A new Nintendo Switch is reportedly heading into production, while $70 AAA games may become the norm, in this week’s recap of games industry news. 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 week in games.
In this week’s roundup of gaming news, The Sinking City developer has issued a DMCA takedown request against its own game due to, what is essentially, corporate-level piracy. A new insider report indicates a new Nintendo Switch model may enter production later on this year. Epic Games acquires the Fall Guys developer, while Apple is once again under investigation for “anti-competitive behavior” in the UK. Take-Two Interactive’s CEO believes consumers are “ready” for $70 games. The controversial Hogwarts Legacy developer is leaving Avalanche Software after vocal fan feedback. All that and more in this week’s roundup of games industry news.
Unusually, The Sinking City finds itself embroiled in controversy early this week as its Steam releases is reportedly “pirated.” According to developer Frogwares, the game’s french publisher Nacon had illegally purchased, re-worked, and uploaded a version of The Sinking City to Steam without Frogwares knowledge or permission.
In a YouTube video and extensive blog post uploaded by the marketing manager Sergey Oganesyan, Forgwares details exactly how Nacon acquired and uploaded an illegally distributed copy of The Sinking City. According to Oganesyan, this distribution of a hacked The Sinking City copy on Steam was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back. Frogwares has been in constant conflict after a year of trouble with Nacon’s refusal of payment, as well as the theft of Frogwares’ IP on other occassions.
According to a report by Bloomberg, rumors of a new Nintendo Switch model may have been true. Bloomberg’s report states that Nintendo has partnered with Samsung to issue Switch consoles with a larger seven inch OLED display, similarly capable of 720p resolution, for distribution later this year. People familiar with the internal proceedings allege that just under a million new Switch consoles will be produced with this new tech by, at the earliest, June of 2021.
The OLED display will supposedly be capable of consuming less battery power on mobile, alongside providing players with higher contrast and potentially faster screen response time as well. This report also alleges that the newer Switch model will also be capable of 4K output when docked.
Epic Games has made the decision to acquire developer Mediatonic, responsible for the popular platforming battle royale Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout. Ever since its explosion in popularity last summer, thanks to PlayStation Plus and Twitch, Fall Guys has seen enduring success with its seasonal content. This came in the wake of rumors back in early February stating that a Fall Guys x Fortnite crossover leak was bringing cosmetics to both games.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority agency has launched an investigation against Apple under the basis of anti-competitive behavior. This news comes in the wake of the ongoing legal battle between Apple and Epic Games, sparked by Fortnite‘s removal from the iOS app store. The UK’s CMA will be investigating to determine if Apple’s restrictive behavior on the iOS app store as a dominant position, and whether that can be considered a “stranglehold” on consumer choice and mobile developers.
Government officials from the CMA have cited numerous complaints, aside from Epic Games’ legal battle, that instigated this investigation. Multiple companies had filed anti-competitive complaints against Apple, noting that the over-30-percent revenue split is restrictive.
From the publisher behind franchises like Grand Theft Auto, NBA 2K, and more, Take-Two Interactive’s CEO believes $70 price tags are fair for AAA games now. Citing NBA 2K21, which reportedly had very successful sales despite consumer objections to the price increase, CEO Strauss Zelnick believes gaming fans are ready to shell out $70 as the industry-standard AAA game price.
It’s worth noting that several other publishers are following suit with this price increase, including Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade and Returnal on PS5.
Bungie intends to expand the Destiny universe beyond the games, as evidenced by the many notable new members of Bungie’s board of directors. ViacomCBS’ Pamela Kaufman joined the board of directors, possibly hinting at an expansion of Destiny to a televised show or series. Kaufman’s expertise working on brands like Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, CBS, Showtime, and Paramount Pictures implies Kaufman’s television brand experience may transfer over to Destiny multimedia quite well.
Troy Leavitt, the controversial lead designer behind Hogwarts Legacy, has resigned from their position at Avalanche Software. Leavitt did not elaborate on the reasoning behind their departure, only that his relationship with Avalanche Software and WB Games was on good terms and that Leavitt resigned for their own reasons. This comes in the wake of knowledge spreading of Leavitt’s YouTube channel, full of videos spreading sentiments of anti-feminisim and GamerGate rhetoric.
Hogwarts Legacy has been the subject of plenty of controversy from several exterior sources, mainly the transphobic sentiments expressed by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. In response, Hogwarts Legacy intends to include transgender character creation options, pushing against Rowling’s comments in the name of inclusivity.
The latest Need for Speed game has been delayed, as EA ramps up production on the upcoming Battlefield title launching later this year. Criterion Games, the development team behind the latest Need for Speed project, has been tapped to assist DICE with Battlefield‘s development. As a result, Need for Speed will be delayed out of 2021, with a vague release window of 2022.
EA’s chief studios officer, Laura Miele, mentioned that racing fans can still look forward to Codemasters’ next racing release in 2021. Miele also reiterated that Need for Speed is not in any development trouble and has not been cancelled, only delayed to meet Battlefield‘s demanding development while developing remotely.
After several betas and player feedback, Arc System Works made the decision to delay Guilty Gear Strive to June of this year. Citing vocal feedback against the game’s online lobby system, as well as netcode and server stability, Guilty Gear Strive will now release on June 11, 2021. Among other balance changes like Giovanna’s infinite combo, the surprising delay means there will be time to implement additional systemic changes alongside roster balance changes.
For the first time, Twitch has filed a “transparency report” based on last year that goes in-depth on how Twitch handles community safety and terms of service. Twitch’s report for 2020 includes a number of statistics related to channel and viewer moderation, as well as in-depth statistics on banned creators/content/etc. Twitch has often been criticized by the community and its creators for lack of transparency, which this report is an attempt to address directly.
Square Enix has partnered with Forever Entertainment S.A. to provide more higher-level remakes of classic video games. Responsible for the Panzer Dragoon Remake in 2020, Forever Entertainment also has the Panzer Dragoon 2 Zwei: Remake slated for release later this year. Square Enix has reportedly licensed one gaming IP in particular to Forever Entertainment for remakes, though it’s unclear what IP in particular Forever Entertainment may be working on in the future.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced its nominees for its 2021 Game Awards, including titles ranging from Hades to The Last of Us Part Two. Among the 18 gaming-specific categories at the BAFTA awards, there are tons of 2020’s defining games in each category. EE Game of the Year nominees include Animal Crossing, Call of Duty: Warzone, Ghost of Tsushima, Hades, The Last of Us Part Two, and Valorant.
In particular, The Last of Us Part Two once again breaks records for the most BAFTA award nominations of any given game, with 13 nominated categories.
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