Gaming News - Page 42

Walmart has reportedly been ordered by game suppliers to dispose of and/or destroy all physical disc copies of Starfield.

Starfield will reportedly be the initial first-party Xbox game to be removed from sale at retailers. According to a new employee memo, Walmart will begin taking down physical disc-based versions of Starfield from store shelves and removing the products from sale. The mass de-listing is reportedly at the behest of the game's suppliers, which in this case is Microsoft and/or Bethesda Softworks/ZeniMax Media.

The memo, which has been corroborated by deals maestro Wario64, says that the retailer aims to have all copies of Starfield removed from store shelves and processed by February 5.

Palworld, a third-person Pokemon-esque survival game, is the next mega-popular indie sensation to hit the market.

The highly anticipated crafting-survival adventure game Palworld just launched in early access on PC and Xbox, and it's already racking up huge numbers. The game has sold over 1 million copies in its first 8 hours of availability on Steam and Xbox Series X/S, and at $29.99 per purchase, developer Pocketpair has certainly achieved great success.

That record has since risen to 2 million copies sold in the first 24 hours. Everyone is taking notice, especially the likes of Nintendo and The Pokemon Company, both of which are probably very interested in this new "Pokemon with guns" hit.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth has made a controversial decision, it seems, when it comes to a feature that is normally free.

We're talking about the New Game+ mode, which is usually part and parcel of the core experience, and unlocked when you've completed the game for the first time.

However, with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (the franchise previously known as Yakuza), you only get the New Game+ option after completion if you've purchased the more expensive editions of the game.

Ara: History Untold is a grand strategy game in the vein of Civilization which does things rather differently, particularly when it comes to valuing the player's time.

Developed by Oxide Games and published by Microsoft, Ara: History Untold is set to release in the fall of 2024 on PC (and PC Game Pass), and it comes with some innovative ideas for the genre.

Firstly, there's that promise of not wasting your time, and Michelle Menard, Design Director at Oxide Games, explains how that works in a lengthy chat with Xbox Wire (hat tip to PC Gamer).

Farming Simulator 22 is the latest game to get AMD's FSR 3 frame generation tech to help with smoother frame rates.

It's a niche title, obviously, albeit one that's popular with its fans (online competitions, leagues and so on are built around this game, we should add). The addition of FSR 3 will go a long way towards smoother harvesting and hay bale stacking.

The feature comes with Farming Simulator 22 update version 1.13.1.1, and naturally requires an AMD (or NVIDIA) graphics card that supports FSR 3. RX 5000 GPUs are included, but it's recommended to have an RX 6000 or 7000 model. (For NVIDIA, RTX 2000 works, although RTX 3000 and 4000 GPUs are recommended).

We all love an underdog story (don't we?), so how about this one: an indie developer that's actually a lone programmer whose game is almost at the top of Steam's most-wanted rankings.

Manor Lords is in second place on Steam's wishlist rankings, which is a more than remarkable achievement against truly heavyweight competition as you might imagine.

The game from developer Slavic Magic (otherwise known as Greg Styczeń) is a city builder with a medieval theme and an in-depth economic and social engine, with large tactical battles thrown in to spice up the pot.

Obsidian has updated release timing for its narrative-driven new fantasy RPG Avowed.

Avowed is set to launch sometime in Fall 2024 as a full premium game on Xbox Series X/S on PC, and with a day-and-date launch on Xbox Game Pass. Obsidian announced the date in today's Developer Direct 2024 showcase, where the studio also talked briefly about combat and promised gamers will face some tough decisions with quests.

The new fantasy RPG takes place in the Pillars of Eternity universe, and will leverage the lore, myth, magic, and overall legacy from that series. Avowed will also make use of Obsidian's penchant for engaging, impactful, and consequential storytelling; the studio says players will go against "difficult decisions with profound consequences."

The new Indiana Jones game apparently will not release on PlayStation consoles at launch--if ever.

Today, MachineGames and Bethesda revealed their new Indiana Jones and the Great Circle game. The project stars Harrison Ford, and takes players on a swashbuckling first-person adventure set between Raiders and The Last Crusade. Predictably, it looks like the Great Circle is exclusive to Xbox and PC and will not release on PlayStation (at least at launch).

While the Xbox YouTube channel will often upload trailers that exclude competing platforms, a game's full platform availability can typically be found on the developer/publisher's channel. Bethesda Softworks has published a trailer for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle that omits PlayStation as a launch platform--only Xbox Series X/S consoles, Game Pass, and Steam are listed (it's likely coming to the Microsoft PC store, though too).

Xbox's new Indiana Jones game will use Harrison Ford's likeness, and MachineGames reveals tons of new information about its new Indy project.

MachineGames has officially revealed Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, a new action-adventure game with a first-person view. Harrison Ford has signed on to lend his iconic face to the project, complete with his signature hat, adventurer's coat, and legendary whip. Ford looks like he just jumped off the big screen and right into the game.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will come to Xbox, PC, and Game Pass in 2024, the studio has announced.

Video game subscription services such as Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus account for roughly 10% of annual spending in the United States.

Ubisoft's recent comments on subscription have sparked industry-wide discussions about services. Swen Vincke, the CEO of Baldur's Gate 3 dev Larian, warned gamers that content could suffer if subscriptions became the dominant platform.

Luckily for consumers, this won't happen any time soon. According to Circana executive director and analyst Mat Piscatella, subscription services aren't a major spending point for consumers in the United States.