What’s (not) old is new again
Horizon Zero Dawn started the week off with rumors of another Sony Remaster on its way. Several online sources came together to corroborate the rumor, links can be found at pushsquare.com. HZD first came out in 2017 and has gone on to sell 20 million copies, making the idea of a remaster come across as a little premature to many. The new version will reportedly also feature an online suite of some sort, although no word on whether this will be PvE or PvP centric. This falls in line with another round of PlayStation document leaks that listed the HZD remaster along with a slew of other details on what some other developers are up to. This includes recently acquired Firesprite making a survival horror game, Sumo Digital making an open world game, Lucid making a vehicle combat game, Ballistic Moon making a survival horror game, London Studio making a Service game and rumblings of Death Stranding 2. More news as it develops.

Top guy on the bottom line
PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst talked to Axios this week and dropped some interesting tidbits. Some quotes from Hulst include: “We’re also diversifying now. And we have stood up 12 projects in total in the live ops multiplayer space. We’re not excluding bringing some of our beloved existing franchises into live games. Some of our biggest titles in the single player narrative-driven space are also our most profitable titles. We certainly don’t want to forget the millions of active players on PS4, and we want to ensure there are great games for them as well. We’re evaluating it on a case-by-case basis.” Regarding titles going to PC, Hulst says “It allows us to continue to invest–to invest even deeper into projects.” For more including tidbits on Mobile, check out the link.

New Stars in the console sky
PlayStation also launched a new Reward program on its mobile app titled PlayStation Stars. Details on the PlayStation Blog. A new endeavor meant to reward players with points that can be used for purchases, wallet funds, collectibles etc. While there have already been some issues with delays between the completion of activities and the rewards being doled out, expect this to be resolved over time. There are 4 status levels to earn with different requirements for each, the promise of monthly and custom campaigns and more. Enrollment may require an active PS Plus membership or queue on a waiting list. For more details visit the FAQ on PSBlog above.

Team Green say what they mean
Not to be outdone, Microsoft launched an information ad campaign of sorts validating its multi-billion-dollar stake in the Activision/Blizzard acquisition. Among the benefits listed are more games on more devices including PlayStation (yes PlayStation is named as a beneficiary), better revenue and fair marketplace rules for creators, competition in mobile and more competition in traditional gaming where, and this is interesting, “Sony and Nintendo will remain the biggest.” More bullet-points at the link to cgmagonline.

Brazil jumps in
Brazil’s competition authority CADE released documents stating that the Activision/Blizzard and Microsoft merger can proceed “without restrictions”. Purexbox reports that according to Tom Warren the decision was made for Brazilian consumers in mind and not to defend the interests of competitors (ie. Sony). This follows Saudi Arabia approving the deal in August, with the EU still up in the air. More news in the coming weeks.

Not so Super
The first trailer for the star-studded Super Mario Bros movie hit this week and while it looks on-point, the biggest takeaway on social media and various news outlets seems to be a confused reaction regarding why Mario sounds like Chris Pratt…doing Chris Pratt. The actor does not appear to have adapted his voice or changed it up in any pertinent way for the Italian Plumber. While reactions are mixed at best, the trailer itself has done well. Super Mario Bros. will release on April 7, 2023.