This week in gaming...
Xbox & Sony on Console Exclusivity
There’s been a bit of a back and forth between Sony and Microsoft over Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, and with it the Call of Duty franchise. Sony had said (in a response to Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense request for companies thoughts in large corporate transactions) that an immensely popular game like Call of Duty influences users choice of console, and that fans of the series are so loyal that another game, even of the same calibre, wouldn’t be able to rival it.
Microsoft submitted a rebuttal to Sony’s objections, and seems to jab at old Sony’s love of exclusivity arrangements. But Microsoft have reiterated and reassured that it won’t be making Call of Duty exclusive, saying that it just wouldn’t be profitable.
Forspoken Forsaken
We got a short social trailer for Forspoken that the internet has decided to slate. The short clip contains some of the protagonist’s dialogue, coming to terms with being somewhere other than earth, having a talking sleeve, and being able to move things with her mind.
It is a bit cliché, and Whedon-esque, but this dialogue was already featured in an earlier trailer from 2021. But the trailer did at least give us a new release date of 24th January 2023.
New Trailers
Some other trailers we got included a Saints Row reboot trailer, ahead of the games release on the 23rd August. We got an extended look at Splatoon 3, Nintendo’s paintball shooter, and a trailer for the upcoming 1.0 release of Temtem.
If you’re a fan of Pokemon, or monster catching and battling games, but don’t have a Switch or fancy something different, Temtem is an MMO that sees you journey through the Airborne Archipelago to become a Temtem Tamer. It has been in Early Access since 2020, and finally sees its full release on 6th September.
Cult of the Lamb Gains Cult Following
Cult of the Lamb releases today. The indie rogue-like action game has been highly anticipated, and the reception so far has been extremely positive. You play as a possessed lamb that was saved by some ominous stranger. You must repay this debt by creating a following devoted to them. It looks like a lot of fun.
