California — and GamesBeat Next — here I come! | Kaser Focus

In case you’ve somehow missed it, GamesBeat is holding its Next event early next week in San Francisco. As always, I’ll be there, probably in a costume of some kind, to participate. If you’re interested in seeing what the future of games looks like and what some of the most interesting new ideas in the industry are shaping into, then come and join us! I’ll be moderating the Women in Gaming breakfast panel with several exceptional women in the industry, as well as a panel on mixed reality ahead of the Apple Vision Pro. Registration is still open here.

It’s been another week of layoff news, as Frontier Games and Zen Studios are the latest organizations to join the list. We also opened the week with the news that Bethesda’s Pete Hines is retiring, joining another list of major figures in the industry who are retiring. The industry is also still reeling from the finalization of the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard King acquisition. Phil Spencer appeared on a podcast this week to speak about the acquisition, in which he said that Call of Duty exclusivity is a thing of the past.

That said, there have been some fun stories this week. Starfield managed to beat out several sports titles — traditionally big ticket items in September — to the top spot in Circana’s latest report. Analogue announced it’s making a Nintendo 64 retro console to play original cartridges in collaboration with 8bitdo.

In personal news, this is the week that several of October’s biggest releases drop: I’ve already finished (and reviewed) Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which means that I’ve now got space for Super Mario Bros Wonder, Sonic Superstars Hellboy Web of Wyrd — okay, maybe I don’t have time to play all of these. October continues to be gaming’s most overindulgent month. But I think I will make time to try out the new Murder on the Orient Express game, considering I played the last point-and-click adventure game adaptation.

What to play this week (good luck to you)

What’s new:

• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Super Mario Bros Wonder
• Sonic Superstars
• Mike Mignola’s Hellboy Web of Wyrd
• Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged
• Skull Island: Rise of Kong
• Laika: Aged Through Blood
• Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express
• The 7th Guest VR
• Wizard With a Gun
• Gangs of Sherwood
• Alaskan Road Truckers
• Mortal Kombat: Onslaught
• AirportSim

New on subscription services:

• Like A Dragon: Ishin! (Xbox Game Pass)
• F1 Manager 2023 (Xbox Game Pass)
• Gotham Knights (PlayStation Plus Extra + Premium)
• Disco Elysium – The Final Cut (PlayStation Plus Extra + Premium)
• The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes (PlayStation Plus Extra + Premium)
• Alien: Isolation (PlayStation Plus Extra + Premium)
• Dead Island Definitive Edition (PlayStation Plus Extra + Premium)
• Outlast 2 (PlayStation Plus Extra + Premium)
• Elite Dangerous (PlayStation Plus Extra + Premium)
• FAR: Changing Tides (PlayStation Plus Extra + Premium)
• Gungrave G.O.R.E. (PlayStation Plus Extra + Premium)
• Eldest Souls (PlayStation Plus Extra + Premium)
• Röki (PlayStation Plus Extra + Premium)
• Tekken 6 (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Ape Escape Academy (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• IQ Final (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Eternal Threads (GeForce Now)
• Battle Chasers: Nightwar (GeForce Now)
• Black Skylands (GeForce Now)
• Blair Witch (GeForce Now)
• Chicory: A Colorful Tale (GeForce Now)
• Dead by Daylight (GeForce Now)
• Dune: Spice Wars (GeForce Now)
• Everspace 2 (GeForce Now)
• EXAPUNKS (GeForce Now)
• Gungrave G.O.R.E (GeForce Now)
• Railway Empire 2 (GeForce Now)
• Techtonica (GeForce Now)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (GeForce Now)
• Torchlight III (GeForce Now)
• Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy (GeForce Now)
• Vampire Survivors (GeForce Now)
• The Textorcist (Prime Gaming)
• Golden Light (Prime Gaming)
• Crossword Jam+ (Apple Arcade)