Microsoft, allegedly, wants Warner Bros. Interactive:
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is up for sale, and it’ll cost about four billion bucks, so not really a snap purchase for most of us, and it’s being sold so it can help cover Warner Bros.’s massive debt, which is over $100bn so it’s doubtful that four billion will help much, but oh well. The sale has been noted by several companies, like Take-Two, Electronic Arts and Activision-Blizzard, but now Microsoft is looking at it too.
With the purchase of Warner Bros. Interactive, the buyer will gain a good few things. They’ll gain Rocksteady (Arkham Asylum, City, Knight), NetherRealm (Mortal Kombat), Monolith (Shadow of Mordor), Avalanche (upcoming Harry Potter game) and a good few others. In addition, the purchase will come with the licenses to several franchises: DC Comics, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and LEGO to name a few. It would probably be a pretty good purchase.
The only worry with a Microsoft purchase is the possibility of that old exclusivity problem. Microsoft does own and run the Xbox and so it’s incentivised to find new properties exclusive to its platform, but to be fair it has acquired a few things that it kept as multi-platform releases, like Minecraft. So, if Microsoft buys this company then maybe these properties will become exclusive, but hopefully not.
Sources:
- Eurogamer – Microsoft eyes Warner Bros. Interactive acquisition – report
- Gamasutra – Report: Microsoft eyeing purchase of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
- VG247 – Microsoft is interested in acquiring Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment
Infinity Ward decided to remove the OK gesture from its games:
Infinity Ward has decided to, unceremoniously, remove the OK gesture from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone as an in-game emote. The move was not explained but probably has something to do with it being used as a white supremacist symbol over the last few years and pretty much everyone is trying to distance themselves from appearing racist in the midst of the Black Lives Matter protests.
The decision to remove it doesn’t mean the company is siding with the protestors though, it just means Infinity Ward don’t want the hassle of eventually having to apologise for the gesture’s inclusion (never think corporations are on your side, after all). The gesture itself, as it’s used in the real world, started out as a joke on 4chan that tried to get the media to claim it was a hate symbol, but the problem there is that right-wing people don’t understand jokes and it didn’t take them long to start using it sincerely, so well done, 4chan.
The gesture, as it’s used in the game though, is mostly as a skillshot thing. It’s a way of boasting that you can dispatch your enemies one handed. So, they lost their gesture, but I’m sure more will come along that serve the same in-game function.
Sources:
- Eurogamer – Infinity Ward quietly removes OK gesture from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
- Gamasutra – Infinity Ward has removed the controversial ‘OK’ gesture from Modern Warfare
- Kotaku – “OK” hand gesture removed from Call of Duty
- VG247 – The OK hand gesture has been removed from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Halo 3 is finally heading to the PC:
The piecemeal work that is The Master Chief collection on PC is getting yet another piece. This collection promised to have every Halo entry with the eponymous Master Chief in it, but it’s been a bit slow to release each of the remastered versions of these games onto the PC. Well add Halo 3 to list because it’s finally coming on 14 July 2020.
This new version has been optimised for modern PCs with 4K UHD and 60 FPS support (which is nice) and seeing as the game originally came out in 2007 on the Xbox 360 it maybe needed a tune up. The game joins the existing things in the collection: Halo: Reach, Combat Evolved: Anniversary and Halo 2: Anniversary.
The collection is still waiting on Halo 3: ODST and Halo 4, but these entries are meant to be included by the end of 2020. So that’s great, and so if you want a full collection of the Halo games on PC for the first time then grab this thing, because it looks like a pretty alright value proposition.
Sources:
- Eurogamer – Halo 3 hits PC via The Master Chief Collection next week
- Kotaku – Halo 3 comes to PC July 14
- Polygon – Halo 3 coming to PC on July 14
- Rock, Paper, Shotgun – Halo 3 finally arrives on PC next week
- VG247 – Halo 3 arrives on PC as part of The Master Chief Collection July 14
Shadow Warrior 3 announced:
Shadow Warrior, the original follow-up to Duke Nukem 3D by 3D Realms, is back once again. Flying Wild Hogs took over the IP a few years ago and have since rebooted it but now we have yet another one in the works, and it’s published by Devolver Digital (because of course it is) and so that should be a fun time once you’re bored of all the super big budget stuff.
The game will once again allow you to fill the shoes of the anti-hero ninja Lo Wang as he shoots and slashes his way through a new narrative. The game is set for release in 2021, but that’s about it so far. There are a few screenshots and videos for those interested, but it’s mostly same old same old, and that’s just fine.
Sources:
- Eurogamer – Shadow Warrior 3 announced for 2021 release
- IGN – Shadow Warrior 3 announced
- Polygon – Shadow Warrior 3’s first teaser spares us further Wang jokes
- Rock, Paper, Shotgun – Shadow Warrior 3 announced, and it has a grappling hook
- VG247 – Shadow Warrior 3 gameplay reveal set for July 11
World of Warcraft gets rid of its gender change fee:
World of Warcraft has been around for a long time, and during that time the only way to change your character’s gender was to go and buy an Appearance Change from the Blizzard Store for real money. But Blizzard has now decided, with the upcoming release of their Shadowlands expansion, that this isn’t a good message and will allow you to change gender along with everything else (as has always been allowed) at an in-game barber.
This is obviously just a means of moving with the times and it’s good to see that Blizzard isn’t fighting it. It also seems that the first WoW trans character, named Pelagos, will be included as a central character in the upcoming expansion. It’s great to see this inclusivity from such a long-term hallmark of gaming.
But never forget that Blizzard did ban someone for speaking up about the Hong Kong protests. It’s not something that should be forgotten.
Sources:
- Eurogamer – World of Warcraft will drop the £13 fee for changing gender in Shadowlands
- Kotaku – World of Warcraft’s improved character creator will enable a lot more diversity
- Rock, Paper, Shotgun – World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is killing its gender transition fee
Last week I wrote for a local gaming website called 
WailingWolf 