Gaming News - Page 309

Halo Infinite's new Fractures seasonal events aren't living up to their ultimate cross-synergy potential.

A bit ago I predicted that Halo Infinite's Fracture events would lead to cross-overs with other Xbox Studios franchises. For instance, one season could see new cosmetics inspired from franchises like Fallout or Doom cross over into Halo. It's not the best lore-friendly solution, but 343i themselves says the Fractures are slices of alternate timelines of what could've been.

Instead, 343i is using Fractures to try and split the Halo universe in unique ways. We saw early iterations of Fractures in Halo Master Chief Collection with Season 8's odd cosmetic design choices that added myth-inspired armors to the game including Nordic and Greek-style cosmetics. These didn't fit Halo (and still don't), and it's a big immersion-breaking seeing shields and Valkyrie helm-wearing Spartans in Halo 3.

Epic Games has enacted a temporary sales ban to Russia and will no longer sell games or services to the region.

Russian gamers can no longer purchas content on the Epic Store launcher. Epic Games announced that it has halted business with Russia due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine

"Epic is stopping commerce with Russia in our games in response to its invasion of Ukraine. We're not blocking access for the same reason other communication tools remain online: the free world should keep all lines of dialogue open," the company wrote on Twitter.

Sony Interactive Entertainment is currently hiring an executive position to lead its new live services games division.

Sony's PlayStation Studios recently put up a job listing for a Vice President, Head of Live Services role that will help shape its new push into online-driven games. The executive position is open to all of SIE's branches, including its offices in London, Liverpool, San Diego, San Mateo and Los Angeles.

"As Head of Live Services, you will be responsible for the ownership and successful delivery of the PlayStation Studios Live Service operational framework. You will be responsible for architecting a cohesive and integrated live services business strategy, product strategy and operational framework to deliver commercial success," the listing reads.

One of Halo Infinite's principal developers has left 343 Industries, leading to discussions about the state of the game.

Lead multiplayer modes & systems designer Andrew Witts has left 343 Industries after 3 years with the company, the developer announced on Twitter.

"Today was my last day at 343 Industries. It's been an honor leading the MP design team over these years. Thank you to all Halo fans for your feedback over the years. We made this game for you."

Amazon will no longer localize New World for Russian players, the company has announced.

Amazon Games is one of the latest games companies to speak out against Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The developer has confirmed it will no longer bring Russian voice-over dialog or language support to New World as a result of the war.

"We were looking into localizing New World for Russia, and we stopped that," VP of Amazon Games Christoph Hartmann told TechRadar.

Indie developer Miquel Camps Orteza created an actual playable video game based on Red Hot Chili Pepper's iconic music video.

Californication might be one of the most memorable music videos of all time. It came out during those early days of 3D gaming and everyone who grew up during the time (including me) wanted an actual video game based on the video.

Now one aspiring game developer has delivered an actual playable version of RHCP's Californication, and you can download it now.

SEGA has joined other game developers in donating directly to Ukrainian relief funds.

Japanese games-maker SEGA is the latest video games company to raise funds for Ukraine. The Sonic developer shared an update on Twitter that pledged support for the beleaguered Eastern European country:

"SEGA is making a meaningful donation and is matching donations from its staff to various Ukraine-focused humanitarian aid causes. This money will go towards desperately needed help for those affected."

343i is adding three new game modes to Halo Infinite to keep things interesting.

Halo Infinite released in December 2021 without fan-favorite game modes and features. Campaign co-op wasn't available for the first time ever, and key multiplayer modes like king of the hill--which is tremendously fun--were missing. Now 343i confirms some of the missing modes are coming to Halo Infinite when season 2 releases in May 2022.

The new modes include:

Halo Infinite's campaign co-op won't be available at the start of season 2.

343i has finally announced new details on Halo Infinite's upcoming features, including co-op, forge, season 2, and bug fixes. 343i can't fix everything at once, and the studio has a prioritization hierarchy that looks like this:

Co-op isn't at the very top of the list, and there's a lot involved to get co-op running on five separate Xbox consoles. The studio says Halo Infinite's online/split-screen campaign co-op play will not be available when Season 2 begins on May 3.

Electronic Arts condemns Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and has enacted a temporary sales ban in the region.

EA has joined Microsoft in banning the sale of its products in Russia and Belarus. The gaming giant announced the news in a recent update post where it calls the war on Ukraine "shocking" and "deeply troubling."

"We have made the decision to stop sales of our games and content, including virtual currency bundles, in Russia and Belarus while this conflict continues," the post reads.