Gaming News - Page 311

EA's new darling Respawn Entertainment is doing some interesting and mysterious things behind closed doors, including working on multiple unannounced games in early stages of development.

We've actually known about Respawn's new IP for a while now. You know, the one that wants to "Pioneer new ways to enable adventuring until the heat death of the universe.". That sure sounds like a live game to me.

While scouting Respawn's current job openings I noticed that the studio is still hiring for this project (and a few others). The game is part of the incubation team that currently has 9 openings available across multiple disciplines, including the one that mentions the infamous galactic meltdown phrase.

Worldwide games giant Embracer Group is about to allocate the largest total donations to Ukraine relief in the entire games industry, beating out Sony's $2 million donation.

Embracer Group plans to donate at least $5 million to humanitarian aid in the region, the company has announced to shareholders. The company employs hundreds of employees in Ukraine who have been impacted by the ongoing devastating Russian invasion. Embracer says it is devoting monetary resources in helping families relocate safely while also delivering basic necessities.

"We now estimate that we will dedicate at least USD 5 million into humanitarian aid across the group during the quarter ending March 31, which will equally lower our Operational EBIT in the period. In addition, many of our employees are contributing further funds and resources to humanitarian aid," Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors said in a note to investors.

Hogwarts Legacy won't nickel and dime players with in-game purchases and will instead be a self-contained AAA experience.

In a departure for WB Games, a company that typically bakes in live service elements into key franchises, Hogwarts Legacy is a single-player only RPG that won't have any kind of monetization. That's a pretty big deal for the publisher, especially after Mortal Kombat 11.

We've seen this question coming up and want to set the record straight. There are no microtransactions in Hogwarts Legacy,"Avalanche community manager Chandler Wood said on Twitter.

Elden Ring is a smash success with 12 million sales. Bandai Namco and FromSoftware and taking advantage of the spotlight by adding new content to the landmark RPG.

Yesterday's Elden Ring patch signals two big things: One, FromSoftware is committed to the game and should continue to roll out new content, and two, the core meta will shift and change similar to a live game. Patch 1.03 brought some big changes to the game by hamstringing endgame builds with heavy nerfs; Much to the vexation of Elden Ringers, the Tree Guardian Shield, Mimic tear, Hoarfrost Stomp, and the Sword of Shadow and Flame have all been downgraded and forced new shifts towards specific builds.

This creates an interesting flow and with the right adjustments of other gear--or the introduction of new items--FromSoft has created a unique kind of live game meta within what's mostly a communal singleplayer title. There's also tons of buffs to things like cracked pot throwables, boosted damage for other craftables like poison spraymist, and damage upgrades for the collapsing stars sorcery.

The horror mavens at Supermassive Games have revealed The Quarry, the latest thriller in their macabre video games lineup.

Like all good 80's splatter flicks, Supermassive's new game The Quarry has a simple premise: A bunch of kids try to survive the night at a spooky campground where all hell breaks loose. It looks like a fun romp that includes some of the most well-known horror alums in the business like David Arquette of Scream fame, Lance Henriksen, Ted Raimi, Lin Shaye, and even Sarah Palmer herself Grace Zabriskie.

Similar to Until Dawn, Supermassive's breakout success game, The Quarry is a cinematic experience where everything you do (and say) has a repercussion later on in the game. Players inadvertently choose who lives and who dies as nine camp counselors are killed off in what we can only imagine is creatively disturbing ways. It's like an interactive Friday the 13th choose-your-own-peril adventure game.

Bethesda details new features coming to their new space epic RPG Starfield, complete with origin stories and more.

Starfield looks to be a culmination of every big RPG Bethesda has made to date. The studio recently posted up a roundtable discussion of content, features, and mechanics found in the new spacefaring game. Starfield is made for wanderers, Bethesda promises.

The update outlines some interesting mechanics, including some borrowed from Cyberpunk 2077. Starfield will allow gamers to chose different origin stories, which will affect their starting location, factions, and overall attributes. There's even one faction, Ryujin Industries, that's similar to the corpos in CD Projekt RED's sci-fantasy game.

Take-Two Interactive is confident that Zynga could bring cross-play to its major franchises following the merger between the two companies.

The Take-Two/Zynga merger will bring tons of benefits to both companies. Zynga will have the might of a publishing giant behind it, and Take-Two will have the power of Zynga's mobile prowess and advertising platform under its banner. The cross-synergies are particularly interesting. Take-Two has noted that Zynga could create mobile versions of its top franchises--on a selective basis, of course--and utilize the company's budding cross-platform focus to help fill out its current games.

The biggest game without cross-play is Grand Theft Auto Online, which has been a billion-dollar powerhouse since its release in 2013. In a recent S-4 SEC filing, Take-Two suggests that Zynga will help create "cross-platform experiences" for its blockbuster IPs.

Detroit: Become Human has sold more than 6.5 million copies on consoles and PC, and Quantic Dream confirms it's working on three new games.

Paris-based studio Quantic Dream is ramping up its workforce for a myriad of new games. The developer is currently developing three new projects including the anticipated Star Wars Eclipse, however details on the two remaining projects are scarce (job listings reveal some tidbits, more on that below).

"Our very good financial results are explained by the robust sales of our back catalog titles, and in particular Detroit: Become Human, which surpassed the symbolic one million copies sold on Steam during the year 2021. This title is now Quantic Dream's biggest commercial success, with over 6.5 million copies sold on PC and PS4 worldwide."

Quantic Dream confirms its workforce has increased by 50% throughout 2021, which seemingly refutes recent reports that it's having trouble recruiting game developers.

A bit ago Tom Henderson published a report surrounding Quantic Dream's issues with hiring new developers, which stems from allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct at the studio. Sources told Henderson that QD was having problems recruiting new devs for its ambitious Star Wars Eclipse project.

Interestingly enough, Quantic Dream now says its employee base has jumped by 50%. The studio now employs roughly 229 people according to its LinkedIn page.

BioWare is hiring 23 new developers to work on multiple projects. Two of these job listings are for Dragon Age, and one position could shed light on what to expect from the game.

Previous reports have said Dragon Age 4 is a singleplayer-driven RPG. The project has gone through three phase-shifts: the first iteration was codenamed Joplin and was a small game focused on Tevinter spies. Then it morphed into projected Morrison, a live game with shifting, evolving content. Now in its current iteration, which was formed in 2021, Dragon Age has shifted back to its roots and become a singleplayer-driven RPG.

A new game economy job listing strongly suggests that Dragon Age 4 will indeed be singleplayer and it might not have any multiplayer elements at all.