Video game news in review: The biggest news from the week of August 12, 2024
Video game news is actually really positive this week, which feels like a breath of fresh air. We've got teases for new games, release dates, and... well, more teases for new games.
So let's start with all the good news!
Hi-Fi Rush and Tango Gameworks are back!
That's right! Tango Gameworks was saved by PUBG publisher Krafton! They're even transferring over 50 developers to work on Hi-Fi Rush 2!
This is such a breath of fresh air with all of the layoffs and closures that have hit the industry just this year. Tango Gameworks was shuttered by Microsoft back in May and Hi-Fi Rush fans were flabbergasted. Now, they get the chance to do it all over again and keep working.
The only games Krafton didn't pick up in the acquisition are The Evil Within, its DLCs, and Ghostwire: Tokyo.
Borderlands 4 tease
With the Borderlands movie being an absolute flop, it's mildly surprising that we have a tease about Borderlands 4, but I guess any press is good press?
Randy Pitchford, Gearbox CEO, tweeted out that they're working hard "four you on what's next..." It's not much, but it's definitely a pointed "typo." We all knew Borderlands 4 was going to be a thing anyway, right? So it's not too much of a surprise, but the tease is still kind of fun.
The Nintendo Switch 2 may not be until mid-2025
This is the longest we have gone between new Nintendo consoles, and fans and critics alike are giving Nintendo some serious side-eye now that we're going on nine years since the Switch launched.
And it sounds like that's going to be the trend. In the latest episode of The GamesIndustry.biz Microcast, it's discussed that most developers don't expect to see it during this current financial year. Nintendo told everyone ahead of their last Nintendo Direct not to expect anything about the Switch 2 and that they'd make an announcement about it before the end of this fiscal year... which gives them until March 31, 2025.
And they seem like they're going to wait until the last moment to announce it.
Remedy's quarterly update
Okay, this is a lot of nuance and minutiae, but Remedy Entertainment had their half-year financial report, and we're suckers for anything Alan Wake or Control, so you're going to sit there and get this update.
Based on this breakdown, Alan Wake 2 is close to recouping its cost (which was Remedy's most expensive game to date, and also its fastest-selling). But more importantly, the remake for Max Payne 1 & 2 are now in full production mode, and Control 2 has moved up to production readiness internally. And we've got that second Alan Wake 2 DLC to look forward to in October!
Two games get official release dates
Let's bookend this with some good news again: We have official release dates for both The Plucky Squire and Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard will be released on October 31, just shy of a decade since the last Dragon Age game. The release date was leaked, so they just published a trailer announcement for it:
The Plucky Squire releases on September 17 and will be a day-one drop for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers. This will also give it a bit of breathing room against the upcoming Zelda game, too, and we're excited to get our hands on it.
Even by video game movie standards, Borderlands is an all-time disaster. Even by video game movie standards, Borderlands is an all-time disaster. dark. Next