Gaming - Page 171

The early access model has been a staple for game developers who want to secure both funding and player feedback throughout the development process. In a recent update, however, Valve aims to hold developers accountable by introducing a new warning feature that informs players if a title hasn't been updated in over 12 months.

Sightings of the feature first appeared on Bluesky, with SteamDB's account uploading a screenshot of the new warnings.

Valve appeared to have shadow-dropped the feature, with no official statement or patch notes issued regarding the update. On the surface, it appears to be driven by a need for consumer protection, as many players have been burned by early access games that are dead, abandoned, or never finished. However, accountability for developers, and improving the quality control of Steam's library are also potential factors.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, the highly anticipated RPG sequel set in Medieval Europe, is already a smash hit on PC - with the game garnering an impressive 159,351 within the first few hours of its launch. The game's open-world environments and simulation levels of Medieval-life immersion are unlike anything else, and the visuals are also stunning.

With its Very Positive user review rating on Steam, many praise the game's optimization and overall performance, which is enhanced thanks to its support for DLSS Super Resolution. And all GeForce RTX gamers can enable the brand-new DLSS 4 'Transformer' AI model for even better image quality via the 'DLSS Override' feature in the NVIDIA App.

Launching alongside the new GeForce RTX 50 Series, DLSS 4's updated Super Resolution and Ray Reconstructions 'Transformer' AI model significantly improves image quality - making it a game changer for DLSS. It makes the DLSS Performance and Balanced presets look as good as the previous AI model's Quality preset, opening the door to 4K gaming to more gamers.

Ahead of announcing the official release date for the Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo has revealed it's currently preparing countermeasures against scalpers.

The news comes from Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa, who spoke to Japanese News outlet Nikkei and said the company has learned valuable lessons from the release of the Nintendo Switch and, behind the scenes, Nintendo is implementing countermeasures to mitigate rampant re-selling of the new console when it debuts.

Furukawa stated back in July 2024, during a Q&A with investors, Nintendo struggled to produce a sufficient number of Nintendo Switch hardware due to a shortage of semiconductor parts, "but this situation has now been resolved" and that the same problem won't present itself with the Nintendo Switch 2.

Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson tells investors and analysts that the publisher is willing to delay the new Battlefield game to ensure the FPS can deliver on all fronts.

Following two consecutive lackluster releases, EA is going all-in on the next Battlefield game. The project's four teams--DICE, Ripple Effect, Criterion, and EA Motive--came together and formed the hugely ambitious Battlefield Labs, which aims to get direct feedback via community playtesting. EA wants your help to build the next Battlefield.

The game is currently in pre-alpha phases of development yet EA is confident about a FY26 release window, which runs from March 2025 - 2026. The next Battlefield could be out during the holiday season if all things go well. But assuming they don't go well, or for any reason EA is skittish about launching in the year, the company says it's prepared to simply delay the game until it's ready.

It sounds like singleplayer RPGs may be harder to greenlight at Electronic Arts moving forward as the publisher doubles-down on more guaranteed bets.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the third major BioWare game to miss the mark and EA has taken notice. The game did poorly enough to trigger a rare forecast adjustment from EA's executives, who had significantly lowered full-year earnings targets to reflect the disappointing sales of Veilguard (and the underperformance of EA FC25).

The magnitude of Veilguard's miss is even more pronounced when considering that EA had previously assigned a $20 billion market value to action RPGs. The news triggered a fresh wave of layoffs at BioWare, which has now been culled to a team of less than 100 people. BioWare is currently working on the next Mass Effect game, a singleplayer project that's entering pre-production phases of development.

Nintendo wants to avoid shortages of its new Switch 2 console and tells consumers it is working hard to produce enough systems to meet high demand.

The Switch is reaching peak market saturation and Nintendo is ramping up a new console successor. The Switch 2 is due out sometime in 2025, and consumers are wondering if the Switch 2 will be yet another typical Nintendo hardware launch where excessive demand quickly outstrips supply.

Nintendo wants the Switch 2 to be different and doesn't want a repeat of the Switch's launch. The company is readily producing millions of Switch 2 consoles to meet the all-important Holiday 2025 sales surge. Company president Shuntaro Furukawa tells investors that Nintendo is accelerating production so it can make a "head start" over the original Switch.

While the Switch 2 is fast approaching, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa confirms that the company will keep supporting and selling the original console as long as consumers buy in.

Eight years in, the Switch is finally starting to wind down. The Switch is a combination of Nintendo's megaton console and handheld businesses, leading to an incredible $85 billion in lifetime platform revenues and over 1.3 billion games sold. Nintendo wants to replicate this success one more time with the Switch 2, but unlike its forebear, the successor will carry forward games, content, and services to a new generation.

Nintendo doesn't plan to leave the original Switch behind. The company will keep producing and selling Switch consoles and games for the foreseeable future. According to Japanese newspaper Sankei, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa says that Switch 1 sales will continue after the Switch 2 is released "as long as there is demand."

The Switch family of consoles has shipped over 150 million units worldwide as of December 2024, Nintendo has announced.

Nintendo's latest Q3'FY25 results gives us a refresher on how well the company did during the critical Holiday 2024 period. Switch sales finally broke 150 million, putting the system in closer proximity to the age-old best-selling titans the Nintendo DS (154.02 million) and the PlayStation 2 (160 million), but if trends are any indicator, the system may not break the DS' record.

Switch shipments are starting to peter out as Nintendo gears up for its next-gen Switch 2 console. The company shipped just 4.82 million Switch consoles in the holiday period, a substantial reduction of 30% year-over-year, or more than 2 million units. This is the lowest-ever holiday period for Switch sales, predictably downwardly weighing the holiday Q3'25 results, which were likewise down to their lowest point in the Switch generation.

The Entertainment Software Association, a coalition of gaming's top publishers and platform-holders, wants to get ahead of any potentially adverse effects from U.S. tariffs.

The ESA warns that trade tariffs could heavily disrupt the already-shaky video games industry. The lobbying group, which is made up of the likes of Epic Games, Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Xbox, PlayStation, Ubisoft, and Take-Two Interactive, is imploring the Trump administration to consult with the interactive entertainment industry before passing any potentially devastating tariffs.

"Tariffs on video game devices and related products would impact Americans of all ages across the country. We urge the administration to consult with the private sector in a transparent process to avoid causing significant harm to everyday Americans and to one of the fastest-growing entertainment sectors in the United States," the ESA has said in a statement to Kotaku's Ethan Gach.

Nintendo has reported its lowest-ever holiday net sales revenues in the Switch's lifecycle.

Nintendo's Q3FY25 earnings results show signs that the Switch lifecycle is gearing down. The company saw $2.76 billion in total net sales during the Holiday 2024 period (Q3'25 runs from October - December 2024), a new low for any holiday quarter during the Switch's lifespan.

The previous holiday quarter, Nintendo made $4.2 billion in net sales, but Q3'25's results show a -35% decline. Nintendo has since downwardly revised its full-year earnings forecasts, but it's worth noting that FY25 will not be impacted by the Switch 2. The new Switch 2 console is expected to launch in the second-half of 2025 and will instead be a part of Nintendo's FY26 period.

Nintendo's Q3 results have led the company to decrease its annual earnings, sales, and profit forecasts.

Nintendo has just reported its Q3FY25 results, showing big year-over-year declines as Nintendo's new Switch 2 console looms. The company has now downwardly adjusted its metrics to reflect holiday Q3's results, even farther from the previous forecast.

Nintendo now expects to make in Fiscal Year 2025: 1.19 trillion yen in net sales (-7%), 280 billion yen in operating profit (-22.2%), and 270 billion yen in net profit (-10%). The revision was driven by a slash in hardware and software sales; Switch sales predictions are now at 11 million units, down 1.5 million from the original forecast, and 150 million game sales, down 10 million units from the previous prognostication.

Valve is reportedly working on a next-generation Steam console, with new rumors suggesting it'll pack an RDNA 4-powered GPU from AMD.

In a new video from Spanish leaker 'exta1s' working from a video released from HandleDeck.com, Valve is working on drivers for AMD's upcoming Radeon RX 9070 series "RDNA 4" graphics cards. It was only a couple of months ago that we heard about the new SteamOS-powered Valve Fremont console, and this could be it.

In a translated excerpt from the YouTube video, we're learning that: "It turns out that Valve is openly working on drivers for the AMD 9070 graphics cards. These cards are currently designed just for desktop devices. These AMD 9070s are the first to feature RDNA 4 technology and FSR 4. So yeah, that's the scoop! This RDNA 4 architecture is currently designed only for desktops. It's expected that, many years down the line, it might make its way to portable devices, but right now, it's strictly desktop. Valve is already working on it; in fact, from what my friend has heard, Valve is putting a lot of effort into the drivers for these RX 9070 GPUs with RDNA 4. And the question he raises in his tweet, which we all might be wondering, is why Valve is so interested in collaborating on this".

Earlier today, EA formally announced Battlefield Labs, the community testing platform for the next mainline entry in the long-running Battlefield series. Many call it Battlefield 6 and look at it as a spiritual successor to the excellent Battlefield 3. To get the community excited to help test and shape the next game in the series, we got a 10-second video showcasing multiplayer gameplay from the next Battlefield at the end of the following video.

With destruction everywhere and some impressive visuals, many gamers and longtime fans of the franchise are decidedly excited about this new game in the series - but also cautiously optimistic due to the poor launch state of the last game in the series, Battlefield 2042.

The good news is that the new game's motto is "Let's build Battlefield together" and that Battlefield Labs represents the most extensive pre-release community testing program in EA's history.

It wasn't long ago that Microsoft hosted its Xbox Developer Direct, where it showcased a collection of new titles, and now has news on when the next Xbox event is scheduled.

According to a recent article by IGN, the publication's "IGN Fan Fest" will kick off with an Xbox Showcase on February 24, and while details about what the event will entail, we do have a list of the developers that will have their titles featured. Notably, during one of last year's Xbox Showcases, the following titles were unveiled: World Of Warcraft: The War Within, Doom: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Fragpunk, and Fable.

What is confirmed for the event is developer Playstack stating its appearance the event has to do with a new collaboration announcement for the popular title Balatro. From this teaser we can anticipate the announcement will include new cards that are inspired by a range of indie and AAA games. As for what else the event will unveil, we can only speculate. It's likely, given Xbox's position to push onto other platforms, that some of the titles could have cross-platform announcements.

The actor who played the iconic role of Michael in Grand Theft Auto V has given a bold prediction as to what players will be in store for in Grand Theft Auto VI.

Ned Luke, the actor who played Michael in Grand Theft Auto V, has sat down for an interview where he was challenged to remember some of his lines from GTA 5, which was released in 2013. During the interview, Luke got onto the topic of Grand Theft Auto 6, where he said he's confident the game is going to be "fantastic" and that Rockstar Games is the studio that has that X factor, as no one really knows what to expect from them. But for this X-factor reason, people are excited to see what they are making.

More specifically, Luke says that he's been telling people to "be patient" as it's "going to be the worth the wait". Adding, "From what I've seen, it's going to be amazing. They're going to blow our [GTA V] numbers away." For those that don't know what Luke is referencing in that last statement, Grand Theft Auto 5 generated an astonishing $800 million in its first 24 hours when it released in 2013. As for Grand Theft Auto 6, Luke expects that number to be reached and exceeded, landing somewhere around $1.3 billion in its first 24 hours.

If Rockstar Games is still planning on releasing Grand Theft Auto 6 in 2025, then the team is probably squashing as many bugs as possible right now--a massive undertaking for any studio.

There's no game like a GTA game. This has been proven true by GTA V's megaton sales figures of 200 million lifetime units so far, and GTA VI is expected to be so powerful that it'll uplift the entire video games industry. Now we have some interesting commentary from someone who was involved in GTA V's development and knows how Rockstar operates behind the scenes, and he's speculating that Rockstar is currently in the rampant bug-squashing phase of a playable GTA 6 build.

Here's what former Rockstar Games animator Mike York said in a recent interview with Australian video games personality Kiwi Talkz:

EA is developing the next Battlefield game specifically around direct player feedback, and the new-and-improved destruction physics will be among the first things that players can test out.

Today, EA announced Battlefield Labs, a massive new community-driven playtesting program specifically for the Battlefield franchise. It's the largest-ever undertaking from EA in regards to closed beta testing, and everyone will have to sign an NDA. Those who are selected can try out various pieces and modes of the game, including new weapons, maps, and the explosive real-time carnage that DICE is known for.

In a big update post, Battlefield Studios says that combat and physics will be tested first. Snippets of new gameplay show some pretty impressive effects and it's an exciting time to be a Battlefield fan.

Sony's next-generation PlayStation 6 console won't be completely discless according to former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden, as Sony has a huge global market that still wants physical games.

In a new interview with KiwiTalks, Layden talked about the PS6 saying that he doesn't think the company can get away with releasing its next-gen PlayStation 6 console in discless form. He said that Microsoft has had success with Xbox and moving discless in particular countries like the United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, where gamers have internet connections that allow for digital games... but Sony has a huge global market that won't gel well with discless PS6 gaming.

Layden said: "actually, I don't think Sony can get away with it now. I think, you know, Xbox has had more success in pursuing that strategy, but Xbox is really most successful in their business... in a clutch of countries. US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa".

EA is connecting fans directly to game developers to ensure its next Battlefield game isn't a flop.

The live service Battlefield 2042 proved to be a big miscalculation on EA's part, but the publisher has been working on an overhaul to its billion-dollar shooter for quite some time. Announced today as Battlefield Labs, EA's new community portal will allow gamers to test out different iterations of new Battlefield content and give feedback directly to the teams that are making the games.

The new program is called Battlefield Labs (sign up here), and it's being called "the most ambitious community testing program in franchise history." Battlefield Studios was also established and there's four studios under the banner: DICE, Ripple Effect (formerly DICE LA), EA Motive, and Criterion. Vince Zampella is now Head of Battlefield.

The new SuperStation One is described as the "world's first affordable FPGA gaming console. " It's a faithful recreation of the original PlayStation console and hardware from the 1990s. FPGA, or Field-Programmable Gate Array hardware, is not emulation but technology that lets modders and designers recreate classic hardware with improved accuracy and the ability to run games natively.

Although the SuperStation One lacks a CD-ROM drive and doesn't ship with any copyrighted material, games, or software, users can load "backups" of PS1 games and ROMs via the microSD slot or USB drive. The SuperDock add-on supports traditional PlayStation discs. The new "console" is similar to the Analogue 3D hardware we reported on last year, another emulation-free FPGA device capable of playing Nintendo 64 games.

The SuperStation One supports modern displays with up to 1563p or 1440p output over HDMI and classic CRT TVs via composite, RCA, and component connection. It also has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for networking and controller support, Ethernet, three USB Type-A ports, and traditional PlayStation Memory Card and controller ports.