Top 10 Gaming News of the day: 25th January
Here's the latest news from the gaming and esports world.
1. The Last of Us Episode 3 trailer reveals Bill and Frank
The Episode 3 preview which released on Monday, focuses on the characters of Bill and Frank.Nick Offerman, can be seen as Bill, aiming a shotgun at Frank, who seems to have just landed on the former’s compound. In an interview Naughty Dog President and co-creator of HBO’s The Last of Us series, Neil Druckmann revealed that Bill and Frank’s story will be a bit different. Bill’s story has reportedly been altered to explore his relationship with Frank.
2. GTA Online is facing issues with Security Exploits
Grand Theft Auto Online for PC is currently facing problems with security exploits. Players are sharing evidence of the game's security breaches. According to some users, these new exploits allow cheaters to remotely add, remove, and edit statistics. This problem has been addressed by Rockstar Games and is expected to be resolved soon.
3. Apex Legends: New Celestial Sunrise Collection Event is now live
The Celestial Sunrise which premiered on January 24, 2023, will run until February 7, 2023. It is the third collection event for Season 15 and celebrates the Chinese New Year. New additions include a brand new game mode called LTM: Hardcore Royale which will be available to Account Levels 20 and above. New cosmetics, and bundles have also been added to the game for a limited time.
4. Destiny 2 servers were down for more than half a day
Destiny 2 players complained of losing their progress in certain Triumphs, Seals and Catalysts. Bungie took the servers down on 245th Jan. While hotfixes were rolled out later in the day, and the Rumble Crucible mode is now available, as was last informed, their investigation into “Evidence Board” is still on.
5. The Washington Post is shutting down its gaming division
The Washington Post has imposed layoffs on Tuesday, just a week after owner Jeff Bezos visited the Washington DC office. The layoffs were announced by Fred Ryan, publisher and CEO of the media outlet. Among the layoffs is Launcher which is The Washington Post’s gaming and esports section.
6. Overwatch World Cup 2023 has revealed the 36 participating countries
The Overwatch World Cup is set to return this year, as was announced by Blizzard last year in December. In the latest update, Blizzard has revealed the countries that will be competing in the 2023 Overwatch World Cup which includes India. The schedule, format, registration rules and other details have also been revealed.
7. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum delayed
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum release date has been moved. This delay means the game will be released sometime after April and before September 2023. It will release in the first half of the financial year 2023. Developed by Daedalic, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was originally destined for a release in September 2021.
8. Microsoft summons Sony PlayStation to its defense against the FTC lawsuit
Xbox's parent company Microsoft has subpoenaed Sony Interactive Entertainment to build its case in their defense in the US Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit. The official filings state the intention for the same as “to negotiate and thereby eliminate or narrow any issues that need to be presented to the Court for resolution” between Microsoft and SIE. This information surfaced as Sony Interactive Entertainment moved for a one week extension period for its response to the subpoena.
9. GoldenEye 007, relaunches on Xbox Game Pass and Switch this January
The global launch of GoldenEye 007 is on January 27 for both Xbox Game Pass and Nintendo Switch. While Nintendo Switch is bringing back the Nintendo 64 game in all its originality, Xbox gamers can play GoldenEye 007 in 4K Ultra HD resolution. The game will be playable on both Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One via Xbox Game Pass. For the Nintendo Switch GoldenEye 007 is coming to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack tier on January 27th.
10. The Last of Us Season 2 is “pretty likely”
In an interview with BBC, Bella Ramsey who plays Ellie in The Last of Us HBO series has informed that, “If people keep watching, I think [a second season] is pretty likely. It's down to the guys at HBO." In that case, from the looks of things right now, we can safely prepare ourselves for a second season given that HBO’s The Last of Us have gone on to become one of the channel’s most popular shows ever, in just 2 episodes.