Corporate Hookups and Monsters Galore

Microsoft and Zenimax are one step closer to making it official

Both the European Commission and US Securities and Exchange Commission have cleared Microsoft’s acquisition of Zenimax which was first announced in September last year. The two rulings mean that Microsoft’s acquisition which was expected to complete by June may happen even earlier. The deal will add 13 development studios to the Microsoft family including id Software, Arkane Studios and Bethesda Game Studios.

Epic buys Mediatonic

Epic Games, formally Epic Megagames, creators of Paragon and Jazz Jackrabbit have acquired British game developer Mediatonic. Mediatonic developed last year’s fabulous Murder by Numbers, a game   that would later be eclipsed by their release of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout which became a major hit.  In an FAQ on the Developers website they detail that the deal will have no effect on the planned upcoming releases of Fall Guys on both Switch and Xbox. There are some changes the acquisition will hope to bring about however:

“Fortnite and Rocket League already have tons of features we’d love to bring to Fall Guys—account systems, cross-play, squad vs squad modes, etc…We’re going to work hard on bringing more of these features to Fall Guys too!”

There are currently no announced plans for the game to follow further in Rocket League’s footsteps and shift to a free-to-play model.

Monster Hunter updates

Capcom held a Monster Hunter Digital Event to detail upcoming titles in the franchise.  Before the release of Monster Hunter Rise on the 26^th of this month there will be a new, updated demo giving hunters access to a new monster to fight, the Magnamalo. They also confirmed that all future content updates for the game will be free. You’ll be able to download the demo on the Switch eShop from Friday the 12^th.Along with Rise, Monster Hunter Stories 2 will also be seeing release this year on the 9^th of July. The more Pokémon style version of monster hunter will release on the PC on the same day as the switch release.

 This week on the ZED Games release calendar

Thursday, March 11

Doodle Devil: 3volution [PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC]

Cyanide & Happiness – Freakpocalypse [Switch, PC, Mac]

Friday, March 12

Journey of the Broken Circle [PS4, Xbox One]

Pascal’s Wager: Definitive Edition [PC]

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time [Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S]

Bloodroots [PC (Steam)]

Tuesday, March 16

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning [Switch]

Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse [Switch]