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Daily Briefing: Friday 10th September
🕑 Added 2021-09-10 13:01:03 +0000 UTCSony definitely brought the heat for last night's PlayStation Showcase
Sony held another PlayStation Showcase last night and, while a number of game shows in recent times have been rather tepid affairs full of pre-tempered expectations, Sony decided to go all-in on what turned out to be a bumper show. It was a little light in terms of actual release dates, sadly, but that's probably just the world we live in now where you can only be 100% certain that a game is releasing when you hold it in your hands.
- One of the biggest reveals was the news that Insomniac Games have around a hundred million employees, announcing Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Marvel's Wolverine in the same show. And that's off fresh the back of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart earlier this year and Spider-Man: Miles Morales last year. Elsewhere, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic will be making its PlayStation platform debut with a remaster from Aspyr, and Gran Turismo 7 will be releasing in March alongside the (apparently delayed) enhanced version of Grand Theft Auto 5.
Cory Barlog isn't returning as director for God of War Ragnarök
The other big standout of last night's PlayStation Showcase was a beefy new trailer for God of War Ragnarök, and the game looks set to bring Kratos and Atreus' Norse saga to a close with a bang. The trailer teased Freya and Thor as antagonists, and Kratos recruiting Tyr (the Norse God of War) on the road to Ragnarök and an ultimate war between the Gods. Roll on...sometime next year hopefully?
- Another notable aspect of the reveal was the news that Sony Santa Monica creative director Cory Barlog will not be returning to direct God of War Ragnarök. Instead, that responsibility goes to Eric Williams, who first joined the Santa Monica studio in 2004 and has been involved in every single God of War title. Changing up directors between projects is apparently "tradition" at the studio as it allows for a fresh perspective, but Barlog also noted that it allows for "a fresh pair of legs in the sense that you're really exhausted at the end of finishing one of these things." Barlog wouldn't give any indication of what he's working on instead of Ragnarök, only saying that the studio are working on "a bunch" of exciting stuff.
Chinese gaming market value tumbles amid government crackdown
That's according to a new report from Bloomberg which outlines that the market value of China's two largest gaming outfits, Tencent and Netease, took a dramatic tumble during an overnight stock selloff. It seems that losses exceed $60bn between the two companies which, as Bloomberg point out, is roughly eight times more than what Microsoft spent to acquire Zenimax Media. It's also around $15bn more than what Roblox was valued at earlier this year. Yikes.
- As for the reason behind these massive losses, it appears that investors are concerned by the increasing regulations and restrictions on gaming being introduced by the Chinese government. These measures include further restricting the amount of time minors can spend playing games each day, and slowing down the issuing of official licenses for new online games. In a meeting earlier this week, industry representatives were reportedly directed by Chinese government officials to avoid a "solitary focus" on profit, as chasing money could lead to the designing and implementation of more mechanics that foster gaming addiction in minors.
