Gaming - Page 150

Sony has lost key talent at one of its more fringe-based first-party PlayStation studios.

Given Concord's exceptional failure, it's fair to say that Sony's new live service initiative hasn't gone to plan. Following Concord, the company slashed its live service games roadmap while summarily cancelling online projects and laying off workers along the way.

Now another one of Sony's first-party live game studios is seeing some changes, with Haven Studios founder Jade Raymond leaving the group that she started. Sources tell Bloomberg's Jason Schreier that Raymond's exit came weeks after a playtest of Haven's live service shooter Fairgames. The studio was also reportedly concerned about Fairgames' general reception during playtesting.

Analyst firm DFC Intelligence believes that GTA 6's delay will impact growth in the console hardware market through 2025.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is expected to be so big that it'll collectively uplift the video games market. Since it's only releasing on two consoles at launch--PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S--the game is forecasted to significantly drive up console adoption during a critical lower-than-expected point in the games industry.

Now that GTA 6 has been delayed outside of 2025 to May 2026, consoles are now expected to be relatively flat year-over-year. The "survive 'til '25" mantra has now shifted to next year, and now developers have breathing room to launch their games without the worry of GTA 6 vacuuming up all the game sales and player time.

Nintendo's FY25 results show a sharp decline in net sales while the company readies its new Switch 2 platform.

Nintendo has published its FY25 earnings that show a hefty -30% drop in overall performance. Net sales dropped by -34% year-over-year to $7.6 billion, whereas other metrics like operating profit slid by an even greater level by -52%, and total net profits dropped by nearly half to $1.795 billion. The numbers are a direct result of the Switch entering its 9th year, which has affected overall hardware and software spending. Consumers are also poised for the Switch 2's launch in June.

These results show that the Fiscal Year 2025 period (April 2024 - March 2025) had the lowest-ever net sales out of the Switch generation.

Will GTA 6 actually cost $100, or even $80? No one knows for sure, but Rockstar Games will be the ones that set the price.

$80 games are here thanks to Nintendo's new Switch 2 software MSRP, and all of gaming's biggest players are expected to follow suit with their own price hikes. As one of the hottest games in history, all eyes are on Grand Theft Auto 6's potential price tag--could it actually cost $100 at launch, like one analyst had speculated?

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked directly whether or not GTA 6 would cost $80, and predictably, Zelnick's answer was neutral. However, we did get a quick confirmation that the games released by Take-Two's operating units are set on a publisher and label level. This means that Rockstar Games would choose the price tag for GTA 6, not Take-Two.

EA expects to make more money from net bookings this fiscal year than any other period in company history.

Electronic Arts just published its FY25 results, showing a slight decline in earnings, but things look much better for this current annual period. For FY26, which runs from now until March 2026, EA expects to make up to $8 billion in net bookings, which is a significant metric that measures the overall success of EA's combined full game and live services portfolio.

The top-end $8 billion net bookings estimate will be driven by a combination of new game releases, including the next Battlefield, which is on track for a release in FY26, as well as standard annualized EA Sports games, Sims, and the new free-to-play Skate game. Interestingly enough, EA expects Apex Legends revenue to slide downward by 40% throughout the year.

Qualcomm's latest sales director job listing directly mentions "Xbox products built on Snapdragon solutions," but this may not be referring to software and cross-device compatibility, not actual hardware.

All signs point to Microsoft working with Qualcomm on something Xbox-related, and given the FTC v Microsoft document leaks, there's speculation that the next Xbox could be powered by ARM chips. But the truth may not be this overt.

Sources have told Windows Central's Jez Corden that next-generation Xbox hardware will not use ARM chips due to compatibility concerns--it's believed that ARM chips currently do not have the power to ensure full compatibility with Xbox's cross-generational lineup of games.

A new Qualcomm job listing suggests future Xbox hardware will use ARM Snapdragon chips.

During the FTC v Microsoft trial, we were privy to a lot of behind-the-scenes information that we shouldn't have seen. A particular document had been accidentally attached to an exhibit file, and suddenly some of Microsoft's internal plans and ruminations on future Xbox consoles had been leaked--alongside reams of other data. The leaks suggested that Microsoft could have picked ARM to make future next-gen Xbox hardware in some form.

Now according to a new Qualcomm job listing, that might actually happen. Qualcomm is hiring a director of sales for its Surface team, and interestingly enough, Xbox is directly mentioned as well: The role is to "support the sell-in activities for the next generation of Surface and Xbox products built on Snapdragon solutions."

Hideo Kojima has revealed during a recent interview that he has a USB stick full of game ideas for after he dies, describing the thumb drive as "kind of like a will."

Legendary video game director Hideo Kojima has sat down for an interview with Edge Magazine, where he revealed that the sickness he endured during the pandemic, along with his eye operation, made him seriously consider what he wants to do with the remaining years of his life. Kojima said he was unable to create at the time of his sickness and watched many people around him die, and through being confronted with death, he began planning ahead with what to do with his remaining years.

Kojima turned 60 during the production of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and now the director is thinking about locking down the future of his studio, Kojima Productions, beyond his involvement. Kojima said that he has given a USB stick to his assistant, which contains all of his ideas for future projects, with Kojima describing the USB stick as a proverbial will for future games.

A known industry insider has claimed he has gained information regarding the internal development schedule for an upcoming Sony console and what Valve is working on behind closed doors.

The insider posted to the NeoGAF forums, revealing purported details about a PlayStation portable console that is currently in development at Sony. The leaker states Sony is intending to release the new portable device around the same time as the PlayStation 6. Notably, the insider is well-known Xbox-leaker "HeisenbergFX4," who states Sony is working on a fully portable device, not just a revision of the PlayStation portable - this will be an entirely new console competing with the likes of the Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck, and other handheld consoles.

HeisenbergFX4 claims to have sources that have informed them about this rumored console's existence, and that it's expected to launch sometime in 2026/2027, or whenever Sony decides to release the PlayStation 6. Notably, nothing has been officially confirmed as of yet, with many timelines currently up in the air due to US tariffs against China causing the entire global tech market to be in a somewhat limbo state.

Ubisoft has wrapped up its latest earnings call, during which it revealed what it intends to do with the new subsidiary that now manages the publisher's major franchises, such as Assassin's Creed, Rainbow Six, and Far Cry.

The subsidiary was formed between the publisher and a significant investment by Tencent, and now the company is saying that the goal of the business will be creating "ecosystems capable of becoming evergreen, billion-euro franchises." How will it do that? Ubisoft has outlined some areas the new company will be focused on, which include improving the quality of narrative-driven solo experience titles and expanding the live service offerings with richer multiplayer features and more frequent content updates to the respective titles.

Other areas the new company will focus on are leveraging Ubisoft's technological stack to significantly enhance content creation and pursuing "underpenetrated" markets such as mobile and China. That last point is hardly surprising as Tencent is a company that operates out of China, so it makes sense that, following its significant investment in Ubisoft, it will be assisting the publisher in breaking further into that market.

Santa Monica Studio just wrapped up its 20th Anniversary celebration, bringing together developers, cast members, and fans to honor two decades of God of War. As part of the event, the studio hosted the "Pantheum Punnel" - a tournament-style showdown to determine the fiercest villain in the franchise.

As detailed on the studio's official website, the bracket launched in March and followed a format similar to NCAA's March Madness. It featured 32 villains from both the Norse and Greek eras of God of War, whittled down week by week through community votes.

Over 250,000 fans cast their ballots, narrowing the lineup to a final four: Zeus, Thor, Odin, and Cronos. From there, it came down to a brutal All-Father face-off - Zeus versus Odin.

Ubisoft has announced it will be delaying the release of some major IPs and games to improve the game quality of some of its biggest franchises.

The publisher announced the delay during its end-of-year financial earnings report, where it mentioned the success of Assassin's Creed Shadows and how it can be attributed to the extra time the publisher gave to its developers via the delay.

Ubisoft wants to take that same approach with its other titles, and according to Insider Gaming, the delay will be affecting the next installment in the Far Cry series, which has now had its release date internally pushed to late 2026, and the Assassin's Creed pipeline.

Square Enix has released screenshots for Kingdom Hearts IV, posting a collection of in-game images to social media, along with an update from the development team.

As shared on X, the image contains the first official screenshots of Kingdom Hearts IV since the project was announced, including a glimpse at Sora, Mickey Mouse, Strelitzia, and the in-game world. The images arrived alongside a message from the development team, stating that they have been "pouring themselves" into the game-and that more news will be available "when the time is right."

Preceding the new screenshots, Square Enix posted an update to the Kingdom Hearts official website stating that Kingdom Hearts Missing Link, a mobile RPG that was also announced in 2022, had officially been cancelled.

Ubisoft has revealed during an earnings call today when it plans on releasing the remake for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Ubisoft has stated that it intends to release the remake for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time by the end of March 2026, which means it will be releasing in the fiscal year 2025-26. Notably, Ubisoft had previously stated the game was to arrive sometime in 2026. The remake was announced by the publisher in 2020, and since then, it has undergone a bumpy development process as it switched developers a few years ago after experiencing fan backlash over the original trailer, and it missed a launch date.

The announcement for the Prince of Persia release date is amid Ubisoft's continuous plan to consolidate spending at the publisher and concentrate on its main franchises: Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six Siege. The publisher also announced it will have to continue implementing cost-cutting measures into the near future, with Ubisoft also announcing the delay of several of its titles out of the current fiscal year. Moreover, the publisher is concentrating its efforts on improving the experience and quality of its narrative-driven solo experiences.

The specifications for the highly anticipated successor console to the original Nintendo Switch have now been confirmed by the tech experts over at Digital Foundry.

For about the last four years, we have been hearing rumors and rumblings about the hardware that Nintendo selected to power the Nintendo Switch 2. After leaks of the motherboard within the console, Digital Foundry is able to confirm exactly what gamers will be getting and, more importantly, what developers will have available to them with the Nintendo Switch 2.

The original Switch featured an NVIDIA Tegra X1, a 4x ARM Cortex A57 chip, and by comparison, Nintendo and NVIDIA have agreed upon the ARM Cortex A78C, an eight-core CPU running the ARMv8 64-bit instruction set with cryptography extensions enabled. Notably, 32-bit is not supported by the SDK.

CyberMP, the mod aiming to bring multiplayer to Cyberpunk 2077, has received a video showcase and a major development update.

As detailed on the project's Discord page, CyberMP has received a recent beta patch, detailing advancements in syncing player appearances, vehicles, and in-game assets throughout the world. The full changelog is available online, detailing how these improvements move the mod closer to a fully-fledged online experience. The project's lead, S1nger, highlights that multiplayer is currently being refined as it moves from beta to a full release.

CyberMP began development in 2020, with a pre-production process that blossomed into a working Alpha in August 2024. Since then, CyberMP has been progressing through the beta phase, with closed and open testing next in line in the project's roadmap. The project's goals for 2025 are to expand access to beta testing, and roll the CyberMP client out to the public ahead of a full release.

Calling back to a time when Ubisoft was determined to reinvent the formula for the Splinter Cell series, storyboard art has surfaced on Reddit calling back to the game's original vision.

When first showcased in 2007, Splinter Cell: Conviction was a significant departure from anything we'd seen in the series prior. It featured a rugged, unkempt version of Sam Fisher, a stronger emphasis on hand-to-hand combat, and leaned into the theme of "hidden in plain sight" rather than the high-tech stealth operative we'd been accustomed to.

Approximately thirty minutes of footage is available online, and the game more closely resembles a rugged Watch Dogs than it does the John-Wick-style 2010 release. Early gameplay, which leaned into hand-to-hand combat, environmental interaction, and blending into crowds, also reflected that 'fugitive' style theme.

There has been a flurry of reports of leaked older text messages that were previously sent to Steam users, with Valve writing a news post explaining that the company has examined the leak sample and determined "this was NOT a breach of Steam systems".

Valve says it is still digging into the source of the leak, which was "compounded by the fact that any SMS messages are unencrypted in transit, and routed through multiple providers on the way to your phone". The Half-Life developer says that the leak included old text messages that included one-time codes that were only valid for 15-minute time frames, and the exact phone numbers they were sent to.

Valve says that the leaked data "did not associate the phone numbers with a Steam account, password information, payment information or other personal data". Old text messages can't be used to breach the security of your Steam account, and whenever a code is used to change your Steam email or password using SMS, you'll receive a confirmation through e-mail and/or Steam secure messages, says Valve.

DOOM: The Dark Ages has officially entered early access and to go along with the release NVIDIA has dropped it's latest drivers, enabling DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation for spectacular performance increase.

If you are diving into the blood-soaked action of The Dark Ages, be sure to update your GeForce drivers to the latest version, as you will get a considerable performance jump after enabling Multi Frame Generation. As for The Dark Ages, developers id Software purpose-built the title for the new idTech8 engine, which runs The Dark Ages in a ray traced mode natively, meaning players will get to experience incredible lighting effects, intense detail, and naturally illuminated and darkened regions while carving their way through hordes of seemingly endless demons from hell.

Additionally, The Dark Ages has ray-traced reflections, which enhance the detail of reflective surfaces by enabling them to mirror their surroundings, adding to the overall immersion felt by the player. Notably, NVIDIA writes in an update DOOM: The Dark Ages will be receiving an update that will add Path Tracing and DLSS Ray Reconstruction for even further graphical improvements. As for how The Dark Ages plays, check out the link below for our thoughts on the gameplay itself and how it compares to the previous game in the franchise, DOOM Eternal.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey has been out for almost two months now, and while Ubisoft has celebrated sales milestones for the title, it appears to be consistently losing players, with metrics now indicating it has less players than Assassin's Creed Odyssey over a 24-hour period.

The statistics are sourced from SteamDB, a website that tracks all of the games played on Steam, and according to the source, Assassin's Creed Shadows had a 24-hour peak of 4,654 players, while Assassin's Creed Odyssey, released in 2018, has 5,642 players. It should be noted that Odyssey was three Assassin's Creed games ago, with the last two before Shadows being Mirage and Valhalla, both of which have less than 3,000 players over a 24-hour period.

These metrics suggest that Shadows is failing to maintain a consistent player base. The data indicates that approximately 16,000 people were concurrently playing Shadows on April 20, but this number has now dropped to 4,654 as of May 14. Why is this happening? One could argue the difference between the two titles is the content on offer, with Odyssey having a very fleshed-out and substantial amount of content to offer gamers, while Shadows is still quite new and slated to receive its first DLC, The Claws of Awaji expansion, later this year.