Anticipation, Momentum, & Delays…

2022 Game Awards Nominations Revealed

Geoff Keighley, CEO of The Game Awards, has recently announced the nominees for the 2022 awards show. The nominees for the top prize of Game of the year are:

• A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)
• Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
• God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
• Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
• Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

God of War has dominated these nominations with several nominations beyond Game of the year, including Best Game Direction, Innovation in Accessibility, Best Art Direction, Best Audio Design, and more!  The massively popular Australian game Cult of the Lamb has been nominated for Best Indie where it’s up against Neon White, Sifu, Tunic, & Stray.

With 31 Categories, it’s impossible for us to list them all here but you can check the official site for a complete list. On that site you’ll also be able to have your own say by lodging your vote online.  If you just want to find out the winners, you’ll have to wait until December 9^th when the event will be livestreamed from LA via Youtube & Twitch.

Screen Queensland Launches Game-Changing Residency Program

Recently Screen Queensland announced they would be launching a residency program designed to support skill development and growth in early-career games developers. The Screen Queensland Games Residency offers 10 games developers (individuals, duos, or trios) access to a yearlong program including a dedicated co-working space, access to leading industry experts, business mentoring and income support through Self-Employment Allowance. It is the first program of its kind in Australia and is part of Screen Queensland’s commitment to championing local talent and fostering the growth of our games industry. For more information about the program and how to apply, please visit the Screen Queensland website.

Overwatch 2 Patch Delayed

Free to play shooter Overwatch 2 had a rocky start when it launched last month, and it’s still dealing with some significant problems. More than 2 weeks ago, Blizzard removed Mei from the hero roster so they could fix a crucial issue in her gameplay. This came not longer after two other heroes had been readded from their temporary detention. The Mid-Season patch was scheduled for November 16^th to return Mei to the game, remove several other bugs, introduce a slew of balance updates, and release more cosmetics in the store. Hours before it would go live, then update was delayed when Blizzard discovered a ‘critical issue’ that has not been specified but seems to have threatened the integrity of the game. The only thing that wasn’t put on hold was a new selection of cosmetics to the in-game store – including a new ten USD skin for the still-unplayable Mei. It’s unclear yet if this is part of the game finding its feet or a sign of a consistently tumultuous future.

Upcoming Games Releases:

17^th November –

Goat Simulator 3 – Playstation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC

18^th November –

The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil In Me – PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC

Pokemon Scarlet/Violet – Nintendo Switch

22^nd November –

Evil West – PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC

Just Dance – PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch

Gungrave G.O.R.E – PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC

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