2022 is just going to hit different. We can’t say we saw this coming but… Microsoft Gaming just bought Activision Blizzard. As in all of it. Announcing the surprise deal in a tweet and a post on the Xbox website, Microsoft has confirmed that all of your ActiBlizz faves are about to live in a new home.

Is that even legal, Microsoft Gaming?

There’s some interesting language when it comes to the announcement. Company CEO Phil Spencer said in his post, “Until this transaction closes, Activision Blizzard and Microsoft Gaming will continue to operate independently. Once the deal is complete, the Activision Blizzard business will report to me as CEO, Microsoft Gaming.”

Which signals some serious changes at Activision. But it also suggests that, as with last year’s purchase of Bethesda, there’s change a-coming to gaming in general. After all, Microsoft isn’t likely to be all that free-handed with its rival, Sony.

Does this mean that gaming stalwarts like Call of Duty, Overwatch, Diablo, and Tony Hawk are set to become platform exclusives for Microsoft? Maybe eventually. For now, it makes far more sense for Microsoft to continue to let them operate as independently as possible. Because money. Call of Duty makes loads of cash every year and Microsoft could rake in money from Sony, in addition to reaping the benefits of being the shooter’s platform of choice.

Microsoft is paying $68.7 billion for Activision Blizzard, but there is currently no indication when the deal will be final.

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We can’t say we didn’t see this coming: Ever since Microsoft announced the Xbox Series X, the Xbox One lineup has been on borrowed time. The Xbox One X and Xbox One S Digital Edition were discontinued back in 2020. There were still Xbox One S units being made, but apparently, even that’s changed.

Actually, it changed some time ago. Microsoft also canned production of the standard Xbox One S at the end of 2020. They just hadn’t thought to mention it to anyone until early 2022.

Microsoft goes hard

Cindy Walker, Xbox’s senior director of console product marketing, speaking to The Verge, said, “To focus on production of Xbox Series X / S, we stopped production for all Xbox One consoles by the end of 2020.” In other words, if you’re in the market for an out-of-the-box Xbox One, you’ve got until what’s in storage right now runs out.

If, on the other hand, you’re more of a PlayStation fan and still haven’t gotten hold of a PlayStation 4… first, shame on you. Second, you’re in a bit of luck. Sony’s still making its older console for a while yet — at least until the end of 2022, according to Bloomberg.

Part of the reason for this is that the PlayStation 5 is still proving difficult to purchase. Apparently, according to a Sony spokesman, the “crossover between generations” means extra PS4 consoles in stores may make up for this. We’re not so sure, but Sony seems fairly confident in their strategy.

Microsoft seems to have fewer supply issues than its Japanese counterpart. Buyers are far less likely to encounter sold-out signs when shopping for Xbox Series X and S hardware. That even applies here in South Africa.

Source: The Verge

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Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive has announced that it’s set to acquire game developer Zynga. You might be familiar with the name. Zynga is behind those Farmville Facebook requests from the time before the social network was an obvious data-predator.

But it’s what Take-Two intends to pay for the developer that’s remarkable. The company that handles Grand Theft Auto-maker Rockstar Games, among others, reckons Zynga is worth $12.7 billion. In local terms, that’s about R205 billion. That’s enough to build a second Kusile power station, with some R40 billion left over for “performance bonuses”.

But why? That’s the question, isn’t it? Why is Take-Two willing to part with such a stupendous amount of money for Zynga? That $12.7 billion is a fair bit more than Zynga is valued at currently. Heck, Bethesda only cost Microsoft $7.5 billion.

At one point Zynga was completely hosed, its stock value having tanked. It reached the point where the company’s physical assets were worth more than its stock. But the company rallied, enough to shut down the original Farmville (because Farmville 2 was still going strong).

Take-Two takes a chance

That still doesn’t explain why on Earth one of the largest traditional game publishers would be willing to pay six times the value of Oculus for Zynga. Well, much the same reason why Activision lobbed $6 billion in the direction of Candy Crush maker King.com seven years ago. Mobile games expertise. Hopefully, Take-Two’s purchase works out better than Activision’s buy. King.com hasn’t turned out much of note since its 2015 acquisition.

Take-Two is certainly going to try and do better. Company CEO Strauss Zelnick said in a conference call earlier this week, “We believe we have the best collection of console and PC intellectual property in the interactive entertainment business, and it’s basically nearly entirely un-exploited from mobile and free-to-play around the world. Zynga’s best-in-class studios can help us develop that property.”

Strauss has a point. There’s serious potential for mobile games based around Grand Theft Auto, Borderlands, Bioshock, and other big names in the company’s stable. And Zynga, as weird as it sounds, might have the talent to make the most of these properties. See, the studio recovered from its nuisance-message days and plummeting stock value. It now makes almost three-quarters of a billion dollars a quarter and can count on 168 million monthly users across its properties. Several acquisitions of its own, including Torchlight developer Echtra Games, have swelled Zynga to the point where Take-Two is looking over at them hungrily.

The future of mobile gaming for Take-Two remains to be seen. They’re obviously chasing Fortnite‘s mobile dominance, hoping to leverage their existing properties onto something that can slug it out with Epic Games’ juggernaut. Zynga’s acquisition might be the jolt that both companies are looking for. Or it might be that Take-Two has saddled itself with an overpriced King.com. We’ll see, soon enough.

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More than 40% of the world’s population play video games. But besides being entertaining, digital games are a product. The need to bring in money from players is integral to game design.

A popular method of monetising games is through microtransactions. These are repeated, uncapped in-game purchases: for example, extra content, or ways to make progress in the game easier. These transactions may be made with real money or in-game currency (which is paid for with real money).

Microtransactions are very profitable for the industry. As fewer and fewer mobile games opt for a one-time, upfront purchase model, free-to-play games, which make the majority of their revenue through microtransactions, are proliferating. The global free-to-play mobile games market was estimated at US$73.8 billion (roughly £55.4 billion) in 2020.

With the incentive to drive players to spend being a key facet of game design, it’s important to ask whether microtransactions are being incorporated into games in a way that might be unethical towards gamers.

Governments have been paying attention to microtransactions in digital gaming. One particular form, “loot boxes” (a mystery selection of random rewards), have already been banned or regulated in several countries because of their links to gambling. One large survey, for example, found the more gamers spent on loot boxes, the more likely they were to be problem gamblers.

Currently, in-game purchases are not subject to any specific regulation in the UK. The most relevant existing regulation that might apply to microtransactions is the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, the aim of which is to protect consumers by prohibiting unfair, misleading and aggressive business practices.

Regulation is made harder by the fact that we don’t really know enough about the kinds of microtransactions which operate in digital gaming, and how they might affect players who interact with them.

Read more: How long will you keep playing? The game knows

We asked gamers about their experiences

We wanted to understand what types of microtransactions players encounter. So in our study, we surveyed 1,104 English-speaking adults who played any one or more of 50 different mobile and desktop games.

We asked them what monetisation features they had come across in these games, which they believed to have been unfair, misleading or aggressive (based on the wording of the UK Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008). We analysed participants’ responses by searching for repeated concepts in the data, and identified 35 problematic in-game monetisation types, which we grouped into eight domains, or themes.

Some of these domains reflect practices which could contravene the 2008 regulations. For example, aspects of two of the domains – predatory advertising and product not meeting expectations – could be classified as misleading. These domains reflect perceptions among our participants that the information presented about a given in-game purchase is often incorrect, incomplete or skewed.

Another domain, in-game currency, could be seen as unfair, because it can make the implications of purchase decisions less clear for players. For example, two of the subcategories we identified under this domain included the perception that in-game currency disguises the actual price, and that multiple currency types within one game cause confusion – therefore making it harder to calculate the true cost.

Some of the subcategories we identified could be regarded as aggressive. For example, aggressive advertising (which falls under the predatory advertising domain) occurs when players are pestered to make purchases so often that it detracts from their enjoyment of the game.

In short, many types of microtransactions in digital games are likely to violate consumer protection regulations.

Read more: Coronavirus: making friends through online video games

Some domains are more subjective, yet many players still raised them as being problematic. For example, players dislike tactics such as pay to win because they create social division. “Anything that makes paying opponents stronger than nonpaying is unfair,” said one participant.

Players also value their freedom of choice as to whether to make a purchase. This is exemplified through the domain called monetisation of basic quality of life: when game elements which players think should be central to the game cannot be accessed without payment. As one participant explained:

Creating an event which has 20 stages, 18 stages of which you can fulfil for free (just spending loads of your time) and for the last two you have to pay in-game currency to get the final reward. This is very very sneaky tactics. Even if you’re notified at the start of the event you still feel like you’re being robbed in plain sight.

Ultimately, the general presence of microtransactions clashed with player ideas about what a game experience should be like – the so-called “magic circle” which is free from financial worries. As one participant said:

Great games ruined by greed, I can’t even think how could a virtual, nonexistent item could cost almost like a used car. Ironically or sadly, the same company who made my favourite game is also the one responsible to have brought in this system.

These issues would be harder to regulate than the more concrete features, such as multiple currency types or aggressive advertising, which could potentially be covered by consumer protection.

So what can be done?

As our research is based on self-reporting, we must acknowledge that it may be affected by biases. More research into how microtransactions affect players and their gaming experience is needed to design appropriate regulations. In the meantime, we can offer suggestions for how games companies can incorporate microtransactions ethically. Fundamentally, game play should be the same with and without payment – players must retain their choice.

Further, developers should not include game elements which are solely designed to get players to spend money. The value of a product must match the amount paid for it. If game designers work with researchers and players to monetise ethically, we can create a gaming industry that works for everyone.

• Elena Petrovskaya is a PhD student in Video Game Effects, University of York
• This article first appeared on The Conversation

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It might be that COVID is winding down, but for the folks at E3, it’s not over yet. At least, that’s the reason the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is giving for suspending a physical Electronic Entertainment Expo for the third year running.

First confirmed to VentureBeat, the ESA says that it’s suspending a physical E3 event in 2022, “[d]ue to the ongoing health risks surrounding COVID-19 and its potential impact on the safety of exhibitors and attendees.” But not everybody thinks this is the case.

E3 in peril

Reporter and analyst Mike Futter doesn’t agree with the ESA’s announcement, calling it “spin”. Futter claims the physical version of E3 was canned back in November 2021. “I heard from sources in mid-November, before Omicron’s emergence at the end of that month that the ESA had abandoned their dates for the LACC,” he said.

It’s possible that COVID drove the final nail into an already closing coffin for the event. E3 has been on the decline for a while. Nintendo has operated separately for some time. Sony pulled out of 2020’s event before it was hammered by COVID.

Everything going online seems to have, largely, worked out for most companies. It’s possible the ESA is having trouble convincing exhibitors to return to a group physical event. If entities like Electronic Arts, Microsoft, and Ubisoft are seeing the same (or greater) response from solo events, it makes little sense to hand the ESA money for a physical E3. A digital version, with far less overhead, is more attractive purely in financial terms.

But that does mean that a former gaming highlight for the year might be gone for good. E3 in its heyday was… something that had to be experienced first-hand. The ESA’s announcement, now, might be the company getting ahead of just this speculation. Or maybe they’re actually concerned with the progress of COVID-19’s Omicron variant, which hasn’t appeared quite as serious as other strains. The World Health Organisation, as recently as this week, is still warning about Omicron. So maybe we’re being overly suspicious of the ESA. Maybe, but probably not.

Source: VentureBeat

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Asus pitched up to CES 2022 with some interesting gaming hardware in their ROG-branded suitcase. And most of it fits in a suitcase, based on its most interesting device this year. This is Asus’ ultra-portable ROG Flow Z 13 gaming laptop. 

With an increased focus on mobile gaming technology, Asus’ ROG Flow Z13 joins the Flow X13 we managed to get our hands on last year. The Asus Flow X13 also received the upgrade treatment with flashy new internals – but we’ll get to that later. 

Go with the Flow

The Flow Z13 is based on a similar format – it’s an ultra-portable laptop that features a detachable display. Kinda like Microsoft’s Surface Pro range. Except that users have the ability to connect an external GPU hub to the 2-in-1 device and turn it into a far more powerful gaming machine. 

That makes the Z13 of the smallest gaming setups we’ve ever seen. It measures just 12mm thick, but that doesn’t mean it’s skimping on those all-so-important specs. Inside the chassis is a 14-core Intel Core i9-12900 CPU and Nvidia’s newly-announced GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU, along with a 1TB SSD in the dedicated PCIe port. And then there’s the 16:10 touchscreen that’ll offer either 120Hz Full HD resolution or a 60Hz 4K option – depending on your needs.

Opt for the XG Mobile external GPU system, and you’ll upgrade that GPU to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 or the newly announced AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT GPU. That’s a serious set of hardware for what is essentially a gaming tablet to be packing. 

The other ROG announcements at CES 2022

In addition to the intriguing gaming format that is the ROG Flow Z13, Asus managed to squeeze a few more announcements into its CES 2022 keynote today. 

That includes some updated and brand new CPUs and GPUs à la Intel, AMD and Nvidia. In short, gamers can look forward to: 12th-gen Intel Core processors, AMD Ryzen 6000-series processors, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti laptop GPUs, and AMD Radeon RX 6000S-series graphics cards.

In Asus’ arsenal of new machines, a few will come equipped with 16:10 displays, featuring what the company calls ROG Nebula HDR and ROG Nebula Display – both naming conventions it’ll use to standardise its display tech across products. 

Of course, we also saw spec upgrades for the ROG Flow X13 and the ROG Zephyrus Duo, G14, G15, and M16 —
which’ll see ‘em fitted with some of those fancy new GPUs. 

South Africa may get some of the abovementioned products, including the GPUs and some of the notebooks, but no pricing is available at the moment. That’s hardly unexpected — they’ve just been announced. We’ll have a short wait before confirmation of what, when, and how much turns up. When that happens, we’ll let you know.  

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In a move that even people wearing VR headsets all day saw coming, Sony has confirmed the PlayStation VR 2. And, as with the reveal of the PlayStation 5 logo at CES 2020, that’s all the company is willing to let us see.

Oh, the hardware exists. It’s real. It’ll eventually launch. And we even know what it does and which features it’ll include. But Sony doesn’t want anyone looking at it just yet, which is why all they’ve shown off is the logo.

PlayStation VR 2: The Return of PSVR

In addition to confirming the name (which we could have guessed), Sony has also confirmed what the PlayStation 5 headset will do. There’s an upgraded resolution, of 2,000 x 2,040 per eye, which is more than the Meta Oculus Quest 2 provides.

There’s also a 110-degree field-of-view and a new “inside-out” camera system that replaces the external camera used for the PS4-era PSVR. Like the Quest 2, it’ll track its whereabouts using the internal cameras. There’s also eye-tracking and haptic feedback being included in the headset.

Odds are we’re also looking at a substantial redesign. At least, that’s the impression given by the early look at the PlayStation VR 2’s controllers. It’s just a pity that we’re not allowed to look at it yet.

Sony also revealed the first exclusive for the PlayStation VR 2. Called Horizon: Call of the Mountain, the title is based in the Horizon: Zero Dawn universe. It looks like players will take on series protagonist Aloy’s role from a first-person perspective, though we suspect there will be rather fewer robotic T-Rex battles. Unless there’s a seriously ambitious motion control scheme, anyway.

Launch timing and pricing isn’t known, yet. Rumours indicate that they’ll go into production soon, with a launch date by the end of 2022. If you haven’t purchased a PlayStation 5 yet, the PlayStation VR 2 might just provide a little extra impetus to find one.

Source: Ars Technica

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If you’re into technology, CES is always an exciting time. Companies take the opportunity to show off some of the new products or ideas they are working on. This year, Alienware is focusing on the home gaming experience with its Concept Nyx.

The core idea with Concept Nyx is to centralise all of your games across the various storefronts, platforms and methods of viewing to one point that’s accessible anywhere in your house and where switching between devices or platforms is as seamless as walking into the next room.

That’s cool Alienware, but why?

While it might sound like a grand idea, we’re struggling to imagine a world where this takes off. The ideal use-case for this kind of system would be a house with many gamers under the same roof.

Theoretically, Concept Nyx removes the need to fight over who gets a turn on the TV and seems like it wants to bring gamers physically closer together by sharing a screen. It’s a nice idea but how well it will work and whether it will even be available to us here in SA are good questions. We think we already know the answer to ’em.

It’s good to remember that this is just a concept after all. Maybe this will lead to Alienware developing a machine capable of powering 4 instances of Cyberpunk 2077 all running at 4K60fps on different devices around your house. We wouldn’t count on it though. 

Source: Engadget 

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Remember when people would make fun of Apple for its devices not being able to play games? Yeah, that… kinda still happens, at least as far as Mac goes. But the iPhone and iPad have encroached on ‘serious’ gamer territory for some time now. And that’s even without the benefit of controllers.

Developers seem to love Apple’s hardware. It’s powerful enough for some really interesting presentations, and touchscreen controls have taken a few enterprising turns in the last few years. It’s amazing what you can do with an accelerometer these days.

But, even though Apple carefully vets what it’ll allow on its store, there’s still some sorting to be done. Happily, we’ve gone and done that for you. The list that follows contains some of the very best content on the App Store, without needing to a) spend more than the asking price or b) grind your way through freemium tiers of play to get to the good stuff.

Repulze (R4.00)

If you miss the former PlayStation staple Wipeout, then Repulze is the game for you. You’re piloting an anti-gravity craft around futuristic tracks and firing weapons at opponents. Eventually.

First, though, you’re going up against the clock. It’s a relatively safe start, to get you used to the blistering speeds you’re eventually asked to cope with. But first you’ll have to get used to the controls. Repulze’s control methods can be a bit finicky, but they don’t have to be. You just need to fiddle with the settings a little bit.

Download Repuzle

Super Stickman Golf 3 (Free)

This one’s a little weird — part Angry Birds, part Worms, but without any of the explosions. Instead, you’re tasked with knocking a ball around a variety of 2D courses in a quest for the ever-elusive hole-in-one.

What makes this one stand out are its settings. You’ll leave the fairways in favour of forests, space and places with a suspicious number of lasers instead. But that’s not where this one ends.

It really takes off, though, when you take a swing at multiplayer. You can either take turns or, far better, all play at once in a race to the finish line (but that doesn’t work on a single device).

Download Super Stickman Golf 3

Touchgrind Skate 2 (Free + IAP)

Let your fingers do the talking in Touchgrind Skate 2. The concept is remarkably simple — there’s a board onscreen, and two of your fingers are the feet controlling it.

The result is a super-tactile, super-smooth skating game that doesn’t need some guy in a hoodie and expensive shoes onscreen to be incredibly compelling to play. It’s just you, the park, and that 360-hardflip you’ve been trying to nail for weeks now.

There’s also the ability to capture and upload some of your incredible skills, so people will actually believe you when you tell them you scored that backside nollie heelflip to crooked to bean plant you were after.

Download Touchgrind Skate 2

XCOM 2 Collection (R250)

It doesn’t matter which platform you play XCOM 2 on, as long as you play it. Might as well stick it on your iPad, though, since it’ll haunt your days unless you can play just one more turn at a moment’s notice.

The premise is simple. Aliens have overtaken Earth and it’s up to you, your research skills, and a bunch of perma-dying soldiers to take it all back. This is done using turn-based combat, tactics, and save-scumming. Wait, no, not the last one.

It’s the same as the full-sized game, but there’s a few things to watch out for. It’ll work best on a tablet, but it’ll chew through battery life like a fat kid at an all-you-can-eat ice cream stand. But, even though it’ll set you back almost R300, it’s well worth the cash spent.

Download XCOM 2 Collection

Oddmar (R80)

Oddmar has long been a Stuff favourite. This might be because it’s a more or less straight ripoff homage of the excellent Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends. Seriously, the gameplay is basically identical.

But that’s fine. You don’t mess with perfection. And changing the weird hero out for a weird Viking chappie does enough to make Oddmar an interesting game in its own right. Even if you’re still chasing the same objectives down in a slightly different guise.

It’s fine because this solid platformer keeps what made the Rayman titles so great. That is: gorgeous settings and animations, tight controls (even for a touchscreen), secrets, and some serious replayability.

Download Oddmar

FAR: Lone Sails (R65)

And now for something completely different. This utterly stunning puzzle platformer will have you staring in wonder at its setting, while the sound design invades your brain and casts you into a desolate world where all that matters is getting yourself to your destination.

Of course, to do this you’ll need to fix and maintain your vessel, explore the remains of a dead civilisation, and figure out exactly how to complete objectives that aren’t always clear. Controls are onscreen but they keep things simple enough. It’s getting from point A (the beginning) to point B (the very end) that matters most here.

Download FAR: Lone Sails

Love you to bits (R65)

Love You to Bits might look there’s a bit of Scribblenauts in its DNA but it’s actually a point-and-click adventure. You play as Kosmo, who’s looking for parts of his girlfriend (she’s a robot, this isn’t that dark). In order to do that, players have to navigate puzzles and a very specific sort of logic. You know the one.

The puzzles aren’t difficult to overcome, though a little lateral thinking is required from time to time. The game’s settings, characters, and story remain charming throughout, so you’ll eventually get Kosmo where he’s going. We hope.

Download Love You To Bits

Her Story (R65)

Her Story caused quite a sensation when it first turned up a few years ago, and it’s still an amazingly engaging play. Your iPad or iPhone becomes an old desktop PC, where you’ll encounter bits of video showing a woman being interviewed by the cops. A murder has taken place and… well, you could figure out what happened if you look hard enough.

In order to do that, though, you’ve got to navigate an archaic system that’s generally a pain to work with. It’s even more painful when you realise that computers really used to work like this and finding items meant a) remembering they were there or b) making a printed or handwritten list. What it isn’t is painful enough to make you stop trying to figure out what went on back then.

Download Her Story

There Is No Game: WD (R65)

This is a very interesting concept for a game — a game that tries to convince you it doesn’t exist. Eventually, you’ll break the entire thing, leading you to the start of There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension.

Which turns out to be a mashup of some seriously classic games and genres, combined with some really mind-mashing puzzles. And, of course, an interesting narrator who you may or may not want to pay attention to, depending on the situation.

But it works best when you’re unaware of what’s going on. So, even though we’ve included a trailer here, don’t watch it. Just trust us, and play it.

Download There Is No Game: WD

Euclidean Skies (R80)

This is a sequel to Euclidean Lands, which combined turn-based puzzle combat with the ability to twist and turn the environment. Skies does much the same thing, only on a far grander scale. How grand? Well, hopefully you’ve kept up your mental gymnastics.

Everything is bigger and better, which also means more complicated. You’ll navigate the world around, ambush enemies, and generally have the time of your life making the world work the way it was intended to. It’s the most fun you can have poking and prodding… well, anything, really.

Download Euclidean Skies

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There are loads of games on Android. Many are free, and there’s often a reason for that. Some are paid-for, and there’s also a reason for that. The trouble is deciding which free and which paid titles are worth your time or money.

For a relatively small (sometimes zero) investment, you can tote along hours of fun on your Android smartphone or tablet. It’s not as easy as Apple’s curated store but that’s what Stuff’s for. We’ve got you covered when it comes to Android gaming quality.

No matter which of these titles you choose — be they free-to-play, paid, or in-app payment supported — you can be sure of one thing. They’ll be well worth either the cash investment or the entertainment you’ll get from little more than the price of the download.

Retro Goal (free + IAP)

If you’re looking to play some FIFA, then go and play some FIFA. Get an Xbox. But if you’re after some retro-style football, either on your phone or tablet, then Retro Goal is where you should look.

It harks back to the days of the SNES, design-wise, but its developers have cleverly modernised the touch controls so that swipes and taps will have you headed to victory in no time. There are even sections that slow down, at crucial moments, to give you some epic shots.

Yes, there are in-app payments but you really don’t need to spend a cent. What you earn in-game will let you level your team well enough that actual cash never comes into it.

Download Retro Goal

ALONE… (R36)

How fast are your reflexes? However speedy you reckon they are, ALONE... will make you reconsider your ability in that line. A bit like NES classic Macross, a little like Flappy Bird, and a whole lot like an endless runner, this one’s going to have you biting your nails.

Navigate a speeding ship through a cave system, dodging the changing environment, falling rocket, projectiles and anything else the game throws at you and might might eventually get somewhere. Play is as simple as sliding your finger up and down.

That’s about it. You’ll die, sometimes fast, sometimes after an adrenaline-pumping few minutes, and then you’ll head back and do it again. That’ll all you’ll do, but it’s also all you’ll need to.

Download ALONE…

Giant Dancing Plushies (R60)

We’re not sure what you’re expecting from a game like Giant Dancing Plushies. Pretty much everything is in the name. The developers aren’t doing anything more clever than being descriptive here.

So, basically, you control a gigantic dancing stuffed animal as you stomp through a city and squish everything you come across. But this is a rhythm game, because making it a straight-up action title just wouldn’t work for some reason. Matching the beat is how you’ll get along here.

There are various unlockables, because you gain XP for your widespread destruction. Unlock new plushies so you can go out and do it again. There are also new locations to destroy, as well as combos to unlock. It’s absolutely insane, but it’s gloriously so.

Download Giant Dancing Plushies

Death Road to Canada (R175)

Okay, so this is a bit like if you took Left 4 Dead, Days Gone and ran it through an AI that was fed a steady diet of classic Zelda games, but it’s quite a trip. A road-trip, that is. Death Road to Canada sends players on a zombie-filled trip from Florida to Canada to escape the hordes of the undead.

Along the way you’ll drive, stop, shoot and loot your way through all sorts of scenarios. The game is randomly generated, so you can expect a spot of weirdness, and actually making it to your destination will be an exercise in both skill and luck. Mostly luck, we think.

But it’s tense gameplay, incorporating stealth, action, shooting, and more than a little RNG, combined with the sort of pixel-art weirdness that’s endlessly charming. Just like those Canadian folks you met that one time at that thing.

Download Dead Road to Canada

Galaxy On Fire 2 HD (free)

There’s a little Freelancer and a little No Man’s Sky in this gorgeous-looking space shooter published by a ‘real’ video game company — Deep Silver. But no, Johnny Gat isn’t in this one.

What is in this one is a 20-hour campaign, ads, and in-app purchases, but you’ve still got a heck of an experience ahead of you despite all that. Fly, fight and trade your way across the galaxy, battle aliens and pirates and upgrade your ship(s) and space station.

If you choose to buy it, that is. It’s perfectly possible to spend cash on this one but it’s also completely optional. We’re sure the devs would prefer that you did, though.

Download Galaxy On Fire 2 HD

Jydge (R160)

This top-down shooter has a thing for replacing the letter ‘u’ with the letter ‘y’, probably for Dredd-ful reasons. It takes place in the city of Edenbyrg, where players control the Jydge. This is a customisable law-enforcement officer that tends to go all Demolition Man at the slightest provocation.

You’ll customise your own warrior and then send him after bad guys. And good guys, if they happen to do silly things like ‘not get out of the way in time’. Walls are more or less optional and justice is served fresh and steaming. Like coffee. Or turds. Depends on your point of view, really.

There’s no real artistry to this one, just wanton destruction in the name of ‘peace’. So it’s basically every cop movie made between 1982 and 1996, really.

Download Jydge

The Room: Old Sins (R70)

For something a little slower-paced and cerebral, a bit like the first Resident Evil without the zombies, check out The Room: Old Sins. You’re investigating the disappearance of an engineer and his wide, which eventually leads you to an attic and a dollhouse.

Using video game logic, you wind up inside the dollhouse and you’ve got to navigate the mysteries it contains. There are loads of puzzles to uncover and solve as you navigate from room to room.

It’s not just shades of Sherlock, though. There’s a solid chunk of horror to get your heart pumping, even if the pace isn’t quite enough to start the adrenal glands flowing.

Download The Room: Old Sins

GRIS (R76)

You might have encountered this one on one of the big-boy consoles and now it’s available on Android. This is a platform-puzzler that looks to be part Journey and part Child of Light. The concept is simple — unlock doors, keep moving on.

But it’s in its presentation where the game shines. You play as Gris, who has lost her voice and been dropped into a colourless, ruined world. It’s up you to find your way out.

The painted style is a joy to experience and there are all sorts of encounters that elevate this one beyond a mere platform game. Top-notch animation drive the story, but you may need a second go-around just to appreciate how utterly gorgeous GRIS is. We don’t like to throw the word ‘masterpiece’ around but this… definitely justifies it.

Download GRIS

Civilization VI (free + IAP)

Do you ever feel like you have too much time on your hands? Well then download Civilization VI and never worry about that ever again. The formerly PC-only strategy title has had a few good years on mobile and this is just the latest way to never fall asleep again.

As usual, it’s all about evolving your empire through as many tech stages as possible, fulfilling various defeat conditions. It’s not just about making the largest, nastiest weapons before your opponents — but that’s certainly an option. But there’s a catch.

See, you’ll only get 60 turns for free. This is enough to convince you whether you’re willing to open your wallet for more, and then there are expansions to consider as well. Perhaps keep an eye out for a sale, as those can knock down the price of Civ considerably.

Download Civilization VI

GRID Autosport (R50)

When smartphone makers tout their high-end 120Hz screens, it’s because they’ve got games like GRID Autosport in mind. Formerly a PC and console exclusive, it’s now playable on Android and damned if it doesn’t look as good as its larger counterparts.

There’s more than 100 cars and circuits to choose from, the ability to customise your ride and a whole lot of driving simulation to get to grips with. And it’s not exactly an arcade racer. Finesse is required to get you across the finish line on the podium.

But if you’re actually in the market for a racer that’s more flash then substance, just head on down to our next game.

Download Grid Autosport

Asphalt 9: Legends (free + IAP)

If GRID is the mobile version of Forza Motorsport, then Asphalt 9 is Forza Horizon — just as good looking but a little less complicated on the technical level. By which we mean each racer is a high-speed stunt-racer where anything goes and physics are kinda optional.

There’s not too much to control here. Follow onscreen prompts to drift, jump and blast nitrous through the engine block while dodging as much as you need to to get across the finish line. It’s all about some sort of desire for expeditious velocity. If you catch our drift.

Does it make a whole lot of sense? No. Does it have to? Also no. Just download it, unless it comes preinstalled on your phone. That also happens a lot.

Download Asphalt 9

Touchgrind BMX 2 (free + IAP)

They really should make a skateboard version of this game (wait, they did). All you need to do is take the Invisible Man BMXing in Touchgrind BMW 2.

It’s a bit of a weird one — you play this game with two fingers, as though each digit is controlling the handlebars and seat respectively. Roam tracks and parks, flipping and spinning at a touch or swipe of your fingertips and (hopefully) sticking your landing.

Getting used to the control method will take a little while, however, so persevere until you get the hang of it. It’s a little like Dark Souls in that sense — it takes a while before the systems all make sense. Even then, disaster is still moments away. That’s what makes this one so fun. That, and the backflip tailwhips.

Download Touchgrind BMX 2

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LG’s not exactly a key player in the gaming-gear space. In fact, it’s several spaces removed from the gaming sphere, making laptops and notebooks built for the office. Until now, that is.

The South Korean electronics brand has announced its first-ever gaming laptop, the UltraGear 17G90Q. And it’s a bit of a beast.

LG’s UltraGear is ultra strong

The 17-inch UltraGear packs an 11th Gen Intel Tiger Lake-H CPU for its brains, and a titanic Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Max-Q graphics card for brawn. In case you somehow weren’t aware, this is Nvidia’s most powerful laptop graphics card. LG’s had some gaming-ready cards in some past machines, namely GTX 1650s, but these pale in comparison to the 3080. Additionally, the UltraGear can be configured with up to 32GB of RAM and a terabyte of solid-state storage.

Visually, you’re looking at a 1080p sRGB IPS display. We were hoping for 4K with that 3080 but this is still perfectly fine. It’s got a 300Hz refresh rate to make up for the lack of pixels. All this is powered by a 93Wh battery, which is nothing to sniff at.

Miscellaneous specs include an RGB keyboard (always a fun way to express yourself), a fingerprint scanner on the power button for speedy start-up, and a 1080p webcam.

Port-side you’re not going to be left wanting. The UltraGear is decked out with two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, a headphone jack, an Ethernet input, the DC port for charging, an HDMI port for an additional monitor, and even a microSD slot. That’s a little unusual.

For all this, you might expect this laptop to be pretty dense. While it’s plenty heavy, at just under 2.7 kilograms it’s lighter than you’d expect. You can throw it in your backpack and lug it around with no stress. Just be sure not to leave it back there too long or you’ll wind up investing in a back brace.

The UltraGear is slated for an early 2022 release. Pricing will likely be revealed at the upcoming CES in January, though with an RTX 3080 onboard you’ll be looking at a little more than an arm and a leg for this.

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Final Fantasy XIV, following its timeless redemption story, has always been popular, but it’s blown up in a big way over the past two years. Thanks to a combination of engaging content, coverage from streamers and some big hits on the competition World of Warcraft (or, at least, the studio behind it), Square Enix’s MMO (or MORP depending on who you ask) is more popular than ever. So popular, in fact, that the studio has to halt sales of it as servers buckle.

Popular kid problems for Final Fantasy

As a woefully inadequate but fit-for-purpose explainer, MMOs (massively multiplayer online game) run on servers, because the whole point is that you’ve got hundreds to thousands of people playing in the same world at any given point. But servers aren’t all-powerful, and they can technically fill to capacity. And Square Enix can only run so many servers at a time.

Because of its rampant success, FFXIV effectively has a surplus of players now, with substantially more concurrent players than its servers are capable of holding. This has become increasingly apparent following the latest expansion, Endwalker, which released last month.

Because of this, players have to put up with lengthy queues to even get into the game, let alone queue up for popular content. Square Enix is therefore halting sales on the game so that queue issues don’t get any worse for people currently playing the game. This would also give the studio room to get new servers up and running, if it weren’t for the fact that the ongoing semiconductor shortage is making that nigh-impossible right now.

As far as problems go, there are worse ones to have. Clearly, Square Enix has a lot to celebrate. It’s got an incredibly active and devoted player base that’s grown exponentially in a relatively short amount of time. On the other, not being able to sell new copies to new players means that there’s money left on the table for the company, which never bodes well.

The studio has apologised to current players for queue times and prospective players for being unable to accommodate them at the moment. It’s also given out 21 days of free game time (FFXIV runs on a subscription model) as part of its apology.

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Sony’s latest generation of gaming console has officially been out in the world for more than a year. We’re entering its second festive season, which would mean that all the PlayStation fans out there have likely bagged one by now. Sadly, it’s still out of stock. But you can buy these fancy coloured side-plates for it now, if that’s any consolation.

The company was quick to strategically remove all third-party side-plate sellers in the market before launching its own line of console covers in five different colours. The colours mimic some of the colours we saw on the official DualSense controllers launched earlier this year. 

Finally, a customisable PlayStation

They’re reminiscent of the galaxy-esque theme Sony’s going for, offering Midnight Black, Cosmic Red, Nova Pink, Starlight Blue and Galactic Purple options. Those black plates by themselves would likely carry all of the company’s plate sales, honestly. They’re pretty sleek. 

“Simply remove your original white PS5 console covers and click your new ones into place,” the company said, according to Engadget. “The PS5 console covers will be available for both the PS5 with the Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive and the PS5 Digital Edition.” 

Remember the DualSense controllers in Cosmic Red and Midnight Black announced earlier this year? You’ll get those in the newly unveiled colours as well – so you can match your  console to your controller. Or not. We’re not judging. 

These covers will retail for $55 – converted to around R900 at the time of writing. Which means they’ll probably be sold locally for around R1,200. Local availability isn’t clear yet, but we’re sure distributors will announce it in coming weeks. The new DualSense colours are already available for pre-order from Nexus Hub for R1,500. 

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Following the announcement of mass layoffs of QA staff in one of Activision Blizzard’s studios, workers have announced via activist group A Better ABK Workers Alliance that they were initiating an indefinite strike until their demands are met. These demands include pay transparency, the reinstatement of laid off Raven employees, an “unbiased third party audit” of the company as a whole and more. A Better ABK has also set up a strike fund for those who wish to “join in solidarity”.

Activision activism

Today, the ABK Worker's Alliance announces the initiation of its strike. We encourage our peers in the Game Industry to stand with us in creating lasting change. For those who wish to join in solidarity, please consider donating to our Strike Fund.https://t.co/IauGyxuLYG

— ABetterABK 💙 ABK Workers Alliance (@ABetterABK) December 9, 2021

A Better ABK Workers Alliance has helmed several walkouts this past year, the first being in June to protest the company’s toxic work environment. More recently, near 200 employees walked out last week following the laying off of 12 quality assurance testers from Raven Software, a studio under Activision Blizzard.

The aforementioned walkouts were, ostensibly, temporary and reactive in nature. The current strike is a more long-term and proactive effort, with workers refusing to return to work until their demands are met.

A Better ABK has also begun actively working to create a worker’s union, handing out union cards. Should a union come to be, there could be major shakeups in store for Activision Blizzard.

Acti-Blizz hasn’t gone full Amazon with its anti-union efforts but it’s still not pleased with the idea of one. Chief Administration Officer Brian Bulatao reportedly sent a letter to employees urging caution against unionising. As a high-ranking member of corporate would. The letter expresses that open communication between management and employees (which would allegedly be hampered by a union) is vital for improving company conditions. As if management hasn’t been directly responsible for abusing and silencing employees for years now.

A Blizzard employee took to Twitter following Bulatao’s letter to share their recent experience with him, alleging that he called them on their personal cell phone “in order to intimidate [them] over an initiative [they] had begun in the company about WFH [Work From Home] Equity.”

Regarding the ongoing strike, workers will apparently only be paid by Activision Blizzard from this Wednesday, so A Better ABK has set up a strike fund via GoFundMe. Alongside a general explainer for employee discontent and a timeline of events, a detailed explanation for where donations will be directed reads:

“Funds will be used first and foremost to assist with wages during the ongoing strike, as well as assisting with relocation of any Raven QA who had moved unassisted at the behest of A/B/K. Should any funds remain, they will be held for use in future collective actions to have our voices heard by the company.”

So far over $300,000 has been raised, with an end-goal of $1 million.

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While it’s been possible to run Android apps on a Windows machine using third-party services like Android x86 and Bluestacks, the functionality will soon become official. Google is now working on a method to officially play Android games on a PC. 

Google Play Games, but with Windows

During this year’s Game Awards, Google managed to squeeze in an unprompted surprise announcement. “The company revealed it will bring a Google Play Games app to Windows PCs sometime in 2022,” XDA Developers reports. 

“This Google built product brings the best of Google Play Games to more laptops and desktops, and we are thrilled to expand our platform for players to enjoy their favorite Android games even more.” Greg Hartrell, Google’s product director of games on Android and Google Play, told The Verge.

There isn’t much clarity when it comes to how the feature will function on a technical level at this point. What we do know is that the games will run natively on the host PC, and not over cloud like Google’s Stadia. They’ll also have to be listed on the Amazon Appstore, considering that’s the app store that Windows uses natively. 

According to XDA Developers, Google’s not using technology gained from these third-party services that have offered the functionality for years. Instead, it’s building all the tech in-house. It should be accessible on Windows 10 and 11 come launch time. Ready to annihilate all the Fortnite mobile players on the superior system?

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As much as The Game Awards poses itself as the video games equivalent to Oscars, a lot of people (us included) consider the event’s main appeal to be the excessive trailers and announcements that accompany the actual awards. We were particularly excited this year given how E3, while being completely serviceable, wasn’t particularly exciting.

There’s a veritable truckload to get through, with several hours worth of trailers shown off, so we’re here to give you the condensed version, paying special attention to the biggest stories.

Elden ring gets a cinematic trailer

From Software might be the only studio capable of dragging out and amplifying hype for a game for this long while still (probably) being able to meet the phenomenal expectations it’s built for Elden Ring. The George R. R. collaboration project was awarded another ‘Most Anticipated’ award, and also gave us a look at the suitably dark-fantasy story and lore we can look forward to seeing in the title. This trailer focuses on story rather than gameplay, and you’re probably better off watching it yourself than having us try to describe what’s going on to you.

Sonic the Hedgehog meets Breath of the Wild

Sonic’s got a pretty checkered history as far as 3D games are concerned. On the one hand, Colors. On the other, Rise of Lyric. Not to jump the gun, but after watching the trailer, we think the Blue Blur’s upcoming adventure might find itself fairly far on the positive end of the 3D Sonic spectrum.

Sonic Frontiers got its first teaser trailer alongside the release of Sonic Colors: Ultimate earlier this year. Now that we’ve had a good look at it, we’re excited. In a massive departure from the Sonic formula, this title places the titular hedgehog in an open world, where he can run around full-tilt and, presumably, put a stop to whatever hair-brained scheme Eggman has cooked up this time around. Honestly, it looks like someone modded Sonic into Breath of the Wild, which sounds like a recipe for success as far as we’re concerned. Frontiers is slated for a late-2022 release.

Additionally, we also got a new trailer for the next Sonic movie, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which showed us some familiar Ben Schwartz shenanigans and a more on-model Jim Carrey Dr Robotnik. Additionally, we were also introduced to the lovable sidekick Tails and rough and tumble fist-fighter Knuckles (played by none other than Idris Alba). The film is set to arrive on the 8th of April next year. 

A new Star Wars game

We were happy enough for one Star Wars-related game announcement earlier this year, in the form of a KOTR remake, but now we’ve got another title to look forward to next year. Star Wars: Eclipse is an upcoming game set in the High Republic era (that’s around 200 years before the Skywalker saga begins for those of you unfamiliar with Star Wars history), made by Quantic Dream (Heavy Rain, Detroit: Become Human) alongside LucasFilm Games. 

Unfortunately, we didn’t get much more than a very foreboding cinematic trailer, and there’s no release date just yet.

Dune gets a new game

Following the rampant success of Denis Villeneuve’s film adaptation of sci-fi hallmark Dune comes Dune: Spice Wars. The first Dune game in over two decades, Spice Wars is a strategy 4X game being made by Shiro Games, known for another RTS, Northgard. Spice Wars hits PCs in 2022.

Alan Wake returns

We got a remake of the original Alan Wake earlier this year, and now we’ve got a sequel to look forward to in 2023. Unlike the first game, Alan Wake 2 looks a lot… scarier. Probably because it’s a survival horror game. This early on there’s not a lot more to report on than the fact that the titular main character looks eerily like Jared Leto…

Get sus in VR

Here’s a bit of a dark horse. Among Us, the quirky asymmetric multiplayer title that got most of the world through 2020, is coming to VR. There’s no date on it just yet, but we do know that it’s coming to Meta (formerly Oculus) Quest 2, PS VR and the Valve’s Index.

Halo hits the small screen

With the early multiplayer and the recent release of the new campaign, Halo hype is at an all-time high. Now we’ve got a Halo TV series to look forward to as well. Story-wise it’s a little bare-bones, but we get some suitably sci-fi slow pans and a formidable appearance by Master Chief himself right at the end. Safe to say, we’re excited. 

Another look at Forbidden West

Forbidden West, the Horizon Zero Dawn sequel, got delayed earlier this year, but we’re edging towards its February release date. The Game Awards re-stoked our excitement for the title with a new trailer chock-full of action, robot animals and open-world goodness. 

Hellblade’s sequel

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice caused quite a stir with its gorgeous presentation and nuanced exploration of deep psychological themes through action combat. While the trailer for its sequel, Senua’s Saga didn’t give us a release date, we did get a look at some impressive and fittingly gritty cinematics and a gameplay demonstration. 

That’s it for the highlights. There’s still quite a bit to look at if you’re inclined, and it’s not that we aren’t excited for some of the titles we left out. These were just the real standouts for us. For a full list of every announcement, head this way. 

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Last night saw the best games of 2021, and the people responsible for them, awarded for their efforts at the annual video game award show — The Game Awards 2021. With a name like that, what did you expect?

The show was hosted by video game journalist Geoff Keighley and featured The Matrix Resurrections stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss as award presenters. They were joined in their hosting duties by Simu Liu from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Jim Carrey and Ben Schwartz from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, industry friend Guillermo del Toro and Giancarlo Esposito from Far Cry 6.

Let’s face it though, the four-hour-long affair is about the trailer debuts just as much as the games winning awards. There were more than a few this year so we’ll cover them separately. If you’ve got four hours to spare and want to catch every minute of the show you can watch it over on YouTube (linked below) but if you just want a recap of the major category winners here they are. You can find a list of the winners of every category here.

The Game Awards 2021 winners

Here are the winners in the major categories:

Game of the Year

Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)

It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA) (WINNER)

Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam/Nintendo)

Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)

Resident Evil Village (Capcom)

Best Game Direction

Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda) (WINNER)

It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)

Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)

Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)

Best Narrative

Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)

It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA)

Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/SQUARE ENIX)

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX) (WINNER)

Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)

Best Indie

12 Minutes (Luis Antonio/Annapurna Interactive)

Death’s Door (Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital)

Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab) (WINNER)

Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital)

Loop Hero (Four Quarters/Devolver Digital)

Best Multiplayer

Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock/WB Games)

It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA) (WINNER)

Knockout City (Velan Studios/EA)

Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)

New World (Amazon Games)

Valheim (Iron Gate Studio/Coffee Stain)

Best Family

It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/EA) (WINNER)

Mario Party Superstars (NDcube/Nintendo)

New Pokémon Snap (Bandai Namco/The Pokémon Company/Nintendo)

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (Nintendo)

WarioWare: Get It Together! (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)

Most Anticipated Game

Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) (WINNER)

God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)

Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)

Best Art Direction

Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda) (WINNER)

Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)

Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)

The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)

Best Score and Music

Cyberpunk 2077 (Marcin Przybylowicz, Piotr T. Adamczyk, Composers)

Deathloop (Tom Salta, Composer)

NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 (Keiichi Okabe, Composer) (WINNER)

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Richard Jacques, Composer)

The Artful Escape (Johnny Galvatron & Josh Abrahams, Composers)

Best Audio Design

Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)

Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios) (WINNER)

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)

Resident Evil Village (Capcom)

Returnal (Housemarque/SIE)

Innovation in Accessibility

Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)

Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios) (WINNER)

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX)

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/SIE)

The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Creative Bytes Studios/Falling Squirrel)

The post Here’s who took home a W at The Game Awards 2021 appeared first on Stuff.

If you’ve only just come out from under your rock then you missed the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, the best game that’s ever been released in the history of — okay no sorry, we can’t keep that up. Although it received massive amounts of hype leading up to its 10 December 2020 launch, the game that everyone received was definitely not what they were hoping for.

The game was riddled with bugs, glitches and performance issues which made it unplayable for many people, especially if you tried to play it on the previous generation of consoles. Sony even went as far as to remove it from the PlayStation Store. This led to CD Projekt’s share price plummeting by 15% on 18 December. So, not the launch game devs dream of.

Oooh, right in the money bags

Perhaps the people most upset about the game were some of CD Projekt’s own shareholders. According to them, the developer misled them over the quality of Cyberpunk 2077 on consoles which led to them incurring damages when the share price fell. And if there’s one thing you don’t do, it’s mess with a shareholder and their potential monetary gains.

Now it turns out, CD Projekt Red doesn’t actually like being sued so it’s going to settle the class-action lawsuit filed against it. It’s only just filed for preliminary approval so it’s way too early to tell what that’s going to entail, who is entitled to what or any of those details.

In the developers’ defence, it has spent much of the past year releasing patches and fixes to address many of the issues the game faced at launch. But it might be too little too late, the damage to its reputation might’ve already been done and no amount of “ but have you played The Witcher 3?” is going to help.

Source: The Verge

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Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the open-world game, along comes Ubisoft with playable NFTs. Yeah, that’s seriously about to become a thing. The French gaming giant has announced a new platform — Ubisoft Quartz — dedicated to “playable and energy-efficient NFTs in AAA games”.

Which is exactly what it sounds like. The company is about to make some in-game items wholly unique. Or, rather, it’ll do this to batches of them. You can equip ’em, use ’em, sell ’em, and buy ’em. We’re getting some serious Counterstrike: Global Offensive vibes here.

Want Ubisoft’s Digits?

Ubisoft Quartz is how players will manage these playable NFTs — called Digits. These are, “collectable in-game vehicles, weapons, and pieces of equipment” that are stamped and numbered. This lets the company drop a batch of items instead of just one at a time.

These items keep track of who owned them, so each time they change hands they’ll update their history. They’re not overpowered weapons or gear, however. Just cosmetic skins, otherwise you’ll have folks spending money for tangible advantages. Can’t have that, can we? Ownership info is handled by a blockchain because it’s not an NFT otherwise.

“To operate the first energy-efficient NFTs playable in a AAA game, Ubisoft Quartz leverages Tezos, a blockchain running on a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, using exceedingly less energy to operate than Proof-of-Work blockchains such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.”

Ubisoft’s launch is the beginning of a four-year blockchain experiment, and it starts with Ghost Recon Breakpoint. Folks who are in the Quartz beta and playing the much-maligned-but-honestly-better-now shooter on Windows will have access to drops (known as Editions). These begin from 9 December but are limited to players at level 5 and above who are over the age of eighteen.

Oh, yes, and you’ll need to be a resident of the US, Canada, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Australia, or Brazil. At least at first. Depending on how this goes, expect it to become a permanent fixture. Ubisoft’s also considered the problem of hoarders — no player can own more than one Digit of any specific Edition.

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Before you get too excited — yes, BMW and gaming brand LVL are teaming up to create a real-life Rocket League. But no, they won’t be using actual, life-sized cars to do it. Even though that would be awesome.

Instead, the motoring brand and the gaming gear creator are making something called Das Race Goal. This is a Rocket League-like esports event that uses RC cars and an arena to recreate the whole football-using-cars mechanic.

BMW banging around

The event will see six three-player teams navigating remote-controlled cards roaming around the BMW Welt stadium in Munich. The cars will traverse the stadium, snagging virtual powerups and setting off “special effects”. What that means, we’re not sure. We’re obviously hoping for explosions.

The event will be streamed on LVL’s Twitch channel, and the first of them kicks off on 12 December at 20h00 South African Standard Time. The point? To raise money for the United Nations Population Fund’s Skills for Life program. Teams are made up of one esports player (there will be representatives from Cloud9, Fnatic, G2, and OG), an influencer, and a young gamer involved in the UN’s program.

This won’t be a one-off event, either. The partnership of BMW, LVL, and the UN will apparently be more of a long-term prospect. This means we’re in for an exciting physical event — however it actually functions.

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