This week in gaming: The PS5 gets external game storage, PlayStation is going mobile (again), and Sony (re)invests big in Epic Games, and more!
In the spirit of keeping our readers up to date with what’s happening in the video game industry, the Doublejump Digest is a brief collection of the major news stories from the past week. Keep an eye out for the Digest every Sunday night, and head on into the archive for news from weeks gone by!
FROM DOUBLEJUMP
- John loaded up on some Monster Broth to review the action in Monster Hunter Rise.
- Tom channeled his inner detective to review the beautiful world within Genesis Noir.
MAJOR NEWS
Latest PS5 update adds external PS5 game storage support
Sony has finally added the ability to store PlayStation 5 games on external USB drives in the first “major system software update” for its newest console. Players cannot play or update games that are stored externally, but they will be able to copy them back onto the system’s internal storage drive instead of redownloading them or copying game game files from a game disc.
The system update also added new features including “pre-downloads” for game updates, easier voice chat volume management, Share Play functionality between PS4 and PS5 systems, and a simpler Game Base menu.
Sony is hiring someone to head up its mobile games division
According to a recent job listing (via ResetEra), PlayStation Studios is hiring for a Head of Mobile position who it expects to “develop [its] mobile games strategy” and “focus on successfully adapting PlayStation’s most popular franchises for mobile”.
Sony’s development house appears to be taking its mobile effort very seriously since the new hire will also be responsible for managing a “ team of mobile leaders” in addition to preparing a “3-5 year business plan”.
Sony invests a further US$200M into Epic Games
Hot on the heels of its Fortnite and Horizon: Zero Dawn crossover, Epic Games has announced that it has secured approximately US$1 billion in funding from various companies including US$200 million from Sony Corporation (PlayStation’s parent company).
The Fortnite publisher confirmed that it plans to use this latest funding to further its “vision” to develop “the Metaverse” – its cross-franchise collaborations – as well as its efforts to improve the Unreal Engine platform, Epic Games Store, and more.
IO Interactive and Creative Assembly open new studios
HITMAN and Project 007 developer IO Interactive has established a new studio in Barcelona to work on its two major franchises as well as “an unannounced new [intellectual property]”.
Similarly, Total War and Alien: Isolation developer Creative Assembly has announced that it has opened a new studio in West Sussex – its third studio in the UK. In addition to this, the company also set up a new “state-of-the-art” motion capture studio.
NOTABLE GAME RELEASES
- God Strike (PC & Switch)
- SaGa Frontier Remastered (PS4 & Switch)
VIDEOS AND TRAILERS
Fortnite — Aloy Arrives To The Fortnite Island
The Seeker herself has joined the battle royale shenanigans.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition — Official Remastered Comparison Trailer
Yeah, I still love the way that the original games looked.
Rainbow Six Siege — Rick and Morty Bundles Trailer
We’ve reached peak crossover, right?
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War & Warzone — Season Two Outro Cinematic
We’re on Adler’s trail, and he might be Verdansk.
VALORANT — It All Starts Here
It’s all about that ranked play.
IN OTHER NEWS
- The inventors of the home arcade stick have tragically passed away: Kotaku
- Nintendo has finally made a blue Nintendo Switch Lite: Twitter
- Patreon reportedly pulled NSFW Bowser artwork in response to a copyright notice: Eurogamer
- Australia’s Freeplay convention will return this year: Kotaku Australia
- Roblox players will soon encounter content ratings in-game: Wall Street Journal
- China will host The Overwatch League’s return events: The Verge
- Ubisoft is planning to shut down various Tom Clancy’s game servers: Eurogamer
- Ludwig Ahgren overtook Ninja to break Twitch’s subscriber count record: Engadget
- Janina Gavankar has signed on to join the Borderlands movie cast: Deadline
- A Robox faked their way to the White House: Kotaku
- Someone made a playable version of Flappy Bird within MacOS notifications: GameSpot
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