Plus Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 remaster is announced and Rockstar acquires Aussie studio
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SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Courtney Smith, Adam Christou and Chris Button. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia and Apple for their support of SIFTER.
FIONA: Hi I’m Fiona Bartholomaeus
KYLE: and I’m Kyle Pauletto
FIONA: Welcome to Walkthrough, SIFTER’s weekly recap on the biggest news in video games.
KYLE: This week Rockstar opens an Australian office, Marvel 1943 Rise of Hydra could be out by the end of this year, and Tony Hawk 3+4 skates back into our lives.
Here is the news for Sunday 9th of March. Let’s go!
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PROMO: Join the SIFTER community on Discord at sifter.com.au/discord
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FIONA: While we get ready for the release of season two of The Last of Us TV series, Neil Druckmann said there might not be any more games.
In an interview with Variety, Druckmann was asked about a potential Last of Us Part III and he said “I guess the only thing I would say is don’t bet on there being more of Last of Us. This could be it.”
KYLE: It’s a bit of a change in tune after previous interviews where he had been open about the possibility of a third game.
But in saying that, he is now directing and writing Naughty Dog’s new game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet so it makes sense if there isn’t one on the cards.
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KYLE: Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, which was announced in March last year, could be out by this year according to one of the lead actors.
Khary Payton, who stars as Black Panther in the game, told Video Game Chronicle that while the game is still in development, they’re planning on a Christmas 2025 release.
Which seems…incredibly optimistic. I can’t help but feel like Kevin McCloud when an excited couple explains that their self managed Grand Designs build will be done before the end of the year.
FIONA: There’s no official release date, and we’ve only seen one trailer that was mainly used to show off what Unreal Engine was capable of during last year's State of Unreal showcase at the Game Developers Conference.
But hey, Director Amy Hennig has a pretty solid catalogue, as creative director on the Uncharted series and is incredibly capable, so maybe Rise of Hydra could make it into our stockings.
We’ll keep you updated as the story progresses.
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FIONA: After many leaks and hidden reveals, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 and 4 has officially been announced.
It’s been nearly 5 years since we got the remaster for the first and second game and this one will be done by Studio Iron Galaxy.
Like the previous remasters it will have multiplayer, a massive visual upgrade, skaters from the original games and new skaters including Australian Olympian Chloe Covell.
KYLE: Although if you buy the digital deluxe version you’ll get two more skaters, the Doom Slayer and Revenant.
The announcement trailer showed off some of the classic levels like Airport, Foundry, Rio, and Tokyo, and some of the original games’ soundtracks will be making a comeback too.
Those who pre-order the game will get access to a demo in June and then those with pre-orders for the Digital Deluxe will receive the full game three days early.
The remaster will be available on July 11 for Switch, PlayStation, PC, and Xbox.
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KYLE: Rockstar Games has formed a new studio called Rockstar Australia, after acquiring one based in Sydney.
They announced last week that they acquired Video Games Deluxe, a company founded in 2013 by L.A. Noire director Brendan McNamara.
But there’s some interesting backstory to this.
L.A. Noire was developed by McNamara’s previous studio Team Bondi and published by Rockstar, however the relationship between the two companies deteriorated after a report alleging poor working conditions.
FIONA: After that the studio eventually shut its doors, McNamara created Video Games Deluxe a couple years later.
But despite whatever happened between the two studios, the Australian devs have worked with Rockstar since on various L.A. Noire re-releases and Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition.
They haven’t said what games the new studio will be working on but we’ll probably see something soon.
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FIONA: That’s it for the headlines, here are the games coming out this week.
KYLE: After spending a year as a PS5 exclusive, the samurai RPG Rise of Ronin is coming to PC. This game won a bunch of awards last year, and has been really well reviewed since, so if you like your samurai fighting games, this is definitely one to pick up. That’s out on 11 March.
FIONA: Also out on 11th is Wanderstop, the cozy tea shop game. Grow and harvest all the ingredients need for you for your tea, all while chatting with customers who pass through. It looks super cute and fun. You can grab it on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X on Tuesday.
KYLE: Remember The Phantom? That comic you used to get in showbags? Well the nearly 89year old character gets his own Australian made video game this week, a two player side scrolling beat-em-up. Old school and arcadey you can find this one on PC and PlayStation 5 on the 12th
FIONA: MLB THE SHOW 25 is the next instalment of the long running baseball series. Play as your favourite team and hit a homerun. Run to bases. STEEEE-RIKKEEE THREE YOU'RE OUT. that my friends is a base ball, Babe Ruth. That’s coming to PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and the Switch on the 14 March.
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PROMO: Articles to read, videos to watch and podcasts to listen to on sifter.com.au
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FIONA: This has been Walkthrough by SIFTER, my name is Fiona Bartholomaeus.
KYLE: And my name is Kyle Pauletto, thank you so much for listening.
FIONA: Hey if you’d like to support the show and cover our costs you can back us on Ko-Fi, either a one off tip or an ongoing contribution, your help would mean a lot, it’s easy head to sifter.com.au/support that address again is sifter.com.au/support.
KYLE: SIFTER is produced by myself, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Adam Christou, Courtney Smith and Chris Button. The episode is edited by both Senior Producer Mitch Loh and Gianni Di Giovanni who is SIFTER’s Executive Producer and also Walkthrough’s script editor.
FIONA: Thanks to Brian Fairbanks from Salty Dog Sounds for composing the Walkthrough theme tune, and Audio Technica Australia and Apple for their support of SIFTER’s podcasts.
KYLE: We’ll be back with more news next Sunday.
