Yo listeners, it’s Max Gaming here, and today we’re diving into what’s been going on with Brawl Stars lately, because this game has been on a serious heater in news, updates, and esports.

Let’s start with the biggest headline: the December Brawl Talk. According to the MEmu Play Brawl Stars update breakdown, Supercell just revealed a huge update bringing two new Brawlers, a new permanent power system called Buffies, a reworked Brawl Pass with a vault, new Starr Drop types, and multiple new game modes. MEmu Play reports that one of the new Brawlers is Pierce, a legendary damage dealer whose attacks drop shells on hit. When you grab a shell, you instantly fire a free auto shot at the nearest enemy, and your last shot in the clip hits harder, which has the community hyped for crazy outplay potential. His Super marks enemies and makes follow-up bullets home in, so skilled players are already theorycrafting some disgusting combos.

MEmu Play also explains that Glowbert, a healer Brawler arriving early 2026, is a marine biologist from Starr Park’s aquarium who uses a Glowbeam to either heal teammates or burn down enemies over time, with a Super that scares enemies away and deals damage. Social discussions on X and Reddit keep calling him one of the most unique support designs the game has seen, especially for coordinated teams.

The Buffies system is the other massive talking point. LootBar’s deep dive into Update 65 says Buffies are permanent collectible power-ups shaped like keychains that enhance Gadgets, Star Powers, and Hypercharges. Right now six Brawlers got the first wave of Buffies: Shelly, Colt, Spike, Mortis, Frank, and Emz. LootBar explains that Shelly’s new kit leans into aggressive dives with invulnerable dashes and a Super that leaves burning zones, while Mortis gets aimable tools and stacking max HP from kills, which has competitive and high ladder players debating whether these reworks will shake up the meta or just raise the skill ceiling on already popular picks.

On the progression side, the Brawl Pass is changing a lot. MEmu Play reports a price increase to around 8.99 dollars for the normal pass and 12.99 for Pass Plus, but adds that the value is also going up through the new Vault system. Each season you earn Vault Keys that can be used to unlock extra resources, Brawlers, skins, or Buffies. Social media reactions are mixed: some listeners like the extra control over what they unlock, others are nervous about the higher cost and are comparing it to systems from other mobile MOBAs.

For collectors, the skin pipeline is stacked. The same MEmu Play coverage highlights a Steampunk themed Brawl Pass with Steampunk Stu and Steampunk Gale, plus chroma variations, and a Brawlentine season bringing themed Rico, Angelo, Bear Shade, Squeak, and Allie skins. Seasonal drops like Snowglobe Nani for Brawlidays, Lunar Lotus Willow for Lunar New Year, and a World Champion Max skin are keeping the cosmetic side very active and all over TikTok edits.

Esports-wise, Supercell’s official Brawl Stars Championship 2026 preview talks about a familiar roadmap with two splits and three LAN events, which means the competitive scene is staying stable and global. On top of that, Liquipedia lists smaller community and third-party events, like the Haneki Pro Circuit South America tournament this December and multiple Matcherino Brawl Stars brackets, showing that grassroots competition is alive across regions. And at DreamHack Stockholm, The Esports Advocate reports that the Brawl Stars World Finals pulled packed crowds alongside other big titles, which is a huge signal that Brawl Stars is not just a mobile side game anymore but a legit arena esport with live-event energy.

So if you’re a casual listener thinking about jumping in, or a ranked grinder trying to keep up, the story around Brawl Stars right now is clear: new Brawlers, a deeper progression system with...