🕹️ Blizzard in China

Good Morning. The Fallout TV show has arrived and is looking to be the next big video game adaptation hit, currently sitting at a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.

— Derek

MAIN QUEST: WoW returns to China

Blizzard's popular games, including World of Warcraft and Overwatch, are set to return to the Chinese market after being offline for over 15 months. The re-entry comes as a result of a renewed licensing agreement between Blizzard and its long-time partner NetEase, following the expiration of their previous deal in January 2023. The negotiations, spanning a year, have finally yielded a new agreement, with games expected to be available again in China starting this summer.

Chinese players can anticipate not only the return of familiar titles like World of Warcraft and Hearthstone but also the official availability of Diablo IV for the first time in the country. Additionally, Microsoft, Blizzard's parent company, has struck a separate deal with NetEase, signaling potential collaborations in bringing NetEase games to Xbox consoles and other platforms. Microsoft's CEO of Gaming, Phil Spencer, highlighted the significance of returning Blizzard's games to the Chinese market and expressed a commitment to expanding gaming accessibility globally. This move comes amidst China's regulatory crackdown on its online gaming industry, emphasizing the complexities and strategic importance of the gaming market in the region.

HUD

• 📅 Ubisoft has put out a new trailer and release date for its upcoming open-world Star Wars game, Star Wars Outlaws. The game is scheduled to arrive on August 30th and has already received some negative sentiment around its $100+ early access bundles.

• 💰 The Konami group announced it would be raising the base salary for employees in Japan in March of 2025. This is the third consecutive year that Konami has raised the base pay of its employees.

• 🧽 FuturLab, the studio behind The PowerWash Simulator, has been acquired by Miniclip. FuturLab will continue to have creative control over game development and studio operations.

MAJOR W

• 🆓 The Fallout TV series is now out on Prime Video, and Bethesda is looking to use the momentum to get people playing the series. Fallout 76 will be free through April 18th, and Fallout 4 will get updates for next-gen and PC on April 25th.

• 🧗 Mega Crit’s Slay the Spire is getting a sequel. Slay the Spire 2 was announced at the Triple-I Initiative with a teaser video. Notably, the game was moved off of Unity when the engine released its short-lived install fees.

F IN THE CHAT

• 📈 Electronic Arts is increasing the price of EA Play, its subscription service. The increase will go into effect May 10th and ranges from an additional $1/month to a $20/year increase depending on what tier you subscribe to.

• 👃 A woman in Japan claims to have left a local Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game because of the body odor coming from the other players. Konami updated its official rules in 2019 to address bad odor and hygiene, however, it does not appear to have fully solved the problem.

CAREER CORNER

• Strategic Partnerships Manager - Epic Games (Cary, NC)

• Director, Product Management (Games) - PlayStation (Bend, OR)

• Intern: Hardware Engineering (Summer 2024) - Rockstar Games (Los Angeles, CA)

HIVE MIND

Was this email forwarded to you?

Subscribe to Loading Screen today and turn your gaming knowledge up to 11!