This week in one sentence: Google Stadia is still getting complaints about graphics, DotA 2 added a grandma and another spirit edgelord, the Steam Controller died for our sins, Battleborn died because of server costs, and No Man’s Sky is getting even better.
Top Five Stories
1/ Google Responds To Stadia Graphical Fidelity Complaints: Google responded to complaints that many Stadia games do not run at the advertised native 4K resolution with a statement that said, “We give developers the freedom of how to achieve the best image quality and frame rate on Stadia.” Google also stated that, “We expect that many developers can, and in most cases will, continue to improve their games on Stadia.” (9to5Google / Eurogamer / Ars Technica / Gamespot / GamesIndustry.biz)
2/ The Outlanders Patch For DotA 2 Was Released: Valve released Dota 2 patch 7.23 which added two new heroes to the game, Void Spirit and Beatrix Snapfire. Void Spirit is an edgy elemental melee character, and Beatrix Snapfire is an elderly woman who makes cookies and rides dinosaurs. The patch also gives every player a courier, replaces side shops with outposts, and a whole host of other adjustments to the game. (Rock Paper Shotgun / Engadget / IGN / Polygon / PC Gamer)
3/ Valve Has Stopped Making The Steam Controller: Valve’s last non-VR hardware, the Steam Controller, is dead. The divisive controller released in 2015 along with Steam Machines and Steam Link, and went on to sell an admirable 500,000 units in just a year. The controller never reached mainstream success, with most players choosing to use an Xbox 360 or PS4 controller to play Steam games. Valve is blowing out their remaining controller stock with a $5 sale. (Kotaku / Eurogamer / The Verge / VentureBeat / Screen Rant)
4/ Battleborn Is Shutting Down In 2021: Just three years after its release, publisher 2K Games announced that it is shutting down the servers for Battleborn in January 2021. The Gearbox developed game was removed from digital shelves on November 15th, 2019, and the game’s premium currency will no longer be purchasable as of February 24, 2020. The game will no longer be playable once the servers are shut down. (Gamespot / Polygon / Kotaku / Eurogamer / GamesIndustry.biz)
5/ No Man’s Sky Synthesis Patch Announced: No Man’s Sky is getting another huge update in the form of the Synthesis patch. This patch allows players to upgrade and salvage starships, edit terrain more easily, save custom outfits, and drive the Exocraft in the first person. The patch also optimizes the VR version of the game and adds other quality of life improvements. (Polygon / Kotaku / Gamespot / IGN / Destructoid)
✏️ Notables
- Google offered refunds to Stadia Pro members who already bought the free games. The free games for subscribers this month were Tomb Raider (2013) and Farming Simulator 19. (Kotaku / Ars Technica)
- The Pokémon Global Link Service Is Shutting Down for Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon in February 2020. (Polygon / Nintendo Life)
- Valve Removes More Than 1,000 Games From Steam because the publishers were abusing Steamworks allegedly. (Kotaku / PC Gamer)
- Fallout 76 players have taken to using nuclear bombs on pacificts because the radiation can kill players who want to avoid combat. (Kotaku / VICE)
- Fortnite held a fishing competition wherein players competed to catch the most fish to get a spray, pickaxe skin, and Llama trophy. (Polygon / Eurogamer)
- Stardew Valley patch 1.4 was released on PC. The patch added new character events clothes, hairstyles, fish ponds, and more. (Eurogamer / Polygon)
- Beat Games, the developers of Beat Saber, were purchased by Facebook and are now part of Oculus Studios as an independent studio (Eurogamer / PC Gamer)
- A new Tony Hawk game is rumored to be coming out, based on a podcast interview with professional skater Lizzie Armanto (Eurogamer / IGN)
- Borderlands 3 has added Good Juju, a reference to the Destiny gun Bad Juju (Eurogamer / Polygon)
- State of Decay 2 is coming to Steam, with Xbox Live cross-play (Eurogamer / PC Gamer)
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