In this week’s recap of gaming news, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — Definitive Edition’s technical issues and overall reception have caused severe backlash from fans. Valve’s Steam Deck, the Playdate handheld indie console, as well as Sony’s PS5 are all experiencing shortages due to the continued global chip shortage. Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker recently suffered a relatively short delay, instead releasing later this holiday instead of the end of November. Several Metal Gear Solid games have been delisted from digital storefronts due to a copyright issue. All that and more in this week’s roundup of the biggest news in the gaming industry.
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Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy’s Controversial Release
Less than a week after the launch of the collection, Rockstar Games’ launch of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — Definitive Edition has quickly become one of the worst-rated games on Metacritic. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy is marred with technical issues, polarizing graphical changes, and are otherwise disappointed with what many on Metacritic have described as an underwhelming remaster. Many fans are demanding refunds from Rockstar Games due to the myriad of issues with all three games.
Grove Street Games has since promised updates and patches are forthcoming, though the damage may have already been done. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy has already been delisted from PC due to issues with “unintentional files,” seemingly related to unlicensed music. The game has since been re-listed on the Rockstar Launcher on PC, but it’s unclear when fixes may be on the way for the remastered collection.
Hardware Delays Affect Valve, PlayStation, and Playdate
Thanks to the global chip shortage affecting multiple different industries across the world, the games industry continues to feel the sting just as strongly as other corners of the global economy. Three major hardware releases are experiencing delays in console production as a result of the chip shortage: Valve’s initial round of production for the Steam Deck has been delayed from holiday 2021 to February 2022 for early adopters, will subsequent pre-orders are delayed to Q2 2022 and beyond.
Sony has also adjusted its production goals in the wake of the chip shortage, reducing its PS5 manufacturing target from 16 million to 15 million by the end of the fiscal year. Additionally Playdate, the handheld indie gaming console, has been delayed to early 2022 as well. Once again, Playdate cites the chip shortage as the primary factor in halting production.
RELATED: Playdate Handheld Release Delayed
Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker Delayed to December
Just short of its original launch date, Square Enix and the Final Fantasy 14 team announced the Endwalker expansion had been delayed to December. Instead of November 23, Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker will now be releasing on December 3, with patch 6.01 releasing on December 21. Fan response to Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker has largely been positive in the wake of an emotional announcement from producer Naoki Yoshida, showing respect for the team’s efforts.
Metal Gear Solid 2, 3 Removed From Digital Storefronts Temporarily
Several Metal Gear games were recently delisted from digital stores due to issues with the usage of copyrighted historical footage. According to Konami, Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 were delisted temporarily in order to address the license renewal of certain undisclosed footage utilized throughout the game. Ranging from console storefronts to PC, Konami was not able to give an exact timeframe on when these games would return to digital storefronts at this time.
Among Us Update Brings New Roles, Battlepass Progression
Among Us’ big 2021 update is out, bringing several huge changes to the massively popular social deduction game. InnerSloth announced the expansion of Among Us’ roles earlier this year, bringing three new classes of Cremates (Scientist, Engineer, and Guardian Angel), and a Shapeshifter role for Imposters. Additionally, InnerSloth has introduced a battle pass-style progression system called Cosmicubes, granting players unique cosmetic rewards.
MORE: How Among Us’ Cosmicubes Shake Up the Battle Pass Model Well
