Big Steps Forward
Big Steps Forward
E91: The future of Disney, Marvel Games and the Assassin's Creed franchise.
Good morning gamers! September is always an exciting time for gamers because of all the industry showcases, and this year was no exception. Last week we saw both the Disney & Marvel Games Showcase and the Ubisoft Forward event (aka Assassin’s Creed Showcase) reveal some awesome new details on a variety of announced and unannounced games. Here’s the TL;DR on the biggest announcements,
Disney & Marvel Games Showcase
Amy Hennig’s new game at Skydance New Media is a AAA narrative-driven Marvel ensemble featuring Black Panther (Azzuri - T’Challa’s grandfather), Captain America (a young Steve Rogers, Gabriel Jones (soldier and member of the Howling Commandos) and Nanali (leader of the Wakandan Sky Network). It’s an original story set in a WWII era where players play as all of the characters, and will travel to Paris, Wakanda and more.
Tron: Identity is a new visual novel adventure game by Bithell Games which follows a “detective program tasked with solving the mystery of an unprecedented crime”. The game is set to release in 2023 on PC and consoles.
Disney Speedstorm introduced a new cast of racers from Monsters Inc. including Sulley, Mike Wazowski, Celia Mae and Randall, in addition to a new themed track called “The Factory”. No specific release date has been set other than its “coming soon”.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns will officially release on December 2nd, 2022 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Marvel also announced a series of five short videos starting on October 31st that will “provide the backstory on the formation of the young core of the Midnight Suns”.
Marvel: World of Heroes is a new and upcoming Marvel-themed AR game developed by the Pokémon GO developer Niantic.
Ubisoft Forward
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is the next mainline AC game set to release in 2023. It features Basim Ibn Ishaq 20 years before the events of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, following his life in Baghdad going from thief to assassin. Mirage brings the Assassin’s Creed series back to its roots, focusing on stealth, parkour and assassinations.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will be receiving a free update called “The Last Chapter” that will tie up loose ends in Eivor’s story.
Assassin’s Creed: Codename RED is an open-world RPG set in feudal Japan that will feature a more dynamic and evolving world. It’s being developed by the team behind Assassin’s Creed Odyssey for next-generation consoles only.
Assassin’s Creed: Codename HEXE is a different style of AC game departing from its RPG elements. The game will likely feature the witch trials of the Holy Roman Empire and is being created by Clint Hocking.
Assassin’s Creed: Codename Jade is a “AAA RPG action-adventure game for mobile platforms” set in an ancient period of China. It will be a free-to-play title where players can create their own custom assassin.
Assassin’s Creed Invictus: A stand-alone multiplayer project currently being developed.
Assassin’s Creed x Netflix: Ubisoft has partnered with Netflix to make an exclusive mobile game and a live-action Assassin’s Creed series.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope received a new gameplay trailer and confirmation that Rayman will be joining the cast in one of the three planned future DLCs.
Skull and Bones showed off a new action-packed trailer filled with new weapon reveals. The game is set to release on November 8 for current gen consoles and PC.
Cyberpunk 2077 - First Expansion
CD Projekt Red announced that they will be releasing Phantom Liberty, a spy-thriller expansion for Cyberpunk 2077 set in an all new district of Night City. The games first expansion is arriving in 2023 to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Stadia.
Cyberpunk 2077 fans are excited for the expansion but CD Projekt Red said in a YouTube comment that Phantom Liberty is their only planned expansion. Since Cyberpunks’ initial release in December 2022, the game has only received bug fixes and smaller-scale updates. Unfortunately, Phantom Liberty won’t be available on PS4 or Xbox One and Patch 1.6 will be the last major update for those consoles.
Keanu Reeves will be reprising his role as Johnny Silverhand. According to game director Gabriel Amatengelo, “It's a new style of plot […] a new cast of characters, expanding on a new district in Night City where it primarily takes place”. CD Projekt Red also said the next major update will be story-focused that ties into the upcoming Cyberpunk Edgerunners anime show.
Esports Corner
BLAST will be officially hosting the first CS:GO Major of the 2023 season, an event taking place in Paris, France this Spring. BLAST has been an influential tournament organizer in the competitive CS:GO scene for more than half a decade but this is their first time hosting a Major - a feat they’ve often said would happen “when the time was right”.
Overwatch League fans have every reason to be excited because Chris Puckett is officially coming back to host the Overwatch League starting with the Overwatch League 2022 Summer Showdown. As one of the most recognizable hosts and casters in the esports industry, it’s extremely exciting to see him make a return to a competitive scene he was a major part of.
ESL Impact, the female competitive CS:GO circuit is about to kick start the second season of their league and two heavyweight organizations have just broken into the European scene, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Astralis. Both orgs announced their new female CS:GO rosters, with Astralis signing the former Ambush core and NiP building a team around the GODSENT trio and two former Copenhagen Flames stars.
With Call of Duty Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2 right around the corner, the last hoorah for this season's iteration of the World Series of Warzone has officially come to an end, concluding with major events in both North America and Europe.
Hisoka, Mayappo and Skullface won the NA World Series of Warzone trios while Waartex, BBLade and savyultras90 won the EU World Series of Warzone trios.
Fifakill (NA) and BBlade (EU) are the Solo Yolo Drop Champions.
Gaming Roundup
Tencent Holdings Ltd. is buying a 49.9% stake in Ubisoft holding company Guillemot Brothers Ltd for €200 million plus an additional €100 million investment.
Deadrop, the vertical extraction shooter from Midnight Society, has delayed their second game snapshot in an effort to maintain employee work-life balance.
Battlefield remains a priority for EA as they’re “all-in” on the franchise. Ridgeline Games is now developing a narrative campaign set in the Battlefield universe.
Tyler “Ninja” Blevins will now be streaming simultaneously on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook Gaming, YouTube, Twitch and Twitter.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 pre-orders have been canceled by Xbox and refunded as the release has been postponed to an unconfirmed date.
Christopher Sean, the voice and personality behind Gotham Knights Nightwing told the Weekly Recon what it’s like to play a DC Superhero in an exclusive interview.
Call of Duty Warzone Mobile, formerly known as Project Aurora, was officially announced ahead of this weeks “COD: Next” event.
On This Day
Last week, some legendary video games celebrated their release anniversaries.
September 6th, 2017, Bungie released Destiny 2.
September 7th, 2018, Insomniac Games released Marvel’s Spider-Man.
September 9th, 2014, Bungie released Destiny.
September 10th, 2019, The Coalition released Gears 5.
September 10th, 2002, DICE released Battlefield 1942.
September 11th, 1977, Atari released the Atari 2600.
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