This week’s Gaming Flashback has no cake — instead it’s the history of Portal. The guys try to keep the podcast meme-free as they discuss Valve’s first person puzzle platformer.
There’s also non-Portal related news items, too:
Let us know what you think in the Comments section.
If you want to watch the live version of the podcast, check the video above.
Google to sell Chrome AND be banned from re-entering the browser market for five years, recommends US Department of Justice, Stalker 2 sells over a million copies, Steam has changed its policy on DLC content and season passes, so now players are entitled to proper compensation if future plans fall through (“Customers will be offered a refund for the value of unreleased DLC”), and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth won’t receive any DLC.
The news includes:
Let us know what you think.
The post Episode 738: Stalkered first appeared on Gaming Podcast.
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It’s the last Gaming Podcast episode of 2018, and it’s three hours long! Well, it’s to make up for the fact we won’t be doing one next week. There are only two news items, but the entire bulk of the episode is our Game Awards for 2017, and we took a different tack than most sites and podcasts by inventing our own Awards Categories!
The news we do discuss include:
We also discussed the game we’re looking forward to the most in 2018 — let us know which one you are interested in!
Ensemble Studios, owned and operated by Microsoft or, Microsoft Games Studios, has been targed to be dissolved. All employees will find new homes, a large quantity will start a new studio and continue maintaining the later released Halo Wars franchise.
Microsoft has chosen to close the studio as part of their growth plan of Microsoft Games Studios much like FASA was closed in the past. The difference, there is a new landing point for Halo Wars unlike the uncertain future of Shadowrun.
Commenting on the reason for the closure, Microsoft said, “This was a fiscally rooted decision that keeps MGS on its growth path. While the decision to dissolve Ensemble was not an easy one, Microsoft is working to place as many Ensemble employees who do not move to the newly formed studio into open positions within Microsoft as possible.” (gamespot)
Ensemble Studio’s folks will continue to work with Microsoft and will continue to support Halo Wars after its launch. It is important to stress their statement of continuing to support Halo Wars, there is no need to think the project will be done half-assed or without pride as the project will live on with a different studio name.
The only question is… what is causing Microsoft to close down studios with actively working real franchise projects? FASA went down, Bungie was let go on their own and now Ensemble Studios? There has to be something going on here… idea?
I wanted Killer Instinct on the mini SNES.