The past week was filled with some big news. Unfortunately, most of them were not so good as the delays keep pouring on, slowly but surely making 2021 into one of the worst in that regard yet. Among the games that got pushed back to 2022 were the big hope of the MMO genre – Amazon’s New World, Sony’s single-player open-world action-adventure Horizon Forbidden West as well as the highly criticized mobile Diablo. Besides that, we got a look at the new Ghostbusters, Halo Infinite story leaks, and more.
Amazon’s New World MMO delayed, again
Don’t worry, it’s only for a month.
Many are hoping that Amazon’s New World is going to be the saving grace of the highly stagnant MMO genre. Well, that hope is continually going untested due to the game constantly being delayed for release. The latest, fourth delay isn’t as dramatic as previous ones and will see the game pushed back only by a month. The reason for this delay is the implementation of the changes suggested by the players that participated in the game’s beta testing.
With 200 thousand players participating, the test itself had generally positive feedback. Collectively, players have spent 25 million hours on the beta which shows that not only is the game filled with content but also worthy of sticking around for. This feedback has launched New World to near the top of several categories of games over on Steam. Hopefully, the studio will make use of the short delay and polish the game to a point where the 1.0 version will make for a game worthy of sinking hundreds of hours into.
Horizon: Forbidden West probably won’t come out in 2021
2021 Sony’s exclusives are getting thinner and thinner
Horizon: Forbidden West could be delayed, says Giant Bomb member and industry insider Jeff Grubb. At least based on what he’s been hearing. He does emphasize that it’s “not a sure thing” in a comment on Reddit. So there’s still a glimmer of hope as there’s still no official confirmation from Sony. Still, as Sony didn’t react to this news that is now spreading over the web like wildfire, it’s more than likely it’s a sure thing.
This isn’t the first time Sony had to push back its big exclusives back as we’ve had a similar situation with the God of War Ragnarok which was initially supposed to come out in 2021 as well. Horizon: Forbidden West might be Sony’s most anticipated PS5 1st party game as of now, and their lineup for 2021 is looking stout as of now. On the bright side, it seems that, with all the delays, 2022 is looking to be one awesome year in gaming. For more information on the highly probable delay of Horizon: Forbidden West, check out our original news coverage.
Diablo Immortal pushed back to the first half of 2022.
You don’t have to buy phones until 2022.
Do you guys not have phones? Diablo Immortal made waves when it was originally announced as a full-fledged mobile Diablo experience. The game is undergoing an extensive playtest by many players and the response has actually been quite good. Still, there were still many instances of players voicing their criticisms of how Blizzard handled some of the in-game systems. Luckily, Blizzard seems to be listening and is willing to make the necessary changes. However, this will require that the game goes back in the oven for some more polishing, resulting in it being pushed back to 2022.
The final version of Diablo Immortal will likely have PvE raids for up to 8 players and the game will also have full controller support. Additionally, legendary equipment is being heavily worked on to make it more exciting and sought after for players that have reached the max level of their respective characters. The additional development time is probably only one side of the coin with the other probably being Blizzard’s internal problems. You can read more about it in this very news roundup down below.
Halo: Infinite story leaks are flooding the web
Watch out for spoilers all around the web
Halo: Infinite just had its first multiplayer technical test. Many jumped on board for a chance to test how the game plays while others did a bit of digging in the game’s code to find out as much as they can about the upcoming game. This normally wouldn’t be an issue had 343 Industries not forgotten to remove some files pertaining to the game’s singleplayer campaign.
Of course, these files went public and contain heavy spoilers for the main plotline, important story moments, and what players will be tasked with doing until the very end of the game. It’s really enough to ruin anyone’s experience going in so definitely keep two eyes open if you don’t want to be spoiled. Also, if you do read something, try not to spread it and ruin the experience for everyone else. Thanks in advance.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife teases the original cast
Oh the nostalgia!
Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s second trailer reveals a brief cameo from the original Ghostbusters cast, and gives a closer look at the ghosts that need busting. We can expect a new type of Ghostbuster in a more family-oriented film than any other in the franchise. It isn’t exactly a secret that the film would feature cameos from the original films, considering Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson are listed under top cast on Ghostbusters: Afterlife‘s IMDB page.
Dan Akroyd is even listed as a part of the team writing the script so we can probably expect a film with a bit more heart than the previous attempts to bring the franchise back. The sentiment is much the same among the fans, both old and new as many can’t wait to see their favorite ghostbusters return to the big screen. For more details on everything seen in the trailer and some of our speculation, check out our original news coverage.
Blizzard sparks community conflict amidst an upcoming lawsuit
Blizzard and WoW are dealing with some issues
The World of Warcraft team is working to create a more inclusive environment. They’re starting this initiative by testing the removal of /spit, a chat command that allowed one character to ‘spit’ on another or on the ground. Players can still use the command to spit on the ground or at NPCs, but not other players. It goes without saying that World of Warcraft players have strong opinions on this change, and not all of them are supportive. The bulk of the criticisms toward this comes from the fact that this isn’t a meaningful change and that the game is plagued with much larger problems than this.
This is all amidst allegations of sexual harassment by the company that has sparked widespread controversy in the WoW Classic community. Blizzard even responded that outlined the current state of affairs and their introspection on the company culture and plans for going forward. To read the full message and find out more about the lawsuit and upcoming changes coming to WoW, check out our original news coverage.
