Sony prepares a potential competitor service for Xbox Game Pass, while theBattlefieldfranchise is priming to expand the franchise further, in this week’s biggest video game news. Game Rant has compiled some of the biggest gaming news stories from this past week together into a concise post for fans and enthusiasts to stay up to date on the most important events in the industry per week. Highlighting the most relevant stories, this list is not inherently and totally objective, and will not contain every news story this week. Rather, this is intended for gaming fans who want a quick rundown on the largest/most impactful stories that occurred in the last week in games.
In this week’s recap ofgaming news, PlayStation is reportedly preparing a new subscription services that combines PS Plus and PS Now in an Xbox Game Pass-style fashion for players. Raven Software, one of the co-developers on theCall of Dutyfranchise, is reportedly laying off a large degree of its quality assurance staff this week. Hazelight Studios’It Takes Twowas issued a copyright strike by Take-Two Interactive over the apparent similarity in name. EA has tapped Respawn Entertainment’s Vince Zampella to work on the expansion of theBattlefieldfranchise. All that and more in this week’s roundup of the biggest gaming news from the industry this week.
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PlayStation Introducing An Xbox Game Pass-Like Subscription Service
In a report by Bloomberg earlier this week, Sony may be designing a new subscription service to phase out PlayStation Now. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reports that PlayStation is planning to implement a new subscription,codenamed “Spartacus,” which will function similarly to Xbox Game Pass. This new service will reportedly be separated into three tiers, all with different perks like a larger game catalog, game streaming, demos, as well as a version of backwards compatibility that reportedly includes PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games. PlayStation’s “Spartacus” will reportedly merge together PS Plus and PS Now together as well.
‘A Third’ of Raven Software QA Team Laid Off By Activision
Activision is reportedlylaying off members of its QA team in the next week at Raven Software, one of the secondary studios working on theCall of Dutyfranchise. TheBlack Ops Cold Warco-developer has laid off “a third” of the quality assurance staff, while other existing QA staff are being promoted to full-time positions in the same department. Raven Software and Activision had previously announced a pay restructuring for QA as a result of the ongoing Activision-Blizzard controversy. This report also comes a day after Activision posted $1.93 billion in revenue in the last financial quarter, stemming fromCall of Duty: Warzone’s continued success.
It Takes Two Copyright Claimed by Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive sought acopyright claim against Hazelight Studios regardingIt Takes Twoover the weekend. The similarities between Hazelight Studios' latest co-op adventure game’s title, compared to the publisher for 2K as well as Rockstar Games, seems to have prompted a copyright claim from Take-Two Interactive earlier this year. Hazelight (and the studio’s publisher, EA) did not comment on the claim, but the studio has made the decision to abandon the trademark forIt Takes Twoat the moment. According to a report by Eurogamer, a developer at Hazelight Studios mentioned the team was “hopeful [the copyright dispute] will be resolved.”
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EA intends to make major changes to theBattlefieldfranchise in the wake ofBattlefield 2042’s release. Vince Zampella, co-founder of Respawn Entertainment (Apex Legends,Titanfall), is now heading up theBattlefieldfranchise as part of a new initiative for the series. Zampella will be exploring ways to create a “connectedBattlefielduniverse” alongside existing titles likeBattlefield 2042. While the details of theBattlefielduniverse are unclear at this time, Zampella elaborated that this initiative is more geared towards spin-offs, likely pertaining toMarcus Lehto’s new Seattle-based studio with EA.
The Original Titanfall Has Been De-Listed by Respawn, EA
Outside ofBattlefield, Respawn Entertainment reached an ultimatum with its debut franchise. EA and Respawn made the decision tode-list the originalTitanfallfrom digital storefrontson all platforms in response to the severe hacking issues plaguing the game’s multiplayer. The originalTitanfall’s multiplayer servers have been plagued by multiple DDOS and ransomware attacks that have contributed to consistently high ping and crashing servers, rendering the game virtually unplayable. The announcement saw immediate backlash fromTitanfallfans, asking for a more comprehensive solution rather than taking the game down from stores.
Congress Introducing Legislation To Combat Bots/Scalpers
Politicians in the U.S. haveintroduced legislation to Congress in order to combat the issue of scalpersand re-sellers. Aptly named The Stopping Grinch Bots Act, Congress wishes to prevent and prohibit the usage of bots to purchase in-demand goods quickly and unfairly, forcing consumers to purchase from re-sellers at inflated prices. The bill does not specifically mention next-gen consoles, but is likely addressing many of the electronics like PS5 and Xbox Series X that are in short supply because of bots/resellers, as well as the ongoing chip shortage. Congressman Paul Tonko, alongside Senator Richard Blumenthal, Senator Chuck Schumer, and Senator Ben Ray Lujan introduced the bill.
Call of Duty: Warzone Introducing New Pacific ‘Caldera’ Map
The long-rumoredCall of Duty: WarzonePacific-themed map addition was officially revealed this weekby Activision. Known as “Caldera,” theCall of Duty: Vanguard-themed addition toWarzoneis planned to launch on December 9, alongside season one ofCall of Duty: Vanguard’s multiplayer/live service offering. One more final limited-time event will be scheduled to send offWarzone’s Verdansk map to usher in Caldera.
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