This week in gaming: Sony confirms the PlayStation 5 name and release window, Blizzard denies looking after Chinese interests, Respawn reveals Apex Legends’s Halloween event, 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
- Cav entered the mind of an assassin as he reviewed John Wick Hex, which he found to be “a treat for fans of the films and of tactical combat games alike.”
- Zack was up next in the reviewer’s chair and reviewed Killer Queen Black, which he thought was a great addition to the base game but felt disappointed by it not being an adventurous departure from the expected formula.
- For this month’s Multiplayer, we tackled the topic of discussing our most unpopular gaming opinions.
MAJOR NEWS
Sony confirms PlayStation 5’s name and release window, removes Facebook sharing:
Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan has confirmed that the next PlayStation system will be named the PlayStation 5 and is slated to be released in time for next Christmas. On the same day, PlayStation 5/4 System Architect Mark Cerny also revealed to WIRED some more details about the upcoming system, including about how it’s upcoming controller will feature improved haptic feedback (similar to the Switch Joy-Cons’ “HD Rumble”) and adaptive triggers (much like those found in the Xbox One controller).
In related news, SIE has removed all Facebook integrations from the PlayStation 4, including the ability for players to share media to the social media network or to use their Facebook profile avatars as their PlayStation Network ones.
Blizzard denies banning pro-Hong Kong Hearthstone pro due to “Chinese interests”:
Blizzard Entertainment President J. Allen Brack has issued a statement denying the notion that the company banned Chung “blitzchung” Ng Wai and two shoutcasters from the professional Hearthstone Grandmaster circuit due to its interests in China. He noted that the controversial move was made due to blitzchung using his winner’s post-match interview to spread a political message that may offend people and negatively affect Blizzard’s public image.
“We interview competitors who are at the top of their craft to share how they feel. We want to experience that moment with them. Hearing their excitement is a powerful way to bring us together,” he wrote. “Over the weekend, blitzchung used his segment to make a statement about the situation in Hong Kong—in violation of rules he acknowledged and understood, and this is why we took action.”
Brack also admitted that the company’s punishment of stripping blitzchung of all of his prize winnings and banning him for one year was excessive, and so it will return the money to him and reduce his ban to six months.
He ended his statement by reiterating that Blizzard is “always listening and finding ways to improve” and urged fans to remain patient as the company “continue[s] to learn”.
Respawn finally reveals Apex Legends‘s first Halloween event:
Following weeks of leaks, Respawn Entertainment has finally revealed Apex Legends’s Halloween-themed Fight or Fright Collection Event, which will take place from October 16 to November 6 Australian time. The main attraction is the new 35-player Shadowfall mode that takes place on a “night” version of King’s Canyon and sees slain combatants return as undead soldiers of the Shadow Squad.
“As part of the Shadow Squad, you will lose your ability to use weapons and your legend abilities will be stripped, but in return, you will be given increased movement and jump speed, along with a brutal melee attack,” Leeeeeee-RSPN wrote. “You’ll also have the ability to scale walls and be given unlimited respawns via skydive.”
As is customary for limited events, Respawn will also give access to new cosmetic items during the event.
Report: Apple leaks Fortnite’s new map:
Twitter user FNBRLeaks has purported to release screenshots from the Italian iOS App Store showing an upcoming “Chapter 2” version of Fortnite featuring an updated map. The images show a lush landscape divided by waterways populated by drivable boats. This, when combined with other notable content updates including new locations, strongly point to Epic Games announcing a new map very, very soon.
IGN: Steam isn’t the only one taking a 30% sales cut:
IGN has published a report investigating the proportion of revenue that both physical and digital storefronts take from every sale and found that the Epic Games Store (12%) took a much lower cut than the Humble Store (25%) and every other studied competitor (30%).
Microsoft’s head of Xbox Live, Xbox Game Pass, and Mixer is stepping down:
Microsoft Corporate Vice-President of Gaming Mike Ybarra has taken to Twitter to announce that he is leaving the company after 19 years. Ybarra, who was involved in securing Gears of War as an Xbox exclusive, did not reveal what he is planning to do next but promised to reveal his plans “soon”.
Bungie and Palladium collaborate on new boot design:
In some positive news, Destiny developer Bungie and footwear brand Palladium have collaborated to create special boots featuring the franchise’s key symbols on light grey and black backgrounds. The boots are now available for preorder and are slated to begin shipping this December.
NOTABLE GAME RELEASES
- GRID (PC, PS4, & Xbox One)
- Frostpunk: Console Edition (PS4 & Xbox One)
OTHER NEWS
- A man stole more than US$40K worth of stuff from Valve: GI.biz
- Respawn Entertainment has dropped Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order‘s recommended RAM amount from 32 to 16GB: PC Gamer
- A new European class-action lawsuit is targeting Epic Games and Fortnite: Gamasutra
- OPPO has signed on to be League of Legends‘s official “smartphone partner”: Forbes
- Hideo Kojima has opened up about his 2015’s departure from Konami: Kotaku
- The GGPO lag compensation feature is now available for all developers: Gamasutra
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will need 175GB of space on your PC: Eurogamer
- Here are the graphical improvements that you can expect to see in Red Dead Redemption 2’s upcoming PC version: GameSpot
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