Major gaming event season is now officially over, and the temperatures are really starting to draw in, so you know what that means: it’s autumn at last.
Of course, just because there aren’t any big shows to look forward to doesn’t mean that there’s nothing happening in the world of gaming. Far from it, in fact; there’s plenty going on to pore over if you’re a news fanatic.
Without further ado, then, let’s have a look at what’s been happening this week in the gaming world!
Football Manager 25 gets a release date
Sega and Sports Interactive’s long-awaited management sim Football Manager 25 got itself a release date this week, so you won’t have to wait long to start planning your league-winning strategies.
As revealed towards the start of the week, Football Manager 25 launches “from November 26th”, which is Sega’s way of saying the launch will be staggered, with different platforms getting the game at different times.
Consoles and PC will get FM25 on that date, as will mobile devices, and the Switch will follow in December. We told you it wouldn’t be long!
October’s Xbox Game Pass lineup revealed
The first few games coming to Xbox Game Pass this month were revealed this week, and while there aren’t too many, you should still have some meaty adventures to chew on.
First, Xbox Game Pass Standard is getting MLB The Show 24 and Open Roads, both of which are technically already available on other Game Pass tiers.
Following that, you’ll get to play horror card game Inscryption, brawler Mad Streets, and martial-arts actioner Sifu early this month, and more games are likely to hit the service in mid-October as well.
Hi-Fi Rush 2 was already in the works when Microsoft canned Tango
According to a GamesIndustry.biz report this week, a sequel to rhythm-character-action game Hi-Fi Rush was already in the works when Microsoft shut down developer Tango Gameworks.
Tango was subsequently acquired, along with the Hi-Fi Rush IP, by none other than Krafton, whose name you’ll hear again in a moment, and Krafton corporate development head Maria Park confirmed the sequel’s status in the GamesIndustry interview.
Park also says that the build had been in development for about six months, and that the plan under Krafton is essentially just to let Tango continue working on the sequel. You’re good people, Krafton.
Poppy Playtime Chapter 4 is coming in January
This week, Poppy Playtime developer Mob Entertainment confirmed that the fourth chapter of the Five Nights at Freddy’s-esque horror game is coming to PC in January.
The fourth chapter of the game will apparently be its darkest yet, and will once again see players exploring the Playtime Co. factory, which has been the setting of previous Poppy Playtime chapters as well.
You can expect new characters, more Poppy Playtime lore, and more “mind-bending puzzles”.
Palworld is getting a mobile version
Palworld has found itself in the news rather a lot lately, what with Nintendo’s patent infringement lawsuit and the surprise PlayStation 5 launch last week.
Well, this week, the game found itself appearing in the cycle again when Krafton, the publisher behind hits like PUBG: Battlegrounds, announced it’s working on a Palworld mobile adaptation.
The announcement, which is currently only available on Krafton’s Korean website, declares that Palworld on mobile will be faithful to the original and will encapsulate what makes the game fun. We can only hope.
Starfield’s DLC isn’t exactly wowing fans
This week saw the release of Starfield expansion Shattered Space, and it’s not exactly wowing fans of the game; in fact, it’s arguably failed to bring them back in significant numbers.
Prior to the expansion’s launch, Steam numbers for Starfield routinely peaked at around 12,000 players per day, and Shattered Space saw that number jump to around 21,000.
That’s a leap, of course, but it’s not a big enough leap to suggest that those who feel their time with Starfield is done have seen anything in Shattered Space to change their minds. The Steam reviews suggest that’s the case, too.
A new Avatar: The Last Airbender RPG is in the works
IGN reported this week that a brand new RPG based on Nickelodeon’s animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender is in the works.
The game will apparently star a completely new cast of characters and will tell a story that’s “never-before-seen” in the property’s world, which is exciting if you’re looking for something that isn’t a direct adaptation.
Details about the game are thin on the ground right now, but we do know that it’s being worked on by Saber Interactive and published by Paramount Game Studios, so it’s got a decent pedigree behind it, at least.
Ubisoft’s Guillemots and Tencent considering a private buyout, apparently
A Bloomberg report appeared this week, suggesting that Ubisoft’s bosses the Guillemots, along with Tencent, are considering a private buyout of the company.
Supposedly, this relatively drastic move is being considered in response to a number of shareholder complaints that involve poor management and structural issues at the company.
It should be stressed that this is just a report right now, and that Ubisoft itself has, of course, not confirmed or denied any of the report’s contents, but it’s still food for thought when Ubisoft is apparently not doing so great.
Epic’s free games program will come to mobile
The mobile version of the Epic Games Store will get the same free games program that the PC version gets, a report this week by mobilegamer.biz confirmed.
The report cites Epic Store general manager Steve Allison as saying that the free games program will come alongside self-publishing tools and social features, all of which are on the way by the fourth quarter of this year.
Presumably, these features are being added in an effort to entice more mobile game developers onto the Epic Store, as it’s a relatively new storefront that doesn’t have the cachet of the Google Play Store or the standard Apple iOS store.
