On July 1, the video game industry and history changed forever when Sony announced that, in January 2028, it will stop producing physical discs for new games coming to PlayStation consoles. This decision has caused an earthquake whose aftershocks are still being felt. We will see how it affects the players and the industry, which if they want to continue in the PlayStation ecosystem will have to embrace a totally digital environment where there is no second hand, loans between friends or ownership. Instead, at best, there will be empty boxes with a download code inside.
This week we have also talked about an initiative that Xbox would be working on, which consists of converting physical games into digital copies, but with the advantage of being able to sell or lend the game and thereby transfer the digital right linked to the disc. There are also rumors about the closure of Arkane Studios and the cancellation of Marvel’s Blade. Continuing with Xbox, the company has decided to abandon Project Fantasy, the new RPG from IO Interactive. On the other hand, we have attended the presentation of Guns of Eschaton, an FPS soulslike set in an apocalyptic western, and seen a Direct dedicated to Splatoon Raiders.
In technology, we have Samsung and SK Hynix announcing an investment of 456.8 billion euros to increase semiconductor production and try to meet memory demand, while Anthropic has relaunched the Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI models, which like ChatGPT are now supervised by the United States. Finally, on the Internet we have echoed the ruling of the CJEU that has confirmed the record fine to Google of 4.1 billion euros for abuse of a dominant position, and given the starting signal to the possibility of reserving a username for WhatsApp.
Nintendo
Xbox
PlayStation
PC/mobile
Multiplatform
- Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on September 17.
- Guilty Gear: Strive will receive the additional character Robo – Ky on July 2.
- July releases: Halo Campaign Evolved, Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced, Palworld and Splatoon Raiders.
- Tekken 8 shows Bob, Virtua Fighter Crossroads introduces Bakunawa Killer and Fatal Fury welcomes Kenshiro.
- The Onimusha producer is surprised, but not concerned, by the September schedule.
- Introduced Guns of Eschaton, a soulslike FPS set in an apocalyptic western.
- Krafton agrees to pay Subnautica 2 bonus to developers and Unknown Worlds CEO resigns.
- Code Vein II will expand its story with an expansion.
- Ubisoft hires 2K co-founder to lead division that manages Tom Clancy games.
- Onimusha: Way of the Sword advances its release to September 4.
- Ontos, the new game from the creators of Soma, is delayed to 2027.
- Cronos: Lazarus reveals new details about its combat system, which proposes more aggressive and faster gameplay.
- Cyberpunk 2077 exceeds 40 million copies sold.
- Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 will receive the fourth and final chapter of the Future Saga on July 8.
- Danganronpa 2×2 delays its release to 2027.
Technology/Internet
- Silo is back, Apple TV premieres Lucky, Movistar brings us Life in the Shadow and Netflix restarts Little House on the Prairie.
- Samsung and SK Hynix will invest 456.8 billion euros to ensure global chip supply.
- WhatsApp introduces usernames, a way to add contacts and chat without sharing the phone number.
- Netflix is working on a live-action Persona series.
- Anthropic relaunches the Fable 5 AI model after receiving the green light from the US government.
- The CJEU confirms the record fine to Google of 4.1 billion euros for abuse of a dominant position.