As the UK recovers from one of its most brutal heatwaves in recorded history, we’re here once again to bring you a roundup of what’s been going on in the gaming world this week (and, hopefully, to distract you from the heat!).
Just because the weather has been difficult, that doesn’t mean the industry has been at a standstill, so if you have been hoping for an action-packed news roundup this time around, we’ve got good news for you.
Grab whatever snacks or drinks you have to hand, pull up your most comfortable chair, and join us for this roundup of the gaming industry’s last seven days!
The Steam Machine has a release date…and a price
This week, Valve announced the release date and pricing for its Steam Machine, which is a sort of gaming PC geared for the living room. It’s going to cost you a pretty penny, it turns out.
The Steam Machine became available to sign up for on the 22nd, which was just a few days ago at time of writing, but here’s the kicker: the base model will set you back a staggering £879.
It’s all to do with the current spiralling RAM situation, and it’s not just Valve that’s struggling with it, but still, it’s hard to imagine all but the most dedicated making the leap at this point.
Sea of Thieves is getting a movie adaptation
If you were to pick one Xbox property that you would think could make a good movie, what would it be? If you answered Sea of Thieves, then congratulations: you’re apparently thinking on Microsoft’s wavelength.
That’s according to a new interview with Microsoft execs by Entertainment Weekly, in which it was confirmed that the Sea of Thieves movie does, in fact, exist, and that it’ll be produced by Spider-Man: Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton.
Beyond that, of course, we don’t know much about the production, and that’s unlikely to change until we get significantly closer to release. Don’t hold your breath for anything in the next couple of months, at least.
EA has been hit by another layoff wave
Unfortunately, what we’ve got next for you is more layoff news, and this time, it’s major publisher EA that has been hit by staff cuts, although not in the developer department.
As reported by Kotaku, EA’s “recruitment, customer support, trust and safety, and IT teams” have been subjected to layoffs, with remote US roles and Hyderabad office roles affected.
It doesn’t look as though the gaming industry’s current penchant for letting staff members go from otherwise successful companies is going to come to an end anytime soon, unfortunately.
Grand Theft Auto 6 will cost you £70 and won’t come on a disc
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Take-Two revealed how much you can expect to pay for upcoming behemoth Grand Theft Auto 6 this week, and while the price for the base game is relatively modest, there are some drawbacks.
GTA 6 will cost you £70 in the UK, which is about the same as most modern triple-A releases. However, the physical version won’t actually include a disc; instead, the game will come as part of a download code.
Not only that, but GTA 6 is locking some of its in-game shops behind a Premium Edition purchase, which, as you’ve probably guessed, will cost you more. That doesn’t feel great to us.
Xbox Series consoles are about to cost you much more
It’s not just the Steam Machine that’s about to cost more than you might expect, as Xbox announced this week that the Xbox Series X|S is getting another price increase.
As revealed on Xbox Wire, the Xbox Series X|S will be getting a $100 price increase for its 512GB model and a $150 increase for its 1TB model, with the 2TB model being sunsetted.
We can’t really imagine that many will be lining up to buy an Xbox in the current climate, and we doubt these price increases are about to make that a more attractive prospect.
“Most” of the Destiny 2 team has been laid off
We can’t say we didn’t see this coming, but it’s still a sad day. Sony and Bungie have laid off “most” of the Destiny 2 team, and some of the staffers working on Marathon have been affected by layoffs as well.
PlayStation CEO Hermen Hulst says it’s part of a review of Bungie’s “long-term direction, development priorities, resource needs, and role within [Sony’s] broader portfolio strategy”.
All of that seems to us to be a very corporate way of saying that Bungie isn’t pulling in the cash Sony wants it to, and so some staff members have to lose their jobs, as is becoming the norm in the industry.
The Switch 2 is now the second fastest-selling console in US history
Nintendo will no doubt be thrilled at the fact that the Switch 2 has cemented its place as the second fastest-selling gaming console in US history, arguably demonstrating that there’s a big audience for the device.
The report confirming the Switch 2’s dominance, which came from US analysts Circana, also revealed that both Sony and Microsoft had a pretty dismal May this year, with hardware sales falling by significant amounts for both.
That’s another reason, then, that raising the Xbox’s price seems like a poor decision, but if component prices are skyrocketing, then Microsoft’s hands are tied, we suppose.
Star Wars Eclipse could be in danger thanks to Quantic Dream layoffs
French studio Quantic Dream, known for games like Detroit: Become Human and Heavy Rain, is apparently planning to lay off over 100 staff, and developers at the studio have warned it could spell doom for Star Wars Eclipse.
One worker, who was on strike alongside other Quantic Dream developers when making the comments, said that finishing the game would be difficult without the 115 staff the studio is apparently planning to lay off.
Another said that the strike, far from being “sabotage”, was, in fact, an attempt to “save Star Wars Eclipse”. It sounds like the game is in trouble if Quantic Dream doesn’t shape up.
