News team, assemble!
Welcome back to another weekend, drink it in. And the end of the week can only mean that it’s time for yet another roundup of all the gaming news of the past five days. So, get yourself a cup of tea, get back into bed, relax, and catch up with the biggest stories of the week.
Nintendo Direct Cancelled after an earthquake
A devastating earthquake in Hokkaido, Japan which – at the time of writing – has taken 18 lives, left the country reeling and it was amid this disaster that Nintendo ruled to cancel their Direct show which had originally been scheduled for 11 pm on Thursday (UK time).
The presentation was set to run for 25 minutes, showcasing new Switch and 3DS announcements. But following the earthquake, Nintendo planned to reschedule the Direct show but has since postponed it indefinitely, according to Kotaku. And it was following the originally postponed show that we got a handful of announcements for the Switch all of which seem to have been planned to be announced during Nintendo Direct, coming out under the radar instead.
First was the announcement that there’s a Mega Man 11 demo available on the Switch before its full release on October 2. We then learnt that Final Fantasy 15 has arrived on PS4 and Xbox, with the mobile game also planned for a Switch release later this year. And finally, 2K announced that Civilization VI will be arriving on Switch on November 16.
It seems like the announcements were difficult to postpone with publishers having to let the chips fall where they may. Nintendo has since announced each title and more on their Twitter as the company returns to some normality following the events in Japan.
Geralt’s role for the Witcher TV Show has been cast
Netflix confirmed that British actor Henry Cavill, best known for his work as Superman in Man of Steel and Batman vs. Superman, will play Geralt of Rivia in the TV adaptation of CDProjekt Red’s RPG, which is scheduled for some time in 2020.
The actor, who released the news on his Instagram, is apparently a big fan of the series and he seems appropriately excited by the role if his… Netflix account is anything to go by.
We don’t know much about what the show will entail, though a blurb for the show has been updated on Netflix, describing it as, “a mutated monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts.” I don’t know about you, but it sounds like we’re getting a coming-of-age teen drama starring The Witcher, and I can’t wait. Oh, apparently, that isn’t the case.
Eight new teams join the Overwatch League
The Overwatch League, which you might remember recently crowned their first world champions with the London Spitfires (woo! London!), is set to be increased to 20 teams after eight new teams were introduced to the league.
Along with a new team representing Washington, we’ll also see Overwatch teams in Vancouver, Toronto, Paris, and Chinese cities Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Guangzhou, according to reports from Dot Esports.
The highest amount paid for the new batch of teams was £46 million ($60 million) and when you compare that to the £15 million spent on teams during the League’s first season, it’s easy to see how quickly the prices of players and other fees have inflated after the recent Overwatch hype in eSports.
The league is currently off-season and going through their transfer window, which is supposed to close in October but when exactly the second season will begin isn’t yet known.
Pearl Abyss set to buy EVE Online Developers
Black Desert Online developers Pearl Abyss are nearing the purchase of CCP Games, the team behind equally popular MMO EVE Online.
There’s no word yet about when any deal would be finalised but Pearl Abyss has already stated that all future development of EVE would stay firmly in the hands of CCP – something that many EVE players were worried would change if the team were bought up.
Other than that there’s not much to say on the matter. Hopefully, Pearl abyss’ stance on development of EVE resting independantly with CCP is something that’ll ease concerns for fans of both games.
And Finally… Overkill’s The Walking Dead Closed Beta Announced
The upcoming survival horror adaptation of The Walking Dead is set for a closed beta on October 8 for PC. Players who pre-ordered the game will be guaranteed an invite, with standard edition pre-orders getting you a single beta code and deluxe edition pre-orderers snagging four keys to share with friends.
The closed beta announcement came during a livestream of the Underpass, which was on show at Gamescom but if you missed it, have a watch here.
Having been delayed twice since its original reveal back in 2016, Overkill’s The Walking Dead is not set for a 2018 release for PC, PS4, and Xbox.
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