Daily Briefing: Tuesday 7th September (Patreon)
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Tripwire Interactive CEO steps down following controversial statements
John Gibson, the now-former CEO of Maneater and Killing Floor studio Tripwire Interactive, has "stepped down" from his post following heavy backlash to a statement he made on Twitter regarding the new Texas abortion law. He tweeted his support for the controversial piece of legislation and immediately drew fierce responses from across the industry.
- The fallout prompted a number of Tripwire's collaborators, like work-for-hire outfit Shipwright Studios and Chivalry 2 developer Torn Banner Studios to distance themselves from Tripwire. Shipwright actually cancelled all of their ongoing contracts with the studio effective immediately, while Torn Banner condemned Gibson's views but stopped short of cutting ties entirely. Gibson will be temporarily replaced by Alan Wilson, studio co-founder and current Vice President. Wilson is a lot less outspoken than Gibson and is pledged to working with Tripwire staff to sort things out. We'll see how he does.
An Alan Wake remaster really is coming
After what feels like several hundred years of rumours, a remastered edition of Alan Wake will release on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S this fall. It'll also be available on PC via the Epic Games Store, as part of Remedy Entertainment's ongoing collaborative partnership with the Fortnite operator and lawsuit underdog.
- Alan Wake was originally released way back in 2010 on PC and Xbox 360 and quickly received acclaim as a solid supernatural mystery filled with the sort kind of quirks Remedy have built their name on. Alan Wake Remastered is essentially a definitive edition of that original game including its two expansions and, notably, marks the series' debut on PlayStation platforms. The remaster's announcement also comes amid rumours of a sequel being in the works as part of Remedy's partnership with Epic Games. If that is indeed true, then the original game getting a new spotlight and a whole new audience would be a smart move.
PlayerUnknown drops a few...interesting details about his next game
In what must be one of the hardest sells in gaming history Brendan Greene, better known under the pseudonym PlayerUnknown, has revealed that his next project may be "quite boring" for some players. However, Greene emphasised in an interview with GamesBeat that Prologue is an integral part of the setup for his main project, Artemis. Presumably, it's a...prologue of sorts.
- Anyway, Green says will Prologue will take place in a 64km by 64km with a landscape inspired by dense European forest. The game will see placers placed in a "runtime-generated wilderness" and tasked with overcoming challenges (like the game's realistic weather system) to reach a predetermined point on the map. The reason it may be "quite boring" is that Greene says that the key points of Prologue will be “light fires, board up windows, keep yourself warm against the constant storm where cold weather will knock you out." It's all in aid of Artemis, though. The game will be a single-player tech demo sold under the "pay what you want model" which makes sense given Greene's thoughts on its appeal, but it'll be interesting to see what he gets up to now that he's left PUBG Studios.