TGO Daily | Thursday July 22, 2021 | PES / eFootball
In the news: PES gives itself a facelift, two games are having their servers shut down after little time up, and Ubisoft still dealing with allegations of misconduct.
TGO Daily | Thursday July 22, 2021
✏️ From the Author
I got to play just a tiny bit of Pokémon Unite today! I have off Friday, so I’ll have more time this weekend to get some more games in. I may do a ‘First Impressions’ on it for Monday if news is a bit slower.
My biggest worry is with microtransactions and how impactful they may be in the game. I don’t have enough time in it yet to make a judgement on it, but it does frustrate me that it’s something I have to think about. I wish these companies would just keep everything cosmetic for microtransactions.
The game I did get in was fun though. I didn’t quite know what I was doing, but we won and I got MVP in it! Which goes to show you that sometimes the best strategy really is hitting buttons while laughing and saying, “I’m not following this 100%, but we’re winning and that means whatever I’m doing is professional levels of great.”
Until next time,
Brandon
PES Renames and Reinvents Itself
The closest competitor to FIFA is changing itself up pretty radically. PES is rebranding itself now as eFootball. However, they’re changing up more than just their name.
eFootball will entirely renovate itself along with its name, starting with moving to a digital only, free-to-play game. Konami says that they will be using the Unreal Engine and overhauling graphics and animation along with the aforementioned changes.
The game will be launching with nine playable teams in exhibition matches. They’ve already released a roadmap to show some of their future plans (online leagues, team building mode, tournaments, a battle-pass). Most notably, full crossplay between PC, consoles and mobile will be added by end of the year as well.
We do not have an exact release date yet, but sometime in the autumn is the current scope. It will be available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, mobile and PC.
One Punch Man & Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad Servers Shutting Down
With very little uptime for the both of them, two games will be shutting down their servers for good - One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows and Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad. Elite Squad is scheduled to close October 4th, 2021 and One Punch Man will close February 28, 2022.
These games are closing while pretty young still, with One Punch Man closing after 2 years and Elite Squad after only a year of existence. As OPM is on Steam, we can see pretty clearly why it’s closing - with all-time peak players at 586. As I write this article, there are only 6 players currently online playing it. We don’t have the same kind of data to review with the mobile game, Elite Squad, but with lukewarm reception it’s not too surprising to see it go.
It’s sad to see games close, especially ones so young, but things have to be profitable to keep running and it seems like these have become unsustainable. If you’re one of the few who player either of these games, make sure to get in what time you have left before they close for good.
When Will Change Come?
Kotaku spoke in a article about the not-often heard from Ubisoft Singapore and its sexual misconduct and bullying accusations - I highly recommend you give it a read when you have the time.
Many problems revolve around Ubisoft Singapore, and as one of the lesser known studios - who has been working on Skull & Bones for 8 years - we hear about them less often than the bigger divisions of Ubisoft. However, multiple developers have said it’s one of the more toxic studios to work at for Ubisoft.
One problem is racial disparity in leadership roles - usually the highest roles being granted to French or French Canadians, as opposed to local Singaporeans. One developer said that, “We have a joke: there’s a French multiplier and there’s a skin color multiplier.” Ubisoft declined to answer any specific questions Kotaku had relating to the disparity, outside of a stereotypical press release statement.
Beyond the inequity, there are multiple sexual misconduct accusations that have been made. One female developer dealing with a coworker who would come up behind her and massage her shoulders without consent. Another developer dealing with, then Producer Hugues Ricour, trying to convince her to kiss him. There’s a whole mess surrounding Ricour, who was eventually pulled out of Singapore, with sexual misconduct and bullying accusations.
A former developer expressed their frustrations with Ubisoft:
“They love to say when you first join the studio, you either sink or swim. And it’s like, that’s ridiculous. It’s got nothing to do with sink or swim. It’s got nothing to do with your ability to do your job. It’s more about your ability to be able to deal with these people.”
Brandon’s Thoughts: It’s hard to sit here and write about all this. Not only because of how disheartening and gross it is, but because there’s no way to do these stories justice in these short paragraphs. I hope you’re able to find the time to read the entire article so you can have a better grasp at what multiple developers say they’ve dealt with at this studio. If we’re seeing this happen at Singapore, are we to believe it’s the only studio at Ubisoft still dealing with this? It’s important we think of these things and continue to call them out so we can create an industry that’s accepting to all and makes for a safe environment for everyone to create the games we all love to play.
🔦 Article Spotlight
This article breaks down all the ownership and stakes Tencent has in the games industry. It’s staggering to see how much they have stake in and stokes cause to start thinking more seriously on consolidation of studios in the industry.
💡 Read More
Amazon responds after reports its MMO New World is bricking pricey RTX 3090 cards. They offer up two solutions to try and resolve the issue, though some say they’re still dealing with it.
Steam’s Big Picture Mode is being replaced by Steam Deck OS. This will make for a far more updated and smoother experience for those who still used Big Picture mode.
A new Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut trailer shows off the Iki Island expansion.
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Thanks for the read <3