Update Patch | May 2021
May has come and gone with a solid AAA selection (despite the ongoing pandemic) and we now head into June, traditionally the month for outlandish spectacle, hyperbole and false promises in the game industry. E3 will soon be dominating the headlines for better or worse so let's remember May's biggest stories here. I wonder if anything happened with Epic or Apple?
Ah yes. If I am reading these documents correctly… BUSINESS?
1. A LOT OF STUFF HAPPENED WITH EPIC AND APPLE
After months of posturing and snipes across the bow, the lawsuit was finally heard between Epic Games and Apple Inc. over the course of the month with Apple CEO Tim Cook taking to the stand for questioning on the final day, the 21st May.
The trial was initially submitted for court in August of last year following Fortnite being taken off the App Store. This was as Epic gave users who purchased microtransactions directly from them discounts by not charging the percentage cut Apple would usually take as the storefront owner. As a result, Epic filed suit against the company based on its alleged “anti-competitive behaviour”.
Over the last month, the trial has been heard with numerous witnesses on both sides with both Apple and Epic Games CEOs Tim Cook and Tim Sweeney testify on everything from the definition of a video game to the deep existential stuff, like, “what is Eurogamer?”. Here’s a short summary of what happened over the course of the trial:
Sweeney disclosed that Sony requires a compensation fee in certain cases to allow cross-play on games on their platform, which Epic agreed to at the time. He also hit out at the paid promotion that allows sponsored titles to appear at the top of search results on the App Store as opposed to the most relevant search.
Sweeney argued that Apple’s fees and their restrictions “make it very hard for Epic and creators to exist in this future world”, referring to the concept of a ‘metaverse’. When pushed on what is meant by that, the example of the Oasis from Ready Player One was used.
Tim Cook argued that Apple’s control of apps through its store provides greater user privacy and safety, stating “We’re trying to give the customer an integrated solution of hardware, software, and services… I just don’t think you replicate that in a third party.” He also defended their up to 30% cut by pointing out apps can have much less taken from them.
However, Cook was vague when it came to how profitable the App Store, maintaining Apple hadn’t studied what they bring in. When asked if they knew, Cook categorically stated “We haven’t done that.”
With regards to profitability, Xbox Business Development VP Lori Wright testified as an additional Epic witness with Microsoft’s xCloud gaming service restricted from the App Store. During her testimony, she claimed that Xbox consoles have never been sold at a profit, with money made back from software sales. Apple has filed a motion to prevent the testimony from being considered as they claim Microsoft didn’t produce evidence of this ahead of trial.
When it comes to a decision, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers confirmed that a decision would not be immediate owing to the large amount of evidence that would need to be considered, but also hoped to release a decision soon enough whilst the trial is fresh.
2. Following Last Year’s Abuse Allegations Change is Slow and Minimal at Ubisoft
Last summer, reports emerged pertaining to a culture of sexual harassment and even sexual assault present within Ubisoft published by Jason Schreier at Bloomberg. The allegations presented a workplace culture that emboldened and did nothing to prevent harassment and abuse towards women at the company. At the time, three senior Ubisoft executives, Serge Hascoët, Yannis Mallat and Cécile Cornet, departed the company or stepped down from senior roles.
Remember when Ubisoft announced this logo an someone made the image implying that it was a turd photographed from the top down… Yyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaah.
However, a concerning new report from French outlet Le Télégramme points to a lack of changes made by Ubisoft with legal proceedings on the horizon for the company. Some of the most troubling news comes from Ubisoft Montreal. Following Mallat’s departure, the company appointed Christophe Derennes as its new head of the Montreal studio. However, the reports indicate little change has been implemented. There have also been even newer harassment cases being reported since his take over.
Part of this may stem from the fact that many who also took part in this toxic culture still work at the studio with a number of employees either being placed in slightly different roles or facing no repercussions. This has led to the collective legal action which is led by union Solidaires Informatique Jeu Vidéo.
In response, Ubisoft CEO, Yves Guillemot, published a blog post detailing their responses with employees taking part in “group-wide assessments” as well as other methods and ending by stating, “Considerable progress has been made, and we will continue to work hard with the ambition of becoming an exemplary workplace in the tech industry.”
For as lame as dudes wearing leather jackets in video games, Yagami is really damn cool.
3. Lost Judgment and Yakuza News Straight From Ryu Ga Gotoku
Following a leak on the PlayStation Store, Sega has announced the sequel to Yakuza spin-off Judgment, entitled Lost Judgment, which will release on 24th September 2021 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
I wonder how Yakuza 8 will improve on perfection.
In the announcement, Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi has said the game will retain the action of the original title rather than the innovative turn-based style of Yakuza: Like A Dragon and the game will feature two large locations to explore in the form of series mainstay Kamurocho and new port city Yokohama, which will see players going to a “highly detailed” high school. The game will once again star Takayuki Yagami and his band of misfits in a detective thriller across these locations. It also must be said that Lost Judgment is a great name but still doesn’t hold a candle to the Japanese title of the first game, Judge Eyes!
Additionally, Toshiro Nagoshi and Kazuki Hosokawa have confirmed in an interview with IGN that following the success of Yakuza: Like A Dragon and in conjunction with the larger ensemble cast future games may have, the series will retain the turn-based combat seen in the latest main entry for the foreseeable future.
4. Ubisoft Investors Call Reveals BUSINESS IS AFOOT
Ubisoft held an earnings call recently which revealed how they will be going forward in game development, announcing intentions to focus more on “free-to-play” titles that will sit alongside AAA releases. These titles would also be based on its existing Ubisoft IP.
BGandE 2 is never coming out, is it?
This is despite a lot of known stand-alone titles being developed at Ubisoft’s studios, including Massive Entertainment’s Star Wars title, a sequel to Beyond Good & Evil, Far Cry 6, mountain biking game Riders Republic and others. With the known consistent revenue stream that can come from free-to-play games, Ubisoft may look to expand its revenue from this.
When did the Division become the sort of property that needs an MCU-like roadmap?
In the call, Ubisoft CFO Frederick Duguet stated “In line with the evolution of our high-quality line-up that is increasingly diverse, we are moving on from our prior comment regarding releasing 3-4 premium AAAs per year”.
However, the company did confirm to VGC that this change in strategy wouldn’t mean that the company would be releasing fewer premium games overall.
The investor call came days after the announcement of The Division: Heartland, from long-running support studio Red Storm Entertainment. The game is a free-to-play take on the successful Destiny-like set in, you guessed it, the US Heartlands. A very closed, insider-only, heavily-NDAed private beta was also announced… from which gameplay almost immediately leaked.
5. Rockstar Release Details Xbox Series X|S / PS5 Upgrade for GTA V… AND YOU’RE GOING TO BUY IT AGAIN, YOU FOOL!
Rockstar has announced new versions of Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online for the Xbox Series X|S and Playstation 5 platforms on 11th November 2021.
GTA: ONLINE really is a different game since it launched as a broken mess.
The enhanced versions will have “a range of technical improvements, visual upgrades and performance enhancements to take full advantage of the latest hardware, making the game more beautiful and more responsive than ever.” Additionally, Rockstar will be releasing a standalone version of the online part of the game, first on PS5 and then on every other platform three months later.
Grand Theft Auto V has also crossed another sales milestone as revealed by Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, with the entry having now sold over 140 million units worldwide. This also follows the latest summer updates for GTA Online which brings new stunt races to the game. Avid fans are already speculating that a new heist might be added to coincide with the next-gen release. The last heist was the Cayo Perico at the beginning of 2021.
6. Kiyan Prince Added to FIFA 21
EA has announced that Kiyan Prince will be added to FIFA 21, on the 15th anniversary of his death for use in all game modes.
Kiyan Prince was a promising footballer in his youth, playing for Queens Park Rangers’ Under-16s team and on track to have a successful football career. After stepping between a friend and another person who were in a confrontation outside his school, Prince was fatally stabbed.
Since, Prince’s father, Dr Mark Prince, has set up a foundation in his name aiming to support young people with courses and workshops to prevent knife crime amongst young people. QPR Football themselves have even honoured Prince, renaming their stadium Loftus Road after the charity in 2019.
Prince will be available as a member of QPR in FIFA 21, with EA stating “At 30, Kiyan would now be in his prime as a striker - with years of mastering his craft at the top level taking him to what should have been his dazzling best.” Prince will be available across all modes and is based on photos of him at 15 mixed with images of his father at 30.
The addition is a touching tribute to a promising talent taken too young.
7. Warner Bros. Games and AT&T Mess
One of the most sprawling stories this month is that of AT&T looking to purchase Discovery and merge it with Warner Bros. to battle Disney+. CONGRATULATIONS, we are three years away from there only being three corporations left in the world... What a rubbish dystopia we live in.
A consequence of this is the news that WB Games will be split as a result of the merger with some staying with AT&T and some joining a new company (recently announced to be creatively named Warner Bros. Discovery). This was confirmed by Axios, although it is unclear at this point which studios and IP will be staying under the AT&T umbrella.
Warner Bros. Media said, “GET OVER HERE DISCOVERY!”
WB Games is currently home to 11 development studios, including Rocksteady Studios (Batman: Arkham series, Gotham Knights), NetherRealm (Mortal Kombat and Injustice), Monolith Productions (F.E.A.R. and Middle-Earth:Shadow of War), Avalanche Software (Disney Infinity and Hogwarts Legacy) and TT Games (All those LEGO games). The company also has a number of subsidiary locations across North America and owns the rights to numerous historic IPs including the majority of Midway’s back catalogue.
AT&T confirmed their merger with Discovery earlier this month with chief executive John Stankey stating "This agreement unites two entertainment leaders with complementary content strengths and positions the new company to be one of the leading global direct-to-consumer streaming platforms".
It is as yet unknown what sort of effect this will have on any of the studios but larger corporate shake-ups like this tend to proceed turmoil and uncertainty. It may put NetherRealm in particularly an odd spot with the chance that the DC Comics IP will now be owned by a different company. This would only become more of a corporate nightmare if rumours of the studio making a Marvel VS DC game turn out to be true.
Lots of E3 news is going to be coming in the next month and we are going to be covering as much of it as possible.
Patch Notes:
In E3 news, Konami has confirmed they won’t be attending the event citing “timing” issues. Ubisoft has confirmed their Ubisoft Forward event will take place on June 12th and Game Awards director Geoff Keighley has confirmed that his Summer Game Fest event will also take place, kicking off on June 10th.
Ubisoft has once again delayed its pirate game Skull & Bones, revealing in a new earnings report the game has been pushed back to 2022-2023.
Sony has registered a trademark for ‘Sunset Overdrive’, indicating that Insomniac could potentially be developing a remaster or sequel to their former Xbox exclusive from 2014.
Deep Silver has announced the reformation of Free Radical Design, the studio behind the TimeSplitters franchise. The team will be working on a new instalment of the franchise with series veterans Steve Ellis and David Doak involved. A new game would be the latest entry since 2005’s TimeSplitters: Future Perfect.
EA has announced the creation of a new studio focusing on a new open-world action-adventure game. The studio will have Kevin Stephens, the former VP of Monolith Productions (Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor), at the helm.
505 Games and One More Level have confirmed that a sequel to 2020’s Ghostrunner is in development to be released on PS5, PC and Xbox Series X|S.
Sony is facing a class-action lawsuit over the restriction of digital games to the PlayStation store, claiming the company obtains an ‘unlawful monopoly’ allowing it to charge “supracompetitive prices”.
