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Video Games Offer Designers Valuable Lessons Beyond High Scores and Gamification

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Video Games Offer Designers Valuable Lessons Beyond High Scores and Gamification

“Gamification” is one of software design’s hottest buzzwords. The idea is to leverage the mechanics of video games–points, high scores, win streaks and leaderboards–to keep users engaged over a longer period of time.

But Lee Schuneman, chief product officer at edtech firm Efekta Education Group and a former game designer, thinks that’s a simplistic way to think about how the video game industry can help other industries.

“Gamification tends to manifest itself as high score streaks,” Schuneman said Tuesday at Fortune’s Brainstorm Design conference in Macau. “All of these things are meaningful for certain social media products, but at the end of the day, if you’re there to learn, you have to put in the time and effort.”

Before moving to Efekta, Schuneman spent years working for UK video game studio Rare, developing games like 1997’s Diddy Kong Racing and 2002’s Star Fox[/hotlink ignore=”true”] Adventure.

Today, even as he cautions organizations about embracing simplistic form of gamification, he also makes the case that game design holds important lessons for education.

“[The key is] to keep you in the learning experience—the same as keeping you in a gaming experience—and find ways to keep you motivated as a student,” he said.

Schuneman said he’s now exploring how to integrate agentic AI into Efekta’s education service and “blending it with different gaming elements” to keep students engaged. A “huge shortage” of English-language and STEM teachers in the so-called Global South means there’s a huge need for AI tutors, he said.

Efekta has rolled out its AI learning assistant to 4 million students across Latin America.

‘The future of play’

Other panelists shared how the gaming industry was exploring the use of AI.

AI can “spark imagination about the future of play,” said Haiyan Zhang, the general manager and partner of gaming AI at Xbox. “Creators across the world [need] to think about what new things that they can do with gaming through the use of AI, and I think that will really help us drive this new capability.”

Zhang cited a hypothetical example: game preservation.

Researchers found that to introduce arcade classics like Pac-Man, Dig Dug or Q*bert to new audiences, designers need to take the essence of each game and create new experiences.

“There is now capability for AI to learn the back catalog of games, to allow new generations to experience these games in new ways,” Zhang said.

Beta Liu, an AI lead from NetEase Games, shared how the Chinese company was using the new technology in one of its flagship products: Sword of Justice, an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) centering on wuxia, a genre of Chinese fiction about martial artists in ancient China.

What sets the game apart is its AI engine, which spawns countless non-player characters (NPCs) with unique storylines and characteristics. The NPCs don’t just dole[/hotlink ignore=”true”] out quests, but remember players’ decisions and act accordingly after.

Since its launch in China in 2023, the game—set in the late Northern Song Dynasty and powered by DeepSeek’s technology—has garnered millions of players. On Nov. 7, NetEase launched Sword of Justice in global markets.

“AI is not only a tech buzzword, but also [powers] their [players’] companion and their creation tools in our game,” explained Liu. For example, he noted, players can animate their characters to follow popular social media trends, like dances or China’s famed micro-dramas.

Ultimately, game designers hope that AI will help “elevate the player experience,” said Zhang of Xbox.

Two months ago, Xbox introduced an AI co-pilot on mobile and PC. Players can boot it up while they game, and ask it questions about how to win a boss battle or what active missions there are.

“That might seem like a super simple idea, but I think it really brings gaming to life, and [encapsulates] what gaming is about,” she added. “We want to make gaming even more fun, [and] even more exciting.”

Coffee Shop Overload in South Korea

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Coffee Shop Overload in South Korea

“If I could start over,” said Ko Jang-su, “I would do anything but open a cafe.”

Mr. Ko’s cafe is one of the busiest coffee shops in his densely populated neighborhood of Seoul. Still, on weekday mornings it sits empty.

It is not hard to understand why: Mr. Ko has more than 50 competitors nearby, and in South Korea, that is hardly unusual. In Seoul, the density of cafes rivals that of Paris.

The passion for coffee — one national survey suggested that Koreans now reach for it more often than rice — has bred a fantasy among some hoping to cash in and escape the 9-to-5 grind: Why not open a cafe of their own?

The trend caught on fast, as trends often do in South Korea. Thousands of coffee shops open each year. But just as quickly, thousands disappear.

When Mr. Ko opened his cafe in the Sillim neighborhood of southern Seoul in 2016, the competition wasn’t as stiff. There were just two other coffee shops within a few hundred feet.

Since then, cafes have become ubiquitous in the cities of South Korea, the number doubling nationwide over the past six years. There are 80,000 shops for a population of 51 million, with more than 10,000 in Seoul alone.

San Francisco, another city with a strong coffee culture, doesn’t come close to a single district in Seoul, bustling Gangnam.

Sources: SF OpenData; Google Maps; Korea Local Information Research & Development Institute

The cafe boom has been driven by South Koreans’ chase for alternatives to the tough job market, and by consumers’ craving for trend-setting drinks, desserts and interior design, according to cafe owners.

But in South Korea, when a novelty catches on, it can quickly become a national phenomenon — like instant photo booths and personal color analysis services. Waves of business spring up to meet the demand, then the market becomes saturated.

Coffee was introduced to the Korean Peninsula in the late 19th century. Initially a luxury product, it later spread to people in the middle and working classes who came across instant coffee powder in U.S. military rations after the fighting stopped in the Korean War.

Soon, South Korea started producing its own instant mixes. They remain hugely popular.

Starbucks arrived in the late 1990s, and by the 2000s, the Americano had become one of its best-selling drinks. Today, the iced Americano, nicknamed “ah-ah” in Korean, is a sort of unofficial national beverage.

But to South Koreans, coffee shops mean much more than just caffeine.

Many live in small apartments, often with family members, making it difficult to invite people over. Cafes offer spaces where couples can linger after dinner, old friends can catch up, students can study late into the night, and anyone can sit alone and scroll without being bothered.

Faced with a stagnant job market and a harsh office culture, some South Koreans see opening a shop as a path to independence. The cafes have lower startup costs than some other popular options like bars and restaurants, and don’t require a special barista license.

Trend-chasing cafe hoppers determined to get in early on the next “it” place and post about it to Instagram often mill in front of newly opened shops. That has added to the illusion of easy money.

“People see long lines form in front of other cafes and think running one is simple,” said Mr. Ko, who is also chairman of the national Cafe Owner Cooperative Organization. “But the work is grueling, and the profits are slim.”

Choi Seon-wook, a cafe consultant who has helped open more than a thousand coffee shops, said that the vast majority of people entering the business were unprepared. “They have never run a coffee shop, or their experience is limited to part-time work as a barista,” he said.

Many owners net just $2,700 to $3,400 a month — a little over the minimum wage. And that’s in return for putting in more than 13 hours a day, Mr. Choi said.

And many quit once their first leases expire, he said, after just a year or two. As more coffee shops open, their life span is getting shorter.

It is not enough just to serve good coffee, said Jang Eun-seok, who managed Cafe Baum 758, a midsize cafe near a major university and a research institute in northeastern Seoul, for four years. Owners need to know marketing, interior design and menu development, so they can tailor to the latest trends, he said.

In today’s social-media driven culture, the success of a cafe often hinges more on how well it photographs — and how many views posts about it get — than what it serves. But standing out is no easy feat. Interior design trends catch on quickly, leading many shops to adopt a similar aesthetic.

This also means that many cafes may not pay very much attention to the quality of the actual drink, Mr. Choi said.

On top of that, cafe owners also face growing pressure from low-cost franchises, though even those franchises can struggle to maintain margins as the cost of living and the price of coffee beans rise.

Mr. Jang said that five of the seven cafes he worked at over the past decade no longer existed. “I’ve often felt hopeless and wondered if I would be able to keep working as a barista,” he said.

Source: Naver Maps street view

Now, there are YouTube videos dedicated to discouraging people from opening cafes. In one of them, Kwon Seong-jun, a celebrity chef who won Netflix’s hit cooking competition show “Culinary Class Wars,” recounts his own failure in the cafe business and counsels others against trying.

Still, new entrepreneurs continue to enter the market thinking they might be the lucky ones. As Mr. Ko sat in his nearly empty Seoul coffee shop, he had some advice.

“A cafe is not a place to get rich,” he said. “It’s just a place to go and drink coffee.”

About the data

The data of coffee shops in South Korea is released by Korea Local Information Research & Development Institute, a government-affiliated institute that maintains a national database of registered businesses. The analysis includes records from February 1964 through June 2025.

The street featured in the middle of the top of the story is Gangnam-daero in Seoul. We photographed each storefront and stitched the images into composite images for each side of the street. The bottom strip is flipped horizontally to maintain the correct left-to-right order of shops on both sides of the street.

WMG files lawsuit against US fashion retailer PacSun for suspected infringement of over 290 works in TikTok and Instagram content

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WMG files lawsuit against US fashion retailer PacSun for suspected infringement of over 290 works in TikTok and Instagram content

Warner Music Group has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against US fashion retailer Pacific Sunwear of California, LLC (PacSun).

The complaint alleges the company has “misappropriated at least 290” of Warner’s recordings and compositions in social media posts without permission.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday (December 1) in a California court and obtained by MBW, accuses PacSun of using tracks by artists including Dua Lipa, Bruno Mars, Lizzo, Cardi B, and Ariana Grande in promotional videos posted to TikTok and Instagram.

Warner is seeking statutory damages up to the maximum amount of $150,000 per infringed musical work. With PacSun alleged to have infringed over 290 tracks, the potential damages could exceed $43 million.

The lawsuit names 15 Warner Music Group subsidiaries as plaintiffs, including Atlantic Music Group, Warner Records, and Warner Chappell Music.

According to the complaint, PacSun operates approximately 350 stores across the United States and sells casual apparel, accessories, and footwear “designed to appeal to teenagers and young adults.”

The complaint notes that PacSun is privately owned by Golden Gate Capital, a private equity firm with $20 billion in assets under management.

“Defendants have been wildly successful employing this marketing strategy, garnering millions of followers across social media platforms and as a result, earning hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenues.”

WMG’s Legal complaint against PACSUN

According to the filing, “PacSun itself has acknowledged that it earns hundreds of millions of dollars annually, including $797.8 million in 2023 and over $900 million in 2022.”

The lawsuit highlights PacSun’s reliance on social media for driving sales, citing an example where “PacSun sold 200,000 pairs of jeans on TikTok after an influencer’s post caused the product to go viral, generating $20 million in revenue.”

“Defendants have been wildly successful employing this marketing strategy, garnering millions of followers across social media platforms and as a result, earning hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenues,” the complaint states.

“However, Defendants achieved that success through their blatant, willful, and repeated copyright infringement.”

The lawsuit states that “key to PacSun’s continued growth and success has been its strategic use of social media platforms to engage with Generation Z and Generation Alpha audiences, and to promote its brand and products on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter).”

The complaint alleges that PacSun both creates its own promotional content and partners with social media influencers who receive “compensation or other rewards in exchange for promoting PacSun and its products.”

“The PacSun Videos—those produced and posted directly by PacSun and those produced by influencers and reposted by PacSun—are distributed to (among others) PacSun’s over 5.1 million cumulative social media followers, and are a significant means by which PacSun promotes its brand and products,” the complaint states.

Warner alleges that its “Musical Works are an essential and inseparable component of the PacSun Videos, which frequently feature an influencer lip-syncing to the work.”

The complaint states that “Defendants have not paid to use the copyrighted sound recordings and musical compositions that are featured” in the videos.

Warner also alleges that by using these works without consent, PacSun “deprived Plaintiffs, their recording artists, and their songwriters of the ability to control how and where their musical works are used.”

The complaint argues that PacSun’s alleged infringement was “clearly willful,” noting that both Instagram and TikTok expressly prohibit commercial use of music without proper authorization.

Warner cites Instagram’s Music Guidelines, which state: “Use of music for commercial or non-personal purposes in particular is prohibited unless you have obtained appropriate licenses.”

The complaint also quotes TikTok’s Terms of Service, which state: “No rights are licensed with respect to sound recordings and the musical works embodied therein that are made available from or through the service.”

Elsewhere in the lawsuit, Warner alleges that PacSun ignored a cease-and-desist letter sent on February 13, 2024.

“Yet, for months after receiving the cease-and-desist letter, PacSun not only continued to exploit many of the infringing PacSun Videos, but also posted new infringing PacSun Videos,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit notes that PacSun “is not unfamiliar with intellectual property laws and actively enforces its own intellectual property rights,” pointing to a previous case in which PacSun took legal action against an alleged infringer.

The complaint references previous cases involving similar allegations against energy drink company Bang Energy, in which both Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment won judgments.

“On July 11, 2022, United States District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas granted partial summary judgment to another music company, Universal Music Group, in its action against Bang Energy,” the filing states.

“In its order, the court found that it was ‘undisputed that [Bang Energy] posted approximately 140 TikTok videos utilizing portions of [Universal Music Group’s] copyrighted works,’ and concluded that the Bang defendants were liable for direct copyright infringement as a matter of law.”

Warner also sued Bang Energy in September 2022 over similar allegations.

The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal actions by major music companies against businesses accused of using copyrighted music in social media marketing without permission.

In April, Warner Music Group sued cookie company Crumbl over alleged copyright infringement in TikTok posts.

Earlier this year, Warner also filed a lawsuit against shoe retailer DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse over similar allegations involving more than 200 works.

Other recent cases include Sony Music’s lawsuit against the University of Southern California and UMG’s lawsuit against the owner of US Tex-Mex restaurant chain Chili’s.

Music Business Worldwide

The world’s youngest populations are being governed by Africa’s oldest leaders

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The world’s youngest populations are being governed by Africa’s oldest leaders

Africa’s youngest citizens are ruled by leaders in their 80s and 90s. Some are reshaping the system to hold on to power.

Challenge from the Client

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Challenge from the Client



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Kremlin indicates lack of progress following Ukraine discussions with US

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Kremlin indicates lack of progress following Ukraine discussions with US

Five hours of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s senior negotiator appear to have failed to produce a breakthrough on securing a Ukraine peace deal.

A Kremlin spokesman said the Moscow meeting was “constructive”, but parts of the plan remained unacceptable to Russia.

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner attended the talks after weeks of intensive diplomacy aimed at ending the war. The US team has not commented since leaving Moscow.

Earlier on Tuesday, Putin said changes proposed by Kyiv and Europe to a US-backed draft peace plan were unacceptable, adding if Europe “wants to go to war and starts one, we are ready right now”.

Ukraine and its allies have been lobbying the US to amend its draft peace deal, which the White House has sought to secure rapid agreement on and the Kremlin has previously indicated it was receptive to.

That plan, which was widely seen as being favourable to Russia after being leaked to the media in November, has undergone several changes in recent weeks.

Asked about the proposal after the Moscow meeting, Putin’s senior aide Yuri Ushakov said the Kremlin “agreed with some points… but some things we criticised”. He added: “We have not come up with a compromise version yet… A lot of work lies ahead.”

Key disagreements between Moscow and Kyiv remain, including over Ukraine agreeing to cede territory it continues to control and security guarantees provided by Europe.

Moscow and Ukraine’s European allies also remain starkly at odds over their expectations of what a peace settlement should look like.

Speaking ahead of the talks, Putin lashed out at leaders on the continent who have supported Kyiv’s defensive war effort since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in 2022.

He said European leaders were under the illusion they could inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. His country, he said, “wasn’t planning to go to war with Europe – but if Europe suddenly wants to go to war and starts one, we are ready right now”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected to be briefed on the Kremlin talks by the US team after the meeting, though it was unclear whether Witkoff and Kushner would fly to Kyiv or other European capitals for further in-person negotiations.

Speaking before the Kremlin talks took place, the Ukrainian leader said on Tuesday there was an opportunity to end the war “now more than ever”, but that elements of the proposals still needed to be worked out.

“Everything depends on today’s discussions,” Zelensky told a press conference during an official visit to Ireland.

Zelensky said there were “no simple solutions”, repeating his country’s insistence that Kyiv take part in peace discussions, and that clear security guarantees be agreed, such as Nato membership – a move long opposed by Russia and ruled out by Trump.

“We have to stop the war in such a manner that in one year, Russia would not come back”, Zelensky added.

Ukrainian representatives have held two rounds of high-level talks on the draft plan in recent weeks, which have been attended by Witkoff, Kushner and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The White House said the proposals had been “very much refined” as a result, although details of the updated plan have not been confirmed.

Putin – who believes Russia has the initiative on the battlefield – had appeared immovable on his demands as recently as last week, while Zelensky has repeatedly said he would never relinquish control of eastern Ukrainian regions.

While Tuesday’s talks were under way, Trump told his cabinet in Washington that the conflict had not been easy to resolve, describing the conflict as “a mess”.

Kyiv’s European allies had countered the US-backed 28-point plan with their own document – removing many of the most contentious elements, such as Washington’s recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk as de facto Russian.

Zelensky had met French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, with several European leaders joining the meeting virtually.

Macron said there was “no finalised plan to speak of” and that it could only be achieved with input from Ukraine and Europe.

Meanwhile, fighting continued on the front lines on Tuesday. Ukraine’s military said it was still engaging Russian troops in the key eastern city of Pokrovsk – contradicting Moscow’s claim to have captured it.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence shared a video on Telegram claiming to show its troops holding up flags in the strategically important city, which they have been trying to seize for over a year.

Ukraine’s eastern military command claimed Russia had tried to “flag-plant” in the city so that “propagandists” could say it had been captured. “They fled in a hurry, and the mopping up of enemy groups continues,” it said in a statement on social media.

Ukraine’s military said its forces still controlled the northern part of the city, with Russian units suffering heavy losses, while international observers also disputed Russia’s claim to the area.

The military in Kyiv also dismissed Russia’s claims to have captured the north-eastern Ukrainian border town of Vovchansk and said it had “significantly improved” its position in the northeastern city of Kupyans, which Russia claimed to have conquered a fortnight ago.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed or injured – alongside more than 14,000 civilians, according to the UN.

Civilian targets including kindergartens, hospitals and residential buildings have been destroyed or heavily damaged by nightly drone or missile attacks.

The conflict between the two ex-Soviet states stretches back to 2014 when Ukraine’s pro-Russian president was overthrown and Russia responded by annexing Crimea and supporting armed uprisings in eastern Ukraine.

FT reports that Anthropic is considering an IPO as early as 2026

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FT reports that Anthropic is considering an IPO as early as 2026

Anthropic plans an IPO as early as 2026, FT reports

Obtaining the 2025 Year in Review Magazine Featuring Summer McIntosh on the Cover

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Obtaining the 2025 Year in Review Magazine Featuring Summer McIntosh on the Cover

By Gold Medal Mel Stewart on SwimSwam

Get The 2025 Year In Review SwimSwam Magazine

Every so often, a swimmer doesn’t just win races, they redefine what’s possible in the pool. This year that swimmer was Summer McIntosh, our 2025 Year In Review cover story. McIntosh continues to rewrite the sport’s record books with a composure that belies her age and a ferocity that reminds us why swimming remains the purest test of human potential. In 2025 she shattered three world records—in the 400 free (3:54.18), 200 IM (2:05.70), and 400 IM (4:23.65)—cementing her place among the all-time greats. Each performance carried the unmistakable mix of grace and grit that defines champions. In this issue we celebrate McIntosh and we memorialise all of the moments that make 2025 standout, and we look ahead to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

NEW OFFER! SwimSwam Magazine offers DIGITAL ONLY ACCESS to all issues published since 2015, over 6,183+ pages of content, at a lower subscription rate, $40 USD, for international subscribers.  SwimSwam does not ship print magazines outside of the U.S. and Canada.

*Once a print issue sells out, we do NOT print a second run. SwimSwamMAG print issues are limited.

With your yearly subscription, you receive over 600 of pages of swimming’s highest quality print content, and you receive another 6,331+ pages of digital issues going back to the first issue produced.

With your subscription today you get the:

  • 2015 Year in Review (Michael Phelps cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2016 Swimsuit Issue (Ryan Lochte cover) as a digital magazine   (print is sold out)
  • 2016 Olympic Preview (Michael Phelps cover) as a digital magazine (print is nearly sold out)
  • 2016 College Preview (Katie Ledecky cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2016 Olympic Year in Review (Michael Phelps cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2017 Swimsuit Issue (Anthony Ervin cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2017 Superhero Issue (Nathan Adrian cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2017 College Preview Issue (Simone Manuel cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2017 Year In Review (Caeleb Dressel cover) as digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2018 Women in Swimming  (Mallory Comerford cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2018 Summer Preview Issue (Caeleb Dressel cover) as a digital magazine (print is  sold out)
  • 2018 College Preview Issue (Ella Eastin cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2018  Pro Issue Issue  (Ryan Murphy cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2019 Spring Issue  (Kathleen Baker cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2019 World Championships Preview (Michael Andrew cover) as a digital magazine (print sold out)
  • 2019 College Preview (Beata Nelson Cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2019 Year In Review (Regan Smith cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2020 Swimsuit Issue  (Adam Peaty cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2020 Olympic Perspective Issue  (Caeleb Dressel cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2020 College Preview Issue (Reece Whitley cover) as a digital magazine  (print is sold out)
  • 2020 Year In Review (Lilly King cover) as digital magazine  (print is sold out)
  • 2021 Spring Issue (Abbey Weitzeil cover) as a digital magazine  (print is sold out)
  • 2021 Olympic Preview (Caeleb Dressel cover) as a digital magazine (print is nearly sold out)
  • 2021 College Preview (Bobby Finke cover ) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2021 Olympic Year in Review (Caeleb Dressel cover) as a digital magazine (print is nearly sold out)
  • 2022 Swimsuit Issue (Adam Peaty cover) as a digital magazine  (print is nearly sold out)
  • 2022 Summer Preview (Cody Simpson cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2022 College Preview  (Gretchen Walsh cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2022 Year in Review  (David Popovici cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
  • 2023 Swimsuit Issue / Tech Issue (Shaine Casas cover) as a digital issue (print is sold out)
  • 2023 Summer Preview  (Summer McIntosh cover) as a digital issue (print is nearly sold out)
  • 2023 College Preview (Leon Marchand cover) as a digital issue  (print is sold out)
  • 2023  Year In Review (Katie Ledecky cover) as a digital magazine (print is nearly sold out)
  • 2024 Swimsuit Issue (Bella Sims cover)   as a digital magazine (print is nearly sold out)
  • 2024 Olympic Preview  (Walsh Sisters Cover)    as a digital magazine (print is nearly sold out)
  • 2024 College Preview, Josh Liendo cover) as a digital magazine 
  • 2024 Olympic Year in Review, (Katie Ledecky cover) as a digital magazine (nearly soldout)
  • 2025 WOMEN IN SWIMMING( Regan Smith cover) as a digital magazine 
  • 2025 World Championship Preview (Leon Marchand cover) as a digital magazine
  • 2025 College Preview (Rex Maurer cover) as a digital magazine 
  • 2025 Year in Review with Summer McIntosh cover as a print magazine
  • 2026 Spring Preview as a print magazine
  • 2026 Summer Preview as a print magazine
  • 2026 College Preview as a print magazine

See seven reasons to love SwimSwam Magazine for our upcoming issues. 

ONE

You want  Summer McIntosh cover. We memorialise swim stars with covers you have to hold  in your hands to appreciate.

 

TWO

All issues have a big theme, one topic we cover in-depth.  The 2018 Year in Review was all about The Year of the Pro. The 2017 Swimsuit magazine was the Superhero issue, and the 2020 Olympic Perspective issue is all about the history of the Olympics during the event’s most challenging times.

THREE

If you subscribe, you can also buy back issues.  On the subscription page, check the box by any of the back issues to add them to your order. *Note, several of  issues have sold out. Going forward we will not print additional runs. Once an issue is sold out, it is gone and only available on our digital platform.  Printed back issues are limited to what is in stock.

Many print back issues are sold out. Once a print issue sells out, it is gone forever (other than on our paid digital platform).  If the print issue is not on the BACK ISSUE checkout page, it is gone. 

FOUR

Magazines are massive. The 2024 Olympic Preview came in at 196 pages. The 2019 Swimsuit Issue was 172 pages.

FIVE

The quality is high. SwimSwam Magazine has perfect binding (like a book), heavy card stock, and an expensive cover finish. If you haven’t subscribed, you simply don’t know. You feel it the instant you touch the magazine. The texture is amazing, and you’ll love how heavy it feels in your hands.

SIX

Our covers are ideal for your coffee table or nightstand. Make a statement. Show your swimming love. Show that your sport is great and worth the respect it deserves.  Adorn your coffee table with SwimSwam Magazine.

SEVEN

SwimSwam Magazine named one of the 30 Hottest Launches

Competitive Intelligence of Media Leaders (MIN/Mr. Magazine) named SwimSwam Magazine one of the 30 Hottest Launches. Criteria for making the 30 Hottest list included:

  • Design
  • Creativity
  • Audience reaction
  • Industry reaction

OUR MAGAZINE MISSION

To knock you over with each issue, producing a must-have magazine that feels like a collector’s item.

To produce unique features never before seen in swimming media.

To present swimming like it should be, the greatest sport on earth.

At SwimSwam, we love the sport, and we love changing the paradigm of how it’s presented. For far too long swimming magazines have been the same, and it is our goal to deliver something spectacular, a magazine you will be excited about getting every single time a new issue is released.

Subscribe to SWIMSWAM MAGAZINE here.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: How To Get The 2025 Year in Review Magazine With The Summer McIntosh Cover

Dcubed Will Manufacture Massive Solar Arrays in Orbit Using 3D Printing Technology

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Dcubed Will Manufacture Massive Solar Arrays in Orbit Using 3D Printing Technology

Commercial spaceflight is booming and looks to go into full-on kaboom stage in the near future, sparking the need for an ever-increasing supply of solar panels. To fill this need, Dcubed is developing its ARAQYS system to directly manufacture arrays in orbit.

Aside from a few nuclear power systems in military and research satellites, solar panels are the overwhelming choice for powering spacecraft in Earth orbit. Given all that sunlight unimpeded by atmosphere, weather, or the aggravatingly regular occurrence of night, the Sun makes perfect sense as a power source.

However, there is a problem: solar panels and their support structures tend to be a bit on the heavy side and they have to be packed away during transportation and launching. This results in two major drawbacks. First, the panels need a mechanism to unfold them in orbit, which adds weight and volume. Second, this mechanism must be capable of withstanding the acceleration forces, vibrations, and acoustic stresses of a rocket launch.

All of that ups the costs while detracting from the available payload volume and mass.

Dcubed hopes to skirt these problems this with its new ARAQYS system, which doesn’t deploy solar panels. It manufactures them in space with what the company claims is a significant reduction in cost per kilowatt.

The system is based on a highly compact and flexible ultrathin soft solar blanket that acts as the collection panel and can unroll once the satellite reaches orbit. As it does so, a 3D printer system prints a rigid back structure to the blanket array membrane. As it does so, the hard UV radiation of space rapidly cures the resin, making it hard. This means a reduction of costs that a company spokesman estimates to be in orders of magnitude.

The current plan is to launch a series of demonstration missions into orbit, with the first one aimed at constructing a 60-cm (2-ft) boom later this year. This will be followed by a more ambitious 1-m (3-ft) version and an operational 2-kW demo in 2027. From there, commercial products are expected to go on sale.

Once the technology has matured, it will have a wide variety of satellite applications, including power-beaming arrays, space tugs, and data processing constellations.

“Dcubed is fully committed to leading the next frontier: power generation in orbit,” said Dr. Thomas Sinn, CEO of Dcubed. “My involvement in a NASA NIAC study on space-based solar power more than 15 years ago set this journey in motion. Since then, we’ve been steadily developing the technologies required to make in-space energy a practical reality. With ARAQYS, we’re now combining those years of innovation into affordable large-scale power solutions designed to meet the demands of the rapidly growing space economy.”

Source: Dcubed

Trump’s Representative Holds Talks with Putin Regarding Conflict in Ukraine

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Trump’s Representative Holds Talks with Putin Regarding Conflict in Ukraine

new video loaded: Trump’s Envoy Meets With Putin on War in Ukraine

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Trump’s Envoy Meets With Putin on War in Ukraine

Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy, was expected to discuss with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a U.S.-backed peace proposal that was revised by American officials after recent negotiations with Ukrainian diplomats.

This morning, here in Ireland, our team delivered a full briefing following the meetings in the United States. And we are fully engaged in negotiations, and we are only stepping up our efforts. Our team is now looking ahead to next very important meetings. Today, Ukraine is closer to peace than ever before. And there is a real, real chance.

Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy, was expected to discuss with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a U.S.-backed peace proposal that was revised by American officials after recent negotiations with Ukrainian diplomats.

By Ang Li

December 2, 2025

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