cancellation
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A new Deus Ex game was reportedly canceled amid Embracer's crisis
Embracer Group, the Swedish holding company undergoing restructuring, has reportedly canceled a Deus Ex game. Developers had allegedly been working on the unannounced title for two years.
Sega cancels multiplayer shooter Hyenas at the last minute
Sega unexpectedly canceled the title ‘Hyenas’ soon before it was expected to launch. Layoffs could also be coming to the developer.
Google makes it easier to find COVID-19 travel advisories
As the coronavirus continues to spread and countries introduce various travel restrictions, Google has seen an uptick in searches for travel advisories and cancellation policies. In response, it's making some changes to help users find that information even faster.
Netflix cancels 'Santa Clarita Diet' after three seasons
Netflix is keeping up its habit of canceling shows after three seasons, no matter what the level of interest. The service has dropped Santa Clarita Diet just weeks after its third season premiered on March 29th. It's not clear what prompted the decision, although it's fairly unusual for Netflix in that the zombie romcom not only had star power (most notably Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant) and its fair share of fans, but was strictly an in-house production. Other shows receiving the axe in recent months have come from external studios, such as the Marvel shows and One Day at a Time.
'Lucifer' will get a fourth season on Netflix
Every time a show gets cancelled or even seems close to being cancelled, fans cry out for Netflix to save it. The streaming service has hosted new seasons of several TV shows that other outlets sent to the grave (The Killing, Arrested Development, Longmire), and today announced another one: Lucifer. The series used to air on Fox before it was cancelled last month, but after a long #SaveLucifer campaign on social media -- and, according to Deadline, negotiations over domestic and international streaming rights of prior seasons -- the show will go on. Like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Expanse, middling ratings and a complicated streaming situation and played a role in Lucifer's status. Hulu has its streaming rights in the US, while Amazon (which was also reportedly interested) has the rights in the UK and Germany. Just one more thing to keep in mind when you're thinking about picking up a new series.
Hulu cancels 'The Path' after three seasons
We're afraid some of the Meyerism Movement's unanswered secrets will forever remain a mystery, now that Hulu has chosen not to renew The Path. The streaming platform has canceled one of its most high-profile originals after three seasons -- the third season started airing in January and concluded in late March -- ending the Lane family's journey as part of a controversial cult with a bloody past and a dangerous present. The series starred Aaron Paul (Jesse from Breaking Bad) as the Lane family patriarch who's going through a crisis of faith, Michelle Monaghan as his wife born into the movement and Hugh Dancy as the charismatic cult leader.
The cancellation of 'Scalebound' is a huge blow for PlatinumGames
Scalebound is no more. Platinum's Xbox exclusive has been canceled by Microsoft, killing the dream of a Devil May Cry–meets–Last Guardian mashup. What a shame. I saw the game behind closed doors on two separate occasions and was left positively smitten with the concept. It centered on Drew, an arrogant, headphone-loving twenty-something lost in a world filled with dragons. With Thuban, an eventual friend and fire-breathing combat partner, he would scour floating islands and decimate mythical enemies large and small. Throughout the game you would control them both, slashing as Drew and throwing out commands to Thuban.
Microsoft cancels Xbox One exclusive 'Scalebound'
If you've been anticipating Platinum Games' Scalebound ever since it was unveiled in 2014, you're about to get some crushing news. In the wake of leaks from Kotaku and Eurogamer, Microsoft Studios has confirmed that the dragon action role-playing game has been cancelled. The company hasn't elaborated on why (you can read its statement below), but Eurogamer's sources describe it as the result of a rough development process that grew particularly tortuous in 2016.
Perfect Ten: What Titan's death means for the industry and you
Blizzard's fans are in mourning this weekend and its competition is no doubt rejoicing after the World of Warcraft developer finally cancelled its seven-years-in-the-making Titan MMO. Word on the street is that Titan was a little too similar to what Bungie came up with in Destiny, although all the studio itself will say is that it ultimately wasn't fun. So Titan joins Starcraft Ghost and Warcraft Adventures in the Blizzard graveyard. It's a loss for those who were hoping to see what Blizz could do outside of World of Warcraft in the MMO space. But what does this cancellation mean for Blizzard, the industry, and us as MMO gamers? I have a few thoughts, although I'll pre-empt them by predicting that your life will most likely go on just the same it did before this momentous announcement.
Neal Stephenson's sword-fighting game Clang officially shelved
Historical sword-fighting game Clang has officially been axed, developer Subutai Corporation announced yesterday. The game earned $526,125 on Kickstarter in July 2012 and according to creator and sci-fi novelist Neal Stephenson, the developer did eventually deliver on a prototype of the game as promised. "The prototype was technically innovative, but it wasn't very fun to play," Stephenson wrote in an update on Clang's Kickstarter page, admitting he "probably focused too much on historical accuracy and not enough on making it sufficiently fun to attract additional investment." Development paused last year to attract additional investors, which Stephenson said was part of the initial plan for the game. While Clang was slated to be playable with a mouse and keyboard, the game was expected to support peripherals like Sixense's Razer Hydra motion controller and Kickstarter success STEM system.
Ragnarok Online 2 shutting down in Southeast Asia
Ragnarok Online 2 isn't exactly taking the world by storm as of late. Following the title's closure in Korea last year, Ragnarok Online 2 is closing its doors in Singapore and Malaysia on October 9th. There is a pretty bright spot to this story, however, as Asiasoft's version of the game will accept account transfers from affected players. "Following the opening of Ragnarok 2's Odin Server to Philippine players last month, we are thrilled to be continuing the global expansion of Warpportal's Ragnarok Online 2 by welcoming all players from Southeast Asia regions!" Asiasoft posted. Southeast Asian players will not be able to access their characters until October 9th, and none of their Kafra Points will make the leap over to the new server.
Yogscast's Kickstarter-funded Yogventures canceled
Winterkewl Games has halted development of its crowdfunded open-world sandbox game Yogventures, announcing that it will "probably need to go out of business and possibly file for bankruptcy" after failing to deliver a product to backers. Announced in 2012, Yogventures featured characters from Yogscast, a YouTube channel that rose to prominence with a series of popular Minecraft-themed videos. Though the project earned more than $560,000 in backer pledges, developer updates ceased in August of last year, leading many supporters to question development progress and seek refunds. Speaking to Eurogamer, Yogscast revealed that it will send Steam codes for Nerd Kingdom's in-progress RPG TUG to Yogventures backers as compensation. "[W]e have organized for Nerd Kingdom to have the source code, assets and designs of Yogventures to ensure we're making best use of Winterkewl's work," Yogscast's statement reads. "For the Yogventures Kickstarter backers the physical rewards should already have been received and we're happy for people to contact us at yogventures@yogscast.com if any are missing so we can look into it for them." "Although we're under no obligation to do anything, instead we're going to do our best to make this right, and make you really glad you backed the project!" Yogscast co-founder Lewis Brindley said in an e-mail to Yogsventure backers.
Banjo-Kazooie spiritual successor canceled, composer says
A proposed spiritual successor to Rare's Nintendo 64 platformer Banjo-Kazooie has been called off, series composer Grant Kirkhope confirmed in a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" post this week. "The other guys actually had a secret meeting in a pub near Rare and we even got as far as having a character drawn up and a demo level type thing but it all fell to bits .... everyone's got other jobs, etc.," Kirkhope said. Developed by a team of ex-Rare staffers, the "Mingy Jongo" project promised to retain the detailed environments and googly-eyed characters of its N64 inspiration. The team's Twitter account went dark in December 2012, and a proposed Kickstarter project failed to materialize. [Image: Rare]
CCP is 'reviewing the status' of the World of Darkness IP
In the aftermath of World of Darkness' cancellation and the layoffs at its Atlanta studio, CCP said that it is taking time to "review" the White Wolf IP. "We believe that the World of Darkness IP is very valuable and will be reviewing the status of it in the coming weeks and months, but we have no specific plans under consideration at this time," a CCP spokesperson said to CVG. In the search to understand why World of Darkness got shuttered, players might turn to last December's financials for CCP. In these, the studio lodged a loss of $21 million for the year despite increasing revenue year-over-year. This was mostly due to a "massively increased R&D budget" that was feeding into projects such as WoD.
God of War 3 director, Infamous: Second Son lead designer leave Sony [Update]
God of War 3 creative director Stig Asmussen is no longer at Sony Santa Monica, following the recent round of layoffs at the studio and the purported cancellation of his new project. IGN confirmed Asmussen's departure with Sony this week, although it's not known if the 11-year veteran of the studio left of his own accord or not. Asmussen joined Sony Santa Monica from Midway in 2003, serving as a lead environment artist on the first God of War and art director on God of War 2. He stepped up to creative director on God of War 3, and it's speculated he then began work on a new, unannounced AAA project with a sci-fi theme. According to ex-lead level designer Jonathan Hawkins, who lost his job in the layoffs, that project is now canceled after several years of development. Asmussen isn't Sony's only high-profile departure of the week, after Infamous: Second Son lead designer Jaime Griesemer revealed he's no longer working for Sucker Punch. He joined the Seattle-based studio back in 2011, having previously worked at Bungie for twelve years where he was involved with all the Halo games, and served as a lead game designer on Destiny between 2008 and 2010. Griesemer didn't give any reasons for the move, simply tweeting he's "Not really talking about it yet, tho." Update: Griesemer provided Joystiq with a statement regarding his leaving Sucker Punch, assuring fans the timing is not a "cause for concern" about Infamous: Second Son. The full statement follows: "I appreciate all the well-wishes on the news that I am leaving Sucker Punch, but please don't take the timing as cause for concern about Second Son – it's a great game that I am proud to have on my resume and I can't wait for everyone to play it – or Sucker Punch – a studio on the rise with a bright future – or Sony – a great organization with some of the savviest, most pro-gamer executives in the business. And while I am honored to be mentioned in the same articles as legendary designers like Amy Hennig and Stig Asmussen, please don't look too hard for some sinister pattern. The truth is that any creative, vibrant industry is necessarily volatile; the only sure bet is that the next few years will not look the same as the last. Change is part of the job, but along with the upheaval and uncertainty, there's opportunity and new challenges. It's an exciting time to be a free agent and I'm going to go see what's out there. Simple as that..." [Image: Sony]
Sony Santa Monica's unannounced IP canceled, says laid off dev
An unannounced new property at God of War studio Sony Santa Monica is canceled, according to ex-employee Jonathan Hawkins. The former lead level designer, who lost his job in yesterday's round of layoffs, took to Twitter to reveal the IP had been in development "since God of War 3," and indicated it was connected to that game's director, Stig Asmussen. It's speculated the project in question was a AAA sci-fi game, and that certainly matches with what Battlestar Galactica writer Michael Angeli said at last year's E3. Angeli revealed he was working with Sony Santa Monica on a new and unannounced project, telling Polygon he'd been writing for the game across the prior two and a half years, and that the studio's full team transitioned to work on it after God of War: Ascension. Sony has yet to confirm any details on the project, and for his part, Hawkins said he couldn't say too much about the situation. However, he did share his frustration over what had happened in a heartfelt series of tweets: "Yesterday, I was laid off. It was a good 10-year run and I got to make three 90+ games. I lived the dream and got to accomplish all of my goals. Except one... making something out of nothing and creating a new AAA IP. Secondly, the pain that I feel for my friends who have lost their jobs. The saddest and most important part is the game I was creating for the player that will never be played. I'm sorry that I've failed you." [Image: Sony Santa Monica]
Batman: Arkham Origins story campaign DLC canceled on Wii U
Wii U owners won't be getting the upcoming Arkham Origins story campaign DLC, after Warner Bros. made the decision to cancel it due to a lack of demand. WB confirmed the news in a statement given to VG247, after GoNintendo published a supposed Nintendo of America email spilling the bat-beans. The Nintendo system and the latest Batman haven't been a dynamic duo, starting with WB not bringing multiplayer to the Wii U version for similarly quantitative reasons. WB's belated call to not give the Wii U further single-player content is curious, especially since there's other DLC from the game on the eShop, such as skins and challenge packs. The one ray of good in today's news is that, going by the email published by GoNintendo, Nintendo of America is issuing a full refund to those who bought the season pass, despite some of the DLC it covers already being out. Whether that decision is WB's or Nintendo's, it is at least the right one.
Steam now allows users to cancel pre-orders on their own
Pre-ordering games you're really excited about makes sense, but so does canceling said pre-order once you get suspicious that a game won't turn out to be any good. Changing your mind used to be a bit of a process on Steam, since canceling pre-orders required going through the service's support system. That seems to have changed, though - Steam users have reported the surprise appearance of a "Refund an item" button that displays on a user's store transactions page. Reddit user lak3108 posted an image from his Steam account showing his refunded Resident Evil 4 HD purchase. The image states the funds were refunded as a wallet credit that can be used toward future purchases. Shortening transaction processes will always be a welcome thing, so it's great to see that people can manage their Steam shopping with a bit less hassle. Just don't pre-order everything you've ever wanted and then change your mind once a game you forget about releases.
Ashes Cricket 2013 pulled from Steam, publisher issuing refunds
505 Games has removed Ashes Cricket 2013 from its Steam catalog following widespread reports of bugs and other technical issues. The publisher later announced that it has no plans to issue a fixed version, effectively canceling the game post-release. 505 Games blames the faulty release on "misplaced" assurances from developer Trickstar Games, who experienced persistent engine issues over an extended development period. "The net result of the challenges we have faced was a game which, despite our best efforts over the course of a 2 year development, couldn't meet the quality benchmarks of either us, our licensors or our customers," the publisher said in a statement to Rock Paper Shotgun. 505 Games announced that it will contact players who purchased Ashes Cricket 2013 on Steam, and will begin issuing refunds shortly. No word has been issued regarding planned ports for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U.
Ragnarok Online 2 closing in Korea next month
Ragnarok Online 2's days are numbered -- if you're living in South Korea, that is. If you're in North Korea, you're probably more concerned about central heating and plumbing than the availability of an MMO. Citing few players, Gravity announced that it will be taking Ragnarok Online 2 offline in Korea on December 23rd. The developer did include a hint of hope in the shutdown notice that the game could return in the future. While this may be cause for concern to those playing Ragnarok Online 2 in other regions, the company said that the service will continue for North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
