Game Control: ‘Black Myth: Wukong’ Success, SAG-AFTRA Agreement, New ‘Valorant’ Agent, ‘Minecraft’ Movie Teaser
Console: Terry Bogard arrives in Street Fighter 6 on September 24, 2024, as shown in a newly released trailer by IGN. Bogard first debuted in Fatal Fury: King of Fighters. The new Street Fighter 6 trailer also shows off highlights in the latest Street Fighter fighting pass (released on September 2, 2024) including avatar gear, music themes, new effects, stickers, and more.
The success of the Chinese video game Black Myth: Wukong marks a new market of video games for Western audiences. Selling over 10 million copies across all platforms in the first 72 hours of the game’s release, the story follows the legend of the Monkey King Sun Wukong. Like most adaptations of the Chinese classic Journey to the West, the game follows the adventures of a monk and his three disciples while focusing on the tricks and great power of their companion the Monkey King. Although most of the game’s players are located in China, the worldwide success of the game suggests that the expansion and evolution of China’s gaming market is paying off.
However, Black Myth: Wukong is currently unavailable on Xbox, one of the most popular gaming systems. Allegations that this delay was due to technical issues are incorrect as an anonymous source told IGN that Black Myth: Wukong has an exclusivity deal with Sony. With speculation flying, Microsoft released a statement on June 21 discussing its progress on bringing the game to Xbox systems with the help of Game Science.
Annapurna is partnering with Remedy Entertainment to adapt the Control and Alan Wake games to television and film. The media company will also co-produce and co-finance Control 2. Annapurna works both in television and film, with standout credits from the media company including recent TIFF entries Nightbitch (Amy Adams) and Nimona (Riz Ahmed). Neither Annapurna nor Remedy Entertainment have confirmed how the game franchises will be adapted, but looking at the company’s credits, the franchises could either be animated or live-action, television or film.
Sony is pulling Concord less than two weeks after the game’s launch. The first-person shooter was in development for eight years, but after an abysmal launch, Sony and developer Firewalk Studios are pulling away to “explore options.” Concord was pulled from sale immediately, with gamers who purchased the product through the PlayStation Store or PlayStation Direct being promised refunds. Sony is currently developing a system to refund gamers who bought physical copies of the game. Concord allegedly sold around 25,000 units which represents the loss of possibly tens of millions of dollars, if not more. The game launched on August 23, 2024, and was pulled eleven days later. It is no longer available to play as of September 6, 2024.
Images of the PlayStation 5 Pro have leaked along with an alleged name of the console and a design sketch. Details like price or release date have not been leaked or revealed by Sony, but this leak suggests that an official announcement could be right around the corner.
Mobile: Nintendo announced it is shutting down Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. The mobile adaptation of the beloved Animal Crossing franchise will shut down a week after its seventh birthday on November 29, 2024. After this date when online services end, the game will no longer be playable regardless of installation. However, Nintendo is developing a pay-to-play version of the game that will be playable offline. Gamers who played Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp in its heyday can rest easy as they will be able to transfer old saved data from previous campsites to the new paid version. Nintendo has also confirmed that controls will be the same across versions of the game, yet certain features that require Internet connection in the current version of the game will no longer be available in the paid version (ex: visiting other players’ campsites, gifts, etc).
Epic Games launched their mobile store in early August. The store is available on Android devices worldwide and iOS in the European Union. Epic Games properties like Fall Guys, Fortnite, and Rocket League Sideswipe are now available for mobile play. This is the first time Fall Guys has received a mobile adaptation. Gamers who download and install the Epic Games Store and various games from the company on mobile can receive exclusive cosmetics in the aforementioned games.
Mobile giant Supercell is partnering with Paramount to bring Spongebob and his friends to Brawl Stars. An announcement trailer of the collaboration was released on September 5, 2024 and features actor and WWE superstar John Cena. The trailer shows off the iconic characters of Spongebob Squarepants in what can only be called their wrestler-sons, brawling with each other under the sea. The collaboration is part of Paramount's celebration of Spongebob Squarepants’ 25th anniversary.
Balatro is heading to mobile on September 26, 2024. The popular card roguelike will be available on both Android and iOS. However, Balatro will be included as part of Apple’s paid Apple Arcade subscription. A trailer for the game was released on September 9, 2024.
Harry Potter: Magic Awakened will shut down only a year after it was launched internationally to the Americas, Europe, and Oceania. The game went global in July 2023 and will shut down on October 29, 2024. The game was originally launched in China and Taiwan in 2021 for mobile devices and launched on PC alongside the July 2023 international launch. The game will return to its roots, remaining available in Asia (Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) but nowhere else. Additionally, Harry Potter: Magic Awakened has already been removed from the App Store and Google Play outside of the remaining countries. In-game purchases are also no longer available.
PC: A teaser trailer for the Minecraft movie was revealed on September 4, 2024. The film stars action icons like Jason Momoa (Aquaman) and Jack Black (Kung Fu Panda) while bringing in newcomers like Emma Myers (Wednesday) and recent Oscar nominee Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple). The film is currently scheduled to release on April 4, 2025.
Vyse is Valorant’s newest agent, entering gameplay on August 28, 2024. Featuring a mysterious design similar to fellow Valorant protocol agent Omen, Vyse fills the role of sentinel. Like all other Valorant agents, Vyse has two basic abilities, one signature ability, and one ultimate ability. “Razorvine” and “Shear” are the two basic abilities, a Molotov that deals damage to enemy agents while slowing them and an indestructible wall respectively. Her signature ability, “Arc Rose”, is a long-lasting blind with a maximum duration of 2.25 seconds that can be picked up and redeployed. Lastly, her ultimate “Steel Garden” jams the primary weapons of all enemy agents, leaving them with only their melee weapon, secondary weapon, and utility to defend themselves. Vyse’s addition and backstory present many questions about Valorant’s lore. Just like Omen, Vyse’s origin, true name, and physical appearance is unknown. A cinematic trailer released by Riot reveals that the two agents know each other, creating even more mystery to two already mysterious agents.
A new game from Valve, Deadlock, just hit 100,000 concurrent players despite still being in playtesting. The game is currently only available to play by invite, leaving multiple news organizations to refer to Deadlock as “Valve’s Secret New Shooter”. Deadlock’s gameplay is best described by The Verge:
It’s a 6-on-6 shooter, like the original Overwatch, where your team of heroes attempts to dominate a map by slowly wearing down the opposing team and pushing them back. But you’re also leading an army of NPC grunts down four different lanes to destroy the opposing team’s stationary defenses, a little like Dota 2 or other MOBA games.
The first pieces of Borderlands 4 concept art were revealed at PAX West 2024. Art director Adam May ecstatically described the wide variety of colors and interesting ways his team experimented with tech, weapons, character design, and world design, throughout the game’s development. Additionally, the Gearbox team confirmed that the Borderlands 4 teaser trailer that was revealed at Gamescom 2024 takes place directly after the events of Borderlands 3.
A new roadmap for The Sims 4 was released on September 5, 2024. Roadmaps for The Sims 4 give Simmers insights into upcoming updates and DLC releases for approximately up to four months after the roadmap’s release. This season’s roadmap leans into the mysticism of fall with tarot card theming while confirming that the announcement covers new content in the game from September to December 2024. The Sims 4’s newest expansion pack The Sims 4: Life and Death, was announced in the roadmap with a first look for the DLC coming out on October 3, 2024, and the pack releasing on Halloween 2024. Additionally, two new DLC kits titled the Artist Studio Kit and the Storybook Nursery Kit will be released on September 19, 2024, and a limited-time event called the “Reaper’s Rewards Event” will begin on September 24, 2024.
Virtual Reality: A new trailer for Into Black was released on August 30, 2024. The upcoming co-op action-adventure game will arrive with over twenty levels in October 2024. The game features both single-player, co-op, and PvPvE modes, the latter of which allows gamers to battle up to eleven other players. While the game was designed for Meta Quest 3, the Quest exclusive game also supports Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro. Into Black is now available for pre-order for $20. This is a 20% discount of its October launch price of $25.
Meta canceled a high-end mixed-reality headset that was in development by its Reality Labs division. The device, named La Jolla, was meant to compete with Apple’s VR headset Vision Pro and had an expected release date of 2027. However, Andrew Bosworth, CTO of Meta, was quick to reassure that other VR headsets are in various forms of development, one of which is the “Puffin”. The codename refers to a supposed light-weight low-cost headset currently in development. Allegedly made to resemble a bulky pair of glasses, the headset is rumored to weigh less than 110 grams yet still offers pancake lenses and passthrough functionality with cameras.
An official render of the Meta Quest 3S was leaked only weeks before Meta Connect 2024. Virtual reality fanatics have speculated that Meta’s newest headset would be announced at the convention on September 25-26, 2024. Images of the Meta Quest 3S have been leaking since March 2024. However, this is the first official image that has been leaked to the public.
Though the game was announced for the PlayStation 5 and PC last month, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic will be coming to PlayStation VR2. Additionally, gamers were able to demo Secret of the Mimic at PAX West 2024 thanks to Steel Wool Studios’ two playstages. No announcement has been made as to whether or not Secret of the Mimic will be available on any other VR consoles.
Industry: Hideaki Itsuno has left Capcom after thirty years with the company. A legend in gaming, Itsuno is best known for his work on the Devil May Cry, Dragon’s Dogma, and Power Stone franchises. However, Itsuno’s departure from Capcom does not mean a departure from video games forever. Itsuno did not specifically mention a collaboration with a new studio in his announcement to fans, but he reassured them that he will be working somewhere new in September 2024.
NetEase laid off a majority of Ouka Studios’ staff. NetEase is a Chinese company that partnered with and financed the Japanese studio, best known for Visions of Mana. Reports believe that the layoffs point to a future closure of the game studio. Large Chinese gaming companies are clashing with the smaller Japanese studios they’ve invested and collaborated with due to cultural differences. For example, NetEase and Tencent tend to work on large franchises whereas Ouka Studios wanted to work on games with a smaller scale at less risk. No official announcement has been made regarding the potential closure of Ouka Studios.
One of Bungie’s top directors was fired due to several misconduct allegations. Christ Barrett, most well-known for directing Marathon, held a seat on Bungie’s board before the company was acquired by Sony. Barrett was allegedly accused by at least eight women for inappropriate workplace behavior including allegedly “call[ing] lower-level female employees attractive, ask[ing] them to play truth-or-dare and [making] references to his wealth and power within the studio.” This last action was allegedly used by Barrett to suggest he could help advance the careers of these women. Sources added that Barrett would befriend women across various departments in the studio before bombarding them with messages that “blurred the lines between professional and personal.” Barrett has issued an apology and a replacement for him has already been instated.
PAX West 2024 took place in Seattle from August 30 to September 2, 2024. This year’s convention marks the twentieth anniversary of PAX West. The convention stayed true to PAX’s general roster of events including workshops, an expo hall, gaming tournaments, celebrity guests, announcements from developers and studios, and much more.
Mobile game publisher Tilting Point is laying off up to 20% of its staff. It has already laid off ninety staff members. This move is reminiscent of a previous layoff by Tilting Point in January 2023 when it cut sixty staff members as part of the company’s goal to reduce its staffing by 14%. Tilting Point has published over 150 games since its founding in 2012 including titles in the Star Trek and Spongebob franchises.
SAG-AFTRA video game performers have come to an interim agreement after striking for over a month. The agreement only pertains to 80 games that have signed interim or tiered budget agreements with the union and also accepted the union’s terms on artificial intelligence. Workers on strike can now go back to work but only on these select projects. This strike’s main focus is on protections against artificial intelligence. While this is a win for video game performers, the union’s strike is far from over. SAG-AFTRA will continue to pick against other major video game publishers such as Disney, Warner Bros, and EA. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director and chief negotiator has thoughts on the win:
These agreements signal that the video game companies in the collective bargaining group do not represent the will of the larger video game industry. The many companies that are happy to agree to our terms prove that these terms are not only reasonable, but feasible and sustainable for businesses.
Lost Boys Interactive is on its second round of layoffs since January. Lost Boys is a co-development studio that was acquired by Gearbox Software in 2022 while it was under the ownership of Embracer. Despite Embracer divesting Gearbox, Lost Boys remains under Embracer’s ownership. This divestment led to 80 canceled projects and 4,500 people out of jobs across Embracer, Gearbox, and Lost Boys in the last fiscal year. The number of staff laid off during this round of layoffs is currently unknown.
After hitting a ten-year low on the London Stock Exchange, Ubisoft is facing pressure to go private. The stock fall is likely due to the reception of Star Wars Outlaws. AJ Investments is publicly placing pressure on Ubisoft to take the company private, suggesting that Ubisoft is mismanaged and facing exploitation by Tencent. It should be noted that AJ Investments holds less than a 1% share in Ubisoft, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Ubisoft has yet to respond to the letter or any requests for comment.
Dutch Game Garden will shut down in January 2025 after 17 years of operation. The decision comes after a lack of financing due to a focus on public funding and opportunities that changed or fell through. The closure of the Dutch Game Garden could shake up the Dutch video game industry as it acted as a large incubator for up-and-coming video game studios and developers.
