This week in video games: Bethesda reveals Fallout 76, and Fortnite and Pokemon head to the Nintendo Switch. Here’s our roundup of the week’s top gaming news stories.
PUBG lawsuits and patches
The latest twist in the ongoing battle royale soap opera has seen PUBG Corp. file a lawsuit against Epic Games. It accuses the Fortnite developer of copying aspects of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. It’s going to be an epic and unreal story, this.
On the battleground itself, the PC version of PUBG has received a significant update that introduces a raft of gameplay tweaks, with a focus on frag grenades, stun grenades, and molotovs. The Xbox One version will also be getting an extensive patch on Tuesday.
Fortnite is coming to Nintendo Switch
A snapped image of signage artwork for Nintendo’s E3 booth indicates that Fortnite will be coming to the Nintendo Switch. Our bet is on it being available to download right after Nintendo’s E3 presentation next week.
Elsewhere, the introduction of shopping carts to Fortnite has led to a glut of, admittedly amusing, videos. Polygon reports.
Bethesda reveals Fallout 76
Having entertained two million viewers with a 24-hour live stream of a test-card, Bethesda finally announced Fallout 76. The rather lovely trailer didn’t give much away, but subsequent reporting indicates that the game will be an online survival RPG. More will be revealed at Bethesda’s E3 media showcase.
Pokémon is coming to Nintendo Switch
It was a big week for Pokémon fans with news of three new games coming to the Nintendo Switch. The free-to-play Pokémon Quest is out now, and has already reached 1 million downloads. It will also be released on mobile at the end of the month.
This Autumn will also see the release of Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee, and Let’s Go Pikachu. The duo are HD remakes of the Game Boy’s Yellow blended with gameplay mechanics from Pokémon Go. If none of these are to your taste, a full next-gen RPG remains in development for release in 2019.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey revealed
The E3 leaks continue, with Ubisoft forced to pre-emptively reveal Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. The series appears to be heading to Greece in a game that looks to build on the success of the franchise’s moderate reinvention in Assassin’s Creed Origins. (Personally speaking, I still prefer Syndicate. Just saying.)
PlayStation Days of Play returns
Sony has announced that this year’s PlayStation Days of Play campaign will begin on June 8. The promotion will include discounts on games, merchandise, and PS Plus memberships.
A new special edition 500GB PS4 console will also be released to coincide with the promotion. It’s interesting. And by that I mean blue. And by that I mean gross.
FIFA 19 improved on Switch
EA’s Andrei Lazarescu has revealed that FIFA 19 on Nintendo Switch will see some graphical and performance improvements.
“The intent was never to have a one-off custom engine that were never going to touch again. It was to have that as a baseline and then build from there.”
This week also saw the release of the free FIFA 18 World Cup update on all platforms.
PES dispenser
Meanwhile, things aren’t looking so rosy over at Konami. Germany’s Borussia Dortmund has ‘prematurely terminated‘ its agreement with the Japanese publisher, meaning that the team won’t be featured in Pro Evolution Soccer 19. This follows the news that Konami has also lost the rights to the European Champions League. Recent leaks suggest that PES 19 will have some new leagues and official teams, however.
Star Citizen offers $27k DLC
Perhaps wanting to avoid the term micro-transactions, Cloud Imperium Games has released a new add-on pack for the work-in-progress Star Citizen that costs an almighty $27,000.
On your marks for Team Sonic Racing
Another E3 leak has prompted Sega to reveal that Team Sonic Racing will be coming to Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 later this year. The kart racer is being developed by Sumo Digital, who did solid work with 2012’s Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.
Atari and Intellivision return
The crowd funded pre-sale for the new Atari VCS console is now live on Indiegogo. It has so far raised $2.4 million, with the most basic console SKU costing $199. Our thoughts are with you, backers.
Meanwhile, Tommy Tallarico, yes that Tommy Tallarico, is behind an attempt to bring back another classic video games console, the Intellivision. Tallarico says:
“It was always my favorite system because the games were cutting edge, yet fun and simple to play so our entire family could enjoy them together. I find those important elements to generally be lacking from our industry with the current modern gaming consoles. Our goal is to change that by focusing on bringing all age groups and levels of gamers and non-gamers together while introducing new generations of people to the legacy success of the Intellivision brand.”
Capcom confirms Mega Man 11 release date
We’re still not sold on the art-style, but according to those who have played it, Mega Man 11 controls beautifully, and that’s the most important thing. Capcom has released more details on the game’s Double Gear system, and penciled in an October release date.
Nintendo to release Zelda 2DS
I’m glad I don’t collect limited edition 3DS hardware, but products like this super-cool, Hylian Shield Edition Nintendo 2DS XL could tempt me. It’s coming to exclusively to Gamestop on July 2, 2018, priced at $159.99.
And yes, liking this, but not the special edition PS4 does make me a hypocrite.
June’s Games with Gold and PS Plus games confirmed
Sony and Microsoft have announced this month’s PlayStation Plus and Xbox Games with Gold titles. XCOM 2 and Lego Indiana Jones 2 are the highlights.
Get ready for E3 2018
Are you set for E3? Here’s our guide to the times and dates of this year’s press conferences, media showcases, briefings, and video presentations.
Cook up a Hyrulian feast
If you’re like fellow Thumbsticks editor Tom Baines, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an adventure game wrapped inside a cooking simulator. If you have similar tastes, you might want to check out Hyrule Taste of the Wild, a new in-universe cooking fanzine featuring recipes taken from the game. There’s nothing like a Tough Meat-Stuffed Pumpkin to impress dinner guests.
Sunday reading…
Josh Wise continues his series of features exploring the intersection of film and video games. In this week’s Cut Scenes he compares at Bloodborne and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
We’d also like to extend a warm welcome to Andrew King, who pens his first Thumbsticks contribution by examining ‘The single-mindedness of Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy’.
Polygon have also published an excellent feature that looks at the turbulent history of Retro Studios, developers of the acclaimed Metroid Prime trilogy and the two most recent Donkey Kong Country games.
See you next week!
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