Videogame News Thread

[Emperor Smeat]

Ubisoft announced they have cancelled three unannounced games and delayed Skull & Bones again due to financial-related issues affecting the company.

This was stated to be part of their current plans to cut back around 200 million Euros in costs for the company over the next two years.

Originally Posted by Destructoid Ubisoft is making more big shifts to its future plans. The company announced today that it is cancelling three more unannounced games, pushing Skull and Bones further back, and is planning a cost reduction of more than €200 million over the next two years. The shift to Ubisoft’s future plans was announced today, and the publisher attributes the shift to several factors. Two of Ubisoft’s 2022 titles, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and Just Dance 2023, underperformed. And Ubisoft also cites worsening macroeconomic conditions as a factor in its new plans. “We are clearly disappointed by our recent performance,” said CEO Yves Guillemot. “We are facing contrasted market dynamics as the industry continues to shift towards mega-brands and everlasting live games, in the context of worsening economic conditions affecting consumer spending.” In response, the publisher is focusing its efforts into building its brands and live services. Consequently, this means the cancellation of three additional unannounced projects, on top of the four it already announced as scrapped in July 2022. Ubisoft also plans a net reduction of non-variable costs of over €200 million over the coming two years. The company aims to achieve this through targeted restructuring, divesting “some non-core” assets, and natural attrition. Alongside the unannounced games, one other Ubisoft project also got shifted once again. Skull and Bones, the long-in-development pirate sim, is now aiming for a launch in early 2023 to 2024. The game has been delayed several times since its first reveal, with its latest one shifting the target to March 2023.

Link: https://www.destructoid.com/ubisoft-...ull-and-bones/

[Fignuts]

lol @ skull and bones

[drave]

its like avatar 2 in the game world.


Y'all remember AC Black Flag (Avatar 1)? No, because it came out 10 years ago?! OK.




but skull and bones will suck

[ClockShot]

I really think that if any more bad news come out from Ubisoft, the vultures will start circling. Stock price might get to the point where somebody goes and makes an offer.

Skull & Bones will be D.O.A. no doubt.

Disney/LucasArts might want to check in on them to see how that Star Wars game is coming along.

[Sepholio]

I could honestly see Sony making a play for Ubisoft if it comes down to it.

[Emperor Smeat]

Ubisoft's Paris-based office reportedly is set to go on strike on January 27th. The issue revolves around recent comments made by Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot blaming staff for the company's recent financial losses.

Originally Posted by Destructoid France’s Solidaires Informatique union has called for strike action at developer/publisher Ubisoft’s Paris office. The industrial action, scheduled to take place next week on Friday, January 27, is being held in response to comments made by Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot over the company’s recent financial losses ... In an email to all Ubisoft staff, however, Guillemot raised company ire by, in workers’ eyes, blaming the staff for the company’s financial slump. “Today more than ever,” reads the email obtained by Kotaku, “I need your full energy and commitment to ensure we get back on the path to success […] I am also asking that each of you be especially careful and strategic with your spending and initiatives, to ensure we’re being as efficient and lean as possible.” “The ball is in your court to deliver this line-up on time and at the expected level of quality, and show everyone what we are capable of achieving.” The comments were met with disdain by some at Ubisoft, who believe that Guillemot’s email encourages crunch working conditions, while subtly implying that it is the staff who needs to “step up” to turn around company fortunes. Given the aforementioned cost-cutting promises, Ubisoft workers are also feeling a sense of unease about their job security, and the fragility of Ubisoft’s subsidiary studios. “On several occasions, Mr. Guillemot is trying to shift the blame (once again) onto the employees; he expects us to be mobilized, to ‘give it our all,’ to be ‘as efficient and lean as possible‘,” writes Solidaires Informatique in its call to action. “These words mean something: overtime, managerial pressure, burnout, etc. Mr. Guillemot asks a lot from his employees, but without any compensation.” “And because Mr. Guillemot and his clique only understand the relationship of power, Solidaires Informatique is calling on the employees of Ubisoft Paris to go on strike”. The strike is scheduled to take place at Ubisoft Paris on Friday, 27 January, from 14:00 to 18:00.

Link: https://www.destructoid.com/ubisoft-...ceos-comments/

[Emperor Smeat]

In some other non-Ubisoft news:

The European Commission is currently expected to reject Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard within the next several weeks.

The rejection is currently expected to be made by April 11th in a form of a statement of objections document and the EC is unlikely to listen to any of Microsoft's offers to remedy the situation beforehand.

Originally Posted by Reuters Microsoft (MSFT.O) is likely to receive an EU antitrust warning about its $69 billion bid for "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O), people familiar with the matter said, that could pose another challenge to completing the deal. The European Commission is readying a charge sheet known as a statement of objections setting out its concerns about the deal which will be sent to Microsoft in the coming weeks, the people said. The EU antitrust watchdog, which has set an April 11 deadline for its decision on the deal, declined to comment ... U.S. and UK regulators, however, have voiced concerns, with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission going to court to block the deal. Microsoft was expected to offer remedies to EU regulators in an attempt to avert a statement of charge and shorten the regulatory process, other sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in November. The EU competition enforcer, however, is not expected to be open to remedies without first sending out its charge sheet, although there are ongoing informal discussions on concessions, the people said ... The deal has received the green light without conditions in Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Serbia.

Link: https://www.reuters.com/technology/m...es-2023-01-16/

[ClockShot]

Originally Posted by Emperor Smeat Ubisoft's Paris-based office reportedly is set to go on strike on January 27th. The issue revolves around recent comments made by Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot blaming staff for the company's recent financial losses. Link: https://www.destructoid.com/ubisoft-...ceos-comments/

Someone will snatch them up. Seph might be on to something with Sony making a play as a counter to Microsoft going after Activision.

[drave]

Originally Posted by Emperor Smeat In some other non-Ubisoft news: The European Commission is currently expected to reject Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard within the next several weeks. The rejection is currently expected to be made by April 11th in a form of a statement of objections document and the EC is unlikely to listen to any of Microsoft's offers to remedy the situation beforehand. Link: https://www.reuters.com/technology/m...es-2023-01-16/

this whole thing is dumb. Just take everyone to court over exclusives then. Useless ass FTC

[Emperor Smeat]

Microsoft recently announced that they will be laying off around 10,000 people across all of their departments and studios. In terms of workforce, it was announced that this will amount to around less than 5% of Microsoft's entire workforce. It was also announced that these layoffs will be done over the course of the year and lasting until the end of their fiscal third quarter.

In regards to the gaming industry, it was confirmed that Bethesda, 343 Industries, and The Coalition will be getting hit with a wave of layoffs as part of Microsoft's mass layoffs. 343 Industries will also be undergoing some restructuring as well.

Originally Posted by Destructoid Bloomberg reports that the Microsoft layoffs have affected workers at both 343 Industries and Bethesda, according to their sources. The scale of the cuts is not clear, but Bloomberg’s report notes that some of those affected include longtime Xbox veterans, who have been at the company for over a decade. In a follow-up tweet, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier says it sounds like the Halo Infinite team got “hit hard,” citing an email to staff from 343 head Pierre Hintze. Kotaku also reports that 343 and Bethesda were affected, as well as Gears developer The Coalition. In addition to layoffs, it seems like movement is also being made around 343 Industries. Schreier reports that Joseph Staten, who was brought on to help bring Halo Infinite development to a close, is leaving 343 to return to Xbox Publishing.

Links: https://www.destructoid.com/microsof...ture-industry/ , https://www.destructoid.com/microsof...port-industry/

[Fignuts]

So good to have Smeat news back again.

[drave]

I'll drink to that!

[drave]

Monster Hunter Rise drops on GamePass tomorrow!!!!


I'm way more excited than I should be.

[Emperor Smeat]

* As noted before, Ubisoft recently announced that they have cancelled three unannounced projects as part of their current cost savings measures due to recent financial-related issues affecting the company. The company recently confirmed that one of those cancelled projects was "Project Q" which was an online multiplayer hero-based arena shooter game.
Link: https://www.destructoid.com/project-...arena-shooter/

* In some more bad news, Google officially shut down all of their servers for their now defunct Stadia gaming streaming service as of last night.
Link: https://twitter.com/GoogleStadia/sta...04298381725696

* Continuing the trend of Bad News Thursday, a class-action lawsuit was recently filed against Activision Blizzard over their free-to-play Diablo Immortals mobile game. This lawsuit revolves around allegations that Activision Blizzard purposely committed false advertisement over the status of a legendary gem in the game. This gem was advertised to be a benefit to players who purchase it but those who did so later found out that the opposite happens when you level it up to Level 3 and this change was kept hidden from players.

Originally Posted by Destructoid According to a report by Polygon, Washington D.C. law firm Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is considering filing suit against Activision Blizzard over Diablo Immortal‘s Legendary gem “Blessing of the Worthy”, which the firm claims is actually detrimental to the player, rather than a boon, and therefore constitutes a degree of false advertising on the game’s behalf. According to the firm, “Blessing of the Worthy” was advertised as offering players a 20% chance of doing damage equal to 12% of the player’s total life. But players have been finding that, once the gem hits Level 3, then the gem changes its status, having a 20% chance of damage equal to 12% of a player’s current life. Therefore, if a player is low on life, then the gem is borderline pointless. As this gem is sold as part of Diablo Immortal‘s DLC bundles, players have argued that they have paid money for something that does not, in fact, perform its advertised role. “Rather than offer refunds or some form of compensation, Blizzard has instead responded to the Blizzard community by stating that they will change the item’s text description to reflect its actual effect, at level three,” reads a statement from the law firm. “This practice essentially amounts to a bait-and-switch, since a purchasable item was advertised with one effect that players wanted and ended up with something completely different.”

Link: https://classlawdc.com/2023/01/12/di...investigation/ , https://www.destructoid.com/diablo-i...he-worthy-gem/

[ClockShot]

Originally Posted by drave Monster Hunter Rise drops on GamePass tomorrow!!!! I'm way more excited than I should be.

Sorta hoping a demo for Wild Hearts drops. Looks to be an interesting rival to Monster Hunter.

[Kalyx triaD]

Wild Hearts looks too good to be true.

MH Rise feels smoother and the universal zipline bug things are nice. Gonna give Charge Blade a rest and rock that samurai sword at first.

[Emperor Smeat]

* Crystal Dynamics announced that they are ending all official support for their Marvels Avengers game at the end of this September. It was also announced that the next content pack for the game this March will also be the last official batch of content to be released. It was also announced that all of the game's DLC will be free to players after the end of this March and the game itself will still be available to purchase digitally until the end of this September.
Link: https://www.destructoid.com/marvels-...ent-september/ , https://avengers.crystald.com/en-us/...vels-avengers/

* Riot Games reportedly was recently hit with a wave of layoffs affecting around 46 employees, according to journalist Jacob Wolf. It was reported that this amounts to less than 1% of Riot Games' total workforce. The official reason reportedly is due to current restructuring plans.
Link: https://www.jacobwolf.report/p/riot-...g-46-positions

* According to Variety and HBO, the premiere episode of The Last of Us television series drew over 10 million viewers on HBO and HBO Max within its first two days. It was also reported that 4.7 million viewers watched the show live making it the second highest ever for a new show on HBO's network and streaming service in the past 13 years.
Link: https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/the...bo-1235491303/

[Fignuts]

lol Avengers

Such a shame. I really thought the gameplay was fun and deceptively deep once you started exploring whats possible with combos.

[drave]

Originally Posted by Kalyx triaD Wild Hearts looks too good to be true. MH Rise feels smoother and the universal zipline bug things are nice. Gonna give Charge Blade a rest and rock that samurai sword at first.

I love my Gunlance. Never looking back. Smooth as butter. Took down my first 3 hunts < 10 mins.


Splosions. Shit.... now I kinda wanna cosplay Mr. Torgue in Rise.

[drave]

You really should get on Rise. It's sooooooooooooooooooooooo good.


It's like world + more. The wirebug movements and being able to add so much to attacks is siiiiiiiiick. took down my first Magnamalo yesterday.

[Kalyx triaD]

Three people joined my hunt and we timed out on the 50min mission.

Why?

We fought two other monsters first, thinking that was the main one. Nobody thought to reference the picture in the quest screen. By the time we found him we had 5mins left. Oops.

I don't like the katana's gameplay loop, going back to Charge Blade.

[Fignuts]

I've tried and tried, but there's something about that art style , which you see in a lot of jrpg's, that I just don't care for. Aesthetics are important to me in games like this. It's what motivates me to grind.

Call me an edgelord, but when it comes to fantasy, I prefer darker stuff like Berserk and Dark Souls.

[Sepholio]

its ok to like what you like edgelord

[DAMN iNATOR]

R.I.P. Google Stadia—We hardly cared about ye.

[Kalyx triaD]

Wild Hearts looks edgy.

[drave]

Originally Posted by Kalyx triaD Three people joined my hunt and we timed out on the 50min mission. Why? We fought two other monsters first, thinking that was the main one. Nobody thought to reference the picture in the quest screen. By the time we found him we had 5mins left. Oops. I don't like the katana's gameplay loop, going back to Charge Blade.

Yeah.... the whole painting style doesn't help much. I've learned if you click Right-thumbstick to track, it almost always tracks the current quest target first if there are multiple unknowns.




Village Quests = half HP monsters
Hub Quests = everything else + player scaling (this is also where you unlock switch stances)




Can't change the item belt order anymore, BUT it does copy the order of your inventory, which you can then save to an "item loadout" if you don't care for a buncha radial menu options.




Sharpen on radial is faster, sharpening while on palamute doesn't stop travel either.


Farmed Magnamalo and have his splody gunlance now. I was breaking 3-5 pieces before, gonna do even more now. I've learned people LOVE a good gunlance player in MP - especially with "Diversion". I take beats all day without flinching.

[drave]

Originally Posted by Fignuts I've tried and tried, but there's something about that art style , which you see in a lot of jrpg's, that I just don't care for. Aesthetics are important to me in games like this. It's what motivates me to grind. Call me an edgelord, but when it comes to fantasy, I prefer darker stuff like Berserk and Dark Souls.

Edge!


@Kalyx - Insect glaive is very good too. The sword is a good starter weapon (not too slow//fast, mid dmg). The stuff they added with the webbing is awesome, and as you unlock different switch stances, the style of attack with the weapon can change.


Just got some shit with the gunlance where I can use it like a god damn rocket engine and propel myself across a large area. Bonus, I can reload in air and do it again!

[ClockShot]

Forspoken getting so-so reviews.

[Emperor Smeat]

2K Games officially announced that John Cena is the cover star for this year's WWE 2K23 game.

It was also announced that the game is currently set to be released on March 17th for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series.

It was also announced that there will be three different editions of the game available to purchase.

Originally Posted by Destructoid The publisher will release three separate editions of the title, each of which will be sporting the square-jawed visage of crossover star John Cena. This year, as grapple fans will no doubt be aware, celebrates 20 years since Cena’s initial arrival in the WWE. As such, this latest series entry will be focused on the Doctor of Thugonomics, (or is he a marine? or is he a Peacemaker?), with this year’s 2K Showcase mode dedicated to Cena’s astronomical, and incredibly controversial, rise to glory. WWE 2K23 will feature all of the modes that you know and tolerate — from singles matches and Royal Rumbles, to the returning MyGM, MyFaction, and WWE Universe modes. The Creation mode will receive new options for custom arenas and entrances, (which can now be used in online matches) while the match list will be bolstered by the addition of Dusty Rhodes’ favorite cage match endeavor: WarGames! WWE 2K23 will be available in several editions that are too boring for me to itemize… Ok, I guess i have to. The Standard Edition will simply feature a copy of WWE2K23 itself, while the Deluxe Edition includes a Season Pass for all five post-launch DLC packs, the MyRISE Mega-Boost and SuperCharger, and a selection of MyFaction character cards. For die-hard WWE heads, the Icon Edition will include all of the Deluxe Edition content, as well as early variants of Superstars from their rookie days at FCW, including John Cena as “The Prototype”, Bastista as the underwater demon “Leviathan”, and vanilla rookie versions of Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar, who looked much the same except with a higher flattop and no tattoos. All pre-orders will unlock rapper and part-time wrestler Bad Bunny who, I am led to believe, is actually pretty solid in the ring..

See @JohnCena, beat John Cena and be #EvenStronger than John Cena in #WWE2K23, coming soon! @WWEgames pic.twitter.com/lNAfHOY9FR

— WWE (@WWE) January 23, 2023

Link: https://www.destructoid.com/wwe-2k23...cena-march-17/

[Sepholio]

bad bunny

[Sepholio]

[drave]

booooo at all of that except seph's crusty sock

[Emperor Smeat]

* Activision Blizzard studio Proletariat recently withdrew their upcoming union election to determine if they will unionize or not. In an official statement, the Communication Workers of America blamed Proletariat CEO Seth Sivak for why the union election will no longer be taking place. Had the vote gone on as planned and the studio voted for unionization, it would have become the third studio under AB's umbrella to unionize over the past year.
Link: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/prolet...equest-dropped , https://www.destructoid.com/activisi...ithdrawn-news/

* Activision Blizzard longtime employee and manager Brian Birmingham reportedly recently left the company, according to Bloomberg. It was reported that the reason was due to Birmingham's issues with the company's current employee appraisal system that he felt unfairly hurts employees due to how the grading curve system is used by company management.

Originally Posted by Destructoid A veteran software engineer at developer Activision Blizzard has quit his role at the studio after reportedly being unable to reconcile with what he calls a “toxic” stack-ranking staff appraisal system. According to a report by Bloomberg, Brian Birmingham, who has worked with Blizzard Entertainment on titles such as World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Warcraft III: Reforged, departed the company after 17 years of service when faced with the appraisal system, which he says grades teams on a curve, and thus forces the manager to “downgrade” certain employees for little reason other than to maintain said curve. Birmingham claims that he was asked to change a team member’s status from “Successful” to “Developing”, an act which Birmingham says what done to “squeeze” performances out of his team members. The Bloomberg report notes that around 5% of a team’s staff were required to be “low-scoring”, which would inherently hamper their chances at receiving promotions or bonuses. “This sort of policy encourages competition between employees, sabotage of one another’s work, a desire for people to find low-performing teams that they can be the best-performing worker on, and ultimately erodes trust and destroys creativity,” wrote Birmingham in an open letter to his team. “If this policy can be reversed, perhaps my Blizzard can still be saved, and if so I would love to continue working there. If this policy cannot be reversed, then the Blizzard Entertainment I want to work for doesn’t exist anymore, and I’ll have to find somewhere else to work.” Following Bloomberg’s report, Birmingham also took to Twitter to clarify his stance, pointing the finger directly at upper management of Activision Blizzard King (ABK), while praising the talent and work ethic of the hundreds of colleagues that he has worked alongside for the best part of two decades.

Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ranking-system , https://www.destructoid.com/report-a...an-birmingham/

* Riot Games confirmed that a recent hacking attack on the company resulted in hackers stealing the source code for League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics. It was also announced that code for a legacy anti-cheat system had also been among the stuff stolen. It was also announced that the company rejected demands by the hackers to pay a ransom in order for the stuff to not be leaked online.
Link: https://www.destructoid.com/riot-lea...erattack-news/

[drave]

Re: that appraisal system....






Sounds like every single corpo manager I've ever worked for.

"Well, you're an outstanding performer, but we aren't allowed to give all 10's, but I would if I could" type bullshit

[Emperor Smeat]

Today's gaming news:

* Nintendo and Microsoft announced that classic N64 game GoldenEye will be arriving on Microsoft's Xbox GamePass and Nintendo's Switch Online services this Friday. Similar to the last time it was announced, only the Switch version will include online multiplayer.
Link: https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/...51558046806017 , https://twitter.com/RareLtd/status/1618251876327215104

* Squanch Games announced that Justin Rolland, co-creator of Rick & Morty series, recently stepped down as the CEO of their company following details regarding his arrest in 2020 for domestic battery and other charges being made public recently. Besides Squanch Games, Adult Swim also recently announced that they have severed all ties with Rolland but production for season 7 of Rick & Morty will continue but with new voice actors replacing Rolland on the show.
Link: https://twitter.com/SquanchGames/sta...49809256185856 , https://twitter.com/RickandMorty/sta...09508420386817

* A judge in California recently rejected Microsoft's motion to have a class-action lawsuit filed against them over their potential purchase of Activision Blizzard be paused until after their current lawsuit from the FTC is resolved first.

Originally Posted by Destructoid A Californian judge has rejected Microsoft’s request that a lawsuit opposing its acquisition of Activision Blizzard is “paused” until after the publisher completes its pending lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) — itself a lawsuit opposing the $68.7 billion merger. The so-called “Gamer Lawsuit” was filed by Alioto Law Firm and the Joseph Saveri Law Firm in December 2022, and represents a party of citizens who are against Microsoft’s proposed purchase of the World of Warcraft and Overwatch 2 developer. As reported by Axios’ Stephen Tolito, Microsoft had attempted to put this particular suit on hold whilst it focuses its efforts on the more prominent FTC lawsuit, but will seemingly have to take on both suits simultaneously. “The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief to prohibit the acquisition as a violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Antitrust Act and to protect consumers from unlawful concentration of power within the video game industry. Section 7 prohibits all mergers and acquisitions in which the effect ‘may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly.'” wrote Alioto Law Firm of its suit. “Upon the deal’s completion, Activision would be wholly owned by Microsoft. If allowed to proceed, this acquisition would stifle market competition, reducing consumer choice, lowering quality and output, increasing prices, and preventing future competition within the video game industry.”

Link: https://www.destructoid.com/judge-re...sion-blizzard/

[drave]

Why they always gun for MS, but no other tech companies doing the same shit? Easy scapegoat perhaps?

[Fignuts]

Hi Fi Rush getting pretty stellar reviews

[Emperor Smeat]

Originally Posted by drave Why they always gun for MS, but no other tech companies doing the same shit? Easy scapegoat perhaps?

I'd assume its mostly because of the very high cost for the purchase that set off alarms and everyone believing CoD really is this huge juggernaut that if its owned by someone not named Activision, then somehow a monopoly gets formed in gaming.

Also probably some console war jealously by some of those in charge over the idea they could lose out on playing CoD games on their Playstations if a recent tweet by an EU lawmaker is any indication.

Microsoft really should have waited a couple more years to buy Activision since its only been about 2 years since their big Zenimax purchase. Trying to buy another huge gaming company right after Zenimax did them no favors to those who believe Microsoft is just trying to buy their way into a monopoly.

[Emperor Smeat]

Today's News:

* During a recent interview with Buzzfeed, Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann stated that the studio currently has no plans to revisit the Uncharted franchise in the future and is currently more focused on their The Last of Us series.
Link: https://www.buzzfeed.com/natashajoki...ind-the-scenes

* AEW's upcoming Fight Forever video game recently hit a big roadblock in the form of Yukes & AEW and the ESRB being in a dispute over issues with the game's rating. Yukes & AEW are currently seeking a T rating while ESRB is pushing for a M rating due to their issues with the amount of blood in the game. This issue has also resulted in the game's release date being locked in limbo until it is resolved.

Originally Posted by GameReactor It's claimed that the upcoming wrestling game, AEW: Fight Forever, cannot announce a release date yet, as it has failed to acquire the ESRB rating that THQ Nordic and AEW hoped to acquire. According to Wrestle Zone, AEW wanted the game to have a T for Teen rating, but the ESRB is pushing for a more mature rating due to the amount of blood and gore in the game. AEW is known to present a lot of matches that features wrestlers bleeding, and so it would probably want to emulate this in its game. The ESRB hasn't yet confirmed these issues, though, and so nothing is official. There was a plan for AEW: Fight Forever to release in 2022, but that ship has quite obviously sailed. Without a planned release date even as we come close to the end of the first month of 2023, it seems like we'll be waiting a while longer before we get our hands on AEW's gaming debut.

Link: https://www.wrestlezone.com/news/134...-date-revealed , https://www.gamereactor.eu/aew-fight...limbo-1235813/

[Fignuts]

lol