On the Horizon 1.1: Family Time
Sony completes Bungie acquisition, GTA 6 returns franchise to Miami, God of War can't come soon enough + July 2022 Review Highlights & August 2022 New Games
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Welcome to Vol. 1, Issue 1 of On the Horizon for Monday, August 1, 2022. In this issue: Bungie is now part of the Sony family (officially), EA is working on a Black Panther game, GTA VI will feature a female protagonist, Final Fantasy ditches turn-based combat, God of War can’t come soon enough, and Diablo Immortal continues to empty wallets.
“The way I see it, there are two types of people. Those who spent their lives trying to build a future, and those who spent their lives trying to rebuild the past.” - Max Payne
The Biggest Stories - July 2022
1. FAMILY TIME
Sony: Sony Interactive Entertainment completed its acquisition of Destiny studio Bungie on July 15th. The $3.6 billion deal, which was announced in January, was partly motivated by Sony’s desire for PlayStation to become more of a multi-platform business, and help spearhead its growth into the live service genre. “We believe it will be a catalyst to enhance our live game services capabilities,” Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said in May. “Our acquisition of Bungie also represents a major step forward in becoming more multiplatform.”
+ Spending Spree: : Speaking of acquisitions, Microsoft reportedly triggered a 30-day window for any final challenges to its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. As of July 18, the company had provided FTC with the information it sought, giving the body 30 days to challenge the acquisition. One caveat, however, is that the 30-day review period only begins once both companies (Microsoft and Activision) have substantially complied. But if Activision has done so as well, we may find out if Microsoft’s Activision buyout is approved by the FTC as soon as next month.
2. WAKANDA FOREVER
Jeff Grubb (Giant Bomb): EA is reportedly the latest studio to sign an agreement with Marvel to make a superhero game. And this one's a big one - Black Panther. Grubb claimed the project will be a single-player, open-world title "very likely" being produced at EA's new studio headed by former Monolith Productions boss Kevin Stephens. "It is a single-player game," Grubb said, "it is in very early development, and the game starts with Black Panther being dead. The player is going to take on the challenges of becoming the new Black Panther and that seems to be the set-up for the game." Watch this space.
3. RETURN TO VICE CITY
Bloomberg: Grand Theft Auto VI is "at least two years away", will take place in an area based on Miami, and may feature a female playable character. "Early designs called for the inclusion of territories modeled after large swaths of North and South America," Bloomberg reported. "The company reeled in those ambitions and cut the main map down to a fictional version of Miami and its surrounding areas." This map, according to sources, will be updated over time, with "new missions and cities [being added] on a regular basis."
+ Representation Matters: GTA VI "will include a playable female protagonist for the first time." The publication added that "The woman, who is Latina, will be one of a pair of leading characters in a story influenced by the bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde."
+ Reverse Crunch: Rockstar's vision for GTA VI has been shaped by sweeping measures recently introduced to the company to cut down on employee crunch. Red Dead Redemption 2 infamously required employees to log 100-hour work weeks ahead of launch, something that former Rockstar head Dan Houser was unironically proud of. After RDR2 released, Rockstar faced intense criticism of its crunch culture. In response, the studio ousted several senior figures at the company that employees thought were abusive or toxic, and it has hired more producers to keep on top of the sprawling development schedules of GTA V and GTA VI.
+ Need to Exceed Expectations: VGC: ‘GTA developer Rockstar acknowledged calls for news on GTA 6 from fans, and suggested the silence around the project was due to its desire to ‘significantly move beyond what we have previously delivered.’”
+ Want to Know More: Here’s everything we know about GTA VI, from TechRadar.
4. YOUR TURN
Famitsu: Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida said that Square Enix has reassessed the audience Final Fantasy was appealing to, and has expressed a desire for the franchise to appeal to a broader, younger generation. "I'm from a generation that grew up with command and turn-based RPGs," Yoshida said. But "for several console generations now, all character expressions can be done in real-time. Actions such as 'press the trigger and your character will shoot a gun' . . . can now be easily expressed without going through a command system." He added: This is not an argument of what is good or bad, but there is a difference based on the player's preferences and age . . . [and while] I believe I know the fun of command system RPGs, and I want to continue developing them, I thought about the expected sales of Final Fantasy XVI and the impact that we have to deliver."
+ No Open World: Yoshida also touched on whether Final Fantasy XVI would feature an open world. It will not, Yoshida explained, saying that it was "practically impossible to ask for everything" and "would've taken 15 years to make." Yoshida: "Delivering what we believe is the best story, in an experience that blends together games and movies, does not require an open world."
5. BOY
Sony: PlayStation announced that God of War: Ragnarök is coming to PS5 and PS4 on November 9, 2022. Pre-orders for the game began on July 15. In Ragnarök, players will “embark on an epic and heartfelt journey as Kratos and Atreus struggle with holding on and letting go. A couple of years have passed since Fimbulwinter began; the cold continues to bite, throughout the realm of Midgard. Kratos and Atreus do their best to stay hidden, having tried to undo the approaching end times. Every day they train for the inevitable while seeking any possible means to change the course of fate.”
+ Graphics Modes: Ragnarök pre-orders revealed several new features, including supported graphics modes - “Switch between full 4K resolution at a targeted 30 frames per second, or dynamic resolution upscaled to 4K at a targeted 60fps.” Visual upgrades to the title include “enhanced reflections, lighting and shadows, as well as increased geometric detail and enhanced deformable snow.”
+ Scalping Frenzy: Multiple editions of the game were announced - Standard Edition; Digital Deluxe Edition; Collector’s Edition; Jötnar Edition. The Jötnar Edition quickly sold out at multiple retailers, only to appear on Ebay for more than triple its MSRP.
6. PAY TO WIN
Vice: Activision Blizzard defended the monetization practices in Diablo Immortal, but the company continued to be “slammed over how much money early adopters have lost to the game’s widely hated ‘pay-to-win” model, where players are encouraged to spend money on more powerful items.” Vice spoke with Keith Whyte, the executive director of the National Council on Problem Gaming, who argued that Activision was “hurting their case for self-regulation because it requires not just a degree of restraint on the industry itself, but trust from the public and from potential regulators. And games like Diablo Immortal build neither.”
+ Pay to Win: Kotaku reported that fully upgrading a Diablo Immortal character could cost you half a million dollars - much higher than previously thought.
The Biggest Reviews
Here are some highlights from the past month in review aggregation. Check out…
Stray (Release: July 19, 2022; Platforms: PlayStation, PC; Developer: BlueTwelve Studio. With 86 critic reviews, Stray is currently at 92% recommended. VSG's Verdict: PLAY IT - Stray is a brief but charming adventure that offers a unique window into a gorgeous sci-fi world.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Release: July 29, 2022; Platforms: Nintendo Switch; Developer: Monolith Soft). With 34 critic reviews, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is currently at 91% recommended. VSG's Verdict: PLAY IT - Another heartfelt adventure and a contender for the best RPG on the Nintendo Switch.
As Dusk Falls (Release: July 19, 2022; Platforms: Xbox, PC; Developer: INTERIOR/NIGHT). With 46 critic reviews, As Dusk Falls is currently at 72% recommended. VSG's Verdict: PLAY IT - An interactive crime drama with masterful storytelling that rewards repeated playthroughs.
New Game Releases - August 2022
Now . . . bring me that horizon. Upcoming games calendar:
The Gallery [PC, PS4, XBO, Switch] – August 1
Frogun [PC, PS5, PS4, XSX, XBO, Switch] - August 2
South of the Circle [PC, PS5, PS4, XSX, XBO, Switch] - August 3
Hard West 2 [PC] - August 4
Turbo Golf Racing [PC, XSX, XBO] - August 4
Thymesia [PC, PS5, XSX] - August 9
Two Point Campus [PC, PS5, PS4, XSX, XBO, Switch] - August 9
Lost in Play [PC, Switch] - August 10
Arcade Paradise [PC, PS5, PS4, XSX, XBO, Switch] - August 11
Cult of the Lamb [PC, PS5, PS4, XSX, XBO, Switch] - August 11
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered [PC] - August 12
Blossom Tales 2: The Minotaur Prince [PC, Switch] - August 16
Rollerdrome [PC, PS5, PS4] - August 16
Tribes of Midgard [XSX, XBO, Switch] - August 16
Way of the Hunter [PC, PS5, XSX] - August 16
Cursed to Golf [PC, PS5, PS4, XSX, XBO, Switch] - August 18
RPG Time: The Legend of Wright [Switch] - August 18
Madden 23 [PC, PS5, PS4, XSX, XBO] - August 19
Midnight Flight Express [PC, PS4, XBO, Switch] -August 23
Saints Row [PC, PS5, PS4, XSX, XBO] - August 23
Pac-Man World Re-Pac [PC, PS5, PS4, XSX, XBO, Switch] - August 26
Soul Hackers 2 [PC, PS5, PS4, XSX, XBO] - August 26
Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed [PC, PS5, XSX] - August 30
F1 Manager 2022 [PC, PS5, PS4, XSX, XBO] - August 30
ORX [PC] - August 30
Tinykin [PC, PS5, PS4, XSX, XBO, Switch] - August 30
Scathe [PC] - August 31