Gaming News Round-Up: 8/4/21

Time for another Round-Up!

12 min readAug 5, 2021

I haven’t done one of these in quite a bit, so here’s a hefty update.

Activision Blizzard Updates

After a response from CEO Bobby Kotick that Activision Blizzard employees described as “tone-deaf”, employees staged a walkout outside of Blizzard’s campus in Irvine, California on July 28th. As Kat Bailey of IGN reports, local businesses were wonderfully generous to this protest — with portable toilets being delivered to the site for the employees, unprompted. A local restaurant donated food, while developers from other studios assisted with setting the event up.

One gross and disturbing point made in this piece was one where a female employee spoke about the breastfeeding room at Blizzard itself. “Men would walk into the breastfeeding room. There was no way to lock the door. They would just stare and I would have to scream at them to leave.”

A big part of people’s concerns is with the Chief Compliance Officer of Activision Blizzard, Frances Townsend. In a memo, she went went on to lambast California’s lawsuit by dubbing it “meritless and irresponsible”. She further went on to claim that the lawsuit presented “factually incorrect, old, and out of context stories.”

If that wasn’t enough, Townsend doubled-down on Twitter via a very tone-deaf post. A common theme here, mind you, from Activision Blizzard. In the wake of many of these allegations, Townsend shared an article from The Atlantic about “whistleblowing” — an insulting response to the situation at hand.

As a big domino to fall, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack is leaving the company. Leadership of Blizzard Entertainment will now be overseen by Jen Oneal and former Xbox Vice President Mike Ybarra, who had left Microsoft in 2019 to join Blizzard. Jen Oneal on the other hand, is the former head of Vicarious Visions, which has since been absorbed into Blizzard itself.

President of HR at Blizzard, Jesse Meschuk, has been relieved of his duties at the company as well.

In a statement from Blizzard, they write: “Both leaders are deeply committed to all of our employees; to the work ahead to ensure Blizzard is the safest, most welcoming workplace possible for women, and people of any gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or background; to upholding and reinforcing our values; and to rebuilding your trust.”

Unlike Brack, Activision Blizzard has confirmed that Frances Townsend is indeed still at the company, at the time of writing. She has, however, nuked her entire Twitter account from existence. I actually had to remove a link to that specific tweet she made regarding “whistleblowers”.

The most recent bit of news here involves Activision Blizzard Employees filing a set of demands they have for Activision Blizzard as a company by way of the ABK Workers Alliance, IGN reports. The letter denounces the partnership Activision Blizzard make with known union-busting firm WilmerHale. “WilmerHale’s pre-existing relationships with Activision Blizzard and its executives create an unacceptable conflict of interest.” The letter goes on to state.

Some of the demands of the employees include a mentorship program for workers seeking career advice and support, open listening sessions to allow employees to have ongoing conversations and emotional support, and finally community meetings — where employees can discuss concerns, desires and progress in a monthly employee meeting.

Game Pass Additions and Departures for August

This would take up too much space in the Rapid-Fire section, so let’s talk about it here, yeah? We’ll give more spotlight to these games in the process.

August 5th

Cell-shaded Rogue-like Curse of the Dead Gods is making its way over to Xbox very soon on this date. Seek riches and power in an infinite labyrinth within an ancient temple. Curse of the Dead Gods is currently on Steam for a price of $19.99 with “Very Positive” reviews. Available via XCloud, Game Pass for PC, and Xbox consoles.
Soon to be released, Dodgeball Academia is a rare sports-based RPG focused around a rookie dodgeball student named Otto. While Dodgeball Academia will be available on the same day on PlayStation 4, Steam, and Nintendo Switch, the game will be a day-one launch for Xbox Game Pass. Available via XCloud, Game Pass for PC, and Xbox consoles.
If you’re a Katamari fan or just like rolling random objects fan, you should be looking forward to this. Katamari Damacy REROLL arrives on Xbox Game Pass on August 5th. The game, previously available on other platforms such as Switch and Steam, is a remake of the original Katamari on the PlayStation 2, so this is an excellent way to get a taste for the series. Available via XCloud, Game Pass for PC, and Xbox consoles.
Grid-based puzzle game Lumines Remastered is an HD remake of the first entry of the puzzle-action game, and now makes its way over to Xbox platforms on August 5th. Available via XCloud, Game Pass for PC, and Xbox consoles.
The original entry in the cult classic skateboarding series Skate will be arriving soon to Xbox Game Pass via EA Play, but will only be available on Xbox consoles. Meanwhile, those looking to play on the go or on PC can settle for Skate 3 getting support on XCloud.
Starmancer is a cute space-themed construction simulation game with an art style similar to that of something like Stardew Valley. In fact, Starmancer is the next game by the publisher of Stardew Valley, Chucklefish. The game has an isometric perspective that you’ll be building space stations in and managing colonists with. While the game is in Game Preview state, it looks promising! I’ll personally be giving it a look when it comes exclusively to Game Pass for PC on August 5th.

Mid-August

Art of Rally is a very stylized racing game, which we don’t see too often. You’ll race across some beautiful and colorful environments in this game. And if you want to admire the art style? There’s now a free roam mode in this game for those looking to relax a little. Available via XCloud, Game Pass for PC and Xbox consoles on August 12th.
Microsoft Solitaire Collection: Premium Edition arrives soon to Game Pass for PC. Microsoft claims it to be “the most played video game in history”, and I don’t think that’s too farfetched. I’m sure everyone can remember playing some Solitaire on their PC at one point or another. Premium Edition features all of the Solitaire games in one collection — while also bundling in daily challenges, competitive events, and Xbox achievements. Available exclusively on Game Pass for PC on August 17th.
Last but certainly not least, critically acclaimed Rogue-like Hades makes its way to consoles on August 13th. Wield powers and mythic weapons of Olympus as you traverse through dungeons, steadily growing stronger while unwrapping the story after each dungeon escape. While Hades launches on other consoles the same day, it’ll be available day-one on Xbox Game Pass. I highly recommend you give Hades a look. It’s rare for a title of this size to be in contention of a Game of the Year award, of which it won a few. Available via XCloud, Game Pass for PC and Xbox consoles on August 13th.

Departures

Unfortunately, with new games cycling into Xbox Game Pass, several Game Pass titles are now leaving the service soon.

On August 8th, the critically acclaimed Grand Theft Auto V will no longer be available on Xbox Game Pass for consoles, along with XCloud.

On August 15th, a heap of games are leaving. These include: Ape Out, Crossing Souls, Darksiders Genesis, Don’t Starve, Final Fantasy VII, and Train Sim World 2020.

Rapid-Fire Round-Up

Monster Hunter Rise is doing a collaboration with Okami very soon, where the goddess Amaterasu will be available in the game soon enough. Look out for this on July 30th, and watch the teaser if you’re interested.
The Coalition, who you may know for Gears of War 4 and Gears of War 5 is showcasing some of their tests in Unreal Engine 5. They showed off some of their renders in the engine. We know The Coalition is working on something for Xbox — whether that be a new IP or new Gears (or both) soon enough.
Forza Horizon 5 showed off a bunch of their locales in a post on Xbox’s official site. This game looks beautiful!
According to Joe Otterson of Variety, a live-action series based on the Pokemon franchise is in development at Netflix. Joe Henderson, executive producer of the show Lucifer is set to write and executive produce the series. No other information is known at the moment.
Capcom has apparently fixed performance issues that were going on with Resident Evil Village’s PC port. Good news for those playing it on that platform. Digital Foundry produced a video showcasing the changes.
In more Xbox news — Halo outlined what it’s flight tests will look like for Halo Infinite. I love how transparent they’re being in this post. They detail that the main focus of their flight tests are stability, online services, and their Halo Insider communication systems.

Xbox’s Games with Gold for August 2021 were announced in a blog post. Hack-and-slash Darksiders III, 3D action-adventure Yooka-Laylee, third-person shooter Lost Planet 3, and the last entry in the Fatal Fury series known as Garou: Mark of the Wolves will all be available in August for free with Xbox Gold.
On the flip side of things, Sony says that PlayStation 5’s global shipments hit 10.1 million as of June, in comparison to 10.4 million for the PlayStation 4 in its first 3 quarters.
Street Fighter V got a small trailer showing off Luke, who’s coming to the game soon in the Season 5 Pass. Akira and Oro will be on their way as well this summer! The Street Fighter V Premium Pass is being sold at $39.99.
Speaking of Street Fighter, we’re not done with updates on the famed Fighting franchise. Cammy and Guile from the series will be making their debut in Epic’s Battle Royale Fortnite very soon as playable characters. It was first teased by Fortnite’s official account before later being announced in a subsequent tweet.

See that shiny blue Xbox Series X controller above? That can be yours now! The Aqua Shift Special Edition controller for the Series X/S will be available on August 31st for $69.99. Microsoft claims that this is the first special edition controller to feature rubberized side grips in its design. You can preorder the controller on your preferred retailer.
In a Take-Two investors call, several updates on sales for Take-Two’s franchises were announced. It was here we learned that Grand Theft Auto V is now the second best-selling game of all time at 150 million units sold, only behind Minecraft. The franchise of Grand Theft Auto as a whole has now sold 350 million units — only behind Mario, Tetris, Call of Duty, and Pokemon.
PlayStation 5 is getting a new update soon. This update includes 3D audio support for TVs speakers, a change to the trophy list being listed vertically instead of horizontally, and a trophy tracker. SSD support will be available for beta users finally, but be careful about picking the right SSD — read this report to make sure you’re grabbing the right one.
Amazon’s MMO New World has been delayed to September 28, 2021 — citing a need to squash bugs and improve performance, especially after a beta period that had some very glaring issues. Including some RTX 3090 users having their cards bricked.
Playing Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania? There’s a free unlockable character addition available now — Beat, from the cult classic Jet Set Radio!

Recent Releases

Got a lot to add here, so let’s get started.

For the Racing game fans out there, if you’ll recall, Codemasters was acquired by Electronic Arts earlier this year. Several of the titles Codemasters has made over the years are now available on Xbox Game Pass via EA Play, including: Dirt 4, Dirt Rally, Dirt Rally 2.0, F1 2020, and Grid.
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is now available on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4 for $59.99 after only previously being available in Japan on mobile devices and 3DS. The evidence-gathering visual novel series of Ace Attorney is featured in two separate titles here and is no longer stranded on mobile devices.
The long awaited sequel to Nintendo DS Action-RPG The World Ends with You, produced by Tetsuya Nomura of Kingdom Hearts fame, has now arrived on Nintendo Switch exclusively. Neo: The World Ends with You is now available on Nintendo Switch, Steam and PlayStation 4 for $59.99.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is now available on Xbox Series X/S. This beautiful-looking game allows players to fly anywhere they’d like across the globe, visiting famed locales and stunning landscapes. Microsoft Flight Simulator is available on Xbox Game Pass, but can also be purchased for $59.99.
Koei Tecmo’s next entry in the Samurai Warriors series is finally here with Samurai Warriors 5. The hack-and-slash game is stated to be a “fresh re-imagining” of the franchise, featuring revamped character designs, a new artstyle, and a new storyline. Samurai Warriors 5 is available now on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Steam for $59.99.

Tribes of Midgard art. Source: Game Informer

Survival Action-RPG Tribes of Midgard is available now on Steam, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 at the price of $19.99. Tribes of Midgard can be played solo, but supports a group of up to 10 players total. Dungeons and enemies in the game are adjusted depending on the amount of players traveling together in this Norse-themed RPG.
Fuga: Memories of Steel is a turn-based RPG featuring anthropomorphic dogs and cats in a war-torn world. You control a group of children aboard a giant tank who each have their own unique set of skills that adjust the tank’s abilities. This RPG is available on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Steam, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PlayStation 5 for $39.99. However, there is also a Deluxe Edition featuring a digital art book, the game’s soundtrack, and a set of in-game bonuses including swimswear for each character, at the price of $59.99.
Omno is an indie adventure game built by a lone developer named Jonas Manke. In Omno, the player heads off through varied colorful environments in a relaxing experience, albeit with some puzzles along the way. Omno is only $18.99 on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One — but is available for free on Xbox Game Pass for both PC and console.
Bloody beat-em-up Paint the Town Red is now available for those wanting some blind fun. While this game released a long while ago in a sort of beta state, this is now the complete game. With voxel-based character models, you can bash, kick, stab, and slice in a dynamic way through the game’s various settings. The complete state of the game even features a Rogue-like mode. It’s available for $19.99 on Nintendo Switch, Steam, Linux, Mac, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Lastly, Age of Empires III received a second expansion pack, titled as The African Royals, is now available. The expansion pack for the historical Real-time Strategy game features two new factions — Ethiopia and the Hausa, three new Historical Battles, 15 new African maps, 5 new indigenous African civilizations, and 11 new achievements. The DLC costs $9.99 but is available at a 25% discount for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, lowering the price to $7.49.