Big stories in bitesize portions.
It’s the end of another week which can only mean one thing, it’s time for another weekly news roundup! And with a mixed bag of news from all over the world of games, we’d better get a wiggle on if we’re going to get through everything. So, grab yourself a cup of something, a bite of something, get to some shade, and catch up with the stories you need to know about this week.
It’s the final countdown: Overwatch League Final Unfolds Today
You may have seen that Overwatch is free to play this weekend and it may very well be something that has you asking ‘why, why is this happening?’ Well, I’ll tell you why it’s bloody well happening, it’s because it’s the inaugural grand final of the Overwatch League… hooray!
With the final being played between the American Philadelphia Fusion team and the UK’s London Spitfire team, the grand final will see the two teams battling it out over five maps to claim the $1 million prize. The matches will be played over the weekend with the winners being crowned (hopefully) on Sunday, July 29. The teams will be playing in front of a sold out Barclays Arena in Brooklyn – that’s 20,000 people who have come to watch this final and that’s pretty impressive.
The finals are being shown on quite a few channels, so if you’re interested in seeing what all t he fuss is about, you’ll be able to see the match on Twitch, MLG, ESPN, Blizzard.net, and Disney XD starting from the early hours of Saturday (which has already happened by now – sorry) and the second and third matches being played at 9PM and 11PM tonight (UK times).
Behind the Games: OnRush Developer Evolution Studios Reeling from Layoffs
It seems to be one of the most turbulent time for developers in recent years. With Visceral being closed last year, it’s now Evolution Studios, the developers behind the insane driving sim OnRush, who have announced a huge number of cuts to their team.
According to Eurogamer, the cuts came as a result of OnRush’s poor sales figures after it released earlier this year, with several senior members – including Paul Rustchynsky who was director for the PlayStation exclusive DriveClub – either being asked to re-interview for their jobs or leave.
Evolution Studios was picked up by UK titan Codemasters after being dropped by Sony in 2016. And it seems that whilst the two studios have a lot in common, there’s been a few long-term problems that caused riffs and miscommunication and – inevitably – has led to some extreme actions. It’s not known just how many people have been made to leave Evolution just yet, though one source that Eurogamer spoke to described the cuts as having “decapitated†the team.
Start you Engines: Nintendo Announce Vehicle Labo Kit
The next set of cardbaord craziness that is the Nintendo Labo is set to arrive on September 14, offering players a whole new set of DIY projects.
This time around the focus is on driving, with players able to craft a steering wheel with a pedal and a joystick for flying planes.
Price-wise, you’re looking at an identical cost as the original Labo set, being a $70/£60, which may have a few parents thinking twice before splashing out on cardboard – even though it is very, very fun.
It’s Waking Nightmare: Quantic Dream Lose Employment Case
It came to light some time ago that Quantic Dream was running a fairly… shit workplace, with faces of employees being photoshopped onto Nazis and pornstars. The conditions and atmosphere were so toxic that it led to some employees leaving.
Now, these same employees have taken a case to court, suggesting that their choice to leave was cause by those conditions of the Quantic Dream workplace, which, if found in favour of the employees, would mean that their leaving would be considered unfair dismissal.
And it seems that the courts have agreed that having your face pasted onto a Nazi is a bit of a dick move, as they’ve sided with the employees over the matter, meaning that their choosing to leave will now be treated as an unfair dismissal. Quantic Dream do have a chance to appeal this ruling though no news of whether they will has emerged yet.
Meanwhile, the journalists who originally broke the story of the culture at Quantic Dream are still in the midst of being sued by the developers.
And Finally… Reddit User Shares Troll Treatment Advice
Online games – fun as they are – do tend to bring the worst (or at least the shittiest parts) out of some people. And when you’re on the receiving end of such dickheadery it can be tough to muster up the will to carry on playing, let alone confronting the little gobshite who’s turning a game about hamsters and talking gorillas into something lame.
How I respond to hate messages. (Overwatch) I just list character facts. from r/gaming
So, when Reddit user RobtheThief shred their clever way of piss boiling treatment, we felt obliged to share their tactic in the hopes of making online play fun once again. And if you have any tips for dealing with twats on the internet, we implore you to share your tactics and help keep the communities of your favourite games a fun one to be part of. Good work, RobtheThief, we’re proud of you.
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