After more than a year that they could not come to a new agreement and let games being removed from Chinese market (except Diablo Immortal), Blizzard Entertainment will return to China via Xbox consoles. Back in November 2022, when Activision Blizzard were still independent, could not reach a new business agreement beyond the availability of Diablo Immortal (a whole different agreement) and let January 2023 as the official month of most of Blizzard Entertainment games to be retired. This week's announcement is basically a Microsoft Gaming led gaming success in China gaming market, that includes to explore bringing new NetEase games to Xbox consoles and other platforms. NetEase hasn't been in the bench despite losing a powerful partner like Blizzard (which rumors saying that in part, is was due disturbed communication with unpleasant misunderstandings for then CEO Bobby Kotick), as buying and investing in Westerns gaming studios. For immediate effect, Chinese gamers will expect the recovery of access of previous available titles like World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and other titles in the Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo and StarCraft franchises. Of course, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer considers this agreement a new Xbox victory for bringing more games to more players around the world. #Gaming #GameNews #youtubegaming 🕹 🎮

Yesterday, Respawn Entertainment fixed an error that a #ApexLegneds servers update brought, which affected some players by having their progress reset at zero & delayed the new Ranked Split on a future date. #Gaming #GameNews #youtubegaming 🕹 🎮

Today #Disney announced a $1.5 billion investment to Epic Games for equity stake & also partnering to create an “all-new games and entertainment universe” connected to Fortnite. Expects more & constant Fortnite collabs with Disney's IP. #Gaming #GameNews #youtubegaming 🕹🎮

"It is the greatest privilege of my professional career to have this opportunity," -Henry Cavill in an interview with Josh Horowitz about the in-development #Warhammer40K cinematic universe developed by Vertigo, Amazon & Games Workshop. Back in 2022, Amazon announced that it was co-developing a cinematic universe centered in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop war game along with game's creator Games Workshop & Vertigo Entertainment. Henry Cavill will be serving as Executive Producer along being on of the main characters, which has not been revealed yet. There is not release date and/or if the cinematic universe will start as a movie or a TV Series. #Gaming #GameNews #youtubegaming 🕹🎮

Blizzard Entertainment has officially outsourced the management of #Overwatch official esport league with ESL Faceit Group administrating The Overwatch Champions Series World Final and taking place at DreamHack Stockholm. #Gaming #GameNews #youtubegaming 🕹🎮

Unfortunately for Sony this week, Rhysida hacker group went on their deadline after only 2% of the stolen data on their hack to #Playstation Studios' Insomniac Games was actually sold and the remaining 98% was released on the Dark Web. The loot is actually more than 1.3 million files totaling 1.67 terabytes and includes much more than anticipated than a swift hacking usually manages to copy. As expected in this kind of big stole, future games, and internal HR documents, budgets, more are in the public yes and as well Insomniac’s future projects, including the upcoming Marvel Wolverine game, a publishing agreement with Marvel that promises future games. Of course, the "promised games" is on the stipulation that Sony and Playstation needs to comply with goals set by both Disney and Marvel and maybe isn't just that Sony has strategically held the movies and videogames rights for Spider-man. Along with Wolverine, seems that Sony is ready to answer EA's take on Marvel Iron Man and now Bethesda/Xbox Game Studios's take on Marvel Blade as Insomniac landed a exclusive X-Men game, pending to be announced. As for more Marvel games, the Venom game is slated for a 2025 release, followed by a 2026 release of Wolverine and early estimate for X-Men is at 2030, which probably might see Iron Man and Blade being in this 7 years interval. Other documents reveals that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart was not a total financial success despite being the flagship game for the launch of PS5 with a miss of 10% below Return Of Investment or in plain language, the game was not profitable at least in normal sales channel. A follow-up Ratchet & Clank main game is currently in development with a target release year of 2029. Finally and honestly I wasn't expecting anything centralized on the Playstation business and much-less being housed on one of Playstation Studios's servers but, here is the bad luck for Sony. Apparently, Insomniac Games had probably copies of documents that appears to be for Sony Interactive Entertainment to actually hold and there was a report on Steam sales of Playstation games brought to PC. Numbers includes: -Horizon Zero Dawn - 3.3 million units -God of War 2018 - 2.5 million units - Days Gone - 1.7 million units -Marvel Spider-Man Remastered 1.3 million units -Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves 483k units -Marvel Spider-Man: Miles Morales 450k units -Sackboy A big adventure - 62.9k units Surprisingly, there are documents related to the Activision Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft and as excepted, concentrate on the Call Of Duty side of thing including the fear that Microsoft could find ways to differentiate Xbox and Playstation versions of COD. Game Pass subscription and the public perception that Xbox has indeed "lost the console war" as a way to transform the gaming business in one that could have Playstation left behind because their premium sale model and pro hardware model as subs are more feasible for gamers The insistence that the Playstation model is outdated is because Sony feels that Activision Blizzard gives Microsoft strategic value in live service, mobile and PC Storefront and Microsoft can supply, console, PC and subscription services. Reminder, currently the main tasks that Activision Blizzard is working along side Xbox is the new Mobile game app store, reportedly being made from the best of Battle Net & Microsoft Store with King leading the project, which Microsoft has said was the main reason to buy ABK. And with this recap.... BE CAREFUL, Wolverine's leaks apparently are in the wild and there is a PROBABILITY of seeing videos of an early version BOOTABLE of the game as well pics and assets for the game. I am not spoiling anything after this post. #Gaming #GamingNews #Gamestr

The SAG-AFTRA org, which represent the acting class of Hollywood, announced that it has reached an agreement with movies & entertainment big players for a better salary & rights improvements for actors/actresses. Gaming Industry coverage was also on demands. #Gaming #GamingNews

Unfortunately #Bungie will be running a layoff run and while the exact reach could be revealed later this week the effect is already seen on Destiny 2 and Marathon with respectively The Final Shape expansion and the remake were delayed further 2024 & 2025. The now Playstation subsidiary is the latest of noise in the industry that there are troubles at Playstation Studios were many of the 1st party developers are resisting the Game-as-a-Service strategy implemented by Jim Ryan since last year. Reportedly, thing has escalated to the point that non-attached Playstation Studios has threaten to go independent again while Playstation pressed back on folding studios who continues to object the plans. Some are speculating that this crisis is probably a one of the hidden reasons of Jim Ryan leaving Sony Interactive Entertainment next year besides an almost 30 years career within Sony and traveling between USA and Japan being a European resident. To avoid objections from regulators, Sony bought surprisingly Bungie (formerly an independents studios in the 80's and the 90's and by the New Millennium a first party studio for Xbox to Microsoft own the Halo franchise & going independent again a decade ago) as subsidiary. In return to maintain complete independence on gaming plans, Sony tasked Bungie on assess all current in-development games that could be Playstation exclusives GaaS games & MOST didn't passed the evaluation and that is why the planned The Last Of Us Multiplayer was scaled back. #Gaming #GamingNews

In a surprising move, Sony and Jim Ryan confirmed that he will leave his position as SIE and #Playstation CEO on March 2024, alluding that since 1994, working for Sony between USA and Japan while being a European resident, has become a personal challenge. While not a stranger in Sony as he began in mid 90's, he landed the Sony Interactive Entertainment, the parent company of Playstation on 2019 replacing John Kodera and pretty much oversaw the last stretch of the PS4 era and managed the pandemic-chaotic initial release of PS5. While Ryan is praised for his sales and managements skills, which pretty much lead him to Playstation at the last part of his almost 20 years career at Sony, but he will also remembered for dismissing retro gaming to favor the narrative of Playstation as a dominant gaming force. Also 2022 and 2023 will be remembered on how publicly went "not worried"of the Activsion Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft. But in reality, led a massive lobbying campaign that failed as it ended him being called out at the end by the very same lawmakers in an embarrassing open letter that accused him and Playstation to actually being the cause of Xbox failing to capitalize in Japan since 2001. #Gaming #GamingNews