Author: Emil John

A former multiplayer lead developer at Bungie has shared his thoughts on the failure of modern skill-based matchmaking. Max Hoberman, former multiplayer lead at Bungie, took to Twitter/X to share his frustration with opinions that claim the Halo 2 and 3 skill-based matchmaking can’t work today. According to him, the failure of modern skill-based matchmaking is that it’s designed to maximize perfect match scenarios and minimize the others. When it’s working, a majority of games become evenly matched and stressful. He said that this is not fun for most players, as there’s no variability. Hoberman explained that what he implemented…

Epic Games claims that a clause in its contract with Sony prevents it from passing savings to PlayStation players. Tim Sweeney, Epic Games CEO, has reportedly stated that a particular clause in its contract with Sony prevents it from passing savings to PlayStation players. As per him, Epic cannot sell out of PlayStation at a lower price than it sells on PlayStation, referring to a most favored nations (MFN) clause in the contract with Sony. A similar clause had apparently been spotted earlier in a Sony contract during the Epic v. Apple trial. Google had suggested this was shady, as…

The announcement trailer for Sony Interactive Entertainment and Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is receiving downvotes from disappointed fans. Twitter user E3waitfor2020 has shared a screenshot of the likes/dislikes statistics for the announcement trailer for The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered on YouTube, according to which it has received over 60,000 downvotes as of November 18, 2023. It’s unclear how they obtained these figures, as only the favorable ‘like’ vote tally is available to YouTube users. If the statistics are indeed accurate, it would suggest that Naughty Dog fans are unhappy with the studio’s decision…

Xbox Game Studios and 343 Industries’ first-person shooter, Halo Infinite, has gained a total player count of over 30 million unique users as of early 2023. According to the Linkedin profile of Ben F., former Product and Insights Manager at 343 Industries, Halo Infinite had reached a total player count of over 30 million unique users as of January, 2023, which is when he parted ways with the studio. These statistics have likely seen a major surge since then, particularly after the arrival of Season 4 and 5 of the game’s multiplayer component. Ben led pre-launch analytic readiness on multiple…

The Steam currency in both Argentina and Turkey has been increased after the change from local currency to US Dollars, and many developers and publishers have yet to update prices. Today, the regional prices for on the Steam storefront in Argentine and Turkey were altered to reflect the change in currency to US Dollars. However, game are now priced higher across the board, and many game publishers and developers have yet to make any adjustments in this regard. This has made things confusing and disappointing for the Steam community in those regions. Steam Argentina/Turkey Local Currency vs US Dollar Price…

Sledgehammer Games will be testing non-disbanding multiplayer lobbies for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in a future game update. During an AMA with Sledgehammer Games on Reddit, a member of the community asked about the possibility of non-disbanding multiplayer lobbies making a return in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, stating that they would like to play with the same teammates and opponents. They suggested that it would also help in balancing the system currently in place, which disbands a lobby following a match. The developer responded by stating that it will be testing non-disbanding lobbies with a cohort…

Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie’s shared world shooter, Destiny 2, has hit its lowest player count in franchise history. Steam Database statistics have revealed that Destiny 2 has had its lowest player count in franchise history, hitting a 24 hour peak of 38,059 players. After a series of layoffs, problems at Bungie continue with the game losing a large number of users and not meeting its goals. As seen above, concurrent player count for Destiny 2 has dropped considerably from its all-time peak of 316,750 players to an all-time low of 38,059 players. Despite Lightfall contributing to the all-time record…

Solid Snake voice actor David Hayter has possibly hinted at the development of a Metal Gear Solid 4 port for modern platforms. David Hayer took to Twitter/X to share a photograph of himself standing next to a figure of old Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid 4. He stated that he “had a pretty cool meeting the other day”, suggesting that he may have been in talks with Konami to do voice overs for a possible Metal Gear Solid 4 port for modern consoles and PC. If a Metal Gear Solid 4 port for modern platforms is indeed in development,…

Sony Interactive Entertainment and Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered was reportedly developed by fresh hires, and the main team at the studio is working on an original title. Speaking in response to a tweet that criticized the lack of development of new IPs from Naughty Dog, VGC editor Jordan Miller stated that, based on what his source told him, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered was more of a project for new hires to get them up to speed with the development process at the studio. He added that game director Neil Druckmann and his…

Three additional Disney games have been rated for PS4 and PS5 in Taiwan, and they are all expected to arrive on PS Plus Premium as part of the Classics catalog. The Digital Game Self-Regulation Committee in Taiwan (via Gematsu) has rated three more Disney and Pixar games for the PS4 and PS5. The games are Disney/Pixar Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (PS1), Thrillville: Off the Rails (PSP), and Thrillville (PSP). Disney/Pixar Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (PS1) has received a ‘P’ rating, suggesting that it requires parental guidance. The rating of the three aforementioned games confirms that they will soon…