Gaming For Everyone
E90: Microsoft discusses their strategy for the future of gaming.
Good morning gamers! In a recent blogpost by Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, he discussed their “Gaming for everyone, Everywhere” philosophy. He noted that while Microsoft loves consoles, it’s not the only way to game. The largest and fastest growing market is mobile platforms and Microsoft is committed to helping make gaming more accessible to all players. This is done through Game Pass (making gaming more affordable) and Cloud Gaming streaming (bringing games to mobile and non-console devices).
Spencer also restated their commitment to making Call of Duty available on all platforms the same day globally, and the importance of enabling people to play with each other across platforms and devices. He also noted that once the Activision Blizzard deal closes, they “intend to make Activision Blizzard’s much-loved library of games – including Overwatch, Diablo and Call of Duty – available in Game Pass and to grow those gaming communities”.
Xbox Game Pass Family and Friends is the newest addition to the subscription service which allows you, and up to four players to enjoy Game Pass Ultimate for €21.99. Each member gets their own individual account regardless of where they live, how they play, when they play and what they play.
Interesting comments by Microsoft Studios head Matt Booty during a Q&A session at PAX 2022.
He’s most excited for the upcoming AAA first-party RPG by inXile Entertainment (codenamed Project Cobalt).
He wants to show off Fable but the team won’t allow it until it's ready. All the craft and dedication that Playground Games brought to Forza Horizon, “every bit of it will be applied to Fable”.
His favorite parts of Starfield are the “building your own spaceships” and the “late 70s sci-fi, NASA punk” art design.
Rebooting Perfect Dark for the modern day had to be done “very carefully” because games like that don’t always age well. Describes it as a cross between The Bourne Identity and James Bond.
NetEase Games acquires Quantic Dream
Quantic Dream is officially joining NetEase Games. NetEase Games became a minority shareholder in Quantic Dream in January 2019, when they began closely collaborating on several projects. While working together, both companies came to the realization that they share a similar vision for the future of gaming.
Quantic Dream CEO David Cage says that joining NetEase Games is part of their 25 year journey and that “we will retain our independence in terms of our editorial line, the artistic direction of our projects and the management of the studio”. They will continue to create video games on all platforms while supporting and publishing titles developed by third parties.
In March, industry insider Tom Henderson reported that Quantic Dream was struggling to hire developer talent and that Star Wars Eclipse would be delayed to 2027-2028. Henderson also said that they released the game announcement trailer early to show off their Star Wars IP and to attract potential buyers.
Here are some notable games that have been released by Quantic Dream.
Detroit: Become Human (2018)
Beyond: Two Souls (2013)
Heavy Rain (2010)
Fahrenheit (2005)
The Nomad Soul (1999)
Here are some games that are currently in development at Quantic Dream.
Star Wars Eclipse (Paris Studio)
Star Wars Eclipse Multiplayer (Montreal Studio)
The Dark Sorcerer (Paris Studio)
Competitive Style game (Paris Studio)
Unknown Mobile game (Paris Studio)
Esports Corner
🥇Congratulations to paiN Gaming for winning the ESL Challenger at DreamHack Melbourne 2022 and to JD Gaming for winning the LPL Pro League Summer 2022.
Earlier this summer the FaZe Clan merged with BRPM Corp so that they could be publicly traded on the NASDAQ, a step they expected to raise $218 million. A recent filing by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that they only ended up raising an estimated $100.2 million, with 12% of their 2021 revenue being from their GFuel partnership and 60% of their 2022 revenue being commercial revenue - further showing their reliance on sponsorship activity. This result will now cause a significant delay to FaZe’s acquisition and international expansion strategy.
Top YouTuber and streamer ‘Ludwig’ has officially announced the Ludwig Smash Invitational which will feature two separate Super Smash Bros. events, one for Melee and another for Ultimate. The event will take place in Las Vegas between October 21st-23rd where 24 players for each game will be invited to compete and then an additional 8 slots for each event will be available through a Last Chance Qualifier. Each event will have a $30,000 grand prize.
Gaming Roundup
Savage Game Studios has been acquired by PlayStation Studios. The studio will join a newly created PlayStation Studios Mobile Division.
Hangar 13 studio general manager Roman Hladik and head of production Tomáš Hrebíčekhas says they’re making “an all-new” Mafia game.
Embracer Group and Marvel are reportedly working on a deal to continue their partnership that extends beyond Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Facebook Gaming App for iOS and Android will no longer be available as of October 29th, viewers will now have to use the Facebook app.
SNK Playmore has had a new Fatal Fury/Garou game in development. The developers want the game to be perfect, Terry Bogard is confirmed to be in it.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage has been announced by Ubisoft. At 12:00 PM PT on September 10th at Ubisoft Forward they will reveal more information.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s campaign gameplay leaked online showcasing new vehicle mechanics and other minor details.
Sony Interactive Entertainment and Sixjoy Hong Kong, a subsidiary of Tencent, have acquired 14.09% and 16.25% stakes in FromSoftware.
Halo Infinite’s local co-op has now been canceled as 343 Industries have allocated studio resources to address player feedback and quality of life updates.
Dumb Money, a movie staring Seth Rogan, Paul Dano, Pete Davidson and Sebastian Stan will portray the rise and fall of GameStop in January 2021.
1047 Games is ending development for Splitgate and starting to work on a new F2P shooter with portals set in the Splitgate Universe built in Unreal Engine 5.
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