Highlights

  • January 2024 State of Play reveals big news from Hideo Kojima, including a new action-espionage IP and a trailer for Death Stranding 2.
  • Embracer Group cancels a Deus Ex game and lays off 97 staff members, adding to the growing number of layoffs in the games industry.
  • The Last of Us Part 2 documentary hints at a potential Part 3 in the future.

January 2024 concludes with a loaded PlayStation State of Play guaranteeing that the springtime will have many games stepping on each other’s toes. Today, Game ZXC’s weekly recap takes a look at some of the most notable headlines from the past week.

More layoffs unsurprisingly but disappointingly plague the games industry, The Last of Us Part 2’s making-of documentary sheds light on Naughty Dog’s workplace culture, and a new Silent Hill game shadow-drops and has not been received all that well thus far. All that and more in this week’s roundup of games industry news.

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January 2024 State of Play is Packed with Kojima

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Not content to let January go idly by, a State of Play aired with huge news from Hideo Kojima. This included the announcement of a new action-espionage IP as well as a lengthy story trailer for Death Stranding 2.

Embracer Group Cancels Deus Ex Game, Lays Off Staff

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A new Deus Ex game has been canceled after around two years in development as Embracer also lays off 97 people, piling onto the already immense number of layoffs 2024 has been prey to thus far.

The Last of Us Part 2 Documentary Shares Part 3 Details

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Naughty Dog released a new documentary detailing the rollercoaster of development for The Last of Us Part 2, culminating in Neil Druckmann teasing that there’s likely a Part 3 in store at some point down the line.

New Silent Hill Game Shadow-Drops, is Free to Play

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Silent Hill: The Short Message was revealed during the State of Play and was announced as being out following the presser. As short as its name suggests, though, the free-to-play title might not be the first step in the franchise revival that longtime fans were hoping for.

Complete Gold Edition Announced for Resident Evil 4 Remake

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Resident Evil 4’s remake recently received its highly anticipated Ada Wong-led Separate Ways DLC. Now, Capcom seems intent on packaging everything together for a definitive experience with the Resident Evil 4: Gold Edition, which releases on February 20.

Features

Naughty Dog is now sticking purely to single-player titles and since The Last of Us Part 3 is only a “concept” right now, there’s no telling what it could be currently working on. If Neil Druckmann gets to make a Punisher game like he’s openly said he’d like to, though, nothing is saying he couldn’t throw a second playable character in the mix, either as Frank Castle’s foil or ally.

Movies & TV

Friday the 13th is one of the most iconic classic franchises around, but like some of its slasher-horror counterparts its lengthy series begins to get convoluted and it can be difficult to string together a chronological order among them.

Guides

Persona 3 Reload has players attend class at Gekkoukan High and take examinations, and anyone wishing to increase their Charm stat should ensure they are up to date on their studies and answer questions correctly.

Game ZXC Exclusives

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League arrives as the next chapter in Rocksteady’s beloved Arkhamverse, though there is much controversy lining it in every corner, whether that’s because it’s a service game, it requires an always-online connectivity for the time being, or its treatment of iconic characters is seen as a debasement.