Sony and the Pokemon Company took the spotlight this week for gaming news, unveiling plenty of upcoming PS5 and Nintendo Switch games coming in the near future. 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.
For this week's roundup of gaming news, Sony has multiple announcements and updates for several anticipated games like Returnal and Solar Ash, as well as some surprises from Square Enix on Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Nintendo and the Pokemon Company also had a few surprises for this week, announcing what's next for the pocket monsters in the coming year. The Anthem 2.0 revamp was officially cancelled by EA this week, ending the long-winded and troubled development of BioWare's looter-shooter. Microsoft and Bethesda may be planning a joint-event following the acquisition. All that and more in this week's roundup of gaming industry news.
PlayStation's First State of Play For 2021 Brings Plenty of Surprises
As its first big presentation in 2021, Sony held its first big State of Play event for the PS5 this week. Filled with a few updates on existing games like Solar Ash and the upcoming Returnal, here were some of the highlights of game announcements made during 2021's first State of Play:
- Returnal: The upcoming PS5 exclusive Returnal saw an expanded trailer, focusing in on the seemingly rogue-lite gameplay. First-person exploratory gameplay was also shown off, hinting at the tidbits of Selene's story that players will be able to explore through altered flashbacks. Returnal launches on April 30, 2021.
- Knockout City: After exiting beta on PC recently, Knockout City is the dodgeball-powered team game coming to PlayStation (and other platforms) on May 21, 2021. A second cross-platform beta test for the game is coming to all platforms in April.
- Sifu: Receiving its debut trailer at this State of Play, Sifu is an upcoming martial arts combat game from Sloclap, the makers of Absolver. With a strange age mechanic associated with defeat in combat, the action-packed, hand-to-hand combat game is planned to release at some point in 2021.
- Solar Ash: Coming from Heart Machine, the same team behind Hyper Light Drifter, the 3D platformer Solar Ash received a new gameplay trailer. As one of the first games announced for the PS5 initially, this high-speed adventure game is planned to release later on in 2021.
- Five Nights At Freddy's: Security Breach: Taking on a new 3D adventure, Security Breach brings the franchise into a sandbox-like adventure in an amusement park-like building. Players explore the complex in a similar vein to games like Amnesia or Alien Isolation, keeping tabs on the animatronic demons chasing them. Five Nights at Freddy's Security Breach is planned to release in 2021.
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits: An upcoming PS5 adventure game that drew several comparisons to Pixar, Kena: Bridge of Spirits received an extended gameplay trailer highlighting what players will encounter during the game. Kena: Bridge of Spirits will release on August 24, 2021.
- Deathloop: The upcoming groundhog day shooter from Arkane studios, Deathloop, received a new gameplay trailer as well. Highlighting the duality of gameplay styles between both main characters, Deathloop is planned to release exclusive to PS5 (and PC) on May 21, 2021.
- Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade: In typical Square Enix fashion, Final Fantasy 7 Remake receives a strange naming convention alongside a surprisingly expanded PS5 port. Paired with graphical and performance improvements all around, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade features a separate episode dedicated to Yuffie, a previously optional party member from the original Final Fantasy 7.
Being this early in the year, there weren't many huge highlights like the God of War Ragnarok sequel or Horizon Forbidden West, but PlayStation is already off to a great start early in 2021.
Remakes, and 'Pre-Makes,' of the Pokemon Diamond/Pearl Sinnoh Region
Nintendo and the Pokemon Company had a smaller but similarly exciting selection of surprises to announce this week as well. Alongside many rumors and leaks, Nintendo finally confirmed that the Sinnoh region DS remakes were real; in the form of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl. Coming later this year, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are notably being developed by support studio ILCA alongside Game Freak.
The reason behind that? Game Freak is developing another more expansive adaptation of the Sinnoh region, in the form of Pokemon Legends: Arceus. This is a fully open world, Breath of the Wild-esque interpretation of Pokemon, taking place in the region many years prior to modern Pokemon games. Players explore vast landscapes in a "pre-make" to Diamond and Pearl, building out the Pokedex several years before.
EA and BioWare Officially Announce the Cancellation of Anthem
This week, EA and BioWare formally announced the official cancellation of Anthem's revival after deliberation with Anthem's developers. Citing a desire to move team members over to the upcoming Dragon Age 4 and new Mass Effect projects, the current iteration of Anthem's services will remain online and receive limited life support. No suspension of services was announced at this time, but there was also no announcement on whether the Anthem redesign will ever be revisited by BioWare later on.
Rumor: Microsoft May Be Planning a Bethesda-Focused Xbox Event
Microsoft and Bethesda may be planning an upcoming game event soon. According to discussion via the GamesBeat Decides podcast, journalist and insider Jeff Grubb mentioned that the Xbox team may be planning a Bethesda-specific event in March. Grubb further details the event as an opportunity for Microsoft and Bethesda to discuss the acquisition, and how Bethesda/ZeniMax games will fit under the Xbox first-party umbrella.
This news was followed up most recently by rumors/leaks of a Xbox-themed gaming event supposedly planned for March 23. This is strictly a rumor for now, and has not been corroborated, but it could potentially correlate with Grubb's comments on a Xbox-Bethesda event coming next month.
Sony Expands Initiative To Port Previously Exclusive PS4 Games to PC
In addition to the State of Play news, PlayStation is also extending its initiative to bring first-party exclusives to PC. Beginning with Days Gone coming to PC this spring, Sony CEO Jim Ryan mentioned the desire to pursue additional PC ports of PlayStation-exclusive games. Ryan had specifically cited the success of Guerilla Games' Horizon Zero Dawn being ported to PC, noting there was "no adverse reaction" from the PlayStation or PC community. However, the CEO stopped short of announcing any additional PC ports at this time.
PS5 Internal Storage Expansion Support Coming This Summer
One small tidbit of PlayStation news also confirmed that internal storage expansion support will be coming to PS5 this summer. According to a report by Bloomberg, a firmware update by Sony will allow support for additional internal SSD expansion this summer, utilizing the extra M.2 SSD slot inside the console. The firmware update is also being prepared to address issues with cooling, unlocking a higher fan speed level to address overheating concerns.
Cyberpunk 2077 Patch 1.2 Delayed Due to CD Projekt Red Cyber Attack
CD Projekt Red's upcoming Patch 1.2 update for Cyberpunk 2077 is once again delayed, though this time due to the cyber attack the company suffered earlier this month. Announced on the Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account, the company will be delaying the update until the latter half of March. The company also noted that the scope of this upcoming patch also necessitated additional development time.