Gaming - Page 186

Tom Henderson, a known industry insider and owner of InsiderGaming has cleared up a few details in regards to the recent rumors surrounding a new God of War and Sony's upcoming State of Play event.

Henderson stated during the most recent Insider Gaming Weekly podcast that he's hearing, from sources that will remain unnamed, that the new God of War game isn't based in Egypt, which was the most recent rumors surrounding the unannounced title, and instead, it will be a young Kratos based in Greece. Henderson says the storyline concentrates on Kratos's relationship with his father, Zeus.

Notably, Henderson says, "Don't run with it," in regards to this rumor, meaning it hasn't been confirmed to him. The InsiderGaming owner said he simply just wanted to weigh in on the previous rumor of the new God of War being set in Egypt with what he's been hearing. Moreover, Henderson said he doesn't know if the title will be a remaster, prequel, or a reboot.

Rockstar's premium subscription service could be a major part of GTA 6's online component at launch, and could offer some other unique benefits to users.

In 2022, Rockstar announced GTA Plus (GTA+), a new subscription service specifically made for Grand Theft Auto Online. The service expanded and Rockstar created its own Game Pass-like service, complete with a rotating lineup of classic games. It's pretty much the most affordable and convenient way to access older Rockstar games because practically half of their catalog is on the service.

The value proposition has worked pretty well. Take-Two Interactive has commented a number of times on the success of GTA+ but hasn't given us actual subscriber figures. One thing's for sure, though: More people are buying into Rockstar's premium GTA+ offering. It's working so well that Rockstar raised the price of the subscription from $5.99 to $7.99 in April 2024.

If sales trends are any indicator, Rockstar Games could finish Grand Theft Auto V's megaton legacy with $10 billion in cumulative earnings.

Grand Theft Auto VI is on the horizon, and when (if) it drops in Fall 2025 as executives have reaffirmed, GTA V's playerbase could tank. If everything goes according to plan, then GTA 6 could launch in Q2 or Q3 of Take-Two Interactive's fiscal year.

This gives the current GTA moneymakers--GTA V, GTA Online, and the GTA trilogy remaster on consoles/mobiles--up to 3 quarters to rake in money before everyone presumably moves to GTA 6.

The Grand Theft Auto franchise has made over $9.5 billion in cumulative earnings since GTA V's release, new earnings documents reveal.

Take-Two's latest Q3FY25 results gave us a closer look at how much money the company made from the megaton GTA series. According to the reports, Grand Theft Auto products and services have made approximately $9.54 billion since the launch of GTA V in September 2013 to the end of 2024.

In Q3FY25, Take-Two made $179.465 million from the Grand Theft Auto series, up 4.42% quarter-over-quarter but down slightly year-over-year.

Have you ever sat there playing Call of Duty and thought 'man, I'd make for an awesome drone pilot in a real war', well, the Ukrainian military agrees with you... saying that COD players make great drone pilots in a war.

In a chat between battling it out in a war, Ukraine's special drone unit somehow had the time to speak with Business Insider. The unit is called Typhoon, saying that real drone warfare is far more complicated and more dangerous than using drones in games like Call of Duty.

Uncrewed systems, including a range of first-person view drones (FPV) are being used on Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, with Ukrainian operators comparing how they fly their drones, and how they play video games. FPV headsets aren't like VR systems, and while the controllers can be similar, they're different beasts.

Take-Two Interactive sees a substantial boost in stock value following yesterday's earnings results.

In a call to investors, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick expressed confidence that Grand Theft Auto 6 would release in 2025. "Yes, we did today reaffirm our schedule through the remainder of the calendar year. And I think we were pretty clear about that," Zelnick said. GTA 6 is listed for a Fall 2025 launch on the sheets provided to investors.

The news was spread far and wide, and the market took notice. TTWO stock is currently trading at, $210.88, up +$27.80 or 15.19% in day-to-day trading.

Take-Two Interactive recently wrapped up its earnings call, where company boss Strauss Zelnick was asked about the publisher's perception of the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2.

Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI, was asked if Nintendo's upcoming console, which is scheduled to get more details in early April, will get various Take-Two-published games when it finally makes its way into the hands of gamers. Zelnick responded by revealing Take-Two's perception of Nintendo's platform has shifted recently, with the CEO saying the days of Nintendo platforms being "geared at younger audiences" are now over.

Zelnick pointed to the release of Civilization 7 on the Switch and stated that in the past, Take-Two has supported the platform "when it made sense for the individual release." But, "today with Switch and potentially with Switch 2, the Switch device can support any audience." Notably, Zelnick didn't confirm any specific Take-Two title coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, but given the previous statements, from Take-Two's perspective, nothing is off the table -- begging the question, "Will GTA 6 release on the Nintendo Switch 2?"

Marvel Studios recently released the trailer for "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," and to go along with the trailer were other marketing materials, such as posters, which weren't as well received as the trailer.

The trailer for the upcoming movie has gained more than 23 million views at the time of reporting, and while reception has been generally good (based on the Like to Dislike ratio on the YouTube video), Marvel fans were quick to accuse Marvel of using artificial intelligence tools for the movie's marketing posters. The four posters that were released showcased telltale signs of being AI-generated, with hands only having four fingers, two women with the same face, floating objects, and other unnatural inconsistencies.

However, according to The Wrap, a Marvel spokesperson has told the publication that none of the posters were created using AI, which only leaves the possibility of these inconsistencies being human errors made by the artists. For those wondering, this isn't the first time Marvel has been embroiled in accusations of using AI to generate media, as AI was used to generate images shown in the opening credits of the TV miniseries "Secret Wars."

Microsoft is continuing its plan to remove the walls of exclusivity surrounding Xbox games and bring some of its best first-party titles over to competing platforms such as the PS5 and the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2.

For quite some time, it has been rumored Microsoft is working on several ports for first-party Xbox titles that are destined for the PS5, and now a new article by The Verge's Tom Warren details PS5 ports for Halo, Gears of War and Microsoft's Flight Simulator. It was only last week Microsoft confirmed Forza Horizon 5 is coming to the PS5, and it was only yesterday that Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition and Age of Mythology: Retold were also confirmed to be coming to the PS5.

Notably, all three of these titles were announced via blog posts and not during a dedicated PlayStation or Xbox event, which seemingly highlights the normalcy of ports from Xbox's perspective. Warren writes he heard in June 2024 that Age of Empires and Age of Mythology were both coming to the PS5 and at the same time that Microsoft was currently "working on some form of a Halo: Combat Evolved remaster that [was] also being considered for rival consoles." The rumor of the Age games coming to PS5 ended up being true, which leaves us with Halo.

Capcom's highly anticipated Monster Hunter Wilds is out later this month, and ahead of the launch, the developer and publisher has released a free Monster Hunter Wilds Benchmark Tool on Steam so you can see if your system is ready to go wild. The benchmark includes a couple of action-packed cinematic sequences, some simulated open-world and town exploration, and ends with the game's main characters sitting down for a meal.

As it's currently in our test rig, we decided to fire it up and see how the game performs on the brand-new MSI GeForce RTX 5080 VANGUARD SOC. After the game's beta was criticized for its performance and optimization, the Benchmark Tool running on the GeForce RTX 5080 was smooth and stutter-free. Running in 4K using the 'Ultra' graphics preset with DLSS 'Quality,' we got a respectable average frame rate of 86.74 FPS.

Interestingly, as the game's ray-tracing option only covers reflections, enabling RT on the highest preset saw the overall performance drop to 79.58 FPS - an 8% reduction. However, with Frame Generation enabled, this increased to an average frame rate of 116.97 FPS. Of course, the GeForce RTX 5080 is one of the planet's most powerful 4K gaming GPUs, so getting decent 4K performance is expected.

A new patent for the Nintendo Switch 2 has revealed new functionality with the joy-con controllers, and while Nintendo hasn't officially confirmed the functionality, the company did subtly showcase it in its most recent trailer for the Switch 2.

The new patent shows Nintendo has been exploring using its Joy-Con controllers like a computer mouse, which was briefly showcased in the above trailer with the Joy-Con's sliding around on their connector side. However, it wasn't touched on for the rest of the trailer and was left to ambiguity and speculation. But, the newly released patent provides more details on the proposed functionality, as the images included in the patent show the Joy-Con being held horizontally with both the SR and SL buttons facing downward, with a user's thumb placed on the joystick.

More specifically, an image shows the right index finger and middle finger placed over the R and ZR buttons, similar to the left and right buttons on a traditional mouse. This design has led to the assumption that an optical sensor within the joy-con is downward facing. The patent also includes the translation "mouse operation sensor" 28 times, according to The Verge.

EA recently announced that its fantasy RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard failed to meet its sales targets, so the publisher adjusted its financial forecasts. This is another commercial miss from the veteran studio, whose most recent titles, Anthem and Mass Effect Andromeda, also failed to make a critical and commercial impact.

In the following days, reports of developer BioWare losing team members emerged, alongside reports of some moving to other EA studios. The developer confirmed that the downsizing wouldn't affect progress on the new Mass Effect game as it was still in the pre-production phase - confirming that the highly anticipated game isn't ready for 'all hands on deck' development.

However, the fate of Mass Effect 5 - which is being presented as a sequel and spiritual successor to the original trilogy - is currently up in the air thanks to comments from EA CEO Andrew Wilson. During a recent financial call with investors, Wilson blamed the lack of live service features and multiplayer for Dragon Age's failure to meet the company's expectations.

Layoffs continue at Sony Interactive Entertainment, and this time nearly an entire UI/UX division has been let go.

Sony is trying to cut costs to improve profit margins and has laid off hundreds of workers in the process. Now the cutting continues as Sony's gaming segment orders more job terminations--this time affecting a group that's responsible for making big changes to what users see on the PS5's dashboard.

The new layoff report comes from Oscar Diaz, who operates under the handle Ryosuke said this on Twitter: "Most of my team was just laid off from PlayStation. It was a dream to get to work with Sony on the platform I'd grown up playing since the PS1 and contribute to the PS5, Portal, PSVR2, PS App, and future consoles. If you know anyone who needs an engineer, feel free to reach out."

Take-Two Interactive is apparently so confident in Rockstar's perfectionism that it hasn't laid out exact sales predictions to determine GTA 6's success.

GTA 5 is one of the most successful games ever made. This trend is expected to continue with GTA 6, which could be big enough to lift up the entire video games industry through sales and long-term network effects. As for internal targets, Take-Two hasn't obsessed over recreating GTA 5's sales with in-depth predictions and strategies.

In a recent Q3FY25 earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick made it seem that the company has total faith in Rockstar Games.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is indeed a console release with Rockstar publisher Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick making a statement during its earnings call today, where he said: "GTA 6 is a console release".

Zelnick was asked during the call about different generations of gamers wanting to play GTA 6, as dads would now be playing it with their kids who are old enough to play it. He said: "Rockstar Games seeks perfection in everything they do. If we do that right and focus on delivering for our consumers, that's our best opportunity to succeed".

He added: "GTA 6 is a console release and we know what the current console base looks like", meaning that there is no PC version that will see the light of day this year, but we could see a PC release of GTA 6 in 2026... if not, I bet we'll see it alongside NVIDIA's next-gen GeForce RTX 60 series that should drop in 2027.

Rockstar's sales spree continues as Grand Theft Auto V breaks 210 million units shipped worldwide.

GTA V might be 12 years old but the game shows no signs of slowing down. Released across 3 console generations, GTA V has accumulated some of the best-selling figures in the entire industry. Take-Two Interactive today confirmed that GTA V has reached 210 million unit sales, up 5m units from last quarter. This continues the game's streak of selling 5 million copies per quarter that had been going for many periods in a row.

The game is now so big that GTA V is close to capturing half of all Grand Theft Auto franchise sales by volume (it has already far outstripped any previous Grand Theft Auto title in total earnings). Take-Two says that GTA is now at 440 million, meaning GTA V comprises over 47% of the series' total combined worldwide sales.

Grand Theft Auto 6's release timing has been reiterated by Take-Two Interactive management.

Will GTA 6 be delayed? No one knows for sure, but Take-Two isn't make the announcement today. The publisher just posted up its Q3'FY25 earnings results and highlighted the upcoming slate of games set to launch this calendar year. The lineup includes the megaton GTA 6, which is still due out sometime in Fall 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

"Looking ahead, this calendar year is shaping up to be one of the strongest ever for Take-Two, as we plan to launch Sid Meier's Civilization VII on February 11th, Mafia: The Old Country in the Summer, Grand Theft Auto VI in the Fall, and Borderlands 4. We continue to invest prudently in our development pipeline and remain confident in Zynga's potential to create new mobile forever franchises as demonstrated by their ongoing success with Match Factory. As we continue to deliver hits, we remain highly confident that we will achieve sequential increases in, and record levels of, Net Bookings in Fiscal 2026 and 2027," Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said.

A newly-published patent shows that the Switch 2 controllers will indeed have optical sensors that allow the JoyCons to be used as mice.

The Switch 2's new and improved JoyCons will have some interesting surprises this time. Gamers will be able to use the devices as makeshift mice, presumably a unique new form of gimmicky interaction for games like Mario Party and perhaps even a new generation Mario Paint.

The functionality was first outed in the highly accurate Switch 2 leaks, and then hinted at by Nintendo in the Switch 2's original reveal video. Now we have even more proof that the JoyCons can be used as mice--this time lifted directly from a patent for the actual accessory hardware.

Take-Two has confirmed that Grand Theft Auto 6 is confirmed for a Fall 2025 release, with the company confirming the news during its earnings call just minutes ago.

During its Q3 2024 earnings call, Take-Two confirmed GTA 6 is still coming for its previously announced release window of Fall 2025, and that the game hasn't been delayed. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick spoke with IGN ahead of the release of its financial report, saying that while "there's always a risk of slippage" the company feels "really good about it (fall 2025)".

IGN asked Zelnick how confident he felt in Rockstar being able to release GTA 6 by fall 2025, to which he said: "Look, there's always a risk of slippage and I think as soon as you say words like absolutely, you jink things. So we feel really good about it".

E3 might be gone, but its trade show roots are returning.

E3 originally kicked off as a private trade show where tech and game-makers would gather to show off their products. The goal was to attract investors, make deals with cohorts, and network with others. Now the ESA has announced a new show that is once again exclusive to industry employees--namely big-time executives and "thought leaders."

The ESA's new professional event is called the Interactive Innovation Conference (or iicon for short). E3 is firmly shut down, though, and iicon won't take place at the LA Convention Center. It's taking place on April 27 - 30 at the Fontainebleau Resort in Las Vegas, and the ESA says iicon will deliver "visionary keynotes, engaging discussions and workshops, and elite networking opportunities."