Autumn (or fall if you’re in the US) isn’t quite in full swing yet, but the leaves are starting to fall from the trees and the temperatures are starting to drop, so it’s almost here.
If you’re a full-blooded advocate of spooky season, you’ll no doubt be delighted with the changing of the seasons, but if you prefer things to be warmer, you’re likely in a bit of a bad mood nowadays.
Well, why not let us cheer you up by recapping what’s been happening in the gaming world for the last week or so? Let’s get started!
Bungie switches up its Destiny 2 plans
Things haven’t exactly been peachy for Destiny 2 developer Bungie recently, and this week, the studio announced a pivot towards a different model for updates and expansions.
To mark Destiny 2’s tenth anniversary, Bungie announced this week that it would switch to releasing four updates and two expansions per year, and that the scope of those updates and expansions would be different.
Each expansion will be a slightly smaller proposition than the game’s existing major yearly expansions, and the new content will be more experimental as well, so if you’ve been getting bored of Destiny 2, this announcement’s for you.
An ex-Sony exec says something questionable
Would you believe us if we told you that corporate executive types probably don’t generally have their finger on the pulse of the gaming public?
Well, this week, we got a hefty dose of evidence in that direction thanks to ex-Sony exec Chris Deering, who suggested that those who’ve been hit by gaming layoffs should simply “drive an Uber”.
Talk about reading the room. He also said that he didn’t believe the layoffs were the result of “greed” and that if you’ve been laid off, you should “go to the beach for a year”.
Sony announces the PS5 Pro
Rumours have been swirling for quite some time, but this week, Sony finally made it official and announced the PlayStation 5 Pro, otherwise known as the PS5 Pro.
The PS5 Pro will feature improved graphical and technical performance when compared to the base console, and it’ll also have a 2TB SSD, so you shouldn’t run out of space quite so quickly.
Unfortunately, it’ll also come with a very hefty price tag indeed; it’ll cost you £700, and that’s before you’ve added the optional disc drive, which doesn’t come with the console as standard.
Layoffs, layoffs, layoffs
Yes, that’s right – it wouldn’t be a week in the modern gaming industry without studios losing employees, and sadly, there were several hundred layoffs across AAA and indie studios alike this week.
First, Embracer studio Lost Boys Interactive laid off “employees across several states” early in the week, and those layoffs were followed by staff reductions at Dr. Disrespect’s studio Midnight Society (he’s no longer at the studio).
Following that, Microsoft cut around 650 jobs across its corporate and support positions, mostly at Activision Blizzard. To cap it all, Penny’s Big Breakaway studio Evening Star announced layoffs late in the week as well.
Flappy Bird is back, but at what cost?
This week also saw the return of a questionable gaming icon in the form of Flappy Bird, the simple yet addictive mobile game that topped the charts around a decade ago.
Original game creator Dong Nguyen was quick to assure people that he had nothing to do with the game’s revival, and that he doesn’t “support crypto”, although the new game isn’t explicitly associated with cryptocurrency or anything Web3-related (as far as we know).
In any case, the new Flappy Bird will arrive on web browsers later this year, with an Android and iOS version also on the way sometime in 2025.
Annapurna Interactive’s entire gaming staff apparently quits
According to a report by Bloomberg’s reliable Jason Schreier, the entire gaming staff of indie publisher Annapurna Interactive reportedly left the company this week.
Schreier points to a statement made by ex-Annapurna exec Nathan Gary, who said that “all 25 members” of the studio’s gaming team “collectively resigned”.
An Annapurna spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company had been trying to spin itself off into its own entity, but that negotiations had broken down.
4A Games and Zen Studios won’t be joining Saber
When Saber Interactive was sold by former parent company Embracer, it was decided that Saber’s parent company Beacon (essentially an extension of Saber) would have the option to purchase 4A Games and Zen Studios.
However, this week, Embracer announced that Saber would not be pursuing this option, which means that the studios – best known for Metro and Pinball FX respectively – would remain under the Embracer umbrella.
4A Games apparently has two AAA games in development, and Embracer says it’s looking forward to announcing both projects. What could they be?
Tales of the Shire isn’t coming until 2025
Tales of the Shire, a cosy hobbit game that allows you to live your best life as a hobbit in the sleepy town of Bywater, isn’t coming out this year, it turns out.
The game previously had a tentative release window of 2024, but it’s now been delayed until early 2025 so that developer W?t? Workshop can get the details right.
If there’s one group of people that are notoriously difficult to please, it’s Lord of the Rings fans, so we can honestly say we completely understand this decision. Let’s just hope the game is better for it!
The Watch Dogs movie has finished filming
If you’ve been excited for the return of the Watch Dogs franchise, you’re not alone, and this week brought some exciting news on that front.
The Watch Dogs movie, which has been shooting since July, finished filming this week, with Ubisoft confirming the completion of shooting via X/Twitter.
We still don’t know exactly what the Watch Dogs movie is about or what the story will be, but we do at least know that the production seems to be progressing relatively smoothly.
