Written by: Mary Joaquin
Welcome back to the Weekly Gaming Roundup!
Every week, we cover the latest in the gaming world. This week, we honor game changers, first that of the legendary Benoît Sokal. We also bid luck to Peter Fabiano's Bungie debut, and the Games for Change Awards finalists. On top of these, a new handheld system has entered the game.
Press F to pay respects and let's get right into it!
On Saturday, May 29, Microid celebrated the life of Syberia creator, Benoît Sokal, who passed away the day before.
At 66, the acclaimed creator of Syberia had been battling a long-term illness. Microids confirmed the news of his death; Sokal had been a software developer for the company before founding White Birds Productions.
“Known first and foremost as a storyteller and talented comic book artist, Benoît contributed hugely to advancing the video game medium internationally,” said Microids in their press release.
Additionally, Sokal had been working with their teams and Koalabs for Syberia: The World Before, which is slated to release this year.
Peter Fabiano, producer in Resident Evil: Village, left Capcom on Sunday, May 30, after 13 years with the company.
“Thank you everyone at Capcom for allowing me to grow together with you over the past 13 years,” tweeted Fabiano in announcement of the departure. “I’m thankful and will cherish the experience forever.”
He had worked across various RE titles and had even been made forever a part of the RE universe as Peter Walken in RE7. Following the move, Fabiano had taken up a new position at Bungie, working on Destiny 2 as the company’s Production Department Manager, according to PC Gamer.
On Monday, May 31, The Microsoft Store accidentally leaked Two Point Campus, the follow-up to Two Point Hospital.
The listing was taken down quite quickly, according to PC Gamer, but long enough for a Quarter To Three forum-goer to preserve its info. As shared by poster TurinTur, in Two Point Campus players create their own university and manage its students and curriculum as desired.
From the university’s outer appearances to interesting inner happenings with a variety of courses to choose from, class will be in session the way players have always wanted them to be.
Unfortunately, no release date had been included in the listing.
Ubisoft partnered with Zero Latency VR to launch Far Cry VR: Dive into Insanity on Tuesday, June 1.
The VR experience features 33 worldwide locations accompanied by Far Cry 3’s infamous Vaas. Players have to fight their way across Rook Islands and work together for the chance of escaping.
“Bolstered by Zero Latency’s one-of-a-kind concept, free-roaming VR is an excellent way for gamers and non-gamers alike to explore the vivid world of Far Cry,” said Deborah Papiernik, Ubisoft Vice President of New Business. “We’re thrilled to offer a game that brings people together to create memorable moments.”
Techland Gamers & Goodies launched a community hub for the Dying Light games on Wednesday, June 2.
First announced through a Dying 2 Know episode, the hub aims to give players additional perks to the games, in-game items and rewards, and code redemption. Its first freebie is The Wasp, a Dying Light 2 Stay Human-inspired weapon players can use in the first game.
Also available are various downloadable artworks and an exclusive outfit for the second game’s protagonist, Aiden. The hub is planned to include player stat-tracking though it had not been made available on launch.
On Thursday, June 3, Games for Change announced the finalists of its 18th annual Awards event.
The Awards reviewed over 200 submissions across the six categories to win from. 65 games industry members reviewed their works according to the theme of “imagining, igniting, and inspiring the future of social impact”.
"This year, many of the G4C Awards finalist games are from emerging developers, [and] more than half are from international teams,” said Susanna Pollack, President of Games for Change. “We are thrilled that the finalists reflect the global audience of the greater Games for Change community."
The Awards are part of the Games for Change Festival running from July 12 to 14, with free attendance to the stream.
Panic released more information about their handheld Playdate on Friday, June 4.
The new system will be $179 at launch, slated for next month. Playdate will also have 24 games available and 4GB of storage, both double its original specifications.
“We’ve all been quietly working non-stop to get all of the complex pieces of the Playdate puzzle into place, and at last we’re ready to show you what we’ve been up to,” said Cabel Sasser, co-founder of Panic.
Playdate is a yellow, pocket-sized handheld system with a black and white screen and a crank. It aims to encourage imagination, excitement, all from a pocketful of possibility.
EGD’s Weekly Gaming Round-Up gives a quick look into the newest news in the games industry. From blockbuster triple-A games to indie startups and mods, the Weekly Gaming Round-Up covers it all.
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