For years the gaming community ran amok with toxicity at levels I’ve never experienced before; things been ramping up since The Last of Us Part II launched back in 2020, which inadvertently caused pure chaos with leaks of Joel’s demise, and then the follow up with CDPR’s Cyberpunk 2077 launch. No good news within gaming was enough to dent the insurmountable wall of disparity and anger, and for a while it felt as though it’ll last forever.
Information about Activision|Blizzard’s dehumanizing actions and sexual harassment lawsuits surfaced. Soon after Microsoft acquires the company, with little to no effort in resolving those issues. Then Sony’s acquisition of Bungie and many other studios shook the gaming world. CDPR’s internal issues with developers and board members, their death threats from the gaming community, following up with Rockstar’s monumental data breach of Grand Theft Auto 6’s early development videos, 90 videos deep – seems as though historical gaming moments were constantly unfolding right before our eyes yet all of it shrouded by people enforcing it rather than coming together in support of gaming; this disjointed element widens the disparity, one I hope gets fixed soon because more than any period in history, gaming is at the forefront, something we longed for since the 70’s.
The first sign of great momentum happened during Rockstar’s data breach where game developers over at Twitter took it upon themselves to defend them – alongside an attrition of gamers who defended against toxicity. It followed with news that CDPR is actually in good health as they announced that CP2077 sold over 20M copies alongside a resurgence of players taking number 1 spots on Steam for several weeks, after the release of the critically acclaimed Edgerunner anime on Netflix – risen from the backlash the company had to take these last couple years. This is accompanied by social media taking a slight turn away from constant toxicity to gamers voicing a more supportive tone, defending developers from harmful physical threats and words.
Then we get news that God of War Ragnarok has gone gold, several Sony IP coming to PC, Game Pass offering excellent rotating library, DualSense Edge announcement to compete against Xbox Series 2 controller, and PSVR 2 may just be a better choice compared to Meta Quest Pro. Also there is Steam Deck becoming freely available to purchase and send with ease, CDPR developing a sequel to CP2077(!), several AAA Witcher games in development, Bungie’s Lightfall trailer (!!) (even if the state of Destiny 2 needs major reworking), Hogwart’s Legacy just around the corner, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Crisis Core remake, perhaps more info on FFXVI in Sony’s upcoming State of Play?
Lets also not forget that Nintendo’s Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is just a month away. All this literally within the next 3-6 months is banger after banger. To find any level of negativity from the small information I just provided would just mean you dislike gaming and perhaps it’s time to move on from it.
It’s not perfect – a more nuanced discussion like remasters and remakes definitely deserves discussion, especially with rumors that Horizon Zero Dawn is getting a remake nearly 5 years from its original release, could be troubling. Depending on price point, it can continue the uproar, a stance Sony should really consider carefully. My position is, it’s always good to make games we love, the most definitive it can become – especially if it doesn’t disrupt the development of newer games; just price it accordingly and don’t remake a game after a short time – let time pass, preferably 10 years minimum, to revitalize a franchise to new heights. That’s why I think remaking The Last of Us Part I was perfect timing, despite it getting a remaster back in PS4 – the game was clearly dated and needed a touch up for fans and newcomers alike.
It’s just one of those feel-good gaming moments where you take a step back and see that everything is moving with great momentum – a rise from the ashes so to speak. I sometimes wonder if I’m alone in feeling this way, but I couldn’t be happier with the state of gaming at this moment of writing.
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