What a week! Lootboxes and litigation, console concerns and community caterwauling; these are the top stories you need to know this week in gaming.
1. EA thinks linear games are a done deal
Perhaps the most controversial piece of new this week came, unsurprisingly, from Electronic Arts—but it’s not about Battlefront II.
Read more: Are singleplayer games dying out?
Following the closure of Visceral Games, who were in development of an unnamed Star Wars title, many players cried out for an explanation—and have now been suddenly silenced, as EA admitted it was mostly an economic decision based on the assertion that people don’t like linear games as much as they used to.
You can read more about this here.
2. PUBG comes to XBOX One, but only at 30fps
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is almost certainly one of the biggest success stories among indie developers in recent years, and a top contender for shortest rise to the top of any game ever.
Keen to keep that gravy train going, the game is being brought to console, but there’s been a snag in operations. While originally the game was going be able to be played at 60fps on Xbox One, Brendan Greene (the eponymous PlayerUnknown and lead developer) admitted this week that the title will actually be only available at 30fps on console; much to the disappointment of Battle Royale fans everywhere.
While I previously stated PUBG would run at higher FPS at XGP launch on 12/12, I want to clarify that PUBG will run at 30 FPS across all @Xbox One devices. We’re constantly refining the game & exploring options to increase FPS, but this early in dev, we’re unable to confirm more.
— PLAYERUNKNOWN (@PLAYERUNKNOWN) 1 December 2017
3. New trailer from Civilization VI: Rise and Fall gets dropped
In more positive news, a new trailer was dropped for Civilization VI: Rise and Fall, the upcoming expansion for the latest in the Civilization series.
The trailer follows the story of a man and his daughter throughout the ages of history, from early beginnings of man to the modern United Nations, through war and peace—and the many challenges and victories along the way. The expansion itself features a number of brand new features that promises to completely change how you play the game. Military might isn’t everything any more, it seems.
4. Fortnite developers sue a 14-year boy accused of cheating
Apparently not content to let EA hog the controversial limelight, Fortnite developers Epic Games have continued their crusade against cheaters by filing suit against a 14-year old who has been accused to using and promoting the use of bots on YouTube.
Read more: Gamer mum hits back at lawsuit from Fortnite developers—aimed at her 14-year-old son
This would be interesting enough, but it appears that the 14-year old had a secret weapon against the litigation: his mum. In a very legally-savvy letter to Epic Games, the mum threw the lawsuit back in the developers’ faces, and even accused the developers of using her son as a scapegoat. Don’t fuck with Mama Bear, apparently.
5. Bungie promises a more transparent future alongside new Destiny 2 December update
Last of all, Destiny 2 developers Bungie have announced the release of a new update to the progression mechanics of their popular sci-fi shooter—but also took the time to address community concerns about transparency of development.
Specifically, fans have railed against the changes to the experience points systems, arguing that the original system encouraged grindy gameplay, while the adjustments intended to fix that problem actually made it just as bad in a different way.
As such, Bungie have announced their intention to both address the current feedback, as well as be more reactive in the future to community concerns. Will they stick to that promise? Only time will tell.
Which of these stories are you most interested in? Let me know in the comments below!
Rad or Shite Gaming 
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