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The year 2022 – to be henceforth known as The Year Where Everything Got Consolidated – is only a month old and already the video game industry has seen three major acquisitions totaling $85 billion. The latest of those sees first-person shooter powerhouse Bungie joining Sony and PlayStation Studios in a $3.6 billion move. And while both Bungie and Sony say that the studio will continue to be a multiplatform developer, that may only end up proving true for Destiny, which continues to enjoy a thriving community and long-term support. Bungie has other projects in the works, and even as Bungie says those will remain multiplatform games, now that Bungie is with Sony, that could change sooner or later.

Regardless of whether it does or doesn’t, though, this move marks, in spirit at least, the end of an era for Xbox fans. Bungie has joined PlayStation, which is the video game equivalent of Red Sox great Wade Boggs signing with the Yankees. And as an Xbox fan who has covered the Microsoft console beat for nearly 20 years, I want to look back at what Bungie has meant for the Xbox platform and community.

A new fan-made "demake" of Bloodborne was released on itch.io on Monday, transporting the world of Yharnam into the PSX era, complete with polygonal werewolves, D-pad controls, and MIDI synth.

Created by developer Lilith Walther AKA b0tster, the game can be downloaded here on their itch.io page. You can also watch the official trailer here or in the tweet below.

BloodbornePSX: NOW AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD

➡️Get it here: https://t.co/40oWAplt4y

Thank you for the support over the 13 month dev period. It means so much to me💜

➡️Discord: https://t.co/kzxCUCCn44
➡️Extended Launch Trailer: https://t.co/qUn6qLdkhi#BloodbornePSX #Demake pic.twitter.com/FTxl8YlFVC

— 🪄💫 Lilith Walther🏳️‍⚧️ (ps1 goth girl) BLM ACAB (@b0tster) January 31, 2022

While many PSX "demakes" are typically short demo-length experiences, the Bloodborne PSX demake is a surprisingly fully-featured ride. I took the game for a spin and managed to get to the giant troll that bangs on the central Yharnam gate door on the corpse-riddled street that runs through the city.

With the news that Sony is acquiring Halo and Destiny creator Bungie for $3.6 billion, the games industry is reacting with a mix of incredulity, cautious optimism, and concern. Though nowhere near as seismic a deal as Microsoft's purchase of Activision-Blizzard, which clocked in at a massive $68.7 billion, the Bungie deal will still have interesting implications for the future of Bungie and Sony's position in the ongoing competition with Microsoft.

Bungie and PlayStation both trumpeted the deal as a beneficial partnership that will allow the Destiny developer to retain its creative independence. Bungie CEO Pete Parsons said the deal will support Bungie's efforts to become a "global multimedia entertainment company" in a blog post following the announcement.

"In SIE, we have found a partner who unconditionally supports us in all we are and who wants to accelerate our vision to create generation-spanning entertainment, all while preserving the creative independence that beats in Bungie’s heart," Parsons wrote.

Parsons later added that Bungie's games will remain multiplatform, tamping down concerns that the deal would mean Bungie's games would only appear on PlayStation in the future.

With SIE's support, the most immediate change you will see is an acceleration in hiring talent across the entire studio to support our ambitious vision. Bungie will remain creatively independent and multiplatform. https://t.co/FTz5qlzt8S

PlayStation owners will be able to connect their accounts to Discord starting today, making it easier to share their activity and connect with other users using the popular social platform.

As detailed in Discord's blog post, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners will have the option to link their PSN accounts to Discord. Once the PSN account is linked, they will have the option to display their activity when playing a game on either console. Players will also be able to display their PSN username on Discord, making it easier for other users to find them and play along.

Discord says the feature will be "gradually rolling out" to U.S. Discord users first, with additional countries coming soon. The feature itself will be available on every platform that supports Discord; this includes Windows, the web app, and iOS, to name a few.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human is almost here: it's set to release for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on February 4. A cloud version for Nintendo Switch will release sometime later. Dying Light 2 is a sequel to the 2015 zombie survival game that takes place 20 years later, in one of the last remaining large human settlements, called The City.

The game is up for preorder now (see it on Amazon, or Amazon UK). Read on to see where you can find it, how much it costs, and what comes in each edition.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human Collector's Edition - Back In Stock for PlayStation

PS4 (includes free PS5 upgrade)

• Get it at Amazon - $229.99
• Get it at Best Buy - $229.99
• Get it at GameStop - $229.99

Xbox One / Series X|S - SOLD OUT

• Get it at Amazon - $229.99
• Get it at Best Buy - $229.99
• Get it at GameStop - $229.99

After selling out quickly after its announcement, the collector's edition is back in stock. In addition to the game itself, here's what will be in it:

Physical items

After 18 years, World of Warcraft is finally relaxing its deep, historical faction divide between Alliance and Horde players, and letting them play together at last.

As Blizzard announced today, an update is currently in the works that will allow Alliance and Horde players to form parties together for dungeons, raids, and rated PvP. Though not available yet, the change is planned for release as part of an eventual 9.2.5 update sometime after the upcoming major patch, Eternity's End.

The shift is, by necessity, somewhat limited in scope. It has to be. World of Warcraft has always followed its Warcraft heritage in dividing the Alliance and Horde into warring factions — in fact, the majority of the game is built on and around that divide. It has historically pursued storylines that set the two groups at odds, pit the two against one another in PvP, and separated out the groups completely for social structures like guilds, parties, and even communication out in the world. One of its more recent expansions, Battle for Azeroth, explicitly centered around that faction conflict, though its resolution ended in a tenuous truce.

Fans of It Takes Two can look forward to seeing more of its world and characters in upcoming adaptations for film and television. Variety reports that It Takes Two developer Hazelight Studios has partnered with dj2 Entertainment to work on potential projects featuring last year's breakout hit. dj2 Entertainment has worked on the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, as well as other video game properties including Tomb Raider.

It Takes Two is a cooperative platformer game that focuses on a couple on the verge of divorce getting transported to a fantasy world, where they're forced to work together to repair their relationship. The game received lots of praise upon its release, getting a 9/10 in our review, and taking home the Game of the Year award at The Game Awards 2021. Hazelight founder and creative director Josef Fares said he's looking forward to the adaptation.

"Creating the world and story in It Takes Two was so much fun for me and the team," Fares said. "Since it has a strong narrative with many crazy characters and just as crazy co-op action moments, the potential is huge for a great adaption to film or television."

The writers of 2020's Sonic the Hedgehog movie adaptation, Pat Casey and Josh Miller, are attached to write the It Takes Two adaptation for television. Right now, there is no studio or network on board with the project, but reports say that's because of a multi-party bidding war for the rights.

Sony has announced that it will acquire Bungie for $3.6 Billion. As with many of these blockbuster acquisitions, there are questions regarding what this means for the future of that studio when it comes to exclusives. According to Bungie, future games in development will not become PlayStation exclusives.

Following news of the acquisition, Bungie released a Q&A addressing some common questions players and fans might have for the future of the company. One of the big questions is whether Bungie's future games currently in development will become PlayStation exclusives? To which Bungie responds flatly: No.

"No. We want the worlds we are creating to extend to anywhere people play games. We will continue to be self-published, creatively independent, and we will continue to drive one, unified Bungie community."

Bungie is currently developing a new franchise. Last we heard the studio is hoping to become a "multi-franchise" company by 2025, meaning Bungie is aiming to have at least one new franchise to go alongside Destiny 2, which the studio continues to develop.

Destiny 2, for that matter, will also remain multiplatform and Bungie released a roadmap detailing the future of the franchise after Sony's acquisition.

PlayStation boss Jim Ryan says we should expect more studio acquisitions in the future, in the wake of today's news that Sony is buying Destiny developer Bungie for $3.6 billion. GamesIndustry.biz's Christopher Dring tweeted that Ryan said, "we should expect more" when it comes to further PlayStation acquisitions.

In the full GamesIndustry.biz interview with Ryan and Bungie CEO Pete Parsons, which was published after Dring's tweets, Ryan said that Sony has "many more moves to make." He also talked about Sony's ambition to grow its live services and grow beyond PlayStation's "historic console heartland."

"I've been on record talking about increasing the size of the PlayStation community, and expanding beyond our historic console heartland. This can take many forms," Ryan said. "We are starting to go multiplatform, you've seen that. We have an aggressive roadmap with live services. And the opportunity to work with, and particularly learn from, the brilliant and talented people from Bungie... that is going to considerably accelerate the journey we find ourselves on."

Parsons added that Bungie is "working on more than Destiny" and that the studio sees its partnership as an opportunity "to build."

Bungie will retain "full creative control and publishing independence of the Destiny universe" following its blockbuster $3.6 billion acquisition by PlayStation, a roadmap that the duo are calling their "shared vision" for the future.

The three point plan guarantees that Destiny 2 will remain on all current platforms, with the potential to expand to still more platforms in the future. Bungie's ultimate goal is a "single global community, that you can play anywhere, on any device."

Bungie's article includes a short FAQ that answers questions concerning its immediate impact on Destiny 2 players, its effect on announced seasons and expansion packs, and what it will mean for The Witch Queen. In short, Bungie says that nothing will change in the short-term, and that it remains committed to cross-platform play.

Bungie's reaffirmation of its to commitment to cross-platform play is notable in light of Sony's famous reluctance to allow PlayStation games to integrate with other consoles. Sony held back PS4 cross-play for years, blocking Rocket League, Minecraft, and Fortnite even as Nintendo and Xbox moved ahead. Sony did eventually acquiesce, with PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan saying that the platform holder supports and encourages cross-play.

The much-anticipated Pokémon game has finally arrived, and while it isn't perfect, it brings loads of new ideas to an already fun series. You can read our full Pokémon Legends: Arceus review for more details about gameplay and more. If you're just wondering how much time you'll end up sinking into the game itself, we can help break that down.

How Long to Beat Pokemon Legends: Arceus

So how long does it take to beat Pokémon Legends: Arceus? If you focus mostly on reaching the first credits without going out of your way to catch new Pokémon or take on side quests, our experts say you can likely beat the game with about 25 - 30 hours of playtime.

That being said, there is a lot more to do in Pokémon Legends: Arceus than just finishing the main missions.

How Much Time It Takes to Fully Complete the Game

According to our resident Pokémon Legends: Arceus experts, it takes quite a bit more time to reach the true end of the game and complete your Pokédex .

Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced it will acquire Destiny developer Bungie for $3.6 Billion.

GamesIndustry.Biz reports that following the deal, Bungie will be run as "an independent subsidiary" of SIE, and will remain a multiplatform studio with the option to "self-publish and reach players where they choose to play."

Bungie is best known as the creators of Halo but since becoming an independent studio have focused their efforts on Destiny, a live-service FPS RPG where players can explore the galaxy as Guardians of Light. The company is also working on a new IP.

"We've had a strong partnership with Bungie since the inception of the Destiny franchise, and I couldn't be more thrilled to officially welcome the studio to the PlayStation family," says SIE president CEO Jim Ryan.

In the official PlayStation Blog post, Ryan begins by confirming Bungie's independence. "I want to be very clear to the community that Bungie will remain an independent and multi-platform studio and publisher." Ryan also says that Bungie will "sit alongside the PlayStation Studios organization," where the two groups will collaborate.

PlayStation Studios will also gain access to Bungie's proprietary tools which can be used for PlayStation Studios teams, according to the blog.

MLB: The Show 22 is coming to Nintendo Switch, and will feature cross-save, cross-play, and cross-progression across all consoles.

Announced during a reveal event, the Sony first-party game will now be playable on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Switch. You'll be able to play and carry save data across all platforms by creating an MLB: The Show account. The game will once again hit Xbox Game Pass on launch day.

MLB: The Show arrived on Xbox for the first time last year, after MLB itself asked Sony San Diego to make the series multiplatform. This year's edition marks the first time the series has come to a Nintendo platform, and is the first portable version of the game since MLB: The Show on Vita in 2015.

Activision Blizzard is currently facing serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject.

The rumoured Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – expected to be the franchise's 2022 release – has reportedly entered an early alpha stage, with the game apparently being developed by 11 different studios.

Activison Blizzard has yet to confirm that a sequel to 2019's Modern Warfare will be released this year but several reports from September indicate this will be the case.

According to industry insider Tom Henderson, who first reported on Modern Warfare 2's existence, three Infinity Ward studios are working on the game alongside Treyarch, Activision, Raven, Sledgehammer, Demonware, High Moon Studios, Toys for Bob, and Beenox.

American McGee’s Alice is getting its very own TV show, and it's being created by David Hayter, writer of the original X-Men movie, and voice of Solid Snake.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hayter will write and showrun the upcoming video game adaptation, bringing the classic twisted Alice in Wonderland video game to TV.

“The American McGee’s Alice and Alice: Madness Returns game series is a ground-breaking reimagining of the classic tale,” said Hayter. “It takes you into the heart of a corrupted Wonderland and throws light into shadowy corners the world has never seen. I am beyond excited to bring this world of madness and wonder to a global audience.”

American McGee’s Alice was originally released in 2000 and told the story of Alice, a psychiatric patient traumatised by the death of her family who retreats into the fictional world of Wonderland.

IGN’s own review said: “Alice impresses and keeps impressing. It's really rare that you play a game that's just so consistently brilliant, and never falls to the "first level punch" only to peter out as you get more than halfway through the game. Alice will suck you in, and keep you interested through its entire elaborate journey.” The game was followed up with a sequel, Alice: Madness Returns in 2011.

The PlayStation 5 design is… not for everyone. It’s been called an alien spaceship, a high-end router, a toilet seat, and many equally unfavorable terms. But personally? I don’t mind it. The weird, misshapen console is the most unique-looking thing on my TV stand. I like risks, and Sony took it with the PS5.

But that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. The overhangs and lack of color options make it impossible to blend in, no matter where it sits. Dbrand, a company famous for its premium stickers and equally premium snark, decided to take matters into its own hands. The company released the Darkplates, while simultaneously daring Sony to sue. Sony obliged.

Sony sent Dbrand a cease-and-desist citing the unique (and idiosyncratic) shape of the plates. According to Dbrand, that’s because Sony wanted to sell their own plates (which it now does). So Dbrand got to work redesigning its plates.

The result is the Dbrand Darkplates 2.0, a new design with rounded edges that comes in three colorways: black, white, and retro gray. The colors all look great, but they’re extremely plain compared to PlayStation’s own announced plates, which come in black, red, pink, blue, and purple.

Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries has stated that the game's shop was not delivering on "value, quality, or price" prior to its recent post-holiday shift – and explained that more changes could arrive.

In a recent community update post from 343, the developer spoke about a number of updates, and provided more information to fans surrounding the game's shop, which saw the addition of individual items for the first time last week.

"Our quick shift post-holidays was in recognition that we were not delivering on value, quality, or price," explained 343 senior community manager John Junyszek. "The offers we are running now, and will continue to run throughout S1, are to help us learn what is working and what’s not. This will take time, but we know that our learnings here will positively impact Season 2 right off the bat."

Junyszek says that it has been paying attention to feedback surrounding the shop and has been taking on board community thoughts on everything from its presentation to item pricing. Throughout that process, the developer noted that it's seen a desire from fans to have bundle options while also the ability to purchase individual items from those bundles on a singular basis.

While Junyszek confirmed that this isn't a feature that the shop is currently able to support, he did note that the team is evaluating the shop's "overall presentation to see how we can better meet the needs and expectations" of users.

More Final Fantasy 7 spin-offs are on the way, according to the game’s creative director Tetsuya Nomura.

In addition to Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis, which hits mobile later this year, Nomura said the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake in 2020 has prompted “even more FFVII projects” (as spotted by Siliconera).

The comments were made in a statement celebrating the original game’s 25th anniversary, with Nomura and Final Fantasy VII Remake’s producer, Yoshinori Kitase, reflecting on their involvement in the series.

Twenty five years ago today the original @FinalFantasy VII first launched in Japan, and to celebrate this very special anniversary we're delighted to present messages from both Yoshinori Kitase and Tetsuya Nomura. #FFVII25th pic.twitter.com/3Py8FwarIl

A next-gen version of Cyberpunk 2077 may be on its way soon, as the game has reportedly been spotted for PlayStation 5.

As tweeted by the PlayStation Game Size Twitter account (below), which regularly posts findings from across the PSN database, a new addition suggests that the long-awaited new-gen versions of the CD Projekt Red RPG may be on the way.

The new database entry seemingly indicates a native PS5 version of the game, with a brand new piece of cover art, as you can see in the tweet below:

🚨 Cyberpunk 2077 🤝 PS5

🟥 #Cyberpunk2077 pic.twitter.com/cziUZrMoxV

— PlayStation Game Size (@PlaystationSize) January 30, 2022

As stated in a follow-up tweet, the account has suggested that a next-gen version of the game could come to consoles between late February and early March. However, as with all leaks and rumours, that's worth taking that with a pinch of salt until an official announcement comes around.

The highly-anticipated Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 upgrades for Cyberpunk 2077 were most recently delayed in October when CD Projekt Red notified fans and investors that the game would be pushed back until Q1 2022.

Elden Ring Hidetaka Miyazaki says that George R.R. Martin may be shocked with what he has done with a number of the characters that the Game of Thrones writer created for the game.

During a recent interview with Game Informer, Miyazaki spoke further about the mythological lore that Martin had created for Elden Ring, which sets up the world before its catastrophic Shattering event.

In explaining that the writer had conjured up a number of human characters for the game, Miyazaki then went on to state that the writer may be surprised to see what inhuman monsters From Software has created from the back of his initial concepts.

“When Martin wrote these characters, and when he provided that origin story, that mythos for the world of Elden Ring, these demigods were much closer to their original form, and maybe closer to human form back then, before the Shattering, before it all started," explains Miyazaki in the interview.

The Shattering is an event in Elden Ring's pre-game history. The game's location, The Lands Between, was once a kingdom blessed by the titular ring, and the Erdtree at its centre. However, a war known as The Shattering saw the ring broken, and the land's inhabitants transformed.

IGN can reveal that The Witcher's Gwent is becoming a new, single-player, standalone game, codenamed Project Golden Nekker and set to launch in 2022.

Project Golden Nekker is currently in development within CD Projekt Red’s Gwent team and aims to provide a “captivating single-player experience” different to previous versions of the digital card game.

Project Golden Nekker will be a completely standalone game, and won’t require players to own any other versions of Gwent to get the full experience.

If you're going to preorder Horizon Forbidden West on PS5, I've found an incredible deal you won't want to miss out on. It's been confirmed that those who purchase Forbidden West on PS4 will be entitled to a free PS5 upgrade, which means you can preorder a PS4 copy for £51.95 (see here) - £18 cheaper than the current PS5 list price (physical and digital).

This is the best deal for Amazon Prime members (or for those who have leftover Amazon vouchers), but if you want to get the game from Currys, it's also available for £51 with code ALOY15 (see here). Sometimes Currys codes can be a bit buggy, so if it doesn't work, you can always contact their customer service team who will immediately refund the difference for you.

TL;DR - Our Favourite Deals Right Now

Get £18 Off Horizon Forbidden West PS5 Preorders

Both Currys and Amazon have discounted Horizon Forbidden West on PS4. We thought we'd give you the option to choose which you would prefer. Both will include the free PS5 upgrade, saving you almost £20 compared to buying the PS5 game outright.

Special and Collector's Edition Preorders

PlayStation has announced that it will broadcast a Gran Turismo 7 State of Play on Wednesday, February 2.

The event will be shown on Twitch and YouTube, starting at 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern / 10pm UK (that's February 3 at 9am AEDT).

Sony says the broadcast will include "30 minutes of new PS5 footage and gameplay details," and adds that it will cover modes and features in the upcoming driving simulator.

After a delay, Gran Turismo 7 will be released for PS5 and PS4 on March 4, 2022.

Creator Kazunori Yamauchi says the game will be "a title that connects the past to the present and to the future", aiming to bring together 25 years of the series' history into a single game. The game will feature returning features (the used car dealership, variable time and weather) and tracks (High Speed Ring and Trial Mountain) alongside its new inclusions.

It will also include a controversial always-online connection, but Yamauchi says that's to prevent cheating and allow for livery data to work properly.

Sid Meier's Civilization turned 30 years old in 2021, which might make your bones hurt (it sure hurt mine). Every main entry in the series has had a new designer at the helm, starting with Sid himself all the way back in 1991, and we were fortunate enough to talk to four of them: Soren Johnson, who worked on Civilization 3 and headed up Civilization 4, Jon Shafer, who took the lead on Civilization 5, Ed Beach, the lead designer on Civilization 6, and Anton Strenger, who was in the driver's seat for Civ 6's Rise and Fall and New Frontier DLCs.

With its first-ever very direct competitor – Amplitude's Humankind – released last year, Civilization is in a position it's never been in before. Johnson and Shafer have each made their own, independent games recently that shake up the Civ formula with Old World and At the Gates. Games that take a more simulationist, less board game-like approach to history such as Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis from Paradox Interactive have stolen away hundreds of hours I would have spent playing Civ a decade ago. So what is Civ's place in modern strategy gaming, and how should it evolve to keep its throne?

Humble Beginnings

Microsoft has announced that February 2022's Xbox Games with Gold are Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse, Aerial_Knight's Never Yield, Hydrophobia, and Band of Bugs.

As detailed by Xbox Wire, all of these Games with Gold will be available to those with Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and the first two - Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse and Hydrophobia - arrive on February 1.

Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse, which will be available from February 1-28, puts players in the shoes of American George Stobbart and "sassy French journalist Nico Collard" as they follow the trail of a stolen painting and a "murderous conspiracy" that has "roots older than the written word."

The Broken Sword series began in 1996 with Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars and the games are point-and-click adventures that have followed the stories of Stobbart and Collard for years now.

Aerial_Knight's Never Yield will be available from February 16 to March 15 and puts players in the shoes of Wally, a "mysterious character always in motion as you run, jump, slide, or dash to the soundtrack of Danime-sama." The game also boasts a "runtime of an action movie," meaning it's perfect for those looking to find a new game that won't take hundreds of hours or those who may want to find their next speedrunning challenge.

Evil Dead: The Game has been delayed from its February release window to May 13, 2022.

Saber Interactive and Boss Team Games shared the news on Twitter, saying the delay was due in part to the fact that, "when [the team] set out to create a brand new game worthy of the Evil Dead franchise, we knew it had to be groovy as hell." To ensure they hit that goal, they felt the delay was needed "in order to deliver the best possible experience."

"This delay gives our team the time they need to get things just right, so your boomstick will be polished, fully loaded, and ready to blast Deadites on that Friday the 13th of May," Evil Dead: The Game's Twitter account wrote. "We thank you for your patience and understanding."

They followed up the Tweet by saying fans won't have to wait "too long" for more news on Evil Dead: The Game, and that pre-order information and a brand-new trailer will be revealed in February.

Evil Dead: The Game was announced at The Game Awards 2020 and features both co-op and PvP gameplay alongside the return of Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams.

During any given match, certain players will need to "seal the breach between worlds," while others will "take control of the powerful Kandarian Demon to hunt Ash and his friends while possessing Deadites, the environment, and even the survivors themselves."

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is an unusual Pokémon game in many ways, including its starter Pokémon selection which is entirely made up of Pokémon from different previous games and regions.

But if you're unhappy with the starter selection of Oshawott, Rowlet, or Cyndaquil, it's pretty easy to get one of a few different starter Pokémon relatively early on in the game.

Warning: Spoilers for Pokémon Legends: Arceus' available Pokémon, new Pokémon forms, and sidequests follow. Read at your own risk!

The starters in question that are available are the original Sinnoh (Diamond and Pearl) starters: Chimchar, Turtwig, and Piplup. And if you're lucky and hunt carefully, you can get all three decently early on and use them through the majority of the game.

On December 5, 2021, Activision Blizzard laid off “at least a dozen” quality assurance contractors from the Call of Duty studio Raven Software. The team was shocked by these developments, given that many of the QA testers on the team were now out of a job after being promised increased wages and even being asked to relocate to Wisconsin.

Since Activision Blizzard notified these Raven Software QA contractors that they would be laid off, many actions have been taken by both employees and leadership, including the staging of a walkout and strike, the formation of Activision Blizzard’s first union in the Game Workers Alliance, and much more.

It can be tough to keep track of everything that has happened so far, so we’ve created this timeline of events - much like the one we created for Activision Blizzard as a whole following its lawsuit - that will help you understand the full Raven Software QA unionization story, and we will continue to update this page as further developments occur.

You can see the entire timeline below, or in the following slideshow:

In early 2021 Lucasfilm Games was reborn. Two days later, the newly formed banner announced a Ubisoft-developed Star Wars game, ending EA’s uneven eight-year run as the franchise's exclusive video game steward.

In the year since, Lucasfilm Games’ mission has become clear: partner with acclaimed talent across a host of different companies to create a genre-spanning portfolio of Star Wars games that reaches as many audiences as possible. It's not unlike the Marvel Games playbook that arm of Disney has been working with over the last few years.

Consider the eight known Star Wars games currently in development. The projects are being made by seven different studios, each renowned in their respective areas of expertise, and collectively cover every major gaming platform. They touch on the most popular genres — action-adventure, strategy, first-person shooter, RPG, soulslike, arena battler, open-world, single-player, multiplayer — and range from free-to-play to full-priced, action-heavy to narrative-focused, family-friendly to mature.

There's something for nearly every type of player, and chances are there’s still more to come. For now, however, let’s dive deeper into all eight known new Star Wars games currently in development, beginning with the upcoming LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.

Hidetaka Miyazaki the creator of the Souls series, really enjoyed It Takes Two from Hazelight Studios it seems. That's quite the praise especially coming from someone who had worked on some of the most influential games of all time.

In an interview over at the PlayStation Blog, Miyazaki said that he doesn't really have much time to play video games, but he tries to make time for them when he can. It Takes Two was one that stood out to him and he played the game from start to finish across three days with a friend online.

When asked about what made It Takes Two so memorable to him, Miyazaki explained, "It didn’t let up throughout, and it never let me get bored. The art and gameplay are different in each stage, and the game encourages you to cooperate across its entirety yet still maintains that artistic element. It’s continually fun to play and felt extremely fresh to me right up until the end, which was impressive to me as a fellow creator."

He continued, "Honestly, I didn’t have that much interest in it at first. But when I gave it a go with my friend, it finally clicked. And with a small child of my own, the narrative resonated with me, which was most interesting in the end."

Ubisoft’s new NFT service hasn’t gone down well ever since it was revealed, but execs say that gamers just don’t get it.

During an interview with Finder, Ubisoft Strategic Innovations Lab vice president Nicolas Pouard said that gamers simply don’t understand the benefits of NFTs.

“I think gamers don't get what a digital secondary market can bring to them,” he said. “For now, because of the current situation and context of NFTs, gamers really believe it's first destroying the planet, and second just a tool for speculation. But what we [at Ubisoft] are seeing first is the end game. The end game is about giving players the opportunity to resell their items once they're finished with them or they're finished playing the game itself.”

Back in December last year, Ubisoft announced Quartz — its first foray into NFTs. This new service offers limited-edition cosmetic items in Ubisoft games, that can then be resold via third-party marketplaces for cryptocurrency.

But it’s gone down like a lead balloon, after its integration into Ghost Recon: Breakpoint raised eyebrows among gamers.

After the service launched on December 9, three limited-edition NFT items were added to the game, including a ‘Wolves’ skin for the M4A1 Tactical Rifle, a helmet, and a pair of pants. These three items are free to claim… but there’s a catch.

Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki has discussed that, while he doesn't think the game is necessarily easier than previous FromSoftware titles, he does believe more people will be able to finish it this time around.

Speaking to PlayStation.Blog, Miyazaki was asked about the "ongoing discourse" that surrounds the challenge and accessibility of FromSoftware's games, if the team was more mindful of these conversations when developing Elden Ring, and if they have impacted the way the team "tailored and maintained FromSoftware's trademark difficulty" for the game.

"Yes, we have," Miyazaki said. "It’s a valid discussion. I feel like our approach to these games, not just Elden Ring, is to design them to encourage the player to overcome adversity. We don’t try to force difficulty or make things hard for the sake of it. We want players to use their cunning, study the game, memorize what’s happening, and learn from their mistakes. We don’t want players to feel like the game is unfairly punishing, but rather that there’s a chance to win a difficult encounter and make progress.

"We understand that Souls-like games are regularly associated with impossible levels of difficulty with high barriers to entry. But we try to design the games to make the cycle of repeatedly trying to overcome these challenges enjoyable in itself. So we hope that with Elden Ring and the new options it provides, it will be a success in that respect."

Sea of Thieves has laid out its coming year's worth of updates, and it includes brand new adventures, a murder mystery and the closure of the game's Arena mode.

Revealed today as part of a 2022 preview, Sea of Thieves is getting changes to its Seasons, as well as all new Adventures and Mysteries.

Adventures are new narrative-led live events designed to offer new story content more frequently, with each adventure part of a wider storyline that the playerbase will directly affect with their actions.

The plan, according to creative director Mike Chapman, is to release one Adventure every month with each lasting around two weeks. Additionally, each season will include a major Adventure that ties together plot threads and moves one of the game's larger stories forward.

Mysteries, on the other hand, are a new storytelling style that will take place both inside and outside the game, adding side quests and ARG elements. New clues will be added as players begin to solve the mysteries.

“Mysteries are something that we’re super excited about,” said executive producer, Joe Neate. “These are going to be stories that players are going to have to work together to uncover, and this will happen in-game and out-of-game, in terms of clues being released, and they will evolve over a longer time period than a typical Adventure will.”

“We’re going to be teasing and hinting and looking at how people are solving this – are people figuring this stuff out?" added Mike Chapman. "When’s the right time to move this forward? It’s based on players uncovering the next stages of these mysteries.”

It looks as though The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett may have taken inspiration from the canceled video game, Star Wars 1313.

This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of The Book of Boba Fett!

Game designer Grant Parker revealed on Twitter that he worked on the long-canceled Star Wars action-adventure, and noted that some of the game's concept designs seem to have popped up on the Disney+ Star Wars shows.

“I did some early pre-pro work on a bar in this section,” he said in response to a video featuring his level designs. “And some of the planning for a meat factory (you see the hanging tauntaun carcasses). It was the first professional level design work I ever did. It was very important to me. Happy to see it again.”

Fun Fact: a lot of excellent early concept stuff from 1313 has been repurposed and used in Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett. I was so happy the latest episode even had a meat locker with tauntauns in it.

It’s official – Hogwarts Legacy and Gotham Knights are still coming this year.

Warner Media CEO Jason Kilar confirmed on Twitter that both games will be released later this year as part of the company’s plans.

“If you want to know what motivates us as a team, it’s this mission,” he said, alongside an image which states: “To move the world through story.”

“This mission, this strategy continues in ’22,” he added, “with a sense of urgency: launching HBO Max in many more countries this quarter and the balance of the year, launching CNN+, delivering of a full slate of highly anticipated games.”

This mission, this strategy continues in ‘22 with a sense of urgency: launching HBO Max in many more countries this quarter and the balance of the year, launching CNN+, delivering of a full slate of highly anticipated games. 10/x pic.twitter.com/CY5jYAhxU5

— Jason Kilar (@jasonkilar) January 26, 2022

Of course, the games he refers to are Hogwarts Legacy and Gotham Knights.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which launches today, takes place in a past version of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl's Sinnoh region, called Hisui. So naturally, it's packed with tons of little easter eggs and nods to Diamond and Pearl locations and characters. But one reference specifically, tied to a legendary Pokémon encounter, is a puzzle solvable only if you know about an easter egg in Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl.

Warning: Spoilers for Pokemon Legends: Arceus' new Pokemon, legendary Pokemon, and sidequests follow. Read at your own risk!

In Pokémon Legends: Arceus' second act, you'll receive a sidequest from Professor Laventon entitled "The Sea's Legend". He mentions a mysterious Pokémon he saw on the ocean, and suggests you might find it in the Cobalt Coastlands. But beyond that, there are absolutely no details on how to encounter it or what Pokémon it even is, and just wandering around the Cobalt Coastlands will get you nowhere. But if you played Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl and remember a specific text in the Canalave Library, you might be able to solve this puzzle.

You see, "The Sea's Legend" is also the name of a book you can read in said library, which goes a little something like this:

Xbox is reportedly working on a Monster Hunter-like exclusive, codenamed Project Suerte, with Halo Infinite co-developer Certain Affinity.

Reported first by journalist Jeff Grubb and backed up by Windows Central, the new game has apparently been in development since 2020 and is slated for release in 2023 or 2024. According to Grubb, Microsoft actively courted developers for a game like Monster Hunter after deciding the Capcom series would be too expensive to add to Game Pass. Other details remain under wraps.

Certain Affinity has worked previously as a support studio on the Halo and Call of Duty series, and has a particular speciality for multiplayer projects. Given that Monster Hunter is built somewhat around co-op boss battles, it seems a neat fit.

Last year, Certain Affinity announced that it was working on an 'ambitious' new game. "Today we’re excited to reveal that we’re leading development on a new original IP," read a statement at the time. "Are we excited to take on a genre and style of game that we’ve always loved? Thrilled beyond words!"

Welcooome to Nintendo Voice Chat, Pokemon fans! This week, join Seth Macy, Peer Schneider, Kat Bailey, and Rebekah Valentine as they discuss IGN's thoughts on Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Hear everything you need to know about the next evolution for the Pokemon series, including why we're torn on the game. Plus, an update to IGN's top 25 Switch games, why Shigeru Miyamoto hates Ocarina of Time's Navi, and more.

Timecodes:

• 00:00:00 - Welcome!
• 00:00:50 - Pokemon Legends Arceus
• 00:26:06 - Top 25 Nintendo Switch Game List Update
• 00:35:50 - Shigeru Miyamoto Hated Navi
• 00:41:55 - Kat Take
• 00:47:58 - News Rundown
• 00:54:15 -What We've Been Playing
• 01:01:30 - Question Block!

Linktree!

For an easy way to find NVC on your favorite platform, check out our NVC Linktree!

You can also Download NVC 596 Directly Here

You can listen to NVC on your preferred platform every Thursday at 3pm PT/6pm ET. Have a question for Question Block? Write to us at nvc@ign.com and we may pick your question! Also, make sure to join the Nintendo Voice Chat Podcast Forums on Facebook. We're all pretty active there and often pull Question Block questions and comments straight from the community.

Logan Plant is the Production Assistant for NVC. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant.

Up until now, the "main series" Pokémon games have been strictly turn-based RPGs following a young protagonist on a quest to become a powerful Pokémon trainer. Each successive game has layered on a slate of new Pokémon to wrangle and, more recently, increasingly absurd and bloated mechanics to try and spice up a system that fundamentally remained unchanged. So at last, we have Legends: Arceus: the reinvention we asked for. Developer Game Freak has scrapped nearly everything I’ve come to expect from a typical Pokémon game — Gyms, random encounters, an Elite Four, trainer battles on the overworld, an evil team bent on world domination — and started over, rethinking even its most basic systems like Pokémon encounters and evolution from the ground up. A lot of this impressive transformation pays off, in that we get to interact with creatures that have never felt more alive in more dynamic ways, but Pokemon’s evolution is not yet complete, because the semi-open world around all of that feels like an unimpressive afterthought due to its bland emptiness.

There are many and varied reasons why people come clamoring back to Pokemon year after year, but at the heart of it perhaps is the enjoyment derived from collecting a veritable army of interesting monsters, customizing and bonding with a specific team of powerful ones, and overcoming increasingly difficult challenges alongside them. In that regard, Legends: Arceus is still the Pokémon we know and love. But everything surrounding it — how you encounter these creatures and learn about them, how you fight against and alongside them, and the challenges you face together — has been flipped on its head.

Ubisoft has announced that its free-to-play battle royale game Hyper Scape will be shut down on April 28, after less than two years of operation.

In a short blog post, Ubisoft announced it has made “the difficult decision to end development of Hyper Scape and shut the game down as of April 28th.”

The company says that its vision of creating a vertical, fast-paced shooter may not have gone as far as it could but that Ubisoft “will be taking key learnings from this game into future projects.”

There is no word on whether current players will receive any sendoff bonus, but Ubisoft thanked the community for their devotion and passion.

Hyper Scape was Ubisoft’s answer to the battle royale boom following success seen by games like Fortnite and Apex Legends. Unfortunately, Hyper Scape didn’t have what it takes to stand out in the field, despite its map design and vertical gameplay.

Ubisoft hasn’t completely given up on the genre, however. In October 2021 the company announced Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Frontline, a battle royale game set in the Ghost Recon universe.