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The Weekly Authority: 📱 Bye-bye Exynos?

From Samsung Exynos chip news to Pixel 7 updates and more, get the week's top tech news here.
By
May 28, 2022
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra camera housing
Robert Triggs / Android Authority

⚡ Welcome to The Weekly Authority, the Android Authority newsletter that breaks down the top Android and tech news from the week. The 196th edition here, with Samsung Exynos chip news, updates from Computex and Microsoft Build 2022, a first peek at the Motorola Razr 3, Witcher 4 news,and more… phew!

📺 I’ve been excited all week for new Stranger Things episodes but it doesn’t feel like three years since we last saw the gang (who aren’t really kids anymore)!

Popular news this week

Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus logo
Hadlee Simons / Android Authority

Samsung:

Google:

Computex Taipei:

Microsoft Build 2022:

Motorola:

Xiaomi:

Apple:

Space:

Elsewhere:

Movies/TV:

Gaming:

Geralt fights a monster in The Witcher 3

Reviews

OnePlus 9R in hand showing back
Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

Features

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE in hand right profile
Eric Zeman / Android Authority

Weekly Wonder

Are your favorite video games ones that came out years ago? Do you spend your days setting up emulators to play N64 classics? Or (like me) do you prefer more-recent-but-still-getting-on-a-bit games like the Uncharted series and the original The Last of Us? Axios Gaming recently shared this chart, originally tweeted by NPD analyst Mat Piscatella, which revealed some of the most-played video games in the US are older games.

  • Games like Minecraft (2009), Grand Theft Auto V (2013), and The Sims 4 (2014) all got a top-three mention — in fact, Minecraft was the most played game in the country for the first quarter of 2022. Also in the top 10 are several sports games including Madden NFL 22 and NBA 2K22, while the inclusion of Call of Duty: Warzone should come as no surprise.
  • Compare that to the number of people playing Elden Ring which, even though it sold millions of copies, was played less than 19 other games, according to the chart, including Skyrim (2011) and World of Warcraft (2004). Though bear in mind Elden Ring came out in February, giving it just a month to generate statistics.
  • If you’re into older, classic games then the newly revamped PlayStation Plus tiers have something for you, with access to all your favorite games from consoles past.
  • It seems like social gaming is the key to longevity, with multiplayer games or games that are fun to stream and watch charting higher than story-driven games.
  • What does that mean for story-driven games?

Narrative-focused games like Horizon: Forbidden West, The Last of Us, Ghost of Tsushima, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are still popular, with Xbox’s Phil Spencer stating in summer 2021 that Xbox would be building more narrative-driven games.

  • This year we’ve already seen Elden Ring, Horizon: Forbidden West, and Dying Light 2 Stay Human, (which I’m loving right now).
  • Games we’re looking forward to include Hogwarts Legacy, Stray, A Plague Tale: Requiem, and The Quarry, not to mention Forspoken in fall. While some of these have a multiplayer element, most are narrative-driven, focusing on single-player action.

Bear in mind that the top-played games look a bit different from the top-selling games:

  • NPD revealed that the top-selling game for April 2022 was LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
  • Closely following are Elden Ring and MLB: The Show 22, with two Nintendo Switch titles also making the top 5: Kirby and The Forgotten Land, and Nintendo Switch Sports.
  • But the figures for the year-to-date 2022 put Elden Ring as the top seller, with LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and Pokemon Legends: Arceus close behind.

If all this is making you want something new to play, why not check out our roundup of the best games on Steam in 2022?

What games are you most looking forward to this year?

Tech Calendar

  • June 2: Diablo Immortal launch (PC)
  • June 3: The Boys season 3 hits Amazon Prime Video
  • June 6-10: Apple WWDC 2022
  • June 10: The Quarry released on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One
  • June 10: Jurassic World Dominion in theaters
  • June 12: Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase @ 12 PM CT
  • June 20-23: Collision (Toronto)
  • June 26-July 3: Summer Games Done Quick

Tech Tweet of the Week

This is why you film every shot on the course…
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) May 25, 2022

Something extra: From Trung Phan’s SatPost — This 13-minute video asks a former mobster if scenes from films like The Godfather and Casino are real.

Until next week!

Paula Beaton, Copy Editor.