Our intrepid senior news editor is out of office today, so Patch Notes this week was compiled by senior editor Bryant Francis. On the docket are stories about game writing, new hardware from Valve, investigations into the icing of The Game Awards Future Class, and much more.
via Game Developer// Valve’s dreams for Steam Machines are alive, and couldn’t have come at a better time (for Valve). This week the company unveiled a new hardware lineup with a console-like PC at the center, built around SteamOS. The pitch is surprisingly similar to where Microsoft wants to take Xbox—but Steam is the home of the massive PC gaming library, not windows. It’s not going to topple Xbox (or any other console) overnight, but a polished multipurpose PC that easily works on your TV raises the question—what’s the point of a console anyway?
via Game Developer// The fired Rockstar workers aren’t going down without a fight. This week the Independent Workers of Great Britain threw down the legal gauntlet in its battle with Grand Theft Auto VI maker Rockstar Games. This will be a fascinating fight to see play out because the UK has stronger labor laws than other regions like the United States. Will Rockstar simply take the hit, as no fee could dent its Grand Theft Auto-fueled coffers? Or will workers see their jobs restored?
via The Guardian// Reporter Alyssa Mercante spoke with more former honorees of the Game Awards’ Future Class program, following up on our reporting about the program being put on ice (maybe forever). Their testimonies tell a story of alleged negligence that goes to the program’s early years. And when members spoke up—that seems to be when host Geoff Keighley had enough. “As a result of advocating for ourselves…we were punished for doing the same thing that they ostensibly celebrated us for,” said community manager Natalie Checo.
via Game Developer// The legal pressure against Roblox continues to bubble up. Roblox Corp. says this new lawsuit filed by the State of Texas is founded on “misrepresentations and sensationalized claims”—but with so many minors harmed and exploited by predators hunting them on Roblox, what responsibility does the company have? Is it enough to say “we did our best, sometimes these things happen” when your platform is so popular with young players?
via Game Developer// Halo Infinite was supposed to be the home of Halo for the rest of the decade. It lasted 10 years. Oof. This is of course not the fault of the talented people who labored to bring the game across the finish line, but parent company Microsoft, which seems to change its strategy for Xbox and the Halo franchise on an almost-yearly basis. More Halo games—including the remake Halo: Campaign Evolved—are on the way, but will the company figure out how to supercharge the series that made Xbox a household name?
via Game Developer// Sony’s post-acquisition struggles with Destiny 2 and Marathon developer Bungie have now hit its balance sheet. The company said it’s recorded an impairment loss against a portion of Bungie’s assets due to the game’s slowing performance. Again, the people who made Destiny 2 a years-long success aren’t to blame—though this time we must swing our eyes inside the studio towards former CEO Pete Parsons and others in upper-level management. Reporting on Bungie has given us reason to cast doubt on his leadership in the lead-up to the Sony sale.
via Game File// Any opportunity to look into Obsidian Entertainment’s incredible in-house narrative tools is a welcome one. “Every time I think I know, ‘This is what the tool does,’… some narrative designer will be like, ‘By the way, did you know that it could do this as well?,'” said veteran writer/designer Josh Sawyer. If Sawyer’s still surprised by what their tool can do, imagine how much potential there is for the company’s future role-playing games.
via Game Developer// Just when it looked like Epic and Google were about to bury the hatchet, a federal judge wanted to know why they’d suddenly become best friends. Will the battle to open up mobile game stores ever end? Or will we one day find a cloaked Tim Sweeney out in the arctic ice, still tracking the last Apple lawyer refusing to crack open the iOS App Store?
via Inverse// “We definitely cut some sex scenes. Which, in retrospect, we shouldn’t have,” said Dispatch writer Pierre Shorette in an interview with Inverse. “Maybe folks will get to see those one day.” Oh my.