This week in gaming was one of distinct industry highs and lows, with some longstanding issues for the gaming community seeing new airtime as execs do what execs do best. But all is not lost, with some charming news for gamers of beloved franchises. Let’s get started!
CD Projekt Red announces Pre-Release Crunch for Cyberpunk 2077
Continuing his long history of reporting on labor in the games industry, Jason Schreier broke the news on Tuesday, September 29th, that CDPR was going back on their promise of a crunch-free release for their latest IP.
Last year, the bosses of CD Projekt Red approached me for an interview. They wanted to announce that for Cyberpunk 2077, they would be avoiding mandatory crunch.
This week, they sent out an email to staff announcing studio-wide mandatory crunch. News: https://t.co/s4OI5rUiQq
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) September 29, 2020
This met with considerable backlash from fans on both sides of the issue, from those decrying CDPR’s choices to those who thought Schreier was making a mountain out of a now common industry molehill:
This is quite a take. It's also spreading misinformation to a wide audience. As I reported today, this week's email is the first instance of "mandatory" crunch. Some at CDPR say they've been crunching for months. Others have been working overtime in fits and starts for years. pic.twitter.com/dUMRMgLQYF
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) September 29, 2020
Steve Minecraft Confirmed for Smash
On Thursday, October 1, the newest fighter coming to Super Smash Bros Ultimate was announced, and it’s STEVE FROM MINECRAFT! He and a brand new Minecraft stage arrive to the game on October 14th.
Fall Guys Promises Spooky Stuff for Season 2
The clumsy jellybean battle royale that’s taken the world by storm is getting ready for the start of its second competitive season on Thursday, October 8th. The included image promises not just a new season, but the advent of Halloween costumes for our beloved Fall Guys, in case you were tired of being a can of banana water (I’m not):
BEAN SPILLING POST
Announcing dates always feels like you're cursing things, but it's Halloween month, so let's get cursed!
🔥 Season 2 launches on Thursday 8th October 🔥
Season 1 will now end as Season 2 begins and we're going to DOUBLE fame points during this time! 👀 pic.twitter.com/J9TFIZ1BDd
— Fall Guys 👑 (@FallGuysGame) October 2, 2020
PlayStation 5 Specs and Performance
The first reports of PlayStation 5 play performance began coming out this week, and one noticeable through-line to the commentary is that the PS5 does not suffer from the common problem of excessive fan noise that plagued the PS4. We’re still waiting for specific looks at the UI, but performance reports are promising.
PS5 had no noticeable fan noise, remained "cold" after 80 minutes of use.
This is what I like to hear. pic.twitter.com/vSF477SwSx
— MBG (@xMBGx) October 4, 2020
Gamers are still, however, concerned with the 825GB storage space of the new console, as games continue to balloon in size:
looking forward to being able to have precisely two games installed on my PS5 at once https://t.co/fw6CnU9UZy
— 9 V O L T (@9_volt_) October 4, 2020
The Harry Potter MMO Continues to Be… Like That
Despite earlier statements about how JK Rowling is not involved with Hogwarts Legacy, Jason Schreier pulled out statements from Warner Bros. Games President David Haddad, who refused to take a strong stand on Rowling’s history of transphobia. While in the follow-up tweet Schreier reports that WB Games is working with LGBTQ rights groups and particularly trans voices through GLAAD, no explicit condemnation of Rowling or acknowledgment of the ways in which she will benefit from the purchase of this game, which may in turn lead to more platforming of her hate, followed.
Today during a company Q&A, Warner Bros. Games president David Haddad addressed employees' questions surrounding the recent announcement of Hogwarts Legacy and Harry Potter author JK Rowling's anti-trans comments. His comments, per video clip sent to me this afternoon: pic.twitter.com/cbYZ0JT9c0
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) September 30, 2020
And Now: A Final Palate Cleanser
It was a good week for Minecraft fans, with the addition of an adorable new mob creature, the axolotl. I am dying to see this bucket of which they speak, personally.
The axolotl might easily be one of the cutest mobs we've ever added to Minecraft – don't even start us gushing about how adorable they look in a bucket!
But looks can be deceiving, and this cutey is also a tough little predator…
↣ https://t.co/CPC2HxQrgE ↢ pic.twitter.com/fmYQ77Kd8t
— Minecraft (@Minecraft) October 3, 2020

Emma is a PhD candidate in Rhetoric and Composition who studies how play impacts learning. Her words have also appeared in Critical Distance and Unwinnable. When not writing, she enjoys passing the controller between friends for runs of Silent Hill. She can be found @kostopolus on Twitter.
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