The forgotten news stories of 2018

Given the amount of gaming stories that break each year, it’s only natural you’d only remember some of the biggest stuff. The new Xbox, Quantic Dream’s controversy, and the perennial rumours of Sony’s next-gen console spring to mind as making waves. Still, there’s a ton of other stuff that gets swept under the carpet, but that’s why I’m here. I want to remind you of the bits and bobs that may go overlooked at this time of the year.

Have a butcher’s at some of the forgotten news stories of 2018 for a refresh.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 remaster in the works

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was remastered back in 2016, alongside Infinite Warfare, so when we caught wind that the sequel was in for an overhaul, it wasn’t that much of a shocker. Apparently, the multiplayer had reportedly been left on the cutting room floor – an odd decision considering that’s why most players dive into CoD. Anyway, despite the rumours being backed up by Eurogamer, nothing has come of it so far; we never heard anymore details on the remaster, and right now it’s unknown if it’ll even happen. Having said that, Infinity Ward, who created Modern Warfare, will be churning out its next CoD next year, rumoured to be Modern Warfare 4. Prime time for a revamped MW2, perhaps?

Rumour: Star Fox Grand Prix is in development at Retro Studios

Ninty’s fury starfighter is probably due a revival on Switch, but as a racer? This one’s a little hard to swallow. Star Fox has tried to mix things up before, and it hasn’t worked; Star Fox: Assault on GameCube had some really naff on-foot missions, for example. Presumably, a racer would be confined to the R-Wing, but still, just give us Lylat Wars 2, innit? Still, it is Retro Studios. I guess if anyone can make a Star Fox racer work, it’s them. 

Hangar 13 confirms it’s working on a surprising new IP

It’s a pity that Mafia III didn’t live up to  the previous game in the series, which was pretty damn solid. Perhaps as a result of its lacklustre reception, developer Hangar 13 is now beavering away on something fresh entirely, although that’s about all we know. Nothing has been mentioned about this ‘surprising new IP’ since its reveal few months back, although the studio has confirmed it isn’t jumping on the battle royale bandwagon. 

Nathan Drake apparently doesn’t take bullet damage in Uncharted after all

Uncharted is a video game, therefore I’d be totally fine with Nathan Drake absorbing half-a-dozen rounds before kicking the bucket. And to be fair, that’s what most of us thought happened. Not so, says Naughty Dog. Apparently, the cheeky treasure hunter was actually running out of luck, and when it depleted, enemies were able to take him out with a single shot. That’s kinda interesting, although I’m pretty sure Drake winced in pain with every hit he took, and the whole red UI was surely blood, was it not? 

New BioShock game is reportedly in development

BioShock Infinite was released five years ago, but it’s only now we’re really hearing murmurs about a new entry in the cerebral, first-person shooter franchise. An ‘undisclosed’ 2K studio is purportedly beavering away on the game according to Kotaku whispers, and it’s codenamed Parkside. And that’s about all we know; nothing has come up since the April rumour. With Ken Levine no longer involved, I’m wary (as I’m sure most are) about how this will pan out.

Billy Mitchell says he can prove he definitely didn’t cheat at Donkey Kong

When someone told me about this story, I thought they were talking about the bloke from EastEnders. You know, Walford’s perpetual loser who Phil Mitchell always slaps about. Turns out, this Billy Mitchell is famous for his record breaking arcade scores, something which came under scrutiny after his efforts were disqualified for alleged cheating. The biggest of the bunch is Donkey Kong, although Mitchell has insisted he can prove he didn’t in fact net the score through nefarious means. We’re still waiting.

Watch Dogs 3 is in the works according to Ubisoft’s AI assistant

Watch Dogs 3 is almost certainly happening, and earlier this year we caught wind about the hacker sequel through a surprising source: Ubisoft’s own AI buddy, Sam. Someone simply asked Sam about a new Watch Dogs, to which it responded the game is looking ‘very solid.’ Then there was the whole ‘This is Everything’ message paraded around on Twitter, which fueled hope for a reveal later in the year. That didn’t happen, and Sam soon had a bad case of amnesia when she no longer acknowledged anything about Watch Dogs 3. 

Wave Race series tipped for comeback on Switch

Honestly, I think a new F-Zero should happen first, as it’s a far more iconic series, but Wave Race hasn’t been seen since the GameCube launch period some 17 years ago, so it’s definitely long overdue for a comeback.  According to series overlord Shinya Takahashi, Ninty is planning a new series entry for its hybrid console, although nothing concrete has been announced.  

Nintendo reveals how you correctly pronounce ‘NES’

So, apparently millions of people have been pronouncing the name of Nintendo’s first console wrong all these years. It’s pronounced ‘Ness,’ not ‘Nezz.’ As in, the character from Earth Bound and the dinosaur that reportedly inhabits a Loch in the Scottish highlands. Cheers, Ninty.

Open-world Harry Potter game footage leaks online, and it looks pretty darn amazing

Well, it did look amazing, that is, before Warner Bros. swiftly removed the footage. Still, Harry Potter as an open-world game is a concept so strong that you have to wonder why no one has thought about it until now? Despite the footage, Warner has said nothing about the game, and there have been no additional murmurs about the mysterious project since. 

Sonic Mania 2 not on the cards even though it really should be

Sega’s 2D revival of the blue ‘hog was a bloody triumph, so you’d think that a sequel would be a no-brainer, right? Nope. Sega has said that it won’t be following up Sonia Mania with a sequel – a baffling decision considering it was probably the best thing to happen to the spikey speedster in a decade. Apparently, they felt that the physical version (aka Sonic Mania Plus) was the end of that particular project. 

Microsoft rumoured to be buying EA or Valve or PUBG Corp, because why not?

Months before Microsoft announced it had acquired Ninja Theory and a few others, rumours starting popping up that the console maker was setting its sights on snapping up EA, Valve, or PUBG Corp. This was around the time when Microsoft’s exclusive slate for Xbox One was looking a bit bare, and it was assumed the company was attempting to boost its exclusive lineup by acquiring more developers – something it did do, of course, but not to this extreme. Valve, for one thing, would never sell, with Gabe Newell previously commenting he’d rather ‘disintegrate’ the Half-Life maker than flog the company to EA, as an example.