Video game news is on fire this week, with a couple new launches and some big news around the Game Awards coming up in December. Let's just jump into the biggest news from this week first.
The Game Awards "Game of the Year" nominees
Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard the discourse around the 2024 Game Awards "Game of the Year" nominations. The nominees are Astro Bot, Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, and Metaphor: Refantazio.
The big issues are the Elden Ring DLC and the Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2. And I think some people have had issues with Balatro because it just looks like a card game, but it's much more than that. Think of it more like a roguelike but with cards.
No, people have issues with a remake and a DLC being included as GOTY nominees. Are they both excellent? Yes. But if you want them nominated, maybe make new categories? Best DLC and Best Remaster/Remake? Maybe one day. We'll see what ends up winning...
New releases this week
First up, we covered it last week, but the Stellar Blade DLC released on November 20. This is mostly cosmetic things (including the outfits from NieR: Automata) but also includes photo mode! And it's free!
The other big release this week is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl, which is an FPS survival horror game. Gameranx, as always, comes in clutch with their "Before You Buy" if you think this release is something that you'd be interested in.
Remedy Entertainment gives financial updates on Alan Wake 2, updates on Control 2
You can watch the whole presentation here, or check out the tweet below for a quick overview, but Remedy had their Capital Markets Day 2024 and gave some quick updates. That includes how Alan Wake 2 has sold almost 2 million copies (and the deluxe edition is discounted for Black Friday!) and more interestingly, that Control 2 is going to be an action RPG.
News from our Capital Markets day:
— Remedy Entertainment (@remedygames) November 19, 2024
🔦 Alan Wake 2 has sold over 1.8M units
🔻 Control Ultimate Edition will release on Mac February 12th, 2025
💥 Control 2 will be an action RPG
🎁 Control will receive a free update in early 2025, unlocking some previously released content
🔎… pic.twitter.com/AX1jqpNTkt
A new trailer for the Minecraft movie
I mean, this is a video game news round-up, so we may as well link to the latest Minecraft movie trailer. I'm still not sure how to feel about it, but I am also not a Minecraft player.
Stardew Valley: Symphony of Seasons announcement
If you love the music of Stardew Valley, boy do we have a concert announcement for you!
This is a new iteration of the concert, which was Festival of Seasons. It doesn't start until fall of 2025, but does it sound fantastic. Most presale tickets start November 25, so be prepped and ready to buy them!