Daily Briefing, Thursday 3rd December 2020

Hello, friends, and welcome to another edition of the Bellular Daily Briefing - your partner in gaming news

Satya Nadella says Microsoft are "very, very much focused on gaming "

Speaking to shareholders on Wednesday, the Microsoft CEO was asked what the company are doing to "win the console war" against the PlayStation 5, and replied that the company are building their strategy around content, community, and availability.

• Nadella reiterated the same "play anything, anywhere, with everyone" mantra that Microsoft presumably nicked from Nintendo a while back - but emphasised that Microsoft's content efforts (portfolio acquisitions, Game Pass etc.) will be the bulk of their strategy going forward.

Dauntless is getting an overhaul

Dauntless has been a bit beleaguered since its 2019 launch but this latest update, dubbed Dauntless Reforged, goes back to completely overhaul and iterate the core features of the base game. The free update launches today on consoles and on PC via the Epic Games Store.

• Dauntless Reforged introduces quite a bit of new content. Hunting Grounds are new hunt types which are apparently intended to be endlessly replayable without relying on procedural generation, while the Slayer's Path is a new branching upgrade path. There are also gliders now.

Sony's Bend Studio loses two senior leads

John Garvin and Jeff Ross, two of the most senior creatives on 2019 PS4 exclusive Days Gone, announced their departure from the Oregon-based developer earlier this week. Both men had been with the studio since the mid-90s when they wrote and designed the Syphon Filter series.

• Ross announced on Twitter that he will be departing the studio this week and moving to Chicago once the pandemic settles, but the big surprise was Garvin confirming that he hasn't actually been with the studio since Days Gone shipped last year - and hadn't spoken about it before for "various reasons."

Genshin Impact has brought in nearly $400m on mobile alone

According to estimates from Sensor Tower, the free-to-play RPG has brought in around $393m in mobile revenue since it released in September - and that's not counting the PS4 and PC versions. The estimation means that Genshin Impact has made a combined average of $6m a day across iOS and Android devices.

• Genshin Impact has kept up a up a steady pace of new content since launch as well and, with PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch versions still on the horizon, this money train doesn't look like it'll be slowing down anytime soon.

Geoff Keighley announces The Game Awards Festival

The Game Awards are set to air on December 10th and show organiser Geoff Keighley has announced that "playable first-look demos" will return in celebration - giving players a chance to try new and upcoming games from the comfort of their own home.

• The Game Festival idea actually debuted at last year's Game Awards, featuring 12 demos on Steam for a 48 hour period. It's returned a few times since then, and grown in size and scope each time too. This time, it looks like players on PC, console, mobile, and mixed reality will be able to take part. Neat.

That's everything for today - join us back here tomorrow for another dose of daily news!