Update Patch | February 2021
Well here we are again! Another month down as we hurtle through this construct we call time. February has given us plenty of news to dive through, so much in fact that for our second Update Patch here on startmenu and going forward, we’ll be closing with some supplementary stories in a small section called Patch Notes.
If you ask Reggie Watts Stadia is the next big thing.
1. Google Shutters Stadia Games & Entertainment
Google has announced the closure of its two internal Stadia studios and has indicated it will shift Stadia’s in-house work away from original game development and instead focus on third-party partnerships.
In a blog announcing this, Vice President Phil Harrison said “Given our focus on building on the proven technology of Stadia as well as deepening our business partnerships, we’ve decided that we will not be investing further in bringing exclusive content from our internal development team SG&E, beyond any near-term planned games.” According to Kotaku’s report, this will affect “around 150 developers” who worked at the studios.
Since the announcement, numerous details have emerged regarding why higher-ups at Google came to this decision and their controversial plans for handling 150 affected employees. According to Kotaku’s sources, Harrison recently sent a company-wide email to Stadia Games & Entertainment staff detailing “great progress building a diverse and talented team and establishing a strong lineup of Stadia exclusive games”. This mixed messaging resulted in a combative Q&A between developers and Harrison following the announcement that SG&E would be folding . In this Q&A, Harrison pointed to Microsoft’s recent acquisition of ZeniMax media and the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as reasons the decision was made.
Phil Harrison pictured here with Ken Kutaragi showing off the Sixaxis controller at PS3’s E3 showcase in 2006. We could make a snide comment but we won’t.
Since then, other stories have emerged regarding troubled goings-on at Google’s Stadia division. VGC reported on “dozens of projects and third-party licensing deals” that were cancelled or not followed up, including a sequel for Typhoon Studios’ Journey To The Savage Planet. Bloomberg recently reported that Google spent “tens of millions of dollars” in order to court large publishers like Ubisoft and Rockstar to bring their games for the service.
Games that were scheduled for release should still come out. However, exclusives going forward will no longer be a focus for Google’s cloud gaming platform and this all may be an ominous sign of waning support for Google’s struggling service.
2. Everyone Forgets How Angry They Have Been With Bioware For The Last Five Years After Mass Effect Legendary Edition is Announced
In a piece of long-rumoured news, Bioware have confirmed the critically acclaimed Mass Effect trilogy will be re-released in a new standalone package in the form of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, which will be available on the 14th of May.
This edition will include the first three games and all their story DLC content with all the content being remastered in 4K. The game will be available on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, with “forward compatibility and targeted enhancements” for the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.
The Legendary Edition will feature numerous technological updates for modern systems, including HDR support, higher refresh rates on PC and a choice of a performance or resolution mode on consoles. The first entry in Shepard’s space romp will be receiving the most changes, with updated environments and controls, while all the games will be benefitting from new customization options, updated models, lighting and the ability to run at 4K.
In an interview with GameCentral, project director Mac Walters explained the changes to the original title. “For Mass Effect 1 we took the rough edges off it and tried to reduce the delta between 1 and 2, because 2 and 3 had a very similar look and feel and 1 tended to feel very dated. So we spent more time trying to bring it closer to 2”. This means changes to aiming, squad AI, sound effects, improved input and even some changes to the Mako vehicle controls.
Who let J.J. Abrams circa 2013 into Bioware?
However, there are a couple of exceptions to the content that’ll be appearing in the remaster. First is Mass Effect’s Pinnacle Station DLC which BioWare has said that they couldn’t get a hold of original uncorrupted data, and the other exception lies in Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer mode. On this, BioWare cited that adding this would add numerous delays to the final release as well as additional post-launch support for the game, which BioWare not willing to take that on with the other developments happening at the studio.
3. Robert A. Altman and Stan LePard Pass Away
ZeniMax Media co-founder and CEO Robert A. Altman passed away at the age of 73 on the 3rd of February after complications during a medical procedure. Altman started ZeniMax in 1999 after partnering with Bethesda Softworks founder Christopher Weaver and oversaw the company during its rise over the 2000s and 2010s. Altman entered the videogame industry after leaving law following an acquittal over the 1990s BCCI scandal.
In a statement on his passing, Bethesda said “He was a true visionary, friend, and believer in the spirit of people and the power of what they could accomplish together. He was an extraordinary leader, and an even better human being.”
This month also saw the passing of video game composer Stan LePard on the 15th of February from a brain haemorrhage. LePard was a prolific musician in the videogame industry. He was a frequent collaborator with Bungie, working on Halo 2, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach and Destiny. LePard also worked on Guild Wars 2, Crimson Skies: High Road To Revenge, Age of Empires 3 and many more franchises.
Tributes have poured out from numerous composers across the industry, including friend and colleague on Guild Wars 2 Maclaine Diemer who tweeted his tributes to LePard, stating “Knowing him helped shape and change the course of my life and my music.” Since, Diemer has set up a GoFundMe campaign to support LePard’s wife Donna and daughter Zoe, which you can find here.
We at startmenu would like to send our condolences to the Altman and LePard families.
4. Warner Brothers Patent Nemesis System And Makes Many Enemies in The Process
Warner Bros’ have officially patented the “Nemesis” gameplay system that fueled the Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-Earth: Shadow of War games from Monolith Productions.
The company has been trying to patent the system since an original filing to the US Patent and Trademark Office in March 2016. After numerous rejections, Warner Bros was able to fight the rejections in October 2020 by proving to the USPTO that the invention of the system could qualify as a patent. The patent, officially dubbed “Nemesis characters, nemesis forts, social vendettas and followers in computer games”, went into effect as of 23rd February and can be maintained until 2035.
Here we can see one of Warner Brothers’ lawyers “just having a polite conversation an indie dev”.
The move stirred debate on the artistic implications of companies being able to set patents for gameplay mechanics and systems. Some have argued that the Nemesis system is unique enough that WB has the right to control the system. However, the broad nature of the patent has worried developers who have publicly voiced concern about how this could affect games going forward. Narrative designer Cat Manning tweeted “I looked at the patent & it's so broad as to be absurd! multiple other emergent narrative systems that I have seen & worked on could be described with their language! It probably would not be legally enforceable but I & other indie devs don't have the money to find out!”
In the past, game patents have been few and far between, but not completely unheard of. Infamously Namco held a patient on loading screen mini-games until 2015. But recently, Bloober Team have an active patent on their recent horror title The Medium with regards to its dual-reality gameplay which can be seen in full here. Going back further, Nintendo currently holds the patent for Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem for the sanity system, but this patent is due to expire on the 5th November this year.
5. Hello Nintendo Direct, My Old Friend
Nintendo has held its first Nintendo Direct presentation of this year and the first fully-fledged Direct in over 500 days (as Nintendo fans were quick to remind everyone). This showcase covered the latest Super Smash Bros. Ultimate news and a number of games available in the first half of 2021.
The Direct opened with the addition of Pyra/Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to the evergrowing cross over. In the series, the two personalities are Blades (life forms who are wielded by Drivers) for protagonist Rex. A showcase on the 4th of March detailed the two’s moveset, showed off the new stage, songs from the Xenoblade series and new Mii Fighter outfits (including several Monster Hunter themed costumes and one based off of Arthur from Ghost ‘N Goblins). The update landed later that day.
Additionally, the conference ended with a reveal trailer for Splatoon 3, the latest in the squid-kid-shooter franchise. The trailer showed the usual splat-acular multiplayer madness with also a potential early look at a campaign in a desolate city that could use a new paint job. Whilst light on details, the game is scheduled for 2022.
Squid-kid gang splat-rolling deep!
(Get it? One of the game’s weapons is called the splat-roller… and deep, like underwater? deep!)
The other big announcement was for the latest remaster for the Switch, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD. The game was released on the Nintendo Wii in 2011 and used the consoles’ motion controls for Link’s sword and shield, controlled by the remote and nunchuck respectively. Those controls will carry over with the Joycons on Switch, an option to use more traditional controls and 60 frames per second gameplay.
The direct also featured numerous great indies coming out soon. Luckily, for a complete rundown of everything at the Direct, check out Ollie’s coverage here.
6. A Muted Blizzcon, In More Ways Than One
Activision Blizzard held their latest Blizzcon event over the 19th and 20th February, with numerous announcements and videos across it’s properties.
Ah yes, look at all of these beloved Activision characters…
Perhaps the biggest announcement came in the form of the confirmation of Diablo 2: Resurrected. The game will come to PC and console later this year with swanky new 3D graphics, remastered audio and recreated cinematics. Details were light for the future of the franchise, with the big Diablo 4 announcement being the return of the Rogue class from the original game. The only other thing shown for the long-awaited sequel was an explanation of the new open-world PvP zones known as Fields of Hatred. The mobile game Diablo: Immortal was a no show, despite surprisingly positive reactions leaking out of its limited beta recently.
Hearthstone is getting a new expansion known as Forged in the Barrens, adding 135 new cards including 10 new legendary characters. The expansion will release alongside the Year of the Gryphon event and the card rotation that comes with it. A new roguelike deckbuilding mode called Hearthstone Mercenaries was also shown, where players will build a team to fight random enemies before a final boss to win loot and experience.
Here’s some Overwatch 1 and Overwatch 2 character design comparisons. But if we’re being honest, Blizzard probably didn’t need to spend five minutes on Genji wearing a hoodie now.
The final major announcement was the showcase of a behind-the-scenes vignette showing development on Overwatch 2. The 40-minute presentation detailed hero missions and a story campaign as central to the game’s new PvE modes complete with skill trees, a first look at new hero Sojourn and her railgun and details of a potential overhaul to the tank class heroes in order to make them more “toe-to-toe brawlers”.
There was also the announcement and release of the Blizzard Arcade Collection, a loving ode to three of Blizzard’s early cult hits… none of which actually came out in arcades. The collection includes The Lost Vikings, Blackthorne and Rock n’ Roll Racing. Each title has been emulated on several of the platforms they released on and the collection also comes with a “definitive” version of each. Notably, all the licensed music in Rock n’ Roll Racing is here in full. The same can’t be said of the live Metallica concert held as part of BlizzcOnline which was muted by the official Twitch Stream as 8-bit elevator music was played over the lawyer happy rockers.
7. Six Days in Fallujah Controversial Re-Announcement
In the most controversial news of the month, Highwire Games has picked back up development of Konami’s cancelled 2009 game Six Days in Fallujah for release this year. The game is published by Victura, a company formed by Peter Tamte who was involved with Atomic Games who were the original studio behind the game.
Not to pre-judge or anything but there is no way this is a colossal mess going forward, right?
The game will follow a squad of US Marines fighting in the Second Battle of Fallujah, a 2004 battle in which joint US, UK and pro-Iraqi government forces fought with Iraqi insurgents within the city of Fallujah. It is often cited as the bloodiest conflict of the war with the Red Cross stating that over 800 civilians were killed during the month-long battle. Most infamously the U.S initially denied but then later admitted that white phosphorus was used by its forces “as a potent psychological weapon against the insurgents.” The use of white phosphorus was designated a war crime by the UN as part of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and Geneva Conventions.
Tamte has said of the game: “It's hard to understand what combat is actually like through fake people doing fake things in fake places. This generation showed sacrifice and courage in Iraq as remarkable as any in history.” In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Tamte explained that the game wouldn’t highlight the US use of white phosphorus, stating: “I don't think that we need to portray the atrocities in order for people to understand the human cost. We can do that without the atrocities.” Whilst the game will feature a level where you play as an Iraqi civilian, Tamte was also keen to explain why this is a small section and not a full campaign as a civilian. “Very few people are curious what it's like to be an Iraqi civilian. Nobody's going to play that game. But people are curious what it's like to be in combat. It's the same reason people play survival horror games -- being in a situation that is beyond what we have in our normal lives.”
Many have expressed concern about how the depiction of these events can be handled with sensitivity for the civilian experience, how it may demonize people of colour as bad guys in the conflict and whether the story is willing to actually cast any doubt on the actions of the U.K. and U.S. forces. Speaking to TheGamer, U.S. military veteran John Phipps said “We never should have been there. There were a lot of heinous atrocities committed, especially in Fallujah. That’s not to say that all troops are war criminals, I don't believe that for a second. Most of the people I was there with were genuinely decent people who wanted to try to do right by people. But that’s not to say that there weren’t acts of completely hideous atrocities there, because there were. War crimes were committed by US soldiers and a lot of Iraqi civilians died, who didn’t need to die.”
8. Big Hollywood is Back in Town in The Video Game Industry
Eli Roth’s Borderlands film has been in the works for a while now, with writers Aaron Berg and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl, The Hunstman: Winter’s War) penning the project and already Cate Blanchett (Carol, Blue Jasmine) and Kevin Hart (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) have found themselves cast as Lilith and Roland respectively.
That only really leaves Brick, Mordecai, Commander Steele and completely stationary final boss to left to be cast.
This month, Jack Black (School of Rock, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) and Jamie Lee Curtis (Knives Out, Halloween) have both been cast to provide an intriguing ensemble cast. Curtis will portray the role of Tannis, a key character in the three mainline games, who obsesses with finding Vaults. Black will take on the iconic role of Claptrap, the comedic one-wheeled droid. The news did come with some disappointment for Claptrap’s voice actor Jim Foronda who expressed best wishes to Black but also said “I can't lie— It's a crushing disappointment. I'd thought about possibly being in the movie for years.” Additionally, Tiny Tina, the child and demolitions expert from Borderlands 2, has also been cast as Ariana Greenblatt who most notably played a young Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War.
* Nods approvingly *
In the other big video game adaptation casting news, HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us has cast its Joel and Ellie, with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey taking the principal roles respectively. Both actors have been seen in titular roles recently, with Pascal dominating Disney Plus screens in the excellent Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian and Ramsey starring in the wonderful animated series Hilda on Netflix. Both are known to HBO, having been in Game of Thrones as Oberyn Martell and Lyanna Mormont respectively.
HBO’s adaptation of Sony’s cornerstone franchise will be helmed by the aforementioned Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin who will be adapting the series with game director and writer Neil Druckmann. This comes on the heels of PlayStation re-establishing a television division with several other projects in various stages of development including an Uncharted movie, starring Tom Holland, and a TV series based on the car combat series Twist Metal.
Patch Notes:
Following their acquisition of Codemasters (Dirt, F1 2020), EA has expressed to investors that EA will be releasing “new racing experiences annually”, but not Criterion’s previously announced Need For Speed game, as they have been asked to support DICE on the next Battlefield game.
Respawn’s battle royale Apex Legends has finally had a confirmed release date announced for the Nintendo Switch, with the version arriving on 9th March 2021.
CD Projekt Red have delayed the latest update for Cyberpunk 2077 following a ransomware attack in which hackers stole and auctioned off source code for Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3.
Following the large-scale scalping of next-gen consoles, the Gaming Hardware (Automated Purchase and Resale) Bill has been introduced for reading in the UK Parliament. SNP Member of Parliament Douglas Chapman has sponsored the bill.
Sony held a small State of Play event, showcasing developments on numerous upcoming games and announcing Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, a PS5 update with new content featuring Yuffie from the original version. (We also have a rundown of that on the site)
Microsoft has unveiled a new Xbox Wireless Headset available from the 16th of March and has started testing a web browser version of their game streaming service xCloud.
Potential GOTY candidate Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart has been given a firm release date of June 11th 2021.
Square Enix has announced that the Kingdom Hearts series will be coming to PC this year, with a number of titles launching on the Epic Games Store on the 3rd March including the most recent entry Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory.
Hello Games have launched the latest update for No Man’s Sky, adding animal companions to the game with creature customization, egg-laying and additional UI improvements.
BioWare has announced the cancellation of Anthem NEXT, the proposed rebuilding of 2019’s Anthem. The game will remain in its current live state with the studio looking to “focus our efforts as a studio and strengthen the next Dragon Age, and Mass Effect titles”.
Pictured here: Not Anthem Fans
