Gaming News - Page 342

Battlefield 2042 is an absolute mess, where it garnered literally less than 30 minutes of playtime before I stopped playing it and went back to Warzone and more specifically, Rebirth Resurgence... thinking of that, I don't think I even refunded it. Sigh.

Now we have Battlefield insider Tom Henderson tweeting that EA is reported "very disappointed" in how Battlefield 2042 has performed and that the company is "looking at all the options" when it comes to the future of the game. Henderson says that "this is including looking at Free to Play in some capacity".

But I really, really don't see how making a shit game free, in any capacity, will help. I think admitting the game is a mess, opening the game up to the community to mod into something actually playable... admitting your total faults to the community and maybe turning Battlefield 2042 into something that doesn't resemble a digital pile of dog shit.

Steam has amassed a new concurrent user record as PC gaming surges through 2022.

Today Valve's platform is full steam ahead: Steam has now hit a new all-time high of 29,201,174 lifetime concurrent users, up from the previous 28.7 million mark set earlier this month. That's two new records set in the beginning of 2022 alone and the numbers could inflate more as new releases start popping up.

It's worth noting these are users, not people who are in-game. The numbers for actual in-game users is at 8.5 million, so roughly 30% of the people who are logged in are actually playing games.

After 21 years of waiting, D2's mythical Act 6 could finally be released.

Popular Diablo 2 streamer and speedrunner MrLlamaSC may have accidentally outed plans for a new Act 6 in Diablo 2 Resurrected.

"You want standard of heroes to do something? Well when Act 6...," MrLlama said, quickly realizing what he said on a Twitch live stream and deflecting with: "Yeah...that'd be great if they gave us some sort of way to use it."

KeyBanc senior analyst Michael Turits predicts strong revenue growth for both Xbox and Activision-Blizzard by 2023.

Microsoft's $68.7 billion buyout of Activision-Blizzard is expected to close in FY23. By that time, analysts predict both companies will make substantial revenue growth. Keybanc's Michael Turits expects Activision-Blizzard to break the $10 billion revenue mark for the first time in history with a 13-year CAGR growth rate of 6.43%, possibly driven by cost-saving synergies within Microsoft's games division. Activision's last financials show $8.5 billion estimated revenues for calendar 2021.

Xbox gaming is likewise expected to jump to $16.9 billion, representing a 10% increase over the last reported FY21 period. Microsoft's games segment delivered a record $15.37 billion in FY21 driven by hardware and software synergy surges across game and console sales and subscriptions.

Multiple law firms are investigating Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion buyout of Activision-Blizzard for possible violations of securities laws.

Seven law firms have announced formal investigations into Microsoft's massive Activision-Blizzard acquisition proposal. The investigations are centered around three main points:

The law firms are questioning the Activision-Blizzard board's exact motivations to sell. The Wall Street Journal reports that Activision's ongoing controversy and sexual discrimination lawsuits were a major factor behind the acquisition agreement.

Contrary to Bloomberg reports, Sony has issued a statement that it had no plans to end PS4 production in 2021.

Initial reports suggested the PS4 was retired at the end of 2021, and brought back to help offset stalled PS5 production due to semiconductor shortages. "There was no plan to end the production of PS4 at the end of last year," Sony said in a public statement to Japanese publication Netorabo.

The full statement is below:

Contrary to recent reports, Nintendo has apparently not entirely fixed Zelda Ocarina of Time's emulated graphics and effects on Switch Online.

Some Nintendo 64 games don't look so great on the Switch. The company is charging $50 a year for its new Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription tier that comes with wonky emulation for specific games. Ocarina of Time, one of the best N64 games ever made, is a game that sometimes looks better on the original 1996 console than it does on Switch.

Sadly, Nintendo hasn't entirely fixed these issues...however there have been some adjustments since launch. Ocarina of Time's Switch N64 version is still missing the more enhanced reflection and fog effects that are used in the original N64 release, which are also seen in the GameCube and Wii VC versions. A Tweet from code tinkerer OatmealDome indicated that the OOT could've been fixed on the Switch; the infamous Water Temple has been adjusted to make the water more clear. Reflections have also been added, but they're not as extensive as the original version's reflections.

Switch Online's latest N64 game completes the Zelda 64-bit era duology.

Nintendo has announced The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is the next N64 game coming to the premium Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription. Majora's Mask will release in February 2022 as part of the Expansion Pack service.

The first Zelda N64 game, Ocarina of Time, was a launch game for the new subscription and is regarded as one of the best video games ever made.

Ubisoft has sunset Watchdogs Legion and confirms the game will no longer get new updates.

Watch Dogs Legion--which apparently started off as a new Driver game--is officially feature-complete. Ubisoft announces that the third Watchdogs game has been officially retired and will no longer receive new content updates or patches.

"TU 5.6 was our final update for Watch Dogs: Legion," Ubisoft said. Title Update 5.6 was introduced in September 2021 with a multitude of bug fixes.

Months after high prices and over-monetization that fractured the Halo community, Halo Infinite's microtransaction scheme is finally getting fixed.

Halo Infinite head of design Jerry Hook confirms the game is getting a complete monetization overhaul. Starting with season 2, players will be able to earn credits by playing the game.

Season 2 is 99 days away (more than 3 months) and until then Halo Infinite will continue with its paid-only microtransaction currency. 343i has slightly adjusted prices of Halo Infinite's cosmetic microtransactions however there are still $12 packs that include nothing more than color schemes, a single visor, and a stance.