Ubisoft makes a surprising and unceremonious reveal for theSplinter Cellseries, whileStalker 2’s NFT controversy comes to a head with fans. 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 roundup ofgaming news, Ubisoft surprisingly announced aSplinter Cellremake on the way from Ubisoft Toronto. Bungie’s Head of HR has stepped down amid a report detailing Bungie’s previous history of fostering a toxic workplace. GSC Game World reversed its decision on NFT integration this week after huge backlash from fans. Dr. Disrespect is making a return to game development by opening a new AAA game studio, hiring several ex-HaloandCall of Dutydevelopers.Final Fantasy 14has been temporarily de-listed to help combat long queue times. All that and more in this week’s recap of the biggest news in the gaming industry.
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Splinter Cell Remake Surprise Announced By Ubisoft
Almost unceremoniously announced in a blog post, Ubisoft revealed thatUbisoft Toronto is beginning development on aSplinter Cellremake. An in-depth interview with the development team shined some light on the project: The same developers onSplinter Cell Blacklistare working on it, the game is being rebuilt utilizing Ubisoft’s Snowdrop engine (The Division), and the remake will be an entirely linear experience unlike the open-world rumors that had been reported on previously.
Specifically, this will be a remake of thefirstSplinter Cellgame, originally released in 2002 on the original Xbox. Among the staff working on the game, the interview details their reverence for the original game and the series as a whole, as well as several series veterans working on the remake as well. No release date was given at this time, albeit the interview does state that theSplinter Cellremake is in very early development, so it’s not coming any time soon.
After anindependent report by IGNgave details on the toxic workplace culture taking place atHaloandDestiny 2developerBungie, the developer’s head of HR has since stepped down. Gayle D’Hondt, who had been a Bungie employee for 14 years previous, made a company-wide statement in response to the IGN workplace report. D’Hondt emphasized that Bungie’s future is best carried on by new employees, not those who they believed could be described as “enablers” of the issues. Bungie CEO Pete Parsons' responded to the report, highlighting the changes Bungie has made since these incidents occurred, as well as issuing a formal apology on behalf of the company.
Stalker 2 Removes NFT NPC Integration Following Backlash From Fans
GSC Game World was one of the many game developers exploring the usage of NFTs in gaming, starting withStalker 2. Initially,Stalker 2was planned to implement “metahuman” NPCsthat bidders of said NPC auction could have their likenesses attached to in-game characters. GSC Game World, in an attempt to be transparent to its fanbase andStalkercommunity, made a lengthy statement doubling-down and detailing how and why NFTs were being integrated intoStalker 2’s full release.
The announcement saw immediate backlash from fans, which quickly prompted GSC Game World to take down the first announcement and put out a new one within a few hours. “The interests of our fans and players are the top priority for the team,” the developer stated, citing that the development team wascancelling all plans to include NFT integration inStalker 2.
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Dr. Disrespect Starts New AAA Game Development Studio
After finding success on Twitch after streaming full-time, streamer Dr. Disrespect is returning to his previous occupation, to some extent. Herschel “Guy” Beahm IV is opening up anew AAA game development studio known as Midnight Society, bringing together developers with experience on theHaloandCall of Dutyfranchise. Midnight Society has not made any formal game announcement, but given the experience of Dr. Disrespect and the development team, descriptions on the studio’s official website seem to indicate work has begun on a multiplayer shooter of some kind.
Final Fantasy 14 Temporarily De-Listed to Manage High Server Congestion
As the MMO’s popularity continues to grow,Final Fantasy 14continues to struggle with server and queue issues as thousands of players are attempting to log in for Endwalker. It’s gotten to the point thatSquare Enix made the decision to suspend sales ofFinal Fantasy 14for all editions to help combat the server congestion and longer queue times that players were facing. Existing players are still facing hour-long queues when attempting to playFinal Fantasy 14currently.
November Sales: Nintendo Switch is Best-Selling Console, CoD: Vanguard is Best-Selling Game
In November, Nintendo dethroned the PS5 for the month’s best-selling console: AllNintendo Switch models sold over 1 million units in the month of November, selling half a million during Thanksgiving weekend alone. In terms of game sales,Call of Duty: Vanguardwas the best-selling game in the U.S. for November, withBattlefield 2042trailing behind alongsidePokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearl,Forza Horizon 5, andMadden NFL 22.
Official Customizable PS5 Covers and New DualSense Colors Coming in 2022
After threatening legal actions against companies producing third-party custom covers for PS5, Sony is developing its own OEM cover customization for the new console.PlayStation is introducing custom PS5 consoles covers with different colorsthroughout 2022, with the first few colors coming in January. “Midnight Black” and “Cosmic Red” console covers will go on sale in most regions next January, while “Nova Pink,” “Galactic Purple,” and “Starlight Blue” will launch in the “first half of 2022.” Additionally, color-matched DualSense controllers will also be available in January as well.
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