This week in gaming news…

Melbourne International Games Week is Back Again
The eighth annual Melbourne International Games Week will take place in person from 1 to 9 October this year, returning from 2 years of online-only events. Melbourne International Games Week is a major games industry conference for the Asia-Pacific region and this year will host a number of industry events including: High Score: Composition and Sound Art for Games, Game Connect Asia Pacific, Games for Change Asia Pacific Festival, Freeplay Parallels, Australian Game Developer Awards, and the Girls in Games Jam. There’ll also be some fun public events like a week-long accessibility-focused charity stream hosted by Variety.

Mario Kart Tour Has Earned Nearly US$300M
Nintendo launched mobile game Mario Kart Tour 3 years ago to immediate popularity as well as controversy over its gambling-esque “gacha” mechanics that randomly reward players when they spend money on the game. Nintendo announced last week that they’re pulling the gacha mechanics in the game’s next update but not before it made the company almost $300M in revenue since release. The randomised rewards will be replaced with a regular in-game store that will allow players to purchase the items they want for a fixed price.

Sony Releasing Grey Camouflage PS5
Sony unveiled new Playstation 5 covers and accessories this Tuesday with a grey camouflage pattern that has some scratching their heads. While the camouflage patterns have precedent from the PS4 days, up til now Sony had only released solid colours for the console’s cosmetic outer covers and the new pattern is an… interesting look to say the least.

Splitgate Developer Announces Follow-Up Game
The studio behind popular portal-based first-person shooter Splitgate has announced the game will not be receiving new feature updates as the studio, 1047 Games, will start work on the game’s successor. The new game will keep with Splitgate’s core premise of being a competitive shooter with portal mechanics but will be developed from scratch on Unreal Engine 5, giving the developers a chance to explore new ideas without retrofitting them into their existing game.

Upcoming Releases
Now for some upcoming releases, September 8 brings Block’Em!, Hyperviolent, Rift Sweepers and Roadwarden to PC, Justice Sucks: Tactical Vacuum Action to PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch, and Steelrising to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. September 9 brings Betrayal At Club Low and Broken Pieces to PC, Catmaze to Playstation, Xbox, and Switch, NBA 2K23 to Playstation and Xbox, and Splatoon 3 to Switch. September 13 brings Little Orpheus to PC, Playstation, Xbox, and Switch, Lovecraft’s Untold Stories 2, SCP: Secret Files and Sunday Gold to PC, Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden to PC, PS4, and Switch, and WW1 Isonzo to PC, Playstation, and Xbox. On September 14 You Suck At Parking comes to PC and Xbox One and Q.U.B.E. 10th Anniversary comes to PC and Xbox Series X.

That’s all this week in gaming news…

PS5 Price Increase

This past week, Sony has announced that going forward, all PS5 consoles in Australia, Europe, the UK, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and parts of North America will experience a price increase. In Australia we’re looking at an increase of $50 per console, with the digital edition coming to $649.95 and the standard console increasing to a whopping $799.95. This is the first console to increase in price post-launch, and is a disappointment to those who still haven’t been able to get their hands on one since they came out in late 2020. Both Nintendo and Microsoft have made statements assuring consumers that they have no plans to increase their prices, despite the increased manufacturing costs. 

Nintendo bans cheaters in Splatoon 3 before launch

Fans of the Nintendo shooter Splatoon were in for a treat on the 27th and 28th of August, with Nintendo hosting a Splatfest online, where players could download a demo of Splatoon 3 and play around online with an array of gear and weapons prior to the games launch on September 9th. Of course, this wasn’t enough for some players who downloaded a mod allowing them full access to an open testing lobby. Unfortunately for them, Nintendo already had their anti-cheat system in place and those consoles now have a full ban from Splatoon.

Future Games Show 

On the 25th of August, the Future Games Show gave us a look at a stack of trailers for upcoming games. Snaccoon features a hungry raccoon in a world where snack foods have been banned, Edge of Sanity is a newly announced survival title set for PC, and Backfirewall is a tragedy/comedy set in the world of a smartphone! Alongside some new titles, we also got another look at some previously announced games, such as The new Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me, which was given a release date of November 18th 2022, and yet another trailer for the unreleased remake of System Shock, which still has no date.

Opening Night Live at Gamescom

Gamescom, the worlds largest gaming trade show is currently happening in Cologne, Germany. Geoff Keighley, the founder of the game awards and part time Dorito King hosted Opening Night Live to kick off the occasion filled with 2 solid hours of game announcements.

Kicking off the show was a game called ‘Everywhere’ headed by ex-Rockstar lead Leslie Benzies who had been previously responsible for the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ series from ‘GTA 3’ through to ‘GTA Online’. The game developed under his new studio Build a Rocket Boy is an ambitious open world and multi world multiplayer title featuring 3^rd person action and driving and looks to have multiple visual styles and a goal of allowing player creativity. There aren’t many details at this point but it certainly looks like one to watch.

Sony revealed a new controller for the Playstation 5. The Dualsense Edge wireless controller allows users to customise their button mappings, travel and dead zones and save their setups to profiles as well as changeable stick caps, back buttons and stick modules. Price and release details to come later.

‘Moonbreaker’ is the anticipated new title from Unknown Worlds who were previously responsible for ‘Subnautica’. They have teamed up with popular writer Brandon Sanderson to create a fantasy tabletop style strategy game wherein miniature figures fight it out. Embracing the theme these figures can be custom painted in game with impressive fidelity.

‘Dune Awakenings’ jumps aboard the sandworm of popularity that has burst from the earth of the recent film series. This survival mmo is developed by the team at Funcom Oslo who brought us ‘Conan Exiles’.

Do you remember 1988’s cult film ‘Killer Klowns from Outer Space’? Well the executive producer of the ‘Friday the 13^th‘ game certainly does as they’re heading development of a ‘Dead by Daylight’ style multiplayer game using the IP. In a unique combination the game will see 3 players taking the role of the Killer Klowns and 7 players as the humans trying to survive.

The last reveal of the night was the re-reveal of the long delayed and troubled ‘Dead Island 2’ which is now on its 3^rd developer and is now so far along the announcement included a polished 10 min gameplay segment. The colourful, open world, zombie FPS based in sunny Los Angeles and a release date of Feb 3 2023.

There were many other reveals however including details for ‘New Tales from the Borderlands’, ‘Under the Waves’, ‘Return to Monkey Island’, ‘Atlas Fallen’, ‘The Outlast Trials’, ‘The Calisto Protocol’ and the Pinocchio Souls Like ‘Lies of Pi’. To check out the full lineup you watch the official presentation.

Destiny 2 Showcase

Bungie also held a showcase detailing upcoming ‘Destiny 2’ details including the new expansion ‘Lightfall’ which takes us to the previously hidden neon city on Neptune, Neo Luna. To help explore the new metropolitan environment players will get Destiny equivalent of a grappling hook. There were many other details for upcoming content and user experience in the showcase and included an upcoming crossover with ‘Fortnite’. Check out the Presentation here.

Say Goodbye to Project Cars 1 and 2

Project Cars 1 and 2 will be delisted later this year as car and track licensing deals expire.  Those who own the game will be unaffected but if you were hoping to pick them up sometime your time is getting short. The games will be removed from sale on October 3^rd and September 21^st respectively.

PSVR2 release

Sony has confirmed via twitter that the Playstation VR2 will release early 2023. The price point is still under wraps.

Game Releases

Pac-Man World Re-Pac (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC), Soul Hackers 2 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) – August 26

Destroy All Humans 2: Reprobed (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC), Immortality (Xbox Series X/S, PC, iOS, Android), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC), Tinykin (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC) – August 31

This week in gaming news.

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This week in gaming news…

Subnautica Studio Debuting New IP at Gamescom

Unknown Worlds Entertainment, developers of Subnautica, will be debuting a completely new sci-fi game at this year’s Gamescom Opening Night Live event according to a now-deleted tweet from host Geoff Keighley. The game is assumed to be the same project that was first hinted by the studio in October 2021 and along with Sonic Frontiers will be one of 30+ games showcased during the opening night event. Australian viewers can catch the event in 2 weeks on August 24th at 4AM Brisbane time, but there’ll be a replay for anyone who doesn’t feel like waking up at 4am on a Wednesday to watch 2 hours of trailers.

Final Fantasy 14 Streamer Plays With Spellbook

Final Fantasy 14 streamer Super Louis 64 is infamous for configuring the game to be played with wacky controllers including everything from a Nintendo Switch Ring Fit controller to an actual edible pizza. This week he debuted his latest project: playing the game with a literal book and pen and using it to write out his spells in the book to cast them. The control method is still in its early stages but Louis has apparently had some success hammering out the bugs and actually managing to play the game with it. He tweeted early Wednesday morning Brisbane time to say that the project was done and uploaded a YouTube video of him playing the game with it.

MultiVersus Hits 10 Million Players During Beta

Warner Bros’ free-to-play fighting game MultiVersus launched an open beta recently and in just a few short weeks the game has picked up 10 million players. The game promises Smash Bros-esque gameplay with a hilarious mix of Warner Bros characters from Batman to Velma and Shaggy from Scooby Doo to Steven Universe. MultiVersus has already been the focus of online memes due to the inherent comedy of Bugs Bunny beating the hell out of real life NBA player LeBron James and the ensuing discussion of strategies, gameplay meta, and ranking the characters in tier lists.

Leak Says Fall Guys Sonic Crossover Coming Soon

Twitter user FGPancake, known for leaking Fall Guys event information ahead of official releases, has stated that the game’s new Sonic the Hedgehog crossover event will release this week on the 11th. Previous leaks showed off Sonic the Hedgehog character costumes that will be available in-game and a Green Hill Zone map that were subsequently confirmed by the official Fall Guys Twitter.

Upcoming Releases

Now for some upcoming releases… we’ve got a big week ahead as August 11 brings Arcade Paradise and Cult Of The Lamb to PC, Playstation, Xbox, and Switch and Tower of Fantasy to PC. August 12 sees Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered releasing on PC and Voyage on Playstation, Xbox, and Switch. Backpack Hero comes to PC on August 15 and launching August 16 are Blossom Tales 2: The Minotaur Prince on PC and Switch, Rollerdrome on PC and Playstation, Tribes of Midgard on Xbox and Switch, and Way of the Hunter on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. Finally, Catizens comes to PC on August 17.

That’s all this week in gaming news!

Indonesia Bans Steam

As Indonesia rolls out new content moderation laws, many online services have been affected, including Steam, PayPal, Epic Games, and even Yahoo.

Companies that are considered private electronic system providers have to register with the Indonesian government’s database to operate in the country. Any companies that failed to do so by 27th July have been banned.

Aside from making it challenging for those in Indonesia to access video games, the requirement is part of an overarching law that is intended to allow the Indonesian government to obtain data about users, and remove content that “disturbs public order”.

Microsoft, Google, Apple, TikTok, Netflix, Spotify, and many other service providers have successfully registered a licence, allowing them to continue to operate.

As of now, Valve is attempting to comply with the requirements, and PayPal has been temporarily unblocked.

Steam Bans Award Logos

The practice of putting award logos and review scores in key art on Steam is coming to an end. Valve is introducing new rules for store key art, or “store graphical assets”, prioritising cleaner images for the storefront.

Review scores, award names, and promotion of a different product are all banned starting from September 1st. If developers want to promote a major update, they can use “artwork overrides”, which slaps a separate layer over existing images.

Valve states that the move is prompted not only to reduce visual clutter, but also to avoid review scores that may be outdated, or even the sketchy practice of making up award names to make a game look a little fancier.

Diablo Immortal Player is Alone

Diablo Immortal has been having some bad press, but now the focus is on a player who has spent $142,000 AUD on the MMORPG, effectively locking him out of the game.

Diablo Immortal’s system allows players to invest financially in order to upgrade their character, a system often called ‘pay-to-win’, and it definitely works. Now this player’s barbarian is so overpowered that he has won hundreds of matches against other players, with very, very few losses. As a result, the game simply will not match him with another player, as there are simply none who could be fairly matched against him.

The player has contacted Blizzard hoping for a way to resolve this problem, however with an upcoming event called the Rite of Exile, he is unable to assist his clan, and with being stuck in matchmaking purgatory, he is unable to even qualify.

He isn’t exactly being met with sympathy, with some players saying that ‘he got what he paid for’.

And now for some upcoming games!

August 4

• Hard West 2 (PC)
• Turbo Golf Racing (PC, XSX, XBO)

August 9

• Thymesia (PC, PS5, XSX)
• Two Point Campus (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)

August 10

• Lost In Play (PC, Switch)

August 11

• Arcade Paradise (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)
• Cult Of The Lamb (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)

Chess Robot Breaks Bones

As it turns out, robots don’t like it when you try to rush through a chess game. During a chess tournament in Moscow, a seven year old boy who is among the top 30 chess players in Moscow under the age of nine, faced off against a chess robot. Playing chess against AI is hardly anything new, with Deep Blue being the first computer to win a match against a reigning chess champion in 1997.

However, in this case the AI reacted in response to the boy moving a piece earlier than he should’ve, and as a consequence grabbed the boy’s index finger and squeezed it firmly. People rushed to help, but not before his finger was broken.

However, the young player did return to the tournament the next day, and his parents are now considering filing a lawsuit.

Russia’s Making Their Own Games

Following the invasion of Ukraine, several companies have stopped trading with Russia, and many sanctions have been placed, leaving the country without video games. Nintendo has announced suspending all exports to Russia, as well as Sony Interactive Entertainment, Microsoft, and more.

As a result, Russia is now turning to making games internally, with Rostec planning on creating its own game engine. This project is being looked at cautiously by the government as this would be the first Russian game engine.

Minecraft Says No NFTs

Mojang has taken a firm stance against blockchain technology and Non-Fungible Tokens, preventing third-party operators from creating Minecraft NFTs.

The company has stated that the use of NFTs violates the spirit of the Minecraft usage guidelines, although the guidelines do permit server owners to charge for access. Mojang has clarified the difference between money and tokens, stating that “we have these rules to ensure that Minecraft remains a community where everyone has access to the same content. NFTs can create models of scarcity and exclusion that conflict with our guidelines and the spirit of Minecraft”.

However, they haven’t closed the door entirely on NFTs, explaining that Mojang is open to the possibilities of blockchain technology in the future.

Roblox Fighting for Innocent Gamers

Christopher Boomer, a developer behind Roblox games such as Weight Lifting Simulator 2 and Muscle Legends, recently obtained a DMCA subpoena in order to compel Roblox to identify alleged pirates. Boomer’s games have been viewed over two billion times, and according to Boomer’s legal team, fellow Roblox developers have copied Boomer’s games.

As a result, Boomer filed for a DMCA subpoena to unmask the alleged pirates. Roblox objects however, explaining that 10 days is too short of a time to produce the requested information, and has called the request unreasonable as Boomer is attempting to obtain information on a potential 460 thousand players, along with the alleged pirates.

“Roblox objects to the request to unmask anonymous speakers without the provision of notice to the speakers so that they may directly address any potential concerns, First Amendment or otherwise,” states Roblox.

“Roblox objects to this request as overbroad because it seeks a wide swath of user information that Petitioner has not established is relevant to any alleged copyright infringement, and thus the information requested does not qualify as discoverable subject matter.”

And now for some upcoming games!

July 28

• Autonauts vs Piratebots (PC)
• Bear and Breakfast (PC)
• Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions (Switch)
• Sweet Transit (PC)

July 29

• Avenging Spirit (PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)
• Digimon Survive (PC, PS4, XBO, Switch)
• Madison (Switch)
• Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town (PS4)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch)

August 1

• The Gallery (PC, PS4, XBO, Switch)

August 2

• Frogun (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)

August 3

• South of the Circle (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)

August 4

• Hard West 2 (PC)
• Turbo Golf Racing (PC, XSX, XBO)

Get Diablo 4 Beta Access by branding yourself with Blizzard’s IP

To celebrate Diablo’s 25th anniversary, Blizzard is running a Diablo Hell’s Ink tattoo takeover
event from July 16 to September 10, spanning 8 cities in 4 different countries, including
Australia. Diablo fans can queue for the chance to get a free flash tattoo and with it, access to
the Diablo 4 beta and a free digital copy of the game upon it’s release. The takeover is coming
to Melbourne’s Oculus Tattoo studio on September 3rd and Sydney’s Little Tokyo Tattoo studio
on September 10th so if you’re in the area and love Diablo, maybe swing on by to get yourself
some free ink and access to Diablo 4.

A new game studio approaches!

Jerry Hook, former Head of Design for Halo Infinite who 2 months ago left 343 Industries, has
announced the creation of a new games studio, Jar of Sparks. Along with several other big
names in the industry (Paul Crocker, Greg Stone and Steve Dyck) and with the backing of
NetEase (a chinese tech company) the studio is currently hiring across all fields of game
development. Jerry Hook made clear in an interview with IGN that the plan is not to jump
straight into huge AAA titles but to focus on making quality games at a mid-sized budget and
forming a strong team and a dedicated following to build from.

A Purr-fect way to spend some money

The recently released feline focused game Stray (which reached over 60 000 concurrent
players on steam within 24 hours of it’s release) has collaborated with Travel Cat to create a
merch line of travel accessories for that special kitty cat in your life. The collection consists of a
harness and leash set that is a replica of the one worn by in the game and a cat backpack, a cat
carrier that you carry on your back. In addition to this there is a virtual launch party scheduled
for Friday at 10am Australian eastern standard time where in addition to live gameplay there will
be a backpack and harness training hangout on zoom so you can learn how to safely take your
cat on your very own adventures.

Upcoming game releases

July 21st: Bright Memory: Infinite (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X), Coromon (Switch Port),
Hell Pie (PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch), Severed Steel (Switch).

July 22nd: Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch), Live A Live
(Switch Port), Severed Steel (Xbox)

July 26: Immortality (PC, Xbox Series X), MultiVersus (PC, PlayStation, Xbox)

E3 will return in 2023

The LA based Electronic Entertainment Expo or E3 as it is commonly referred, previously known as the worlds largest video game trade show has had a rough couple of years due to exhibitors moving away from paying for expensive booths and shutdowns due to the Covid 19 pandemic. E3 has struggled to redefine itself in a changing world and had been making moves towards a more consumer friendly show akin to PAX.  This week those intentions were realised as the owners of E3 the ESA,  announced that the show will now be produced by Reedpop, the company behind PAX, Star Wars Celebration, New York Comic Con and many others.

Local boy and Ex Reedpop Global Gaming Content Director Guy Blomberg has rejoined the company as the Business Development Director for E3.

New Skate game gets shown

Full Circle, the developer of hotly anticipated Skate sequel recently released a promotional video for the game titled “Still Working On It” to show fans the current state of the game and what they hoped to achieve in the final product.  The game is still early in development and the humorous video bares the jank and bugs proudly but shows a lot of what they intend to include. What the developer didn’t intend however was that a copy of the build from September 2021 would leak onto the internet.

The state of the build is described as pre-pre-alpha and the developer took to their blog to recommend not playing the leak

“While we understand you’re excited to get into the game, we encourage you to    be careful when downloading files from unknown sources[sic]. The best way to get the chance to play is by signing up for skate. insider playtesting”

Games with Gold loses 360 games

Microsoft has announced that as of October 1^st this year Games with Gold will no longer include 360 games with it’s monthly releases. In an email to subscribers

“We have reached the limit of our ability to bring Xbox 360 games to the catalogue; [sic]

This will not impact any Xbox 360 games that you downloaded before October 2022. Any Xbox 360 titles that you redeem via Games with Gold before that time are yours to keep on your Xbox account, regardless of whether you continue your subscription.”

Upcoming heavy hitters

Two hotly anticipated sequels have received release date for later this year. God of War Ragnarok will be released on the 9^th of November continuing the tale of Kratos and his son in the world of Norse Mythology. Meanwhile Nintendo has tweeted out, along with a new three and a half minute long trailer, the release date for Bayonetta 3. You can get your witch on come the 28^th of October.

Upcoming game releases

Escape Academy (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC), Rune Factory 5 (PC) – July 14

As Dusk Falls (Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC) , Endling – Extinction is Forever (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC) , Into The Breach (iOS, Android) , Stray (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC) – July 20

Bright Memory: Infinite (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch) – July 21

GDQ speedrunner banned after admitting run was faked
A speedrunner from the recent Summer Games Done Quick 2022 event has admitted he faked part of his run. Mekarazium, a Russian speedrunner, has admitted that a recent run of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance’s Blade Wolf DLC was faked using pre-recorded footage. The confession came after several views noticed strange things about the run, including an absence of keyboard sounds. “I’ve done an actual bad thing, and I shouldn’t have done this on the event…I acted selfishly and I haven’t put more time thinking about others. I am sorry for doing the thing I’ve done. Truly.”

GDQ has now removed the run from their Youtube channel as well as banning Mekarazium from all future events. As well they released the following statement: This is absolutely unacceptable and attempts to undermine the integrity of the speedrunning community that we love and support. The exact result they desired was unclear from the document, but it is clear that they believed we would not be willing to speak out about their behavior. However, we believe it is in the community’s best interests to know why this run was removed by GDQ. We have removed Mekazarium’s runs from our YouTube archive and will not permit him to run in the future.”

Return to Monkey Island creator will no longer talk about the game following abuse
Recently we were shown a trailer for Return to Monkey Island, a follow-up to the first and second Monkey Island games headed up by Ron Gilbert. Unfortunately, the trailer spurred a great level of negative conversation leading him to announce he would no longer discuss the game online. Much of the negative comments came from people who disliked the games new art direction – a slightly cartoony departure from its predecessor’s style. Ron Gilbert had previously defended the game’s new look saying, “Return to Monkey Island may not be the art style you wanted or were expecting but it’s the art style I wanted”, but it was not enough.

“I’m shutting down comments,” Ron Gilbert said “People are just being mean and I’m having to delete personal attack comments. It’s an amazing game and everyone on the team is very proud of it. Play it or don’t play it but don’t ruin it for everyone else. I won’t be posting anymore about the game. The joy of sharing has been driven from me.” He finished off with saying “Whatever you want Monkey Island to be, I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that making this a chore rather than a joy for the devs is the quickest way to ensure it won’t be anything for anybody.”

itch.io has launched a bundle for abortion funds
Itch.io has created another in its long line of charity bundles supporting topical causes. So far, the bundle has raised almost $200,000 for abortion funds. The bundle contains over 750 games from over 600 creators available for a minimum donation of $10. Estimated value is over $3k.

The bundle hopes to provide support for those affected by the recent overturning of Roe V Wade in America. The page reads: “100 percent of the proceeds from this bundle will go to the National Network for Abortion Fund’s Collective Power Fund, which moves money directly to abortion funds across 20+ US states, with a particular focus on the South and Midwest (where it is often most difficult to get access to abortions),”’

And that’s all, this week, in gaming news!