Gaming News - Page 273

Blizzard has opened beta pre-registrations for Diablo IV ahead of tomorrow's big Xbox showcase.

It looks like a Diablo IV beta may be announced tomorrow during Microsoft's gaming event. Blizzard updated the game's site to include a pre-registration link alongside what appears to be confirmation of Diablo IV skipping PS4 and Xbox One consoles. If this banner is accurate, Diablo IV would only be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Battle.net.

The site doesn't confirm of mention anything other than pre-registration sign-ups and there's no guarantee that you'll get in even if you sign up. Our speculation indicates Diablo 4 could release in 2023 to coincide with Activision-Blizzard's massive growth forecast for that year and beyond.

What if Bethesda released a remake on The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on Xbox Series X/S? Here's what it might look like.

Morrowind is one of those timeless RPGs that owes a lot of its allure to a unique visual style. The game looks so bizarre and otherworldly, and the old-school early 2000's graphics seem to only get better with age. But what if Morrowind was remade in approximation to its original engine? We've seen projects like Skywind that upgrade Morrowind in Skyrim's engine...but what if the remake stuck closer to the original?

YouTuber GamoXIS gives us an idea of what a Morrowind remake could look like. With the help of 200+ mods, GamoXis delves into Morrowind's exotic wilderness and showcases impressive high-res textures, beautiful, reflective water, and an ENB filter that wraps everything together. There's incredibly detailed grass and Vivec is a gleaming alabaster city that's just as resplendent as something out of ancient Thebes.

Diablo Immortal enjoyed the largest launch in the franchise's history...but that's to be expected considering it's free-to-play.

Remember when Microsoft made much ado about Halo Infinite being the largest Halo launch ever? Of course it was. Halo has never been released as a worldwide free-to-play game before. Now Blizzard is making a similar announcement with Diablo.

Diablo Immortal is officially the largest Diablo game launch in the aRPG's 26-year history. Blizzard says that Diablo Immortal had 10 million installs on PC and mobile in one week, which is no small feat. For context, Diablo III sold 6.3 million copies at retail in its first week and went on to sell many million more with Reaper of Souls on PC, the Diablo III base game on Xbox 360/PS3, and the Reaper of Souls re-release on PS4 and Xbox One.

Netflix takes its "go big or go home" strategy to video games and will have 50 mobile games ready for subscribers through 2022.

Netflix Geeked Week delivered a glut of gaming news. The streamer is producing a smorgasbord of game adaptations including new shows based on Tekken, Dragon Age, and Castlevania. Actual video games are coming in a huge fusillade drop. Netflix has teamed up with a ton of indie game developers and has announced 18 new games coming free to subscribers, including Raji: An Ancient Evil, Spirit Farer, Kentucky Route Zero, and Oxenfree--among many others.

The streamer has confirmed that Netflix subscribers will never have to pay extra for mobile titles, and the games will not feature any kind of in-game purchases or monetization. Netflix plans to roll out games selection to other platforms including PC, TVs, and consoles in the future.

The Last of Us Part I remake on PlayStation 5 is no simple re-release. Naughty Dog put tremendous effort into the game's optimizations and performance.

There's two camps around the new Last of Us remake. The first group is massively hyped to replay the game on PS5. The other camp wonders why the remake is even happening, and feels it's a waste of time and resources. One thing remains clear, though: Naughty Dog took the remake very seriously and put a lot of manpower and technical work into the project.

At the Summer Game Fest, Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann reveals that animators put some real hours into the game:

Activision-Blizzard had no real need to release the over-monetized Diablo Immortal onto PCs and mobiles; the company already makes enough money.

Publicly-traded companies have one goal: Maximizing shareholder value, ideally through perpetual growth in revenues and profits. Activision-Blizzard, which remains in the top 5 best-earning video game companies on the planet, is known for its emphasis on live services and monetization. But with Diablo Immortal, the company is pushing its luck during a time when its reputation is at serious risk.

Diablo Immortal is one of the most controversial video games of the last few years. The game features a complexly-layered microtransaction system predicated on even more complex F2P dynamics, which reinforce habits and behaviors specifically designed to keep users engaged and locked into the ecosystem. The game doesn't just have skins, though; Diablo Immortal has multiple microtransaction points that range from buying Legendary Crests to farm endgame gems (gem drop odds are astronomically against players) to buying in-game currency to list your gear on an auction house.

Activision-Blizzard has announced that it will formally recognize the United States' first video games workers union.

A new Activision press release confirms the billion-dollar publisher has recognized Raven Software's collective union and will begin bargaining with the Communication Workers of America.

"We will begin negotiations with the Communications Workers of America related to the 27 quality assurance employees at Raven Software, the majority of whom have chosen to be represented by this union. With the election having concluded, we will engage in good faith negotiations to enter into a collective bargaining agreement," Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in an email to employees published earlier today.

Bloober Team's new Layers of Fears game project isn't just a remastered collection of the two previous games in Unreal Engine 5. It's something more expansive.

Yesterday Bloober team announced Layers of Fears, a new game in their landmark horror franchise. At first glance the project looks like a double remaster collection of Layers of Fear, Layers of Fear Inheritance, and Layers of Fear 2 in Unreal Engine 5. While that's technically true, it's not exactly the case. Layers of Fears is more like a merger of the two games with expanded content and a "new approach" that will cast a "new light on the overarching narrative."

"We are bringing back a franchise that is really special for us, in a new form that will give players a truly fresh gaming experience and that will shed new light on the overall story," said Bloober Team CEO Pitor Babieno.

Savvy Gaming Group's $1 billion investment could earn it a seat on Embracer Group's board of directors, provided shareholders agree.

Saudi Arabia's $100 billion Public Investment Fund recently bought $1 billion worth of Embracer Group shares. The games company recognizes the PIF, which is run by Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, as a long-term investor into its business.

In a lengthy email, Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors defends the company's decision to "accept investment from a non-Democratic country" and that he believes Savvy Gaming Group will "genuinely support the global ecosystem for our industry."

Outriders fans rejoice: The new Worldslayer expansion is a massive content drop that will fuel a LOT of looter-shooter action.

Square Enix and People Can Fly just dropped a huge 22-minute gameplay showcase for Worldslayer, the new Outriders expansion coming June 30. The expansion is focused on endgame content that includes the Trial of Tarya Gratar, an ancient zone that will "push you, your builds, and your tactics to the ultimate test."

The new Tarya Gratar zone actually has its own day/night cycle and is described as a "gauntlet run" with roguelike elements that put you right at he beginning if you win, quit, or die too many times. "Each time you start back at the beginning, you'll be even more powerful and better equipped to succeed the next time," People Can Fly says.