Plenty of announcements fromResident Evil, Nintendo’s indie showcase, as well as revelations from Sony Bend’s cancelledDays Gone 2, come from this week’s gaming news. Game Rant has compiled some of the biggest gaming news stories from this past week together into a concise post for fans and enthusiasts to stay up to date on the most important events in the industry per week. Highlighting the most relevant stories, this list is not inherently and totally objective, and will not contain every news story this week. Rather, this is intended for gaming fans who want a quick rundown on the largest/most impactful stories that occurred in the last week in games.
In this week’s recap of gaming news, Capcom has plenty to unveil forResident Evil Village, as well as some surprise announcements for the franchise’s 25th anniversary. Activision continues to tease the “end” forCall of Duty: Warzone, though it’s more accurately a new beginning. Nintendo held a surprisingly stacked indie showcase full of new games this week. More details have come to light on Bend Studio’s rejectedDays Gone 2pitch from the original’s former director. Along those lines, Amazon’sLord of the RingsMMO project was cancelled as well, though for an exterior issue. All that and more in last week’s biggest games industry news.
Resident Evil’s 25th Anniversary Showcase Highlights
As the release of the next mainline entry approaches, Capcom released a ton ofResident Evilannouncements, trailers, and more during this week’s showcase. Other than the announcement and subsequentrelease of the secondResident Evil Villagedemo, there were several surprise announcements for allResident Evil-related media as well. Highlight announcements from the showcase include:
Warzone’s ‘End’ is Coming Next Week
In Verdansk, strange things are starting to finally happen inCall of Duty: Warzone. In preparation of Season 3, theWarzonemap has undergone some significant changes already, with blankets ofradiation hovering over the Prison, Shipwreck, and now the Hospital. Players downed in those zones or killed in combat are returning as Zombies as well, while others were witnessing dud Nukes landing in theWarzonemap a bit early.
Evidently, this is allin favor of “the end” event being teased forWarzoneby Activision, which is supposedly coming on April 21. A nuclear-themed event itself has been teased byWarzonepractically since release, with leaks and map changes revealing nuclear warheads and bunkers throughout Verdansk. Next week, players will know for sure what’s happening toWarzoneby Wednesday.
Nintendo Hosts An Impressive Indie Showcase for 2021
A surprisingly stacked indie showcase was presented by Nintendo last week, featuring several exciting and surprising titles coming to the Switch this year. A sequel toOxenfree, a newTMNTbeat ‘em up-style game calledShredder’s Revenge,a newOlliOlligame is on the way, the return of Konami as an indie publisher, and more were showcased as well. Several of the titles showcased are already available now, with many slated for later this year.
RELATED:Nintendo Launching Indie Game Sale on Eshop Starting Later Today
Details Emerge From Rejected Days Gone 2 Pitch
In the wake of Bloomberg’s report investigating the affairs of Sony’s first-party studios, one of the revelations was a rejectedDays Gone 2pitch by developer Bend Studio. Until now, there wasn’t much detail on the reported existence of aDays Gonesequel, other than it at one time existed conceptually at the studio. Now,Days Gonegame director Jeff Ross did elaborate on some of thegameplay and narrative details included in theDays Gone 2pitch.
According to Ross,Days Gone 2was going to implement co-op gameplay in some form, which was supposedly planned to come toDays Goneinitially. There were also plans to makeDays Gone 2a “shared universe” in some way, whether that’s through base-building, teaming up, or other free-form multiplayer elements. None of these elements or concepts are confirmed for any kind ofDays Gone 2project in development, despite fans asking for it.
Amazon Lord of the Rings MMO Cancelled Due to Tencent Dispute
While there wasn’t much public information made available on the project, it seemsAmazon has cancelled itsLord of the RingsMMO project. Though not at fault of the game’s development itself, it seems Amazon ceased development due to a dispute with Leyou Technologies and Tencent. According to Bloomberg’s sources familiar with the cancelled project, Leyou Technologies’ acquisition by Tencent led to the contract dispute, with negotiations between both tech companies ceasing development.
Publisher Square Enix Refutes Rumors of Acquisition
Earlier this week, reports by Bloomberg Japan indicated that several companies were interested in potentially acquiring publisher Square Enix. Square Enix has since come out to publicly refute any rumors of intent to sell or any acquisition deals, even thoughSquare Enix’s market price did rise in the wake of these rumors. The publisher made it clear that no single company had made an official offer, nor did Square Enix reach out to any interested parties.
CPU/GPU Hardware Shortages May Last Until 2023
Once again, PC manufacturers express a warning that GPU hardware shortages could persist even longer than initially expected. Issues with the pandemic, resource shortage, and now cryptocurrency and sale botting could potentially extendshortages until 2023, according to Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC. This news comes in the wake of both the U.S. and Chinese governments competing for TSMC’s loyalty in supplying semiconductor technology for widespread industrial use.
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