Spring is around the corner and the gaming news keeps pouring in. This week was a big one, with silly Star Wars memes about a Chilean beer ad, Fortnite leaks, Persona 3 Reload DLC news, and a huge, new conspiracy theory running rampant throuhg the industry.
Notably, we also lost Dragon Ball Z creator Akira Toriyama this week. The beloved artist passed away at age 68, and the anime community and beyond is in mourning.
Click through to read all the biggest news of the week.
Late last month, one of the company’s consultants discovered a Steam group dedicated to “detecting” games that Sweet Baby Inc. has worked on. The purpose? To encourage people to avoid those games because the group had deemed SBI was pushing a “woke” agenda by working toward greater diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Steam group now has more than 100,000 followers and its own Discord that boasts nearly 2,000 members. But this ire against Sweet Baby Inc. (and DEI initiatives in general) isn’t new—an October 2023 KiwiFarms post shares similar sentiments, stating that the company’s involvement in Remedy’s award-winning 2023 action game Alan Wake 2 was “possibly one of the biggest scandals in gaming history.” - Alyssa Mercante Read More
Over the years, Fortnite has done it all. It’s gone to sea, war, space, alternate timelines, and the end (and subsequent reboot) of the world. Most importantly, it recently hosted a Lady Gaga takeover. With its upcoming season 5 though, Fortnite is taking a classical approach to its theme and venturing to the land of Greek mythology. - Moises Taveras Read More
It turns out that Persona 3 Reload, a remake of the original game released earlier this year, will be getting its much-requested DLC “The Answer” after all. As part of today’s Xbox Partner Preview, Atlus announced that the DLC, called “Episode Aigis,” is releasing in September as part of Persona 3 Reload’s expansion pass, which, to be completely honest, is really annoying. - Moises Taveras Read More
The internet is obsessed with South American beer ads that were sneakily edited into Star Wars movies in the early 2000s, and has started sticking the beverage’s infectious jingle into other famous films. If you’ve been wondering why your timeline is covered in Cerveza Cristal jokes, here’s why. - Zack Zwiezen Read More
Mass Effect’s original Normandy crew is reuniting. No, not in the upcoming fifth Mass Effect game (probably, hopefully), but in a new tabletop game that will set up to four players on a new mission during the events of Mass Effect 3. - Kenneth Shepard Read More
Every Pokémon fan has dreamt of riding one of the series’ monsters instead of using more mundane methods of transportation. Cars, trains, boats, and planes are just not as cool as riding a Pokémon friend to get where you need to go. Well, Toyota has made at least one rideable Pokémon a reality, but it’s unlikely any of us will get to ride this real-life version of Pokémon Violet mascot Miraidon. - Kenneth Shepard Read More
Akira Toriyama, the creator of the Dragon Ball franchise and character designer for video games like Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest, has died at the age of 68. - Kenneth Shepard Read More
Another day, another batch of new and old games are coming to Xbox’s popular Game Pass subscription service. This time around, Xbox is bringing one of 2023’s best shooters to the Game Pass library as well as a great remake, a fantastic Remedy-developed adventure, a new baseball game, and more. - Zack Zwiezen Read More
In recent years, developers have faced more and more harassment and toxic behavior from people who say they love games but seem more interested in yelling about how studios are lazy or how everything is “woke” in 2024. And one Sony studio developer has a message to all the gamers out there, telling them to relax and not suspect the worst, adding: “We’re just human beings.” - Zack Zwiezen Read More
Long before I sat down in a theater to watch it, I knew I was going to love Dune: Part Two, Denis Villeneuve’s second film in his take on the epic 1965 sci-fi novel from Frank Herbert. I’ve read the first book several times, finished the subsequent sequels, caught several viewings of David Lynch’s Dune, and even watched Jodorowsky’s Dune, the documentary about a failed first attempt to translate the novel to screen. - Alyssa Mercante Read More