As we wrap up the year it should be a slower time in gaming news, as developers and executives head home for the holidays, but that has not stopped us today as footage from Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade has leaked, Epic Games needs to pay millions of dollars for essentially manipulating children, and the Crash Bandicoot mobile game is shutting down.
Read all about this and more in today’s gaming news roundup.
The upcoming mobile game Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade has leaked
Earlier this year, Ubisoft announced a number of new titles that are in development for the Assassin’s Creed franchise. One of those titles is Assassin’s Creed Mirage which should be coming to consoles and PC in 2023, but another more curious title is Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade which will be released on mobile. Footage from the upcoming game has been leaked and while we won’t share the footage here the game seems to run well.
Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade will be set in China and part of the leak features a member of the Assassins who has been referenced in previous games, Wei Yu. We do not know when the game will be released but it is clear that they are gearing up for its release if the footage is already leaking. Who knows, it could coincide with the release of Assassin’s Creed Mirage and release next year.
Fortnite publisher Epic Games will be paying out millions of dollars to the FTC
In what might work out to be the most expensive story of the day, Fortnite developer Epic Games has gotten into trouble with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Epic Games will be paying a total of $520 million after the FTC alleged that they violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by designing their game to “dupe millions of players into making unintentional purchases.”
Interestingly the payment will be split into two payments, with $275 million in penalty fees going to the FTC and $245 million set aside for refunds. The payment also comes with a provision that Epic Games will have to strengthen their privacy settings, switching communication services off by default. It is worth noting that the agreement is record-breaking in that the $275 million is the highest penalty ever paid to the FTC. You can read more about the payments in our article here.
The Crash Bandicoot mobile game is shutting down
In weird news, a Crash Bandicoot mobile game that you might not have known about is shutting down. The game is called Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! and it was developed by the developers of Candy Crush, King. King has announced that the servers for the game will be shut down on Feb. 16, 2023, not even two years after the game was released in March 2021.
The game did have in-app purchases which have since been turned off but feel free to spend any currency you have in the game before you can no longer play it next year. The announcement has come soon after a new Crash Bandicoot game titled Crash Team Rumble was announced at The Game Awards earlier in the month.
Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters are coming to the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch
We reported in a previous gaming news roundup last week that the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters were leaked for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch after appearing on the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). We will take this opportunity to toot our own horns as the games were announced by Square Enix over the weekend.
The Pixel Remasters of Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI will be available to purchase individually or together in Spring 2023. There is also a swanky physical collection that will be limited and available to purchase when the game is released, which is sure to please any Final Fantasy fan. In addition to both of those options, there is a standard physical release which is also limited, but there are reports that they have sold out rather quickly. Still, here is the link to the Square Enix store so you can browse all things Final Fantasy.
The next free game on the Epic Games Store is a fighting game inspired by My Little Pony
Them’s Fightin’ Herds is available as a part of its free games Holiday Sale, where one game is given away for free for a certain number of days. Previous entries in this year’s giveaway have included Bloon TD 6, Horizon Chase Turbo, Costume Quest 2, and Sable. Them’s Fightin’ Herds is a game developed by Mane6, and it was created after they originally made a game consisting of ponies from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and Mattel sent them a cease and desist letter.
The game was crowd-funded through Indiegogo and it allows players to fight as multiple different characters in the My Little Pony style. It is a fun indie fighting game and it is currently free to purchase on the Epic Games Store. Check back tomorrow for the next free game.
Guerrilla Games confirms that there is a multiplayer Horizon game in the works
What might have been the most random news to come out of the last week, is that Guerrilla Games is working on a multiplayer game set in the world of Horizon Zero Dawn. Of course, we know that there is DLC coming for Horizon Forbidden West which will be released on April 19, 2023, and that there is a PlayStation VR 2 game called Horizon Call of the Mountain which will release in February alongside the launch of the new VR unit.
What we did not know was that a multiplayer game was being worked on. It was announced in the tweet above that they were hiring talented individuals for the game in question. This comes as a surprise, as we also already know that Naughty Dog is working on a multiplayer game set in the world of The Last of Us. This does come after PlayStation announced that they have multiple live service games in development without mentioning what they were. It is much too early to give you a release window, but we will keep you updated.
Come back tomorrow to read all the latest in gaming news.