December 2022

Games are an inherently passionate medium. For many creators, the very point of video games is to make their audience as emotionally engaged in the action as possible. It’s not the character on-screen saving the world, it’s you.

Every tragedy, betrayal and victory is meant to be felt from your own perspective. It’s meant to be a personal experience. It’s shared passion, passed on from creators to their audience. Everyone is deeply invested.

This passion and emotional investment can be a double-edged sword. It’s the job of developers and (ideally) specialized community managers to spot these cases and help restore winsome engagement.

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A Splinter Cell audio drama is coming to BBC Radio 4 next month.

The adaption, titled Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Firewall, is an eight-part series starring the game's protagonist, Fourth Echelon agent Sam Fisher.

It revolves around a mission to recruit and train a new generation of operatives for the National Security Agency's cover action division.

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Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are the fastest-selling video games to have ever been released on Nintendo consoles.

The latest generation of Pokémon titles shifted 10 million copies -- including physical and digital sales -- in just 72 hours.

The game had already impressed at UK retail, which isn't one of Nintendo's strongest markets. It generated more revenue in its first two days than any previous Pokémon release in the UK.

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The latest counter-arguments from Microsoft and Sony over the proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition have been published in the UK.

Many of the arguments presented to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are the same as before, with PlayStation discussing the impact of what might happen if Call of Duty becomes exclusive to Xbox -- whether that's the Xbox console, the Game Pass subscription service or Xbox Game Streaming.

Meanwhile, in its own 111-page response, Microsoft argues that these concerns are overstated, and that Call of Duty is neither 'special' or 'unique.'

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Environmental advocacy and consultancy firm AfterClimate revealed in a new report that the games industry has committed $17 billion of its revenue to net zero emissions.

The Game Industry Net Zero Snapshot 2022 study analyzed 33 gaming companies self-reported ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) statistics and commitments.

Among the group, which includes Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, 19 have set target dates for achieving net zero.

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Ubisoft hopes to speak to all its players about the climate crisis.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Ubisoft’s Nicolas Hunsinger, who is director of Corporate Environmental Sustainability, wants the games industry to become a ‘catalyst for change’ in combatting climate issues.

It follows a series of in-game activations this month, which Ubisoft has put together to coincide with last week's COP27 Climate Change conference. The developers of Brawlhalla, Rocksmith+, Hungry Shark World and Trackmania all launched things within the game that was submitted to this year’s Green Game Jam. These ranged from in-game emotes (with proceeds going to environmental charities), to raising awareness around ocean ecosystems and the impact of wooden instrument production.

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At a glance:

The Competition and Market Authority has launched a full market investigation into Apple's restrictions against cloud gaming services on iOS.

This follows recommendations in the UK regulator's Mobile Ecosystem Market Study which suggested further investigation was needed as Apple and Google have "an effective duopoly on mobile ecosystems."

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It's the fourth day of the RPS Advent Calendar and today it's rainy. But it's nice rainy - relaxing. There's a purring cat. You've got a brew on, and nothing in particular planned. Maybe you'll recatalogue your rustling, living inventory.

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Jim Ryan, the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, stated that more PS5 consoles will ship out in Asia and Japan from 2023. This is due to the resolution of a long-running issue in the supply chain shortage that has limited the production of the PS5. He thanks people for their understanding and cooperation, as well as apologizes for the trouble. [Thanks, ryokutya2089!]

When the PS5 came out in November 2020, the world was in the middle of a global pandemic. That on its own would be more than enough to disrupt supply chains. However, at the same time, there was a worldwide semiconductor shortage occurring at the same time. The pandemic exacerbated the issue. Semiconductors are vital in the creation of electronics, from cars to consoles, and without them, Sony simply could not make enough PS5s to keep up with consumer demand.

After The Fall is coming to PlayStation VR2 on 22nd February, 2023, the same date Sony's new VR system is scheduled to release.

Vertigo Games says that the improved version of the four-player co-op title will "reach an astounding level of immersion that will jolt players as they experience real haptic feedback, a 4K HDR display, and a 110 degree field of view".

You can see it in action below:

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Unpacking has won Game of the Year at this weekend's Indie Live Expo awards.

Stray secured Trailer of the Tear, Vampire Survivors "Most Addictive Game of the Year", with the "Best Game Feel" award going to Neon White.

"We are blown away by the amazing community we have been building over the past three years which contributed over 3,000 votes to 2022's awards program. Thank you to all who have given their voices to vote for their favorite games." said Ryuta Konuma, Ryu’s Office founder, which organised the event.

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Arc System Works hosted the Top 8 portion of the ArcRevo Japan 2022 tournament, and together with publisher Nexon, they shared juicy news about the fighting game DNF Duel.

First of all, a Nintendo Switch is coming. While the trailer has not been published separately just yet, you can watch it in the recording of the livestream. The port for Nintendo’s hybrid console will be released in Spring 2023.

Next, we get the reveal of a new character, Spectre, who is one of the latest added in 2021 to the original Dungeon Fighter Online. You can take a look at a brief teaser below.

Last but not least, the developers also revealed more details about the upcoming “Grand Balance Patch” which was previously teased and is coming this month.

It’ll include a battle balance update with more than 100 skills getting buffed, higher HP and Guard Gauge for all characters, buffed awakening skills, upgraded evades, more advantages in using guard cancel, and more.

The update was announced with a trailer that you can watch below.

HoYoverse released a new trailer of its super-popular action RPG Genshin Impact focusing on one of the characters coming with update 3.3.

The new character is Wanderer, but players have already met him in the story as Fatui harbinger Scaramouche. He used to be an enemy, but things can change.

We get to see part of his backstory, including a cute reference to Hans Christian Andersen’s Steadfast Tin Soldier fairy tale.

Wanderer is voiced by Patrick Pedraza in English and Tetsuya Kakihara in Japanese. You may know him as Natsu Dragneel in Fairy Tail, Lloyd Bannings in the Trails series, Prompto in Final Fantasy XV, and many more roles.

You can check out the trailer below.

Incidentally, the game also received the “Grand Award” at the PlayStation Partner Awards 2022 last week, celebrating its massive sales on the platform. As a result, all players who have reached Adventure Rank 7 will receive 800 primogems. they will be delivered at a pace of 200 per day starting today and ending on December 7. You have until the end of Update 3.3 to claim them.

A new promo for Genshin Impact held at GiGO Amusement Centers (formerly Sega) features art of the characters Xingqiu, Chongyun, Ayaka, and Thoma wearing modern school uniforms. The latest Genshin x GiGO campaign, titled "Tamayura no Kokoroyukashi" ("Heartfelt Fleeting Moments") brings with it a new line of prizes to GiGO stores and crane games. The prizes range from small ticket holders to plushies, wall scrolls, and standees. The campaign kicks off from December 10, 2022, and it runs through January 15, 2023.

The Genshin x GiGO campaign features several different merchandise items to win by playing on a participating GiGO store's crane games. The basic prize, a ticket holder, can be had with any 500 Yen spend on the crane games. There are 12 variants, with the four featured characters in their schoolwear, as well as eight other Genshin Impact characters (Razor, Fischl, Eula, Albedo, Yanfei, Shenhe, Yun Jin, and Yelan) wearing their default outfits. Several of the items feature the Japanese pronunciations of the characters' Chinese-style names (for example, "Xingqiu" is rendered as "Yukuaki").

[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="941985,941986" link="file"]

Other more limited items include acrylic standees and art boards of the featured characters, sitting plushies (using the default outfits), hug pillow cases, wall scrolls, and rubber mats.

When Genshin Impact wins awards, HoYoVerse tends to celebrate them. This usually involves a free gift for players. The game ended up getting a PlayStation Partner Awards 2022 Japan Asia win when December 2022 began. As such, players will get 800 free Primogems in Genshin Impact until December 7, 2022.

HoYoVerse detailed how the free Genshin Impact Primogem rollout will work. Every day someone over Adventure Rank 7 logs in to play starting on December 4, 2022, 200 Primogems will appear in their mailbox. They can then claim them and use that currency on things like wishes to get new characters and weapons. It didn't note if there is an expiration date to the free gems or how long someone has to claim them.

As a reminder, Genshin Impact took one of the top "prizes" at the PlayStation Partner Awards 2022 for Japan and Asia. Both it and Elden Ring received the Grand Award. That means those two were both the top games by Asian developers.

Genshin Impact is available for the PS4, PS5, PC, and mobile devices. The 3.3 update will appear on December 7, 2022. That will bring the Genius Invokation TCG and a playable version of Scaramouche called The Wanderer.

In celebration of Dragon Age Day, BioWare has dropped a new cinematic from Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.

The studio confirmed that the teaser comes from an "in-game cinematic" taken from the fourth mainline installment of the franchise, Dreadwolf.

"Elven god of lies or heroic rebel against tyranny?" BioWare teased on Instagram. "Depends who you ask. Happy #DragonAgeDay! We’re kicking today off with an in-game cinematic from #Dreadwolf!"

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The creator of the acclaimed rogue-like action-platformer, Dead Cells, has revealed their next project: Nuclear Blaze.

Sébastien Bénard's Nuclear Blaze is expected to release on consoles on 28th April, 2023 and will set you back €15/$15 (sorry, I don't have UK specific pricing at the time of writing) for a digital copy, and €30/$30 if you fancy a physical copy on either Switch or PS4.

You'll have to jump over to Red Art Games to pre-order a physical copy, although by doing so, you'll secure a set of three "Exclusive Nuclear Balze enamel pins". Physical copies also include a booklet including an interview with Bénard and a keychain.

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To Celebrate the traditional Dragon Age Day, BioWare and Netflix showcased new posters for the upcoming Dragon Age: Absolution animated series.

The posters showcase eight of the characters that will appear in the series, Mirim, Hira, Qwydon, Fairbanks, Roland, Lacklon, Rezaren, and Tassia.

The animated series announced a few weeks ago will come with six episodes of Dragon Age action and will debut in just a few days, on Dec. 9.

Squishmallows are basically 2020s’ Beanie Babies. They’re a collectible plush toy line, complete with special crossovers and artificial scarcity in play. At the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, Jazwares and Kelly Toys announced Pokemon Squishmallows were in the works, with Pikachu and Gengar confirmed as the first two products in the line. Due to that aforementioned artificial scarcity, the first batch sold out in the Pokemon Center the day they launched. However, somebody (me) managed to win the battle with the website to secure an order for a Pikachu variant. Now that he’s settled in at home, I can confirm… it is basically a pleasantly plump pillow.

The Pikachu Squishmallow features a minimalistic design, much like other characters in the plush toy lineup. For example, I also own a (ridiculously large) Shark Squishmallow with the major accents being fins, gills, two black eyes, a toothy grin, and a pair of goggles. The Pikachu is slightly more elaborate in comparison, with his front paws embroidered on the front, a tail that almost matches the size of his body on the back, his trademark brown stripes and pink cheeks, and large, sturdy ears. The fabric is soft, but not overly fuzzy or long. It’s a more subtle texture and grain, which makes it feel more like hugging or rubbing a very soft pillow, rather than a stuffed animal.

Today, third-party developers had relevant news to share for Microsoft Flight Simulator add-ons including aircraft and scenery.

We start with Drzewiecki Design, which shared another look at its upcoming Newark Liberty International Airport (KEWR) in the United States.

They’ve been working on it for 10 months and they hope to be done by the end of next week, getting the product ready for release.

The celebrations for the traditional annual Dragon Age Day are in full swing, and BioWare released a cinematic teaser trailer of the upcoming Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.

The teaser is all about Solas, also known as Fen’Harel, companion and potential romantic interest in Dragon Age Inquisition, and part-time ancient elven god.

The developer identifies what you’ll see below as an in-game cinematic, so you shouldn’t expect any gameplay. Yet, being a 2D animation, it isn’t even in-engine. Goes without saying, that it may leave some wanting more.

Regardless, you can enjoy it below.

Soccer Story showed up on multiple platforms, blending the idea of a soccer game with RPG and minigame elements. As the concept and whimsical designs suggest, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. (After all, you have a panda as a team captain.) But while the soccer segments are capable enough, what really makes the game stand out is the RPG side of things.

Soccer Story begins in a world in which only officially licensed soccer matches from a big name corporation are allowed. At a past match, a goal exploded and disaster struck, providing the perfect excuse to tear it away from the masses. The player character, one of two twins that the player can pick between, loves the sport though! Especially since their father was a player in that fateful calamity of a game. When a futuristic ball crashes into their room, they end up getting an opportunity to pull together their own team.

For the past week or so, some folks playing Spider-Man: Miles Morales on the PC have been encountering a bug that, at the end of the game’s dialogue sequences, would just go ahead and play a honking loud air horn.

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The upcoming Last Of Us TV series has had a couple of trailers, one very short, and one a bit longer, but both of those were very much of the teaser variety. Details were kept close to the chest, and only brief flashes of scenery and action were shown. HBO has now released a third trailer over the weekend, however,…

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As expected, HoYoVerse shared Genshin Impact banner details for the new Scaramouche (The Wanderer) and Itto rerun ones debuting on December 7, 2022. The company already confirmed Faruzan would be a four-star focus unit on both. However, it turns out Gorou and Yanfei will also join them.

Scaramouche, now known as The Wanderer, is a five-star Anemo character in Genshin Impact. He'll use a catalyst in-game. The Epitome Invocation weapon banner running on that date will include the five-star Tulaytullah’s Remembrance catalyst designed with him in mind. Itto is a returning five-star Geo character. He wields claymores. Likewise, the weapon banner will bring back his Redhorn Stonethresher five-star claymore.

While the focus five-stars are always different on these banners, they share the same four-stars. New Anemo archer Faruzan makes her debut on both. Gorou is a returning Geo archer. As for Yanfei, she’s a Pyro character who uses catalysts.

For the meantime, two other rerun banners are available. People can get Childe and Yae Miko again until December 6, 2022. He's a five-star Hydro archer, while she's a five-star Electro catalyst-wielder.

Genshin Impact is available for the PS4, PS5, PC, and mobile devices, and the Scaramouche (Wanderer) banner and Itto rerun banner will appear on December 7, 2022. They will end on December 27, 2022.

There's yet another Genshin Impact trailer for The Wanderer, the playable version of Scaramouche, and this time it is a character demo. The new video focuses on setting the stage for him, before showing him enter a battle against members of the Fatui. In addition, HoYoVerse officially confirmed the English voice actor and Japanese voice actor for Scaramouche in another tweet on the Genshin Impact Twitter account.

First, here's the Genshin Impact "Wanderer: Of Solitude Past and Present" character demo for Scaramouche. Like another character close to him, a bird seems drawn to him during more quiet moments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHEE_-87mNE&ab_channel=GenshinImpact

In English, Patrick Pedraza is the voice actor for Scaramouche in Genshin Impact. He’s also played Yun in Onyx Equinox and Mike Tiller in Fallout 76’s Steel Dawn DLC. In Japanese, Tetsuya Kakihara plays the character. Kakihara is known for his roles as Natsu Dragneel in Fairy Tail, Jin Kisaragi and Hakumen in BlazBlue, Lloyd Bannings in Trails of Cold Steel, and Prompto Argentum in FFXV.

Voice Artist Announcement

"Don't ask redundant questions. I will not answer them."
Travelers, let's listen to the voice of "Eons Adrift" #Wanderer!

UPDATE 07/12/22: Following on from the weekend's PC patch for The Callisto Protocol, the team at Striking Distance has released another one. This update will improve "PSO caching" and "further [reduce] any stuttering issues" users may be experiencing.

Reiterating what it said earlier in the week, the developer assured players it's "listening to your feedback". The Callisto Protocol director also Glen Schofield echoed this sentiment, saying "we hear you".

Meanwhile, further PC and console optimisations are "in the works now", with the The Callisto Protocol team asking everyone to "stay tuned" for more information.

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After years of Genshin Impact leaks being an open secret on the internet, HoYoVerse will take firm legal action against Ubatcha, one of the game’s most popular leakers. TorrentFreak reported a court ordered Discord to hand over Ubatcha’s personal details, as Discord is one of the biggest platforms for sharing leaks to a wide audience. [Thanks, TorrentFreak!]

Technically speaking, Ubatcha’s Discord server and subreddit with Genshin Impact information received DMCA takedown notices since July 2022. However, leaks continued to spread around the internet. Information on both Childe and Yoimiya appearing in the Version 3.2 photography event appeared on Twitter in September 2022. Version 3.2 of Genshin Impact launched in November 2022, more than two months after the leaks. Wanderer will launch in December 2022 as part of Version 3.3. However, information on his kit, animations, and ascension materials started appearing in early November 2022.

Every gacha game needs some sort of winter or holiday-themed event, and Goddess of Victory: Nikke is no different. Shift Up has just announced the new Miracle Snow event, which will also introduced two new units: Rupee: Winter Shopper, and Anne: Miracle Fairy, though the latter has yet to be officially announced.

It’s important to note that while these units will be getting rate-up banners just like Helm and Laplace, they will not be added to the regular pool afterwards. They will only be available to get during the duration of the event, and if you miss them, you’ll likely have to wait for an event rerun next year.

Need for Speed: Unbound released last week, but has sadly struggled to make much of an impact.

In the UK weekly boxed game chart, the new Need for Speed only managed to chart in 17th place - that's behind last year's Just Dance 2022 and the Lego Harry Potter Collection.

UK sales data seen by GamesIndustry.biz reveals the game's physical sales were down 64 percent on the series' previous entry, 2019's Need for Speed: Heat.

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Blizzard's Albany-based band of Diablo testers have now formally formed a union, following months of delay.

The small QA (quality assurance) team at Blizzard Albany first anounced its intent to unionise back in July this year.

The team now becomes the second group of testers within Activision Blizzard to successfully do so, following the similarly long-running push by QA staff at Call of Duty studio Raven Software.

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The US Federal Trade Commission reportedly looks to be leaning towards an approval of Microsoft's $68.7bn Activision Blizzard takeover.

Previously, the FTC's involvement in the deal had signalled a headache for Microsoft, which is facing regulatory approval around the world, and close scrutiny here in the UK. A lawsuit looked imminent - potentially blocking the acquisition, or carving out major concessions.

However, a fresh report by the New York Post into the FTC panel set to decide the deal's fate suggests the trade body is now looking more likely to let it pass.

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There's once again a reason to work for Grizzco. Salmon Run updated with a new reward in Splatoon 3, adding the Astro Helm to the collection. If you get 200 Grizzco Points while playing through the horde mode, you'll get one piece of the showcased gear.

After you earn the Astro Helm reward for playing Salmon Run in Splatoon 3, you will find it in the Headgear section on the equipment page. The item will arrive with ability slots already filled. However, each time you earn one by playing, it could feature different skills. Since you can only own one of these items at a time, earning additional ones will allow someone to choose which version to keep. (You will get ability chunks in exchange for the one you don't pick.) Also, as the Astro Helm name suggests, it looks like a helmet someone flying a space ship would wear.

This is the fourth Salmon Run reward to be offered in the game. When Splatoon 3 launched, people could earn a Bream-Brim Cap. The Lo-Vis Visor came up at the beginning of October 2022. Throughout November 2022, people could earn the Brain Strainer helmet. So far, all rewards involved new headgear.

Splatoon 3 is available for the Nintendo Switch, and people can get the Astro Helm as a Salmon Run reward in December 2022.

Through his studio Fahrenheit 213 former Fate/Grand Order Yosuke Shiokawa announced a new game: Tsurugihime. The first title for Shiokawa and Fahrenheit 213 since leaving Delightworks (FGO's former developer before transitioning to Lasengle), Tsurugihime will appear on PCs via Steam.

Check out the game's teaser trailer below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB_vWXe3uK4

The trailer shows off what Fahrenheit 213 calls an "RPG that 'crafts' fate". Tsurugihime blends side-scrolling action gameplay with crafting and a system for daily progression. The "crafting" is about more than putting items together, as players can also "craft" their path to victory in the last battle. That last battle will happen within 100 days. Before that, players are free to live their life however they wish. They can train to become stronger, target powerful enemies, or even refuse to fight at all, living a peaceful life. The game's ending will change based on how players spend their time.

Fahrenheit 213 said that Tsurugihime will have up to 1,000 weapons available to the player. The weapons can be found, acquired, and created, and will have distinct properties that promote mastery. The game also offers a number of customization options, ranging from the main character and their sword, their home base, and even a custom little sister. The little sister will support the player through the "Ikusei" system, and her personality and outlook will change based on how players interact with her.