This week, Donkey Kong Bananza knocked our collective socks off in a very strong Nintendo Direct dedicated to the Switch 2's next big exclusive, and Marathon, the next big game from Destiny maker Bungie, was delayed in the wake of an alpha earlier th

--- In a world where the gaming industry is as unpredictable as a cat on a hot tin roof, Bungie has decided to showcase their own version of a tortoise-and-hare tale. Yes, folks, the creators of your beloved Destiny have once again decided to hit the brakes on their latest title, Marathon, after an early reception that could only be described as tumultuous. Grab your popcorn, because this...

Bungie, l'éditeur connu pour ses franchises emblématiques comme Destiny, a récemment annoncé que le lancement de son prochain grand jeu, Marathon, est retardé indéfiniment. Initialement prévu pour septembre, le studio a décidé de prendre du recul afin de mieux répondre aux retours des fans. Cette décision a été prise après l'alpha test du jeu plus tôt dans l'année, où de nombreux joueurs ont...

Bungie’s Marathon is still coming out, and when it does, PlayStation plans on giving the extraction shooter a fair shot. During a recent investor interview, Sony Interactive Entertainment head Herman Hulst assured the game would come out before March 31, 2026, when Sony’s fiscal year ends. Touching on its recent alpha test, he descbied the feedback as “varied, but super useful. […] The constant testing, the constant re-validation of assumptions that we just talked about, to me is just so valuable to iterate and to constantly improve the title, so when launch comes, we’re going to give the title the optimal chance of success.” Hanging over PlayStation is 2024’s sci-fi shooter Concord, which shut down weeks after launch and later led to developer Firewalk Studios closing down. That’s been just one of several botched attempts from PlayStation’s attempts to enter live-service games, which includes several canceled projects and layoffs across its first-party studios. While acknowledging these “unique challenges” and attributing Concord’s failure to the “hypercompetitive market” of hero shooters, Hulst talked up how they’re avoiding the same mistakes with Marathon. “It’s going to be the first new Bungie title in over a decade, and it’s our goal to release a very bold, very innovative, and deeply engaging title. We’re monitoring the closed alpha cycle the team has just gone through. We’re taking all the lessons learned, we’re using the capabilities we’ve built and analytics and user testing to understand how audiences are engaging with the title.” One thing Hulst didn’t touch on, though, was the recent accusations of art plagiarism levvied against Bungie. In May, artist Fern “Antireal” Hook released evidence alleging the studio stole assets she made from previous work and failed to credit her. After investigating, Bungie attributed the theft to the work of a former employee, publicly apologized, and said it would do “everything we can to make this right” with Hook. It also promised to review all in-game assets and replace “questionably sourced” art with original, in-house work. With the mention of its arriving before the fiscal year ends, Marathon may be delayed out of its current September 23 launch. At time of writing, Bungie and PlayStation have kept mum on a potential delay, but the game failed to make an appearance at PlayStation’s recent State of Play in early June. [via IGN] Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst has insisted that Bungie's upcoming live service shooter Marathon won't make the same mistakes as Concord.Discussing the company's live service ambitions during a fireside chat aimed at investors, Hulst said the market remains a "great opportunity" for PlayStation despite the company having a decidedly patchy track record when it comes to live service offerings.Last year, the company launched and swiftly scrapped live service hero shooter Concord after it failed to hit the ground running. It shuttered developer Firewalk weeks later after conceding the title "did not hit our targets."Sony scrapped two more live services titles in development at internal studios Bluepoint Games and Bend Studios in January this year. Earlier this week, it confirmed an undisclosed number of workers at Bend had been laid off as the studio transitions to its next project.Hulst said the company has learned hard lessons from those failures, and believes Marathon is well positioned to succeed as a result. "There are som unique challenges associated [with live service titles]. We've had some early successes as with Helldivers II. We've also faced some challenges, as with the release of Concord," said Hulst."I think that some really good work went into that title. Some really big efforts. But ultimately that title entered into a hyper-competitive segment of the market. I think it was insufficiently differentiated to be able to resonate with players. So we have reviewed our processes in light of this to deeply understand how and why that title failed to meet expectations—and to ensure that we are not going to make the same mistakes again."Related:PlayStation Studios boss claims the demise of Concord presented a learning opportunityHulst said PlayStation Studios has now implemented more rigorous processes for validating and revalidating its creative, commercial, and development assumptions and hypothesis. "We do that on a much more ongoing basis," he added. "That's the plan that will ensure we're investing in the right opportunities at the right time, all while maintaining much more predictable timelines for Marathon."The upcoming shooter is set to be the first new Bungie title in over a decade—and the first project outside of Destiny the studio has worked on since it was acquired by PlayStation in 2022.Hulst said the aim is to release a "very bold, very innovative, and deeply engaging title." He explained Marathon is currently navigating test cycles that have yielded "varied" feedback, but said those mixed impressions have been "super useful."Related:"That's why you do these tests. The constant testing and constant revalidation of assumptions that we just talked about, to me, is so valuable to iterate and to constantly improves the title," he added. "So when launch comes we're going to give the title the optimal chance of success."Hulst might be exuding confidence, but a recent report from Forbes claimed morale is in "free fall" at Bungie after the studio admitted to using stolen art assets in Marathon. That "varied" player feedback has also reportedly caused concern internally ahead of Marathon's proposed September 23 launch date.The studio was also made to ensure layoffs earlier this year, with Sony cutting 220 roles after exceeding "financial safety margins."

Geoff Keighley has promised a record-breaking number of publishers at Summer Game Fest this year, so we’ve rounded up what we think we’ll be playing in the coming monthsTech23:00, 05 Jun 2025We're so ready to step into Samus' boots againE3 might be long gone, but Summer Game Fest has replaced it. While Nintendo Switch 2 has just launched, and Sony has held its own State of Play event, tonight’s show is about as unpredictable as you can get. So, naturally, we’re trying to predict what we’ll be seeing.With everyone from PlayStation to SEGA, Xbox and even Nintendo making an appearance, we’re expecting big things from the showcase, which will be packed with titles for 2025 and beyond.‌While some are known quantities, like Borderlands 4, Little Nightmares 3, and the upcoming Bond game from Hitman developer IO Interactive, we’re still expecting plenty of surprises. Here’s everything we’re predicting for Summer Game Fest 2025.‌There are plenty of big namesWith Geoff Keighley’s events in both the Summer and December being key fixtures on the gaming events calendar, he’s able to pull off plenty of surprises. The Game Awards 2023 revealed Monster Hunter Wilds, while the following year showcased the first gameplay of Slay The Spire 2 and Split Fiction, as well as Elden Ring Nightreign and Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.As for Summer Game Fest itself, the show last year featured Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 - all games which were released since then.Article continues belowWe’ve heard rumblings that Capcom’s Pragmata, revealed alongside the PS5 in June 2020, could be shown at the event following an indefinite delay in 2023. It’s just as well, since we have no idea what the game really is yet.We’re also very curious about what Nintendo could show. The Switch 2 is out, but only as of yesterday, so we’d expect a sizzle reel to show what the console is capable of, as well as another look at Donkey Kong Bananza.‌PlayStation is probably easier to predict since the company is launching Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding 2: On The Beach in just a few short weeks, and Geoff Keighley will likely find some way of getting the man himself on stage.SEGA has plenty to show, too. Sonic Racing CrossWorlds is still due this year, while the company has an ambitious plan to resurrect classic titles starting with Shinobi: Art of Vengeance and leading into Streets of Rage and Crazy Taxi.We tipped a Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 announcement for Sony’s State of Play, but we’re still waiting for more news on Kingdom Hearts 4.‌Pearl Abyss is still aiming to launch Crimson Desert this year (supposedly), but we’re without a release date as yet, while the company is also working on its colourful DokeV which has been MIA for years at this point.While Microsoft is expected to appear, the company has its own showcase just two days later with a big focus on The Outer Worlds 2. As a result, we might just get a sneak peek at this year’s Call of Duty with more to come on Sunday.With Bungie’s Marathon hit by plagiarism accusations, Embark Studios has a great chance to get players onto Arc Raiders as an alternative. Speaking of Bungie, expect a gameplay trailer for Destiny 2: Edge of Fate.‌Elden Ring is coming to Switch 2(Image: FromSoftware, Inc.)Call us crazy, but we want a bunch of Switch 2 news. We want to see From Software’s Duskbloods, get a release date for Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, and maybe even a Metroid Prime 4 release date from Nintendo itself.Given the history of Monster Hunter on portable consoles, we’ve got everything crossed for the series to come to Switch 2, but coming off of the excellent Wilds, it’s perhaps unlikely.‌Naturally, we’ve always got our fingers crossed that we’ll see Silksong, but rumours have suggested that Team Cherry’s long-awaited Hollow Knight follow-up would be announced at Microsoft’s event if at all.As we said in our State of Play predictions, we’re also expecting to hear more about Resident Evil 9 by the end of this week, in some way, shape, or form.With The Division 2 getting what’s likely its final DLC recently, here’s hoping for The Division 3, which has been rumoured for a while. Or, maybe Ubisoft will finally share something about the Splinter Cell title it has in development.Article continues belowDid we get any correct? Find out with us, with the show kicking off at 10PM BST on Friday night.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.‌‌‌

Sometimes you want to play alone, whether your game of choice is a relaxing solitaire session or an engrossing, cinematic campaign. We get that. Still, some of the best gaming-related experiences come from moments shared with other people. After all, an excellent multiplayer mode makes a video game endlessly replayable and enables good times with local friends or strangers across the country—as long as the servers stay up. Our list of the best multiplayer games casts a wide net that includes console and PC games, competitive and cooperative titles, casual board games and serious esports fare, and, of course, battle royales, shooters, and fighters. If you're interested in playing a game with at least one other person, you'll find something that catches your eye here. These are the best multiplayer video games that you and your friends should play right now. Apex Legends From the ashes of Titanfall rose the best battle royale game. Respawn’s Apex Legends combines unbelievably fluid movement with impeccable gunplay and innovative team communication features. Each character’s unique abilities open strategic options on the expansive battlefield. Among Us Among Us (for iOS) 4.0 Excellent Among Us is more of a social experiment than a game. You and your friends play as crewmates attempting to repair a spaceship, but some players are deadly impostors who are picking off others. Constant lying and manipulation turn even the friendliest relationships into pure paranoia.  Clubhouse Games Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent This compilation contains more than 50 classic games that have stood the test of time, including bowling, backgammon, and billiards. You can have fun with friends or family, but beware getting so heated that you'll never want to speak with them again. Online play ensures the good (and frustrating) times aren't limited to your immediate vicinity. Counter-Strike 2 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 4.0 Excellent Counter-Strike is a founding father of multiplayer online shooters, and Counter-Strike 2 continues the legacy. In this long-awaited update to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, you’ll find a massive community always ready to hop into Terrorist versus Counter-Terrorist tactical team action. Plus, it’s free! Death Stranding Death Stranding: Director's Cut (for PlayStation 5) 4.0 Excellent Hideo Kojima’s freaky odyssey about time rain and babies in jars is also one of the most fascinating and unconventional multiplayer games in recent memory. As you traverse the harsh wasteland, you can leave behind useful items, such as ladders and reports, that other players can use in their sessions. Destiny 2 Destiny 2 (for PlayStation 4) Destiny 2 is the looter-shooter that gives other looter-shooters envy. You gather the shiniest guns, the sickest armor, and show off your gear in front of fellow Guardians. Party-up and shoot your way through alien enemies and strongholds with Bungie’s perfect first-person shooter controls. The first taste is free, and regular, new content releases give you many reasons to keep gunning. Destiny 2 (for PlayStation 4) review Diablo IV 4.0 Excellent No action-RPG out-Diablos Diablo IV, a title that expands the familiar loot-grinding mechanics with massive, demon-filled zones. In terms of character builds, Diablo IV review Dota 2 Dota 2 (for PC) 4.5 Excellent What began as a mere mod has since become one of the most popular esports in the world. Dota 2 sets the standard for the MOBA genre, that strange hybrid between real-time strategy and team sports. New heroes give players constantly changing choices to consider. If you put in the effort to get really good at this game, the sky's the limit.  Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (for PC) 4.0 Excellent The King of Fighters series is great, but Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves resurrects the SNK fighter that started it all. Familiar faces like Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui battle real-life guest characters like DJ Salavatore Gannaci and soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo in this excellent take on fundamental, 2D fisticuffs. Rich mechanics add depth to both offensive and defensive play, while comic book-inspired graphics give brawls a distinct visual identity. Crossplay multiplayer shines with rollback netcode. Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (for PC) review Fortnite Fortnite (for PC) 3.5 Good Do you really need someone else to tell you about Fortnite? Originally a free battle royale mode for a failed multiplayer game, Fortnite became an absolute phenomenon. Every day, millions of children leap from the in-game battle bus to shoot each other and build elaborate structures, while dressed as their favorite brands. You can also hang out and watch concerts or (for some reason) documentaries on social issues.   Forza Horizon 5 Forza Horizon 5 (for PC) 4.5 Excellent Forza Horizon 5 appeals equally to serious automobile racing enthusiasts and anyone who just wants to drive aimlessly through beautifully rendered Mexican landscapes. Although largely similar to past entries, the new EventLab lets you create clever, custom courses to enjoy with friends. Halo Infinite Halo Infinite (for PC) 4.5 Excellent Halo single-handedly saved the Xbox, and proved that multiplayer shooters could thrive on home consoles. Halo Infinite doesn’t just reinvent the single-player campaign, it continues Halo’s history of excellent multiplayer modes, from capture the flag to random weapon fiestas. Plus, you can play for free, so finish the fight. Halo Infinite (for PC) review Jackbox Party Pack The Jackbox Party Pack 8 (for PC) The annual Jackbox Party Pack games consistently deliver the most hilarious social multiplayer experiences you’ll ever play. Design wacky t-shirts, come up with witty quips, and try to figure out which friend is faking it. Anyone can play, as long as they have a phone. With unique streaming features, even your audience can join the party. League of Legends League of Legends (for PC) 4.5 Excellent Free from any previous mod baggage, League of Legends is arguably the more accessible game when it comes to the MOBA heavy hitters. Still, it takes skill to master every champion and lead your team to victory. The League of Legends universe is expanding into other game genres and Netflix shows, so now’s the time to get caught up.  League of Legends (for PC) review It Takes Two In many ways, marriage is the ultimate multiplayer game. It Takes Two is a cooperative adventure that tasks two people with controlling a couple as they complete wacky challenges to repair their strained relationship. You’ll never know true love until you and your partner escape a giant cuckoo clock together. The King of Fighters XV The King of Fighters XV (for PC) 4.0 Excellent For finely tuned 2D fighting, look no further than The King of Fighters XV. Building off intriguing ideas introduced in previous entries, KOF XV gives you a massive character roster and an expressive, creative fighting system. Tournament features, multiplayer party modes, and rollback netcode make this one of the series' best entries. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is absolutely everything you could want from Nintendo’s hugely popular kart racing series. It features gorgeous visuals, inventive tracks, and a revamped battle mode. In fact, Nintendo is still selling new courses, years after the game's 2017 debut. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is so spectacular not even the blue shell can stop it.  Minecraft Minecraft (for PC) 4.5 Excellent Minecraft gives young people an unparalleled sense of freedom as they explore and build worlds, brick by brick. In fact, multiple builders can join the same game world for cooperative mining and crafting. Take it a step further by setting up your own Minecraft server, so you and friends can construct a private paradise.  Monster Hunter Rise Monster Hunter Rise (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent Monster Hunter Rise finally makes hardened haters see the glory of Capcom’s monster-slaying series. You can craft new weapons and armors by defeating a monster menagerie inspired by Japanese mythology or swing through the air with new wirebug techniques. No beasts will stand in your way as you go beast hunting with friends. Mortal Kombat 1 Mortal Kombat 1 (For PC) 4.5 Excellent With Mortal Kombat 1, the famously bloody fighting game finally breaks free of its infamously stiff gameplay mechanics. Finishing foes has never been more fun thanks to high-flying air combos and custom tag-team Kameo fighter attacks. This reboot is as entertaining to play with friends as it is to watch with horrified onlookers. Mortal Kombat 1 (For PC) review Rocket League Rocket League (for PC) 4.5 Excellent “Cars playing soccer” is such a beautiful premise for an arcade sports game, and Rocket League perfectly pulls it off. Sure, you can just put the pedal to the metal and bash into the ball, hoping it goes into the goal. But the high-flying physics system creates enough depth for sensational tests of skill. The free-to-play season structure means you’ll always have a reason to return.  Rocket League (for PC) review Splatoon 3 Splatoon 3 (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent Only Nintendo could take the well-worn shooter genre and turn it into a game about punky squid kids squirting ink at each other. By making battles more about covering turf than blasting opponents, Splatoon 3 is a friendlier and more accessible shooter. However, you’ll need to stay on your toes with so many unique weapons and traversal options. Splatoon 3 (for Nintendo Switch) review StarCraft II StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void (for PC) 5.0 Outstanding StarCraft II is the best strategy game since chess. Whether you play as Terran, Zerg, or Protoss armies, you have access to perfectly balanced units for overcoming any opponent during real-time clashes. The StarCraft II trilogy even introduces free, cooperate multiplayer modes, so veterans can introduce newcomers to the fight. Street Fighter 6 Street Fighter 6 (for PC) 5.0 Outstanding Street Fighter 6 is worthy of its iconic name. With its bold new style (graffiti in motion!), expansive new modes (worldwide online Battle Hub!), exciting new roster (Kimberly!), and competitive new gameplay systems (Drive Gauge!), Street Fighter battles are more hype than ever. It's a multiplayer gaming masterpiece. Street Fighter 6 (for PC) review Streets of Rage 4 Streets of Rage 4 (for PC) 4.0 Excellent Streets of Rage 4 breathes new life into the aging beat ‘em up genre thanks to complex combat and stunning illustrated graphics. If smacking goons in solo fashion gets boring, team up with a friend for chaotic co-op action. You can even unlock retro versions of classic characters. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent Super Smash Bros. Ultimate combines countless characters, stages, modes, and music tracks to create the most incredible video game crossover of all time. It’s also a phenomenal platform-fighting game, speeding up the addictive combat and rebalancing advanced techniques. No matter how seriously you take it, no video game can scratch that satisfying multiplayer itch like Super Smash Bros.  Tekken 8 Tekken 8 (for PC) Tekken 8 is the latest and greatest entry in the venerable 3D fighting game franchise. Prove your worth at the King of Iron Fist Tournament by nimbly sidestepping, laying down painful combos, and activating new Heat Smash attacks. For the true Tekken multiplayer experience, fight your dad and throw him down a volcano. Tetris Effect: Connected Tetris Effect: Connected (for Xbox Series S) 4.5 Excellent Tetris Effect: Connected makes the perfect puzzle game even better. Alongside traditional competitive Tetris multiplayer modes, Effect lets you team up for cooperative “Connected” journeys where you and your partners clear lines on the same massive board. Combine that with trance-inducing audiovisual stimuli, and you’ll never look at blocks the same way again. 

Ever since its initial reveal, Marathon As we’ve inched closer and closer to its release date, the general outlook seems to have only gotten more dismal. Yes, there have been some very concerning controversies that shouldn’t be swept under the rug, but Marathon is suffering from a more systemic problem with live service games as a whole that it will need to overcome to succeed. Recommended Videos The trust is broken Live service games are labelled as such because they’re meant to be living, evolving experiences that players can keep coming back to for months and years. MMORPGs were the progenitors of this model, but now we’ve seen it applied to all sorts of genres. Despite its ups and downs, Destiny is still the poster child for what we now call live service games and the model so many have tried to imitate. As with anything successful in the gaming industry, it wasn’t long before every big player wanted a piece of that pie. The allure of a perpetual money-maker was too great to resist, despite the reality being much more complicated. Sony was arguably the one to invest the most heavily in the model, at one point boasting over 12 live service games in the works. Between released and cancelled projects, that number has shrunk to possibly two, those being Marathon and Fairgames. While we can’t discuss the broken trust between gamers and the current and upcoming slate of live service games without mentioning Concord, the root of the problem goes back much further than that. The first game I recall raising major red flags in the gaming sphere was Anthem. Even before all the behind-the-scenes problems in development were brought to light about the game, fans were leery about a studio known for RPGs seemingly trying to hop onto the latest trend. Anthem launched to a less-than-stellar response and quickly went on life support. It failed to satisfy BioWare’s core RPG fans or any potential Destiny converts due to a lack of both a satisfying story or a compelling endgame grind. Before launch, EA shared a roadmap calendar detailing three acts of content, and when nothing beyond Act 1 was released for over a year, BioWare promised a major overhaul of the game, unofficially called Anthem 2.0. All of these plans were cancelled. Firewalk Studios Since then, we’ve seen more major games make bold claims about months and years of future content, only to pull the rug out from players after a middling — or downright abysmal — launch. Examples include Redfall, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and, of course, Concord. That last one is likely the one that broke the camel’s back for most gamers due to how unprecedented it was. This was a PlayStation first-party release with prime showcase placement, an ambitious roadmap of content, an experimental storytelling method, and even a tie-in episode in Secret Level before the game had even come out. That game failing would be bad, but it being scrubbed from existence is catastrophic for gamers’ trust in PlayStation and live service as a whole. Not only do we have to be concerned about a game simply breaking all promises of support, but also the entire experience being ripped from us. While I don’t think the sins of one game should be borne by another, I can’t blame anyone who has adopted a more wait-and-see approach to new live service games. If we can’t count on a name as big as PlayStation to make good on its promises, why should we think differently for any other studio? Trust isn’t given anymore, it needs to be earned. The impressions I have seen from both major pundits and average players in forums for Marathon feel a lot like what the sentiment was for Concord before launch. The general feelings appear to float around a “it’s pretty fun to play, but there’s not enough there right now” type of vibe. Justified or not, that’s a death sentence for a game that relies on a large population of people being willing to support the game at its weakest so that it can even attempt to reach its full potential. Gamers have long memories — at least when it comes to being burned. A roadmap and a “trust us” from the development team just doesn’t cut it anymore. Marathon could very well have the potential to be amazing, but it has to start out great to even have a chance to get there. Not enough people will settle for even good, and with so many people perfectly content sitting on the sidelines to see if it fails before it even gets off the ground, it will result in a self-fulfilling prophecy. Bungie shouldn’t be let off the hook for blatant plagiarism or the apparent crashing moral at the studio. Rumors swirling about how the unrealistic amount of money it needs to make to be considered a success don’t help either, but Marathon‘s fate wouldn’t look any more certain even if that had never occurred. Until enough live service games earn our trust back, each game is fighting an uphill battle that gets steeper with every failed attempt.

Marathon – just one of the problems highlighted this week (Bungie) A reader is disturbed by the amount of bad news in the video game world at the moment, especially as most of it involves issues that have been brewing for many months. We are in a strange situation right now with video games, where almost all the news is terrible and yet great games continue to be released. This has the side effect of masking the serious issues from many gamers, who either don’t know or don’t care about what’s really going on. As long as games as good as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Monster Hunter Wilds are still coming out then everything must be fine, right? Wrong. What disturbed me this week, while reading the Metro, is that apart from job cuts (although they were implied) it had examples of all the biggest problems going on. What I found extra worrying is not only did they happen all at the same time but they’re all long running issues that show absolutely no sign of being fixed. Perhaps the most obvious problem was the growing inevitability of £80 becoming the default price for big name games. At this point it’d be a victory if it only increases to £80, because GTA 6 will almost certainly be more. What was so awful about this week’s news is that we had two big industry figures telling us that actually we shouldn’t complain, we should get a second job to afford the games and just eat the cost. I wouldn’t necessarily expect better from someone like Randy Pitchford, but hearing the ex-Sony guy saying that we shouldn’t complain just shows how out of touch these execs and decision makers are. Increasing costs will lower the number of games people buy and that means a lot of titles and companies are just going to have the door slammed in their faces. People’s money is not going to stretch as far as it used to and that is going to be a big problem for some games. Many are already predicting Marathon will either be a flop or just cancelled before it gets a chance, and it’s not hard to see why. Nothing about it looks appealing and Sony seeming to be looking for any excuse to shut down Bungie completely, at the loss of hundreds of jobs. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Oh, and the reason for Bungie’s downfall? Corporate greed, according to the people that used to work there. That’s not exactly shocking news but there it is in black and white: all these problems could’ve been avoided if Bungie’s bosses had thought of the company first and not themselves. But then we also had the revelation that the boss of Take-Two doesn’t play video games and has no interest in trying out GTA 6, even though he totally could. This is also a massive non-surprise and probably very common in the games industry, where decisions are made on a spreadsheet and not from a place of passion or ambition. Sometimes they just seem to lack basic competence though, such as the lack of any plan for when games become too expensive and time consuming to make – a problem they must have seen coming years ago. This was illustrated perfectly this week by Hideo Kojima saying his Metal Gear spiritual sequel won’t be out for five or six years, even though he announced it over a year ago. The amount of time it takes to make a game is out of control, but nobody is doing anything about it. And then to finish we had the rumour that Sony is only going to have a State of Play this summer, not a full showcase, or possibly have nothing at all in terms of not-E3 events. Thereby setting us up for another 12 months of no major announcements and only one or two releases. More Trending I don’t want to get anyone down, but I do think it’s important to point out that just because good games are still coming out it doesn’t mean that it’s not chaos behind the scenes, which ultimately is only going to lead to even greater disaster if none of the problems are dealt with. By reader Ollie Hideo Kojima will be approaching his 60s by the time Physint comes out (Lorne Thomson/Redferns) (Credits: Redferns) The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro. You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email. GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy