The news, the second part:
Ubisoft wants to sell you Ezio's 'digital soul' and yes, it's an NFT
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-wants-to-sell-you-ezios-digital-soul-and-yes-its-an-nft/
Back in September last year, Ubisoft promised that it would only start making moves with NFTs when it had "something that gives you a real benefit". Well, I guess it thinks it's found it. The company has teamed up with a firm called Integrated Reality Labs (IRL, get it?) to produce a range of Assassin's Creed-themed "Smart Collectibles," little acrylic cubes with Assassin's Creed guys in them that are tied to NFTs. Are you excited? I'm excited.
Advertising watchdog slams Roblox because of paid-for influencers shilling Robux without disclosure 'children can understand'
https://www.pcgamer.com/advertising-watchdog-slams-roblox-because-of-paid-for-influencers-shilling-robux-without-disclosure-children-can-understand/
The Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) is a self-regulatory body in the United States, and it's one that focuses on how things are being marketed to children under the age of 13 across all forms of media. In recent times it's been looking closely at the metaverse, and issued a compliance warning about this area in August 2022. Now it's taking aim at Roblox, one of the biggest and most profitable gaming/creation platforms around, and one where 43% of the playerbase is under the age of 13.
NFT cockfighting game canned, but will buy back your cocks
https://www.pcgamer.com/nft-cockfighting-game-canned-but-will-buy-back-your-cocks/
An NFT-based cockfighting game that's been in development for a year has been unceremoniously canned (thanks, Kotaku). Or in the words of its developers Irreverent Labs, entered "indefinite hibernation". The game would have starred 'mechabots': Robotic chickens that were being sold as NFTs to verify each chicken's uniqueness. It was intended as a so-called "play-to-earn" game where players would level the chickens and theoretically sell them on at a higher price. I'm not making this up.
Surprise, Skull and Bones won't actually be out 'early' this year after all
https://www.pcgamer.com/surprise-skull-and-bones-wont-actually-be-out-early-this-year-after-all/
In January, Ubisoft delayed (again) its long-troubled high-seas piracy game Skull and Bones to early in its 2023-24 fiscal year, which runs from April 1 2023 to March 31 2024. But not really early, as it turns out. In today's full-year earnings report for 2022-23, Ubisoft indicated that Skull and Bones remains on track for release this year but will not be out during the first quarter—which means no Skull and Bones before at least July 1.
Blizzard is scrapping Overwatch 2 hero missions and progression: 'It's clear that we can't deliver on the original vision for PvE'
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-is-scrapping-overwatch-2-co-op-missions-and-hero-progression-its-clear-that-we-cant-deliver-on-the-original-vision-for-pve/
Note: The original headline for this story stated that "co-op" missions are being scrapped. Blizzard has confirmed that the standalone story missions coming instead of the originally planned PvE mode will support co-op. To avoid confusion, we've updated the headline.
When Overwatch 2 was announced in 2019, front and center in Blizzard's promotion were a new campaign mode and co-op hero missions designed to be replayable. Then Overwatch 2 got delayed several times, Blizzard stopped talking about the PvE mode, and eventually decided to only release Overwatch 2's new PvP stuff and worry about PvE later.
Later has finally come, and it's mostly bad news. Blizzard announced in a midseason livestream today that the originally planned "hero missions" that'd feature co-op, long-term progression, and talent trees have been cancelled.
Here's your short Diablo 4 lore primer before launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-your-short-diablo-4-lore-primer-before-launch/
As it goes with any long-running RPG series, Diablo is crammed full of proper nouns—Inarius and the Horadrim and the Nephalem and so on. If Diablo 4 is going to be your first crack at the series (or hell, if you understandably need a refresher) Blizzard has a new video in which its developers set up the story for you with a bit of context from the series origins and the end of Diablo 3.
My most anticipated co-op shooter just pivoted to an extraction shooter, and playtest signups are live
https://www.pcgamer.com/my-most-anticipated-co-op-shooter-just-pivoted-to-an-extraction-shooter-and-playtest-signups-are-live/
You know that one game that you barely know anything about but find yourself giddily excited for anyways? That game for me is Arc Raiders, a third-person shooter from Embark Studios announced as a co-op game back in 2021. We haven't heard much about Arc Raiders since Embark pushed it back last year in favor of releasing its debut multiplayer FPS first: The Finals.
It turns out Embark hasn't just been continuing development on Arc Raiders since then, it's been reworking it completely into a PvPvE extraction shooter. Executive producer Aleksander Grøndal explained the change in a dev blog published today.
Ubisoft is jumping into AI, with 'developers of all levels experimenting with the technology'
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-is-jumping-into-ai-with-developers-of-all-levels-experimenting-with-the-technology/
The advent of AI in game development is a touchy subject. Witness, for instance, the reaction to a promotional tweet for System Shock in which publisher Prime Matter used the Midjourney AI software to imagine what the game's evil AI Shodan might look like. (Short version: It did not go over well.) There are also very understandable fears that AI could be used to replace some—maybe many—game development jobs: Blizzard, for instance, recently applied for a patent on an AI system intended to generate in-game art.
Now Ubisoft is wading into the fray, and based on a statement in the company's FY 2022-23 year end report, it sounds like it's ready to jump in with both feet.
Notoriously litigious haptics company tries to shakedown Valve
https://www.pcgamer.com/notoriously-litigious-haptics-company-tries-to-shakedown-valve/
Valve is being sued by Immersion Corporation for allegedly infringing on seven patents relating to touch technology, or haptics, in its Steam Deck and Valve Index hardware. Immersion Corporation, founded in 1993, is a company that had an early history in the development of touchscreen technology, including a partnership with Microsoft, but from the 2000s onwards seems to have become more and more litigious: To the extent it's been described as a "patent troll". It claims to own over 1,650 patents related to haptics, and in the past has sued Apple, Microsoft, Sony, and most recently Meta Platforms.
Microsoft president clarifies EU cloud agreement, popular games will be 'automatically' licensed to competitors and 'this will apply globally'
https://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-president-clarifies-eu-cloud-agreement-popular-games-will-be-automatically-licensed-to-competitors-and-this-will-apply-globally/
We're reaching the business end of Microsoft's huge heave to get its proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard approved, and earlier this week it took a big step forward when the EU Commission approved the deal. The EU regulator noted many of the same concerns about the nascent cloud gaming market as the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has said it will block the deal, but was ultimately persuaded by the remedies Microsoft proposed.
Sega would like $70, please
https://www.pcgamer.com/sega-would-like-dollar70-please/
A newly-released English translation of an April Q&A with Sega execs contains some foreboding news: It sure looks like the suits are prepping to up the price on the company's games from $60 to $70, becoming the latest in a line of publishers to leave behind the $60 price point that's been standard in videogames for a good long time now.
