Gaming - Page 476

Uncharted 4 is the next PlayStation console exclusive to make the jump to PC.

In a recent investors presentation, Sony Interactive Entertainment confirmed that Naughty Dog's Uncharted 4: A Thief's End will be the latest PlayStation game coming to PC. This follows a push to the platform that includes games like Horizon Zero Dawn and Days Gone. More games will follow, Sony says.

There's no word on the next titles coming to PC but it's possible more games could show up on the Epic Games Store at some point. Sony also affirms that PlayStation games arriving on PC has delivered a 250% return on investment, which should incentivize the company to bring many of its old-generation heavy-hitting PlayStation 4 games over to the platform.

Next-gen consoles remove constraints from previous generations, but resource balancing is always an issue. Unreal Engine 5 will reduce these demands with new features aimed at efficiency and flexibility.

With higher-end specs like 7nm+ AMD SoCs with Zen 2 CPUs and Navi 2X GPUs, 16GB unified GDDR6 RAM, PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles represent massive leaps over the PS4 and Xbox One. The new machines are much more capable of hitting native 4K 60FPS (and sometimes 4K 120FPS) in specific games. But not all games are made equal, and dynamic resolution scaling is still necessary in many next-gen titles.

Luckily Epic has developers covered. Unreal Engine 5, which is being used on console games from The Coalition and Ninja Theory, will feature upgraded anti-aliasing that's specifically designed to work with its new Nanite virtualized geometry tools.

Alien Isolation developer Creative Assembly has been working on a new online shooter since 2017, and now the devs share the first image of the game.

Creative Assembly's new FPS game is a turning point for the developer and for SEGA. Today the devs dropped a teaser image of the new game and said it would be "radically different" from other shooters. The image clearly hints at major crossovers of SEGA franchises and the shooter could be a metaverse that converges with major wholly-owned SEGA IPs.

We don't know specifics, but SEGA did outline key details about the project's scope: Apparently it's a "Super Game."

Epic shows off Unreal Engine 5 running in real-time on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X hardware.

Unreal Engine 5 made its debut running on PlayStation 5, and Sony since invested $450 million into Epic. Now we get our first look at the engine running on Microsoft's new Xbox Series X hardware. Today Epic showcased more details about Unreal Engine 5 and the big benefits it offers developers. The new engine is incredibly efficient, powerful, and versatile, and while the latest video is more so aimed at developers, it gives gamers a good idea of what to expect from new next-gen exclusives.

Big highlights from the presentation include:

Microsoft confirms its E3 2021 event showcase for Sunday, June 13, 2021 at 10AM PST / 1PM EST.

Today Microsoft officially announced its E3 2021 plans. The company will stream a big 90-minute presentation full of first-party games from Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda, new reveals, third-party titles, and other service/feature updates.

Halo Infinite will be the major headliner and the teaser image shows various skins from beloved Halo generations as well as a glimpse at a new rifle, possibly a Brute carbine. Starfield will also be at the show (look at the lower left corner of the image).

Ubisoft plans to premiere Far Cry 6 gameplay footage during a special pre-E3 event on Friday, May 28 at 9:30AM PST / 12:30PM EST.

Ubisoft hasn't talked much about Far Cry 6 after it was delayed, but that's about to change later this week. The publisher plans to showcase in-game footage of Far Cry 6 possibly running on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X hardware. The game's screenshots look decidedly next-gen, but Ubisoft also confirmed the game is coming to PS4 and Xbox One as well.

We actually know a fair bit about Far Cry 6. The game takes place in the tropical Carribbean island of Yara, which is ruled by a cruel dictator named Castillo. Players start a guerrilla uprising against the presidente and use all kinds of crazy makeshift weapons including the Tostador, a flamethrower made out of old mufflers, as well as a CD-shooting gun. Expect lots of exploration, Ubisoft-style open-world encounters, lots of quests, and engagement-driven activities like crafting, collection, and customization.

Like its major competitors EA, Activision, Take-Two and Ubisoft, Sony is also doubling-down on mobile gaming.

In a recent annual corporate meeting, Sony confirms it will make more mobile games based on PlayStation IP. The company wants to use mobile games to reach more users and grow its influence while also monetizing the smartphone gaming market. Sony has enjoyed big success in the mobile market with Fate/Grand Order, which has generated $4 billion in lifetime revenues.

Sony Group CEO Kenichiro Yoshida confirms more anime-based mobile games are on the way.

Sony Interactive Entertainment boss Jim Ryan will discuss the PlayStation hardware, software, and services ecosystem today at Sony's annual investors event.

At Sony IR Day 2021, all of Sony's top brass are conducting presentations on the current state of Sony Group's segments. SIE President Jim Ryan will deliver a talk on the PlayStation business on May 27, 8:10 am JST, which is May 26 at 7:10pm EST here in the United States. The schedule was just made live on the IR Day website page.

"At the IR Day, which will be held for two days starting tomorrow, the heads of each of our business segments will talk about the direction of their businesses," Sony President Kenichiro Yoshida said in a recent corporate annual report.

Sony today confirmed its experimental AI division is currently working alongside first-party PlayStation developers to push new advanced technologies in upcoming PS5 games.

In a recent annual corporate report, Sony Group discussed how its internal divisions are teaming up and synergizing with one another. Many of these branches are partnering with the Sony Interactive Entertainment games segment to push new experiences, whether it be TV and movie adaptations of PlayStation IPs via PlayStation Productions, or big new breakthroughs in games-making technology.

The report announces that first-party SIE game studios will benefit from advancements in the Sony AI division. The R&D branch is currently researching Machine Learning dynamics, more specifically Reinforcement Learning, which could ultimately lead to ultra-realistic NPCs and incredibly immersive environments.

We are so close to the new Battlefield that I can almost smell it, with EA's next-gen FPS nearly revealed, here's everything we know about the new Battlefield 6 aka Battlefield aka BATTLEFIELD.

The new Battlefield had some major leaks last week with purported screenshots from the upcoming Battlefield trailer, and then a video was dumped onto the internet but I'm not going to post it here for obvious reasons (and it's been taken down in multiple places at the time of writing).

So let's dive right into what we know so far based on what EA itself has said, Battlefield leaker Tom "one-man-marketing-team-for-Battlefield" Henderson, and everything in between.

Subscribers of Ubisoft's $14.99 a month on-demand PC gaming service will now get in-game freebies every month.

The new Ubisoft+ Rewards program will give out free in-game cosmetics, boosters, and items to active subscribers on PC. Gamers can choose what freebies they get in what game and the in-game freebies will compound the longer users stay subscribed. For example, if you stay an active subscriber for 7 months, you'll be promoted to the Platinum tier and receive 4 in-game rewards per month.

The items are yours to keep even if your Ubisoft+ subscription lapses.

Cyberpunk 2077 has been removed from the PlayStation Store for over five months now, and CD Projekt still doesn't know when the game will be re-listed.

CD Projekt has yet to fully recover from the Cyberpunk 2077 controversy and the game is still de-listed from gaming's biggest storefront. Despite two major patch releases, Sony has yet to greenlight Cyberpunk 2077's return on the PlayStation Store. CD Projekt once again says it doesn't have any updates on a possible timeline.

At a recent shareholders meeting, one investor asked CD Projekt President Adam Kicinski about Cyberpunk 2077's status on the PS Store. "We are still in discussions, and with every patch the game gets better and there is visible progress. But as we said the decision is an exclusive decision from Sony," Kicinski said.

Like all publishers, SEGA wants to maximize its sales potential with widespread reach and availability across global markets and storefronts.

In a recent 2021 Q&A session, SEGA CEO Haruki Satomi confirms the company wants to release its biggest games simultaneously across the globe. This is a change from previous years where games like the Yakuza series launched in Japan first, and then months later for the European and North American market. This staggered launch worked well in the past, but now SEGA will push to launch its mega-budget games for worldwide audiences at the same time to maximize sales potential.

Techland may reveal Dying Light 2's release date in a special stream this Thursday.

A bit ago Techland sent us something interesting in the mail: a piece of concept art, a special UV flashlight, and a message about hidden secrets in the city. The UV light revealed an announcement date for Thursday, May 27 at 3PM EST, and today Techland confirmed a new Twitch stream will go live on the same date.

It's likely we'll see a bunch of things during the pre-recorded footage including new Dying Light 2 gameplay, info on a next-gen version, developer interviews, and a possible release date (think 2022 or thereabouts). Details on the stream are light and we weren't given any explicit info on what to expect.

Sonic the Hedgehog turns 30 years old in 2021, and SEGA is holding a special stream to outline the Blue Blur's future.

SEGA plans to hold a special Sonic Central stream on Thursday, May 27 at 9AM PST / 12PM EST. The showcase will be centered around new Sonic games, re-releases, content partnerships, and cross-brand initiatives.

Here's what to expect:

The pre-E3 2021 teasers are rolling out and Sony is participating. Tune in this Thursday for a special State of Play focused on Horizon Forbidden West that offers a "very special journey into new and uncharted lands."

Today Sony announced a new State of Play event for Thursday, May 27 at 2PM Pacific Time / 5PM Eastern / 10PM BST / 11PM CEST. The event will show off 14 minutes of Horizon Forbidden West gameplay on PlayStation 5 (likely with some PS4 highlights thrown in seeing as it's a cross-gen game) and a possible release date reveal.

"During this State of Play, we will debut the Horizon Forbidden West gameplay reveal! In this 20-minute exclusive segment, you'll be seeing about 14 minutes of brand new in-game action featuring our heroic protagonist Aloy, all captured directly on PlayStation 5," Guerrilla Games said in the announcement post.

UPDATE: The handheld has been confirmed by Ars Technica sources who tell the site that the SteamPal has been in development for "quite some time."

Valve might be making its own handheld-console hybrid similar to the Nintendo Switch or the experimental Alienware Concept UFO.

After the ill-fated Steam Machines, Valve might try to make its own hardware again. This time it looks like Valve could make a handheld that plays PC-grade Steam games.

Roblox Corp eventually wants to release its free-to-play juggernaut onto every games platform, including two of gaming's biggest console markets.

With $387 million in Q1 revenues and 42.1 million daily active users that spent 3.2 billion hours playing, Roblox is already huge, but it could get a lot bigger. The community-driven Roblox was able to achieve staggering earnings and engagement even without a dedicated release on PlayStation 4 (114.6 million sell-in) or Nintendo Switch (84.59 million sell-in).

Roblox Corp CEO says these platforms--and others like the Oculus Quest--are integral for the company's metaverse ambitions, so expect the game to show up on these platforms eventually.

CKY's drummer Jess Margera may have confirmed a new Tony Hawk game is in development at Activision.

In an April interview with Closed Doors Podcast (at the 39:12 mark), CKY's Jess Margera says the band will have music in a new Tony Hawk game.

When asked if CKY had music in other Tony Hawk games, Margera said: "Yeah, and I believe we're doing the new one coming out too." The drummer goes on to mention how his son just got the remastered Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 on PS5 so it's likely Margera isn't referring to the re-release, but a brand new game.

A year after the impressive Unreal Engine 5 demo, Epic Games reiterates how the engine will transform how next-gen games are made.

Unreal Engine 5 is all about efficiency and freedom. Two new major UE5 innovations have been outlined by Epic: Nanite, a new virtualized micropolygon technology that allows incredibly high-definition assets, and Lumen, new real-time global-illumination lighting systems. In a recent video, Epic further outlines the advantages that Nanite offers developers.

Nanite is Unreal Engine 5's new geometry render technology that allows native cinematic-quality assets to be imported right into scenes, There's no kit-bashing required. No adjustment of the assets, no proxies, no tweaks; just natively importing the movie-quality assets right into the engine. Nanite allows developers to use Quixel megascans (ultra high-resolution assets) without compromise and gives artists freedom to choose and place images in whatever way they want.