- The Week in Games
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Xbox is back in the game
Exciting times ahead
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Well, Game-Reveal Week 2023 was pretty good, don’t you think?
Not E3-at-its-best good, but still pretty good. And that was without much of a showing from Sony and nothing at all from Nintendo. Third-party studios mostly delivered, and indies put on a good show as always, but it was Microsoft that really came out swinging.
The Xbox Showcase was one of its best showings for as long as I can remember - a show filled with quality and quantity that suggests Microsoft’s absurd investments into other studios are finally starting to bear fruit.
Most of the talk this week has been about Starfield. Which, quite frankly, looks remarkable - the best of No Man’s Sky, Mass Effect and Skyrim all rolled into one bafflingly ambitious sci-fi extravaganza. But there were also impressive (if brief) showings for a number of other Xbox exclusives. Something Microsoft hasn’t been in a position to boast about for far too long.
Weirdly, it’s Sony and Nintendo that currently have the most uncertain future. Sales-wise, neither company has anything to worry about. But in terms of upcoming games the two companies that have for so long excelled at pumping out first-party classic after classic suddenly don’t appear to have much on the horizon.
For Sony, Spider-Man 2 will be huge, of course, but what are the likes of Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch, Bend and Bluepoint up to? Those studios haven’t released a full game in over three years, and it’s unusual for Sony to be so completely silent about what its studios are working on.
Nintendo has also been reluctant to talk about the future - content to bask in the glory that comes from releasing one of the best games ever made last month, perhaps. Indeed, Nintendo has always danced to its own tune - and rarely has it had such success doing that as it has with the Switch - but the life of its console/handheld hybrid has surely been stretched about as far as it can possibly go now.
Still, despite the strange lack of PlayStation and Nintendo exclusives, from a neutral’s point of view, it was a pretty successful week overall. We got impressive entries from big franchises like AssCreed, Prince of Persia, Spider-Man, Metal Gear, Alan Wake, Forza, Fable, Sonic and more, and we got new IPs in Starfield, Clockwork Revolution and Capcom’s Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, among others. We also got blockbuster tie-ins for the likes of Avatar and Star Wars, and more lovely-looking indie games than we’ll ever have time to play.
All of this added to the promise of unannounced games from Sony and Nintendo, and likely news of a Switch successor before the year’s out, means there’s a lot to look forward to. Oh, and don’t forget we still have a nice little bonus showcase from the ever-reliable Annapurna coming up on June 29th .
Exciting times ahead, I think.
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As always, thank you so much for reading.
I hope you enjoy the rest of the issue. If you do, tell your friends!
Have a great weekend everyone, and I’ll see you next week
Jeff
THE WEEK IN GAMES
The best news and gaming content of the week
NEWS
June’s PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium line-up, which contains 27 games, has been revealed. Sony has also revealed that PlayStation 5 cloud game streaming is coming to Premium subscribers
Universal Studios has revealed that a Last of Us-themed haunted house is coming to its theme parks later this year.
Microsoft has announced a new black Xbox Series S with an 1TB SSD.
Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty has said that Xbox first-party studios aren't making new games for Xbox One anymore.
£100 and £250 Starfield editions will include the game’s first expansion and five days' early access.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel has been paused due to the writer's strike, Chris Pratt says.
Blizzard has nerfed dungeons in Diablo 4 to prevent players from XP farming.
A new Steam client update includes a notes feature and the ability to watch films while you play.
Dead Cells is being turned into an 10-episode animated series for release next year.
Rogue Legacy 2 is set to make its PlayStation debut next week via PS Plus.
Some fans think GTA 6's imminent reveal is being teased in GTA Online.
Titanfall 3 was in development for almost a year before it was cancelled for Apex Legends.
After buying up a huge number of studios over the past few years, Embracer has announced a comprehensive restructuring program which will result in studio closures, project cancellations and job losses. Boooo!
Ubisoft's upcoming Tom-Clancy-inspired free-to-play shooter XDefiant is holding its first Open Session test later this month.
Mortal Kombat 1's online stress test will be available to select registered players starting Friday, 23rd June.
Microsoft will continue to support Flight Simulator 2020 after the launch of its sequel, amid accusations of a U-turn on the 10-year plan for the current game.
MORE!
PC Engine: The Box Art Collection
Bitmap Books’ PC Engine: The Box Art Collection is finally available to buy. Described as “a celebration of the games and legacy of NEC’s remarkable little machine”, the book is filled with insight, pics and game art. Anyone who’s ordered from Bitmap before will know the kind of quality you can expect from this one.
You can find out more and buy the book online here.
Endure and Survive: The Fan Book
The Kickstarter campaign for this fan-made book that “pays tribute to The Last of Us, Naughty Dog & their community” is now live. The book will also feature “cosplayers, artists, virtual photographers and more.”
The campaign ends on Saturday, July 1st. You can check it out and back the book right here.
INDIE SPOTLIGHT
Shining a light on new and upcoming indies
This “motorvania” from developers Brainwash Gang doesn’t have a release date yet, but the recent trailer suggests a stunning-looking motorbike-themed 2D side-scroller where you ”drive, jump and fight your way through the huge hand-drawn world, race through the wasteland and perform dangerous jumps, shoot enemies in slowmo and reload your gun by performing a backflip!”
With a lovely art style and unique gameplay, this definitely looks like one to keep an eye on.
You can read more and watch the official trailer on the Laika’s official Steam Page.
NEW RELEASES
All the major releases for this week and next
OUT NOW:
Dordogne (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC) – June 13
Crime Boss: Rockay City (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S) – June 15
Jack Jeanne (Switch) – June 15
Layers of Fear (2023) (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) – June 15
F1 23 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) – June 16
Park Beyond (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) – June 16
OUT NEXT WEEK:
Aliens: Dark Descent (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) – June 20
Crash Team Rumble (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One) – June 20
Dr. Fetus' Mean Meat Machine (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC) – June 22
Final Fantasy XVI (PlayStation 5) – June 22
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S) – June 22
Sonic Origins Plus (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC) – June 23
SUPPORT TWiG
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…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 more than 1k passionate gamers, please contact me at [email protected], reply to this email directly, or catch me over on Twitter. I’d love to hear from you!
Thanks again, and see you next week!
Jeff
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