Gaming - Page 166

Grand Theft Auto 6 drops later this year, with a store in Malaysia is up for pre-order at a store in Malaysia.

Rockstar Games haven't unleashed pre-orders for GTA 6 just yet, but Gamers Hideout in Malaysia has a pre-order option for Grand Theft Auto 6 on their website, as well as gamers having the ability of walking into their stores and putting down a deposit on what will eventually be the biggest game of all time.

We even have some gamers noticing that the store has fake boxes of GTA 6 on their shelves, with gamers pre-ordering the game with a deposit of RM14.90 (which works out to around $3 USD or so). If you live in Malaysia and want to be one of the first in the country to secure a copy of GTA 6... well, now you know where to go.

A former Nintendo of America sales worker guesses that the Switch 2 could be out sometime in June.

The Switch 2 console is coming in 2025, but Nintendo has yet to announce a release date for the system. One former Nintendo employee has an idea that the Switch successor could release mid-June.

The logic is that Nintendo could capture the excitement of an entire summer season and rack up sales when school is out. Retailers could also add pack-in accessories to drive up sales throughout the months leading to the holidays.

Insider Jeff Grubb has predicted a God of War remaster will be announced next month in celebration of the series anniversary.

This isn't the first time we have heard rumblings of a God of War remaster, as it was only recently Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson responded to previous rumors by saying he was hearing the new God of War game takes Kratos back to Greece, and not to Egypt, which is what previous rumors were indicating. Henderson said this information wasn't concrete and that he wasn't sure if the setting of Greece would imply a remaster of an earlier God of War title, or a franchise reboot.

Now, Grubb has hinted that the God of War remaster announcement will be close to the 20th anniversary of the God of War franchise, which is March 22. The 20th anniversary marks the release of the first game back in 2005, and considering the importance the God of War franchise is to Sony, it's certainly possible we will see some form of celebration in one way or another.

The latest issue of EDGE Magazine included a feature on DOOM: The Dark Ages. Featuring discussions with ID Software's studio director, Marty Stratton, and Creative Director Hugo Martin, the piece provided some detailed new insights into the gameplay & inspiration behind the highly anticipated title.

The column explored how the gameplay is "quite literally, more grounded."The Doomslayer will no longer sport a double jump, and instead, the prequel opts for a bulkier, tank-like approach to its main character. The developers also reference Batman Year One and The Dark Knight comics as influences for their approach to the Doomslayer this time around, with gameplay catered more closely toward brute-like power.

The shield-saw, in Captain America-like fashion, will complement this playstyle - allowing players to launch it sharply and swiftly with a squeeze of the left bumper. It'll also react differently in combat depending on whether it hits flesh, armor, or energy-based surfaces. Similar to Kratos's Leviathan axe in the recent God of War games, the shield will also provide ways to interact with the environment-for example, dislodging chains to discover hidden areas or jamming the shield into machinery to activate openings.

Evidence of a new Xbox controller has resurfaced, with leaker eXtas1s analyzing new entries found in Xbox Cloud Gaming files. While the controller was first detailed in Microsoft's 2023 court leaks, the latest findings suggest it is still in development.

The leak was first uncovered by dataminer BetX Cloud, who uncovered new codenames in the XCloud source code. These findings were then reported by eXtas1s, who posted the details on X and later provided a full breakdown in a YouTube video. The codenames include Sebile, a controller that was first referenced in the 2023 Activision-Blizzard trial, and Actium, a codename that has previously been linked to a next-generation controller - possibly an Elite model or a modular split controller.

In his long-form video explainer, eXtas1s highlights that the controllers represent an entirely new system of controllers. While he clarifies that no release date is confirmed, he speculates that they could be compatible with the next-generation Xbox and might even launch before the new console generation.

If you miss the days of pure co-op experiences, mark your calendars for the release of Split Fiction, the new title by EA and Hazelight Studios.

For those who don't know, Hazelight Studios are the developers of successful titles such as It Takes Two and A Way Out, two titles that are pure co-op experiences. During PlayStation's recent State of Play, we got a look at the newest title from Hazelight Studios, Split Fiction, which will take players on a journey about friendship through Mio and Zoe as they encounter strange gravity-defying situations. Split Fiction will be launching on March 6 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on Steam, Epic Games Store, and the EA App for $49.99.

Since Split Fiction is co-op focussed, it will be arriving with the Friend's Pass, which means anyone who owns a copy of Split Fiction can invite a friend to play the entire game with them for free, even if they don't own a copy. Here's how it works. One person needs to own a copy of Split Fiction, and the friend needs to install Friend's Pass on their chosen platform (cross-platform play is enabled). The owner of the game then sends the friend an invite to play Split Fiction and bam, both players are enjoying the co-op adventure.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was released late last year - a first-person adventure that wowed fans and critics alike with its fantastic take on the iconic cinematic hero. The first-party Xbox Game Studios title from Machine Games and Bethesda was built using a custom version of id Software's id Tech engine called Motor. On PC, the game shipped with a stunning Full Ray Tracing or Path Tracing mode - making it one of the best-looking PC games currently available.

Late last week, the game received its highly anticipated Update 3, which not only fixes a long list of outstanding bugs and minor issues but also adds full DLSS 4 support. This includes the new transformer-based AI model for Super Resolution and Ray Reconstruction, dramatically improving the game's image quality when running Full Ray Tracing. It also adds Multi Frame Generation support for GeForce RTX 50 Series owners.

There's great news for AMD Radeon and Intel Arc GPU owners, too. Update 3 also adds FSR 3.1 Super Resolution and Frame Generation and Intel XeSS 1.4 upscaling support. Interestingly, Intel XeSS 2 with Frame Generation isn't included.

Physical copies of Assassin's Creed Shadows have surfaced early, with users sharing screenshots and gameplay footage online. Multiple listings for the game - set to release on March 20 - have appeared on Facebook Marketplace, though the source of the leaked copies remains unknown.

X user @DannyStevens was among the first to share images of the unreleased title, posting photos of the box art and PS5 installation screen. Ubisoft has been quick to issue copyright strikes against leaked footage, but once it's out there, the risk of widespread spoilers and early gameplay circulation remains.

The users claim to have acquired the copies on Facebook Marketplace. Listings have also appeared on Mercari, where copies were sold for $100 USD. While such listings included photos of installation screens and packaging, it's important to note that there's a significant risk of scams associated with fake copies. We advise users to report any suspicious listings to the respective platform.

As reported in an exclusive by The Direct, Insomniac Games' voice actor Yuri Lowenthal attended MultiCon, an LA wildlife recovery benefit. During his interview with Russ Milheim, he touched on Peter Parker's role in Spider-Man 3, confirming that despite stepping into temporary retirement at the end of Spider-Man 2, Peter will still play a very active role in the next game.

Lowenthal's comments are one of the first real details we've received regarding Spider-Man 3. The ending of the second game left Peter's future somewhat ambiguous, with the character stepping away from his Spider-Man duties to attend to his personal life and focus on the Emily-May Foundation. With Miles Morales taking the mantle as the sole protector of New York, the ending raised questions as to how the protagonist's duties will be handled in the next entry.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is going to be far more than just a video game, with developer Rockstar working on Project ROME (Rockstar Online Modding Engine) that will see GTA 6 turned into the next big metaverse.

In a post on X by "GTA 6 Countdown" that links to multiple reports from the last couple of months, former FiveM staffers claim that Project ROME has been internally in development before the company acquired Cfx in 2023, replacing FiveM inside of GTA 5. Not just that, but Rockstar is reportedly in contact with some of the biggest Roblox and Fortnite content creators about creating custom experiences inside of GTA 6.

The post adds articles that cover some of the topics, with a question about FiveM being dead, and "long live ROME" to which the post explains: "Last year, GTA Focal spoke with ex-FiveM staffers who claimed a FiveM killer was being made internally at Rockstar before the company bought Cfx.re. Since then, the project has reportedly been brought back from the dead and is called ROME (Rockstar Online Modding Engine). In the summer of 2024, Rockstar had put a new public_mission_creator file inside of a GTA Online update".

Released as part of the season 2 update for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the single-lane' Bullet' map is one of the new additions that's grabbing attention. Featuring 6v6 battles packed into a fast-moving bullet train, the map has quickly made a name for its distinctive design and the chaotic battles spawning from its absurd layout.

From a level design perspective, the map has garnered feedback ranging from it being the best thing ever, to being called 'one of the worst designed maps' players have ever seen. After all, having 12-player gameplay across a single corridor is certainly bound to lead to some interesting gameplay outcomes.

However, a fun aspect of the map is its parallels to famous train sequences from Hollywood films. With battles from within first-class cabins to the fast-moving exterior, the experience is very much like something out of an action movie. Some fans have drawn comparisons to Bond films, while others cited the train scene from The Wolverine (2013) as one of the immediate examples. But perhaps the most fitting comparison is Bullet Train (2022), starring Brad Pitt.

In a recent developer livestream, the team behind the ambitious Skyblivion project shared some promising updates regarding the mod's completion.

For those unfamiliar with the project, Skyblivion is a fan-made remake of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion built within Skyrim's engine. It has been in development for over 11 years, and aims to modernize the classic RPG with improved visuals, mechanics, and world design while staying faithful to the original experience.

Throughout the stream, the developers confirmed that Skyblivion is still on track for a 2025 release. While unable to commit to a specific date, they were able to share that several major cities, including Cheydinhal, are fully completed with expanded environments to boot. Bug fixes, optimization, and balancing take on key priority, along with additional tasks such as finalizing enemy scaling, quest testing, and completing the remaining cities.

BioWare veteran Mark Darrah has called out gamers for being "cruel" if they are excited about layoffs at development studios, which has sparked quite a rebuttal by some members of the community.

Darrah, a BioWare veteran and consultant on the recent Dragon Age: Veilguard, which was renowned as an industry flop, posted the video "Your $70 Doesn't Buy You Cruelty," where he explains that gamers should have some more empathy for the humans working at development studios as gamers aren't aware of the logistics behind the choices made that result in aspects of the game the gamers don't enjoy.

Moreover, Darrah says that gamers shouldn't be directing their complaints to any studio employee who isn't top leadership, as top leadership is paid to bear the responsibility of being a lightning rod for community feedback. The BioWare veteran is now facing immense pushback from gamers who pointed out Darrah doesn't specify or define "cruelty," with one of the only examples being given by Darrah being a gamer getting angry at a voice actor because they didn't like the way an in-game character delivered a line.

Avowed has been released, and while the single-player semi-open-world game has received mixed opinions, the game we see today wasn't the original intention of the developers.

It was revealed by Carrie Patel, the game director for Avowed, in a recent interview with Bloomberg that Avowed actually endured a reboot in 2021 that pivoted the title away from its original concept of being a cross between Destiny and Skyrim where players could adventure together in a massive fantasy world. However, that same year, Microsoft purchased the developers of Avowed, Obsidian Entertainment, and it was decided the game's multiplayer component would be cut from the project.

Additionally, the leadership team was replaced, and Patel was tasked with bringing up to speed a new team and a complete reevaluation of the creative direction. More pivotal decisions were mad,e such as the switch from an open-world model to a "zone-based" model, which was a take on 2019's The Outer Worlds. The reason behind this change was to enable the development team to create distinct and dense regions over the Skyrim model where players could walk for hours and hours in an open-world environment.

It appears Tony Hawk Pro Skater fans are finally going to be getting the remaster they have been waiting for - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4.

Over the last few days, we have had some small tidbits of news that indicate a new remaster is about to be released, with the hype beginning after professional skater Tyshawn Jones revealed during an interview that he was going to be in a new Tony Hawk remaster that was "about to be released". This teaser was followed by fans discovering a mysterious date within the Black Ops 6 map Grind that indicated an announcement was scheduled for March 3, 2025.

Now, Activision has added a countdown timer to the Tony Hawk website, which coincides with the date that was discovered within Black Ops 6. So, what could this mean? Given the comments from Jones, it appears Activision has been secretly working on a new remaster of a Tony Hawk game, presumably Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4.

Assassin's Creed Shadows has already received its own parody game that will launch alongside Ubisoft's latest installment in the Assassin's Creed franchise on March 20.

Introducing Yasuke Simulator, a clear parody title of the upcoming Assassin's Creed Shadows, where players will assume the role of Yasuke, an African samurai in the year 1579 who has traveled to Japan alongside a Jesuit missionary. The Steam listing for the title states the game has been made using AI, and it appears the entire creation of the game is designed to be a jab at Ubisoft, as the name for the developer/publisher is "HistoryAccurateDevelopers".

As you are already probably imagining, Yasuke Simulator won't be a very good game at all, it has purely been made as a joke at the expense of Ubisoft, who previously stated that Assassin's Creed Shadows was "historically accurate." However, it was later discovered that wasn't the case at all, and the part of history the game focuses on is at most debatable among historians.

A former Sony boss has revealed an insight into the company's perspective on bringing PlayStation-exclusive titles over to PC, and it essentially confirms what every PC gamer has been thinking this whole time.

Up until just a few years ago, if someone suggested that Sony would bring PlayStation-exclusive titles over to PC, that person would have been called stupid. However, that has now become the norm, with titles such as the God of War franchise, Spider-Man, Horizon series, and more heading over to PC after timed exclusivity on PlayStation. So, what has changed? The market as a whole has shifted away from gatekeeping titles to specific platforms, and while there's a myriad of reasons contributing to the general shift, one of the main reasons is simply... money (I can picture the shock on your face).

Former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida discussed in a recent interview with Sacred Symbols+ Sony releasing first-party titles on PC and how it benefits PlayStation as a whole. Yoshida said, "Releasing on PC does many things: it reaches a new audience who do not own consoles--especially in regions where consoles are not as popular." Adding, "The idea is that those people may become fans of a particular franchise, and when a new game in that series comes out, they may be convinced to purchase a PlayStation."

It was only a few days ago that a professional skater who has been previously featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater remasters teased that he's in a new project "that's about to come out". Now a mysterious date has surfaced.

The date for what appears to be a new Tony Hawk-related game was discovered within the Call of Duty map Grind that has returned in Black Ops 6 Season 2 Reloaded. Players noticed a new addition to the map that first appeared in 2012's Black Ops 2 when they entered the shop area. On a large sign located on the back wall there's the numbers "03.04.25" written in the Tony Hawk font. The dead giveaway is the numbers are featured alongside the iconic Tony Hawk logo from Pro Skater.

This teaser comes only days after professional skater Tyshawn Jones let slip during an interview on The Breakfast Club that he was going to be in a new Tony Hawk game that's "about to come out". Jones also stated this new Tony Hawk game was a "remaster," which has led fans to believe Activision has been quietly working on the remaster of Pro Skater 3 and 4, which would be titled Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 - if it follows the same naming scheme as the previously remastered titles 2 + 3.

New details have been leaked for the upcoming single-player Black Panther game in development by Cliffhanger Games, and according to the details, players will be able to choose the next protector of Wakanda.

The new details are leaked, which means you should definitely take them with a healthy amount of skepticism, as nothing has been officially confirmed by the developer. With that being said, let's get into it. The new details come from TheGhostofHope, and according to the leaker, Cliffhanger Games will let players pick the Black Panther, with multiple characters such as T'Challa, M'Baku, Azari, Shuri, and even Killmonger being payable. Additionally, each of the characters will have a unique playstyle, weapons, armor, and gadgets, with the idea that they will feel distinct from each other.

The leaker says the developers have selected an over-the-shoulder camera perspective for the title, and the combat will be a mixture of traditional African martial arts with superhuman abilities and Wakandan tech. Moreover, the world is supposedly expansive, taking on an open-world setting where players can explore large cities, savannas, and regions. Notably, the game is also meant to feature a range of cultures, and the single-player story will react to player decisions that will lead to unique experiences.

Bethesda announced The Elder Scrolls VI in 2018, and since then, details about the title have been scarce, but now an insider has revealed some new information.

Before we get into the details, it should be noted that Bethesda has confirmed none of the following, and it should definitely be taken with a healthy amount of skepticism. With that being said, let's get into it. Known insider Extas1s has posted a new video where he details several aspects of The Elder Scrolls 6, saying the game will be much more immersive than previous Elder Scrolls titles and will take place in the region of Tamriel known as Hammerfall.

This isn't the first time Hammerfell has been predicted as the location for The Elder Scrolls 6, as I reported back in July 2024 that a Bethesda employee-owned Pinterest account was saving images that appeared to be inspiration for Hammerfell. Extas1s says the game will be taking place in Hammerfell and also High Rock, and there will be the inclusion of naval battles and shipbuilding. The building of the ships will be inspired by Starfield, and players will have explorable islands off the coast of the main location with marine life/underwater exploration.