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GTA 6 in development, Take-Two tease strongest pipeline ever
Grand Theft Auto 6's development is likely ramping up at Rockstar Games as its parent company teases massive games pipeline.
We've been hearing about GTA 6 for a long time, and now that Rockstar is done with Red Dead Redemption 2, they can focus completely on the next Grand Theft Auto. Now Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive teases some big projects in the works...and we're betting one of them is GTA 6.
"We have the strongest development pipeline in our history, including sequels from our biggest franchises, along with exciting new IP," Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said in the FY2019 earnings call.
Continue reading: GTA 6 in development, Take-Two tease strongest pipeline ever (full post)
Sony and Microsoft team up, Azure to power PlayStation Now
Sony and Microsoft are joining forces to prepare for gaming's big cloud-based evolution.
In a move that could change everything, Sony and Microsoft have announced a strategic partnership that should pave the way for next-generation streaming, AI, and cloud-powered services. The agreement sees the two industry titans bringing their own strengths to the table for a kind of mutualistic synergy. Sony will bring its image sensors over so Microsoft can infuse its Azure-powered AI into them, and Microsoft will let Sony experiment with its Azure servers to host services like PlayStation Now and its retinue of online content on.
"Under the memorandum of understanding signed by the parties, the two companies will explore joint development of future cloud solutions in Microsoft Azure to support their respective game and content-streaming services," reads the announcement. "In addition, the two companies will explore the use of current Microsoft Azure datacenter-based solutions for Sony's game and content-streaming services. By working together, the companies aim to deliver more enhanced entertainment experiences for their worldwide customers. These efforts will also include building better development platforms for the content creator community."
Continue reading: Sony and Microsoft team up, Azure to power PlayStation Now (full post)
Rainbow Six: Siege makes over $1 billion
Rainbow Six: Siege is Ubisoft's biggest single-game cash crop with over $1 billion generated so far.
Ubisoft's massively lucrative shooter Rainbow Six: Siege has been on the market for less than four years, but that didn't stop it from amassing a huge 1 billion Euros ($1.12 billion) in total lifetime earnings. In its latest FY2019 earnings report, Ubisoft confirmed the news and highlighted its digital dominance with some impressive stats. Not only did Rainbow Six: Siege rake over $1 billion in game sales, season passes, and direct in-game monetization since 2015, the online shooter now enjoys 45 million active players.
Rainbow Six: Siege shows no signs of stopping. The game probably won't ever get an actual sequel, but instead continually evolve with new content, operators, guns and maps over time. The game is doing so well that Ubisoft plans to support it for the next 10 years and the title will undoubtedly be a powerful instrument in its live services arsenal.
Continue reading: Rainbow Six: Siege makes over $1 billion (full post)
GTA parent company isn't worried about lootbox regulation
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley is waging war on lootboxes and microtransactions, and a new bill could dramatically change the U.S. games industry by effectively illegalizing the revenue source. But some of gaming's biggest earners like Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive aren't worried.
In the AAA gaming space, publishers have slowly shifted away from lootboxes and randomized microtransactions in favor of more direct-buy storefronts. Lootboxes are still a billion dollar market for some games like Overwatch and the entire mobile market, but big industry movers like Take-Two Interactive favor pay-to-win style purchases that let consumers clearly see what they're buying. That hasn't stopped specific games like NBA 2K from becoming massive grindy time-sinks that heavily incentivize microtransaction purchases, which is the main way publishers try to circumvent using lootboxes.
In a recent earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick affirms any lootbox regulation won't really impact the company's bottom line simply because it doesn't rely heavily on them for its microtransaction earnings.
Continue reading: GTA parent company isn't worried about lootbox regulation (full post)
Epic Store's first sale massively discounts PC games
Outside of grabbing exclusives and offering free games, Epic's latest tact to get gamers to buy from its store is a familiar one: a massive Steam-esque sale.
Despite missing basic features like a shopping cart (yes it's still missing even during a big sale), the Epic Store is making a case for buying games on the platform. The store's first Epic Mega Sale is quite attractive and discounts key games by up to 75% off while also knocking off a clean $10 from any game over $15. The $10 promo does stack with sale prices, but the final prices are the ones listed on the store.
Example: World War Z is listed for $19.99, meaning that's the final price, and you won't get another $10 off. Only by navigating to the game's actual page will you see World War Z's sale price only knocked off $5 so the base sale price is $29.99, and then the $10 off promo is applied from that price. The way Epic frames the sale is a little misleading.
Continue reading: Epic Store's first sale massively discounts PC games (full post)
New security hole affects nearly ALL Intel CPUs since 2011
Intel is in the security doo-doo again with a new major vulnerability known as ZombieLoad, something that affects virtually every processor Intel has made and sold since 2011. The problem? Intel didn't really care, and seemed to have even bribed people with a $40,000 "reward" with a bonus payment of $80,000 which were both refused.
A post on Reddit in /r/hardware by 'EverythingisNorminal' said that a Google translation of a Dutch report about VU University Amsterdam's announcement of this latest (among many) of Intel security leaks is worse than we think. Before we get into ZombieLoad, this is what the Reddit post reads: "According to the VU, Intel tried to downplay the severity of the leak by officially paying $40,000 in reward and "$80,000" in addition. That offer was politely refused".
The report added: "If it were up to Intel, they would have wanted to wait another six months". This right here is awful if true.
Continue reading: New security hole affects nearly ALL Intel CPUs since 2011 (full post)
Soulcalibur VI DLC adds wearable cat hats + 150 cosmetics
A new DLC is arriving for Soulcalibur VI tomorrow and it will be adding the unspeakable, cat hats. Yes, thats right, Soulcalibur VI will soon allow you to put cat hats on your fighters.
The announcement has come from the official Soulcalibur VI Twitter account and confirms that Soulcalibur VI will be updated to version 1.40. The update will be bringing 'Creation Parts' for both genders of the casts, totaling over 150 customization items, 87 new music tracks from previous Soulcalibur games, new colors, new update functions, numerous game adjustments, and balancing changes.
What shines most out of this update is the fact that players will be able to have feline fedoras, literal cat hats that are wearable. The Character Creation Set B will be released tomorrow on May 16th, and will be coming in at a price of $6. If you are interested in the full changes of this patch you can head on over to the official Bandai Namco website here.
Continue reading: Soulcalibur VI DLC adds wearable cat hats + 150 cosmetics (full post)
14 actors star in 'The Dead Don't Die', new red band trailer
It was the start of April we first heard about a new upcoming zombie killing filled movie starring Star Wars villain actor Adam Driver and the legendary Bill Murray. The movie is titled 'The Dead Don't Die' and gives quite a unique comedic spin on a zombie apocalypse.
Focus Features has released a brand new red band trailer for the upcoming movie directed by Jim Jarmusch. Adam Driver and Bill Murray might be the center focus for the movie, but the supporting cast is a force to be reckoned with as well. Other actors that will be in The Dead Don't Die are as follows; Chloë Sevigny, Tilda Swinton, Steve Buscemi, Austin Butler, Selena Gomez, Rosie Perez, RZA, Caleb Landry Jones, Carol Kane, Tom Waits, Iggy Pop and Danny Glover.
The Dead Don't Die is a deadpan comedy mixed with some zombie fueled action, and combined with some horror humor. According to First Showing, there has been some early reviews for the movie and they have reported that the film is "more of Jarmusch's angry take on how messed up the world is, and isn't as much of a zombie film as this trailer portrays it". While this does sound quite disappointing, keep in mind these are still early reviews and an open mind should always be forefront when coming into a brand new movie. The Dead Don't Die is planned for release on June 14th.
Continue reading: 14 actors star in 'The Dead Don't Die', new red band trailer (full post)
Super Mario Maker 2 is more ambitious than first expected
Now that Nintendo has finished their Super Mario Maker 2 dedicated Nintendo Direct, we can sit down and compile each of the new features the upcoming game has has in-store for players.
Yesterday I reported on Nintendo announcing that there would be a Direct dedicated to the upcoming sequel of Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Maker 2. We previously have had some new features showcased to us but now Nintendo has done a deep dive into what is new about the coming game and what has been improved since the last one.
Just to summarize things to make it a bit easier, Super Mario Maker 2 will comes with a ton of new features, some include; Super Mario 3D World style, a multitude of new building and customization options, co-op and versus multiplayer and many more online tools. A full features list has been compiled within the entirety of this post, for more information head on over to the official Super Mario Maker 2 Nintendo eShop listing here.
Continue reading: Super Mario Maker 2 is more ambitious than first expected (full post)
Capcom might not be bringing Devil May Cry 2/3 to the Switch
It was recently announced that Capcom would be bringing the Dante over to the Nintendo Switch in a port of the first Devil May Cry game. It is now believe that the first Devil May Cry game will be the only Devil May Cry game coming to the Nintendo Switch.
Last week Capcom announced that Devil May Cry would be arriving on the Nintendo Switch as a download-exclusive title. USGamer has asked some questions to Capcom via email, in response to these questions Capcom PR has said that the coming Devil May Cry Switch edition is ported from the 2018 Devil May Cry HD remaster collection for the PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
While this may sound like the whole collection is heading over to the Nintendo Switch, this is not the case. Capcom will only be bringing the first Devil May Cry game to Nintendo's new platform and unfortunately the Big C currently has no plans on bringing Devil May Cry 2 or 3 to the scene. Here is the official quote from Capcom; "Capcom is focused on bringing the original Devil May Cry experience for the first time to a Nintendo system. No other titles have been announced."
Continue reading: Capcom might not be bringing Devil May Cry 2/3 to the Switch (full post)
Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition teaser in preparation
There is no doubt that Age of Empires players have been left in the dark regarding the coming Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition. Now we can expect that a teaser will be released soon as its in full preparation by Microsoft.
We have been hearing about the Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition for quite some time now, firstly we got a tease that an announcement would be arriving sometime "soon". Then it was planned that Age of Empires would have its own segment at the Inside Xbox event during March, unfortunately the AoE segment was pulled from the event.
It was summarized that the segment was pulled due to the announcement of the Master Chief Collection arriving on PC, more on that here. The most recent news we got surrounding AoE 2: Definitive Edition was the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) giving the title its official rating, check that out here. Since we haven't got any news for quite some I decided to ask the official Age of Empires Twitter when we could expect an announcement. The Twitter account replied to my question and said that they aren't "going to tease anything *just* yet, but we're preparing and plotting and getting ready to do just that!"
Continue reading: Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition teaser in preparation (full post)
The Division 2 sold 10x more copies than first game on Uplay
The Division 2 is doing extremely well on the PC and not-so-well on consoles, with Ubisoft talking about the success of the game on the PC including the huge sales on Uplay. We've also benchmarked 20 graphics cards on The Division 2, check it out!
The Uplay version of The Division 2 has sold a huge 10x more than the original did on Uplay, but the original game was also on Steam -- something its successor isn't available on. So of course the success of The Division 2 on Uplay is 10x bigger, as you can only get it on Ubisoft's own Uplay but the developer has also allowed the game on the Epic Games Store.
Ubisoft detailed its sales (which Derek covered here) with PC sales up 79% which is pretty good considering the PC now represents 27% of Ubisoft's overall revenue. If we rewind the clock back to 2018 the PC only made up 18% of Ubisoft's yearly revenue, meaning the PC has become a much more important platform for the company. Uplay also enjoyed a huge 150% rise in sales compared to 2018 which will help those numbers, and The Division 2 selling on Uplay versus Steam would've helped that massively.
Continue reading: The Division 2 sold 10x more copies than first game on Uplay (full post)
Netflix teases gaming panel that it will host at E3 2019
E3 2019 is definitely heating up with digital streaming giant Netflix joining the fray with the announcement of its own panel at E3 2019 called "Bringing Your Favorite Shows to Life: Developing Netflix Originals into Video Games".
We already know that Netflix is working on a Stranger Things game (especially since Telltale closed its doors while in the middle of developing a Stranger Things game) but it looks like the company has a much broader plan for its journey into the gaming world, with the NX on Netflix Twitter account tweeting out:
Netflix will be hosting its E3 2019 panel when the show kicks off in LA on June 11, where I'm sure we'll find out exactly what Netflix is planning when it comes to gaming.
Continue reading: Netflix teases gaming panel that it will host at E3 2019 (full post)
ADATA break DDR4 speed record with insane 5634MHz on LN2
ADATA has just smashed the previous DDR4 speed record by Kingston and its HyperX Predator RAM, with ADATA's in-house XPG Overclocking Lab (XOCL) using its new Spectrix D60G DDR4 RGB RAM to reach the dizzying heights of 5634.1MHz.
A single 8GB stick of Spectrix D60G was used on an MSI MPG X390I Gaming Edge AC Mini-ITX motherboard and an Intel Core i9-9900K, with LN2 cooling keeping the highly-overclocked DDR4 RAM cool. The timings were loose, with the team stretching them out to CL 31-31-31-46 3T, with no voltage numbers released but with LN2 keeping the RAM cool as well as having the DDR4 chips clocked at that speed, I'd say it was pretty damn high.
The ADATA Spectrix D60G comes at a stock 4133MHz so the OC all the way to 5634MHz is mighty impressive, and using LN2 cooling is even more insane. The RAM overclocking game is a crazy one, with ADATA taking the reigns this close to Computex 2019 is a big deal.
Continue reading: ADATA break DDR4 speed record with insane 5634MHz on LN2 (full post)
id Software boss wants to make RAGE 3 as soon as possible
RAGE 2 has officially launched with the game being co-developed between original RAGE and idTech engine creator id Software and Avalanche Studios, the team behind Just Cause and Mad Max and the developer is already talking about RAGE 3.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, id Software boss Tim Willits said that he is excited on the thought of developing RAGE 3. He said: "I hope so. Yes, is the answer to that question. We've always loved this franchise because it's such a fun setting. We can do what we want. We were once talking about riding on giant cockroaches. What other game can you have a conversation where that's a legitimate conversation you can have?! It's a crazy, fun, exciting franchise and I hope we can make a third one as soon as possible".
You can read the entire interview at The Hollywood Reporter.
Continue reading: id Software boss wants to make RAGE 3 as soon as possible (full post)
AMD Radeon RX 640 and RX 630 spotted, ANOTHER refresh?!
AMD is reporting getting ready to release a new low-end Radeon RX 600 series of graphics cards with two SKUs leaked in drivers that point to a Radeon RX 640 and Radeon RX 630.
These two cards would be based on the current Polaris GPU architecture and would be a refresh of a refresh of a refresh as the RX 480 was refreshed with the RX 580, which was refreshed by the RX 590 and now the RX 600 series. What should we expect is new here? Nothing really, as it'll most likely be something for OEMs to put into their lower-end PCs and not something that would constitute an entire new family of cards just as Radeon Navi is about to drop.
The purported new Radeon RX 640 and RX 630 were spotted in the INF file of AMD's Adrenalin 19.4.3 drivers, with the RX 640 sporting the same device ID as the Radeon RX 550X. We should see the Radeon RX 600 series live on with Polaris GPUs while Navi will power new Radeon RX 3000 series products as per the previous rumors.
Continue reading: AMD Radeon RX 640 and RX 630 spotted, ANOTHER refresh?! (full post)
Watch Dogs 3 won't release before 2020
Watch Dogs 3 shouldn't release before 2020 as Ubisoft plans to round out its fiscal year with three big AAA games.
Today Ubisoft reiterated plans to ship three more unannounced AAA games this fiscal year, and locked in a strange timeframe for the trio. According to its latest financials, the publisher expects to launch these titles in the fourth quarter of FY2020 from January - March 31, 2020. The company will actually ship four big marquee titles this year but only one of them has been revealed so far: Ghost Recon: Breakpoint was announced days ago and is planned for a third quarter launch on October 4, 2019.
Although the three remaining games are technically a mystery, reports indicate at least one of them will be Watch Dogs 3. Sources say Watch Dogs 3 will take place in a high-tech London with a strong emphasis on punkish, anti-establishment themes. Reports also said Watch Dogs 3 would hit in 2019.
Continue reading: Watch Dogs 3 won't release before 2020 (full post)
Ubisoft's digital focus is paying off big time
Ubisoft's latest trajectory shows it'll soon join the likes of EA in making more money from live services than full game sales.
Today Ubisoft announced its earnings for Fiscal Year 2019, proving its pivot towards digital is paying off. Some years ago Ubisoft made the decision to chase online-driven digital content and infuse live services into all of its games, including singleplayer-only titles like Assassin's Creed. The result is the massive empire of monetized, long-lived games that generate lots of cash years after their initial release. Ubisoft's tremendous success with this plan cements live services into its future.
Its FY2019 revenues show just how well this strategy is working. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, Ubisoft made the lion's share of its money from digital thanks to the added bonus of microtransactions. The publisher earned $1.56 billion from digital sales, representing a huge 68% of total sales, up a mighty 39% year-over-year. Recurring player investment, Ubisoft's term for microtransactions, season passes, and DLC, was up a whopping 33% year-over-year to $721.76 million.
Continue reading: Ubisoft's digital focus is paying off big time (full post)
Rick and Morty season 4 set for holiday 2019
The wait is almost over: Rick and Morty's disturbingly hilarious antics will return this year.
Today the smartest man in the universe and Jerry's kid with the old Jewish comedy writer's name had an important announcement for the world: Rick and Morty Season 4 is set to premiere this November.
Details on the new season have been notoriously sparse, and fans have been waiting anxiously for about two years since season 3 premiered in 2017. The show's massive popularity led Warner Bros. to greenlit 70 more episodes of Justin Roiland's and Dan Harmon's ridiculous sci-fi romp, and history tells us season 4 should consist of 10 episodes. Hopefully we'll get more intergalactic cable segments.
Continue reading: Rick and Morty season 4 set for holiday 2019 (full post)
Nintendo Switch outsells PS4 in Japan in half the time
Thanks to its transforming handheld-console hybrid form factor, the Switch is a two-in-one system that brings huge value to consumers--especially in avid handheld-loving countries like Japan.
According to this week's Media Create Sales, the Nintendo Switch has outsold Sony's PlayStation 4 console in Japan. The Switch currently has a 47,881 sales lead over the PS4, even when combining base and Pro versions.
The sales-tracking firm notes the Switch has sold more than 8.12 million consoles in Japan in 114 weeks, compared to the PS4's 8.07 million generated in 272 weeks. This means the Switch overtook the PS4 despite being available for less than half the time as the PS4.
Continue reading: Nintendo Switch outsells PS4 in Japan in half the time (full post)






















