The Marvel of Magic

2023 is a year filled with big games, big mergers and big collaborations. Also, plenty of big news, so let’s jump right in.

It’s not an illusion

Magic: The Gathering has another collaboration partner, and it may be its biggest one yet. 

The collectible trading card game announced its most recent partnership with Marvel last week, with the new cards flying into retailers in 2025. The set is part of Magic’s Universe Beyond concept, which allows it to use other intellectual property within its game framework. Fallout, Doctor Who and Final Fantasy are just a few of the sets that were released or announced by Magic in recent years. 

“Trading cards have always been a part of Marvel’s DNA, so this collaboration takes that experience to a whole new level,” said Dan Buckley, President of Marvel Comics and Franchise. “With the depth that our storytelling and characters bring to the table, we can’t wait for fans to see how the Marvel Universe translates seamlessly into gameplay within these Magic: The Gathering products and sets for years to come.”

The crossover is part of a “multi-year, multi-set deal,” unlike other Universe Beyond sets that were smaller individual campaigns. 

Are you a Magic player? How have the Universe Beyond sets changed how the game plays? Drop us a line and let us know. 

The best year in gaming keeps rolling

Alan Wake 2 released last week, and the reviews for it are fantastic. 

This makes Alan Wake 2 the third highly rated game by critics to come out in two weeks, following Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Spider-Man 2. A quick search of Metacritic, a popular site devoted to scores for various media, shows there are 25 games in 2023 that have a rating of 90 or higher, and there are still two months left in the year. While some of the highly rated games are re-releases, it makes a gamer wonder, is 2023 the best year for games ever? 

Kotaku and The Mercury News make the case for 2023, while Forbes discusses how it’s going to be hard to choose a Game of the Year. Do you think 2023 is the best year for gaming? What is your favorite game of this year? Let us know in the comments.

RIP Matthew Perry

Matthew Perry passed away on Saturday at the age of 54. Most known for his role on Friends, Perry was also a huge fan of the video game Fallout. He discussed on Ellen how he played so much Fallout 3 that he injured his hands, and had to go to a hand doctor.

The Fallout team saw the interview, and gave Perry a role in their next game, Fallout: New Vegas. Perry played the role of Benny in the game, and fans are paying tribute to his role across social media. 

Side quests (more stories worth reading)

💸 We are participating in Extra Life! This Saturday, starting at 8 a.m. CT, our editor will start playing video games for 24 hours straight to raise money for Children’s Hospital. Make a donation or watch him play on Twitch. 

🎃 Check out our 13 Spooky games to play for Halloween.

✖️ Xbox reorganized their executive team, with Sarah Bond taking over as Xbox President. 

🕸️ Spider-Man 2 sold over 2.5 million copies in 24 hours, making it the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game.

🕹 Starting Nov. 12, Microsoft will no longer allow unauthorized third-party accessories to be used with its Xbox consoles. Users will get “error 0x82d60002.”

🤦🏼‍♀️ Unity’s unpopular new Runtime fees were “rushed out,” according to anonymous sources from within the company. 

👓 Valve released SteamVR version 2.0. 

💵 A Sony executive explains the PS Plus price hike, and why newer games won’t be on the subscription service day one. Sony also expects record-breaking PlayStation 5 sales, thanks to increased hardware availability and Spider-Man 2. 

❄️ Mortal Kombat 1 players are annoyed with the $10 cost for Halloween fatalities. 

🎮 A former PlayStation executive says consolidation could have a negative impact on creativity in the games industry. 

☠️ Ubisoft delayed Skull & Bones and another game thought to be Star Wars Outlaws. The publisher did see a 14 percent revenue increase in the first half of their fiscal year. 

📈 Meanwhile, Capcom saw first half revenue up over 50 percent. 

💰 Microsoft had record gaming revenue in their first quarter, thanks to Starfield and Game Pass. 

🔫 Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 for Nintendo Switch does not include all the games on the cartridge, requiring players to download the rest. 

💲 Valve is dropping local currency support for Turkey and Argentina amid 'exchange rate volatility,' and is moving to 'regionalized USD pricing' for 25 countries.

👨🏽‍🚀 IGN examines whether Destiny 2 is still worth playing in 2023, especially as a new player to the franchise.

☢️ A Fallout TV show will hit Prime in April 2024, and it will be set in Los Angeles.

New Releases this week: 

10/31: Headbangers Rhythm Royale (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
10/31: You Will Die Here Tonight (PC)
11/2: Achilles: Legends Untold (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
11/2: For the King 2 (PC)
11/2: RoboCop: Rogue City (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
11/2: Star Ocean: The Second Story R (PlayStation, Switch and PC)
11/2: The Talos Principle 2 (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
11/2: Thirsty Suitors (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
11/3: EA Sports WRC (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
11/3: WarioWare: Move It! (Switch)
11/3: DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
11/3: Quantum Error (PlayStation)

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