GYGO: Humble Bundle Brings Back Slider Limits

(Content warning: mention of sexual assault and harassment.)

Hi, I’m Zainabb and welcome to Get Your Game On! Kotaku have finally taken down that article so maybe they’ll make an active effort to be less trash now? Let’s see. Read on to find out what else is on fire in the gaming world.

Humble Bundle Is Keeping Its Sliders But with a Minimum Amount for Humble Bundle Itself

Earlier this year, Humble Bundle announced that it would remove its sliders, preventing customers from deciding how much of their purchase would go to charity, game publishers, and Humble Bundle. The announcement received backlash and Humble Bundle quickly backpedalled and reinstated the sliders. The company has now announced a new slider system that allows customers to continue to split the money from their purchases, but with a minimum cut taken for Humble Bundle itself.

The company has stated that this minimum amount will vary between bundles but around 15 to 30% of each purchase will go to Humble Bundle. Currently, customers can reduce the Humble Bundle slider to 0%; the new minimum will be introduced in mid-July. The company has stated that customers will clearly be able to see the minimum amount applied to their sliders.

When Humble Bundle announced that it would remove sliders altogether, they proposed a default split of 85% to game publishers, 5% to charity, and 10% for themselves. There was also a proposed “Extra to Charity” option, which gave 80% to publishers, 15% to charity, and 5% to Humble Bundle. The new minimum amounts provide Humble Bundle with a greater percentage on each purchase than either of these previously proposed splits.

Humble Bundle have justified the decision by stating that they will use funds from each purchase to maintain low prices on their bundles and in their store, and that they will be offering bundles that give 100% of the purchase to charity. However, many consumers aren’t happy about the deprioritisation of charity donations, or the way that Humble Bundle has reinstated slider limits despite complaints about their initial proposals.

In other news…

Former BioWare manager and Mass Effect project director Casey Hudson has announced that he’s opened a new game company called Humanoid Studios, which is currently working on an original IP. Hudson hasn’t provided further details about the studio’s project but has started recruiting for several new roles.

Meanwhile, former Rockstar Games founder, Dan Houser, has also formed a new company called Absurd Ventures in Games. The news comes as incorporation documents were filed recently in the UK, so further information about the company is lacking. It’s likely the company is either a games development studio or an investment firm that could back studios and developers.

NetherRealm has announced that it won’t be releasing any further content for Mortal Kombat 11 and will move onto its next project after over two years of support for the game. No further information has been provided on NetherRealm’s next title.

Frog Detective 3, the next installation in the acclaimed mystery game series, will be released later this year. You can watch the teaser for Frog Detective 3: Corruption at Cowboy County below:

 

This year’s Pokémon Go Fest will feature some in-person events in parts of Europe, the US, and in Auckland, New Zealand. Most of the festival will remain virtual this year but the socially distanced in-person events will allow people to connect and trade IRL. The festival takes place on July 17th and 18th, with in-person events occurring only on the 17th.

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut has been announced for August 20th, releasing on PlayStation 4 and 5. The Director’s Cut features a new playable area and will upgrade the PS5 version to make the most of the console’s technology. Players who already own Ghost of Tsushima will be able to purchase the updated version at a reduced price.

Xbox is reportedly talking with Hideo Kojima about a publishing agreement. The deal has yet to be agreed and details haven’t been confirmed. Kojima’s last publishing deal was with Sony, where he produced Death Stranding, so it’ll be exciting to see what avant-garde weird baby realness he’ll bring to Xbox.

Sony has bought PC porting company Nixxes Software to help port PlayStation Studios games. Sony has recently been moving PlayStation exclusive games, like Horizon Zero Dawn, to PC so this move looks like an effort to continue that work.

In other Sony news, the PSP store has now shuttered but Sony has clarified that digital PSP games can still be purchased via the PS3 and Vita. Earlier this year, Sony backtracked on a decision to close the PS3 and Vita stores as well, following concerns from gamers about losing access to many digital-only games.

Patricia Hernandez is Kotaku’s new Editor-in-Chief and the site has now finally removed their wildly unethical piece about several allegations of sexual assault within the games industry. The article included unauthorised details from an interview with Nathalie Lawhead and resulted in over a year of harassment and abuse for Lawhead and other survivors. It’s unclear whether Hernandez herself petitioned to remove the piece as Lawhead and their family have been consistently campaigning Kotaku’s leadership team for its removal since it was published. Nonetheless, it’s a good opportunity for Hernandez and her team to move Kotaku in the direction of sound journalism, respect for survivors and marginalised people, and accountability when harm is caused.