Happy hump day, folks! Humble Bundle’s spreading of Star Wars love this weekend was quite noteworthy, but definitely not even half of the crazy gaming developments that went down this Wednesday. In today’s Gaming Daily, World of Warcraft proves once again why Blizzard is one of the most awesome companies around, the next Mass Effect‘s plans for multiplayer may have been outed, and some unfortunate news from the studio formerly known as Sony Entertainment Online. Peace and humptiness forever, ya’ll.

World of Warcraft charity pet raises $1.9 million.

We’ve got yet another amazing story of philanthropy coming to you from the gaming world. Blizzard announced earlier today that their most recent charity pet, Argi the space goat, pulled in $1.9 million in charity donations to help combat Ebola in Afirca. Argi, who serves as a companion and ally on the battlefield in World of Warcraft, was announced during Blizzcon back in November. During the month of December, 100 percent of the proceeds raised by the pet were donated to the American Red Cross.

Argi is still available for “adoption” for the price of $10– though the funds received from here on out will no longer go to charity. This just adds to the long list of awesome stories coming out of the World of Warcraft community.

[HT: Battle.net]

Mass Effect 4 will likely include multiplayer.

Let’s be honest: most people didn’t play Mass Effect 3 for its multiplayer component. Even so, I’ve spoken with more than a handful of people who believe the multiplayer in Mass Effect 3 was the game’s saving grace. Crazy, right? Well those folks (and anyone who enjoyed the multiplayer equally as much as the single player) may have a reason to put a big ole cheesy smile on their face today, because it looks like the next Mass Effect game will definitely have a multiplayer component. Chris Wynn, senior development director on the next Mass Effect game, tweeted out a job posting that is all too revealing:

Things are getting real now and I need an excellent Producer to come shape online for the next Mass Effect – http://t.co/L4G3OBAn87

— Chris Wynn (@The1Wynn) February 11, 2015

The job listing is for an online producer, which pretty much suggest that the game will have some type of online functionality. Yes, I know: this doesn’t exactly confirm a multiplayer component, and this could simply mean that the game will allow you to connect to EA’s Origin server and download saves from your previous playthroughs. But I’d like to believe that Bioware plans to capitalize on what they put together in Mass Effect 3, a multiplayer component that was regarded by the masses as being very well put together. So, at least for me, the next Mass Effect will, in fact, have a multiplayer. Point blank, period.

[HT: Destructoid]

DayBreak Game Company sees layoffs.

Now it’s time for some not so good news. A week after being sold by Sony and becoming an indie studio, DayBreak Game Company has unfortunately been hit with layoffs. Among the studio’s losses, is the renowned former director of development Dave Georgeson. Mr. Georgeson went public with his departure from the company on twitter:

Yeah, I'm sorry folks but it's true. LM, eqn, eq and eqii are no longer guided by moi. Other dreamers will steer now.

— David Georgeson (@DaveGeorgeson) February 11, 2015

Daybreak eliminated positions in both the Austin and San Diego studios. It was reported by Kotaku that the investment firm that acquired SOE from Sony, Columbus Nova, gave staffers a heads up that cuts were inbound to make the company “profitable.” Even so, it’s rather striking to see someone as prolific as Georgeson get let go from something he put so much of his heart and soul into. This is just the nature of the beast, and another reminder that sometimes this gaming industry can be quite cruel. Let’s hope the ousted Daybreak employees are able to bounce bank swiftly from this.

[HT: Kotaku]
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Sorry to end today’s post on such a sour note, folks! That about wraps it for Wednesday’s Gaming Daily. Always keep it parked here on Nerdist for all of the juicy video game developments, and to chat about our beloved medium, I’m only one tweet away: @Malik4play.