MIGW Returns, Nintendo Takes Home All The Coins, and A PS5 That Blends Right In

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…