Gaming - Page 414

Xbox chief Phil Spencer speaks out against Activision-Blizzard's sexual abuse scandal.

Activision could very well find itself out of a platform to sell its games. Both Sony and Microsoft as pressuring the company for answers on its "disturbing" behavior. According to an internal email seen by Bloomberg, Xbox's Phil Spencer outright says Microsoft is currently "re-evaluating all aspects of its relationship" with Activision. If push comes to shove, Microsoft could de-list all Activision games and forfeit millions for the sake of piece of mind (games like Call of Duty rake in tremendous revenues for both Sony and Microsoft every year).

Linking to the explosive Wall Street Journal expose, Spencer outright calls the allegations "horrific" and says he is "disturbed and deeply troubled" by what has happened."This type of behavior has no place in our industry," he said.

DICE's original Battlefront 3 project was never greenlit at Electronic Arts, but the publisher is working on multiple new Star Wars games.

EA hasn't had the best track record with Star Wars games. First it cancelled Project Ragtag and closed down Visceral Games in 2017. Then it cancelled two separate Star Wars games from EA Vancouver: Project Orca, a live-based open-world game, in 2019, and Project Viking, an open-world Battlefront spin-off in 2020. Instead EA Motive released Star Wars Squadrons last year.

At one point most of EA's studios were working on a Star Wars project (except for BioWare, who was knee-deep in Mass Effect Andromeda). DICE wanted to fill the gaps with Battlefront 3 and pitched the project to EA. According to reporter Tom Henderson, EA said no. There's a lot of reasons for this. Disney is apparently charging high licensing fees for EA (Disney collects royalties on all revenues and game sales for licensed Star Wars products), Jedi: Fallen Order's massive success changed how EA sees singleplayer games, upkeeping live games is tough, and making Star Wars games is very hard. Plus EA wants to reserve DICE for Battlefield 2042 and the future of the Battlefield games-as-a-platform service.

343 Industries wants Halo Infinite to last 10 years, promises tons of updates, content, and changes.

Back in March 2019, I predicted Halo Infinite would be a live service game. That turned out to be right. Infinite isn't just a name, it's an adjective. 343i wants to make a never-ending Halo game that evolves over the course of 10 years. Infinite is the last mainline Halo game which makes it more into a platform rather than a sequel.

In a recent interview with Wired, 343i boss Bonnie Ross says that Halo Infinite is "Halo-as-a-service". All Halo games were technically live service games but this time 343i is broken the mold with unprecedented cross-platform play coupled with F2P. There's also a campaign that could easily evolve over time with more content, events, and a lot more. Infinite is set up to become a portal instead of an actual game and Microsoft will have to navigate this potential live service trap very carefully.

A petition to remove Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick from office has amassed more than 16,000 signatures.

The industry is fighting back against Activision's alleged abuse-ridden business. Workers have protested the alleged crimes with walkouts and over 1500 Activision, Blizzard, and King employees have publicly signed a petition calling for Bobby Kotick's resignation.

Now consumers and gamers are pressing the company. Over 16,000 people have signed a new public petition to oust Kotick from the company. The industry is also starting to rally against Activision-Blizzard's alleged abuse. Sony has spoken up about it, and Microsoft may even cut ties with the publisher altogether.

343 Industries has put the finishing touches on Halo Infinite's campaign to meet its December 8 release date.

Halo Infinite has officially gone gold and is now 100% finished and ready to ship to retailers. This is a huge milestone for 343i; after six long years of game development and architecting a brand new Slipspace games engine, Infinite is now ready to be deployed on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

343i has done a fantastic job turning Infinite around. The 2020 campaign reveal showed off lackluster graphics and washed-out effects. All of that has changed and Infinite looks very good in both campaign and multiplayer.

Analysts are starting to downgrade Activision-Blizzard stock due to abuse allegations and ongoing controversy.

Activision-Blizzard is being hit on all sides right now. The company is accused of fostering a frat boy culture where sexual harassment, discrimination, and abuse runs rampant. Every day there's new reports breaking out that adds new volatility to share value. ATVI stock has been crashing for weeks now. At the time of writing Activision stock is at $62.38, the lowest point in the last year.

Analysts are taking note and adjusting their forecasts. J.P. Morgan financial analyst Alexia Quadrani has downgraded Activision stock from overweight to neutral, which essentially means Activision-Blizzard stock ivalue is now seen as in line with expected returns on the market.

Xbox gaming boss Phil Spencer is wary and skeptical of NFTs, sees new digital craze as experimental and potentially exploitative.

Gaming's biggets third-party publishers like Ubisoft, EA, Take-Two, SEGA, and Square Enix are interested in NFTs. None of that will matter if platform-holders don't agree. If Valve or Microsoft block NFTs, then publishers simply won't have a place to distribute or sell their NFT-monetized games. (Valve has already banned all NFT games from Steam).

The reality is NFTs are seen as a get rich quick scheme and regulations and rules haven't been established. No one really knows how to implement NFTs into their games yet. Until that part is figured out, platform-holders like Xbox will scrutinize NFTs; Microsoft's Phil Spencer isn't convinced yet.

4 years later, Assassin's Creed Origins is still a looker. But 8K gaming pushes the game to an entirely new level.

AC Origins is one of the best-looking games in the franchise. The Ptolemaic Egyptian world is replete with brilliant colors and enchanting ancient pyramids, towering plinths and monoliths, and tons of Hellenistic statues. It's one of the best worlds Ubisoft has ever created and it looks absolutely insane in 8K.

YouTuber Digital Dreams is known for pushing games well past their limits on PC and that's exactly what's happened to AC Origins. A new video reveals what future-generation Assassin's Creed games could look like with 8K resolution and RT On. The spellbinding footage was captured on a PC outfitted with GeForce RTX 3090 pumping out crazy 8K resolution at the ultra graphics preset.

SEGA wants to use Microsoft's Azure servers to power its new games-as-a-service initiative. SEGA confirms these games won't be Xbox exclusives.

A bit ago, SEGA confirmed it was negotiating a deal with Microsoft to use Azure to host, deploy, and even develop its most ambitious games. SEGA wants to create a whole new type of game called Super Games, which are huge sprawling live service titles similar to Phantasy Star Online. It wants to have multiple Super Games on the market by 2030; SEGA defines Super Games as large online titles that serve worldwide markets and make $800 million - $1 billion in lifetime revenue.

SEGA needs servers to make this happen. So naturally they teamed up with Microsoft. After all, Phantasy Star Online 2 is already powered by Azure and SEGA wants its future games to also use the potent cloud network. SEGA will spend up to $880 million on the development of its new Super Games.

Rockstar Games has officially apologized for the GTA Definitive Edition remasters and promises that a new update will fix many of the core issues. Definitive Edition owners on PC will also get free copies of the original games.

After 8 days of public ridicule, Rockstar Games has responded to the GTA remaster controversy. The developer admits the Definitive Edition was a faulty product and says they're working on multiple patches for the game to fix "technical issues". No specifics have been confirmed just yet...but let's hope things like atmospheric fog and rain are addressed, as well as the embarrassing character models and glitches.

"The updated versions of these classic games did not launch in a state that meets our own standards of quality, or the standards our fans have come to expect," Rockstar said.

Following two public walk out protests, Activision-Blizzard employees are now signing a petition asking for CEO Bobby Kotick's removal from the company.

Activision's dirty laundry has been laid bare for everyone to see. Multiple lawsuits, insider reports, and public statements paint a sordid picture of Activision-Blizzard's billion-dollar empire, from harassment and pay discrimination to serious sexual abuse and rape claims. Now workers are sending a message to corporate.

Employees have formed the A Better ABK movement in an effort to rally workers together and call for change. A new petition has also been started that takes aim directly at Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, who, according to a Wall Street Journal expose, knew of specific abuse allegations and hid them from the board. 1,337 employees have signed their names publicly to the petition asking the company's board of directors to oust Kotick from a leadership position.

The latest New Horizons update has totally ignited Outriders' stagnant playerbase with a huge 400%+ increase in players on Steam.

Gamers have moved on from Outriders...until now. The shooter-RPG mashup is back in the spotlight in a big way. The game's New Horizon update sees tons of players returning to try out the new content, and for good reason: the update is literally fulfilling a big wish list made by the community.

Players have responded in a big way. Outriders' active players have skyrocketed after New Horizon's release, jumping 464% one day after the update's launch. Outriders' playerbase on Steam went from 1,293 peak daily players to 6,617 daily players. That's a pretty huge jump and while it remains to be seen whether or not People Can Fly can retain these players...but for now the community is rallying behind the update.

PlayStation boss Jim Ryan has put Activision in the hot seat and is directly asking Activision how they plan to change.

Billion-dollar games titan Activision-Blizzard is getting raked over the coals right now due to ongoing discrimination, harassment, and sexual abuse controversies. The company is under multiple investigations including securities fraud and a damning lawsuit from the Department of Fair Employment and Housing that alleges instances of rape, abuse, coercion, and heavy drinking within the publisher. A new report from the Wall Street Journal uncovers that CEO Bobby Kotick knew about multiple rape allegations and hid them from the board of directors.

The media (including TweakTown) have been covering this story for months, but now Activision's partners are starting to comment. Sony's Jim Ryan has sent internal emails (via Bloomberg) saying that he is "disheartened and frankly stunned" to hear about the publisher's conduct.

Embracer Group's 80 studios are going to be very busy over the next 5 years with a huge slate of upcoming AAA releases.

Embracer Group (formerly THQ Nordic) just posted up its Q2'21 results, confirming strong sales driven by digital earnings and a look at the company's ambitious release pipeline.

The company plans to release 25 AAA games by March 2026, which is more than most companies release in 10 years. This makes sense considering Embracer has an immense arsenal of 80 studios with a total of 9,000 employees.

NVIDIA has released its new GeForce Game Ready 496.76 WHQL drivers, which are optimized and tuned for Battlefield 2042, and more.

Battlefield 2042 officially launches in a few days but if you pre-ordered the game, or you are an Xbox Game Pass or EA Play Ultimate subscriber you get into the Early Access of Battlefield 2042 and can play it now. NVIDIA's new GeForce 496.76 drivers don't just offer Game Ready support for Battlefield 2042, but new games with DLSS.

Assetto Corsa Competizione, Bright Memory: Infinite, Farming Simulator 22, Hot Wheels Unleashed, and Myth of Empires are all powered with NVIDIA DLSS technology, with the new GeForce 496.76 drivers ready to go. There are the usual issues fixed, there are still known issues, while the biggest thing here apart from games being NVIDIA's new Image Scaling feature, which you can read more about here.

In what started out as an April Fools Day joke has turned into a reality, with gaming chair leader Secretlab unveiling their new teeny-tiny TITAN XXS. Yes, they really made the gaming chair for kids and pets, and are now selling it.

The new Secretlab TITAN XXS was created with the same industry-leading quality and materials as the higher-end TITAN 2022 range, with height-adjustable armrests, child-locking casters, and more. The TITAN XXS supports up to 70kg (154lbs or so) and will only be made in "limited quantities".

Secretlab's new TITAN XXS is made in a 1:2 scale so they look really awesome next to the proper TITAN gaming chair, with the company making them available in the black hybrid leatherette version for $299, while the Plush Pink or Frost Blue will cost $319. Secretlab explains its new TITAN XXS: "Meet the smallest member of the Secretlab family. The Secretlab TITAN Extra Extra Small (XXS) is a 1:2 collectible designed for true fans - the ones who demand world-class seating as a cornerstone of their living space".

Volition has pushed back the new Saints Row reboot to August 2022 to ensure it will be "fucking awesome".

Today Volition and Embracer Group have delayed the upcoming Saints Row game from February to August 2022. The game will now launch during the Q3 period on August 23, 2022, roughly six months after its planned release. The reason is add more polish to the game but no core gameplay mechanics will be adjusted or altered. This is the second time the game has been delayed.

The Xbox backwards compatibility program is now 100% finished and Microsoft confirms no new games will be added.

Microsoft celebrated 20 years of Xbox by bringing 70 new Xbox and Xbox 360 games to the backwards compatibility program, adding big titles like Max Payne, the FEAR franchise, and NIER complete with Auto HDR, FPS Boost, and massive resolution scaling up to 4K.

The company also confirmed this batch are the last games that will be added to the program (they said this years ago, but it's for real this time).The final Xbox backwards compatibility list has a total of 595 original Xbox and Xbox 360 games that are playable on both the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S generations. Almost all of these games have performance or visual boosts in some form.

Activision-Blizzard's board of directors defend company CEO Bobby Kotick despite reports that he lied to the board about sexual misconduct allegations.

Today the Wall Street Journal released a new scathing report that alleges CEO Bobby Kotick not only knew of sexual misconduct at the company, but was also an offender, and uncovered multiple instances of abuse with named company employees from court documents, internal emails, and anonymous sources. The expose triggered a cultural shift from Blizzard employees who are staging a walk-out strike until Kotick is fired. Workers are banding together and posting their stories with the #actiblizzwalkout hashtag.

It appears the demands will not be met. Despite apparently withholding information from the board, the directors are standing behind Kotick. A recent press release confirms Activision-Blizzard's board of directors is supporting Kotick, saying that it "remains confident in Bobby Kotick's leadership, commitment and ability."

A new scathing report from the Wall Street Journal claims that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick lied about about his knowledge of sexual misconduct and rape allegations to the company's board of directors.

Explosive investigations from the WSJ have uncovered more controversial details around Activision's current legal issues. According to documents attained by WSJ and internal sources, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick not only knew about specific sexual abuse allegations at the company, but lied about it to the board of directors. Internal reports say Kotick settled one allegation made by a former female Sledgehammer Games developer out of court.

The report illuminates problems with Activision-Blizzard's workplace culture, which range from excessive drinking to serious allegations of sexual abuse, rape, and coercion. It's a laundry list of systemic issues, claims of criminal activity made by employees, and what appears to be cover ups by a CEO worth tens of millions of dollars. The report states that over 500 people have stepped forward with their own claims of abuse in some form or another.