A still from “Destiny 2.” (Courtesy of Activision)
Blizzard has announced that Bungie’s “Destiny 2” is coming to PC on the Blizzard App
PC gamers rejoiced when Bungie announced that the sequel to their sci-fi first-person-shooter MMO “Destiny” would no longer be a console exclusive. While many fans were glad to hear that the game would be available on another platform and feature cross-platform play, expectant fans were blindsided this week when Blizzard Entertainment revealed it would be hosting the game on its online game manager, the Blizzard App, formerly known as Battle.Net.
This unprecedented move by Blizzard means that we likely won’t see a release of the game on other distribution and game management platforms like Steam, which is both a surprising and intriguing move on Bungie’s part.
While both companies are under the overarching wing of games publisher Activision, both Blizzard and Bungie have maintained a strict measure of independence and have not openly interacted until now.
According to an FAQ published by Blizzard in regards to the choice to allow Bungie to utilize the Blizzard App:
“We loved ‘Destiny’ and think ‘Destiny 2’ is going to be a great game. Blizzard has an established and successful global internet infrastructure we’ve used for years to support our own games. Creating a new network client for ‘Destiny 2,’ which is bringing the franchise to PC for the first time, would needlessly extend the development period for the game. We want to get our hands on ‘Destiny 2’ as soon as possible like everybody else, so we offered to share our PC platform with our sister companies for this release.”
Whether this act of cooperation will be a unique exception or a herald of Blizzard taking on an expanded role as a distributor, we’ll have to wait and see. Could we someday see “Destiny” characters duking it out in the “Heroes of the Storm” Nexus or special skins in “Overwatch?”
Watch the latest trailer for “Destiny 2” below:
Netflix announces it has started production of a “Witcher” TV show based on the book series that inspired the game
“The Witcher” franchise is known for having an absolute glut of story-driven content. The series’s latest installment, “Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,” boasted over 100 hours of playtime and was awarded over 250 individual gaming awards since its release in 2015. From its expansive free DLC to the upcoming standalone spinoff card game “Gwent,” it’s no surprise that fans are all clamoring for more “Witcher” content in whatever shape it may come, including state-sponsored commemorative stamps.
Geralt of Rivia, the main character of “The Witcher” franchise. (Courtesy of CD Projekt Red)
Netflix has announced in a recent press release that it will be starting production of a “The Witcher” drama series. This wouldn’t be the first time the grim fantasy universe of “The Witcher” has received a television adaption. The 2001 Polish fantasy film “The Hexer” and a poorly rated television series of the same name from 2002 are adaptations from the fictional works of Andrzej Sapkowski, from which the video game also draws its lore and overall plot. With that said, we can expect some pretty major differences between what we see in the new Netflix show and what we’ve already experienced in the games.
According to a Eurogamer article from March 2017, Sapkowski isn’t a big fan of video games and greatly regrets selling the rights for the story to CD Projekt Red, worrying that the games have cost him book sales.
But based on the aforementioned press release from Netflix, Sapkowski is happy about adapting his work into an episodic television series:
“I’m thrilled that Netflix will be doing an adaptation of my stories, staying true to the source material and the themes that I have spent over thirty years writing.” “I’m excited about our efforts together, as well as the team assembled to shepherd these characters to life.”
Sean Daniel (“The Mummy” franchise) and Jason Brown (“The Expanse”) are set to be the executive producers, along with Tomek Baginski and Jarek Sawko from Platige Image, a Polish production and visual effects company.
No further information has been released at this time, but for fans of the franchise, more “Witcher” is always a good sign.
Gaming Week In Review is a semi-regular column by Mathew Brock devoted to recapping recent news from the video game world each week.
You can follow Mathew on Twitter: @MathewQBrock.
