The gaming industry continues to ebb and flow with new developments, despite 2020 being a relatively strange year for video games. Game Rant has compiled some of the biggest gaming news stories from this past week together into a concise post for fans and enthusiasts to stay up to date on the most important events in the industry per week. Highlighting the most relevant stories, this list is not inherently and totally objective, and will not contain every news story this week. Rather, this is intended for gaming fans who want a quick rundown on the largest/most impactful stories that occurred in the last five days.
This week, news in the gaming industry has been a bit varied between good news and bad news. On a positive note, with the next-gen PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on the way, reviews and preview impressions of the next-gen consoles are now available from various media outlets and influencers. Bethesda Game Studios are promising some big improvements with its next-gen franchises like Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6. On the more negative side, there’s even more game delays on the way for Xbox fans. The iconic game company SEGA also has some disappointing news for arcade fans. Here’s the biggest news from the gaming industry of the week.
While consumers can’t get their hands on the next-gen consoles until next week, media outlets and influencers have posted their respective reviews for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles. Alongside the impressions of previewers on the next-gen consoles, there’s also a ton of new information about both consoles coming out as well. Here are some news highlights:
- Storage sizes have been confirmed: PS5 has 667 GB free after OS install and Astro’s Playroom pre-installed, Xbox Series X has 802 GB free after OS install, and Xbox Series S has 364 GB free after OS install
- Limited storage expansion: Both consoles will have the capability to expand storage with additional drives, but not right away. PS5 has an extra M2 SSD slot available for storage expansion, but there is no software capability at the moment to expand storage. Xbox Series X can expand storage at launch, but requires specific expansion cards that can run consumers up an additional $200.
- Loading times: Loading times for third party (and largely backwards compatible) games have been tested and compared by numerous outlets, with Xbox Series X only a few seconds faster than PS5 in examples.
- HDMI capability: Both consoles are launching with HDMI 2.1 cables, perfectly capable for outputting of up to 4K (and potentially 8K) resolutions for games.
Additionally, retailers have also outlined plans for next-gen console availability. It is worth noting that, specifically for PS5, Sony has announced that all consoles will be available for sale online-only. No PS5 systems will be sold in person, with health concerns related to the pandemic being cited as the primary concern for PS5’s new sales plans. Microsoft has not made any kind of announcement, though it’s likely the Xbox Series X/S will follow suit based on retailers’ release plans.
Fresh on the release of Dirt 5, it seems Codemasters has attracted the eyes of publishers looking to add the racing game development studio under their portfolios. Most notably is Take-Two Interactive, the parent company behind Rockstar Games (Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption) and 2K Games (NBA 2K, Borderlands, BioShock). At the moment, it’s unclear if other publishers/companies are interested in acquiring the racing game developer at this time.
With Call of Duty: Warzone persisting despite subsequent Call of Duty releases, Activision has detailed how Warzone will be integrated with the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Initially, Black Ops Cold War and Warzone will remain separate entities up until December 10, which will then integrate player progression and sync between Black Ops Cold War, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and Warzone. On December 10, a season of unified progression will launch for all three games, and progress can be accumulated for the season regardless of which game is played at any specific time.
One of the last exclusive holdouts for the next-gen Xbox has been delayed into 2021, meaning the list of exclusives on launch becomes even lesser for Microsoft. Horror Game The Medium for Xbox Series X/S has been delayed to January 28, 2021, meaning there’s only one Xbox exclusive coming on launch that hasn’t been delayed. Tetris Effect: Connected is currently the only exclusive title for Xbox Series X/S headed for the two consoles on November 10. Interestingly enough, the development studio Bloober Team also cited the “current schedule of other games on the market,” possibly hinting that Cyberpunk 2077‘s delay may have impacted the game’s release.
New details from an interview with Todd Howard seem to indicate that big changes are coming to Bethesda Game Studios to prepare for Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6. According to Howard, both games will be utilizing an updated version of the Creation Engine, the same game development engine that’s been in use at Bethesda for years. These new engine updates supposedly promise a technical leap much greater than the difference between Morrowind and Oblivion. Boasting a variety of features like better procedural generation, improved NPC behavior, and greater cities, this new iteration of the Creation Engine has big plans for Bethesda’s next-gen games.
Microsoft continues to expand Xbox Game Pass to an even greater extent on November 10, thanks to Microsoft’s friends at EA. As of November 10, Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass for PC subscribers will be eligible to download and play all existing EA Play games under their existing Game Pass membership. That means games and series like Need for Speed Heat, Mass Effect, Skate 3, and Titanfall will become available to Game Pass members next week. Pre-loads for EA Play games are available now for Xbox and PC players.
Among numerous other hardships for the gaming company, SEGA has announced it’s withdrawing from the arcade business due to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic severely impacting the company’s profit health. In tandem with shutting down its world famous arcade in Akihabara, SEGA has suffered “extraordinary losses” this year, to the point where the company has requested over 600 employees to commit to voluntary retirement in order to cut costs.
Several ups and downs this week; As with every peak the gaming industry has had in 2020, a drastic fall has occurred as well, even on the heels of a new console generation.
To cap it all off, BioWare has confirmed that a remastered version of Mass Effect is coming in Spring 2021. Dubbed the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, the game aims to make the experience better on current platforms, with a few enhancements for next-gen through forward compatibility as well. It is not a remake, but at the same time, it really doesn’t have to be.
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