Mortal Kombat hype, Overwatch yikes | Kaser Focus

Poor Overwatch fans — it has not been a good week for us. Blizzard revealed that it was not going to deliver on its expansive plan for PvE content. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know that was one of the only reasons I and many others were willing to be patient with Overwatch 2. Director Aaron Keller clarified in an apologetic blog post that the developers would make PvE Story Missions for the game, but not the Hero Missions with talent trees. It’s not hard to see why fans would be upset — without PvE, Overwatch 2 seems like just a more avaricious version of Overwatch.

Summer gaming news came early for Mortal Kombat fans this week, as NetherRealm announced the next game in the series. Mortal Kombat 1 is a reboot of the series with twists on several familiar characters, though it looks like the devs will respect their original stories. I noticed they were also quick to put fan favorite Mileena in the trailer, not that I’m complaining. I’m not what you’d call a diehard Mortal Kombat fan — I only started playing around the time the last series reboot happened in 2011. But I’m a sucker for spectacle, and Mortal Kombat is a very spectacle-heavy series. Let’s see if I’m still a Raiden main after the game launches this September.

Perhaps the stealthiest news this week is Take-Two’s “announcement” that it’s expecting a serious pile of cash to start rolling in within the next two years. We’ve all (justifiably, I think) taken this to mean that this is the expect time frame for GTA VI’s release. And Take-Two is obviously confident that it’s gold, given its stated expectations for that time period — and keep in mind, that’s likely a conservative estimate.

In personal news … yes, I’m still playing Tears of the Kingdom. And I’m going to need all the distraction I can get because I am flying out to Los Angeles for GamesBeat Summit next week. Hopefully I’ll get to see some of you out there! It’s going to be a fun time, and I’ll be leading some of the panels, including the Women in Gaming breakfast. In the downtime, I’ll be taking my Switch with me on the trip so hopefully Link and Zelda can keep me company.

What to play this week

What’s new:

• Humanity
• Firmament
• Lego 2K Drive
• Supraland Six Inches Under
• The Outlast Trials

New on subscription services:

• FIFA 23 (Xbox Game Pass)
• Eastern Exorcist (Xbox Game Pass)
• Ghostlore (Xbox Game Pass)
• Hoa (Xbox Games with Gold)
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Watch Dogs: Legion (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Dishonored 2 (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Sakura: Of Rice and Ruin (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Rise of the Tomb Raider (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Bus Simulator 21: Next Stop (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• The Evil Within 2 (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Wolfenstein Youngblood (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Thymesia (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Rain World (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Lake (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Conan Exiles (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Rune Factory 4 Special (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town/Pioneers of Olive Town (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Soundfall (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Pursuit Force (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Tin Hearts (GeForce Now)
• Gears 5 (GeForce Now)
• Kardboard Kings (Prime Gaming)
• The Almost Gone (Prime Gaming)
• 3 Count Bout (Prime Gaming)
• Alpha Mission 2 (Prime Gaming)