Gaming News - Page 364

We all know how hot the PlayStation 5 console is, with Sony's next-gen consoles virtually sold out across the world. You can find them at times during flash sales, or pay scalpers fees... or you can try to sell your console and get shot for it.

A 19-year-old met someone who he thought was someone interested in buying a PlayStation 5 console, in Harris County, Texas. The PS5 robbery took place at around 1:30PM in the 8300 block of Gros Ventre Lane, where the suspect then pulled a gun and committed an armed robbery of the PlayStation 5 console.

The suspect ran away with the PS5 console after shooting the owner in his side, with authorities saying the man was rushed to hospital in a "stable condition". It's "unclear if any arrests were made" it seems, so someone is in the wild is enjoying a PlayStation 5 and doesn't mind going to prison for it.

Qualcomm and Razer have been working together behind the scenes on a next-gen mobile gaming device, something that's powered by Snapdragon G3x silicon.

The news is coming from our friends over at VideoCardz, which have some sneaky leaked slides on Qualcomm's next-gen Snapdragon SoCs for 2022 and beyond. The new Snapdragon G3x is teased here, designed specifically for next-gen handheld gaming.

Razer collaborated with Qualcomm on the Snapdragon G3x, with the mobile device teased packing what should be a gorgeous 120Hz HDR OLED display. Inside, there's a large 6000mAh battery feeding the system and display. The device is advertised here as a game streaming product that supports Xbox Game Cloud, streaming from a console or even a PC... very, very nice.

Despite the ongoing Cyberpunk 2077 controversy, CD Projekt RED still has no plans to sell itself to a large company like Tencent, Sony, or even Microsoft.

CD Projekt Group, which includes subsidiaries like CD Projekt RED (The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077) and Spokko (The Witcher Monster Slayer AR game), will stay independent and has no desires to be bought out or taken over. It's true that the massive Cyberpunk 2077 launch fiasco has tarnished the firm but company president Adam Kicinski is confident the game--and by extension, the studio--can be redeemed with enough time, patience, and hard work.

In a recent interview with Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, Kicinski reiterates that there are no plans to sell outside of publicly-traded shares on the stock market: "We have been repeating for years that we plan to remain independent and do not plan to become part of a larger entity. We are also not looking for a strategic investor."

There's one silver lining to Cyberpunk 2077's huge global controversy: Everyone knows about the game.

As No Man's Sky has proven, infamy can generate massive brand awareness and also sets the stage for an even better come back story. The negative repercussions typically far outweigh the positives; with CP2077 there was tons of pushback from gamers, missed revenues due to de-listing on the PlayStation Store, and even a securities fraud lawsuit.

Even still, CD Projekt RED is confident that it will eventually redeem Cyberpunk 2077 and turn things around. In a recent interview with Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, studio president Adam Kicinski says that the game could transform into a hit...long-term, of course.

A new MMORPG based on a Marvel IP is currently in development...what could it be?

Dimensional Ink, the studio that helped make big live service games like Star Wars Galaxies and the 10 year-old DC Universe Online, is developing a new MMORPG based on the Marvel universe. The news was discovered in an earnings report from Swedish games-maker Enad Global 7 (the parent of Dimensional Ink, Daybreak Games, and others).

The brief confirms the new MMORPG is a AAA-class project that takes place in an undisclosed Marvel property. Dimensional Ink boss Jack Emmert will lead development at the Austin-based studio (Dimensional Ink used to be Daybreak Games Austin and was re-branded in January 2020).

Sony Interactive Entertainment is being sued for alleged gender pay discrimination.

Ex-Sony employee Emma Lee Majo has filed a class action lawsuit against the company that alleges widespread and global gender pay gaps. Majo, who served 6 years as an IT Security Risk Analyst at Sony, says that the billion-dollar firm favors males with promotions an higher pay for the same jobs that women held.

"Sony tolerates and cultivates a work environment that discriminates against female employees, including female employees and those who identify as female. Female employees are subjected to continuoing unlawful disparate treatment in pay and work opportunities,"the lawsuit claims.

Activision-Blizzard has formed a new Workplace Responsibility Committee as part of its ongoing response to troubling abuse and misconduct within the company.

Activision released a press release detailing its new internal committee focused on holding management accountable for new cultural reforms. The Workplace Responsibility Committee will task Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick and the Chief Compliance Officer with establishing new policies aimed at stamping out harassment and the sexual abuse allegations that currently surround the billion-dollar firm.

The committee will serve as a middle man between chief executives and the board, frequently delivering reports and updates to the board of directors (who fully support CEO Bobby Kotick).

Fortnite mogul Tim Sweeney says the nascent and ambiguous Metaverse could become a trillion-dollar industry.

Right now video games are the most lucrative part of the entertainment industry. Analyst firm Newzoo predicts gaming will make $175 billion in 2021, and $200 billion in 2023. But what happens if the entire entertainment industry melds together with one another with a pinch of social networking too?

That's essentially the driving force behind the Metaverse, gaming's newest buzzword that's being bandied about by the likes of Facebook (who believes so strongly in the Metaverse they changed their name to Meta), Google, Microsoft, and Epic Games (and a concept originally envisioned by novels like Ready Player One). The Fortnite-maker has ambitious plans for the Metaverse and is buying up key companies like Harmonix to "make music for the Metaverse."

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney calls for a single storefront that works across all platforms...but that's very unlikely to happen.

Epic's Tim Sweeney has a wildly ambitious idea to unify and centralize video games under one store. The idea is to make a digital marketplace--like, say, the Epic Games Store--where game purchases carry across all platforms. It could go even further with cross-over purchases; think of it as a storefront that supports Play Anywhere: Buy a game once on PC, play it on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and even mobiles.

"What the world really needs now is a single store that works with all platforms," Sweeney said at the Global Conference for Mobile Application Ecosystem Fairness in Seoul, South Korea.

Hideo Kojima is now living his dreams six years after splitting up with Konami.

Much to the delight of Hideo Kojima, his Kojima Productions company is now branching off into films, TV shows, and music. A new subsidiary has been established in Los Angeles, California that will oversee the production of non-gaming multimedia that ranges from movies, shows, and even soundtracks--basically everything that Hideo Kojima adores.

"Our new division will take the studio into even more areas that present our creative narratives beyond videogames and to open up ways for our fans to communicate and immerse themselves in these spaces," Kojima Productions' Yoshiko Fukuda said about the new studio.