In The News
Weekend in review:
Destiny 2’s first expansion, Curse of Osiris, is on the Microsoft Store but isn’t actually available yet. The expansion will take players to Mercury. Here’s the description: “Destiny 2 Expansion I: Curse of Osiris continues your Guardian’s journey with all-new story missions and adventures set in a new destination, Mercury. Journey through time and space to learn the secrets of Osiris, avert a dark future, and rebuild the ties between the legendary Warlock and his greatest student – Ikora Rey.”
Congratulations to Destiny 2 on 1.2 million concurrent players.
Tragedy for Batman fans. Batman’s actor Kevin Conroy in Warner Bros’ Arkham series said during a Nashville Wizard World Comic Con that there’s no shot Warner Bros. will make another game, despite the four games’ massive success. “‘You know, I can’t believe that they’re not going to do another one, but they’re not. Isn’t that amazing? It’s… they made literally billions of dollars on those games. But, no, there’s no plan to do another one. Sorry,’” Conroy said, according to PC Gamer’s Joe Donnelly.
Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg is facing backlash from publishers, players and viewers after using a racial slur during a PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds stream. The video was uploaded over the weekend.
Campo Santo co-founder Sean Vanaman is “filing a DMCA [Digital Millennium Copyright Act] takedown of PewDiePie’s Firewatch content and any future Campo Santo games.”
“In the video, PewDiePie appears to be having trouble shooting at another player from across a bridge. The other player apparently does something he dislikes and PewDiePie unloads the racial slur, with a profanity appended to it, then another insult,” Polygon’s Owen S. Good reports. “PewDiePie has not referenced the incident on his social media.”
The only tweet PewDiePie sent out since the video appeared was Sunday night, and said “Man, it sure is windy in england right now!”
StarCraft: Brood War broadcast jockey Yum “Sea” Bo Sung “can no longer participate in South Korea’s Afreeca Starleague Season 4 after allegedly sexually harassing and assaulting a woman,” Kotaku’s Brian Ashcraft writes. Sea has denied the accusations, although the reported incident was captured on a stream.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds hit 1 million concurrent players last week, and Brendan Greene celebrated by tweeting out a sneak peek at the upcoming “foggy weather effect.”
Uh oh. Malaysia has blocked Steam because of religious issues regarding Fight of Gods, a game that debuted last week. “The removal of Fight of Gods appears to only be in effect in Malaysia, however, as it’s currently still available for purchase in the US and elsewhere,” PC Gamer’s Andy Chalk reports. “The 2D fighting game Fight of Gods pits deities from various pantheons, including Buddha, Odin, Zeus, and Anubis, against one another in one-on-one brawls for the right to lead the world to enlightenment.”
EA evacuated its EA Tiburon studio near Orlando due to Hurricane Irma. The Madden Ultimate Tweet Twitter account said Saturday, “Our apologies in advance for any content changes. We will do our best to keep services up during Irma as it impacts our headquarters. #Irma.”
A glowy Xbox One S could be yours if you’re lucky. Microsoft and The Chainsmokers partnered to create the custom machine that “uses a small, USB-powered processor that converts sound into a changing light show. There are 60 pixels that light up that not only looks cool but also creates what Microsoft says is a 3D effect.” To have a chance at winning the console you need to follow The Chainsmokers on Twitter and tell them why you like the design, Eddie Makuch at GameSpot reports.
Steam Direct is doing alright. Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad said over 1,300 games have been released since its launch. “The final number for 2017 is set to, ‘exceed the total amount of games released between 2006 and 2014,’” GamesIndustry.biz’s Matthew Handrahan writes.
Hearthstone plans to remove the “synergy card” system in Arena mode in response to player feedback.