Rockstar Games sees major controversy over its remastered collection ofGrand Theft Autogames, while the pandemic continues to affect several upcoming hardware and software releases. Game Rant has compiled some of the biggest gaming news stories from this past week together into a concise post for fans and enthusiasts to stay up to date on the most important events in the industry per week. Highlighting the most relevant stories, this list is not inherently and totally objective, and will not contain every news story this week. Rather, this is intended for gaming fans who want a quick rundown on the largest/most impactful stories that occurred in the last week in games.
In this week’s recap ofgaming news,Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — Definitive Edition’s technical issues and overall reception have caused severe backlash from fans. Valve’s Steam Deck, the Playdate handheld indie console, as well as Sony’s PS5 are all experiencing shortages due to the continued global chip shortage.Final Fantasy 14: Endwalkerrecently suffered a relatively short delay, instead releasing later this holiday instead of the end of November. SeveralMetal Gear Solidgames have been delisted from digital storefronts due to a copyright issue. All that and more in this week’s roundup of the biggest news in the gaming industry.
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Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy’s Controversial Release
Less than a week after the launch of the collection, Rockstar Games' launch ofGrand Theft Auto: The Trilogy— Definitive Editionhas quickly become one of theworst-rated games on Metacritic.Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogyis marred with technical issues, polarizing graphical changes, and are otherwise disappointed with what many on Metacritic have described as an underwhelming remaster. Many fans are demanding refunds from Rockstar Games due to the myriad of issues with all three games.
Grove Street Games has since promised updates and patches are forthcoming, though the damage may have already been done.Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogyhas already been delisted from PCdue to issues with “unintentional files,” seemingly related to unlicensed music. The game has since been re-listed on the Rockstar Launcher on PC, but it’s unclear when fixes may be on the way for the remastered collection.
Hardware Delays Affect Valve, PlayStation, and Playdate
Thanks to the global chip shortage affecting multiple different industries across the world, the games industry continues to feel the sting just as strongly as other corners of the global economy. Three major hardware releases are experiencing delays in console production as a result of the chip shortage: Valve’s initial round of production for theSteam Deck has been delayed from holiday 2021 to February 2022for early adopters, will subsequent pre-orders are delayed to Q2 2022 and beyond.
Sony has also adjusted its production goals in the wake of the chip shortage,reducing its PS5 manufacturing target from 16 million to 15 millionby the end of the fiscal year. Additionally Playdate, the handheld indie gaming console, has been delayed to early 2022 as well. Once again, Playdate cites the chip shortage as the primary factor in halting production.
RELATED:Playdate Handheld Release Delayed
Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker Delayed to December
Just short of its original launch date, Square Enix and theFinal Fantasy 14team announced the Endwalker expansion had been delayed to December. Instead of November 23,Final Fantasy 14: Endwalkerwill now be releasing on December 3, with patch 6.01 releasing on December 21.Fan response toFinal Fantasy 14: Endwalkerhas largely been positivein the wake of an emotional announcement from producer Naoki Yoshida, showing respect for the team’s efforts.
Metal Gear Solid 2, 3 Removed From Digital Storefronts Temporarily
SeveralMetal Geargames were recently delisted from digital stores due to issues with the usage of copyrighted historical footage. According to Konami,Metal Gear Solid 2andMetal Gear Solid 3were delisted temporarilyin order to address the license renewal of certain undisclosed footage utilized throughout the game. Ranging from console storefronts to PC, Konami was not able to give an exact timeframe on when these games would return to digital storefronts at this time.
Among Us Update Brings New Roles, Battlepass Progression
Among Us' big 2021 update is out, bringing several huge changes to the massively popular social deduction game. InnerSloth announced the expansion ofAmong Us' roles earlier this year, bringing three new classes of Cremates (Scientist, Engineer, and Guardian Angel), and a Shapeshifter role for Imposters. Additionally, InnerSloth has introduced a battle pass-style progression system called Cosmicubes, granting players unique cosmetic rewards.
MORE:How Among Us' Cosmicubes Shake Up the Battle Pass Model Well
