Newsletter

Nintendo gets Call of Duty, FTC Sues Microsoft, Panda CEO steps down, and $70 Video games!

Void

Dec 11, 2022 • 7 min read

🕹️ The Console War Rages On

Monster Hunter Rise coming to other console platforms - The game is set to go to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One digitally on the 20th of January, 2023, for $39.99 USD. The Sunbreak expansion will follow in the Summer of 2023. (Source)
Microsoft is raising game prices - Xbox X|S first-party titles will now cost USD 70, according to Microsoft. Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield will cost USD 69.99 USD 69.99 at launch. Microsoft stated, "This price reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles.". (Source)
Panda CEO steps down - Following the controversy surrounding the Smash Bros tournaments, the Panda CEO has stepped down following several accusations regarding his conduct - bullying players and organizers in partnering with Panda Cup. The Panda Cup Finale has also been postponed. This is an ongoing story. (Source)
Microsoft has inked a 10-year deal for Call of Duty to go on Nintendo Platforms - In a new report, Microsoft has announced that they have signed a new 10-year agreement to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo Platforms. The word itself does not name the Switch. Microsoft has also stated they've committed to keeping Call of Duty on Steam, with Gabe Newell confirming the release and praising Microsoft for "following through" with their statements. (Source)
Sony Fires Back At Nintendo & Microsoft - Microsoft's new deal with Nintendo has raised a response from Sony. Sony claims that the Call of Duty deal with Nintendo is meaningless as the Switch "could not run Call of Duty easily and may never be able to" and that Nintendo's younger audience has no interest in Call of Duty. (Source)
FTC Sues to block Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision-Blizzard-King. In a new report, the FTC has indicated their decision to sue Microsoft to block the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard-King. The FTC representative stated, "Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals." (Source, Twitter Thread)

✨ Going to Events Spiritually

The Game Awards 2022 happened.

Winners

Credit to IGN for the formatted list.

Game of the Year

It is recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.

A Plague Tale: Requiem
Elden Ring - WINNER
God of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Stray
Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Best Game Direction

It is awarded for outstanding creative vision, game direction, and design innovation.

Elden Ring - WINNER
God of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Immortality
Stray

Best Narrative

For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.

A Plague Tale: Requiem
Elden Ring
God of War Ragnarok - WINNER
Horizon Forbidden West
Immortality

Best Art Direction

For outstanding creative and technical achievement in artistic design and animation.

Elden Ring - WINNER
God of War: Ragnarok
Horizon: Forbidden West
Scorn
Stray

Best Score/Music

For outstanding music, including score, original song and licensed soundtrack.

Olivier Deriviere - A Plague Tale: Requiem
Tsukasa Saitoh - Elden Ring
Bear McCreary - God of War: Ragnarok - WINNER
Two Feathers - Metal Hellinger
Yasunori Mitsuda

Best Audio Design

It is recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Elden Ring
God of War Ragnarok - WINNER
Gran Turismo 7
Horizon Forbidden West

Best Performance

It is awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and performance capture.

Ashly Birch - Horizon: Forbidden West
Charlotte McBurney - A Plague Tale: Requiem
Christopher Judge - God of War: Ragnarok - WINNER
Manon Gage - Immortality
Sunny Suljic - God of War: Ragnarok

Games for Impact

For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social meaning or message.

A Memoir Blue
As Dusk Falls - WINNER
Citizen Sleeper
Endling - Extinction is Forever
Hindsight
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

Best Ongoing Game

It is awarded to a game for outstanding ongoing content development that evolves the player experience over time.

Apex Legends
Destiny 2
Final Fantasy 14 Online - WINNER
Fortnite
Genshin Impact

Best Indie Game

For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.

Cult of the Lamb
Neon White
Sifu
Stray - WINNER
TUNIC

Best Debut Indie Game

For the best debut game created by a new independent studio.

Neon White
NORCO
Stray - WINNER
TUNIC
Vampire Survivors

Best Mobile Game

For the best game playable on a mobile device.

Apex Legends Mobile
Diablo Immortal
Genshin Impact
Marvel Snap - WINNER
Tower of Fantasy

Best Community Support

It recognises a game for outstanding community support, transparency and responsiveness, including social media activity and game updates/patches.

Apex Legends
Destiny 2
Final Fantasy 14 Online - WINNER
Fortnite
No Man's Sky

Best VR/AR Game

For the best game experience, playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.

After the Fall
Among Us VR
BONELAB
Moss: Book II - WINNER
Red Matter 2

Innovation in Accessibility

Recognizing software and hardware that is pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience.

As Dusk Falls
God of War: Ragnarok - WINNER
Returnal
Return to Monkey Island
The Last of Us Part 1
The Quarry

Best Action Game

The best game in the action genre focused primarily on combat.

Bayonetta 3 - WINNER
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
Neon White
Sifu
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

Best Action/Adventure Game

Combine combat with traversal and puzzle solving for the best action/adventure game.

A Plague Tale: Requiem
God of War Ragnarok - WINNER
Horizon Forbidden West
Stray
TUNIC

Best RPG

For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.

Elden Ring - WINNER
Live a Live
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Triangle Strategy
Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Best Fighting Game

For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.

DNF Duel
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R
The King of Fighters 15
MultiVersus - WINNER
Sifu

Best Family Game

For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land - WINNER
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
Nintendo Switch Sports
Splatoon 3

Best Sports/Racing Game

For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.

F1 22
FIFA 23
NBA 2K23
Gran Turismo 7 - WINNER
OlliOlli World

Best SIM/Strategy Game

The best game focused on real-time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.

Dune: Spice Wars
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope - WINNER
Total War: WARHAMMER 3
Two Point Campus
Victoria 3

Best Multiplayer Game

For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre or platform.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Multiversus
Overwatch 2
Splatoon 3 - WINNER
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

Content Creator of the Year

For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the community in 2021.

Karl Jacobs
Ludwig - WINNER
Nibellion
Nobru
QTCinderella

Best Esports Athlete

The esports athlete judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021, irrespective of game.

Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon (Gen.G, LOL)
Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok (T1, LOL)
Finn "karrigan" Andersen ( (FaZe Clan - CS:GO)
Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
Jacob "Yay" Whiteaker (Cloud9, Valorant) - WINNER

Best Esports Coach

The Esports coach judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.

Andrii "B1ad3" Horodenskyi (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
Matheus “bzkA” Tarasconi (LOUD, VALORANT) - WINNER
Erik “d00mbr0s” Sandgren (FPX, VALORANT)
Robert "RobbaN" Dahlström (FaZe Clan, CS:GO)
Go "Score" Dong-bin (Gen.G, LOL)

Best Esports Event

Recognizing an event (across single or multiple days) that delivered a best-of-class experience for participants and the broadcast audience.

EVO 2022
2022 League of Legends World Championship - WINNER
PGL Major Antwerp 2022
The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational
VALORANT Champions 2022

Best Esports Game

For the game that has delivered the best overall esports experience to players (inclusive of tournaments, community support and content updates), irrespective of genre or platform.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
DOTA 2
League of Legends
Rocket League
VALORANT - WINNER

Best Esports Team

Recognizing a specific esports team (not the entire organization) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.

DarkZero Esports (Apex Legends)
FaZe Clan (CS:GO)
Gen.G (League of Legends)
LA Thieves (Call of Duty)
LOUD (Valorant) - WINNER

Most Anticipated Game

Recognizing an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward.

Final Fantasy 16
Hogwarts Legacy
Resident Evil 4
Starfield
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - WINNER

Best Adaptation

Celebrating game-inspired projects across entertainment including TV, movies, comics, and more.

Arcane: League of Legends - WINNER
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
The Cuphead Show!
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Uncharted

Announcements

Final Fantasy XVI will be released on the 22nd of June, 2023.
Armoured Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, from the developer of Elden Ring - FromSoftware, is set for a 2023 release.
Hades 2 was announced with a gameplay trailer. Supergiant Games will release Hades 2 in Early Access in 2023.
Bioshock creator, Ken Levine, has revealed his next game - Judas.
Death Stranding 2 has been announced.
Cyberpunk 2077 new expansion Phantom Liberty will get Idris Elba.
Star Wars: Jedi Survivor will be released on the 17th of March, 2023.
Diablo 4 will be released on the 6th of June, 2023.
Street Fighter VI will be released on the 2nd of June, 2023.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be released on the 26th of May, 2023. It was also confirmed that this game would be Kevin Conroy's, one of the voices of Batman who has done the voice for decades and who passed away recently, last appearance as Batman.
Tekken 8 gets a new gameplay trailer.
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores DLC will release on the 19th of April, 2023, for PS5.
Crash Team Rumble, a spin-off of the Crash Bandicoot franchise, will receive a 4v4 multiplayer game set for release in 2023.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 got a gameplay trailer and is set for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in 2023.
Earthblade, from Celeste developer, showed off a gameplay trailer which a release window of 2024.
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon Announced and will be released on the Switch on the 17th of March, 2023.
Hellboy will receive a new game under the subtitle "Web of Wyrd". It will be available for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Switch, and PC.
Crime Boss: Rocky City Announced With Cast Including Chuck Norris, Danny Trejo, and Vanilla Ice.
Lords of the Fallen gets a new gameplay trailer. It will be a soul-like reboot of the 2016 Lords of the Fallen.
Last of Us Part 1 will arrive on the PC on the 3rd of March, 2023.
Returnal will be released for the PC in early 2023.
Baldur's Gate 3 gets a release window of August 2023.
Transformers gets an online action game coming to PC and consoles developed by Splash Damage. The title of the game will be Transformers: Reactivate; no further information was revealed.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden was announced.
Immortals of Aveum, a first-person magic shooter, was developed by developers who previously worked on Dead Space, Halo, and Bioshock. It received an announcement and is part of EA Originals.
Remnant 2 will arrive on the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC in 2023.
Blue Protocol will be released in North America by Amazon Games.

🎮 Where's My Controller?

Finally, using my Final Fantasy XIV for four free days.

📝I don't know what a pen looks like.

I may or may not have written anything. Just look at all this stuff.

Forward to a friend and let them know where they can subscribe (hint: it's here).