Developers Were Direct In Xbox’s New Showcase

Microsoft’s Xbox Developer Direct showed off updates on a few new titles. We got our first look at MachineGames’ Indiana Jones game, The Great Circle, that’s coming out this year surprisingly.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II got its release date, dropping May 21st.

Obsidian’s next RPG epic, Avowed, is confirmed for Fall this year. There was a “deep dive” on the game shown at the Direct.

Square Enix showed up to talk Visions of Mana, the next Mana title after a decade. They also showed off a nice chunk of new info.

And finally, Ara: History Untold, a Civilization-like game made by people who worked on the classic series.

2024 is Already Rocky in the Layoffs Department

A variety of layoffs have transpired in the past while, including

• Discord laying off 17% of their staff.
• Google has released “hundreds” of staff from their Google Assistant team.
• Behaviour Interactive of Dead by Daylight fame has cut “around 45 people”.
• Unity laid off 1,800 staff even after releases in November last year.
• Twitch laid off 35% of their staff, following multiple layoffs last year.

Layoffs continue to happen at an intense rate in our industry, and most of it can be attributed to poor management and overhiring.

And Yet, Games Continue to be Made

Even though they let go of a few people, Behaviour Interactive was also able to put out a new season of Dead by Daylight content. This time around, famous writer Alan Wake will be joining the game as a survivor.

Xbox and PC exclusive Hi-Fi Rush has been rated for Xbox One, PS4, and Switch.

The Golden Sun GBA games have been added to Switch Online + Expansion Pack.

Sometimes Good Things Happen!

NCSOFT, rights holders of City of Heroes, have given full license to Homecoming, a CoH fan server, to officially run the servers with their support.

Eddy Gordo has been confirmed as the first DLC character for Tekken 8.

A debug version of Persona 5 has leaked onto the Internet Archive. A few things have been dug up so far, including unfinished versions of iconic music from the game.

…But Also, Dumb Things Happen Too

For some genius reason, all heroes will now have a self-healing passive ability in Overwatch 2 next season.

Square Enix said that they used AI art for in-game icons in their upcoming title Foamstars.

Also, the Apple Vision Pro launches today, here’s Geoff wearing it.

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What A Thrill. . .

Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater (pronounced “Delta”) has been announced. This remake has been described by the development team to be a “faithful recreation of the original story and game design” with evolution to both gameplay and visuals. Konami has confirmed that this remake will use the original voice cast for Snake Eater. This will mark David Hayter’s return to voice Naked Snake since Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker in 2013.

Alongside this announcement comes the news of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Volume 1. This first volume will include the original Metal Gear Solid with VR Missions included alongside the HD Collection versions of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. PSN has confirmed that this volume will also include the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. One small note is that Konami stated there would be “minimal edits to copyrighted content,” which most likely pertains to the stock footage used in some cutscenes. Konami Spain has confirmed that this would collection would also see a physical release when the game releases Autumn 2023 for PS5, PC, and Xbox One.

Back In The New York Groove

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be releasing later this fall for PS5. Insomniac’s follow up to the 2018 open world game features several new villains and mechanics for players to immerse themselves in. The trailer shows Kraven the Hunter planning to invade New York City and hunt down various Marvel heroes and villains. This plan leads them to hunt down Dr. Connors – The Lizard – but not without a fight from Peter Parker. This game will also incorporate the alien Symbiote, so expect an appearance from Venom in this sequel. Gameplay features the chance to play as both Parker and Miles Morales in different sections of the game along with an updated UI. Further news will develop in anticipation of this sequel’s 2023 release.

The Other PlayStation News

Other announcements from the showcase include Bungie’s Marathon, a Tarkov-styled shooter set in space, a first for Bungie. Square Enix has Final Fantasy XVI releasing June 22nd along with the announcement of Foamstars, a new area-based shooter akin to Splatoon. I’m sure the SMP freaks will love this one! Capcom’s letting the real heads know what’s up by releasing custom skins and other pre-order bonus content for Street Fighter 6 along with another trailer for Dragon’s Dogma 2. Revenant Hill is a game about Twigs the cat needing to pay rent and building a community in 1919. This is the first game by The Glory Society, a co-op studio founded by Night in the Woods co-creators Bethany Hockenberry and Scott Benson which will be available for both PS4 and PS5. You can catch the other releases from this showcase below.

Truly More Like Nintendon’t

Nintendo’s put out a new firmware update for the 3DS and it’s primed to take hackers down. The update Ver. 11.17.0-50 released on Monday, with hacking groups noticing this update ruined many documented methods to homebrew the handheld. However, community members have quickly been able to document what options are available for 3DS owners post-update. With the closure of the e-shop earlier this year, the 3DS’s ease to hack has been all the more appreciated. Maybe Nintendo will take a hint about library access given how it’s still easy to hack the dang thing.

Nintendo also blocked an indie game about mischievous little guys because it might teach kids about gambling (it doesn’t). Sunshine Shuffle is a game about playing Texas Hold ‘Em with a group of bank robbers. Xalavier Nelson Jr., developer of the game, has talked at length about Nintendo blocking the store page on accusation of teaching kids how to gamble, something Nintendo definitely doesn’t want happening. Sunshine Shuffle is available on Steam, so go ahead and give these adorable critters some love!

Life Is Strange, Unfortunately Layoffs Aren’t

In more pressing news, Deck Nine, developers of 2021’s Life is Strange: True Colors, laid off 30 members of its staff. Narrative designer Elizabeth Ballou tweeted about the layoffs on May 19th noting that several leads were affected as well. This news comes ahead of their next game in collaboration with Telltale Games, The Expanse: A Telltale Series, set to release in July. While no reason for the layoffs has been given, the studio states that those affected are “talented people who did nothing wrong,” for whatever that’s worth. Solidarity to the leads who chose to take the brunt of this impact, and best of luck to them getting back on their feet.

In More Hopeful Worker’s News

Unions! Successful ones are becoming more prevalent, so here’s updates on two that have moved forwards! Paizo, the studio that creates TTRPGs such as Pathfinder, has made a tentative agreement with their union. The union will be meeting in the coming weeks to go over the contract and potentially approve of it.

Similarly, Bandcamp has formed their own union, the first union under Epic Games. Bandcamp’s union still needs to be recognized and negotiation must still occur, but this is a major step towards a fair work environment at the best place to buy music on the web.

A Marvelous News Update

Marvelous Inc. released their own game showcase on Thursday. This presentation mentions a Story of Seasons entry with potential multiplayer features in the near future. We also saw news about Rune Factory: PROJECT DRAGON, a spinoff of the franchise with a traditional Japanese aesthetic, as well as a true Rune Factory 6. Fashion Dreamer is a design game made by the creators of the original Style Savvy series set to release later this year. In new IP developments, Loop8: Summer of Gods is a JRPG with a “unique, emotional AI” that will respond to the actions and decisions you make in game. Loop8 is set to release June 6th with Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life and Rune Factory 3 Special also slated for release this year. Tune into the showcase below to see what other news might pique your interest! We’ve certainly got folks on staff who know their way around a farm sim or JRPG.

Looks Like We’re Gonna Have to Wishlist on Steam!

Dangeresque: The Roomisode Triungulate! will be available to play later this summer. Play as Dangeresque, Strong Bad’s famous action movie persona, as you point and click your way through various trials and tribulations. This will feature the original flash game released in 2008 with full voice over and revamped scenes. Two other “roomisodes” will also be available, sure to be chock full of thrills, chills, and totally authentic stunts! The game will release on Steam, itch.io, and “maybe iOS.” Be ready to fight the law, and also fight the crime but not as much. Dangeresque!

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