Gaming - Page 441

Gamers really don't like Ubisoft's new Ghost Recon Frontline battle royale.

Ghost Recon Frontline is the latest of Ubisoft's new free-to-play initiative. The game is a 100-player+ battle royale that's clearly meant to take on Warzone, complete with classes, a huge evolving and dynamic map, and lots of "tactical opportunities." There's just one issue: Gamers apparently don't want it.

The game's first impression hasn't been a good one in the eyes of the community, and Ghost Recon Frontline's reveal trailer has a staggering 83% dislike ratio with 5K dislikes against 1K likes. This is somewhat reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto V E&E's disastrous ratio on YouTube (248K dislikes vs 31K likes).

The Battlefield 2042 beta looks pretty decent on massively outdated Xbox One hardware.

DICE and EA have made good on their promise to make Battlefield 2042 look great on on all platforms. The early access beta goes live tomorrow, October 6 at 3A EST on current- and next-gen consoles and PC. Last-gen Xbox One and PS4 gamers are worried about how the game will look and perform on older hardware, but according to a newly-leaked first-look screenshot from Tom Henderson, BF2042 looks pretty decent on the Xbox One's outdated Radeon 7790-esque GPU.

That being said, last-gen versions of Battlefield 2042 have some restrictions including being locked to 32v32 multiplayer (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC have 64v64 chaos for 128-player multiplayer) and expect overall performance drops in both resolution and frame rate. While DICE hasn't explicitly confirmed FPS or res targets for BF2042 on PS4 and Xbox One, we might see something like 1080p 30FPS+ or closer to 60FPS with dynamic resolution scaling. PS4 and Xbox One family hardware also won't enjoy faster loading times (they're still using HDDs, not SSDs).

UPDATE: Twitch has officially confirmed the data breach has taken place:

Twitch.tv has been cracked wide open and 128GB of source code, encrypted passwords, and other sensitive data has been leaked and uploaded to the internet.

Twitch has been severely compromised and all of its secrets have now been made public. Amazon's billion-dollar streaming service has been hacked and full data repositories have been uploaded and distributed via Torrents. Links to the data have been spotted on online message boards like 4Chan, where it has been dissected across various corners of the internet.

Battlefield 2042 is a little bit closer with the official Open Beta about to unleash, and now we have some early performance numbers that show that Battlefield 2042 Open Beta isn't very well optimized on the PC.

NVIDIA's previous-gen flagship Turing-based GeForce RTX 2080 Ti graphics card is only managing around 80-90FPS average at 1080p on Recommended settings in the Battlefield 2042 Open Beta, which isn't too good at all.

EA DICE recommends a GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card for its recommended PC specs, but a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is much more powerful, and yet only runs 1080p 80-90FPS average. This means on something like the RTX 3060, RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 3070 will see around 1080p 60FPS in the Battlefield 2042 Open Beta.

Can you believe we're actually here? EA DICE has just unleashed the pre-loading floodgates to Battlefield 2042, with the Battlefield 2042 Open Beta pre-loading beginning across all platforms worldwide.

Battlefield 2042 Open Beta pre-load is now live on Steam, Origin, PS5/PS4 and Xbox Series SX/S consoles. But if you are a PC gamer on Steam for example, then going to Battlefield 2042 in your library does nothing. You'll need to do a few more steps in order to get the Battlefield 2042 Open Beta pre-load to begin downloading.

Battlefield leaker Tom Henderson has some great tips that he posted on Twitter, running everyone through how to pre-load the Battlefield 2042 Open Beta. It's not too hard, with just a few steps required for each platform to get started.

Sony's new PlayStation Now lineup is headlined by first-party exclusive The Last of Us Part II alongside a number of new titles.

Gamers can now try The Last of Us Part II via Sony's game-streaming PS Now servers without any downloads or wait times. Naughty Dog's controversial and widely-praised PS4 game will be available on the service until January 2022, and is joined by a few other heavy-hitters like Fallout 76 and Final Fantasy VIII Remastered.

These games are pretty time-consuming and Sony's aim is simple: Longer games typically mean longer playthroughs and a better chance in subscriber retention. Right now Sony's PS Now service is being pressured by Microsoft's Project xCloud initiative, which offers an expansive offering of high-profile games available for streaming free as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Like Dark Souls, Sekiro, and Bloodborne, FromSoftware says Elden Ring will be "very difficult" and gamers will have "high sense of accomplishment" when they beat bosses and progress throughout the open-ended Lands Between.

Elden Ring is FromSoft's most ambitious game yet, featuring horseback riding, a huge fantasy realm full of monsters, loot, and seamless dungeons, and a wider class-based system with four-player co-op. There's one thing that remains consistent, though: Grueling and punishing gameplay. In a recent interview with Famitsu at the Tokyo Game Show, FromSoft's marketing guru Yasuhiro Kitao warns players to expect pain.

"It will be very difficult," Kitao said. "We want players to feel a sense of accomplishment, and one of the ways to achieve this is to set a high difficulty level."

Thanks to Kraken's compression tech, Alan Wake Remastered is half as big on PS5 as it is on PS4.

Some cross-gen games are smaller on PS5 than they are on PS4--Avengers, Hitman 3, Control Ultimate Edition--and Remedy's new Alan Wake Remastered is no exception. The game's install size is roughly 28GB on PS5 versus 57GB on PS4, which is a reduction of nearly 50%. The PS5 version includes 4K textures and all the hardware-based optimizations intact.

The significant shrink is all thanks to the PS5's utilization of RAD Game Tools' powerful Oodle Kraken compression technology, which is also now owned by Epic Games--the same billion-dollar company who's publishing Alan Wake Remastered on PS5 and PC.

Netherrealm boss Ed Boon will attend this year's DC Fandome event on October 16, and based on recent leaks, he could tease a new Injustice sequel.

Warner Bros. just revealed a star-studded schedule for DC Fandome 2021, including big names like Jason Mamoa, Kaley Cuoco, JJ Abrams, and The Rock. Among these names was Ed Boon, who leads the studio responsible for mega-hits like Mortal Kombat and Injustice.

While it's entirely possible Boon's appearance doesn't mean a new game reveal--last year he was part of a panel discussing how the Injustice games were made--there's more credence the possibility now more than ever. A recent GeForce Now database leak listed Injustice 3: Gods Will Fall as part of its catalog. Netherealm has also been hiring for multiple projects that should include a new Mortal Kombat and Injustice game. We believe that Mortal Kombat 12 will come first but we could get some sort of indication, confirmation, or teaser trailer for the next Injustice at the event.

Konami has enlisted Virtuos to lead development of a Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater remake, sources tell Video Game Chronicle.

Virtuos, a Singapore-based game developer mostly known for excellent ports of games like The Outer Worlds and Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD, is currently making a MGS3 remake. Contrary to popular belief, Sony's newly-acquired Bluepoint apparently isn't working on Metal Gear.

The project is in early phases of development and underlines Konami's reinvigorated focus on premium AAA releases, which is something the company outlined in 2019:

Some of gaming's top companies will discuss the industry's next evolution--the mysterious metaverse.

The metaverse is hailed as the future of video games. It's a somewhat-confusing concept centered around a kind of total immersion where all of gaming's current facets combine into one multi-dimensional experience: social interactions, online multiplayer, digital avatars, advertising, etc. So far no one can aptly describe or really explain the metaverse (outside of essayists like Matthew Ball) because it hasn't necessarily been established by any games-makers yet. The closest thing we have right now are titles like Fortnite, which has become a huge interactive advertising billboard and melting pot for media's biggest properties, and Roblox, which has a distinct meta-realm focus by hosting a platform of player-created experiences.

This could change as more game developers start talking openly about the metaverse. NVIDIA's GTC 2021 showcase will be a stage where one such talk will take place. The GTC '21 program schedule confirms big players like Epic Games and Roblox will attend a panel discussing the metaverse.

Capcom reiterates its strong emphasis on PC games, promises to continue simultaneously launching games on consoles and PC.

In a recent interview with Nikkei, Capcom's Chief Operating Officer Haruhiro Tsujimoto underlines how important PC gaming is for the company by saying it wants PC and console gaming to eventually hit a 50:50 even split. Tsujimoto reaffirms Capcom's commitment to both simultaneous and staggered PC releases of hit games, and strongly hints that pretty much all games moving forward will release on PC at some point (the most recent example is Monster Hunter Rise, which is scheduled to launch in January 2022).

Capcom has been investing heavily into PC gaming for a while now. There's a big reason for this: PC gaming is basically all-digital, and Capcom wants to reduce its spending while maximizing revenues. Digital gaming is the best way to do this. There's also the added bonus of instant distribution via downloads. The plan is paying off big: Capcom has had multiple years of record operating revenues because of its focus on digital gaming. For emphasis, Capcom sold 20.5 million digital games in 2020; in 2021 it hopes to push that number to a record-breaking 23.5 million.

Final Fantasy 16's development is going according to plan, game director Naoki Yoshida says.

Tons of games are getting delayed but Final Fantasy 16 may not be one of them. In a recent Tokyo Game Show stream, Final Fantasy 16 director Yoshi-P confirms the main storyline (what Square Enix refers to as the "main scenario") has been completed and finished. Right now the team is finalizing character models using motion-captured animations, which is one of the most time-consuming parts of any game. Yoshida-san reassures fans that FF16's dev team is currently polishing the core experience but there's still no release date just yet.

Yoshi-P also hints that Final Fantasy 16 has been in the works for some time. The RPG has a medieval-style scope that sees the franchise returning to its roots, complete with modernized hack-and-slash action combat reminiscent of Final Fantasy 15's energetic fighting sequences.

Illfonic might be making a new multiplayer game based on the Ghostbusters franchise, possibly to coincide with the new film debuting in November.

Illfonic, the devs behind Friday the 13th: The Game and Predator: Hunting Grounds is apparently developing a new Ghostbusters game. The news comes from studio co-founder Raphael Saadiq who might've let an announcement slip out ahead of an official reveal.

"Friday the 13th is out there and Predator and we're working on Ghostbusters right now," Saadiq said in a recent podcast with musician Questlove.

Hideo Kojima is leading a new Silent Hill game with PlayStation footing the bill, sources tell Gematsu.

Hideo Kojima and Konami have reportedly set aside their differences and gotten over their contentious 2015 breakup, and are currently on talking terms. According to VGC, Konami and Kojima are communicating but aren't bedfellows just yet--e.g. they may not be working together.

Now sources tell Gematsu this isn't the case. The games outlet has heard Kojima Productions is making a new Silent Hill game with Sony Interactive Entertainment producing and funding the project.

If you've been binge-watching Ted Lasso and wanted to get into the world of football more, then I would hesitate in buying Konami's just-launched eFootball. The game is so bad that the developer has pretty much apologized for it:

Not only that, but according to steam250.com we have eFootball being the worst-rated Steam game in history. The game has a myriad of issues from blurry graphics to pathetic animations, with the developer moving from Fox Engine -- the graphics engine that powered Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes, over to Unreal Engine 4.

This hasn't helped them it seemed, I'm sure the screenshots below will show you exactly what you need to see. Embarrassing for Konami, especially in the tail end of 2021 and with next-gen Microsoft Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 consoles now in the hands of millions of gamers across the world.

Hideo Kojima and Konami are currently on talking terms and no longer at odds with one another, sources tell VGC's Andy Robinson.

Back in 2015, Konami cancelled Silent Hills, fired Hideo Kojima, and removed Kojima's name from Metal Gear Solid V. Kojima found a new home with Kojima Productions and went on to make Death Stranding with Sony's help. Now six years later the dust has settled--and so has the bitter breakup.

According to VGC, who has talked with members of Konami Japan, Hideo Kojima and Konami have somewhat set aside their differences and are on agreeable terms. This however doesn't mean Kojima is working on a Konami game. It's said a high-profile Japanese game developer is working on a new Silent Hill project, and it's true Kojima does want to make a new horror game, but VGC was careful to say that they are not currently bedfellows--.e.g working on projects together.

The PlayStation 5's first 8K 60FPS game is here...but it's not what you expect.

The first-ever native 8K PS5 game isn't made by the wizards at Sony's first-party studios like Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, or Sucker Punch. No, the first 8K 60FPS PS5 game is a voxel-based indie game called The Touryst, which was previously released on the Switch and Xbox systems.

According to Eurogamer, the Touryst renders at a native 7680x4320 resolution. There's just one catch: The PS5 currently does not support 8K resolution output (Sony confirms 8K support is coming with a firmware patch). The developers at Shin'en have the game rendering in-engine at 8K and then downsampling the image to 4K (interesting footnote: The Touryst on Series X also downsamples, but only from 6K resolution, not 8K).

Square Enix has a branch of its Eidos studio working on experimental technologies like machine learning, AI, and cloud gaming.

While scouting NVIDIA's GTC 2021 schedule I noticed a panel from a Square Enix studio I hadn't heard about before: Eidos-Sherbrooke. It turns out this particular studio isn't making games. It's an R&D division focused on new latent tech like AI, ML and cloud that will theoretically power the future of the games industry.

Eidos-Sherbrooke was established in June 2020 and has a number of interesting projects in development. The studio is looking at using wide cloud networks for voxel-based raytracing, using AI and ML to help create interesting and innovative content. Platforms like Stadia, xCloud, Luna, and PlayStation now offer access, but Square Enix wants to serve up content.

Xbox console shortages are expected to last into next year as supply issues constrain assembly, shipment, and availability of games hardware.

During TheGrill 2021, Xbox's Phil Spencer says Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles will be limited through 2022 as pandemic-levels of consumer demand continue outstripping supply.

Supply complications aren't limited to just any one problem, however, and it's not just a matter of scarce SoCs or chips; the entire supply chain has been disrupted on multiple levels. Spencer says Xbox hardware production isn't just restricted by a chip issue and mentions there are "multiple pinch points" in the process.