Recent price action near the upper boundary of this channel suggests that bulls are gradually gaining control. A breakout from such a prolonged consolidation could trigger a powerful rally in XRP relative to BTC, as the accumulated energy from this squeeze is released.

Now, let’s turn to charts that call for caution.

Breakout in Defiance Daily Target 2x Short MSTR ETF (SMST)

The leveraged anti-Strategy ETF (SMST), which seeks to deliver daily investment results that are -200%, or minus 2x, the daily percentage change in bitcoin-holder Strategy’s (MSTR) share price, is flashing bullish signals.

The ETF’s price climbed to a five-month high of $35.65, forming what appears to be an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, characterized by a prominent trough (the head) flanked by two smaller, roughly equal troughs (the shoulders).

Defiance Daily Target 2x Short MSTR ETF (SMST). (TradingView/CoinDesk)

This pattern often signals a potential bullish reversal, suggesting the ETF may be gearing up for a significant upward move.

In other words, it’s flashing a bearish signal for both BTC and Strategy, which is the largest publicly listed BTC holder with a coin stash of 639,835 BTC.

Dollar Index’s double bottom

Last week, I discussed the dollar’s post-Fed rate cut resilience as a potential headwind for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

The dollar index has since gained ground, establishing a double bottom at around 96.30. It’s a sign that bulls have successfully established the path of least resistance on the higher side.

Dollar Index. (DXY). (CoinDesk/TradingView)

A continued move beyond 100.26, the high of the interim recovery between the twin bottoms around 96.30, would confirm the so-called double bottom breakout, opening the door for a move to 104.00.

Watch out for the pattern failure below 96.00, as that could lead to increased risk-taking in financial markets.

NVDA topping?

Nvidia (NVDA), the world’s largest listed company by market value, and a bellwether for risk assets, continues to flirt with the upper end of the broadening channel identified by June 2024 and November 2024 highs and lows hit in August 2024 and April 2025.

NVDA’s bull run has stalled at key resistance. (TradingView/CoinDesk)

The rally has stalled at the upper trendline since late July in a sign of bullish exhaustion. Should it decline from here, it could signal the onset of a risk-off period in global markets, including cryptocurrencies.



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Build a tower city all the way to heaven in this spiritual, yet logistics-heavy strategy game
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Build a tower city all the way to heaven in this spiritual, yet logistics-heavy strategy game

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The city-building genre is grossly overpopulated. Competing Simvilles predicated on wholly opposed theories about plumbing and traffic wardens stretch as far as the eye can see. As such, the genre must imitate real-life urban centres of the 20th century, and begin expanding vertically. Enter Stario: Haven Tower, the new strategy management sim from Chinese developers Stargate Games, in which you build upward through the realms of Sand, Mist, Rain, Frost, and Clear Skies until finally, your city stands among the Stars.


Accomplishing this will require a fair amount of faith, but above all – yes, literally above all, ha ha – it will require a mastery of resourcing and logistics. You will need to stretch water pipelines between city layers, set up balloon deliveries, and engage in shrewd bartering with the flying turtles that, for some reason, keep showing up at your window. You will also need to think about reinforcing the foundations and/or managing the city’s mass with “lattice-like aerial platforms” and so forth.

Watch on YouTube


Stario enters early access today, and I’ve just procured a code from one of the flying turtles that periodically appears at my window, asking me to write about a videogame. As such, I can’t give you much sense of how it plays, but I like the concept’s blend of mysticism and heavy engineering, though I have reservations about the in-game vocabulary. You can build sacred beacons to raise the morale of your, ugh, “Towertizens”, together with ritual platforms that can be used to meddle with the weather.


If nothing else, it cuts an intriguing figure. The architecture is ornate and colourful but also, curiously muted in places, almost a little spreadsheety. There’s a flat interface that floats next to your tower and drifts about when you rotate the camera, not quite ruining the view.


Anyway, I hope to fit in some time with this over the coming weeks, but given the abundance of town-tenders round these parts, I figured you’d like to hear about it now. Food for discussion about this very busy genre, if not a thing to immediately purchase. Stario: Haven Tower will remain in early access for 6-12 months, according to the developers – you can read more on Steam.



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Commanders oversee battleships as they cross the waves
Product Reviews

Tiny Metal 2 is the third game in the turn-based strategy series, and it just so happens to be taking after my favorite Advance Wars

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2001’s Advance Wars is a perfect little game: Compact yet tactically rich, a purposefully limited but versatile library of units like top-heavy tanks and chonky bombers smashing together in rock-paper-scissors shoot-outs. The only wildcard, each commanding officer’s slow-charging heroic power, can swing the tide of a battle but is still relatively tame—like gaining a couple extra tiles of range on artillery strikes for one pivotal turn. Give a small team of brilliant game designers the remit to make chess with toy soldiers, and I think this is what they would come up with. And yet it is not my favorite Advance Wars.

My favorite, Advance Wars: Dual Strike for the Nintendo DS, is more the Chess 2 of strategy games. More units, more powers, combining those wildcard bursts in ways that drag matches out into dizzying swingy battles like games of Risk where someone’s turning in their bonus cards every freaking turn. Forget perfect: I loved the bombast of Dual Strike being messily over-the-top, and on a visit to indie studio Area 35’s Tokyo office ahead of TGS this week I immediately clocked that its new entry in the Tiny Metal series takes after my one true love.

Six years after Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble, the confusingly named Tiny Metal 2 puts you in control of two factions at once so you can combine their strengths. Even better, you can now do it in co-op, with one player taking command of each team.


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The more immediately obvious upgrade in Tiny Metal 2 if you’re not the specific type of weirdo still carrying a torch for Dual Strike 20 years later is that it looks much, much nicer than the first couple games, which traded out Advance Wars’ charming 2D style for a swag-less low poly 3D. Tiny Metal 2 is less Unity asset store and more comic booky. It’s missing the polished sheen of a 2025 Nintendo game, but stylish enough to make a nice first impression.

(Image credit: Area 35)

Tactically it feels like there’s a bit more going on here too. The fundamentals borrowed wholesale from Advance Wars are all still here: you capture buildings with infantry to earn resources and manufacture new troops; tanks can brush off machine gun fire but are susceptible to a heavy blast of artillery; submarines are death for other ships though easy to sink once they break the surface. But a focus fire mechanic makes the order of your orders matter much more.

At first I merrily threw my troops into the fray one at a time, each attack on an enemy earning them a bit of damaging retaliatory fire. Then I realized I could give a couple weaker units a command to focus on an enemy and wait for a combined strike, so that when I rolled in with a heavy mech to trigger the team-up attack the enemy would be toast before it could hit back.

(Image credit: Area 34)

Tiny Metal 2 also lets you choose what direction units are facing and makes attacks from the sides or rear potentially more effective, though the extra step this adds to controlling each unit—and the number of possible attacks you have to try on an enemy to find the optimal one—is maybe more fiddly than this kind of light strategy game really benefits from. The UI is already working hard to convey strengths and weaknesses for each unit against other types, but some sort of visual front/back/side armor rating would cut out some of the tedium of fretting over each and every move.

The much nicer art and the promise of co-op team-ups that lean into melding the commander powers of each are more appealing to me than those niggles are concerning, though. Even with Nintendo recently returning to the Advance War series for the first time in decades in the form of a cute but quite limited remake, this remains an oddly rare form of snackable strategy game. Tiny Metal 2 seems to have enough ideas of its own to finally help propel it out of “We have Advance Wars at home” territory.

It’s on Steam now, and out sometime next year.



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Command fleets or pilot mouthwatering starships in Nullspace, a strategy game with a "unique" take on the Fermi Paradox
Game Updates

Command fleets or pilot mouthwatering starships in Nullspace, a strategy game with a “unique” take on the Fermi Paradox

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Tasty-looking space games fill the atmosphere nowadays like satellite launch debris, but perhaps you’ll find room in your weirdly adapted magnetic fishing net for one more – Kaigan’s Nullspace. I came across it in yesterday’s Indie Fan Fest stream, and I quite like the cut of its torpedo bays.


Nullspace grabs me for a couple of reasons. One is its “retrofuturistic universe”, which strikes me as both sleek and cosy. It’s kind of chibi Homeworld. The kitbashed ships come alive with swivelling turrets and manoeuvring jets, but something about the way they’re proportioned, patterned and lit also makes me think of freshly piped cake icing. I also quite like the Star Fox-style jabbering heads of unit commanders in the bottom corner.

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The other thing I like is that this is one of those possibly borked genre hybrids, like Shiny Entertainment’s Sacrifice or Activision’s old Battlezone reboot. On the one hand, it’s a real-time strategy game with planetary bases, various resources to gather, a choice of fleet formations, and the option of either using asteroids for cover or blowing them up for disruption. On the other, it’s a dogfighter, with the ability to seize control of any ship and hose the badniks with your own two thumbs.


The result may prove to be more akin to Dynasty Warriors or a punch-up in an Airfix factory than the Battle of New Caprica. There are a couple of moments in the trailer when ships barge into each other like shopping trolleys. But I do like the bustle of it all.


There’s a story to reckon with, when you’re not making battleships kiss. It channels both “the Golden Age of Sci-Fi” and “deep existential themes”. According to the Steam page, you will “lead or challenge factions like the democratic Hegen, the transhumanist Dominion, and the resourceful Junkers as they vie for survival and dominance.” Apparently the game contains a “unique take on the Fermi Paradox”, this being the contention that we really should have run into some advanced extraterrestrials by now given the amount of stuff there is in outer space. Interested to learn more, I guess.


As for those factions, they put me a little in mind of Sins of a Solar Empire, though they don’t seem quite as vicious. Here’s the blurb in full:

  • The Junkers: Survivors and scavengers, the Junkers live on the fringes of space, salvaging remnants of humanity’s past to build a precarious future. Their resourcefulness and ingenuity allow them to adapt to any situation, but their distrust of centralized authority makes them fiercely independent–and difficult to unify.
  • The Hegen: A powerful, militaristic faction rooted in discipline and order. The Hegen values tradition and hierarchy, believing that humanity’s salvation lies in strict control and unwavering loyalty. Their massive fleets and technological prowess make them a force to be reckoned with, but their rigidity may blind them to alternative solutions.
  • The Dominion: Visionaries, innovators, and seekers of progress, the Dominion is driven by the belief that humanity’s evolution lies in embracing new ideas and technologies. They see opportunity in the chaos, pushing boundaries to forge a brighter future, though their relentless pursuit of advancement often clashes with the values of other factions.


All told: I can dig it. But do I dig it more than Nebulous: Fleet Command? I can see representations of gravity wells in the trailer, there, but I doubt it’s simulating quite as much stuff. Nullspace hath yet no release date beyond “coming soon”.



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Metal Gear Solid 5's Official Strategy Guide Is Still Available 10 Years Later
Game Updates

Metal Gear Solid 5’s Official Strategy Guide Is Still Available 10 Years Later

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Metal Gear fans are likely busy working their way through the recent Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater remake, but those looking to add a unique piece to their Metal Gear merch collection back at Mother Base should take a quick detour to procure the official Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain strategy guide. Not only is it–surprisingly–still available at Amazon nearly a decade after it first launched, it’s also discounted to $19.70 (was $25).

This a cool piece of official merch for the final game in the Metal Gear series–though if you haven’t played the game it’s based on yet, you can also grab The Phantom Pain and its standalone prequel chapter, Ground Zeroes, for just $23 on PlayStation or PC with the Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience.

$19.70 (was $25)

This paperback guide sits at 368 pages, offering an in-depth look at everything you’d ever need to know about The Phantom Pain. From detailed mission walkthroughs to diagrams and analysis of the game’s many systems, the guide leaves no stone unturned. It also comes with a story recap–so even if you’ve lost track of what’s happening in the convoluted MGS universe, you should be able to dive into MGS V without any trouble.

As an added bonus, it comes with a poster that offers a detailed look at the world map.

The guide was published by Piggback, a company that’s published guides for Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Cyberpunk 2077, and other high-profile games. It’s also from the same team that previously worked on guides for other Metal Gear Solid titles–so it’s all but guaranteed to offer an accurate, in-depth look at MGS V.

A Collector’s Edition of the guide was also released, but is out of print. This version includes a few exclusive goodies like a lithograph by Yoji Shinkawa and an art gallery. It’s hard to come by, but new and used copies occasionally surface from third-party resellers on Amazon.

Of course, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is the title stealing the spotlight right now. Our review gave it a superb 9/10, as it does a wonderful job of remastering one of the best PS2 games for modern audiences. If you’re interested in picking it up, the Tactical Edition is available for $68 at multiple online retailers (was $70). This is essentially the standard physical edition of the game, but it includes some extra DLC. PC players can also purchase the Steam version for just $52.38 (was $70) at Fanatical. Die-hard fans can also grab the $200 physical Collector’s Edition, which is still in stock at Amazon. It includes the base game, bonus DLC content, and a selection of collectibles like a diorama display of Snake sneaking through the forest, embroidered patches, and an exclusive metal case for the game.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater Deals

If you started with The Phantom Pain or Delta and want to work through the earlier entries in the series, you’ll want to check out the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1.

This collection includes Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty HD, and the original Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD, plus the original MSX versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, and animated Metal Gear Solid graphic novels. The physical edition is available for $30 (was $60) on Switch, Xbox, and PS5, or you can grab it digitally on consoles and PC. The Steam version is available at Fanatical for $45 (was $60).

Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1

It’s worth noting that while the Master Collection will get you most of the games in the series in a single package, it’s missing the rest of the mainline series–including Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain plus standalone prequel chapter Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes–not to mention the many Metal Gear spinoffs like Metal Gear: Survive and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Those entries will show up in an ostensible future Master Collection Volume–or even as additional remakes similar to Delta–but Konami has not announced any plans for those just yet.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience

Unfortunately, as it stands, it’s hard to play several of those entries; the PS3-exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4 and PSP-exclusive Peace Walker are not currently available on modern consoles or PC. But as mentioned above, you can at least grab the latest game in the mainline series, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, plus Ground Zeroes and a bunch of DLC content through the Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience. You can grab it for $23 on PS4, or on PC via Fanatical. Note that if you’re jumping into MGSV without playing the others, you’ll be missing out on the rest of the story–but it is widely considered to have the best gameplay of the series, so it’s still worth grabbing if you’re looking for more tactical espionage action after wrapping up Delta or the Master Collection.

While the mainline series tells the winding–and sometimes incomprehensible–story of the legendary soldier Big Boss, his cloned son Solid Snake, and the shadowy organization known as the La Li Lu Le Lo The Patriots, the series has also seen several spinoffs over the years. Most of these are non-canon like Metal Gear: Survive–or semi-canon, as in the case of Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops–others are considered part of the official Metal Gear timeline, such as 2013’s Metal Gear Rising Revengeance developed by Platinum Games. Rising set at the end of the series timeline, and players once again control Metal Gear Solid 2’s protagonist, Raiden, who has returned to his cyborg ninja form from Metal Gear Solid 4. Unlike the rest of the series, Rising is a character action game, rather than a stealth game, but it’s well-regarded by fans and easily available on PC. You can get the Steam version for just $23 (was $30) at Fanatical.

More Metal Gear Games

Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2 official novelizations

For a different take on the Metal Gear Solid saga, you can check out the official novelizations for Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. The books retell the events of the first two Metal Gear Solid games and were written by Raymond Benson, who has also authored several official James Bond novels.

It’s worth noting that Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima’s latest project, Death Stranding, also received an official, two-part novelization. While there are similarities in visual design language, detailed world-building techniques, and even gameplay elements between Death Stranding and Metal Gear, Death Stranding leans more heavily into overt sci-fi elements. Nevertheless, it’s worth checking out if you’re looking for more reading material based on Kojima’s works. Both volumes are available in paperback and Kindle editions at Amazon.

Speaking of which, Kojima also wrote a nonfiction book in 2021, titled The Creative Gene, which compiles his memoirs and essays on creativity, game design, art, and more. While it won’t answer lingering questions about Metal Gear lore, it offers insight into his creative process and details important events from his life. The paperback edition is available for $17.87 (was $23) at Amazon.

More Metal Gear Solid & Hideo Kojima Books

Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom.

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