NEWS SOURCES:
 
2 FAST 2 SWITCH
Switch 2 confirmed
President Shuntaro FurukawaΓÇÖs tweet about announcement https://twitter.com/NintendoCoLtd/status/1787736518762881197
DonΓÇÖt get too excited, Furukawa said in Feb Switch would be ΓÇ£main businessΓÇ¥ going into 2024 https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/nintendo-lifts-profit-and-switch-sales-outlook-after-profit-beat-1.2031213
Specific quote: https://lmg.gg/ib0zN (BNN Bloomberg)
And in announcement tweet said June Direct is for Switch software for rest of 2024
 
YO NO TANGO
Microsoft closes several Bethesda studios
https://lmg.gg/b51S1 (Bloomberg)
Smaller studios, Alpha Dog and Roundhouse, as well as Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin https://www.ign.com/articles/microsoft-closes-redfall-developer-arkane-austin-hifi-rush-developer-tango-gameworks-and-more-in-devastating-cuts-at-bethesda
Redfall development ended, promised updates not coming 
Offering some sort of credit, not sure what https://twitter.com/ArkaneStudios/status/1787837804287860886
Arkane Lyon head Dinga Bakaba lambasted decision https://twitter.com/DBakaba/status/1787839169588265251
Calls it a ΓÇ£f***ing gut stabΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/DBakaba/status/1787839172994085280
Tango Gameworks, who just released award-winning Hi-Fi Rush https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c72p5epzj2no
Perhaps poorly timed, Xbox announces new special edition controller, asks gamers to ΓÇ£Feel burn todayΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1787860907588030860
 
SO THIS IS HOW DEMOCRACY DIES
Helldivers 2 PSN account drama
Sony forcing players to link a PSN account to play the game https://www.gamesradar.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-pc-players-will-be-forced-to-link-to-a-psn-account-later-this-month-for-greater-security-from-sony/
Technically always existed but wasnΓÇÖt enforced due to gameΓÇÖs launch issues
https://twitter.com/PirateSoftware/status/1786319949520425167
Review bombing https://www.vg247.com/helldivers-2-suffers-steam-review-bombing-after-reveal-psn-account-linking-mandatory-soon
Game pulled from over 100 countries where you canΓÇÖt create a PSN account https://insider-gaming.com/why-was-helldivers-2-delisted-answered/
Steam giving refunds https://www.eurogamer.net/helldivers-2-pc-players-secure-refunds-as-steam-waives-playtime-limit
Sony reversed course https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/1787331667616829929
Players rally to reverse negative reviews https://kotaku.com/helldivers-2-operation-clean-up-positive-review-steam-1851461173
 
QUICK BITS
 
DEMOCRACY IN THE UK
Small stopkillinggames update: UK govt responds to petition before 100,000 signatures
Petition https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/659071
 
FINAL LATENCY
FFXIV hit by DDoS attack
https://www.mmorpg.com/news/final-fantasy-xiv-getting-hit-by-round-of-ddos-attacks-today-2000131440
https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/news/detail/bdf23a5692dea624fbb355bc220248de7dec4ad8
https://www.eurogamer.net/final-fantasy-14-suffers-ddos-attack-ahead-of-dawntrail-release
 
LARA CROFT, RUMORMONGER
Tomb Raider game leaks
https://www.psu.com/news/rumour-the-next-tomb-raider-game-is-said-to-be-open-world-set-in-india/
From previously-correct leaker The V Scooper https://twitter.com/thevscooper/status/1786484383370674625
Society of Raiders inspired by Lara (first reply tweet in above link) lines up with previous rumors https://wccftech.com/tomb-raider-next-entry-experienced-lara-team-of-younger-raiders/
 
THE THIRST 24 HOURS
Hades 2 launches in Early Access, cracks 100,000 players in 24 hours
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/hades-2-is-absolutely-worth-playing-in-early-access-right-now/
https://steamdb.info/charts/?compare=1145350,1145360
 
BETTER BREAD THAN DEAD
Strategy base-building game about teaching Orcs mindfulness announced
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ONE OF THE CLOUD SERVICES OF ALL TIME
PlayStation Cloud Streaming for PS5 games, game trials coming this month
Sample list of games (some you must own) https://lmg.gg/XNJxJ (Kotaku)
BUT it only works on a PS5 (at least at launch) https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/10/this-month-players-will-be-able-to-stream-ps5-games-without-downloading-them/
Though Game Pass Ultimate includes 3rd party games, EA Play, Riot Games benefits… (EDITOR: please scroll down to where it says “Game Pass JOIN NOW” in big green letters near bottom of the page, with all the checkmarked features) https://www.xbox.com/en-us/xbox-game-pass/ultimate
Meanwhile Xbox Cloud Gaming works on like everything https://support.xbox.com/en-CA/help/games-apps/cloud-gaming/about-cloud-gaming
 
INTRODUCING: MACROTRANSACTIONS
Main advertised skin of OW2 Season 7 costs $40
(EDITOR: scroll down to ΓÇ£Compare ProductsΓÇ¥ and get the Battle Pass pictures and the full checkmark list in the L-Roll) https://us.shop.battle.net/en-us/product/overwatch-battle-pass?blzcmp=ow_gamesite
Fans are upset https://www.reddit.com/r/Overwatch/comments/174rwsa/the_skin_that_was_the_focus_point_of/
 What $40 got you last season https://lmg.gg/XT400 (PC Gamer)
 
ANNNNND ITΓÇÖS GONE
OSRS account with the most legitimately obtained gold pieces banned for real-world trading
Streamer BTCs claims heΓÇÖs innocent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROWrxOaPelY
Multiple accounts were used to store massive sum, all banned; some originally owned by other people https://twitter.com/GrayGrayOG/status/1710853390350074165
In regards to GrayGray, Jagex mod says evidence is ΓÇ£irrefutableΓÇ¥ https://youtu.be/ROWrxOaPelY?t=636
Jagex mod also says similar thing for Bikers/BTCs https://youtu.be/ROWrxOaPelY?t=375
Community sides with Jagex https://www.reddit.com/r/2007scape/comments/1705b5o/over_1_trillion_gp_was_removed_from_the_game/
Claim he sold ranks in his in-game clan and Discord chat for Bitcoin https://old.reddit.com/r/2007scape/comments/16mtcid/streamer_bikers_receives_10000_btc_for_ingame/
Discord screenshot https://imgur.com/a/09ur9Uw
 
QUICK BITS
 
LETΓÇÖS-A F***ING GO
New voice of Mario may have been discovered
https://www.escapistmagazine.com/nintendo-super-mario-bros-wonder-martinet-replacement/
Result of demo datamine https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/marios-new-voice-actor-potentially-revealed-via-demo-datamine/
Assuming no foreign language, female, or returning voice actors, two names remain https://twitter.com/Skipp93653/status/1712362746929352741
Likely suspect is Mick Wingert https://mynintendonews.com/2023/10/12/mick-wingert-appears-to-be-the-new-mario-voice-actor/
 
MK1 finally gets Switch patch
https://www.ign.com/articles/mortal-kombat-1-nintendo-switch-patch-claims-visual-improvements
Pre-patch footage: https://twitter.com/FGC_Daily/status/1703498706694418708
-         (EDITOR: no middle finger) https://twitter.com/KingDracula405/status/1703253930220700040
Reaction still mixed https://www.dexerto.com/mortal-kombat/mortal-kombat-1s-messy-switch-port-finally-got-a-patch-fans-have-mixed-feelings-2334098/
Meat https://mortalkombat.fandom.com/wiki/Meat
THE PLOUFFE MANOUVER
Hideki Kamiya under non-compete after leaving PlatinumGames, becomes YouTuber
https://gizmodo.com/hideki-kamiya-bayonetta-platinumgames-is-now-a-youtuber-1850921215
ΓÇ£IΓÇÖm out of a job, please subscribeΓÇ¥ https://youtu.be/zrYQY_JeY-A?t=78
ΓÇ£Off to unemployment centerΓÇ¥ in Lambo https://youtu.be/zrYQY_JeY-A?t=552
 
ALMOST AS BAD AS REMOVING GLORBO
TF2 community reminisces about removing 10th class, the Madcap
(AI generated image) https://www.reddit.com/r/tf2/comments/16zt955/what_happened_to_madcap_i_havent_played_since/
Except he never existed https://www.pcgamer.com/team-fortress-2-community-loses-it-decides-to-meme-a-character-into-existence-through-the-power-of-mass-gaslighting-while-valve-focuses-on-counter-strike/
Began life as a terrible skin for the scout submitted to the Steam Workshop that was so bad Valve manually marked it as incompatible with the game https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=72262091
AI made it look better https://lmg.gg/Qq4cw
 
IN SPACE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU ΓÇ£CHOO-CHOOΓÇ¥
Starfield mod turns all ships into Thomas the Tank engine
(EDITOR, please play twitter video full screen starting at 13-14 seconds in) https://twitter.com/trainwiz/status/1712147262183264684
https://www.vg247.com/starfield-mod-every-ship-thomas-tank-engine
Same dude who did similar Skyrim mod https://youtu.be/yNaTZV8qS1I?t=114
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SMOKING THE COMPETITION
Counter-Strike 2 suddenly became available yesterday
https://www.gameinformer.com/2023/09/27/counter-strike-2-is-suddenly-now-available
Already has 1 million players https://insider-gaming.com/counter-strike-2-1-million-players/
That apparently hate it (not really but pros have complaints) https://www.pcgamer.com/its-not-better-than-csgo-yet-not-even-closewhat-counter-strike-pros-think-of-cs2/
Missing many of CS:GOΓÇÖs features https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/counter-strike-2-launches-without-many-of-global-offensives-best-features
Except itΓÇÖs already made $40 million in case openings https://twitter.com/JakeSucky/status/1707143054002683988
CanΓÇÖt verify BUT it is at the top of SteamΓÇÖs top sellers list despite being F2P https://store.steampowered.com/charts/topselling/global
 
JIM RYAN IS GOOD-BYINΓÇÖ
Jim Ryan is Jim byinΓÇÖ (heΓÇÖs retiring)
Microsoft leak source for second-hand embarrassment joke https://www.axios.com/2023/09/19/microsoft-leak-xbox-gen-10-brooklin-ellewood
Sony announced it yesterday https://sonyinteractive.com/en/press-releases/2023/new-management-structure-of-sony-interactive-entertainment-2/
ΓÇ£I've found it increasingly difficult to reconcile living in Europe and working in North America.ΓÇ¥ https://www.eurogamer.net/playstation-boss-jim-ryan-is-retiring-in-march
Sony Group Corporation president and COO to become interim CEO https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/27/23893389/sony-playstation-jim-ryan-ceo-steps-down
 
THIS ISNΓÇÖT EPIC AT ALL
Epic Games layoffs
https://www.polygon.com/23894267/epic-games-fortnite-unreal-engine-layoffs-2023
16%, or 830 people https://lmg.gg/eQvVc
Or itΓÇÖs 870 https://kotaku.com/epic-games-store-fortnite-unreal-engine-layoffs-1850882501
Additional 250 will lose jobs from ΓÇ£divestituresΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/dRCix (Bloomberg)
Layoffs likely https://twitter.com/CAGames/status/1707394879368704471
Sega cancels Creative AssemblyΓÇÖs ΓÇ£HyenasΓÇ¥ game, record losses
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/sega-cancels-creative-assemblys-hyenas-amid-structural-reforms
What, youΓÇÖve never heard of hit game Hyenas? https://www.playhyenas.com/
 
QUICK BITS
 
FTCEASE AND DESIST
FTC resumes block against Microsoft
https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/27/ftc_microsoft_activision/
 
SINKHOLE HALTS DEVELOPMENT
Cities: Skylines 2 console release delayed
https://www.gematsu.com/2023/09/cities-skylines-ii-for-ps5-xbox-series-delayed-to-spring-2024
https://www.eurogamer.net/cities-skylines-2-console-release-gets-delayed
 
INCENDIARY RESPONSE
DLSS DRM mod maker threatens sabotage
https://kotaku.com/starfield-mod-dlss-nvidia-paywall-nexus-free-update-1850878949
 
DAVE THE SURVIVOR
Remember Dave the Diver? Well the studio is making a PvPvE zombie survival game now
https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-dave-the-diver/
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2582960/view/3710460111412984692
https://www.escapistmagazine.com/dave-the-diver-dev-reveals-aaa-style-zombie-survival-game/
 
POKEMON GOGH TO THE MUSEUM
Scalpers swarm Van Gogh museum for promo Pikachu card
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/scalpers-swarm-van-gogh-museum-for-pikachu-promo-card/
https://twitter.com/JoeMerrick/status/1707378750633939083
 
WEΓÇÖRE JUST INNOCENT (NAKED) MEN
BaldurΓÇÖs Gate 3ΓÇÖs ΓÇ£Realm of Naked MenΓÇ¥
https://twitter.com/amirdrassil/status/1704960471843876954
https://twitter.com/amirdrassil/status/1706740166386131034
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MAINS
GLORBO 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO
Glorbo 2: Electric Boogaloo
Less than a week after WoW https://www.ign.com/articles/world-of-warcraft-players-trick-ai-website-into-covering-fictional-update-known-only-as-glorbo
Who can blame them with comments like this? https://www.reddit.com/r/destiny2/comments/158wwn5/comment/jtcig7d/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
tricked another AI writing site https://web.archive.org/web/20230726050613/https://gamingacharya.com/2023/07/26/glorbo-destiny-2/
Then there’s THIS one by “Kerem Gulen”…or is it Florian Maximiliano?
-         Kerem https://www.reddit.com/r/destiny2/comments/15a34ex/mission_accomplished/
-         Florian https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Bm3Z8RvwrpEKGgTv7U7dJi.jpg
CDPR IGNI-ING STAFF
CD Projekt Red laying off 9% of staff (100 people)
https://gamerant.com/cyberpunk-2077-cd-projekt-red-layoffs/
CEO announcement https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/media/news/cd-projekt-red-organizational-update/
So many slated games: 4 new Witcher games, 1 remake, Cyberpunk sequel, brand new IP https://www.gamesradar.com/upcoming-cd-projekt-red-games/
No one knows where the lay-offs are coming from
A RATCHET PORT
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart PC port and Armored Core 6
Original dev claims https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2020/06/21/ps5-ssd-screamingly-fast/
Rift apart couldnΓÇÖt have run on a PS4 hard drive https://www.gamespot.com/articles/no-ratchet-and-clank-rift-apart-could-not-run-on-ps4-pc-port-shows/1100-6516325/
Video proof https://youtu.be/I71u7j1Izww?t=1140
But doesnΓÇÖt support RT on AMD hardware, despite doing so on PS5ΓÇÖs AMD hardware https://support.insomniac.gams/hc/en-us/articles/17920585191693-Why-is-it-not-possible-to-enable-ray-tracing-with-my-AMD-graphics-card-
PC release will be Steam Deck Verified https://www.theverge.com/23807710/ratchet-clank-rift-apart-steam-deck-verified
Same with Armored Core 6 https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/armored-core-6-fully-supported-steam-deck/
QUICK BITS
RDR HAR
RDR1 Remaster looks more likely after update to RockstarΓÇÖs website
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/new-red-dead-redemption-logo-appears-on-rockstar-website/
From prominent Rockstar leaker Tez2 https://twitter.com/TezFunz2/status/1684580988071071744
previous evidence from Korean Ratings board https://www.grac.or.kr/Statistics/Popup/Pop_GameHistory.aspx?078ec22db77637b1bd07ee29db115a17
Gematsu points out the classification is for console games https://lmg.gg/oHedM (Gematsu)
BEAT-EM-UP
EVO 2023
https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/evo-2023-schedule-results-winners-2225792/
Title lineup and dates https://www.gematsu.com/event/evo-2023
ΓÇ£Surprise-filledΓÇ¥ Arc System Works panel https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/the-evo-2023-schedule-has-been-confirmed-including-a-surprise-filled-arc-system-works-panel/
Persona fighting game announcement? https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/persona-arena-games-p5-rumor/
CALL THE COUNCIL!
Devs introduce invasive analytics tool to game, remove after one day due to massive backlash
introduced in update 2.1.5m https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1184370/view/3684558162500170698?l=english
What AppsFlyer does: https://lmg.gg/MjMo9 (Steam Q&A)
Have emergency meeting after backlash https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_Kingmaker/comments/158xpry/comment/jtf7s0f/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
Issue new patch that just removes AppsFlyer https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1184370/view/3684558162502959472?l=english
MICROSOFT BENDS SPACETIME AGAIN
Original Gears of War matchmaking has been fixed
https://gamerant.com/gears-of-war-1-server-update-2023/
Entire original trilogy fixed https://exputer.com/news/games/original-gears-of-war-trilogy-matchmaking/
NO SQUIDDING AROUND
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
https://kotaku.com/nickelodeon-all-star-brawl-2-new-characters-trailer-1850682210
Coming out for all platforms https://www.gematsu.com/2023/07/nickelodeon-all-star-brawl-2-announced-for-ps5-xbox-series-ps4-xbox-one-switch-and-pc
Seem to have addressed concerns about how the first one looked cheap https://youtu.be/Q2nESlbg9GU?t=61
James. Isaac. Neutron. https://youtu.be/Q2nESlbg9GU?t=99
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IΓÇÖM NOT AMYUZUΓÇÖD
Yuzu folding, paying $2.4 million to Nintendo
https://www.polygon.com/24090351/nintendo-2-4-million-yuzu-switch-emulator-settlement-lawsuit Just a week after issuing the lawsuit https://www.pcgamer.com/nintendo-is-suing-the-makers-of-the-switch-emulator-yuzu-claims-there-is-no-lawful-way-to-use-yuzu/
Not only that, but also 3DS emulator Citra is being killed https://twitter.com/citraemu/status/1764747696538046766
Upsetting preservationists https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/preservationists-upset-at-switch-lawsuits-shutdown-of-3ds-emulator/
Because of 3DS eshop closure “some have been arguing that emulation is the only way to access these games today, making it important for game preservation.” https://lmg.gg/BxBKW (VGC)
Nintendo’s official piracy FAQ makes it pretty clear https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/55888/~/intellectual-property-%26-piracy-faq
Playing games they aren’t selling is still infringement https://lmg.gg/AxUiK (Nintendo)
“Wherever possible, Nintendo and its licensees attempt to find ways to bring legitimate classics to current systems (via Virtual Console titles, for example).” https://lmg.gg/ggBZb (Nintendo)
They literally killed Virtual Console https://kotaku.com/nintendo-wii-u-3ds-classic-games-mario-zelda-eshop-shop-1848544931
New projects rise up in Yuzu’s place https://wccftech.com/yuzu-lives-on/
 
META-STASIZING
Meta is deleting all Oculus accounts at the end of the month
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/1/24087855/meta-delete-oculus-accounts
Email sent to Oculus account holders https://lmg.gg/ElOZI (The Verge)
Not the first time Meta has tried to do this; tried to force Facebook accounts https://www.meta.com/blog/quest/a-single-way-to-log-into-oculus-and-unlock-social-features/
It was just a matter of time https://www.roadtovr.com/meta-oculus-account-deletion/
Changed their minds in 2021 and made Meta accounts https://lmg.gg/NzPKt (RoadtoVR)
Users have until the end of this month to save anything from their account\\ https://www.ign.com/articles/meta-will-delete-all-oculus-accounts-later-this-month
Email was also sent to people who had migrated their accounts already https://lmg.gg/xaADx (The Verge)
 
MECH YEAH
Helldivers 2 devs announce mechs ΓÇ£soonΓÇ¥
https://twitter.com/helldivers2/status/1765044878386364517
Teased before release in trailer https://youtu.be/vXddWD88jeI?t=56
Couldn’t work on them during server issues https://www.pcgamer.com/helldivers-2-finally-liberated-from-the-bulk-of-its-server-issues-as-arrowhead-ceo-celebrates-having-time-to-focus-on-improvements-like-rad-mechs-and-probably-stealth-gear/
Some time after mech gameplay leaked https://twitter.com/TheRealJTV4K60/status/1763330675447619641
A warthog-like vehicle also leaked https://twitter.com/TheRealJTV4K60/status/1763339437289943216
GM team got “emergency expansion” https://www.theloadout.com/helldivers-2/game-master-emergency-expansion
Joel, God of War hasn’t been able to sleep https://www.gamesradar.com/helldivers-2-got-so-big-that-its-virtual-dandd-master-joel-needed-emergency-assistance-hes-only-one-guy-and-he-was-just-not-sleeping-sending-me-messages-at-4am/
Community manager says “I remember over the launch weekend, he was sending me messages at 4am because we were the only ones still awake.\" https://lmg.gg/KJccT (GamesRadar+)
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
PAR FOR THE COARSE
New details about survival MMO Dune: Awakening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S-l7NySFsI
Funcom gave a sneak peek to some outlets https://www.mmorpg.com/editorials/dune-awakening-hands-off-impressions-arrakis-might-just-be-the-survival-mmo-planet-youve-been-waiting-for-2000130689
Had to get permission from the Herberts to prevent uncontrolled nuclear detonations https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/dune-awakening-devs-had-to-get-permission-from-the-herberts-to-change-a-tiny-piece-of-dune-lore-so-players-wouldnt-nuke-each-other-constantly/
 
ITΓÇÖS TITANFALL, BUT IT ISNΓÇÖT TITANFALL
Titanfall director making game in Titanfall universe but NOT Titanfall 3
Jeff Grubb tweet https://twitter.com/JeffGrubb/status/1764728325811892273
Seemingly backed up by Axios interview with Respawn boss https://www.axios.com/2023/05/01/vince-zampella-ea-star-wars-battlefield
 
SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE PLAYERBASE
Suicide Squad player count dips below Gotham Knights
PlayStation allegedly giving some refunds https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/03/04/playstation-reportedly-doing-a-cyberpunk-2077-for-some-suicide-squad-kill-the-justice-league-refunds/?sh=111b0ab44e4d
OP on Reddit explains how they got refunded https://www.reddit.com/r/SuicideSquadGaming/comments/1b6ayqf/comment/ktaplaq/
 
BG3 ANNOUNCES HUGE DISCS
BaldurΓÇÖs Gate 3ΓÇÖs physical Xbox release requires 4 discs
https://www.eurogamer.net/baldurs-gate-3-is-the-first-xbox-game-on-four-discs
PS5 version is 2 discs, PC version is 1 disc https://lmg.gg/DYRrO (Eurogamer)
Went 500MB over 3 discs https://twitter.com/Cromwelp/status/1764652203942252984
 
LENNYYYYYYYYY!
Arthur Morgan will narrate Red Dead audiobook
https://www.pcgamesn.com/red-dead-redemption-2/arthur-morgan-audiobook
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GOD HOWARD STRIKES AGAIN
Bethesda teases two Fallout projects
https://wccftech.com/fallout-in-development-projects-teased-by-todd-howard/
Kinda Funny podcast https://youtu.be/7wvqF41_Bgw?t=1315
Specific quote (written out) https://lmg.gg/SXmXy (Wccftech)
One COULD potentially be the Fallout 3 remaster hinted at in FTC leaks https://www.ign.com/articles/oblivion-remaster-fallout-3-remaster-and-more-leaked-from-microsoft-document
New Fallout after Elder Scrolls, 2030s https://insider-gaming.com/next-fallout-game-come-faster/
Trying to come sooner, according to Jez Corden on Xbox Two podcast https://youtu.be/4frfcWeJMAc?t=5260 
Howard also says theyΓÇÖre working on output https://www.techradar.com/gaming/consoles-pc/todd-howard-says-bethesda-is-now-focused-on-finding-ways-to-increase-our-output
Good since StarfieldΓÇÖs first DLC isnΓÇÖt coming out until this fall https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/04/30/starfields-shattered-space-expansion-gets-release-window-new-patch-coming/?sh=1120bfb01786
Getting city maps only 8 months after release https://lmg.gg/XsMVA (Forbes)
 
ESCAPE FROM BACKLASH
Tarkov update: PvE mode will be made available to Edge of Darkness members
Locked new mode behind new $250 game bundle https://kotaku.com/escape-from-tarkov-pve-dlc-unheard-edition-1851441954
Edge of Darkness bundle promised all future DLC for its $100 price tag https://lmg.gg/zNPRk (Kotaku)
COO Nikita Buyanov said ΓÇ£PvE gamemode this is not DLC. DLC in our understanding is the major additions to the gameΓÇ¥ (EDITOR: highlight quote) https://www.reddit.com/r/EscapefromTarkov/comments/1cecaza/update_on_current_situation/
Offered EOD purchasers 6 months of the mode https://www.reddit.com/r/EscapefromTarkov/comments/1cdg9cu/the_update_regarding_eod_edition/
Capitulated in another post, ΓÇ£did not foreseeΓÇ¥ this reaction from customers https://www.reddit.com/r/EscapefromTarkov/comments/1cf2gnm/more_feedback/
DonΓÇÖt have the server space to give everyone the mode tho lol
 
IGN X ID@XBOX SERIES X X MACHINA
ID@Xbox Showcase
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/04/29/ign-x-idxbox-digital-showcase-recap-2024/
Showed over 30 indie games, none of them were Silksong https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/over-30-indie-games-were-shown-at-the-idxbox-showcase-with-one-devastating-omission-heres-what-to-expect-in-2024
Got more details about 33 Immortals https://youtu.be/mGlbSdFaT0c
ΓÇ£Snack nΓÇÖ slashΓÇ¥ RPG Hangry https://youtu.be/RhkZyid3RNs
Jackbox Naughty Pack https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGHVhFTejzU
First M-rated game in the series https://www.gameinformer.com/idxbox-showcase/2024/04/29/jackbox-naughty-pack-is-the-first-m-rated-game-in-the-series
Vampire Survivors ΓÇ£AAAAΓÇ¥ update https://youtu.be/Tgn_XyvtOro
ΓÇ£Immersive door opening actionΓÇ¥ https://youtu.be/Tgn_XyvtOro?t=19
Fully rendered running animations https://youtu.be/Tgn_XyvtOro?t=36
And also actual content https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1794680/view/4104540932629694732
Promise Mascot Agency https://youtu.be/WfHANtMIW8Y
From developer of detective adventure game Paradise Killer https://www.eurogamer.net/paradise-killer-studios-next-is-worlds-first-and-best-open-world-mascot-management-crime-drama
\"world's first (and best) open-world mascot management crime drama\" https://lmg.gg/NDIZb (Eurogamer)
You play as a disgraced yakuza exiled to a cursed town and forced to run a mascot agency https://lmg.gg/kD4XM (Eurogamer)
 
QUICK BITS
 
THINKING OUTSIDE THE SQUARE (ENIX)
Square Enix canceling games, rethinking approach
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/square-enix-takes-140-million-hit-on-cancelled-games
 
THE HELLDIVERS 2 SEGMENT
Helldivers 2 changes how ricochets work, confusing players
https://www.reddit.com/r/Helldivers/comments/1cgjfxk/ricochet_is_bs/
Termicide backfired https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/04/30/helldivers-2-termicide-backfires-creates-terminid-supercolony/?sh=11d50916a1d5
 
ITΓÇÖS [REDACTED] OBVIOUS
Xbox announced upcoming showcase followed by a Direct that TOTALLY isnΓÇÖt CoD
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/04/30/xbox-games-showcase-2024-redacted-direct/
https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/30/24145262/xbox-games-showcase-summer-2024-call-of-duty-direct
 
THE MONSTER MASH
Tekken 8 bot that mashes one button demolishing players
 
WITTY ESCAPE
GoogleΓÇÖs Sonic trolling
https://9to5google.com/2024/04/29/google-play-sonic-the-hedgehog-thread/
https://twitter.com/GooglePlay/status/1784251158933942361
Starts innocent enough https://twitter.com/GooglePlay/status/1784251162234880165
Gets off the rails quickly https://twitter.com/GooglePlay/status/1784251165418434811
1991 Sonic from 2018 https://twitter.com/GooglePlay/status/1784251177057636830
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Steam Deck OLED launches
Teaser video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vTsZMvjJ-A 
Faster downloads, faster charging https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck
ΓÇ£first Handheld with HDR OLEDΓÇ¥, 90Hz 7.4ΓÇ¥ 1,000 nit screen, up to 50% more battery life
https://www.theverge.com/23951674/valve-steam-deck-oled-price-release-date
Slightly lighter, 30 grams specifically https://lmg.gg/6oinZ (Wired)
512GB version will be $549, 1TB for original 512GB price https://lmg.gg/f20E4 (CNET)
Full list of improvements https://lmg.gg/8lwuO (CNET)
 
SCHREIER CONSEQUENCES
Jason Schreier spills beans on RockstarΓÇÖs reveal of when GTA VIΓÇÖs trailer will be revealed
https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1722086391431963100
Rockstar confirmed 10 hours later https://twitter.com/RockstarGames/status/1722237703553798312
Before they did, Halo community manager got big mad https://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-dev-is-upset-with-the-gta-6-report-and-heres-why/1100-6518998/
Saying SchreierΓÇÖs sources ΓÇ£decided to undermineΓÇ¥ their colleagues https://twitter.com/Unyshek/status/1722115346268840423
After fans took this moon tweet… https://twitter.com/RockstarGames/status/1707757127698121131
...and thought it meant an Oct 3 announcement… https://twitter.com/GTAVInewz/status/1708140615370764567
…no WAIT, November 1st! https://twitter.com/Dirty_Worka/status/1707786135093543035
and some guy on 4Chan said October 26th https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/1795ogz/the_gta_vi_trailer_has_alleged_leaked/
MIXED MESSAGES
Xbox moderation team turns to AI for help filtering a flood of user content and improving the Xbox experience
19.5m enforcement actions, almost double last year
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/xbox-enforcement-actions-increased-to-195m-in-h1-2023
Xbox also claims accessories ban is meant to do the same, but gamers disagree
Dr. Kaitlyn Jones, Gaming Accessibility Program Manager for Xbox confirms assistive accessories will work as long as they are connected to $100 Xbox Adaptive Controller https://twitter.com/KaitlynJones_/status/1719668307379278135
Again, itΓÇÖs $100 https://lmg.gg/Caren (Xbox)
Yet XIM devices unaffected https://community.xim.tech/index.php?topic=112449.0
Microsoft has APIs to detect and block XIM and similar controller-spoofing adapters https://lmg.gg/nLQk1 (Windows Central)
ΓÇ£But for whatever reason, they opt not to use it.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/wUSuH (Windows Central)
 
QUICK BITS
 
IT GIGA-BITES
ActivisionΓÇÖs unpopular Call of Duty HQ update
People donΓÇÖt like it https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2023/11/08/todays-modern-warfare-iii-update-proves-that-the-call-of-duty-hq-launcher-is-a-disaster/?sh=15aae6f337a4
Buried MW2 even though MW3 multiplayer and zombies wasnΓÇÖt out yet https://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-hq-app-buries-mw2-in-the-latest-game-update/1100-6519021/
CharlieIntel explains how to access MW2 https://twitter.com/charlieINTEL/status/1722359069380334031
 
HOHHH OHHH OHHHHH NO
At least Halo Infinite is turning around…What’s that? They’re charging $22 for Halo CE armor? 2x the price of the game the armor is from? https://www.dexerto.com/halo/halo-infinite-players-angry-classic-cosmetic-is-more-expensive-than-game-its-based-on-2374637/
But is that as bad as EA selling a $45 poster of an un-named character for the un-named next Mass Effect game? https://www.pcgamer.com/for-just-dollar45-bioware-will-now-sell-you-a-poster-of-their-teaser-for-a-mass-effect-game-they-havent-even-confirmed-the-name-of-yet/
https://gear.bioware.com/products/mass-effect-n7-day-2023-art-piece
people are actually pre-ordering it https://www.reddit.com/r/masseffect/comments/17qphcb/went_to_preorder_the_new_mass_effect_lithograph/
 
THE SORRY SOCIETY
Night in the Woods follow-up Revenant Hill has been canceled
https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/7/23951123/revenant-hill-canceled-night-in-the-woods
The Glory SocietyΓÇÖs statement https://theglorysociety.com/
artist/animator Scott BensonΓÇÖs statement https://twitter.com/bombsfall/status/1721936535434518951
 
FIGHTING HIM IS CHILDΓÇÖS PLAY
Chucky coming to DBD
https://www.polygon.com/23952070/dead-by-daylight-chucky-childs-play-release-date
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78JQFN4NLKk
https://kotaku.com/chucky-dead-by-daylight-killer-perks-steam-1851004968
 
NINTENDOES WHAT IT WANTS
Nintendo is making a live-action Zelda movie
https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/7/23951339/the-legend-of-zelda-movie-live-action-nintendo
tweet https://twitter.com/Nintendo/status/1722011980129779795
Avi Arad producer credits https://lmg.gg/zF6wJ
https://deadline.com/2023/11/legend-of-zelda-movie-wes-ball-1235596216/
Derek Connolly https://lmg.gg/gcAm4
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MAINS
UN-REDACTED
Confidential Sony information leaked because of sharpie mess-up
Includes budgets of some big 1st-party games, Call of Duty revenue https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/06/major-sony-playstation-budget-figures-leaked-because-of-poor-sharpie-redactions/
Horizon Forbidden West sold 8.4m copies, ~$504 million revenue https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sony-says-horizon-forbidden-west-has-sold-8-4m-copies-taking-the-series-to-32-7m/
CoD generated $800m in US in 2021 alone, $1.5b worldwide https://lmg.gg/Sf041 (The Verge)
$13.9b or $15.9b accounting for CoD playersΓÇÖ spending on accessories, subscriptions, games, etc. from 2019-2021 https://lmg.gg/YkCQO (The Verge)
Sony may only get 10% of third-party revenue, https://lmg.gg/6EcyJ (The Verge)
While Xbox gets 20%, according to earlier trial reports https://lmg.gg/e6oDV (Wccftech)
IS BLIZZARD OK?
Overwatch 2ΓÇÖs upcoming Invasion story mission is all we will get this year
EP Jared Neuss said not to expect more within the next two seasons https://www.ign.com/articles/overwatch-2-players-should-expect-a-multi-season-gap-between-story-missions-blizzard-says
Overwatch 2 was originally sold on Hero PvE mode, which they then cancelled https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-is-scrapping-overwatch-2-co-op-missions-and-hero-progression-its-clear-that-we-cant-deliver-on-the-original-vision-for-pve/
Last month they announced Invasion will cost extra https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/overwatch-2-invasion-costs-money
SKULL & BONES SPINOFF ANNOUNCED
Reports of an AssassinΓÇÖs Creed IV Black Flag remake
https://kotaku.com/assassin-s-creed-4-black-flag-remake-skull-bones-1850596271
Team at Ubisoft Singapore ΓÇ£heavily involvedΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/qEARO (Game Informer)
Ubisoft Singapore also developing Skull and Bones https://www.nme.com/news/assassins-creed-4-black-flag-reportedly-being-remade-by-ubisoft-singapore-3464165
That game has been delayed six times already https://www.engadget.com/skull-and-bones-is-still-alive-will-apparently-have-a-closed-beta-in-august-175747813.html
Skull & Bones was originally planned as a Black Flag expansion https://lmg.gg/dRQFF
QUICK BITS
SUFFERING FROM SUCCESS
TerrariaΓÇÖs devs are unable to quit
Re-Logic has thought about moving on for 8 years https://lmg.gg/t4IaZ (PCGamer)
Developer says ΓÇ£game still sells like hotcakesΓÇ¥ https://mynintendonews.com/2023/07/04/terraria-designer-says-game-continues-to-sell-like-hot-cakes-and-they-cant-move-on/
Plus people can do this https://www.pcgamer.com/wunderkind-builds-fully-compliant-risc-v-computer-entirely-inside-terraria-then-plays-pong-on-it/
 
SOMEONE GET NOAH
Ark: Survival Evolved remaster delayed, studio struggles with UE5
Was supposed to release in August, delayed to October
https://insider-gaming.com/ark-survival-ascended-delay/
Announced small price cut for it https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/controversial-remaster-ark-survival-ascended-has-been-delayed-to-october-and-will-now-be-slightly-cheaper
Though they originally promised it free with purchases of Ark 2 https://primagames.com/news/wildcard-responds-to-ark-ue5-remake-backlash-after-going-back-on-free-promise
ANOTHER VICTIM OF SAURON
LotR Gollum studio shuts down all internal development after disastrous launch
Original source is Games Wirtschaft (German) https://www.gameswirtschaft.de/wirtschaft/daedalic-entertainment-spiele-entwicklung-stellenabbau-0107/
25 employees are being let go https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/daedalic-is-ending-all-internal-development-after-disastrous-lotr-gollum-release/
BUT IT’S MY BIRTHDAY…
The One Ring MtG card has been found
https://www.polygon.com/23779892/mtg-the-one-ring-found-how-much-price-spain
Found by anonymous Toronto collector https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/one-ring-card-found-1.6895945
Card bounties of over $2m https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/bounty-on-ultra-rare-mtg-lotr-one-ring-card-jumps-to-2m-2175839/
RAT OUT OF HELL
Growing conspiracy among Diablo IV players that rats lead to good loot
https://kotaku.com/diablo-iv-4-loot-drop-rats-dungeon-arpg-blizzard-1850601762
The Original Post https://www.reddit.com/r/diablo4/comments/14nfe8g/follow_the_rats/
Later evidence https://www.reddit.com/r/diablo4/comments/14nno9g/i_followed_the_rats/
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NEWS SOURCES:
 
GamingΓÇÖs Greatest Hits
Jan 25: Hi-Fi Rush shadow-drops, gets one of the highest user scores on Metacritic https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/01/27/hi-fi-rush-lands-one-of-this-generations-all-time-highest-user-scores/?sh=685630a34fad
May 12: Tears of the Kingdom https://www.inverse.com/gaming/zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-review 
June 2: Street Fighter 6 https://www.gamesradar.com/street-fighter-6-review/ 
Jun 22: Final Fantasy XVI https://www.dexerto.com/final-fantasy/final-fantasy-xvi-review-2183789/
Aug 3: BaldurΓÇÖs Gate 3 https://www.dualshockers.com/baldurs-gate-3-review/
Aug 25: Armored Core 6 https://www.npr.org/2023/08/23/1195396442/armored-core-6-fires-of-rubicon-review 
Oct 20: MarvelΓÇÖs Spider-Man 2 https://www.psu.com/reviews/marvels-spider-man-2-review-ps5/
Oct 20: Super Mario Bros. Wonder https://www.nintendo-insider.com/super-mario-bros-wonder-review/ 
Oct 27: Alan Wake II https://screenrant.com/alan-wake-2-ps5-review/
Jan 26: Pizza Tower https://www.pcgamer.com/pizza-tower-review-madcap-platforming-at-100mph/
Mar 30: Dredge https://the-indie-in-former.com/2023/03/23/dredge-review-the-best-game-of-2023-so-far/
June 28: Dave the Diver https://www.theguardian.com/games/2023/sep/02/dave-the-diver-mintrocket-review-an-irresistible-deep-sea-adventure
Aug 29: Sea of Stars https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/sea-of-stars 
Aug 29: The Making of Karateka https://kotaku.com/making-karateka-prince-persia-jordan-mechner-1850918059
Sept 29: Cocoon https://xboxera.com/2023/09/28/review-cocoon/
Jan 27: Dead Space Remake https://twinfinite.net/reviews/dead-space-review-make-us-whole-again/ https://www.metacritic.com/game/dead-space/
Feb 8: Metroid Prime Remastered shadow-drops https://youtu.be/e9OQOJC1QII
Mar 23: Resident Evil 4 Remake releases https://www.ggrecon.com/reviews/resident-evil-4-remake-review/
 Apr 28: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor https://www.nme.com/reviews/game-reviews/star-wars-jedi-survivor-review-3435716
June 6: Diablo IV (though it’s had a fair share of bumps) https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/diablo-4-review 
Sept 19: Mortal Kombat 1 rough launch https://www.eurogamer.net/mortal-kombat-1s-day-one-patch-is-now-available
Especially on Nintendo Switch (EDITOR: please click on the top-left image in the tweet to get a nice big shot of it) https://twitter.com/SynthPotato/status/1703339602331746633/photo/1
Sept 26: Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 + Phantom Liberty, CDPR finally remembered how to make games https://www.pcworld.com/article/2096945/cyberpunk-2077-phantom-liberty-in-test-do-you-want-to-be-john-wick-james-bond-or-the-kill-bill-lady.html
Sept 6: Starfield https://www.metacritic.com/game/starfield/
But itΓÇÖs an IGN 7 https://www.ign.com/articles/starfield-review
 
 
BONUS: Persona games https://gamerant.com/persona-collection-bundle-games/
Red Dead redemption re-release is $50 https://www.tomsguide.com/news/dont-pay-dollar50-for-red-dead-redemption-on-ps4-or-switch-a-better-and-cheaper-versions-already-on-xbox
 
Microsoft-Activision-Blizzard-King
Jan 3: FTC takes Microsoft to court https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/03/microsoft_ftc_activision_court/
June 26: Microsoft looked at acquiring 100+ companies https://www.tweaktown.com/news/92098/microsofts-buyout-consideration-list-included-100-game-devs-bungie-cd-projekt-fromsoftware/index.html
June 28: Sony secrets accidentally revealed https://www.pcgamer.com/sony-ftc-microsoft-redacted-document/
July 11: Microsoft wins FTC fight https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/11/23779039/microsoft-activision-blizzard-ftc-trial-win
May 15: EU oks deal https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_2705 
July 11: UKΓÇÖs CMA agrees to pause ongoing London appeal, negotiate https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/uk-antitrust-agency-pauses-microsoft-activision-appeal-on-ftc-court-loss-in-us-1.1944226
July 12: FTC appeals https://www.engadget.com/ftc-appeals-ruling-that-would-have-let-microsofts-activision-takeover-move-forward-231729137.html
July 19: Merger Deadline postponed https://www.ign.com/articles/microsoft-and-activision-blizzard-officially-postpone-merger-deadline
July 20: FTC withdraws case https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/us-ftc-withdraws-case-against-microsoft-activision-deal-before-internal-agency-2023-07-20/
Sept 15: Biggest Xbox leak in history https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1704157981909348580
·        Bunch of games leaked https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k7UTSsvRhqGC9v6PBiwdMrIo5jx2Z8LW/view
·        Internal memo addressing leak also leaked https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/19/23881174/microsoft-xbox-leak-gaming-phil-spencer-memo
Sept 19: Phil Spencer says Microsoft may exit gaming business if Game Pass doesnΓÇÖt succeed https://wccftech.com/microsoft-may-exit-gaming-business-if-game-pass-subscribers-off-console-dont-increase-enough-by-2027/
Sept 27: FTC announced resumption of case https://www.eurogamer.net/ftc-resumes-case-against-microsofts-acquisition-of-activision-blizzard
Oct 13: UK approves deal https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/13/microsoft-activision-blizzard-takeover-approved-by-uk-regulator-cma.html
Dec 6: Ninth Circuit starts hearing arguments on FTC round 2 https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ftc-appeals-to-block-already-completed-microsoft-activision-deal 
 
Game Industry layoffs/losses
Jan 19: Microsoft lays off 10,000 people amid ABK acquisition https://www.gameinformer.com/2023/01/19/microsoft-layoffs-10000-people-amid-ongoing-activision-blizzard-acquisition
Jan 19: Unity lays off 300 https://www.gamesindustry.biz/unity-lays-off-nearly-300
May 2: Unity confirms 600 more layoffs in SEC filing https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1810806/000181080623000044/unity-20230502.htm
Jan 19: Riot cuts 46 staff https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/riot-games-lay-off-46-staff-this-is-part-of-our-normal-course-of-our-business
Feb 28: EA lays off 200-person Apex QA team via Zoom https://kotaku.com/ea-apex-legends-bugs-layoffs-respawn-zoom-1850168472
Mar 7: Take-Two layoffs https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gta-parent-company-confirms-layoffs-primarily-impacting-non-development-positions/1100-6512117/ 
Mar 17: Team17 layoffs https://www.eurogamer.net/layoffs-reported-at-worms-maker-team17
Apr 4: Amazon cuts 100 jobs from games division https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/04/amazon-lays-off-some-employees-in-its-video-games-unit-read-the-memo.html
Nov 13: Amazon Games layoffs https://www.reuters.com/business/amazon-cuts-jobs-games-unit-part-broader-restructuing-2023-11-13/
April 19: Meta layoffs hit Ready at Dawn and Downpour Interactive https://www.eurogamer.net/lone-echo-developer-ready-at-dawn-reportedly-heavily-impacted-by-latest-meta-layoffs
May 10: Ubisoft lays off 60 https://www.destructoid.com/ubisoft-layoffs-north-carolina-newcastle-industry/
Nov 7: Ubisoft cuts 124 jobs, 98 in Canada https://www.ign.com/articles/ubisoft-lays-off-124-employees-to-enhance-collective-efficiency
May 12: Deviation Games loses 90 https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/playstation-backed-deviation-games-hit-with-layoffs/
May 15: CDPR cuts jobs from The Witcher spinoff studio https://kotaku.com/witcher-4-sequel-cd-projekt-red-molasses-flood-layoffs-1850437987
May 24: CDPR lets go of Gwent team as development ends https://lmg.gg/fIWZH (Gwent Blog)
July 26: CDPR layoff 100 people https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/media/news/cd-projekt-red-organizational-update/ 
June 27: Bioware announces SWTOR team layoffs as game changes studios https://blog.bioware.com/2023/06/27/bright-future-for-swtor/
Aug 23: Bioware lays off 50, cuts ties with unionized playtest group https://venturebeat.com/games/eas-bioware-will-lay-off-50-and-cut-ties-with-unionized-keywords-playtesting-group/
Aug 7: Acid Wizard Studio announces they’re taking a 5-10 year break (at least) https://twitter.com/TheAcidWizard/status/1688551880731787264 
Nov 16: Embracer confirms they laid off 900 people during their Q2 2023 https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/11/900-people-laid-off-from-embracer-group-during-its-second-quarter-of-2023
Nov 28: Embracer not done, Fishlabs affected https://www.mmorpg.com/news/embracer-group-restructuring-hits-fishlabs-with-about-50-layoffs-2000129613
Sept 28: Epic Games lays off over 800 employees https://www.polygon.com/23894267/epic-games-fortnite-unreal-engine-layoffs-2023
Dec 12: Hasbro (WotC owners) announce 1,100 layoffs, after 800 in January https://www.dicebreaker.com/topics/layoffs/news/wizards-of-the-coast-owner-hasbro-lays-off-1100-staff-before-christmas
CEO says itΓÇÖs ΓÇ£a last resortΓÇ¥, a ΓÇ£lever we must pull to keep Hasbro healthyΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/pWslg
He received $9.4 million in compensation last year https://lmg.gg/b68XQ
Dec 15: 3D Realms and Slipgate Ironworks victims of Embracer https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/duke-nukem-and-ghostrunner-devs-3d-realms-and-slipgate-ironworks-are-latest-embracer-studios-to-suffer-layoffs
June 13: Embracer announces ΓÇ£comprehensive restructuringΓÇ¥ https://www.eurogamer.net/saints-row-owner-embracer-announces-comprehensive-restructuring-program-to-close-studios-cut-jobs
May 20: Brace Yourself games lays off half its staff https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/report-brace-yourself-games-lays-off-half-its-staff
May 23: Sega lays off 121 from Relic Entertainment https://twitter.com/relicgames/status/1661060864651452416
May 30: Firaxis lays off 30 staff https://www.axios.com/2023/05/31/firaxis-layoffs
June 2: EA mobile dev loses up to 2/3 of team https://www.kotaku.com.au/2023/06/eas-firemonkeys-studio-hit-with-massive-layoffs/
June 14: Games media outlet seeks AI editor after firing 50 staff https://futurism.com/the-byte/gaming-sites-writers-ai-editor
Jun 29: Niantic lays off hundreds https://nianticlabs.com/news/organizational-update?hl=en
Jun 30: LOTR: Gollum studio exits game development, lays off 25 https://lmg.gg/jtrSS (Games Wirtschaft)
July 20: Activision Blizzard cans 50 from esports division https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/19/23799550/activision-blizzard-esports-layoffs-overwatch-league-owl
July 27: 16 employees remain at ΓÇ£Season: a letter to the futureΓÇ¥ dev after layoffs https://www.eurogamer.net/season-developer-scavengers-lays-off-half-its-staff-in-studio-downsize
Aug 2: Striking Distance Studios lays off 30 people https://www.ign.com/articles/striking-distance-studios-callisto-protocol-layoffs
Sept 11: Embracer looking to sell Gearbox https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/embracer-group-looks-to-sell-video-game-studio-gearbox-1.1969892
Sept 14: Ascendant Studios (devs of Immortals of Aveum) lay off 45% of staff https://twitter.com/BretRobbins/status/1702397324755083719
Sept 20: Embracer layoffs hit Crystal Dynamics after they said they wouldnΓÇÖt https://www.gamesradar.com/months-after-declaring-tomb-raider-unaffected-by-layoffs-tomb-raider-dev-hit-with-wave-of-layoffs/
Sept: 20: Glenn Schofield leaves his own studio https://www.gameinformer.com/2023/09/20/the-callisto-protocol-director-glen-schofield-leaves-studio-steve-papoutsis-named-ceo
Sept 25: Hideki Kamiya leaves HIS own studio https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/bayonetta-and-the-wonderful-101-director-hideki-kamiya-departing-platinumgames
Sept 29: Creative Assembly layoffs https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/total-war-developer-confirms-layoffs-following-hyenas-cancellation-3506539
October 3: Naughty Dog cuts contractors https://kotaku.com/naughty-dog-ps5-playstation-sony-last-us-part-3-layoffs-1850893794
Oct 5: Telltale lays off employees weeks after buying another studio, wonΓÇÖt reveal how many https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/10/05/telltale-games-confirms-layoffs-in-development-games-remain-in-production
Oct 17: Frontier hit with layoffs https://www.gamesindustry.biz/frontier-to-lay-off-unknown-number-of-staff-in-organisational-review
Oct 24: LittleBigPlanet and Dreams maker Media Molecule cuts 20 jobs https://videogames.si.com/news/media-molecule-layoffs
Nov 6: Gamurs fires EIC of The Escapist, mass resignations ensue https://twitter.com/PaulTassi/status/1721689641370206632
Nov 7: The Glory Society seemingly shut down https://theglorysociety.com/
Nov 9: Warframe developer kills publishing division https://www.pcgamer.com/warframe-developer-axes-publishing-division-will-transition-full-control-of-online-action-rpg-wayfinder-to-its-developer/
Nov 14: 505 Games parent Digital Bros announces 30% staff reduction https://digitalbros.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023.11.14-Digital-Bros-PR-Organization-review-2-1.pdf
Nov 15: Humble Games confirms layoffs https://videogames.si.com/news/humble-games-layoffs-november-2023
Dec 4: Codemasters suffers layoffs https://www.ign.com/articles/f1-developer-codemasters-suffers-round-of-layoffs
Dec 5: Indie studio League of Geeks cuts half its staff https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1893820/view/3855706911138672799?l=english
Dec 12: Free Radical officially closes its doors after earlier rumors https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/mustafa-mahmoud/free-radical-officially-announces-studio-closure/
 
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
 
 
 
 
Downfall of Destiny/Bungie
Feb 28: Lightfall Expansion releases…it is not liked https://store.steampowered.com/app/1945340/Destiny_2_Lightfall/
June 22: Released major cutscene that plagiarized a fanΓÇÖs work, said they would ΓÇ£compensate and creditΓÇ¥ them https://www.pcgamer.com/bungie-says-it-will-compensate-and-credit-artist-whose-work-was-mistakenly-used-in-this-weeks-major-destiny-2-cutscene/
July 14: win historic lawsuit against employee harasser https://www.polygon.com/23793493/bungie-destiny-2-harassment-lawsuit
Oct 30: Bungie lays off large number of staff https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/sony-s-bungie-game-unit-cuts-staff-following-delayed-titles-1.1991461
Including the lawyer that won the case against the employee harasser (EDITOR: CTRL+F ΓÇ£the layoff of Bungie general counsel Don McGowan, who played a key role in Bungie winning an historic suit against a player who harassed a Bungie developer.ΓÇ¥) https://lmg.gg/M9Hel
And the community support team that got the game nominated https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/11/14/destiny-2s-best-community-support-nomination-is-a-dark-joke/?sh=4765da988594
Oct 31: layoffs were BungieΓÇÖs decision https://gamerant.com/bungie-layoffs-company-decision-report/
Dec 6: Bungie leadership laid off employees to save their own hides, ΓÇ£soul-crushingΓÇ¥ atmosphere ensues https://www.ign.com/articles/bungie-devs-say-atmosphere-is-soul-crushing-amid-layoffs-cuts-and-fear-of-total-sony-takeover
Nov 20: Destiny 2 player count hits all-time low https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/destiny-2s-player-count-has-dropped-to-a-new-all-time-low-on-steam/
Nov 28: Destiny 2 gets controversial ΓÇ£Starter PackΓÇ¥ https://store.steampowered.com/app/2336910/Destiny_2_Starter_Pack/
Nov 30: Controversial ΓÇ£Starter PackΓÇ¥ removed from sale https://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-2-controversial-starter-pack-has-been-removed-after-it-failed-to-bring-joy-to-its-players/1100-6519578/
 
 
Unity pricing update
Sept 12: the big unpopular change is announced https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/unity-is-adding-a-royalty-fee-based-on-the-number-of-times-a-game-is-installed/
Sept 13: Unity boss sells stock before his dumb idea is announced https://kotaku.com/unity-developer-fee-installs-john-riccitiello-sold-stoc-1850834439
Sept 14-ish: Unity removes github repo to track license changes, seemingly hiding ANOTHER controversial change https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/16hnibp/unity_silently_removed_their_github_repo_to_track/
Sept 17: apologize and promise changes https://www.shacknews.com/article/137095/unity-apologizes-changes-policy
Oct 9: CEO retires ΓÇ£effective immediatelyΓÇ¥ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/john-riccitiello-retires-as-unity-ceo-after-nine-years
 
 
AI in gaming/games journalism
June 14: Games media outlet seeks AI editor after firing 50 staff https://futurism.com/the-byte/gaming-sites-writers-ai-editor
June 30: word gets out about non-consensual voice actor deepfakes for pornographic Skyrim content https://twitter.com/NAVAVOICES/status/1676624272629039104
July 21: WoW players trick AI journalism with Glorbo https://www.ign.com/articles/world-of-warcraft-players-trick-ai-website-into-covering-fictional-update-known-only-as-glorbo
July 26: Destiny 2 players do the same thing https://www.polygon.com/23808925/destiny-2-glorbo-ai-sites-secret-boss-running-joke
Aug 30: Activision announces real-time AI voice chat moderation https://twitter.com/charlieINTEL/status/1696915809619107841
Oct 31: The Finals criticized for AI voices https://www.eurogamer.net/the-finals-criticised-by-actors-and-designers-for-use-of-ai-commentator-voiceovers
Nov 11: Xbox transparency report reveals effects of AI moderation https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/11/xbox-moderation-team-turns-to-ai-for-help-filtering-a-flood-of-user-content/
Nov 16: Unity shows off Muse AI game dev tools https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/16/with-muse-unity-aims-to-give-developers-generative-ai-thats-useful-and-ethical/
Nov 27: ItΓÇÖs revealed Silent Hill: Ascension WASNΓÇÖT written by AI https://www.pcgamesn.com/silent-hill-ascension/written-by-ai
 
 
Gaming Leaks
May: Tears of the Kingdom leaks two weeks early https://kotaku.com/zelda-tears-kingdom-leak-switch-story-spoilers-1850391411
June 28: Korean Ratings board leaks Red Dead 1 rating, remaster remake rumors abound https://www.gematsu.com/2023/06/red-dead-redemption-rated-in-korea-in-2023
July 24: Monster Energy Leaks next CoD will be MWIII https://twitter.com/charlieINTEL/status/1683523688346394635
Jul 27: RDR logo on RockstarΓÇÖs site https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/new-red-dead-redemption-logo-appears-on-rockstar-website/
Aug 7: Nope, just a re-release for Switch and PS4 https://youtu.be/t5Nwgd_T1-4
Aug 28: Starfield leak reveals more loading screens than advertised https://www.techspot.com/news/99942-fans-frustrated-after-leaked-gameplay-footage-reveals-starfield.html
Oct 31: Daredevil PS2 prototype leaked, he can grind https://youtu.be/dFlvA60miFI?t=78
Giant Xbox leak https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1704157981909348580
Console https://lmg.gg/39dNC
Roadmap https://lmg.gg/igLPJ
Controller https://lmg.gg/JGNij
games https://lmg.gg/hoD3X
Phil Spencer https://www.eurogamer.net/phil-spencer-describes-nintendo-as-the-prime-asset-for-xbox-to-acquire
Nov 7: Silent Hill: The Short Message leaks plot after a year of silence https://www.eurogamer.net/silent-hill-the-short-message-plot-leaks-from-australian-classification-board
Aug 31: ESRB leaks BGE 20th Anniversary EditionΓÇÖs existence https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/08/iconic-ps2-platformer-beyond-good-and-evil-appears-to-be-coming-to-ps5
Nov 29: Ubisoft leaks full game https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-accidentally-releases-beyond-good-and-evil-remaster-remembers-it-doesnt-do-that-sort-of-thing-attempts-to-scrub-all-trace-from-the-internet/
GTA 6 Moon https://twitter.com/Dirty_Worka/status/1707786135093543035
GTA 6 leak frenzy leads up to trailer being leaked a day early
Dec 13: Speculation on Insomniac MP Spider-Verse game https://kotaku.com/spider-man-2-spider-verse-insomniac-leak-ps5-1851096362
Dec 19: Insomniac hacked, doesnΓÇÖt pay ransom, hackers leak pretty much everything
https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/18lvqor/insomniac_leaks_compilation/
Wolverine leaked build https://twitter.com/PC_clown/status/1737583673245872251
Cyberpunk 2077ΓÇÖs Redemption
June 27: Needed to fix relationship with players https://www.gamesindustry.biz/cd-projekt-we-need-to-fix-the-relationship-with-our-players
Thought it ΓÇ£became a cool thing not to likeΓÇ¥ the game https://lmg.gg/6WAYL
July 6: CDPR bigger than Ubisoft https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/07/06/post-cyberpunk-2077-cdpr-is-now-bigger-than-ubisoft/?sh=102020fa3c66
July 26: layoff 100 people https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/media/news/cd-projekt-red-organizational-update/
Aug 31: Cyberpunk 2077 stops with one expansion because theyΓÇÖre leaving REDengine behind https://www.ign.com/articles/cyberpunk-2077-only-getting-one-expansion-was-a-technological-decision-cd-projekt-red-says
Sept 12: Warn Phantom Liberty update will need MAX cooling https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-dev-warns-pc-gamers-to-check-conditions-of-your-cooling-systems-before-trying-to-run-the-phantom-liberty-expansion/
Sept 20: Rave reviews for Phantom Liberty, Update 2.0 https://www.gamesradar.com/cyberpunk-2077-phantom-liberty-review/
Dec 1: Surprise-announce Update 2.1 https://press.cdprojektred.com/en/news/1498/discover-new-content-coming-to-cyberpunk-2077-with-the-free-update-2-1-this-december
EXTRAS
 
 
Game Death and Nintendo
·        March 27: Wii U and 3DS eShops dead https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/58535/~/service-discontinuation%3A-nintendo-eshop-for-wii-u
·        July 10: 87% of classic games deemed “critically endangered” https://gamehistory.org/87percent/
·        Aug 1:
o   Activision lost Transformers games https://kotaku.com/transformers-war-cybertron-hasbro-activision-remaster-1850692571
o  Oops JK https://twitter.com/stephentotilo/status/1686477422110064640
·        Aug 8:
o  Patent basic physics https://twitter.com/eigenbom/status/1689383235388665856
o  among slew of other things https://automaton-media.com/en/news/20230808-20590/
·        Sept 14:
o  Nintendo announces a bunch of remakes of games you couldn’t buy after they shut down Wii U and 3DS eShop
§ Mario vs Donkey Kong from Gameboy Advance https://youtu.be/5sPwqplxHXc
§ Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD https://youtu.be/KIP2_LJdi0I
§ Super Mario RPG https://youtu.be/e_kuPoLw9Wc
§ Another Code: Recollection https://youtu.be/m6i9BGlGQyU
·        Oct 4: Nintendo announces 3DS/Wii U online shutdown https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/10/wii-u-3ds-online-servers-to-shut-down-in-six-months/
·        Nov 28: They DID confirm sexy Ganondorf was on purpose https://www.vg247.com/zelda-tears-of-the-kingdoms-ganondorf-purposefully-hot
 
 
Gaming Dangers?
July 18: UK restricts loot box access https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65855157
NHS clinic for gaming disorders has high patient numbers https://www.pcgamer.com/uks-nhs-clinic-for-gaming-disorders-claims-unexpectedly-high-patient-numbers-in-early-years-with-some-referring-themselves/
July 25: Black market Roblox casino sites https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/report-claims-roblox-casino-sites-are-letting-children-gamble-millions-of-dollars/
 
 
Fortnite becomes the metaverse/Roblox
July 19: Veteran Bungie, EA devs form studio to make Fortnite games https://kotaku.com/bungie-founder-ea-fortnite-uefn-look-north-new-studio-1850653221
Nov 9: Snoop Dogg and pup starting Fortnite game studio https://www.gamespot.com/articles/snoop-dogg-and-his-son-are-starting-a-game-company/1100-6519055/
Dec 7: Lego Fortnite https://youtu.be/AZAuqt_AvYY
Dec 8: Rocket Racing (from Rocket League creators) https://youtu.be/GogGuhROGuc
Dec 9: Fortnite Festival launches (from Harmonix) https://youtu.be/GtNrQb_gbFU
 
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Xbox fans debate Series S parity clause due to BaldurΓÇÖs Gate 3 Xbox launch delay
PS5 version launches Sept. 6, no Xbox date yet https://lmg.gg/JJYSd
Larian dev says issue is split-screen on Series S https://twitter.com/Cromwelp/status/1685820707660275712
Fans divided https://twitter.com/EverbornSaga/status/1690785265617358848
No Final Fantasy 7 Remake on Xbox, social post was error https://www.eurogamer.net/microsoft-confirms-final-fantasy-7-remake-post-was-a-mistake-not-a-tease
FF16 producer wishes there was only one console so this stuff didnΓÇÖt happen https://www.ign.com/articles/final-fantasy-16-producer-naoki-yoshida-wishes-there-was-only-one-console
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZLsZ0nyRXc&t=810s @ 13:29
Can always trade your Xbox for a PS5 at Gamestop https://www.reddit.com/r/PS5/comments/15k4nl0/series_x_owners_can_exchange_their_consoles_for_a/
https://www.cheapassgamer.com/uploads/post-487710-0-34078100-1691345439.jpeg
 
8 STRIKES AND YER OUT
Xbox Introduces new Enforcement Strike System
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/08/15/xbox-enforcement-strike-system/
8 strike process https://lmg.gg/0vb05
makes things clear https://lmg.gg/e9HGe (Verge)
summary https://lmg.gg/CDx8g
 
CRIMINAL GAME DEV HIRES CRIMINALS
Rockstar hires Cfx.re, the modding team behind FiveM, R GTA mod they previously banned
https://twitter.com/RockstarGames/status/1689969964923432960
https://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/8971o8789584a4/roleplay-community-update
Banned in 2015 https://www.eurogamer.net/rockstar-bans-gta5-modders-who-made-their-own-multiplayer
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/08/rockstar-hires-team-of-previously-banned-gta-5-modders
Will help with official roleplay servers https://mobilesyrup.com/2023/08/14/rockstar-games-acquires-cfx-re-officially-support-roleplay-servers/
Or you can roleplay with AI: GTA 5 mod adds LLMs to NPCs https://bleedingcool.com/games/new-grand-theft-auto-v-mod-adds-sentient-npcs/
https://www.nexusmods.com/gta5/mods/672
 
QUICK BITS
 
GOTTA LAUNCH EM ALL
Pokemon Company hints their game output may be unsustainable
https://kotaku.com/pokemon-scarlet-violet-busted-sequels-nintendo-switch-1850734514
https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/pokemon-company-game-releases-takato-utsunomiya-interview/
 
THE SHORTEST RPG
BaldurΓÇÖs Gate hailed for expansive level of choice
Or you can beat it in 11 minutes https://kotaku.com/baldurs-game-3-speedrun-twitch-streamer-palmer-gale-1850739157
Speedrun https://youtu.be/0wecQxUkt-s?t=294 @ 4:54
 
WAS IT JUST A MIRAGE?
AssassinΓÇÖs Creed Mirage anti-delayed by a week
Compare to Skull and Bones https://gamerant.com/skull-bones-development-history-long-changes/
https://twitter.com/assassinscreed/status/1691117533846482944
https://www.thesixthaxis.com/2023/08/15/assassins-creed-mirage-is-coming-out-one-week-early/
 
HEY! LISTEN!
Quicker Bits
Game releases:
Xbox Game Pass: Firewatch, Gris, Sea of Stars, Texas Chainsaw Massacre https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/08/15/game-pass-august-2023-wave-2-announce/
Quake II enhanced https://youtu.be/cyxBE163n20
Turbo Overkill Early Access https://youtu.be/c6NH-TDClDA?t=190
-       It’s got a chainsaw leg https://thumbs.gfycat.com/ReflectingBaggyBorzoi-mobile.mp4
Game teases:
TMNT: The Lost Ronin https://youtu.be/8NX3iz_aoEg
 
HEREΓÇÖS AN ALPHA SEE YA LATER
Studio behind Darkwood releases alpha of new game, promptly goes on hiatus
Soccer kids https://store.steampowered.com/app/2403430/Soccer_Kids_Alpha/
https://twitter.com/TheAcidWizard/status/1688551875899998209
might come back in 5-10 years once shit is together
https://twitter.com/TheAcidWizard/status/1688551880731787264
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Starfield is getting DLSS
https://www.videogamer.com/news/starfield-dlss/
BethesdaΓÇÖs blog post https://bethesda.net/en/game/starfield/article/3DKJAom2GjFh4P3gprf5E9/starfield-updates-and-mod-support-september-13-2023
DLSS line https://lmg.gg/3wh7A
Say theyΓÇÖre working closely with Nvidia & Intel for performance and stability improvements https://lmg.gg/TwYHv
Some previous criticism on Nvidia, Intel performance https://youtu.be/ciOFwUBTs5s?t=1347
Meanwhile Xbox sales in the UK shot up 76% on Starfield launch https://www.gamesindustry.biz/xbox-series-s-and-x-uk-sales-jumped-76-on-starfield-launch
 
FEWER NEW IDEAS THAN HOLLYWOOD
Nintendo Direct
Remakes Remakes Remakes Remakes
-       Mario vs Donkey Kong from Gameboy Advance https://youtu.be/5sPwqplxHXc
-       Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD https://youtu.be/KIP2_LJdi0I
-       Super Mario RPG https://youtu.be/e_kuPoLw9Wc
-       Another Code: Recollection https://youtu.be/m6i9BGlGQyU
All these games COULD have been played / owned for had Nintendo not shut down the Wii U and 3DS eShops https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/58535/~/service-discontinuation%3A-nintendo-eshop-for-wii-u
Remake of fan-favorite game Paper Mario: TTYD https://youtu.be/8Ume5pSIcKE
Hey, instead of making new entry in beloved franchise, what if we just made the first game into a cheap battle royale exclusively for Nintendo Online Subscribers? https://youtu.be/haoiSDKghLE
Holy sh** an original game??? Princess Peach Showtime https://youtu.be/qfj6ZEpf78g
Funky Kong in Mario Kart 8 https://youtu.be/BiJ7IoeuhXE?t=23
Trombone Champ: ΓÇ£4 players can toot togetherΓÇ¥ https://youtu.be/i-x0FylboHA?t=55
Also Sony has a State of Play, but itΓÇÖs at 2pm and weΓÇÖll be done writing by then https://www.polygon.com/23872460/playstation-state-of-play-september-2023-ps5-psvr2
 
THEREΓÇÖS UNITY IN HATRED
Indie devs threatening to pull games over Unity BS
Several concerns about the model https://www.gamesradar.com/game-devs-say-unitys-new-install-fee-is-a-threat-to-everyone-including-gamers-and-theres-no-going-back-i-dont-want-to-sell-my-house-because-my-game-was-too-popular/
Unity removed github stuff https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/16hnibp/unity_silently_removed_their_github_repo_to_track/
Unity cancelled town hall, closed two offices due to ΓÇ£credible death threatsΓÇ¥ https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/14/23873628/unity-death-threats-john-riccitiello
Unity clarifies they wonΓÇÖt charge for re-installs and ΓÇ£Fraudulent installsΓÇ¥
https://twitter.com/unity/status/1702077049425596900
They genuinely think they can get Microsoft and Apple to pay for subscription-based games https://unity.com/pricing-updates
Idea came from same genius that wanted to charge for gun reloads EA FPS games
https://stealthoptional.com/news/unitys-ceo-devs-pay-per-install-charge-fps-gamers-per-bullet/
Same genius (and other Unity execs) also sold stock before the dev fee announcement https://kotaku.com/unity-developer-fee-installs-john-riccitiello-sold-stoc-1850834439
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
UP IN FLAMES
Diablo 4 live event in Korea is a massive hilarious disaster
Some sad pictures https://imgur.com/a/kgYS6o3#ztpqWEq
There was a livestream that barely anyone watched https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwOHaXnEsgA
Allegedly ΓÇ£The streamer who attended the live event and got permission to stream was asked to stop streaming after he expressed his surprise over lack of attendancesΓÇ¥ https://www.reddit.com/r/diablo4/comments/16gcaze/state_of_d4_live_event_in_korea/
 
LETΓÇÖS-A F***ING GO
Mario speedrun so good itΓÇÖs almost inhumanly perfect
NiftskiΓÇÖs run https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Khu9BB2g4Ks
Faster than what was believed to be the theoretical limit for a human-played game https://lmg.gg/lOmhM (kottke.org)
Extremely close to ΓÇ£perfectΓÇ¥ tool-assisted speed run https://lmg.gg/54rG1
Matches a ΓÇ£perfectΓÇ¥ tool-assisted speedrun for 7 of 8 levels https://lmg.gg/Ed3nl (Ars Technica)
NIftski is 0.35 seconds away from pixel-perfect machine https://lmg.gg/jPWgc (Ars Technica)
 
LIVE LONG AND PROSPER
Director of Star Wars Jedi franchise leaving Respawn and EA[RM1] [JR2] [JR3] 
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/stig-asmussen-leaving-respawn-and-ea
Not clear what heΓÇÖll be doing next https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/star-wars-video-game-director-stig-asmussen-leaves-electronic-arts-1.1971047
Previously said he envisioned KestisΓÇÖs story as a trilogy
 
THE ONLY COMPANY HAPPY ABOUT THE UNITY NEWS
EA announces Sims 5 will be free to download
WonΓÇÖt replace the Sims 4 https://www.ign.com/articles/the-sims-5-will-be-free-to-download-ea-confirms
Announced last year, coinciding with The Sims 4 going free-to-play
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/the-sims-4-is-going-free-to-play-in-october/
My goodness, I wonder why? https://store.steampowered.com/app/1222670/The_Sims_4/
 
LEGALLY GROUNDED
Judge legally permabans serial Destiny 2 cheater, issues $500k judgement
Issued $500k fine https://www.esports.net/news/destiny-2-cheater-fined/
Cheater evaded multiple account bans and publicly threatened Bungie staff; apparently his cheat use was so severe in how it modified the game it counted as an ΓÇ£unauthorized derivative workΓÇ¥ that violated federal copyright law https://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-2-cheater-legally-banned-from-ever-playing-another-bungie-game/1100-6517641/
All the things heΓÇÖs banned from doing https://lmg.gg/twtj9
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I GUESS SMILES AREN’T A VALID CURRENCY ANYMORE…
Starfield DLSS3 mod had paywall
https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/5/23859379/starfield-dlss-3-mod-patreon-paywall-drm-cracked Allegedly creator is making $40k a month on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/PureDark
DLSS2 mod free, DLSS3 cost $5, got cracked https://kotaku.com/starfield-dlss3-fsr2-pc-mod-nvidia-amd-intel-piracy-1850804328
Does it go against ΓÇ£the spirit of mod-makingΓÇ¥? https://lmg.gg/L3it5
Todd Howard himself wanted Starfield to allow mod makers to make “a career” out of their work https://youtu.be/AIbnDyv6g1c?t=2529 
Remember Creation Club? https://creationclub.bethesda.net/en
 
ACTORS V. ACTIVISION
SAG-AFTRA voting on strike authorization for video game actors
Game companies involved https://lmg.gg/3cnyR (SAG-AFTRA)
Seeking 11% raise and protection from AI https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/actors-union-sag-aftra-could-launch-video-game-strikes-over-wages-and-ai/
Nvidia ACE https://youtu.be/5R8xZb6J3r0
If members vote yes it will not guarantee strike, but will allow one if negotiations fail https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/02/business/sag-aftra-strike-strike-video-games/index.html
A negotiations stalemate has already been reached with Activision and Take-Two
https://lmg.gg/YvkJa (VGC)
 
HOPIUM ADDICTS REJOICE!
Vampire: The Masquerade ΓÇô Bloodlines 2 has new release date
faced setbacks; narrative lead and creative director dropped from Hardsuit Labs https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/brian-mitsoda-has-been-fired-as-narrative-lead-on-bloodlines-2
Then Hardsuit labs dropped as developer https://www.gamesindustry.biz/hardsuit-labs-dropped-as-vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-developer
A lot of work has carried over https://gamingbolt.com/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-is-using-a-lot-of-work-done-by-previous-developer-hardsuit-labs
But also “a new code base with different gameplay mechanics and RPG systems.” https://www.pcgamer.com/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-has-been-quietly-rebuilt-by-dear-esther-developer-the-chinese-room-with-different-gameplay-mechanics-and-rpg-systems/ 
 
QUICK BITS
 
REDFALL 2.0
Bethesda says Redfall will get better
Will get 60fps patch https://lmg.gg/76Kx3 (Pure Xbox)
compared it to Fallout 76 https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/bethesda-says-redfall-will-get-to-be-a-good-game-just-like-fallout-76-3493313
 
PLANETS ARENΓÇÖT REAL #PLANETGATE
Streamer and God of War writer Alanah Pearce flew to Pluto in Starfield
https://kotaku.com/starfield-bethesda-space-rpg-fast-travel-alanah-pearce-1850801976
Leff ship in transit overnight and woke up in 30 minute intervals to course correct (planets actually follow orbits) https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/god-of-war-writer-flies-to-a-planet-in-starfield-without-the-loading-break-sort-of
Pluto is a lie and she flew straight through it https://www.ign.com/articles/starfield-lets-you-fly-directly-to-other-planets-it-just-takes-ages-and-its-an-anticlimax
 
JEDI SURVIVOR TO JEDI THRIVER
Star Wars: Jedi Survivor finally getting 60fps console patch
ΓÇ£Performance mode has been completely reworked to substantially improve player experienceΓÇ¥ https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/09/star-wars-jedi-survivor-ps5-update-available-now-here-are-the-patch-notes
Finally gets DLSS support on PC https://www.dexerto.com/star-wars-jedi/star-wars-jedi-survivor-update-patch-7-notes-2279785/
 
VIDEO GAMES…ARE ART?
The Making of Kareteka
https://www.eurogamer.net/the-making-of-karateka-is-so-much-more-than-the-making-of-karateka
Announced in June https://kotaku.com/apple-pc-karateka-prince-of-persia-retro-jordan-mechner-1850632044
Sort of an interactive documentary with archival materials, journals, interviews, early prototypes
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1163060/The_Making_of_Karateka/
 
LARIAN FINDS APHRODISIACS IN CODE
BG3ΓÇÖs thirsty NPCs due to bug
https://mashable.com/article/baldurs-gate-3-romance-bug-gale
Found out through interview with game director https://www.thegamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-characters-romance-too-easy-cant-avoid-gale-bug/
Was supposed to simulate IRL relationships, instead Gale was DTF if you looked at him https://www.gamespot.com/articles/baldurs-gate-3-companions-were-too-horny-but-that-was-a-bug/1100-6517464/
 
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MAINS
A CORE OF GOLD
Xbox Game Pass Core
https://www.ign.com/articles/end-of-an-era-as-microsoft-replaces-xbox-live-gold-with-game-pass-core
launch games https://lmg.gg/cXQ50
UK regulator formally pauses Microsoft-Activision case for two months
Both Microsoft and CMA request to delay appeal in UK
Microsoft and Activision also give themselves an extension
CALL OF NOSTALGIA
Activision fixes old Call of Duty servers, leading to massive surge of players
https://kotaku.com/call-of-duty-cod-xbox-360-servers-black-ops-input-delay-1850647392
The fix was for matchmaking https://gamerant.com/old-call-of-duty-games-matchmaking-fixed-activision/
https://twitter.com/ZekcoFS/status/1678977947821064192
Cheating still an issue; too bad Activision shut down fan servers…
WHAT’S IN THE BOOOOX… ADDICTION
UK games industry trade association agree on loot box restrictions
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65855157
Ukie https://ukie.org.uk/loot-boxes
too little too late? https://www.reddit.com/r/gamingnews/comments/152tqyi/comment/jsgcd66/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
After UK National Centre for Gaming Disorders reports more than 5x the expected referrals
tiny wifi addicts https://lmg.gg/NBC2q
Grandmas https://lmg.gg/Ws0O3
QUICK BITS
A NEO ERA
Neopets promises a ΓÇ£new eraΓÇ¥ under new company
https://www.polygon.com/23798952/neopets-team-management-change-announcement-mobile-app
raised $4M from investors https://lmg.gg/psJci
https://medium.com/@neopetsofficial/a-new-era-for-neopets-fdb5c9ac187e
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emPAQQl_yug
CITIZENSHIP ACQUIRED
Star Citizen developer acquires long-running partner
https://mmos.com/news/cloud-imperium-games-acquires-turbulent
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/cloud-imperium-games-acquires-it-developer-turbulent-games
3.18 added persistent entity streaming https://youtu.be/-cco7eiNJZQ?t=29 (@ 0:28)
IMMATERIAL CONCERNS
UK supermarket chain Tesco will stop carrying physical games, due to shuttering of GameStop Ireland
after Gamestop closes all 35 stores in Ireland
https://www.thegamer.com/gamestop-dying-financial-disaster-ireland/
WHATΓÇÖS OLD IS NEW
Portal: Prelude RTX
YE SHALL FIND… IF YE SEEK
Payday 3 stealth gameplay trailer was too stealthy
https://twitter.com/PAYDAYGame/status/1680237632134029317
https://twitter.com/PAYDAYGame/status/1680925358038679554
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIUlQGVsr-I
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Microsoft wanted to buy Valve
Hidden in the Nintendeets https://lmg.gg/ONtPC (PC Gamer)
Also Warner Bros and TikTok https://lmg.gg/6XQAb (Engadget)
If you didnΓÇÖt know it already, Activision acquisition all about King https://lmg.gg/GJ8jY (Engadget)
King makes more money than Blizzard and Call of Duty https://lmg.gg/uMhQI (Engadget)
Weird slides
American highway and African proverb https://lmg.gg/ZtkLe
ΓÇ£The Voice of the PlayerΓÇ¥ is made-up quotes https://lmg.gg/exXrf
 
ΓÇ£PLEASE BUY PC GAME PASSΓÇ¥ ΓÇô PHILLY SPENCE
Microsoft may exit game business if cloud and PC game pass subs donΓÇÖt increase enough
Made $230 million in revenue in one month https://www.tweaktown.com/news/93340/xbox-game-pass-made-230-million-revenue-in-one-month-most-users-pay-for-full-subscriptions/index.html
Microsoft gave its largest subsidy ever to cover Xbox Series sales https://lmg.gg/OrIji (Polygon)
Leak shows XboxΓÇÖs estimate for bringing third party AAAs to Game Pass
https://kotaku.com/xbox-leak-game-pass-cost-star-wars-jedi-survivor-gtav-1850852885
Microsoft canΓÇÖt predict Game Pass gameΓÇÖs worth and success
https://lmg.gg/MWKVM (Polygon)
Low-balled BaldurΓÇÖs Gate 3 before its release, called it a ΓÇ£second-run Stadia PC RPGΓÇ¥ because it was announced during StadiaΓÇÖs first (and only?) livestream news event https://metro.co.uk/2023/09/19/xbox-described-baldurs-gate-3-as-a-second-run-stadia-pc-rpg-19523311/
Larian Studios Director of Publishing Michael Douse defends them https://twitter.com/Cromwelp/status/1704145174761197774
 
IT NEVER FADES AWAY
Rave reviews for Phantom Liberty DLC for Cyberpunk 2077
Praise for Idris Elba https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/cyberpunk-2077-phantom-liberty-review
The culmination of CD Projekt Red’s efforts https://www.gamesradar.com/cyberpunk-2077-phantom-liberty-review/ 
Partially due to Cyberpunk 2.0 build https://www.gamespot.com/articles/cyberpunk-2077-2-0-update-rebuilds-its-gameplay-to-make-a-fantastic-rpg/1100-6517704/
“from a gameplay perspective, it is now a stellar RPG”  https://lmg.gg/O62Bm (GameSpot)
 
QUICK BITS
 
THEY HAVE THE BEST JOBS IN VERMUND
DragonΓÇÖs Dogma 2 announcements at Tokyo Game Show 2023
gameplay deep-dive https://youtu.be/8kqYt_J2Dvs
https://www.gematsu.com/2023/09/dragons-dogma-ii-gameplay-deep-dive-video-details-and-screenshots
 
….OK
Ubisoft announces The Division 3
https://twitter.com/UbiMassive/status/1704892074863087867
 
THE HASTA LA VISTA PROTOCOL
Dead Space co-creator leaves studio he founded
https://lmg.gg/RHhLw (Bloomberg)
the Callisto Protocol didnΓÇÖt review well https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-the-callisto-protocol/
Dead Space remake critical success a month after Callisto Protocol https://opencritic.com/game/13897/dead-space-2023-
 
STEAM ON SWITCH CONFIRMED
Ed Boon says MK1 on Switch will be fixed
https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-66842874
Example of graphics differences  https://twitter.com/SynthPotato/status/1703339602331746633
Wouldn’t you know it, the better-looking Switch gameplay trailer was filmed on PC, based on Steam achievement pop-up  https://kotaku.com/mk1-mortal-kombat-1-switch-trailer-steam-pop-up-pc-port-1850857513
 
THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON CHESS. ANY QUESTIONS?
Chess PSA by chess.com because too many kids are playing chess in school
https://www.polygon.com/23882620/teens-love-chess-psa-classroom-distraction-youtube
Here it is https://youtu.be/Hweb1a2xDrY
Booming in popularity https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/17/crosswords/chess/chess-is-booming.html
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Two teams dropped from League Championship Series (LCS)
Evil Geniuses seems to corroborate Needham’s statement https://twitter.com/EvilGeniuses/status/1726661927437488316
Golden Guardians implies it was Riot’s decision, not the other way around https://twitter.com/GoldenGuardians/status/1726664412944388434
Echoed by Veteran somewhat, also “Not every teams GM” was aware of this https://twitter.com/VeteranEU/status/1725984680493670857
Managers caught off guard https://twitter.com/shadowr04/status/1726667692994671102
LCS Player’s Association (LCSPA) leadership was informed, but not consulted https://twitter.com/NALCSPA/status/1726662791711641692
No chance to get news out earlier “became aware of some issues” two weeks ago https://youtu.be/XjZud1x738s?t=98
Note that LCS said “We made this change prior to free agency that begins today to allow impacted players the ability to pursue opportunities with other teams or leagues” https://twitter.com/LCSOfficial/status/1726661693395349754
This is untrue according to LCSPA and player Srtty: https://twitter.com/_Srtty/status/1726662400454303753
Srtty had a verbal agreement with EG to play in LCS, and that’s gone now https://www.sheepesports.com/articles/sources-srtty-reaches-verbal-agreement-with-evil-geniuses/en
 
SAME GAME, BUT WITH MORE GAMES
Sony announces The Last of Us Part II Remastered for PS5
“No Return” gameplay mode (it looks like it’s essentially RE’s Mercenaries) https://youtu.be/Ye3st9z6jQY?t=80
And LOST LEVELS…wait..Sorry, not actually levels, but “early-development slices” https://lmg.gg/5rZzD (PlayStation)
Where did I get the idea they were full levels? Maybe because they called them “Lost Levels”? https://youtu.be/Ye3st9z6jQY?t=73
But hey, at least they have commentary https://lmg.gg/SBDCO (PlayStation)
Guitar Hero: TLOU https://lmg.gg/rqW5N (PlayStation)
PS4 owners can upgrade for $10 https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/17/23966254/the-last-of-us-part-ii-ps5-remaster-leaks
Some are pointing out the tiredness of these remasters https://www.inverse.com/gaming/the-last-of-us-part-2-remaster-opinion
These remasters haven’t stopped Naughty Dog from making original games https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/11/19/the-last-of-us-part-2-remastered-feeds-a-misguided-naughty-dog-narrative/?sh=172ac36c3110
 
DESTINYΓÇÖS FATE
Destiny 2 player count at all-time low
Player count in 30,000s https://steamcharts.com/app/1085660#All
Started with terrible Lightfall expansion https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/destiny-2-lightfall-review
Led to delay of Final Shape and layoffs https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/sony-s-bungie-game-unit-cuts-staff-following-delayed-titles-1.1991461
Something we never reported on; many of Bungie’s employee benefits only last until the end of the month; employees were laid off on Oct 30th, meaning 1 day of coverage https://twitter.com/PaulTassi/status/1719396652996317488
Due to delay, current (not great) season has to be extended https://lmg.gg/gZLhN (VG247)
 
QUICK BITS
 
CLIMBING THE CORPORATE LADDER
Indie horror Lethal Company takes off
https://www.ign.com/articles/lethal-company-steams-latest-hit-reaches-100000-concurrent-players
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5RB0Ej1mFg
https://twitter.com/ZeekerssRBLX/status/1726106297534415030
 
YOU CAN PLAY IT NOW
Starfield FINALLY gets DLSS 3 support
https://wccftech.com/starfield-update-1-8-86-dlss-3-support/ https://bethesda.net/en/game/starfield/article/3V830KanHH0I2zTIKraEih/starfield-update-1-8-86-notes-november-20-2023
https://www.engadget.com/starfield-update-brings-dlss-support-and-a-number-of-fixes-092050462.html
too late to stop Steam reviews slipping to ΓÇÿmixedΓÇÖ
https://www.thegamer.com/starfield-mixed-rating-steam/
 
EXECUTE ORDER 66
KOTOR Remake not being worked on at this time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA0mTc4NovM&t=1931s
https://www.eurogamer.net/knights-of-the-old-republic-remake-reportedly-not-in-active-development
 
BAD GAIA
ΓÇ£Evil GrootΓÇ¥ skin temporarily pulled from CoD
https://kotaku.com/cod-modern-warfare-3-groot-skin-removed-update-1851036898
 
FARTALITY
MK1 players using super fart ability to cheese bosses
https://www.polygon.com/gaming/23969540/mortal-kombat-1-fart-talisman-windbreaker-invasions-nitara
https://lmg.gg/XY8Pc (Game Rant)
Fully upgraded: https://www.reddit.com/r/MortalKombat/comments/17xkv58/new_titan_boss_goes_down_quickly/
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GACHA MOMENT
Elden Ring getting mobile f2p version from Tencent
Reuters cites ΓÇ£three people familiar with the matterΓÇ¥
Will feature sweet sweet in-app purchases https://www.ign.com/articles/elden-ring-mobile-game-in-development-as-wait-for-dlc-continues
Work started in 2022 when Tencent acquired 16% of FromSoftware https://kotaku.com/elden-ring-mobile-version-from-tencent-in-development-1851229804 
Sources compare the game to Genshin Impact https://lmg.gg/3H7Gq (Reuters)
Not sure how successful this will be;
Progress is slow https://www.polygon.com/24063280/elden-ring-mobile-tencent
already killed in-dev Nier mobile game after 2 years of development because of struggle to monetize https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/tencent-reportedly-canceled-unannounced-nier-mobile-game
Pic of Malenia https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/file/Elden-Ring/malenia,-blade-of-miquella.jpg
Maybe use this source for Let Me Solo Her instead? https://youtu.be/IqN2phpMWno?t=513
 
EX-BOX SERIES
Microsoft may launch Indiana Jones on PS5
Hi-Fi Rush will be announced in next few weeks https://lmg.gg/whQoF (The Verge)
Starfield also being considered https://xboxera.com/2024/02/04/exclusive-microsoft-plans-starfield-launch-for-playstation-5/
Gears of War allegedly https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-of-war-reportedly-in-consideration-for-playstation-release/1100-6520832/
At least according to Giant BombΓÇÖs Jeff Grubb https://youtu.be/jeeCiI4QmDs?t=884
Spencer announced a business update event https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/1754598552548904973
Some Xbox influencers are pulling support https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/major-xbox-influencers-pull-support-over-multiplatform-rumours/
Many feel like they’re killing their hardware https://lmg.gg/I6o23 (VGC)
Spencer announced a business update event https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/1754598552548904973
 
BUILDING UP STEAM
Steam Next Fest 2024
https://store.steampowered.com/sale/nextfest
Several notable indies https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/15-steam-next-fest-demos-you-should-play-first-this-february
Stop motion-style game Harold Halibut https://youtu.be/LiyJLlOyDhU
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami https://store.steampowered.com/app/2637990/Duck_Detective_The_Secret_Salami/
Raw Metal https://store.steampowered.com/app/2279600/Raw_Metal/
Pacific Drive https://store.steampowered.com/app/1458140/Pacific_Drive/
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami https://store.steampowered.com/app/2637990/Duck_Detective_The_Secret_Salami/ 
Millennia https://store.steampowered.com/app/1268590/Millennia/
Homeworld 3 https://store.steampowered.com/app/1840080/Homeworld_3/
Act fast: thereΓÇÖs only one week https://insider-gaming.com/steam-next-fest-live-now/
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
OPEN CONVERSATION
Call of Duty Gulf War and next title will have open world campaigns
https://insider-gaming.com/black-ops-gulf-war-campaign-open-world/
 
CD PROJEKTΓÇÖS CRED
CDPR adds game vets to Cyberpunk sequel team
Still adding things to Cyberpunk 2077 like car paint jobs https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/02/06/cyberpunk-2077-cant-help-but-keep-adding-things-this-time-car-paint-jobs/?sh=5aef3943509e
 
MUSIC TO CHILL/FIGHT THE EMPIRE TO
Star Wars Jedi Colon Survivor gets Grammy for best video game soundtrack, beats Stray Gods
https://www.eurogamer.net/star-wars-jedi-survivor-takes-home-best-gaming-score-at-grammy-awards
 
I SUMMON POT OF GREED
Konami announces early Yu-Gi-Oh games bundle, development of VR experiences
https://www.konami.com/games/eu/en/topics/17742/
 
PLAYER UNKNOWNΓÇÖS PRISON CELL
South Korean conscientious objector jailed because he plays PUBG
https://kotaku.com/pubg-battle-royale-south-korea-man-jailed-military-1851227546
https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20240204000176
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A BIT AWESOME
Battlebit Remastered is killing it
Intro joke https://www.polygon.com/22814872/battlefield-2042-santa-claus-skin-dice-responds
https://store.steampowered.com/app/671860/BattleBit_Remastered/
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/battlebit-sells-nearly-two-million-units-in-14-days
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO8cokSpALA
How did they do it? https://howtomarketagame.com/2023/07/03/how-to-market-a-multiplayer-the-battlebit-remastered-story/
GONE SOFT
CD Projekt Red is worth more than industry titan Ubisoft
Back in May, thought to not last https://www.gamesindustry.biz/cd-projekts-market-cap-rivals-ubisofts-but-not-for-much-longer-opinion
CDPR cap https://lmg.gg/7SAa8
Ubisoft cap https://lmg.gg/ZPRUh
UbisoftΓÇÖs mysterious QB anti-cheat is very effective https://www.gamespot.com/articles/rainbow-six-siege-has-seen-a-78-drop-in-mouse-and-keyboard-users-on-consoles/1100-6515690/
CRIME DOES PAY
Latest Xbox Game Pass update brings back GTA V
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/07/05/game-pass-july-2023-wave-1-announce/
two years after leaving https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gta-5-is-leaving-xbox-game-pass-again-three-months-after-rejoining-the-service/1100-6494420/
just in time for the price hike, now live https://www.ign.com/articles/psa-this-is-your-reminder-that-xbox-game-pass-price-is-rising-tomorrow
losing Paw Patrol https://lmg.gg/0yet4
1st time: Jan – May 2020  2nd time: April 2021 – July 2021
QUICK SAVES?
ITΓÇÖS NOT ABOUT THE MONEY
Nintendo exec salaries are modest
compared to $34M and $150M for EA and Activision CEOs, respectively https://lmg.gg/8H0G5  
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2023/annual2303e.pdf [search ΓÇ£(iv) Total amount, etc. of compensation on a consolidated basis, etc. by officer at the reporting companyΓÇ¥ ]
because theyΓÇÖre paying their lawyers so much
FUS DONΓÇÖT RAH
Game voice actors speak out about their voices being deepfaked in adult mods
https://twitter.com/Robbie92_/status/1674944276109688833
https://twitter.com/NAVAVOICES/status/1676624272629039104
https://twitter.com/jhaletweets/status/1676750290542837761
UNBEARABLE WEIGHT
Nicolas Cage in Dead by Daylight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YygSCAAREoE
with acting powers https://deadbydaylight.fandom.com/wiki/Dramaturgy
and random screaming https://lmg.gg/cq8hd
CUTLERY… IN SPAAACE
Will there be spoons in Starfield or what?
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-sleuths-are-combing-through-game-footage-for-spoons/
https://www.videogamer.com/news/starfield-community-spoons/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Starfield/comments/14rjkfa/forks_confirmed_but_still_no_spoons_guys_im/
unplayable https://www.reddit.com/r/Starfield/comments/14rjkfa/comment/jqshh66/
skill issue https://www.reddit.com/r/Starfield/comments/14rjkfa/comment/jqshnge/
HOPE = LOST
The Last of Us clone on Switch eShop - The Last Hope
https://mp1st.com/news/the-last-of-us-clone-spotted-on-nintendo-eshop-titled-the-last-hope
https://youtu.be/kDxPQqkSyL4?t=64
Eurogamer played it for you https://www.eurogamer.net/theres-a-the-last-of-us-rip-off-on-nintendo-eshop-so-of-course-i-played-it
might be our last hope with game budgets skyrocketing
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AS NINTENDED?
Nintendo now coming for GarryΓÇÖs Mod
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/04/garrys-mod-is-taking-down-20-years-worth-of-nintendo-stuff/
Post to Steam by Garry https://steamcommunity.com/games/garrysmod/announcements/detail/4200245595694413053
ItΓÇÖs Nintendo, or IS IT? https://twitter.com/brewsterkoopa/status/1756767363112763649
Supposed fraudster takedowns occurred months ago https://steamcommunity.com/app/4000/discussions/5/4211497623308213915/
DMCA request sent by “notice@mm-nintendo.com” supposedly by someone named Aaron Peters https://twitter.com/brewsterkoopa/status/1762991915635458072/photo/2
In 2021, this same email was used to issue a takedown to an NSFW site, alleged the email is fake since its domain is different https://twitter.com/brewsterkoopa/status/1763353362899087661
Garry Newman claimed Facepunch did an investigation https://twitter.com/garrynewman/status/1783374453562290376
But was ΓÇ£assured that the takedowns have been verified by Nintendo as legitΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/garrynewman/status/1783501547361411494
RE:FUNDS
Steam closes loophole, will stop issuing refunds if you play two hours of a game before launch day
https://www.theverge.com/24138776/steam-refund-policy-change
News post implies it only applies to Advanced Access https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/593110?emclan=103582791457287600&emgid=4195741362094579140
Advanced Access is the platformΓÇÖs term for ΓÇ£deluxe bonusΓÇ¥ allowing early play before release https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/453F-5C96-EAC2-9145
Updated steam refund policy https://store.steampowered.com/steam_refunds/
Early Access/Advanced Accesss play time now counts toward 2 hour limit https://lmg.gg/wAiql (Steam)
Some additional details https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/steam-closes-refund-policy-loophole-comes-up-with-official-term-for-the-thing-where-you-can-play-a-game-early-if-you-pre-order/
Beta testing doesnΓÇÖt count (free invite to play) https://lmg.gg/vMKRX (PC Gamer)
Advanced access players can now post reviews https://lmg.gg/CQsMi (PC Gamer)
AUTO-PLAYSTATION
Sony patent for emotion-based dynamic difficulty
https://exputer.com/news/playstation/sony-patent-game-difficulty-emotion/
Patent https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=US427658131&_cid=P10-LV8Q97-55307-1
Use example of horror game, can increase health or change brightness to make you more scared https://lmg.gg/YSbtu (Exputer)
Exclusively considers multiplayer game https://lmg.gg/f6hLQ (Exputer)
Not to be confused with their OTHER new patent for AI autoplay https://www.vg247.com/sony-latest-patent-playstation-plays-your-games-for-you
patent https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=US427159498
Will play portions of games you find boring https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/04/latest-sony-patent-wants-to-take-the-grind-out-of-games-by-playing-them-for-you
QUICK BITS
GOOD MANORS
CEO of Manor LordsΓÇÖ publisher explains why price hasnΓÇÖt been announced
https://kotaku.com/manor-lords-steam-price-medieval-city-builder-1851434943
Might be worth whatever price it ends up being https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/manor-lords-review
TECH MAN FEELS KINSHIP WITH GAME
Stellar Blade reviews
https://twitter.com/Pure_PS/status/1783347320509137405
https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/stellar-blade-review-nier-as-it-can-get/1900-6418215/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/video-games/2024/04/24/stellar-blade-review/
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/stellar-blade-ps5-review-1235005926/
https://twitter.com/Pure_PS/status/1783143635737055554
Stellar Blade graffiti incident
ELITE: DANGEROUS IDEAS
Elite: DangerousΓÇÖs real-money ship sales spark ΓÇ£pay-to-winΓÇ¥ outrage
DOLPHISNΓÇÖT
DolphiniOSΓÇÖs Wii and GameCube emulator isnΓÇÖt coming to the App Store, in part because Apple wonΓÇÖt allow DolphiniOS to use the Just-in-Time compiler, which improves the performance of games.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/22/24137369/dolphinios-emulator-apple-app-store-jit
Post from developer OatmealDome https://oatmealdome.me/blog/why-dolphin-isnt-coming-to-the-app-store/
TONBOOTY
Final Fantasy 16 DLC Rising Tide
https://www.eurogamer.net/final-fantasy-16-is-finally-complete-though-its-dlc-wont-appease-critics
ΓÇ£Tonberries look more terrifying than ever.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/QZw17 (Eurogamer)
Feature some caked up Tonberries https://www.gamesradar.com/games/action-rpg/final-fantasy-16-dlc-makes-the-most-of-the-rpgs-mature-tone-by-audaciously-adding-some-caked-up-tonberries-oh-no-not-their-tonbussy/
https://twitter.com/tidusyuna/status/1782832788229509601
The translated essay at the bottom of this article https://automaton-media.com/en/news/final-fantasy-16-dummy-thick-tonberry-butts-cause-flurry-of-improper-thoughts/
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MAINS
 
MORE TEASING THAN HIGH SCHOOL
Big Switch 2 rumors
https://www.polygon.com/nintendo/23899504/nintendo-switch-2-release-date-power-name-games
Nintendo Switch sales fall
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/09/nintendo-full-year-earnings-2023-switch-sales-plunge-22percent.html
President reiterates Switch support until end of March 2025 https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2023/10/nintendo-president-reiterates-switch-software-support-into-fy2425
“maximise…demand for new hardware”, only mentions software for 2025 https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/nintendos-president-says-it-will-continue-to-support-switch-next-year/
Doug Bowser refuses to answer question about SwitchΓÇÖs lifecycle (EDITOR: Ctrl+F ΓÇ£We are where you said we were. And I'll leave it at that. Nothing to talk about thereΓÇ¥ and highlight the quote in the article) https://lmg.gg/BsQib (IGN)
 
RYANΓÇÖS RAPTURE CELEBRATED
PlayStation gamers celebrated Jim RyanΓÇÖs departure
https://lmg.gg/lGetj (Bloomberg)
Had serious foot-in-mouth disease https://www.vg247.com/why-would-anybody-play-this-says-sonys-jim-ryan-about-backwards-compatibility
Middle East gaming oopsie https://twitter.com/tha_rami/status/1446237423063678982
His live service game push has not been going well https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/10/playstations-push-for-live-service-games-hasnt-been-going-smoothly
Explains the Bungie acquisition https://blog.playstation.com/2022/01/31/bungie-is-joining-playstation/
 
BAD DOG
Naughty Dog laying off contractors
https://kotaku.com/naughty-dog-ps5-playstation-sony-last-us-part-3-layoffs-1850893794
Latest in a line of devs https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/3/23901251/naughty-dog-layoffs-developers-last-of-us-multiplayer
Last of Us multiplayer game is ΓÇ£on iceΓÇ¥
Earlier report from Bloomberg claimed Bungie said it needed more time https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/last-of-us-multiplayer-video-game-faces-setbacks-at-sony-1.1925460
 
QUICK BITS
 
PAYMENTS FLEW THE COOP
Bird dating sim creator accuses Epic of unpaid royalties
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/hatoful-boyfriend-dev-accuses-epic-of-unpaid-royalties
Hato MoaΓÇÖs statement, Epic responds https://twitter.com/moa810/status/1707541071205724413
Made after Mediatonic layoff news https://www.eurogamer.net/fall-guys-developer-hit-hard-by-epic-games-layoffs-but-studio-to-remain-open
Hato acknowledges royalties should be small due to delisting everywhere after EpicΓÇÖs acquisition of Mediatonic https://www.pcgamer.com/epic-says-its-looking-into-it-after-pigeon-dating-sim-maker-says-shes-not-received-royalties-in-2-years/
 
GG NO RE
Florida men win Overwatch League https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/3/23899798/overwatch-league-grand-finals-2023-results-overview
Activision is killing Overwatch League, promises new esports program
Heartfelt address https://twitter.com/overwatchleague/status/1708651763207917726
https://twitter.com/overwatchleague/status/1708874813333295472
 
MASSIVELY SINGLE-PLAYER
New FFXIV update will let players play the entire MMO by themselves
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2023/09/final-fantasy-xiv-6-5-release-date
 
SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH REFUSED TO NARRATE THIS
Xbox users begin annual migration to New Zealand for early access to Forza Motorsport
https://www.gamespot.com/videos/forza-motorsport-everything-to-know/2300-6462511/
 
ANGRY GAMERS CELEBRATE COLD CAT
BG3 shaves in-game cat after fan outcry
https://www.ign.com/articles/baldurs-gate-3-hotfix-8-shaves-his-majesty-after-cat-backlash
https://twitter.com/larianstudios/status/1705580777730109828
https://twitter.com/larianstudios/status/1709134993841074474
 
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DESTROYER(2009) OF TOURNAMENTS
Apex Hacker speaks
https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/20/apex-legends-hacker-said-he-hacked-tournament-games-for-fun/
Context:
●       Pro ImperialHal given aimbot https://twitter.com/ImperialHal/status/1769525888721313920 
●       Pro Genburten given bunch of hacks https://clips.twitch.tv/ClumsyBeautifulWheelMau5-TepauaQqEqJZh95Y  
“the hacker Destroyer2009 took credit for the hacks, saying that he did it “just for fun,” and with the goal of forcing the Apex Legends’ developers to fix the vulnerability he exploited.” https://lmg.gg/MTN9S (TechCrunch)
ΓÇ£Destroyer2009 declined to provide details of how he allegedly pulled off hacking the two players midgame or which specific vulnerabilities he exploited.ΓÇ¥
https://lmg.gg/0lABd (TechCrunch)
“the vulnerability “has nothing to do with the server and I’ve never touched anything outside of the Apex process,” and that he did not hack the two players’ computers directly.” https://lmg.gg/orIWP (TechCrunch)
Did not report the bug to Respawn because “neither the company nor the game’s publisher, Electronic Arts, offer a bug bounty program” https://lmg.gg/ip9Ua
“he targeted those specific players, who go by Geburten and ImperialHal, because “they’re just nice guys.”” https://lmg.gg/H07dn
ΓÇ£ΓÇ£Free attention and views for them,ΓÇ¥ he added.ΓÇ¥
 
UNREAL STUFF
State of Unreal Livestream
https://www.eurogamer.net/state-of-unreal-everything-announced-for-unreal-engine-fortnite
Talisman demo, realistic environments in Fortnite https://youtu.be/Z_DssjLeGa0?t=4277
Maybe this clip is better https://youtu.be/Z_DssjLeGa0?t=4409
MetaHumans in UEFN https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/20/24106494/fortnite-unreal-editor-uefn-metahumans-fps
Footage https://youtu.be/Z_DssjLeGa0?t=4430
You can now make your own Lego islands in Fortnite https://www.polygon.com/24106710/lego-fortnite-creator-islands-ugc-strategy
Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra
Press release https://www.marvel.com/articles/games/marvel-1943-rise-of-hydra-reveals-new-story-trailer
Story trailer https://youtu.be/Lb2wwEx6DVw
Gabriel’s trumpet https://youtu.be/Lb2wwEx6DVw?t=138
 
NOT THE HEROES WE DESERVE
Bungie replaces Marathon Director…9 months ago
Replaced by former Valorant director Joe Ziegler, who confirmed the news just after IGN asked Bungie for comment on previous director Christopher Barret’s status https://twitter.com/Ziegler_Dev/status/1770144111518941682
Timeline would put changes just weeks after Barrett premiered Marathon in a showcase in May 2023 https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/24/bungie-unveils-marathon/
Players fear it’s now a hero shooter https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/03/20/players-fear-bungies-marathon-may-be-a-hero-shooter-now/?sh=70223fb63bf7
Per IGN ΓÇ£The game's direction has shifted somewhat under Ziegler's new leadership, one source says, including moving away from custom player characters in favor of a selectable cast of heroes.ΓÇ¥
While the staff fear layoffs
Per IGN ΓÇ£One person with knowledge of budgets at Bungie told me that \"nothing adds up\" and \"something will need to happen to curb costs unless The Final Shape does so well to cover the gap and people can move to Marathon.\"ΓÇ¥
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
THE MAYONAISE ESCALATOR
Stardew Valley breaks Steam record after massive 1.6 patch
Fixes long issue with combat https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/along-with-fixing-a-glitch-thats-been-bugging-players-for-8-years-stardew-valleys-16-update-will-also-fix-a-glitch-thats-been-bugging-eric-barone-for-8-years/
Spouses now have a 7 day “honeymoon” period to stop them from getting so depressed after marrying you that they lie in bed all day https://twitter.com/ConcernedApe/status/1768685328746135664
And you can chug a jar of mayonnaise https://www.gamesradar.com/at-long-last-stardew-valleys-16-update-lets-you-chug-a-jar-of-mayonnaise/
 
WORLDΓÇÖS MOST CASUAL REBELLION
UbisoftΓÇÖs unveils NEO AI NPC prototype at GDC
Ubisoft’s blog post https://news.ubisoft.com/en-gb/article/5qXdxhshJBXoanFZApdG3L/how-ubisofts-new-generative-ai-prototype-changes-the-narrative-for-npcs
GamesIndustry.Biz discusses some of what they saw behind closed doors https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ubisoft-debuts-neo-npc-ai-prototypes-at-gdc
Personalities created by a writer https://lmg.gg/hGBJP (Ubisoft)
“As a writer, seeing my characters come to life and actually converse with me for the first time has been one of the most fulfilling and touching moments of my career.” https://lmg.gg/hUi2H (GamesIndustry.Biz)
One of the characters in question:  https://youtu.be/1od2pIs9220?t=56
 
MMO NO
Riot has ΓÇ£resetΓÇ¥ its LoL MMO, itΓÇÖs ΓÇ£going dark for a long timeΓÇ¥
Big Twitter thread https://twitter.com/MarcMerrill/status/1770479145744810425
https://www.pcgamesn.com/league-of-legends/mmo-delayed
 
YO HO AND A BATTLE FOR RUM
Blizzard secretly made a battle royale inside World of Warcraft
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwo7HZisQSA
 
FRAMED FOR MURDER
Dragon’s Dogma 2 has reviewed well, but has performance issues. Players plan NPC purge to rectify
https://www.mmorpg.com/reviews/dragons-dogma-2-a-masterclass-in-exploration-and-adventure-2000130869
Has frame rate issues https://www.ign.com/articles/capcom-is-aware-of-dragons-dogma-2-frame-rate-issues-on-pc-looking-into-fixes
Capcom quote from IGN article ΓÇ£In certain situations where numerous characters appear simultaneously, the CPU usage can be very high and may affect the frame rate,\"
Reddit plans mass murder of “inconsequential NPCs” https://www.reddit.com/r/DragonsDogma/comments/1bjn8tw/idea_a_community_made_list_of_inconsequential/
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T(HE)Y CANΓÇÖT KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH IT!
Nintendo shutting down Wii U, 3DS online servers in 6 months
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/10/wii-u-3ds-online-servers-to-shut-down-in-six-months/
announced overnight https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/63227/~/announcement-of-discontinuation-of-online-services-for-nintendo-3ds-and-wii-u
Games like Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Splatoon, Smash 4 will cease to function https://www.polygon.com/23902744/nintendo-3ds-wii-u-online-switchoff
Pokemon Bank will still work, but users urged to transfer ΓÇ£at earliest convenienceΓÇ¥ https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2023/10/pokemon-bank-users-encouraged-to-transfer-pokemon-to-pokemon-home-asap
 
 
HELL: HOT ENOUGH TO STEAM
Diablo IV next Blizzard game to come to Steam
https://www.engadget.com/diablo-iv-comes-to-steam-on-october-17-154524291.html
Oct 17th https://store.steampowered.com/app/2344520/Diablo_IV/
The same day season 2 starts https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/10/04/diablo-4-reveals-season-2-endgame-bosses-quality-of-life-changes-but-are-they-enough/?sh=7c92ae4b3565
No one cares more than Elon Musk, streamer extraordinaire https://kotaku.com/twitter-elon-musk-diablo-4-stream-twitch-youtube-1850895618
Stream 1, which was alright  https://twitter.com/cyb3rgam3r420/status/1708708034396951029
Stream 2, which was not alright https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1709051737279971632
 
FORZA BOYS, FORZA GIRLS, FOR ALL ZA PEOPLE
Forza Motorsport Reviews are in
https://www.gamesradar.com/forza-motorsport-review/
ΓÇ£Closest PC gaming has to Gran Turismo, now even shinierΓÇ¥ https://www.pcgamer.com/forza-motorsport-pc-2023-review/
Picture comparisons to FM7’s backgrounds and lighting https://lmg.gg/ib9Ud (Eurogamer)
RPG? In my racing sim? https://www.ign.com/articles/forza-motorsport-review
 
QUICK BITS
 
IS THIS A HIDDEN DAGGER WHICH I SEE BEFORE ME?
AC Mirage release
https://www.gameinformer.com/review/assassins-creed-mirage/coming-home
https://www.thegamer.com/assassins-creed-mirage-review/
Adds much-hated Denuvo DRM https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/assassins-creed-mirage-pcs-day-one-update-adds-denuvo-drm-but-dont-worry-it-runs-the-same
 
GIGANTIC NEWS FOR FANS
Gearbox reviving dead hero shooter Gigantic for 3 days
https://gamerant.com/gigantic-game-gearbox-throwback-event/
https://www.destructoid.com/hero-shooter-gigantic-is-returning-for-a-throwback-event/
 
THE ONLY ME IS ME. ARE YOU SURE THE ONLY YOU IS YOU?
Silent Hill: Ascension launches this month
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/silent-hill-ascension-listing-reveals-late-october-launch/
NOT a game https://twitter.com/JNavok/status/1663551911306616832
ΓÇ£Massively Interactive Live EventsΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/naTZD
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.genvid.shascension&hl=en_US&pli=1
https://www.relyonhorror.com/latest-news/silent-hill-news/silent-hill-ascension-begins-october-31st/
Explanation of how it works from Genvid CEO https://twitter.com/JNavok/status/1663584165143494669
 
ITΓÇÖS PRONOUNCED ΓÇ£DARTH FELINUSΓÇ¥
Pronunciation of FFVII characterΓÇÖs name has caused a rift between fans and humanity as a whole
https://gizmodo.com/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth-cait-sith-pronunciation-gaeli-1850899597
https://kotaku.com/final-fantasy-7-rebirth-remake-cait-sith-pronounce-vii-1850896803
 
RANDY ORTON WITH 1K OUTTA NOWHERE
WWE Superstar Randy Orton paid someone $1,000 to level up his Elden Ring character to 100
https://comicbook.com/wwe/news/wwe-superstar-paid-gamer-elden-ring-grind-levels/
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LABOR OF HATE
the Steam AwardsΓÇÖ Chicanery
List of winners https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1742256240091373743/photo/1
Luke’s take https://x.com/luke_lafr/status/1742318919875277101
Starfield celebrates https://twitter.com/StarfieldGame/status/1742304246203072877
Probably a troll https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/01/03/steam-users-may-be-trolling-starfield-with-most-innovative-gameplay-award/?sh=5a014bbc3f76
Many of the nominations were a bit weird https://www.pcgamer.com/steams-2023-goty-nominations-are-extremely-weird-and-i-guess-thats-your-fault/
But RDR2 winning Labor of Love stinks the most https://www.gamesradar.com/as-starfield-and-red-dead-redemption-2-claim-controversial-prizes-doubt-is-being-cast-over-the-value-of-the-steam-awards/
No story DLCs, last major update to Online was in 2021 https://youtu.be/2mPBTTi3PDo
Fans organized a funeral to celebrate one year of the game being abandoned https://twitter.com/RedDeadRDC/status/1544288945709654022
Then Rockstar basically confirmed they were abandoning it https://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/9k74k52737912k/grand-theft-auto-and-red-dead-online-community-update
 
BIG CHILLING
The CCP softens its stance on live service games after plummeting stocks, reportedly removes official responsible for the panic
Originally drafted new rules to enact spending limits in online gameshttps://apnews.com/article/china-tencent-netease-video-games-e9b0683ffb972744a5cf8574bff3e691
Also banning daily login rewards and offering luck-based draw mechanics (loot boxes) to minors https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/27/chinese-gaming-shares-fall-as-regulators-announce-new-proposals
Drafts cost Tencent and NetEase $80bn in value https://www.vgchartz.com/article/459465/tencent-and-netease-lose-80-billion-in-value-as-china-announces-new-rules-to-limit-game-spending/
 
CAIN-ENABLED
Tim Cain, co-creator of Fallout series, gives interview to Rock Paper Shotgun
Discusses the surprising success of his YouTube channel, where he releases video memoirs of his time in game design https://www.youtube.com/@CainOnGames
“There is so much about being a game director that is not fun,” https://lmg.gg/Qt9Kw
Reveals he’s consulting on The Outer Worlds 2, despite retirement https://www.vg247.com/outer-worlds-2-devs-help-from-fallout-creator
There’s stuff they’re trying to do in the sequel, that of course I can’t talk about, that I get pulled in on because it’s similar to stuff I’ve done in the past,” https://lmg.gg/u7sfB
“…an Obsidian developer has figured out the solution to a problem Cain has wanted to solve since Fallout” https://lmg.gg/lENx0 (RPS)
“I not only told him how impressed I was, I found my notes from 28 years before,” Cain says. “I said, ‘Let me read you a few lines from a production meeting in July of ‘95…’” https://lmg.gg/jILca (RPS)
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
CROSSING A LINE PIECE
13-year-old beats Tetris
Big achievement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9oVQ43j22g @38:27
Sky News anchor tells him to go outside https://kotaku.com/tetris-beaten-sky-news-blue-scuti-kill-screen-1851139960
 
CAREFULLY, HEΓÇÖS A MASAHIRO
Masahiro Sakurai says heΓÇÖs still making games
https://www.ign.com/articles/smash-bros-creator-sakurai-says-hes-still-focused-on-making-games
 
BIG DEAL
Fan remake of Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall complete
https://www.destructoid.com/check-out-the-remaster-of-elder-scrolls-2-nows-the-time/
 
THE CONSOLEΓÇÖS TOAST
Xbox Series S toaster proved real, was leaked earlier this year
https://twitter.com/GyoJvfr/status/1631700574625202177
https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/4/24024939/xbox-series-s-toaster-bread-xbox-logo
https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1742701440060264818
 
REDSTONE BALLAD INCOMING
Jack Black may be playing Steve in Minecraft movie
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/jack-black-minecraft-movie-adaptation-1235859659/
https://deadline.com/2024/01/minecraft-jack-black-1235693816/
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Capcom claims mods are akin to cheating
Stated in video on their official R&D channel https://youtu.be/CT5bwwvDv00?t=822
SEE QUOTES:
-       Slide says “All mods are defined as cheats, except when they are officially supported” https://youtu.be/CT5bwwvDv00?t=841
-       Slide says “What they are doing internally is no different than cheating” https://youtu.be/CT5bwwvDv00?t=841
-       Elaborates via speech (need captions) “That is to say that mods that are not officially supported by the game are impossible to distinguish from cheat tools, implementation-wise” https://youtu.be/CT5bwwvDv00?t=856
Say mods ΓÇ£offensive to public order and moralsΓÇ¥ can tarnish their product https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/capcom-is-worried-that-mods-offensive-to-public-order-and-morals-will-tarnish-the-rep-of-their-pc-games
May or may not have something to do with the nude Chun Li tournament story https://www.pcgamer.com/street-fighter-6-tournament-accidentally-broadcasts-chun-li-nude-mod-to-the-world/
Full quote from video: ΓÇ£Image of product is tarnished when mods are released that violate public order and morals without permissionΓÇ¥ https://youtu.be/CT5bwwvDv00?t=894
 
THAT WIZARD LAYOFF CAME FROM THE MOON BUNGIE
BungieΓÇÖs layoffs were internal decision, not orders from Sony
https://gamerant.com/bungie-layoffs-company-decision-report/
Cut about 8% of workforce, ~100 people https://lmg.gg/ig0FA (Bloomberg)
“…revenue was running 45% below projections for the year” https://lmg.gg/ewOjZ (Bloomberg)
CEO blamed Destiny 2 and Lightfall reception https://lmg.gg/LI6a4 (Bloomberg)
Now-deleted Aztecross video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZCiab-qDAo&t=508s
He made several claims:
-       says Marathon was originally a battle royale https://lmg.gg/VwzPR (Dexerto)
-       Changed to extraction shooter when Tarkov succeeded https://lmg.gg/htVO2 (Dexerto)
-       Had Tarkov players play Marathon earlier this year https://lmg.gg/hcvZ5 (Dexerto)
-       Claimed game was delayed because Tarkov players wouldn’t play it “if it came out tomorrow” https://lmg.gg/CuLUq (Dexerto)
Anonymous content creator disputed this to Windows Central, said Bungie was clear game was years away https://lmg.gg/8Hum8 (Windows Central)
 
BOREDOM IS A FEATURE
Starfield finally getting DLSS 3 in (beta) patch next week
https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/1/23942435/starfield-dlss-3-pc-update-steam-beta
And only for Steam players https://twitter.com/BethesdaStudios/status/1719782889414357000
Speaking of Starfield and Steam https://www.gamesradar.com/starfield-dev-says-some-of-the-space-rpgs-planets-are-empty-by-design-but-thats-not-boring/
Player thinks galaxy is empty https://steamcommunity.com/id/fuckincoyotes/recommended/1716740/
Dev responds https://steamcommunity.com/id/fuckincoyotes/recommended/1716740/#developer_response
Important Quotes:
-       “Some of Starfield’s planets are meant to be empty by design - but that's not boring.”
-       “When the astronauts went to the moon, there was nothing there. They certainly weren't bored.\"
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
ATARI STILL HAS MONEY SOMEHOW
Atari acquiring Digital Eclipse
https://www.techspot.com/news/100706-atari-acquires-retro-specialist-studio-digital-eclipse.html
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-to-acquire-digital-eclipse-in-20m-deal
https://venturebeat.com/games/atari-agrees-to-buy-classic-game-maker-digital-eclipse-for-up-to-20m/
Nintendo 64ΓÇÖs Glover cover art https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/Glover_Nintendo_64_cover_art%2Cjpg.jpg
 
TO THE GROUND
GameStop getting worse
https://kotaku.com/gamestop-gme-warranty-pre-order-rewards-1850985477
Warranty pushing used replacements, customers have to drive to other stores if no used product in stock https://www.reddit.com/r/GameStop/comments/17k8ziy/new_warranty/
GameStop Pro $5 monthly reward can no longer be used on Point of Sale Activation (POSA) products like PSN cards, other changes https://www.reddit.com/r/GameStop/comments/17jvkp9/why_even_get_a_pro_anymore/
 
SILENT HILLS (NO NOT THAT ONE)
Silent Hill getting more remakes according to earnings call
https://insider-gaming.com/konami-says-more-silent-hill-remakes-are-in-development/
New TV show/game not exactly being well-received https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/silent-hill-ascension-live-now-is-a-free-to-play-disaster-with-some-promising-ideas
https://www.pcgamesn.com/silent-hill-ascension/debut
 
THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR OF NARLY GRINDS
Cancelled Daredevil PS2 game leaked
https://www.ign.com/articles/cancelled-2004-ps2-daredevil-game-unearthed
https://twitter.com/HiddenPalaceOrg/status/1719488534686355758
Video of gameplay https://youtu.be/dFlvA60miFI
Sony wanted ΓÇ£a grinding mechanic similar to the Tony Hawk games, something the studio reluctantly added.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/QD0Lo (Video Games Chronicle)
See grinding here: https://youtu.be/dFlvA60miFI?t=78
 
YOU WILL OWN NOTHING AND GET CORDYCEPS
Sims 4 For Rent Expansion
https://www.polygon.com/23943514/the-sims-4-for-rent-trailer-release-date
Seems pretty normal https://youtu.be/jSPZtVbVIT8
Until mold causes The Last of Us zombies? https://youtu.be/jSPZtVbVIT8?t=112
Except they become mold ghosts? https://youtu.be/jSPZtVbVIT8?t=128 
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Switch successor rumored to be upcoming
https://www.polygon.com/23633001/nintendo-switch-2-release-date-2024-backward-compatibility
Story broken by VGC https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sources-nintendo-switch-2-targets-2024-with-next-gen-console/
Rumored for second half of 2024, LCD screens to reduce cost https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-reportedly-plans-to-release-next-gen-console-during-second-half-of-2024
Lines up with Bloomberg report on Sharp https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/sharp-to-supply-new-console-displays-as-nintendo-switch-awaited-1.1918758
THE ENEMY OF MY ALLY IS MY FRIEND…?
Lenovo reportedly resurrects gaming handheld ambitions
Broken by Windows Central; ΓÇ£Legion GoΓÇ¥ will support Win 11 https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/pc-gaming/exclusive-lenovo-is-working-on-a-pc-gaming-handheld-called-the-legion-go
Years ago they worked on Android cloud handheld (never released) https://liliputing.com/lenovo-legion-play-is-a-handheld-game-console-running-android-leaks/
Rumored 8 inch screen https://www.tomshardware.com/news/lenovo-preps-legion-go-steam-deck-competitor-report
MODERN PROBLEMS REQUIRE MODERN SOLUTIONS
Activision bans 14,000 cheaters in one day
https://www.ggrecon.com/articles/call-of-duty-ban-wave-wipes-out-14000-cheaters-in-mw2-wz2/
2nd source, also intro to 2009 MW2 issues https://insider-gaming.com/call-of-duty-anti-cheat-bans/
Several days ago they tweeted about steam servers https://twitter.com/CODUpdates/status/1684295189849071618
Seemingly no word since then https://www.eurogamer.net/the-original-modern-warfare-2-servers-have-been-shut-down-following-a-malware-threat
QUICK BITS
ACTIVISION: ΓÇ£I DONΓÇÖT HAS, BROΓÇ¥
Hasbro wants to bring back 360/PS3 Transformers games, but Activision lost them
https://kotaku.com/transformers-war-cybertron-hasbro-activision-remaster-1850692571
Games were originally pulled from digital stores after deal expired https://www.gamesindustry.biz/activision-hasbro-deal-expires-transformers-games-pulled-from-digital-stores
ΓÇ£When a company eats a company that eats a company things get lostΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/7omxT (Destructoid)
Want Microsoft to help find it https://lmg.gg/6OMYt (Destructoid)
Things going well with CMA, Asks to take Sony deal, FTC results ΓÇ£which undermines the [final reportΓÇÖs] conclusions.ΓÇ¥ https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/31/23813956/microsoft-activision-blizzard-cma-argument-uk-regulator
May mean theyΓÇÖre selling off UK cloud gaming rights https://lmg.gg/JwSqj (MP1st)
FOOD PORN FOR THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE
Game Spotlight: Venba
https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23811258/venba-review-cooking-game-ps5-xbox-switch
Features specially-recorded cooking sounds https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/venba-review
Yes, itΓÇÖs set in Canada and made by a Canada-based dev. Sue me https://www.cbc.ca/radio/venba-game-review-1.6917108
 
IΓÇÖM WATCHING LEAKS MOM, I SWEAR!
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions footage leaks online
Originally posted on YouTube before it was taken down https://www.gamingbible.com/news/hogwarts-legacy-harry-potter-new-game-footage-938105-20230731
Then it ended up in…other places https://www.ggrecon.com/articles/leaked-harry-potter-quidditch-champions-gameplay-appears-on-nsfw-site/
RATED F FOR FAMILY
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 announces Fast & Furious collab
Hot Wheels Unleashed cameo-ed in Fast X https://www.gtplanet.net/fast-furious-hot-wheels-unleashed-20230728/
Announcement trailer https://youtu.be/2Xs6avNk0uc
YOUR MOVE, KENNY G
Elden Ring Player beats game with electric saxophone
ΓÇ£Hitless doot runΓÇ¥ https://www.pcgamer.com/elden-ring-streamer-collapses-in-joy-after-finally-completing-no-hit-saxophone-doot-run-in-apparent-world-first/
Majestic footage https://twitter.com/DrDeComposing/status/1685968550018859009
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Diablo IV Season of Blood delayed
https://www.eurogamer.net/diablo-4s-season-of-blood-gets-last-minute-delay-due-to-complications
Broken battle pass and seasonal objectives, fix wasnΓÇÖt retroactive https://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-4-season-2-is-off-to-a-rough-start/1100-6518461/
Had to disable cross play temporarily https://twitter.com/Diablo/status/1714358651560083772
But itΓÇÖs on Steam now https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/10/17/reminder-diablo-4-is-on-both-steam-and-steam-deck-as-of-today/?sh=5a20bf1d627e
And reviews are bad https://store.steampowered.com/app/2344520/Diablo_IV/
Though some of those reviews are just for Blizzard, see ΓÇ£most helpfulΓÇ¥ review: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198142247081/recommended/2344520/
But concurrent players are slowly rising https://www.ign.com/articles/diablo-4-launches-on-steam-to-mixed-user-reviews-concurrent-players-slowly-climbing-from-low-base
And the game is apparently less terrible https://www.pcgamer.com/diablo-4-has-ditched-the-lifeless-grind-and-entered-a-new-loot-filled-era-in-season-2/
Mounts finally work https://www.gamesradar.com/after-season-2-diablo-4-finally-has-good-mounts-the-horse-is-really-good-now-cant-believe-i-am-saying-this/
 
AHHHHHHHHHHH!! DID I SCARE YOU?
CoD players annoyed by jumpscares from Halloween event
https://insider-gaming.com/cod-the-haunting-jumpscares/
https://www.reddit.com/r/CODWarzone/comments/17a3sxm/yo_that_loots_looking_pretty_goo/
Contend with invisible evil tree being https://www.dexerto.com/call-of-duty/warzone-players-quitting-unplayable-halloween-event-over-pay-to-win-gaia-skin-2343392/
Spencer promised cross-platform parity https://www.xboxachievements.com/news/xbox-ceo-phil-spencer-100-percent-parity-call-of-duty-content/
Delivered early https://twitter.com/charlieINTEL/status/1714414359290523956
 
PSVR2 PICKS UP STEAM
PSVR2 now works on Windows and SteamVR, with some caveats:
Mediator software, who makes iVRy app, got Windows support https://twitter.com/iVRy_VR/status/1713894562165375107
A day later got SteamVR support https://twitter.com/iVRy_VR/status/1714298753614491746
Which allows you to experience VR content on the hardware of your choice https://store.steampowered.com/app/250820/SteamVR/
Caveat on compatibility https://twitter.com/iVRy_VR/status/1714332838567223618
Requires something like this https://www.bizlinktech.com/products/detail/1332/VirtualLink%E2%84%A2+Interface+Adapter
Summary https://twitter.com/iVRy_VR/status/1714887559426269443
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
SPIDER-FLEX
Spider-Man 2 devs claim fast travel could have been even faster
https://kotaku.com/spider-man-2-fast-travel-ps5-instant-1850938656
Viral clip https://twitter.com/PainkillerQ8/status/1713923209605603384
Mike Fitzgerald, InsomniacΓÇÖs director of core technologies says hold-to-confirm prompt not hiding load https://www.resetera.com/threads/marvels-spider-man-2-%E2%80%93-review-thread.775337/page-22#post-113553404
 
A GLIMPSE INSIDE THE HOPIUM DEN
Alleged GTA 6 rumors and leaks
Engine improvements https://www.dexerto.com/gta/gta-vi-rumors-major-changes-engine-2338423/
Original source https://lmg.gg/NWQAA (Rockstarmag.fr)
Trailer hopium going strong https://kotaku.com/rockstar-games-gta-6-release-date-trailer-leaks-reddit-1850934364
Tweet from September said Oct 26 announcement https://twitter.com/InfinityBeskk/status/1706352862991671748
Now some guy on 4Chan says heΓÇÖs seen the trailer https://reddit.com/r/GTA6/comments/178r1sc/alleged_trailer_leak_link/
 
NEAT PICTURE. HOWΓÇÖS THE GAME, THO?
Finally an update on Ark remaster releasing this month
ItΓÇÖs a screenshot https://twitter.com/survivetheark/status/1714012656519315776
Fandom takes it in stride https://www.reddit.com/r/ARK/comments/17a3ecj/we_dont_ask_for_a_lot/
 
HOWARD, YOUΓÇÖVE DONE IT AGAIN
Starfield best-selling game of September 2023 despite Game Pass launch
https://twitter.com/MatPiscatella/status/1714634354842804431
BaldurΓÇÖs Gate 3 not even in the top 20 for the year https://lmg.gg/7GFtl
 
THE GOODEST GAMER
A dog will speedrun a video game at AGDQ 2024
Trailer? https://youtu.be/IvShUE5zIXE
DoesnΓÇÖt even get credit: https://www.speedrun.com/users/JSR_
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LOSING SLEEP OVER LEAKS
Insomniac hackers publish over 1TB of data that they didnΓÇÖt sell
https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/18lvqor/insomniac_leaks_compilation/
roadmap https://imgur.com/83vSaBf?r
Wolverine gameplay https://streamable.com/rmk5f5
Spider-Man multiplayer game ΓÇ£The Great WebΓÇ¥ https://imgur.com/a/13AgPlC
RocksteadyΓÇÖs Kill the Justice League also being leaked like crazy
https://www.polygon.com/24006808/rocksteady-suicide-squad-kill-justice-league-leaks-plot
Spoilers https://www.trueachievements.com/news/suicide-squad-kill-the-justice-league-leak
Rocksteady addresses https://twitter.com/RocksteadyGames/status/1736833722081497371
Insomniac tweets ΓÇ£Wing suit time!ΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/insomniacgames/status/1737156089026654658
 
IT JUST WOULDNΓÇÖT LAST
Last of Us Online Multiplayer live service game cancelled
https://www.naughtydog.com/blog/an_update_on_the_last_of_us_online
had to choose between live service or SP https://lmg.gg/Oslfa
devs mourn and celebrate their work https://www.gamesradar.com/the-last-of-us-online-developers-celebrate-their-canceled-game-its-absolutely-been-the-highlight-of-my-career/
Sad, but… maybe it’s a good thing?
Last of Us Online Menu Image
https://mp1st.com/news/cancelled-the-last-of-us-online-menu-image-surfaces
 
CHEATERS MAKE IT TO THE FINALS
The hottest FPS right now, The Finals, says technical issue prevented ΓÇ£banning cheaters efficientlyΓÇ¥
has more players than MW3 https://steamdb.info/app/2073850/charts/#all
players think most cheaters are Chinese, want China region-locked https://gamerant.com/the-finals-cheats-china-region-lock/
cheating clip https://www.reddit.com/r/thefinals/comments/18m8gof/alright_devs_we_seriously_gotta_tackle_these/
-         EDITOR: record screen while video is playing, show player dying around 0:09
Just play casual https://www.reddit.com/r/thefinals/comments/18m08o1/playing_this_game_casually_is_a_blast/
are divided over Skill-based matchmaking
https://www.reddit.com/r/thefinals/comments/18jllmr/sbmm_back_at_it_again_ruining_a_perfectly_game/
https://steamcommunity.com/app/2073850/discussions/0/4041481833162656285/
 
QUICK BITS
 
A FAR CRY FROM FAR CRY
UbisoftΓÇÖs first $70 game, this monthΓÇÖs Avatar, has already been heavily discounted
https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora-ps5-xbox-sale-buy/
https://www.thegamer.com/ubisofts-marketing-has-utterly-failed-avatar/
 
PATENTLY ABSURD, AGAIN
Sony patents system that automatically adjusts game difficulty in real time
https://exputer.com/news/games/sony-patent-adjust-game-difficultly/
https://www.videogamer.com/news/sony-patent-automatically-adjusting-difficulty/
https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2023235090&_cid=P12-LPYKPU-91525-2
Not new https://lmg.gg/zd3dM (Game Developer)
https://www.eurogamer.net/sony-patents-ability-for-games-to-adjust-difficulty-levels-on-the-fly
 
LONG IN THE BLUETOOTH
Google extends the deadline to upgrade Stadia controllers to Bluetooth by another year
 
MARKETS, DO U GET THEM?
Dev of horror hit Iron Lung raises price from $6 to $8 because \"I want to earn more money,\" and says if you don't like it, you can \"go pirate it or something\"
https://twitter.com/DUSKdev/status/1736762779141304398?t=bq6PNLNw4V8jROxMraRiRA
Squirrel Stapler https://store.steampowered.com/app/2535830/Squirrel_Stapler/?curator_clanid=34055240
Chop Goblins https://store.steampowered.com/app/1935660/Chop_Goblins/?curator_clanid=34055240
 
HE WAS, ALL OF HIM, DECIEVED
LOTR fanfiction writer sues Tolkien Estate, Amazon over Rings of Power; loses, obviously
Demetrious Polychron https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/cacdce/2:2023cv02831/881511
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THE WHITE FAIL
White Xbox images leak, may not have ΓÇ£BrooklinΓÇ¥ upgrades
https://videocardz.com/newz/white-xbox-series-x-without-disc-reader-has-been-leaked 
eXputer, original photo publisher https://exputer.com/news/xbox/white-digital-xbox-series-x-photos/ 
Supposedly this is the “Brooklin” refresh leaked during the FTC trial https://www.resetera.com/threads/mid-gen-xbox-roadmap-hardware-leak-series-s-x-refreshes-digital-only-2tb-series-x-at-499-controller-with-haptics-and-quieter-buttons-at-69-99.765920/ 
Was supposed to have spec bumps like 2TB internal storage, better Wi-Fi and Bluetooth https://www.ign.com/articles/leaked-images-reveal-white-xbox-series-x-with-no-disc-drive-report 
According to Microsoft insider Brad Sams, the cooling/chassis looks the same, “which would indicate that there is no spec bump” https://twitter.com/bdsams/status/1773125820036309271 
“the white Xbox Series X has a few of its components upgraded, such as the heatsink, but elsewhere, there are no major enhancements to talk about.” https://lmg.gg/hKuXb (eXputer)
Even if it does have leaked Brooklin upgrades, still might put Xbox at disadvantage compared PS5 Pro’s upgraded specs https://insider-gaming.com/playstation-5-pro-more-specs/ 
NO HIPS, ENDS, OR BUTTS
People started streaming using their booties as green screens, Twitch intervened
https://gizmodo.com/twitch-changes-policy-to-deal-with-new-butt-streaming-1851370300
Our old friend Morgpie, who previously started the “topless” meta https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/twitch-viewers-baffled-as-new-topless-meta-goes-viral-on-platform-2423370/ 
 apparently started the meta https://twitter.com/scubaryan_/status/1769076353154875842 
And then VTubers got in on it with their…fake chests? https://twitter.com/Annjelife/status/1769570670852346221 
And here https://twitter.com/NyxNekota/status/1769316207344427314 
“Starting on Friday March 29th, content that focuses on intimate body parts for a prolonged period of time will not be allowed” https://twitter.com/TwitchSupport/status/1773045278821564914 
CEO Dan Clancy interviewed, saying he might want to bring back nude art https://aftermath.site/twitch-nudity-rules-dan-clancy 
Clancy said ΓÇ£We're gonna launch the ability for viewers to filter based upon labels.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/YqxSE (Aftermath)
ΓÇ£I think once we have the ability that viewers can set their setting and say, 'I don't want to see stuff that is sexually themed' and we get the right defaults in there, I think it's something we can look at to see how we can meet the art community.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/Q3wiW (Aftermath)
SHIFTING GEARS
Take-Two acquires Gearbox for $460 million
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/take-two-to-acquire-gearbox-from-embracer-for-460-million 
Being called a ~$900 million loss for Embracer https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/28/24114402/embracer-selling-gearbox-borderlands-developer-take-two 
Not that simple, as pointed out Stephen Totilo https://twitter.com/stephentotilo/status/1773217348687646997 
Only paid $363 million upfront, Half of that was Embracer stocks Extra billion dollars tied to business targets over 6 years 
Stephen Totilo says ΓÇ£Embracer, post fees/stock sales, expects $300-330m cashΓÇ¥ from this deal
Take-Two and Gearbox already have a pretty good relationship, T2 publishes Borderlands
Working on the newest one rn https://lmg.gg/atlgN (GamesIndustry.biz)
ΓÇ£Take-Two says that Gearbox are working on six titles, including two Borderlands games and two Homeworld titles, plus 'at least' one new IPΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/Gn1kY (GamesIndustry.biz)
QUICK BITS
OLD NEWS
Blizzard updates user agreement so you donΓÇÖt own games
https://www.gamereactor.eu/blizzards-new-user-agreement-you-no-longer-own-your-games-1373663/ 
User agreement https://www.blizzard.com/en-us/legal/fba4d00f-c7e4-4883-b8b9-1b4500a402ea/blizzard-end-user-license-agreement 
Specific clause https://lmg.gg/ENT9O (Blizzard)
https://esports.gg/opinion/gaming/new-blizzard-eula/ 
But you’ve NEVER owned your games https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/0/3062995463267283250/ 
Some people are just now realizing this https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/19egge1/why_are_people_now_just_realizing_they_dont_own/ 
NOT DRAGON THEIR HEELS
Spyro 4 allegedly in development by Toys for Bob in deal with Xbox
https://www.eurogamer.net/spyro-4-reportedly-in-early-development-at-toys-for-bob 
According to leaker Canadian Guy Eh https://youtu.be/_iqAXYfktTw 
Previous report announcing Xbox/TfB agreement https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/exclusive-xbox-has-reached-an-agreement-with-toys-for-bob-for-their-first-independent-game 
PLAYDATES CAUSE PANIC
$400,000 worth of Playdate consoles went missing in Vegas
https://www.gamefile.news/p/playdate-missing-venba-jedi-survivor
https://www.eurogamer.net/400k-worth-of-playdate-game-consoles-have-gone-missing-in-vegas 
SUPER EARTH UPDATE
Helldivers 2 crashes when players have snowball fights
Sent Discord message https://www.vg247.com/helldivers-2-not-snowball-fights-crashes 
launch new stratagems after CEO denied one of them https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/3-days-after-helldivers-2-devs-ceo-denied-the-existence-of-heavy-machine-guns-they-now-exist-introducing-the-las-99-quasar-cannon-and-the-mg-101-heavy-machine-gun/ 
DAVEΓÇÖS NOT THERE, THO
Cheech and Chong coming to Call of Duty
https://kotaku.com/call-of-duty-warzone-mwii-season-3-cheech-and-chong-1851370418 
NEWS SOURCES:
 
F
Wii U, 3DS online services shut down on Monday April 8
Gamers share moment they lose connection https://www.eurogamer.net/see-the-moment-3ds-and-wii-u-online-servers-shut-down-forever
Dataminer OatmealDome streamed moment they were disconnected from Splatoon (@3:28:29) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2114663401
Pokemon and Splatoon fans fight to keep servers active https://www.gamesradar.com/pokemon-and-splatoon-fans-fight-nintendos-3ds-and-wii-u-server-shutdown-by-keeping-their-favorite-games-online-for-as-long-as-possible/
But open-source network ΓÇ£PretendoΓÇ¥ is trying to help
Nintendo ID wonΓÇÖt be carried over, youΓÇÖll need a new ID https://lmg.gg/TF3to (GBA Temp)
 
YOU GET TO KEEP YOUR XBOX GAMES
Xbox President sets up dedicated team for game preservation and backward compatibility
Windows Central exclusive https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/exclusive-xbox-president-sarah-bond-has-set-up-a-new-team-dedicated-to-game-preservation-and-forward-compatibility
ΓÇ£Microsoft has now set up a dedicated team to ensure the future-proofing of the current Xbox game library against future hardware paradigm shifts, ensuring that our games remain accessible long into the future.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/fgWOb (Windows Central)
More to say at Xbox Summer Showcase https://lmg.gg/YpjuT (Windows Central)
Kareem Choudhry, leader of Xbox Emerging Tech, gone https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/5/24122208/microsoft-xbox-kareem-choudhry-leaving-xbox-cloud-gaming
ΓÇ£I understand this is set to take place on Sunday, June 9th, and Microsoft is currently planning to announce a new Gears of War game at the show.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/yPn5E (The Verge)
ΓÇ£also include release dates for upcoming Xbox games like Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Avowed, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and of course, a new Call of Duty thatΓÇÖs set to debut later this year.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/boXP5 (The Verge)
ΓÇ£I understand Sea of Thieves will be a key test for whether other games might make their way to PS5 or Nintendo Switch.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/5aGeB (The Verge)
\"We are moving full speed ahead on our next generation hardware, focused on delivering the biggest technological leap ever in a generation.\" https://lmg.gg/SgAce (Windows Central)
 
….KAY
Now know the launch date of Star Wars Outlaws (partly because Ubisoft goofed it)
https://www.pcgamesn.com/star-wars-outlaws/launch-date
Ubisoft Japan leaked it https://twitter.com/gematsu/status/1777675501298970670
Story trailer https://youtu.be/DUyk6D5rgcE
Major antagonist is Nic Cage (not really) https://youtu.be/DUyk6D5rgcE?t=4
Leader of an evil welder union (not really) called Zerek Besh https://youtu.be/DUyk6D5rgcE?t=41
Little bit of fanservice via frozen Han https://youtu.be/DUyk6D5rgcE?t=56
Creative director breaks down trailer https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-outlaws-story-trailer-interview
Apparently there wonΓÇÖt be moral dilemmas https://lmg.gg/VYWYg (Star Wars)
 
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
LEAVE EMBRACER ALONE
Embracer Group rebrands Gearbox Publishing (which they still own) to Arc Games
Small blog announcement https://www.arcgames.com/news/11566663
Saber Interactive CEO thinks people are too hard on Embracer According to IGN interview https://www.ign.com/articles/saber-interactive-ceo-pulls-back-the-curtain-on-joining-and-leaving-embracer
 “...I think you can blame Lars for maybe being a little bit naive that this gravy train would just continue.” (IGN)
ΓÇ£But give Lars a break or have somebody give him a break. Tell the world that I said they need to give this guy a break.ΓÇ¥ (IGN)
 
FINALLY SHAPING UP
Destiny 2 The Final Shape reveal
https://insider-gaming.com/destiny-2-the-final-shape-gameplay-trailer-released/
 
EMULATION ELATION
Apple allowing game emulators on iOS
https://9to5mac.com/2024/04/05/app-store-guidelines-music-apps-game-emulators/
https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/04/05/apple-now-allows-classic-game-emulators-on-the-app-store
 
YOU GOT JOELΓÇÖD
Helldivers 2 players wipe out entire enemy faction
ΓÇ£Lol, JKΓÇ¥ says Joel (probably) https://www.gamesradar.com/helldivers-2-game-master-joel-says-sike-the-previous-automaton-force-was-merely-a-vanguard-and-now-a-massive-fleet-is-assaulting-cyberstan-and-the-surrounding-planets/
https://kotaku.com/helldivers-2-automaton-robots-back-1851397017
 
OH SH**
Indie game about pooping on the clock releases
https://www.polygon.com/24124475/please-leave-me-alone-im-pooping-indie-game-presentation-warioware
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2686500/Please_Leave_Me_Alone_I_Need_to_Poop/
Some of the featured minigames https://lmg.gg/hOtmR (Polygon)
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STATE OF PLAYA
PlayStation State of Play
DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH https://youtu.be/6cs-A1rNvEE
This time throat baby spits out a ship https://youtu.be/6cs-A1rNvEE?t=92
Featuring Alan Wake the marionette https://youtu.be/6cs-A1rNvEE?t=177
Also Kojima working on new action espionage IP https://youtu.be/WEpK67JDLu8
Silent Hill: The Short Message announced, released for free https://youtu.be/RmEamyHS3c4
Silent Hill 2 Remake got a combat trailer? (it’s a series that if anything, penalizes you for combat) https://youtu.be/ayKICAIUHkA
While original game had button-mashing grapples (abstract daddies)
QTE to escape armless enemy https://youtu.be/ayKICAIUHkA?t=45
New Bioshock-like from creator’s new studio https://youtu.be/T5_r-un--bA
VR Metro game https://youtu.be/R3-77MKew0s D
 
D&DENIAL
WotC denies rumors itΓÇÖs looking to sell D&D to Tencent
Original Chinese source (thought THEIR source is “Snow Leopard Financial Society”) https://www.speed-daily.com/news.html#5583
Pandaily then copypasted/translated the article, but left out Snow Leopard Finance https://pandaily.com/hasbro-seeks-to-sell-ip-dnd-and-has-had-preliminary-contact-with-tencent/
WotC statement provided to multiple outlets https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/tencent-is-reportedly-seeking-to-acquire-dungeons-dragons-from-hasbro/
“to be clear: we are not looking to sell our D&D IP.” https://lmg.gg/KmbbE (VGC)
Possible they are selling game adaptation rights like the EA/Star Wars deal
Would explain why Larian “was seen as a potential target buyer by Hasbro” after the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 https://lmg.gg/g8BSz
And why they claim Larian brought the deal to minority shareholder Tencent 
-          It would be really stupid of them to sell D&D
Almost as stupid as trying to change the Open Gaming License, leading to massive backlash https://www.ign.com/articles/wizards-of-the-coast-pledges-to-leave-ogl-in-place-untouched-after-massive-dd-fan-backlash
Or laying off employees from your most profitable subsidiaries https://www.dicebreaker.com/companies/hasbro/news/hasbro-layoffs-hit-dungeons-and-dragons-magic-the-gathering-designers-artist-producers
 
SH** LOOKS PHYRE
Fresh look at Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2
Gameplay trailer https://youtu.be/ja1rtSS4YlI
First we’ve seen since development taken over by The Chinese Room https://www.gamesindustry.biz/vampires-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-development-now-handled-by-the-chinese-room
ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA https://youtu.be/ja1rtSS4YlI?t=75
Also extended gameplay trailer w/ devs going more in-depth https://youtu.be/HwhvfH-Ij8Q
Reveals enemies disappear into blue because they’re illusions https://youtu.be/HwhvfH-Ij8Q?t=312
Just 4 clans to choose from this time, but one that wasn’t in the first game https://lmg.gg/CA01e (GameInformer)
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
KILL THE PLAYERBASE
Suicide Squad early access players get in-game currency apology after refund Googles spiked 800%
 
BURNOUT…HEAVEN
New Burnout game???
https://twitter.com/StellarEnts/status/1751963243239612444
https://www.eurogamer.net/burnout-paradise-remastered-studio-teases-series-revival
 
GENTLEMEN, WELCOME TO GOODBYE
Spec Ops: The Line delisted from Steam and other digital stores
https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/30/24055807/spec-ops-the-line-delisting-licensing-2k
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/spec-ops-the-line-suddenly-delisted-from-pc-stores
 
ALL GOTTA CATCH ΓÇÿEM
Palworld now most played 3rd party game on Xbox
https://www.polygon.com/24054484/palworld-player-numbers-records-xbox
19 million copies sold https://twitter.com/Palworld_EN/status/1752753619429163190
Xbox working closely with Palworld, dedicated servers, biggest 3rd party Game Pass launch
 
WELCOME TO CELL
Can Bacteria run Doom? Kinda
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/01/can-it-run-doom-gut-bacteria-edition/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DnoOOgYxck
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/you-can-play-doom-using-gut-bacteria-but-the-framerate-is-atrocious
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CALL OF MONEY
Next CoD may be coming to Game Pass and cause some changes
https://www.vgchartz.com/article/461043/rumor-xbox-game-pass-changes-incoming-due-to-call-of-duty/
Last week WSJ said CoD coming to Game Pass https://www.wsj.com/tech/microsoft-call-of-duty-game-pass-53e8930c
Insider Shiobi602 implied there may be new fees, reorganization of tiers, quote ΓÇ£there will be changes, yesΓÇ¥ https://www.resetera.com/threads/xbox-game-studios-bethesda-abk-ot30-why-so-series-x-s.820296/page-540?post=123109182#post-123109182
Somewhat corroborated by Tom Warren of The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/17/24158934/microsoft-call-of-duty-xbox-game-pass-plans
ΓÇ£I understand Microsoft has been considering raising the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate pricing again.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/gStz2 (The Verge)
Should find out next month https://lmg.gg/6qzif (The Verge)
The other hint is the leaks:
Windows Central spilled itΓÇÖs Gulf War https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/exclusive-call-of-duty-2024-is-indeed-black-ops-set-during-the-gulf-war-in-the-early-90s
And then everything else has basically leaked https://www.dexerto.com/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-2024-details-1863987/#leaks
 
SWELLBLADE
SenuaΓÇÖs Saga: Hellblade 2 releases
Eurogamer review https://www.eurogamer.net/senuas-saga-hellblade-2-review
Gamespot only gave it 6/10 https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/senuas-saga-hellblade-2-review-hell-and-high-water/1900-6418229/
IGN only gave it 8/10 https://www.ign.com/articles/senuas-saga-hellblade-ii-review
Studio apparently isnΓÇÖt shutting down despite rumors caused by seeming lack of advertising https://www.techradar.com/gaming/consoles-pc/xbox-has-reportedly-already-greenlit-ninja-theorys-next-project-despite-rumors-of-studio-closure
and a contextless ΓÇ£thank you for your supportΓÇ¥ tweet from Ninja Theory https://x.com/NinjaTheory/status/1792601275550302264
Reportedly already given go-ahead on next project https://kotaku.com/ninja-theory-hellblade-new-game-greenlit-microsoft-1851490677
 
VALVE COPIES LITERALLY EVERYONE
Rumored next game from Valve: Deadlock, Overwatch-style shooter
Apparently leaked 2 years ago as sci-fi themed Neon Prime that was set in Half-Life Universe https://x.com/Tyler_McV/status/1585248006982762496
Mcvicker says the sci-fi and pre-existing IP has been ripped out, focusing on fantasy instead https://youtu.be/k8MqhEz6N_k?t=90 
Other leaker describes it as ΓÇ£Combination of Dota 2, Team Fortress 2, Overwatch, Valorant, Smite, Orcs Must Die.ΓÇ¥ https://x.com/gabefollower/status/1791115270905290793
ΓÇ£pressed sandwich of every game aroundΓÇ¥ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/05/leaks-from-valves-deadlock-look-like-a-pressed-sandwich-of-every-game-around/
ΓÇ£visionary ValveΓÇ¥ may be dead https://www.pcgamesn.com/valve-new-game-deadlock
Bow and arrow guy https://x.com/gabefollower/status/1791311128422748285/photo/2
 
QUICK BITS
 
THE 20-YEAR WAIT
Paper Mario: TTYD remake releases May 23, reviews are in
https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/paper-mario-the-thousand-year-door
https://www.gameinformer.com/review/paper-mario-the-thousand-year-door/back-and-forward
https://wccftech.com/review/paper-mario-the-thousand-year-door/
 
SOMETHING HAPPENED AND NOW YOU KEEP DYING
New Shadow of the Erdtree story trailer
https://insider-gaming.com/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree-story-trailer/
Opens on what looks like an intimate tree fisting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9Bm5U-MJZw
 
PARENTS WILL BE ABLE TO TAME HORSES
Microsoft wants to put AI in games
 
SAVE THE KINGDOM AND ALL ITS HEARTS
Kingdom Hearts saga finally releasing on Steam next month
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5_3qdf19BU&t=1s
Announcement just 5 days after one fan caved and bought it on Epic Games https://www.gamesradar.com/games/rpg/kingdom-hearts-hopeful-held-off-buying-the-rpgs-on-epic-for-3-years-only-to-cave-5-days-before-the-steam-version-was-announced/
 
TUESDAY THE 28TH
MultiVersus gets weirder, Agent Smith and Jason Voorhees added
Big news for Jason since rights issues shut down his own game https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3813058/jason-voorhees-slashing-his-way-into-wb-video-game-multiversus/
Better news than this redditor got https://www.reddit.com/r/MultiVersus/comments/1cu9c42/everyone_seems_to_be_falling_for_the_banana_guard/
Less than an hour after he confidently said heΓÇÖd cut his own balls off if Banana Guard was added, Banana Guard was officially announced https://x.com/multiversus/status/1791514032932814886
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TOTAL BETA MOVE
Steam will now let you hide games you play
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/12/you-can-finally-hide-your-naughty-games-on-steam/
Offiical Steam Beta update announcement https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/593110/view/3901870709962551195
Basically opposite of ΓÇ£hidden gamesΓÇ¥ option https://lmg.gg/8Em0h (Steam FAQ)
In 2018, Steam decided to allow everything but illegal content and trolling https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/06/valve-we-want-to-allow-everything-on-steam-including-something-that-you-hate/
Since then, games with NSFW tag have increased nearly exponentially https://steamdb.info/stats/releases/?tagid=24904
 
THE WITCH IS DEAD
Big Microsoft/ABK leadership changes
Bethesda getting a new studio head https://insider-gaming.com/bethesda-gets-a-new-studio-head-as-part-of-microsoft-changes/
Bobby Kotick officially leaving Dec 29 https://newsroom.activisionblizzard.com/p/bobby-kotick-december-note
He probably wonΓÇÖt be missed https://kotaku.com/bobby-kotick-activision-blizzard-ceo-farewell-microsoft-1851115215
How he didnΓÇÖt
Wrote an email that caused a walkout https://lmg.gg/4vPqk (Kotaku)
Lulu Meservey, who gave us some of the weirdest, hottest takes during the acquisition, is leaving end of January https://twitter.com/lulumeservey/status/1737534674480578822
Has strong feelings about The Last of Us TV series https://twitter.com/lulumeservey/status/1620121600690630656
 
REVERSE COURSE!
Starfield end-of-year update, announcement of first DLC, other stuff https://bethesda.net/en/article/37j5d4CbPfYlZqJKcVtGcY/starfield-end-of-the-year-update-2023
Plan to update game ΓÇ£every six weeksΓÇ¥ https://www.eurogamer.net/bethesda-plans-to-update-starfield-roughly-every-six-weeks-starting-in-february
Survival mechanics https://www.kotaku.com.au/2023/12/starfield-2024-new-survival-mechanics/
Todd Howard said earlier versions had grav jumps deplete fuel https://youtu.be/H9AAnV59ddE?t=3892
Howard also said environmental hazards were more ΓÇ£punitiveΓÇ¥ before they ΓÇ£nerfed the hell out of themΓÇ¥ https://youtu.be/ZNQzIjptC_o?t=2922
Reminds me of this reddit post I saw months ago https://www.reddit.com/r/Starfield/comments/16p8c43/starfield_was_a_very_different_game_than_what_was/
And this comment https://www.reddit.com/r/Starfield/comments/16p8c43/comment/k1q0pa4/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
 
QUICK BITS
 
TIX ME OFF
OW2 Winter Event controversy
https://twitter.com/xblazrx/status/1735743267247923554
But iTΓÇÖs FiVe DoLlArS fOr FoUr SkInS https://twitter.com/OhReallyJared/status/1735754621833093254
Have to buy $30 winter bundle + $5 premium to get all of them https://us.shop.battle.net/en-us/family/overwatch/items/1593145/winter-fair-bundle
Also Mercy Xmas skin comes out on Boxing Day? https://www.dexerto.com/overwatch/overwatch-2-fans-perplexed-as-christmas-mercy-skin-is-releasing-after-christmas-2441096/
 
GAMES, GAMES SOMETIMES CHANGES
Fallout 76 has 17 million players, more updates planned
https://www.ign.com/articles/five-years-after-it-came-out-fallout-76-has-17-million-players
https://fallout.bethesda.net/en/article/3M71n2zE0KpcvLZld8jF9x/fallout-76-in-2024
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/fallout-76s-roadmap-includes-a-map-expansion-in-2024/
 
NOW YOU CAN GO TO BINGO
RE4 launches on iOS, iPadOS and macOS, Death Stranding delayed
https://twitter.com/505_Games/status/1735630797783126484
 
FLOWERS FOR YOUR GRAVE
The Finals issues update to help with cheating, player has better solution
 
SNYDE REMARKS
Zack Snyder willing to direct Fortnite movie?
https://kotaku.com/fortnite-movie-zack-snyder-rebel-moon-1851113174
From the man himself https://twitter.com/etalkCTV/status/1735761769170133359
https://www.vg247.com/zack-snyder-would-make-a-fortnite-movie
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POD HAVE MERCY
Xbox Business Event thingie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGlD9SO3rKU
Leak story
https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/12/24067370/microsoft-xbox-playstation-switch-games-future-hardware
Event twitter thread
https://twitter.com/Xbox/status/1758220200279933183
https://gamerant.com/xbox-multi-platform-game-event-details-leak-palworld/
Hints from other games?
https://twitter.com/SeaOfThieves/status/1757706751229432317
 
MY CONSOLENCES
Sony says no ΓÇ£major franchiseΓÇ¥ games releasing for April 2024 to March 2025 fiscal year
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/console/sony-has-no-major-franchise-games-releasing-for-2024-2025
Lower expectations for PS5 console sales for the year
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/sony-plans-financial-unit-ipo-in-2025-after-ps5-sales-falter-1.2034584
largest share drop in 2 years
PS5 entering ΓÇ£The latter stage of its life cycleΓÇ¥ https://www.ign.com/articles/ps5-entering-the-latter-stage-of-its-life-cycle-sony-says
DoesnΓÇÖt mean itΓÇÖs dead; operative word is ΓÇ£MAJOR franchisesΓÇ¥
Rumors of new Astro Bot game https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/02/rumour-astro-bot-will-return-for-another-ps5-rescue-mission-this-year
Death Stranding 2 has a 2025 release date, which MAY point to PS6 launch that year? https://lmg.gg/seFTs (Game Developer)
Nintendo and Xbox expected to launch new hardware in time for holiday season https://lmg.gg/UFedQ (BNN Bloomberg)
 
BLOOBER REEL
Bloober Team CEO admits combat trailer for Silent Hill 2 remake sucks
https://thehelpfulgamer.com/bloober-ceo-criticizes-latest-silent-hill-2-remake-trailer
Specifically this travesty https://youtu.be/ayKICAIUHkA?t=43
Original interview privated on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYfEpoiTYRE
Eurogamer Poland managed to transcribe some major points before https://lmg.gg/M13AC
Says the trailer ΓÇ£does not reflect the spirit of the gameΓÇ¥ https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/silent-hill-2s-latest-trailer-does-not-reflect-the-spirit-of-the-game-bloober-team-president-says/
Joked HE wrote the negative comments
Says they are not responsible for marketing https://lmg.gg/4UyeS (VGC)
ThatΓÇÖs KonamiΓÇÖs job https://lmg.gg/Jddp1 (VGC)
ΓÇ£It is not the spirit of either what it used to be or what we are creating now.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/k2Hf7 (VGC)
 
QUICK BITS
 
AVATAR: THE LAST FRIENDSHIP-ENDER
Competitive multiplayer fighting game set in the universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender announced
https://variety.com/2024/gaming/news/avatar-the-last-airbender-video-game-1235911234/
Announced at Maximum EntertainmentΓÇÖs 2024 roadmap https://youtu.be/cwwNMXmxBjA?t=771
The company has some fighting game experience:
2v2 fighter Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age had Playtest 2 last month https://youtu.be/AfBoptvd3rY
They acquired Mane6, makers of well-received ΓÇ£ThemΓÇÖs FightinΓÇÖ HerdsΓÇ¥ https://store.steampowered.com/app/574980/Thems_Fightin_Herds/
But the AtLA game is launching in Early Access next year… https://wccftech.com/avatar-the-last-airbender-fighting-game-2025/
 
LARA CROFT EXPOSED
Tomb RaiderΓÇÖs completely new ΓÇ£unifiedΓÇ¥ Lara Croft look
https://insider-gaming.com/tomb-raider-art-crystal-dynamics/
Other than when they showed it in Call of Duty https://www.polygon.com/23849564/call-of-duty-tomb-raider-lara-croft-modern-warfare-warzone
And a Magic: The Gathering card https://scryfall.com/card/sld/1501/lara-croft-tomb-raider
Just in time for release of remaster of classic games
Horrible controls https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tomb-raider-1-3-remastereds-modern-controls-are-an-absolute-travesty
thereΓÇÖs already a nude mod https://www.tweaktown.com/news/96230/tomb-raider-iii-remastered-releases-24-hours-later-you-can-make-lara-croft-topless/index.html
BARE BONES
Skull and Bones impressions
https://www.gamesradar.com/skull-and-bones-review-in-progress/
Biggest disappointment is design decision of ship-only combat https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/02/15/a-30-second-skull-and-bones-video-that-negates-11-years-of-development/?sh=5204737228f7
Leads to THIS cutscene when you ΓÇ£boardΓÇ¥ a ship https://twitter.com/MrRiceGuy2/status/1755976499516129560
 
THE KISS ASCENDANCY
SWTOR still getting update despite switching developers
Brings date nights https://www.mmorpg.com/news/swtor-details-update-741-in-latest-stream-brings-date-nights-to-a-galaxy-far-far-away-2000130483
 
UNFURTUNATE NEWS
Fake Valve Prism headset based on a joke from a furry convention
Specific face tracking bit of a giveaway https://lmg.gg/32muw
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SWITCHAROO PRO STRAT
PS5 Pro ΓÇ£LikelyΓÇ¥ out this year
https://www.ign.com/articles/ps5-pro-likely-out-later-in-2024-analysts-say
To boost interest in PS5 and offered ΓÇ£souped-upΓÇ¥ hardware ahead of GTAVI release https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/20/ps5-pro-sony-to-release-refreshed-playstation-5-in-2024-analysts-say.html
ΓÇ£There seems to be a broad consensus in the game industry that Sony is indeed preparing a launch of a PS5 Pro in the second half of 2024,ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/DEUU0 (CNBC)
Capitalize on GTAVI release https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps5-pro-could-launch-just-in-time-for-gta-6-analysts-predict/1100-6521192/
Meanwhile Switch 2 pushed to next year
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/02/multiple-reports-suggest-early-2025-launch-for-switch-2/
One of first reports was Brazilian journalist Pedro Henrique Lutti Lippe, said five separate source corroborated https://youtu.be/TwHXjxu35P8?t=1772
Eurogamer corroborated from THEIR sources https://www.eurogamer.net/nintendo-switch-2-release-date-now-q1-2025-report
Shares go down https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/nintendo-plunges-after-game-makers-say-switch-2-pushed-to-2025-1.2036331
 
DONΓÇÖT TIP THESE SERVERS
Helldivers 2 director says to hold off buying game until server issues are fixed
In response to fan tweet (SCROLL UP) https://twitter.com/Pilestedt/status/1759750620670505146
Issue isnΓÇÖt just more servers https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/helldivers-2-studio-ceo-says-capacity-issues-arent-just-a-case-of-buying-more-servers/
ΓÇ£ItΓÇÖs a matter of labour. We need to optimise the backend code. We are hitting some real limits.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/mOCPK (VGC)
Some players staying logged in to dodge queue times https://www.pcgamer.com/helldivers-2-players-are-staying-logged-in-overnight-to-dodge-queue-times-and-clog-servers-arrowheads-ceo-agrees-that-an-afk-time-out-is-due/
Petition for Helldivers 2 to come to Xbox
https://www.change.org/p/bring-helldivers-2-to-xbox-fans-await-thrilling-co-op-action
even PS gamers in favor
Phil Spencer is all for it
 
TEKKEN YOUR MONEY
Tekken 8 adding microtransactions post-launch
https://gamerant.com/tekken-8-microtransactions-shop-feature/
Revealed in a roadmap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQLlZHjQNvs
Also a Chipotle partnership https://youtu.be/UQLlZHjQNvs?t=2794
Community is upset https://www.vg247.com/tekken-8-community-up-in-arms-over-plans-to-add-premium-currency-to-game-post-launch
Well, some actually seem excited https://www.reddit.com/r/Tekken/comments/1as3i9w/tekken_shop_update/
While others aren’t https://www.reddit.com/r/Tekken/comments/1as3oa0/tekken_8_is_gonna_have_ingame_purchases/
Worrying trend in fighting games https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2024/feb/19/tekken-8-worrying-microtransactions/
 
QUICK BITS
 
DOWN TO DAVEY JONEΓÇÖS LOCKER
Skull and Bones released, gets torn apart
https://www.pcgamesn.com/skull-and-bones/review
https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/skull-and-bones-pc-review/
 
THEY LOOK PALE
Studio ZA/UM cancels Disco Elysium expansion and sequel
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/disco-elysium-expansion-and-sequel-canceled-report/1100-6521118/
laying off employees, including last writer to actually work on DE
GIGANTIC NEWS
Gearbox is officially reviving Gigantic
After small re-opening last year https://insider-gaming.com/gigantic-returns/
https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/gigantic-rampage-edition-official-preview
 
PSP PLAYS PSP GAMES
PS Portal modded to emulate PSP games thanks to Google researcher and others
https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/20/24078024/sony-playstation-portal-hack-mod-psp-emulator
https://twitter.com/theflow0/status/1759627938910089575
https://kotaku.com/playstation-portal-hacked-psp-gta-liberty-city-google-1851270852
 
CRAZY CONCEPT
Sega says Crazy Taxi revival is ΓÇ£AAAΓÇ¥ game
Apparently that means live-service battle royale, according to leaker Midori
https://insider-gaming.com/new-crazy-taxi-game-live-service/
https://twitter.com/MbKKssTBhz5/status/1759683123921518868
Even worse, this is spreading to Jet Set Radio https://twitter.com/MbKKssTBhz5/status/1759685034296885464
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AssassinΓÇÖs Creed ads allegedly showing up in other games
Original Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/xboxone/comments/181fbvn/just_got_an_ingame_advertisement_when_i_tried_to/
Allegedly also on PS5, according to comment https://www.reddit.com/r/xboxone/comments/181fbvn/comment/kach9bf/
and PC too, according to comment https://www.reddit.com/r/xboxone/comments/181fbvn/comment/kacfbr6/
Even outside of Ubisoft games???
https://www.reddit.com/r/xboxone/comments/181fbvn/comment/kadafa7/
Partnership with Anzu https://venturebeat.com/games/ubisoft-extends-partnership-with-anzu-for-in-game-ads/
Denial of subscription model https://www.pcgamesn.com/assassins-creed-mirage/ads
Pay to win in single player game https://www.destructoid.com/ubisoft-cant-help-itself-adds-an-xp-boosting-microtransaction-to-assassins-creed-valhalla/
 
SMEAR CAMPAIGN
MWIII achieves record engagement
Put out a tweet
https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/1727010137477624184
Look at its Metacritic score https://www.metacritic.com/game/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-iii/
So what happened?
-         Critics put huge weight on lackluster campaign
-         Most reviews posted Nov 7-14
-         While campaign early access was Nov 2, multiplayer wasn’t out until Nov 10th
-         Users just like to complain, I guess?
 
SOUNDS EPIC
Sony facing $7.9 bln mass lawsuit over PlayStation Store prices
Sony tried to have the case dismissed https://www.catribunal.org.uk/judgments/15277722-alex-neill-class-representative-limited-v-sony-interactive-entertainment-europe
Similarity to Epic/Google trial https://www.theverge.com/23945184/epic-v-google-fortnite-play-store-antitrust-trial-updates
Charging 30% on PS Store, blocking out third parties and costing customers more https://kotaku.com/playstation-store-lawsuit-ps5-sony-1851039664
https://www.ign.com/articles/playstation-store-lawsuit-price-london-tribunal
QUICK BITS
 
9TH LEVEL COUNTERSELL
Larian scalps scalpers tryiung to sell Deluxe Edition preorders
https://us.merch.larian.com/en/products/baldur-s-gate-3-deluxe-edition
eBay listings https://lmg.gg/vZ8nm (eBay)
stock isnΓÇÖt limited https://www.ign.com/articles/theres-no-need-to-buy-the-baldurs-gate-3-physical-deluxe-edition-from-scalpers-larian-says
Michael Douse, director of publishing https://twitter.com/Cromwelp/status/1726941455288266852
 
NO SNITCHES
Rockstar shuts down former devΓÇÖs blog
https://kotaku.com/gta-6-vice-city-rockstar-developer-blog-secrets-1851044987
Obbe Vermeij https://insiderockstarnorth.blogspot.com/
Discussed long lost ΓÇ£AgentΓÇ¥ game https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/rockstar-axed-i-agent-i-for-distracting-from-i-grand-theft-auto-v-i-development
Other anecdotes https://www.eurogamer.net/ex-rockstar-north-dev-talks-agent-abandoned-zombie-game-in-fascinating-new-blog
RockstarΓÇÖs reasoning https://lmg.gg/ielay (Blog)
Moon tweet https://twitter.com/Dirty_Worka/status/1707786135093543035
 
WEΓÇÖVE WAITED 12 YEARS, WHATΓÇÖS 1 MORE?
Space Marine 2 delayed
https://www.polygon.com/23971550/space-marine-2-delayed-focus-entertainment-2024
https://insider-gaming.com/space-marine-2-delayed/
https://www.ign.com/articles/warhammer-40000-space-marine-2-delayed-to-second-half-of-2024
 
ALL KILLER NO FILLER
Killer Instinct Anniversary
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2023/11/killer-instinct-anniversary-edition-announced-for-xbox-and-pc
 
(INTER)STELLAR SLUMBER
Starfield bedsheets
https://gear.bethesda.net/products/starfield-duvet-cover-set?variant=41085293625459
https://www.theloadout.com/starfield/duvet-set
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MAKE THAT AN EX-BOX
The studio-closing apocalypse isn’t over; Microsoft planning more cuts 
https://lmg.gg/zrlo2 (Bloomberg)
Surprisingly, buying up a ton of studios means it’s hard to manage them all - Zenimax boss Jill Braff quote https://lmg.gg/O27Sq 
Microsoft bizarrely says they need games like the one made by the studio they just closed
https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/8/24152137/xbox-hi-fi-rush-tango-gameworks-matt-booty 
Tom Warren also reports on the internal turmoil https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/8/24151814/microsoft-xbox-layoffs-strategy-changes-arkane-tango 
What’s even the point of Game Pass now? https://kotaku.com/xbox-game-pass-arkane-tango-gameworks-closure-1851464470 
Xbox has had more studio closures this year than first party games
https://twistedvoxel.com/xbox-more-studio-closures-than-first-party-game-releases-2024/ 
Devolver co-founder says large-scale game dev ΓÇ£crushing under its own weight a little bitΓÇ¥
Says Switch owners more likely to buy indie games https://kotaku.com/devolver-digital-nintendo-switch-indie-games-xbox-ps5-1851466792 
A SWITCH SPECTACLE
Massive Switch 2 specs leak
ResetEra members summarize https://www.resetera.com/threads/leak-switch-2-hardware-shipments-show-system-ram-storage-other-console-information.866529/ 
mockup on Twitter https://twitter.com/CentroLeaks/status/1788457734213447908 
Nintendo joins Microsoft, Sony in revoking console tweeting capability
https://kotaku.com/nintendo-switch-twitter-x-api-1851466004 
https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1788375084886892947 
Switch 2 might be announced spring 2025 but not launched https://www.gamesindustry.biz/nintendo-no-switch-2-before-april-2025 
PSN HAUNTS TSUSHIMA
Sony PSN requirement screwing over other games now; Ghost of Tsushima on PC
Helldivers 2 still delisted in 177 regions https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/05/09/despite-psn-reversal-177-delisted-helldivers-2-regions-remain-in-limbo/?sh=23fb9b921d4e 
Arrowhead CEO trying to reverse it https://www.pcgamesn.com/helldivers-2/delisted 
Helldivers 2 community wants fired community manager reinstated https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/05/helldivers-turn-on-arrowhead-following-undemocratic-firing-of-community-manager
petition https://www.change.org/p/re-hire-the-legendary-community-manager-general-spitz 
QUICK BITS
NICE GAME, JACKASS
videogamedunkeyΓÇÖs publishing company BIG MODE releases first game, Animal Well, to great reviews
https://twitter.com/BIGMODEgames/status/1788565552849457430  
https://youtu.be/L4xwfHR_8O4?t=237 dunkey @3:57
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwCcSEN3GEc 
https://www.metacritic.com/game/animal-well/ 
solely developed by Billy Basso https://twitter.com/billy_basso
EXTRA ALLIED
The next ROG Ally is called the ROG Ally X
X stands for ΓÇ£extra, extend, expandΓÇ¥ https://youtu.be/vze62qJK1Sk?t=25 @0:25
same chip tho
https://www.ign.com/articles/asus-rog-ally-x-announced 
OH MY GOD, PHIL!
Oh my god, someone has nuked Phil Spencer in Fallout 76. Call the Police
https://insider-gaming.com/fallout-76-players-nuke-phil-spencer/ 
https://twitter.com/Sam_Snydes/status/1788414778253123985 
GAMERS TOGETHER STRONG
Gamers surveyed by Pew Research say it helps and hurts
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/05/09/teens-and-video-games-today/
https://www.axios.com/2024/05/09/video-games-benefits-teens-mental-health-friendships 
85% of US teens identify as ΓÇ£video game playersΓÇ¥, only 40% identify as ΓÇ£gamersΓÇ¥
https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/PI_2024.05.09_video-games_0-03.png 
*YODA CHUCKLE SOUND*
Fortnite bans yoda backpack on day one after it creates ΓÇ£game crashing wormholesΓÇ¥ if you do Zoidberg dance
https://twitter.com/iFireMonkey/status/1787889552490692667 
https://twitter.com/FortniteStatus/status/1788052225178079419 
NEWS SOURCES:
 
III CANΓÇÖT WAIT!
Triple-I indie game showcase
https://www.theverge.com/24126108/triple-i-initiative-indie-game-showcase-news-trailers
Slay the Spire 2 https://youtu.be/krDFltgjLtE
Won’t be in Unity https://www.ign.com/articles/slay-the-spire-2-officially-announced-first-gameplay-screens-revealed
The Rogue Prince of Persia from Dead Cell’s second parent https://www.polygon.com/24126419/rogue-prince-of-persia-dead-cells-evil-empire-reveal
Dinolords https://youtu.be/s3rSJHWXZ-o
Gameplay teaser https://youtu.be/LwD_h0OQFfQ?t=21
Hyper Light Breaker mini-boss reveal https://youtu.be/0Py1NPFeiac
Darkest Dungeon 2 update https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/darkest-dungeon-2s-free-kingdoms-update-remixes-the-first-two-games-into-a-turn-based-strategy-game
Vampire Survivors coming to PS5, Contra DLC https://youtu.be/M7qW3CRX1Xw
Pocket Pair teases Palworld PvP update https://youtu.be/d2Mh7HXZ4sE
 
TRIPLE-PAY GAMES
Call of Duty forces players to buy 4 $20 cosmetic packs for a gorilla glove
https://www.xboxachievements.com/news/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-kong-glove-80-usd-price/
Costs more than the game https://www.eurogamer.net/call-of-duty-players-unhappy-80-kong-glove-costs-more-than-the-game
Shockingly it’s NOT worth more than the price of MWIII, according to Redditor https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernWarfareIII/comments/1bz4ikb/i_got_the_beast_glove_so_you_dont_have_to/
Disney Speedstorm monetization change inspires potential legal action
Class action discussion https://www.reddit.com/r/DisneySpeedstormGame/comments/1bzv2ln/class_action_lawsuit/
So does sales pages https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP2006-PPSA09297_00-DSTOKENS00000001
See here: https://lmg.gg/kRpd3 (PlayStation Store)
Physical copies of Star Wars Outlaws requires internet connection to install
 
WOW, SOUNDS GREAT
Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase Renew Agreement to Bring Beloved Titles Back to China
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czq5xyj2dw2o
Blizzard announcement https://blizzard.gamespress.com/Blizzard-NetEase
WoW Mists of Pandaria remix
https://www.pcgamesn.com/world-of-warcraft/wow-remix-mists-of-pandaria-announcement
Cataclysm coming to Classic https://kotaku.com/world-of-warcraft-classic-cataclysm-release-date-1851400580
Blizzard announcement https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/world-of-warcraft/24064846/the-cataclysm-classic-pre-expansion-patch-goes-live-april-30
WotLK going away https://lmg.gg/16ptm (Blizzard) 
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
DEAD-ER SPACE
Jeff Grubb says Dead Space 2 Remake was cancelled; EA says there never was a Dead Space 2 remake
https://twitter.com/Knoebelbroet/status/1778082822873321978
EA dispels rumors of Dead Space 2 remake
https://www.ign.com/articles/ea-shoots-down-dead-space-2-remake-rumors-no-validity-to-this-story
Jason Schreier clarifies https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1778202621058449560
Was January 2023ΓÇÖs best-selling new game in US, only MWII (2022) beat it out
https://twitter.com/MatPiscatella/status/1625138630112190466
 
SHARING IS CARING…SOMETIMES
Potential Deep Rock GalacticΓÇöHelldivers 2 team up, more exciting than PUBG Collab
Delete tweet, post new one; DRG replies in binary message saying “We don’t know either” https://twitter.com/helldivers2/status/1778037886861943023
PUBG  x Ducati
…Ducati Tokens? Really? https://lmg.gg/Xcfao (PUBG)
 
IT IS THEIR DESTINY…THEIR THIRD ONE
Bungie developing ΓÇ£Destiny 3ΓÇ¥ according to leaker who predicted Prismatic subclass
Original Prismatic leak https://www.reddit.com/r/Destiny2Leaks/comments/1b17fzi/comment/ksg63he/
 
ADAPTATION FALLOUT
Fallout TV series reviews well, other adaptations are coming
FNaF sequel https://deadline.com/2024/04/five-nights-at-freddys-sequel-movie-cinemacon-1235881145/
Dredge??? https://www.gamesindustry.biz/black-salt-games-dredge-to-be-adapted-for-the-silver-screen
 
YOU CANΓÇÖT BE SAVED
Japanese Pokemon hacker faces 5 years in prison for selling custom save files with rare ΓÇÿmons
Original Source (Japanese) https://www3.nhk.or.jp/lnews/kochi/20240410/8010020207.html
Translated by Automaton https://automaton-media.com/en/news/hacked-pokemon-seller-arrested-by-japanese-police/
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FARIES TALE
After years of battling Activision interference, Blizzard will now be run by a former Activision executive
four days after layoffs https://www.pcmag.com/news/blizzard-appoints-ex-nfl-activision-exec-as-president-days-after-mass-layoffs
Previously general manager of Call of duty franchise https://www.gamesindustry.biz/blizzard-entertainment-names-johanna-faries-as-president
Former NFL executive for 12 years before https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-29/blizzard-s-new-president-johanna-faries-is-former-call-of-duty-nfl-executive
Started as head of Esports at Activision in 2018 https://lmg.gg/ttMig (Bloomberg)
First president with an Esports background https://lmg.gg/4B2ez (Game Developer)
Surprising since Blizzard faced tension from Activision execs historically https://lmg.gg/N6jJA (Bloomberg)
Johanna seems to touch on differences in an email https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/blizzard/24062302/introducing-johanna-faries-as-the-new-president-of-blizzard-entertainment
ΓÇ£walking into this role with sensitivity to [BlizzardΓÇÖs] dynamicsΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/9rSQq (Blizzard)
Says sheΓÇÖs a big Diablo IV fan https://lmg.gg/4Nf2e (Blizzard)
Raising two boys https://lmg.gg/7OToH (Blizzard)
LIVE DISSERVICE
Suicide Squad KTJL snafu; Players with early access have ΓÇ£full story completionΓÇ¥ on first login
https://www.polygon.com/24054289/rocksteady-suicide-squad-early-access-launch-bug-offline
ΓÇ£full story completionΓÇ¥ on first login https://lmg.gg/rmxmB
Rocksteady statement https://twitter.com/suicidesquadRS/status/1751938662093263232
EDITOR PLEASE HIGHLIGHT FOLOWING QUOTES IN TWEET
-         “To resolve this issue, we will be performing maintenance on the game servers.”
-         “During this time the game will be unavailable.”
After trying to downplay the whole ΓÇ£live serviceΓÇ¥ thing https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/rocksteady-downplay-live-service-elements-of-suicide-squad-as-superhero-murder-sim-goes-into-early-access
Answered discord questions saying they want to respect playersΓÇÖ time https://www.gamespot.com/articles/suicide-squad-makes-a-welcome-change-to-how-battle-passes-usually-work/1100-6520665/
Battle passes can be completed at any time https://lmg.gg/mX2oy (GameSpot)
Seasonal ΓÇ£episodesΓÇ¥ are replayable https://lmg.gg/7aCjG (RPS)
-         all things that would be great if you could access the game
Reminder, this is Early Access they CHARGED for via deluxe edition
Problem has since been fixed https://twitter.com/suicidesquadRS/status/1752024211088904610
MULTIPLAYER BREAKDOWN
Call of Duty breaks down their matchmaking in blog post
https://www.callofduty.com/blog/2024/01/call-of-duty-update-an-Inside-look-at-matchmaking
Perhaps to silence grumbling about SBMM and EOMM https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2024/01/30/activision-finally-breaks-its-silence-around-call-of-duty-sbmm-and-matchmaking/?sh=2633a7e970e1
What SBMM is https://lmg.gg/OeGqs (Forbes)
EOMM theorized to keep players happy by giving them an easy win every once and a while https://lmg.gg/E9ATN (Forbes)
Try to debunk many fan theories https://www.pcgamer.com/unprecedented-inside-look-at-call-of-duty-matchmaking-debunks-fan-theories-on-sbmm-and-confirms-our-assumptions-skill-is-not-the-dominant-variable/
Refute claim that their ΓÇ£SBMMΓÇ¥ forces everyone into ΓÇ£sweatyΓÇ¥ matches https://lmg.gg/PocHp (PCGamer)
Also refute recent performance is only factor in SBMM https://lmg.gg/PBo5w (PCGamer)
claim ΓÇ£skill is not the dominant variableΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/EkC69 (Call of Duty)
Connection is https://lmg.gg/C1ORu (Call of Duty)
QUICK BITS
TONY HAWKΓÇÖS PRO SHOOTER
Cancelled CoD Future Warfare footage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rUnutyIei8
Verified by former Neversoft dev Brian Bright (scroll up) https://twitter.com/BrianBright/status/1751439942935540055
 
SHOTS FIRED
Persona 3 Reload is a mixed bag
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/persona-3-reload-review
https://www.polygon.com/reviews/24054581/persona-3-reload-review-remake-xbox-ps5-pc-atlus
DoesnΓÇÖt include additions from P3P or FES https://lmg.gg/xGGHR (Polygon)
But did give male party members more stories and you donΓÇÖt have to have a harem anymore https://kotaku.com/persona-3-reload-romance-social-yukari-mitsuru-fuuka-1851206843
 
REPUTABLE SOURCE
Ubisoft confirms Star Wars Outlaws choice system in GamesRadar interview
 
TENCENTΓÇÖS TWO CENTS
Tencent scared its gaming business isnΓÇÖt doing well
https://insider-gaming.com/tencent-is-worried-about-its-future-in-gaming/
 
A PUNCH IN THE GUT (THRU A WALL)
Embracer Group layoffs at Eidos Montreal
Deus Ex game cancelled https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/29/24054659/embracer-eidos-montreal-layoffs-deus-ex
Supposedly started development 2 years ago https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1587515910046220288
Apparently cancelled game wasnΓÇÖt an Adam Jensen story https://www.pcgamer.com/adam-jensen-voice-actor-says-cancelled-deus-ex-likely-wasnt-a-jensen-story-anyway-and-that-i-gotta-be-honest-i-gave-up-on-it-a-long-time-ago/
Never called Jensen VA Elias Toufexis in the two years of development https://twitter.com/EliasToufexis/status/1752026953799057715 
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PALEFACTORS
PalWorld is popping off; second-most played game ever on Steam
SteamDB stats https://steamdb.info/charts/?sort=peak
Some reviewers like it https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/01/20/palworld-is-absolutely-insane-and-actually-incredible/?sh=6cc2958b59b9
Others seem to hate it https://www.eurogamer.net/is-palworld-actually-any-good-of-course-not
Criticized for using gen. AI, except… there’s no evidence for that?
Some Pokemon fans donΓÇÖt like it https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/pokemon-with-guns-game-goes-viral-angering-nintendo-loyalists-1.2025065
Pokemon fans taken to tear them apart for copying Pokemon designs https://twitter.com/onion_mu/status/1748108600935919688
Diglett https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/large/diglett.jpg
Wiglett https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/large/wiglett.jpg
Some took it a little far with death threats https://www.pcgamesn.com/palworld/death-threats
“A representative of Nintendo Co., the primary distributor of Pokémon games, said the company is aware of the new title but declined to comment on individual cases.” https://lmg.gg/vXZwb (BNN Bloomberg)
The company was VERY aware of the Pokemon mod, though https://kotaku.com/palworld-pokemon-mod-nintendo-dmca-toastedshoes-1851188559
DMCAΓÇÖd creator ToastedShoes https://twitter.com/ToastedShoes/status/1749711480050827433
Since reposted video showing mod, but arenΓÇÖt releasing mod https://youtu.be/AbsF5R7Zf0E
Features voiced Ash Ketchum; apparently not an AI but the VA wants to remain anonymous https://lmg.gg/nCgXO (Kotaku)
 
STARFIELD IS GARBAGE
Walmart memo leaks, stores disposing of physical Starfield copies
https://twitter.com/the_marmolade/status/1748473984440524905
Corroborated by Wario64 https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1748480396596244645
ResetEra user Rychu corroborates, claims to work for Walmart https://lmg.gg/nanKa (ResetEra)
Further claims Walmart has been discussing getting rid of physical games https://lmg.gg/AUkbJ (ResetEra)
Memo says supplier is funding disposal, implying Microsoft/Bethesda https://www.tweaktown.com/news/95706/report-walmart-to-dispose-of-physical-copies-starfield-at-behest-microsoft-bethesda/index.html
Memo was released a day after Xbox confirmed Hellblade 2 would be digital-only release https://www.thegamer.com/hellblade-2-senuas-saga-digital-only-release-no-physical/
Furthering fears of physical media death
UK retailer Game ending trade-ins, pre-owned sales https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67983764
But Walmart has given a statement https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/one-mans-trash-is-another-mans-treasure-walmart-will-reportedly-throw-out-physical-copies-of-starfield-if-no-one-buys-the-disks-for-3-cents
ΓÇ£the action appears to be part of a regular markdown that occurs when a new version of a game becomes available.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/yIBRW (Windows Central)
ΓÇ£Walmart will box up and return Early Access copies of Starfield and then continue to sell the latest copy of the game.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/saItv (Windows Central)
 
TACTICAL RESPONSE
Riot Games laying off 530 employees, around 11% of workforce
https://twitter.com/riotgames/status/1749568564162625923
Statement to players https://www.riotgames.com/en/news/2024-player-update
Statement to staff https://www.riotgames.com/en/news/2024-rioter-update
Studio made ΓÇ£big betsΓÇ¥ since 2019 that have fallen short https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/riot-games-overreached-with-big-bets-and-now-530-people-are-losing-their-jobs
Legends of Runeterra team being reduced, focusing on gameΓÇÖs PvE mode https://lmg.gg/71cuq (Riot)
Sunsetting Riot Forge, internal studio that developed/published LoL offshoot games https://lmg.gg/eED1j (Riot)
\"We're not doing this to appease shareholders or to hit some quarterly earnings numberΓÇôwe've made this decision because it's a necessity. It's what we need to do in order to maintain a long-term focus for players.\" ΓÇô Riot CEO Dylan Jadeja https://lmg.gg/wcEqf (Game Developer)
Plus side: seems like theyΓÇÖre doing a lot for the laid off employees:
-         Minimum 6 months severance https://lmg.gg/UhTvs
-         Additional pay to cover health benefits https://lmg.gg/J29Yt
-         Can request a laptop to help find jobs if they don’t have one https://lmg.gg/5ou50
-         Support for employees with work visas https://lmg.gg/DptiV
-         Career support https://lmg.gg/CLUes
 
QUICK BITS
 
IT AINΓÇÖT OVER TIL ITΓÇÖS OVERWATCH
Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) rises from the ashes of the Overwatch League
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/overwatch/24033788/the-future-of-overwatch-esports
partnered with FACEIT https://www.engadget.com/blizzard-partners-with-esl-for-an-open-overwatch-2-esports-circuit-170033793.html
open to literally any player, can find teammates https://lmg.gg/UkAfm
https://twitter.com/OW_Esports/status/1749838862359384395
-         EDITOR: record your screen to show some of the video playing, don’t screenshot
https://youtu.be/DpzYZ1yYQqY?t=133 @2:13
3 regions @3:06
Asia qualifiers start in Feb, NA and EMEA in March https://bnetcmsus-a.akamaihd.net/cms/page_media/qi/QIRCEAIXXG381705458232787.png
How did the OWL die? https://digiday.com/media/how-the-worlds-most-ambitious-esports-league-shrank-to-nothing-an-oral-history-of-the-overwatch-league/
 
AN ENIGMA
Monster Hunter Rise no longer works on Steam Deck after new DRM added 2 years later
 
SOUNDS COOL
Modder re-creates GBA games using audio from crash sounds
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/01/modder-recreates-game-boy-advance-games-using-the-audio-from-crash-sounds/
Video https://youtu.be/0-7PSmYYHF0
Technically used original ROM to ΓÇ£cheatΓÇ¥, but apparently you could do it blind https://lmg.gg/tZDzu
 
MENTALLY DRAINED
MSI fires social media team over joke about gf deleting games
https://www.ithome.com/0/746/388.htm
Note: these next sources are in Chinese
https://weibo.com/n/%E5%BE%AE%E6%98%9FGAMING
https://www.techspot.com/news/101614-msi-replaces-social-media-team-apologizes-after-post.html
 
HUMBLE LEG
DragonΓÇÖs Dogma 2 director doesnΓÇÖt want you to fast travel in IGN interview
https://www.eurogamer.net/dragons-dogma-2-director-wants-players-to-avoid-fast-travel
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TAKE-TWOΓÇÖS TAKE-TWO
Take-Two announces ΓÇ£significant cost reductionΓÇ¥
https://variety.com/2024/gaming/news/take-two-gta-6-still-2025-cost-cuts-no-layoffs-1235902558/
Told multiple outlets ΓÇ£We have no current plans for layoffsΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/xL2Uo (Variety)
ΓÇ£more robustΓÇ¥ than last yearΓÇÖs, which DEFINITELY included layoffs https://www.gamesindustry.biz/take-two-embarks-on-another-cost-reduction-program-as-q3-sales-dip
ΓÇ£Our biggest line-item expense is marketing, actuallyΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/A6MtA (GamesIndustry.Biz)
-       JOKE: why don’t you just let people leak your games then?
Why is the industry shedding thousands of staff? https://www.theguardian.com/games/2024/feb/08/why-is-the-games-industry-shedding-staff-epic-games-activision-blizzard
Game devs discuss reasons for layoffs https://www.ign.com/articles/ive-never-seen-it-this-bad-game-developers-explain-the-huge-layoffs-hitting-riot-epic-and-more
-       Lots of people point to the pandemic but “over 10,000 layoffs in 2023, and over 6,000 more in 2024,”
-       “a mobile gaming company that threw \"a considerably expensive week-long event,\" including flying in employees from overseas, just two months before laying off 30% of the staff.”
-       Xbox has “been increasingly turning to outsourcing and co-development”, as has Bungie for QA
-       Co-developers also struggling; UK company says “work is being actively shifted to countries where labor is cheaper, and quality work is actively being sacrificed for speed and cost-efficacy.”
-       But also game development is getting more expensive and taking longer, so “the financial risk inherent in making any big game over several years is incredibly high, and climbing higher”
Studios taking fewer risks and concentrating on ΓÇ£sure-fireΓÇ¥ hits, perpetuating cycle https://lmg.gg/ZzcRP (The Guardian)
Some companies are doing layoffs because the layoff news cycle is so short https://lmg.gg/Xhulc (The Guardian)
Adam Jensen VA Elias Toufexis says industry is a disaster zone; several games he was working on scrapped https://twitter.com/EliasToufexis/status/1755392785782566933
 
LOTS OF BUGS
Helldivers 2 is TOO popular; devs havenΓÇÖt been able to sleep
https://www.eurogamer.net/helldivers-2-dev-says-sleep-crucial-before-team-can-address-further-issues
Deployed several rapid fixes https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/553850/view/4022346438967281357
increased server rate limit and total capacity https://lmg.gg/1izYf (Steam)
Still not enough as player count met new capacity in <6 minutes https://lmg.gg/Jvf8U (Steam)
tries to increase capacity AGAIN, make other changes but roll back patch after it makes things worse
The patch https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/553850?emclan=103582791473678397&emgid=4022346438970380903
Rollback announcement https://www.reddit.com/r/Helldivers/comments/1apc50l/patch_005_and_performance_issues_pc/
 
GOODBYE YELLOW PAINT ROAD
Yellow paint back in the news after FF7 Rebirth demo
https://kotaku.com/yellow-paint-debate-ff7-rebirth-demo-resident-evil-4-1851249608
Viral tweet https://twitter.com/DaveOshry/status/1755469586999505137
Harkens back to yellow ladders from Resident Evil 4 remake https://twitter.com/feydemon/status/1708903903025123641
Blind gamer says yellow paint helps accessibility for low vision and people who are cognitively disabled https://twitter.com/stevesaylor/status/1755666488294346894
Developer once had to explain how to jump in a game with one button https://twitter.com/2DDave/status/1756198907133190455
Back during RE4 controversy, dev Damion Schubert said ΓÇ£The push towards more realistic art increases the need for more unrealistic visual cues.ΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/ZenOfDesign/status/1709663927292797004
Arkane devs say it isnΓÇÖt necessary: ΓÇ£itΓÇÖs a choice and investmentΓÇ¥ https://www.gamesradar.com/deathloop-and-dishonored-developers-reveal-the-effort-they-go-to-guide-players-without-using-that-immersion-breaking-yellow-paint/
QUICK BITS
2 SWITCH 2 COMPATIBLE
Leaks say Nintendo Switch 2 will be backwards compatible
https://wccftech.com/nintendo-switch-2-backwards-compatability/
PH Brazil https://twitter.com/phluttilippe/status/1756686123928084960
Reuters reporting consistent with 3yo custom Nvidia chip leak
Specifically this line https://lmg.gg/gVZPH (Reuters)
 
MALWORLD
Palworld sets new record for Steam player drop
https://www.pcgamesn.com/palworld/steam-player-drop
DoesnΓÇÖt seem to be hurting studio too much, hiring a lot https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/mustafa-mahmoud/palworld-studio-recruiting-for-all-positions-due-to-games-overwhelming-success/
 
DUNGEONS AND DISAPPOINTMENTS
D&D kinda misses its own 50th birthday but makes announcements
https://gizmodo.com/dungeons-dragons-50th-anniversary-pbh-dmg-vecna-wotc-1851249000
https://www.gamesradar.com/dandd-is-doing-a-major-throwback-with-these-refreshed-retro-adventures/
5th edition revision wonΓÇÖt fully release until after its 51st birthday https://www.polygon.com/24067481/dnd-dungeons-dragons-onednd-delay-2024-rules-refresh-players-handbook-dmg-release-date-price
 
CRITICAL KISS
BaldurΓÇÖs Gate 3 massive patch with big fixes
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2024/02/baldurs-gate-3-dev-teases-hefty-new-update-arriving-next-week
Easier to swap companions https://www.thegamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-patch-6-swap-companions-faster-without-dismissing-one/
But no one cares about all that, itΓÇÖs about improved smooching; just in time for ValentineΓÇÖs Day https://twitter.com/baldursgate3/status/1755980870664466761
The devs tweeted at LEAST two smooches https://twitter.com/larianstudios/status/1757078067132940537
 
NO BS
F-Zero games recreated using AI and VHS
https://www.pressthebuttons.com/2024/02/lost-satellaview-f-zero-tracks-return.html
The courses https://youtu.be/hpnuRKtnA_Q
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IT WAS DESTINY
Bungie wins copyright lawsuit, landmark anti-cheating decision
First reported by Stephen Totilo https://x.com/stephentotilo/status/1794154042190700617
He has written about Bungie’s cases for years https://www.axios.com/2022/08/01/bungie-destiny-lawsuits-cheaters-harassers
This case itself has gone on for years https://www.polygon.com/24161935/bungie-destiny-2-cheating-jury-trial-aimjunkies
Parts of the lawsuit went to arbitration, where Bungie also won https://lmg.gg/HTbWV (Polygon)
The copyright case went to trial because some of the defendants filed a counterclaim https://www.gamefile.news/p/bungie-aimjunkies-destiny-2-trial
James May claimed Bungie accessed copyrighted material on his computer without permission https://lmg.gg/CrpPG (Game File)
 
BLAME PASS
Black Ops 6 confirmed Day 1 Game Pass
https://www.ign.com/articles/microsoft-confirms-call-of-duty-black-ops-6-day-one-with-xbox-game-pass
After being a bit premature on the mobile app https://x.com/tomwarren/status/1795385251306324292
WSJ broke story last week https://www.wsj.com/tech/microsoft-call-of-duty-game-pass-53e8930c
Sarah Bond’s interview https://youtu.be/oIpc8VZ3Bnw?t=839
Official Xbox Wire article https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/05/28/play-call-of-duty-black-ops-6-day-one-game-pass/
“Microsoft has faced tough questions around the potential cannibalization effect of Game Pass, particularly on games that launch on the service day-one.” (IGN) 
ΓÇ£Former Activision boss Bobby Kotick, for example, was always against putting Call of Duty into subscription services.ΓÇ¥ (IGN)
Xbox admitted to the UK CMA that Game Pass cannibalizes sales https://www.gamesindustry.biz/microsoft-confirms-game-pass-cannibalizes-sales
 
ITΓÇÖS A SKILL ISSUE
XDefiant hits 3 million unique players 2 days after launch
Rose to 8 million unique players in 1 week https://insider-gaming.com/xdefiant-player-numbers-8-million/
Despite being marketed as no SBMM, some players complaining about SBMM https://www.videogamer.com/news/xdefiant-has-no-sbmm-but-players-are-still-finding-ways-to-complain/
Reddit post 1 https://www.reddit.com/r/XDefiant/comments/1d0hmsu/theres_100_sbmm/
Post 2 https://www.reddit.com/r/XDefiant/comments/1cytp26/how_to_disable_sbmm/
Ironically SBMM only present in welcome playlist, which is only available to players lvl 25 and below https://www.gamesradar.com/games/fps/xdefiant-opens-with-skill-based-matchmaking-but-drops-it-quickly-and-players-are-loving-the-sbmm-free-life/
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
ROGUE IN VOGUE
The Rogue Prince of Persia Early Access impressions
https://wccftech.com/review/the-rogue-prince-of-persia-early-access-review-the-year-of-the-prince/
https://www.gamesradar.com/games/roguelike/the-rogue-prince-of-persia-review/
https://www.metacritic.com/game/prince-of-persia-the-lost-crown/
 
0 BEFORE 9
Resident Evil 0 and Code Veronica remakes rumored, no RE9 ΓÇ£anytime soonΓÇ¥
https://insider-gaming.com/resident-evil-9-isnt-coming-anytime-soon-its-claimed/
 
BREAKING: UBISOFT STILL EXISTS
Rainbow 6 Siege announces subscription during season when like no content is being added
Official announcement https://www.ubisoft.com/en-ca/game/rainbow-six/siege/news-updates/50c0MbM9IoHbgjV8MeoiA3/r6-membership-brings-animated-skins-full-battle-pass-access
Fans want to boycott membership https://www.reddit.com/r/Rainbow6/comments/1d1ky4a/lets_boycott_membership_system/
 
MASSIVE BLOW TO MY KIDSΓÇÖ INHERITANCE
Valve says you canΓÇÖt bequeath someone your Steam account when you die
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/05/after-you-die-your-steam-games-will-be-stuck-in-legal-limbo/
 
ICP COLLAB WHEN?
Killer Klowns from Outer Space Game
https://www.pcgamesn.com/killer-klowns/review
https://rogerebert.com/video-games/killer-klowns-from-outer-space-video-game-review
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XBOXΓÇÖS FATE IS IN YOUR HANDS
Publishers worried about supporting Xbox
https://insider-gaming.com/publishers-worried-about-supporting-xbox-moving-forward-report-claims/ According to head of GamesIndustry.biz Chris Dring who ΓÇ£heard it from a very prominent company and one not-so-prominentΓÇ¥ https://youtu.be/1t1otAXv2rk?t=541
Xbox sales in Europe are ΓÇ£flatliningΓÇ¥ https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/publishers-are-reportedly-questioning-support-for-xbox-amid-flatlining-sales/
Apparently they mentioned in a previous podcast that ΓÇ£weΓÇÖd heard retailers in Europe are considering or had already been cutting back their Xbox stock on their shelvesΓÇöhardware, games, that kind of thingΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/VxYy6 (VGC)
Dring said ΓÇ£ΓÇ£The phrase one major company who released a big game last year said [was], ΓÇÿI donΓÇÖt know why we bothered supporting itΓÇÖ.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/J4jUW (VGC)
Xbox may be bringing more games to PS5 ΓÇ£from what I understand the majority of them will be coming across at some point, assuming it progresses as Xbox believes it probably willΓÇöI think Xbox is in real trouble as a hardware manufacturerΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/oGazb (VGC)
Xbox is apparently going to open up to other stores, become more like a PC
https://www.polygon.com/24108670/xbox-epic-gamehttps://lmg.gg/oGazbs-store-phil-spencer-interview
ΓÇ£Worse, he explained, the console market isnΓÇÖt growing, with more gamers moving to PC and handheld options.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/3lUri
Spencer also hinted at an XboxΓÇÖs handheld future in interview with Polygon https://www.polygon.com/24108660/xbox-handheld-console-phil-spencer-interview
Spencer confirms ΓÇ£Xbox hardware team, led by Roanne Sones, is considering ΓÇ£different hardware form factors and things that [they] could go doΓÇ¥ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/QVLMJ (Polygon)
Xbox dev kit certified in Korea
many people hoping itΓÇÖs a handheld; Windows CentralΓÇÖs Jez Corden says on Xbox Two podcast ΓÇ£I know theyΓÇÖve got handheld prototypes right nowΓÇ¥ https://youtu.be/By7ne7lHKLY?t=3845
But he doesnΓÇÖt know if thatΓÇÖs what the new dev kit is for https://youtu.be/By7ne7lHKLY?t=4228
Argues earlier that the Steam Deck is essentially a console experience, it would be ΓÇ£insaneΓÇ¥ for Xbox and PlayStation to not enter the space https://youtu.be/By7ne7lHKLY?t=4020
Spencer echoes this sentiment: ΓÇ£And I will say that when IΓÇÖm playing on those devices, it almost feels more like a console than a PCΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/XLgXf (Polygon)
Not necessarily an exclusive thing, ΓÇ£I want everything that weΓÇÖre doing in the hardware space to be great. But if somebody chooses to go play today [somewhere else], I donΓÇÖt want them to feel like a lesser Xbox [player].ΓÇ¥ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/Glrgb (Polygon)
Hints at handheld with ΓÇ£inflection pointsΓÇ¥ in the industry. ΓÇ£Look at the real inflection points in our industry, like look at the Wii. It was hardware innovation that was linked with great software innovation.ΓÇ¥ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/0Trct (Polygon)
 
MARVELOUS CASH GRAB
Overwatch-style 6v6 shooter with Marvel characters upcoming
https://thestreamr.com/2024/03/25/overwatch-style-marvel-game-exclusive/
Game apparently from NetEase, who signed a deal with Marvel 5 years ago https://www.marvel.com/articles/games/marvel-and-netease-collaborate-to-launch-new-projects
Marvel FPS shooter rumored for years from NetEase https://mmoculture.com/2019/10/marvel-new-aaa-first-person-shooter-based-on-marvel-universe-in-development/
While this game is allegedly developed by NetEase, it is supposed to be THIRD-PERSON, not FIRST https://lmg.gg/W4XRP (TheStreamr)
Avengers/Suicide Squad leaker Miller corroborated gameΓÇÖs existence and TheStreamrΓÇÖs reporting (at least for platforms) https://twitter.com/mmmmmmmmiller/status/1772603929919959510
ΓÇ£NetEase does have a strong history of mobile titles, and consoles seem like an easy port.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/SSzW1 (TheStreamr)
Lot of details up in the air, but we may find out tomorrow, according to Marvel Games tweet https://twitter.com/MarvelGames/status/1772639657525723212
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
THEYΓÇÖVE FORGOTTEN THE REALMS
Larian Studios not making DLC for BaldurΓÇÖs Gate 3, not making BG4
ΓÇ£Asked how the studio responded, Vincke said the team was \"elated.\"ΓÇ¥
Did not confirm if next game is Divinity: Original Sin 3 but ΓÇ£He did, however, say it will be \"different than what you think it is\" but that it's \"still familiar.\"ΓÇ¥
CEO Swen Vincke clarifies WotC not to blame for Larian ΓÇ£taking a different directionΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/LarAtLarian/status/1771467986701819943
First BG3 will be getting new evil endings; not just evil, but ΓÇ£really evilΓÇ¥ https://www.thegamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-is-getting-new-evil-endings/
 
JOEL GIVETH
Helldivers 2 GM Joel appears in-game to give unreleased APC before disappearing
https://twitter.com/Helldiversmedia/status/1771900000202870872
CEO sends tweet about HMG stratagem before saying “There’s no such thing as HMG” https://www.pcgamer.com/helldivers-2-hmg-heavy-machine-gun-arrowhead-johan-pilestedt/ https://twitter.com/Pilestedt/status/1772359679265427747  
 
THIS IS MY FAVORITE NEWS IN THE CITADEL
Brief Mass Effect 5 news
https://insider-gaming.com/mass-effect-5-veterans/
https://twitter.com/GambleMike/status/1771588267013493047
 
THE GAME IS GREAT, SAYS THE GAMEΓÇÖS MAKERS
Small update on Elder Scrolls VI; itΓÇÖs already very fun, according to Bethesda
https://kotaku.com/elder-scrolls-vi-6-tes6-update-release-date-bethesda-1851363646
Tweet with picture https://twitter.com/BethesdaStudios/status/1772261818003497362
 
INTRODUCING: AUTUMN BOYS
Sonic may be getting Fall Guys clone
https://kotaku.com/new-sonic-game-leak-trailer-toys-party-fall-guys-1851363240
https://twitter.com/sonicstadium/status/1771965657069850882
https://www.sonicstadium.org/news/games/trailer-further-details-for-sonic-toys-party-leaked-r2075/
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LEAKY VALVE
MORE Deadlock leaks
https://www.eurogamer.net/now-theres-leaked-footage-of-valves-new-game-deadlock
traversal in action https://youtu.be/xewXS0GvdD8?t=20
Several heroes detailed https://youtu.be/xewXS0GvdD8?t=105
Other video source if the YT video is scrubbed https://streamable.com/gjm033
Insider Gaming confirming reports https://insider-gaming.com/new-details-on-valves-new-game-deadlock/
Currently 19 heroes https://lmg.gg/Xjt6D (Insider Gaming)
Very similar to DOTA in gameplay and mechanics https://lmg.gg/3ReUq (Insider Gaming)
Just found Deadlock footage w/narration https://streamable.com/am6grs 
kill enemies and creeps for “souls” https://lmg.gg/e2UNj (Insider Gaming)
ΓÇ£creepsΓÇ¥ are candle men and may be called ΓÇ£candlesΓÇ¥ https://www.reddit.com/r/DeadlockTheGame/comments/1cxttrj/deadlocks_creeps_are_candle_men/
Reception is mixed https://kotaku.com/valve-next-game-new-shooter-deadlock-neon-prime-moba-pc-1851493739
Some calling the game uncreative, or ΓÇ£lateΓÇ¥ https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/1cxu49z/deadlock_gameplay_leak/
Even footage from when the game was still Neon Prime has apparently leaked (allegedly from 2023)
Reddit post https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/1cypdus/neon_prime_leaked_screenshot_before_it_was/
Alleged NEON PRIME footage https://files.catbox.moe/bu2i3v.webm
 
 
WE HAVENΓÇÖT RECEIVED A SINGLE OFFER YET
IGN announced they had acquired Gamer Network family of gaming news sites
Immediately start layoffs https://aftermath.site/ign-gamer-network-eurogamer-gamesindustrybiz-layoffs
Many of them are industry vets https://lmg.gg/zWTXG (Aftermath)
Alice Bell was Rock Paper ShotgunΓÇÖs deputy editor https://lmg.gg/dB4bD (Aftermath)
Bell was shocked since she was the only editorial leadership RPS had https://lmg.gg/TEDJM (Aftermath)
Cuts seem to target ΓÇ£manyΓÇöperhaps allΓÇöGamer Network employees outside the UK.ΓÇ£ https://lmg.gg/buSuz (Aftermath)
Really just another loss in a troubled industry https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/05/22/ign-buys-four-major-gaming-sites-as-games-journalism-keeps-spiraling/?sh=35062e8412a7
 
MARIO TIME
Mario Builder 64, Super Mario 64 ROM hack that allows you to build levels
https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/22/24162373/super-mario-maker-builder-64-rom-hack-nintendo
You can even play it on original hardware if you have a flashcart https://lmg.gg/8ausa (Setup Guide)
You can download other user-created levels from fan level site https://levelsharesquare.com/levels
Someone beat Super Mario 64 in 86 hours without pressing the ΓÇ£AΓÇ¥ button once
Footage of completion https://clips.twitch.tv/ZanyIntelligentSwanAMPTropPunch-7MB14zIDcRvO0X-a
History of the A Button Challenge https://ukikipedia.net/wiki/History_of_the_A_Button_Challenge
The history of the challenge is so detailed that Bismuth published a >5 hour documentary about it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXbJe-rUNP8
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
 
*SHOCKED PIKACHU FACE*
Black Ops 6 officially announced, weird teaser
https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/call-of-duty-black-ops-6-teaser-xbox-activision-1236014422/
https://www.engadget.com/the-next-call-of-duty-is-black-ops-6-161916709.html
Teaser site https://thetruthlies.com/ 
 
DRUCKED UP
Neil Druckman gives interview to Sony.com
https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/creative-entertainment-vision/interview/2.html
REALLY hypes up Naughty DogΓÇÖs next project https://www.ign.com/articles/neil-druckmann-says-naughty-dogs-next-game-could-redefine-mainstream-perceptions-of-gaming
Also hypes AI for some reason https://kotaku.com/last-of-us-neil-druckmann-naughty-dog-ai-new-game-1851496423
 
PLAYERS SHED TIERS
Despite what Smash players may believe, all characters have basically identical win rates
https://www.eurogamer.net/whos-the-best-smash-bros-fighter-they-all-are-sakurai-says
As revealed by Masahiro Sakurai himself https://youtu.be/KW4x-_Y8BmM?t=164
 
SPEND IT ALL IN ONE PLACE!
Escape from Tarkov devs keep f***ing it up, now with bad refund
Recap of previous events https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/how-escape-from-tarkov-wiped-out-years-of-goodwill-in-one-catastrophic-week/
One-time use, only for Escape from Tarkov content https://x.com/tarkov/status/1791452217402180032
 
WHAT THE SMURFING SMURF?
Gamers say they hate smurfing, but 69% of them do it according to study
https://news.osu.edu/gamers-say-they-hate-smurfing-but-admit-they-do-it/
the paper https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14614448241235638
https://www.techtimes.com/articles/304885/20240522/online-gamers-admit-smurfing-toxic-research-finds.htm
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GAMERS RISE UP
YouTuber Ross Scott aka Accursed Farms kicks off ΓÇ£Stop Killing GamesΓÇ¥ campaign to let people own their games again
https://kotaku.com/ubisoft-the-crew-accursed-farms-stop-killing-games-1851385068
Scott originally planned a lawsuit 2 months ago https://www.pcgamesn.com/the-crew/servers-shutdown-lawsuit
Scott’s video https://youtu.be/w70Xc9CStoE
He isnΓÇÖt after Ubisoft specifically, heΓÇÖs after everyone
““This isn’t really about The Crew or even Ubisoft,” Scott says in the video. “It’s about trying to find a weak link in the industry so governments can examine this practice to stop publishers from destroying our games.”” https://lmg.gg/GfO5r (Kotaku)
It’s about The Crew’s playerbase of 12 million and France’s strong consumer laws https://youtu.be/w70Xc9CStoE?t=380
Stop Killing Games website https://www.stopkillinggames.com/
Has guides on what to do for many countries https://www.stopkillinggames.com/countries
Not like all devs are against this either; Velan Studios director of marketing discussed Knockout City sunsetting at GDC https://www.pcgamer.com/knockout-city-sunset-gdc-talk/
 
NO BLOCKS FOR ROBLOX
Lawsuit against Roblox allowed to proceed by judge
Originally filed in August 2023 https://www.classaction.org/media/colvin-et-al-v-roblox-corporation-et-al.pdf
Did dismiss some of the claims, including RICO allegations—the law the US govt typically uses against organized crime outfits like the mafia https://lmg.gg/gsu3P (The Verge)
Judge’s decision https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/rachelle-colvin-et-al-v-roblox-corporation-et-al-ruling-mtd.pdf
Roblox tried to argue that “the economic loss occurs and is complete at the time when the Robux are purchased.” 
Argued they’re like cinema or amusement park tickets https://lmg.gg/o05qr (The Verge)
Judge agreed “Those tickets do have economic value, even if they cannot be exchanged for cash,” https://lmg.gg/SmQra (The Verge)
Which btw, Robux can; just much less
Judge said it’s more like “a casino setting up shop outside an amusement park and luring a child away to wager and lose the tickets to an illegal gambling operation—tickets that the casino can then exchange for cash.” https://lmg.gg/KYSCJ (The Verge)
Not the last time Roblox has made a bad point about a scandal
In 2021, People Make Games made a video about alleged exploitation of underage game developers, while Roblox takes a 75.5% cut of their earnings https://youtu.be/_gXlauRB1EQ?t=92
Eurogamer spoke to Roblox Studio head Stefano Corazza at GDC 2024 https://www.eurogamer.net/roblox-studio-boss-children-making-money-on-the-platform-isnt-exploitation-its-a-gift
Corazza says “Like, you can say, 'Okay, we are exploiting, you know, child labour,' right? Or, you can say: we are offering people anywhere in the world the capability to get a job, and even like an income. https://lmg.gg/3oi3Q (Eurogamer)
“So, I can be like 15 years old, in Indonesia, living in a slum, and then now, with just a laptop, I can create something, make money and then sustain my life.” https://lmg.gg/rfeLT (Eurogamer)
 
THE GAMINGEST NEWS
Upcoming games roundup
Silent Hill 2 Remake gets ESRB rating, suggesting an imminent release date announcement https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/04/silent-hill-2-remake-claims-esrb-age-rating-ahead-of-supposed-2024-launch
Speaking of suggestive: https://www.esrb.org/ratings/39762/silent-hill-2/
“suggestive/sexual material: characters pole-dancing in strip-club settings; posters of women in revealing outfits (e.g., bra and thong, deep cleavage)” https://lmg.gg/UXNBu (ESRB)
Gears 6 might be shown this year https://insider-gaming.com/gears-6-xbox-summer-showcase-reveal/
According to Jeff Grubb and corroborated by The Verge’s Tom Warren https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1775874925850513581
Long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong got an Xbox store page on April 1st https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1774892537263583386
May not be a joke, was rated in South Korea https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/hollow-knight-silksong-has-been-rated-in-south-korea/
Windblown, newest game from Dead Cells devs https://youtu.be/i7-XkJcL9s4
It’s a 3-player co-op roguelite https://www.gameinformer.com/preview/2024/04/03/a-twister-on-a-classic-formula
No Rest for the Wicked, Soulsborne-inspired Diablo-like isometric ARPG from Ori devs https://youtu.be/TjU0YTLvzD8
Newly revealed concept art ahead of April 18th early access Steam release https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/no-rest-for-the-wicked-looks-grim-and-challenging-in-this-exclusive-concept-art-gallery/2900-5231/
Eternal Strands https://youtu.be/YLliDntAitQ
Pitched as a blend of Shadow the Colossus and Monster Hunter with TotK physics abilities https://www.purexbox.com/news/2024/04/former-ubisoft-and-bioware-devs-announce-eternal-strands-coming-to-xbox-in-2025
The Crush House https://youtu.be/hHdOX9XpWJc
“Thirst-person shooter” with a mysterious dark twist https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-crush-house-is-a-saucy-90s-reality-tv-show-simulator-from-the-developers-of-reigns
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
PERFORMANCE HOBBLED FOR ART
Hellblade 2 looks great, though 30FPS only on Xbox S/X, co-founder of Ninja theory left
https://www.polygon.com/24120021/hellblade-2-senuas-saga-preview-ninja-theory-unreal-engine-5
https://wccftech.com/senuas-saga-hellblade-ii-30-fps-xbox-series-x/
 
YOUR PALS MISS YOU
Palworld gets massive update
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1623730/view/4165340162543998798
 
BAD GIFTS ARE NOW GOOD
DragonΓÇÖs Dogma 2 players try and warn other players of Dragonsplague boogeyman
https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/dragons-dogma-2-dd2-feature-dragonsplague/
Someone made a mod https://www.vg247.com/dragons-dogma-2-dragonsplague-pawn-infection-numbers-mod
 
SAD: PS PORTAL WORKS AS INTENDED
PS Portal hackers ΓÇÿresponsibly reportΓÇÖ exploit to Sony that let them run emulators
“traitor” https://twitter.com/tapoka5699/status/1775527937493639672
 
CALL OF DOOBIE
A datamine for a 4/20-themed Call of Duty parkour map gets personal
Insider Gaming article by Tom Henderson https://insider-gaming.com/modern-warfare-3-get-high/
Bob’s footage https://youtu.be/V5cUBylibWI
“Unfortunately, Bob isn’t the best Call of Duty player and wasn’t able to complete the obstacle course in time to show us what happens at the end.” https://lmg.gg/GybRt (Insider Gaming)
Bob’s response, and Henderson’s response to his response https://twitter.com/BobNetworkUK/status/1775608074729832580
Bob posts footage of the end of the map https://twitter.com/BobNetworkUK/status/1775617839107391545
Asks for rewrite https://twitter.com/BobNetworkUK/status/1775620237020344434
Henderson sends a screenshot of his update https://twitter.com/_Tom_Henderson_/status/1775625269706895833/photo/1
Bob doesn’t appreciate it https://twitter.com/BobNetworkUK/status/1775635486091923672
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NOTHING LIKE THE SIMULATIONS
Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection has a disastrous launch
Steam reviews are mostly negative https://store.steampowered.com/app/2446550/STAR_WARS_Battlefront_Classic_Collection/#app_reviews_hash
Gamers say PC version launched with only 3 64-player servers https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/probably-one-of-the-worst-launches-of-all-time-star-wars-battlefront-classic-collection-players-tear-into-aspyr-for-bugs-crashes-and-3-64-player-launch-servers-for-nearly-10000-users/
Camera spinning around https://www.reddit.com/r/XboxSeriesX/comments/1beg1e2/comment/kut1yj4/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
Achievements https://www.reddit.com/r/XboxSeriesX/comments/1beg1e2/comment/kutjs32/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
Game launched to almost 10,000 players https://steamdb.info/app/2446550/charts/
Also rough Xbox launch https://www.trueachievements.com/news/star-wars-battlefront-classic-collection-rough-xbox-launch
Controls are different for single player vs multiplayer https://www.reddit.com/r/XboxSeriesX/comments/1beg1e2/stay_away_from_battlefront_classic_collection/
Needs over 60GB of storage??? https://lmg.gg/bK9LA (PC Gamer)
 
BEACON IS LIT
Embracer Group confirmed to sell Saber Interactive for $247 million
Buyer is Beacon Interactive, a company controlled by Saber Interactive co-founder https://lmg.gg/ZlWnp (Game Developer)
Two weeks after Bloomberg report https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/embracer-group-to-sell-saber-developer-of-a-new-star-wars-game-remake-in-500-million-deal-1.2041059
Deal apparently includes at least 6 other studios https://lmg.gg/ERo0d (Game Developer)
Says buyers have option to acquire 4A Games and Zen Studios https://lmg.gg/rZ2U6 (Press Release)
Something Jason Schreier of Bloomberg says they ARE doing, bringing the acquisition up to the previously reported $500 million https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1768212177888948349
Schreier tweets excerpt of letter to staff https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1768216189661024581
Unsure of the future of KOTOR remake
Schreier says “That’s going with Saber” https://twitter.com/WhatsAkeo/status/1768217727854875004
Embracer retaining 14 games, “including two joint projects with the Buyer” https://lmg.gg/07Mk3 (Press Release)
One of those is “a previously announced AAA game based on a major license” https://lmg.gg/guGxR (Press release)
Schreier says that must be KOTOR Remake, since “it’s the only game that fits” https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1768218890851553655
What may be certain is that the remake won’t come out for another year https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/embracer-suggests-star-wars-kotor-remake-isnt-coming-out-for-over-a-year/
Embracer CEO gave no comment when asked if game listed in press release was KOTOR remake https://lmg.gg/mD0YB (VGC)
 
LF GP
RunescapeΓÇÖs former lead developer announces new MMO after 10 years of development
Gameplay trailer https://youtu.be/ASIbNq_pLQQ
Gameinformer link https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/03/14/runescape-creators-reveal-brighter-shores-a-new-point-and-click-fantasy-adventure
Andrew and bro founded Jagex and did early dev of RuneScape https://lmg.gg/wA6DO (Gameinformer)
They left Jagex in 2010 https://lmg.gg/Jx0hN (Gameinformer)
Most of the time since, they’ve been working on Brighter Shores https://lmg.gg/2DYTC (Gameinformer)
According to an official press release…. https://www.gamespress.com/en-US/Retro-style-fantasy-MMORPG-Brighter-Shores-announced-for-PC-and-Mac
...Andrew wants to make the game less “grindy” than other MMOs https://lmg.gg/KNNLj (Press Release)
Will be launching on Steam for free https://store.steampowered.com/app/2791440/Brighter_Shores/
But there is a Premium Pass to unlock all content 
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
STAR WARS JEDI: DEFECTOR
Stig Asmussen forms new studio after leaving Respawn
 
CRIME IS GOOD FOR ECONOMY, SAYS ANALYST
GTA 6 is the most important game release in industry history, according to analyst
Circana analyst Mat Piscatella talked to GamesIndustry.biz https://www.gamesindustry.biz/2024-game-spending-down-2-is-circana-analysts-most-optimistic-outlook
Most optimistic 2024 game spending prediction is a decrease of 2% https://lmg.gg/1jaa7
Could drop to 10% or even lower if things go sideways https://lmg.gg/pdjo9
Big renewed interest in GTA 6
ΓÇ£There's probably never been a more important thing to ever release in the industry, so no pressure.ΓÇ¥
https://lmg.gg/EdT7M (GamesIndustry.biz)
 
GARDEN WITH BHAAL, LORD OF MURDER
Disney Dreamlight Valley creators making D&D licensed game
https://wccftech.com/dungeons-dragons-survival-life-simulation-and-action-rpg-hybrid-announced-by-gameloft/
https://twitter.com/gameloft/status/1768276631230062619
 
ENTOMOLOGISTS ARE LIARS
Helldivers 2 devs spreading propaganda about flying bugs
CEO/director denies
https://twitter.com/Pilestedt/status/1767627610912157728
community and social manager retweets https://twitter.com/baskinator/status/1767678687770563040
 
PLAYER BANNED AFTER HAT TRICK
Tekken 8 players glitching out costumes
Harada says cheaters will be banned https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/1768031670941454517
Look at this Twitter video @ 0:08 https://twitter.com/Cyborg_ninja__/status/1766915378205086032
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IT’S CAUSING…DISPUTES
Discord adding ads. In a weird way
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/discord-starts-down-the-dangerous-road-of-ads-this-week/
Even worse: your friends will be in on it https://www.gamespot.com/articles/youll-soon-start-seeing-ads-on-discord-from-your-friends/1100-6522309/
TheyΓÇÖre ΓÇ£expandingΓÇ¥ their previously-seen ΓÇ£QuestsΓÇ¥ ads, like this one from May the 4th https://discord.com/blog/fortnite-quest
Where you play a game and share a screen in Discord, you have the opportunity to earn in-game ΓÇ£giftsΓÇ¥
This isnΓÇÖt super recent news; Discord talked about Quests in March in a blog post
https://discord.com/blog/our-quest-to-support-game-developers
CEO also spoke to Bloomberg
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/discord-to-offer-rewards-for-gamers-as-ceo-considers-ipo-1.2044117
CEO Jason Citron said at the time ΓÇ£ΓÇ£Our ambition is that every game will offer quests on Discord,ΓÇ¥ Citron said.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/57cTZ (BNN Bloomberg)
While it ΓÇ£sounds similar to the digital rewards, or drops, streaming service Twitch offers to viewers when they watch certain streams as part of paid partnershipsΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/UXuJE (GameSpot)
there are differences: Some users will be immediately made aware of the quest, while others only learn about the quest by WATCHING someone else? Quote: ΓÇ£Some players will be made aware that a Quest is available, while others will discover it as their friends accept and embark on the Quest.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/w0jfL (Discord)
Also the ads will be targeted and live in the ΓÇ£bottom-leftΓÇ¥ of the screen https://lmg.gg/JaarL (Ars Technica)
Though users can ΓÇ£opt out of personal promotions for QuestsΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/dnBAi (Ars Technica)
Bit weird, their testimony In January before the US senate on online child safety in January specifically named their non-advertising business model as one of the key ways it differs from ΓÇ£traditional social media platformsΓÇ¥ https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2024-01-31_-_testimony_-_citron.pdf
-         Specific quote: “In contrast to the advertising-based business models of social media companies, Discord does not sell advertising and instead builds premium features that users can choose to purchase”
Discord made an April foolsΓÇÖ video about adding loot boxes https://youtu.be/cc2-4ci4G84?t=16
Apparently “Discord managed to create a working YouTube view bot by playing the loot box announcement trailer on loop in the background of the in-app toast notification about the video itself.”  https://www.ign.com/articles/discord-seemingly-accidentally-viewbotted-its-own-april-fools-video-to-smash-the-gta-6-trailer-record-in-half-a-day
 
MORE DETAILS IN THE BOTTOM-RIGHT
April FoolsΓÇÖ
CDPR announced Cyberpunk 2077 Floppy Edition https://twitter.com/CyberpunkGame/status/1774738727556014256
PowerWash Simulator added reverse-cleaning mode https://twitter.com/PowerWashSim/status/1774738479244804258
●       Title @0:58
Among Us: Long Mode https://youtu.be/ZKM_VoNebjY?t=28
Shovel Knight devs announce dirt-based skincare line https://youtu.be/50vNsBqPS-o
Pokemon Sleep Champions Tournament https://youtu.be/vAyX663uuhE
Overwatch 2 added changes to every hero https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/the-overwatch-2-april-fools-day-patch-notes-are-here-and-theyre-uh-really-really-really-balanced
Mauga became ΓÇ£SmallgaΓÇ¥, smaller in size than every other hero and only has 25 health https://youtu.be/6uGfR2tthCQ?t=72
My favorite, Bandai NamcoΓÇÖs ΓÇ£lookΓÇ¥ at an Elden Ring expansion, where the text just gets bigger https://twitter.com/BandaiNamcoUS/status/1774837913869570131
 
THE GHOST OF XBOX GAME PAST
Xbox showcases four indie games backed by ID@Xbox
https://www.eurogamer.net/xbox-showcases-four-indie-games-backed-by-idxbox
Two of which are coming to Game Pass https://www.purexbox.com/news/2024/04/xbox-highlights-four-upcoming-releases-at-special-indie-showcase
Interesting because indie devs say big Game Pass deals have dried up https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/the-gold-rush-is-over-slay-the-spire-and-darkest-dungeon-devs-say-that-big-game-pass-and-epic-exclusive-deals-have-dried-up-for-indie-devs/
Casey Yano, co-Founder of Slay the Spire studio Mega Crit, said he talked to many teams; outlook is bad https://lmg.gg/COxnc (PC Gamer)
Darkest Dungeon director Chris Bourassa says Microsoft and Epic deals ΓÇ£come down in scropeΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£The gold rush is over.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/R8tpp (PC Gamer)
Strange since indie/smalle teams have had huge success in partnerships with platforms:
Helldivers 2 is currently AmericaΓÇÖs best-selling game of the year https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/helldivers-2-is-usas-best-selling-game-of-the-year-so-far-with-nearly-60-of-sales-on-pc/
Palworld had the BIGGEST third-party launch on Game Pass ever https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2024/01/31/more-than-7-million-players-make-palworld-biggest-third-party-game-pass-launch-ever/
Gears 6 may be open world https://insider-gaming.com/gears-6-open-world/
 
QUICK BITS
 
BASED
Video games officially sanctioned sport in Utah (joke: fitting for a state whoΓÇÖs capital is a lake of salt)
https://www.sltrib.com/sports/high-school-sports/2024/04/01/video-games-are-now-an-officially/
https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/esports-officially-sanctioned-as-utah-high-school-activity
 
SOLD OUT
Embracer says itΓÇÖs done selling studios after Gearbox
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/embracer-ceo-says-restructuring-is-over-no-other-studios-for-sale
ΓÇ£restructure programΓÇ¥ comes to end https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/embracer-freezes-acquisition-drive-as-its-restructure-program-comes-to-an-end
Meanwhile Gearbox announces layoffs just after being sold https://www.eurogamer.net/gearbox-confirms-layoffs-following-sale-by-embracer
Heavy PR statement given to Eurogamer seems to blame Embracer https://lmg.gg/GlHgW (Eurogamer)
Ironic it sounds that way since PR manager was one of the layoffs https://twitter.com/JenLocke95/status/1773383181628055708?s=20
 
TELETUBBIES, BUT SCARIER
Co-op horror game Content Warning blows up on Steam
 
EYES ON THE PRIZE
Some people might just have better eyes for gaming, say scientists
https://kotaku.com/pro-gamers-athlete-visual-temporal-resolution-image-1851381219
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0298007
 
FREE KNUCKLE SANDWICHES, 24/7
Tekken 8 fans beg for Waffle House stage, confuses game director Katsuhiro Harada
Harada asks for explanation https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/1774023083764199566
He seems interested https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/1774054319094153644
Waffle House Index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle_House_Index
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Microsoft blocking unauthorized third-party Xbox accessories on Nov 12
“compromise experience” https://lmg.gg/KwPAA
Gives two weeks upon connection to use accessory before blocking it https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-bans-unauthorized-third-party-xbox-controllers-and-accessories-124703807.html
Starts November 13, 2023, expanding 3rd-party approval program
https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1718780303467258008 
Probably to fight controller converters – Titan https://www.consoletuner.com/products/titan-two/
Zen https://www.cronusmax.com/  
ΓÇ£Unauthorized accessories can compromise the gaming experience on Xbox consoles (Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)ΓÇ¥
https://support.xbox.com/en-US/help/family-online-safety/enforcement/unauthorized-controller
Fighting game community upset https://www.reddit.com/r/StreetFighter/comments/17jh8bw/rip_sf6_on_xbox_3rd_party_accesoires_brook/
“official accessories” https://www.xbox.com/en-US/accessories
big Xbox Series S price hike in Brazil https://www.theenemy.com.br/xbox/xbox-series-s-aumente-preco
https://lmg.gg/m75ru (Game Rant)
https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/microsoft-confirms-xbox-series-s-price-hike-in-brazil 
 
GAMEBOY ADVANCE 2DS
Switch 2: patent shows dual-screen, detachable device
https://kotaku.com/nintendo-switch-2-patent-device-split-two-3ds-1850973016
Filed for patent November 11, 2022 https://lmg.gg/Kw70I (Games Industry.biz)
The two “connection parts” have two connecting modes https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2023/10/newly-discovered-nintendo-filing-shows-off-dual-screen-detachable-device
One looks like a 3DS https://www.gamespot.com/images/1300-4213668
One looks like a Gameboy Advance with no face buttons, hinting at touch screen? https://www.gamespot.com/images/1300-4213667
Are…are all of those shoulder buttons? https://www.gamespot.com/images/1300-4213666
Not the first time Nintendo has patented a device design, those didn’t go anywhere https://lmg.gg/YB5UP (Gamespot)
 
NAMEΓÇÖS A BIT IRONIC NOW
Bungie layoffs
https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/30/23938990/bungie-sony-layoffs-delays-destiny-final-shape-marathon
May have been first reported (tweeted) by Paul Tassi https://twitter.com/PaulTassi/status/1719030280801935419
Final Shape Destiny 2 Expansion delayed to June 2024 https://lmg.gg/ppKgd (Bloomberg)
Marathon delayed to 2025 https://lmg.gg/c2EHf (Bloomberg)
May be part of now-owner Sony’s layoffs https://lmg.gg/m3gYC (Bloomberg)
Includes rockstar composer Michael Salvatori https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/veteran-bungie-composer-michael-salvatori-reportedly-departs-amid-layoffs/
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
SOMEONE DID THE THING AGAIN
The Finals uses AI-generated voice actors
https://www.axios.com/2023/10/31/the-finals-embark-ai-voice
 
A REMEDY FOR THE INDUSTRY
Remedy gives updates on Control 2, Max Payne 1&2 remakes
https://insider-gaming.com/remedy-gives-update-on-control-2-and-max-payne/
 
UBI-STOP
Ubisoft shutting down online services for certain games, only on certain platforms
https://kotaku.com/ubisoft-assassin-s-creed-splinter-cell-servers-shutdown-1850974513
NCIS https://youtu.be/l7VTuNvGcAE
 
THE FRUITS OF THEIR LABOR
OSRS players mass-storm garden to level up their thievery
Originally added in 2007 https://secure.runescape.com/m=news/a-sqirk-a-day
Use numbers to skip stealth https://www.reddit.com/r/2007scape/comments/17j9ucv/they_are_powerless_against_the_masses_boys/
 
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO ABIGAIL
ConcernedApe says no Stardew Valley movie unless Studio Ghibli or David Lynch returns his calls
Exact quote https://lmg.gg/NA8GJ (IGN)
https://gamerant.com/stardew-valley-movie-concernedape-interested-studio-ghibli-david-lynch/
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VICTORY FOR CHAOS
CoD update shuts down game if M&KB players try and activate aim assist
Targets players using tools to activate aim assist https://twitter.com/CODUpdates/status/1747357273272488337
Would be way cooler if the update didnΓÇÖt break Warzone https://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-warzone-arrives-broken-with-season-1-reloaded-update/1100-6520389/
Unable to move after loadout pickup https://twitter.com/charlieINTEL/status/1747672405865050530
Weird terrain malformations (starts @0:17) https://twitter.com/Fifakill_/status/1747672458050576772
fetching data loop https://twitter.com/astroboihero/status/1747669815828050357
Announcement of fixes https://twitter.com/CODUpdates/status/1747902242026348760
Maybe we can look forward to a Warhammer 40K crossover tho, according to information gathered from multiple leakers and dataminers https://twitter.com/FumoLeaksMk1/status/1747732653862691133
Summary
Quotes from IGN
-         Suspected operators: “Interrogator-Chaplain Boreas of the Dark Angels, and Helewise of the Sisters of Battle.”
-         “There is also word of Warhammer 40,000 bosses coming to Call of Duty (Baton Jailer, Swamp Monster (Fenbeast), Orgre Butcher and Mummy)”
\t\t\t\to  Except those are Warhammer NON-40k creatures, i.e. the Warhammer fantasy setting…
-         “new execution strings found within the game files suggest Warhammer 40,000’s famous chainsword is coming to Call of Duty.”
 
PHIL ME IN
Xbox Developer Direct
Pre-announcement https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/01/09/xbox-developer-direct-2024/
VOD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELFSdlFmDNI&t=91s
Indiana Jones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htGnW6YNPjs
Hellblade 2 @9:17 in VOD
Avowed @1:20 in VOD
Visions of Mana @18:00 in VOD
Ara: History Untold @25:10 in VOD
  
HE SMICKING DID IT
Peanut Butter finally beat Gyromite for Awesome Games Done Quick
Pressed red, yellow, blue buttons https://youtu.be/wwP5N44Lcd8?t=390
https://www.theverge.com/24040350/awesome-games-done-quick-2024-how-to-watch-twitch
Took over a year to train Peanut Butter https://lmg.gg/WOWX7 (The Verge)
Dog was on world record pace https://lmg.gg/XmVQH (The Verge)
But unfortunately lost because an enemy smick screen wrapped (traveled from the left side of the screen to the right of the screen) around to block an exit https://youtu.be/wwP5N44Lcd8?t=1353
 
QUICK BITS
CRITICALLY DAMPED HARMONIX
Rock Band 4ΓÇÖs final DLC release is this month
https://www.harmonixmusic.com/blog/an-update-on-rock-band-4-dlc
https://www.polygon.com/24041833/rock-band-4-dlc-ending-fortnite-festival-harmonix
 
UN-FLORA-GETTABLE
Plants vs Zombies 3 gets soft launch
https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/17/24042133/ea-plants-vs-zombies-3-soft-launch
 
A FRESH PRINCE
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown reviews ahead of its launch tomorrow
https://www.gameinformer.com/review/prince-of-persia-the-lost-crown/a-royal-resurgence
https://venturebeat.com/games/prince-of-persia-the-lost-crown-review-2024s-first-must-play/
more mixed opinion https://www.inverse.com/gaming/prince-of-persia-lost-crown-review
Everyone loved one feature https://www.polygon.com/24032163/prince-of-persia-map-screenshots-memory-shards
 
PIKACHU USED HIS GAT
Palworld, aka ΓÇ£Pokemon with gunsΓÇ¥, will launch with some interesting content tomorrow
Bird you spank to shoot grenade eggs https://clips.twitch.tv/WimpyFragileSkirretMau5-Zx4ArQeXEw47J0RR
But itΓÇÖs ΓÇ£not a scamΓÇ¥ https://kotaku.com/pokemon-with-guns-palworld-scam-real-steam-release-xbox-1851173423
https://lmg.gg/3slSh (Steam FAQ)
 
CB-TEETH
Someone is making a game about therapizing vampires
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nk-l_Txdt0
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New PS5 requires internet connection to pair removable disk drive
This according to fine print on leaked images  https://twitter.com/charlieINTEL/status/1716958629184622762
Hypothesis is there wonΓÇÖt be a need for online connection after that https://lmg.gg/DY1XX (The Verge)
What happens in future when Sony shuts down authentication server? https://lmg.gg/hdYIa (The Verge)
Meanwhile, PS5 Digital edition price has increased https://lmg.gg/ztbEr (IGN)
DonΓÇÖt forget the vertical stand is EXTRA https://lmg.gg/RdQLk (IGN)
 
XBOXTOBER
Xbox Partner Preview Showcase
https://thegamehaus.com/gaming/xbox-partner-preview-everything-announced-summary/2023/10/25/
MGS3 Remake graphics reveal receives mixed reviews
https://youtu.be/wUOsNavOluw?t=26
Fans prefer the style of the original (See image) https://twitter.com/ShawnDoubleA/status/1717244881167347909
Say it has the energy of putting Nintendo characters in Unreal Engine https://youtu.be/yWZxH2qSWu0?t=15
Alan Wake 2 trailer, game releases tomorrow https://youtu.be/FoyBVw03wsA
Ark: Survival Ascended got a trailer and a release https://youtu.be/xxy8UEqvB6s
…more than just a screenshot this time https://www.gamesradar.com/6-months-later-open-world-survival-rpg-ark-finally-gives-players-an-update-on-the-free-remaster-that-now-costs-dollar60-one-screenshot/
But the GTA6 reveal tho…yeah it didn’t happen https://www.gamespot.com/articles/surprise-gta-6-didnt-have-a-big-reveal-after-baseless-speculation/1100-6518660/
 
LACK OF UNITY
Inside scoop on UnityΓÇÖs fee stupidity
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/10/behind-the-scenes-of-unitys-rushed-out-install-fee-program/
Original reporting by Mobile Gamer https://mobilegamer.biz/fuck-you-were-not-paying-inside-unitys-runtime-fee-fiasco/
All about mobile ads, why they acquired ironSource a year ago https://investors.unity.com/news/news-details/2022/Unity-Announces-Merger-Agreement-with-ironSource/default.aspx
Bargaining chip to kill competitor AppLovin https://lmg.gg/r0Qpw (Mobile Gamer)
Offered large game publisher lucrative deal to switch from Applovin https://lmg.gg/X1Wp2 (Mobile Gamer)
Made bit of a threat after refusal https://lmg.gg/b8KkM (Mobile Gamer)
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
FINISHING THIS FIGHT GAME
Halo Infinite comeback
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QORZtiws6Sk
https://kotaku.com/halo-infinite-season-5-armor-pc-xbox-campaign-1850960459
Steam player count is up https://steamcharts.com/app/1240440#1m
https://www.pcgamer.com/halo-infinite-season-5-has-the-makings-of-an-honest-to-god-comeback/
 
PITIES: CRY WHINES
Cities Skylines 2 get performance boosting patch after fan complaints
after saying you donΓÇÖt need 60fps https://www.ign.com/articles/cities-skylines-2-dev-targets-30fps-theres-no-real-benefit-in-a-city-builder-for-60fps
devs didnΓÇÖt delay to ΓÇÿprioritize player enjoymentΓÇÖ, we can see how that went https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/-i-cities-skylines-ii-i-devs-avoided-delay-to-prioritize-player-enjoyment
 
SQUADRON 1642
Skull and Bones delayed for the 8th time
 
FIVE-YEAR-OLD FRIGHTS AT FREDDYΓÇÖS
Five Nights at FreddyΓÇÖs movie comes out
reviews arenΓÇÖt great https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4589218/
no R-rated cut https://variety.com/2023/film/news/five-nights-at-freddys-r-rated-cut-doesnt-exist-only-pg-13-1235767548/
 
YAKUZA: NEW HORIZONS
Just the Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth Dondoko Island reveal
https://www.polygon.com/23932084/yakuza-like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth-animal-crossing
Ride a dolphin to the island https://youtu.be/yU6qZi6zxRY?t=29
Catch bugs and fish https://youtu.be/yU6qZi6zxRY?t=65
Buy furniture/craft it https://youtu.be/yU6qZi6zxRY?t=79
Develop friendships with belly rubs https://youtu.be/yU6qZi6zxRY?t=138
Beat up roving gangs of wild boars https://youtu.be/yU6qZi6zxRY?t=156
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PRO GAMER MOVE
PS5 Pro specs leak this month, according to leaker Tom Henderson of Insider Gaming
https://twitter.com/_Tom_Henderson_/status/1734126081878135051
and leak they did in a reply to that tweet: https://twitter.com/Kepler_L2/status/1734129960434950655
Got Xbox users asking about an ΓÇ£Xbox Series ProΓÇ¥ https://www.reddit.com/r/XboxSeriesX/comments/18bebbf/with_the_ps5_pro_rumors_out_there_does_anyone_in/
SEE U AT E4
E3 is finally done
https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/12/12/the-esa-has-announced-that-e3-is-officially-dead
https://twitter.com/E3/status/1734583493592498437
Major companies like Sony pulled out in 2019 and 2020 https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/on-eve-of-ps5-sony-confirms-it-will-skip-e3-for-second-year-in-a-row/
2020 event cancelled https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/e3-2020-canceled-coronavirus-1203529992/
replaced by Summer Game Fest https://www.summergamefest.com/#about
and individual showcases from even small(er) publishers like Annapurna https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/everything-announced-at-the-annapurna-interactive-showcase-2023
https://youtu.be/sXc9udbQEqU?t=53
and Panic https://youtu.be/bYTtLdU8TfQ?t=208 @3:28
younger Woody Harrelson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl5kBuzmRZo
FKTASTIC
The Day Before dev Fntastic announces closure 4 days after launch
Game was a mess https://kotaku.com/day-before-steam-zombie-reviews-survival-horror-1851082164
ΓÇ£under no circumstances should you buy itΓÇ¥ https://www.gamesradar.com/the-day-before-review/
https://twitter.com/FntasticHQ/status/1734265789237338453
statement parodied by DayZ dev Bohemia Interactive https://twitter.com/DayZ/status/1734292204758126892
which was parodied by Rust https://twitter.com/playrust/status/1734308049693577283
DayZ held a ΓÇ£The Day After Survival SaleΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/DayZ/status/1734634838253003213
CanΓÇÖt buy on Steam https://store.steampowered.com/app/1372880/The_Day_Before/
YT channel scrubbed https://www.youtube.com/@Fntastic
Just changed its name? https://insider-gaming.com/fntastic-appears-to-have-simply-changed-its-name-to-eight-points/
studio investor Mytona commits to refunds https://twitter.com/mytona_official/status/1734359076690362582
Fntastic ΓÇÿreceived $0ΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/FntasticHQ/status/1734422905042391160
Used funds to pay off debts to partners https://twitter.com/FntasticHQ/status/1734265789237338453/photo/1
-         EDITOR: full-size photo and highlight 3rd sentence, 1st paragraph
QUICK BITS
STARFIELD TOGETHER NOT AT ALL
Skyrim co-op modders decide not to make similar mod for Starfield: ΓÇ£This game is f*****g trashΓÇ¥
https://www.vg247.com/skyrim-together-modder-not-working-on-starfield-mod
https://www.pcgamesn.com/starfield/skyrim-together-multiplayer
But wait, Bethesda teases ΓÇ£new ways of travellingΓÇ¥ https://www.pcgamer.com/bethesda-teases-all-new-ways-of-travelling-coming-to-starfield-next-year/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Starfield/comments/18fyhnh/comment/kd1l4m0/?context=3
LET THE PAST DIE
Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma says linear titles are ΓÇÿgames of the pastΓÇÖ
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/zelda-producer-calls-more-linear-entries-games-of-the-past/
in interview with IGN https://www.ign.com/articles/zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-interview-nintendo-eiji-aonuma-hidemaro-fujibayashi
ΓÇ£Is good Zelda dungeon design also dead?ΓÇ¥ https://www.reddit.com/r/gamingnews/comments/18gq15k/comment/kd2b9b6/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
Also doesnΓÇÖt care about series chronology https://www.ign.com/articles/zelda-producer-eiji-aonuma-doesnt-really-care-about-the-series-chronology
LOGAN IS UNHAPPY ABOUT THIS
Insomniac hacked
https://www.eurogamer.net/sony-investigating-insomniac-hack-which-reportedly-leaked-wolverine-files-and-employees-personal-data
https://www.polygon.com/23998399/insomniac-games-sony-hack-marvel-wolverine
https://www.dexerto.com/tech/ransomware-group-hacks-insomniac-leaks-wolverine-game-details-2427858/
TIME TO SPLIT
Timesplitters studio Free Radical Design shuts down
https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/11/23981094/timesplitters-studio-free-radical-design-shuts-down
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7140349592222494722/
https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/mustafa-mahmoud/free-radical-officially-announces-studio-closure/
https://twitter.com/KeighleyKicker/status/1734204963784429878
 
LOGOPHOBES OUT OF LUCK
Lethal CompanyΓÇÖs ΓÇ£Arachnophobia ModeΓÇ¥ turns all spiders into the literal word ΓÇ£spiderΓÇ¥ https://www.gamesradar.com/new-lethal-company-patch-adds-the-most-literal-arachnophobia-mode-weve-seen-yet/
Grounded Arachnophobia mode - https://gamerant.com/grounded-how-to-use-arachnophobia-mode/
 
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XLEAKS.COM
Biggest Xbox leak in history - from FTC vs Microsoft trial
https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1704157981909348580
Douglas Farrar ΓÇô FTCΓÇÖs public affairs director ΓÇô said leak is MicrosoftΓÇÖs fault https://twitter.com/DouglasLFarrar/status/1704126699649028383
Next Xboxes ΓÇô Brooklin Series X refresh https://lmg.gg/39dNC
timeline https://lmg.gg/igLPJ
Ellewood Series S refresh https://lmg.gg/7Hd0O
Hybrid Cloud https://lmg.gg/9qOFy
in 2028 https://lmg.gg/QDzAp
same as back in 2015 https://lmg.gg/iB8PB 
Crackdown 3 https://youtu.be/rFWIpAPvF-Q?t=509
ΓÇÿSebileΓÇÖ controller with direct-to-Cloud, lift to wake, speakers, battery pack https://lmg.gg/JGNij
Handheld?? New Elite controller? One hand controller? https://lmg.gg/eY5x5
Handheld isnΓÇÖt happening https://lmg.gg/HA7LN
but ΓÇÿKeystoneΓÇÖ Cloud console is? (in ΓÇÿFundedΓÇÖ section) https://lmg.gg/HA7LN
ΓÇÿUtherΓÇÖ and ΓÇÿIgraineΓÇÖ Xbox Design Lab versions https://lmg.gg/2OPkb
 
OBLIVIATE
Remasters: Oblivion, Fallout 3
New games: DOOM Year Zero, Dishonored 3, Ghostwire Tokyo sequel, Elder Scrolls 6, Indiana Jones, Project Kestrel + Platinum and ΓÇ£licensed IP gameΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/hoD3X
broll - Doom https://youtu.be/RO90omga8D4
Dishonored https://youtu.be/7bLNC8VDTlQ
Ghostwire https://youtu.be/BW6yMr-jmhc
Elder Scrolls 6 https://youtu.be/OkFdqqyI8y4?t=21
RDR2 on next-gen was supposed to have launched by now https://kotaku.com/xbox-game-pass-leak-rdr-2-next-gen-red-dead-rockstar-1850852925
 
EMAILS LEAKING EMAILS
Emails
Phil Spencer dreams of buying Nintendo https://www.eurogamer.net/phil-spencer-describes-nintendo-as-the-prime-asset-for-xbox-to-acquire
-         highlight first sentence https://assetsio.reedpopcdn.com/phil-spencer-email-nintendo.PNG?width=1920&height=1920&fit=bounds&quality=80&format=jpg&auto=webp
Other Xbox execs wondering if Sony would let Xcloud work through a browser on PS5 https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1703886616362697131
Activision emails describe Switch 2 as closer in power to PS4/Xbox One
https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-briefed-activision-on-switch-2-late-2022-performance-discussed
Phil Spencer addressed leaks in an internal memo… that leaked https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/19/23881174/microsoft-xbox-leak-gaming-phil-spencer-memo
 
QUICK BITS
 
UNITED FRONT
Unity apologizes and promises changes
https://www.shacknews.com/article/137095/unity-apologizes-changes-policy
https://twitter.com/unity/status/1703547752205218265
earning the frog of shame from Opera GX https://twitter.com/operagxofficial/status/1703694245289140601
 
LIAR LIAR P ON FIRE
Lies of P launches on PC, PS5, Xbox Game Pass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSwqbE8dtjI
Reviews https://lmg.gg/ERu0V
Lying mechanic https://www.escapistmagazine.com/how-lying-system-works-lies-of-p/
Game-breaking bug halts progression https://www.pcgamesn.com/lies-of-p/chapter-2-bug
 
GOOD BUG
Speaking of bugs - Destiny 2 glitch let players craft insane weapons
https://kotaku.com/destiny-2-crafting-glitch-exploit-disable-bungie-1850850802
Bungie let people have fun and then disabled perks on crafted weapons
https://twitter.com/BungieHelp/status/1703599535694680203
 
RAY-LY?
Spider-Man 2 players will get ray-tracing whether they want it or not
https://www.eurogamer.net/ray-tracing-the-standard-baseline-across-all-spider-man-2s-graphical-performance-settings
https://www.ign.com/articles/insomniac-answers-all-of-our-questions-about-spider-man-2s-ps5-tech
quote (EDITOR: ctrl+F ΓÇ£Our performance mode for this title has ray tracing on by defaultΓÇ¥) https://lmg.gg/RDdGm
I LOVE BETHESDA(ΓÇÿS MODDERS)
Starfield gets old-fashioned city map from a modder
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-hero-adds-a-new-atlantis-map-to-new-atlantis/
https://assetsio.reedpopcdn.com/starfield-example-map.png?width=1920&height=1920&fit=bounds&quality=80&format=jpg&auto=webp https://www.nexusmods.com/starfield/mods/2358?tab=description
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/iB2geMhatAvqtB4AHVmBcW.jpg
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REMOTE DETONATION
GTA VI in final stages of development, Rockstar mandating staff return to office
This is according to an email reviewed by Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-28/-grand-theft-auto-maker-tells-staff-to-return-to-office-five-days-a-week
ΓÇ£Head of Publishing Jenn Kolbe said the decision was made for productivity and security reasonsΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/ltVKk (Bloomberg)
They have a point sort of; the massive hack that leaked the game was pulled off by breaching Slack https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a41292914/gta-6-leak-videos-rockstar-hacker/
ΓÇ£Making these changes now puts us in the best position to deliver the next Grand Theft Auto at the level of quality and polish we know it requiresΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/7hsat
Devs criticize policy https://lmg.gg/7hsat
So has the Independent WorkersΓÇÖ Union of Great Britain, who represent game devs in the UK https://iwgb.org.uk/en/post/rockstar-games-mandatory-office/
Difficulties for employee with disabilities and health issues https://lmg.gg/y6yVb
Employees that have moved now have only 6 weeks to comply with mandate https://lmg.gg/6VVi2  (IWGB)
Rockstar also stated in a previous email that ΓÇ£no one want to go backΓÇ¥ to 5 days in office https://lmg.gg/HRUKA (IWGB)
Worried this will lead to further broken promises regarding crunch https://lmg.gg/OoUXR (IWGB)
 
ELECTRONIC FARTS
EA plans layoffs
EA cancels RespawnΓÇÖs Mandalorian bounty hunter FPS
https://insider-gaming.com/star-wars-respawn-game-canceled/
Confirmed by Laura Miele, President of Entertainment and Technology https://www.ea.com/news/a-note-from-laura-miele?isLocalized=true
EA announces they are shuttering Ridgeline https://lmg.gg/bL5dM (EA)
Day after Halo co-founder Marcus Lehto announced he was leaving Ridgeline Games https://www.gamesindustry.biz/marcus-lehto-leaves-ea-studio-he-founded
ΓÇ£gut punchΓÇ¥ to Lehto https://www.eurogamer.net/ea-studio-closure-a-gut-punch-marcus-lehto-says
Studio was working on narrative-led Battlefield campaign, Need for Speed studio to take over https://lmg.gg/0pX06 (Eurogamer)
Marcus LehtoΓÇÖs tweet https://twitter.com/game_fabricator/status/1762971612977262814
 
EMBRACER LOSES GRIP
Embracer Group selling Saber Interactive in $500 million dollar deal to a group of private investors
Embracer acquired Saber for $525 Million in 2020 https://lmg.gg/o1m0m (BNN Bloomberg)
Deal also includes Star Wars: KotOR remake, which is apparently not dead https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/embracer-is-reportedly-selling-saber-interactive-for-500-million-including-its-star-wars-kotor-remake/
Deal may also allow Saber to bring along other Embracer subsidiaries, no details on which yet https://lmg.gg/jSWy9 (VGC)
Also apparently escaping is Gearbox https://kotaku.com/borderlands-4-gearbox-embracer-acquisition-1851297286
After months of uncertainty https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/report-embracer-might-sell-gearbox-two-years-after-1-38-billion-acquisition
According to Kotaku, Gearbox is being sold and the deal ΓÇ£is in the late stages of being finalizedΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/rbh1F (Kotaku)
 
QUICK BITS
 
NEW ADHD FUN PARK INCOMING
Video Game History Foundation opening digital version of its research library
https://www.theverge.com/24064103/video-game-history-foundation-digital-library
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUaUXAE1nTM
 
AN EPIC DECISION
Best version of remastered Tomb Raider trilogy on Epic Games Store made worse by devs
https://kotaku.com/tomb-raider-remastered-trilogy-epic-store-better-patch-1851297727
Massive twitter thread of differences https://twitter.com/small_medipack/status/1762242732301427179
Video shows better lighting, shadows, more https://youtu.be/dOfW62cehu0?t=15
First comment quote ΓÇ£\"Content in that Epic Games Store build contained some work-in-progress materials that do not represent our final quality expectations. We have corrected the build to match the live Steam version.\" https://steamcommunity.com/app/2478970/eventcomments/4308326918578387315?snr=1_5_9_
 
GLORY TO JOEL
The outcomes of Helldivers 2ΓÇÖ dynamic galactic conflict are the work of a dude named Joel
Helldivers players praying to Joel on the subreddit https://www.reddit.com/r/Helldivers/search/?q=joel&restrict_sr=1
 
COULDNΓÇÖT MAKE THE LEAP
WRC and Theatrhythm stopped working because of the leap day
Fix requires changing the date
https://www.vooks.net/theatrhythm-final-bar-line-wont-load-on-leap-days/
https://twitter.com/EAHelp/status/1763192737300390238
 
THEY ARE, IN FACT, MAD
WoW Classic guilds trying to kill boss whoΓÇÖs name is basically ΓÇ£u mad broΓÇ¥ backwards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OooNY-C4c4w
A Blizzard employee even jumped in to try and help https://www.reddit.com/r/classicwow/comments/1b2jm5v/a_gm_appeared_and_tanked_the_boss_during_the_raid/
ΓÇÿakh is apparently brother/bro in Arabic https://translate.google.com/?sl=en&tl=ar&text=bro&op=translate
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NINTENDO LAWYERS EXHAUSTED, MISS THEIR FAMILIES
Nintendo files 32 patents, 31 related to TotK
First reported by Automaton includes specific character abilities and also loading screens https://automaton-media.com/en/news/20230808-20590/
Patented physics https://twitter.com/eigenbom/status/1689383235388665856
Not out of character, patented looking at interesting things https://twitter.com/eigenbom/status/1689402111119728640
 
 
HEARTS CAPTURED BY HORNY GAME
BaldurΓÇÖs Gate surpasses TotK as 2023ΓÇÖs highest rated game on Metacritic
https://kotaku.com/baldurs-gate-3-bg3-reviews-metacritic-score-zelda-totk-1850724398
Devs had to fix game-breaking bug caused by the gameΓÇÖs scale https://www.eurogamer.net/baldurs-gate-3-update-fixes-game-breaking-bug-because-theres-too-much-to-do
Hotfix notes https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1086940/view/6199820457237465522
Horny game https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/baldurs-gate-3-is-a-relentlessly-horny-video-game
 
PRIDE AND ACCOMPLISHMENT ACTUALLY ACHIEVED
Modern Warfare III will carry over your arsenal from MW2, including cosmetics
Announcement https://www.callofduty.com/blog/2023/08/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-II-to-modern-warfare-III-carry-forward
Caveats: https://lmg.gg/Q9DOb (Sports Illustrated)
Feelings of ΓÇ£MWIII is an expansion of MWIIΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/262qS (Insider Gaming)
Blog states ΓÇ£impressive amountΓÇ¥ of MWIII-specific content https://lmg.gg/MY5IE (CoD blog)
 
QUICK BITS
 
EA KILLING WAITSTAFF, NO REPURCUSSIONS
EA shuttering servers for older titles
https://www.pcgamer.com/electronic-arts-is-closing-the-servers-for-even-more-old-games-including-dead-space-2-crysis-3-and-mirrors-edge-catalyst/
Also DanteΓÇÖs Inferno https://www.purexbox.com/news/2023/08/ea-is-closing-the-servers-for-three-more-xbox-360-titles-this-year
 no word from EA if titles will still be available on digital storefronts https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ea-to-shut-down-online-servers-for-three-more-titles
They removed several Battefield games https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/battlefield/legacy-sunset
 
GRAND THEFT OF YOUR WALLET
Take-Two Interactive Software earnings call
https://venturebeat.com/games/take-two-reports-june-quarter-bookings-of-1-2b-up-20/
Hint at GTA 6 launch ΓÇ£significant inflection point in fiscal 2025ΓÇ¥ https://insider-gaming.com/gta-6-2024-release-date-2/
Asked about RDR for Switch price, says itΓÇÖs ΓÇ£commercially accurateΓÇ¥ https://www.ign.com/articles/take-two-ceo-says-red-dead-redemption-port-pricing-is-commercially-accurate
 
WE TRIED TO PLAYTEST BUT COULDNΓÇÖT SEE ANYTHING
Dark and Darker early access launch
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/dark-and-darker-launches-today-just-not-on-steam/1100-6516632/
Fan backlash over them selling character classes in a ΓÇ£Buy to Play gameΓÇ¥ https://www.pcgamer.com/in-the-face-of-player-backlash-dark-and-darker-developers-say-they-may-stop-selling-character-classes/
Devs have said the game ΓÇ£realisticallyΓÇ¥ had to add microtransactions https://www.pcgamesn.com/dark-and-darker/microtransactions
 
BIG SAD: THE MUSICAL
Stray Gods release
RE: it changing its release date https://www.pcgamer.com/stray-gods-has-changed-its-release-date-to-avoid-baldurs-gate-3-which-changed-its-release-date-to-avoid-starfield/
Some giving high reviews https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/stray-gods-a-roleplaying-musical-review-worthy-of-an-encore/1900-6418099/
Others criticize runtime and minimal story variations https://www.inverse.com/gaming/stray-gods-roleplaying-musical-review-pc
 
DENUV-NO
Tekken 8 director says no Denuvo
https://wccftech.com/tekken-8-director-confirms-the-game-wont-feature-denuvo-on-pc/
Harada previously accused Denuvo of harming Tekken 7 performance
https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/984791954872569857
Denuvo in Tekken 8ΓÇÖs EULA, Harada cleared the air in the most Harada way:ΓÇ£ stop your tedious allergic reactions to every single thing & sit quietly (sit the hell down)ΓÇ£ https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/1688677772116504576
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TALES OF THE CRYPTO KEEPERS
Playtron and Mysten Labs team up to launch a web3 gaming handheld
Playtron https://www.playtron.one/
Mysten Labs https://mystenlabs.com/
Called the SuiPlay0X1 https://twitter.com/SuiNetwork/status/1777990298385219986
\"asset ownership directly connected to a device's account system for the first time in gaming history.\" https://lmg.gg/Tt54y (Ars Technica)
True technically, but Ars Technica points out you can also buy and sell things on SteamΓÇÖs community market https://steamcommunity.com/market/
\"users can transfer assets freely between each other without ever thinking about crypto or wallet addresses,\" https://lmg.gg/ZH1aP (Ars Technica)
Which is exactly what you can do now for most games
like MtG Online https://www.mtgo.com/en/mtgo/trading
Gave interview to Decrypt https://decrypt.co/225578/sui-gaming-handheld-steam-deck-runs-pc-crypto-games
Point out Steam doesnΓÇÖt allow blockchain games https://lmg.gg/vyjnb (Decrypt)
Promising exclusive tokens and benefits for users https://lmg.gg/zJGpT (Decrypt)
Something Epic has tried with games, not exactly working https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/11/07/tim-sweeneys-epic-games-store-is-still-losing-money-after-five-years/?sh=7e6c873a568e
 
THE SCREW 2
Ubisoft is removing The Crew from gamersΓÇÖ libraries
After youtuber Ross Scott launched a campaign to take on Ubisoft for shutting down The Crew https://youtu.be/w70Xc9CStoE
He also launched website Stop Killing Games https://www.stopkillinggames.com/
Scott tweeted last week that he was getting reports https://twitter.com/accursedfarms/status/1778402114177212513
Reports on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1c1y7h3/ubisoft_revoking_licenses_for_the_crew_preventing/
Group trying to make game playable again through community server https://www.pcgamer.com/games/racing/ubisoft-is-stripping-peoples-licences-for-the-crew-weeks-after-its-shutdown-nearly-squandering-hopes-of-private-servers-and-acting-as-a-stark-reminder-of-how-volatile-digital-ownership-is/
Group is saddened by news, but believes they can still make their project work without cracking or piracy https://lmg.gg/OapZP (PC Gamer)
In better news, Lawbreakers is being revived by fans https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/04/fans-resurrect-lawbreakers-servers-cliffy-b-nods-approvingly
Unlike The Crew, they have full support of creator Cliff Bleszinski https://twitter.com/therealcliffyb/status/1779235918433391086
 
CRAWL OUT THROUGH THE FALLOUT, BABY
Fallout 4 next-gen upgrade finally coming about a year late
https://fallout.bethesda.net/en/article/4s2bXQEbpcrsdCZhUYLHAi/fallout-4-is-getting-free-updates
Delaying game-sized mod Fallout London
https://kotaku.com/fallout-4-next-gen-update-london-mod-1851410501
Fallout 76 player count breaks all-time record after ΓÇô apparently, excellent ΓÇô TV show debut
https://www.thegamer.com/fallout-76-most-players-ever-after-tv-show-release/
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/fallout-games-double-in-player-count-after-prime-video-show
Great reviews https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/apr/11/prime-fallout-review-an-absolute-blast-of-a-tv-show
Second season incoming https://variety.com/2024/biz/news/california-film-tv-tax-incentive-fallout-amazon-1235963577/
show has an easter egg you can call to hear a man screaming
https://www.eurogamer.net/fallout-tv-series-in-show-phone-number-might-be-teasing-news-in-33-weeks
But if you text, you get a possible teaser https://lmg.gg/153P9 (Eurogamer)
 
QUICK BITS
 
NEW BROMANCE UNLOCKED
Nier: Automata and Stellar Blade creators have the cutest interview ever
https://www.ign.com/articles/stellar-blade-x-nier-automata-taro-yoko-hyung-tae-kim
Yoko Taro thinks Stellar Blade is better than Nier: Automata
 
NINTENDIDNΓÇÖT
First emulator comes to iPhone, immediately removed
https://gizmodo.com/apple-pulls-first-game-boy-emulator-from-app-store-1851410111
For copying someone OTHER than NintendoΓÇÖs homework
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/04/15/apple-removes-igba-from-app-store/
Was a copycat of Riley TestutΓÇÖs open-source GB4iOS app, as Testut points out on Threads https://www.threads.net/@rileytestut/post/C5u935tNaPs
 
FATHER, SON, AND HOLY FRAMERATE
PS5 Pro (Codnamed Trinity) confirmed (again) https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/15/24130716/sony-ps5-pro-specs-release-date-rumors
Sony copyright-struck MLID leak video https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1780011358580269500
SonyΓÇÖs asking devs to create ΓÇ£EnhancedΓÇ¥ modes for games https://kotaku.com/ps5-pro-leaks-specs-enhanced-trinity-60fps-1851413329
 
HUTT CONTENT
Star Wars Outlaws Jabba mission locked behind Season Pass
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/star-wars-outlaws-dollar110-and-dollar130-editions-prompt-a-collective-sigh-from-potential-players-tired-of-season-passes-and-ill-advised-early-access-periods/ Ubisoft responds: everybodyΓÇÖs gonna get Jabba missions ok calm down
https://insider-gaming.com/ubisoft-responds-to-star-wars-outlaws-backlash-over-jabba-mission/
 
SONIC AND SHADOWΓÇÖS EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
Keanu Reeves is the voice of Shadow the Hedgehog in Sonic The Hedgehog 3
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/keanu-reeves-joins-sonic-3-shadow-1235874487/
https://mynintendonews.com/2024/04/15/rumor-keanu-reeves-to-play-shadow-in-sonic-movie-3/
https://deadline.com/2024/04/keanu-reeves-voicing-shadow-sonic-the-hedgehog-3-1235886277/
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WHO CONTROLS THE CONTROLLERS?
Sony fined for allegedly manipulating PS4 market
press release from anti-trust regulator https://www.autoritedelaconcurrence.fr/en/article/autorite-de-la-concurrence-fines-sony-eu135-million-abusing-its-dominant-position-ps4-video
Fine imposed ΓÇ£jointly and severallyΓÇ¥ on parent company and 3 subsidiaries https://lmg.gg/ZXOuy (French Press Release)
Two practices sanctioned:
1.     Technical countermeasures used to combat “counterfeiting” affected function of 3rd party accessories https://lmg.gg/iU3yC (French Competition Authority)
2.     “opaque licensing program” that made it difficult for rival companies to join https://lmg.gg/EQAUt (French Competition Authority)
Interesting because of XboxΓÇÖs new third-party accessory ban https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/xboxs-new-policy-say-goodbye-to-unofficial-accessories-after-novembe
But now could be issues if their licensing isnΓÇÖt up to snuff https://www.xbox.com/en-US/designed-for-xbox
Their ΓÇ£branding guidelines and technical specificationsΓÇ¥ are only available to licensed partners https://lmg.gg/hE9jb (Xbox)
 
CHOCOBO COIN INCOMING
Square Enix is still all for AI
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/square-enix-intends-to-be-aggressive-with-ai/1100-6520074/
According to ΓÇ£A New YearΓÇÖs Letter from the PresidentΓÇ¥ https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/news/2024/html/a_new_years_letter_from_the_president_4.html
Blockchain too but fortunately less than last yearΓÇÖs letter https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-blockchain-is-still-a-focus-for-square-enix-in-2024-along-with-aggressive-use-of-ai-in-gamedev
But still, AI is the way to go for them https://kotaku.com/square-enix-president-artificial-intelligence-ai-games-1851133573
Believes AI ΓÇ£has the ability to shape what we createΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/cy41s (Official letter)
want to ΓÇ£enhance development productivityΓÇ¥ in the short term https://lmg.gg/FyTC4 (Kotaku)
Long term: develop new content forms https://lmg.gg/AL8bV (Kotaku)
3 fields of investment, AKA the buzzwords of 2022-2023 https://lmg.gg/wBrE2 (Letter)
These will allow employees to express their individuality https://lmg.gg/c6s88 (Letter)
 
 
ACCESS DENIED
Tekken 8 accessibility options concerning experts
Giving players migraines allegedly https://www.pcgamesn.com/tekken-8/colorblind-mode
Looks like this EPILEPSY WARNING NOT A JOKE https://youtu.be/qzq4ql0ZPIw
Accessibility expert Ian Hamilton warns it may hospitalize players https://twitter.com/ianhamilton_/status/1740035387991720260
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/dec/16/pokemon-explosion-tv-japan-children-hospital
Director Katsuhiro Harada says people ΓÇ£have misunderstood the optionsΓÇ¥ https://www.eurogamer.net/tekken-8-director-says-players-raising-accessibility-concerns-have-misunderstood-the-options
Many quotes from twitter post: https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/1740267756111671707
-       \"multiple types of color vision options\"
-       “we have never claimed or publicized that these options cover all players' color vision”
-       “we have been working with several research institutes and communities to develop this option even before we developed the \"accessibility version of TEKKEN7 (not for sale)\" and #TEKKEN8”
To be fair, fighting games haven’t been very accessible historically https://www.pcgamer.com/street-fighter-6s-modern-controls-are-the-accessibility-breakthrough-that-finally-let-me-compete-in-fighting-games/ 
 
QUICK BITS
 
THE HAPPIEST ANNOUNCEMENT ON EARTH
Have a release window for Star Wars Outlaws, thanks to a Disney Parks blog…
https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/01/02/star-wars-outlaws-releasing-late-2024-according-to-disney
#22 on the list: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2024/01/24-oooh-worthy-things-at-disney-experiences-in-2024/
Galactic Starcruiser thing https://youtu.be/QyY2gH6MYaE?t=245 @4:05
 
THE CITY IS SAVED
The Sinking City dev wins legal battle, now sole publisher
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/750130/view/3860212413458278274?l=english
https://www.destructoid.com/frogwares-regains-full-publishing-rights-for-the-sinking-city/
 
HOW DO YOU MEASURE A YEAR IN THE LIFE?
Steam sets new record for # of games released in a year
https://kotaku.com/steam-pc-new-releases-valve-2023-1851133788
 
CS:GOING, CS:GONE
New year marked full official death of CS:GO
https://www.techradar.com/gaming/consoles-pc/csgo-support-has-officially-ended-after-10-years
https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/valve-officially-leaves-csgo-behind/
https://insider-gaming.com/valve-moving-on-from-csgo/
 
DISNEYΓÇÖS EPIC MICKEY
The inevitable new public domain character horror game announced, itΓÇÖs Mickey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHdyw1_r4Ug
Same thing happened with Winnie the Pooh https://www.ign.com/articles/winnie-the-pooh-is-now-the-subject-of-a-bizarre-indie-horror-game
Kinda like Phasmophobia and Lethal Company
https://store.steampowered.com/app/739630/Phasmophobia/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1966720/Lethal_Company/
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PORT AUTHORITY
MajoraΓÇÖs Mask PC port with Steam Deck support, gyro aiming, more
https://wccftech.com/native-zelda-majoras-mask-pc-port/
GitHub page https://github.com/Mr-Wiseguy/N64Recomp
Uses DarioΓÇÖs RT64 as renderer https://twitter.com/dariosamo/status/1789049137729515533
Mr. Wise GuyΓÇÖs MajoraΓÇÖs Mask footage https://youtu.be/GIp7C2ro2T8
Every game could follow https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/13/24155636/n64-recompiled-port-nintendo-games-zelda-majoras-mask
Statically recompiles N64 binaries into C code that can ΓÇ£be compiled into native apps for any platformΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/4iv3m (The Verge)
Even better, the compiled apps donΓÇÖt contain game assets, so they can be shared around no problem https://lmg.gg/Y1TxE (The Verge)
Even Superman 64 has a port https://youtu.be/ywWwUuWRgsM?t=208
 
EATING CROWCOBO
Square Enix wants multiplatform releases BAD
shares see biggest decline in 13 years https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/square-enix-shares-tumble-by-most-in-13-years-on-weak-outlook-1.2072502
FF7 Rebirth, FF16, Foamstars all disappointed https://www.ign.com/articles/final-fantasy-7-rebirth-final-fantasy-16-and-foamstars-all-failed-to-meet-square-enixs-expectations
ΓÇ£aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy that includes Nintendo platforms, PlayStation, Xbox, and PCs,\" it says. https://lmg.gg/OBPgy (Forbes)
Shift from ΓÇ£quantity to qualityΓÇ¥ https://twistedvoxel.com/square-enix-to-aggressively-pursue-multiplatform-releases-quality-over-quantity/
Specific quote https://lmg.gg/DRFod (Twisted Voxel)
Apparently that includes staff; layoffs announced https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/square-enix-confirms-us-eu-layoffs-as-part-of-restructuring/
Mostly affects publishing, IT, and Collective indie games division https://lmg.gg/ev134 (VGC)
 
FALLOUT 4 FALLOUT (2)
Fallout 4 got ANOTHER ΓÇ£next-gen updateΓÇ¥ that no one wanted
https://kotaku.com/fallout-4-new-update-next-gen-patch-stop-bethesda-mods-1851473401
First update came and it broke every mod https://www.reddit.com/r/fo4/comments/1ccqt9g/fallout_4_update_megathread/
Broke Fallout 4 Script Extender, backbone for many OTHER mods https://f4se.silverlock.org/
Swimming issue https://www.reddit.com/r/Fallout/comments/1cf4o17/next_gen_update_going_swimmingly/
So people werenΓÇÖt super excited for round 2 https://www.reddit.com/r/Fallout/comments/1couvrs/bethesda_is_going_to_update_fallout_4_again_on/
Finally added graphics settings to consoles but ΓÇ£highly recommendΓÇ¥ you donΓÇÖt use them https://www.gamesradar.com/games/fallout/bethesda-adds-the-fallout-4-graphics-settings-the-community-wanted-from-the-first-next-gen-update-but-the-devs-highly-recommend-you-dont-use-them/
Can now choose between 30, 40, 60 FPS but need 120Hz display for 40 option https://lmg.gg/WvD14 (GamesRadar)
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
FREE TRIP TO LAKE LAOGAI
Marvel Rivals forces creators not to give negative reviews to access game preview
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd1wwlvd9yko
Streamer Brandon Larned aka Seagull tweeted a snippet of the agreement https://twitter.com/A_Seagull/status/1789468582281400792
NetEaseΓÇÖs apology https://twitter.com/MarvelRivals/status/1789895401723822410
 
BROUGHT TO YOU BY BURGER KING /S
EA considering in-game ads
 
AWESOME CHOICE, GREAT JOB!
Warner Bros decides to give Adult Swim Games back to devs
https://www.polygon.com/24153665/warner-bros-adult-swim-games-delisting-steam-update
 
DIGITAL YARD SALE
Xbox 360 sale on some non-backwards-compatible games
https://www.trueachievements.com/news/non-backwards-compatible-xbox-360-games-sale
Xbox 360 store closing July 29, 2024 https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/08/17/xbox-360-store-will-close-july-2024/
More than 220 digital games will be gone, though some may have been re-released on other platforms https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/analysis-more-than-220-digital-games-will-disappear-when-the-xbox-360-store-closes/ 
 
FIVE NIGHTS AT STALINGRAD
Someone added FNaF jumpscares to WW2 strategy sim
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3237871167
Footage (jumpscare warning) https://youtu.be/kHVedduFYms?t=58
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GAMES STUCK IN BLIZZARD TAKE STEAM BATH
Multiple Blizzard games coming to Steam, starting with Overwatch 2
https://twitter.com/Steam/status/1681722033162584064?t=XzH9kh-xhvwL2tv4TzTUjg&s=19
Probably because interest is dying https://lmg.gg/LXIi1
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/overwatch-2-invasion-costs-money
Overwatch League at risk of shutdown https://www.gamesradar.com/the-overwatch-league-could-end-this-season-saddling-blizzard-with-a-dollar114-million-termination-fee/
50 employees from ABΓÇÖs esports dept laid off, might be closing dept for good
https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/19/23799550/activision-blizzard-esports-layoffs-overwatch-league-owl
ΓÇ£WELCOME TO HELLΓÇ¥ NOT JUST A TAGLINE
Diablo IV season 1 starts today, the lead-up has been painful
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/diablo4/23976339/season-of-the-malignant-coming-soon
Blizzard nerfed critical damage and Vulnerable damageΓÇöwhat most builds are built around https://lmg.gg/pSxGg (Kotaku)
Added secret level requirements to World Tiers 3 and 4 https://gamerant.com/diablo-4-update-world-tiers-3-4-level-requirements/
Luckily they changed course (a bit) https://www.gamespot.com/articles/last-minute-diablo-4-season-1-update-is-already-addressing-fan-complaints/1100-6516147/
DOLPHIN FLEES TO COOLER WATERS
Dolphin abandoning plans to launch on Steam
https://www.polygon.com/23801889/dolphin-wii-emulator-steam-gamecube-nintendo
Nintendo taken no legal action https://www.gamespot.com/articles/dolphin-emulator-team-abandons-plan-to-launch-it-on-steam/1100-6516124/
Valve required them to reach an agreement with Nintendo (lol) https://lmg.gg/6IPHZ
Believe same DMCA section NintendoΓÇÖs lawyers cited to Valve protects Dolphin https://lmg.gg/qJVEG
Even if it doesnΓÇÖt, removing Wii common key wonΓÇÖt change that https://lmg.gg/dEOEa
QUICK BITS
WE NEED MORE TIME!
Activision merger deadline extended
https://www.ign.com/articles/microsoft-and-activision-blizzard-officially-postpone-merger-deadline
Obligatory Lulu Cheng Meservey tweet https://twitter.com/lulumeservey/status/1681644640368304129
Different penalties if Microsoft doesnΓÇÖt close by August, September (EDITOR: click on photo attached to tweet) https://twitter.com/BradSmi/status/1681647628554211330
Bobby Kotick will stick around https://www.gamespot.com/articles/activision-blizzard-ceo-bobby-kotick-addresses-plans-to-stick-around-after-microsofts-acquisition/1100-6516140/
INFORMATION BIOHAZARD
Leaker claims Resident Evil 9 dropping in 2025, announced next year
https://gamerant.com/resident-evil-9-release-date-2024-2025/
Same leaker says another major title will be announced end of this year https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/153gvh7/dusk_golem_capcom_announcing_a_major_title_this/
Same leaker that detailed the first 30 minutes of RE8 two months before release https://twitter.com/AestheticGamer1/status/1371291306031341570
THE NEXT FORTNITE: FORTNITE
Bungie and EA veterans form new studio: first game called Outlaw Corral
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/bungie-and-ea-veterans-form-look-north-world
This game and every other will exist inside Fortnite https://kotaku.com/bungie-founder-ea-fortnite-uefn-look-north-new-studio-1850653221
Because EpicΓÇÖs UEFN allows people to make unique games inside Fortnite and get paid https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/engagement-payouts-in-fortnite-creative
EVERY WIND YOU BREAK
Pokemon Sleep released
https://gizmodo.com/pokemon-sleep-review-cozy-game-rest-snorlax-go-1850652225
Pokemon Go players using it to unlock special Snorlax https://www.eurogamer.net/pokemon-sleep-exploit-sees-players-pretend-to-rack-up-weeks-of-sleep-for-pokemon-go-rewards    
Records your night farts https://kotaku.com/pokemon-sleep-records-farts-noises-release-date-us-1850655746
Example https://twitter.com/TheDarkMesh/status/1678931289687093249
OH SCHWEETZ, SOMETHINGΓÇÖS WRONG
Dreamlight Valley update ΓÇ£DreamSnapsΓÇ¥ released
Caused a mess of issues https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2023/07/19/disney-dreamlight-valley-dreamsnaps-update-error-201/
Coincidentally, the update added Wreck-it Ralph character known for glitching games https://www.gamesradar.com/disneys-take-on-animal-crossing-glitches-out-after-adding-character-known-for-glitching-games/
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PROFFESSOR LAYDEN AND THE BASED TAKE
Former PS boss Shawn Layden has things to say about exclusivity
Gave an interview to GamesBeat https://venturebeat.com/games/how-former-playstation-boss-views-gamings-tumultuous-time-shawn-layden-interview/
ΓÇ£When your costs for a game exceed $200 million, exclusivity is your AchillesΓÇÖ heel.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/2dclb (VentureBeat/GamesBeat)
ΓÇ£It reduces your addressable market. Particularly when youΓÇÖre in the world of live service gaming or free-to-play.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/QXgxu (VentureBeat/GamesBeat)
ΓÇ£Helldivers 2 has shown that for PlayStation, coming out on PC at the same time. Again, you get that funnel wider. You get more people in.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/AyP1o (VentureBeat/GamesBeat)
Followed up in live podcast WhatΓÇÖs Up PlayStation https://youtu.be/PnSB66PR9nY
ΓÇ£exclusivity is super important if youΓÇÖre trying to break into a business; if youΓÇÖre trying to tell people ΓÇÿthis is why weΓÇÖre different, this is what you can get here that you canΓÇÖt get there.ΓÇÖ Over time, I think exclusivity becomes LESS important, and if youΓÇÖve established your platform and people understand what it is you can bring and why it would be different HERE than that game would be over THERE; then youΓÇÖve solved the argument.ΓÇ¥ https://youtu.be/PnSB66PR9nY?t=1636
 
DEMOCRACY NEEDS MORE AVAILABLE SHOWERS
Helldivers 2 has bugs that can ΓÇ£smellΓÇ¥ you
https://www.techradar.com/gaming/helldivers-2-has-bugs-that-can-smell-you
Game Director Johan Pilestedt and head of product testing Patrik Lasota dropped in on content creator Operator Drewski to play and talk about the game https://youtu.be/FJs_kqHrzzQ
ΓÇ£If you're in proximity to some of the units that are very sensory aware like the Stalker, they will detect you, no matter if they can see you [or not].\" https://lmg.gg/cHWs3 (TechRadar)
Pilestedt also tweeted players unlocked mechs 4x faster than anticipated https://twitter.com/Pilestedt/status/1766182204541944020
Those mechs arenΓÇÖt GREAT, tho https://www.polygon.com/24097309/helldivers-2-mech-bad-satire-fascism
HereΓÇÖs how they suck, but it makes sense https://lmg.gg/304tx (Polygon)
What SHOULDN’T suck is the kicking system, Johan asks community for help https://twitter.com/Pilestedt/status/1766568830908662092
More updates maybe on the way: third faction, the Illuminate, that appeared in the original game https://www.theloadout.com/helldivers-2/illuminate-third-faction
 
GAMER FINDS A HAPPIER ALTERNATE TIMELINE
TimeSplitters 4 prototype found on PS3 devkit
Redditor bought test console on eBay for £525 (~$670) https://www.reddit.com/r/PS3/comments/1b44h9z/comment/ksx3hsg/
Captured footage after confirmed it could be booted https://youtu.be/ehsLVShAl40
Free Radical founder David Doak authenticated it https://twitter.com/drdoak/status/1766966330350043517
Looks way better than the one NEW Free Radical was working on before they got canned by Embracer https://www.purexbox.com/features/reaction-timesplitters-next-gameplay-leak-makes-us-crave-a-more-traditional-sequel
Hey look, itΓÇÖs Fortnite https://youtu.be/BesmfPD8fj8?t=70
 
QUICK BITS
 
LEAKED ON THE GREAT WEB
Footage of cancelled Spider-Man multiplayer game
https://insider-gaming.com/the-great-web-trailer-leaked/
https://wccftech.com/spider-man-the-great-web-trailer-leak-spider-gwen/
 
GAMERS HOSPITALIZED WITH DOGMA
DragonΓÇÖs Dogma 2 hype
https://www.vg247.com/dragons-dogma-2-may-be-an-all-time-great-preview
mostly about the character creation
https://kotaku.com/dragons-dogma-2-character-creator-celebrities-1851326312
Bully Maguire https://twitter.com/Sachieehkun/status/1766375759302512938
Paul Atreides https://twitter.com/Jenbox360/status/1766560124179529817
Nightmare Pikachu https://twitter.com/InstantGamingEN/status/1767104859440918823
 
80% CLOSER TO SHAGGYΓÇÖS 100%
Multiversus gets new launch date, rebuilt in UE5
https://www.theverge.com/24097129/multiversus-release-date-warner-bros-games
ΓÇ£ShaggyΓÇÖs sandwiches have never looked betterΓÇ¥ https://youtu.be/W1Yx-Cz0l9U?t=84
 
CLINE OF A BAD IDEA
Ready Player One creator debuts Open metaverse battle royale
From Readyverse Studios, co-founded by blockchain tech company Futureverse and Ernest Cline https://www.readyverse.com/
It’s a battle royale…genius https://gizmodo.com/ready-player-one-ernst-cline-readyverse-studios-open-ga-1851326285
Teaser https://youtu.be/imi2MsalqTQ
ΓÇ£interoperable with top-tier IP through web3 techΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/xcDCG (Gizmodo)
 
THIS ISNΓÇÖT MIYAMOTO
Mario Day broadcast mostly dedicated to movie that wonΓÇÖt release for 2 years
the film is ΓÇ£based on the world of Super Mario Bros.ΓÇ¥ https://youtu.be/vfjmQlWRHgQ?t=20
in a tweet ΓÇ£WeΓÇÖre thinking about broadening MarioΓÇÖs world furtherΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1766815370919497974
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UNITED IN ANGER
Unity charges developers fees PER INSTALL
https://unity.com/pricing-updates
If they pass threshold https://unity.com/sites/default/files/2023-09/NewFeeTable.png
Only installs past the threshold count https://forum.unity.com/threads/unity-plan-pricing-and-packaging-updates.1482750/page-2#post-9289318
F2P devs worried https://twitter.com/kurtruslfanclub/status/1701621432894267593
Game Pass / Humble Bundle https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/unity-drops-its-free-model-for-game-developers-requiring-a-fee-per-installation-it-could-have-a-big-negative-impact-on-xbox-game-pass-too
Or just really popular indie games https://twitter.com/DaniDevYT/status/1701650631948214393
Gave away keys to charity? Bad idea! https://twitter.com/FalconeerDev/status/1701588179080597892
Rami Ismail: you thought review-bombing was bad? https://twitter.com/tha_rami/status/1701623408222462118
Unity: dw about it https://twitter.com/unity/status/1701692364291510524
Garry Newman of GarryΓÇÖs Mod isnΓÇÖt happy https://twitter.com/garrynewman/status/1701591717588435447
Unity clarification post https://twitter.com/unity/status/1701650081403842851
1 year after raising plan prices https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/unity-pro-and-enterprise-plans-are-going-up-in-price
 
MOONSHOT, MISSED
Starfield ΓÇ£bizarrely worse experienceΓÇ¥ on Nvidia and Intel
Radeon RX 6800 XT beats 3080 by 46%
https://youtu.be/ciOFwUBTs5s?t=1245
Daniel Owen https://youtu.be/ciOFwUBTs5s?t=1208
Nvidia driver update should boost performance
Intel CPUs perform WORSE with hyperthreading on
https://youtu.be/ciOFwUBTs5s?t=1584
Todd Howard claims game is optimized for PC
https://youtu.be/Q-yYmq35E3I?t=2
but does ΓÇ£OptimizedΓÇ¥ mean that mods are basically necessary? https://fandomwire.com/fans-unhappy-about-starfield-vanilla-state/
donΓÇÖt worry, mod support in 2024 https://kotaku.com/starfield-official-mod-support-2024-pc-xbox-series-xs-1850825723
can add the Sun back in https://www.techspot.com/news/100099-amd-gpu-users-reportedly-cant-see-sun-any.html
might be worth it for the ship builder https://www.gamesradar.com/starfield-ship-master-builds-a-star-wars-imperial-destroyer-so-epic-that-it-lags-the-game-and-needs-a-21-page-how-to-guide/
QUICK BITS
PC. CONSOLE. IPHONE.
iPhone 15 Pro is the best mobile gaming platform in the world
Ray tracing @1:08:31
2024 brings The Division Resurgence @1:10:09
Resident Evil 4 Remake @1:11:03
Resident Evil Village
Assassin’s Creed Mirage @1:12:11
https://insider-gaming.com/new-iphone-15-pro-can-play-console-versions-of-games/
 
EMBRACE CHANGE
Embracer Group wants to sell Gearbox
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/embracer-group-looks-to-sell-video-game-studio-gearbox-1.1969892
owns more studios than Sony, Microsoft combined
https://embracer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Embracer_Group_ESG_Fact_Sheet_Q1_FY2324.pdf
 
REFRIGERATE AFTER DOWNLOADING
Cyberpunk 2077 dev warns PC gamers to check their cooling before Phantom Liberty launch
linked hard dance classic Fire by Scooter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOV2KWDREB8
later clarified it wonΓÇÖt ΓÇ£melt your PCsΓÇ¥. Thanks https://twitter.com/FilipPierciski/status/1701608550693495158
 
KETTLEΓÇÖS BEEN BOILING A LONG TIME
Steam turned 20 today
https://www.destructoid.com/steam-turns-20-today/
green https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-20th-anniversary/
https://store.steampowered.com/sale/steam20
 
MAD GAMER CRED
Xbox Mastercard ΓÇô A credit card FOR GAMERS
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/09/11/xbox-mastercard/
Sony introduced Playstation Visa in 2017
https://blog.playstation.com/2017/09/29/introducing-the-new-playstation-credit-card/
https://c.comenity.net/legaldocs/playstationvisa/legal-documents/schumerbox-cca
has better interest rates than Xbox Card
https://www.barclaycardus.com/applycontent/TnCs.jsp?tc45206
Personalize your card with your gamertag https://lmg.gg/xlaHT
 
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EAI
EA wants to get into generative AI during speaking event
60% of development could be ΓÇ£impacted by generative AIΓÇ¥ https://www.gamedeveloper.com/production/ea-ceo-60-percent-of-dev-processes-could-be-impacted-by-generative-ai-
Could make company 30% more efficient https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ea-says-generative-ai-could-make-it-30-more-efficient-and-boost-monetisation-by-up-20-over-5-years/
Says it will drive MTX sales, get games made faster after laying off 670 people https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-says-ai-will-drive-microtransaction-sales-help-games-get-made-faster-no-comment-on-human-impact/1100-6521669/
CEO Andrew Wilson says company devs are excited about this https://lmg.gg/yyEaj (VGC)
Even though he had previously stated AI advancements would lead to job losses https://lmg.gg/6HIRy (GameSpot)
Says it in a quote here https://www.ign.com/articles/ea-ceo-video-games-will-be-one-of-the-greatest-beneficiaries-of-ai
In every revolution “there has been displacement of the workforce in the near term, and then meaningful increases in workforce opportunities over the longer term.” 
Believes can increase player base by 50% and spending by 10-20% https://lmg.gg/V51uJ (TechRaptor)
Starts getting weirder https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/ea-ceo-talks-ai-says-the-usual-stuff-before-the-bong-rip-hits-and-he-starts-blabbing-about-a-future-where-3-billion-people-are-creating-eas-games-with-it/
ΓÇ£3 billion players around the worldΓÇ¥ will make content for them https://lmg.gg/vvINT (PC Gamer)
ΓÇ£multi-billion dollar opportunityΓÇ¥ for EA https://lmg.gg/eWsVf (PC Gamer)
 
BITTERSWEET BABY
Kotaku releases report on Sweet Baby Inc
https://kotaku.com/sweet-baby-inc-consulting-games-alan-wake-2-dei-1851312428
blew up when some company employees got wind of a steam curator which games Sweet baby had worked on https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44858017/
at least one employee encouraged mass flagging of the steam profile of curator https://nichegamer.com/sweet-baby-employees-incite-harassment-campaign-against-steam-curator/
Sweet baby has said some kind of alarming stuff, like this small snipped from a half hour presentation where co-founder Kim Belair advises terrifying the marketing team to “get what you want”, https://youtu.be/GfMsxjWgUbI?t=1527
Starts accusations that company is here for cancelling games
Developers have come out in defense of Sweet Baby https://www.eurogamer.net/spider-man-alan-wake-ridiculous-fishing-devs-speak-up-in-support-of-consultancy-studio-sweet-baby-inc
Alan Wake 2 director had to dispel rumors that black co-protagonist would have been white if not for Sweet Baby https://twitter.com/TimePirateNinja/status/1764697135344202183
Inde dev Rami Ismail states consultants are advisory, easily eliminated https://twitter.com/tha_rami/status/1765505282417840638
Associate narrative director at Insomniac games Mary Kenney states studios get final say https://twitter.com/marykanpie/status/1765390600621207800
Having SAID that, in the same presentation Belair discusses a Dating Simulator where SHE saw a chance to represent women who had been victimized via a line of dialogue https://youtu.be/GfMsxjWgUbI?t=550
The devs instead took out the dialogue altogether and thanked her because she ΓÇ£mitigated the riskΓÇ¥ https://youtu.be/GfMsxjWgUbI?t=621
Belair claims to Kotaku that they do more than just DEI https://lmg.gg/OL3WA (Kotaku)
Feels that detractors ΓÇ£canΓÇÖt imagineΓÇ¥ that she did story work on Spider-Man, wasnΓÇÖt ΓÇ£adding pride flagsΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/PYlrV (Kotaku)
 
PREVIEWTIFUL
Xbox Partner Showcase
Bunch of announcements https://www.gameinformer.com/xbox-partner-preview/2024/03/06/everything-announced-at-todays-xbox-partner-preview
Sinking City 2 in development https://youtu.be/VN5voXpAd0I
after long legal battle https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/frogwares-regain-control-of-the-sinking-city-but-all-old-saves-will-break-soon
First 3 STALKER games shadow-dropped on Xbox https://youtu.be/-MO-ZDMBVqk
Frostpunk 2 https://youtu.be/KF7z5TDeQFc
Sleight of Hand https://youtu.be/YVd4bEiiCIU
Chucky coming to Roblox for some reason https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM9dbxSiI8g
Persona 3 Reload DLC slightly disappointing https://youtu.be/gKcEkaUF4zo
Adding The Answer as DLC, was included in FES version https://www.polygon.com/24092403/persona-3-reload-dlc-the-answer
No word on Female main character https://www.thegamer.com/persona-3-reload-fans-given-up-hope-femc-kotone-dlc/
 
QUICK BITS
 
JOEL GIVETH, JOEL TAKETH AWAY
Helldivers 2 players unhappy with balance patch
some devs make bad comments https://www.gamesradar.com/helldivers-2-ceo-says-arrowhead-has-taken-action-internally-to-educate-our-developers-after-game-balance-debates-got-out-of-hand/
Back to good stuff: players must liberate planet to unlock mechs, so says Joel https://www.ign.com/articles/helldivers-2-players-descend-upon-planet-tien-kwan-in-bid-to-unlock-mechs
 
WARN YOUR BROS.
Warner Bros. kills Rooster Teeth, outlines strategy
https://www.polygon.com/24092726/rooster-teeth-shut-down-warner-bros
pulls indie game https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/03/its-kind-of-depressing-wb-discovery-pulls-indie-game-for-business-changes/
 
VACATION REQUESTS FOR MAY SKYROCKET
Ghost of Tsushima coming to PC in May
https://www.engadget.com/ghost-of-tsushima-is-coming-to-pc-on-may-16-171130401.html https://youtu.be/EzWBNwhb870
 
DRASTIC TIMES CALL FOR DRASTIC MEASURES
3DS emulator Drastic becomes free
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/5/24091561/nintendo-lawsuit-fallout-yuzu
Steam Deck Discord shuts down emulation channel https://lmg.gg/wOHdh (The Verge)
 
A GAMBLE THAT PAID OFF
Balatro sells 500,000 copies in 10 days
https://www.eurogamer.net/rogue-like-poker-hit-balatro-sells-half-a-million-copies-in-ten-days
Gets delisted from Nintendo Switch eShop due to sudden rating change
https://kotaku.com/balatro-nintendo-switch-eshop-removed-gambling-1851301756
Stays on Steam tho https://www.pcgamesn.com/balatro/age-rating-steam
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SWAMPED WITH CONTENT
Shadow of the Erdtree Trailer
Interview with Eurogamer, FromSoftΓÇÖs ΓÇ£largest expansionΓÇ¥ theyΓÇÖve ever made
https://www.eurogamer.net/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree-is-fromsoftwares-largest-expansion-ever
Bigger than Limgrave https://lmg.gg/BIKXe (Eurogamer)
No new input from GRRM, expansion based on original mythos he penned for the game https://lmg.gg/pjqea (Eurogamer)
Says gamers will find difficulty comparable to optional Malenia boss fight https://lmg.gg/c0wbd (Eurogamer)
talks about ΓÇ£more in depth level designΓÇ¥https://lmg.gg/8wEOC
Will have another poison swamp
Elden Ring was a point of ΓÇ£introspectionΓÇ¥
ΓÇ£It was only after creating it that I realised I really like to create poisoned swamps.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/ss4Pk (Eurogamer)
 
XBOXΓÇÖS NINTENBRO
Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase
After rumor of delay
Now we know why:
Grounded announced https://youtu.be/bkBRgdXq-Wg
Pentiment announced too, but less https://youtu.be/0ER2hl7HUWI?t=1140
A lot of other good stuff announced https://www.gameinformer.com/nintendo-direct/2024/02/21/everything-announced-at-todays-nintendo-direct-partner-showcase
Remastered version of Monster Hunter Stories (also coming to PS4 and Steam) with new voiceover, museum mode, and content previously exclusive to Japan https://youtu.be/M2dbbEThIRo?t=20
ItΓÇÖs kind of like pokemon, but instead of catching monsters and Stockholm Syndrome-ing them you straight up kidnap them https://youtu.be/M2dbbEThIRo?t=60
PennyΓÇÖs Big Breakaway (from Sonic Mania devs) surprise-launched https://youtu.be/f8wjN2E8NmA
New version of Shin Megami Tensei V https://youtu.be/GyIY4F4H4sQ
New version isnΓÇÖt Switch exclusive, coming to EVERYTHING https://www.ign.com/articles/shin-megami-tensei-5-vengeance-confirmed-for-playstation-xbox-and-pc-in-atlus-deep-dive
Disney Epic Mickey getting Switch remake https://youtu.be/bIr2LK_65s0
Infestation Origins https://youtu.be/Qe85jZhSflk?t=35
 
VRy UNFORTUNATE TIMING
Sony testing PC compatibility for PSVR2
Mention in blog post
Quote https://lmg.gg/M0H3a
PSVR2 didnΓÇÖt sell super well https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/sony-psvr2-headset-off-to-slow-start-as-metaverse-push-sputters-1.1902325
Big issue was games https://www.thegamer.com/sony-is-making-the-same-mistakes-with-the-psvr2-that-it-made-with-the-ps-vita/
Open source project iVRy claims ΓÇ£ItΓÇÖs likely a streaming solutionΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/iVRy_VR/status/1760658855678128507
But they DID spend $15,000 attempting to do something Sony now may be doing themselves https://twitter.com/iVRy_VR/status/174xd5401181411713416
 
QUICK BITS
 
XBOX PLAY EVERYWHERE
Xbox confirms multiplatform games
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-68312395
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/02/21/new-platforms-new-players-xbox-games-switch-playstation/
https://venturebeat.com/games/xbox-confirms-all-four-new-multiplatform-games/
Only surprised that Hi-Fi Rush isnΓÇÖt coming to Switch https://bethesda.net/en/article/4EFSSM7yky5YtXxLybpv9k/hi-fi-rush-comes-to-playstation-5-on-march-19
 
RANDY PITCH(FORD)
Fan theory points to new Borderlands announcement at PAX East, where 3rd game was announced https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/borderlands-4-game-reveal/
Asked in IGN interview what his favorite Borderlands game is https://www.ign.com/articles/borderlands-4-teased-by-gearbox-founder-randy-pitchford
Says it hasnΓÇÖt been announced yet and ΓÇ£It's the greatest thing we've ever done.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/gEo1O
Tbf this is from the guy that hyped Aliens: Colonial Marines https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2011/06/aliens-colonial-marines-offers-fan-service-no-praying-mantis-xenosaliens-colonial-marines-offers-respect-no-praying-mantis-xenos/
 
LOL, OKAY
LoL Fighting game gets new name
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/riots-league-of-legends-fighter-is-called-2xko-and-its-targeting-a-2025-release/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSjVmgSxfZY
https://www.riotgames.com/en/news/2xko-project-l-2024-preview
 
REVIEW AVALANCHE
FFVI Rebirth Reviews are here
ItΓÇÖs the greatest thing ever https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/video-games/2024/02/22/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth-review/
But ItΓÇÖs too long https://kotaku.com/final-fantasy-7-rebirth-remake-mini-games-third-game-1851272221
ΓÇ£Rebirth is 70 percent vibes, 30 percent plotΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/MYVq7 (Kotaku)
https://www.eurogamer.net/final-fantasy-7-rebirth-review
New JRPG card game dropped https://lmg.gg/gQhx4 (Eurogamer)
 
IΓÇÖM TELLING MOTHER
Mother 3 coming to Nintendo Switch Online, but only in Japan
https://www.engadget.com/mother-3-is-coming-to-switch-online-in-japan-but-not-the-us-150822035.html
Please stop bugging the creator about it https://kotaku.com/mother-3-shigesato-itoi-nintendo-english-localization-1851278597
His tweet (translate it) https://twitter.com/itoi_shigesato/status/1760339347667329304
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NEWS SOURCES:
MAINS
CDPR USES GASLIGHTING…IT’S NOT VERY EFFECTIVE
CD Projekt Red says ΓÇ£We need to fix the relationship with our playersΓÇ¥
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/cd-projekt-we-need-to-fix-the-relationship-with-our-players
Says it ΓÇ£became a cool thing not to like [CyberPunk 2077]ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/6WAYL
Even though the launch was so bad it was pulled from the PlayStation Store https://www.gamesradar.com/sony-pulls-cyberpunk-2077-from-the-playstation-store-until-further-notice/ 
 it made some national tv headlines https://youtu.be/9r65S2oES1s
\"Work-life [balance] is really important to us. It always has been but it was hard to maintain the balance.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/Z4WYT
Maybe also their employees, since there were accusations they were in crunch for over a year on Witcher 3 https://www.gamespot.com/articles/witcher-3-studio-responds-to-crunch-accusations/1100-6422841/
Massive rumours of bad morale and terrible glassdoor reviews led to a public statement https://twitter.com/CDPROJEKTRED/status/919885993171398656
Alt: Promised ΓÇ£more humaneΓÇ¥ working conditions on CP77 https://www.pcgamer.com/cd-projekt-promises-more-humane-cyberpunk-2077-crunch-than-devs-endured-for-the-witcher-3/
Promised it again a month later https://kotaku.com/cd-projekt-red-boss-again-promises-that-cyberpunk-devs-1835518344
Shocker: they didnΓÇÖt keep the promise https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/29/21494499/cyberpunk-2077-development-crunch-time-cd-projekt-red
Entire team to stop excessive working https://lmg.gg/mIRqx
STEP IN FRONT OF A RUNAWAY TRAIN, JUST TO FEEL ALIVE AGAIN
RDR Remaster rumours swirl as KoreaΓÇÖs Media Ratings board releases brand new rating
Actual rating dated this month https://www.grac.or.kr/Statistics/Popup/Pop_ReasonInfo.aspx?f9835d0907c858034d6ce96daaa6a1fda6c813a6a053e8e5ec12581d53453bb0
Media Ratings board has a history of leaking things:
-         Leaked LoL spin-off Mageseeker earlier this year https://www.eurogamer.net/league-of-legends-spin-off-mageseeker-leaked-by-south-korean-rating-board
-         Even leaked Tekken 7 update in 2016 https://www.gamespot.com/articles/tekken-7-producer-criticises-korean-ratings-board-/1100-6434542/ (ALT https://kotaku.com/tekken-developer-the-south-korean-review-board-is-awfu-1757276170 )
-         Leaked plot details of Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch back in 2018 https://www.dazeddigital.com/film-tv/article/42703/1/plot-details-for-the-new-black-mirror-have-leaked
Fan Made RDR Remake Trailer got 1.2 million views https://youtu.be/M92mAlq7_As
THE BACHELOR: CORPORATION EDITION
FTC lawsuit stuff
Microsoft considered buying over 100 game developers, including Bungie, CDPR, Square Enix, and Sega
RE: Sega, planned to keep games multiplatform and re-release non-Xbox exclusives on Xbox
Bethesda Exec ΓÇ£confusedΓÇ¥ by MicrosoftΓÇÖs multiplatform policy for CoD, first shared by Axios reporter Stephen Totilo https://twitter.com/stephentotilo/status/1673470891433271297
Says itΓÇÖs the opposite of what Bethesda was ΓÇ£asked (told)ΓÇ¥ to do https://lmg.gg/EFDHp
Also implied TES6 might be skipping PlayStation https://twitter.com/stephentotilo/status/1673470894595874818
Playstation boss doesnΓÇÖt like Starfield exclusivity but says it isnΓÇÖt anti-competitive https://www.eurogamer.net/sony-boss-jim-ryan-doesnt-like-starfield-exclusivity-but-doesnt-deem-it-anti-competitive
Also, while he initially believed ABK acquisition WASNΓÇÖT about exclusivity, he says opinion changed after correspondence with Phil Spencer in August 2022 https://lmg.gg/2J6V7
QUICK BITS
BREAKING: COMPANY MAKES VAGUE SEMI-PROMISE
Nintendo discusses Switch successor at investor Q&A
Will carry over current Nintendo Accounts https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/nintendo-switch-2-nintendo-accounts-carried-over-lite-oled/
Vague about backward compatibility https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/06/will-nintendos-switch-successor-be-backward-compatible/
Translated Q&A about backward-compatibility https://twitter.com/Cheesemeister3k/status/1673697345693945856
Plan to deal with scalpers: more supply, maybe something else (theyΓÇÖll get back to us) https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2023/06/nintendo-aims-to-reduce-scalping-of-new-hardware
ACCEPT THE COMING OF YOUR NEW LORD.
Gaming News Conglomerate guts staff, seeks ΓÇ£AI EditorΓÇ¥
https://futurism.com/the-byte/gaming-sites-writers-ai-editor
Laid off over 50 staff 3 months ago https://www.strafe.com/news/read/gamurs-group-layoff-a-large-proportion-of-the-workforce/
Tom Henderson of InsiderGaming estimates this was 40% of workforce https://twitter.com/_Tom_Henderson_/status/1668711983019950081
Job posting in question that popped up this month https://web.archive.org/web/20230613212914/https:/gamurs.breezy.hr/p/3a291acf07ac-ai-editor
Own sites Dot Esports and Prima Games, acquired Destructoid and The Escapist https://www.gamesindustry.biz/gamurs-group-buying-enthusiast-gaming-sites-report
HOW TO MAKE LORE DUMPS WORSE
Destiny unveiled one of their most important story cutscenes ever, but with a major issue
They copied a fan’s artwork https://twitter.com/ELEMENTJ21/status/1671281580831297536  
Bungie says they will compensate and credit artist due to mistake https://www.pcgamer.com/bungie-says-it-will-compensate-and-credit-artist-whose-work-was-mistakenly-used-in-this-weeks-major-destiny-2-cutscene/
BIOWARE PUTS OLD REPUBLIC INTO CARE HOME
Bioware confirms SWTOR is being handed off to another studio
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/bioware-confirms-developer-change-for-i-star-wars-the-old-republic-i-
Official Statement from Bioware GM Gary McKay https://blog.bioware.com/2023/06/27/bright-future-for-swtor/
Bioware statement says this is to focus on Dragon Age, Mass Effect https://www.pcgamesn.com/dragon-age-4/bioware-update
Makes sense since Mass Effect still in pre-production https://wccftech.com/mass-effect-still-in-pre-production-bioware-passes-star-wars-the-old-republic-new-dev/
Layoffs will occur due to transition https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/bioware-confirms-layoffs-as-star-wars-the-old-republic-moves-to-new-developer
Broadsword currently only maintains two older MMORPGs, worries about SWTORΓÇÖs future https://www.engadget.com/2014-02-05-mythic-devs-form-new-studio-take-over-daoc-and-ultima-online.html
SUS
Among Us is getting an animated TV adaptation…for reasons (money)
https://www.polygon.com/23775521/among-us-tv-show-infinity-train
Also confirmed by developer Innersloth https://www.innersloth.com/among-us-is-getting-an-animated-series/
Not your childrensΓÇÖ cartoon https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/among-us-animated-series-cbs-studios-owen-dennis-1235655516/
Animation studio is Titmouse https://lmg.gg/uwygF
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Sony selling slimmer PS5s will removable disc drive
https://blog.playstation.com/2023/10/10/new-look-for-ps5-console-this-holiday-season/
Video reveal https://youtu.be/1BU4VXofbQk
Can buy disc drive separately if you change your mind later https://lmg.gg/7LT9N (PlayStation)
Also need to buy a vertical stand https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/the-new-ps5-requires-a-30-add-on-to-stand-upright/
Also launching Sony InZone gaming buds https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/10/23911238/sony-inzone-buds-gaming-earbuds-h5-price
Not to be confused with upcoming PlayStation Pulse Explore earbuds https://www.techradar.com/gaming/ps5/playstation-pulse-explore
 
UNPOPULAR BOSS LEAVES COMPANY…AGAIN
CEO of Unity ΓÇ£retiresΓÇ¥
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/john-riccitiello-retires-as-unity-ceo-after-nine-years
After backlash over pricing fees https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67063855
Press release https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231009494331/en/Unity-Announces-Leadership-Transition
Game devs respond appropriately https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/10/game-devs-say-riccitiello-leaving-unity-is-a-step-in-the-right-direction/
Had to be convinced fantasy was a commercial genre https://lmg.gg/2S2X2 (GamesRadar)
Will remain on payroll until April 9th https://twitter.com/stephentotilo/status/1711737246754501027
 
XBOX CONTRIBUTES TO MODERN AAA GAME EXPERIENCE
Forza Motorsport exposed for graphics downgrade
https://wccftech.com/forza-motorsport-downgrade/
Graphics noticeably different from 2022 reveal gameplay trailer https://exputer.com/news/games/forza-motorsport-visual-downgrade/
YouTuber put comparison together https://youtu.be/glS9Qe47Cv8
Game-breaking bug caused by upgrading a car or purchasing a new car https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/forza-motorsport-xbox-game-breaking-bug/
QUICK BITS
 
NO MORE CHOICES
Humble Games Collection membership perk ending
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/humble-games-will-end-its-monthly-games-service-in-november
 
BETHESDA RUSHES TO FINISH PUBLISHED GAME
Starfield finally adds FOV slider
 
NICE MEMORIES, BE A SHAME IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO EM…
Xbox to start automatically deleting game captures
https://insider-gaming.com/xbox-capture-system-changes/ https://www.purexbox.com/news/2023/10/xbox-confirms-game-captures-will-be-deleted-beginning-january-2024
 
A WIZARD DID IT
Zelda boss ΓÇ£explainsΓÇ¥ missing Sheikah tech in Tears of the Kingdom
 
MEDAL OF LECHONOR
Hogs of War Remaster getting a KickStarter
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/10/ps1-cult-classic-hogs-of-war-is-bringing-home-the-bacon-with-a-crowd-funded-remaster
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxWo54YhYbM&t=58s
https://gamerant.com/hogs-of-war-reheated-remastered-lardcore-kickstarter/
 
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STAY ON TARGET
Star CitizenΓÇÖs Squadron 42 is ΓÇÿfeature completeΓÇÖ, now in polishing phase
https://youtu.be/xKWa4WoTkV4?t=1479
can customize character!! @2:20
simulation things like scopes @24:40
updated rope tech @7:48
base building @6:15:00 in Twitch stream https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1957651690?t=6h15m3s
ΓÇ£When can I play it?ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£When we have the locked release date youΓÇÖll be first to knowΓÇ¥@25:04
ΓÇ£the polish phase can take some timeΓÇ¥ @25:19
ΓÇ£what did you do? I held the lineΓÇ¥ @25:44
 
WASSUP BLOOD
Diablo Blood PC
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/diablo4/24020032/donate-to-the-blood-harvest-earn-in-game-rewards
in-game rewards https://youtu.be/mbhiJbk1UGk?t=23
Red Cross blood shortage https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/press-release/2023/red-cross-announces-national-blood-shortage.html
FAQ https://www.diablobloodharvest.com/faqΓÇÖ
Also, the secret cow level could be real https://www.eurogamer.net/diablo-4-players-make-apparent-breakthrough-in-hunt-for-secret-cow-level
Grampa Joe https://youtu.be/deV5DY978jE
 
WHAT A FUN COMPANY
Nintendo releases ΓÇ£Community Tournament GuidelinesΓÇ¥
https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2023/oct/24/nintendo-community-tournament-guidelines-restrictive/
Nintendo Japan https://twitter.com/Nintendo/status/1716715417669120048
Nintendo UK https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Legal-information/Community-Tournament-Guidelines-2467744.html
 
QUICK SAVES
 
2 FAST 2 BANNED
Counter-Strike 2 players banned for moving mouse fast
https://www.pcgamer.com/counter-strike-2-is-banning-players-for-moving-their-mouse-too-fast/
https://www.pcgamesn.com/counter-strike-2/dpi-bug
https://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalOffensive/comments/17e5a5p/cs2_reproduceable_high_dpi_vac_ban_bug/
 
ACQUISITION ADDICTION
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says theyΓÇÖre ΓÇÿdoubling downΓÇÖ on being a game producer/publisher
 
LEAGUE OF FAKE POPSTARS
Yet another League of Legends music group
 
DID NOT DO A SOLID
Konami addresses Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 issues
Compare to Pachinko release graphics https://youtu.be/ZKSLSf6TvaI?t=165
https://kotaku.com/metal-gear-solid-master-collection-pc-switch-framerate-1850954843
Cutscene pause https://mp1st.com/news/mgs-master-collection-vol-1-cutscenes-can-be-paused-but-it-takes-10-seconds-to-do-so
https://twitter.com/ApacheSmash/status/1707211701660106873
 
GAME CUBE
Spider-Man 2 cube glitch
https://kotaku.com/spider-man-2-block-glitch-ps5-fix-1850951541
https://twitter.com/G27Status/status/1716337800482635812
https://twitter.com/alexwebb_101/status/1716077110513525140
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UN-TREE-LIEVABLE
Elden Ring backend update suggests Shadow of the Erdtree DLC incoming
spotted on SteamDB https://steamdb.info/app/1245620/dlc/
Twitter user Ziostorm points out this is the first time a DLC package has been added to the game since launch https://twitter.com/Ziostorm1/status/1746895361942131036
Same user spotted found leaked controller collab claiming to release in February to ΓÇ£sync with Shadow of the Erdtree expansion release ΓÇô Elden Ring anniversaryΓÇ¥, suggests Feb 25 release https://twitter.com/Ziostorm1/status/1735593395857355001
Collectible maker Pure Arts recently tweeted theyΓÇÖd be launching an Elden Ring collectible that same month https://twitter.com/PureArtsLimited/status/1745461105135350156
Bandai Namco EuropeΓÇÖs Elden Ring YouTube playlist was also updated this month https://www.vg247.com/elden-ring-dlc-trailer-drop-youtube-playlist-update
YT page https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2tV1eq7EZhDgndwAdgJgCzGE9BMFsWSw 
COULD mean a trailer is dropping soon.
 
WHATΓÇÖS THE POINT OF NO RETURN?
The Last of Us Part II Remastered reviews, mixed reactions
Variety loved the additions of the Lost Levels, commentary, No Return
https://variety.com/2024/gaming/reviews/the-last-of-us-part-2-remastered-review-1235867182/
So did the Verge https://www.theverge.com/24035730/the-last-of-us-part-2-remastered-review-ps5
The Washington Post had glowing things to say about No Return, I think? https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/video-games/2024/01/16/the-last-of-us-part-ii-remaster/
ΓÇ£interesting, complicated characters are chiseled down to become post-apocalyptic action figures of sad dads and angry lesbiansΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/8XOF1 (Washington Post)
Giovanni Colantonio of Digital Trends didnΓÇÖt like it https://digitaltrends.com/gaming/the-last-of-us-part-2-remastered-impressions/
ΓÇ£I adored the sequelΓÇÖs first two acts and its multifaceted discussion of cyclical violence,ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/U3S8x (Digital Trends)
ΓÇ£IΓÇÖm encouraged to blow through the story as fast as I can in a Speedrun mode and rack up kills in the rereleaseΓÇÖs bloody roguelike add-on, No Return.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/CoeBf (Digital Trends)
According to Polygon, the gameΓÇöor rather, Naughty DogΓÇöhas an identity crisis https://www.polygon.com/24036476/the-last-of-us-part-2s-roguelike-mode
ΓÇ£the version of the studio that excels at top-flight action-adventure games, and the Naughty Dog that strives to tell uncompromising, mature interactive stories.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/o0xkV (Polygon)
 
FOAMING AT THE MOUTH
Foamstars launches as PS Plus Monthly game Feb 6
Then release in March for $29.99 https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/01/foamstars-releases-6th-february-as-a-ps-plus-essential-game
Surprisingly different from Splatoon, more of a hero shooter https://www.ign.com/articles/foamstars-the-final-preview
ΓÇ£Yes, painting the floor with your teamΓÇÖs foam colour aids movement, enabling you to surf along the perpetually changing floor with ease, but points are not awarded for how much territory you occupy.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/KSCQZ (IGN)
Best mode is OW2-like push the objective where you can speed up payload by dancing on top of the giant rubber duck DJ https://youtu.be/0Y67WwkK6yE?t=127
ItΓÇÖs also different because it used AI for some art https://www.eurogamer.net/square-enix-dabbled-with-ai-technology-for-foamstars
They used Midjourney to create ΓÇ£a small number of art for in-game iconsΓÇ¥ https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/square-enix-confirms-foamstars-contains-some-ai-generated-art/
ΓÇ£AI was used in the creation of the in-game album covers for the music featured in the FOAMSTARSΓÇÖ soundtrack.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/AKhTJ (VGC)
 
 
QUICK BITS
FALLING STALKS
STALKER 2 has new release date
https://twitter.com/stalker_thegame/status/1747289671321702804
 
SAVE THE STORMDATE
RTS from former WarCraft and StarCraft devs does gangbusters on KickStarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stormgate/stormgate?ref=discovery_category
https://www.pcgamesn.com/stormgate/open-beta
 
OVER-BOTCHED
OW2 director apologizes for hero self-healing announcement
https://kotaku.com/overwatch-2-season-9-self-healing-passive-tank-damage-1851163814
 
I LOVED HALOΓÇÖS BR THO
Rumored Halo battle royale rumored to be cancelled
https://wccftech.com/halo-battle-royale-certain-affinity-canceled-rumor/
 
SOMETHING LESS COMFORTABLE
UbisoftΓÇÖs director of subscriptions wants players to get comfortable with not owning their games
https://insider-gaming.com/ubisoft-not-owning-games-comfortable/
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SOMEONE SHOULD CHECK VALVE
Valve DMCAs Team Fortress: Source 2 and Portal 64
Portal 64 because of Nintendo fear https://twitter.com/JoeyCheerio/status/1745150271230038228
TF: Source 2 dev Amper Software confirmed DMCA on Twitter https://twitter.com/TeamFortressS2/status/1745157815860068755 
TF: Source 2 is a mod for S&box, created by Facepunch, creators of GarryΓÇÖs Mod, which uses Source 2 Engine https://sbox.facepunch.com/news/new-engine
Steam Subscriber Agreement https://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/
·        APPEARS to state users can use Source Engine SDK… https://lmg.gg/OuCc8 (Steam Subscriber Agreement)
·        …to “edit of create derivative works of a Valve game”…. https://lmg.gg/0Vdjy (Subscriber Agreement)-
·        …and distribute them however you wish in a non-commercial basis https://lmg.gg/oH6RP (Subscriber Agreement)
But youΓÇÖve got commercial games like unofficial Half-Life remake Black Mesa https://store.steampowered.com/app/362890/Black_Mesa/
ValveΓÇÖs FAQ says Commercial games and mods that use their IP need prior approval https://lmg.gg/u4F9B
Garry (of Mod fame) tweets https://twitter.com/garrynewman/status/1745317860363108527
-         “it's maybe out of character for Valve to take down fan projects like this”
-         “hardly surprising when you have their entire game uploaded.” (but Black Mesa)
-         “S&box doesn't have a license to use Valve's content, only the engine”
Since Facepunch doesnΓÇÖt have a license, perhaps because mod for that commercial game contains IP, thatΓÇÖs why it got DMCAΓÇÖd
 
FULL STEAM AHEAD
Steam reverses course on games with AI-generated content
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamworks/announcements/detail/3862463747997849619
After previously saying otherwise over ΓÇ£legal uncertaintyΓÇ¥ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/07/valve-says-steam-games-cant-use-ai-models-trained-on-copyrighted-works/
Now theyΓÇÖve released tools to allow ΓÇ£the vast majorityΓÇ¥ of games using AI https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/10/24032678/valve-steam-generative-ai-rules-disclosure-pre-generated-live-illegal-content-copyright
AI content must be disclosed https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/10/developers_steam_ai/
Game makers must promise it doesnΓÇÖt infringe on copyright https://lmg.gg/h0ZYD (Steam Blog)
Weird because OpenAI says things like ChatGPT canΓÇÖt exist without copyrighted material https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/08/ai-tools-chatgpt-copyrighted-material-openai
Live-generated content must describe guardrails to prevent illegal content https://lmg.gg/v0pG7 (Steam Blog)
Players can report illegal content inside games with live-generated content https://lmg.gg/m0Afu (Steam Blog)
ΓÇ£The only exception to this will be Adult Only Sexual Content that is created with Live-Generated AI - we are unable to release that type of content right now.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/x6ReS (Steam Blog)
 
GUILDED CAGE
SAG-AFTRA signs deal for AI voiceovers in video games
https://variety.com/2024/biz/news/sag-aftra-ai-voiceover-studio-video-games-1235866313/
After nearly four months of striking over AI replacing actors https://apnews.com/article/actors-strike-contract-a7a529acaf6b5b38aac93722db54c193
While SAG-AFTRA members voted on the new contract after the strike ended, prominent voice actors were not told about this new deal https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67922303
Prominent VA Steve Blum says no one he knows of approved this https://twitter.com/blumspew/status/1744854178869211228
Adam Jensen voice actor says he didnΓÇÖt ask for this https://twitter.com/EliasToufexis/status/1744870221419323650
Many other voice actors are upset https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgwkb4/none-of-us-want-our-voices-replicated-voice-actors-say-unions-ethical-ai-deal-is-bad-for-humans
SAG-AFTRA says deal requires consent, continued approval https://lmg.gg/lEi4K (SAG-AFTRA)
SAG-AFTRA released FAQ  https://www.sagaftra.org/files/sa_documents/Replica%20Studios%20Agreement%20FAQs.pdf
-       “The Replica Studios Agreement was bargained and unanimously approved by the Interactive Media Negotiating Committee”
-       “It is made up of actors who regularly work in the video game industry”
-       This deal is not national, only with a single company and “single employer agreements are approved by the Executive Committee (or National Board) and are not sent out to membership referendum.”
-       “Entering into a contract like this now, as use of AI technology in the video game industry is still developing, allows us to help guide the industry toward fair compensation”
-       “foreign and non-union companies setting terms and conditions that, at best, are below what our members expect or, at worst, are highly exploitative.”
-       “The “experimental” one-year term means we can quickly negotiate adjustments”
QUICK BITS
 
THE SWITCH SNITCH SITCH
Nintendo Switch 2 specs leak…except no one can agree on them I guess
Gotten from Brazilian source Universo Nintendo https://universonintendo-com.translate.goog/artigo-tecnico-quais-configuracoes-poderiamos-ter-no-proximo-hardware-nintendo/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
But Taiwanese source disagrees https://money-udn-com.translate.goog/money/story/11162/7694628?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Say 120 Hz screen, less storage https://lmg.gg/oaUaM
Ai Shark (formerly Game Shark) press release claims Nintendo Switch 2 launch in 2024
https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/nintendo-switch-2-release-september-2024-altec-lansing/
actual press release (they've since removed the quote, I wonder why lol) https://lmg.gg/bhWSc
But theyΓÇÖre totally guessing apparently https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1745508421825097768
 
BEST CIRCLE IΓÇÖVE EVER SEEN
Indiana Jones game may have had its name leaked
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/the-title-of-bethesdas-indiana-jones-game-may-have-leaked/
https://kotaku.com/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle-bethesda-1851159165
Game may release this year https://insider-gaming.com/indiana-jones-release-2024/
 
LEGENDS FADE
Minecraft Legends development is ending
https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/minecraft/minecraft-legends-official-last-update
 
THE BLAME GAME(S)
In interview with GamesIndustry.biz, publishing exec says thereΓÇÖs ΓÇ£too many gamesΓÇ¥
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/nacon-exec-says-industrys-problem-is-too-many-games
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/01/publishing-exec-claims-there-are-too-many-games
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BIG-BLOX STORE
Walmart selling items through Roblox now
Inside the ΓÇ£Walmart DiscoveredΓÇ¥ Roblox ΓÇ£experienceΓÇ¥ https://www.roblox.com/games/13398230007/Walmart-Discovered
Not the first time theyΓÇÖve tried to win over the Roblox kids
Created two other ΓÇ£experiencesΓÇ¥ in 2022 https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/26/walmart-enters-the-metaverse-with-roblox.html
Both of which shut down, one because it wasnΓÇÖt marked as an advergame https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/walmart-quietly-removes-kids-advergame-from-roblox/
You log into Walmart.com on a virtual laptop in Roblox https://lmg.gg/DFQIf (Digiday)
Age gated using RobloxΓÇÖs verification that requires government ID check https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/4407282410644-Age-ID-Verification
Kids over the age of 13 in the US can put their name, address, and credit card information in; ΓÇ£itΓÇÖs very safeΓÇ¥ says Walmart https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/roblox-and-walmart-are-now-selling-real-world-items-in-game-to-anyone-over-the-age-of-13-its-very-safe/
 
TAKE-TWO STUDIOSΓÇÖ JOBS AWAY
Take-Two shuttering studios responsible for Rollerdrome and Kerbal Space Program 2
Bloomberg then reported and confirmed closures https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-01/take-two-interactive-shuts-down-two-game-studios?embedded-checkout=true
Intercept was the studio Take-Two formed after failing to purchase KSP2ΓÇÖs original developer Stary Theory and poaching 1/3 of their staff https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/game-publisher-cancels-contract-with-developer-then-tries-to-poach-its-entire-team-1.1444860
Take-Two confirms they will still support KSP2 https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/take-two-confirms-kerbal-space-program-2-is-safe-despite-seattle-layoffs
Lots of industry backlash https://www.gamesradar.com/games/a-completely-cruel-and-baffling-decision-industry-anger-over-gta-6-publishers-closure-of-two-acclaimed-studios-despite-commercial-successes-and-ceos-dollar26-million-pay-rise/
CEO Strauss ZelnickΓÇÖs compensation allegedly more than doubled last year to $42 million https://twitter.com/annacwebs/status/1785770513769668744
Some claim that may have been enough to sustain Roll7 and Intercept for a year https://twitter.com/AlannaMode/status/1785824801187119514
Others point out that GTA 6 is poised to make a lot of money on launch next year https://twitter.com/SteffanPowell/status/1785788329587294357
 
HASGAMES
Hasbro is getting back into internal game development in a big way
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/hasbros-1-billion-bet-on-internal-game-development
1 bn invested in games rn https://lmg.gg/6Wm4N (GamesIndustry.biz)
Atomic ArcadeΓÇÖs ΓÇ£not your daddyΓÇÖs GI JoeΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/pYlxx (GI.biz)
Leadership was behind Batman: Arkham Asylum https://lmg.gg/rXnsK (GI.biz)
MontrealΓÇÖs InvokeΓÇöformerly Tuque Games still working on ΓÇ£ambitiousΓÇ¥ D&D game https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/12/wizards-new-dnd-game-invoke-tuque/
Texas based Skeleton Key ΓÇ£doing something spookyΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/KbF9g (GI.biz)
Archetype, led by KOTOR lead designer James Ohlen is developing Exodus https://lmg.gg/s5c4S (Push Square)
Which somehow involves Matthew McConaughey, as he revealed at the titleΓÇÖs Game Awards reveal https://youtu.be/PGA6d5m_foE?t=112
First big internal gaming push from Hasbro since they sold Hasbro Interactive to Infogrames in 2000 https://lmg.gg/0YboP (GI.biz)
 
QUICK BITS
 
BATMAN: ARKHAMΓÇÖS SHADOW
New Batman Arkham game, but itΓÇÖs Meta Quest 3 exclusive
https://www.theverge.com/24145849/batman-arkham-shadow-trailer-vr-meta-quest-3-exclusive
 
TARNISHED EXPECTATIONS
Elden Ring getting only one DLC, a sequel may be in the cards
https://wccftech.com/elden-ring-is-only-getting-shadow-of-the-erdtree-for-dlc/
https://insider-gaming.com/elden-ring-reportedly-wont-get-new-dlc-after-shadow-of-the-erdtree/
 
AN ESCAPE FROM ESCAPE FROM TARKOV
Tarkov competitor Gray Zone Warfare sells well
https://www.pcgamesn.com/gray-zone-warfare/sales
 
GO FUNK YOURSELF
Funko Fusion officially revealed, mashes together 20 Universal franchises
 
PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE OH GOD NO
Professor Layton developer wants to make really violent and erotic games, apparently
https://automaton-media.com/en/news/level-5s-ceo-hopes-to-make-erotic-and-violent-games-someday/
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BAD LUCK, I GUESS
GTA 6 trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdBZY2fkU-0
and… the trailer itself leaked too in low-quality, leading to strikes and takedowns of react streamers
so Rockstar released early https://twitter.com/RockstarGames/status/1731813331244085531
Breaking YouTube views records https://www.ign.com/articles/gta-6-trailer-already-has-more-views-than-cyberpunk-red-dead-2-and-zelda-totk-reveals-combined
What about the game itself: will be set in ΓÇ£Leonida, home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyondΓÇ¥ ΓÇô playing as Lucia and Jason
NOT ON PC? https://lmg.gg/gnlct
Why GTA fans are so weird…Rockstar had teased GTA6 trailer reveal in shirt from half a year ago
Hopefully now we can stop leaking the literal length of the trailer https://twitter.com/PlaystationSize/status/1731675296267407527
YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID
PSN users suddenly banned, brought back
https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/4/23988621/sony-playstation-account-ps5-bans-permanent-suspension
https://twitter.com/michaeldhaliwal/status/1731797237972218316
Sony is silent https://twitter.com/PlayStation
The day before CS2 accidentally bans users and works to fix it??
https://twitter.com/CounterStrike/status/1732111185804394746
PUNKS REJOICE
Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.1 adds functional metro, radio, replayable car races, dating
https://twitter.com/CyberpunkGame/status/1732121035149914595
Accessibility features https://www.cyberpunk.net/en/news/49591/update-2-1-accessibility-features
Dates aka ΓÇ£Romance HangoutsΓÇ¥, sounds like what an inside person would name a booty call https://www.eurogamer.net/how-to-unlock-romance-hangouts-cyberpunk-2077-date-9313
QUICK BITS
IT’S SERVING…A**
Ark: Survival Ascended lead designer displays refreshing honesty about servers being ΓÇÿassΓÇÖ
quote \"Firstly, I wanna say the servers are ass, they run like ass, and their stability is ass. We need to improve it, itΓÇÖs gonna be improved imminently.ΓÇ¥ https://clips.twitch.tv/PlumpFaithfulNigiriFunRun-xVHoLd5QE47QJW8s
Search ΓÇ£Mauling them to deathΓÇ¥ https://store.steampowered.com/app/2399830/ARK_Survival_Ascended/#app_reviews_hash
YES RETURN
TLOU Part II Remastered ΓÇô No Return Mode trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQaceGrFIok
more like a roguelike https://blog.playstation.com/2023/12/05/the-last-of-us-part-ii-remastered-exploring-the-roguelike-survival-mode-no-return/
Invisible Infected https://youtu.be/GQaceGrFIok?t=48
if you canΓÇÖt wait Halo InfiniteΓÇÖs Firefight: King of the Hill mode dropped https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_x0LVnITTg
after teasing it GTA-style https://twitter.com/Halo/status/1730684560730436095
IS THAT THE CARTOON WITH THE BALD KID?
Ubisoft MassiveΓÇÖs Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is out on Thursday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFuHW2uSh28
Unlike GTA 6, some people forgot about this game
needs online connection to install from disc https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/the-disc-version-of-avatar-frontiers-of-pandora-needs-an-online-connection-to-install/
MY MONEY DONΓÇÖT WIGGLE WIGGLE
BaldurΓÇÖs Gate 3 stealth-adds wiggle physics
Fixes ending with new epilogue https://kotaku.com/baldurs-gate-3-bg3-new-ending-epilogue-patch-5-1851063292
Although some think the ΓÇ£badΓÇ¥ ending has gotten worse https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/baldurs-gate-3s-worst-ending-213302316.html
WHOOPS-A-DAISY
Walupeach was at one point an idea from Waluigi creator
-         Shouldn’t she be Wa-Daisy?
https://twitter.com/gosokkyu/status/1730718417400062037
https://www.eurogamer.net/waluigi-creator-shares-then-removes-designs-of-wario-style-peach
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LOST IN THE BLIZZARD
Microsoft announces 1,900 layoffs from gaming division
https://www.ign.com/articles/microsoft-lays-off-1900-staff-from-its-video-game-workforce
Amounts to about 8% of Microsoft Gaming Division https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/25/24049050/microsoft-activision-blizzard-layoffs
Over 5,000 workers in the games industry have lost their jobs in 2024 https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/over-5000-games-industry-workers-have-already-lost-their-jobs-in-2024/
According to Technical artist Farhan Noor’s website https://publish.obsidian.md/vg-layoffs/Archive/2024
That’s already half of the # of layoffs from the entirety of last year https://lmg.gg/rRuVi (Farhan Noor)
Includes Xbox, Bethesda, and AB, according to Spencie https://lmg.gg/hKxqo (IGN)
While non-voluntary leavers are texting Jason Schreier to find out if they’re impacted https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1750543289227284649
Also Mike Ybarra—former Xbox executive who joined Blizzard in 2019 after 20 years at Microsoft—is also leaving the company allegedly voluntarily https://twitter.com/Qwik/status/1750527310493868293
 
OOPS, JK LOL
China quietly removes proposed bans on game monetization tactics from govt site
Weeks after the guidelines tanked Chinese game companies’ values https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/22/china-quietly-pulls-draft-gaming-rules-from-website/
Shares have jumped https://www.reuters.com/technology/china-regulator-removes-draft-video-game-rules-website-shares-jump-2024-01-23/
Draft rules “inaccessible as of Tuesday morning” https://lmg.gg/HASqa (Reuters)
May be because consultation period expired on Monday https://lmg.gg/lnhsH (Reuters)
“The removal was described by analysts as unusual, with some saying a revision could be in store.” https://lmg.gg/6KJsq (Reuters)
Would have limited in-game purchases, daily log-in incentives https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-68068440
Banning games from forcing players into combat https://lmg.gg/hMhZX (Reuters)
“the introduction of a pop-up warning players of \"irrational\" behaviour was proposed.” https://lmg.gg/uqz0y (BBC)
 
THE DAY SEVERAL WEEKS AFTER THE DAY BEFORE
The Day Before dev blames failure on everyone else in now-deleted Twitter statement
https://www.polygon.com/24048997/the-day-before-fntastic-shut-down-accusations
There was a “hate campaign” https://www.eurogamer.net/the-day-before-developer-resurfaces-to-blame-games-failure-on-hate-campaign
Bloggers made huge money hating on the game https://lmg.gg/FsPfj (Polygon
Indie dev Crimson disagreed from the start; Spends $1500 and 300 hours to parody gameplay trailers to illustrate overpromising marketing https://www.gamesradar.com/indie-dev-spends-300-hours-and-dollar1500-on-assets-to-complete-their-the-day-before-parody-trailer-warning-people-how-easy-it-can-be-to-get-sucked-into-the-hype/
Some comparisons:
1.   Zombie encounter, attacked from behind
a.  The Day Before 1st gameplay trailer https://youtu.be/13NzZfbATW8?t=265
b.  Parody trailer https://youtu.be/Xj8EZDdGwQc?t=275
2.  Gathering loot
a. The Day Before 2nd gameplay trailer https://youtu.be/b_aVvmLt-B4?t=416
b. Parody https://youtu.be/Xj8EZDdGwQc?t=208
Parody actually shows off parkour https://youtu.be/Xj8EZDdGwQc?t=438
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
POKEMONITORING THE SITUATION
The Pokemon Company make official statement on PalworldΓÇöI mean ΓÇ£another companyΓÇÖs game released in January 2024ΓÇ¥
https://corporate.pokemon.co.jp/media/news/detail/335.html
They intend “to investigate” https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/01/pokemon-company-will-investigate-palworld-in-light-of-plagiarism-accusations/
Palworld dev told Automaton the game cleared legal reviews https://automaton-media.com/en/news/20240122-25873/
Specific quote https://lmg.gg/ISVVz (Automaton Media)
Maybe they’re just embarrassed they got upstaged so bad https://www.gamesradar.com/its-almost-embarrassing-that-pokemon-got-upstaged-by-something-as-sloppy-as-palworld-a-janky-survival-game-carried-by-one-good-idea/
Or maybe they want people to leave them alone https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/pokemon-company-statement-on-palworld-copyright-allegations-sounds-a-lot-like-please-leave-us-the-hell-alone
 
WE FELL INTO THE PIT
New 2d pixel-art FNaF game trailer allegedly leaked by its developer (The Wrestle Quest studio)
Presumed to be based on the Oswald story from the Into the Pit novel https://freddy-fazbears-pizza.fandom.com/wiki/Fazbear_Frights_1:_Into_the_Pit
 
SKYRIM 2
New details on Avowed
https://kotaku.com/avowed-rpg-obsidian-microsoft-companions-1851188715
Come from Official Xbox Podcast https://youtu.be/yJFDLV9ov_U
Small interview with game director https://www.pcgamer.com/obsidians-avowed-is-going-classless-ditching-off-pillars-of-eternitys-crunchy-stat-heavy-builds-in-favour-of-skyrim-like-ability-trees/
 
CHEERS OF THE KINGDOM
Legend of Zelda producer spotted at Super Nintendo World, Zelda expansion speculated
Still of their outfits
https://twitter.com/Stealth40k/status/1750364191670607991
 
SUPER NINTENDO HARD
Super Mario Kart modder gave the game fixed camera angles
https://twitter.com/LF_MrL314/status/1750173271364895219
He originally “threw together” an example on one map back in June https://twitter.com/LF_MrL314/status/1677127899252391936
Decided to release it as a full hack https://twitter.com/LF_MrL314/status/1750177379224277387
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Black market Roblox gambling sites
reported by journalist Cody Luongo https://sharpr.substack.com/p/kids-are-gambling-millions-of-dollars
Apparently some sites are paying for promotion on TikTok https://twitter.com/rblxtradingnews/status/1617254965549875203
Here’s a sponsored post from a 16 yo Roblox creator https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mBaN1GzVCGw
Proof they’re 16 (EDITOR: scroll up) + another teenage creator alleges sponsor email https://twitter.com/darkkhayden/status/1616912011526377472?s=20
A promotional TikTok references homework https://www.tiktok.com/@bloxflipsy/video/7252449925198269723
Another site has a sponsored article https://lmg.gg/YJuTd (The Village Voice)
 
 
WILL UBI OK?
Ubisoft clarifies account deletion policy after controversy
Screenshot of email claiming deletion https://twitter.com/PC_enjoyer/status/1681655629276930048
Tweet was legitimized by Ubisoft Support https://twitter.com/UbisoftSupport/status/1682046437834784768
Article about more evidence https://insider-gaming.com/ubisoft-delete-account-inactivity/
Ubisoft clarifies most people don’t need to worry https://www.pcgamer.com/your-ubisoft-account-can-be-suspended-and-subsequently-permanently-deleted-for-inactivity-taking-your-games-library-with-it/
 
TENCENTΓÇÖS TWO CENTS
Tencent set to become majority shareholder of Techland
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/tencent-to-become-majority-shareholder-of-techland
Announced in blog post by CEO Pawel Marchewka https://techland.net/news/techlands-next-chapter-and-the-road-ahead#plver
Tencent already owns Riot and Back 4 Blood devs https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/17/22841389/tencent-acquires-slamfire-turtle-rock-studios-back-4-blood
Techland will retain IPs, creative freedom, CEO https://lmg.gg/QOIQB (Techland Blog post)
It’s to support expansion of Dying Light and make sure new fantasy RPG is good https://lmg.gg/tVhy8 (GameInformer)
 
QUICK BITS
 
OMNI-MAN VS HOMELANDER: WHO WINS?
MK adding Omni-Man, Homelander, Peacemaker
https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/24/23805704/mortal-kombat-1-omniman-peacemaker-homelander
At least Omni-Man retaining original voice https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/jk-simmons-the-voice-of-omni-man-reprises-his-role-for-mortal-kombat-1
The Theme: they’re all violent, obviously https://www.ign.com/articles/mortal-kombat-1-interview-netherrealm-homelander-peacemaker-omni-man
 
 
A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
Diablo 4 Season 1 controversy
Free armor looks like crap https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/07/24/diablo-4s-free-season-1-armor-is-absurd-compared-to-paid-shop-sets/?sh=63398d29544e
Unlike Fortnite, CoD, not enough premium currency won on battle pass to cover next pass’s cost https://www.charlieintel.com/diablo/diablo-4-players-slam-predatory-battle-pass-missing-staple-feature-from-cod-fortnite-262737/
Premium battle pass button highlighted by default on Season tab, no confirmation warning; Several people accidentally bought battle pass https://twitter.com/Rurikhan/status/1682187267425574914
 
TWERKING IN ADVERTISING
Pikmin 4 releases, well received
https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/pikmin-4
9/10 from IGN https://lmg.gg/AaBRc
More important: fans took over Times Square for a week https://gonintendo.com/contents/23241-pikmin-4-fans-have-taken-over-times-square-for-a-week-straight-with-guerilla  
Started with twerking Olimar https://twitter.com/dreampachi/status/1678608360579514368
Paid $40 for 15 second clip https://lmg.gg/QQU77 (GamesRadar)
 
MODERN WARFARE 3 2
Title of next CoD leaks
Courtesy of a Monster Energy promotion https://twitter.com/charlieINTEL/status/1683523688346394635
Activision seems to be taking it in stride https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/1683550406079815680
 
PRE-ODOR
Xbox announces TMNT controller that smells like pizza
https://kotaku.com/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-controller-xbox-pizza-tnmt-1850671077
“built-in scent diffuser” https://lmg.gg/IYewA (Xbox)
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TWISTED
PlayStation Studios announces theyΓÇÖre laying off 8% of workforce
Broken by Jason Schreier because of course it was https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1762470563182727362
Confirmed by Sony in one blog post https://sonyinteractive.com/en/news/blog/difficult-news-about-our-workforce/?sf271923331=1
Sony then confirmed Naughty Dog, Insomniac, Guerilla all affected, London Studio shut down https://sonyinteractive.com/en/news/blog/an-important-update-from-playstation-studios/
Schreier gives more detail https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/sony-cuts-900-jobs-in-gaming-shuts-down-london-division-1.2039787
Guerilla Games losing 10% of staff (about 40) https://lmg.gg/XkB6U (BNN Bloomberg)
Twisted Metal live-service game cancelled, being worked on by Firesprite (also facing job cuts) https://lmg.gg/T4mxC (BNN Bloomberg)
This could be a consequence of SonyΓÇÖs live-service push under Jim Ryan https://insider-gaming.com/sony-live-service-games-investment/
Which was not going well reportedly https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/10/01/insiders-say-playstations-live-service-pivot-may-not-be-going-well/?sh=2ea6593a796e
 
POKEMON FLIPS THE SWITCH
Pokemon Presents
Some minor announcements:
Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket allows you to collect/trade digital cards and have streamlined battles https://youtu.be/qlp6YePsalM
VERY important announcement: Pikachu wearing CapΓÇÖs hat https://youtu.be/6Qi4COrQ7aA?t=130
Ok but actually the big announcement is Pokemon Legends: Z-A https://youtu.be/uq-Znr_jGIg
Set in Kalos region from X/Y based on reveal of Lumiose City https://youtu.be/uq-Znr_jGIg?t=81
Fans think its hinting at Switch 2 release, with words ΓÇ£releasing simultaneously worldwide in 2025ΓÇ¥ https://www.gamesradar.com/pokemon-legends-z-a-reveal-trailer-hints-at-a-nintendo-switch-2-release/
Also official Pokemon tweet that says game ΓÇ£will launch on Nintendo Switch systemsΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/Pokemon/status/1762485535560368544
This COULD just mean the Switch, Switch Lite, Switch OLED, but several reports suggest new console is launching next year https://www.eurogamer.net/nintendo-switch-2-currently-targeting-march-2025-but-could-slip-further-report
 
INDIE DEVS LOSE JOBS OVERNIGHT
Google Genie can create ΓÇ£playable worldsΓÇ¥
generates from a single image prompt https://sites.google.com/view/genie-2024
Can be prompted with novel images like real-world photographs or sketches https://lmg.gg/lC3LV (Google)
Tim Rocktäschel, Google DeepMind Open-Endedness Team Lead says model was trained exclusively on internet videos of 2D platformers without supervision https://twitter.com/_rockt/status/1762026090262872161
Probably not a gaming revolutionΓÇöyet https://newatlas.com/technology/ai-video-games-genie/
Resolution of training data was 160x90p @10FPS, https://lmg.gg/svRjo (New Atlas)
Give this thing high-res data and a bunch of compute, letΓÇÖs see what comes out
 
QUICK BITS
 
SERVING DEMOCRACY
Helldivers 2 seems to have fixed server issues
Now everyone can enjoy a wholesome community hunting down an alleged team killer https://www.gamesradar.com/helldivers-2-is-so-wholesome-that-a-single-notorious-team-killer-called-gantz-the-demon-is-being-put-on-blast-by-the-community/
https://www.tiktok.com/@superearthbroadcast/video/7338991499666869547
Gantzthedemon claims innocence https://lmg.gg/ZM7ca (GamesRadar)
 
CEO APOLOGIZES FOR SOLVING HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Palworld fixes bugs
Accidentally fix popular bug that let you capture tower bosses https://www.pcgamesn.com/palworld/update-apology-fixing-bug
Like this https://youtu.be/waiImp3hl0E?t=96
 
GAMERS PRESS FFFF
Skull and Bones release massively increases AC: Black Flag popularity
https://insider-gaming.com/skull-and-bones-ac-black-flag/
https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/skull-and-bones-review-dead-in-the-water/1900-6418186/
https://insider-gaming.com/skull-and-bones-players-total/
 
ACE IN THE HOLE
Poker-based rogue-like grosses $1m in 8 hours
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/balatro-grossed-1m-in-eight-hours
 
HEAVEN SCENT
Game Scent lets you smell your games, complete with DLC scents
https://kotaku.com/gamescent-ai-smellovision-console-pc-gunfire-rain-smoke-1851290120
Available and upcoming scents
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BALDURΓÇÖS FATE
Wizards of the Coast already talking to studios about next BaldurΓÇÖs Gate
BG3 first game in history to win all five major GOTY awards https://www.mmorpg.com/news/baldurs-gate-3-takes-game-of-the-year-at-every-major-industry-award-2000131166
Larian Studios working on 2 new original IP games
https://kotaku.com/baldurs-gate-3-larian-new-next-game-ip-divinity-rpg-1851419091
Swen has given a couple of interviews previously
Implied next game may be in Divinity universe: ΓÇ£When asked if the next game would be Divinity: Original Sin 3, Vincke could neither confirm nor deny. He did, however, say it will be \"different than what you think it is\" but that it's \"still familiar.\"ΓÇ¥
Also spoke to GameSpot https://www.gamespot.com/articles/baldurs-gate-3-dev-is-working-toward-an-rpg-that-dwarfs-it/1100-6522051/
ΓÇ£Prior to development on Baldur's Gate 3, Larian CEO Swen Vincke was already planning out the company's future, and this included what he calls \"the very big RPG that will dwarf them all.\"ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/KETRi (GameSpot)
ΓÇ£Vincke explained that Larian's next game also won't actually be the aforementioned \"very big RPG,\" but will be another step toward realizing it.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/kSjm6 (GameSpot)
BaldurΓÇÖs Gate 3 patch 7
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1086940/view/4172097464031362567
Features quote from ΓÇ£Excited SwenΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/BjlE3 (Larian via Steam post)
 
 
A WAR WITHIN THE WAR WITHIN
Blizzard in hot water for a couple of reasons
Overwatch 2 season 10 leaves players waiting for over an hour in the ranked queue
https://kotaku.com/overwatch-2-queue-times-ranked-wide-group-season-10-1851415862
Fans playing matches of other games while waiting https://twitter.com/froggerupdates/status/1780486578219217298
https://twitter.com/aspenisoffline/status/1780536894595715569
Probably really busy with upcoming WoW expansion
Big plans for Worldsoul Saga https://www.eurogamer.net/blizzard-says-its-time-to-make-a-bold-statement-with-world-of-warcraft
Next two expansions already in development https://lmg.gg/dynsS (Eurogamer)
WoW VP says they still want to bring MMO to Xbox, but donΓÇÖt have time
WoW expansion filled with spiders, so Blizzard made a crab-based arachnophobia mode
Single dev had to look at every single spider that spawned in an expansion about a tremendous battle against an empire of spiders https://lmg.gg/NVktS (PC Gamer)
 
WINDEPENDENT
Nintendo Switch Indie World Showcase
Refind Self: The Personality Test Game https://youtu.be/QHoWSjUrhhM
Europa https://youtu.be/CTj1ndTPknY
Yars Rising, sequel to an Atari 2600 game called YarsΓÇÖ Revenge https://www.engadget.com/yars-rising-revives-a-40-year-old-atari-game-as-a-modern-metroidvania-163023972.html
Yars Rising trailer https://youtu.be/s6XI97wIPhU
That Atari game looked like this https://youtu.be/pvjajVf3BEc
Steamworld Heist 2 https://youtu.be/QfGfBMxhtT4
 
QUICK BITS
 
TAKE-TWOΓÇÖS PLAN B
Take-Two layoffs after announcing purchase of Gearbox
Part of cost reduction plan from February https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/take-two-preparing-cost-reduction-program-as-gta-v-hits-195-million-lifetime-sales
 
GHOST WITH THE MOST
Ghost of Tsushima PC requirements and cross-play details
 
CITY PLANNING GAME POORLY PLANNED
Cities: Skylines 2 publisher refunds DLC and apologizes for awful performance
https://www.polygon.com/24134037/cities-skylines-2-devs-apologize-paradox-colossal-order
https://www.eurogamer.net/cities-skylines-2-publisher-refunds-dlc-and-admits-we-let-you-down
Joint statement from dev CEO and publisher CEO https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/the-way-forward-an-update-from-the-team-behind-cities-skylines.1665858/
 
IMITATION IS FLATTERY OR WHATEVER
Pocketpair CEO happy that other games are ripping off Palworld
Wrote a tweet ΓÇ£accusingΓÇ¥ Tencent of copying Palworld https://twitter.com/urokuta_ja/status/1780074073953075321
Clarification tweet https://twitter.com/urokuta_ja/status/1780399532771344477
 
SPINOFF SPINOFF SPINNING OFF
Videogame spinoff from movie gets its own animated TV spinoff
Some background https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/boy-kills-world-game-super-dragon-punch-force-1235585411/
GameΓÇÖs open-beta launches on April 26 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFlhauZAJeQ
Which is the same day the original movie gets its official American theatrical release https://lmg.gg/ciEeo
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LEGO MINECRAFT QUARRYBUILD
Lego Fortnite announced
https://www.leg o.com/en-us/themes/fortnite/about
Spoiler alert: itΓÇÖs Minecraft https://www.engadget.com/fortnite-aims-at-the-survival-builder-crown-with-its-new-lego-mode-151433897.html
ItΓÇÖs inside the Fortnite game https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/7/23990660/lego-fortnite-release-epic
Like Minecraft, has ΓÇ£creative modeΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£survival modeΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/R0ezK (The Verge)
But the combat is more fluid…and also there’s dancing https://youtu.be/AZAuqt_AvYY?t=52
Many skins transfer over https://lmg.gg/mwwDc (The Verge)
Engadget says Epic scanned 10,000 Lego pieces, so ΓÇ£All of your favorite pieces should be presentΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/HP48A (Engadget)
2 other “in-Fortnite games” incoming https://lmg.gg/DNn3U (The Verge)
 
THE DAY AFTER THE DAY BEFORE
The Day Before (2nd most wishlisted Steam game) releases on early access
Few days ago, they released a list of ΓÇ£RevelationsΓÇ¥ https://www.pcgamer.com/steams-second-most-wishlisted-game-puts-out-bizarre-set-of-revelations-ahead-of-release-please-dont-accuse-us-of-scamming-thats-not-true/
Probably to do with trademark dispute with calendar app https://twitter.com/FntasticHQ/status/1618113906878337024
Patent filed by South Korean developer of app https://uspto.report/TM/79314174
Then was accused of copying CoD Black Ops and TLoU https://twitter.com/ForceStrategy/status/1621967873106124800
ΓÇ£volunteersΓÇ¥ controversy https://www.nme.com/features/gaming-features/it-is-not-okay-that-steams-most-wishlisted-game-is-using-unpaid-volunteers-3260263
FntasticΓÇÖs ΓÇ£VolunteeringΓÇ¥ website page https://www.fntastic.com/volunteering
Said revelations https://twitter.com/FntasticHQ/status/1731680871856369689
Falling through floor https://twitter.com/ExfilCamper/status/1732834806906363971
 
CUTTING THE BUNGIE CORD
Bungie will lose independence within Sony if Destiny 2 doesnΓÇÖt make enough money
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/report-bungie-at-risk-of-full-sony-takeover
According to report by IGN https://www.ign.com/articles/bungie-devs-say-atmosphere-is-soul-crushing-amid-layoffs-cuts-and-fear-of-total-sony-takeover
After acquisition, Bungie is supposed to be an independent subsidiary
Sony could assume direct control if Destiny 2 keeps missing revenue targets
https://kotaku.com/bungie-destiny-2-sony-final-shape-playstation-1851077097
ΓÇ£hiring freeze, a crackdown on annual cost-of-living adjustments to salaries, and no holiday bonusesΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/NckYz (Kotaku)
ΓÇ£the studio is probably looking at even more layoffs if Destiny 2's next big expansion, The Final Shape, doesnΓÇÖt perform better than this yearΓÇÖs.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/VemyQ (Kotaku)
 
QUICK BITS
 
IT WAS HELL, BUT IN A BAD WAY
Blizzard nerfs difficult new mode after players find it too hard
DidnΓÇÖt help that update nerfed all players probably https://kotaku.com/diablo-4-abattoir-zir-paragon-glyph-xp-1851077412
 
MESSY CREATIONS
Starfield players fear paid mods as Skyrim gets them back
https://www.dualshockers.com/starfield-paid-mods-likely-coming-soon/
Skyrim patch also broke some important old mods https://www.pcgamer.com/skyrims-latest-patch-has-pissed-off-players-for-two-reasons-it-broke-old-mods-and-added-new-paid-ones/
 
CALL THE KOOPAS
Nintendo postpones live events due to security threats
https://nintendopal.com/news/nintendo-live-2024-tokyo-cancelled-due-to-security-concerns/
NintendoΓÇÖs statement (translated webpage) https://lmg.gg/fwwxz
 
HO HO HOLD ON A BIT LONGER
Alone in the Dark delayed in the spirit of Christmas (or convenient excuse?)
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/the-alone-in-the-dark-reboot-has-been-delayed-again/
https://www.thqnordic.com/article/alone-dark-being-moved-march-20-2024
https://www.eurogamer.net/thq-nordic-announces-another-delay-to-alone-in-the-dark
 
THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS WHOOPAST
Unofficial sequel to A Christmas Carol is a Metroidvania game (launched Nov 3rd)
https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/ebenezer-and-the-invisible-world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8tYkVYlz8s
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2351120/Ebenezer_and_the_Invisible_World/
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Call of Duty Warzone got its Season 4 Reloaded Update
Players saying it breaks game performance https://www.charlieintel.com/call-of-duty-warzone/warzone-2-players-furious-as-season-4-reloaded-update-completely-breaks-game-260889/
The Boys crossover adds ΓÇ£Vought field upgradesΓÇ¥ that give superpowers https://kotaku.com/warzone-super-powers-season-4-reloaded-the-boys-update-1850636608
Laser Eyes in action https://www.reddit.com/r/CODWarzone/comments/14xzq48/laser_eyes_are_a_bit_broken/
Reports that the field upgrades are too common; people flying everywhere https://www.reddit.com/r/CODWarzone/comments/14xtpqu/this_vought_field_upgrade_is_insanely_dumb/
Nicki Minaj and 21 Savage rumored to become playable https://insider-gaming.com/nicki-minaj-is-coming-to-modern-warfare-2-rumor/
SO THE FTC WONΓÇÖT LET ME BE
FTC appeals loss to Microsoft
Injunction would have blocked deal until after August 2ndantitrust trial https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/12/23791274/ftc-microsoft-activision-blizzard-appeal
FTC needs 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to grant extension to temporary restraining order https://lmg.gg/X2a64 (Ars Technica)
Microsoft has until July 18th to contractually close deal; FTC running out clock? https://lmg.gg/ceUWr (Game Informer)
Rare move for FTC in cases like this https://lmg.gg/9IKlN (Ars Technica)
A BLESSING FROM GABEN
Team Fortress 2 gets massive new update
https://gamerant.com/valve-team-fortress-2-summer-2023-update/
14 community maps, new taunts and cosmetics https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/440/view/3665415870913833022
Fan-made ΓÇ£Versus Saxton HaleΓÇ¥ mode https://lmg.gg/c8YSA (Gamespot)
Asymmetric battle against shirtless Aussie with Oz-shaped chest hair https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Saxton_Hale
QUICK BITS
A LEGEND REBORN
Limited Run GamesΓÇÖs LRG3 Presentation
Clock Tower (1995) getting remastered https://www.ign.com/articles/the-original-clock-tower-is-getting-remastered-for-modern-consoles
Long-dormant Shantae game getting released next year on GBA https://www.destructoid.com/shantae-advance-risky-revolution-launches-on-game-boy-advance-in-2024/
Gex is BACK baby https://youtu.be/HhXZZsEfRgk?t=14
DO YOU WANT TO PLAY MW2 OR MW2?
Classic CoD games working again on Xbox 360
This after Activision shut down fan-made mods to fix their games https://www.dexerto.com/call-of-duty/cod-players-dust-off-xbox-360s-to-celebrate-sudden-modern-wafare-2-revival-2209433/
Black Ops 1, Modern Warfare 2 (2009), and World At War all work now https://lmg.gg/yYxoF (GG Recon)
MOTION SICKNESS FOR KIDS
Roblox coming to Meta Quest 2 and Pro
https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/12/roblox-coming-metas-quest-vr-headsets/
Meta annouces open beta https://www.meta.com/blog/quest/roblox-open-beta-app-lab/
Competes with Horizon Worlds https://www.roadtovr.com/roblox-coming-to-oculus-quest-meta-horizon-worlds/
IΓÇÖM TAKING YOU TO NIGHT SCHOOL
Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals came out
https://www.theverge.com/23787249/oxenfree-2-lost-signals-review-netflix-playstation-switch
ItΓÇÖs great and you can play it on Android https://www.androidpolice.com/oxenfree-2-lost-signals-perfect-sequel-android/
Included in your Netflix subscription https://mobilesyrup.com/2023/07/12/oxenfree-ii-lost-signals-netflix-games-night-school-studio-ps5-review/
RAT OUT OF HELL
Dude training rat neurons to play Doom
https://www.pcgamer.com/mad-scientist-youtuber-grows-a-rat-brain-that-is-learning-to-play-doom/
By The Thought Emporium on YouTube https://youtu.be/bEXefdbQDjw
HavenΓÇÖt gotten to the playing phase yet https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/theres-a-new-weirdest-way-to-play-doom-using-rat-neurons-grown-in-a-jar
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STEAMΓÇÖS EPIC LEAD
Steam talked about not selling ad space so that indies like Dave the Diver can pop off
slide 5, 6, 7 https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/steamworks_docs/english/SteamVisibility102023.pdf
Dave the Diver https://youtu.be/p85VHMpE0to?t=26
which is good, given Epic GamesΓÇÖ financial troubles lately causing them to drop Bandcamp https://www.gamesindustry.biz/bandcamp-dismisses-50-of-its-staff-amid-epic-games-mass-layoffs
although: Free games will continue https://insider-gaming.com/epic-games-free-games-program-2023/
More store improvements coming https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/epic-detail-plans-for-epic-games-store-improvements-and-how-theyre-going-to-tempt-more-devs-from-steam
ΓÇÿNow on EpicΓÇÖ program gives devs 100% profit for bringing existing games to EGS
https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/16/23919265/epic-games-store-now-on-older-games
https://insider-gaming.com/epic-games-free-games-program-2023/
Also, get a 30-min playable recap of Alan Wake in… Fortnite https://youtu.be/AvQuZnvOWUU
 
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF GAME
Netflix begins testing cloud gaming in U.S.
https://mobilesyrup.com/2023/10/16/netflix-testing-cloud-gaming-on-tvs-pcs-and-macs-in-the-u-s/
https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/16/netflixs-cloud-gaming-service-begins-tests-in-u-s/?guccounter=1
Hit shows into games https://www.wsj.com/business/media/netflix-deepens-videogame-push-ripping-page-from-its-hollywood-script-40a8d72c
Crab game https://store.steampowered.com/app/1782210/Crab_Game/
But also GTA? https://mashable.com/article/netflix-looking-to-develop-gta-game
 
THE FUTURE IS NOW
Battlefield 2042 might be redeemed
https://gamerant.com/battlefield-2042-launch-player-count-surpassed-new-record/
got a free weekend https://wccftech.com/battlefield-2042-free-to-play-weekend-season-6/
people noticed itΓÇÖs been good since approximately March https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-the-thing-battlefield-2042-is-really-good-now/
plus didnΓÇÖt fall victim to the AMD anti-lag ban-hammering
 
QUICK SAVES
 
N64K
Analogue making 4K N64
https://www.ign.com/articles/analogue-3d-announced-enhanced-console-will-play-every-n64-game-in-4k
 
WHAT A WONDER-FUL WORLD 1
Super Mario Bros Wonder leaks
https://kotaku.com/super-mario-bros-wonder-switch-nintendo-leak-emulation-1850930086
People care about Mario spoilers https://www.eurogamer.net/super-mario-bros-wonder-leaks-online
Why https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/177jnaf/comment/k4tiuk0/
Gameplay spoilers
https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/177jnaf/comment/k4ts72n
mods
https://twitter.com/ContendoYT/status/1714063251921646063
https://twitter.com/Mewxrealitygod/status/1714107787414774046
 
A VIRTUAL GOLD MINE
Minecraft first game to hit 300 million copies sold
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67105983
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/minecraft-crosses-300-million-sales-ahead-of-15th-anniversary
gets the Star Wars game everyone wants as a DLC
https://www.starwars.com/news/minecraft-star-wars-path-of-the-jedi
 
GOOD GAME
Spider-Man 2 reviews are out and itΓÇÖs good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fVYKsEmuRo
2001 Spider-Man 2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man_2:_Enter_Electro
2004 Spider-Man 2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man_2
2014 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amazing_Spider-Man_2
1992 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amazing_Spider-Man_(handheld_video_game)#The_Amazing_Spider-Man_2
91 on Metacritic https://www.metacritic.com/game/marvels-spider-man-2/
Combines Miles and PeterΓÇÖs stories https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23910756/spider-man-2-review-insomniac-release-date-ps5
Fast travel is smooth as heck https://twitter.com/Okami13_/status/1713935229709086942
^ and you can… pretty much fly? @0:20
 
BAD GAME
Skull Island: Rise of Kong is absolutely not worth $50
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/gollum-redeemed-new-king-kong-game-called-a-complete-scam/
https://twitter.com/RickDaSquirrel/status/1714014780346806395
https://twitter.com/RickDaSquirrel/status/1714004747848405465
MKIceAndFire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=295GeNfbhFg
Worse than Gollum, 2023ΓÇÖs worst-reviewed game
https://www.metacritic.com/game/the-lord-of-the-rings-gollum/
apology https://twitter.com/GollumGame/status/1662124108614717448
 
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Capcom thinks games donΓÇÖt cost enough
https://www.eurogamer.net/game-prices-are-too-low-says-capcom-exec
President Haruhiro Tsujimoto quote https://lmg.gg/xreFz (Insider Gaming)
May have a point, based on game prices from the 90’s https://retrovolve.com/n64-games-were-ridiculously-expensive-when-they-first-came-out/
If anything, games have gotten cheaper over time while costs have increased https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/07/the-return-of-the-70-video-game-has-been-a-long-time-coming/
iPhone 15 Pro port of Resident Evil 4 Remake costs $60
https://kotaku.com/resident-evil-4-remake-iphone-15-pro-release-date-1850873665
Nearly the price of a thunderbolt cable from Apple https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MU883AM/A/thunderbolt-4-usb%E2%80%91c-pro-cable-1-m?
 
MOST REALISTIC THEFT SIMULATION
Payday 3ΓÇÖs chaotic launch
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/09/payday-3s-chaotic-launch-experience-prompts-ceo-apology
Starbreeze Studios CEO apologized https://twitter.com/tobiassjogren/status/1705098120529330396
Issues continued https://twitter.com/PAYDAYGame/status/1706053594988855618
Studio is now looking to add offline mode https://www.ign.com/articles/payday-3-dev-looking-into-adding-offline-mode-blames-third-party-for-matchmaking-woes
Issue due to third-party matchmaking partner https://lmg.gg/apPEW (IGN)
Studio took the game offline today to try and fix, will again on 29th https://lmg.gg/refLy (IGN)
 
NEW BROMANCE UNLOCKED
Phil Spencer interview; Kojima collab, japanese games
Interview source  https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/interview/1533808.html
Game announced last year https://www.purexbox.com/news/2022/06/hideo-kojima-is-partnering-with-xbox-on-a-brand-new-game
Met with Kojima-san to get progress update https://twitter.com/HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN/status/1706563351051174024
Spencer says Kojima is doing something entirely new, doesn’t want him announcing anything before he’s ready https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/phil-spencer-explains-why-we-havent-heard-about-hideo-kojimas-xbox-game
Spencer claims more AAA Japanese developed games on the way https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-boss-claims-more-aaa-games-from-japanese-developers-are-on-the-way/1100-6517967/
 
QUICK BITS
 
IT WAS VIEWTIFUL WHILE IT LASTED
Legendary game director Hideki Kamiya leaving PlatinumGames, the studio he co-founded
PlatinumGames statement https://twitter.com/platinumgames/status/1706201875564130785
Hideki’s statement https://twitter.com/PG_kamiya/status/1706202627531489367
Director for Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, Viewtiful Joe https://kotaku.com/bayonetta-dmc-devil-may-cry-hideki-kamiya-platinum-1850870129
Thanked fans for their support https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/hideki-kamiya-thanks-fans-for-support-following-his-decision-to-leave-platinumgames/
 
ΓÇ£LEAST BUGGY BETHESDA GAMEΓÇ¥
Starfield patch makes stability improvements
https://www.escapistmagazine.com/all-1-7-33-patch-notes-for-starfield/
Community has identified 240 bugs and issues https://www.pcgamesn.com/starfield/glitches
Questions about what Bethesda’s priorities; removed magic mud puddle https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-bug-means-you-can-just-take-this-entire-stores-inventory-without-any-skill-or-repercussions/
Flying cities still an issue https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/starfields-second-update-fixes-infinite-money-puddles-but-not-flying-cities
 
DUTCH HAS GONE TOO FAR
RDR2 Switch rating appears online
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2023/09/red-dead-redemption-2-switch-rating-surfaces-online
https://twitter.com/necrolipe/status/1706345095274917973
After hullabaloo about RDR1 port https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/15wgmll/red_dead_redemption_on_switch_an_impressive/
 
A VIBROBLADE TO THE BACK
Fan sues KOTOR 2 re-releasers for not making promised ΓÇ£Restored ContentΓÇ¥ DLC
Launches class action https://truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Mickelonis-v-Aspyr-Media-complaint.pdf
Aspyr struggled with KOTOR remake https://kotaku.com/star-wars-kotor-aspyr-saber-trouble-switch-embracer-1849443705
 
NOW YOUΓÇÖRE GONE AND LEAVING NOTHING BUT A SIGN
Elon cameo removed from Cyberpunk 2077 (except it wasnΓÇÖt a cameo)
https://twitter.com/_Virus_Kid_/status/1704945686670709159
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Destiny 2 stops selling ΓÇ£Starter PackΓÇ¥ after massive community backlash
Steam page for now-removed $15 microtransaction https://store.steampowered.com/app/2336910/Destiny_2_Starter_Pack/
Contains 3 exotic weapons, 3 cosmetics, some materials https://lmg.gg/Vs1yD (Forbes)
Fact itΓÇÖs targeted at beginning players was the skeezy bit, since you have to be an existing player to see what a terrible value it is:
-       Call it a “super charged arsenal” https://lmg.gg/yCLxr (Steam)
-       With “build-defining Exotic weapons” https://lmg.gg/2LgHu (Steam)
-       The exotic weapons are not part of the current meta, don’t really synergize together https://lmg.gg/sjOLJ (Forbes)
-       You could earn those materials in like 2 hours of gameplay https://lmg.gg/591h3 (Forbes)
Destiny 2 team says they removed it because it ΓÇ£is not something bringing joyΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/Destiny2Team/status/1730010653241618890
Bungie NEEDS a win, theyΓÇÖve had a terrible year (PC Gamer)
1.     The last expansion was a mess https://lmg.gg/8rstj
2.     August State of the Game blogpost so damaging to community sentiment, game director released a 15-minute video addressing what went wrong https://lmg.gg/pRBd4
3.     Then 8% of Bungie’s staff was laid off, including most of the community support team, because sales were 45% short of expectations https://lmg.gg/uzXtx
4.     Expansion meant to replace aforementioned poorly-received expansion reportedly delayed, which Bungie officially confirmed this week https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/article/final_shape_release_update
 
REMASTER OF DISASTER
Ubisoft accidentally releases Beyond Good and Evil remaster
Leaked by ESRB in August https://twitter.com/Knoebelbroet/status/1697176507381166308
Accidentally listed on Xbox Store https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1729661047878070315
Game was reportedly playable for some Ubisoft+ subscribers https://lmg.gg/AXNLe (PC Gamer)
Allowing someone to upload 30 minutes of gameplay footage https://lmg.gg/sqy38 (PC Gamer)
“a new treasure hunt throughout Hillys.“ https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1729661047878070315  
Decide to just announce it https://twitter.com/bgegame/status/1729872094627090483
State Ubisoft+ game was ΓÇ£an early development versionΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/bgegame/status/1729872106123649325
 
ROGΓÇÖS NEW ALLY
Microsoft adding Xbox app compact mode as default for Windows handhelds
https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/29/23981086/xbox-app-compact-mode-windows-handhelds
After testing the feature last month https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/10/27/xbox-insider-release-notes-xbox-app-2311-1000-41-0/
The biggest change is the sidebar collapses to icons https://lmg.gg/xLtN3 (The Verge)
Update to all Windows devices, including Ally and Legion Go https://lmg.gg/J6ywR (Xbox Wire)
ΓÇ£Partnering with AsusΓÇ¥ and others to make it default on handhelds https://lmg.gg/tyRtQ (Xbox Wire)
Also added a repair tool for troubleshooting installing, updating, and even missing content https://support.xbox.com/en-US/help/games-apps/troubleshooting/gaming-services-repair-tool
 
QUICK BITS
 
HONOR MODE AMONG THIEVES
New BG3 patch
https://kotaku.com/baldurs-gate-3-minthara-patch-5-update-1851061745
 
ITΓÇÖS STILL ONGOING
Cyberpunk 2077 getting surprise ΓÇ£final patchΓÇ¥
https://twitter.com/CyberpunkGame/status/1730195052582891963
 
A LINK TO THE QUEST
Half-Life Alyx more accessible as Valve releases Steam Link for Quest 2, 3, and Pro headsets
https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/30/23982839/steam-link-meta-quest-headset-stream-vr-games
Used to be huge hassle to play the game, relied on outdated Oculus PC client https://techwewant.com/how-to-play-half-life-alyx-on-oculus-quest-2-wireless-or-wired-61b7cc511c4d
https://roadtovr.com/valve-launch-steam-link-meta-quest-steamvr-pc-vr/
 
SLIGHTLY ABSURD
Rockstar Studios founderΓÇÖs new studio recruited Rockstar vets
Announces first 2 projects: graphic novel and audio drama
 
BECAUSE THE INTERNET
Cult of the Lamb adding ΓÇ£sins of the fleshΓÇ¥ to the cutesy roguelite cult sim
Became a meme https://steamcommunity.com/app/1313140/eventcomments/4038101970212242758/
Dev says will add sex if they hit 300k followers on Twitter https://twitter.com/cultofthelamb/status/1729418318111801787
Took 2 hours https://twitter.com/cultofthelamb/status/1729593659018912038
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FIELD OF BROKEN DREAMS
Guy leaks 67 copies of Starfield, uploads 45 min of gameplay, is arrested
https://www.polygon.com/23848817/starfield-leak-felony-theft-arrested
Start screen https://twitter.com/Grummz/status/1692944018051641516
yet another reason for fans to be frustrated https://www.techspot.com/news/99942-fans-frustrated-after-leaked-gameplay-footage-reveals-starfield.html
we talkin bout boundaries https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-boundary-reached-leak-leaves-some-worried-bethesdas-planets-have-more-limits-than-anticipated/
if you donΓÇÖt like boundaries thereΓÇÖs always Star Citizen https://mmos.com/news/star-citizen-600m-crowdfunding
 
YEAH WRITE
BioWare lays off senior writing staff, including lead writers of BaldurΓÇÖs Gate 1+2 and Dragon Age 1-3
https://www.eurogamer.net/bioware-lays-off-senior-writing-staff-as-part-of-its-recent-job-cuts
https://blog.bioware.com/2023/08/23/an-update-on-the-state-of-bioware/
https://www.thegamer.com/bioware-layoffs-baldurs-gate-dragon-age-lukas-kristjanson/
 
FROMSOFT GONE SOFT
Armored Core 6 released
Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQJb8He0pYA
Forgiving https://www.thegamer.com/armored-core-6-is-fromsoftware-at-its-most-forgiving/
Reviews https://twitter.com/shinobi602/status/1694375686822113491
Custom Armors: Farming Simulator https://www.reddit.com/r/armoredcore/comments/164j7cx/farming_simulator_rubicon/
Mass Effect N7 https://www.reddit.com/r/armoredcore/comments/164jpl5/november_seven_ready_to_go/
FF Cloud https://www.reddit.com/r/armoredcore/comments/164jdea/soldier_1st_class_cloud/
Homer https://www.reddit.com/r/armoredcore/comments/164arzu/what_weapons_should_h0m3r_use/
Everyone loves Rusty https://www.gamesradar.com/everyones-new-favorite-fromsoftware-character-is-also-the-only-nice-person-in-armored-core-6/
 
QUICK BITS
 
SPACESHIPS ARE EXPENSIVE
Microsoft flip flops again on Xbox Game Pass $1 trial
https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-xbox-game-pass-has-killed-its-1-14-day-trial-again-ahead-of-starfield-launch/
https://xgp-pl.translate.goog/newsy/xbox-game-pass-ultimate-promocja-za-4-zl-wycofana-przed-premiera-starfield/?_x_tr_sl=pl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1695809585389740466?s=20
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/microsoft-pulls-1-xbox-game-pass-trial-with-starfield-on-the-horizon
 
LIKE OLD GAME BUT NEW
Sea of Stars released
Trailer https://youtu.be/8jkeh6O1Rzs
Reviews https://twitter.com/Stealth40k/status/1696162387487813752
Watch out for spoilers tho https://www.reddit.com/r/gamingnews/comments/1644ndi/ign_under_fire_after_its_video_review_of_sea_of/
HOMEWORLD WITH THA HOMIES
Homeworld 3 will have a 3-player co-op, roguelike mode called War Games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmQ56YpYaAA
 
I MISS THE OLD LARA
Lara Croft coming to Call of Duty
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/call-of-dutys-bottomless-content-machine-has-claimed-lara-croft
 
WOW, GREAT JOB!
Twitch streamer Labat lets chat play WoW ΓÇô they hit level 60 in a week
https://youtu.be/yFscYlHmW3w?t=133
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The Escapist staff resign after editor-in-chief fired
https://twitter.com/PaulTassi/status/1721689641370206632
Including Ben ΓÇ£YahtzeeΓÇ¥ Croshaw https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-67348861
Owned by Gamurs, company that laid off a bunch of people… https://esportsinsider.com/2023/03/layoffs-gamurs-group
…then tried to replace them with AI https://futurism.com/the-byte/gaming-sites-writers-ai-editor
Zero Punctuation is dead https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/11/07/zero-punctuation-ends-as-the-escapist-faces-mass-resignations-after-eic-firing/?sh=8a337dca3498
Escapist is just one of many, many casualties https://lmg.gg/oR1Aw (Gamesindustry.biz)
Calandra and Croshaw launch new venture https://twitter.com/SecondWindGroup/status/1721934761621381168
 
A CAN OF ALPHABET SOUP SUIT
Epic v Google lawsuit starts
Day One recap https://venturebeat.com/games/a-recap-of-epic-games-vs-google-trial-day-one/
Google claims Galaxy Store proof of competition https://lmg.gg/hn0DD (Venture Beat)
Epic points out 90% of app installs are from Play Store https://lmg.gg/atM77 (Venture Beat)
The Verge thinks Epic might actually have a shot https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/7/23949849/epic-google-trial-day-one-recap-summary
Might be good, since the Epic Games Store still isnΓÇÖt profitable https://kotaku.com/epic-games-store-pc-profitable-google-court-case-apple-1850996972
ItΓÇÖs only been 5 years https://www.pcgamer.com/5-years-after-trying-for-a-valve-counterstrike-moment-with-fortnite-the-epic-games-store-still-isnt-turning-a-profit/
 
AUSTRALIA VIOLATES KOREAN COPYRIGHT
Australian ratings board leaks details about previously leaked Silent Hill: The Short Message
Risking identity theft charges from Korean Ratings Board https://www.gematsu.com/2023/06/lego-2k-goooal-rated-in-korea
Especially since the Korean ratings board LEAKED the gameΓÇÖs existence https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/a-new-silent-hill-game-has-been-rated-in-south-korea/ Posted to Gaming Leaks and Rumours SPOILERS AND REFERENCES TO SUICIDE AND SELF HARM https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/17psuzd/australian_classification_board_outlines_major/
Best Buy Canada listing implies Silent Hill 2 Remake will include origin story for Pyramid Head
https://www.inverse.com/gaming/silent-hill-2-rumor-pyramid-head
Spotted by this twitter user https://twitter.com/bobvids/status/1720858320213266677
Konami says Best Buy goofed it https://www.ign.com/articles/konami-says-best-buy-had-incorrect-info-regarding-pyramid-head-origin-story-in-silent-hill-2-remake
 
QUICK BITS
 
INFORMATION BLIZZARD
BlizzCon lightning round-up
https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/3/23944811/blizzcon-2023-news-trailers-diablo-warcraft-overwatch
Worldsoul Saga https://twitter.com/Warcraft/status/1720525660983030142
Starting with the War Within https://youtu.be/o03STclgxSc
Play 3 days early by paying more https://www.dexerto.com/world-of-warcraft/wow-the-war-within-early-access-sparks-furious-debate-among-players-2371010/  
Warcraft Rumble https://lmg.gg/nJWJI
Announced Diablo IV expansion https://youtu.be/gHuaCwmx-Rg
Details on leaked hero https://youtu.be/AQfRHycUsmQ?t=17
Next two heroes and new game mode https://twitter.com/PlayOverwatch/status/1720510120084353195
Overwatch World Cup https://twitter.com/owpathtopro/status/1720979323317059880
K-pop collab https://www.tiktok.com/@le_sserafim/video/7297861831257820424
 
DOUBLE THE JOHN, DOUBLE THE FUN
John Carmack and Romero teaming up for livestream for DoomΓÇÖs 30th anniversary
https://twitter.com/romero/status/1720489883590939047
Sigil 2 https://romero.com/shop/p/sigil2usb
https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/1720495497926840523
 
SUFFERING FROM SUCCESS
Bandai Namco game financial results decline because Elden Ring sold too well
https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/ir/index.html
Discontinuing sales for Taiko No Tatsujin: Drum ΓÇÿnΓÇÖ Fun!
 
EX-INTEGRATION
PlayStation removing Twitter integration
https://mp1st.com/news/playstation-removing-twitter-x-integration-for-ps4-and-ps5-on-november-13
https://www.polygon.com/23949334/playstation-twitter-x-ps4-ps5-ps-app
https://www.gameinformer.com/2023/11/06/playstation-ending-twitterx-integration-next-week
 
SHOCKING: GAME GIANTS DONΓÇÖT LIKE EVIL SANTA
ΓÇ£Christmas MassacreΓÇ¥ game ΓÇ£Too crazyΓÇ¥ for Xbox and Nintendo Switch
Third ΓÇ£MassacreΓÇ¥ Game from Puppet Combo, after:
-       Power Drill Massacre https://store.steampowered.com/app/2027030/Power_Drill_Massacre/
-       Nun Massacre https://puppetcombo.itch.io/nun-massacre
Dev says game too crazy for Xbox, Switch  https://twitter.com/PuppetCombo/status/1720432017727197594
Prolly cuz you play as the killer this time, Nun Massacre was fine for Switch https://www.nintendo.com/en-ca/store/products/nun-massacre-switch/
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WHATΓÇÖS IN THE BOOOOOX?
GameStop tweets and displays branding on site saying ΓÇ£Microsoft Game PassΓÇ¥
https://twitter.com/ReforgeGaming/status/1755317364038443467
Went viral after Wario64 retweeted the now-deleted GameStop tweet https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1755318156149874955
Only added fuel to fire of multiplatform rumor backlash https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/major-xbox-influencers-pull-support-over-multiplatform-rumours/
Wario64 points out EA used this branding last year https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1755321729248039134
-         tho they ALSO say “Xbox Game Pass”…typo? Long-term plan?
Have to wait until next week https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/1754598552548904973
FTC not happy with MicrosoftΓÇÖs Activision Blizzard layoffs https://www.polygon.com/24065269/ftc-microsoft-activision-deal-layoffs-appeal
Were supposed ΓÇ£to maintain the pre-merger status quoΓÇ¥ in case FTC order divestiture https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca9.344453/gov.uscourts.ca9.344453.117.0_1.pdf
Microsoft says Activision planned layoffs before merger https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/activision-had-planned-layoffs-before-merger-microsoft-says-1.2032655
ΓÇ£The recent announcement thus cannot be attributed fully to the merger.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/bzAlO (BNN Bloomberg)
 
DISNEYΓÇÖS EPIC MONEY
Disney invests $1.5bn in Epic Games
Epic announcement https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/disney-and-epic-games-to-create-expansive-and-open-games-and-entertainment-universe-connected-to-fortnite
DisneyΓÇÖs announcement https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-and-epic-games-fortnite/
ΓÇ£persistent universeΓÇ¥ https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/7/24065281/disney-epic-games-investment-fortnite-metaverse
ΓÇ£will offer a multitude of opportunities for consumers to play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/SKpI4 (Disney)
-         JOKE: that certainly sounds like Fortnite
Teaser looks sort of like a virtual Disneyland https://youtu.be/Yf2bRcSIUsE?t=23
In the meantime, Rocket League gets a new update: Mandalorian crossover https://www.starwars.com/news/mandalorian-mayhem-rocket-league
 
MORE LIKE SELLDIVERS 2 AMIRITE?
Helldivers 2 massive launch
https://www.ign.com/articles/sonys-helldivers-2-gets-off-to-a-strong-start-on-steam
Third-best selling game globally by revenue on Steam https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/02/helldivers-2-off-to-a-strong-start-on-ps5-pc-currently-third-best-selling-game-on-steam
#1 in US (as of writing) https://store.steampowered.com/charts/topselling/US
#1 Globally (right now) https://store.steampowered.com/charts/topselling/global
Notably SonyΓÇÖs first simultaneous PS5 and PC release https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/sonys-first-simultaneous-ps5pc-release-is-already-outselling-palworld-on-steam
PS5 launch doing well monetarily, but bug-ridden launch https://www.theloadout.com/helldivers-2/servers-bugs-performance-ps5
Arrowhead CEO gives statement https://www.gamesradar.com/helldivers-2-dev-in-crisis-mode-as-matchmaking-problems-hit-the-co-op-shooters-launch-ceo-says-we-are-seeing-the-issues-and-advises-joining-friends-directly/
Game MAY be down https://www.techradar.com/gaming/helldivers-2-servers-down
Gamesradar says servers are down https://lmg.gg/yCSxT (Gamesradar+)
TechRadar says itΓÇÖs back up https://lmg.gg/gfWId (TechRadar)
Probably fixed by the time video comes out
 
QUICK BITS
 
GAME PIRATING INCREASES
Skull and Bones Open Beta actually happening
https://videogames.si.com/guides/skull-and-bones-open-beta-start-time-preload
former director explains lack of solo campaign https://www.pcgamer.com/former-skull-and-bones-director-says-making-a-separate-solo-campaign-would-have-prevented-the-team-from-creating-a-really-deep-open-world/
-         JOKE IDEA: my explanation is it would have prevented the team from creating a tangible open beta within the first decade of development
 
PLEASE, WHILE WEΓÇÖRE STILL JUNG
Persona 3 Reload AtlusΓÇÖs fastest selling game,
Persona 2 remaster/Person 4 remake rumors, PS2 will be on Switch 2 https://twitter.com/MbKKssTBhz5/status/1754683275707040151
https://kotaku.com/nintendo-switch-2-persona-3-reload-4-remake-metaphor-1851238766
 
THE WALKING DREAD
Treyarch confirms no new perks/enemy types for CoD: Zombies, fans afraid
https://twitter.com/MrDalekJD/status/1755245660272554448c
Releasing The Walking Dead crossover during season with no Zombies content https://gamerant.com/call-of-duty-walking-dead-crossover-bad-timing-mwz-content/
 
I LOVE DEMOCRACY
Capcom wonders if fans still interested in their most interesting franchises
https://www.destructoid.com/recent-capcom-survey-once-again-pokes-the-dino-crisis-interest-bear/
               NAKED KNIGHT: https://captown.capcom.com/en/super_elections/1/new
 
STELLAR…Y’KNOW
Stellar Blade dev says he ΓÇ£put special attentionΓÇ¥ into female protagonistΓÇÖs backside
Because ΓÇ£ThatΓÇÖs what [players] see most ofΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/QcOVP (GamesRadar+)
Might explain some focus on ΓÇ£costume creationΓÇ¥ https://insider-gaming.com/stellar-blade-costume-creation/
Famitsu interview (JapaneseΓÇöGoogle translated link) https://lmg.gg/e9hw1 (Famitsu)
Wants game to ΓÇ£express all the things a female character can do when wielding a swordΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/URuZl (Famitsu)
Collab with previous game, NIKKE: Goddess of Victory (the jiggle physics Mecca youΓÇÖve seen ads for) https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/02/stellar-blade-dev-considering-crossover-content-with-saucy-smartphone-shooter-nikke
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THE FINAL JAPE
Sony goofs it and leaks Destiny 2 expansion wayyyy early
Leaked so hard, we couldn’t access r/DestinyTheGame 
The entire DLC was playable for at least 5 hours on PS5ΓÇÖs cloud streaming service https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/30/24167768/sony-destiny-2-the-final-shape-leak-expansion-dlc-early-access
While there are a lot of spoilers, fortunately much of the story is still unknown because players were forced to play with a fresh character and had to do the tutorial before accessing the campaign https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/1d432j1/a_spoilerfree_post_on_how_the_leak_happened_what/
By the time most players got to the campaign, Bungie had nuked the servers https://www.pcgamesn.com/destiny-2/the-final-shape-leaked
Bungie has since acknowledged the leak in a Twitter thread https://x.com/Destiny2Team/status/1796220359471182186
 
LOL, OK
LoL studio RiotΓÇÖs ΓÇ£most generous bundles to dateΓÇ¥, one of which costs $500 USD
https://halloflegends.leagueoflegends.com/en-gb/?b=2
Players want to ΓÇ£permabanΓÇ¥ Ahri so whales canΓÇÖt use the skin https://www.pcgamesn.com/league-of-legends/permabanning-ahri-new-skin
Something you can do in Champion select of ranked matches https://lmg.gg/JUxdw
Meanwhile LoL 3rd-party store asks players to stop taking out loans to afford new skin https://www.gamesradar.com/games/league-of-legends/can-you-guys-stop-taking-out-loans-league-of-legends-third-party-store-says-players-are-getting-into-debt-to-afford-new-dollar500-skin/
Xeet revealing people are choosing 3-6 month payment plans on PayPal https://x.com/StarlightAPM/status/1795807222989021333
 
LONELY COMPANIES WANT HANDHELD
Zotac entering the PC handheld race with OLED display
https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/29/24167109/zotac-zone-gaming-handheld-oled-display
Not powered by Ryzen Z1 Extreme https://videocardz.com/newz/exclusive-zotac-zone-handheld-specs-leak-amd-ryzen-7-8840u-and-7-inch-120hz-amoled-screen
Will have hall effect joysticks and triggers, 1080p resolution with 120 Hz refresh rate, and…1.25 hours of battery life https://cdn.videocardz.com/1/2024/05/ZOTAC-ZONE-SPECS-LEAK.png
ADATA is also launching a handheld? https://liliputing.com/adata-and-zotac-are-launching-handheld-gaming-pcs-at-computex-next-week/
Mentioned a few things in a Computex press release https://www.adata.com/cz/news/1136/ D
It will have eye-tracking for some reason https://lmg.gg/u00bU (Liliputing)
 
 
QUICK BITS
DRUCKED OVER
Sony retracts Neil Druckmann interview, say there were ΓÇ£significant errorsΓÇ¥
Druckmann took issue with one line https://x.com/Neil_Druckmann/status/1794187392183898408
Posted long rambling answer that notably didnΓÇÖt contain that line https://x.com/Neil_Druckmann/status/1794187395279253837
HereΓÇÖs what SonyΓÇÖs site now says https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/creative-entertainment-vision/interview/2.html
 
FAULTY-VERSUS
MultiVersus has returned, and received VERY mixed reception
Got 110,000 concurrent players on launch https://www.mmorpg.com/news/multiversus-hits-110000-concurrent-users-on-launch-day-2000131682
but massive changes from beta, like unpurchased characters now being unplayable in local play and training, and buying them is now more expensive https://www.reddit.com/r/MultiVersusTheGame/comments/1d2tccz/everything_that_changed_for_the_worse_from_the/
Bummer because fan favourite characters may be coming https://www.ign.com/articles/multiversus-leak-suggests-aquaman-powerpuff-girls-and-anime-characters-are-coming
                                                                                                                               
PIECE OF CHEAT
Another cheat seller falls, this time to Activision
https://insider-gaming.com/engineowning-activision-court-case/
 
INTERCEPTED
Intercept Games confirms layoffs, contradicting T2 CEOΓÇÖs recent statements
T2 CEO Strauss Zelnick previously stated ΓÇ£we didnΓÇÖt shutter those studiosΓÇÖ after initial reports https://www.ign.com/articles/take-two-ceo-on-intercept-roll7-we-didnt-shutter-those-studios
But actual employees seem to contradict that https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7201280703215394816/ 
 
WE STEAL CAR THEN MAKE TRUCK
Amazon to publish story-driven racer from former Forza Horizon devs, lead writer was co-creator of British show Skins
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ACTIVATE ACTIVISION ACQUISITION
Judge rules against FTC injunction, Microsoft can close Activision deal IF UK agrees?
https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/11/23779039/microsoft-activision-blizzard-ftc-trial-win
Judge Corley https://www.sfbar.org/blog/senior-district-judge-thelton-henderson-set-to-retire/
Microsoft first has to negotiate with UKΓÇÖs CMA
but CMA agreed to pause appeal
Dang. Jim Ryan shouldΓÇÖve taken that 10 year deal https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/microsoft-says-it-offered-sony-a-10-year-deal-to-keep-call-of-duty-on-playstation/
And the FTC antitrust case is ongoing, hearing on August 2nd https://lmg.gg/ZY9pe
GRIN AND BEAR IT
BaldurΓÇÖs Gate 3 lets you ΓÇ£romanceΓÇ¥ a druid in bear form
https://twitter.com/vaughandavies97/status/1677361748658069516
Gets Tiktok stream blocked for it https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/07/larian-studios-gets-tiktok-ban-for-bear-form-druid-sex-scene-in-baldurs-gate-3
Even while getting a boost on Steam charts
https://www.pcgamesn.com/baldurs-gate-3/bear
ThereΓÇÖs also an option for people who donΓÇÖt like enjoying games
GOTTA GO (TO THE MOON) FAST
Sega licensing ΓÇ£immensely popularΓÇ¥ IP for web3 game
https://venturebeat.com/games/line-next-signs-deal-with-sega-to-make-web3-game-for-game-dosi/
https://www.eurogamer.net/sega-plans-to-bring-immensely-popular-franchise-to-blockchain-platform
less than a week after COO told Bloomberg theyΓÇÖre pulling black from blockchain
https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/11/sega_blockchain_web3/
QUICK BITS
MARKED FOR DELETION
87% of classic games are ΓÇ£critically endangeredΓÇ¥
https://gamehistory.org/87percent/
https://zenodo.org/record/7996492
what defines ΓÇ£classic gameΓÇ¥? https://lmg.gg/feRW3
20-YEAR RULE, THESE ARE STILL GOOD
Halo 1 cut content being restored to MCC with help from 343 Industries
https://www.pcgamesn.com/halo/rts-third-person-restored
https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/digsite-deliveries
maps https://lmg.gg/T3Sae
these guys! https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2023/07/Wildlife.jpg
https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2023/07/Slugman.jpg
COUNTING MAREEP
Pokemon Sleep public beta in certain regions (and only on Android)
https://www.ign.com/articles/i-played-pokmon-sleep-and-now-i-just-want-to-go-back-to-bed
OLD GAME, NEW TRICKS
Star Wars Galaxies Restoration adds planetary control mechanic
more stuff on the roadmap. Wild
YOUΓÇÖRE A LEGEND, DAVE
Dave the Diver comes out of nowhere and sells a million copies
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1868140/DAVE_THE_DIVER/
Overwhelmingly Positive reviews https://lmg.gg/ZmjPj
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RDR Remaster isnΓÇÖt happening, ΓÇ£conversionΓÇ¥ for Switch and PS4
Original rumor started with Korean rating https://insider-gaming.com/red-dead-redemption/
Then a new logo found on their site https://twitter.com/TezFunz2/status/1684580988071071744
Official Trailer https://youtu.be/t5Nwgd_T1-4
$50 for a port of 13 yo game https://www.gamesradar.com/red-dead-redemption-port-stuns-fans-with-dollar50-asking-price/
Fans are pissed https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/08/red-dead-redemption-ps4-announcement-gets-slaughtered-by-fans
 
IT WAS OKILLY DOKILLY
Pokemon Presents
https://www.polygon.com/23823411/pokemon-presents-august-2023-news-scarlet-violet-dlc-release-date
New details on Scarlet/Violet DLC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUlcN6y4n90
-       Possible joke: New pokemon are Flanders-coded (Okidogi, Munkidori specifically)
Latest trailer for Detective Pikachu Returns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYvL78bqsUw
Pokemon Trading Card Game and Stadium 2 coming to Switch Online https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/two-classic-pokemon-games-are-coming-to-switch-today/
Even found time to use a fan-cover of music without crediting the artist https://twitter.com/Lewchube/status/1688941994909835264
 
MAGIC: THE DISAPPEARING ACT
Massive Magic the Gathering heist at Gen Con
Walked off with $300k in cards while vendors will still setting up https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/54793/gen-con-2023-news-magic-the-gathering-grand-theft-gen-con-2023
Originally reported that haul included Pokemon and brand new Disney Lorcana, just MTG
 https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/6/23822019/gaming-cards-stolen-gen-con-magic-the-gathering-pokemon 
Earlier pizza bag theft https://www.wishtv.com/news/local-news/thief-hits-brownsburg-game-shop-steals-15000-of-magic-the-gathering-cards/ 
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police looking for tips https://local.nixle.com/alert/10248167/
 
QUICK BITS
 
AC: DEJA-VU
AC Mirage microtransactions leak
https://gamerant.com/assassins-creed-mirage-leak-microtransactions/
Fans arenΓÇÖt happy https://www.reddit.com/r/assassinscreed/comments/15kemlv/ac_mirage_gear_pack_leak_looks_like_well_have/
 
SANDAL TIN PHONE?
MW3 Officially announced with teaser
https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/1688580991420399617
coming November 10 https://www.ign.com/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-finally-has-its-release-date
Confirmed slide cancelling coming back in the weirdest way https://twitter.com/ModernWarzone/status/1688318080852656128
 
 
SFW TOURNAMENT ENDS
EVO 2023 wrapped up on the 6th
https://www.dexerto.com/esports/evo-2023-schedule-results-winners-2225792/
Several Announcements https://lordsofgaming.net/2023/08/evo-2023-announcements-and-results/
TMNT coming to SF6 https://youtu.be/qbOnC5DJx2c
No Persona fighting game announcement, but we get Plankton in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 https://youtu.be/GYIOUxYBukw?t=355
 
NEW HERO, NO HERO MODE
New Overwatch 2 Hero revealed in Invasion trailer
https://www.gamesradar.com/new-overwatch-2-hero-illari-revealed-in-season-6-breakdown-trailer/
More importantly, another excellent Blizzard Animated Short feat. Sojourn https://youtu.be/alJt9mdQKKc
 
THE CREAM OF THE CROPS
WrestleQuest delayed hours before launch
https://www.gematsu.com/2023/08/wrestlequest-delayed-to-august-22
Discovered a progression bug at the last minute
https://kotaku.com/wrestlequest-rpg-delay-wwe-save-progress-bug-switch-1850717114
Official statement ΓÇ£We could never bodyslam our fans like thatΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/skyboundgames/status/1688712585175261184
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OUT OF THE SHADOWS, INTO THE…SHADOWS
AssassinΓÇÖs Creed Shadows was revealed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vovkzbtYBC8
After the release date was leaked https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1790079437662285907
And the DLC leaked https://www.reddit.com/r/assassinscreed/comments/1cr0b7e/assassins_creed_shadows_season_pass_ultimate/
…and the official artwork leaked https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/1crz4f3/assassins_creed_shadows_official_game_artwork/
….and the protagonists and microtransactions https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/1cry28c/new_ac_shadows_info_from_leaker_j0nathan/
Ubisoft is bad at keeping a lid on things and are also bad at not making single player games require an internet connection to function https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/16/you-can-play-all-of-assassins-creed-shadows-offline-but-you-need-a-connection-to
Which sucks because it actually sounds good
Characters are interesting https://youtu.be/Nszrx939ZVA
Interesting gameplay mechanics
https://www.ign.com/articles/assassins-creed-shadows-inside-ubisofts-ambitious-open-world-japan
 
HERE YOU GO, SWEATY
UbisoftΓÇÖs CoD competitor XDefiant will NOT feature SBMM
Official blog post says ΓÇ£there is no skill-based matchmaking in our casual playlist.ΓÇ¥ https://www.ubisoft.com/en-ca/game/xdefiant/news/73QFbfzYxQbbL4ua8DValH/matchmaking-in-xdefiant
Contrast that with Activision, who defended their use of SBMM this year in a big blog post
Basically saying that ΓÇ£unfairΓÇ¥ matches scares away newer and lower-skill players, diminishing the player pool, increasing wait times until just high skill players exist and every match is sweaty anyway https://lmg.gg/p1bwE (Forbes)
Ubisoft believes casual should be fun https://lmg.gg/7VdbR (Ubisoft)
But they also think Skull and Bones has had a ΓÇ£tremendous responseΓÇ¥ https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/skull-and-bones/news-updates/4JskVoFQcIbc50OENc1JxT
Specific quote: ΓÇ£the tremendous response from our entire community since the launch of our game.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/PfVec (Ubisoft)
At least the players that DIDNΓÇÖT leave in the first 2 weeks https://www.trueachievements.com/news/skull-and-bones-player-count
 
YA LIKE GAMES?
Many upcoming games from veteran creators
NieR series producer, NieR series creator, and NieR series composer reunite for new project that ΓÇ£might be NieR, it might not be NieRΓÇ¥ https://www.eurogamer.net/nier-developers-join-forces-for-new-project-that-might-be-nier-it-might-not-be-nier
https://www.gematsu.com/2024/05/yosuke-saito-working-on-new-project-with-yoko-taro-and-keiichi-okabe
Ron Gilbert, creator of Monkey Island has a new game coming later this year or early next year https://www.timeextension.com/news/2024/05/monkey-island-creator-ron-gilbert-is-working-on-a-zelda-style-rpg-adventure
ΓÇ£Zelda meets Diablo meets Thimbleweed ParkΓÇ¥ https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2024/05/monkey-island-creators-zelda-meets-diablo-meets-thimbleweed-park-rpg-looks-delightful
XCOM designer Jake Solomon working on new ΓÇ£emergent story life simΓÇ¥ to compete with The Sims https://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-xcoms-designer-went-from-marvel-dating-sim-to-a-gilmore-girls-inspired-life-sim/1100-6523449/
And Grant Rodiek, longtime The Sims vet and former Sims 5 director has joined as executive producer https://www.vg247.com/midsummer-games-founded-announce-new-sims-rival-life-sim
Create your own story interpersonal small town drama, influenced a lot by Gilmore Girls, but also Stephen King? https://lmg.gg/re5ko (VG247)
Rockstar co-founder making an ΓÇ£open world action-adventure gameΓÇ¥ https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/rockstar-co-founder-dan-housers-new-studio-is-making-an-open-world-action-adventure-game
Potential teaser tweet (@0:34) ΓÇ£It envelopes you, devours you, probably without meaning to. It is everything and nothing.ΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/AbsurdVentures/status/1790448666844754190
 
QUICK BITS
 
WEΓÇÖRE ALL LONELY BOYS NOW
Hi-Fi RushΓÇÖs last patch before studio closes
https://kotaku.com/hi-fi-rush-final-update-patch-notes-ps5-xbox-pc-tango-1851479600
Patch notes https://bethesda.net/en/article/3eFI1aWeKyUWkXkS7IRNJF/hi-fi-rush-update-9-patch-notes
Physical edition still coming https://www.neowin.net/news/hi-fi-rush-will-get-one-more-final-patch-today-physical-versions-are-still-in-the-works/
 
FINDING THEIR WAY
Game ditches live-service model to become paid co-op RPG
 
DONΓÇÖT HATE: EMULATE
Sony may start offering native upscaled PS2 emulation on PS5
Main source for why this is important https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/05/sony-listing-hints-at-native-upscaled-ps2-emulation-on-the-ps5/
listing found by PSDeals https://psdeals.net/us-store/game/2774293/star-wars-the-clone-wars
https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2024/05/16/ps2-games-ps-plus-official-emulator-possibly-outed/
 
NICE BALLS
Proteus Controller
https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/15/24157529/microsoft-proteus-controller-xbox-accessibility
XboxΓÇÖs announcement https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/05/15/xbox-global-accessibility-awareness-day-2024/
Landing page for partner ByowaveΓÇÖs site https://www.byowave.com/product/proteus-controller-kit-vip
Also 3D-printable parts https://www.byowave.com/category/3d-printed-parts
 
YOUΓÇÖVE GOT A FREND IN ME
Helldivers 2 community rallies around kicked player; ΓÇ£im frendΓÇ¥ becomes meme
interaction went viral https://www.reddit.com/r/Helldivers/comments/1cr02xb/the_interraction_that_can_make_a_grown_man_cry/
Even PlayStation and the Helldivers 2 official twitter accounts got in on it https://twitter.com/PlayStationUK/status/1790753911592141089
dremskiy now has all the frends he wants https://twitter.com/Helldiversmedia/status/1790763579014316215
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SPITE MAKES RIGHT
GTA 5 source code leaked
A year after Rockstar hack https://www.guru3d.com/story/gta-5-source-code-leak-a-year-after-rockstar-hack/
ALLEGEDLY leaked now out of spite by cheap member of group buy according to credible leaker https://twitter.com/_Dyllie_/status/1739776451153395866
Leaked several scrapped DLCs https://kotaku.com/grand-theft-auto-5-leak-single-player-scrapped-dlc-1851124303
Way back in 2017, director of design Imran Sarwar explained game wouldnΓÇÖt get DLC because of GAT Online, next-gen versions, and RDR2 https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/10/23/exclusive-interview-rockstar-discusses-past-present-and-future-of-grand-theft-auto-online.aspx
 
GROSS INCOMPETENCE?
Steam releases reveals top sellers by revenue
https://www.ign.com/articles/steam-reveals-its-best-selling-and-most-played-games-of-2023
Separated into tiers: Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze https://store.steampowered.com/sale/BestOf2023?tab=1
In the top tier is Destiny 2
In the same tier as BaldurΓÇÖs Gate 3, Hogwarts Legacy, Call of Duty
Yet somehow it missed BungieΓÇÖs revenue projections by 45% https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/12/28/destiny-2-is-a-2023-steam-platinum-earner-while-missing-revenue-projections-by-45/?sh=60749dc73e00
Leading to those layoffs weΓÇÖve covered before https://www.neowin.net/news/report-bungie-revenue-45-below-projections-leading-to-latest-layoffs-and-delays/
Layoffs the Bungie execs made to save themselves https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/bungie-face-a-full-sony-takeover-and-more-layoffs-if-destiny-2-the-final-shape-flops-according-to-reports
Reportedly projections were made by Bungie executives and promised to Sony based on Lightfall sales https://lmg.gg/r0uVN (Forbes)
 
*WIPES TEARS FROM EYES*
Tarkov 0.14 Patch announced
Includes a wipe, ΓÇ£resetting the game for every playerΓÇ¥ https://insider-gaming.com/tarkov-wipe-0-14-patch-notes-full/
Includes Ground Zero, a new map exclusively for lvl 1 to 20 beginners https://www.escapefromtarkov.com/news/id/277
You can now jump over knee-high walls https://www.destructoid.com/escape-from-tarkov-0-14-features-new-guns-and-the-ability-to-jump-over-knee-high-walls/
May be biggest update so far https://www.techradar.com/gaming/pc-gaming/escape-from-tarkovs-014-patch-might-be-the-biggest-in-the-games-seven-year-history
 
QUICK BITS
 
MELON-CHOLY KINGDOM
Nintendo reveals most downloaded Switch games in Japan;
https://www.destructoid.com/nintendo-reveals-top-30-most-downloaded-games-on-japans-eshop-in-2023/
TotK was winning but then got beaten by cute melon game
https://lmg.gg/ar4lF (Nintendo Japan website ranking)
https://www.nintendolife.com/games/switch-eshop/suika_game
 
THEY MUSTΓÇÖVE BEEN HACKS
Ubisoft nearly hacked for 900GB of data
https://exputer.com/news/games/ubisoft-massive-900-gb-hack-attempt/
First reported by security collective vx-underground https://twitter.com/vxunderground/status/1738093190538760574
ΓÇ£Unknown threat actorΓÇ¥ had access to internal tools for 48 hours before Ubisoft revoked access https://mashable.com/article/ubisoft-stopped-hack-data-breach
Gave statement to BleepingComputer https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/ubisoft-says-its-investigating-reports-of-a-new-security-breach/
UbisoftΓÇÖs statement https://lmg.gg/DJUkM (BleepingComputer)
 
THEY DIED
Dark Souls 2 PS3, Xbox 360 servers to shut down
https://www.tweaktown.com/news/95138/fromsoftware-announce-dark-souls-2-servers-will-shut-down-on-two-old-consoles/index.html https://twitter.com/DarkSoulsGame/status/1738077033442218190 https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/vanilla-dark-souls-2-multiplayer-servers-shutting-down-xbox-playstation-after-10-years
 
BEAR FORCE ONE
Kuma coming to Tekken 8, inherits the Wind God Fist
https://kotaku.com/kuma-bear-tekken-8-character-reveal-trailer-panda-1851126222
https://www.polygon.com/24016605/tekken-8-kuma-kazuya-new-trailer-characters
Wind God Fist in trailer
https://youtu.be/6m7jNzjuoHU?t=89
 
THIS BUGS ME
Steam Deck D-pads with bugs in ΓÇÿem
https://www.polygon.com/deals/24007897/steam-deck-dpad-bugs-deckbuttons-buy
https://deckbuttons.com/products/halloween-dead-bug-white-steam-deck-dpad
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Unity releases previously-announced Muse AI ethical AI tools in early access
Muse AI tools https://youtu.be/vDlsoMnt4sQ
Other Unity 6 features https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yggoHVLd01c
Launching next year https://venturebeat.com/games/unity-6-debuts-next-year-with-ai-powered-innovations-and-platform-updates/
Right as theyΓÇÖre expected to announce layoffs
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/unity-announces-layoffs-despite-increased-revenue-and-reduced-losses
 
ATLUSΓÇÖ LAST SURPRISE
More layoffs, but maybe some good news via Atlus
Embracer laid off 900 people in Q2 2023
Kongregate cuts more than a dozen jobs https://www.polygon.com/23962772/kongregate-505-games-digital-bros-layoffs-2023
505 Games owner lays off 30% of workforce https://digitalbros.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023.11.14-Digital-Bros-PR-Organization-review-2-1.pdf#
Because apparently gamers only want sequels? https://www.pcgamer.com/505-games-parent-company-lays-off-30-of-its-workforce-says-gamers-really-only-want-sequels-so-thats-what-its-going-to-make/
Meanwhile Atlus is RAISING wages https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/persona-developer-atlas-raising-average-annual-salary-by-15-percent
Press release says starting salary (monthly) increasing from 257k yen to 300k, annual salary up 15% https://lmg.gg/9DZu0 (Atlus Press Release)
Just raised wages by 5% in April https://lmg.gg/rXsp3 (Game Developer)
However… Japanese devs make significantly less than US devs on average https://lmg.gg/IyWRj (Kotaku)
OH NOBLOX…
Roblox Connect launched; will let you chat with people while inhabiting your Roblox avatar.
Originally announced in September https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/8/23864026/roblox-connect-video-chat
Official press release https://devforum.roblox.com/t/the-future-of-immersive-communication-on-roblox/2701137
feature is targeted at 13+ users; the public has concerns https://twitter.com/Roblox/status/1724489282659000824
Top comment from a developer on blog post: yeah we donΓÇÖt want this
https://devforum.roblox.com/t/the-future-of-immersive-communication-on-roblox/2701137/3
Roblox is also apparently recording voices with the feature https://devforum.roblox.com/t/the-future-of-immersive-communication-on-roblox/2701137/5
Making more partnerships with brands like Gucci to sell overpriced virtual stuff https://fortune.com/2023/11/15/roblox-users-gaming-metaverse-gucci-growth-virtual-reality/
QUICK BITS
 
MWIII experimenting with enemy outlines (response to Gaia controversy?)
https://twitter.com/charlieINTEL/status/1724858436528071025
https://twitter.com/TheGhostOfHope/status/1724859926122545634
 
BIOWARE 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO
NetEase announced new fully-remote studio based in Vancouver Canada
Press release https://www.neteasegames.com/news/game/20231116/30576_1120389.html
Via Twitter, state itΓÇÖs led by Marc Walters https://twitter.com/NetEaseGames_EN/status/1725136636210516427
Walters spent 20 years at Bioware writing Jade Empire and Mass Effect https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/mass-effect-veteran-mac-walters-is-leading-a-new-netease-studio-in-canada/
Looking to create new sci-fi action/adventure game https://wccftech.com/worlds-untold-qa-ex-mass-effect-writer-gets-netease-funding-to-make-a-sci-fi-action-adventure-game/
 
TASK FORCE KEKS
Suicide Squad gets dev diary update
https://kotaku.com/suicide-squad-justice-league-new-gameplay-map-size-1851025482
 
DOGGCHAMP
Snoop Dogg and son to launch ΓÇ£Death Row GamesΓÇ¥
https://hypebeast.com/2023/11/snoop-dogg-cordell-broadus-launching-death-row-games
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/snoop-dogg-and-his-son-are-starting-a-game-company/1100-6519055/
Snoop dogg skin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBqjYixEn7k
 
FINAL FANTASY VII RIP
Producer and director of FFVII Rebirth interviewed
Director included his own cat in the previous game https://twitter.com/nhamaguc/status/1717672266656633178
WonΓÇÖt appear in upcoming sequel because he ΓÇ£likes to thinkΓÇ¥ his own cat died (SPOILERS) https://lmg.gg/aqbEo (Games Radar+)
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HOW LAWFUL OF THEM
Game publishers wonΓÇÖt support libraries for preserving online games
US copyright office hearing, archived by dev Scott Percival on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2122947184?t=04h04m48s
Rock Paper Shotgun https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/esa-lawyer-frets-about-some-sort-of-terrifying-online-arcade-if-preservation-is-made-easier
A follow-up to a petition for DMCA exemption from Software Preservation Network https://lmg.gg/qK6tO (Rock Paper Shotgun)
Entertainment Software Association lawyer Steve Englund made several arguments
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/esa-org-won-t-cooperate-game-preservation
In response to the hypothetical scenario of libraries preserving games online after support ended, Englund said there was currently ΓÇ£[no] combination of limitations [ESA members] would support to provide remote access.ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/qyPQA (VGC)
Restricting access to those with academic credentials? Users can lie and libraries can facilitate their lying https://lmg.gg/XVNFE (Rock Paper Shotgun) 
Restricting it to collections with physical locations? Anyone can get one of those! https://lmg.gg/GxmBx (Game Developer)
Study by SPN and Video Game History Foundation says 87% of classic games ΓÇ£critically endangeredΓÇ¥ https://gamehistory.org/87percent/
Rules completely different for other media types https://lmg.gg/vwfDl (VGHF)
 
SPILLING THE TEABAG
Fortnite adding ΓÇ£confrontational emoteΓÇ¥ toggle to game
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/04/you-can-now-disable-some-of-fortnites-most-toxic-emotes/
ΓÇ£We want emotes to be a source of good vibesΓÇ¥ https://twitter.com/FortniteGame/status/1782514817666040283
Official post https://www.fortnite.com/news/new-see-confrontational-emotes-setting-in-fortnite
4 emotes are affected:
●       Laugh it up https://youtu.be/P0pIl1Bq5cM
●       Take the L https://youtu.be/2AJ3feqTn1w
●       Whipcrack https://youtu.be/E89awOo7RI0
●       Make it Plantain https://youtu.be/S_mvLhxIa00
Last two have been given racist associations https://lmg.gg/Guwe5 (Ars Technica)
Some controversy over refunds, since emotes were kinda marketed as being toxic https://www.reddit.com/r/FortNiteBR/comments/1catzxt/comment/l0unej3/
 
STELLAR DEMO
Many Stellar Blade fans too excited for game, putting a bunch of hours into demo
One player spent 60 hours playing demo to try and unlock all skills https://www.reddit.com/r/stellarblade/comments/1c97w6u/almost_maxed_out/?share_id=1tmKyt1yZ2q2EyZIEU_KC
Happened enough ShiftUp tweeted about it with concern https://twitter.com/StellarBlade/status/1778085783418949771
Progress carries over to main game https://lmg.gg/P5OKF (Gamesradar)
Stellar Blade getting uncensored release in all countries
Prompting criticism of Japanese rating board from EA Japan GM https://automaton-media.com/en/news/stellar-blades-uncensored-release-in-japan-prompts-criticism-of-rating-system/
Sean NoguchiΓÇÖs tweet (Japanese) https://twitter.com/SeptillionGames/status/1782017151194537998
^ This tweet may have been deleted
QUICK BITS
 
TV SHOWΓÇÖS FALLOUT
Fallout mania is breaking mod sites https://www.pcgamesn.com/fallout-4/nexus-mods-overload
Nexus Mods blog post https://www.nexusmods.com/news/14958
Comes at a weird time because… there’s no new Fallout game haha
 
I LOVE GRAMES
Atari is bringing back legendary publishing arm Infogrames
https://atari.com/pages/infogrames
https://www.gematsu.com/2024/04/atari-revives-infogrames-publishing-label
 
PANIC TO CALM
150,000 Playdate games have been sold this year
https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/18/24133103/playdate-catalog-game-sales
handheld creators surprised https://www.gamesindustry.biz/we-never-really-thought-anyone-was-going-to-make-a-playdate-game
 
THERE AND BACK AGAIN
Tales of the Shire first trailer
Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley comparisons https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/04/22/tales-of-the-shires-first-trailer-reveals-it-is-middle-earth-animal-crossing-with
 
WHAT THAT TAT DO THO?
LebronΓÇÖs tattoo artist loses lawsuit over the tattooΓÇÖs appearance in NBA 2K game
https://www.eurogamer.net/take-two-wins-nba-2k-tattoo-lawsuit
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Geoff KeighleyΓÇÖs TGA Q&A
First topic: Dave the Diver https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/keighley-weighs-in-on-debate-over-dave-the-diver-qualifying-for-best-indie-game/
While it looks like an indie game, it technically had big backing https://lmg.gg/ZpiEA (VGC)
Keighley says indie category is ΓÇ£a really complicated thing to figure outΓÇ¥ https://techradar.com/gaming/geoff-keighley-says-best-independent-game-is-a-really-complicated-category-to-define
ΓÇ£Some peopleΓÇ¥ say BaldurΓÇÖs Gate 3 and Death Stranding are indie games https://lmg.gg/6gn44 (VGC)
Vice President of Nexon said “It may look like an indie, but it’s not necessarily so.”  https://lmg.gg/ogJCU (GAMETOC)
Geoff Keighley also points out Dredge was published by Team17 https://lmg.gg/YL0kU (VGC)
Less controversial, more security to prevent Bill Clinton name drops https://www.ign.com/articles/geoff-keighley-confirms-the-game-awards-will-move-away-from-world-premiere-label-beef-up-security
Second one happened this year at Gamescom Opening Live https://lmg.gg/TkDi7 (Push Square)
 
GRAND THEFT VIRTUAL
Take-Two Interactive faces class-action lawsuit regarding non-transferability of virtual currency
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/take-two-interactive-sued-over-use-of-virtual-currency
Not the first gaming class-action theyΓÇÖve faced https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/take-two-faces-lawsuit-over-controversial-loot-boxes-in-nba-2k-1.1732258
New complaint filed in federal court for Northern District of California, by ΓÇ£a minor represented by his mother and next friendΓÇ¥
https://www.classaction.org/media/ja-v-2k-games-inc-et-al.pdf
Not a weird mom thing, itΓÇÖs a legal term https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/next_friend
Games like NBA 2KΓÇÖs servers get deactivated, currency becomes worthless and inaccessible https://lmg.gg/eCBAb (VG247)
NBA 2K22, released in September 2021, will have servers shut down EOY 2023 https://lmg.gg/q5AEM (VG247)
 
XMAS GAME PASS
Game subscriptions are more requested on Christmas lists than games
https://kotaku.com/video-game-esa-report-digital-currency-vbucks-christmas-1851049230
Recent report from Entertainment Software Association (ESA) https://www.theesa.com/news/u-s-children-say-they-want-video-games-more-than-anything-else-this-holiday-season/
·       72% of kids likely to ask for video game-related products https://lmg.gg/CUUz0 (ESA)
·       Majority of both boys and girls https://lmg.gg/G5FbA (ESA)
·       Most wanted game subscriptions https://lmg.gg/W2sSC (ESA)
·       29% wanted in-game currency https://lmg.gg/EY0DV (ESA)
·       22% The LEAST wanted physical games https://lmg.gg/lc9wX (ESA)
50% of NintendoΓÇÖs software sales are digital https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2023/11/random-more-kids-want-in-game-currency-over-physical-media-this-holiday
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
EA patents tech to let players voice characters
https://www.gamereactor.eu/ea-wants-you-to-be-able-to-voice-video-game-characters-1332203/
Patent https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/11790884
Sounds like it would be using AI to either replicate the playerΓÇÖs voice characteristics in that story moment, or possibly let players choose what they say in their own voice https://www.eurogamer.net/ea-working-on-player-voiced-characters-in-games-patent-shows
Will also allow text input, may allow gamers to type what they want said https://lmg.gg/YlF2g (Insider Gaming)
 
GABEN GOES TO COURT
Gabe Newell ordered to appear in-person for anti-trust lawsuit
 
WAR HAS CHANGED
First look at Fallout TV series
https://www.gamesradar.com/fallout-first-look-images-ella-purnell-walton-goggins/
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/11/fallout-first-look
https://kotaku.com/bethesda-fallout-tv-show-canon-amazon-prime-goggins-1851053393
John Nolan needed the Ghoul to be hot https://lmg.gg/wApbP (Kotaku)
Ideas were so good Bethesda wondered ΓÇ£Ah, why didnΓÇÖt we do that?ΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/jdniw (Kotaku)
-       Answer: you’ve never understood the IP
 
THE HILL COULD BE MORE SILENT
Silent Hill Ascension is NOT written by AI, says CEO of Genvid
https://www.pcgamesn.com/silent-hill-ascension/written-by-ai
https://twitter.com/VoidBurger/status/1728310533147791602
https://twitter.com/JNavok/status/1729395772880228762
 
THE LEGEND OF THIRST TRAPS
Nintendo reveals they purposely made TotKΓÇÖs Ganondorf incredibly hot
https://gamerant.com/zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-ganondorf-characterization-explained/
Quote from game director Hidemaro Fujibayashi https://lmg.gg/TxH8x (Gamespot)
https://www.vg247.com/zelda-tears-of-the-kingdoms-ganondorf-purposefully-hot
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THINK INSIDE THE BOX
Rumors about Xbox exclusives moving to Playstation, Switch spark raise questions
unnamed exclusive teased by Nate the Hate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Zgzd-OHNM&t=4056s
itΓÇÖs Hi-Fi Rush, according to Resetera leaker lolilolailo https://twitter.com/IdleSloth84_/status/1743750748419076493
https://www.ign.com/articles/xbox-exclusive-hi-fi-rush-rumored-for-nintendo-switch
Source tells Stephen Totilo Microsoft considering Sea of Thieves on Playstation
https://www.gamefile.news/p/sea-of-thieves-playstation
Back in Nov, Xbox CFO said they want Game Pass on ΓÇÿevery screenΓÇÖ including Playstation, Nintendo
Causing Phil Spencer to bring down the hammer and say absolutely not
https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/phil-spencer-jez-corden-xbox-interview-2023
Xbox Developer Direct on Jan. 18 will feature Indiana Jones
wonΓÇÖt be any games from Activision Blizzard https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/01/09/xbox-developer-direct-2024/
OK FINE JUST A LITTLE AI
WotC admits to using AI after denying it
Said they were committed to not using AI art in December https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/generative-artificial-intelligence-tools-and-magic
Shared this image on Twitter https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/trYnV6gw93HWTJFymnFg8m-1200-80.jpg
People noticed artifacts https://twitter.com/GreenSkyDragon/status/1743072023268802730
Artist quits https://www.eurogamer.net/magic-the-gathering-artist-quits-you-cant-say-youre-against-ai-then-blatantly-use-it
Copilot key @ 0:09 https://youtu.be/S1R08Qx6Fvs?t=9
WizardsΓÇÖ statement https://twitter.com/wizards_magic/status/1744056808254173447
But are we flailing our arms to try and stop a hurricane? IΓÇÖm not sure AI can be stopped like crypto was:
SAG-AFTRA signs deal with AI voiceover studio regarding video games
https://variety.com/2024/biz/news/sag-aftra-ai-voiceover-studio-video-games-1235866313/
 
I GOT AFEELA (OOOH OOOH)
Sony Honda Mobility brings AFEELA car on-stage again, this time driven by a PS5 controller
https://www.autoblog.com/2024/01/08/sony-honda-mobility-shows-updated-afeela-concept-at-ces-2024/
https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/1744533295113662632?t=0SZOrYwogTurxx6SffoEMw
working on a Gravity Rush movie https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1744534721311170840
God of War, Horizon shows being written https://venturebeat.com/games/sony-ces-2024-game-adaptations/
Also announced Mixed Reality headset to launch later this year (not for gaming, do not use it for gaming)
https://www.sony.net/corporate/information/news/202401/24-001E/
with a control ring @0:27
and a wacky controller @0:39
QUICK BITS
WANNA PLAY VIDEO G--- …
Video Games no longer biggest entertainment medium in the UK for first time in ten years, according to ERA (Entertainment Retail trade Association)
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/video-games-is-no-longer-the-biggest-entertainment-medium-in-the-uk
https://twitter.com/ERALTD/status/1744654737947947056 
https://eraltd.org/news-events/press-releases/2024/uk-entertainment-sales-grow-7-to-119bn/
-         EDITOR: scroll down to sales numbers; highlight 2 rows: “Total Video” and “Total Games”
SLIGHTLY LESS UNITED
Unity laying off 25% of workforce
https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/8/24030695/unity-layoff-staff-25-percent
https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001810806/fa621098-7a4d-4e51-8f59-725dc0210b98.pdf
-         EDITOR: highlight first sentence on second page
https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/unity-software-1800-layoff-gaming-18597022.php
 
CANΓÇÖT GET NO SLEEP
The lnsomniac leak fallout continues
More Wolverine gameplay https://imgur.com/a/d4RVjHV
Official Spider-Man PC Port is almost done https://wccftech.com/marvels-spider-man-2-pc-release-april-2024-expensive/
But modders are making an unofficial one with leaked build https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/marvels-spiderman-2-pc-mod/
https://twitter.com/PC_Focus_/status/1743433292106641709
 
CANΓÇÖT TAKE THE HEAT
Xbox doubles down after backlash over player bans for auto-uploading spicy BG3 clips
ΓÇ£not automaticΓÇ¥ https://www.dexerto.com/baldurs-gate/xbox-confirms-baldurs-gate-3-suspensions-are-not-automatic-after-player-backlash-2465241/
https://twitter.com/XboxSupport/status/1744445540278907321
 
USE AI FOR THE LOLS
AI is coming help you get gud
MSI monitor with ΓÇ£AI SkysightΓÇ¥ highlights enemies in League of Legends
https://cdn.neowin.com/news/images/uploaded/2024/01/1704817047_ai-skylight.jpg
 
 
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I CAN BEARLY WAIT TO PLAY
BaldurΓÇÖs Gate 3 launched on PC
Even hornier than we know https://www.gamesradar.com/even-after-the-bear-sex-baldurs-gate-3-writer-warns-we-still-have-no-idea-just-how-horny-this-game-is/ 
Direct quote from dev https://twitter.com/mrjohncorcoran/status/1686530561894912000  
It’s got couch co-op even on PC, with caveat https://www.thegamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-split-screen-co-op-only-works-with-controllers-on-pc/ 
Early access players must delete save + game and redownload 122GB game, no preload https://www.techspot.com/news/99629-baldur-gate-3-early-access-players-must-delete.html 
Games are too different, but bummer for EA players from 2020 https://lmg.gg/E0CZS (Steam)
Versions for Mac, PS5 will launch Sept 6 https://lmg.gg/p5Xii (Ars Technica)
Xbox is being delayed to 2024 because of Series X https://www.purexbox.com/news/2023/08/baldurs-gate-3-xbox-version-seemingly-pushed-to-2024-due-to-series-s-technical-hurdle 
MY EXPECTATIONS ARE ALREADY TOO HIGH
Studio full of massive talent teases upcoming game
(EDITOR: please fullscreen video) https://twitter.com/itsmountaintop/status/1686422488429875224 
Formed by Oculus co-founder https://lmg.gg/e8oAB (Game Informer)
Leadership features talent from MULTIPLE acclaimed studios https://lmg.gg/Vq3qP (Game Informer)
And Ex-Bungie and Respawn developers https://mp1st.com/news/ex-respawn-and-bungie-devs-at-mountaintop-studios-share-teaser-for-their-upcoming-shooter 
Game itself is a competitive shooter inspire by comics, manga, and anime; ΓÇ£players can build a legacy through teamwork and competitionΓÇ¥ https://lmg.gg/5rpcm (The Escapist)
Might be a tactical shooter, based on an X (sigh) reply (EDITOR: please scroll up to reveal full convo) https://twitter.com/itsmountaintop/status/1686428915332423680 
JOB HALF DONE
Microsoft now offering parts and repair guides for Xbox controllers
https://hackaday.com/2023/08/02/microsoft-now-offering-parts-and-repair-guides-for-xbox-controllers/
includes even internals like input PCBAs and motor assemblies for rumble https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/xbox-is-now-selling-replacement-controller-parts-and-showing-how-to-fix-them/ 
Have videos demonstrating how to repair things https://youtu.be/od71PV4X5A4 
Meanwhile, Xbox Series X has un-repairable SSD https://www.gamingbible.com/news/platform/xbox/xbox-series-xs-have-major-design-flaw-thats-impossible-to-repair-414129-20230726 
As revealed by The Coder on YouTube https://youtu.be/eQnsXR68Gb0  
QUICK BITS
ACTIVISION: “ACTUALLY…I HAS, BRO”
Activision says they know exactly where Transformers gamesΓÇÖ source code is
Lulu Cheng Meservey let us know https://twitter.com/lulumeservey/status/1686463457590231040 
Hasbro told Axios’ Stephen Totilo that earlier comments were “made in error” https://twitter.com/stephentotilo/status/1686477422110064640 
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE GOT ΓÇÿEM
Call of Duty Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0 will flag cheaters in real-time in the kill feed
Just a few days after massive 14,000 cheater ban https://www.techspot.com/news/99594-call-duty-bans-more-than-14000-cheaters-24.html 
https://kotaku.com/call-of-duty-now-flags-cheaters-in-real-time-1850703510 
Announced on X https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/1686853628458323968 
FANTASIANTASTIC NEWS
Fantasian, the Apple Arcade game from Final Fantasy creator, may be coming to Steam
https://www.ign.com/articles/fantasian-steam-console-rpg
Listing found on SteamDB, database of everything on Steam https://steamdb.info/app/2524970/info/ 
Creator expressed interest in releasing on other platforms https://www.gamespot.com/articles/final-fantasy-creator-wants-to-bring-fantasian-to-other-platforms/1100-6511861/ 
Now non-Apple enjoyers can experience “total clusterfuck” of Rudy fight https://www.reddit.com/r/fantasian/comments/p7fh7e/the_rudy_boss_fight_is_a_poorly_designed/ 
THE WORST OF THEM: UNMASTERED
Nintendo removes ersatz TLOU shovelware
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/nintendo-removes-the-last-of-us-knock-off-from-its-digital-store 
Worst game ever reviewed by digital foundry https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfoundry-2023-the-last-hope-on-switch-the-worst-game-ever-reviewed 
The trailer was removed from YouTube due to Sony DMCA, but it’s in this video https://youtu.be/NVRAItS4a18?t=150 
…this is what it looks like https://youtu.be/NVRAItS4a18?t=425 
BOLD STRATEGY COTTON
The Excel World Championship is back!
https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/3/23817220/excel-esports-espn-the-ocho-championship-start-time-watch
Viva ESPN The Ocho https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2023/07/mas-ocho-espns-biggest-boldest-edition-of-espn8-the-ocho-returns-with-43-straight-hours-of-seldom-seen-sports-august-3-5/ 
More than 800,000 people have watched the 2.5 hour stream from last year (ESPN only showed a 30 minute edit) https://youtu.be/x1RVNGDSdw4 
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ACROSS THE SPIDER-LEAKS
Insomniac leak feeds speculation of Spider-Verse game
https://kotaku.com/spider-man-2-spider-verse-insomniac-leak-ps5-1851096362
Now-deleted reddit post https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/18hfw4k/something_from_insomniac_leaked_documents_that/
3 unannounced projects: ΓÇ£RCE, Spider-Man 3, and Spider-VerseΓÇ¥ https://insider-gaming.com/insomniac-spider-verse-game/
RCE thought to be Ratchet & Clank, itΓÇÖs known that Insomniac is working on a multiplayer title https://twitter.com/insomniacgames/status/1408092564025012227
fans speculate it is the Spider-Verse game https://lmg.gg/QNOJS (Insider Gaming)
Little to go on, pictures are blurry https://imgur.com/OScJo06 and https://imgur.com/a/rXoCDLX
 
NOT BRO. NOT BRO AT ALL
Hasbro layoffs
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/11/hasbro-layoffs-weak-toy-sales.html
Affected WotC https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2023/12/13/hasbro-layoffs-affect-wizards-of-the-coast/?sh=637e7a7f55ee
https://www.polygon.com/23998290/hasbro-layoffs-before-christmas
While toy sector has been stalling https://lmg.gg/8poel (Polygon)
MtG and D&D have been doing great https://lmg.gg/bCTJp (Polygon)
Larian CEO acknowledged layoffs in belated TGA acceptance speech https://www.eurogamer.net/larian-ceo-acknowledges-wizards-of-the-coasts-layoffs-in-belated-the-game-awards-speech
“Of the people who were in original meeting room, there’s almost nobody left.” https://twitter.com/LarAtLarian/status/1735131917543002479 
Some of the people responsible for 5th edition are now gone https://www.enworld.org/threads/updated-hasbro-laying-off-1-100-employees.701567/
 
RAY OF HOPE
MWIII accessibility
More than half of MWII players adjusted graphical accessibility settings https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/12/13/more-than-half-of-all-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-ii-players-used-the-games
Like motion blur https://lmg.gg/2RRpm (Game Informer)
-          Joke: Added to make the game more accessible to people suffering from good taste
Cheaters using Ray Gun in multiplayer https://www.ign.com/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-cheaters-brought-an-op-zombies-gun-into-multiplayer-devs-fight-back
Example footage: https://twitter.com/BKTOOR_/status/1733455492804993220
Victim POV: https://twitter.com/FrostiiTV/status/1734678230265659455
Devs play Uno reverse https://twitter.com/CODUpdates/status/1734735455806267647
 
QUICK BITS
 
CLOUDED VISION
Xbox Cloud Gaming on Meta Quest
https://www.meta.com/en-us/blog/quest/xbox-cloud-gaming-beta-launch/
https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/13/xbox-cloud-gaming-now-available-on-meta-quest-2-3-and-pro/
 
NO BENDING, 0/10
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is apparently good so why isnΓÇÖt anyone talking about it?
https://www.empireonline.com/gaming/reviews/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/
 
THE CROAKED
Ubisoft kills the Crew
 
THE DAYS AFTER
The Day Before was never an MMO, Fntastic WAS closed down
https://www.dualshockers.com/the-day-before-not-an-mmo-fntastic-developer/
https://gamerant.com/the-day-before-studio-not-shut-down/
 
A FILM FOR KOJINEMAPHILES
Death Stranding: The Movie
https://twitter.com/A24/status/1735298784240759180
https://variety.com/2023/film/news/death-stranding-movie-a24-hideo-kojima-1235837362/
https://ew.com/death-stranding-movie-hideo-kojima-norman-reedus-game-8415914
Mountain Dew: https://www.polygon.com/2019/11/14/20955496/death-stranding-monster-energy-product-placement-kojima
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PRO SPECS RESOLVE
PS5 Pro specs leak online
https://www.ign.com/articles/ps5-pro-specs-leak-online
Mark the launch of PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) https://insider-gaming.com/playstations-spectral-super-resolution-pssr/
but won’t reach Sony’s goal of 4K@120FPS or 8K@60 https://lmg.gg/V3uzV (Insider Gaming)
But it can do SOME stuff:
In unnamed first party game
-          PS5 Pro reached 1440p 60FPS w/ PSSR https://lmg.gg/3pU4S
-          While PS5 non-Pro achieved 1080p 60FPS https://lmg.gg/Z6k2w
In another game, PS5 Pro achieved 60FPS w/ raytracing, while non-Pro couldn’t https://lmg.gg/SBD0M (Insider Gaming)
Increases to CPU and GPU https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/console-gaming/further-playstation-5-pro-specs-leak-improvements-to-cpu-speed-gpu-ram-and-audi
GPU 45% rendering performance https://lmg.gg/Hb3Ms
2-3x (maybe 4x) ray-tracing performance https://lmg.gg/8RpQ0
Boosts to memory as well https://www.eurogamer.net/playstation-5-pro-leaked-specs-appear-online
Like “Slim”, will offer detachable disc drive and 1TB internal storage https://lmg.gg/96rnF (Eurogamer)
 
STAR WARS: AN AFFRONT
Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection gets an update, more controversy
Switch and PS5 versions ALSO allegedly got patch…to remove mods used without credit https://www.gamesradar.com/star-wars-battlefront-classic-collection-controversy-grows-as-modder-claims-their-work-was-used-without-credit-and-then-removed-im-beginning-to-feel-insulted/
Reminiscent of a mod originally created to bring those Xbox exclusive characters to PC but using other charactersΓÇÖ move sets
Some redditors noticed in announcement trailer https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/1ax0ed0/star_wars_battlefront_classic_collection_xbox_dlc/
Aspyr released statement before game’s release. https://www.ign.com/articles/eagle-eyed-modders-spot-something-off-with-the-star-wars-battlefront-classic-collection-trailer-and-asajj-ventress-holds-the-key
ΓÇ£When capturing placeholder footage for our announcement last fall, we mistakenly included content that is not in the product, and that mistake made it into the final cut.ΓÇ¥
ΓÇ£The upcoming release of Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection does not include any code or content that is taken from uncredited sources.ΓÇ¥
Players notice previously Xbox-exclusive characters have other characters moves on non-Xbox consoles https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsBattlefront/comments/1belk65/ventress_doesnt_have_og_animations/
Modder claims they datamined the game and it was the exact same files as their mod before they were quickly removed https://twitter.com/iamashaymin/status/1769062737236123838
As of yesterday they are still in the game files https://twitter.com/iamashaymin/status/1769769386414407934
 
JUST LIKE THE MOVIES
Apex NA finals postponed after players hacked midgame
https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/18/esports-league-postponed-after-players-hacked-midgame/
Pro ImperialHal given aimbot https://twitter.com/ImperialHal/status/1769525888721313920
Pro Genburten given bunch of hacks https://clips.twitch.tv/ClumsyBeautifulWheelMau5-TepauaQqEqJZh95Y
Cheat window pops up temporarily and hackers use Genburten’s chatbox to send message https://youtu.be/LY6PGd8auHI?t=45
Apex Esports make official announcement https://twitter.com/PlayApexEsports/status/1769527345176621110
Anti-Cheat Police Dept, a group of volunteers, say there is a remote code execution exploit in Apex Legends, either from the game or within the anti-cheat software https://twitter.com/AntiCheatPD/status/1769532511057584576
Easy Anti-Cheat refute its their fault https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/easy-anti-cheat-washes-its-hands-of-the-apex-legends-hacking-disaster-that-saw-streamer-accounts-hijacked-live-there-is-no-rce-vulnerability-within-eac/
Tweet for the first time in 5 years to say “wasn’t me” basically https://twitter.com/TeddyEAC/status/1769725032047972566  
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
STEAMOS WITH EXTRA STEPS
Start-up Playtron wants to make platform-agnostic gaming OS
https://www.theverge.com/24090470/playtron-gaming-os-linux-handhelds-exclusive
Unlisted demo of Playtron on Lenovo Legion Go from CEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05bhyDvOnvc
 
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Sony halts PSVR2 production because they have too much inventory
Probably due to few games; Sony has only published two games for it https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sony-has-reportedly-paused-playstation-vr2-production-due-to-too-many-unsold-units/
Follows news that Sony Interactive Entertainment laid off 8% of staff https://www.roadtovr.com/report-sony-psvr-2-pauses-production-low-sales/
Including shutting down its London Studio that made the AWESOME Blood & Truth for PSVR https://lmg.gg/eRxdH (RoadToVR)
Sony working on PC support—maybe that will help? https://www.engadget.com/sony-is-working-on-official-pc-support-for-the-ps-vr2-150632224.html
 
FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
Steam Families launches in Beta, giving new options for family sharing
Steam announcement https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/593110/view/4149575031735702628?l=english
https://www.polygon.com/24105127/steam-families-valve-share-libraries-parental-controls
 
SOME HARBOUR RESENTMENT
The newest Alone in the Dark reboot gets mixed reviews
https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-68563766
Not good review https://www.eurogamer.net/alone-in-the-dark-review-1
 
SOCIAL NETWORK HAS ANOTHER IDENTITY CRISIS
LinkedIn adding games, ranking companies by employee scores
https://www.techradar.com/pro/linkedin-is-adding-games-for-some-reason
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NEWS SOURCES:
 
MAINS
 
CRACKED UNDER PRESSURE
Rockstar has been selling pirated versions of their own games on Steam for YEARS
https://nichegamer.com/rockstar-games-caught-selling-cracked-games-on-steam/
Most recently discovered in Midnight Club II by Silent on Twitter https://twitter.com/__silent_/status/1698345924840296801
Inspired by YTer Vadim M, who showed that, originally on Steam, two games were cracked copies:
-         Max Payne 2 https://youtu.be/WfDg7BidsY4?t=2856
-         Manhunt https://youtu.be/WfDg7BidsY4?t=2904
Games had two layers of DRM on disk versions, apparently Rockstar got lazy and used cracked versions to not have to remove DRM themselves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfDg7BidsY4&t=188s
After caught, they ΓÇ£replacedΓÇ¥ game exe with archive disk copy and just deleted 1 DRM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfDg7BidsY4&t=2904s
Absence of that DRM triggers other DRM, anti-piracy measures that break game(s) https://www.thegamer.com/rockstar-max-payne-manhunt-cracked-versions-on-steam-anti-piracy/
 
NO WORD ON THE NINTENDO RESISTOR
Nintendo demoed Switch 2 to external devs
Report by Eurogamer https://www.eurogamer.net/nintendo-demoed-switch-2-to-developers-at-gamescom
Corroborated by VGC https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sources-nintendo-showed-switch-2-demos-at-gamescom/
One demo was higher-res, higher framerate BotW https://www.polygon.com/23862810/switch-2-gamescom-zelda-botw-demo
Also The Matrix Awakens, a UE5 tech demo (via DLSS) https://lmg.gg/rky1f (Polygon)
 
IΓÇÖM STILL CONFUSED
Nintendo finally explains to Charles Martinet what a Mario Ambassador is
Three days ago Martinet had no idea https://nintendoeverything.com/charles-martinet-mario-ambassador-not-retired/
In video, Miyamoto thanks Martinet https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2023/09/shigeru-miyamoto-thanks-charles-martinet-for-being-the-voice-of-mario-in-heartfelt-message
Role clarified in video; seems itΓÇÖs just that heΓÇÖs allowed to meet fans at events and conventions
https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1699784766932029753
 
QUICK BITS
 
ALL MK FIGHTERS PAST EXPIRY DATE
Entire MK1 roster spoiled after copies leak early
Switch version is garbage https://mp1st.com/news/report-mortal-kombat-1-roster-leaks-via-physical-copies-out-in-the-wild-switch-version-called-terrible
Leaks reveal Nether Realm pulling a Warzone and putting Megan Fox in game https://www.avclub.com/megan-fox-mortal-kombat-nitara-vampire-1850811105
jk they announced it themselves (she sounds good, actually) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah8VyRhiWiE
 
DEJA VU-BISOFT
Skull and Bones loses THIRD creative director
https://kotaku.com/skull-bones-release-date-beta-delay-union-ubisoft-1850808766
https://gamerant.com/skull-and-bones-third-creative-director-lost/
b-roll @ 4:27 https://youtu.be/fgy4WZ9ta7E?t=267
quote https://lmg.gg/bQFhW
 
BLIZZARD MOVES OFFICE TO FOURTH CIRCLE OF HELL
Diablo IV adopting Destiny expansion model, allegedly (ie an expansion every year) https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/09/06/diablo-4-confirms-it-is-doing-destiny-2-style-annual-expansions/?sh=273321d37e3d https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-bigwig-seems-to-offhandedly-confirm-diablo-4-is-adopting-destinys-expansion-model/
Fans so excited, they threaten to uninstall the game in celebration /s https://www.charlieintel.com/diablo/diablo-4-fans-threaten-to-uninstall-following-annual-expansions-announcement-270921/
Concerned about annual fee, though price hasnΓÇÖt been officially announced https://www.reddit.com/r/diablo4/comments/16biwrm/ive_been_generally_happy_with_the_game_but_im_not/
 
NO MASTER CYCLE ZERO 2?
There will be no DLC for Tears of the Kingdom
https://kotaku.com/zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-dlc-expansion-nintendo-botw-1850807807
https://www.eurogamer.net/nintendo-has-no-plans-for-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-dlc
Game director says thereΓÇÖs nothing more to possibly add https://lmg.gg/qaqH3 (Automaton)
XBOX USERS TASTE UNLIMITED POWER
Starfield Xbox Players are using Xbox Play Anywhere to get console commands
Console commands on PC allow cheats to mod game https://www.videogameschronicle.com/guide/starfield-console-commands-what-are-the-best-starfield-cheats/
Commands block achievements, but thereΓÇÖs a mod for that lol https://www.vg247.com/starfield-achievement-enabler-mod
Here it is https://www.nexusmods.com/starfield/mods/252
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Playstation Portal
https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23956007/playstation-portal-review-remote-play-wifi-ethernet
Allows users to ignore those relatable annoyances, like having to find a way to setup your tablet the way you want and then move it when you get uncomfortable https://lmg.gg/ZRnDM (IGN)
BUT apparently worked pretty well using coffee shop Wi-Fi https://lmg.gg/5QE7S (IGN)
Can’t access Wi-Fi that requires opening a web browser to log in https://lmg.gg/mOuwa (IGN)
No Bluetooth, so spend $150-$200 on wireless audio devices that aren’t out yet  https://lmg.gg/1P9fp (IGN)
No media streaming https://lmg.gg/btu5y
Hasn’t even hit shelves yet but is getting the scalper treatment https://www.videogamer.com/news/playstation-portal-already-being-scalped-online/
Will be joined by other brilliant innovations, like manual saves
https://insider-gaming.com/new-sony-patent-replay/
patent https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=US412494279
 
WORST COMMUNITY SUPPORT SUPPORT
TGA Nominees announced
https://nintendoeverything.com/the-game-awards-2023-nominees-announced/
Cyberpunk nominated for “Best Ongoing” category for finally getting fixed https://www.thegameawards.com/nominees/best-ongoing
GOTY category is STACKED https://www.thegameawards.com/nominees/game-of-the-year
Starfield not GOTY confirmed https://kotaku.com/starfield-ghosted-at-the-2023-game-awards-1851017191
Yet somehow Destiny 2 nominated for “Best Community Support” https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/11/14/destiny-2s-best-community-support-nomination-is-a-dark-joke/?sh=74dda9ee8594
Bungie just laid off most of the support team responsible for this nomination https://lmg.gg/JyyFg (Dexerto)
Back in 2019, Destiny 2 won but the bosses accepted the award… (CTRL+F “instead of anyone from the community team accepting, then-Destiny bosses Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy got the stage.”)  https://lmg.gg/eSrA6 (Forbes)
…and the community team was reprimanded for celebrating (CTRL+F “the community team was reprimanded for celebrating the win.”) https://lmg.gg/S3cyR (Forbes)
 
MODERN GAMING 3
MW3 is worst-reviewed CoD ever
https://kotaku.com/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-reviews-metacritic-1851016787
sitting at 56 on PS5 out of 43 critic reviews https://www.metacritic.com/game/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-iii/
Wrong game getting review-bombed https://twitter.com/WarzoneIntel/status/1720593037359825185
Devs report crunch and rushed development https://lmg.gg/mNahD (Bloomberg)
Sledgehammer Games studio head refutes allegations https://www.gamesindustry.biz/report-modern-warfare-3-devs-complain-of-crunch-rushed-development
Evil Groot returns https://www.gamesradar.com/warzone-2s-evil-groot-skin-is-back-and-now-terrorizing-modern-warfare-3-players-who-still-cant-freakin-see-it/
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
SUBPRIME
Amazon gaming layoffs
https://www.reuters.com/business/amazon-cuts-jobs-games-unit-part-broader-restructuing-2023-11-13/
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/13/amazon-cuts-more-than-180-jobs-in-gaming-division.html
 
WE STANGUARD
Remedy rebooting f2p co-op multiplayer game, making it premium
 
NETFLIX ANNOUNCES PRICE HIKE NEW GAMES
Hades joins fellow indie hit Oxenfree on Netflix ΓÇô okay we see you
Cloud will help expand beyond mobile
https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/13/23958926/netflix-cloud-gaming-tv-games-leanne-loombe-interview
                            
SONIC ROLL-PLAY
Sonic gets a board game
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sonic-roll-is-a-new-board-game-with-co-op-and-solo-modes/
Search “Knukes” https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog:_Crash_Course#Contents
https://insider-gaming.com/sonic-is-getting-a-board-game-called-sonic-roll/
https://twitter.com/Kess_Ent/status/1724228163008372844
https://www.kessentertainment.co/sonic-roll
 
EDIBLE ARRANGEMENT
Edible Xbox controller as a marketing stunt for…Wonka?
https://www.polygon.com/23959406/xbox-wonka-chocolate-controller-sure
Also an Xbox Series X that ISN’T edible https://twitter.com/Xbox/status/1724064633202626957
Comes with a “storefront display” so it takes up more room https://lmg.gg/5tCgn (Microsoft)
Also get a usable custom controller https://lmg.gg/8EMP5 (Microsoft)
And five xbox-themed truffles because why not https://lmg.gg/IDwBU (Microsoft)
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PS+ price hike, up to $40 more a year, cheapest tier going from $60 to $80
https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/30/23852353/playstation-plus-prices-increase-essential-extra-premium
PS owners are upset https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/08/ps5-ps4-owners-are-understandably-irate-with-ps-plus-price-hike
Probably because of how they announced it https://blog.playstation.com/2023/08/30/playstation-plus-monthly-games-for-september-saints-row-black-desert-traveler-edition-generation-zero/
No not at the top, silly; all the way down here https://lmg.gg/gc144 (PlayStation Blog)
Following Xbox’s increase of Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate in June https://www.purexbox.com/news/2023/06/microsoft-announces-price-increases-for-xbox-series-x-and-xbox-game-pass
They say it’s to “enable [PlayStation] to keep bringing high-quality games,” yet subscription deals for indie publishers are drying up https://www.gamesindustry.biz/weaker-subscription-deals-have-hit-indie-publishers-says-analyst
Larian’s Director of Publishing comments on this https://twitter.com/Cromwelp/status/1696682874718556325
 
IT JUST…IRKS?
Todd Howard says Bethesda has ΓÇ£GamingΓÇÖs smartest fansΓÇ¥ as Starfield reviews come in
https://www.reddit.com/r/Starfield/comments/165kcki/from_all_of_us_here_thank_you/
Some people love it:
https://www.theverge.com/23852390/starfield-review-xbox-pc
Praise of game design https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/2023/08/31/starfield-review/
Others have some design critiques https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/starfields-map-is-even-worse-than-fallout-and-skyrims
Polygon not a fan https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23852522/starfield-review-xbox-series-x-pc-exclusive-bethesda-microsoft
Elder Scrolls 6 finally in “early development” after teaser 5 years ago https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-elder-scrolls-6-is-officially-in-early-development-but-more-info-is-still-years-away/1100-6517354/
 
NO EATING SEEDS AS A PASTIME ACTIVITY
Call of Duty introducing chat AI that detects toxicity
Called ToxMod, from company Modulate https://www.videogamer.com/news/mw2-mw3-ai-voice-chat/
Tries to identify “hate speech, radicalization, and self-harm in real-time” https://www.engadget.com/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-iii-will-use-ai-to-clamp-down-on-toxic-voice-chats-160027704.html
Might have unintended consequences, like Xbox’s new strike system https://www.reddit.com/r/XboxSeriesX/comments/164c6h1/seriously_saying_wtf_is_suspendable/
QUICK BITS
 
CD PROJEKT IN THE RED
CDPR says Cyberpunk 2077 only getting one DLC is ΓÇ£technological decisionΓÇ¥; switching from REDengine to UE5
Next Witcher will be made with UE5 https://kotaku.com/witcher-a-new-saga-unreal-5-epic-games-cd-projekt-red-1848680592
260 devs working on it rn https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/nearly-260-developers-are-now-working-on-the-next-mainline-witcher-game/
UE5 switch probably cost decision, revenue drop in H1 2023 https://www.gamesindustry.biz/cd-projekt-h1-revenue-sees-a-14-drop
 
PHIL SPENCER BODY PILLOW INCOMING
Former Playstation exec joins Xbox to help with Japanese partnerships
https://www.gamescensor.com/2023/08/former-playstation-executive-joins-xbox.html
Philly Spence tweets about it https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/1696917170775589189
Spencer acknowledged demand for Japanese games in Japanese interview last year https://game-watch-impress-co-jp.translate.goog/docs/interview/1440935.html?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp  (Game Watch)
Xbox struggles to break into Japanese market due to dominance of Nintendo, Sony, mobile https://www.dualshockers.com/xbox-struggling-attract-japanese-developers/
 
NOT OF THEIR OWN VOLITION
Saints Row dev Volition shuts down
https://www.gematsu.com/2023/08/volition-shuts-down-after-30-years
parent company closed it “effective immediately” https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1697288775968174478
Just days ago, Saints Row account seemed active, confirmed no remakes https://metro.co.uk/2023/08/31/saints-row-remakes-are-not-going-to-happen-says-volition-19425204/
Probably due to lackluster reception of Saints Row reboot https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2022/08/22/saints-row-reviews-are-here-and-they-are-bad/?sh=59ded5a86f55
 
NEW SOULSBORNE GAME UNVEILED
Nintendo Direct all about Super Mario Wonder
https://www.polygon.com/23850429/nintendo-direct-2023-august-switch-super-mario-wonder
VOD here https://youtu.be/G0m_uNaSres?t=1790
And Mario is now JUST LIKE Dark Souls https://www.eurogamer.net/watch-todays-super-mario-bros-wonder-nintendo-direct-here  
NO really, the multiplayer is EXACTLY like Elden Ring https://www.gamesradar.com/i-cant-believe-super-mario-bros-wonder-multiplayer-looks-this-much-like-elden-ring/
Just because you can see shadows of other players when connected online https://kotaku.com/super-mario-bros-wonder-nintendo-direct-trailer-switch-1850791435
 
BGE 2: BEYOND MIDDLE SCHOOL
Beyond Good and Evil 20th Anniversary Edition coming to modern consoles
leaked by ESRB webpage, now taken down https://www.pcgamesn.com/wp-content/sites/pcgamesn/2023/08/beyond-good-and-evil-remaster-ubisoft-platform-game-20th-anniversary-edition.jpg
Ubisoft announced sequel 15 years ago https://www.pcgamer.com/15-years-after-announcing-the-sequel-ubisoft-is-gonna-try-to-remember-how-to-release-a-beyond-good-and-evil-game-with-a-new-edition-of-the-first-one/
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