This week was a big one for the gaming industry with major announcements made out of a combination of in-person and digital events, including Summer Game Fest and IOI Showcase in Los Angeles, Unreal Fest in Orlando, and Xbox Games Showcase streaming live.
All of this occurred amid the Thursday release for the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 console, creating an added layer of timeliness and excitement for gamers and the devs and execs catering to them.
Here’s a look back at some of the other gaming news you may have missed this week between the splashy announcements for “Resident Evil Requiem” and Xbox handheld gaming consoles.
NEW GAMES
“Atomic Heart 2” is in the works from developer Mundfish. Per the description, the “Atomic Heart” followup is “an action-adventure role-playing game that brings you back to a retrofuturistic universe, full of new dangers. The sequel features a living world rich with possibilities and places a heavy emphasis on story, role-playing elements, and player freedom. The story unfolds in an alternate-history world, with events now expanding to a global scale.”
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ATLUS announced “Persona 4 Revival” an upcoming reimagining of the classic RPG “Persona 4,” which was first released in 2008. The game will launch across Xbox Series X and S, Xbox PC, and will also be coming to PlayStation 5 and Steam.
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“The Cube” is a a new multiplayer RPG shooter set in the “Atomic Heart” universe.
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Drinkbox Studios (“Guacamelee!”) has revealed new Metroidvania Action-RPG “Blighted,” where players “battle their way through a psychedelic western nightmare to reclaim the memories of their people.”
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“Relooted” is an Africanfuturist heist game from South Africa-based developer Nyamakop (“Semblance.”)
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“ILL” is realistic first-person action horror game that takes you into a dark fort overtaken by a mysterious entity, per developers Mundfish and Team Clout. It’s “a grim story, unpredictable monsters, a visceral dismemberment system, and realistic physics create an atmosphere of relentless terror.”
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Annapurna Interactive announced heist game “Snap & Grab.”
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“Thirsty Suitors” developer Outerloop Games unveiled “Dosa Divas: One Last Meal,” previously known as “Project Dosa.”
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From new studio GigaPuff, “On-Together” is a cozy multiplayer productivity game that sits at the bottom of your screen while you focus on your tasks and socialize at break-time.
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“Aniimo” was announced by Kingsglory, a new publishing label established by FunPlus. The game is a free-to-play, open world creature-catching action RPG developed by Pawprint Studio.
FIRST LOOK/TRAILERS
Resolution Games and Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast unveiled the gameplay trailer for “Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked.” The game is expected to launch later this year across platforms and is currently available for wishlisting in the PlayStation, Steam and Meta Horizon stores.
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A new trailer was released for Annapurna Interactive’s upcoming game “Mixtape.”
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Developer House House (“Untitled Goose Game,” “Push Me Pull You”) and publisher Panic (“Firewatch,” “Thank Goodness You’re Here!”) revealed a new gameplay trailer for “Big Walk.”
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A launch trailer was unveiled for “Dune: Awakening,” which releases June 10. From Funcom, the game introduces a parallel “Dune” timeline where Paul Atreides was never born.
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A launch trailer debuted for narrative puzzler “Instants” from indie studio Endflame.
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iam8bit and Nano Park Studios unveiled the new gameplay trailer for “Petal Runner.”
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Blumhouse Games unveiled new trailers for “Grave Seasons” and “Eyes of Hellfire.”
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Bethesda Softworks has debuted a new trailer for “The Elder Scrolls Online – Tales of Tamriel.”
CASTINGS
PlaySide Studios and Fumi Games’ “MOUSE: P.I. For Hire” has cast video game acting legend Troy Baker as the 1930s noir-inspired, first-person shooter game’s lead character, Private Investigator Jack Pepper.
RELEASE DATES
Free-to-play extraction shooter “ARC Raiders” launches Oct. 30 from Embark Studios. The game, which challenges players to scavenge a broken world overrun by ARC machines and rival raiders — and build something lasting beneath it, will be available on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and NVIDIA GeForce Now.
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Bethesda will launch the highly anticipated “The Order of Giants” DLC for “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” on Sept. 4.
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“Jurassic World Evolution 3” will debut Oct. 21 on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and is available to pre-order now. The game hails from Frontier Developments plc in collaboration with Universal Products & Experiences.
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From Wholesome Games Presents, “MakeRoom” will release on Steam on Aug. 7.
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“Wander Stars” will debut Aug. 1 on PC and Nintendo Switch from Fellow Traveller and Paper Castle Games.
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Indie developer Miami Avalon will release astrological adventure puzzle game “Ascend” on Steam on Aug. 28.
variety.com
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