Gaming
Square Enix Commits to Business Consolidation in 2023 as New Rumors of a Sony Buyout Surface

In 2023, Square Enix will put a lot of emphasis on business consolidation, according to a newsletter from president Yosuke Matsuda. Although the Japanese publisher has a busy year ahead of it, with much depending on titles like Final Fantasy XVI, Final Fantasy XIV’s continuous development, and perhaps even Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the business is dedicated to strengthening its foundation.
You might recall that in 2022 Square Enix sold a number of their Western studios, along with franchises including Tomb Raider and Deus Ex, to Embracer Group. Since then, the publisher has worked to strengthen its emphasis on in-house research and development, and this trend won’t be altering.
Square Enix plans to “accelerate our efforts to strengthen our internal development capabilities” over the course of the “medium to long term” by “further expanding our internal talent pool, as well as more swiftly concentrating our resources on the development of titles that are competitive globally.” In other words, it seeks to increase its portfolio while committing to its own projects.
This makes sense when you think about how many new games Square Enix launched in 2022. Since Matsuda emphasizes the significance of “end-to-end global publishing,” the corporation does in fact seek to refocus its publishing activities. Previously, the business’s Western and Japanese publishing divisions ran rather separately. The objective is to become “One Square Enix,” Matsuda continues.
However, given the current state of the game industry, it stands to reason that Square Enix is gearing up for a significant sale. Those that post on forums and social media would have you believe so, at least. Square Enix acquisition rumors have been around for a very long time and have been very persistent. Following this letter from Matsuda, rumors have once again begun to circulate because consolidation has long been associated with new management and making a company more appealing to bidders.
But we’ll need more persuasion. There hasn’t been any conclusive evidence to support the persistent rumors that Square Enix wants to be acquired. And since competition watchdogs are currently opposing Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, we doubt Sony would take a similar step anytime soon.
Gaming
As Disney Speedstorm Ends, Arendelle Hits PS5, PS4

Disney Speedstorm, Gameloft’s free-to-play kart racer, will enter its latest season with a wintery backdrop of Arendelle. Let It Go will add Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff, and Hans as racers. As always, they’ll have unique moves and abilities.
Oaken and other musical movie crew members will be unlocked, along with a new Golden Pass. After fan feedback, the developer is rebalancing this aspect of the release so you can progress faster and unlock more rewards.
The developer also announced on Twitter that it’s lowering in-game shop prices starting today, and if you’ve paid for microtransactions, you’ll get a big payout. The French studio appears to be betting on this season’s success.
Adding non-Frozen characters Oswald, Ortensia, and WALL-E could also help. A comprehensive game update should bring back lapsed players and attract new ones. Will you challenge the kart racer?
Gaming
New Destiny 2 Microtransaction Is Bad Bungie Removed It from PS5, PS4

Bungie has pulled a contentious $15 starter pack from Season of the Wish, which launched yesterday. The pack had a poor selection and was marketed to new players, which the community strongly opposed.
The starter pack proudly stated that players could “experience the power of build-defining Exotic weapons by instantly unlocking three of Destiny 2’s finest: Traveler’s Chosen, Ruinous Effigy, and Sleeper Simulant.” An exotic ship, a sparrow, a ghost shell, 125,000 glimmer, 50 enhancement cores, five enhancement prisms, and one ascendant shard are also included.
This offering may seem harmless to a new player, but Forbes’ Paul Tassi says, “You sort of have to be a Destiny 2 player to understand what an outrageously bad deal this is.” The Forsaken Pack, another Bungie release, includes two dozen Exotics, a dungeon, and a raid. It cost $20 and is now $5. It looks bad, from what we can tell.
Guardians retaliated with negative Steam reviews. They orchestrated the DLC page to include “Capitalism,” “Crime,” and “Psychological Horror” user tags, which is funny.
After Bungie pulled the pack, Redditor Grizz3d summarized the community response: “I don’t get how that starter pack was approved. What part of stealing from new players wasn’t going to result in community outrage? Bungie’s disconnect with players is shocking. I’m glad you got rid of the pack, but it’s disappointing that Bungie thought it was a good idea.”
This follows the Witcher 3 crossover armour sets, which look great but are expensive. Sony’s independent live service outpost is in danger due to a delayed expansion and studio layoffs.
Gaming
PlayStation planted over 500,000 trees last year

Sony announced last year that it would plant trees for Horizon Forbidden West PlayStation fans who unlocked a simple trophy in the open-world game. This, in partnership with several charities, sought to protect the global environment and biodiversity.
Over a year later, it released a trailer showing its progress. The company has planted 600,000 trees worldwide, restoring 1,800 acres. More importantly, the gaming industry has planted 2.5 million trees worldwide.
Gaming is fun, but we must protect our world. Sony has taken steps to be more environmentally friendly, such as adding energy-saving features to the PS5 and shipping all its products in fully recyclable packaging.
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