Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth took four wins, including Best Storytelling and Best Soundtrack. HELLDIVERS 2 secured Critics’ Choice and Console Game of the Year. Black Myth: Wukong claimed Ultimate Game of the Year, but really, the headline is Balatro winning two major prizes (Best Indie Game and the Breakthrough Award)! See the full roundup here.

Sony is reportedly in talks to acquire Kadokawa Corp., a major Japanese publisher known for its manga, anime, and gaming IP, including a majority shareholding in developer FromSoftware. The deal could close in weeks, per Reuters. Sony declined to comment, while Kadokawa say “nothing has been decided at this moment.” Bandai Namco shares fell sharply amid speculation.

The Game Awards 2024 nominees are up. Balatro picked up five nominations, while Astro Bot and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth also dominate across categories. Other standouts include Black Myth: Wukong and, controversially, the Elden Ring DLC. Getcha votes in before December 11, with winners revealed during the ceremony on December 12.

Valve is celebrating Half-Life 2’s 20th anniversary with updates including bug fixes, restored content, improved graphics, and Steam Workshop support. Episodes One and Two are now bundled, and it’s all free on Steam until November 18. There’s also a feature length documentary exploring its iconic development. Legendary.

Bungie Creative Studios is moving to PlayStation Studios to support Sony’s live service games while continuing work on Destiny and Marathon. The transition follows layoffs at Bungie and integrates the team’s expertise into PlayStation, helping accelerate development of future live service titles.

Subnautica 2 has been announced and is set to enter early access in 2025. It introduces genetic modification for players to adapt alien DNA, new environments and creatures. This time around it’ll have 4-player online co-op, a feature which was cut from the original game. Check out the teaser.

Remedy Entertainment has announced FBC: Firebreak, a 3-player co-op FPS, coming in 2025. Set in the Federal Bureau of Control, players fight off a supernatural siege. Unexpected, but looks cool.

Destiny: Rising has been officially announced. A free-to-play mobile RPG shooter, is set in the Destiny universe. Developed by NetEase Games, the creators of Diablo Immortal, with Bungie overseeing, it launches its closed alpha on November 1. Expect campaign missions, multiplayer modes, and both old and new characters in an alternate post-Dark Age timeline. Feels like a bit of an oof.

Multiple new studios featuring former Disco Elysium devs and ZA/UM staff have been announced in quick succession. First came Longdue, with their “psychogeography RPG,” followed by Dark Math’s XXX Nightshift. The latest is SUMMER ETERNAL, describing themselves as an “art collective/RPG studio” with a socialist co-op org. structure. Notably though, Robert Kurvitz and Aleksander Rostov are absent from all projects, so it’s hard to know how much Disco magic will be in any of these.

The Golden Joystick Awards 2024 voting is now live, with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Astro Bot leading the nominations with five each. Helldivers 2 follows closely with four, while Balatro has three (letsgooo). Expectedly, fan favourites like Dragon’s Dogma 2, Wukong and the Elden Ring DLC are also up. Go over and getcha votes in.