Sources close to the matter have reported that troubled Disco Elysium studio ZA/UM have let go of 24 staff, and cancelled its latest project - for the third time. We now know this included the last writer on Disco - Argo Tuulik - who has now spoken out:

It’s the people on top – the motherfuckers in sailing shoes and bowties – that fucked Harry, fucked Kim, fucked Robert, Rostov, Helen, Olga, Cash, fucked Elysium, fucked you and me too. They are not artists, they are professional fuckers.

He believes the studio “will forever remain a studio known for a single game”, with all members of the ZA/UM art collective now gone, but also reminds us of their promise: “Un jour je serai de retour près de toi.”

According to a new report, FROMSOFT is now the sole owner of the Elden Ring IP, no longer sharing rights with Bandai Namco. This change was seemingly facilitated via investments from Sony and Tencent.

On the back of similar deals with the likes of LEGO, Disney have invested $1.5B USD in Epic, and will collaborate to build an “expansive and open games and entertainment universe” in Fortnite. Not completely unsurprising, but that’s a lotta dough!

Apparently Tencent is developing a mobile adaptation of Elden Ring - with a desire for gacha elements - according to sources. The company acquired licensing rights in 2022 and has initiated a small team to prototype the game, although progress has been slow. This sounds… kinda disgusting, and currently hard to believe.

Naughty Dog have released Grounded II: Making The Last of Us Part II, a documentary exploring the game’s creation. The film, featuring Neil Druckmann, Halley Gross, Ashley Johnson, Troy Baker and a bunch of other Naughty Dogs, spans two hours. There’s a discussion about a potential Part III toward the end. 👀

Following the DS2 deep-dive, Kojima stuck around to briefly tease his studio’s next project. He summed it up in a tweet:

It is a completely new ‘Action Espionage’ for the next-generation. It will be created using cutting-edge technology and the best talents from around the world, both from film and video games. Of course this is an interactive ‘game’, but the look, story, theme, cast, acting, fashion, sound, etc… are all at the next level of ‘Digital Entertainment’ that could be called a ‘movie’.

OK!

State of Play was capped off with a much anticipated deeper look into DS2, which we now know is officially titled Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. As we’ve come to expect, it looks absolutely bonkers. I want it now.

Rise of the Ronin launches March 22 (the same day as Dragon’s Dogma II - uh oh!), and Team Ninja have given us our best look yet. Highlights include the Yokohama hub world, intricate swordplay and parrying, and much more. Love their work, and this looks to be their most ambitious yet - can’t wait.

Capcom shared a new look at Dragon’s Dogma II gameplay, which releases March 22.

Judas, the much anticipated new one from BioShock’s Ken Levine, clearly echoes his earlier work. Today’s closer look highlights a vibrant dystopian world featuring first-person combat, BioShocky abilities, and seemingly a big focus on narrative. I think a lot of people have moved on from this type of game, but I’m a Levine fan and totally up for it.