The Witcher 3 Price Change, Dave the Diver Hits 10 Million and a New Game Fund

This week brings three very different stories from the gaming industry. The Witcher 3 has received a strange regional price adjustment in Japan, Dave the Diver has officially passed 10 million copies sold worldwide, and two major names in gaming are launching a new fund designed to help young developers make their first games.

One story is about how much players pay, another is about how far an indie game can go, and the third is about giving the next generation of developers a chance to get started without immediately giving up control of their work.

The Witcher 3 Gets Cheaper on PC and Xbox, but More Expensive on Switch in Japan

The Witcher 3 has received one of those price updates that immediately makes players compare platforms.

CD Projekt Red's Japanese account has announced new digital prices for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition in selected regions. In Japan, the Xbox version is dropping from ¥6,600 to ¥6,490, while the PC version on Steam and the Epic Games Store is receiving the same reduction.

The Nintendo Switch version is doing the exact opposite. Its price is increasing from ¥7,128 to ¥7,490.

It is not a huge difference in absolute terms, but the contrast is hard to miss. Players buying the same Complete Edition digitally in Japan are paying slightly less on PC and Xbox while Switch owners are being asked to pay more.

The adjustment applies only to digital download versions, so it does not directly affect physical copies already owned by players or still available at retail.

There is also no reason to assume that the Japanese pricing change will automatically be applied to every other region. Game prices can vary significantly between markets because of taxes, platform fees, currency exchange rates and local pricing strategies.

Chinese players are already seeing a different price. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition on Steam China is currently priced at ¥199 following previous price increases.

The timing is also interesting because CD Projekt Red is preparing to bring The Witcher 3 back into the spotlight with its upcoming remaster. That could attract a new wave of players who never experienced the original, making the current regional pricing worth watching.

For longtime players, however, the main takeaway is simply how strange the comparison looks. The PC version is becoming slightly cheaper, Xbox is doing the same, and Switch is becoming more expensive.

The difference may only be a few hundred yen, but when the game itself is essentially the same Complete Edition, players will naturally ask why one platform is moving in the opposite direction.

Dave the Diver Surpasses 10 Million Copies Sold Worldwide

Dave the Diver has officially crossed a milestone that would be impressive for almost any game, let alone an indie title.

Developer MINTROCKET has announced that the game has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, turning one of the biggest indie success stories of recent years into a genuine global hit.

The timing is particularly convenient because the mobile version is about to expand internationally.

The Android and iOS release was previously launched in China with publisher XD and has already surpassed 1 million copies sold there. The mobile version is scheduled to launch worldwide on September 17.

Dave the Diver's appeal comes from the way it combines several completely different types of gameplay without making them feel disconnected.

Players dive underwater to catch fish, explore new areas and fight various creatures, then return to shore and run a sushi restaurant using the resources they collected.

The game gradually adds new equipment, upgrades, characters and mechanics, so what begins as a simple fishing-and-restaurant concept eventually becomes a much larger adventure.

That unusual combination helped Dave the Diver stand out when it launched in 2023. It also benefited from strong word of mouth, with players continuing to recommend it long after release.

The visual style is another reason the game is easy to recognize. MINTROCKET mixes pixel-art characters with 3D environments and fills the world with exaggerated animations and humor, giving it a personality that feels very different from larger AAA productions.

Passing 10 million copies shows how far that identity has traveled.

The mobile release could now take the game to an even larger audience. Players who never played the PC or console versions will soon have another way to experience the same combination of underwater exploration, combat and restaurant management.

For an indie game built around diving for fish and selling sushi, becoming a 10-million-selling title is already a remarkable achievement.

And with the global mobile launch coming on September 17, Dave the Diver may not have finished growing yet.

Geoff Keighley and Mark Cerny Launch Nova Games Foundation for Young Developers

The next generation of game developers just received an unusually generous opportunity.

The Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley and PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 lead architect Mark Cerny have announced the Nova Games Foundation, a nonprofit initiative designed to financially support young game designers.

The foundation plans to provide 20 game-design graduates each year with a $100,000 grant. Selected developers will retain full ownership of their games, while the funding will be released through development milestones rather than structured like a traditional investment.

That is what makes Nova particularly interesting.

Game developers looking for funding often have to compromise. Publishers may ask for publishing rights, investors may want equity or a share of future revenue, and young studios can end up giving away part of the project they are trying to build before they even get the chance to prove it works.

Nova is taking a very different approach.

The foundation will not take equity or ownership of the games created by its fellows. The developers keep their intellectual property and remain free to work with publishers or partners of their choosing.

Around one quarter of the selected developers could also receive additional funding of up to $500,000 if their projects show exceptional promise.

The initial program will work with 13 university game-design programs across eight countries, including New York University, the University of Southern California, Abertay University, Cnam-Enjmin, TH Köln and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

The money is only part of the pitch. Nova also plans to connect recipients with experienced people from the games industry, giving young developers access to advice and contacts that can otherwise be extremely difficult to obtain.

Keighley brings decades of experience around major gaming events and the wider industry, while Cerny has spent decades working as a game developer and later became the lead architect behind the PS4 and PS5.

The two founders have also stated that the foundation is intended as a philanthropic project rather than another commercial investment vehicle. They will not personally receive compensation from the organization.

For players, the effects of the program will obviously not be visible immediately. The first generation of funded developers still needs to build its games, and some of those projects may never become major releases.

But that uncertainty is also part of what makes the idea exciting.

There is no requirement for these developers to make another established franchise or follow a publisher's existing formula. They are being given financial room to experiment while keeping ownership of whatever they create.

Some of those games may disappear without making much of an impact. Others could become the next major indie success story.

Either way, Nova is betting on people before they become established names.

And considering how many of today's biggest independent games started with a small team and an unusual idea, giving new developers $100,000 without taking their IP in return could end up being one of the more interesting experiments in the games industry.