Hello everyone. Welcome to another issue of Emmen Weekly, our new twist on gaming news.
This week’s issue is also going to cover some interesting news from around the games industry.
So with no further ado, let’s get into this issue of Emmen Weekly.
Kingdom Hearts IV Announced
Square Enix and Disney have announced the development of KINGDOM HEARTS IV.
An announcement by the companies stated that the game was in early development. There is no word of a release date, of course. However, there is a trailer (linked below).
The announcement also revealed a new game titled KINGDOM HEARTS Missing-Link. The game is for mobile platforms.
A closed beta test for the mobile game is planned for 2022 in specific regions.
As for KH4 itself, the trailer is absolutely gorgeous and sees Sora making his return with an updated look.
The trailer also signals the start of the “Lost Master Arc”, which is the next storyline for the series.
Another really eye-catching aspect of the trailer was what appeared to be early gameplay footage, though this is probably not 100% representative of the finished product.
That being said, what we did see was Sora was a giant boss in the middle of a modern day Tokyo-esque city.
You can check out the trailer below.
Sony Spends USD 1 Billion to Buy More Stake in Epic Games
Sony has invested USD 1 billion to buy additional stake in Epic Games.
This is just the latest attempt by Sony to slowly buy more and more shares from the Fortnite developer.
Sony first invested in Epic Games back in 2020. It spent around USD 250 million to acquire equity in Epic worth 1.5% of its business.
Following that, we saw another investment in 2021 where it bought a further 0.7% for USD 200 million.
And now, we are seeing the biggest investment yet. Epic Games has confirmed that Sony has agreed to spend USD 1 billion to acquire an additional 3.2% of the company.
If you’ve been doing the math, Sony now owns approximately 5.4% of the company.
Additionally, KIRKBI which is the investment company behind the LEGO Group has also acquired a stake of about 3.2% or so around the same time as Sony.
While we are talking about stakeholders, who can forget that 40% of Epic is owned by the Chinese media conglomerate, Tencent.
What will come of Sony’s slow encroachment into Epic remains to be seen.
Watch Dogs to Get Official Manga
Ubisoft’s open world hacking game, Watch Dogs is getting an official manga series.
Set in Japan, the series is called Watch Dogs Tokyo and will debut on April 12.
The story will reportedly focus on the evil Bloom Corporation from the series setting its sights on Tokyo.
According to the manga news feed Manga Mogura (RE), the story synopsis is as followers:
“It will be about a special new infrastructure system from a company called Bloom Japan used by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to change people’s lives. However this new system does in fact also harbor a great darkness.”
This is the second Watch Dogs manga to come out. Last year, we saw an adaptation of Watch Dogs Legion as well.
Sonic the Hedgehog Animated Series Headed to Netflix
Netflix has announced that Sonic the Hedgehog will be arriving on the platform as the star of his own 3D animated series.
According to the streaming giant, the series will be called Sonic Prime and will have a 24-episode first season.
The series will see Sonic racing to save the universe, including “a strange new multiverse”.
The showrunning and writing is being handled by the Man of Action Entertainment writing collective, which created the Ben 10 series.
The animation is being handled by WildBrain, which also developed Netflix’s Carmen Sandiego series.
Netflix has released the show’s logo alongside the announcement.
Ghost of Tsushima Movie Finds Screenwriter
Sony Pictures has announced that the movie adaptation of Ghost of Tsushima has found its screenwriter.
The writer chosen was Takashi Doscher, known for his work on the sci-fi romance, Only, and Blue, which is a twist on Japanese monster movies. The latter is currently in development.
The movie will be retelling the plot of the game where the character of Jin Sakai will be fighting to free the island of Tsushima from a Mongol invasion.
This movie was first announced last year and we learned that John Wick director Chad Stahelski will help the project.
The team will also have input from Sucker Punch, the studio that created the game.
The Ghost of Tsushima movie is part of a Sony initiative to bring more of its PlayStation IP to the big screen.
In addition to the recently released Uncharted movie, there is also a Last of Us TV show coming up on HBO, and more.
Emmen Gaming 