2023 is shaping up to look like a very promising year for gaming, even more so for titles that are set to launch this year. That means that, as we inch closer to the release date of these titles, some publishers will be making one last, all-out push with their marketing schpiel to keep the hype going or serve as a vulgar reminder that the game’s advent is nigh, while some choose a less dramatic and somewhat gentler approach to let players know what’s going on.
Of course, it comes as no surprise that some developers also chose the start of this month to unveil new IPs, some of which are fresh, while others are simply sequels to sometimes critically acclaimed titles. Here’s but a short list of what’s been happening for gaming this week.
Diablo IV: Desecrating Holy Ground
Blizzard’s Diablo IV is still months away from its 6 June launch date, but as we said, that hasn’t stopped the studio from pulling off their latest stunt of portraying hell on earth: painting the game’s overall demonic-themed murals and hellscape all across the dome of a chapel. Before the pious and overzealous individuals among you jump the gun, allow us to explain what’s happening here.
The church hosting the Diablo IV murals is the Chapelle des Jésuites, a church in the city of Cambrai, France. Blizzard says that the church is already deconsecrated, which means that the building is no longer considered holy ground or a sacred site. In other words, they were free to do as they pleased, within reason obviously.
Also, just to be clear, Blizzard didn’t actually paint murals of the five character classes of Diablo IV directly onto the chapel’s interior. The studio basically had the artwork painted on canvases and installed them throughout the church. Once the shooting was done, it was just a simple matter of peeling off the canvases and leaving the deconsecrated chapel in its original, pristine condition.
Starfield Gets An Official Launch Date
RPG fans of the gaming world, looking forward to Bethesda’s very obvious No Man’s Sky clone, Starfield, will be happy to know that the studio has finally given the game an official release date: 6 September 2023. As per its director, Todd Howard, the game is the company’s first new Intellectual Property (IP) in over 25 years.
Described as “Skyrim in Space”, Starfield takes place in the far future, where a 20-year-old major conflict called the Colony War sees major factions, the United Colonies and Freestar Collective, enjoying a shaky peace. The game puts you in the space shoes of a character that will be customisable.
There’s only one problem that we can see about Starfield’s launch: it’s Todd. For the uninitiated, the man is known in the gaming industry for making promises on a game’s launch date, only to have said date delayed to a later date over and over. Fingers crossed, though, that with Starfield, the launch date is legitimate.
Cities Skylines 2 Is A Thing
Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order, the Swedish video game publisher and developer duo known for the wildly popular city-building simulator, Cities Skylines, recently announced the existence of a sequel, the aptly named Cities Skylines 2.
Other than the official announcement trailer, there’s still not a whole lot of detail surrounding the game. Based on what we can see, though, it’s safe to assume the Cities Skylines 2 will have a deeper and much more intimate building customisation, along with updated graphics and textures.
Cities Skylines 2 is also expected to launch this year but as to when exactly, neither Paradox nor Colossal Order has provided a specific date.
A New Sims-Type Game, From a Former Sims Head
Beside Cities Skylines II, Paradox Interactive also released a teaser trailer for, of all things, an announcement trailer for a new Sims-inspired title called Life By You. We say Sims-inspired, because the person spearheading the project is Rod Humble, the CEO of Second Life, and a former studio head for the original Sims game.
The teaser of Life By You is, expectedly, brief in its presentation: you see more real-to-life colours and objects, including lush green landscapes, a beach with a boat and dock on it, and a quick look of a suburban neighbourhood, among other things. And that’s all the studios are sharing, at least until 20 March, which is when the full reveal is expected to happen.
So, if this excites you, then save the date.
