Microsoft’s week was starting out so good. Last Monday was a great day for Halo fans, as we learned thatcampaign AI functionalitymight be coming to the game’s Forge Mode, opening up a world of possibilities.
And then on Wednesday, the talk of layoffs started —roughly 10,000 of them, to be more specific — and the public outcry hasn’t let up since. A day after the initial news, we reported thatboth 343 and Bethesdawould have their operations affected by the culling of employees, and though Xbox boss Phil Spencerhas expressed painat having to let so many people go, it hasn’t stopped others in the gaming industry fromquestioning the competenceof Microsoft’s leadership. It seems the decision has even led at least one top developer towalk away from his position, although 343 Industries is assuring its fans thatHalo is still the studio’s focus.
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As if that weren’t enough,an antitrust warningis reportedly incoming from the European Union regarding the company’s anticipated Activision-Blizzard acquisition. What other bad PR could Microsoft face now. A potential strike?
Meanwhile …
No, that’s Ubisoft— specifically, Ubisoft Paris, where workers reportedly responded to CEO Yves Guillemot’s announced plan to cut the budget by $215 million by making their own announcement that they would be going on strike starting January 27. Guillemothas since apologizedand made clarifications to the statements that upset his employees, but we’ll have to wait and see if it’s enough to keep them from walking out.
Some in the industry are worried at the number of planned titles canceled by Ubisoft. PVP arena battlerProject Q joined the listof canceled games this week, butBeyond Good & Evil 2 is still on trackand racing game The Crew 2 justannounced a content update, so it’s not all bad news from Ubisoft.
A Magical Duel
Even with all the hubbub surrounding publishers and developer, we still had time to talk about video games this week, and the two getting the most attention are both soon-to-be-released titles with magical protagonists.
Forspoken will be receiving itsfinal pre-release streamjust hours after this story goes live, and the game will make its big debut on Tuesday. Itssystem requirements on PCseems to havespooked some fans, but aquality-of-life update to the demowill hopefully assuage those fears. And if you’re not afraid of having the ending spoiled, we’ve got ahot leak about the final boss battlefor you.
Hogwarts Legacy has been making big news of its own, with acinematic trailer showing off the school groundsand the announcement of asave system with four slots— one for each house. To top things off,its ray tracing optionswill be able to be turned on or off for shadows, reflections, ambient occlusion, and quality presets.
NEXT:DualShockers Week In Review: The Top News Stories From January 9-15
