Opening Night Live at Gamescom

Gamescom, the worlds largest gaming trade show is currently happening in Cologne, Germany. Geoff Keighley, the founder of the game awards and part time Dorito King hosted Opening Night Live to kick off the occasion filled with 2 solid hours of game announcements.

Kicking off the show was a game called ‘Everywhere’ headed by ex-Rockstar lead Leslie Benzies who had been previously responsible for the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ series from ‘GTA 3’ through to ‘GTA Online’. The game developed under his new studio Build a Rocket Boy is an ambitious open world and multi world multiplayer title featuring 3^rd person action and driving and looks to have multiple visual styles and a goal of allowing player creativity. There aren’t many details at this point but it certainly looks like one to watch.

Sony revealed a new controller for the Playstation 5. The Dualsense Edge wireless controller allows users to customise their button mappings, travel and dead zones and save their setups to profiles as well as changeable stick caps, back buttons and stick modules. Price and release details to come later.

‘Moonbreaker’ is the anticipated new title from Unknown Worlds who were previously responsible for ‘Subnautica’. They have teamed up with popular writer Brandon Sanderson to create a fantasy tabletop style strategy game wherein miniature figures fight it out. Embracing the theme these figures can be custom painted in game with impressive fidelity.

‘Dune Awakenings’ jumps aboard the sandworm of popularity that has burst from the earth of the recent film series. This survival mmo is developed by the team at Funcom Oslo who brought us ‘Conan Exiles’.

Do you remember 1988’s cult film ‘Killer Klowns from Outer Space’? Well the executive producer of the ‘Friday the 13^th‘ game certainly does as they’re heading development of a ‘Dead by Daylight’ style multiplayer game using the IP. In a unique combination the game will see 3 players taking the role of the Killer Klowns and 7 players as the humans trying to survive.

The last reveal of the night was the re-reveal of the long delayed and troubled ‘Dead Island 2’ which is now on its 3^rd developer and is now so far along the announcement included a polished 10 min gameplay segment. The colourful, open world, zombie FPS based in sunny Los Angeles and a release date of Feb 3 2023.

There were many other reveals however including details for ‘New Tales from the Borderlands’, ‘Under the Waves’, ‘Return to Monkey Island’, ‘Atlas Fallen’, ‘The Outlast Trials’, ‘The Calisto Protocol’ and the Pinocchio Souls Like ‘Lies of Pi’. To check out the full lineup you watch the official presentation.

Destiny 2 Showcase

Bungie also held a showcase detailing upcoming ‘Destiny 2’ details including the new expansion ‘Lightfall’ which takes us to the previously hidden neon city on Neptune, Neo Luna. To help explore the new metropolitan environment players will get Destiny equivalent of a grappling hook. There were many other details for upcoming content and user experience in the showcase and included an upcoming crossover with ‘Fortnite’. Check out the Presentation here.

Say Goodbye to Project Cars 1 and 2

Project Cars 1 and 2 will be delisted later this year as car and track licensing deals expire.  Those who own the game will be unaffected but if you were hoping to pick them up sometime your time is getting short. The games will be removed from sale on October 3^rd and September 21^st respectively.

PSVR2 release

Sony has confirmed via twitter that the Playstation VR2 will release early 2023. The price point is still under wraps.

Game Releases

Pac-Man World Re-Pac (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC), Soul Hackers 2 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) – August 26

Destroy All Humans 2: Reprobed (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC), Immortality (Xbox Series X/S, PC, iOS, Android), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC), Tinykin (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC) – August 31

Pull out your popcorn cause this week Zed Games talks the good, bad, and strange of Game Movies with Zahra, Elliott, and Paul!

This week in gaming news.

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Hello dear listeners!
This week the Zed Crew ask you to subscribe to 4ZZZ to keep the lights on and the show live and weekly for you all.
The show’s host, Paul, leads the team with Zahra, Rani and the all new Cameron talking gaming news, Caroline hailing the virtues of new game Cult of the Lamb, and Paul collecting the unique narratives of Hindsight and Before Your Eyes.

This week in gaming news…

Subnautica Studio Debuting New IP at Gamescom

Unknown Worlds Entertainment, developers of Subnautica, will be debuting a completely new sci-fi game at this year’s Gamescom Opening Night Live event according to a now-deleted tweet from host Geoff Keighley. The game is assumed to be the same project that was first hinted by the studio in October 2021 and along with Sonic Frontiers will be one of 30+ games showcased during the opening night event. Australian viewers can catch the event in 2 weeks on August 24th at 4AM Brisbane time, but there’ll be a replay for anyone who doesn’t feel like waking up at 4am on a Wednesday to watch 2 hours of trailers.

Final Fantasy 14 Streamer Plays With Spellbook

Final Fantasy 14 streamer Super Louis 64 is infamous for configuring the game to be played with wacky controllers including everything from a Nintendo Switch Ring Fit controller to an actual edible pizza. This week he debuted his latest project: playing the game with a literal book and pen and using it to write out his spells in the book to cast them. The control method is still in its early stages but Louis has apparently had some success hammering out the bugs and actually managing to play the game with it. He tweeted early Wednesday morning Brisbane time to say that the project was done and uploaded a YouTube video of him playing the game with it.

MultiVersus Hits 10 Million Players During Beta

Warner Bros’ free-to-play fighting game MultiVersus launched an open beta recently and in just a few short weeks the game has picked up 10 million players. The game promises Smash Bros-esque gameplay with a hilarious mix of Warner Bros characters from Batman to Velma and Shaggy from Scooby Doo to Steven Universe. MultiVersus has already been the focus of online memes due to the inherent comedy of Bugs Bunny beating the hell out of real life NBA player LeBron James and the ensuing discussion of strategies, gameplay meta, and ranking the characters in tier lists.

Leak Says Fall Guys Sonic Crossover Coming Soon

Twitter user FGPancake, known for leaking Fall Guys event information ahead of official releases, has stated that the game’s new Sonic the Hedgehog crossover event will release this week on the 11th. Previous leaks showed off Sonic the Hedgehog character costumes that will be available in-game and a Green Hill Zone map that were subsequently confirmed by the official Fall Guys Twitter.

Upcoming Releases

Now for some upcoming releases… we’ve got a big week ahead as August 11 brings Arcade Paradise and Cult Of The Lamb to PC, Playstation, Xbox, and Switch and Tower of Fantasy to PC. August 12 sees Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered releasing on PC and Voyage on Playstation, Xbox, and Switch. Backpack Hero comes to PC on August 15 and launching August 16 are Blossom Tales 2: The Minotaur Prince on PC and Switch, Rollerdrome on PC and Playstation, Tribes of Midgard on Xbox and Switch, and Way of the Hunter on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. Finally, Catizens comes to PC on August 17.

That’s all this week in gaming news!

On Zed Games this week Maylee and Zahra introduce the newbie Peter S to us all, talk news, and Paul guides us through the Zachtronics fictional nostalgia collection Last Call BBS.

Indonesia Bans Steam

As Indonesia rolls out new content moderation laws, many online services have been affected, including Steam, PayPal, Epic Games, and even Yahoo.

Companies that are considered private electronic system providers have to register with the Indonesian government’s database to operate in the country. Any companies that failed to do so by 27th July have been banned.

Aside from making it challenging for those in Indonesia to access video games, the requirement is part of an overarching law that is intended to allow the Indonesian government to obtain data about users, and remove content that “disturbs public order”.

Microsoft, Google, Apple, TikTok, Netflix, Spotify, and many other service providers have successfully registered a licence, allowing them to continue to operate.

As of now, Valve is attempting to comply with the requirements, and PayPal has been temporarily unblocked.

Steam Bans Award Logos

The practice of putting award logos and review scores in key art on Steam is coming to an end. Valve is introducing new rules for store key art, or “store graphical assets”, prioritising cleaner images for the storefront.

Review scores, award names, and promotion of a different product are all banned starting from September 1st. If developers want to promote a major update, they can use “artwork overrides”, which slaps a separate layer over existing images.

Valve states that the move is prompted not only to reduce visual clutter, but also to avoid review scores that may be outdated, or even the sketchy practice of making up award names to make a game look a little fancier.

Diablo Immortal Player is Alone

Diablo Immortal has been having some bad press, but now the focus is on a player who has spent $142,000 AUD on the MMORPG, effectively locking him out of the game.

Diablo Immortal’s system allows players to invest financially in order to upgrade their character, a system often called ‘pay-to-win’, and it definitely works. Now this player’s barbarian is so overpowered that he has won hundreds of matches against other players, with very, very few losses. As a result, the game simply will not match him with another player, as there are simply none who could be fairly matched against him.

The player has contacted Blizzard hoping for a way to resolve this problem, however with an upcoming event called the Rite of Exile, he is unable to assist his clan, and with being stuck in matchmaking purgatory, he is unable to even qualify.

He isn’t exactly being met with sympathy, with some players saying that ‘he got what he paid for’.

And now for some upcoming games!

August 4

• Hard West 2 (PC)
• Turbo Golf Racing (PC, XSX, XBO)

August 9

• Thymesia (PC, PS5, XSX)
• Two Point Campus (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)

August 10

• Lost In Play (PC, Switch)

August 11

• Arcade Paradise (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)
• Cult Of The Lamb (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)

This week Zed Games takes a walk on the feline side with Hazel and Caroline talking gaming news, Paul reviews the viral sensation Stray, and the team chats cat-centric gaming.

Chess Robot Breaks Bones

As it turns out, robots don’t like it when you try to rush through a chess game. During a chess tournament in Moscow, a seven year old boy who is among the top 30 chess players in Moscow under the age of nine, faced off against a chess robot. Playing chess against AI is hardly anything new, with Deep Blue being the first computer to win a match against a reigning chess champion in 1997.

However, in this case the AI reacted in response to the boy moving a piece earlier than he should’ve, and as a consequence grabbed the boy’s index finger and squeezed it firmly. People rushed to help, but not before his finger was broken.

However, the young player did return to the tournament the next day, and his parents are now considering filing a lawsuit.

Russia’s Making Their Own Games

Following the invasion of Ukraine, several companies have stopped trading with Russia, and many sanctions have been placed, leaving the country without video games. Nintendo has announced suspending all exports to Russia, as well as Sony Interactive Entertainment, Microsoft, and more.

As a result, Russia is now turning to making games internally, with Rostec planning on creating its own game engine. This project is being looked at cautiously by the government as this would be the first Russian game engine.

Minecraft Says No NFTs

Mojang has taken a firm stance against blockchain technology and Non-Fungible Tokens, preventing third-party operators from creating Minecraft NFTs.

The company has stated that the use of NFTs violates the spirit of the Minecraft usage guidelines, although the guidelines do permit server owners to charge for access. Mojang has clarified the difference between money and tokens, stating that “we have these rules to ensure that Minecraft remains a community where everyone has access to the same content. NFTs can create models of scarcity and exclusion that conflict with our guidelines and the spirit of Minecraft”.

However, they haven’t closed the door entirely on NFTs, explaining that Mojang is open to the possibilities of blockchain technology in the future.

Roblox Fighting for Innocent Gamers

Christopher Boomer, a developer behind Roblox games such as Weight Lifting Simulator 2 and Muscle Legends, recently obtained a DMCA subpoena in order to compel Roblox to identify alleged pirates. Boomer’s games have been viewed over two billion times, and according to Boomer’s legal team, fellow Roblox developers have copied Boomer’s games.

As a result, Boomer filed for a DMCA subpoena to unmask the alleged pirates. Roblox objects however, explaining that 10 days is too short of a time to produce the requested information, and has called the request unreasonable as Boomer is attempting to obtain information on a potential 460 thousand players, along with the alleged pirates.

“Roblox objects to the request to unmask anonymous speakers without the provision of notice to the speakers so that they may directly address any potential concerns, First Amendment or otherwise,” states Roblox.

“Roblox objects to this request as overbroad because it seeks a wide swath of user information that Petitioner has not established is relevant to any alleged copyright infringement, and thus the information requested does not qualify as discoverable subject matter.”

And now for some upcoming games!

July 28

• Autonauts vs Piratebots (PC)
• Bear and Breakfast (PC)
• Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions (Switch)
• Sweet Transit (PC)

July 29

• Avenging Spirit (PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)
• Digimon Survive (PC, PS4, XBO, Switch)
• Madison (Switch)
• Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town (PS4)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch)

August 1

• The Gallery (PC, PS4, XBO, Switch)

August 2

• Frogun (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)

August 3

• South of the Circle (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)

August 4

• Hard West 2 (PC)
• Turbo Golf Racing (PC, XSX, XBO)

This week in Zed Games Zahra, Hazel, and the disembodied voice of Paul have plenty to discuss, with the week in gaming news by Caroline, a Trackmania review by Hazel, and a Sable review by Zahra.