Connect with high gaming leaders in Los Angeles at GamesBeat Summit 2023 this May 22-23. Register right here.


It’s March already? Where did the time go? (Oh proper, it went into Forspoken and Octopath Traveler II and Fire Emblem Engage and Dead Space, and so forth and so forth.) It’s been an odd week right here — I’m attempting to maintain up with the percolating Microsoft/Sony/Activision Blizzard drama. But now the FTC’s making Sony pony up its information of exclusivity, and the European regulators look like backing off. At this level, all of it offers me a headache.

I’m undecided what’s happening at Square Enix. First it reabsorbs Luminous following the tepid response to Forspoken, and now CEO Yosuke Matsuda is stepping down. Square Enix has an fascinating few years, from its sale of the Eidos scraps to Embracer and its concentrate on NFTs and blockchain know-how. Also, this isn’t precisely associated, however Yuji Naka this week admitted to insider buying and selling whereas working for Square Enix years in the past. It’s nothing however sad information for the corporate this week.

In one other weird information story, it appears the Olympics has lastly deigned to acknowledge esports and will maintain an official sequence beginning this month. Well, type of — as a substitute of including standard esports titles to its lineup, comparable to League of Legends or Dota 2, the International Olympic Committee added some extra area of interest titles. Gran Turismo, Just Dance and even digital chess are comprehensible additions, however I’m left scratching my head at Tennis Clash, Virtual Taekwondo and Tic Tac Bow. Firstly, in what universe is a cellular title higher for digital tennis than Wii Sports? Second, why accomplish that many of those esports must be digital (and most likely worse) variations of Olympic sports activities that exist already?

On the non-public aspect of issues, I can lastly shift focus to Like a Dragon: Ishin! now that I’ve completed my assessment of Octopath Traveler II. I’ll most likely even be enjoying Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, however I can say with some confidence that that sport will take me longer to complete. That stated, I’m hoping to play my fill earlier than the following few weeks, as a result of one in every of my most anticipated video games — Resident Evil 4 Remake — is popping out quickly and I must clear my schedule.

Event

GamesBeat Summit 2023

Join the GamesBeat group in Los Angeles this May 22-23. You’ll hear from the brightest minds throughout the gaming trade to share their updates on the most recent developments.

Register Here

What to play this week

What’s new:

  • Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
  • Bendy and the Dark Revival
  • Destiny 2: Lightfall
  • Scars Above
  • Leap
  • Dungeons of Aether
  • Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire

New on subscription companies:

  • F1 22 (Xbox Game Pass)
  • Trüberbrook (Xbox Games with Gold)
  • Sudden Strike 4 – Complete Collection (Xbox Games with Gold)
  • Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition (Prime Gaming)
  • Citizen Sleeper (Amazon Luna)
  • Guacamelee! 2 (Amazon Luna)
  • Mega Man 11 (Amazon Luna)
  • Sail Forth (Amazon Luna)
  • Get Packed: Couch Chaos (Amazon Luna)
  • Monster Hunter Rise (GeForce Now)
  • Rise of Industry (GeForce Now)
  • Kimono Cats (Apple Arcade)

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