Daily Briefing: Tuesday 29th March

PlayStation’s Spartacus Revealed: PS+ & Now Merge

Details finally revealed: Three tiers of PS Plus! Essential is current PS+, no changes. Extra includes a library of up to 400 downloadable PS4 & PS5 games, from PlayStation & third-parties. This will cost $15 a month, or $100 a year. Premium includes streaming of up to 340 additional games from the PS1, PS2, PSP and PS3 generations. Some of these, except PS3 games, will be downloadable to play locally. Premium will also include time-limited game trials and will cost $18 a month or $120 a year. None of these options will include day-one access to PlayStation Studios titles, unlike one of Game Pass’ major selling points.

• This isn’t an ‘answer to Game Pass’ as much as it is a slight upgrade on PS Now and a merge with PlayStation Plus. Check out today’s video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhohaKHp77M for more analysis!

Breath Of The Wild 2 Delayed To Spring 2023

In a quick video showing off a tiny bit of new footage, Zelda series proucer Eiji Aonuma announced the delay, apologising for the wait but explaining they decided to extend development. He said: “In order to make this game’s experience something special, the entire development team is continuing to work diligently on this game, so please wait a while longer.”

• While people are certainly going to be upset, a lot of the response has been understanding - this was almost always on the cards anyway. It also helps that everyone trusts the development team to make the right call. And this way, Elden Ring will have an almost unopposed run for the GOTY!

Activision Blame ‘Crazy Install Sizes’ For Warzone Content

In a video interview, Activision vice president of design said the reason they don’t rotate maps in Warzone is because “The install and reinstall sizes are fucking crazy.” They know that downloading massive patches loses them players, despite them really wanting to ensure there’s fresh, varied experiences in the game. They’ve been looking at it internally, but have nothing to say right now.

• Install size is a major problem for AAA games, especially live services - storage space is at a premium in the PS5 and Series X, while base models of the older consoles shipped with 500GB and need to be officially supported. Add in internet speeds and download caps for parts of the world, and you have a serious problem for online games right now, and going forward.