Episode 87
Microsoft Activision Blizzard acquisition deal has FINALLY been approved and confirmed!
Industry News
Activision Blizzard is officially part of Microsoft | GamesIndustry.biz
Microsoft announced on the 13th October of this year that the Activision Blizzard deal has finally been confirmed and completed.
The final obstacle we mentioned last week, the UK Competition and Markets Authority, has finally given the green light and the acquisition can continue.
Now the big questions we've long awaited answers to:
Will Microsoft's promises of a less toxic culture be realised? Phil Spencer says as much in his statement on the Xbox Wire site confirming the transition: "We'll do this in a culture that strives to empower everyone to do their best work, where all people are welcome, and is centered on our ongoing commitment of Gaming for Everyone."
Will Bobby Kotick stay on board after the sale? In a letter to employees, he said Phil asked him to stay on until the end of 2023, reporting directly to him. I'm sure many can't wait until his gone, though.
And the big question: what about my Call Of Duty?! Cloud streaming rights for Ubisoft confirm the availability of it and other titles for the next 15 years at least.
As always, for all the details I haven't mentioned, check out the link to the article in the shownotes.
Ubisoft executive Chris Early has mused in a Ubisoft website blog that physical discs for games will not be going away any time soon.
The subject arises again with rumours of an all-digital Xbox Series X and a new PlayStation 5 iteration including the same. Ubisoft has also bought cloud gaming rights from Microsoft Activision Blizzard for their titles over the next 15 years.
Early is quoted in the blog: "Some people will always want to own the physical disc. I just don’t think it’s going away. Do I think physical sales might get lower over time? Sure, but will it ever completely go away? I don’t think so."
The soon to release Alan Wake 2 will be sold as a digital-only game to save on development costs. Do you think we'll go disc-less in the near future?
Blizzard release a new teaser trailer for Season 2 of Diablo 4, only to have fans find mistakes in what is mentioned as "quality of life updates".
The mistakes are too numerous to detail here but include inverted map footage, horse speed comparisons that are actually the same, and a new XP calculation formula with incorrect working.
See the show notes for Eurogamer's article and a link to their hilarious source material from YouTuber Raxxanterax.
This also comes before Diablo 4 arrives on Steam with a "Steamdeck Verified" category on Tuesday 17th October.
Peter Molyneux's new game is set "in the land of Albion" | Eurogamer.net
Peter Molyneux has lit the Internet on fire again by announcing a game dev project in the works, code-name MOAT, that will be set in the same location as the Fable games.
Molyneux announced the title in development alongside a blog of his "crazy" development practice. Many are quizzical about how two separate IP set in Albion, the originally announced Fable location, could be possible, especially as Microsoft owns the rights to the Fable franchise.
There are no announcements as to the release date at this stage.
Valve warns Counter-Strike 2 players: use AMD's Anti-Lag feature, get banned | PC Gamer
Valve has issued a warning to Counter-Strike 2 players that have AMD graphics cards that the new Anti-Lag feature in RX 7000 or newer cards: they will be VAC banned.
This has been recognised through users and then by Valve itself, that the new Anti-Lag functionality directly interacts with the games engine code, and thus is considered unauthorised tampering by the system.
While a great feature for player experience, make sure you switch it off on your AMD card until Valve can issue a patch to fix the issue. They will be reversing bans once it has been rectified.
Games News:
Marvel's Spider-Man 2's "launch" trailer is here | Eurogamer.net
The Spider-Man 2 launch is on the horizon, and Sony has seen fit to release a big trailer in the meantime to whet gamers' appetites before it releases on Friday 20th October. Check out the trailer link in the show-notes.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder leaks online | Eurogamer.net
Super Mario Bros. Wonder, a new title from Nintendo, has leaked online early. It seems that streamers have been recording and posting footage from the title and early copies have been ripped for distribution on ROM sites.
Of course, fan spoilers are a point of contention with many outspoken about story relevance for a Mario game.
What I am keen to see is Nintendo's response - notoriously a very litigious company regarding its content and taking many to court over distribution that violates any terms of service.
"Don't Scream" is a new game developed in Unreal Engine 5 designed to be a hyper-realistic horror game, but you see everything through a 90s camcorder. The weird thing, though: you need a microphone to play it, because if you scream the game will restart!
The only two developers have said there is no story, it just has one challenge: don't scream. Basically a scream simulator.
If you like getting your heckles up in the spooky season, check out the trailer in the show notes.
Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP has been announced by the developer as no longer being a "remake", but instead a "remaster". Dragami Games founder Yoshimi Yasuda has said that the intention was to make the game easier for fans to play, and not to completely re-make the title.
A cult favourite, Lollipop Chainsaw features a scantily-clad cheerleader wielding a chainsaw weapon against a zombie hoard and was originally released in 2012 on Playstation and Xbox.
Mortal Kombat 1 DLC character Omni-Man gets first look | VGC (videogameschronicle.com)
The Mortal Kombat 1 reboot has released a first look at the bonus character skin "Omni-Man" from the Amazon Prime animated series "Invincible". J.K. Simmons will voice the character in the game, as he has for the series, and boy howdy - that beefy lad looks just as menacing as he does in the show!
Omni-Man will release for Mortal Kombat in November.
And lastly, a promotion between The Pokemon Company and the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam has turned disastrous as people caused a scene when purchasing merchandise.
The point of uproar was over an exclusive promotional Pokemon card, Pikachu in a Felt Grey Hat, that was given for free with every purchase. On social media the disruptive crowd was shared, and many users were bragging that they'd sell the promotional card for a profit. Some went up for as much as $500.
The museum and The Pokemon Company have apologised to fans and resolved not to provide the exclusive card with purchases anymore.
However, Eurogamer has reported as an update that instead, it will offer the card with Pokemon Trading Card Game products, limited to one per order.
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