The UK seems to be in the grip of multiple heatwaves right now; like the economy (oho, satire!), they’re advancing and receding with clockwork regularity.
The world of gaming news is much the same; while there are days when not much happens, they’ll often be followed by flurries of activity, and it can be hard to keep up with what’s going on.
That, of course, is where we come in! As usual, we’re about to embark on our weekly summary of the world of gaming news, so without further ado, let’s get started!
Donkey Kong Bananza is being made by the Mario Odyssey team
This week, we learned exactly which of Nintendo’s many nebulous development teams is behind the upcoming 3D platformer Donkey Kong Bananza, and it’s an exciting one indeed.
It turns out that the team behind 2017’s smash hit Super Mario Odyssey is the one working on Bananza, so you can probably expect the same level of quality (although that’s pretty much a given with Nintendo).
Just to remind you, Donkey Kong Bananza is due out for the Switch 2 on July 17th, so make sure you’ve got that date in your calendar if you want to play this one.
Nexus Mods will soon require you to verify your age
If you’re in the UK or the EU and you want to use Nexus Mods, you’ll soon be required to verify your age with the website in accordance with legislation.
Contrary to what you might think, this change is nothing to do with the site’s new leadership; instead, it’s about complying with legal requirements, and it would have happened even if the popular modding platform hadn’t changed hands recently.
It’s also worth noting that if you’re not in an area that requires you to verify your age to engage with certain content, then you won’t notice any changes.
Subnautica 2’s developer has had a change of leadership
Unknown Worlds, the studio behind the upcoming Subnautica 2, has had a change of leadership, according to its parent company Krafton.
The publisher says that Steve Papoutsis, who’s the current CEO of The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance, has joined Unknown Worlds as its new leader.
Former execs Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire have departed the company “effective immediately”, although Krafton says it “sought to keep” the three on board and involved with the game’s development.
Ubisoft executives found guilty of harassment
As reported by UK publication The Guardian, three former Ubisoft executives have been found guilty of what the paper calls “enabling a culture of sexual and psychological harassment”.
The three execs, namely Guillaume Patrux, Serge Hascoët, and Thomas François, were all handed suspended sentences of varying lengths, as well as fines of varying severity.
The convictions may not come as much of a comfort to the three execs’ victims, but it is good to see some form of justice being served, at the very least.
Microsoft lays off thousands of employees, including at Xbox
This week was a pretty bad week to be an Xbox worker, as Microsoft laid off thousands of employees across the company, many of whom were part of its gaming division.
Affected studios included Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10, as well as Rare, where ongoing project Everwild was cancelled by studio bosses.
Additionally, Microsoft’s Perfect Dark reboot was shut down, and its developer The Initiative closed its doors. Suffice it to say this is a huge, sweeping wave of layoffs that’s bound to have a massive impact on the company and its employees.
Neil Druckmann steps down from The Last of Us…well, the TV show, anyway
The Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann has stepped down from his role on the TV show, claiming he wants to spend more time with his studio Naughty Dog.
Druckmann says he’s stepping down before any “meaningful” work starts on the show’s third season, which is expected to mirror the second half of The Last of Us: Part II.
He’ll return to Naughty Dog as it ramps up production on the upcoming Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, although it’s probably going to be a while before the game is actually released.
Ready or Not developer clarifies controversial changes
This week, Ready or Not fans expressed anger at the possibility that the game had been changed or censored to accommodate its upcoming console release, and that changes to the PC version had been made in kind.
Developer Void Interactive subsequently took to Steam to address these concerns, claiming that only a handful of changes had been made and that the studio had complied with the “letter” of regulations rather than the spirit.
The scope of the changes does seem pretty minor to us, but there’s almost certainly a section of the community to whom any changes whatsoever are unacceptable.
Helldivers 2 is coming to Xbox in August
Xbox announced this week that Helldivers 2 is finally coming to Xbox Series X|S, more than a year after the original game’s launch on PS5.
While all eyes remained on layoffs, studio closures, and project cancellations at Xbox, the company quietly revealed that Helldivers 2 will arrive on its current-gen hardware on August 26th.
Interestingly enough, that’s the same day that Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 comes to PS5, so it’s entirely possible that some kind of deal was struck between Sony and Microsoft behind the scenes.
Anthem will shut down in 2026
It feels like it’s been a long time coming, but this week, EA and BioWare announced that their much-maligned live-service shooter Anthem will finally shut down next year.
The game’s servers will close on January 12th, so you’ve got until then to get your last few games in if you want to.
When it launched in 2019, Anthem was criticised for its lack of depth and developer BioWare’s seeming inexperience in the live-service genre, and it feels to us like the two studios never really made the effort required to turn the game’s fortunes around.
