Gaming - Page 471

Elden Ring is a FromSoftware game untethered by previous restrictions, featuring open-world exploration, tons of character builds, and bizarre high fantasy dynamism.

Following Elden Ring's official release date announcement, Bandai Namco confirms a bunch of new details about the game. The publisher is calling Elden Ring a "grand fantasy action-RPG" with a scope never before seen in a FromSoftware title. This is the biggest game the Dark Souls devs have ever made, and is a total evolution of the legendary hack-and-slash series.

Below we've cataloged everything we know about the game so far, including setting, scope, game mechanics and features, bosses, lore, and more.

Splinter Cell is coming back...but not as a new game.

Today Netflix announced a bunch of new shows based on video games. Ubisoft and Netflix are teaming up to make a new Splinter Cell animated series, as well as two new animated shows based on Far Cry. Here's some details:

Adi Shankar shared more details about Captain Laserhawk on Twitter, confirming it'll be a "cyberpunk dystopia set in 1992."

The Outer Worlds 2 will be revealed during Microsoft's Xbox showcase this Sunday, well-known leaker Practicalbrush12 has said.

A sequel to Obsidian's popular new sci-fi RPG/FPS should be announced during the Xbox E3 conference. While no details have been confirmed or announced, we did receive official word that Microsoft has taken over publishing of The Outer Worlds and Private Division won't be involved with future iterations.

"Private Division is still supporting and marketing The Outer Worlds, including the upcoming release of Murder on Eridanos DLC on Nintendo Switch. Moving forward, Obsidian and Microsoft will be publishing future iterations in the franchise, and we're absolutely thrilled to see where they take it," a Private Division representative told TweakTown.

Death Stranding has proven that reality is catching up with fiction at a quicker pace. That's why Hideo Kojima is completely overhauling his creative process.

Hideo Kojima proved to be eerily prophetic with his latest game Death Stranding. The in-game world is riven by disease, isolation, and despair, much like the real-world in 2020. It's believed the game loosely predicted the COVID-19 pandemic and global stay-at-home measures that kept millions indoors for over a year.

Now Kojima says he's changing his creative process, and a big reason is because of how unsettlingly fast these predictions came to fruition.

Shadow Warrior 3 developer Flying Wild Hog is working on four new projects right now, and the next one will be revealed at Devolver Digital's E3 showcase.

Devolver Digital recently detailed its E3 plans, confirming five new game reveals from studios like Galvanic Games, Doinksoft, and Flying Wild Hog. That last one is particularly interesting. We know Flying Wild Hog has expanded its workforce to 300 developers and that it's currently developing four projects:

"The company's bold new vision for monetization as a service promises five new game reveals from developers including Flying Wild Hog, Galvanic Games, and Doinksoft as well as release date announcements for Phantom Abyss and Death's Door,"reads a press release.

Microsoft reiterates that Xbox consoles aren't going anywhere, and gaming exec Liz Hamren re-confirms that new Xbox hardware is currently in development.

Today Microsoft announced a new plan that goes beyond console gaming. Xbox gaming will soon be possible in the living room without any hardware. The company plans to release special Xbox streaming sticks and include Xbox Game Pass Ultimate as a native app within smart TVs. Project xCloud servers will stream games from the Game Pass catalog directly to TV sets. So what's next for hardware? Microsoft once again says this move won't threaten dedicated consoles.

In a recent press briefing CVP of Gaming Experiences & Platforms Liz Hamren says Microsoft is already plotting on new next-gen Xbox console hardware. Just don't expect it any time soon.

Microsoft today confirmed it plans to significantly accelerate the release timing for its first-party Xbox exclusives.

For a long time, Microsoft has faced criticism for its comparative lack of first-party exclusives. That's about to change. The company wants to release a new first-party game every quarter. That's four new first-party games on Game Pass every year.

"With more than 23 studios worldwide creating games for Xbox, our goal is to release at least one new, first party game into Game Pass every quarter," Microsoft announced.

Hackers have infiltrated EA's servers and stolen lots of sensitive data including game files, sources tell Vice's Waypoint.

EA's company severs have been infiltrated and hackers have stolen 780GB of files, data, tools, and source code for games like FIFA 21. The hackers also took code for EA's Frostbite engine, which is used internally to create most of its billion-dollar games. A next-gen iteration of the engine is being used to create new high-end games like Battlefield 2042, Dragon Age 4, and new annualized sports games in the FIFA and Madden series.

Frostbite is one of the company's most important assets and EA has invested billions into the engine over the years. EA regularly spends hundreds of millions on research and development every year to help further the engine's functionality and power. In FY2021, EA spent a record $1.7 billion on R&D.

Bandai Namco has slapped a surprising release date on its new open-world Souls-like Elden Ring--the game is coming January 2022. Yes, really.

Elden Ring will release January 21, 2022 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and PS4 and Xbox One, Bandai Namco announced at the Summer Game Fest. The action RPG is a big departure from previous FromSoftware games, featuring a more open-world environment complete with horseback traversal and emphasis on exploration.

Elden Ring is being co-written by famed A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin, and the new trailer clearly has shades of Martin's previous work. There's talk of "tarnished," a designation given to the protagonist who is possibly cursed. Cryptic lore threads are seen and heard throughout the trailer, blended with bizarre character designs, striking atmospheric visuals, and towering ancient castles.

Death Stranding is coming to Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 with optimizations and extended content, Hideo Kojima today announced

Hideo Kojima joined Geoff Keighley during the Summer Game Fest live stream to announce Death Stranding's director's cut, a new lengthy version of the game that's optimized for Sony's PS5, and the teaser showed Sam Porter Bridges hiding in a box just like Metal Gear Solid's Snake. There's no official info on when the game is coming or what exactly is included, but expect next-gen upgrades including higher resolution textures, better frame rates, and ultra-fast loading with the PS5's PCIe 4.0 SSD.

Here's what Kojima said about his next game: "I have to think about what's going to happen in the future. If it as something like an alien coming, it wouldn't matter. I always want to put societal elements as a base into the game, to introduce the player to what's happening and maybe they'll think about it."

Battlefield 2042 is releasing on both current- and next-gen consoles, but the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S version will be $69.99.

Despite being multiplayer-only, EA will sell Battlefield 2042 at the new premium price on next-gen consoles. The campaign-less shooter will cost $69.99 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, but the PS4 and Xbox One version will retain the standard $59.99 MSRP.

It's implied the cost hike is justified by exclusive next-gen console features like 128-player Conquest battles, improved fidelity and frame rates, and other CPU and GPU intensive in-engine physics effects. The PC version also costs $59.99 on Steam.

GameStop has appointed two seasoned Amazon executives to help lead its digital e-commerce transformation.

GameStop has found a new CEO to replace its long-running leader George Sherman. The company announced that ex-Amazon executive Matt Furlong will take over as GameStop CEO in June. During his 8-year tenure at Amazon, Furlong led the e-giant's operations in Australia and also served two years as a technical advisor for Amazon's North American consumer business. Furlong is well-versed in digital retail.

17-year Amazon finance expert Mike Recupero has also been appointed as GameStop's CFO. Recupero has been involved in eight different finance roles at Amazon ranging from VP of Finance and CFO of European business to CFO of Amazon's mighty North American sector.

GameStop is slowly transforming towards being a profitable company and has made significant reductions in losses and debt in 2021.

GameStop ($GME) just announced its earnings for the 13-week period ending May 1, 2021, and the results show significant progress towards profitability. The company has reduced its debt by 91% and its net losses by 59%.

As of May 2021, GameStop owes $48.1 million in total short- and long-term debts, down 91% year-over-year. GameStop owed a whopping $552 million in debt in May 2020. The current debt is part of the company's French term loans, which GameStop says can be extended and adjusted over time. The retailer was able to wipe out its long-term debts with a successful 3.5 million share offering. GameStop earned $551.7 million from the stock issue and it used that money to pay back over $330 million in borrowings and senior debt notes.

Microsoft is teaming up with TV makers to bring Xbox Game Pass as a built-in app to smart televisions.

Consumers will soon be able to play Xbox games in their living room without owning any gaming hardware. Microsoft today announced an ambitious plan to expand Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to smart TVs as a native application. Certain TVs will ship with the app pre-installed and users will be able to wirelessly stream games over Project xCloud servers.

"Xbox is working with global TV manufacturers to embed the Xbox experience directly into internet-connected televisions with no extra hardware required except a controller," the company announced.

GameStop lists Microsoft Flight Simulator's console port for a June 15 release.

It looks like Microsoft Flight Sim will be soaring over to Xbox Series X/S consoles on June 15, which is two days after the Xbox E3 briefing. Although it's a next-gen exclusive, the GameStop storefront page says Flight Sim will cost $59.99 instead of the new $69.99 premium assigned to next-gen titles. Microsoft has confirmed Flight Sim will not release on Xbox One due to the game's high CPU and GPU demands.

Microsoft announced Flight Sim for new Xbox consoles way back in December 2020, and we should expect the game to show up in a big way at the Xbox media briefing on Sunday, June 13 at 10AM PST / 1PM EST.

Activision plans to reveal this year's Call of Duty with a special Warzone event, sources tell Video Games Chronicle.

Activision will one again announce a mainline Call of Duty shooter within its billion-dollar F2P game Warzone. This year the reveal will shed light on Call of Duty Vanguard, a new World War II-based FPS from Sledgehammer Games. Sources tell VGC that Vanguard will feature both multiplayer, campaign, and zombies, and will bring the biggest Warzone update to date.

This time around the new Call of Duty will release alongside its integrated Warzone tie-in. When Vanguard launches this holiday on current- and next-gen consoles and PC, it'll also bring the huge WWII-themed Warzone update. Sources say the new WWII map will be the massive--much larger than Verdansk--and is set in the Pacific Theater.

Crossplay is finally coming to Overwatch, but Blizzard says the process won't be super straightforward.

Today Blizzard confirmed Overwatch is getting cross-play between PC and consoles. There's a few trade-offs, though. Cross-progression won't be available at launch, so all your unlocks and content won't carry over between platforms. PC players also can't turn off cross-play, and competitive modes won't support the feature.

Here's a few details from Game Director Aaron Keller:

Battlefield 2042 is multiplayer-only and won't have a traditional campaign, but that doesn't mean the game won't tell a story.

It's official: Battlefield 2042 won't have a singleplayer campaign. Instead, DICE and EA are focusing exclusively on multiplayer, which includes a huge new 128-player Conquest mode.

While the game doesn't have a campaign, DICE still has a story to tell. Only this time DICE will spin their sci-fi tale exclusively through multiplayer live services. The delivery method will be the battle pass scheme: Battlefield 2042 will have four free and paid battle passes that release in the game's first year. These passes will include content like new specialists, weapons, and more.

The rumors were right: DICE LA is helping with Battlefield 2042, but the studio isn't making a battle royale mode.

Today DICE and EA announced Battlefield 2042, a new multiplayer-only shooter with three parts: 128-player chaos in Conquest and Breakthrough, the new Hazard Zone gametype that flexes the next-gen Frostbite engine with world-destroying weather effects, and a new surprise mode that may be Battlefield's unique answer to Warzone.

According to press materials, the new mystery mode is being developed by DICE L.A. We knew the studio was working on Battlefield 2042. Right now Respawn boss Vince Zampella is leading DICE L.A., but the new mode won't be a battle royale.

Today EA announced Battlefield 2042 with an explosive cinematic trailer, confirming crazy world-destroying category 6 storms, a futuristic setting, multiplayer-only combat, and a crazy 128-player Conquest mode that's not coming to older consoles.

Battlefield 2042 is a cross-gen game but certain features won't be available on weaker console hardware. EA today confirmed Battlefield 2042's hugely ambitious 128-player Conquest mode (64v64) is exclusive to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Both PS4 and Xbox One will be limited to 32v32 action. And yes, the game does feature cross-gen multiplayer. Here's what EA said in a press release:

"128 players and massive-scale maps only available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation®5. Xbox One and PlayStation®4 are capped at 64 players and reduced map sizes.