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‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’ wins game of the year at VGA
MUMBAI: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim won the award for game of the year while the award for studio of the year went to Bethesda Game Studios at US broadcaster Spike TV‘s ninth annual Video Game Awards (VGA).
Internationally, the VGAs were seen in over 100 countries and territories around the world. A host of members of the gaming industry, as well as stars from the worlds of sports, television, music and movies gathered for the event. ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim‘ also won Best RPG, and garnered Studio of the Year honors for Bethesda Game Studios.
Other multiple award winners included ‘Portal 2‘ which won in five prominent categories, including Best PC Game and Best Multiplayer, and ‘Batman: Arkham City‘, which won four Vector Monkeys, including awards for Character of the Year for the Joker, Best Xbox 360 Game and Best Action Adventure Game.
‘The Legend of Zelda‘ creator Shigeru Miyamoto made an appearance to accept the first ever Video Game Hall of Fame Award on the groundbreaking franchise‘s behalf. “We always push ourselves,” said Miyamoto, “and we‘re grateful you notice.”
Additional honors included the second ever Gamer God Award, which was bestowed upon Blizzard Entertainment, the creators of the ‘”World of Warcraft‘, ‘Starcraft‘ and ‘Diablo‘ series. Original founders Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce were all on hand to accept the prestigious award.
The VGAs debuted never-before-seen world premieres of the most anticipated games of 2012 and beyond, including Naughty Dog‘s ‘The Last of Us‘, the surprise reveals of ‘Command and Conquer: Generals 2‘, ‘Alan Wake American Nightmare‘, ‘Epic Games‘ ‘Fortnite‘, ‘Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance‘, ‘Tom Clancy‘s Rainbow 6 Patriots‘, ‘Transformers: Fall of Cybertron‘, ‘BioShock Infinite‘ and the winner for Most Anticipated Game ‘Mass Effect 3‘.
This year‘s show included presenters and appearances by the likes of Charlie Sheen, Brooklyn Decker, Seth Green, Jason Biggs, Tony Hawk, will.i.am, Hulk Hogan and Stacy Keibler. The show also featured a performance by rock duo The Black Keys, and dance music innovator deadmau5, who helped transform the show with his visual representation of sound into a real life video game experience. Additionally, NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice was on hand to announce the results of the vote for Digital Cover Athlete of the forthcoming “NFL Blitz” from EA Sports, with Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens selected by fans who cast their ballot at vga.spike.com during the show.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
