VGamingNews

VGamingNews Headlines – 9th March 2021

9 March, 2021 - 5:24 pm by
About 7 mins to read

Well, well, well. Today has been an eventful day in the world of video games hasn’t it? Microsoft officially closed on their deal to buy Zenimax Media and all of the game studios operating under the Bethesda name. Tales of Arise rises from no where and there’s a few sneaky teasers for new games coming soon. Let’s have a look at the day in video games.

  • Bethesda and Microsoft are now official
  • Tales of Arise Comes back to life
  • Lost Words: Beyond The Page Comes To Consoles
  • V1 Interactive closes after 5 years
  • Pile Up! Box by Box Releases This Month
  • WWE SuperCard Celebrates 25 Years Of Stone Cold
  • Mozart meets puzzle game

Bethesda and Microsoft are now official

After months of waiting, and just 24 hours after the EU approved the deal, Microsoft have completed the purchase of Zenimax Media Inc. This means Bethesda Softworks, id Software, Arkane Studios, Machine Games, Zenimax Online, Tango Gameworks, Roundhouse Studios and Alpha Dog Games all fall under Microsoft’s game division.

For the short term projects already announced sure as Deathloop, there will be no change. However, in a blog post by Xbox head, Phil Spencer, some future projects will only be playable on Xbox and PC and the majority of earlier titles will shortly be added to the Game Pass offering. We have no information on what games these will be, but we’d put money on the long in development, Starfield to be one of them.

We’ve said it before – we’re not fans of larger corporations swallowing game studios, and while it can be argued that Bethesda and the other studios were already owned by a massive publisher, it still feels like the fewer independent companies there are, the fewer new experiences gamers will have. We’ll just have to wait and see what the future brings.

Tales Of Arise Gets A New Teaser

Out of nowhere, Bandai Namco have casually uploaded a new teaser trailer for the long gestating Tales Of Arise. Not only this, but they’ve promised more information in the coming weeks about the game.

The next game in the popular Tales series has gone quiet since it was first announced at E3 2019 with a vague release date of 2020. When 2020 actually happened, this was delayed but has remained quiet ever since, except for the occasional “development is progressing nicely” statements. Now it appears the game is getting a re-reveal in the next few weeks.

Tales Of Arise was scheduled to release on PC, PS4 & Xbox One, however it would be safe to assume the delay has allowed time for PS5 & Series X|S versions. We’ll let you know when we hear more.

Lost Words: Beyond The Page Makes The Jump To Consoles & Steam In April

Modus Games have announced they are bringing the critically acclaimed 2D Adventure game Lost Words: Beyond The Page from Stadia to Steam, Switch PlayStation 4 & Xbox One on 6th April. The story focus’s on Izzy a girl who is struggling with the grief of loss and turns to her diary to create a fantastical world to help her cope.

Developed by Sketchbook Games and written by Rhianna Pratchett, Lost Words: Beyond The Page has picked up a fair few Indie awards in the last year. It’s great to see the game get a wider audience and we can’t wait to dive in. A demo of the game is already available on Steam so if you’re interested you can check it out now.

V1 Interactive Closes After 5 Years

Sadly, V1 Interactive – the team behind Disintergration is closing after 5 years. The studio was originally set up by Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto in 2014. They’ve only managed one game in that time but had big plans for the shooter to become a game akin to Destiny.

Unfortunately dwindling player numbers forced the online multiplayer offline in November – 5 months after the game’s launch. It’s sad to see a young company go out only after one game, however Lehto is supporting his employees through the transition period, giving them as much notice as possible before the doors were officially closed. We sincerely hope they all land on their feet.

Pile Up! Box by Box Gets March Release Date

Pile Up! Box by Box is a cute adventure/puzzle game that will be coming to PC on 18th March with the console versions arriving in Summer. Developed by French developers Seed by Seed and published by HandyGames, this 4 player co-op game has you solving puzzles, going on an adventure to complete quests and playing mini games all in a 3D papercraft world.

The game looks utterly adorable and the promise of a 4 player, easy-going adventure where you play as a cardboard box, is something we’re eager to try out. Luckily the game is out in a few weeks on Steam so we don’t have long to wait.

WWE SuperCard Celebrates 25 Years Of Stone Cold Saying So

Available for iOS and Android, WWE SuperCard by 2K Games has released content in celebration of the 25th anniversary of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s WWE debut. Throughout March, there will be new items and events, such to be unlocked, including the Texas Rattlesnakes’ iconic jean shorts and more.

We wanted to highlight this for two reasons. One because of the headline and secondly, if Stone Cold says you should check out the card battling game on the App Store or Google Play, then that’s what you should do!

Mozart Requiem Comes To PS4 & Switch In October

A rather interesting looking game that caught our attention today is Mozart Requiem, a 3D puzzle game starring the famous composer as he explores the streets of Venice in 1788.  Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, is the target of a terrible conspiracy and the composer must unravel a trail of forbidden secrets to uncover the mystery.

Mozart Requiem features puzzles based on the musician’s famous works. Could he usurp Professor Layton as the old-timey crime stopper? We’ll just have to see when HR Games & GS2 Games brings Mozart Requiem to Switch and PS4 in October.