Sometimes that news can be very exciting, and makes you feel like you live through a historical moment. The year 2021 brought a wealth of innovation in technical, game design and accessibility. From Valve, thennouncing the possible game-changing Steam Deck to Forza Horizon 5adding sign language interpreters, there’s true sense that every corner of the industry is evolving. The contrary is a real problem in these parts. The explosive report of Activision Blizzards toxic company culture became a defining story of the year in that film’s entirety, reflecting the genuine cost of those innovation. As the technology industry has changed, others are depressingly stagnant. And Activisions response to its own drama shows that it may take awhile to realize that the problems have completely been removed. Here’s all the biggest video game stories from an emotional roller coaster with a heavy snowstorm.
Activision’s Blizzard faces a familiar scandal.
On July 21, a bombshell report to date showed a history of toxicity within Activision Blizzard went missing. The company was sued by California and was found guilty of using this language in an abusive workplace. A thorn of allegations of sexual harassment is fascinating. The story only worsened in the year. In November, a report in which The Activision CEO Bobby Kotick described the company’s issues and tried to sweep them under the rug. Kotick, too, was allegedly involved in this issue, a former assistant claiming he threatened to kill her over voicemail. Despite the pressure left on companies like Sony that Activision would take action against Kotick, the board of directors have decided to stick with them. Kotick is still a CEO of a company when it writes. It’s a depressingly familiar story. Just last year, the most recent update for 2020 shows our company’s workplace culture scandals. The industry still struggles to confront its dark reality. At the 2021 Game Awards on December 9, host Geoff Keighley began the show with a preamble that condemns bullying and toxicity in gaming, though he stopped naming names (perhaps because Activisions Rob Kostich is on the events advisory board). Sooner, Keighley released a trailer for the latest game of Quantic Dream, which has long been struggling with toxic workplace claims. The games are really dumb. The desire to celebrate games, but also to blame the companies that make them accountable, can often be reversible. Players are left with a existential situation. The answer is too simple. That makes this story so frustrating.
In 2017, delays define 2021.
In a prey of 1909, the outbreak began in 2020, but was not felt until 2021. Many of the biggest releases of 2020 were already near completion at the time that developers had to go on to work from home. But what did it mean for games that weren’t as far as now? The first step in the year was before the end of January, and that’s the time for a delay. Great-earth titles like the Horizon Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarok shifted into 2022, dinning out the holiday season. While indie developers still loaded the year with hits, players weren’t enjoying games like Elden Ring as they might have expected heading into the year. As disappointing as it sounds, delays are necessary. Last years Cyberpunk 2077 was a cautionary tale for developers after a seemingly rushed launch ended in disaster for CD Projekt Red. The studios seem very keen to avoid these mistakes this year, opting to give their games time they needed. Unfortunately, those decisions eliminated the employee’s omission, which remains a widespread problem in the video game industry. Steam
The Steam Deck is spiking with Valve.
The gaming console landscape has been defined for a hundred years by three companies: Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. While there are many other companies making tech, no one else has built a dedicated gaming device that has really changed the dynamic. That made the announce of the Vulcanium Steam Deck into a system shock. This surprise device is basically a console for gamers. It can play games like the cloud or the Snapdragon G3x. Pre-orders rose despite the high price tag. It’s easy to understand why the steam deck was so excited. It is a dream, a dream that will be true of your Steam library, in the event that you take the aging Switch on board with the old hardware. Of course there was a hitch. The Steam Deck was scheduled to start this month, but Valve was delayed until 2022 right at the finish line. Even the biggest stories of 2021 feel like their teasers are up for next year.
Sony and Microsoft’s latest war has cooled up!
The console wars seemed dead and buried as Sony and Microsoft were strategically advancing, but a new battle has begun. Last year, Microsoft shot into Bethesda, and gibbling games like The Elder Scrolls VI as potential exclusives. A fuck start was the odometer, so Sony was certainly able to respond. Sure enough, Sony spent 2021 making power plays. The company pursued a strategic strategy to stop a developer like Returnal studio Housemarque, and Bluepoint Games, which created the Demons Soul remake. Microsoft still played the ultimate trump card. In a real shock, Sonys MLB The Show 2021 joined the Xbox Game Pass with the launch. It was a move, push by the MLB itself, which forced Sony to run the game on other platforms rather than hold on to it as an exclusive. That move showed the power of Game Pass in the current gaming landscape a service that almost everyone wants. With Sony planning its own Game Pass competitor, we could see that battle get more tense in 2022.
Apple vs. Epic resolves with no clear winner.
Apple took a huge shot at Epic Games last year, removing Fortnite from his app store. This was a move to avoid Apple’s selling small chunks in-app. Epic responded with a suit, which opened the bar for a high-profile legal battle that had the potential to decide the future of the industry. The trial itself took place in May. As soon as the Fortnite fans began hearing from the Zoom link, the trial is set to end. The players filled the call with cries to free Fortnite, while others turned down their YouTube channel. The case itself was just as weird, as the attorney talking about if Mr. Peely was technically a non-common player. The case concluded on September 10th, with neither side really coming out of the top, but both sides claimed victory. While Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers largely sided with Apple on nine out of 10 counts, Epic won a key win. Rogers ruled that Apple couldn’t longer block developers from having links with external storefronts to make purchases. Apple still has a 30 percent cut in app sales, but developers are making new plans to keep the game clean. Fortnite can be used to make it easy for you to buy in-app purchases, and that is big news for Fortnite (and with the game still being banned on iOS).
