The BIGGEST Gaming News Stories Of The Week

MojoPlays News Roundup August 2nd, 2024

Welcome to MojoPlays News Roundup where we bring you the biggest gaming news of the week.

August Game Releases and PSPlus Lineup

August is looking like the beginning of the end for gamers’ free time for the rest of the year. In addition to numerous smaller titles including the remaster of Star Wars Bounty Hunter, players will get another chance to visit a galaxy far, far away on August 30th with the release of Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws. The first true open world Star Wars game, players will take control of Kay Vess, a Han Solo-type scoundrel hoping to secure one last big score to pay off a crime syndicate that’s after her. Set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, players will explore multiple planets and be able to align themselves with different factions while pulling jobs with their animal companion Nix at their side.

Star Wars Outlaws might close out the month but just before players are exploring the galaxy, they’ll finally get their hands on Game Science’s highly anticipated release Black Myth: Wukong on August 20th. Based on the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West, Black Myth: Wukong has been on gamers’ radar since its stunning reveal back in 2020. Full of spectacular boss fights and lightning fast combat as well as a gorgeous art style and creature designs, Black Myth: Wukong is shaping up to be an easy Game of the Year contender for many fans based on early previews alone.

Finally Sony has revealed their lineup of PlayStation Plus games for the month of August. Star Wars fans continue to win this month with LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga which retells the entirety of the nine films in the main series from Episode 1 to Episode 9. We were huge fans of this release back in 2022 and it shouldn’t be missed by either Star Wars or LEGO fans. Next up is Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach, which ditches the security room and has players surviving the animatronic horrors of Freddy Fazbears’s Mega Pizzaplex with none other than Freddy himself. And lastly, fans of gothic 2D action platformers will want to check out Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights where you guide young Lily through the decaying horrors of her kingdom and the spirits of the Knights sworn to protect her as she searches for sanctuary.

Yakuza Live Action

Gamer’s have certainly been spoiled for choice when it comes to faithful adaptations of beloved series, and Amazon is bringing the wildly popular Yakuza series to the small screen. Premiering on October 24th with 3 episodes, the series will loosely follow the same events as the first game. It features protagonist Kiryu after his release from a 10 year prison sentence and the consequences of his actions that put him there. The Yakuza, or Like A Dragon series as it’s known today, is widely known not just for its representation of Japanese culture and recreation of numerous Japanese districts, but also for its over-the-top fight scenes which the series creators promise will be a large part of the live action adaptation. Amazon and HBO MAX have both seen resounding successes of their adaptations of the Fallout series and The Last of Us respectively, which also led to a huge boost in those game’s sales and renewed interest. The same will likely be true of Like A Dragon when the series premieres in the fall.

Braid Anniversary Underperforms

Jonathan Blow is arguably responsible for initiating the indie boom of the late 2000s as well as popularizing Xbox Live with his wildly successful time bending first title Braid in 2008. Braid was a huge financial success for Jonathan Blow and he used that money to create his equally masterful follow-up The Witness in 2016. However, with the recent release of the Anniversary Edition of Braid in May of this year, Blow isn’t hopeful for his company’s future after its disappointing sales numbers. With updated visuals and sound effects as well as a highly detailed behind the scenes look at the game’s creation, Blow confirmed that the game has sold incredibly poorly compared to what they needed to keep his game company Thekla, Inc open for future game development. However, he points out he is still incredibly proud of what he and his team have managed to accomplish.

Bungie Layoffs

In what sadly feels like a weekly trend, Bungie just announced that they would be laying off around 220 employees.155 of them are being integrated into other roles within Sony Interactive Entertainment, and roughly 40 more would begin work under a new “sub-studio” to create a new game directly for Sony. This comes as yet another blow to the company that already suffered layoffs back in October of 2023 after the delay of its latest expansion for Destiny 2, The Final Shape. While many were surprised by the news, some employees reportedly found out via social media about the layoffs and were caught completely off guard by the news. Bungie CEO Pete Parsons reaffirmed there were still roughly 850 developers working on Destiny 2 as well as the company’s upcoming game Marathon, which is a reboot of one of the developer’s first titles. The news was met with resounding resentment from both the developers who lost their jobs as well as the gaming community who placed much of the blame on Parsons himself. He promised there would be no layoffs after the company’s acquisition in 2022, clearly not true. Fans are also frustrated with Sony and their recent unsuccessful push for live service games.