Gaming - Page 323

Blizzard reveals new details about Diablo IV's upcoming beta, including the size and scope of the test as well as when players can jump back into Sanctuary.

After many long years of development, Diablo IV is finally on the horizon with a June 2023 launch. Before then, gamers will be able to try the dark fantasy RPG out for themselves in a free open beta test that starts in March.

Blizzard will actually hold two separate beta tests. The first is an early access beta that's only available to those that pre-ordered Diablo IV. The early access beta runs from March 17 - March 19 on all platforms (PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC). The real beta test that's open to everyone with a Battle.net account will be held during a special beta weekend on March 24 - March 26.

Google, NVIDIA, Valve, and EA are said to attend the European Commission's closed-door hearing on the Microsoft-Activision merger and provide critical testimony and evidence in the case.

Next Tuesday, February 21, the European Commission will hold a special hearing on the Microsoft-Activision merger. Microsoft will defend the merger against complaints outlined in the Commission's Statement of Objections. Microsoft is also expected to contend against other companies who oppose the merger (like Sony), and Microsoft counsel should also include a number of possible agreements and concessions/remedies to satisfy regulators.

New reports from regulatory experts MLex indicate that a number of high-profile games companies will also attend the hearing. The list includes: Google, who operates the billion-dollar mobile Play Store and recently closed down its game streaming service due to a failed business model; PC giants Valve and NVIDIA; and sports sim publisher EA.

The Embracer Group and Middle-earth Enterprises confirm that five new Lord of the Rings games are in development, but only one or two of them may intrigue enthusiast gamers.

Following many years without any releases, five new Lord of the Rings games are currently in development. The titles are expected to release by March 2024 and include a variety of genres and platforms--not all of the games will be AAA-level experiences.

Now that Embracer Group has acquired licensing rights for specific Lord of the Rings video games, the publisher is currently working with third-party partners to produce a range of fantasy games based on the Tolkien universe. The games range from mobile gales to more casual-friendly action-adventure games like Gollum from Daedalic Entertainment, and a more exciting project from the Lord of the Rings SFX experts at Weta Workshop.

Sony has achieved a new high point for first-party game unit sales following a record-breaking holiday quarter.

PlayStation's holiday 2022 was the best in history. Sony's games division made $8.8 billion in overall revenues as both software and hardware skyrocketed to $2.38 billion and $3.11 billion, respectively. First-party games represented a sizable portion of total game sales during Q3 and contributed quite a bit to overall earnings and purchases.

According to Sony's latest earnings report, the company managed to sell 86.5 million PS4 and PS5 games across retail and digital channels. First-party games made up 24% of total sales during the period, or 20.8 million units sold. This represents a new four-year high for first-party game sales, beating out previous years from 2019 - present. The last record was set in FY20 with 19 million first-party games sold.

Sony's physical PlayStation game revenues hit a new four-year high during a record-breaking Q3 holiday period.

Sony's PlayStation games division is doing incredibly well right now. The gaming segment delivered a record-breaking $8.8 billion in holiday earnings, driven by surging hardware and software sales. While digital thoroughly dominates PlayStation's books thanks to the combination of digital game sales and microtransactions, physical game sales are on the rise.

According to Sony's latest financial report, during Q3 Fiscal Year 2022 (October - December 2022) the PlayStation division made $659 million from physical software. This not only represents the highest physical game sales earnings in the last four years, but is also a significant increase of 153% year-over-year.

Analyst and industry expert Joost van Dreunen suggests two possible behavioral and structural remedies that could help get the Microsoft-Activision merger approved.

The countdown is on for the Microsoft-Activision merger. In a few months, worldwide regulators at the FTC, CMA, and European Commission will make a decision on whether or not to approve the $68.7 billion dollar deal. All three agencies have outlined and identified possible anti-competitive effects from the combination and each of them are currently in various stages of proceedings. It behooves Microsoft to get ahead of the curve and start preparing concession scenarios that will help the deal pass.

While regulators like the the CMA have outlined possible remedies including the divesture of Activision or the entire "Call of Duty business," industry experts are also weighing in. One particularly interesting scenario from SuperData founder Joost van Dreunen involves behavioral and structural remedies that could satisfy regulators.

To simplify, each project has to earn its right to exist, which means we will increase our efforts to put quality first even further, and make sure we create unique positive player experiences.Embracer Group is now being more selective in which games it approves for development as titles like Saints Row miss sales targets.

Saints Row apparently was a sales bomb and it's possible the game has yet to turn a profit. Embracer's latest Q3 earnings report outlines the situation in detail, and from what we can tell, it looks like the development costs of certain games are exceeding the earnings from these specific titles. This has led to a drop in profitability for the PC and console gaming segment as certain games like Saints Row delivered lower-than-expected return on investment (ROI).

Now Embracer Group is tightening its belt and is carefully weighing which games it chooses to greenlight. Saints Row in particular was hit with low review scores and is the most controversial game in the beloved series due to numerous glitches and bugs at launch. Back in September 2022, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors said that the new Saints Row reboot would "make money" but it wasn't "very likely" to achieve high ROI. Even still, Embracer is not willing to close out Volition or put the Saints Row franchise on ice.

Realistic speech is one of the most significant advances we've seen regarding AI-based tools everyone can access. One of these is ElevenLabs AI, which touts "compelling, rich, and lifelike voices" that the company proudly proclaims as usable for storytelling. This means proper inflection, emotion, and even the ability to inject some realistic-sounding laughter as needed.

And with that, someone has created a new mod using ElevenLabs AI to add realistic voice to the thousands of dialogue options in Skyrim by your character. Modding in Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been thriving for years, with texture mods, new questlines, weapons, and even bug fixes. As per the title, the Dragonborn Voice Over Mod (via NexusMods) by Matthew May adds voice to the dialogue choices you select when interacting with NPCs - something that has been a traditionally silent affair in RPGs.

Limited to the English version of the game, the mod can generate all of the dialogue using a Voice Pack of your choice. The creator has uploaded a video of it in action using a female voice (as above), and the results are impressive. It certainly sounds realistic, and even Elder Scrolls' names like 'Talos' come across as accurate.

Sony's latest PlayStation Plus additions should bring lots of engagement for the service, and possibly a bunch of new sign-ups too.

Sony's new PlayStation Plus games lineup is almost too good to be true. We're seeing Sony really capitalize on its value-oriented service by...well...adding tremendous value to what's offered. Sony is following in Microsoft's footsteps by including major first-party games in PlayStation Plus...and newer games at that.

The big new PS Plus headliner is Horizon Forbidden West, which was released about a year ago. Sony is demonstrating surprising patterns with its first-party games by adding them to both the PS Plus subscription service and to PC about 1-2 years after launch. We've seen other PS5 exclusives like Returnal cross over to both subscription and PC.

Hogwarts Legacy fans have a new update to try, but only if they aren't playing on the PS5. The new update is the first big one since the game was released, but Warner Bros Games and Avalanche say that the PS5 version will have to wait for its own update.

The Hogwarts Legacy game has proven hugely popular since it went on sale earlier in February, and while it's been a good release in terms of a lack of huge showstopping bugs for most, it hasn't been flawless. This new update is supposed to deal with bugs and performance issues, but PS5 owners will have to wait for their own patch it seems.

Gamers who are playing on Xbox Series X and PC can download the new Hogwarts Legacy patch now. But the people behind the game say that the PS5 version needs a little more time to bake due to some extra work that is needed. We're told that the PS5 patch has a current release target of later this week, with one bug in particular relating to the Collector's Edition trophy.

Sony will expand the PlayStation 5's peripheral lineup with two new audio accessories, including a set of higher-end earbuds.

Sony has released a number of premium PS5 products over the last 3 years, including the $99 Pulse 3D wireless headphones and a fleet of higher-end audio headsets and monitors in its new INZONE gaming brand. Now sources have told Insider Gaming that the peripheral push will continue with two audio devices specifically designed for the PS5.

The first is set of wireless headphones codenamed Nomad. These are said to be a premium grade set of wireless Bluetooth earbuds, complete with long-lasting 5-hour battery life and firmware updates that could unlock new features and optimize the earbuds. It's worth noting that the PS5 currently does not support non-Sony branded Bluetooth headphones--I tried hooking up a pair of cheaper eBay earbuds and the PS5 gave me an error message.

Microsoft is prepared to face off against Sony and defend its merger proposal during a closed-door hearing with European regulators.

Microsoft, Activision, and Sony are expected to attend a hearing with European Commission regulators next week, February 21 to discuss the biggest gaming merger of all time, sources tell the Policy and Regulatory Report (thanks, Foss Patents). This hearing will not be public and may be the last opportunity that interested parties have to address European regulators ahead of the merger's set decision deadline of April 11, 2023.

The hearing could be a fiery one. Microsoft is expected to fend off Sony's complaints while also defending the merger proposal against any and all claims of anti-competitive harm. European Commission regulators have issued a Statement of Objections on the Microsoft-Activision merger that outlines the regulator's concerns and worries about the combination. This filing gives Microsoft an idea of what points to concentrate on with its defense and will also help guide what kinds of remedies and concessions that may be offered during the proceedings.

Hogwarts Legacy debuted on Steam on February 13, and since then, the wizarding title has attracted the attention of more than 800,000 players.

According to data provided by Steam Charts, Avalanche Studios and Warner Bros' Hogwarts Legacy has taken the top four spots on Steam's Top Selling list, with each of the spots being different versions of the game. How is this possible? Valve measures its titles sales individually but separates the Standard Edition from the Deluxe Edition and then further separates pre-orders from purchases made after the title was released.

Since the metrics are broken down in this fashion, Hogwarts Legacy is currently occupying all four top slots, beating the likes of the Steam Deck and the popular remake of the survival horror game Dead Space. At the moment, Hogwarts Legacy is currently available on PC and current-gen consoles. Previous-gen consoles such as the PS4 and Xbox One are expected to get Hogwarts Legacy sometime in April 2023. Nintendo Switch users will have to wait a little bit longer, with the release date set for July 2023.

Microsoft tells UK regulators at the Competition and Markets Authority that its Game Pass service can actually reduce full game sales of titles offered on the subscription.

Microsoft has apparently confirmed what we've thought for a while: Subscription access can interfere with game sales. The CMA's provisional report finds that Game Pass actually cannibalizes sales of premium games to such a consistent and repeatable degree that Microsoft has an average percentage margin for the sales decreases.

The exact information has been redacted, but Microsoft's submitted data revealed a "__% decline in base game sales" a year after the title was added to Game Pass. This means that a game is expected to sell less copies once it's made available on Game Pass, and this effect can last for a year.

The Nintendo Switch platform of hardware, software, and services has generated nearly $67 billion in lifetime revenue, Nintendo's latest Q3 financial report indicates.

Over the holidays, Nintendo generated $4.68 billion from the Switch ecosystem of products, content, and services. These earnings were down nearly 20% year-over-year, driven by proportionally lower game sales and Switch hardware shipments. Nintendo's Q3 performance was far from bad but it was notably lower than last year's holiday earnings.

We've seen Nintendo reveal full Switch shipments and software sales, but how much has the handheld-console hybrid platform generated since it released in March 2017? We went back to chart historical Switch platform revenues and converted from yen to USD based on Nintendo's provided foreign exchange rates. The results have revealed some of the most interesting bits of data from Nintendo's figures.

From the PS1 to the PS5, PlayStation's total lifetime software sales should break 6 billion by mid-2023, our findings indicate.

Sony's video games division is set to break a staggering milestone in 2023. The company is expected to pass the 6 billion cumulative game sales mark by the end of Q1 FY23, or June 30, 2023. Sony data shows that historical PlayStation game sales are currently at 5.913 billion as of the Q3 holiday period.

This figure combines all PlayStation platform software sales data that Sony has provided. Interestingly enough, the PlayStation Vita's software sales are not published. It's possible that PlayStation has already sold more than 6 billion games depending on the Vita's performance.

Sony's PlayStation division saw significant player growth through the gaming segment's stellar holiday Q3 period.

MAUs, or monthly active users, is one of the most important metrics for the games industry. PlayStation, Nintendo, Xbox, and a myriad of game devs and publishers rely on this data to determine the overall health of a platform, whether it be subscription-based like Game Pass or even World of Warcraft or on a more general F2P level like Fortnite and Warzone. MAUs are an extremely useful tool that instantly quantifies the popularity of a platform, which in turn affects engagement and spending.

Back in Q2 (July - September 2022), Sony saw a decline in PlayStation users as MAUs dropped to 102 million, which punctuated a sequential userbase decline from Q3 2021 onward. The games division saw a dramatic reversal in Q3 2022 where it reported its best-ever holiday earnings of $8.8 billion. Several other important milestones accompanied this historic earnings surge, including marked growth in PlayStation monthly active users.

Sony has re-captured enough users to stabilize PlayStation Plus after losing nearly 2 million subscribers in the Q2 period.

PlayStation Plus has bounced back. Sony just reported its best-ever Q3 period in the history of PlayStation with $8.8 billion revenues generated during the holiday 2022 period, and PS Plus numbers also surged by 1 million subscribers during the expansion point.

Sony has yet to recoup all of the 1.9 million PS Plus subscribers that it had lost throughout Q2, but did manage to pull in 1 million subscribers to push PlayStation Plus' total count to 46.4 million. These are hardly record numbers for the service--the current high for PS Plus was set in Q3 FY2020 with an all-time high of 47.6 million subscribers--but the quarter-over-quarter growth is quite important for Sony's long-term digital earnings.

How did gaming's Big 3 (PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo) fit into global video games market in 2022? We've calculated market share estimates using estimates from analysts and official figures from the companies themselves.

According to our estimates, gaming's Big 3 platform-holders saw slight year-over-year fluctuations in market share positioning throughout 2022. Using a combination of Newzoo's 2022 global video games market data and quarterly financial reports filed by Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, we're able to weigh each company's calendar year performance against the backdrop of worldwide games market earnings. The results show a year-over-year decline in overall market revenues and individual company earnings.

Before we go into the numbers let's take a quick look at our basic methodology. Newzoo's market report estimates that the worldwide video games industry generated $184.4 billion throughout 2022, representing an $8.3 billion (-4.3%) decrease from 2021. To determine how Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo fit into the market, we've simply added up the appropriate quarters for each company to deliver total-year earnings and divided those against Newzoo's estimates.

Krafton opens a new game development studio in Montreal, Canada that will aim to do for a popular South Korean fantasy series what CD Projekt RED did with The Witcher.

Following its foray into the horror genre with The Callisto Protocol, PUBG parent company Krafton is now expanding even farther into the fantasy realm. The company is opening up a new studio in Canada called Krafton Montreal that is working on a rather intriguing project based on a unique fantasy world.

Krafton Montreal's first game will be based on the popular web series The Bird That Drinks Tears by South Korean author Lee Yeongdo. The devs have released early concept art for the game that highlights the fantasy series' myriad of mythical races including naga snake-people, giant birds (winner winner chicken dinner), goblins, and humans. The art also showcases enchanting locales from the four-book series.