Gamescom, Wukong, The Bytes, and Some Game Releases.

Gamescom 2024

On the morning of August 21 here in Australia, Gamescom 2024 went live. And dropped a Santa sack of goodies onto the web. Here’s a highlight reel of what happened…
In the 30-minute preshow we got; Dave the Diver crossovers with Balatro and Potion Craft coming October, life sim Inzoi, and game announcements for Sniper Elite Resistance.
Then in the actual main show a teaser for Borderlands 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 coming October, Goat Simulator Remastered coming later this year, Persona 3: Reload DLC – Episode Aigis pitting you against Joker from Persona 5 coming September, Kyle Crane returns in Dying Light: The Beast, Arc Raiders got a price tag and release for 2025, Path of Exiles 2 is coming to early access in November, Xbox mecha fans are getting a closed beta in August for Mecha Break, Little Nightmares creators are returning in Reanimal, while Supermassive Games is continuing the series in Little Nightmares 3 coming 2025, more info into the upcoming survival MMO Dune Awakening, Marvel Rivals will release December, Civilization 7 is coming February 2025, be the Batman in VR with Batman: Arkham Shadow, Indiana Jones and The Great Circle is coming to Xbox and PC December, and Peter Molyneux took to the stage to announce Masters of Albion

“So I’ve looked at Dungeon Keeper – I’ve taken some things that I’ve wanted to explore further with Dungeon Keeper. I did the same with Black & White – I’ve taken some things from Black & White. I’ve done the same with Fable.”

The Monkey King Rises

The highly anticipated action RPG, Black Myth: Wukong, has officially launched. Based on the classic Chinese novel “Journey to the West,” the story follows the transforming Monkey King as he is faced with regrets, sacrifice, and fate all while seeking redemption. Developed by Chinese studio Game Science, the game is filled with Chinese folklore and mythology and has garnered a massive hype.
Since its release, Black Myth: Wukong has quickly climbed the charts, and at the time of writing Steam’s second biggest game ever with 2.2 million concurrent players.
However, the release has not been without controversy/ragebait. A leaked streaming agreement explicitly prohibits content creators from discussing politics, China, or feminist topics. While this was not extended to journalists who did not receive the same brief, it has raised concerns about censorship and the influence of the developers’ guidelines on free speech.

Now for some Gaming Bytes

Nerfs ahoy with Sorcerers in Diablo 4’s Season of the Infernal Hordes getting buffed… a little too much. The Fractured Winterglass item was causing so many Splintering Energy procs in one build it was causing server lag. A nerf was quickly released halving the procced spell numbers but doubling the damage. This still halved the damage output of the sorcerers and you’re only hearing about it because it is the build I play and I’m salty.
Helldivers 2 released a new update full of “balancing” nerfing flamers and more. The backlash has led to players purposely failing Major Orders, traitorous player killing, and more generally – uninstalling the game.
A PSA to Counter Strike players: Don’t go out and get the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro or Wooting’s Snappy Tappy keyboards for that sweet SOCD strafing because Valve has just banned them and if you use them, you too can get hit with the ban hammer.
And at Devcom 2024 those attending were surveyed and 90% of the devs say that games don’t need microtransactions and games can be “…financially successful just by being Buy-to-Play.”

And finally some game releases

Hey look, it’s another power up team-based shooter called Concord coming to PC and PS5 Friday August 23. Then on Monday August 26 World of Warcraft’s newest expansion The War Within releases. Tuesday August 27 why not chase taxes and collect debt in Debtors Club on PC. And Wednesday August 28 clean up the cutest afterlife as a cat in Crypt Custodian coming to PC and all major consoles. And in more cat themed adventures, why not become a giant monster cat and destroy cities in Monster Run: Downfall of the Empire on PC. Or you can shout PARKOUR in Supermoves coming to PC.