Game News Round-Up

Static Recompilation for Xbox 360 titles now possible

• A sonic fan was annoyed they couldn't play Sonic Unleashed on PC so built the system within 6 months
• Sonic Unleashed has been used to prove out the system
• Non-technical explanation: Opens the door for native PC ports of Xbox 360 games, akin to N64 Recompiled (which was used to make Zelda 64: Recompiled). A lot of manual work and technical knowledge of recompilation is still required but this is a huge moment for the game preservation community.

Black Ops 6 Season 3 and Warzone Season 3 have been delayed

• Season 3 was widely expected to kick off on March 20, but it will now launch two weeks later than previously anticipated.
• Activision announced last August that it planned to bring back Warzone’s original map, Verdansk, in the spring of 2025

Activision appears to be gauging interest in new Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and Crash Bandicoot games using AI generated adverts for non-existent titles

• Guitar Hero Mobile, Call of Duty: Zombie Defender and Crash Bandicoot Brawl
• Use of "terrible" AI has drawn a lot of criticism

Secret Mode splits from Sumo Group to become an independent publisher

• Secret Mode is the UK publisher behind games including Still Wakes the Deep and A Little to the Left

Rockstar acquires studio founded by the director of LA Noire and The Getaway

• Rockstar Games acquires Video Games Deluxe, now known as Rockstar Australia
• Sydney-based developer recently worked on upgrades to GTA: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition

Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai honored by Japanese government for pioneering game design tutorials