Sherbytes: Industry News Megathread, v.1

[Valhoven]

Price Sweden’s Embracer paid for LoTR and Hobbit rights has now been disclosed at a bargain for ca. 400M USD.

These works are soon to enter public domain if I understand right so return on investment could prove tight, I’ve read.

Full read here. (External)

 

[avenue94]

Full announcement from homepage. (External)

I wonder if this is a move to make EA more attractive to potential buyers or mergers. The sports side prints money, but their non-sports titles have struggled much more.

 

[Valhoven]

I wonder if this is a move to make EA more attractive to potential buyers or mergers. The sports side prints money, but their non-sports titles have struggled much more.

Interesting, yeah. There was an acquisition maelstrom of rumors about Ubi courting Sony or EA wanting to be picked up a while back but we never know the real score.

 

[Valhoven]

October heat incoming for gamers, reminds Benji:

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[method115]

October heat incoming for gamers, reminds Benji:

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Crazy. I'll be going with Alan Wake 2.

 

[rikwebb]

Looking like E3 for 2024 and 2025 have preemptively been cancelled

 

[Sycho Sid]

Looking like E3 for 2024 and 2025 have preemptively been cancelled

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

Leaked rating from Korea for a Quake 2 Remaster

https://www.ign.com/articles/quake-2-remastered-rating-spotted-ahead-of-quakecon-2023

Last year I was heart broken when Quakecon came and went without an announcement of a Quake 2 Remaster.
Do I dare allow myself to get my hopes up again?

 

[Valhoven]

Google testing new post-Stadia game streaming product called Playables. Playables, as it's planned, will be integrated into the YouTube platform.

Playables will reportedly allow players to play games instantly via the YouTube app on mobile devices, similar to Stadia.

(...)

It’s currently unclear if Playables will harness the same technology used by Stadia, and it’s also unclear if the scope for Playables will go beyond basic titles at this stage.​

Full read from VGC team here.

 

[rikwebb]

Star Wars: The Old Republic is shifting studios, going from Bioware to Broadsword Online Games, some layoffs will happen in the transition

https://www.eurogamer.net/bioware-c...old-republic-development-shifts-to-new-studio

Following the news that development of BioWare's free-to-play MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic would be shifting to a third-party studio, BioWare general manager Gary McKay has now confirmed some team members will lose their jobs as a result of the move.

Writing on the BioWare website, McKay explained that "most of the current team will be invited to accompany" Star Wars: The Old Republic as its development switches over to Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot studio Broadsword Online Games - a move EA previously said was necessary so BioWare could focus on its new Mass Effect and Dragon Age titles.

"Unfortunately," McKay continued, "not every role will make the move. This is the hardest part of this transition, and these decisions were not made lightly."
McKay insisted EA is "doing everything we can to support" those affected, and that the employees in question will "have an opportunity to find new roles within EA". He did not, however, divulge the number of Star Wars: The Old Republic team members that would lose their jobs as a result of the move.

"In the long run, though," McKay continued, "we are confident that this is the best decision for the game and its community. We at BioWare will miss being a part of SWTOR's story going forward. But we also know that it will be in very good hands."
McKay added Broadsword is "working tirelessly to [ensure] these worlds and these communities continue to thrive and grow", and that plans are already in place for Star Wars: The Old Republic's future, including "exciting new features planned that the team is not quite ready to talk about yet". BioWare previously insisted the game's shift to a new developer did not mean it was entering maintenance mode, and that it was "planning for 2024 and 2025".

 

[The Clark]

Leaked rating from Korea for a Quake 2 Remaster

https://www.ign.com/articles/quake-2-remastered-rating-spotted-ahead-of-quakecon-2023

Last year I was heart broken when Quakecon came and went without an announcement of a Quake 2 Remaster.
Do I dare allow myself to get my hopes up again?

I loved Quake 2 multiplayer back in the day. The first game I ever played online. I could never get into the single player, though.

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

I loved Quake 2 multiplayer back in the day. The first game I ever played online. I could never get into the single player, though.

It was my first game to play online too. I played so much lithium death match and so many different mods too: capture the flag, weapons factory, jailbreak, weapons of destruction, generations, action Quake, etc.

As for the campaign it doesn’t hold a candle to something like Half-life which came out like 10 months later, but compared to most earlier fps games it was one of the first to not be a simple key hunt and actually had some semblance of a story, with actual mission objectives to achieve and a hub structure to missions that actually made sense, so I enjoyed it a lot at the time.

 

[Valhoven]

On next-gen Nintendo as relayed by Benji:

Just revealed Bobby Kotick and Nintendo have had active talks about the next-generation Nintendo console

Also says that apparently Next-Gen Nintendo console is close to Gen 8 power (PlayStation 4 / Xbox One)

In other words Bobby is saying the console is aligned with Gen 8 power and knowing that it's reasonable to assume they can make games for it considering what they did with PS4 and Xbox One

He is not saying he's assuming the power level

Some of this redacted so who knows if he was given exact specs or just rough performance targets​

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

On next-gen Nintendo as relayed by Benji:

Just revealed Bobby Kotick and Nintendo have had active talks about the next-generation Nintendo console

Also says that apparently Next-Gen Nintendo console is close to Gen 8 power (PlayStation 4 / Xbox One)

In other words Bobby is saying the console is aligned with Gen 8 power and knowing that it's reasonable to assume they can make games for it considering what they did with PS4 and Xbox One

He is not saying he's assuming the power level

Some of this redacted so who knows if he was given exact specs or just rough performance targets​

Gen 8 performance levels… 10+ years after gen 8.

 

[SwamiLeoni]

Arc Raiders is pretty much an Extraction game now. Alpha in play atm. Seems to be mixed feelings on it.

 

[avenue94]

Gen 8 performance levels… 10+ years after gen 8.

I guess it's pretty much confirmation that Nintendo is sticking with the hybrid/handheld form factor. Also makes me doubt that Activision is going to go through all the effort of porting the same mainline CODs as Gen 9.

 

[Valhoven]

Grapevine is Ubi actually remaking Black Flag (AC IV).

Talk about creative bankruptcy in a time they need redeem themselves and deliver to save what’s left of their AA-downgraded rep. What would even be the upgrade given their cinematics and game design haven’t changed in eons? My guess is asset flip from production-limbo and spiritual successor Skull & Bones. No idea what happened there on Singaporean gov appeasement given unpublication, to add. /rant

 

[Valhoven]

On Tokyo Game Show, shaping up to be a lot of fun with Bandai Namco, Capcom, and more exhibiting:

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[Valhoven]

Happy 4th to all USA dawgs from Arcade and Rebellion:

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[method115]

Happy 4th to all USA dawgs from Arcade and Rebellion:

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Happy 4th! Wife took the kids to her parents and I finished ff16 and working on the plat now.