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PlayStation finally held its big 2021 showcase this week after several rumors, while the Epic vs. Apple lawsuit has finally concluded, in this week's roundup of gaming 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 of gaming news, Sony's 2021 PlayStation showcase brought a ton of news for several AAA announcements, for both new and upcoming PS5 games. The Epic Games vs. Apple lawsuit has concluded, with all but one count in favor of Epic Games, despite it being the most important anti-trust complaint of the lawsuit as a whole. Twitch files suit against two organizers involved in the "hate raid" controversy plaguing creators on the streaming platform. Another Google Stadia executive is moving on to a new position, albeit still related to Google and games. All that and more in this week's roundup of the biggest news in the gaming industry.
PlayStation's Big 2021 Showcase: Announcement Highlights
This past week finally brought PlayStation's big showcase for 2021, bringing a ton of exciting announcements for the near and far-future of PS5. Continuing PlayStation's trend of skipping the E3 proceedings to prepare its own independent showcase, this September showcase brought updates on existing titles like the now-titled God of War Ragnarok and Forspoken, alongside brand new announcements like Spider-Man 2 and Knights of the Old Republic Remake. Here are the highlights from PlayStation's 2021 Showcase:
- Knights of the Old Republic — Remake: Often rumored beforehand, Sony's PlayStation showcased opened with a teaser for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic — Remake, the iconic BioWare Star Wars RPG released back in 2003. Aspyr media is developing the remake; the same studio behind several Star Wars game ports to Apple like Star Wars: Battlefront, The Force Unleashed, and several LEGO Star Wars games as well.
- Alan Wake Remastered: While the game was leaked and announced the week prior, Alan Wake is receiving a modern remaster on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles as well. Both the original game, as well as the game's expansions, were all graphically enhanced for 4K visuals and assists with how aged the original Alan Wake has become.
- Forspoken: After a few gameplay trailers previously, Forspoken received its first significant story trailer, highlighting Frey's journey into the game's fantasy world. Acclaimed writers Gary Whitta (Rogue One) and Amy Hennig (Uncharted) have both worked on the project's narrative, while Luminous Productions once again showed off the game's frenetic magic combat and traversal.
- Project Eve: One of the surprise announcements in PlayStation's showcase was Project Eve, the first big console game from Shift Up Corporation. Project Eve is a stylish action RPG with a flashy and detailed art style, filled with combo-filled action combat reminiscent of Nier or Devil May Cry.
- Tiny Tina's Wonderlands: Alongside a new gameplay trailer, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands finally has received its March 25, 2022 release date. Players will be exploring Tina's Dungeons and Dragons-inspired fantasy world, filled with all sorts of monsters, heroes, and the iconic loot drive the mainline Borderlands series is known for.
- Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection: As part of a new initiative by Sony to bring more PlayStation games to PC, the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection is the next big PlayStation exclusive headed to PC, as well as PS5. This new collection remasters Uncharted 4: A Thief's End as well as Uncharted: Lost Legacy, bringing both games to PC and PS5 early next year.
- Spider-Man 2: Insomniac Games' long expected sequel was finally announced as Marvel's Spider-Man 2, releasing at some point in 2023. As teased in the first Spider-Man game, Venom is the main villain, and both Peter Parker and Miles Morales are facing off against Insonmiac Games' version of the symbiote.
- Marvel's Wolverine: Alongside Spider-Man 2, Insomniac Games also revealed that the studio is working on adaptation of Wolverine for PS5. While just a teaser, without an official release date or release window, Insomniac Games working on a Wolverine game is very exciting for Marvel fans.
- God of War Ragnarok: Lastly, God of War Ragnarok received its first gameplay trailer, hinting at the beginnings of the titular world-ending event affecting Kratos and Atreus' journey. Additionally the trailer showed off several combat sequences, as well as teased several new characters like Tyr and Angrboda. God of War Ragnarok is planned to release in 2022.
Additionally, outside of the showcase, Sony also announced the acquisition of Firesprite Games. Developer of games like Playroom/VR and Run Sackboy! Run!, the studio has worked with PlayStation many times in the past, and was established from several members of Sony Interactive Entertainment Studio Liverpool.
Epic Games vs. Apple Lawsuit Ends, Ending 30% Revenue Cut Restriction On Apps
This past week, a judge from the U.S. District Court ruled in favor of Epic Games' favor in the ongoing Lawsuit between the gaming company and Apple. Now, Apple is no longer capable of forcing in-game purchases to be tied inherently to the Apple store, previously forcing companies to comply with Apple's 30% revenue cut on its app store. In spite of this positive decision, that was only one of all other counts of anti-trust that the court ruled in favor of Epic Games.
The controversy and ultimate legal dispute between Epic Games and Apple had been brewing since 2020: Apple removed Fortnite from the app store after Epic Games offered a V-Bucks discount from purchases made outside of the app on iOS. Since that discount circumvented the app store's 30% cut, Apple issued a warning and subsequently removed the game from the app store for violating Apple's policy. Epic Games has since spent the last year pursuing legal action against Apple for anti-trust concerns, resulting in the most recent court ruling.
Twitch Sues Two Major Hate Raid Organizers
As the "hate raid" issue continues to fester against creators on Twitch, the streaming platform is now pursuing legal action against offenders. Filed on September 9, Twitch is suing two anonymous individuals who are allegedly responsible for organizing and/or enacting hate raids on individuals. A report from The Washington Post detailed how these hate raids were organized through various Discord servers, away from Twitch's potential jurisdiction, all to target PoC and otherwise marginalized creators.
Stadia Director for Games Moves To Google Cloud, 'Gaming Solutions' Position
Google Stadia's Director for Games, Jack Buser is seemingly leaving the company, though not necessarily leaving Google's gaming efforts entirely. Based on Buser's new position at Google Cloud, it seems like Buser is taking on an overarching position that covers all aspects of gaming, whether it be Stadia, YouTube, and more. Jack Buser is moving to a position focused on "gaming solutions," presumably to manage the backend of streaming technology like Stadia, among other potential efforts.
GTA Underground Mod Ceases Development After 'Hostility' From Take-Two Interactive
An ambitious Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas mod was recently taken down by the creators due to fear of increased legal action from Take-Two Interactive. The mod project, titled "GTA Underground," was designed to merge all existing GTA maps into one single massive world. However, according to modder dkluin, "increasing hostility towards the modding community" and the threat of legal action forced them to cease all development on GTA Underground after six years of working on mod content.