GameNama Weekly #22

Ali Hasan February 21, 2023

Welcome back to Gameutha.com’s GameNama Weekly, where we bring you the latest and greatest in gaming news every single week! In this week’s update, we have some exciting updates on Ubisoft’s Call of Duty competitor, XDefiant alongside a new release date for Dead Island 2. Also, in this week’s update is news on Diablo 4, particularly its early access launch dates and new information for the Pinocchio-themed souls-like, Lies of P. For this and much more, continue reading!

XDefiant’s First Cross-Play Test is Scheduled for Later this Week

Ubisoft’s XDefiant, a 6v6 first-person shooter, taking inspiration from games like Call of Duty and The Division has remained on the back burner as the French videogame giant continues to push out new entries in its premiere franchises and following Ubisoft’s cancelation of over ten projects within the previous fiscal year it was believed XDefiant had ceased development but the game is still going strong.

Not only did Ubisoft confirm that the game was still in development but also announced a cross-play test scheduled for later this week, which will give the general public their first hands-on experience with the game. Four modes will be included in the test including Escort, Zone Control, Domination, and Occupy along with maps like Times Square, Zoo, and Midway. The test will be limited to next-gen machines (PS5, Xbox Series X, and S) and PC.

Dead Island 2 is Now Launching One Week Early

Dead Island 2 has faced a long and tremulous development cycle. Initially scheduled for a 2015 release, the project went through multiple shakeups and reboots before finally being re-revealed in 2022 with a release date of February of next year. The game, in true Dead Island fashion, was delayed once more to April before receiving a surprise bump-up early last week.

Dead Island 2 will now launch on April 21, 2023, instead of April 28. The 20-second-long trailer, released last week on the Dead Island 2 Twitter account showed a montage of fan comments over the release of the game before announcing that the game had gone gold and would be released a week earlier than previously announced. Dead Island 2 will launch on April 21, 2023, across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.

Diablo 4’s Beta Dates Have Been Revealed

Diablo 4 is perhaps one of the most anticipated games of 2023. It builds upon the already excellent formula established in previous Diablo games and is looking to take the series to new heights. Blizzard debuted a new in-game opening cinematic giving eager fans a tinge of what to expect from the final product when it launches in June of this year, alongside beta dates for the title.  

Those who pre-order the game will be able to play the beta a bit early; starting on March 17, and ending on March 19, while the open beta date has been set for March 24-March 26. Diablo 4 will launch on June 2, 2023, across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.

Lies of P Receives a Release Date

The idea of Lies of P, a souls-like game inspired by the classic tale of Pinocchio had many gamers perplexed when it was first announced. Mixing something as challenging as a souls-like and a classic children’s fantasy story seemed like something that wouldn’t work but as the subsequent gameplay trailers showed, the idea works and does so extremely well. The game which has now caught the attention of many gamers finally has a release date.

In a new trailer released last week, it was revealed that Lies of P will launch in August 2023. While an exact date hasn’t been provided yet and pre-orders still haven’t opened, the game is now available for wish listing across all major digital storefronts. Lies of P will launch in August 2023 across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. The game will also be available on day one on Xbox Game Pass for console and PC.

A New Civilization Game is in Development

Firaxis, the studio behind the XCOM games and most recently Marvel’s Midnight Suns has been at the top of the strategy game genre for a while now. The studio recently announced that Jake Solomon, studio head and the designer behind the two aforementioned games has departed the studio. Heather Hazen, the previous COO of the studio has now been promoted to studio head. While the news is devastating to the studio and strategy game fans at large, the team also announced that it had begun development on a new Civilization game.

Details regarding the game have been scarce at the moment, but what we do know is that the new Civilization game, tentatively titled Civilization (or Civ) VII will employ the same lead designer of the previous game, Ed Beach. It has been nearly 7 years since the release of Civilization VI but it looks like fans will have to wait a little while longer as the sequel has just started production. Civilization VII is currently without a release date.

That’s all for this week! Tune in next week right here on Gameutha.com to stay updated on the latest developments in the gaming world.

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