September service drops
The September games for PS Plus and Games with Gold were revealed this week. PlayStation Blog revealed the PS Plus Essential games (Sept 6 – Oct 3) as Need for Speed Heat, Granblue Fantasy Versus and Toem. PS Plus Extra and Premium (Sept 20) will also get Deathloop, AC Origins, Watchdogs 2, Dragonball Xenoverse 2, Rayman Legends and a bunch more including classics Syphon Filter 2 and the Sly Collection. August titles are still available to download until Sept 5. For a complete list please visit the PlayStation Blog. The Games with Gold drop was revealed on Xbox.com and includes Gods Will Fall: Available September 1 to 30, Double Kick Heroes: Available September 16 to October 15, Thrillville: Available September 1 to 15 and Portal 2: Available September 16 to 30. For a complete rundown of GamePass departures (Elite Dangerous, Hades, WWZ) and arrivals (Grid Legends, Outer Wilds, Grounded), checkout lifehacker.

Infinite woes
News coming out this week from 343 Industries that the highly anticipated Halo Infinite split-screen co-op, has been canceled. Eurogamer reports that studio resources have been reallocated in order to “improve and accelerate ongoing live service development.” The season 3 roadmap was also revealed, but not before getting delayed to March 2023. What’s the good news then? 343 will issue a winter update in November with a couple new maps and most notably, Forge mode and campaign online co-op. This should tide players over as the FPS space heats up this fall by way of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Overwatch 2.

Press X for console acquisitions
Quoting gamesindustry.biz, “China-based publisher NetEase has acquired French developer Quantic Dream for an undisclosed sum.” NetEase first invested in Quantic Dream back in 2019, leading the PlayStation partner (Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, Detroit: Become Human) into multiplatform territory. The studio will continue to operate under David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumiere. Past allegations against Quantic Dream for espousing a toxic work culture have repeatedly been denied and were said to have been a non-factor in the acquisition. Quantic Dream is currently working on the multiplatform Star Wars: Eclipse with no release date as of yet.

Press O for mobile acquisitions
Arjun Kharpal reporting for CNBC.com writes that Sony “launched PlayStation Studios Mobile Division on Monday and said it will run independently of the console business.” Adding to this, Sony acquired Helsinki/Berlin-based mobile developer Savage Game Studios, who are currently working on an unannounced AAA mobile service action game. Kharpal states that Sony “plans to release around 50% of games on PC and mobile by 2025, up from about a quarter currently.” As the Covid profit boom begins to fade, the company seems to be looking to diversify in order to keep up margins. While mobile is rather overcrowded by a surplus of shovelware and unique competition in the form of Chinese megacorps Tencent and NetEase, analysts claim that Sony has a good chance due to brand recognition and the strength of its existing IP. Time will tell.

Invest in death
Speaking of Sony and Tencent, washingtonpost.com reports that the two giants “acquired a 30 percent stake of FromSoftware,” the developer behind masocore hits Demons Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro and Elden Ring. To be more specific, Sony Interactive Entertainment net 14.09% percent while Sixjoy Hong Kong Limited aka Tencent claimed 16.25%. Kadokawa (Fromsoft’s owners) maintain majority share at 69.66%. Kadokawa states that the three companies have had a “strategic alliance in the anime and game fields” for some time now, with plans to expand more into the global market. Could a movie be incoming?

What’s old is new again
What is incoming, is a new Assassin’s Creed game. A throwback at that. Ubisoft revealed via Twitter that recent rumors and leaks regarding their next AC title were in fact true. Bluntly stated, “Assassin’s Creed Mirage is the next Assassin’s Creed game.” More details are incoming Sept 10 at the Ubisoft Forward livestream. Expanding on this, Polygon.com writes “The image Ubisoft shared showed the protagonist assassin Basim, introduced in 2020’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, leaping through an archway with Baghdad’s Palace of the Golden Gate in the background. That landmark was the caliphal palace during the Abbasid Caliphate of the late 9th century, during which Mirage is set.” Credit to Owen Good. The title is said to be a return to the series’ stealth roots, coinciding with a rumored remake of Assassin’s Creed 1. More to follow. Stay tuned.