Our 2022 Developer Holiday Wish List
The holidays are upon us. It's starting to get cold outside and festive music has infested the airwaves nationwide. Next week, we'll be releasing our 2022 Holiday Wish List, with all of our staff picks for the things we'd like to get for the gifting holiday of your choosing. However, while we wait, we've got a special wish list that isn't bound for the North Pole. No, this one goes to developers around the globe to let them know exactly what we want.
343 Studios
- Just let it go, guys. We wanted Halo Infinite to be the game that brought Halo back into mainstream relevance too. And no one is saying you didn't try; this isn't Anthem levels of bad. No one will ever be able to deny that Halo is the reason the X-Box took off and competed admirably with the PlayStation 2. But for the holidays this year, we just want you to take some time to get right with you. Now go have some eggnog and say "Hi" to your Aunt Bethesda.
Activision-Blizzard
- It's been a tough year, hasn't it? Actually, it's been a tough few years. But you've shown that you can still do it. People love Overwatch 2, they're just a little (see: extremely) irked at the monetization model. A little clean up on that and a good year with no scandals and people will remember how much they love you.
- And you, Activision, don't think we forgot about you. Listen, everyone loves Call of Duty. It's an absolute mainstay in modern pop culture, and what you've managed to do with the franchise is nothing short of awe-inspiring. But maybe we don't need a new one every single year. You've got the Call of Duty League, and it could really do with some year over year stability. You make really good games, let us enjoy them for a bit. Also, the Arizona Cardinals would like to have a quarterback after week 10 one of these seasons.
Overwatch 2 Key Art
Image courtesy of Blizzard
BlueTwelve Studio
- 10/10, no notes.
- More cat games, please.
EA
- Please let us love Mass Effect again. Could you not EA all over just one more Bioware game?
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was legitimately fun and good. For the holidays this year, could you tell cousin Respawn Entertainment that we're asking for Jedi: Survivor to live up to the original?
Cal Kestis and BD-1 in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Image courtesy of Electronic Arts
FromSoftware
- Elden Ring was excellent and an incredible growth of the Dark Souls genre of games. But for the holidays this year, we're going to need you to let George R.R. Martin get back to writing certain other projects that are just a few years overdue.
- Also, please let Armored Core be good. Sincerely, everyone who grew up in the late '90s and early '00s.
Riot Games
Spectators cheer during the League of Legends World Championship Finals between T1 and DRX on November 05, 2022, in San Francisco, California.
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/Riot Games Inc. via Getty Images
- We know we've asked for this for the last 10 years, but we've been really, really good this year. For the holidays this year, we'd like for North America to be able to compete internationally in League of Legends.
- We'd also like Arcane Season 2 to be even close to as good as the first season was. And if Caitlyn and Vi could hold hands, that'd be excellent. Thank you!
Santa Monica Studios
- God of War: Ragnarok is excellent and certainly deserving of the nomination for Game of the Year. But we're begging you; could we have more than 12 milliseconds to look at the puzzle before Atreus tells us, "go back to bed, old man," while he solves it for us?
Square-Enix
- Final Fantasy VII-R was really good, and that's coming from someone who grew up playing the original. You've shown you can still make a fun and compelling Final Fantasy game. You've got Naoki Yoshida on the project after his resounding success with Final Fantasy XIV. All of the pieces have fallen into alignment. So can Final Fantasy XVI please be good? After 13 and 15, we're due for one to come along and blow us away. We've earned this. Also, there were POCs in Medieval Europe, it's totally okay to include them in your game.
Of course, there are a million other developers out there we'd like to reach out to but these were the ones our staff were the most passionate about. In the spirit of the holidays, it's worth taking a moment to remember that no developer goes into a game intending for it to be anything less than wonderful. At their core, game developers are trying to make something people will love. And to that end, it's just as valid for we the audience, to let them know the things we would love.
Happy holidays everyone and check back next week for our gaming wish list!
