Fridays and weekends are typically slower news days, but today’s cycle has been a constant stream of updates on new and old titles. Today, August 20, 2021, we’ve got our five biggest stories rounded up, including updates from Sledgehammer Games on its work with Activision Blizzard, updates from 343 Industries on Halo Infinite, and plans from next week’s Gamescom showcases.
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Call of Duty Developer Addresses Activision Blizzard Lawsuit
Call of Duty: Vanguard developer Sledgehammer Games is working with Activision Blizzard to publish the next entry to its FPS series. Following a series of horrific accounts of alleged abuse from former and current Activision Blizzard employees, Eurogamer reported on comments from Sledgehammer studio head Aaron Halon, who began with, “The stories and the pain people have shared are simply devastating.”
Since the lawsuit was filed by the state of California Department of Fair Employment and Housing in July, we’ve continued to report on stories that detail some of the gross misconduct coming from the company. Those stories include accounts of sexual harassment from Activision Blizzard recruiters, instances of deadnaming and transphobic comments from coworkers, and details surrounding the “Cosby Suite” named in the lawsuit.
Pedro Pascal’s Last Of Us HBO Series Salary Revealed
HBO’s live-action series for Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us is shaping up, as filming began earlier this year. While we’ve finally seen the show’s biggest actors revealed, there’s been no indication of just how much that talent would cost the media company – until today. In a new update from Variety, we’ve learned that Pedro Pascal will see $6 million for his role as Joel, which is $600,000 an episode.
Deep Silver Will Have Saints Row Reboot News Next Week
Europe’s biggest gaming event, Gamescom, kicks off next week, and it sounds like Deep Silver may have a surprise to reveal on August 25. In a tease from Geoff Keighley, he shared a GIF with “Rebooting” graffiti scribbled on a brick wall and a familiar Saints Row symbol. The official series account also responded with a single “eyes” emoji, and that’s hint enough for us to assume that Saints Row will receive a reboot announcement next Wednesday.
Soulja Boy Claims To Own Atari
In a confusing video, rapper Soulja Boy claimed that he is “now the owner of Atari.” Atari hasn’t issued any sort of official statement that would suggest it’s changing hands, but the classic gaming company did respond in a tweet with, “We know that CEO of Atari is a dream job, but that honor belongs to Wade Rosen.” Soulja Boy has had some strange adventures into gaming in the past, which ended in a lawsuit from Nintendo.
Halo Infinite Won’t Have Co-Op Campaign Or Forge At Launch
343 Industries’ latest update on Master Chief included new details on how the game will play at launch. Unfortunately, Halo Infinite’s campaign will be singleplayer only, and Forge will be absent until an update later on, after it makes its holiday release window. The delay will allow the team to bring the game’s single-player campaign and multiplayer PVP up to quality standards.
Next: This Week In Genshin Impact: Fighting, Fog, And Fish Swords
