Rip-Offs, Expansions, and More
This week in gaming news…
Unpacking Clone Tops Download Charts.
Witch Beam Games’ hit indie title Unpacking has recently fallen victim to a copy-cat company, selling a knock-off version of the game on Google Play and the App Store. The brazen copy was accompanied by an intense ad campaign across social media sites which boosted it, briefly, to the top of charts. Thankfully this alerted fans, who then alerted Witch Beam Games, who were able to get the imitation taken down. “It’s demoralising for a small team like ours to see content we spent literally years planning, refining and handcrafting be hastily reproduced in an opportunistic ad-riddled app a mere 3 months after our launch,” the studio wrote on twitter.
This isn’t the first time someone has bastardized Unpacking, and Witch Beam is not the only studio to have their game mimicked for quick cash. Clones of successful games are rampant in the ever-growing world of mobile gaming. “We’re a tiny indie team and even with the success we have achieved, we still don’t have the resources to pursue companies trying to use our game’s distinct look and feel to make a quick buck. We have to rely on storefronts like the App Store to better curate their content.”
If you still haven’t tried out Unpacking and are interested, you can find the real deal on PC, Mac, Xbox, and Switch.
Australian Global Game Jam This Weekend.
This weekend the Australian Global Game Jam is taking place, as part of the worldwide event. If you don’t know Game Jams bring people together to connect, collaborate, and create games in a short time. This event will run from 5PM Friday the 28th to 5pm Sunday 30th, consecutive with similar events around the world. You don’t need to be a professional or have ever participated in a Game Jam before, it’s just about having fun with other game lovers. Everyone over 18 is welcome! For more details and to register visit /jamhost.org/e/0009T8QsaW/about
Final Fantasy 14 Launches Oceanic Server
Since the release of the Endwalker expansion in early December, Final Fantasy 14 exploded in popularity which left them with more players than they could handle. It got so bad players were left queuing for hours just to get online and new purchases of the game were briefly suspended. Since then, Square Enix have been working hard to improve the situation and the worst has past but players around Australia have still had to deal with connection issues because of the server congestion. Thankfully, on the 25th of January, doors to the Oceanic Data Centre were finally opened as it released alongside the 6.08 patch. In this Oceanic Server there are 5 worlds available which will all be considered “new worlds”. This means it will be free to transfer existing characters and all characters will have an experience boost until Level 80. There are also a bunch of in game rewards available to celebrate. Game Director Naoki Yoshida has recently stated he plans to work on the game for at least another decade so if you’re interested in exploring now is a great time to join up.
Upcoming Game Releases
Circuit Superstars [PS4] – January 27
Deflector [PC] – January 27
Rugby 22 [PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO] – January 27
Vagante [PS4, XBO, Switch] – January 27
Zenith: The Last City [PC, Quest 2, PSVR] – January 27
Pokemon Legends: Arceus [Switch] – January 28
Re:turn 2 – Runaway [PC, XSX, XBO, Switch] – January 28
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection [PS5] – January 28
Life is Strange Remastered Collection [PC, PS4, XBO, Stadia] – February 1
And that’s all, this week, in gaming news!
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