With the year that most people have affectionately referred to as a “flaming pile of garbage” behind us, 2021 brings with it some encouraging (and strange) gaming news. Game Rant has compiled some of the biggest gaming news stories from this past week together into a concise post for fans and enthusiasts to stay up to date on the most important events in the industry per week. Highlighting the most relevant stories, this list is not inherently and totally objective, and will not contain every news story this week. Rather, this is intended for gaming fans who want a quick rundown on the largest/most impactful stories that occurred in the last week in games.
In thefirst gaming news roundup for 2021,Dying Light 2finally resurfaces after what was allegedly a troublesome development year for Techland.Cyberpunk 2077has teased its post-launch DLC plans for “early 2021.” Rumors and an affirmation seem to point to Ubisoft+ content, in some fashion, is coming to Xbox Game Pass this year. In a strange turn of events, Rockstar developers shine light on a peculiar and slightly disturbing story fromAgent’s mysterious development. Adobe’s Flash Player is finally sunset, bringing with it the retirement of thousands of browser-based games and media. Here’s a recap of the biggest gaming news this week.
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Dying Light 2 Returns in 2021, Promising More News
After a long dormancy, allegedly troublesome development, and the removal of the game’s narrative director,Dying Light 2is finally making a return in 2021. Announced via the game’s social media channels, as well as the company’s official discord channel, Techland will be sharing news and updating players on the game’s development in 2021.
The firstDying Lightbreathed some new life into the survival horror zombie game, butDying Light 2announcements have been quiet since E3 2019. Pair that with the game’s narrative director leaving among sexual harassment allegations, as well as a report on the game’s troublesome development,Dying Light 2was in a tough spot. Perhaps 2021 will be the yearDying Light 2makes a resurgence.
CD Projekt Red Teases Cyberpunk 2077’s Free Post-Launch DLC
Amidst the game’s controversy, CD Projekt Red announced plans forfree post-launch content coming toCyberpunk 2077next year. Only briefly teasing more info is on the way, free DLC is planned to release for the game at some point during “early 2021.” As for what that DLC entails, nothing concrete has been announced.
No specific dates were included, but that’s likely to account forCD Projekt Red’s planned updates headed forCyberpunk 2077in January and February. According to CD Projekt Red, those two patches should bring the game up to a stable condition on PS4/Xbox One. Neither of those patches have an official timeline either.
Ubisoft+ May Join the Xbox Game Pass Lineup, According to Rumor
While Xbox Game Pass is widely considered one of the best deals in gaming, another rumored addition to the library could further emphasize this. According to a rumor that was recently supported by Windows Central, theUbisoft+ library could potentially join Xbox Game Pass in 2021. Windows Central senior editor Jez Corden also clarified and theorized that it may not necessarily be the whole lineup of Ubisoft+, but a significant portion of games instead.
If true, that’s another 100 potential games added to Xbox Game Pass from Ubisoft+, bringing the total library size well over 600 games across console and PC. This comes alongside a tease from Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who stated2021 is going to be an “incredible year” for Xbox Game Pass.
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A Strange Story From the Development of Rockstar Games' Agent
In perhaps thestrangest update fromAgent’s development in the many years of silence, it turns out some Rockstar San Diego developers caused a sort-of “small international crisis.” According to project lead Luis Gigliotti, a team of developers from Rockstar San Diego had planned a trip to Cairo, Egypt, to take reference photography for the environmental artists. Since the game was supposed to be a globe-trotting adventure, Egypt was going to be one of the mission locations.
However, when the team got there, Rockstar’s developers quickly learned that photography of certain locations (especially government buildings) was illegal in Egypt. This was also during a time where law enforcement in Egypt was notoriously strict, soRockstar’s developers were eventually pinpointed by Egyptian police. One developer was arrested at the Cairo International Airport, while others were instructed to remain in their hotel.
Indie Developers Look Back on the Impact of Adobe Flash Player
The beginning of2021 also marks the ending of Adobe Flash Player support, meaning thousands of browser-based games and media were taken offline. Flash ended up being a progenitor platform for numerous indie game developers who got their start developing for Adobe Flash. Game and content creators from around the world shared memories of their experiences, with many veteran creators from Newgrounds and FreeWorldGroup.com chiming in on a Twitter thread.
While most indie developers moved on from the Flash platform within the last few years, Adobe Flash still had an indelible impact on game development as a whole. As for the games and media themselves,archival sites like BlueMaxima’s Flashpoint preserved thousandsof open-source flash games and animations for preservation.
The OfflineTV Rust Server Controversy
As quickly as it was conceived, theOfflineTVRustserver has already begun imploding thanks to griefing and controversy.Rust, being the inherently PvP survival game that it is, is characterized by its lawlessness and players fighting one another. However, private servers can allow for peaceful cooperative or roleplay gameplay as well, which was largely what the OfflineTV server was designed for.
However, xQc’s actions on the server have been the subject of contention, arguments, andeven death threats to other streamers from xQc fans. The other streamers in the server were becoming increasingly frustrated with xQc, though it wasn’t until xQc’s fans started threatening other streamers where the situation became out of control. Multiple streamers have already left the server, while a new server will be created to enforce stricter roleplay elements with less PvP.
Long Term Study Finds Violent Games Still Don’t Correlate with Violent Behavior
While the stigma of violent video games certainly isn’t as prevalent in recent years, video game used to be demonized often for invoking violent behavior in adolescents. Numerous studies have been conducted based on this theory, many of which disprove the notion of violent games causing violent behavior.
Arecent 10-year study with 500 participantsnow also indicates that there was no significant increase in aggression or violent tendencies among players. The case study examined both players who played more and less violent games over time, noting that neither parties had increased aggressive behavior. While this is just one of many studies, 10 years makes this one of the longest conducted studies on the psychological behavior of players.
