Game news A lost video game, ten excellent indies found? This is the JV recap of the day

Game news One video game lost, ten excellent indies found? This is the JV recap of the day

A Blizzard game was canceled after 6 years of development… but why?

Following the huge wave of layoffs that hit developers at Xbox, we learned that Blizzard’s survival game Odyssey, in development since 2017, had been canceled. Today we discover thanks to Bloomberg that this project was initially developed under Unreal Engine, but that Blizzard transferred it to its own in-house engine, Synapse. This engine, normally designed for mobile games, was selected to ensure the presence of 100 players at a time in the same environment. Bloomberg explains that some Odyssey developers were counting on Microsoft to return to Unreal and get the project back on track. The decision was different: the Redmond firm decided to put an end to its production. Outch.

Xbox announces… Indie Selects, so gamers buy more indie games

10 years after the creation of the ID@Xbox label, Xbox announces a new way to highlight independent creators with the “Indie Selects”. This program sets up a dedicated section in the Xbox Store presenting independent games chosen by the Microsoft team. Indeed, in the Games section of the Xbox interface, there is now a section highlighting different independent titles. Furthermore, once a month, the American firm will present a selection of six software which will be designated as ID@Xbox “Indie Selects” of the month. “Why are we doing this? Long story short: we love games made by independent developers and we want more people to discover, buy and play them!” explains Xbox on its official site. This is a good initiative.

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Sonic could still break bricks throughout 2024!

Sega and LEGO have already teamed up in 2022 and 2023 to create LEGO sets with a Sonic the Hedgehog theme. In January 2024, LEGO Shadow the Hedgehog appeared in stores, with the famous character riding a motorcycle, while Rouge and Knuckles also had their version in small bricks. On Instagram, a certain mtdbricks revealed what could be the future LEGO Sonic packs. We find there “Tails’ Adventure Boat”, “Knuckles and the Master Emerald” And “Super Sonic vs Egg Drillster”, whose prices would be around 60, 50 and 100 dollars respectively. According to the user, these sets should be released during the summer.

Will Disney change the destiny of VR?

We know it well, the VR market is struggling to take off. Just recently, the studio behind REC Room announced that it did not want to port their game to the PSVR 2 because of its poor sales figures. Although the technology is impressive, there are still several concerns that prevent the general public from checking out. But Disney may have a product to convince them, with HoloTile. This accessory is described by the American group as the “world’s first multi-person, omnidirectional, modular and expandable treadmill”. Basically, it is a kind of carpet made up of many tiles whose mission is to keep the people on it in the center. Thus, this would give the impression to the player wearing a VR headset on his head that he is exploring environments by truly walking, rather than by pushing a stick or teleporting.. Who wants to try?

Overwatch 2 partners with Saudi Arabian esports organization

As Blizzard announced, more details on the Overwatch Champions Series have been revealed. The competition will therefore be organized in North America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa by the ESL Faceit Group, a group specializing in esports owned by the Saudi group Savvy Games. As part of an agreement, the two companies aim to host a “new era of esports Overwatch 2” in a “competitive and inclusive ecosystem” we are told. Competitions in Asia will be managed by Korean organizer WDG. As pointed out PC Gamingeach region will have its own set of qualifiers and tournaments, which will culminate in two major events: the first at the Dreamhack Dallas Major, which will take place from May 31 to June 2, then the global finals at Dreamhack Stockholm from November 22 to 24 .