Daily Briefing: Wednesday 10th March

Microsoft confirm Bethesda acquisition is complete, finally weigh in on exclusives

The announcement was made yesterday via a statement from Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who said that "it's an honour" to welcome the eight studios that make up the deal - Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios.

• Spencer stated that Bethesda will continue to make games "the way it always has" now that everything is officially signed and sealed - he also confirmed that "some" future titles will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players. This is the first time anyone at Xbox has really weighed in on exclusivity, so it'll be interesting to see what "some" exclusives looks like in the long run.

Naughty Dog are gearing up for a multiplayer project

The Last of Us studio is advertising for an "economy designer" to work on a multiplayer title with player progression and live operation elements. The duties of the role, among other things, include ensuring "robust longevity" in Naughty Dogs' games, as well as giving players "great rewards to strive for."

• It's still unclear which project this role vacancy is attached to. Work is still ongoing on the multiplayer component for The Last of Us Part II which, though initially intended to release as part of the main game, will now get an entirely standalone release thanks to its scope. But could Naughty Dog have something else up their sleeves?

League of Legends: Wild Rift open beta to finally launch in the Americas

While it has been available for a while now - this week Riot Games announced that the mobile version of League of Legends: Wild Rift will hit open beta for iOS and Android players in North and South America on March 29th.

• Wild Rift was originally slated to launch last year but was delayed due to pandemic pressures and, while a full release date hasn't yet been confirmed, this expansion of the open beta is surely a good sign. Riot promise Wild Rift is not just a port of the PC game, but a "polished, legitimate" League experience that has been built from the ground up. It's also headed to consoles.

Nintendo Japan have officially run out of parts for 3DS repairs

Nintendo had previously announced that 3DS and 3DS XL repairs would cease at the end of March this year due to "difficulty in securing the necessary parts for repair", but this week announced that they had already run out of parts and as such repair services would cease immediately.

• Even at the time of the initial announcement, Nintendo Japan warned customers that the feasibility of repairs would depend entirely on what parts were already in stock. This is the latest sign that Nintendo are truly moving on from the 3DS off the back of the Switch's success - all 3DS models were officially discontinued in September 2020.