The Biggest News in Gaming (Week Beginning 10/02/20)
Disney is Interested in Getting Back Into Game Development
Following the success of Marvel’s Spider-Man, which has sold over 13 million copies to date, and Jedi: Fallen Order, which is expected to sell over 10 million copies by the end of the fiscal year, mega-corporation Disney has expressed an interest in moving back into the gaming market.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney’s Senior VP of Games and Interactive Experiences Sean Shoptaw gave a talk to a room full of game developers at this year’s Dice Summit in Las Vegas, saying “I’m here for one specific reason: to empower you to do really unique things with our [catalog].”
Shoptaw went on to say that Disney wants to “tap into the power of creatives across the industry,” to “re-imagine” some of its best known and beloved properties as video games. It’s worth noting that since Disney stopped developing its own games in-house, its portfolio has expanded to include all 21st Century Fox properties, which the company acquired early last year, as well as the aforementioned Star Wars and Marvel franchises.
Geoff Keighley Will Not Take Part in E3 For The First Time In 25 Years
Media personality Geoff Keighley, best known for running The Game Awards, has announced that he will be stepping away from E3 this year; this presents the first time in 25 years that he has not had some involvement in the event.
For the past three years, Keighley has produced the E3 Coliseum, a live stage event introduced in 2013 that featured presentations from some of the biggest companies in gaming, Sony and Microsoft among them.
Speaking to gamesindustry.biz, he said “Given what has been publicly communicated about plans for E3 2020, I just don’t feel comfortable participating in the show at this time
“I saw the E3 website leak this AM and said, ‘You know what, I really need to let people know what to expect from me, so no one is disappointed.’ This certainly wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I think it’s the right one for me — and I wanted fans to know before tickets go on sale.”
The leak that Keighley refers to constitutes the most recent in a series of data handling mishaps in E3’s patchy history. Last year, organisers were slammed for accidentally leaking the personal details of hundreds of attending journalists, calling into question whether it was even safe to attend the expo.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Enters Season 2
In another eye-wateringly huge update — which was so big Activision actually apologised for it — Season 2 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare officially went live this week.
The update, weighing in at between 50–100 GB depending on your platform, adds a slew of features and tweaks. Among them is the addition of a new operator, Simon “Ghost” Riley, as well as two new guns; however, while the guns can be unlocked for free, players hoping to take the new operator out for a spin will have to spring for the paid Season 2 Battle Pass.
The ability to dual wield pistols makes a comeback in the update, in the form of the aptly named Akimbo perk. Four new maps have also been added: Rust, a throwback to the fan-favourite map of the same name from 2009’s Modern Warfare 2; Atlas Superstore, which is available to play as part of the normal rotation; Zhokov Boneyard, a Ground War map; and Bazaar, a new map for the 2v2 Gunfight mode.
A full list of patch notes and more information about the additions listed above can be found on Activision’s official website.
Bioware Commits to “Longer-term Redesign” of Anthem
In a post on the Bioware blog earlier this week, Bioware’s General Manager Casey Hudson announced that the team is“focusing on a longer-term redesign of the [Anthem] experience”.
Anthem launched to a lacklustre response in February of last year; despite satisfying core gameplay, players were disappointed by server issues, long loading times, and uninspired mission design, to name but a few issues.
Hudson said in her blog post that since launch, “the team has worked hard to improve stability, performance and general quality of life while delivering three seasons of new content and features” but went on to say “we have also heard your feedback that Anthem needs a more satisfying loot experience, better long-term progression, and a more fulfilling end game”.
Apparently, this will involve reinventing “the core gameplay loop with clear goals, motivating challenges and progression with meaningful rewards — while preserving the fun of flying and fighting in a vast science-fantasy setting”. To this end, the current version of Anthem will not be receiving further seasons in the coming months, although it will still be updated with store refreshes, events, and “past seasonal content”.
Hudson ended her statement by saying “Creating new worlds is central to our studio mission, but it’s not easy. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we miss. What keeps us going is the support from players like you. Your feedback gives us guidance on how we can improve, and your passion inspires us with the courage to create. I look forward to working together with your involvement and feedback towards the best possible future for Anthem.”
