Take-Two Talks Taking More, Gamemaker Goes Game Dev Friendly, Roblox Sued Again, And Gaming Bytes

Take-Two Talks Taking More
Last week saw GTA 6 developer Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick have a different take on gaming pricing. While gaming fans hold the game time to price value high, Zelnick wants to take that on board with future titles with a statement to investors saying
“In terms of pricing for any entertainment property, basically the algorithm is the value of the expected entertainment usage, which is to say the per hour value times the number of expected hours plus the terminal value that’s perceived by the customer in ownership, if the title is owned rather than rented or subscribed to.” While this does sound like a dollar per hour measurement, he has clarified the statement this week that this is not a linear relationship, but rather a statement on the value of games. And we can definitely trust the CEO of Take-Two, a company whose biggest earner is GTA Online.

Game Engine Gamemaker Goes Game Dev Friendly
In the wake of Game Publishers Unity and Epic calling for price “restructuring”, Gamemaker, a popular tool for creating 2D and 3D games, has released their new price point and bucked the recent trend. Because of the recent three-fold increase in active users since they joined the Opera family, instead of gouging the user base and changing from a monthly model to a per game install or price per hour played, Gamemaker is celebrating the explosion in users by announcing a new free option for non-commercial use with the ability to export their games to Windows, Mac, and Linux without paying any fees. They’ve also included their asset bundles for use in this free tier. Upgrading is also simple, want to monetise? $99.99USD. Want to put it on consoles? Well, that’s an Enterprise subscription. With games utilising this engine like Undertale, Webbed, Honey, I joined a Cult, and over 290 more listed in Gamemaker’s showcase, we can be sure to see a gamut of Indi games from this engine in the future.

Roblox Sued Over Child Safety
In the pandemic years Roblox saw a massive influx of underage users (over 60% of users are under 16 years of age) due to the social nature and declaration of safety for minors that the platform claims. The community guidelines claim that ““Roblox is a safe space for meeting online friends, chatting, and collaborating on creative projects.” And “If your child is under 13, we make it extremely difficult for strangers on Roblox to contact them.”
However, a group of parents have filed a civil action suit against Roblox for not meeting their end of the deal, with claims of grooming, sexual content, and the inability to monitor their children’s purchases due to Robux obscuring transaction worth.
Roblox Corp provided a statement to PCGAMER disputing the allegations and reinforced that the site was safe “for people of all ages.”

Now for some quick gaming bytes!

    • Xbox is running a Bluey Sweepstakes to celebrate the upcoming release of Bluey the Videogame coming to PC and consoles. The winner will not only receive the game but also receive a custom Bluey Themed Xbox Series S and controller. Wackadoo!

  • This week Half-Life turned 25 and celebrated by a going free for a limited time. Valve also released a special anniversary update for the game which included bug fixes, official Steam Deck support, multiplayer maps, and more.

Now it’s time for this week’s game releases!

Friday November 24, survive the post apocalypse in the side scroller shooter Evil Diary coming to PC and consoles.
Tuesday the 28th, take a train ride home through civil war in the RTS Last Train Home coming to PC.
On Wednesday the 29th, get stuck in time loops in puzzle/adventure game Orten Was The Case coming to PC and consoles.
And next week on the 30th, find yourself one cup at a time in Pixel Cafe coming to PC, Switch, and next gen consoles. Want to play FTL but as a roguelike with friends? Well, This Means Warp has you covered, coming to PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch.

Awarding me some Stonks, it’s the News!

The Escapist has lost its entire video team. The Escapist is a video game website that also produces video content – most well known for the short-form video reviews by Yahtzee Croshaw known as Zero Punctuation which has been ongoing since 2007.
The company has been owned by a trail of different parent companies since 2011 (with the company Gamurs Group being the latest).  The company began to find stability when Nick Calandra was hired and began to bring in new talent and diversify the content.
And then last week he was fired, allegedly for: “’not achieving goals’ that were never properly set for us, and a lack of understanding of our audience and the team that built that audience.”
And the entire video team resigned.  Within days of this mass exodus Calandra announced that he would be starting a new company with everyone who resigned, called Second Wind, a fully creator owned independent company.  (which reached the 150K subscribers within 2 days of the channel’s creation)
While some of the creators retain the rights to their IP, Zero Punctuation is still owned by the escapist although Calandra and Croshaw have announced a legally distinct segment called Fully Ramblomatic (which when you’re listening to this will have premiered it’s first episode).
Love to see creators going independent and seeing such an outpouring of support from the community.

In other news Stray Gods and it’s composers (Montaine, Tripod and Austin Wintory) have been nominated for a grammy for Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games And Other Interactive Media in the 2024 Grammys.  The other games up for the award are God of War: Ragnarok, Hogwarts Legacy, Call of Duty: Modern Warefare 2 and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Do you remember back in the ancient times of 2021 when the GameStop stocks (something to do with hedge funds) were memeing?  Me either but there’s a movie about it to refresh your memory!  CalledDumb Money it was out in cinemas in September but if you’re like me and somehow missed it you can get it digitally.

Releases!
November 16
Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR -Quest 2
Astlibra Revision -Switch
Dredge: The Pale Reach DLC – PC, Playstation, Xbox
Flashback 2 – PC, Playstation, Xbox, Switch
Jagged Alliance 3 -Playstation, Xbox
The Kindeman Remedy -PC
Loddlenaut-PC
PowerWash Simulator: Back to the Future Special Pack DLC -PC, Playstation, Xbox, Switch
Tobor -PC

November 17
Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections -PC, Playstation, Xbox, Switch
Persona 5 Tactica – PC, Xbox
Super Mario RPG -Switch
The Walking Dead: Destinies -PC, Playstation, Xbox, Switch
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin – PC, PS5, Xbox Series X

November 20
In Stars and Time -PC

November 21
Construction Simulator – Spaceport Expansion DLC -PC, Playstation, Xbox
Worldless -PC, Playstation, Xbox, Switch

Pre-Order Now!

This week Zed Gamers put your hands together for Hazel, Cam, & Peter as they throw bants talking the week in Gaming News, Caroline pokes trash in Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic from Rogueside, Hazel can’t stop playing Trigahex, and they chat the pre-show incoming for GTA6 later this year.

Lawsuits, Esports, Live-Action Movies Oh My!

Sued Over Video Game Addiction

A lawsuit in Arkansas, United States, has been filed against Microsoft, Epic Games, Activision Blizzard, and other companies claiming that they ‘use patented designs, algorithms, and marketing containing addictive features and technology’, subsequently leading to addiction.

The concern over gaming addiction isn’t new, with a clinic in the UK being established to help those with ‘gaming disorders’ experiencing a massive influx of new patients in recent months.

Tina Bullock, the attorney representing the family who filed the lawsuit, states that she believes video game addiction is serious, and should be treated as such. The firm she represents claims that this is only the first of many lawsuits that will be filed in the foreseeable future.

 

Revenant Hill Ain’t Coming

We got to see Revenant Hill unveiled earlier this year during the PlayStation showcase, in development by the same team behind Night in the Woods, and in a similar style, and unfortunately development won’t be continuing. The reason? Key developers impacted by severe health issues.

“We are a cooperative, and we make decisions as a group. For us, this was the clear path to take for the well-being of the team, which is frankly more important than games.” says The Glory Society in a statement on their website.

Live Action Zelda: It’s Happening

Wes Ball, the director of the movie Maze Runner, will be directing the live-action movie based on The Legend of Zelda franchise. Shigeru Miyamoto, Legend of Zelda creator, and Avi Arad, who produced Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, will also be involved as producers, with the movie being co-funded between Nintendo and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

“I have been working on the live-action film… for many years now… It will take time until its completion, but I hope you look forward to seeing it.” said Miyamoto on socials. So it’ll still be a bit of a wait.

Video Games In School

No no, I’m not talking about Coolmath Games, and I’m not talking about the games of CounterStrike you’re definitely not supposed to be playing. Thanks to the increasing popularity of esports there’s some renewed conversation among parents and teachers about the future of welcoming online video games into school.

With 50,000 students from over 300 schools taking part in the Fuse Cup, an international esports competition for children, it’s no longer just a fun oddity, it is becoming as embedded as traditional sports. Recently 60 players from 25 schools across Australia competed in the national esports finals on the Gold Coast. Although the esports scene isn’t quite as lucrative in Australia as it is in Europe or Asia, it was an Australian teen, Lucas Malissa, who was crowned champion in the Olympic Esports Series held in Singapore earlier this year.

Of course, this acceptance also means that schools can delve into topics with their students about healthy gaming habits, keeping themselves safe online, and other fun stuff like that.

And now for some upcoming games!

November 10

  • Air Twister – PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch

November 13

  • Spirittea – PC, XSX, XBO, Switch

November 14

  • Gods of the Twilight – PC

November 15

  • Checkmate Showdown – PC
  • Lake: Season’s Greetings DLC – PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO
  • The Last Faith – PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch
  • Teardown – PS5, XSX

November 16

    • Flashback 2 – PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch
    • Jagged Alliance 3 – PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO
  • Loddlenaut – PC

That’s it this week in gaming news!

This Video Game Industry Is So Exhausting Some Times, and Other News

Even though video games peaked in 2004 there’s still video game news happening, so let’s check, check, check, check it out.

Tony Hawk is back – Literally!

Do you love the soundtrack to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater? Do you love skateboarding or at least pretending to skateboard on a video game console? Do you love going outside and doing things? Then boy howdy do I have good news for you.

To celebrate 25 years of Tony Hawk’s pro Skater, the Fortitude Music Hall will have two sessions on January 27, one all-ages and one for those of us who were around when the first game came out, that will feature bands playing music from the game, an area set aside with consoles for you to play the games, a giant vert ramp and none other than Tony Hawk himself!

Bodyjar will be there at the 18+ gig playing their contribution to the classic game soundtrack, and Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of a Tony Hawk Cover Band) will be playing all the classics in addition to acts like Alex Lahey and Teenage Joans. Skate legends Lizzie Armanto, Elliot Sloan and Reese Nelson join Tony Hawk himself and other pro skaters to show off their skills. It’s gonna be totally late ‘90s-riffic.

Find out more info at thps25.com.au

South park calls out Baldur’s Gate

The latest South Park special made a snide joke about Baldur’s Gate 3’s cross-platform saves not working, prompting developer Larian to respond publicly on social media.

In the show, the kids of South Park travel to an alternate universe where they’re in different bodies. Alternate reality Cartman complains about how they’d already sunk 50 hours in to Baldur’s Gate 3 and wanted to know if save games could cross between multiple universes. The reply from Stan jokes that cross saves don’t even work between PCs and PlayStation 5s.

In reply, Larian posted that while cross-multiversial barriers are beyond their technological abilities, cross-saves between PC and PS5 in this dimension do indeed work. So there you go folks, next time you want to complain about something in a game not working right for you, just start up a multi-million dollar entertainment franchise and use it to complain directly to the developers.

Atari Keep Buying History

Long-time video game publishers and my #1 enemy on Earth Atari keep buying up companies. After a string of acquisitions including the AtariAge website, video game history database Mobygames and the back catalogues of classic computer game developers Accolade and Microprose, they just announced the acquisition of Digital Eclipse. They’re widely known as the premier software house that deals in remastering classic games for modern systems, and recently released The History of Karateka, Teenage Mustant Ninja Turtles Cowabunga Collection and Atari 50.

The $20 million US Dollar Deal means two things – one, Atari now has a top-tier studio that can handle their preservation and re-release efforts, and two, someone’s given Atari 20 million dollars and I want to know who it was. Confess your sins, heathens! Atari does not show pity, or remorse, or fear, and it absolutely will not stop until it buys everyone. Who’s next?!

More layoffs for everyone!

Isn’t the video game industry great? As a reward for all their hard work on Destiny 2, Bungie this week announced a massive slew of layoffs in the company, kicking an estimated 8% of the company to the kerb. Apparently it’s because a line didn’t go up in some spreadsheet, or didn’t go up enough, it’s hard to make clear from the HR-filtered press statements issued by Bungie, but the long and short of it is that not enough people are playing Destiny 2 these days. The people who Sony gave 3.6 Billion US Dollars to for buying Bungie are doing fine though, so that’s all that really matters right?

And now for the latest game releases!

Today sees the release of:
RoboCop: Rogue City PC / PS5 / Xbox Series
Thirsty Suitors on PC PS5 PS4 Xbox Series, Xbox One and Switch

Tomorrow is all about
WarioWare: Move It! On Switch
Boulder Dash Junior 8 ½ for the Commodore 64