Major departure and game delays at Blizzard

Jen Oneal leaves Blizzard Entertainment

Jean Oneal has left Blizzard just three months after being appointed co-leader of Blizzard Entertainment, leaving Mike Ybarra in charge of the studio.

Oneal used to head Vicarious Visions, which has now been absorbed into Blizzard and worked at Activision for 20 years. J. Allen Brack just resigned as President of Blizzard, suggesting upper management either lack faith in the company or that there is a lot of internal conflicts.

• Diablo II: Resurrected boasts strong sales
• Diablo Immortal is on track for release in the first half of 2022
• Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan left earlier this year
• Diablo 4 director Luis Barriga also jumped ship this summer

Delays ahoy: Activision Blizzard's third-quarter financial report reveals that both Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV have been delayed until 2023.

More time: “Allowing the teams more time would enable both great experiences at launch, and also help ensure that everything will be in place to engage the communities for many years to come,” said Ybarra.

Who Narrates the Rocky Interactive Horror Show?

a) Christopher Lee
b) Charles Gray
c) Michael Gambon
d) Tim Curry

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.

Microsoft has metaverse ambitions

Microsoft Teams is introducing 3D avatars and customizable virtual environments in an effort to make business meetings more interesting and attendees more engaged and attentive.

The metaverse is all the rage these days, and Microsoft argues it's already firmly in the business: “If you take Halo as a game, it is a metaverse. Minecraft is a metaverse, and so is Flight Sim,” said CEO Satya Nadella.

Going meta: “In some sense, they’re 2D today, and the question is can you now take that to a full 3D world, and we absolutely plan to do so,” he told Bloomberg TV.

VR already: Microsoft already supports VR headsets with the Windows Mixed Reality platform and has brought Minecraft to augmented reality with HoloLens, while Microsoft Flight Simulator offers virtual reality support too.

Seth Rogen to star in Donkey Kong movie

Rumours claim that Seth Rogen will voice Donkey Kong in an unannounced Donkey Kong movie following his turn as the great ape in the Super Mario movie starring Chris Pratt.

There is also speculation that other cast members from the Super Mario movie might be joining the Donkey Kong cast, but no official announcements have been made by Nintendo.

Master plan: The rumours fit in with Nintendo's plans to bring back Donkey Kong, having recently announced that the gorilla will appear in the Super Nintendo World theme parks.

Super Mario: The Super Mario movie sports an all-star cast, with Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, and Jack Black as the villainous Bowser. The film is scheduled to launch on December 21st next year.

Let’s Build a Zoo PC giveaway

Do you like pixels? Do you like animals? Then you are going to love Let's Build a Zoo, which lets you build and manage your own zoo with over 500 different animals that you can also genetically engineer into a veritable infinity of adorable abominations.

Design enclosures, hire staff, keep your guests happy and make sure nature does not find a way out of your park. Enter our Let's Build a Zoo Giveaway for a chance to win a key and build the zoo of your dreams.

Brave Browser rewards you for surfing

Maybe your internet connection is fast, but what about your browser? The Brave Browser is built from the ground up for speed, privacy and providing an ad-free Internet.

You can opt-in for ads that respect your privacy, and even earn rewards. It’s quick and easy to use, featuring the same comforts and conveniences you expect from a modern browser.

• Hideki Kamiya apologizes profusely for delaying Sol Cresta in a PlatinumGames stream
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will shut down in January 2022 and Niantic has just announced the final events
• No more pay-to-win boosters in Marvel’s Avengers after Square Enix culls consumables from the game
• Catch another glimpse of Elden Ring gameplay on YouTube and Twitch at 3:00pm CET / 7:00am PDT
• 2K is delaying Marvel's Midnight Suns until Q2 2022, as Firaxis needs more time to deliver an "unforgettable adventure"

Who narrates the Rocky Interactive Horror Show?

ANSWER: Christopher Lee!

Halloween is over, but the Rocky Horror Show never ends and there are actually no less than two games based on the legendary camp feast. However weird you might imagine them being, nothing can prepare you for the true mind-bendiness of Christopher Lee's appearance as narrator in the second game.

Lee performs with gusto, his rich baritone clashing extremely well with the raunchy jokes and profoundly perplexing game design. The highlight is no doubt Lee explaining the Time Warp and since we have mercy in our souls, here's a video so you won't have to actually play the game.

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey. If you have any feedback or news tips for the team, please email us!