Balatro developer stopped playing other roguelikes to try and "reinvent the wheel" with hit poker game"I didn't want to borrow tried-and-true designs."Image credit: LocalThunk News by Tom Phillips Editor-in-Chief Published on March 7, 2025 The creator of Balatro has revealed fresh details on the hit indie card game's development, including the fact he gave up playing other roguelikes for more than two years to avoid subconsciously borrowing ideas.LocalThunk, the Canadian IT-worker-turned-indie-game-maestro, published a lengthy timeline of Balatro's development today on his blog. It features insights into his design decisions while working on the project, and notes about his own personal life and health over the course of the last three years.In December 2021, after beginning work on a Balatro prototype, LocalThunk said he made "a very conscious effort not to play any more roguelike games starting now". To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Does anyone really want long games anymore?Watch on YouTube"I want to be crystal clear here and say that this was not because I thought it would result in [Balatro being] a better game, this was because making games is my hobby, releasing them and making money from them is not, so naively exploring roguelike design (and especially deckbuilder design, since I had never played one before) was part of the fun for me," LocalThunk continued. "I wanted to make mistakes, I wanted to reinvent the wheel, I didn't want to borrow tried-and-true designs from existing games. That likely would have resulted in a more tight game but it would have defeated the purpose of what I love about making games."It was a pledge he seemingly kept until May 2023, when LocalThunk writes:"I downloaded Slay the Spire and played it for the first time. Holy shit. Now that is a game."I did this because I was having some troubles in my controller implementation and I wanted to see how they handled controller inputs for a card game but I ended up getting sucked in. Thank goodness I avoided playing it until now because I surely would have just copied their incredible design (intentionally or subconsciously)."The full development timeline is lengthy but well worth a read for anyone who's played Balatro and is interested at what point various features made it into the game (which for a long time was alternatively named Joker Poker).Balatro's fundamental Chip X Mult scoring system was part of the game since its earliest days - back when it was called Big Cheat - in 2021. However, it wasn't until late 2023 that the decision to include as many as 150 Jokers in the game was finalised. It was also during late 2023 that LocalThunk reports on difficulties with his health, due to the increasing attention that Balatro was getting and the long hours spent working on its development. Balatro began life as a game project LocalThunk hoped to share with friends, or potentially launch on Steam just to have something he could show to a future employer. As of January 2025, the game has now sold 5m copies."It's the game that's been on everyone's lips (and brain, and console, and phone and practically every device going) since it took the world by storm back in February," our Katharine wrote, praising Balatro as one of Eurogamer's best games of 2024. "Balatro has been a force of nature this year."

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereDeath and taxes are lifes only guarantees. And while Fortnite has always had plenty of the first, its now introducing the second! Thats right, the latest update brings an in-game tax, meaning youll have to fork over some gold before you can even use a toilet. Looks like in Fortnite, nothing is certain except death, taxes and sweaty players in the final circle.Next time you visit a vending machine, make sure to carry extra gold in your pockets. After all, Baron requires you to pay a hefty tax which sometimes exceeds hundreds of gold!You now have to pay tax in FortniteFortnite Chapter 6 Season 2 brought several new features to the video game. This season is all about heists and gold, and racking up that sweet currency is easier than ever. Players have been begging Epic Games for more ways to spend their accumulated gold, and guess what? Epic listened! Well kind of.Vending machines offer a variety of weapons you can purchase in exchange for gold. However, before you dish out 1,200 gold for the Plasma Burst Laser, you will have to pay a Baron Tax. If you thought that real-life tax was bad, wait till you see that you need to pay Baron 50% of the amount of purchase.Next time you want to use a toilet in Fortnite, make sure you pay the tax. Image by VideoGamerTo make things worse, you cant even use a toilet in Fortnite without paying tax! Whats next? Will we have to buy a ticket to ride the train? Will cars be off-limits without a license and registration? Will the bus driver start checking for passes? At this rate, well need to file a tax return before dropping from the Battle Bus!Given Epics love for tricking Fortnite players, some of these features might come in the future. But as long as were still out there building, battling, and having fun, who cares about a little in-game tax, just consider it the price of victory! FortnitePlatform(s):Android, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/XGenre(s):Action, Massively Multiplayer, Shooter9VideoGamerRelated TopicsFortnite Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereHave you ever played through PvE battles in Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 and thought: This is thrilling, but what if I could lead 19 other players into war? Well, one modder has thought the same as you can now burst through Xenos scum as part of a massive army of Space Marines.Space Marine 2 20-man squadsCreated by modder CrabikMonkey11, a new Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 mod allows you to go ham and spawn in a massive army of friendly marines to stomp through Tyranid hordes.Dubbed the 300 Marines mod, the mod actually attempts to give players a huge army of 300 Space Marines. However, the mod actually hits the limit on the number of Space Marines the game can actually spawn, making it so that you have a rotating squad of 20 friendlies.Just look at that Squad!Nevertheless, this gives you an absolutely massive number of friendlies to battle throughout your Operations. Right now, the mod only works for that particular modealthough that is already a lot of contentbut the modder is also working on getting the mod working throughout the games campaign.Whatever the case, being able to stomp through levels as a 20-man squad is a power fantasy like no other. Saber already did an amazing job making Space Marine 2 feel like the ultimate Warhammer 40K power trip, and this only exacerbates that.While Saber works on a very different Horde Mode for an awesome future update and toil away at new difficulty modifiers to appease the games more masochistic players, modders are constantly working on new features, cosmetics and more to play along with.For more Warhammer coverage, read about how franchise owner Games Workshop is actively searching for its next Space Marine 2 level of success. Additionally, read about Saber Interactives next game thats already in active development at the studio.Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2Platform(s):PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series XGenre(s):ActionRelated TopicsSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

ByZack ZwiezenPublishedWednesday 3:55PMWe may earn a commission from links on this page.Photo: Andrew Harnik / Staff / Kotaku (Getty Images)President Donald Trumps recently imposed tariffs on Mexico, China, and Canada could potentially lead to higher game and console prices, fewer physical releases, and supply shortages, according to some industry analysts. Suggested ReadingThe Best Reveals From The Game Awards 2023Share SubtitlesOffEnglishSuggested ReadingThe Best Reveals From The Game Awards 2023Share SubtitlesOffEnglishThe Best Reveals From The Game Awards 2023As reported by Ars Technica on March 5, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella recently posted on social media that it wouldnt surprise him to see physical games that would be subject to tariffs simply not get made, and that publishers might move to an all-digital strategy to avoid those tariffs. Currently, most video game discs are produced in Mexico, so whatever game discs are still printed and shipped out will likely cost more to buy due to a newly activated 25-percent tariff. Remember, publishers and other companies are going to pass the cost of tariffs onto consumers. What a mess, added Piscatella.And if youre thinking, Well, Ill just buy games digitally to avoid the price increase, that might not be possible. As pointed out by Piscatella last year, publishers would either raise prices on digital games to reach parity with the higher cost of physical games or, as mentioned already, simply give up entirely on producing and sell discs. Either option is bad. It also comes at a time when the future of physical media looks bleak. Consoles are also likely to be impacted by tariffs, as explained by Nike Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad. On March 4, a day after the Trump administrations tariff against China became active, Ahmad posted that, despite some mitigation efforts, 75 percent of consoles are produced and imported from China. These consoles will be hit by the tariffs and will likely cost more to buy in the United States. Its also likely that fewer will be produced, which could lead to supply shortages.As we reported in January, the presidents tariffs could see the price of consoles jump dramatically. A Switch could potentially go from $300 to $400. A PS5 Pro could see its price leap from $700 to $1000. And the Switch 2 could be slapped with a higher-than-expected price tag due to the ongoing tariffs, making a console that was potentially already going to be hard to buy in its first year even trickier and more expensive to obtain. .

Taking the Science out of NASA White House may seek to slash NASAs science budget by 50 percent "It would be nothing short of an extinction-level event for space science." Eric Berger Mar 7, 2025 8:54 am | 117 This is a montage of New Horizons images of Jupiter and its volcanic moon Io, taken during the spacecraft's Jupiter flyby in early 2007. The Io image shows a major eruption in progress on Io's night side, at the northern volcano Tvashtar. Incandescent lava glows red beneath a 330km-high volcanic plume. Credit: NASA This is a montage of New Horizons images of Jupiter and its volcanic moon Io, taken during the spacecraft's Jupiter flyby in early 2007. The Io image shows a major eruption in progress on Io's night side, at the northern volcano Tvashtar. Incandescent lava glows red beneath a 330km-high volcanic plume. Credit: NASA Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreAlthough the Trump administration will not publicly release its budget request for at least a few more weeks, senior agency officials are starting to be briefed on the president's priorities.This includes NASA. As expected, the president's plan for the space agency includes some significant shakeups, including a desire to move elements of NASA headquarters to field centers around the country. However, in perhaps the most drastic change, the White House seeks to massively cut funding for science programs at the space agency.Multiple people familiar with the White House proposal said cuts to NASA's "Science Mission Directorate" could be as high as 50 percent. These sources emphasized that no decisions are final, and there are some scenarios in which the cuts to NASA's science programs would be less. But the intent is to slash science.The associate administrator who runs NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Nicola Fox, appeared in Houston on Thursday for a news conference about a lunar landing. Afterward, Ars asked her about the implications of cutting science funding in half."We haven't had any information yet about the budget, and I hate planning something on rumors and speculation," Fox said. "You know, we will continue to do great science. We'll continue to have a balanced science portfolio, for sure. And you know, we'll be grateful for what we get, and we'll do great stuff with it."An extinction-level eventHowever, as word of these potential cuts spread through the scientific community this week, they have set off alarm bells and generated a response that indicated otherwise."If this is implemented, it would be nothing short of an extinction-level event for space science and exploration in the United States," said Casey Dreier, chief of space policy for The Planetary Society. "Losing this much money, this fast, has no precedence in NASA's history. It would force terrible decisions, including turning off scores of active, productive, irreplaceable missions, halting nearly all new mission development, and decimating the country's space science workforce."In many ways, NASA's science directorate is the crown jewel of the space agency. Nearly all of the most significant achievements over the last 25 years have been delivered by the science programs: Ingenuity flying on Mars, New Horizons swooping by Pluto, images from the James Webb Space Telescope, the discovery of thousands of exoplanets, the return of samples from asteroids and comets, Cassini's discovery of water plumes on Enceladus, a continuous robotic presence on Mars, and so much more. Even the recent lunar landings by Firefly and Intuitive Machines were funded by NASA's science directorate.Of NASA's roughly $25 billion budget, however, only about 30 percent is allocated to science. For fiscal year 2024, this amounted to $7.4 billion. This spending was broken down into approximately $2.7 billion for planetary science, $2.2 billion for Earth science, $1.5 billion for astrophysics, and $800 million for heliophysics. NASA science funding since 1980. Credit: Casey Dreier/The Planetary Society NASA science funding since 1980. Credit: Casey Dreier/The Planetary Society The proposed cuts are being driven by Russell Vought, the recently confirmed director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, which sets budget and policy priorities for a presidential administration. In some sense, the budgetary decisions should not come as a surprise, as they are consistent with what Vought proposed in a "shadow" budget for fiscal-year 2023as part of his Center for Renewing America."The budget also proposes a 50 percent reduction in NASA Science programs and spending, reducing their misguided Carbon Reduction System spending and Global Climate Change programs," Vought's organization wrote in its report published in December 2022.Zeroing out Earth science?Despite Vought's desire, however, NASA is expressly charged with studying our planet.The congressional act that created NASA in 1958 calls for the space agency to expand human knowledge about Earth's atmosphere and space, and the agency's Earth observation satellites have substantially increased our understanding of this planet's weather, changing climate, and land use.Even if NASA's Earth science budget were taken to zero, cutting the overall science budget in half would still dramatically reduce funding in planetary science as well as other research areas. Scientists told Ars that NASA would be forced to make difficult decisions, likely including shutting off extended missions such as the Voyager and Curiosity probes on Mars, and possibly even the Hubble Space Telescope. It might be possible to save missions in later stages of development, such as the Dragonfly probe to Saturn's moon Titan, and the NEO Surveyor mission to search for hazardous asteroids. But it would be impossible to start meaningful new missions to explore the Solar System, potentially setting back planetary exploration a decade.The cuts also seem at odds with the administration's stated goal of commercializing space, that is, allowing the agency to buy more services where they are available from the private sector. Instead, the heaviest cutssources said that NASA may face an approximately 25 percent budget cut, overallwould fall on the agency directorate, Science, least able to buy commercial services."There are no commercial or private options for exploratory space science," Dreier said. "No private individuals or companies are currently able or willing to independently pursue boundary-pushing, breakthrough science missions like Europa Clipper, James Webb Space Telescope, or the Parker Solar Probe. This is a unique capability and responsibility of our public space agency. There is no private space science sector of our economy waiting to fill the gap."Such a budget, scientists fear, would cede the future of exploration in our Solar System to China, which last year revealed a long-term exploration plan to compete with and potentially surpass its competitors, including NASA and the United States.The president's proposal for NASA's budget is just a starting point for negotiations with Congress, of course. The president establishes budget priorities, but Congress actually sets funding levels and authorizes spending. However, to date, the US Congress has shown little appetite to oppose President Trump's policy priorities. Moreover, a lot of NASA's key science centers are located in Democratic-leaning states such as California, Maryland, and New York, which do not have a lot of power in the current Congress.Eric BergerSenior Space EditorEric BergerSenior Space Editor Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of two books: Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX; and Reentry, on the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston. 117 Comments

In UteroWhat do you get when you mix Beavis and Butthead, Daria, and Bojack Horseman? It turns out, it's an MTV-style rock-band management sim called RockbeastsReminisce over the 90s and try not to go off the rails in a world of excess and hedonism in Rockbeasts, from Team17.Image credit: Team17 Article by Kelsey Raynor Guides Writer Published on March 7, 2025 Think back to the 90s. I wasnt alive during it, but Ive listened to enough Nirvana and played enough of the Nintendo 64 without a mobile phone in sight to imagine what it mightve been like. I do know that this era of excess and plenty was the time that video games exploded in popularity and made obscene technological advancements, when dressing up in neon colours and bad haircuts were deemed a hell of a lot more fashionable than it is now, and when the music was great. 90s nostalgia is real, and even today the love for its music, in particular, lives on.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Think Weezer, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and Beastie Boys. Metallica, Motley Crue. Pavement, Sonic Youth. The 90s saw Oasis release Wonderwall, for Gods sake. The song that will quite literally never die, no matter how many of us are tired of hearing it played at any bar across the north of England each weekend. God forbid someone breaks out a guitar at a party.Rockbeasts which I was briefly shown during Team17s Showcase last in late February 2025 is an upcoming game developed by Lichthund that harkens back to the era of alternative music and bad haircuts, tasking you with becoming the manager of an upcoming rock-and-roll band and helping them skyrocket to fame. Or aiding them with becoming complete sellouts. Your call.As a management simulator, you can expect to have to manage the band's time; when (and if) they eat, rehearse, perform publicly, and so forth. But you can also expect to get to know your band, and all of the other 100+ wacky characters they will run into on their journey to the top (or bottom), on a much deeper level. Everyone knows this is what the 90s looked like, right? | Image credit: Team17This cast, which consists of all kinds of anthropomorphic animals that any Bojack Horseman fan will drool over (including a bass-playing sea bass, of course), boasts an appearance from The Stooges Iggy Pop, as well as a range of voice actors from Baldurs Gate 3, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and Alan Wake 2.The game doesnt look to shy away from the dark underbelly of rock 'n' roll stardom in the 90s, either - with cutthroat, comedic dialogue that doesnt dial down the swearing. Much like its visual style, dialogue takes inspiration from adult cartoons such as Beavis and Butthead, Daria, Bobs Burgers, and even Family Guy. So you can imagine the type of humour that the game is going for.While we didnt get much of a look at it during our time with the game, Lichthund did allude to life as a rock band manager not being all sunshine and roses. It seems as though theres more to Rockbeasts that simply keeping your band in line and landing them bigger shows; therell no doubt be conflict and controversy perhaps within the band itself, as well as from exterior forces to manage in the raging capitalist society of the 90s, all part of your bands ascent to fame.I certainly expect my band to get booed off stage more than once, thats for sure, and I suspect thats not even the beginning of things that could go wrong for a rock band manager in RockbeastsRockbeasts is expected to release in 2025.

Can't Squid-ze It InUPDATE: As Helldivers 2's squid singularity looks like it could be gearing up to make another planet go pop, Super Earth's 30 year olds beg Arrowhead to revamp how Illuminate MOs work"It's time to introduce [the] squids as an actual front."Image credit: Arrowhead News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Updated on March 7, 2025 UPDATE (07/02/25, 4:05 PM GMT): Helldivers 2's next major order has now gone live, and it brings good news. Thanks to the divers' efforts in the Gloom, Super Earth has what it needs to "begin to establish a blockade around Meridia, and through that, reduce the amount of Dark Energy that is amassing at the singularity and giving it momentum".In order to support that, players have been tasked with killing a metric tonne of bugs and bots - a billion automatons, six million shredder tanks, 1.5 billion terminids, and eight million bile titans to be exact. So, make sure you pack plenty of ammo.Helldivers 2 players have recently closed out another major order, and while it ended in success on the Automaton end, folks couldn't rack up enough defeats of Illuminate attacks in time to satisfy the second element of it, meaning a mixed result.The result is looking like it could be bad news for the planet Moradesh, as the Meridian Singularity is set to continue on its path of destruction towards Super Earth - the Helldivers' home world. Meanwhile, a pretty sizeable group of players are petitioning Arrowhead to change the way the Illuminate conflict works in order to give them ore chanbce of fighting back.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. First of all, the possible danger to that planet. Based on what players have spotted when looking at the singularity eariler today, it's looking like it's building up to do a thing soon - I'd assume when the next MO is deployed.Given the last order briefing specifically said Moradesh is the next planet in danger, I'd get ready to evacuate any relatives your diver might have there. Dear AH, (in regard to Squid MOs) byu/SL1Fun inHelldiversTo see this content please enable targeting cookies.Meanwhile, following that last defeat, one player's letter to Arrowhead via the Helldivers 2 subreddit, which as the studio to switch up how it's handling The Illuminate in the Galactic War, has amassed over 2.5k upvotes. Basically, it argues in favour of a pernament Illuminate front that's more like what the Terminids and Automatons have, rather than players being tasked with fending off suprise Illuminate attacks that only pop up on the map for a limited time - during which folks may be off doing stuff in the real lives."I imagine the HD2 playerbase is surely college-aged or older at the very least," wrote the post author, user SL1Fun, "This means between school and work, it isn't feasible for the playerbase at large to keep up with the rotating Squid raids. I noticed this personally when doing MO dives on only Squids over the past few days: whenever I could play, the Squid raids were already halfway over, and that's not including the ones I flat-out missed. The short time limit just makes these incompatible with the fact we have to work."This, they reason, is which Arrowhead should turn the Illuminate threat into "an actual front" that'll allow players to engage with these major orders in a more flexible fashion without risking missing anything.Do you agree, or do you think that part of the appeal of constantly evolving and changing Galactic War is the idea that bigf stiff can transpire when you're AFK, making it much tougher for the community to win every MO? Let us know if you've lost count below.

Cubone used Hug.There's nothing quite like a cute Pokmon plush to bring a smile to the face, is there? Well, this new range arriving in Japan's Pokmon Centers next week might just be the cutest of the bunch (thanks, NintendoSoup).The "Brrr... Squish! Plush Toys" series (at least, that's the way Google Translate puts it) will arrive in the Tohoku Pokmon Center's re-opening preview on 13th March before landing on Japan's Pokmon Center website the following morning.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Image: NintendoWith the news in 2023 that Nintendo would be working on an official Legend of Zelda movie in collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment, you can bet that we had to scoop our jaws from off the floor.Even with the success of the Super Mario Bros. Movie, a Zelda adaptation just didn't seem all that feasible to us, and it sounds like Nintendo was of the same mind for many years. According to the Video Game History Hour podcast with ex-Nintendo "marketing mastermind" Gail Tilden (thanks, GamesRadar+), legendary developer Shigeru Miyamoto would flat-out say "No" when approached about a potential Zelda movie.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube798kWatch on YouTube In fact, not even the hypothetical involvement of Steven Spielberg was enough to convince him:"People were always calling about doing a movie. You can imagine that the most common question is, you know, "Were calling, wed like to do a Zelda movie". So the answer was always no. And so, you know, even I personally said, "Mr. Miyamoto, like, if Steven Spielberg himself wants to do a Zelda movie, what is the answer?" He said no. So that was it."The answer was always no."It makes us question exactly what occurred to change Nintendo's mind on the matter. Was it the overwhelming success of the Mario movie? Or is it simply Nintendo's desire to expand its reach with movies and theme parks? Regardless, we're cautiously optimistic about the upcoming Zelda movie.With Shigeru Miyamoto and Avi Arad producing, the Zelda movie will be directed by Wes Ball, who most recently enjoyed critical success with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, a continuation of the reboot series previously helmed by Rupert Wyatt and Matt Reeves. "He's a true genius in that world"It's a franchise close to his heart, like Star WarsAre you happy that Nintendo has changed its tune on Zelda movie adaptations, or are you approaching the upcoming movie with scepticism? Let us know with a comment in the usual place.[source gamehistory.org, via gamesradar.com]Share:662 Nintendo Lifes resident horror fanatic, when hes not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesNintendo Confirms Removal Of Switch Online SNES GameSuper Soccer will "no longer be available"Nintendo Discounts Several Games On Switch For MAR10 Day (North America)"I'm a slasher... of prices!"Nintendo Runs Out Of Replacement Parts For 2DS Systems And New 3DS LL, Ends Repairs In Japan"We apologize for any inconvenience"Mario Day Celebrations Begin With Free Switch Online Trial (US)Available for a limited-timeMy Nintendo Store Adds Two Mario-Themed 'Exclusives' (US)Fancy a Mario bag or license holder?

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday criminal charges against the administrators of the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex for allegedly facilitating money laundering by criminal and terrorist organizations, as well as violating U.S. sanctions.The two administrators are Lithuanian national and Russian resident Aleksej Besciokov, 46, and Aleksandr Mira Serda, 40, a Russian national residing in the United Arab Emirates, who knew that criminal proceeds were being laundered through Garantex and took steps to conceal the facilitation of illegal activities on its platform, according to the indictment against them.The DOJ said that Garantex received hundreds of millions in criminal proceeds and was used to facilitate various crimes, including hacking, ransomware, terrorism, and drug trafficking, and that the exchange processed at least $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions since 2019.In the indictment, prosecutors accuse Besciokov of personally allowing transactions linked to cybercriminals, including the North Korean-government hackers known as Lazarus Group.The announcement of the indictment came a day after the U.S. Secret Service and a coalition of law enforcement agencies took down and seized the official websites of Garantex, replacing their contents with a banner featuring the agencies logos and announcing the sites seizure.When TechCrunch reached out to three Garantex email addresses listed on its official page prior to the takedown, our emails were returned as undelivered. Garantex did not respond to multiple requests for comment through its official Telegram channel.A banner displayed on the official website of Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex. (Image: TechCrunch/Screenshot)Image Credits:TechCrunch/ScreenshotBesciokov and Mira Sera are both accused of a money laundering conspiracy, while Besciokov is also accused of conspiracy to violate sanctions and conspiracy, and of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Both face a maximum of 20 years in prison for the money laundering charge, while Besciokov faces another maximum sentence of 20 years for conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions, and another maximum of five years for conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.Its unclear if the two have been arrested. Shannon Shevlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, told TechCrunch that the DOJ doesnt know if Mira Serda has been arrested in the UAE.The two charged Garatex administrators could not be reached by TechCrunch for comment.U.S. prosecutors alleged that Besciokov and Mira Serda knew that their crypto exchange was used for money laundering and actively worked to make that happen even when Russian authorities asked questions. According to the DOJ, when Russian law enforcement requested records at some point related to a Mira Serda account on Garantex, the company provided incomplete information, and claimed the account was not verified.In reality, Garantex had associated the account with Mira Serdas personal identifying documents, according to the indictment.Millions in crypto seized, DOJ confirmsGarantex has been the focus of Western government action for several years.In 2022, as part of a series of actions against Russian cybercrime, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Garantex, mentioning an analysis that showed that over $100 million in transactions are associated with illicit actors and darknet markets, including nearly $6 million from Russian [Ransomware as a Service] gang Conti and also including approximately $2.6 million from [darknet market] Hydra.Also, in 2024, as part of a series of sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine, the European Union sanctioned Garantex, alleging the exchange is closely associated with EU-sanctioned Russian banks.According to the DOJ, despite sanctions imposed by the U.S. government, Besciokov and his co-conspirators violated sanctions law by continuing to accept transactions with U.S.-based entities, and also redesigned Garantexs operations to evade and violate U.S. sanctions and induce U.S. businesses to unwittingly transact with Garantex in violation of the sanctions.For example, Garantex moved its operational cryptocurrency wallets to different virtual currency addresses on a daily basis in order to make it difficult for U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges to identify and block transactions with Garantex accounts, read the DOJ announcement.The DOJ also said that U.S. law enforcement froze over $26 million in funds used to facilitate Garantexs money laundering. DOJ spokesperson Shevlin told TechCrunch that the department froze a total of 23,034,884.75 Tether and 35.57 Bitcoin on Binance (worth around $3 million as of Friday), amounting to about $26.2 million.Even before these law enforcement actions, Garantex announced on Thursday that it had suspended all services, including cryptocurrency withdrawals, after stablecoin issuer Tether blocked wallets belonging to Garantex that were holding more than $28 million.We have bad news. Tether has entered the war against the Russian crypto market, Garantex wrote on its official Telegram channel in an announcement. We are fighting and will not give up! Please note that all [Tether] in Russian wallets is currently under threat. As always, we are the first, but not the last.After the DOJs announcement on Friday, Garantex posted an alert on Telegram about scammers pretending to be the restored Garantex exchange or offering to withdraw funds.These are all scammers! Their goal is to gain access to users personal data, wallet addresses and other sensitive information, the announcement in Russian read, according to a machine translation of it.The announcement made no mention of the website takedown, nor of the indictments of Bescikov and Mira Serda.