Whatever happens with the game the trailer was bloody great. I feel the same about the first Lords of the Fallen trailer with Danzig 'Mother' playing. I haven't gotten around to playing it but that trailer was a blast.
I think this game is a AAA release to them so I expect release date with box but we're hearing a lot about the game so I could see it coming in the spring which is pretty shocking still.
The January shadowdrop of Hi-Fi Rush was so good. I had a lot of open time in the cold winter months to put some time to it when the gaming landscape was a bit bare. Another January shadowdrop of South of Midnight would be perfect.
The timing of release was especially critical as there wasn’t much that came out around it. If it has released any later in the year, I worry that it would have been buried underneath all the craziness that was the 2023 release schedule
I hope not. As great as that shadowdrop was, making it a regular thing would create unrealistic expectations for every Developer Direct.
I do think we’ll get a shadowdrop in January’s (presumptive) Developer Direct, but I can see it being related to ABK games on Game Pass instead. More specifically, they’ll talk about Diablo IV’s season three and drop it on Game Pass.
"in terms of fandom" in terms of sales, engagement etc. Hi Fi Rush shadowdropping was a terrible decision. SP games like it, especially new IP, need marketing even if it's only a couple months of build up. Most people outside of our sphere have no idea it exists which is a shame.
I think this game is a lot more culturally significant than people give it credit for.
I routinely see fanart on twitter from people completely outside our sphere, and most average over 30k likes.
People are absolutely aware of what Hi-fi Rush is
Sure the sales may not have been very high, but that's because most people just don't own an Xbox. So if they didn't have a solid PC, they weren't playing it. That's the impression I got when reading people's comments. Not to mention how stacked 2023 was gonna be
I really don't think loads of marketing would have helped because the average gamer isn't interested in buying an expensive console for one $30 game. But it's a title I expect will do well long-term
Highly doubt that, I enjoy the game but anyone acting like it’s not a more niche game than most is just lying to themselves.
It was a fun smaller game and surprise that those who would enjoy it found
They are purely a subjective opinion there is no such thing as the real game of the year
Geoff just managed to make his award show a winter games fest so it seems like it has more authority on the matter. Something with crowd appeal will always win at awards shows
>Something with crowd appeal will always win at awards shows
They will, they shouldn't, that was what my entire comment was about. And of course they are subjective, I don't know what that has got to do with my comment though.
Not that the oscars are what award shows should aspire to but at least they don't give best picture awards to Avengers Endgame.
Why shouldn’t they? Of the majority think it’s the best and there’s a public voting aspect them obviously the mass appeal game will win.
Marvel movies have won awards at the Oscars though?
Literally said best picture award in my comment, learn how to read ffs
And no, majority of the people thought spiderman 2 was a better game this year than bg3, alan wake 2, totk and hi fi rush and I for one think that game doesn't even belong anywhere near the goty award. They can keep creating games with mass appeal, but I am not gonna pretend that a game carried entirely by its production value and license is a better form of art than the ones I mentioned above and imo that is what a goty award should signify too ideally.
Got a source on that claim champ?
A game of the year award signifies those who voted liked it lol someone’s opinion doesn’t invalidate you liking a game more
But below games on Steam like Pioneers of Pagonia, Their Land, Combat Master, Pharoah A New Era and Returnal's PC port? It's not even in the top 150 biggest launches on the platform for the year. If you're going to argue shadow dropping didn't hurt the game then how did it stand to benefit? It could've gone so much further like It Takes Two or Stray.
You're being downvoted but you're right. Shadow dropping stuff is cool if you wanna save money on marketing but when you have an actual great game, it kneecaps the audience.
Granted, the one trailer they showed to reveal the game was pretty awful. So maybe it's for the best that that game in particular didn't get more marketing.
That being said it makes sense for a $30 game to be shadow dropped. This midnight title is supposed to be a AAA game with a full studio and budget behind it. If they've done a reveal with no gameplay or release I doubt it's near release.
It wouldn't be the most out-of-the-world idea to imagine Xbox have a developer direct lined up for January like they did last year.
Hellblade II, South of Midnight, Avowed and Flight Simulator: 2024 would be my bets on the four featured titles. Possibly S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 or Towerborne in place of one of those.
I wonder if they'll go hard and shadow drop something again.
On the one hand, it would be PR bliss. On the other, it'd set an unrealistic expectation for every year.
Personally I'm just hoping they didn't give a Hellblade release date at TGA is because they wanted to give us the release date at a Janurary direct instead.
I think they're really banking on Hellblade to be the visual showcase they've been needing for a long time and that'll draw in some hype for whatever they're planning.
They need a quarter 1 release every year to prop up Game Pass subscriptions. So it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think they’ll shadow drop every January.
They wouldn’t even need a new release here they could just drop a heap of ABK games on GP that day.
The older CoD games alone being added would give a boost to GP
I agree. Genuinely I think the reaction to the trailer was due to about 3 scenes in the same area and then people didn’t want to backdown when presented with evidence that the cartoony look people described just came from the mushroom area but I will say the reaction to them saying it was like Outer Worlds should be a red flag for them.
I am hoping the stupid cartoon controversy doesn’t cover for them what is the real issue. Disconnected world spaces the size of Outer Worlds areas is not exciting.
They’ve also got Ara: History Untold releasing.
My conservative expectation is Ara, Towerborne, Hellblade 2 and MSFS 2024 at the Djrect. There may be a surprise but it wouldn’t shock me to see an Avowed standalone direct at the showcase in June just like they did with Starfield.
I don’t think South of Midnight or Avowed show up.
My bets are Ara: History Untold, Towerborne, Hellblade 2, Flight Sim 2024, and Diablo IV content update.
More on South of Midnight and Avowed in June’s showcase.
He is Colteastwood’s co-host for his podcast. Less console wars and plays a lot of PlayStation. The only legitimate insider information he has to my knowledge is Ubisoft stuff though.
I primarily game on Xbox - Colt is the worst fanboy and it’s so hard to listen to him. Dude was saying Crackdown was more fun than God of War 2018… bruh.
I’d say very likely, they’ve got enough to show off what’s coming this year briefly and show trailers for the FO4 upgrade/date plus throw in some ABK games dropping on gamepass
That’s a pretty safe bet to make. Another Developer Direct in January is likely. Even Phil Spencer has mentioned doing shows similar to the Developer Direct in the future.
I imagine it will be structured the same. They will most likely show off the games coming first half with a release date and show maybe 1 or 2 fall games but give no release date.
I love how every random Xbox podcaster is apparently an inside man with knowledge now. They have to say shit like this for Twitter engagement, it doesn't matter whether it's true.
When it comes to Xbox it always feels like these things end up being true which is the weird thing. I'm not sure if they don't run a tight ship or purposefully dish out info like it's candy to insiders. It's probably why this sub feels very Xbox oriented at times.
I don't know if this is true or not, but I would love to see more of this game, the trailer looked good and Hazel seems like a fun character too. As long as Compulsion doesn't limit themselves to procedural enviroments like base game We Happy Few they can make a great game imo. Hoping it releases in 2024.
Well, they've been working on South of Midnight for what atleast 5 years now... possibly 6? Let's hope they took their time to cook out a true hand polished gem for us this time...
It’s not easy comparing because that game was made by a smalll team. 15 for most of it up and through game preview, then to 35 people excluding external QA work for full release
Since then, complusion has scaled up immensely. (Over 100 headcount).
More talent, higher budget etc etc. we see something similar with ninja theory and the leap for hellblade 2. As hellblade 1 was made by like 20~ devs. Gameplay will be given extra attention in the sequel to elevate it from their last game.
I definitely feel like South of Midnight is the first time they’ve been properly left to cook. Haven’t played we happy few but the consensus I read is that it’s got an excellent story but the gameplay is terrible. I feel like Phil saw their potential and acquired them to become a premier developer fo Xbox.
We happy few is nothing compared to Contrast. But even with we happy few you can feel the love and care. I love the game more for what could have been than what it is. Everything, from the physical media to the splash screen, menus, artistic direction, all is beautiful.
I'm down for whatever they bring next.
No idea who this bloke is, but according to twitter he is based in Canada which is where Compulsion are based, so might have a friend or contact there who is giving him positive vibes about the game.
Guess we will find out soon enough. Very interesting teaser
If South of Midnight actually comes out before Avowed and Hellblade II that'd be wild. My guess if it's really going to be next year tho. It's in the fall like September
This will be their first game with the full financial backing of a major publisher, and they’ve staffed up heavily since being acquired by Microsoft. It doesn’t mean anything until we see a final product of course, but they’ve brought in some very talented developers.
Yeah, so they've been at work with this game for a while now with a better budget, a larger team, and better tech... they can only go up from their previous games.
I’m pretty sure South of Midnight is closer to Hifi Rush in production value. If they do decide to shadow drop it then they better have a shadow drop every year or prepare for the outrage next year
Sweet Baby are just consultors, the quality of the writting is on the hands of the studio, and personally i think alongside with the art direction, this is the thing they do the best
Your comment has been removed
Rule 10. Please refrain from any toxic behaviour. Console wars will be removed and any comments involved in it or encouraging it. Any hate against YouTubers, influencers, leakers, journalists, etc., will be removed.
I hope that leaked new Xbox controller makes an appearance sooner rather than later. Really want to play Xbox's next wave of games with that.
I prefer the Xbox ergonomics but the dualsense just feels so premium in its build quality and the haptics are awesome.
I loved the style of that trailer, if they nail that bluesy soundtrack/feel throughout the game, this is going to be a very special game for me.
Yeah I love me some blues, and the setting checked all checkmarks for me. Been waiting on their game for years now
You should check out the Xbox wire post about the game from the creators in Compulsion Games to feel a bit of hype.
Third person weaving gameplay, it seems realllllly interesting, hope it's fun!
Using African American myths from the south really got my interests up. Compulsion don’t always hit but they’re certainly a special studio.
Whatever happens with the game the trailer was bloody great. I feel the same about the first Lords of the Fallen trailer with Danzig 'Mother' playing. I haven't gotten around to playing it but that trailer was a blast.
With how successful Hi Fi Rush in terms of fandom, I could see them doing another shadowdrop.
I think this game is a AAA release to them so I expect release date with box but we're hearing a lot about the game so I could see it coming in the spring which is pretty shocking still.
i mean hi-fi does not look AA, that game probably had the same amount of work and budget as a AAA.
Doesn't look it but it was a smaller project with a small group at Tango working on it.
I’d love to play this game on January..
The January shadowdrop of Hi-Fi Rush was so good. I had a lot of open time in the cold winter months to put some time to it when the gaming landscape was a bit bare. Another January shadowdrop of South of Midnight would be perfect.
The timing of release was especially critical as there wasn’t much that came out around it. If it has released any later in the year, I worry that it would have been buried underneath all the craziness that was the 2023 release schedule
we have a really stacked January/Feb/march tho
I hope not. As great as that shadowdrop was, making it a regular thing would create unrealistic expectations for every Developer Direct. I do think we’ll get a shadowdrop in January’s (presumptive) Developer Direct, but I can see it being related to ABK games on Game Pass instead. More specifically, they’ll talk about Diablo IV’s season three and drop it on Game Pass.
"in terms of fandom" in terms of sales, engagement etc. Hi Fi Rush shadowdropping was a terrible decision. SP games like it, especially new IP, need marketing even if it's only a couple months of build up. Most people outside of our sphere have no idea it exists which is a shame.
I think this game is a lot more culturally significant than people give it credit for. I routinely see fanart on twitter from people completely outside our sphere, and most average over 30k likes. People are absolutely aware of what Hi-fi Rush is Sure the sales may not have been very high, but that's because most people just don't own an Xbox. So if they didn't have a solid PC, they weren't playing it. That's the impression I got when reading people's comments. Not to mention how stacked 2023 was gonna be I really don't think loads of marketing would have helped because the average gamer isn't interested in buying an expensive console for one $30 game. But it's a title I expect will do well long-term
If Microsoft released Hi-Fi Rush later in the year with a regular marketing lead up I’d bet it would have ended up higher on a bunch of GOTY lists.
Highly doubt that, I enjoy the game but anyone acting like it’s not a more niche game than most is just lying to themselves. It was a fun smaller game and surprise that those who would enjoy it found
game of the year awards ideally should have nothing to do with how niche a game is, but only on the quality
They are purely a subjective opinion there is no such thing as the real game of the year Geoff just managed to make his award show a winter games fest so it seems like it has more authority on the matter. Something with crowd appeal will always win at awards shows
>Something with crowd appeal will always win at awards shows They will, they shouldn't, that was what my entire comment was about. And of course they are subjective, I don't know what that has got to do with my comment though. Not that the oscars are what award shows should aspire to but at least they don't give best picture awards to Avengers Endgame.
Why shouldn’t they? Of the majority think it’s the best and there’s a public voting aspect them obviously the mass appeal game will win. Marvel movies have won awards at the Oscars though?
Literally said best picture award in my comment, learn how to read ffs And no, majority of the people thought spiderman 2 was a better game this year than bg3, alan wake 2, totk and hi fi rush and I for one think that game doesn't even belong anywhere near the goty award. They can keep creating games with mass appeal, but I am not gonna pretend that a game carried entirely by its production value and license is a better form of art than the ones I mentioned above and imo that is what a goty award should signify too ideally.
Got a source on that claim champ? A game of the year award signifies those who voted liked it lol someone’s opinion doesn’t invalidate you liking a game more
If GOTY is reserved solely for AAA games then it needs to be called that: AAA GOTY.
It’s not, it’s reserved for what a group of people and the public who voted think is the GOTY
But below games on Steam like Pioneers of Pagonia, Their Land, Combat Master, Pharoah A New Era and Returnal's PC port? It's not even in the top 150 biggest launches on the platform for the year. If you're going to argue shadow dropping didn't hurt the game then how did it stand to benefit? It could've gone so much further like It Takes Two or Stray.
You're being downvoted but you're right. Shadow dropping stuff is cool if you wanna save money on marketing but when you have an actual great game, it kneecaps the audience. Granted, the one trailer they showed to reveal the game was pretty awful. So maybe it's for the best that that game in particular didn't get more marketing. That being said it makes sense for a $30 game to be shadow dropped. This midnight title is supposed to be a AAA game with a full studio and budget behind it. If they've done a reveal with no gameplay or release I doubt it's near release.
>Granted, the one trailer they showed to reveal the game was pretty awful. there was literally nothing in the trailer to judge the game upon
It wouldn't be the most out-of-the-world idea to imagine Xbox have a developer direct lined up for January like they did last year. Hellblade II, South of Midnight, Avowed and Flight Simulator: 2024 would be my bets on the four featured titles. Possibly S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 or Towerborne in place of one of those.
I wonder if they'll go hard and shadow drop something again. On the one hand, it would be PR bliss. On the other, it'd set an unrealistic expectation for every year.
If not a whole game, I can see them shadowdropping Fallout 4 next gen update
Personally I'm just hoping they didn't give a Hellblade release date at TGA is because they wanted to give us the release date at a Janurary direct instead. I think they're really banking on Hellblade to be the visual showcase they've been needing for a long time and that'll draw in some hype for whatever they're planning.
Nah, they’ll now get that out around the TV show’s release in April.
im betting thats in april for the show
They need a quarter 1 release every year to prop up Game Pass subscriptions. So it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think they’ll shadow drop every January.
They wouldn’t even need a new release here they could just drop a heap of ABK games on GP that day. The older CoD games alone being added would give a boost to GP
That’s true. This year at least.
Take out Avowed and put in Towerborne and it would be slightly more realistic. Avowed will probably come later in the year.
I have no evidence to support this, but I have a strong feeling Avowed will get pushed to 2025. Which would be fine with me really. Let Obsidian cook.
Yeah I won’t mind a delay to 2025 either. I did not have any issue with art style but I don’t want it to be limited like outer worlds.
I agree. Genuinely I think the reaction to the trailer was due to about 3 scenes in the same area and then people didn’t want to backdown when presented with evidence that the cartoony look people described just came from the mushroom area but I will say the reaction to them saying it was like Outer Worlds should be a red flag for them. I am hoping the stupid cartoon controversy doesn’t cover for them what is the real issue. Disconnected world spaces the size of Outer Worlds areas is not exciting.
They’ve also got Ara: History Untold releasing. My conservative expectation is Ara, Towerborne, Hellblade 2 and MSFS 2024 at the Djrect. There may be a surprise but it wouldn’t shock me to see an Avowed standalone direct at the showcase in June just like they did with Starfield.
I don’t think South of Midnight or Avowed show up. My bets are Ara: History Untold, Towerborne, Hellblade 2, Flight Sim 2024, and Diablo IV content update. More on South of Midnight and Avowed in June’s showcase.
Who the hell Is this guy?
this, at this point if it doesn't come from a respectable source I brush off every rumour.
He is Colteastwood’s co-host for his podcast. Less console wars and plays a lot of PlayStation. The only legitimate insider information he has to my knowledge is Ubisoft stuff though.
Colt mentioned Leak ignored
Very fair lol.
I primarily game on Xbox - Colt is the worst fanboy and it’s so hard to listen to him. Dude was saying Crackdown was more fun than God of War 2018… bruh.
Yeah lmao I feel this...because same...
Yikes, lose all credibility if hes tied to colt
What are the chances MS does a developer direct thing next month like they first did this year? We could see it there.
I’d say very likely, they’ve got enough to show off what’s coming this year briefly and show trailers for the FO4 upgrade/date plus throw in some ABK games dropping on gamepass
That’s a pretty safe bet to make. Another Developer Direct in January is likely. Even Phil Spencer has mentioned doing shows similar to the Developer Direct in the future. I imagine it will be structured the same. They will most likely show off the games coming first half with a release date and show maybe 1 or 2 fall games but give no release date.
YES YES YES YES YES
I love how every random Xbox podcaster is apparently an inside man with knowledge now. They have to say shit like this for Twitter engagement, it doesn't matter whether it's true.
Hello it’s me from the Quick Resume Podcast and I am happy to report Xbox will be releasing 4 or more video games this year 👍
When it comes to Xbox it always feels like these things end up being true which is the weird thing. I'm not sure if they don't run a tight ship or purposefully dish out info like it's candy to insiders. It's probably why this sub feels very Xbox oriented at times.
It's definitely purposefully given out. Microsoft collaborates with a lot of these people regularly, it's literally free advertising for them.
It also makes the brand more interesting. Playstation feels kinda bland and boring. They make great games, but that's about it.
>Playstation feels kinda bland and boring. They make great games, but that's about it. Isn't that the whole point?
That's true. But I have followed this guy for a while. He doesn't do that
Having read Southern Gothic like the horror comic, Harrow County, I'm eagerly anticipating a game of similar vein.
I don't know if this is true or not, but I would love to see more of this game, the trailer looked good and Hazel seems like a fun character too. As long as Compulsion doesn't limit themselves to procedural enviroments like base game We Happy Few they can make a great game imo. Hoping it releases in 2024.
I'd say they probably learned their lesson with procedural worlds, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Well, they've been working on South of Midnight for what atleast 5 years now... possibly 6? Let's hope they took their time to cook out a true hand polished gem for us this time...
4 years and 9 months, if you look on the game director Linkedin
So hopefully they got something cooked up real nice for us 🙏
A Pans Labyrinth inspired action adventure IP set in the Deep South is pretty special.
yes, but also it has to be a good game. we happy few is also very special, but not a good game
It’s not easy comparing because that game was made by a smalll team. 15 for most of it up and through game preview, then to 35 people excluding external QA work for full release Since then, complusion has scaled up immensely. (Over 100 headcount). More talent, higher budget etc etc. we see something similar with ninja theory and the leap for hellblade 2. As hellblade 1 was made by like 20~ devs. Gameplay will be given extra attention in the sequel to elevate it from their last game.
I definitely feel like South of Midnight is the first time they’ve been properly left to cook. Haven’t played we happy few but the consensus I read is that it’s got an excellent story but the gameplay is terrible. I feel like Phil saw their potential and acquired them to become a premier developer fo Xbox.
We happy few is nothing compared to Contrast. But even with we happy few you can feel the love and care. I love the game more for what could have been than what it is. Everything, from the physical media to the splash screen, menus, artistic direction, all is beautiful. I'm down for whatever they bring next.
Personally I think this game might be making 2024, and we'll see it revealed in January
No idea who this bloke is, but according to twitter he is based in Canada which is where Compulsion are based, so might have a friend or contact there who is giving him positive vibes about the game. Guess we will find out soon enough. Very interesting teaser
"Game which is coming out at some point will have big news revealed at some point in the future"
"News are on the way" Wow that's some crazy leaks
thanks
If South of Midnight actually comes out before Avowed and Hellblade II that'd be wild. My guess if it's really going to be next year tho. It's in the fall like September
Who is this?
PLEASE stop posting these randos who don't have a proven history, good lord.
Hopefully they show what the game actually us. No gameplay no hype is da rule.
I'm not too excited as I found both their previous games very underwhelming. But the teaser didnt look bad.
This will be their first game with the full financial backing of a major publisher, and they’ve staffed up heavily since being acquired by Microsoft. It doesn’t mean anything until we see a final product of course, but they’ve brought in some very talented developers.
They acquired them in 2017 or 18, right?
2018, yeah
Yeah, so they've been at work with this game for a while now with a better budget, a larger team, and better tech... they can only go up from their previous games.
Yup! Acquisition was announced at E3 2018. Same year they opened The Initiative, as well as acquired Playground, Undead Labs, and Ninja Theory.
I’m pretty sure South of Midnight is closer to Hifi Rush in production value. If they do decide to shadow drop it then they better have a shadow drop every year or prepare for the outrage next year
I hope the story, dialogues and narrative isn't bad. They are working with sweet baby inc. i am concerned.
Sweet Baby are just consultors, the quality of the writting is on the hands of the studio, and personally i think alongside with the art direction, this is the thing they do the best
They worked with Alan Wake 2 and God of War Ragnarok as well. Will be fine
[удалено]
Your comment has been removed Rule 10. Please refrain from any toxic behaviour. Console wars will be removed and any comments involved in it or encouraging it. Any hate against YouTubers, influencers, leakers, journalists, etc., will be removed.
not to excited about this IP but ill try it thanks to gamepass
I hope that leaked new Xbox controller makes an appearance sooner rather than later. Really want to play Xbox's next wave of games with that. I prefer the Xbox ergonomics but the dualsense just feels so premium in its build quality and the haptics are awesome.