Summary
- Layoffs at Microsoft and Riot Games rock the gaming industry, with over 2,400 people losing their jobs.
- Genshin Impact's Lantern Rite festival receives backlash and review-bombing for perceived content inadequacy.
A startling number of layoffs are announced before the first month of the new year has even concluded, Genshin Impact’s fanbase seems particularly perturbed by HoYoVerse’s actions (or inactions) lately, and the Until Dawn movie adaptation doesn’t seem to be arriving single-handedly. Today, The Best War Games’s weekly recap takes a look at some of the most notable headlines from the past week.
The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered’s developer commentary reveals a character who was originally supposed to be killed, Tekken 8 launches as the next monumental landmark in fighting games, and there’s a lot of information to catch up on for anyone diving into Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League early next week. All that and more in this week’s roundup of games industry news. Dissent
Avowed’s Wands Aren’t the Only Feature That Might Surpass Hogwarts Legacy
Avowed already looks to iterate well on spellcasting combat from Hogwarts Legacy, but it is likely to excel in another shared feature as well.
Microsoft Lays Off a Staggering 1,900 People
The gaming division at Microsoft suffers an alarming 1,900 layoffs that include Activision Blizzard and others, while Blizzard’s president and co-founder/chief design officer are also set to take their leave. As part of these layoffs, a Blizzard survival game internally titled Project Odyssey has been canceled.
Riot Games Confirms Mass Layoffs
League of Legends and Valorant’s Riot Games begins 2024 by announcing layoffs of 530 people (equaling 11% of the workforce).
Genshin Impact and Lantern Rite Rewards Review-Bombed
Genshin Impact’s 4.4 Lantern Rite festival has caused an uproar with social media review-bombing as only a part of its community-wide criticism of how the game is perceived to be handling content inadequately.
The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered Reveals Abby Had an Alternate Fate
Developer commentary for The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered reveals that Ellie was originally going to drown Abby at the end of the game. However, this was decided against in an effort to salvage what remaining humanity Ellie might have left, which could suggest an uneasy path to redemption in a sequel.
Until Dawn Potentially Coming to PS5, PC
Shortly after the announcement of an Until Dawn live-action movie adaptation, it seems as though the PS4 Supermassive game is also slated to arrive on PS5 and PC. If true, this would likely be done to refamiliarize the IP with players and anyone interested in the horror movie’s source material by the time its marketing rolls around.
Features
The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered’s No Return mode has a ton of content, especially due to it being an infinitely replayable roguelike, but an expansion with characters from Part 1 could make it even greater and well-rounded.
Movies & TV
Madame Web hasn’t had the greatest marketing, but rumors that Amazing Fantasy #15’s iconic “responsibility” quote may have been butchered in this spin-off, which isn’t helping matters. Still, only time will tell if this proves true next month.
Guides
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League launches in early access in a couple of short days and there’s a lot players will want to know before hopping into Rocksteady’s live-service shooter.
- Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League - Burning Questions, Answered (Crossplay, Online-Only & More)
The Best War Games Exclusives
Tekken 8 seems to outshine its previous entries in big ways, being both fully immersive in its accessibility and single-player content, though its netcode might not be the best in the business.
Until Dawn
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 79 /100 Critics Rec: 49%
- Released
- August 25, 2015
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Supermassive Games
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
- Engine
- Decima
