Druckmann and the Arrowhead

It was a long holiday weekend here in the States, but we are back at it with the latest news for you this morning. Naughty Dog Studio’s head is misquoted by his parent company, while Arrowhead Studios has a new CEO. All that and much more. Let’s go!

What Neil Druckmann actually said

Neil Druckmann is the studio head and head of creative at Naughty Dog. He’s worked on the Uncharted franchise and The Last of Us. So, when he speaks about the future of games, people listen. Unless it’s Naughty Dog’s owner, Sony.

In an interview for Sony’s blog, Druckmann was quoted as saying his studio’s next game “could redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming.” 

Druckmann later took to Twitter to say he was misquoted. “In editing my rambling answers in my recent interview with Sony, some of my words, context, and intent were unfortunately lost. Well, here’s the full long rambling answer for the final question about our future game.” From Twitter:

Druckmann also discussed AI in game development, saying “with AI, your creativity sets the limits,” and that it will “push the boundaries of storytelling.

Changes for Arrowhead Studio

Arrowhead Studio, makers of the 2024 hit Helldivers 2 is making some changes. 

Co-founder Johan Pilestedt stepped down last week as CEO to focus solely on making games and creative decisions. He will be replaced by Shams Jorjani, a longtime executive at Paradox Interactive. 

Pilestedt stated some ambitious goals for his company in a recent interview with GameIndustry.biz: 

We pride ourselves on being an independent studio. We have to see what the future holds, but there’s nothing in the plans where we want to be acquired by somebody. I want to see how high we can fly. And bringing Shams on board, we have a good potential to realize that future of turning into the next From Software or Blizzard.

The entire interview is worth a read.

Side quests (more stories worth reading)

🔫 Fortnite kicked off its latest season. Check out everything new in Wrecked.

🕹️ The “longest-running console war in history” is over, as Atari buys Intellivision.

🚫 A new study shows how players cope with harassment in online games. Mute, ignore and report round out the top three. 

😥 IGN purchased Gamer Network, which includes Eurogamer, GamesIndustry.biz, Rock Paper Shotgun and VG247. Within hours, some of the top gaming reporters and editors were laid off. Related read: Game Over or Continue? The Uncertain Future of Video Game Journalism.

🇸🇦 Meanwhile, Rolling Stone launched a new gaming vertical for their site, with help from the Saudi wealth fund. This is not the first time Rolling Stone had a dedicated gaming section. 

⚖️ Activision and Meta are being sued by families of Uvalde school shooting victims.

🎮 Sony shows off a possible future PlayStation controller in a prototyping exercise.

👾 A new DOOM game is coming - DOOM: The Dark Ages will be revealed at the Xbox showcase next month, according to Inside Gamer. Also, watch for a Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 preview at the Xbox show. 

📱 PlayStation is working on a new platform for free-to-play mobile games.

⚽ 2K reportedly plans to launch a new FIFA game in 2024.

📉 Despite strong sales, board game maker Asmodee wrote down the value of its assets by more than $620 million. Thanks Embracer Group. 

👋 Speaking of Embracer, CFO and deputy CEO Johan Ekström is stepping down.

⛴️ Dave the Diver has new Godzilla DLC, but it will only be around for a limited time.

♟️ Don’t Starve is becoming a board game. Read an interview with the designers. 

🤖 PlayStation executives say AI is important to younger generations who want “personalization across everything.”

🌌 Keith David is taking over for the late Lance Reddick as the voice of Commander Zavala in Destiny 2. 

🚗 Director George Miller didn't like the 2015 Mad Max game, and says he wants Hideo Kojima to make one.

🤖 Microsoft plans to integrate AI into games. Copilot will watch you play Minecraft, and tell you what you’re doing wrong. There’s always a critic. 

🎶 The Ins And Outs Of Being An Indie Video Game Composer.

🚀 You can mod Starfield to look like a Star Wars Mandalorian game. 

🪦 What happens to your Steam library when you die? The games will likely be stuck in legal limbo. 

⛔ Blizzard cuts one of Overwatch 2's last PvE modes after only four months because it “hasn't resonated with players in the ways that we hoped.”

🗝️ The Kingdom Hearts franchise is coming to Steam on June 13. 

🎮 From Polygon: schedule a gamer night — it’s life-changing.

New Releases this week:

5/27: The Rogue Prince of Persia (PC)
5/28: MultiVersus(PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
5/29: Nine Sols (PC)
5/29: Trash of the Titans (PC)
5/31: F1 24 (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)

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