E3 Returns, Major GTA 6 Leak, PS5 Price Increase
As we approach the year’s conclusion, let’s review the main gaming news from 2022. The year 2022 is ending, and the video game industry has another chaotic, unpredictable, thrilling year. This year saw a lot of events, making it understandable if someone forgot to mention some of the major gaming news of the year. In this gallery, we look back at the main news items of 2022, such as Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, E3’s cancellation and subsequent revival, developers’ efforts to organize labor unions, and more.
The news won’t stop just yet, either! On December 8, the major The Game Awards presentation will take place, and we anticipate a lot of important news to be revealed there.
Several significant gaming purchases also occurred in 2022; for additional information, see GameSpot’s list of the year’s most influential gaming buyouts coming soon.
hefty buyouts
The video game business saw a lot of mergers and acquisitions in 2022. In fact, according to specific estimates and projections, 2022 is likely to surpass all previous highs for major buyouts, with more than $150 billion in agreements. The significant acquisitions in 2022 included the Take-purchase Two’s of Zynga for $12.7 billion, Microsoft’s announcement of a bid to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, Sony’s purchase of Bungie for $3.6 billion, and The New York Times’ seven-figure purchase of the popular word game Wordle.
In 2022, Embracer made several acquisitions, including Dark House, the Tomb Raider and Deus Ex game series from Square Enix, The Lord of the Rings, and others. But more recently, Embracer admitted that the current economic climate has become challenging and that, to weather the storm, it could be necessary to spin off some of its businesses and benefit from specific tax laws.
There were so many significant gaming acquisitions in 2022 that we have compiled them in a separate gallery so that you can read about them in the coming days.
Read Also: Find and activate all Elden Ring great runes
Game Creators Show Their Support for Ukraine
Experts say that when Russia invaded Ukraine in February, it started a war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and marked the beginning of a worldwide tragedy.
Companies, including EA, CD Projekt, Epic, Activision Blizzard, and others, ceased selling their games in Russia to protest the invasion of Putin and his military forces. In contrast, many game development studios gave money and supported humanitarian causes to aid individuals harmed by the conflict.
Due to the effects of the conflict on its developers, one significant Ukrainian developer, GSC Game World, postponed the release of Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl. GSC Game World lost at least one developer in combat with Russian troops. This awful catastrophe is still happening.
Releases for Steam Deck
The Steam Deck, a portable gaming system from Valve, went on sale in February. The Steam Deck is a “wonderfully designed and powerful portable PC,” as we stated in our evaluation. When it comes to serving as a mobile hub for your Steam games, the system excels, and Steam Deck is currently your best bet if you want to maximize your PC library while on the road.
Elden Ring Creates a Stir
The newest title from Bloodborne and Dark Souls developer From Software, Elden Ring, was released at the end of February and immediately enjoyed both critical and commercial success. The game received rave reviews from critics and sold like hotcakes, with sales currently at 18 million.
Elden Ring is predicted to sell more copies in the US than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II in 2022. Despite Elden Ring’s enormous success, neither developer From Software nor its publisher Bandai Namco have, at least as of yet, yet to reveal any expansion or sequel plans.
E3: Goodbye; Hello
The Entertainment Software Association formally called off E3 2022 in March. There would be neither a live event nor a virtual one this year. Due to the pandemic, the ESA had already said that E3 would not have an in-person component in 2022, but with this declaration, there would also be no digital component. However, the ESA guaranteed that E3 would make its first-ever in-person appearance since 2019 in Los Angeles in 2023.
The announcement that PAX organizer ReedPop will take over E3 and bring the show back in June 2023 was welcome news for E3 enthusiasts in September. For those who don’t want to attend in person, ReedPop plans to revive the event at the location—the Los Angeles Convention Center—with a digital component. Although it’s still early, E3 2023 is formally scheduled for June 13–16, 2023, so secure your seat.
FIFA and EA part ways
The breakup of EA and FIFA, who had collaborated on soccer video games for many years, was another significant event in 2022. EA decided to stop using the FIFA name because FIFA reportedly demanded a huge fee of $1 billion from the video game publisher.
Of course, the series will continue, but starting in 2023 it will be known as EA Sports FC. Since EA already has separate licensing agreements with thousands of players, clubs, leagues, and other entities, EA asserts that the loss of the FIFA name won’t significantly impact how The Beautiful Game is portrayed. Only time will tell.
Read Also: The Best Game Opening Phrases
Game developers are attempting to unionize.
The video game industry is essentially not unionized, unlike other significant entertainment industries like television and film. Several developer organizations advocated for collective bargaining in 2022, including Raven Software, the Call of Duty development studio owned by Activision Blizzard.
Additionally, a group of BioWare QA developers took action to organize. The attempt by Nintendo employees to form a union caused a lot of controversies, and one developer accused Nintendo of violating labor laws. It is still being determined whether these unions will receive official recognition and, if so, what effect it may have on the video game sector labor market.
Game designers respond to the Roe vs. Wade ruling.
The landmark federal Roe v. Wade decision, which established a constitutional right to abortion, was overturned by the US Supreme Court in June, leaving it up to the individual states to make their own decisions.
The video gaming industry reacted, with companies including Bungie, Sony, Insomniac, Media Molecule, Activision, Microsoft, and others issuing statements in favor of reproductive rights and, in some instances, giving to organizations that support a woman’s freedom to make her own decisions.
Jim Ryan, the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, came under fire for his email asking staff to “respect differences of view” over abortion rights and providing updates on his cat’s birthday celebration.
GTA 6’s Leak
Early screenshots and video from the upcoming Grand Theft Auto game were leaked to the public in September, an unprecedented breach for Rockstar Games.
Rockstar has a reputation for keeping things tight and having minimal leaks, but this time around, that was not the case. Several files that showed off an early, in-progress version of Grand Theft Auto 6 were released into the open. The leaked footage supports reports that the game is set in Vice City and will be the first to have a playable female lead character in the series.
GTA 6, or whatever the title of the game, is anticipated to be a heist-themed game with a Bonnie and Clyde-style narrative. In any case, in response to the leak, Rockstar Games and its parent company Take-Two expressed their disappointment while reassuring fans that work on the game is still in progress. A suspect thought to be the hacker was apprehended and is apparently placed in a juvenile correctional facility while authorities investigate.
Netflix Makes a Major Game Investment
In 2022, Netflix invested heavily in the video gaming industry. After some preparation, the business achieved new heights in 2022 by introducing Netflix Games for mobile. An increasing selection of mobile movies is available to subscribers who may download and play from within the Netflix app.
And unlike the more prominent mobile gaming market, Netflix’s video games don’t contain microtransactions or advertisements, which is a beautiful welcome break. Netflix now creates mobile games in addition to hosting them. Currently, Netflix has six internal game production studios, one of which is hiring new employees to work on what appears to be a high-end PC AAA title. It is unknown whether Netflix will ever start streaming games, but it seems like a logical next step for the firm that now rules the streaming media industry as a whole.
It’s easier to find consoles (Thankfully)
The market for new consoles, specifically the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, significantly increased in 2022. In contrast to 2021, characterized by severe shortages that led to a great deal of aggravation, consumers were more dependably able to stroll into a store or place an order online for a new-generation console.
Microsoft and Sony have better met the demand for the most recent Xbox and PlayStation consoles, while Nintendo has maintained its lead as its Switch platform outsells both of them in terms of overall sales.
PS5 Cost Increase
While it was generally easier to find the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles in 2022, the good news was offset by some less-than-ideal information this year when Sony announced it was hiking the price of the PlayStation 5 in several different international locations.
The US was exempt from a price increase. Still, consumers in Canada, Europe, the UK, Australia, and other regions are now paying more due to the increased manufacturing costs brought on by the global economic climate.
According to Xbox chief Phil Spencer, Microsoft will follow suit with its Xbox price increases in 2023. However, the executive has yet to specify whether the price increases will affect hardware, Software, subscriptions, or some other aspect of the Xbox company. Nintendo, for its part, has stated that it won’t boost the price of the Switch, albeit it is somewhat shrinking the packaging to help with logistics and shipping.
Hello, Stadia
Additionally, in September 2022, it was announced that Google would terminate Stadia, its ambitious cloud gaming streaming service, and give refunds. Phil Harrison, a former head of the PlayStation and Xbox, managed Stadia when it officially debuted in November 2019. Google also assembled studio teams to assist in creating games for Stadia.
All of that, however, came to a stop when Google announced in September that Stadia would be shut down due to a lack of interest from the community. On January 18, 2023, the service that aspires to be a console replacement will end its operations.
G4 terminates once more.
Midway through the 2000s, the gamer-focused TV network G4 had a promising run, but it was finally shut down. In late 2021, Comcast revived the network for traditional linear TV and the internet, although the new G4 lasted only a short time.
Comcast quickly stated that the new G4TV would shut down in October 2022, effective immediately, less than a year after it re-launched. Simply put, the network did not garner enough interest to justify remaining online, according to Comcast. “Low viewership and unsustainable financial performance have plagued the network. This is definitely not what we had hoped for, hence we have made the extremely tough decision to stop G4’s activities immediately “The business stated.
Before it again shut down, a post from The Washington Post said that the directionless network has been plagued by “constant pivots, hefty costs, and controversy.”
Read Also: The Best Game Opening Phrases
Dramatic Voice Acting in Bayonetta 3
Late in October, Bayonetta voice actress Hellena Taylor posted a series of videos on Twitter in which she claimed she had been given an “insulting” sum of money—$4,000—to return for Bayonetta 3. This became one of the last major gaming stories of 2022. She declined the offer, and renowned voice actress Jennifer Hale was cast in the Bayonetta role. Taylor cited the Bible in her video essays and referred to Nintendo and Platinum as “fat cats.”
According to a later Bloomberg report, Taylor didn’t give the complete picture in her initial Twitter videos, was given a higher offer, and made more cash requests to be in the game. The argument and back-and-forth generated a fair amount of drama, rekindled debates regarding voice actor compensation, and changed how information is shared in the social media era.
