Game Control : Marvel Rivals reaches 10 million players on opening weekend, a potential Nintendo Switch 2 release date

Console: NetEase’s Marvel Rivals opening weekend hits 10 million players. The game peaked over the launch weekend with 480,990 concurrent players, which is the 20th-highest number on Steam. The game offers a battle pass and premium skins, which have placed the game as the fourth-highest seller on Steam (as of December ninth). The game is currently in season 0 with season 1 expected in January. A patch has been released on December 10, 2024

Sony Group Corp is allegedly in the early stages of a new handheld console that would allow players to play PS5 games on the go. While the device is probably a couple of years out from release, the console could allow users to access their game anywhere. The new device would allow players to access their game without WiFi. Sony has released similar consoles earlier, however, they were discontinued. 

“The product is aimed at expanding Sony’s reach and contending with Nintendo Co. for the portable gaming market, according to people familiar with its development” - Takashi Mochizuki and Debby Wu from Bloomberg. 

Fans are disappointed with the Nintendo Switch 2 potential release date. Shuntaro Furukawa, the president of Nintendo, has confirmed that Nintendo will make an announcement on the second model of the Nintendo Switch within the fiscal year on X. Some fans are disappointed by a potential June 2025 launch date. A rumored price range of $399 to $449 has also left fans disappointed, as Nintendo has a history of affordability. However, the price increase hints towards the potential of major new features for the console. 

Fantasian Neo Dimension, first released on Apple Arcade in 2021, was released on December fifth for Console, and PC. The recently released version has features such as English and Japanese voice recording, 4k visuals depending on the platform, and enhanced protection. Hironbu Sakaguchi, the father of Final Fantasy, played a major role in the release of the game.

Xbox Game Pass will add two surprise games on December 12th. Subscribers signed up for Ultimate and Pc tiers will have access to the games. For the King 2 and Hunt: Showdown 1896 will be joining the Xbox game pass. While Microsoft already unveiled the Xbox Game Pass Wave 1 games, they did not include the two surprise games. More games are scheduled to be added in January such as Eternal Strands.

A surprise update of Cyberpunk 2077 surprised fans as the last update in 2023 was thought to be the Final one. CD Projekt Red announced that the new features will be revealed on December 10th, the game's 4th anniversary. There are currently no plans for PS5 Pro support. The majority of the CD Projekt developers have moved to working on The Witcher 4, currently called Project Polaris. 64 of the 650 are currently working on Orion, the sequel to CyberPunk 2077.

Infinity Nikki - Infold Games

Mobile: Infinity Nikki, an open-world dress-up game, reached 10 million worldwide downloads. Former Legend of Zelda director Kentaro Tominaga worked on the game. To celebrate the downloads, Infold Games gave players ten free draws. Players will be able to access the rewards through their mailbox before January 1st. The official website of Infinity Nikki was temporarily displaying an offensive message because of a hack. However, despite the hack the game has had many positive reviews.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete leaves players confused as multiplayer features had vanished from the game. The game which was released on December 2nd, was a rerelease of the free game Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp without microtransactions. Instead, players have a flat fee of $9.99 to play the game. As multiplayer features were included in the free version, some players were confused. Social features are major features of Animal Crossing games, allowing players to visit other’s houses, and participate in activities together.

Grand Theft Auto II and Vice City will be leaving Netflix’s mobile games list. Both GTA games will be removed on December 13th. GTA: San Andreas does not currently have the same deadline. Despite Netflix’s claims that the three GTA games increased game engagement, they have closed a studio.

"Just like with series and film, games will be removed from Netflix as licenses expire," a Netflix spokesperson said according to GameSpot.

Final Fantasy 14 on mobiles, unveiled a battle system. The game does not have a release date, but fans in China can expect a demo before a global release. A trailer was released on Weibo showing off gameplay and UI elements. The trailer showed unique abilities to previous jobs in the games such as a leaping sword slash combo for Paladins. However, while the trailer showcased a battle, the gameplay did not show any movement.

The Sims 4 - Electronic Arts

PC: The Sims 4 is revealing a new rewards event called Cozy Celebrations centered around holidays. Players can access the event until January 10th. Previously, The Sims 4 had a Reapers Rewards event centered around the in-game Grim Reaper which ended in November. Players will have 6 different phases of quests. The first day involved quests such as asking other sims about their holiday traditions and cooking Japchae. The updates also included Eastern European recipes Mămăligă and Mucenici, and Romanian-inspired clothing. The content comes with an effort to allow players to experience a global experience.

Itch.io, an indie game website, claims the company Funko sent a ‘trash AI-powered’ phishing report forcing the site to go offline. The domain for the website was pointed to an IP address unowned by itch.io.

“We identified and reported the infringement, and requested a takedown of the URL in question – not of the entire itch.io domain.” Brand Shield CEO Yoav Keren

The issue came soon after itch.io allowed users to use its domain name for Bluesky accounts. The site is currently up and running.

Epic Games unleashed Fornite OG, attracting 1.1 million concurrent players within two hours of its launch. The newest mode allows players to return to season 1 of the battle royale, including features such as the original map, and game mechanics. However, the inclusion of skill-based matchmaking has left some fans disappointed. The Feature comes with the inclusion of bots. Some fans did feel nostalgic about the experience, however others were frustrated with the changes.

path of fury - meta quest

Virtual Reality: Samsung Electronics is reportedly planning to release a new XR device, which is rumored to be unveiled at the Galaxy S25 launch event in January 2025. The move is part of Samsung’s ambitious project “Infinite". The product is expected to be paired with a Qualcomm application processor (AP) chip and utilize Google's operating system (OS).

Path of Fury: Episode 1 - “Tetsuo’s Tower” is coming to Meta Quest 2,3, and pro devices in 2025. The action game is inspired by Chinese Kung Fu movies from the 80s. In the game, players try to fight their way through Testco’s Fortress with their bare fists.