Game of the year contenders are finally being considered as 2020 finally comes to a close. 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.
Inthis week’s gaming news, the Game Awards announced nominees for all of its categories, withThe Last of Us 2leading in category nominations. For the first time in a long time,Grand Theft Auto Onlineis receiving a sizable map expansion, including a alongside a new heist. PlayStation discusses a potential Game Pass competitor coming in the future, while Xbox clarifies its stance on Bethesda games' exclusivity. Growing pains for the latestCall of Dutycontinue to swell, and some hilarious things are happening inSpider-Man: Miles Morales. Here’s the biggest news from the gaming industry this week.
The Game Awards Announces Its Categories and Nominees
Premiering on December 10, the Game Awards have officially announced all of the nominees for each major category at the awards show. For Game of the Year, here are the contenders:Doom Eternal,Final Fantasy 7 Remake,Ghost of Tsushima,Hades,Animal Crossing: New Horizons, andThe Last of Us 2. In particular,The Last of Us 2holds it down with the most category nominations at 10, most notably in Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, and Best Art Direction. Additionally,Hadescontinues to impress as the indie delight with eight nominations.
Other games with numerous nominations includeFinal Fantasy 7 Remake,Among Us, andGhost of Tsushima. The most notable exclusion from these nominations isCyberpunk 2077, which was unfortunately excluded from the awardsbecause of the game’s delay to December 10. Tangentially, games likeAssassin’s Creed ValhallaandSpider-Man: Miles Moralesmay not have received nominations in certain categories because they released too late in the year.
GTA Online’s Newest Expansion, the Cayo Perico Heist
After several rumors popped up about an ambitiousGrand Theft Auto Onlineexpansion,Rockstar Games announced the Cayo Perico Heist. Coming to all platforms including backwards compatibility on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, this heist is releasing on December 15, prior to the next-gen enhancement ofGrand Theft Auto 5. For the first time, players will be able to team up or play solo on the upcoming heist, which takes place on a completely new land mass being added to theGrand Theft Auto Onlinemap.
Alongside the new heist location, according to Rockstar Games, it seems this island will boast “new social spaces to dance and party with friends and new world-class DJs,” as well. This heist certainly gives off Fyre Festival vibes, though hopefully not as unfortunate. Alongside a new region, there’s also over a hundred new radio songs coming to the game, as well as a new submarine mobile HQ.
RELATED:Here’s Why GTA 6 is Trending on Twitter
New James Bond Game Entitled ‘Project 007’ Coming From Hitman Developer
IO Interactive, after rebooting theHitmanseries to great fanfare, has announced the studio’s next big project: a007game. Poised as an origin story for how James Bond achieved his “007” status,Project 007will be developed on the same engine as theHitmanreboot. IO Interactive has partnered with MGM and Eon productions, the filmmaking and production studios that have supported the Bond films since the beginning.
James Bond has a pretty storied history in video games, releasing some of the best casual shooters and adventure games during the sixth console generation. Recent efforts didn’t release to the same positive reception, so there hasn’t been a new Bond game since007 Legendsin 2012. If this next title is anything likeHitman,Project 007could be very promising.
SIE CEO Jim Ryan Hints at a New Xbox Game Pass Competitor Coming
There’s been a wealth of PlayStation news this week in the wake of the PS5’s launch. Other than it being incredibly hard to get one, several interviews with Sony Interactive Entertainment’s CEO Jim Ryan brought on some new tidbits of information on the future of PlayStation. For one thing, Ryan hinted ata potential answer to Xbox Game Pass from PlayStation, but didn’t dive into any specifics: “There is actually news to come, but just not today.”
Since the PS4, PlayStation Now has been the only game subscription available for players. PS5 introduces the PS Plus Collection, a bundle of hit PS4 games which are backwards compatible on PS5. PlayStation adding on another Game Pass-like subscription could be interesting.
Xbox Clarifies the Bethesda Exclusivity Deal For Future Games
On the Xbox side of things, Xbox CFO Tim Stuart clarified the situation of exclusivity with Bethesda/Zenimax properties. Cross-platform game releases areto be “first, or better, or best” on Xbox Series X/S, not excluding the possibility of timed-exclusives. Stuart also mentioned that there are no plans to pull existing Bethesda titles off any platforms that aren’t Xbox or Windows/PC. This lines up with comments previously that any platform exclusivity from Bethesda/Zenimax titles, like the upcomingDeathloopon PS5, would still be respected despite acquiring exclusive rights.
RELATED:PlayStation Went All Out for PS5’s Global Launch
Growing Pains with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s SBMM, Weapons
The latestCall of Dutyentry’s been seeing its fair share of controversy alongside its launch success. As themultiplayer meta begins to settle forCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, complaints about the game’s skill-based-matchmaking and broken weapons are beginning to fester. Some believe the SBMM inBlack Ops Cold Waris far too active, with jarring jumps in difficulty occurring for those who only have a few good games.
Additionally, criticisms of the MP5 (which still remains the best weapon inBlack Ops Cold War) even prompted an early patch for that weapon alone. Treyarch promises major balance changes are coming in preparation for Season One in December.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales Glitch Causes Accidental Prop Hunt
While reception of the latestSpider-Maninterquel has been very positive, it hasn’t been without some hilarious glitches as well. One in particular showcasesMiles Moralesplayers turning into various objectsin the game world’s environment, which can have some pretty comical results. While this is not an attempt by Insomniac Games to cash in on theProp Huntcraze of 2014, seeing the glitch in action is pretty funny.
Yakuza Series Anniversary Stream Planned for December 8
Lastly, in the wake ofYakuza: Like a Dragon’s reimagining of the storied franchise,Yakuza’s development studio Ryu Ga Gotoku has announced a 15th anniversary streamset for December 8. The content of the stream will largely focus on celebratingYakuza’s past, as well as featuring the Japanese voice actors for Kazuma Kiryu and Ichiban Kasuga. More promising is the last line of the announcement, which promises discussions on the “future developments for the series.”
