Hi all,

I hope you’re all doing well and enjoying whichever games you happen to be playing at the moment.

I’ve got something a little different for you this week, as I’ve been given the chance to offer an exclusive discount for a brilliant upcoming video game writing course to Week in Games readers.

The Art of Writing for Video Games is a 7-week program starting on Saturday the 13^th of May which includes live discussions, real-life projects, and is hosted by two of the most experienced and successful game writers in the industry

To be clear, this is not a sponsored or paid promotion. Classpert were kind enough to offer a discount to Week in Games readers and I thought it was a great opportunity that some of you would be interested in. And frankly, I’m just genuinely delighted to be able to bring something like this to you.

You can read Classpert’s description of the course below, and check out their website for more. The newsletter continues as normal afterwards!

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Led by industry veterans John Zuur Platten and Flint Dille, our course offers a comprehensive approach to writing for video games, covering everything from character development to world-building to storytelling. You’ll learn the essentials of video game writing and apply the principles in developing your own video game from idea to pitch.

John Zuur Platten and Flint Dille are the writers of established franchises like G.I. Joe, Transformers, Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park, Uncharted, Dead to Rights, Diablo 3, Ingress, Avatar, Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu, and many more. These industry legends - with 30+ years of experience creating video games, comics, and movies - know how to craft compelling stories and characters that connect with your audience and keep them hooked, and will teach you what it takes to thrive as a writer.

They have developed a storytelling system that they will share with you in this cohort-style course starting on May 13th. You’ll learn how to create immersive worlds, memorable characters, engaging dialogues, and more.

You’ll get direct access to Flint and JZP and feedback on your own game project for a fraction of their consulting price, and the networking opportunities provided by the course are priceless.

You’ll come out of The Art of Writing for Video Games with a polished design doc for your very own game, which can serve as a work sample you can submit for game writing jobs, or to sell your game to studios. They’ll also teach you how to transform video game stories into successful franchises

If you want to launch a career in writing for video games or other media, this course is for you. Don’t miss this chance to learn from the best and take your game writing career to new heights.

I’m delighted to say that The Week in Games readers can get $100 off the cost of this brilliant course. Click here to learn more about the course and to redeem your discount.

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As always, thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoy the rest of the issue.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Jeff

THE WEEK IN GAMES

The best news, deals and gaming content of the week

NEWS

• The latest batch of free PlayStation Plus games are live and available to download.

• The first wave of Xbox Game Pass titles for May have been announced, including the already-available Redfall. Microsoft has also revealed five games that will leave the service.

• PlayStation has announced that a standalone version of Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered will hit PlayStation 5 later this month.

• For ‘Free Comic Book’ Day this Saturday, May 6th, PlayStation will release a prequel comic for Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

• Neill Blomkamp’s Gran Turismo Movie gets a full-length trailer and an August Premier. The first teaser trailer for the live-action Twisted Metal TV series has also been released.

• Microsoft has announced more details of its gaming showcases in June, which include the main Xbox Games Showcase, the Starfield Direct, and an Xbox Games Showcase Extended showing.

• A new Shadowman game is in the works, 21 years after the last one.

• LudoNarraCon, the narrative-game-focused digital festival organised by publisher Fellow Traveller, has returned to Steam for a four-day programme of panels, demos, and discounts.

• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can now refer a friend to PC Game Pass, and gift them 14 days of free subscription time.

• The entire Super Mario Bros. Movie leaked on Twitter this week and was viewed 9 million times before it was removed. Meanwhile, it was announced that the film has now generated over $1 billion at the global box office.

• Lego and Nintendo have announced four new Donkey Kong sets joining the Super Mario line-up.

• A free trial of the wonderful Zelda spin-off Cadence of Hyrule is now available on Nintendo Switch Online

• Apple has added 20 new games to its Apple Arcade subscription service.

• Marvel's Midnight Suns will release on Xbox One and PS4 on May 11, but developer Firaxis has announced that the Nintendo Switch version of the game has been cancelled.

• Titanfall director Steve Fukuda is developing a new project inside Respawn, according to co-founder Vince Zampella.

• Electronic Arts announced that F1 23 will launch on June 16 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

• Unity is cutting another 600 employees in its third round of layoffs in less than a year, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

• Meta has announced that it will hold its third annual Meta Quest Gaming showcase on June 1st.

DEALS

• The Horizon Forbidden West Tallneck Lego set is back on sale at Amazon.

• You can also currently get a Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB SSD for just £55, and 32 GB worth of Corsair's Vengeance RGB RAM at 50% off from Amazon.

• Over on the PlayStation Store, the Golden Week Sale and May Savings Sale both roll on, with a huge selection of games discounted by up to 75%. You can also save up to 50% on three Fortnite add-on packs.

• On Xbox, there’s a Japan-inspired Golden Week Sale, a Cosmetics Add-On Sale, and an ID@Xbox Deep Discounts Sale. There’s also a Star Wars Celebration Sale, with deals on Star Wars games and add-ons.

• No themed sale on Nintendo's eShop, unfortunately, but there’s a large selection of AAA and indie games on General Sale.

• GOG has just launched a Good Old Games Sale, with up to 75% off “iconic games released over a decade ago”, and a Weekly Deals Sale, with some frankly huge savings on an excellent selection of games.

• On the Epic Games Store Against All Odds, Horizon Chase Turbo, and Kao the Kangaroo are currently free to download.

• Finally, over on Steam there's a Freedom Games Publisher Sale running, and also plenty of games on general special offer.

MORE!

Citizen Sleeper: Design Works

The team over at Lost in Cult are at it again with yet another stunning-looking game journal, this time dedicated to Citizen Sleeper. This one has multiple different editions depending on your budget, all of which look predictably beautiful.

You can check them all out over at the Lost in Cult Store.

Frame-A-Game Store Discount

Don’t forget you can still get 15% off at the Frame-A-Game Store using code TWIG15! Check out the full range here.

INDIE SPOTLIGHT

Shining a light on new and upcoming indies

This week one of the year’s most eagerly-awaited indies finally got a solid release date. Planet of Lana, from developer Wishfully, will release on May 23rd, and still looks every bit as stunning as it has done in every single trailer that’s been released for it so far.

This one’s been in development for a while, but it certainly looks like time well spent. Hopefully, the gameplay can live up to the gorgeous visuals when it hits Xbox and PC later this month.

You can check out the official Steam page here.

NEW RELEASES

All the major releases arriving this week and next

OUT NOW:

• Age of Wonders 4 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) – May 2

• Redfall (Xbox Series X/S, PC) – May 2

• Grindstone (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4) – May 3

• Super Dungeon Maker (Switch, PC) – May 3

• Ravenlok (Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC) – May 4

OUT NEXT WEEK:

• Darkest Dungeon II (PC) – May 8

• Ys IX: Monstrum Nox (PlayStation 5) – May 9

• The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-Earth (iOS, Android) – May 10

• Death or Treat (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) – May 11

• Marvel's Midnight Suns (PlayStation 4, Xbox One) – May 11 – Read review

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch) – May 12

SUPPORT TWiG

The Week in Games remains possible thanks to the support of members such as johnXprinter, SeánLynch, Px, and Matt.

If you value honest, independent games writing and enjoy what I do, please consider supporting my work.

Thank you 🙏

…and that’s it for this week!

If you have any comments or suggestions, or if you’re interested in advertising your game, product or service to The Week in Games' passionate readers, contact me at [email protected], reply to this email directly, or catch me over on Twitter!

Thanks again, and see you next week!

Jeff

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