Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks has averted closure after KRAFTON, Inc. purchased the studio a?nd the aforementioned IP from Microsoft.

Announced in a Krafton press release, the PUBG publisher said it “welcomed the talented people of Tango Gameworks to their team,�after an acquisition that would “include the rights to Tango Gameworks�acclaimed IP, Hi-Fi RUSH.�/p>

Notably missing from the acquisition are the IPs of the studio's previous works, Ghostwire: Tokyo and The Evil Within, which Microsoft will conti?nue to retain at this time.

Established in 2010 by industry veteran Shinji Mikami, Tango Gameworks is no stranger to new ownership, as it was purchased by Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax Media, that same year. In 2021, it came under new ownership again following Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax. A sequel to Hi-Fi Rush was in the planning stages prior to - and possibly contributing to - the announcement in May t??hat Tango would be?? among four studios slated to shut down.

With Krafton’s commitment to “maintain continuity at Tango Gameworks, allowing the talented team to continue developing the Hi-Fi RUSH IP and explore?? futu??re projects,�it appears that the studio has been granted a second chance to resume work on this follow-up title.

Although studio founder Shinji Mikami left in 2023, the creative director at Tango Gameworks, John Johanas, confirmed in a post on X/Twitter that he would remain at the studio, stating, “We’re back, baby!�/p>

Although it's unclear how many other previous staff members will return to the company, Krafton stated that they “[intend] to support the Tango Gameworks team to continue its commitment to innovation and delivering fresh and exciting experiences for fans.�/p>

No news was shared on whether the upcoming physical rel?ease of Hi-Fi Rush via Limited ??Run Games will be affected by this transaction, but it does not appear likely as the press release stated that “there will be no impact on the existing game catalog of The Evil Within, The Evil Within 2, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and the original Hi-Fi RUSH game.�/p>

While this is an uplifting turn for the nearly-defunct studio, it is worth noting that Krafton’s is not without its own track record of layoffs, with 32 staff let go from Striking Distance Studios last year after its debut title, The Calisto Protocol, fell short of sales expectations. Regardless, this is undeniably a more ideal outcome for the company than anybody could have expected, with renewed oppor?tunity under new ownership.

This surprising turn of events offers a faint glimmer of hope to the desperate fools like myself still holding out for the Tango team to conjure up The Evil Within 3 someday. If T?oys for Bob can partner with Microsoft for a new game after separating from them earlier in the year, what’s stopping Tango from collaborating with Microsoft on another Evil Within title in the future?

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"I'm not going to be able to show anything until it's ready"

Two years ago, Microsoft announced a new Fable at an Xbox Games Showcase event. I completely forgot that even happened, and was reminded of its existence this past weekend. Head of Microsoft Studios, Matt Booty, had something to say about that at a PAX West Microsoft panel (which you can watch right here at roughly the 45:?00 mark).

Here's what Booty had to s?ay about not showing the game off as of late:

"Part of my job is giving air cover to the team, right? So they don't want to show stuff early before it's ready to go, but if there's one game where that's kind of flipped around, where every time I see something I say, 'we should show this', it's Fable. Because there's a lot of cool stuff...uh...the team has made it very clear that I am not going to be able to show anything until it's ready. But Playground...what I'll say is that the craft and dedication that they brought to Forza Horizon, every bit of that will be applied to Fable. They get it."

"It's Fable" is an interesting statement that's worth unpacking. Surely, the name still means something as the announcement garnered discussion; but Fable has been through the wringer, with an uneven set of core games, as well as a few odd spinoffs and a now-defunct digital card game. Reading a bit more into it, "it's Fable" has some baggage attached to it, and showing off the game outside of a cute li??ttle teaser will require a bit more finesse.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVkSZXPklQ4

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A new presentation just showcased some Xbox cloud gaming enhancements

Xbox cloud gaming mouse and keyboard support, continually teased for roughly a year now, is finally coming to the platform. Annou??nced by way of the Microsoft Game D??ev YouTube channel in a stream meant to as??sist developers creating projects on the Xbox platform, the long-awaited feature is going to be rolled out widely this year.

Xbox engineer Mo??rgan Brown started the segment (which begins at 16:45 in the below video) on how they've been looking at adding the feature "for a while now," and are finally implementing it. As Brown puts it, developers can add the feature "right now,??" as a way to plus up the game for folks who aren't using cloud gaming on PC already.

Brown also touched on a few other topics that will make Xbox cloud gaming that much smoother in the future:

• Tricks to achieve lower latency for cloud gaming, which results in snappier controls
• The introduction of direct capture for cloud gaming
• Tips to create a better UI for mobile devices that avoid the "tiny text problem"
• Full screen rendering system changes that allow for more custom resolutions, so cloud gaming looks better overall (with less black bars, and even resizing on the fly)
• Easier access to adding subtitles for accessibility, as well as brightness, audio, and controller remapping options (with options to save individual device settings, so you don't need to constantly remap or readjust)

All good stuff! So far Microsoft has been one of the better purveyors of cloud gaming, so hopefully the ?above bu?llet point enhancements continue to flow like wine.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WIXftoHCl4

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It's all below

In case you missed it, there's a six-episode Xbox documentary out now that deals with the history of the console line from the germination of the idea of the brand, through the success of Halo, into the red ring of death, to now. It's called "Power On: The Story of Xbox," and it's interesting in the?? sense that it's officially sanctioned (thus provided full access to current a?nd former Xbox team members and archive footage), but also doesn't hold back.

Big dramatic highlights of the Power On Xbox Documentary include:

• How scrappy the team was in terms of getting the idea off the ground, and the many barriers to entry that almost stopped the project cold
• The larger-than-life personality of Bill Gates, and how easily he could have sunk the project (or any project or team member with his infamous temper) at any given time
• The major development issues that Halo faced from creation through launch (like framerate issues and character model glitches)
• Tradeshow snafus like the infamous "demo unit Xbox never turned on while on stage" incident
• The Xbox 360 red ring of death (an entire episode is dedicated to this insanity)
• Microsoft's failed pitch for the Xbox One

Told through six episodes (with my own short recaps below in parenthesis), the documentary is a fascinating look into the Xbox bra??nd, with sharp editing and plenty of lively industry guests. Dedicating an entire episode to the red ring of death was ballsy �though the natural framing of the conclusion is that Microsoft ended up spending a billion dollars to "make good on it for consumers," and came out the winner in the end. That victory is short-lived, however, as it leads directly into the disastrous Xbox One confe?rence. Drama!

It's a trip! Every episode is filled with some bit of knowledge that I had never heard of before, straight from the source. The first episode in particular took me back to the launch of the original Xbox, which I had won a copy of via a Taco Bell contest. I remember the skepticism in both the gaming industry at large and my friend groups �but once Halo glommed onto the zeitgeist, the rest was history and the brand hit the ground running. For all its efforts, it actually just won a Daytime Emmy for "Outstanding ??Single Camera Edit?ing," adding? another award to the production team'??s repertoire.

You can watch every episode below on YouTube, or head to this page for more options (like IMDB TV, the Roku Channel, or Redbox).

Power On: The Story of Xbox | Chapter 1: The Renegades (how the Xbox project started, in part due to a bid to stop Sony from taking over the home entertainment business)

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJYsA1jXf60

Chapter 2: The Valentine's Day Massacre (problems getting the pitch off the ground at Microsoft internally)

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT_i6hXf9WU

Chapter 3: And It Didn't Turn on (fighting to gain ground in a new industry, plus issues showing the Xbox at tradeshows pre-launch)

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=yappZvmxcP8

Chapter 4: Cool...Now What? (The rise of Halo leading into the Xbox 360)

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC65DNzxyxU

Chapter 5: The Red Ring of Death (The major issue of the red ring, plus the arrival of Gears of War and the launch of the Kinect)

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2d6IMBS8oY

Chapter 6: TV...Or Not TV (dealing with the Xbox One "media console" marketing debacle)

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1h--43R8Oo

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It was basically all games, which was nice

So that wasn't bad! No weird ads from The Rock peddling energy drinks and comic book movies. No awkward or cringeworthy skits. Just an hour and a half-ish of pure games: here's a Microsoft and Bethesda recap for the 2022 "E3" showcase stream.

We began with a new look at Redfall, which gave us an endearing showing of gameplay: noting its stark differences to other similar squad-based shooters. From there it shot into Hollow Knight: Silksong, and although we didn't get any concrete info on the release date, we know that it exists! I'm glad someone finally showed that thing at s?ome stream in any form (how many Nintendo Directs was it rumored?? to be at? All of them?).

Those two kind of defined the Microsoft and Bethesda 2022 Games Showcase as a whole. We got some big AAA reveals and gameplay and a focus on indie games. I have to admit, it was weird to see Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV in there presented as "Microsoft" titles, but that's just how things will be going forwa?rd. It's wild to think about, if Microsoft can turn the company's reputation around, what a future Microsoft "E3" showcase might look like.

The "one more thing" was actual Starfield gameplay, which I was beginning to think we'd never see. It lo??oks...fine! Some people will think it looks more than fine, and others will want to see more before making a firm decision: such is the life of a Bethesda Studios game in 2022 after some tumultuous launches.

The biggest reveal was arguably Persona coming to Xbox. The total proliferati?on of that series is something that needed to happen as quickly as possible! And that "everything today is focused on?? games you can play over the next 12 months" quote from the stream was reassuring. Good one, Microsoft!

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOYnwhKwlw8

A 2022 "E3" stream Microsoft and Bethesda recap:

• ?We got another look at the vampire shooter Redfall at the Xbox conference
• Hollow Knight: Silksong will be on Game ??Pass day one
• Get High on Life Squanch Gamesâ€?super-gooe?y alien shoo?ter
• Riot Games is coming to Game Pass? ?with a ton of unlocks
• Forza Motorsport is still lo??oking fantastic, t??wo years on, out in spring 2023
• A Plague Tale: Requiem gets a chilling new tra?iler
• Microsoft ?Flight Simulator has a free Halo crossover out today
• Overwatch 2?? enters early access as a free-to-play title October 4
• Microsoft teases Ark 2 for 2023
• Ara: History Untold is a new historical grand strategy ?game from Oxide Games
• ??Forza 5 gets its ??own Hot Wheels crossover expansion
• Scorn will be out just in time for Halloween
• Barbaric magic and wild adventure combine in Flintlock: The Sie?ge of Dawn
• Gunfire Reborn is coming to Xbox in October 2022
• Lightyear Frontier is a delightful space-themed farming? sim
• Minecraft Legends heroically quests forth in 2023
• The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a c??osmic horror metroidvania for PC and Xbox
• As Dusk F??alls is described as an emotional, psychological drama of choice and consequence
• ??Grounded is FINALLY coming out of early access in September
• Pentiment is a medieval narrative adventu?re coming from Obsidian
• Naraka: Bla??depoint comes to Xbox S?eries consoles on June 23
• The dead will walk with The Necromance??r in Diablo IV, coming 2023
• Mystic??al stealth game Ereban: Shadow Legac?y will be on Game Pass day one
• Whoa, T?eam Ninja’s Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty looks rad
• Cocoon is a colorful puzzle game from t??he designer of Inside and Limbo
• Ravenlok is a new adventure from the makers of Echo Generation, ????arriving in 2023
• Oh hell yeah, Persona 3, 4, 5 are headed to Xbox
• Hideo Kojima pops his head in to say ‘Yeah, I’m making something for Xboxâ€?/a>
• Starfield looks absolutely out of this world in?? new gameplay deep-dive

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"A dark fantasy version of the Later Han Dynasty"

Today during the Microsoft 2022 showcase, we got to see a reveal for Team Ninja's latest action romp: Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty.

It's described as a "dramatic, action-packed story of a nameless militia soldier fighting for survival in a dark fantasy version of the Later Han Dynasty where demons plague the Three Kingdoms." Quite a mouthful! Even if this ends up being "Three Kingdoms Nioh," I'm so here for it.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer says it was "exciting to work with Team Ninja" for this collaboration. It's been exciting to see Team Ninja rise to the occasion in recent years, myself!  Following quite a few fumbles, most notably Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, one of their lowest points, they knocked it out of the park with Nioh just three years later. After that they continued to assist in various Warriors games, and gave us Nioh 2, as well as Ultimate Alliance 3. The Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection reminded us of their storied history, and Stranger of Paradise, ??while polarizing, was i?nteresting from an action perspective.

Now we have Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty next year. It's out in early 2023 on PC, Xbox consoles, and c?loud devices.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7FqH_jrYFg

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That's the eighth game in the series, not the franchise itself

When Microsoft unveiled "Forza Motorsport" back in 2020, a few heads turned. Not just bec??ause the trailer looked good! But because of the confusing name. This is the eight entry in the franchise, but Turn 10 and Microsoft are sticking with that title.

Turn?? 10 says it's the "most technically advanced racing game ever made," and includes ray tracing, and "fully dynamic time of day" mechanics. It'll also feature tire and fuel management, tire compound nuance, and "advanced materials and? shaders," with ray tracing making the game pop a lot more in terms of engine bay detail.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hrsYu8Vy04

The enhanced damage mechanic is also a huge focus, which gets as literally granular as dirt buildup. Microsoft says that the ray-tracing elements are via the "Xbox Series X and S consoles." The insane environmental upgrades are obvious based on the trailer, as they confidently showcased a zone that seemingly looked like a real-life area. It's convincing! I thought Gran Turismo looked great on PS5, but the differences between some of the Forza stuff here seems like it'll look even better.

Forza Motorsport is coming spring 2023 on PC, Xbox consoles??, an??d cloud devices. And on Game Pass.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL4h5cMONIs

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Still coming at you via Arkane Austin in 2023

Remember Redfall? It's been roughly a year since it was announced with a mostly cutscene-heavy trailer, but? now we have more clear-cut footage of how the game will actually play thanks to the Xbox and Bethesda showcase.

The trailer is lengthy, clocking in at nearly six minutes. In it, we're immediately shown actual gameplay, with a player character raiding an attic and taking out some vampires. Then it shifts into a more multiplayer focus, showcasing a ton of magic and personality-driven twists on the typical squad shooter formula. It's pretty effective! I wasn't super into Redfall when it was fi??rst revealed, but now I can see the appeal. The color really sells it, since it blows a lot of the grimdark/gritty similar shooters out of the water.

Here's a reminder of what it's all about:

"Redfall is an open-world, single-player and co-op FPS from Arkane Austin, the award-winning team behind Prey and Dishonored. Continuing Arkane’s legacy of carefully crafted worlds and immersive sims, Redfall brings the studio??’s signature gameplay to this story-driven action?? shooter."

Redfall is still due out in 2023 on PC, Xbox O??ne, and Xbox Series X. Naturally it'll be a Game Pass game.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq2_NLAjYmg

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"Project Moorcroft" is rolling out later this year

Just today, as part of a vague tease of what's to come on Sunday during Microsoft's "E3" 2022 conference, they've posted some plans for both the next few years and "the ??next 20 years." Perhaps most importantly in the near future, the company ann??ounced an enhanced Xbox demo program coming later this year.

Here's the recap, with some bullet points being more perti??nent to some audiences th?an others:

• Bringing the Xbox app to Samsung 2022 Smart TVs
• Expanding Xbox Cloud Gaming to more countries
• Bringing new gaming experiences to Microsoft Edge and Windows 11
• Rolling out updates for Xbox Game Pass members
• Introducing more options to express yourself with Xbox Design Lab

Several facets of this plan just involves plain old Microsoft corporate expansion: the type of thing that only really excites shareholders/execs. But the biggest point is arguably the bit about Xbox Game Pass, including a new ??Xbox demo progra?m announced today called "Project Moorcroft."

No this isn't a misspelled code name for a game starring a Sherlock Holmes relative: it's a vague promise of "new curated demos of upcoming games." Microsoft says that it'll arrive "within the next year," and the start ?of the program will focus on "independent developers from around the world." Apparently it's not just offering consumer-side benefits, as developers can view metrics of "how their demos perform," and earn compensation.

Paying people to bring stuff to the Xbox platform is decidedly Microsoft. But I've generally been a fan of everything they're doing this generation from a macro-perspective, so hopefully this does actually encourage better relationships for in??die studios, publishers, and fans alike. We'll find out more "within the next year," and possibly on Su??nday during Microsoft's showcase.

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Microsoft should have announced this with the Xbox Series X reveal

Banjo-Threeie isn't a real thing yet, but after watching this fan-crafted trailer from Project Dream, I want it to be. Although the project stresses that it "will not be made into a playable game," I would play it today if it was released.

Here's the full pitch from the creators:

"The Adventure Continues! Banjo-Threeie takes place 22 years after the defeat of Gruntilda in Banjo-Tooie.. However?, for a third time the old hag is back and stronger than ever.. She has gathered an army bigger than you could imagine.. And she's out for her final revenge! Battle your way through an inspired story exploring fantastical worlds collecting notes & jiggys! Be captivated by magical transformations into different shapes of Banjo & Kazooie to unlock puzzles and jiggies, as well as fighting an array of terrifying bosses to defeat Gruntilda and her army for one last time."

Note that the trailer does in fact have its own music track! If you're interested in the "main theme" of the faux game, you can check it out here: it's composed by Dark-Grunt.

We have a serious shortage of AAA mascot platformers in the current era. We do get some third-party efforts, but I could go for a new entry in a series like this. It's beloved enough, and relevant enough with its enduring legacy, plus it's bolstered by a fairly recent Smash Bros. appearance. Games like A Hat in Time have also shown publishers ?that th?e audience is there still.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VsPdWKqo4Y

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Welcome to E3, except not

Y'all ready for E3? No? Who says? The ESA? Well, publishers are still doing streams and presentations the week of June 12, so there! The Microsoft and Bethesda showcase is one such event, fully confirmed for June 12 at 10AM PT.

As is customary, Microso??ft is running an event for the week of E3, just like normal, but without the direct involvement of the ESA. This is all the info we have to go on ??right now, straight from Microsoft:

"This show will feature amazing titles coming from Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, and our partners around the world. The Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase will include everything you need to know abou??t the diverse lineup of games coming soon to the Xbox ecosystem, including upcoming releases to Game Pass on Xbox and PC."

Naturally, we can expect announcements for Game Pass, as well as Xbox One/Series X cross-generation games, and PC releases. In this lull period of tech, we're unlikely to see anything new in terms of hardware or major advancements. Maybe we'll even see a few big game ?reveals, as well as potential footage for a few of the big projects Bethesda is working on.

Where to watch the 2022 E3 but not E3 Microsoft and Bethesda showcase:

When the time comes, you can watch the stream here on YouTube, and here on Twitch.

Don't worry! We'll have fully pinned/transparent streaming schedules for you closer ?to mid-June, so you don't need to track down all of these streams yourself. It's going to be messy, ??with lots of publishers competing for lots of eyeballs. The Microsoft and Bethesda showcase will remain one of the bigger fish to fry, though.

//www.tiktok.com/@destructoid/video/7096214026383871237?is_from_webapp=?1&sender_de?vice=pc&web_id=7052788164067706373

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'We expect that Microsoft will abide by contractual agreements'

[Update: Xbox boss Phil Spe?ncer has commented publicly on the matte??r on Twitter, noting that Microsoft has "had good calls this week with leaders at Sony," and "confirmed [their] intent to honor all existing agreements," as well as "keep Call of Duty on PlayStation." Spencer followed that up by noting that "Sony is an important part of our industry," and that they "value" their relationship. This is a tota??l Spencer move, but the commitment to potentially keep Activision games multiplatform in the future is a win for everyone: if it follows through.]

It's really easy to miss just how much Microsoft is gaining from the Activision Blizzard and King acquisition. A lot of people are focusing on Blizzard, which makes sense given the happenings of the past year, but they also picked up the lucrative King catalog, on top of everything Activision has to offer. That includes a Microsoft Call of Duty machine goi??ng forward: the series that still prints money. But of course, Sony is still going t??o get some of that cash.

While Microsoft was the original "Call of Duty exclusive" house, Sony eventually took over and ran with it. For years Sony has been the daddy of the series, hosting esports competitions and heaps of exclusive content, as one of their flagship multiplatform feathers in their cap. But at least in the short term, not much is changing, and it seems like Call of Duty will be among the games that stil?l has prior platform agreements??.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Sony notes that Microso??ft still has to abide by the contracts set up before the acquisition. Here's the full statement from a Sony rep:

"We expect that Microsoft w?ill abide by contractual agreements and continue to ensure Activision games are multiplatform."

Simple and clean.

There are so many unanswered questions with this new acquisition. So Microsoft could theoretically revive Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and put an actual budget into new iterations. Spyro and Crash could both make a comeback, and all hang out in an "all star" mascot platformer game with Banjo Kazooie. It's Disney-levels of conglomerate "we own all the IP" craziness. While homogenizati??on doesn't bode well for the industry as a whole, Activision wasn't the best steward of so many of their properties in the first place.

?//www.tiktok.com/@destructoid/video/70701952563?81295878

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What a month

The Xbox Game Pass January additions look pretty crazy, with one new AAA game, one trilogy of?? AAA games, and several indie hits.

As we know, Danganronpa is arriving on the service, which is one of the most Game Pass-ready games in ages. Not that it's "only worth playing" on it: far from that! But so many people are probably turned off by the covers of the game (I've seen this many times), and maybe have never even heard of it. But if it's available for free, that's more eyes on a series that's been putting in work fo??r a long time.

The other big piece of news is Rainbow Six Extraction, which is reconfirmed as a day-one Game Pass game. It's the kind of thing that's also a good Game Pass pick, as it'll be easier to squad up if more people "own" it. The Hitman Trilogy, another addition we knew about, rounds things out as a pretty packed month of AAA Game Pass offerings, on top of Rainbow Six Siege: Deluxe Edition.

On the other side of the coin, you have the great Nobody Saves the World from Drinkbox, on top of Death's Door and Windjammers 2. It's one of the best months for Game?? Pass on record!

Xbox Game Pass January additions:

Week of January 17: 

• Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, January 18 (Cloud, Console and PC)
• Nobody Saves the World, January 18 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Death’s Door, January 20 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Hitman Trilogy, January 20 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Pupperazzi, January 20 (Console and PC)
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction, January 20 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege: Deluxe Edition, January 20 (PC)
• Windjammers 2, January 20 (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Week of January 24:

• Taiko no Tatsujin: The Drum Master, January 27 (Console and PC)

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They had an opportunity to get off on the right foot

[Update: The Wall Street Journal reports that behind closed doors, Bo?bby Kotick is "expected" to leave Activision Blizzard after the deal is done, "according to people familiar with those plans."]

Barring any monopoly-based discussions on Microsoft basically buying the entire industry at large, there's one thing that really stuck out for me this morning aft?er the Activision-ac?quisition was officially confirmed: Bobby Kotick is staying on, at least for the time being. Obviously this is going to be the case as Activision Blizzard operates independently, as they always have, but the? vague messaging is not going to comfor??t current employees.

In an immediate blow to Activision's rep, Kotick will remain in his current role ??as CEO of Activision Blizzard "until the deal closes," and nothing has changed in the short term outside of an internal org chart.

Naturally, this is buried in the myriad front-facing elements of the announcement, save for one:

"Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard, and he and his team will maintain their focus on driving efforts to further strengthen the ??company’s culture and accelerate business growth. Once the deal closes, the Activ??ision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming."

So breaking that down, the phrasing of "once the deal closes" does allow for Kotick to be ousted. Yet, Microsoft had a chance to completely change the messaging here day one, and note that after it does close, Kotick will be gone: but they didn't say that. Instead, Activision Blizzard workers will have to live with the dread of not knowing. Is?? it unr??ealistic to think that he'd be removed immediately? Absolutely.

But this is just two months after Bobby Kotick reportedly "told senior managers he would consider leaving Activision Blizzard if he can’t quickly fix the culture problems at the publisher." Since then, the ABK Workers Alliance (Activision Blizzard King) have been tirelessly providing updates on how Kotick has continued to make th??ings ?worse for the company, and has not lived up to the promises of meaningful change.

Just a week ago Phil Spencer noted that they "changed the way they did business" with Activision, noting that there's clearly a culture problem at the company (something LEGO even outright came out against). Some of this condemnation has been performative (including in Activision itself over the past several months), and now the ball is in Microsoft's court to fix Activision after the deal has ?been completed. The??y still have a chance to make things right and fix Activision's leadership once they have full control.

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For the love of God, let us earn more progress by playing

343 Industries woke up after Halo Infinite's multiplayer launch day to a mixed reception. The actual game is pretty good! But the progression system is all over the place. While strides are being made in regards to the base season pass, the first Halo Infinite event ??needs to be completely reworked, maybe ev??en by the end of the day.

H??ere's how my interaction with the event went in the first ??hour:

• I loaded up and saw two Tenrai/Fiesta challenges in my list. Awesome! All I had to do is play a game of the 4v4 random loadout Fiesta mode and get 15 kills (which I did in the same game). Done. I leveled up to level two. This is fun, time to queue up again.
• Then I noticed that, uh, I didn't have any active Tenrai event challenges. Surely this was a mistake? I saw them "upcoming" but they aren't active. Maybe they'll pop after another match.
• I finish a match (I kill it), and nope, nothing pops. I seemingly earned zero XP from my second Fiesta event game.
• I take to Twitter and then get a replied tweet clarification of how the event pass actually works. Then I do a double-take.

Get this. The 30-rank Tenrai event pass? You're not actually supposed to be able to complete it in the first week by design. It'll return "five more times throughout the season," which is kind of an insane way to do an event, especially in 2021. The idea is that you'll keep coming back to it and slowly progress through t??he tiers until you actually finish rank 30.

The way this contributes toward FOMO is beyond what most publishers are doing these days. When an event comes into town in say, Fortnite, you just play the event until it's gone. Nearly everything you do might earn you progress toward those event rewards, as publishers generally want you to stay invested during the entire stay of the event. It keeps players happy and generates hype during those periods. No, it's not a perfect system, but it makes sense without having to tab out to Twitter for clarification. Here, I was encouraged to jump in for one game, then promptly leave. Which is what I did as soon as I ?realized I was being bamboozled.

So you can't buy pass ranks to just credit-card-charge your way up to level 30. That's good. But to add insult to injury, you can just buy reworked cosmetics from the event in the in-game shop. It's right there in the header: a "Chonmage Armor set," as well as a different-tinted max level 30 sword cosmetic reward, are on the shop today for real cash. All of them even require the armor core (which is unlocked at level five), including the "daily" reward, wh??ich is going to be impossible for some people to use today, because they don't have the core unlocked yet??.

All of this funnels heavily into FOMO, which 343 specifically said they were trying t?o fight back in late 2020 in a blog post. Here's the passage, emphasis mine:

"We maintain a player-first focus. Think of all the games we’ve all played that have random rewards, ask people to play a way they hate just for a new shiny, or weaponize FOMO against the player. There will be limited-time events, but we don’t want to turn free time into a chore.�/strong>We’re not all about that.  Everyone should enjoy their time in Halo Infinite."