Hey everyone, good morning. The sun is just coming up and boy do I greatly dislike daylight saving time changes. I'm trying to train myself to get use to it, but it's rough. Anyway, here we are once again for a weekly WRUP.
On May 16th Ghosts of Tsushima is releasing on PC. That is some really cool news. I've personally stayed away from game content from this title just so I don't spoil it for myself. Even when my brother in law was playing it and talking to me about it I tried to stay distant because I knew this day was coming. The pre-purchase page is up on Steam now and as much as we usually don't recommend buying something before it's released, I might actually do that. There are certain titles I feel like that's worth doing and certainly I'm not innocent of doing a pre-purchase in the past. Here's hoping the port is great and importantly, here's hoping that this moves us another step closer to non-exclusivity. More games for more platforms is only a good thing. This is exciting.
Saber Interactive has been sold by Embracer Group for $247 million. There's a lot of information to take in about this so I'll just link to where I saw it on Gamesindustry.biz rather than try to disseminate it here. The split will undoubtedly delay some anticipated titles like Space Marine 2, for instance. Saber will keep its studios while Embracer will retain rights to many IPs including some unannounced and pay down some debt.
Enter: Empty Vessel. A new studio created and run by some old heads from id, Naughty Dog and Activision will focus on high quality with smaller teams and what sounds like a lot less toxicity. Empty Vessel will operate as a fully remote studio, but will have a technical base in Austin TX and they say they'll focus on developers first. A quote from Emanuel Palaic - "By prioritizing and aligning with our strengths, we're confident it's possible to create triple-A quality games with smaller, focused teams." This is a really business buzzword way to say that they're going try to work together and make cool shit for less money. Here's more from Gamedeveloper.com.
What are we playing?
Greywolfe: oh my god! i'm playing an almost current game! what the heck!? anyway, i've started marvel's midnight suns. it's ostensibly a game with cards in it. and super heroes. but that's the part i care about the least. also, firaxis! so it's likely going to be difficult as nails.
Scrooloose: More Helldivers 2 while I wait "patiently" for my new 7900 GRE to arrive... nearly a full week from now.
AJ: Just picked up Days Gone and God of War on sale on GOG, so possibly one or both of those.