The Week in Video Games:
Stay Awhile And Listen Edition
By Matthew Arcilla
It’s been a slow news week in videogames, with very little controversy, fanfare and surprises happening. Which is fine, as that means publishers and developers can focus on the announcements and updates regarding the immediate future of video games. I mean what else is there to do until the news bombs explode during expo season?
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War admits premium currency was a mistake
Read more at Too Much Gaming
With zero shred of contrition, developer Monolith announced that they would be removing all microtransactions from Middle-Earth: Shadow of War. In effect, you will soon be unable to buy war chests using premium currency. The reason, Monolith says, is that buying your army conflicts with their design goals. Meanwhile, parent company Warner Bros is rolling cigarettes from dollar bills.
Spyro the Dragon gets a remastered trilogy
Read more at Too Much Gaming
The beloved purple dragon descends from atop his pile of Skylanders toys-to-life money to reunite with the third person platform genre. That takes the form of Spyro Reignited Trilogy, a remastered version of the first three Spyro the Dragon games with upscaled graphics, a re-recorded musical score and the return of Tom Kenny (Spongebob Squarepants) as the voice of Spyro.
Hitman studio signs a deal with WB Interactive Entertainment
Read more at Destructoid
IO Interactive is the studio behind the iconic Hitman series, which saw a successful reboot as an episodic anthology back in 2016. But despite their success, publisher Square Enix sold off the studio to itself, granting it terrifying control of its own destiny. Happy news this week though, as the studio signed a publishing and distribution deal with WB Interactive to continue the Hitman franchise.
Diablo’s famous know-it-all Deckard Cain joins Heroes of the Storm
Read more at Polygon
No other voice is so closely identified with Blizzard’s iconic Diablo series than that of Deckard Cain, the sagely know-it-all and identifier of items. The house that Warcraft built announced that Cain will be joining their online hero brawler, Heroes of the Storm. Designed as a support healer who sticks close to his allies, Cain tosses out healing potions, but his best ability puts enemies to sleep by telling stories.
Final Fantasy XV getting four more episodes of DLC
Read more at VG247
Even though Final Fantasy XV came out way back in late 2016, the game continues to generate sales and sustained interest, thanks to an aggressive series of updates and downloadable content that’s extended its cultural longevity. That’s going to continue into 2019, as Square Enix has announced that four more episodes of story content will be coming, as well as a multiplayer expansion this summer.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 comes to consoles
The critically acclaimed crowdfunding success makes the journey from PCs to consoles . Featuring a fully voiced campaign that can be played alone or with a friend, a robust game master adventure management mode and gorgeous audio and visuals, Divinity: Original Sin 2 will be the console RPG experience to beat when it arrives in August.
Valve responds to reports that Steam Machines are dead
Read more at Ars Technica
Last month, Valve removed all mention of Steam Machines from their online digital storefront, Steam. This signaled to the press that development on consumer-friendly gaming PCs as set top boxes, was dead. Sales were anemic, and support has been on the wane as of late. Valve said the removal was “based on user traffic”, but insists they continue to “strive towards a competitive and open gaming platform.”
Spider-Man swings his way down the calendar to September
Read more at Game Informer
Venerable magazine Game Informer has the big splashy insider look at Spider-Man, the first big Marvel video game since 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2. In addition to a week long reveal of gameplay, features, voice cast, etc., there was of course, a release date: The game arrives September 21st on PlayStation 4, with zero word on a release for Xbox One and Windows PCs.
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