Rinse and repeat

Good Morning. We’re officially into autumn. Time to cozy up on the couch with your favorite hot bevy and load up a game with some golden scenery.

Here’s a few autumn-inspired games to help set the mood.

— Jason Liu, Derek Neville

MAIN QUEST: AAA’s dilemma as told by Phil

As part of the Microsoft leaks, Phil Spencer (Head of Gaming) penned an email from a few years back that perfectly describes the predicament that AAA publishers find themselves in when it comes to new content. Spencer argues that AAAs are good at wringing out their existing IP but are inefficient at coming up with anything new. Here are the key points:

• AAAs stay relevant because of the sheer scale of production put into their titles.

• Given the scale, it’s too risky to spend big on something new — they’ll continue to lean on existing IP.

• To get around this issue, they’ll rent tried and true IP (e.g. Star Wars, Spiderman).

• Creating a distribution platform is key and most AAA’s failed to convert their physical retail dominance to online.

• Many valuable gaming franchises today are mostly from independents (Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft).

Step back: The power dynamic has shifted to online distributors and underlines just how valuable Game Pass and Steam are and why Epic continues to invest deeply in its Game Store.

HUD

• 🍎 Here’s every major Patch 3 change for Baldur’s Gate. Mac users can finally join in the fun.

• 🚶‍♂️ Unity walks back some of their proposed changes — 2.5% revenue share option instead of fixed fee. Now, time to build back trust.

• ⛱ Resident evil iPhone port may drop before Halloween.

MAJOR W

• 👏 Diablo IV completed by blind gamer without sighted assistance.

• 🔍 Voice Actor claims there’s 2 hours of content no one has found yet in BG3.

• 🌌 Cameron Monaghan, who plays Cal Kestis in the Star Wars: Jedi video games, recently confirmed that a third game in the series is in the works.

F IN THE CHAT

• 📶 Payday 3 is online-only, and that caused issues with its launch as players ran into problems with matchmaking and server stability issues, especially around peak times.

• 📉 Another subsidiary of the Embracer Group has been hit with layoffs, with a reported 26 employees of Beamdog being let go.

• 🧑‍⚖️ Fans are launching a class action lawsuit against Aspyr Media and Saber Interactive around the canceled DLC on Switch for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2.

THIS DAY IN GAMING HISTORY

On this day in 2007, Bungie released Halo 3, continuing the story of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. Halo 3 went on to receive critical acclaim, winning multiple Game of the Year awards, and holds a 94 score on Metacritic. Halo 3 was the best-selling video game of 2007, with over 4.8 million units sold.

CAREER CORNER

• Director of Games Publicity (Video Games and Tabletop) - Skybound Entertainment (Los Angeles)

• Marketing Manager - IGN Entertainment (Los Angeles)

• Community Manager - Gearbox Entertainment (Frisco)

HIVE MIND

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