Just when we thought the UK had escaped the worst (or best, depending on your perspective) of the hot weather this summer, another heatwave sweeps in and knocks everyone off their sun loungers.
Well, the weather outside might be scorching, but we’ve got plenty of fresh gaming news from the week gone to take a look at, so don’t worry if you’re not the outdoorsy type.
Here are the highlights of the week starting June 23rd in the world of gaming!
Peak is a very popular climbing game indeed
If you’ve paid attention to the world of Twitch or YouTube recently, you’re probably aware of Peak, a climbing game that emphasises physics and co-operation.
Well, it turns out that plenty of other people are also aware of the game created by Landfall and Aggro Crab (billing themselves as “Landcrab”, endearingly), as it reached two million copies sold this week.
Both studios say that they’re contemplating regular updates for Peak, but they don’t know exactly what form those updates will take yet, so if you’re waiting for new features to be added, you might be waiting for a while.
Dune: Awakening has also passed a big sales mark
It’s not just Peak enjoying success on Steam, mind you. Funcom’s Dune: Awakening has also managed to surpass a big sales milestone, in this case a million copies, this week.
The studio says that the milestone makes Dune: Awakening its fastest-selling game; according to Funcom, it took Conan Exiles “one year to reach this number”.
The future looks pretty bright for Dune: Awakening, then, with console ports on the horizon and plenty of updates coming in the next few months.
MindsEye developer Build a Rocket Boy is laying off employees
A report emerged this week suggesting that Build a Rocket Boy, the studio behind the disastrous MindsEye, is laying off some of its employees.
That report was subsequently confirmed by the studio to IGN, with a Build a Rocket Boy spokesperson saying that the developer is “initiating a formal consultation process that may result in redundancies”.
Essentially, that seems to us to be corporate-speak for “we are laying off staff”, although the studio stopped short of saying exactly how many employees would be affected, which is pretty typical for this kind of announcement.
Jurassic World Evolution 3 ditches generative AI
When Jurassic World Evolution 3’s release date was announced earlier this month, it was also revealed that the game would be using generative AI portraits for its scientist characters.
This week, however, it was confirmed that Frontier would no longer be using the technology for the game, which is good news for anyone who wants to see actual human artists paid for good work.
If you’ve missed the generative AI controversy, there’s a lot of talk about how the tech may leave human artists out of a job, and how images or text generated through AI are often mediocre or nonsensical.
Little Nightmares 3 is releasing in October
October is probably the best month possible for Bandai Namco’s upcoming spookfest Little Nightmares 3, and lo and behold, that’s exactly when the game is coming out.
The studio, as well as developer Supermassive Games, announced the release date this week, alongside a remastered version of the original Little Nightmares with upgraded visuals and performance.
Little Nightmares 3 will see two protagonists, Low and Alone, making their way through one of the series’ signature creepy environments as they seek to escape a realm known as the Nowhere.
Xbox is probably about to be hit by layoffs
According to a new report this week, Xbox is about to engage in major staff cuts which could also see some studios closing down. Old habits die hard, we suppose.
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier says the cuts are scheduled to start this week, and that they’ll be “big”, although we don’t know how many people will be affected yet (again).
Last year, Xbox came under fire for closing down Hi-Fi Rush studio Tango Gameworks, as well as Arkane Austin, the developer behind the much-maligned Redfall. The former was eventually snapped up by PUBG’s Krafton.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II comes to PS5 in August
This week, Xbox and Ninja Theory announced the release date for action-adventure game Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II on PS5, as well as the enhanced version of the game on Xbox and PC.
Launching on August 12th, Hellblade II will arrive on PS5 with all of the new features that are also coming to other platforms, including a new performance mode for better frame rates, as well as a new game mode.
If you grab the Deluxe Edition of the game, you’ll also get a PS5-optimised version of the original Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, so if you missed out on experiencing the original story the first time around, you’re in luck.
Sony has announced its latest round of PS Plus Essential games
It’s PlayStation Plus’ fifteenth anniversary, and to celebrate, Sony is releasing a special batch of…nah, we’re just kidding. The three games coming to PS Plus this month don’t feel particularly unique on that front.
PS5 and PS4 gamers are getting Diablo IV and King of Fighters XV to enjoy, and Don’t Nod’s climbing game Jusant (there’s a lot of it about right now, eh?) is also coming to PS Plus, but only for PS5 players.
We have to admit, we were hoping for something a little more unusual, but hey, if you’ve yet to experience these games, then there’s not much to complain about, really.
Riot has opened up betting sponsorships for esports
Tier 1 esports teams playing Riot Games’ titles League of Legends and Valorant will now be allowed to seek sponsorships from sports betting companies, the studio announced this week.
Esports lead John Needham says the move was made because esports betting is essentially going to happen whether Riot participates or not, and so the studio decided it was better to be involved.
Lower-tier teams still won’t be able to seek esports betting sponsorships, but Needham says some of the revenue generated by this initiative will trickle down to Tier 2 teams.
