In this episode of Digital Coffee Gaming Brew, Brett discusses the recent patch for Dune Awakening that removes vehicle ramming in PvP, as well as the community's positive reaction. He moves on to cover Battlefield 2042's new Mass Effect bundle and comments on Warner Brothers' restructuring of its leadership team, focusing on major franchises like Mortal Kombat and Harry Potter. Brett also touches on layoffs at Splitgate 2, Embracer Group's workforce reduction, GOG's new donation system, Xbox's collaboration with Zena Canary, and the latest updates on Battlefield Labs. The episode wraps up with reviews of the first-person shooter 'Kristol: Theater of Idols' and Bungee's delayed marathon reboot. Brett emphasizes the importance of prioritizing talent over diversity quotas in game development.
3 Fun Facts:- In Dune Awakening, players used to "Goomba Stomp" others with ornithopters in PvP, repeatedly ramming to knock them out, until a recent patch removed this quirky tactic.
- The new shooter "Kristal Theater of Idols" has a wild mechanic—players have to sacrifice their own blood to reload guns, which affects their health.
- GOG now lets you voluntarily donate money when you buy games, with all donations supporting the preservation of classic games.
Key Themes:
- Dune Awakening PvP vehicle ramming patch
- Battlefield 2042 Mass Effect bundle criticism
- Warner Brothers leadership restructuring and direction
- Embracer Group layoffs and game cancellations
- GOG donation system for game preservation
- Upcoming Xbox classic games program
- Bungie’s Marathon reboot struggles and delays
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 And welcome to a new episode of Digital Coffee
00:00:02 --> 00:00:19 Gaming Brew, and I'm your host, Brett Deister. Mmm, that's
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 good. All right, so Dune Awakening has a patch
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 which was released... this week to remove the
00:00:25 --> 00:00:29 ability to damage other players in PvP by ramming
00:00:29 --> 00:00:32 them with their vehicles specific was the ornithopters
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 or they called the goomba stomp which it was
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 just stomp on you until you died there's nothing
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38 you could do because there's really no weapons
00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 that can actually kill the thing so it was a
00:00:41 --> 00:00:44 very annoying thing this changes effects a popular
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 tactic used by players in the deep desert that's
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 the end game Prior to the patch players could
00:00:48 --> 00:00:50 be knocked down into a revive state by being
00:00:50 --> 00:00:53 hit by an ornithopter leading to repeated attacks
00:00:53 --> 00:00:57 while they self revived. And then one of the
00:00:57 --> 00:00:59 creative director acknowledged this issue on
00:00:59 --> 00:01:00 Reddit and indicated that the team was working
00:01:00 --> 00:01:03 on a fix. Community reaction to the patch has
00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 been generally positive, which yes, because you
00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 can't really knock down an ornithopter, but it
00:01:08 --> 00:01:12 can basically knock you down. It's not really
00:01:12 --> 00:01:16 fun. Now some players express desire for further
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 changes such as vehicle taking damage from significant
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 impact I would agree with this. I think that
00:01:21 --> 00:01:25 needs to be something These were the ornithopter.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:29 I think the the land bike I don't think it needs
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 that much because that those tries decay pretty
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 quick But I think ornithopter needs some type
00:01:35 --> 00:01:39 of like damage taken for that if it's if they're
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 you're going to keep on ramming somebody with
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 it and you're going to be doing like a hard like
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 ram yeah you should be i will do that the article
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 mentions that a large group of ornithopter players
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 will still pose a threat despite the change then
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 there was an ama on reddit about it and the deep
00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 desert will remain a pvp area but additional
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 pve content is being developed The executive
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 producer stated that the game does not want to
00:02:02 --> 00:02:05 exclude solo casuals or small players. The senior
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 game director confirmed that players do not have
00:02:08 --> 00:02:13 to engage in PBV PVP, but may encounter hostile
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 players and there are no plans to change the
00:02:16 --> 00:02:20 PVP nature of the deep desert. Currently, the
00:02:20 --> 00:02:24 player base is in the game disappear if. So if
00:02:24 --> 00:02:27 your player base, if you haven't really been.
00:02:27 --> 00:02:33 logging back in for 25 days, then it's gone.
00:02:33 --> 00:02:37 Your base is gone. So please log into your game
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 and make sure that your base does not disappear
00:02:39 --> 00:02:43 because if it disappears, you're in trouble.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:47 The game is described as a survival MMO PVP and
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 The community manager mentioned that a roadmap
00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 for the future plans will be published after
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 the launch period. So we're still in the launch
00:02:55 --> 00:02:58 period because it's still relatively new. And
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 so they're trying to fix issues instead of actually
00:03:00 --> 00:03:02 making newer interesting things. I'm pretty sure
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 they have a lot of plans in place for things
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 to come out, but this is where we're at now.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 I'm glad that they're fixing the issue. I do
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 think there needs to be a small damage taken
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 if you're going to keep on ramming people like
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 that to kind of signify that it will eventually
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 just kill your ornithopter and that's usually
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 a late game thing to get anyways i'm still kind
00:03:22 --> 00:03:26 of in the early -ish game where i have to be
00:03:26 --> 00:03:32 wary of quicksand almost died four times to quicksand
00:03:32 --> 00:03:36 easy fixes to get it has to get out get your
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 tool that you can pick up your land bike and
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 run away from the quicksand and don't die from
00:03:40 --> 00:03:44 it but all in all it's a pretty fun game i think
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 the sword plays a little boring And I think the
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 combat probably is the least interesting thing
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 of the game. I think everything else is very
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 interesting except for the combat. It kind of
00:03:53 --> 00:04:00 gets a little stale, a little dry, but hey. All
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 right, moving on to Battlefield 2042 is receiving
00:04:03 --> 00:04:07 a Mass Effect bundle that includes the N7 themed
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 skin for specialist and weapons. The Citadel
00:04:10 --> 00:04:13 bundle costs 3 Battlefield currency, approximately
00:04:13 --> 00:04:17 $25 requiring Separate purchases of 2 or
00:04:17 --> 00:04:26 1 BFC. Now, it looks interesting. I just
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 don't play Battlefield 2042 anymore because what
00:04:29 --> 00:04:32 is the point anymore? Because they aren't really
00:04:32 --> 00:04:33 updating it anymore. It doesn't really matter
00:04:33 --> 00:04:38 to me. So if you like Mass Effect and you like
00:04:38 --> 00:04:39 Battlefield, this is probably the match made
00:04:39 --> 00:04:43 heaven bundle for you. But for me, there really
00:04:43 --> 00:04:47 is no point. to it, but that's just my opinion.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 All right, Warner Brothers has restructured its
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 leadership team to refocus on major technical
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 properties, including Mortal Kombat, Harry Potter,
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 DC, and Game of Thrones. Three studio heads were
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 promoted to senior vice president position, Sean
00:05:03 --> 00:05:09 Himrick, Steven Fenori, and yeah, I'm not even
00:05:09 --> 00:05:13 gonna say his name, but another guy. I'm terrible
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 at names, I'm sorry. And if they're hard to pronounce,
00:05:16 --> 00:05:22 Yves Lachent, I don't, that's a big butcher right
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 there. But Hemric will oversee Mortal Kombat
00:05:25 --> 00:05:29 DC games. Lachent will manage Harry Potter and
00:05:29 --> 00:05:33 Game of Thrones, and Fenora will handle game
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 and publishing technology, customer service,
00:05:36 --> 00:05:40 quality insurance, and user research. New leadership
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 will report to the CEO of games and global streaming
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 at Warner Brothers Discovery and all teams under
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 Warner Brothers will direct report directly to
00:05:47 --> 00:05:51 this new vice presidents. No layouts have associated
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 with a leadership change. Warner Brothers games
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 recently closed three studios, modeled player
00:05:56 --> 00:05:59 first games and Warner Brothers games San Diego
00:05:59 --> 00:06:02 studying a strategic change in direction. The
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 sequel to Hogwarts legacy is confirmed and new
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 game. titled Game of Thrones War of Westeros
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 was announced to set the launch next year as
00:06:10 --> 00:06:15 a real time strategy game. So the restructuring
00:06:15 --> 00:06:20 going to be interesting to see if it's actually
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 going to do anything, if it's actually going
00:06:22 --> 00:06:28 to help. But right now, the biggest problem with
00:06:28 --> 00:06:32 this is that they just have no games. They're
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 like making games, but they have no games coming
00:06:34 --> 00:06:38 out in the foreseeable future. They're making
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 the Game of Thrones RTS. They already came out
00:06:41 --> 00:06:43 with Mortal Kombat 1, and that's probably going
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 to be updated for a little bit longer. And they
00:06:46 --> 00:06:49 came out a few years ago with Harry Potter game,
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 Hogwarts Legacy, which was a great game. They
00:06:52 --> 00:06:56 did have a DC game called Suicide Squad, did
00:06:56 --> 00:06:59 not do very well. They were going to do Wonder
00:06:59 --> 00:07:04 Woman game, excuse me, a Wonder Woman game, but
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 that did not do, that didn't even come out at
00:07:08 --> 00:07:12 all. Apparently it was so bad that they didn't
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 even do it. They just basically shuttered Monolith,
00:07:15 --> 00:07:19 which I think the biggest problem right now is
00:07:19 --> 00:07:22 they already had a really great game that they
00:07:22 --> 00:07:23 probably should have finished and let Monolith
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 actually finish that one, which was the Lord
00:07:26 --> 00:07:30 of the Rings game with Talion. But yeah, that's
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 never gonna see the light of day. It seems like,
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 cause they're gonna focus on these. instead of
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 lower the ranks which is another really great
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 franchise and they already had a really great
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 franchise game that they could have actually
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 kept on doing but they didn't do it for whatever
00:07:43 --> 00:07:47 reason and they came out with the nemesis system
00:07:47 --> 00:07:51 through the shadows of war and the shadows of
00:07:51 --> 00:07:57 mordor series game so we could have seen like
00:07:57 --> 00:08:01 them using their patent on that technology but
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 yeah we're not gonna see that at all it just
00:08:04 --> 00:08:11 All right, so the developer of Splitgate 2 has
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 announced layoffs on the school's number of employees.
00:08:13 --> 00:08:16 The company announced the layoffs via a LinkedIn
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 post stated they parted ways with a small group
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 of team members and the studio's redirecting
00:08:21 --> 00:08:24 resources to improve Splitgate 2 gameplay experience
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 based on community feedback early June. Yeah,
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 he made the Make FPS Games great again this summer.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 Fest which caused controversy. No, it didn't
00:08:33 --> 00:08:37 it caused controversy for like five people There
00:08:37 --> 00:08:41 was really no controversy I Saw it. I'm like,
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 okay, that's cool. I agree with the statement
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 If you have a problem with that statement, you're
00:08:46 --> 00:08:51 either an idiot or you need help Because there
00:08:51 --> 00:08:52 is nothing wrong with that statement. Don't you
00:08:52 --> 00:08:56 want things to be great? I do a lot of people
00:08:56 --> 00:09:01 do so having a concern because it may be aligned
00:09:01 --> 00:09:07 with Trump is the funniest crap I've ever seen.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:11 It basically displays Trump derangement syndromes
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 to the max and it's the funniest things you cannot
00:09:14 --> 00:09:17 get over it. You hate a person so much that anybody
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 else that uses a phrase that makes something
00:09:19 --> 00:09:24 great again cannot use it because it will invoke
00:09:24 --> 00:09:32 isms. Like racism, xenophobia, and BS too, xenophobia.
00:09:33 --> 00:09:36 All these things that make no sense, but no,
00:09:36 --> 00:09:39 we can't say make something great again because
00:09:39 --> 00:09:45 that would entail Trump. It's the dumbest thing.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 All right, Embracer Group has reduced its workforce
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 by over 1 people in the past year. The company
00:09:51 --> 00:09:54 and annual release report was released detailing
00:09:54 --> 00:09:58 internal head counts. Beasing console games segment
00:09:58 --> 00:10:00 decreased from six thousand four hundred four
00:10:00 --> 00:10:03 employees to four thousand nine hundred one and
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 eighteen a reduction of one thousand four hundred
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 eighty six Just over a quarter. So it's three
00:10:08 --> 00:10:13 months. That's a pretty heavy reduction the mobile
00:10:13 --> 00:10:16 segment reduced from one thousand eighty one
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 to seven hundred and forty three employees entertainment
00:10:18 --> 00:10:23 service segment decreased from 771 to 738 employees
00:10:23 --> 00:10:27 total workforce reduction amount to 1 people.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:33 Embrace turnover rate was 20 % with 560 voluntary
00:10:33 --> 00:10:37 departures and 517 dismissals. The restructuring
00:10:37 --> 00:10:41 program began in June 2023 as a proposed 2 billion
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 partnership collapse with Saudi Arabia's SAVI
00:10:44 --> 00:10:48 Games Fund. The previous report indicated a headcount
00:10:48 --> 00:10:52 reduction of 4 people and the cancellation
00:10:52 --> 00:10:56 of 80 in -development projects. The female workforce
00:10:56 --> 00:10:59 decreased from 30 % to 27 % because that's the
00:10:59 --> 00:11:03 most important thing. The organizational changes
00:11:03 --> 00:11:09 related to Asmond's spinoff. Embracer CEO Lars
00:11:09 --> 00:11:12 is stepping down but will become the executive
00:11:12 --> 00:11:17 chair of the board. Embracer has 464 IP rights
00:11:17 --> 00:11:20 and is working on 108 game development projects.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:24 The company plans to release 76 different games
00:11:24 --> 00:11:28 in the financial year of 2025 to 2026, including
00:11:28 --> 00:11:32 new IPs, sequels, and remasters. Gogg has implemented
00:11:32 --> 00:11:35 a new system. Oh, nevermind. That's the next
00:11:35 --> 00:11:40 story. So yeah, it's just bad all around for
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 Embracer Group. Remember when they kept on like
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 buying a bunch of studios and stuff and it's
00:11:43 --> 00:11:45 like, Oh, this is going to be cool. There's going
00:11:45 --> 00:11:49 to be new games and stuff. And then, well, their
00:11:49 --> 00:11:52 first few games out the door were just not good
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 and everybody's like what is this and there were
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 some that were okay but for the most part they
00:11:56 --> 00:11:59 were not good and then you see the partnership
00:11:59 --> 00:12:02 fail with Saudi Arabia's savvy games fund which
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 i don't know why they were banking on something
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 like that that's why they had a huge spending
00:12:05 --> 00:12:08 spree because they're like look we'll get money
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 from the Arabs and it's like nope you will not
00:12:10 --> 00:12:12 because you actually have to make good games
00:12:12 --> 00:12:17 and you have to stop doing this woke bs to actually
00:12:17 --> 00:12:22 make good games so Good luck to you. I'll be
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 interested to see I'm still Really wanted to
00:12:25 --> 00:12:29 play Titanfall 2 Titanfall 2 no Titan quest There
00:12:29 --> 00:12:32 was Titan in there somewhere Titan quest 2 Titanfall
00:12:32 --> 00:12:37 2 was came out years ago my bad Titan quest 2
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 I'm interested in I'm still interested in Titanfall
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 2 to be honest with you I'm more interested in
00:12:41 --> 00:12:45 Titanfall 3, but that will never happen EA but
00:12:45 --> 00:12:49 anyways We'll see what an eraser group does if
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 there's actually a turnaround or there's gonna
00:12:51 --> 00:12:54 be more layoffs and there probably will be more.
00:12:55 --> 00:13:00 Let's look at their act together. All right,
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 moving on to Gog has implemented a new system
00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 that allows users to donate when purchasing games.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 The donation system offers users the option to
00:13:09 --> 00:13:12 contribute. Preset amounts of any amount they
00:13:12 --> 00:13:15 choose. Donations are linked to GOG's preservation
00:13:15 --> 00:13:18 program, which aims to keep older games running
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 on new hardware. The donation option applies
00:13:20 --> 00:13:26 to both new and old games. So if you want another
00:13:26 --> 00:13:29 reason why we hate tipping so much, here's another
00:13:29 --> 00:13:32 reason why we hate tipping so much. I get it
00:13:32 --> 00:13:36 and it's a valiant effort to keep games, especially
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 old games, from running on new systems, but we're
00:13:38 --> 00:13:42 inundated with Here's a donation. Here's a tip.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:45 Here's something or other and Nobody wants it
00:13:45 --> 00:13:48 anymore. I'm just gonna say it. Nobody wants
00:13:48 --> 00:13:51 this the only people that want this are the businesses
00:13:51 --> 00:13:59 and or maybe some creators but I mean We're buying
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 we're buying games from your store that should
00:14:01 --> 00:14:04 be good enough for it, but I mean at least it's
00:14:04 --> 00:14:07 voluntary Now how pushy the voluntary is another
00:14:07 --> 00:14:10 question, but at least it's voluntary That's
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13 the best thing I got for that. All right. Xbox
00:14:13 --> 00:14:17 is reportedly collaborating with Xena Canary
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 development team. The collaboration aims to create
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 a classic program to bring original Xbox and
00:14:22 --> 00:14:27 Xbox 360 games to current consoles, PC, and game
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 paths. The program is expected to include visual
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 and performance enhancements for games. The launch
00:14:32 --> 00:14:35 of this program is anticipated to coincide with
00:14:35 --> 00:14:39 Xbox 25th anniversary. The information the information
00:14:39 --> 00:14:44 was shared by a known Xbox game pass leaker so
00:14:44 --> 00:14:47 this might be a good thing if they're done well
00:14:47 --> 00:14:51 in X Now Microsoft has done a pretty good job
00:14:51 --> 00:14:54 with their remasters. I mean the Halo Master
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 Chief collection was pretty good the age of the
00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 Empire 2 kind of thing what they did was pretty
00:14:59 --> 00:15:02 good their age of mythology remake was good and
00:15:02 --> 00:15:04 even the Remaster I think they did a remaster
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 too was pretty good. So they have a pretty good
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 tracker doing it I'm not quite sure about the
00:15:08 --> 00:15:13 game Gears of War But we'll see we'll see what
00:15:13 --> 00:15:19 they actually do with this oh and Skyrim no oblivion.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:24 Sorry oblivion remake was pretty pretty good
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 by type a and by type B was stupid but beyond
00:15:26 --> 00:15:33 that was good All right new updates for Battlefield
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 6. So a new update of Battlefield Labs released
00:15:35 --> 00:15:38 on June 19th, 2025. This includes support for
00:15:38 --> 00:15:41 NVIDIA DLSS4 and the option to disable the border
00:15:41 --> 00:15:44 around the capture zone. Interesting. The watermark
00:15:44 --> 00:15:48 in the game has changed from pre -alpha to alpha.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:51 So they've moved on. And files related to the
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 Battle Royale mode have been added in this update.
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 There is an expectation of news regarding the
00:15:56 --> 00:15:59 system. class system coming soon the next entry
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 in the battlefield series is scheduled for an
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 official announcement this summer the game will
00:16:03 --> 00:16:06 feature a single -player mode developed by motive
00:16:06 --> 00:16:09 studios influenced by tv shows and movies such
00:16:09 --> 00:16:13 as lioness and civil war some footage from battlefield
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 labs have been shared online despite it not being
00:16:15 --> 00:16:18 intended for public viewing a short clip from
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 the single -player campaign of the battlefield
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 game has been leaked discovered by dana minor
00:16:22 --> 00:16:28 temporal temporal data miner. The footage is
00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 identified as a work in progress and is not game
00:16:30 --> 00:16:34 play for a play for a play test lacking traditional
00:16:34 --> 00:16:37 watermarks from such tests. The clip reportedly
00:16:37 --> 00:16:42 shows a mission to destroy a dam in to our issue.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:48 Well, yeah, a country that is far away. The campaign
00:16:48 --> 00:16:51 is said to consist of eight missions, but plus
00:16:51 --> 00:16:54 a prologue set in and locations such as the one
00:16:54 --> 00:16:57 I tried at Butchard, Egypt, the US, and Gibraltar.
00:16:58 --> 00:17:00 There is currently no official release date or
00:17:00 --> 00:17:03 title for the next Battlefield game. EA has announced
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 a summer reveal for the game, but the exact timing
00:17:05 --> 00:17:10 is unspecified. So this is what you have. We
00:17:10 --> 00:17:16 actually have a single player campaign that is
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 going to be closely linked to Lioness and Civil
00:17:18 --> 00:17:23 War. So it could be good, could be bad, could
00:17:23 --> 00:17:26 be gay and good, gay and bad, because Lioness
00:17:26 --> 00:17:28 Season 2 was all about that for some other reason.
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 I'm not really quite sure why it was, but it
00:17:30 --> 00:17:35 was. Anyways, moving on to Crystal. Theatre of
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 Idols is a first -person shooter game influenced
00:17:37 --> 00:17:41 by Bioshock and cult horror elements from Resident
00:17:41 --> 00:17:44 Evil 4. The game requires players to sacrifice
00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 their own blood to reload their guns, which affects
00:17:47 --> 00:17:51 their health. Crystal is developed by Vermillion
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53 Studios, which was acquired by Embracer Group
00:17:53 --> 00:17:57 in 2020 and is published by Blumhouse Games.
00:17:57 --> 00:17:59 The game protagonist is Gabriel, the captain
00:17:59 --> 00:18:04 of the Tesserus Del Sol, who is sent to an island
00:18:04 --> 00:18:14 with a sea religion called Tormentosa to confront
00:18:14 --> 00:18:19 living idol statues. The game features a gothic
00:18:19 --> 00:18:24 nat - Nautical setting includes mechanics such
00:18:24 --> 00:18:27 as harvesting blood from dead animals and finding
00:18:27 --> 00:18:31 health restoring syringes. The game art development
00:18:31 --> 00:18:34 consists of around 20 people have worked on it
00:18:34 --> 00:18:37 for five years. Looks interesting. Looks good.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 I'm quite interested to see what they're going
00:18:39 --> 00:18:43 to do with that with it to reload using your
00:18:43 --> 00:18:45 own blood. I think that brings an interesting
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 dynamic that we haven't really seen in first
00:18:47 --> 00:18:51 person shooter games. So, this could be good.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:56 Alright, so the downfall of Bungie and or Marathon.
00:18:56 --> 00:18:58 So, Bungie Marathon reboot has been delayed from
00:18:58 --> 00:19:02 its original release date of September 20, 2023
00:19:02 --> 00:19:05 to an unspecified future date. The delay is attributed
00:19:05 --> 00:19:09 to feedback received from Alpha Playtest that
00:19:09 --> 00:19:13 can conclude in early May. No release date has
00:19:13 --> 00:19:15 been announced, but Bungie plans to provide an
00:19:15 --> 00:19:18 update later this - fall regarding the game's
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 progress and new release date. Bungie aims to
00:19:20 --> 00:19:24 enhance the game by improving survival elements,
00:19:24 --> 00:19:28 AI encounters, and loot rewards and combat strategy.
00:19:29 --> 00:19:31 The development team is also focused on enhancing
00:19:31 --> 00:19:34 visual fidelity, narrative storytelling, and
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 social experiences, including the addition of
00:19:36 --> 00:19:39 proximity chat. Despite challenges, PlayStation
00:19:39 --> 00:19:41 privacy reported strong early engagement with
00:19:41 --> 00:19:44 Marathon. All right, what we're seeing here is
00:19:44 --> 00:19:47 that this game was just awful. No one was talking
00:19:47 --> 00:19:49 about this in a good way. Everybody was like,
00:19:49 --> 00:19:54 this game is okay. The aimbotting is a little
00:19:54 --> 00:19:59 overhanded. The arc direction is weird. And it's
00:19:59 --> 00:20:02 just an eh, okay. Arc Raiders was talked about
00:20:02 --> 00:20:05 in a way more positive light and played more
00:20:05 --> 00:20:11 than this game. This game have had issues. It
00:20:11 --> 00:20:16 has a ton of issues, of stolen assets, of stolen
00:20:16 --> 00:20:21 art stuff from players with no monetary or even
00:20:21 --> 00:20:25 a, hey, we got this visual idea from this person
00:20:25 --> 00:20:29 type of thing. They stole assets and they tried
00:20:29 --> 00:20:33 to make it off as their own, did not work very
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35 well, and this is where we're at. The game is
00:20:35 --> 00:20:40 just not appealing at all. They really just need
00:20:40 --> 00:20:43 to redo the whole game, redo the whole art direction,
00:20:43 --> 00:20:47 and just make a good game. But they don't know
00:20:47 --> 00:20:52 how to do it anymore. Seems like Destiny 2 was
00:20:52 --> 00:20:56 kind of the last hurrah of Bungie. Because they
00:20:56 --> 00:20:59 don't know what they're doing. Besides stealing
00:20:59 --> 00:21:02 stuff, passing off on their own work. Big no
00:21:02 --> 00:21:06 -no. And we need to figure it out again. Probably
00:21:06 --> 00:21:09 should just drop all the woke and look how good
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 we are. Because every time a development team
00:21:10 --> 00:21:13 does that, you know they've fled talent. You
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 know they can't really make a game. And you know
00:21:15 --> 00:21:19 it's going to be awful. When everything's about
00:21:19 --> 00:21:22 image and not about the substance of the game,
00:21:22 --> 00:21:25 there are problems with the game. And we've seen
00:21:25 --> 00:21:29 it in real time, time and time again. Happen
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31 with Dragon Age Veilguard. Happen with Assassin's
00:21:31 --> 00:21:33 Creed Shadows. Now it's happening with this game,
00:21:34 --> 00:21:37 happening with Concord and so on and so forth
00:21:37 --> 00:21:41 until they figure out that hiring talent is better
00:21:41 --> 00:21:44 than hiring for their black, Asian, women or
00:21:44 --> 00:21:50 whatever. Hire the best person you can to do
00:21:50 --> 00:21:54 the job. Not hire whatever it is for the diversity
00:21:54 --> 00:21:58 report that makes no sense and actually does
00:21:58 --> 00:22:01 not add any value to your bottom line. Let's
00:22:01 --> 00:22:04 get back to common sense. And the common sense
00:22:04 --> 00:22:08 is you care more about making a great game. You
00:22:08 --> 00:22:10 care more about, look how much statistics we
00:22:10 --> 00:22:14 have on who's working in our office, in our development
00:22:14 --> 00:22:18 team, because it's stupid and nobody cares. All
00:22:18 --> 00:22:20 I care about is you make a great game. Don't
00:22:20 --> 00:22:22 care how many women are working here. Don't care
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 how many black people are working here. Don't
00:22:23 --> 00:22:27 care how many white people, gay people, lesbians,
00:22:27 --> 00:22:29 non -existent, non -binary people, because you
00:22:29 --> 00:22:35 don't exist. Just make a good game. It's all
00:22:35 --> 00:22:40 you have to do. All right. Anyways, if you agree
00:22:40 --> 00:22:42 or disagree, let me know in the comments below.
00:22:42 --> 00:22:45 But thank you once again for joining Digital
00:22:45 --> 00:22:47 Coffee Gaming Brew. I really do appreciate it.
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 And join me next week as we talk about what's
00:22:48 --> 00:22:50 going on in the game industry. All right, guys,
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 stay safe, get to playing the games you want
00:22:51 --> 00:22:53 to play that actually are fun, and see you next
00:22:53 --> 00:22:55 week. Later.