Indiana Jones and the search for Palworld

Are you currently taking a break from Palworld to read this? If so, you are likely not alone. Find out what Microsoft announced at their Developer Direct conference and the rest of the biggest stories from the week below. 

Xbox shows their hand for 2024

Microsoft held their Xbox Developer Direct this past week, announcing some big games, new trailers and release dates. Here are the top stories from the event:

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

The new Indiana Jones game was the highlight for most gamers. This first-person game is scheduled for a 2024 release. 

Avowed

Obsidian Entertainment showed off footage of their newest game, Avowed. The first-person fantasy RPG is scheduled to release in fall of 2024. 

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

The latest Hellblade game received a release date: May 21, 2024. 

A new Visions of Mana trailer

A look at the Mana game, which is planned to launch this summer. 

Other tidbits from Xbox Developer Direct include a look at Ara: History Untold, which is launching in fall of 2024 and a Quake 6 tease in the Indiana Jones trailer.

Have you heard of Palworld?

Palworld launched on Friday, and is already taking over the gaming world. The independent game sold 1 million copies in 8 hours, over 5 million copies in three days, and is close to breaking concurrent player records on Steam. 

Described as “Pokémon with guns,” Palworld combines aspects of many popular games, including building, survival, dungeons, farming and multiplayer play. In the game, you enter a world inhabited by Pals, colorful creatures of all shapes and sizes. These Pals can fight on your behalf or work in your factories and farms. 

Have you picked up Palworld yet? Let us know what you think of the game in the comments. You can also find Palworld on Steam.

Side quests (more stories worth reading)

📈 These are the top-selling games for 2023. 

🎩 The mobile game MONOPOLY GO! is currently bringing in over $4 million per day. 

🤖 A Game Developers Conference survey finds that 35% of developers were affected by layoffs last year. Also, nearly half of the developers surveyed say their company is using generative AI in some way.

🎸 After 16 years and 2,800 songs, Harmonix ends Rock Band content releases. 

😢 Gaming industry layoffs continue, including at Lost Boys Interactive and Thunderful Group.

♟️ Funko sold off its board game division to Goliath Games.

🐉 Gamers who purchase Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will need to spend extra to get new games plus gameplay.

🐭 Disney Lorcana will have its first World Championship in 2025.

🎮 Microsoft might be considering selling Xbox exclusives to PlayStation and Switch. 

🏆 Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Cocoon and Baldur’s Gate 3 lead the nominees at the Game Developers Choice Awards. 

🛢️ After years of controversy, Billy Mitchell's Donkey Kong record will be reinstated. 

🐲 Don’t expect to see Baldur’s Gate 3 or any other Larian Studios games on subscription services. 

🎲 International counterfeiters’ most recent victim: board game developers.

🛀🏾 Foamstars will launch in February as part of PlayStation Plus. 

🧟‍♀️ Sony is refunding players who accidentally purchased the full-priced version of Last of Us 2 Remastered instead of the upgrade. 

🎥 A movie adaptation of Until Dawn was recently announced. 

New Releases this week: 

Check out our most anticipated games of 2024. 

1/23: Lil' Guardsman (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
1/23: Stargate: Timekeepers (PC)
1/25: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
1/26: Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
1/26: Tekken 8 (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)