MultipleDark Soulsgames are taken offline due to a potential security threat, while Raven Software QA developers are ending their strike as they form a union, in this week’s news. Game Rant has compiled some of the biggest gaming news stories from this past week together into a concise post for fans and enthusiasts to stay up to date on the most important events in the industry per week. Highlighting the most relevant stories, this list is not inherently and totally objective, and will not contain every news story this week. Rather, this is intended for gaming fans who want a quick rundown on the largest/most impactful stories that occurred in the last week in games.
In this week’sgaming news, all of theDark Soulsgames PvP functionality has been taken offline on PC due to a potential vulnerability that could compromise players' PCs. Raven Software QA developers will be ending their strike as they begin to unionize, but Activision Blizzard has not recognized the union formally. Respawn Entertainment and EA have announced three newStar Warsprojects are in development at theApex Legendsdeveloper. An independent investigation into Ubisoft Singapore yielded a surprisingly positive result of the developer regarding workplace harassment. All that and more in this week’s biggest news in the gaming industry.
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Dark Souls Games Taken Offline Due to Security Issue
In the leadup toElden Ring’s release,several of theDark Soulsgames' multiplayer servers had to be taken down for maintenancedue to a potentially dangerous exploit discovered. As reported by Dexerto, a member of theDark Soulscommunity (@SkeleMann) discovered a new vulnerability that affects allDark Soulsgames' online functionality. As described by SkeleMann, the issue could potentially lead to hackers gaining access to players' PCs directly, stealing login information, bricking players' rigs entirely, or otherwise executing programs in the background.
FromSoftware caught wind of this vulnerability, and has since temporarily shut down the game’s servers in response. Announced on the officialDark SoulsTwitter, servers forDark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition,Dark SoulsRemastered,Dark Souls 2, andDark Souls 3have been “temporarily deactivated” to address the security vulnerability on the PC platform. Console servers remain online, as the security threat does not apply there, but PC players are still in the dark for now as FromSoftware investigates.
Raven Strike Ends as Employees Move to Unionize
Following the vote to unionize, members of the QA department on strike at Raven Software have moved to end their strike as of Saturday, January 22. Organizational changes are in process, as Raven Software management assured QA employees that they are working towards integrating QA more closely with the development team. That being said,Activision Blizzard has not willingly recognized or come to terms with the unionizationof QA developers at Raven, despite attempting to make a deal.
Raven Software’s QA staff had been striking for weeks in response to multiple layoffs affecting the quality assurance department. Activision Blizzard management was allegedly looking into a restructuring of the QA team’s pay in an effort to improve the livelihood’s of QA developers. However, that came at the cost of30+ contracted workers being laid off at Raven to support others, with many current and former employees lambasting the decision by management. For now, the ABK union will now seek a vote to unionize among ABK staff, with the National Labor Relations Board overseeing the election.
Respawn Entertainment Working On Three Upcoming Star Wars Games
In a surprise announcement from a press release, EA and Lucasfilm Games confirmedthree newStar Warsgames are in development at Respawn Entertainment. After the success ofStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and the negative reception ofStar Wars Battlefront 2andBattlefield 2042, DICE is not working on aBattlefrontsequel. Three new projects were announced: The sequel toStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, a newStar WarsFPS, as well as new strategy game developed in collaboration with Bit Reactor.
EA had previously mentioned aStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Ordersequel was coming in a quarterly financial report, but this announcement confirms the existence of the Jedi action/adventure game’s sequel.TheStar WarsFPS is being helmed by game director Peter Hirschmann, who worked on the originalBattlefrontfranchise, as well asMedal of Honor: Above and Beyond, and may be inspired byStar Wars: Dark Forces. TheStar Warsstrategy game is being co-developed with Respawn and Bit Reactor, a studio made up of Firaxis veterans (XCOM).
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Independent Report of Ubisoft Singapore Finds Sufficient Workplace Practice
After previous reports that Ubisoft Singapore was one of many studios from the French publisher accused of management harassment, an independent report highlights that the studio handled these reports sufficiently. Singapore’s The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practice (TAFEP),an independent company investigating Ubisoft Singapore, found that “the Singapore studio has a structured system in place to handle misconduct reports, and that previous reports were dealt with appropriately.” The investigation also concluded that pay difference was constrained solely to difference in experience and seniority, rather than gender difference.
New Star Wars 1313 Unearthed, Boba Fett Gameplay
Though the footage has been around for a while, only recently wasnew gameplay discovered forStar Wars 1313, the canceled action/adventureStar Warsgame in development at LucasArts in 2012. The newly found gameplay specifically focuses on players taking control of Boba Fett, exploring the undercity of Coruscant as they chase a bounty. The gameplay was clearly a work-in-progress at the time, likely serving as a vertical slice for the game at E3, but the game was cancelled when LucasArts closed in 2013.
Blizzard Announces New Survival Game In ‘All-New Universe’
Among the controversy surrounding Activision Blizzard currently, the studio also posted a new job opening that coincides with the announcement of a new IP as well.Activision Blizzard is working a new survival gamebased in an entirely new “universe.” The only details on the game was concept art posted alongside the job posting, as well as a description of “a vast realm of possibility, waiting to be explored.” Other than that, this new survival game remains “unannounced” at this time.
Crysis is Coming Back, Crysis 4 In Development
After a brief leak beforehand,Crytek has announced that a newCrysisgame is in development. After 2013’sCrysis 3, the series has been dormant for a long time, but the new teaser trailer confirms thatCrysis 4is the next entry. Details are vague on the sequel; only that Crytek states thatCrysis 4is “in the early stages of development,” and that there’s no confirmed reveal or release date. For now,Crysisfans have a new entry to look forward to in the far future.
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