March's Xbox Game Pass Line-Up Has Diablo IV and Cars Galore
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March's Xbox Game Pass Line-Up Has Diablo IV and Cars Galore
Microsoft’s highly publicized acquisition of Blizzard has had wide-reaching effects, and while some of them have been quite awful, this month showcases one of the upsides. Diablo IV, one of Blizzard’s big 2023 releases, comes to Xbox Game Pass late next week, on March 28. We enjoyed the game quite a bit at launch, calling it a “massive and deeply engrossing action RPG,” so if you’ve been waiting to check it out, now is a good time to do so.
This month also includes a trio of games built around cars, though the three are each very different. F1 23 simulates the realism and intensity of Formula 1 racing, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 is an arcade racer full of child-like wonder, and Open Roads (which will launch on Game Pass) is a quieter, narrative-driven game about a mother and her daughter going on a road trip. Maybe they’ll help me on my journey of learning how to drive.
Here’s the rest of the line-up:
What’s Coming To Game Pass This Month
Lightyear Frontier (Game Preview) (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – Today
MLB The Show 24 (Cloud and Console) – Today
The Quarry (Cloud and Console) – March 20 | Our Review
Evil West (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 21
Terra Invicta (Game Preview) (PC) – March 26
Diablo IV (Console and PC) – March 28 | Our Review
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 28 | Our Review
Open Roads (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 28
Ark: Survival Ascended (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S) – April 1
F1 23 (Cloud) EA Play – April 2
Superhot: Mind Control Delete (Cloud, Console, and PC) – April 2 | Our Review
What’s Leaving Game Pass On March 31
Hot Wheels Unleashed (Cloud, Console, and PC) | Our Review
Infinite Guitars (Cloud, Console, and PC)
MLB The Show 23 (Cloud and Console) | Our Review
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GAMING RECAP (JUNE 1-4)
Nintendo Shuts Down Steam Launch Of Dolphin Emulator
On May 27, the development team behind Wii and GameCube emulator Dolphin announced a massive roadblock: Nintendo's legal team was moving to prevent the software from launching on Steam. While the Dolphin team is investigating its options, the project is currently "indefinitely postponed." Here's the full quote from their blog post:
"It is with much disappointment that we have to announce that the Dolphin on Steam release has been indefinitely postponed. We were notified by Valve that Nintendo has issued a cease and desist citing the DMCA against Dolphin's Steam page, and have removed Dolphin from Steam until the matter is settled. We are currently investigating our options and will have a more in-depth response in the near future.We appreciate your patience in the meantime."
Originally reported by PCGamer, this is not actually a DMCA takedown, just the warning of one. Kellen Voyer, an attorney who specializes in intellectual property and technology law spoke with PCGamer and said, "Here, there is no allegation that Valve is currently hosting anything that infringes Nintendo’s copyright or, more broadly, violates the DMCA. Rather, Nintendo is sending clear notice to Valve that it considers Dolphin to violate the DMCA and should it be released on Steam, Nintendo will likely take further action."
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Meta Quest 3 is official, $499, and arriving this autumn
Meta has made its latest consumer VR headset official; the Meta Quest 3 will launch this autumn, starting at a $499.99 USD price point.
Meta describes the Meta Quest 3 - which will be fully compatible with the existing Meta Quest 2 library - as the "first mainstream headset with high-res colour mixed reality", and promises "better displays and resolution", greater comfort, a 40 percent slimmer optic profile, and twice the graphics performance using "next-gen Qualcomm chipset".
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The Nintendo eShop effectively closes in Russia from today
According to documentation seen by Game Developer, Nintendo explained to publishers that it’s winding down operations in the country due to the current “economic outlook”.
Last year Nintendo suspended shipments of all hardware and software to Russia “for the foreseeable future” and put the eShop under maintenance after the suspension of purchases in Russian rubles by payment providers.
It’s now told publishers its effectively closing the store, with players officially no longer able to make new purchases or use download codes.
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Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart coming to PC in July
This PC version of Ratchet and Clank's latest outing will feature ray-traced reflections with a variety of quality levels to choose from and newly added ray-traced shadows for natural light in outdoor areas.
Additionally, it will provide support for 21:9, 32:9 and up to 48:9 resolutions for triple monitor setups. Meanwhile, both gameplay and cutscenes are optimised for ultra-wide screens.
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HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED 2 - TURBOCHARGED Announced
It will be released on October 19, 2023 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.
The game will launch with over 130 vehicles, including newly introduced motorcycles and ATVs, which will be able to race across “five distinct environments… each with unique racing surfaces that impact vehicle performance for a more dynamic match experience”.
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PlayStation Plus Essentials games announced for June
Sony has announced the three games PlayStation Plus Essentials subscribers will get in June.
The PS4 and PS5 games are NBA 2K23, Trek to Yomi, and Jurrassic World Evolution 2. All three games will be available starting June 6 until July 3.
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The Epic Games Store’s latest free game is Midnight Ghost Hunt
The “chaotic multiplayer hide-and-seek game” is now free to claim until June 8, when it will be replaced by a mystery title.
Developed by Vaulted Sky Games and published by Coffee Stain Publishing, Midnight Ghost Hunt is currently in Early Access.
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Firaxis and CD Projekt Red are both laying off about 30 employees
Civilization studio Firaxis and Witcher maker CD Projekt Red have both confirmed a round of layoffs.
2K studio Firaxis reportedly laid off about 30 developers on Tuesday, while a similar number of employees will be cut by CD Projekt Red as it winds down support for Gwent: The Witcher Card Game.
A 2K spokesperson told Axios the Firaxis layoffs were due to a “sharpening of focus, enhancements of efficiencies, and an alignment of our talent against our highest priorities”.
CD Projekt announced last year that was planning to wind down support for Gwent in 2023 before transitioning the game into the hands of its players.
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EA reportedly lays off two thirds of Firemonkeys Studio
EA-owned Firemonkeys Studios is reportedly the latest developer to suffer layoffs, with up to two thirds of its team at risk.
Kotaku Australia reports the redundancies are being made as Electronic Arts changes the studio's focus. In March, EA announced it was restructuring and would be laying off 6% of its global workforce.
Previously, Firemonkey handled live service operations for mobile titles Real Racing 3, Need for Speed: No Limits and The Sims Freeplay, but it will now focus solely on the latter. Operations for Real Racing and Need for Speed are expected to be moved to EA's India-based studio Slingshot.
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New Xbox Game Pass titles for console, PC and Cloud have been announced
Chicory: A Colorful Tale (Cloud, Console, and PC) and Farworld Pioneers (Console and PC) join the service today, ahead of Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 (Cloud, Console, and PC), Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer (Cloud, Console, and PC) and The Big Con (Cloud, Console, and PC) on June 1.
They’ll be followed by Amnesia: The Bunker (Cloud, Console, and PC) and Hypnospace Outlaw (Cloud, Console, and PC) on June 6, Rune Factory 4 Special (Cloud, Console, and PC) and Stacking (Cloud and Console) on June 8, and Dordogne (Cloud, Console, and PC) on June 13.
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Activision Blizzard tallies harassment reports, punishments
Activision Blizzard yesterday released its first Transparency Report, a planned-to-be-annual look at efforts to curb abuse, harassment, and discrimination in the company that includes details on the number of employee reports, as well as how many of them were acted upon.
For 2022, Activision Blizzard reported that it investigated a total of 116 reported harassment, discrimination, and retaliation cases across the company, and found 31 of them were substantiated.
It only investigated 87% of such cases for a number of reasons, offering reasons like a respondent having left the company, or an anonymous report offering insufficient information as to why an investigation would not be pursued. That percentage would put the total number of complaints received around 134.
Activision Blizzard found substance to 27% of investigated reports and 23% of all reports.
Given the more than 15,500 employees and 5,200 contingent workers covered by the report, Activision Blizzard noted that worked out to .15 substantiated claims for every 100 employees.
As for what was done in response, Activision Blizzard reported that 36% of corrective actions taken included terminating an employee.
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Activision never had "systemic issue with harassment", says CEO Bobby Kotick
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has stated the company has never had a "systemic issue with harassment" in a new interview with Variety.
His comments are in response to a lawsuit against the company by the State of California in 2021, claiming it had a "frat boy" culture. In the years since, a number of sexual harassment lawsuits have been filed and Kotick himself has been accused of turning a blind eye.
"We've had every possible form of investigation done. And we did not have a systemic issue with harassment - ever. We didn't have any of what were mischaracterisations reported in the media," Kotick told Variety. "But what we did have was a very aggressive labour movement working hard to try and destabilise the company."
Indeed, Kotick blamed "outside forces" for the poor reputation of Activision. He added: "I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you if any of what you read in the inflammatory narrative was truthful."
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Kotaku to interview Coffee Talk composer Andrew ‘AJ’ Sitompul
"When the first few sounds of a video game’s loading screen music are glinting synth starbursts, disintegrating into airy jazz chords like they got splashed with warm water, I know I’m about to play something cozy.
In the near-decade since Stardew Valley became the sun-kissed pinnacle of modern relaxing games, other important games in the genre, like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Coffee Talk, have grown the 2000s tradition of sparse keyboard arrangements into layered lo-fi, hip-hop-forward lounge music for their original soundtracks. Andrew “AJ” Sitompul, who composed music for both Coffee Talk and its recent sequel Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly, tells me that’s the way it should be."
Read the entire interview here
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