Category: News

Activision Blizzard’s Free-To-Play News
Earlier this month in an Overwatch press release, it was revealed that the new evolution would be going free-to-play to commit to “…an always-on and always-evolving era… for many years to come.” Since then it has been revealed that they will be going against the model announced at BlizzCon 2019, where Overwatch prime and Overwatch 2 could play together. Rather, that because the monetisation model will now be free-to-play, the release of Overwatch 2 on October 4 will replace Overwatch. The Overwatch development team have confirmed that “Content unlocked in Overwatch will automatically carry over…” and matchmaking ratings will not be reset.
In other news, the release of free-to-play Diablo Immortal in China, possibly its biggest market, has been delayed by NetEase at the last minute. It is speculated that this is not due to the newly found hidden mechanic of upgrading legendary gems pushing the average monetisation cost to max-upgrade a single character to over $500,000, but rather a Weibo post from Diablo Immortal’s official account which translates to “Why isn’t the bear stepping down…” This account has been banned from making further posts and hosting company NetEase could see further restrictions by the government which would affect other Blizzard titles distributed by NetEase in China such as Warcraft and Overwatch.

Minecraft gets the banhammer out
Microsoft has upgraded Minecraft server moderation powers with in-game chat reporting coming to Realms and private servers to Java Edition in the 1.19.1 update. Players will now be able to report in-game chat text for violations of Minecraft’s Community Standards from within private servers. These reports will be reviewed by moderators, who will have the power to ban accounts permanently from online play, and may expand to the marketplace and Minecraft Earth. Players may lose access to their own worlds, as per Bedrock-edition Xbox bans. Reviews of bans will be available with players able to submit a case review if the ban does not infringe on Minecraft’s Community Standards, invalidate the End User Licensing Agreement, or break the Terms and Conditions.

Nintendo Direct Mini goes Big
Nintendo had a Direct Mini Partner Showcase June 28 announcing several new games coming to the Switch in the next year. Some notable announcements were…
Return to Monkey Island is coming to Switch as a console exclusive. The highly praised and long awaited game from the original developer and writer Ron Gilbert, Return to Monkey Island was announced as “launching first for consoles on Nintendo Switch this year.” So, while no release date has been set, it sounds like Switch players will be first to walk the plank.
Persona 5 is finally coming to Switch. After being announced at the Microsoft and Bethesda Games Showcase this year as coming to PC, Xbox, and Game Pass October 21^st with Persona 4 Golden and Persona 3 Portable coming in the future, Switch fans were feeling left out. But after rumours swirling around for years, it has finally happened. The Switch port for Persona 5 Royal has been confirmed to be releasing the same time as Xbox, leaving only those with a Steam Deck and Switch able to go portable with this JRPG.
Oh yeah, and Portal 1 & 2 are now out on Switch, so that’s also a thing that happened.

This week in game releases
On Thursday June 30 comes comedic adventure cross space combat game The Galactic Junkers to PC, Xbox One and PS4. The 30^th is also day of the DLC’s, where Cuphead gets The Delicious Last Course for PC, Xbox One and Switch, Monster Hunter Rise gets Sunbreak for the Switch, and Outriders gets the Worldslayer “Upgrade” for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.
And Friday July 1^st the EA Sports Racing Sim F1 22 comes to PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. Also on the 1^st, the 8-bit collection Parasite Pack containing 2D platformer Flea! and the grid-based challenge Tapeworm Disco Puzzle is coming to Xbox, PlayStation, and the Switch.

This week in gaming news…

Ni No Kuni Cross Worlds Has A Bot Problem
Cross Worlds – the latest instalment in the Ni No Kuni franchise – launched last month, the mobile spin-off MMO is the fruit of a licensing deal between Level 5, creators of Ni No Kuni 1 and 2, and Netmarble, a mobile game and blockchain developer. The game is notable for being one of the first mainstream game titles to feature cryptocurrency integration, in this case the game has a play-to-earn model where in-game currency can be exchanged for Netmarble’s cryptocurrency token Marblex. The feature had mixed reactions in online communities and a month after release the doubts seem to have been vindicated as players report long queues to log in due to massive numbers of bots farming for cryptocurrency. Netmarbles announced a bot purge this week and players on Reddit have expressed that queues have now largely disappeared, it remains to be seen if the solution is permanent or not.

Destiny Cheat Creator Agrees to Pay US$13.5M
TorrentFreak has reported that the creators of cheating software for long-running shooter Destiny 2 have agreed to pay US$13.5M in damages to settle a lawsuit brought by developer Bungie. The original suit named two companies and one individual as well as a number of unnamed individuals alleged to have contributed to creation of the cheating systems. The named individual, Robert Nelson, is the owner of both companies and has accepted liability for creating software that infringed on Bungie’s copyright. Destiny 2 players have long been familiar with cheaters using third-party software to gain an unfair advantage in competitive game modes and this is only the latest in Bungie’s saga of legal action against hackers.

KOTOR 2 Switch Bug Prevents Finishing the Game
Classic Star Wars RPG Knights of the Old Republic 2 came to Switch earlier this month in a port developed by Aspyr Media and soon after release players reported a bug where the game would crash after an essential story cutscene leaving them unable to complete the game. While it wouldn’t be the first game-breaking bug to make it to release in a console port, it is rather embarrassing for a game that was already ported to mobile phones 2 years ago.

Tony Hawk Says No THPS3&4 Remaster
Famous skater Tony Hawk has stated in a livestream that following the success of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 as remastered by developer Vicarious Visions there were plans for the game’s 3rd and 4th entries to receive the same treatment. Unfortunately these plans fell through when Vicarious Visions, still riding the success of their remasters of Crash Bandicoot, Tony Hawk, and Diablo II, were merged into Blizzard and renamed to Blizzard Albany. According to Hawk and Senior Designer Andy Gentile Activision started to seek other developers after the merger but couldn’t find anyone they trusted with the series. Activision’s hesitance is understandable as the last time they handed the franchise to a new developer was for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 in 2015, a title that was almost universally panned by critics and led to the collapse of the studio that developed it and Activision losing the Tony Hawk licence.

Upcoming Releases
On June 23rd Deliver Us The Moon comes to PS5 & Xbox Series X and Sonic: Origins comes to PC, Playstation, Xbox & Switch. On June 24th AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative releases on PC, PS4, Xbox & Switch, Capcom Fighting Collection releases on PC, PS4, Xbox One & Switch, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes comes to Switch, and Madison comes to PC, Playstation & Xbox Series X. On June 28th Fobia – St. Dinfna Hotel and MX vs ATV Legends both release for PC, Playstation & Xbox.

Is LaMDA Sentient?

Language Model for Dialogue Applications, or LaMDA, is Google’s system for creating chatbots. Google engineer Blake Lemoine is convinced that it has achieved consciousness, and has broken his confidentiality agreement with Google to show the world transcripts he has with the AI to prove as much. In a statement, Google’s spokesperson Brian Gabriel has said “Our team – including ethicists and technologists – has reviewed Blake’s concerns per our AI Principles and have informed him that the evidence does not support his claims. He was told that there was no evidence that LaMDA was sentient (and lots of evidence against it)”. To read the full transcript of Lemoine’s conversations with LaMDA, click here.

Diablo Immortal holds lowest ever Metacritic score

Diablo Immortal is a free-to-play rendition of Blizzards long-running Diablo series, released this month on both PC and mobile devices. Fans have taken to Metacritic to express their rage at the game since its release, leaving it with a score of 0.2. The large majority of complaints against Immortal are being aimed the games microtransaction system, with many players slamming it has having the worst pay to win scheme in the history of mobile gaming. With Diablo 4 having a proper gameplay trailer released this announcement season, it will be interesting to see if the controversy from Immortal impacts the sales.

Video Games at the Grammy’s

The Grammy’s have added a category for music in Video Games. The “Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media” award doesn’t have the simplest name, but the goal is to recognise excellence in music made specifically for video games. Candidates going forward will include “score soundtrack albums comprised predominately of original scores and created specifically for, or as a companion to, a current video game or other interactive media released within the qualification period.” This is another step forwards in video games being viewed as a serious form of media. Just a pity they didn’t do it in time for the Wii menu music.

Not E3 overwhelms us with announcements

Starting June 2nd with Playstation’s State of Play, we’ve had 2 very full weeks of presentations, with 17 shows in total! That’s a heck of a lot of announcements to go over, with several hundred games shown off! Some notable announcements include Resident Evil updates, Bethesda’s Starfield gameplay, Last of us 1 remake for the PS5, and for Xbox fans in Australia, designlab is finally available! Obviously, it’s impossible to go over everything announced, but if you’d like to know more, click this link to see the full list of announcements!

Pride Month Is Here (For Non-Australians)

During pride month, to celebrate our queer communities and embrace it, there are a number of events, parades, and parties galore, and the gaming scene isn’t any different. The Queer Games Bundle makes another appearance in 2022 on itch.io where you can own 588 games for just $60, with all proceeds going directly to the creators of those games.

Tell Me Why is free on Xbox, Riot Games, Fall Guys, and Warframe are having events and added cosmetic items to show your pride and support, and many companies have made statements in support of the LGBTQIA+ communities. So don’t be surprised if your favourite games are looking a bit more vibrant this month.

GameStop Employees Have Stopped

Over the weekend the GameStop in the Gateway Mall in Lincoln, Nebraska was closed as overworked and understaffed employees walked out, putting out an explanation as to why:

“Attention GameStop patrons: we regret to inform you that we all quit, our district manager has no respect for us as employees or as human beings. We have been told by our distinct manager that we were supposed to have had this store achieving sales quotas and running perfectly 6 months ago. Which was 3 months before a lot of us even got hired. Unfortunately, despite the staffs’ best efforts, we are not god.”

The notice also pointed patrons towards other establishments for their gaming needs, stating:

“Spend your money at an establishment that respects it’s employees.”

New Kojima Horror Game

Allegedly early footage of a new Hideo Kojima horror game has been leaked, reportedly a title called Overdose. The footage supposedly shows Mama from Death Stranding wearing a blue dress, but the game doesn’t seem to be Death Stranding 2.

Hideo Kojima has expressed interest in making another horror game, stating that he has ideas that would “make you defecate in your pants”.

Kojima Productions had signed a deal with Microsoft for an Xbox-exclusive title, but there’s nothing solid to suggest it could be Overdose, assuming that Overdose is even a real game.

It Might Be Easier To Get A PS5 Soon

Sony has projected that it will sell up to 18 million sales this fiscal year, with that number based on Sony’s ‘current visibility into parts procurement’.

Last fiscal year Sony sold 11.5 million PS5 consoles, and the year before that was only 7.8 million consoles, so 18 million consoles is not a small number. It remains to be seen whether Sony can achieve that 60% jump in producing consoles and selling them.

And now for some upcoming games!

June 9

• Green Hell VR (Steam VR)
• Madshot (PC)
• Postal: Brain Damaged (PC)
• Pro Cycling Manager 2022 (PC)
• Tour de France 2022 (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)

June 10

• Mario Strikers: Battle League (Switch)
• The Quarry (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)

June 14

• Jurassic World Evolution 2: Dominion Biosyn Expansion (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)

June 16

• Autonauts (PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)
• Overlord: Escape from Nazarick (PC, Switch)
• Redout 2 (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)
• Starship Troopers – Terran Command (PC)

This week in gaming news…

France bans the use of English gaming terms to prevent anglicisation.
The French government has come out with a ban on English gaming terms, requiring all government officials to use French ones instead. The Académie Française, created in 1635, is an arm of the French Government tasked with protecting the French language. The rise of the internet and technology has been particularly effective at sharing English words to other languages, and therefore particularly problematic for the Académie Française. Now, the French Government has ordered its employees to stop using English gaming jargon, claiming such words act as a “barrier to understanding” for people who do not regularly play games and the French terms will allow their population to communicate more easily. Some examples are:

Instead of ‘pro gamer’ officials must say ‘joueur professionnel,

Instead of “streamer’ they must say ‘joueur-animateur en direct,’

Don’t say ‘cloud gaming’ instead say ‘jeu video en nuage.’

And instead of the term ‘e-sports’ the term ‘jeu video de compétition,’ should be used.

It is unclear yet if the mandate for government officials will be able slow the encroach of English slang but if past attempts to replace “le wifi” with “l’access sans fil à internet” are anything to go by, the tides are unlikely to turn.

Nominations for the 2022 Australia Game Developer Awards are now open
The Australian Game Developer Awards are a national event celebrating video games and the achievements of Australians in the industry, now in its 20^th year. Nominations have opened for this year’s event, with 17 different awards available for excellent games, studios, and individuals in the industry. Winners will be named at the 2022 AGDAs which will take place on the evening of Wednesday 5th of October 2022 as an in-person, live event in Melbourne as part of Melbourne International Games Week. For more information visit the official site

Euro Truck Simulator 2 cancels ‘Heart of Russia’ DLC over Ukraine Invasion
SCS Software announced in March 2021 that players could look forward to exploring the Russian landscape in depth in the Heart of Russia DLC. However, this past Monday the studio announced it had decided not to release the expansion. In February the studio found itself at the tail end of production on “Heart of Russia”.

“We all felt really good about the result; a lot of effort had been invested in making this new region look truly fantastic in the game. We were absolutely sure that our community, especially those in Russia, would really appreciate that.” On the 24^th of February Russia launched its assault on Ukraine and the studio put the expansion on temporary hold. They created Ukrainian Paint Jobs Pack for Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator to raise money for humanitarian aid in the nation.

After months of consideration SCS have announced they are indefinitely shelving the game to avoid the appearance of tolerance or support for Russia’s actions. In their statement they said “We strongly believe that there is hope for the proud people of Ukraine to prevail and for the suffering to end for all. Injustice cannot and must not win,” the studio wrote. “And, when the time comes for Ukraine to rebuild and heal, then we will endeavour to find a way for our Heart of Russia DLC to play whatever part it can in that healing process, for everyone.”

Upcoming Game Releases:

June 2^nd – Diablo Immortal – PC, iOS

June 3^rd – Ten: Ten Rooms, Ten Seconds -PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch

June 6^th – Super Perils of Baking – Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC

June 7^th – SpellForce III Reforced – PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

I can’t believe it’s not E3

E3 is almost upon us or it would be if it were happening this year. While the ultimate fate of what was previously the world’s most notable game industry trade event remains uncertain it hasn’t stopped many of the associated presentations of continuing on their own.  Many conferences had already moved to an online focus to reach consumers. Throughout June there are many announced events and more planned. Highlights include Geoff Keighly’s Summer Games Fest which kicks off on June 10, Wholesome Direct on June 12^th and the Xbox & Bethesda games showcase on June 13. Nintendo is expected to have at least one direct during this time and Sony, who has sat out E3 for the last 3 years has remained silent.

You can check out the full schedule in a handy calendar format here.

Raven Software QA Department Unionizes

Quality Assurance workers at Activision Blizzard owned Raven Software have successfully unionised and formed the Game Workers Alliance, a first for a US based Triple A studio. While the department is small it represents a major win in the fight towards unionisation in the industry.

The National Labor Relations Board also found merit in the complaint that Activision Blizzard had tried to interfere with those in the company looking to unionise and had “threatened employees that they cannot talk about or communicate about wages, hours and working conditions”.

The push to unionise came after the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against Activison Blizzard last year regarding a “culture of sexual harassment and toxicity”.

Take-Two completes Zynga acquisition

On May 23^rd Take two completed its acquisition of Zynga for 12.7 billion dollars. Take-Two chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick remarked on the acquisition “We are thrilled to complete our combination with Zynga, which is a pivotal step to increase exponentially our Net Bookings from mobile, the fastest-growing segment in interactive entertainment, while also providing us with substantial cost synergies and revenue opportunities.”

The International 2022 Announced

The World’s largest single e-sports event The International for DOTA 2 has announced it will be held in Singapore this year. Venue details have yet to be announced but this year’s event is scheduled sometime in October.

Release Calendar

May 27 – Sniper Elite 5 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) Golfie (PC)

May 28 – Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC), Kao the Kangaroo (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC), Microsoft Flight Simulator: Top Gun Maverick DLC (Xbox Series X/S, PC), Pac-Man Museum+ (Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC)

June 1 – Corpse Factory (PC)

June 2 – Silt (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC)

This week in gaming news…

TikTok Influencer Raises US$8M for Confusing NFT Landlord Scheme
TikTok user Michael Le appears to have raised US$8M in a funding round for a confusing bid to become a video game NFT landlord. The influencer has over 50 million followers on TikTok and is known for making videos of himself dancing, having fun with his younger brother, and making sponsored content for Invisalign. Le has partnered with the co-founder of a company that produces sports earbuds to launch a startup venture known as Joystick, through which the duo plan to buy up large amounts of in-game NFT assets and rent them out to gamers for temporary use. At the time of writing the company’s website claims ownership of assets in a handful of games whose main selling points are their NFT integration and so called “play-to-earn” models. While media surrounding the company praises the way it empowers gamers to own and earn money from digital assets, the only “service” actually available right now are tokens that can be purchased online via the Ethereum cryptocurrency blockchain, money from the sales of which appears to go directly to the company.

505 Games Showcases Three Upcoming Indie Games
505 Games, publisher of recent titles like Death Stranding, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, and Assetto Corsa have revealed three upcoming indie titles at their first digital showcase. Among the Trolls is a survival simulator set in a troll-filled Finnish forest, Stray Blade is a 3rd person fantasy combat game with clear inspiration from the gameplay of the Dark Souls series, and Miasma Chronicles is apparently a tactical adventure set in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi wasteland. All three games were shown with new trailers or demos and none are set to be available this year.

New itch.io Tabletop RPG Bundle Supports Reproductive Rights
Dungeons & Dragons podcast Roll for Romance has launched a US$5 tabletop RPG bundle on itch.io in support of US reproductive rights organisations Planned Parenthood and the National Network of Abortion Funds. The bundle currently includes over 200 tabletop RPG titles normally valued at almost US$1400 individually and comes as a response to a leaked US Supreme Court opinion indicating that key protections for access to abortion were at risk of being overturned. Many of the titles included in the bundle are played similarly to popular RPG Dungeons & Dragons and have such wonderful titles as Beam Saber, Glitter Hearts, Village Witch, Offworlders, and In the Shadow of Tower Silveraxe.

Now for some upcoming releases…

May 19 brings…

• Deadcraft [PC, Playstation, Xbox, Switch]
• Eternal Threads [PC, PS4, Xbox]
• Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong [PC, Playstation, Xbox, Switch]

May 20 brings…

• Beekeeping simulator APICO [PC]
• Cotton Fantasy [PS4, Switch]
• Dolmen [PC, Playstation, Xbox]
• The Endless Summer – Search for Surf [PC, Xbox]

May 24 brings…

• Soda Crisis [PC]

May 25 brings…

• Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds [PC]

Club EA
Electronic Arts has been in the headlines this week after announcing a new Lord of the Rings franchised game, The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-Earth. The game, developed by Capital games, is rumoured to be a Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes reskin, with all the free-to-play collections you would expect.
In more surprising news, EA and FIFA have parted ways announcing that after this year’s FIFA 23 “a new era” will begin next year with EA Sports FC series. Thanks to the over 300 licences EA had accumulated, EA insists things will not be changing much and fans can expect “the same… modes, leagues, tournaments, clubs and athletes”. In response, FIFA announced that the split will allow FIFA to launch new games developed with other studios and publishers and multiple “non-simulation” games to launch later this year. FIFA president Gianni Infantino insisted “…that the only authentic, real game that has the FIFA name will be the best one available for gamers and football fans… The FIFA name is the only global, original title.”

Microsoft Integrate Access
Microsoft this week released information regarding a whole new ecosystem of accessories, both for adaptation for accessible design and for Xbox cloud streaming. Coming later this year, Microsoft is set to release a series of adaptive controllers that allow for custom inputs and the ability to connect and design 3D-printed toppers and tails to completely customise the design suitable to an individual’s needs. But if one is not enough, the Microsoft Adaptive Hub allows four wireless connects to these adaptive buttons, and 3 more devices as needed. Allowing people with physical limitation empowerment in the digital age.
And talking of access, Microsoft has announced the evolution of their online gaming cloud… beginning with Fortnite. You can now to play Fortnite free on iOS, Android or PC with Windows if you have a Microsoft account. This “everywhere initiative” from Microsoft is planned to expand to your home tv as well, with a puck or dongle device similar to the Amazon stick or Roku puck, and will have access to a library of games through the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. However, should you already have a Samsung smart TV, Microsoft is currently working with them to create a native app. This initiative is set to be available within the next 12 months.
Speaking of Microsoft, Microsoft Excel integration is coming to Eve Online. Colloquially known as “spreadsheets in space” Eve Online is finally getting native integration with Eve and Microsoft creating the API’s to finally help manage the complex in-game economy. While the API is in its early phase of development, the number crunching fans of Eve Online let out literal cheers from the audience at the announcement.

Activision/Blizzard still making headlines.
In the wake of the multitude of accusations and lawsuits made against Activision Blizzard, the second fulltime leadership role has been filled to combat the “created culture of ‘constant sexual harassment’ and gender-based discrimination” within the company, and she comes from Disney. Jessica Martinez is credited with 14 years of experience at Disney and now takes on the roll of VP, Head of Culture with the responsibility of “growing and implementing our culture strategy” while leading the learning and development team and working closely with communications, events, and other leaders within Blizzard.
And she has her work cut out for her with Raven Software QA staff actively seeking support from other Activision Blizzard staff to aid in unionisation. Since Activision Blizzard higher ups chose not to voluntarily recognise the Game Workers Alliance earlier this year, staff of Raven Software have sought to be recognised by the government agency National Labor Relations Board. Internal emails reportedly show Activision Blizzard emailing staff with the graphic “Please vote no.” after a town hall meeting in April. The ballot is set to be counted over video conference on May 23.

And now for the new releases.
Tuesday May 10, turn-based strategy game Songs of Conquest from Coffee Stain Publishing is coming to PC. This War of Mine: Final Cut is also being released on Xbox Series S & X and PlayStation 5, and Brisbane’s own award-winning Unpacking is coming to PlayStation 4 & 5.
Wednesday May 11, Brigandine comes to PC, and the PC roguelite Source of Madness is releasing for PlayStation, Xbox, and the Switch
And on Thursday May 12, become a detective in the live-action mystery adventure game The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story coming to PC, PlayStation, and Switch. And to PC also on May 12, battle legends and gods in the isometric ARPG Achilles: Legends Untold. Or try Cantata and fight for your faction’s survival in this indie, pixel-art, turn based strategy game. And finally rock out with your cactus out in indie platformer Flippin Kaktus.

Embracer Group Takes in Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and More

Development studios Eido-Montreal, Crystal Dynamics, and Square Enix Montreal will be acquired by Embracer Group, who has entered an agreement to acquire the studios as well as multiple IPs such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Legacy of Kain, and many more from the Square Enix catalogue.

The acquisition also includes over 1,100 employees in eight locations, with the total purchase price reaching 300 million USD. This agreement is expected to close later this year.

“We are thrilled to welcome these studios into the Embracer Group. We recognise the fantastic IP, world class creative talent, and track record of excellence that have been demonstrated time and again over the past decades. It has been a great pleasure meeting the leadership teams and discussing future plans for how they can realise their ambitions and become a great part of Embracer,” says Lars Wingefors, Co-founder of Embracer Group.

Alleged Pokemon Thieves Killed

Police officers in Florida, USA opened fire on four suspects who were believed to have stolen Pokemon cards, as well as some pizza. After multiple units converged on a Target in Florida in response to an Audi with obscured registration tags, they spotted two teenagers who were immediately deemed ‘suspicious’ due to wearing hoodies and face masks. A security officer in Target had alleged that the teenagers had stolen some Pokemon cards and a pizza, confirmed via security footage.

Police attempted a takedown and then opened fire on the teenagers, injuring two and fatally wounding another, with a fourth suspect detained. None of the teenagers were carrying any weapons.

County Sheriff Marcos Lopez has defended the actions of the officers involved after facing backlash for the over-the-top response.

Halo Infinite Had A Massive Update

Halo Infinite’s second season is here, and it is a big one! With new maps, modes, and cosmetic items, the detailed patch notes needed a six-chapter table of contents.

Some of the new content includes a King of the Hill, Attrition, and a battle royale inspired Last Spartan Standing game mode.

Updates have also been made to some of the movement abilities, affecting what players call ‘skill jumps’, which utilised movement tricks to pull off some very hectic tricks around the various maps. The left shoulder pad of the Jorge-052 armour kit now also shows the correct texture, for the more observant fans out there.

Sonic Prime Teaser Trailer Is Here

Netflix released a trailer montage showing off some of the kid-friendly animated shows that will be joining the roster. Right at the end we got to have a glimpse at everyone’s favourite blue hedgehog, also giving fans a listen to voice actor Deven Mack’s performance.

And now for some upcoming games!

May 5

• Best Month Ever (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)
• Trek to Yomi (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)
• Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters (PC)

May 6

• Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit (PC)

May 10

• Songs of Conquest (PC)
• This War of Mine: Final Cut (PS5, XSX)

May 11

• Brigandine (PC)
• Source of Madness (PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)

May 12

• Achilles: Legends Untold (PC)
• Cantata (PC)
• The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story (PC, PS5, PS4, Switch)
• Flippin Kaktus (PC)

Twitch wants more money

Twitch, Amazon’s video game streaming platform, is currently considering making big changes to the monetization systems. These changes are starting to concern streamers as Twitch wants to implement multiple changes to its partner program that will hopefully boost profits. Some of these changes are new revenue split from subscriptions, a new tier system, and bolstering advertisements. “YAY!” – said no one. The proposed cut would see partnered streamer’s revenue from subscriptions drop from 70% to 50%. A Twitch streamer PleasantlyTwstd commented to Kotaku saying, “Smaller streamers I think are going to have little to no incentive at this stage to really push for growth. It’s going to start feeling like if you want to make a payout you have to hit more subs and the struggle at current is discoverability at all.” Twitch intends of releasing these new changes to the website in the coming few months.

Activision Blizzard losing some more

Activision Blizzard has released its latest financial report, and the numbers are bad. Revenue, player numbers as well as poor sales on new releases such as Call of Duty means that Microsoft are going to have to work hard to pull them out of this one. For the recent quarter Blizzard was reported turning over $1.77 Billion compared to $2.28 Billion the previous year, but the big hit is the number of users logging in and playing. There are currently 372 million players for this last quarter as opposed to the 435 million from last year. 60 million less players per month is a huge nose dive. All this plummeting revenue and player count seems to be linked to the buy out from Microsoft not to mention the large number of players boycotting Activision Blizzard from its on-going internal harassment and abuse allegations. Especially since the latest news is that Bobby Kotick former CEO of Activision Blizzard has been reported threatening to kill someone. Only time will tell what happens next.

PlayStation bomb scare in Boston

Passengers at Boston’s Logan International Airport were recently evacuated over the Easter Holidays as the local bomb squad were called in to check out a “suspicious item”. Turns out it was really a PlayStation in a “degraded condition”. A spokesperson from the Massachusetts State Police stated “The condition of the console caused abnormalities in the image produced when it was x-rayed, prompting the screeners’ concern. During the investigation of the object and secondary sweeps of the area, passengers in Terminal A were evacuated.” After a thorough investigation an hour later the bomb squad gave the “all-clear.”

This week in gaming releases:

April 28th
• Bugsnax [XSX, XBO, Switch]
• Bugsnax: Isle of Bigsnax update [All Platforms]
• The House of the Dead: Remake
• Kaiju Wars [PC]
• Kapital: Sparks of Revolution [PC]
• Rogue Lords
• Trigon: Space Story [PC]

April 29th
• Dandy & Randy DX [PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch]
• Nintendo Switch Sports [Switch]
• Ravenous Devils [All Platforms]
• Sea of Craft [PC]

May 4th
• Wildcat Gun Machine [All Platforms]