An Amazing Steam Sale, A Major Pokémon Go Development, And More Of The Week's Top News
This week saw Pokémon Go become the property of the Saudi government as Scopely, the mobile game maker owned by Savvy Games Group which itself was founded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, acquired POGO developer Niantic for the tidy sum of $3.5 billion. In other news, Steam has launched one of its best sales in years, full of massive discounts on great games, and as Battlefield 6 leaks emerge, hype only seems to be increasing for what looks to be a return to the modern combat glory days of the series' most beloved entries. Read on for these stories and more.
One of the defining games of the last decade, Pokémon Go, now belongs to the Saudi Arabia government. Mobile game maker Scopely, which is owned by the Saudi royal investment fund, announced its purchase of the hit game along with the rest of Niantic Labs game business for $3.5 billion. The sale comes after the tech company failed to create any more hits on the scale of Pokémon Go. - Ethan Gach Read More
Right now some of the best games available on Steam, including Undertale, Doom (2016), and Spiritfarer are all on sale for incredibly cheap prices. Combine that with Steam's annual Spring Sale and you have a recipe for some fantastic discounts. - Zack Zwiezen Read More
ZA/UM Studio, the entity which at one point released Disco Elysium, a critically acclaimed detective RPG about navigating the ruins of capitalism and solving a murder, has finally revealed its next game nearly six years later. Instead of Disco Elysium 2, it's a spy RPG still mostly shrouded in secrecy called Project[C4], and one big question facing it is whether it will bear any resemblance to the studio's previous work after years of internal upheaval and tumult. - Ethan Gach Read More
The next Battlefield game—referred to unofficially as Battlefield 6—is currently holding an early beta and despite players having to sign an NDA to participate, footage has leaked online. Encouragingly, the reactions are overwhelmingly positive as players seem excited about new features, details, and the return to the modern combat seen in past entries. - Zack Zwiezen Read More
Another month, another bunch of games is joining the catalogs for PlayStation Plus' Extra and Premium tiers. This time around, fans of arcades, punching people, 2D platformers, and retro robot warfare should all be very excited. - Zack Zwiezen Read More
Occasionally the stars align and a once-in-a-generation group of creatives come together to make something spectacular and ahead of its time. That's how Chrono Trigger was made, an RPG for the SNES that came out 30 years ago this week and still blows me away. Playing it was a formative gaming moment for me and one I'm grateful to have experienced firsthand. - Ethan Gach Read More
Hunts in Monster Hunter Wilds can take anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour depending on the level of difficulty and how geared up the player is. But a recent discovery makes it technically possible to clear a hunt in just two seconds. Fans are having fun with the exploit despite it not actually saving them any time. Let me explain. - Ethan Gach Read More
The long-rumored Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion remake, which Kotaku confirmed was real in January, reportedly might be announced very soon and could launch as early as next month. - Zack Zwiezen Read More
The Dungeons & Dragons community is extremely skeptical of generative AI, and publisher Wizards of the Coast has come under fire in the past for using AI art in material for its games. But the CEO in charge of the D&D and Magic: The Gathering maker continues to sound like he's all in on the technology, recently calling himself 'an AI bull' and speculating about how it could be used for D&D subscription services. - Ethan Gach Read More
Earlier this week, a Mountain Dew collector shared some sad news with the Mountain Dew subreddit: A huge chunk of his collection of sodas was ruined by a single leaky can. After he shared photos depicting the aftermath of the leak, which damaged a wall and destroyed 60 cans of Mountain Dew Thrashed Apple, a discontinued and sought-after variant, I reached out to the collector about the situation. - Zack Zwiezen Read More
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