Gaming News - Page 1643

The new Need for Speed has been shown off once again, ahead of its release next week, this time on the PC with 9 minutes of footage. Check it out below, running at 1080p 60FPS on the PC.

The footage is courtesy of YouTuber 'BlackPanthaa' who says he captured the footage at 1440p (2560x1440) but had issues with his video editing software - so he dumped it down to 1080p. The footage still looks great, thanks to the gorgeous Frostbite 3 engine powering Need for Speed. The smoothness that 60FPS provides is beautiful, with BlackPanthaa noting that the framerate is completely uncapped - so if you've got an awesome 144Hz or 165Hz gaming display - you're in for a treat, if your PC can handle it, of course.

To curb the appeal of violent video games, Target stores in Australia has whitewashed the box art of all R 18+ rated games on its shelves.

An image posted on NeoGAF reveals the exact nature of Target Australia's censoring, showing a whole shelf of mature-rated games packed in Blockbuster-style plain packaging. Instead of the glamorous and colorful artwork that pulls the eye, the games are ensconced in ugly monochrome boxes that only show the rating, game name, and an age restricted warning.

This kind of censorship is nothing new for Target Australia; the chain's "war" against video games is notorious across the globe. The retailer even went so far as to pull all copies of Grand Theft Auto V from its shelves, citing a "significant level of concern" over the game's content.

Classic and indie games download service GOG.com gets more secure as of today: the powers that be have added an optional two-step login, much like what Steam has employed for years now.

As with Steam, it will prompt you to enter a code sent to your email when you attempt to login from a new browser or location, thus hacking into your account becomes that much more difficult. Additionally, you can clear all of your active GOG sessions across every device and browser to ensure nobody but you has access.

Taking it further, the HTTPS encryption supported by the GOG Galaxy client for awhile now is going to extend across the entire service: the store, forum, chat, downloads, and all of Galaxy. A slow rollout has already begun, and will be complete within the coming weeks.

Now that Microsoft is bringing its Xbox games lineup to the PC, console owners are worried that their Xbox Ones are now obsolete. As an Xbox One owner myself, I can definitely say I feel left behind, but Xbox boss Phil Spencer says we shouldn't be worried.

According to Xbox division head Phil Spencer, Microsoft isn't going to bring over every Xbox One game over to Windows 10 PCs. The console will still have its own unique platform exclusives and although the Xbox One is considered a Windows device, it'll still be at the forefront of Microsoft's gaming plans.

"The argument people give me is that 'hey, I'm just going to sell my Xbox One and play all these games on my PC'. I get the emotion around that argument. Frankly, from a financial standpoint, the most cost-effective way to play these games is to own an Xbox One," Spencer said in an interview with IGN. "We're committed to bringing our biggest franchises to both Xbox and Windows, but it doesn't necessarily mean that every game could end up on both platforms. There could be many differences in the play space and how the games play."

Despite the disastrous launch of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition on PC, Microsoft is asserting that Gears of War 4 will be "mind-blowing".

Xbox marketing exec Aaron Greenberg was recently shown the most recent build of Gears of War 4, and publicly states that it was absolutely "mind blowing". Greenberg also affirmed that the Gears franchise is in "very good hands" with The Coalition (formerly known as Black Tusk Studios). After Microsoft had purchased the Gears of War series from Epic Games, the company handed off development to The Coalition.

The Xbox exec also revealed that a beta test for Gears of War 4 is coming up soon, so we'll be able to try it out and see if it's truly mind-blowing or not. The beta test will likely be gated off behind pre-order access, which is the norm for the industry these days.

UPDATE: Blizzard has officially confirmed Overwatch's release date on the game's official website, and a pre-order exclusive open beta will begin on May 3.

An advertisement featured on IGN has prematurely leaked the official release date for Overwatch, Blizzard's new arena-style FPS.

According to the ad (see above), Overwatch will release on May 24 across PS4, Xbox One, and PC. IGN has since pulled the ad from its website, but the evidence has been immortalized thanks to screen grabs. Apart from the release date, the promo revealed that another pre-order exclusive beta test for Blizzard's multiplayer shooter is set for May 4.

The E3 showfloor is getting increasingly lonely it seems, with Wargaming.net taking a page out of Activision and Disney's book. They too have abandoned the main floor and have instead opted to set-up shop elsewhere for more player-focused events.

They say that it doesn't really make sense considering their free-to-play business model. Speaking to VentureBeat, a representative said that "It's a show that is very centralized on retail product, and as a free-to-play digital download gaming company, we've realized that while the show may be a good fit for lots of other publishers and developers, it's currently not a great fit for us." They have a strong fan-base that is excited to see and hear about the franchises they have, but E3 might not be the venue to do it.

More personal and focused, off-site events might be a better way to show their appreciation. "From a company perspective, we're focusing a large majority of activities on events focused on our players and community," a representative from Wargaming told VentureBeat. Meaning that they want to keep the players at the forefront, giving them the attention they deserve for continuing to play their games.

Just today Microsoft announced something terribly worrying, that they're completely cancelling Fable Legends.

Fable has been one of the best franchises on the Xbox series of consoles, but the latest installment will no longer be developed. The developer, Lionhead Studios is being shut down completely, along with a few other of their own game studios in an effort to improve their profitability. But the decision to cancel the project does not come easily, either.

These have been tough decisions and we have not made them lightly, nor are they a reflection on these development teams - we are incredibly fortunate to have the talent, creativity and commitment of the people at these studios," Microsoft Studios Europe general manager Hanno Lemke said in a statement. So now the game, which was announced in 2013, is no longer being developed. We were supposed to see a beta sometime later this year, but that won't be happening. The future of the franchise is in trouble, and we may never see another Fable game again.

Microsoft may add a lion's head to its trophy collection: the tech giant could slay Lionhead Studios once and for all.

Microsoft has announced that Fable Legends has been cancelled, and the creative minds that built the iconic Fable franchise could soon be out of work. Lionhead Studios is being shut down for good and all, and it looks like this is the end to the Fable universe.

"After much consideration we have decided to cease development on Fable Legends and are in discussions with employees about the proposed closure of Lionhead Studios in the UK. Additionally, we will close Press Play Studios in Denmark, and sunset development on Project Knoxville," reads the official announcement.

If this new leak can be trusted, then a new Picross game could be coming very soon. And this time it's based on The Legend of Zelda, a perfect pairing.

The game was discovered by Cellenseners while looking through the Nintendo US and UK servers. Apparently he found more than just the above pictures. Being on the official servers lends more credence to their being real.

This version of Picross is going to be offered as part of Nintendo's new loyalty program that's scheduled to become fully active later this month. The idea is that you'll be able to get this game by redeeming any acquired My Nintendo points. It will be interesting to see how they integrate the new rewards program and whether or not other mobile games, and in-game purchases, will be part of that program.