The Netflix of gaming
Plus the Golden Joystick winners and MW3 might not be very good.
Netflix is entering the streaming and mobile game market in a big way. How? Find out. Also, the winners of The Golden Joystick Awards, the latest on Modern Warfare 3 and more.
Netflix and game
It turns out the Netflix of gaming might be Netflix.
In the past few years, the streaming company has purchased a number of game studios and earlier this year released a virtual controller app for phones.
This week, Netflix announced a slew of games coming to their Netflix mobile app. Many of these games will be playable on mobile devices for the first time. The biggest is Hades, a game that won multiple Game of the Year awards in 2020.
Other games coming to Netflix include Braid, Chicken Run: Eggstraction, Death’s Door, Katana Zero, Money Heist, Shadow and Bone: Enter the Fold, and The Dragon Prince: Xadia.
It’s obvious Netflix wants to expand its gaming profile. It’s easy to see how they envision streaming games to smart televisions using the Netflix app and virtual controller, then having subscribers continue playing on their phones. However, currently less than one percent of Netflix subscribers utilize the service. Could big-name games like Hades and Braid change that? Time will tell.
Golden Joysticks
The first awards featuring 2023 video games took place this week, as the Golden Joystick Awards announced their winners. Baldur’s Gate 3 took home seven awards, including Ultimate Game of the year.
The Golden Joysticks are the appetizer to The Game Awards, which take place in December. Winners are chosen by fan vote. You can check out all the nominees, but here is a list of the winners for 2023:
Best Storytelling - Baldur's Gate 3
Still Playing Award - No Man's Sky
Best Visual Design - Baldur's Gate 3
Studio of the Year - Larian Studios
Best Game Expansion - Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Best Indie Game - Sea of Stars
Best VR Game - Horizon Call of the Mountain
Best Multiplayer Game - Mortal Kombat 1
Best Audio - Final Fantasy XVI
Best Game Trailer - Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Best Streaming Game - Valorant
Best Game Community - Baldur's Gate 3
Best Gaming Hardware - PSVR 2
Breakthrough Award - Cocoon / Geometric Interactive
Critics' Choice Award - Alan Wake II
Best Lead Performer - Ben Starr, Final Fantasy XVI
Best Supporting Performer - Neil Newborn, Astarion, Baldur's Gate 3
Nintendo Game of the Year - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
PC Game of the Year - Baldur's Gate 3
Xbox Game of the Year - Starfield
PlayStation Game of the Year - Resident Evil 4
Most Wanted Game - Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Ultimate GOTY - Baldur's Gate 3
Modern Warfare 3 fires blanks
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 released this week to mixed reviews.
The game, which was originally anticipated as an expansion to Modern Warfare 2, was apparently only in development for 16 months, compared to 3 years for most COD games. Game developers dealt with significant crunch - working nights and weekends to complete the game for its release last week.
The results include maps being pulled for the multiplayer game due to terrible spawn points that are easy to find and troll. Reviews are calling it a low point for the series, and the game is being review bombed on Steam.
Have you played Modern Warfare 3? What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
Side quests (more stories worth reading)
🕹 Valve updated the Steam Deck with an OLED screen, but the Steam Deck 2 is still years away. Don’t worry though, Valve sold “multiple millions” of the original Steam Deck.
🚓 Rockstar announced a trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 is coming in December. Here’s what’s known about the game.
💰 Sony tops $6 billion on gaming for quarter 2. The company also announced it is cutting its live service business by half.
🖼️ Most video game artwork will never be seen.
🃏 The creator of Magic: The Gathering looks back at 30 years of card games.
❗ The popular video series Zero Punctuation ends, as employees at The Escapists resign after their editor is fired.
⚖️ Microsoft and Epic are just two gaming companies being sued for game addiction.
☠️ The Overwatch League is officially dead. More on its demise.
🍄 Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the fastest selling game in the Mario franchise.
🤖 Soon you will be able to have AI teach you board game rules, thanks to ChatGPT.
🏦 After five years, the Epic Game Store is still unprofitable.
🐴 A former Blizzard employee says “A $15 microtransaction horse (in World of Warcraft) made more money than StarCraft 2.”
🐾 The follow-up to Night in the Woods is canceled.
🐦 Sony is ending support for the site formerly known as Twitter.
🤘 A rock musician is making a board game about…being a rock musician.
📉 Game engine Unity announced layoffs, despite increased revenue.
🗡️ Nintendo is officially making a live-action Zelda movie.
👻 Adele made her kid a Rust costume for Halloween.
New Releases this week:
Check out our piece on 11 new games to play in November.
11/13: Spirittea (Xbox, Switch and PC)
11/14: Invincible Presents: Atom Eve (PC)
11/14: Coral Island (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
11/14: Astral Ascent (PlayStation, Switch and PC)
11/15: The Last Faith (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
11/15: American Arcadia (PC)
11/16: Flashback 2 (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
11/17: Bluey: The Videogame (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
11/17: Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
11/17: Persona 5 Tactica (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
11/17: Super Mario RPG (Switch)
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