This Week In Gaming – October 1

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Well. It’s been a while since we’ve been here but we’re back. Just because we haven’t been writing doesn’t mean we haven’t been gaming or paying attention to the news. There’s been a lot happening over the last few weeks and I’ll write a piece later to address all of that. This is just for this week. I’m glad to say that we’re back.

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Gaming News Roundup

• New Callisto Protocol Trailer
• Jetpack Interactive Hiring For AAA Live Service Game Based On Flagship Sony IP
• Google Stadia Announces Shut Down
• Cyberpunk 2077 Has Hit 20 Million Copies Sold Since Launch
• Wild Hearts A New IP From EA and Koei Tecmo
• Dragon Age Dreadwolf Won’t Require You To Play The Original Trilogy

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New Callisto Protocol Trailer

Earlier this week we got a new gameplay rich trailer of Callisto Protocol and I must say it’s really something to look forward to. It’s almost copy and paste of Dead Space (obviously) and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Environmental kills galore, enemies that power up if not dispatched properly, and precise dismemberment to even the playing field during fights. What more could be expected from a game that looks to give the same feeling you got from watching the original Alien movie for the first time. With the release date being in December and the Dead Space Remake being in January there’s more than enough sci-fi horror to sustain us for the time being. I’m probably going to watch the trailer a couple more times to pick up what little details I can. I’m really looking forward to exploring all the horrifying nooks and crannies of Black Iron Prison on one of Jupiters moons, Callisto. (XmanFiles)

Jetpack Interactive Hiring For AAA Live Service Game Based On Flagship Sony IP

Jetpack Interactive has typically been a support studio helping primary development teams with various games in the Sony owned IP space. However, that is all about to change. Jetpack Interactive has announced that it is actively hiring for a AAA live service game. A couple of items that raise my eyebrow specifically are that this is a live service game, which we know Sony is poised to focus on moving forward. The second item that raises my eyebrows is that this is for a AAA title based on a flagship IP! This is incredibly exciting as we know Sony has several flagship IP that this could possibly be. There has been some speculation that this could be SOCOM. However, this could be other flagship IPs as well, as we’ve not seen any new entries from Killzone or Resistance. I am really growing fond of Sony’s strategy this generation as I see them taking chances on studios they’ve had relationship with previously and maturing them organically from the inside out. Knowing Sony’s track record, this is a calculated risk they are taking and likely has a very high probability of success! Now we just need to know which flagship IP it will be? As they are only now hiring for this live service game, we are going to have a long period of silence before we get any inkling of what the game is and which IP is being resurrected. More to come. Stay tuned! (JusBernard)

Google Stadia Announces Shut Down

Google Stadia is reported to be shutting down on January 18th. After only being active for 3 years they’ve announced the service is going away. Google has also said that they’re giving refunds for software and hardware purchases. I’ve been seeing a lot of developers look for ways to transfer saves and things of that nature to help their players. One story in particular stood out to me where a player who spent 6,000 hours in Red Dead Redemption 2 on Stadia, is now at the mercy of Rockstar and their willingness to do a save transfer. Google Stadia was a good idea, I just think this was a piece of supporting evidence in two cases. The first, being that it’s hard to break into the gaming business among the titans. And the other is that if the company leadership isn’t of the “gamers first” mentality then they will not prevail. There’s another story surrounding the Stadia shutdown being that Hideo Kojima approached Google to make the sequel to Death Stranding exclusively for Stadia and they turned him down. I would like to know the validity to this story and if they did turn the offer down, why ? All in all, Stadia was the first attempt by a company outside of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo to make a gaming platform and come up short and they certainly won’t be the last. I’m interested to see who will be next and if they can get it right. (XmanFiles)

Cyberpunk 2077 Has Hit 20 Million Copies Sold Since Launch

As we all know, cyberpunk 2077 was plagued with a litany of poor quality development issues at launch. The game was clearly rushed to meet a deadline and went on to be one of the first games in my memory for which Sony has ever offered a full refund! Additionally, the process to patch the game and get it to a viable state took several months. Even now it is arguably just getting to a point where you can truly enjoy the promises that were made at launch. Despite the troubled history of this title, it has went on to sell a staggering 20 million copies! This is no small feat, as many games that have less than half the issues cyberpunk saw, never sell 5 million copies. However, I do wonder how many of those copies were sold at a discount and how that affected the bottom line for the game. Discounted or not, this is a testament to the subject matter, lore, and the gameplay that CD Projekt Red has created for this game. Additionally, this shows the loyalty fans have to CD Projekt Red as gamers still revisit the game after all of the issues. I personally have a copy and have only fired it up a few times. However, with the latest patches and upcoming DLC, I am getting quite excited to dive back into the world of cyberpunk 2077 and see if it lives up to all of the promises made! (JusBernard)

Wild Hearts A New IP From EA and Koei Tecmo

Koei Tecmo and EA are teaming up to deliver a Monster Hunter like game named Wild Hearts developed by Omega Force. It’s slated to come out on February 17th 2023 which is pretty soon. I’m looking forward to this one. I don’t think I’m getting it day one, but I’ll definitely be rooting for it. There’s some trepidation surrounding this title due to the involvement of EA but I think I’m confident in the production of this game because it’s coming to us courtesy of the EA Originals program where they take more of a set role in the funding aspect while letting devs bring their full ideas to life. Wild Hearts looks interesting with good ideas. It takes place in a mystical feudal Japan with crazy looking mythological creatures. I hope this game can fill the space left by Monster Hunter World while being good enough to set itself apart. I’m keeping my eye on this one. (XmanFiles)

Dragon Age Dreadwolf Won’t Require You To Play The Original Trilogy

2023 will be quickly upon us and with the coming of new year we can expect to see a new entry into the dragon age universe. Dragon Age Dreadwolf is the next title set to make its debut in 2023. While it will answer questions for longstanding fans, it will also be an entry that newcomers will be able to pick up, follow, and enjoy without being veteran players prior to this title. Personally, I owned Dragon Age games for PS3, but it wasn’t until I played Dragon Age Inquisition on PS4 that I came to understand what all the hype was about. The combat had to grow on me but the stories were generally intriguing and kept me coming back for mechanics like castle building, crafting, questing specifically for individual party members, and of course the intense dragon battles that you must prepare for if you hope to enjoy any measure of success! Inquisition also boasted very beautiful environments as well as lighting and particle effects. Given the time period in which it was developed in, It was quite impressive for launch title on the PS4. As someone with well over 100 hours into Inquisition, I’m eager to see how this game will look on the PS5 and Xbox series X. (JusBernard)

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My Gaming Life

As stated before I’ve been gaming a lot even though I haven’t been writing. Life has been real hectic lately and it’s just now starting to calm down. This week my news was kind of light next weeks will be better with less covered stories and news pieces. Later this week I’ll post my takes on the game industry right now and some other things I’m looking forward to. I’m playing 6 different games right now trying to get through my backlog and play newer games so I’ll see you all next later this week !! (XmanFiles)