This week in gaming: CD Projekt RED shows off Cyberpunk 2077, NVIDIA plans to bring Fortnite back to Apple devices, Psyonix offers insight into lack of 120fps PS5 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
- Tom took a troubled trip to Europa in his Destiny 2: Beyond Light review.
- Edward Attwood made his Doublejump Debut, reviewing the “deluxe” additions that Nintendo made to a popular original in Pikmin 3 Deluxe.
- Ben fell in love with Tetris Effect: Connected, explaining that “you owe it to yourself” to play it in his review.
MAJOR NEWS
CD Projekt RED shows off new Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay footage, reveals streamer-friendly feature
In its latest Night City Wire video, developer CD Projekt RED showed off some new gameplay footage comparing the Xbox One X and Xbox Series X|S versions of Cyberpunk 2077 and the enhancements coming to the new consoles.
The company’s UK Head of Communication, Hollie Bennett, capped off the presentation by revealing that the game will feature an option to disable copyrighted music tracks, so that streamers can stream it without worrying about their videos getting flagged.
Cyberpunk 2077 is slated for release on December 10 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions are due next year.
NVIDIA plans to bring Fortnite back to Apple devices, Google Stadia follows suit
Just as Microsoft planned to do for Project xCloud, NVIDIA has announced that it has brought its beta GeForce Now game streaming service to Apple mobile devices as a Safari web app. As part of its mobile streaming initiative, NVIDIA is working with Epic Games to bring “a touch-friendly version of Fortnite” back to iOS and iPadOS, but that this work “will delay availability of the game”.
In related news, Google announced that it is bringing its own game streaming service, Stadia, to iOS and iPadOS within the next “several weeks”.
Psyonix reveals the limitations stopping Rocket League from running at 120fps on PS5
When asked why Rocket League’s PS4 version doesn’t run at 120 frames-per-second on PS5 unlike the Xbox One version on the Xbox Series X|S, developer Psyonix told Eurogamer that this is due to the way that Sony’s newest console handles backwards compatibility.
“Due to this we had to make tough decisions on what else we could achieve. Enabling 120Hz on Xbox Series X|S is a minor patch, but enabling it on PS5 requires a full native port due to how backwards compatibility is implemented on the console, and unfortunately wasn’t possible due to our focus elsewhere,” the company explained.
This limitation appears to also explain why Call of Duty: Warzone – which runs on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s PS4-based engine) – also doesn’t run at 120 fps on PS5, but Activision Publishing declined to comment when Eurogamer approached it for comment.
IO Interactive’s working on a new 007 game
Hitman developer IO Interactive has announced that it is working on an officially licensed James Bond game, which will serve as an “origin story” for the famed spy.
“Featuring a wholly original story Bond story, players will step into the shoes of the world’s favourite Secret Agent to earn their 00 status in the very first James Bond origin story,” the company wrote on the game’s official site.
IO hasn’t provided a release date for the tentatively-titled Project 007 as of this writing, but we’re hoping to learn more during The Game Awards next month.
Here are this year’s The Game Awards nominees
The Game Awards are just a couple of weeks away now, and the event’s creator and host, Geoff Keighley, has announced all of the awards we’ll see on December 11 (11am AEST) and which games and personalities will be vying for them. Among the leaders in overall nominations is Game of the Year nominee Hades, which looks like it’ll be this year’s customary “indie darling”, and it’s in some fantastic company with Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Doom Eternal, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us Part II all nominated for the top honour.
All of the awards and nominees are live now on The Game Awards’ website, and we encourage everyone who reads this to go ahead and cast their votes! The event will be live-streamed from London, Los Angeles and Tokyo and will run as similarly as possible to the previous iterations.
NOTABLE GAME RELEASES
- Godfall (PC, PS5)
- Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (Switch)
VIDEOS AND TRAILERS
Destiny 2: Beyond Light — Deep Stone Crypt – Raid Race Trailer
The race has begun, and we’ll soon find out who won!
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War — Nuketown ’84
The iconic map returns.
Overwatch — Symmetra Short Story and Challenge
The game’s latest event focusses on its intrepid Indian innovator.
Minecraft — Explore the Star Wars galaxy in Minecraft
Minecraft and Star Wars sound like a marriage made in the heavens.
Minecraft Dungeons — Cross-platform Play Trailer
This day has finally come!
INDIE SPOTLIGHT
Gunnhildr is a Norse-inspired FPS rogue-lite, now in Early Access
Coming to us from RatDog games, Gunnhildr casts you into the role of an exiled heroine as she leads a rebellion against the Elders or Niflheim. Following on from the development model that worked so well for Supergiant Games with Hades, designer Andrew DeSilva explained that RatDog brought the game to Early Access because “[it has] the opportunity to build and balance it alongside [the] community.”
Gunnhildr is set to release in full at some point next year. For now, players can buy into Early Access for AU$21.50.
Sunshine Manor is now in full development:
Having raised £26,842 – or 134% of its goal – on Kickstarter with 627 backers, the teams at Fossil Games and Hound Picked Games have announced that they’ve been able to move into “full-on development mode” on the 1980s horror movie-inspired adventure game. It’s now available for pre-order on all major platforms (currently listed for PC, “PlayStation”, Switch and “Xbox”) through the new Fossil Games Store; all funds collected there will count towards unlocking the Stretch Goals the Kickstarter campaign didn’t reach.
OTHER NEWS
- Nintendo issued a cease-and-desist letter to a major Super Smash Bros. tournament organiser: The Verge
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla boasts the series’s best launch: Game Informer
- Ubisoft has removed Skull & Bones’s Managing Director following its misconduct investigation: Eurogamer
- Huge Capcom data breach includes Resident Evil 4 Remake, new shooter project, and more: Game Informer
- Bungie nerfed Destiny 2: Beyond Light‘s new Stasis powers: Official
- Insomniac Games explains why the Chrysler Building isn’t in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales: Eurogamer
- One of Twitch’s co-founders has left the company: GameSpot
- HBO had ordered a TV show based on The Last of Us: IGN
- Kate Bishop is the next hero coming to Marvel’s The Avengers: Kotaku
- EA Motive is adding two more ships to Star Wars Squadrons: Official
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