Gamescom week is always one of the biggest on the calendar in the video game world, but shockingly, some of the biggest stories from the past seven days aren’t tied to convention at all. Admittedly, some of the revelations made in Cologne have clearly made the difference, but PlayStation has increased its prices and the Amazon/EA acquisition rumor was unrelated. All that, some big Gamescom reveals, and much more below, as we recap the past week’s biggest stories in video games.
Potential EA Acquisition from Amazon
At a time reminiscent of news of Microsoft’s merger with Activision Blizzard, a story circulated Friday morning that Amazon was about to acquire EA. That, of course, caused a collapse of video game social media. That collapse was only heightened when a second report refuted the first, claiming that Amazon hadn’t made an offer to acquire EA. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, but it didn’t happen Friday as first suggested. EA is officially not for sale, but the rumor race with some very big names still seems to be going on.
PlayStation raises the price of PS5s
Meta did something pretty shocking last month, announcing that it would increase the price of the Quest 2. Given the backlash that came with that decision, few would have guessed that PlayStation would make a similar move less than a month later. Jim Ryan broke the news on Thursday, revealing that PS5s are now more expensive in most parts of the world. Europe, the UK, Canada, Australia and Japan are on a long list of countries where the consoles are now more expensive, but the US is not. Xbox responded to the price hike by revealing it had no intention of doing the same, and Nintendo confirmed the same the next day.
Dead Island 2 Revealed At Gamescom
A lot was shown during Gamescom’s Opening Night Live. New Tales From The Borderlands, Dying Light 2 DLC and Goat Simulator 3 were some of the most talked about titles during and after the show. The highlight of the evening, however, was Dead Island 2. A game first revealed eight years ago that most people waiting for a sequel had thought they were dead for quite some time. Rumors circulated that the game would be unveiled again at Gamescom, and those rumors turned out to be true. A brand new trailer, some gameplay and a launch date. February 3, 2023.
Sonic Frontiers turns heads at Gamescom
Reactions to everything Sega has shown off Sonic Frontiers so far have been mixed, and frankly, that’s probably generous. The story trailer shown at Gamescom may have finally influenced public opinion. It was without a doubt one of the highlights of ONL, partly due to the reveal that Amy will be in the game. It was also confirmed that Frontiers will actually be here before the end of the year, launching on November 8th. Yes, that’s just one day before God Of War Ragnarok.
Morty Is In MultiVersus
A week after the official start of season one, MultiVersus got a new character. Morty, who will eventually be joined by Rick, hopefully soon. MultiVersus players, of which there are now more than 20 million, have spent the past few days getting the hang of the game’s newest character. The biggest takeaway was the call to reclassify Morty as a mage rather than a powerhouse. The team behind the game is incredibly receptive, and it’s still technically in open beta, so it’s highly likely to happen if enough people think it should.
Netflix’s Resident Evil Has Already Been Canceled
A season later, just six weeks after it landed on the streaming service, Netflix’s Resident Evil show has been cancelled. The reactions to the adaptation right after it came out probably means that some of you reading this aren’t in the least bit surprised. While some fans seemed to enjoy the show’s games, many disagreed with drawing different elements from different games and didn’t stay faithful enough to the series. The show might have kept going if it had launched a few years ago, but with so many great game adaptations, many of which have found great success on Netflix, it needed better reception than it got if it lasted.
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