And so, we ask the annual question: By the time E3 actually occurs, will there be any surprises left? We’ve already heard about a new Fallout and a new Assassin’s Creed this week, and even Destiny 2 isn’t waiting until the show itself to unveil its latest expansion.
That news, plus Star Citizen’s new $27,000 item pack, a new Sonic kart racer, Killer7 comes to PC, and PUBG Corp finally files a real lawsuit against Epic. Oops.
This is gaming news for May 28 to June 1.
Destiny 2.5
As I said, Bungie’s not waiting until E3 to reveal what’s in store for Destiny 2. Why? I have no idea, and I’m sure we’ll see a lengthy trailer at Sony’s press conference Monday night regardless. But if you want an idea of this fall’s expansion, it appears you’ll have to tune in next Tuesday, June 5 at 9 a.m. Pacific. Bungie calls it “a glimpse of what we have planned” and “the beginning of a conversation that will last all summer long.”
Let’s hope it’s more inspiring than Warmind.
Gotta go fast
A few years back, I got really sucked into a game called Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. It’s perhaps the worst title for the best kart racing game on PC. Whether it’s better than Mario Kart? I don’t dare wade into that subject. But yeah, “best on PC” seems fair.
That same team is back with a new Team Sonic Racing, announced this week. Aside from the infinitely more digestible name, the game’s set to release this winter and there’s a teaser trailer up now.
76 trombones
Did I mention Bethesda revealed a new Fallout this week? Titled Fallout 76, I speculated a bit on Wednesday about the genre. Would it be another full-on RPG? A battle royale game? A vault builder?
Well according to Kotaku, it’s “an online survival RPG that’s heavily inspired by games like DayZ and Rust.” If true, that puts Bethesda approximately five years behind the trend, I guess. Look for more at E3.
Shark week
Sea of Thieves finally put out its first content update this week,The Hungering Deep. A trailer a few weeks ago seemed to indicate there’d be a giant shark, a megalodon, waiting for players out in the high seas. Yup, that’s what you’ll find after a short quest. Great news for those of you looking to jump back in, at least for a few hours.
Hopefully there’s a lot more in the pipeline.
Mega Man
Mega Man 11 was already announced, so I guess I’ll give it a pass on dumping a trailer two weeks before E3. I guess. Around two minutes of footage in this new video, with a lengthy look at the new art style and some music to get your blood pumping. Also the comically incompetent “Block Man.” Look for it to release on October 2.
Killer7
Okay, Killer7 absolutely does not get a pass though. This would’ve been a nice E3 reveal, but oh well. The cult classic, originally released in 2005 on PS2 and GameCube, is finally getting a PC release later this year. That’s not too surprising—all Suda51’s games have been making their way over recently, including The Silver Case. But it’s good news for game preservationists, and those who didn’t play it the first time around. Killer7 is a real trip.
Battle Royale
They went and did it. They blew it all up. After threatening legal action against Epic last year, PUBG Corp actually went and filed a lawsuit, alleging that Fortnite ripped off elements of Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds. Apparently the lawsuit was actually filed back in January, although it took until a Korea Times report this week for the news to come out.
It’s a pretty wild move, and I suspect won’t endear PUBG Corp to anyone in the industry. Games have long abided by a sort of Wild West, everyone-copies-everyone mentality, and the situation here is even more complicated given PUBG runs on Epic’s engine. Somebody probably should’ve read up on what happened to Silicon Knights and Denis Dyack when they pulled the same move. It…wasn’t pretty.
Putting a value on nothing
Lastly, we return this week to the always-baffling story of Star Citizen. Still crowdfunding a full six years after its initial Kickstarter, Cloud Imperium pulled maybe the most baffling move yet this week by introducing a $27,000 pack of items.
Yes. You read that right. Twenty-seven thousand dollars.
For that money, you get a brand-new car 117 space ships, plus a bunch of skins, upgrades, and so on. Oh, and the best part? You’ll need to put $1,000 into Star Citizen before you can even click on the link to buy this new “Legatus Pack.” Kudos to MMOPulse for ripping some screenshots.