It is an ungainly time to be a PC participant. The platform has extra video games protecting extra genres than ever, and even customary PC {hardware} can ship pristine, photorealistic graphics. On the identical time, a few of the largest titles in latest reminiscence have been absolute messes on PC at launch, like Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Redfall, the Useless House and Resident Evil 4 remakes, and The Last of Us Part I. Sadly, it appears to be like like we are able to add Cities: Skylines II to this record — which implies I am eagerly wanting ahead to the day once we can look again and say, “Man, keep in mind when this recreation was damaged? I am glad Colossal Order mounted every thing and appropriately apologized to its neighborhood.” No less than, I hope that is what we’ll say.
This week’s tales
Microsoft, macro layoffs
Three months after closing its buy of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft fired 1,900 people in its Xbox, ZeniMax and Activision Blizzard divisions. This follows a rash of layoffs in video video games in latest months — final 12 months, round 9,000 individuals within the business have been fired, and already in January practically 6,000 jobs have been misplaced. It’s a reputable disaster. Alongside the layoffs, Microsoft formally canceled Odyssey, the survival recreation that Blizzard had been engaged on for six years.
Palworld is the zeitgeist
Thus far, 2024 is the 12 months of Palworld. The sport comes from a small, rookie crew and it’s been billed as “Pokémon with weapons,” although it’s actually extra like Ark when it comes to gameplay. No matter reference you decide, Palworld is so in style that it’s No. 2 on the Steam charts for all-time concurrent gamers, proper behind PUBG. With all of this consideration, it was solely a matter of time earlier than Nintendo stepped in — the Pokemon writer is investigating Palworld for potential copyright infringement, and we’ll see how that performs out within the coming weeks.
Cities: Skylines II and toxicity
The unique Cities: Skylines got here out in 2015 and ate up the viewers that was left behind by EA’s SimCity, which landed in 2013 and was a busted mess. Cities: Skylines scratched that urban-planning itch, and over time, builders at Colossal Order labored intently with gamers to foster a thriving mod neighborhood on Steam Workshop. Mods, customized property and let’s play movies have been a essential side of Cities: Skylines’ long-term success.
Final October, after months of selling collaborations with content material creators like Biffa and Metropolis Planner Performs, Cities: Skylines II got here out — and it was a disappointment to many players. The sport was initially pitched as a simultaneous PC and console launch, however it’s solely obtainable on PC and there’s no concrete timeline for when the opposite variations will come out. There’s been no phrase on a Mac or Linux launch. There’s additionally no official mod assist for Cities: Skylines II, and when this characteristic does land, it will likely be by means of the sport’s writer, Paradox, quite than Steam Workshop. On prime of all this, Colossal Order raised the sport’s minimal and really helpful PC specs only a month earlier than launch, and the brand new necessities made it unplayable for a big chunk of gamers. Even with a succesful rig, Cities: Skylines II is riddled with visible and mechanical bugs. Merely put, it appears like Colossal Order pulled a SimCity.
The studio has been steadily rolling out updates, and CEO Mariina Hallikainen acknowledged that the sport is lacking some promised and extremely publicized options, like mod assist. However in a latest observe to the neighborhood, she mentioned the dialog with gamers was changing into poisonous and she or he known as for civility. Hallikainen advised Engadget she’d witnessed a surge in private assaults on builders and different gamers in boards and on social media.
Neighborhood members like Philip, the person behind the YouTube channel Metropolis Planner Performs, have been stunned to listen to the phrase “toxicity.” He told Engadget he is witnessed a rise in negativity and frustration from gamers, however not toxicity. For Philip and lots of different devoted Cities: Skylines gamers, the suggestions has been justified. They need Colossal Order to take accountability for the state of the discharge, say they’re sorry, and supply a plan to make things better going ahead. Possibly throw in some free in-game perks, too.
Collaboration with the neighborhood is what made the unique recreation so profitable, and the sequel might actually profit from crowdsourced enhancements. Hallikainen advised Engadget that working with content material creators and modders has helped direct the updates to Cities: Skylines II post-launch, and the studio nonetheless loves working with these gamers.
That is solely the start for Cities: Skylines II. Colossal Order intends to assist and develop the sport over the subsequent 10 years. The unique Cities: Skylines didn’t have the entire bells, whistles and mods when it first got here out in 2015, and the sequel is beginning in the same place. Colossal Order sees Cities: Skylines II as a recent basis, however its core neighborhood anticipated a extra full expertise from the leap — particularly individuals who paid $90 for the Final Version.
We’ve seen titles like No Man’s Sky and Cyberpunk 2077 overcome tough launches to turn into beloved video games down the road, and Colossal Order has a stable monitor file in relation to long-term assist. Nonetheless, choices like early entry and paid betas exist for a cause. On the very least, gamers ought to know whether or not they’re spending cash to play a brand new recreation, or to assist end it.
Now taking part in
I’ve been taking part in Persona 3 Reload, and now that embargo has lifted, I can say it is nice. In any other case, my quest to hit Grandmaster in Overwatch 2 continues unabated.
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