August is almost halfway over already. Proof that, once again, time is but a figment of our imaginations. Think about it: Breath of the Wild 2 still won’t be out once you’re done reading this! We’d all be cooking apples in Hyrule in a fair and just universe by now.
Unfortunately, we’re currently in a dry spell in terms of big video game announcements, newsworthy beats, reveals, and silly nonsense, which last week had all of in spades. In fairness, Kirby’s Dream Buffet and Final Fantasy 14 patch 6.2 release date information drew up some excitement, especially the latter. Sadly, Marvel’s Midnight Suns isn’t getting the same treatment since it was delayed to 2023. It won’t be the last high-profile release to suffer that fate either, as the past two years of pandemic-related troubles are impacting developers worldwide.
There were numerous smaller feel-good stories over the past few days, thankfully. Particularly of the games-to-film sort. Two fresh-faced actors joined HBO’s The Last of Us TV Show, while Sonic’s third movie is seemingly coming along. Still incredible that either of those even exists after how many awful game adaptations there are.
Well, that does it for minor headlines. Let’s finally delve into this week’s most noteworthy video game news items!
Dragon Ball x Fortnite is official
By now, virtually every known franchise, brand, music artist, food item, or whatever else has come to Fortnite. So it’s appropriate that Dragon Ball, the legendary shounen anime, is next up to airdrop into Epic’s battle royale shoot-em-up. We only know something (no specifics yet) is coming next week, but everyone hopes Goku will be there. You can’t have a Dragon Ball crossover without featuring its protagonist, right? The real question is whether Vegeta, Piccolo, and Gohan will follow suit or not. Give me Frieza, cowards!!
Apex Legends Season 14 is monstrously successful
Everyone knew Season 14 of Apex Legends would be huge, but ‘record-smashing titan’ wasn’t necessarily in the cards. The all-time concurrent numbers on Steam shot up as if it were a brand-new AAA game, and that was only one platform. We can’t even speak to console numbers! Respawn deserves all that success, too, even if the Origin hiccups and ability swap glitches are annoying. Most fans are beaming from ear to ear over this update.
Sonic's third movie gets a release date
After Sonic the Hedgehog 2 became the most successful video game film ever, there was no question that a third movie was coming. Once Dec. 20, 2024, rolls around, we’ll know if the blue blur can stick the trilogy landing. Some will be displeased to hear that it sounds like Jim Carrey isn’t returning as Dr. Robotnik. That could change since the actor is leaving things somewhat open-ended, though he seems eager to retire. We’ll see how it goes!
Hogwarts Legacy isn't coming out in 2022
Remember when I teased another significant game delay earlier? Here it is. Hogwarts Legacy isn’t coming out until 2023 now. Initially slated for this fall, Warner Bros. pushed the Harry Potter RPG to give the development team more time. Big shame for potterheads, but this is just how the games industry is these days.
Microsoft claps back at Sony's anti-competitive accusations
Oh boy, this one is fun! So not long ago, Sony told Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) that Microsoft’s acquisition of Call of Duty (and all of Activision Blizzard) could unfairly swing the console war in Xbox’s favor. The statement had much more legal jargon, but you get the idea. Microsoft responded this week, claiming Sony pays studios to keep titles off Game Pass or other rival services. Pretty serious stuff. This story will likely develop as more regulatory bodies review the purchase.
FIFA 23 still has loot boxes
While FIFA 23 is the last-ever joint effort between Electronic Arts (EA) and Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), loot boxes aren’t going anywhere. That’s right — the extremely popular FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) mode will still have those costly packs. EA claims loot boxes are integral to the FIFA experience, despite everyone and their mom absolutely despising loot boxes. Talk about not reading the room.
That’s all there is for news this week. Enjoy your weekend, folks!
Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.
