It’s the end of the week, but there’s still plenty of video game news to get through today. We finally got word on the official title of Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad game, NPD results for July 2020 revealed that Ghost of Tsushima was the month’s bestselling game, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla‘s former creative director, Ashraf Ismail, has been terminated from Ubisoft due to misconduct, and more. Here’s the video game news you might’ve missed on Aug. 14, 2020.
Retro Studios Is Hiring a Lead Producer for Metroid Prime 4
Remember Metroid Prime 4? Well, following the 2019 announcement that its development would restart under Retro Studios, Nintendo has been quiet about its development. It seems progress is still moving slowly, as today, Retro tweeted a job posting seeking a lead producer. In fact, the developer is currently hiring for 10 positions, including a senior level designer, lead animator, and concept artist, at least one of which was first posted over a year ago.
While it isn’t a surefire indication that the game is in trouble, the community grew concerned today following the company’s tweet, since a lead producer is one of the main team members that steers the ship of development. Some argue that if the company is still looking for a lead producer, Metroid Prime 4 could be even further out than we thought. Neither Nintendo nor Retro has given us any updates as to when we can expect it, but it likely won’t be for another few years.
We are looking for a 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗿 to join us on our journey to develop Metroid Prime 4! #GameJobs #GameDev #GameDevJobshttps://t.co/NWVPLGel3E pic.twitter.com/4hpOgw0Byg
— Retro Studios (@RetroStudios) August 14, 2020
Read More: Metroid Prime 4 is still looking for a lead producer, among other things
Ghost of Tsushima Was July 2020’s Bestselling Game in the U.S.
Today, Mat Piscatella of the NPD Group posted July 2020’s financial results, revealing the bestselling games and hardware for that month in the United States. We recommend you check out Piscatella’s tweet for all the information, but the main takeaway is that Ghost of Tsushima was July’s bestselling game. This also makes it the 5th bestselling game of the year,and developer Sucker Punch Productions’ fastest selling game ever.
Other notable entries for the month were Paper Mario: The Origami King at #3, The Last of Us Part II at #4, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare continuing as July’s second bestseller. Interestingly, the behemoth Grand Theft Auto V was nowhere to be found in the top 20, which is unusual considering it has maintained a spot on the list for most of the time it’s been available to buy. The full thread can be found below.
US NPD SW – Ghost of Tsushima was July's best-selling title. Ghost of Tsushima is developer Sucker Punch Productions' fastest selling release in history. Ghost of Tsushima also debuts as 2020's 5th best-selling game year-to-date. pic.twitter.com/WUCF3QXDr6
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) August 14, 2020
Here’s What to Expect from Apex Legends Season 6
Developer Respawn Entertainment has unveiled the curtain, showing us what to expect from Apex Legends Season 6 in the form of a new trailer. Most importantly, the trailer shows off a new Legend named Rampart, who is an expert with a turret. Along with that, you can expect map changes, a new crafting system, new skins, and a tease for “something big” in the future. It’s unclear what this is teasing, but some seem to think it will integrate more ties to Titanfall (which is in the same universe as Apex Legends).
Apex Legends Season 6 kicks off next week on Aug. 18.
Risk of Rain 2 Has Reached Over 3 Million Players on Steam
Roguelike third-person shooter Risk of Rain 2 has done well since its official 1.0 launch earlier this week. In fact, on Steam alone it has surpassed 3 million players, as announced by the game’s official Twitter account today. Keep in mind the game is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch as well, so it’s surely done much better than that across all platforms total. It initially was available in early access, where it garnered 650,000 players in its first week — a small fraction of its success today.
We are very excited to announce that Risk of Rain 2 now has more than 3 million players on Steam!
Thank you to everyone that supported us through Early Access and for helping us achieve this milestone as we launched into 1.0 this week! ♥ pic.twitter.com/iNAFp6w1Gt
— Risk of Rain 2 (@RiskofRain) August 14, 2020
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s Former Creative Director Terminated from Ubisoft Due to Misconduct
Following Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Creative Director Ashraf Ismail stepping down from his role earlier this year, it was reported today that he has been terminated from Ubisoft altogether due to misconduct. An internal document was obtained by Kotaku and others announcing Ismail’s termination.
“Following an investigation by an external firm, it was determined that Ashraf’s employment with Ubisoft had to be terminated,” the document reads. “We cannot provide any details about this confidential investigation.” Ismail stepped down from his creative director role following details of infidelity between himself and other women whom he allegedly manipulated. It’s unknown if his termination is directly tied to that situation or if there is more to the story.
Read More: Assassin’s Creed Creative Director Fired From Ubisoft Following Investigation Into Misconduct
