Doublejump Digest: May 20, 2018
This week in gaming: Microsoft reaches out to disabled gamers, Call of Duty embraces Battle Royale, Bethesda confirms RAGE 2, and more!
In the spirit of keeping our readers up-to-date with what’s going on in the video game industry, the Doublejump Digest is a brief collection of the major news stories that happened in the past week. Keep an eye out for the Digest every Sunday night, and head into the archive if you’ve missed any!
Major news releases:
Microsoft announces Xbox Adaptive controller optimised for accessibility:
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer recently took to the Xbox Wire blog to unveil the Adaptive Controller, which is designed specifically to allow players with physical disabilities to play their favourite games.
The new controller can work on its own and in combination “with common adaptive switches that gamers with limited mobility may already own”. The two large buttons on the controller’s top surface can also be reprogrammed via the Xbox Accessories app.
Spencer noted that Microsoft will discuss the Adaptive Controller further at E3 next month before revealing that it is slated to go on sale “later this year” for US$99.95. He did not announce an Australian price.
Black Ops 4 will be multiplayer-only, include a Battle Royale mode, and be exclusive to Battle.net:
During a special live stream last week, developer Treyarch Studios formally revealed its upcoming multiplayer shooter, confirming rumours that the game will not feature a traditional single-player campaign at all.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is set between the previous two Black Ops games and will feature the debut of a Battle Royale mode in the mainline Call of Duty series (China’s Call of Duty Online already features a similar mode). The mode is titled Blackout and echoes Fortnite: Battle Royale and PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS in pitting a large group of players against each other on a large map, but Studio Design Director David Vonderhaar told GameSpot that Treyarch has still not settled on a specific player count.
During the stream, the developer noted that Blackout’s exclusive map is approximately 1,500 larger than Black Ops’s popular Nuketown map and will also feature weapons, items, and character models from all three previous Black Ops games.
Although the game does not feature a single-player campaign, the ever-popular Zombies mode will feature a story that takes place across different time periods as players take on “an ancient order hell-bent on transforming the world to fulfill their nefarious agenda”. Treyarch will include three scenarios at launch — IX, Voyage of Despair, and Blood of the Dead — and will roll out additional content and events named Callings post-launch. Players will also be able to tweak game parameters such as zombie speed and gun damage in addition to taking on a Zombie Rush game mode that is aimed at easing new players into the Zombies experience.
Treyarch also announced that Black Ops 4 will be the first Call of Duty title to be powered by Blizzard’s Battle.net service on PC — moving away from Valve’s SteamWorks platform and Steam itself. (Abir: Here’s hoping that Treyarch also adopts Overwatch’s game-changing Dolby Atmos headphone support!)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is slated for a worldwide release on October 12 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Bethesda formerly announces RAGE 2:
Following this month’s Walmart game leak, Bethesda Softworks Content Manager Anne Lewis officially announced the follow-up to id Software’s post-apocalyptic shooter, RAGE 2. Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios is handling primary development duties this time around, with the game featuring a more vivid art style than the original 2010 release.
Players will step into the boots of Walker, “the last Ranger of Vineland”, as he continues a war against the totalitarian Authority regime that returns as the primary antagonistic threat from the first game. In addition to a host of ridiculous weapons, Walker can also wield various “Nanotrite” abilities that can be chained together to enter into an supercharged Overdrive state.
RAGE 2 is scheduled to be released sometime next year on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Bethesda will showcase more of the game at E3 on June 11 at 11.30am AEST.
This year’s Battlefield will not be Bad Company 3:
EA’s Jeff Landa confirmed the news through the official Battlefield blog and also teased that Battlefield V will be set on “another frontline”. Combining this statement with fan speculation that the V in the title refers to Winston Churchill’s famous “V for Victory” sign, it appears as if the upcoming game will take place on the Eastern and Pacific fronts of World War II.
Landa also noted that the new game will also include the return of Battlefield 1’s War Stories campaign structure and Operations multiplayer game mode. Developer DICE is set to properly reveal Battlefield V during a livestream at 6am AEST on Thursday, with
Comedian and Daily Show host Trevor Noah hosting the event for some reason.
PUBG’s Miramar is headed to Xbox One this week:
Xbox has announced that PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS’S desert-themed map, Miramar, is releasing this week on Xbox One alongside a new patch that “improves performance”.
Metro Exodus and Shenmue III delayed to next year:
In the first part of last week’s negative news, publisher THQ Nordic and developer 4A Games announced that they have delayed Metro Exodus to early next year to improve the game’s final quality. They also confirmed that they will showcase more gameplay at E3.
Publisher Deep Silver also announced that it has delayed Yu Suzuki’s Shenmue III to ensure that the game meets “the high standards [that] it deserves” and releases “in the best possible timeframe” to avoid too much competition.
Sony is ending physical Vita game production:
Both Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and America confirmed to developers (as confirmed by Kotaku) that they “plan to end all Vita GameCard production by close of fiscal year 2018 [i.e. March 31, 2019]”.
Companies have until June 28 to submit new games from production and February 15, 2019 to enter their final production orders. As of this writing, Sony has not announced any plans to halt online Vita game distribution.
Gears of War creator shuts down his studio:
Clifford “Cliffy B” Bleszinski, the man responsible for creating Gears of War, took to Twitter to announce that his studio, LawBreakers and Radical Heights developer Boss Key Productions, has “effectively” shut down.
Notable game releases:
- Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition (Switch)
- State of Decay 2 (PC and Xbox One)
Major video releases:
THE CREW 2 — Welcome to Motornation:
Could this be the next Burnout Paradise that we’ve always wanted?!
THE CREW 2 — HOW MOTORNATION IS BORN ?
Don’t worry, we don’t understand the grammar behind the title either.
Sea of Thieves — The Hungering Deep Official Trailer:
Hear about the ancient threat at the heart of the game’s upcoming content update.
SOULCALIBUR VI — Yoshimitsu Reveal Trailer:
The katana-wielding kamikaze killer returns!
Overwatch — Petra Map trailer:
Blizzard is adding a new Egypt-themed map to celebrate the game’s second anniversary.
Dragon Ball FighterZ — Party Battle Mode Trailer:
You can now reenact your favourite DBZ moves with your friends!
Other news:
- Surprise, Ubisoft will make a AAA announcement at E3: GameSpot
- Project CARS is headed to mobile devices: Engadget
- Here’s how Ubisoft believes that it learnt from the original Division: GameSpot
- The original Guilty Gear is getting ported to modern systems: Shoryuken
- Bungie will launch a test environment for Destiny 2’s Crucible: Official
- Developer 343 Industries is working on an arcade-exclusive Halo game: DualShockers
- No Man’s Sky’s next multiplayer update is due next month: Polygon
- For Honor’s Rite of Champions event is live now: YouTube
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