Gaming - Page 487

Microsoft is poised to make more money from Xbox than it ever has before, and FY2021 is already a record year for its gaming segment.

The current market is perfect for the video game business, especially Xbox. Microsoft's diversified cross-platform webwork of services, hardware, monetization, and game sales is being supercharged by COVID-19 lockdowns, which have pushed more consumers indoors with controllers in hand.

Thanks to this landscape, Xbox is breaking new ground. In Q2'21, which coincides with the 2020 holiday period, Xbox earned an astronomical $5.027 billion in combined revenues. This is the first time the Xbox division made more than $5 billion in a single quarter.

It looks like Tesla cars will soon be able to play Geralt's legendary adventures--the future is here.

According to new promo images, The Witcher 3 is playable in Tesla's new Model S refresh. The game was spotted on the new horizontal touchpad in the Model S update, but neither Tesla nor CD Projekt have revealed specifics. Back in January 2020, Elon Musk asked gamers if they'd like to see The Witcher as a playable game in Tesla vehicles. Hundreds of thousands of people said yes.

The Model S has up to 10TFLOPs of processing power and has two displays--one in the center console, and one in the backseat. Gamers can also hook up a wireless controller for seamless gaming.

AMD and Microsoft warn consumers that console supply will remain scarce for the first half of 2021.

Recent earnings calls underline frustrating news for consumers: It won't be any easier to find a next-gen Xbox Series X or Series S console until the second half of the year. Both AMD and Microsoft say they expect supply to be constrained throughout the first six months of 2021. AMD, who makes the custom 7nm SoCs that power the next-gen Xbox and PlayStation 5 consoles, asserts that SoC demand in 2020 went beyond the company's initial expectations, and that fabrication plants need to boost production to meet the demand. AMD expects to see "tightness" in 1H 2021, but capacity will fill out in 2H 2021 as production ramps up.

As a result, Microsoft forecasts tighter availability as demand continues to outpace console supply. Without the SoCs from AMD, Microsoft can't produce its new Xbox Series hardware.

In the last week, GameStop's stock has spiked by 671% and is now trading at $301.95 due to stock market fluctuations from short-sellers. Now the United States government is stepping in and is scrutinizing things very closely.

GameStop stock is under a tremendous short squeeze, a phenomenon that occurs frequently in the stock market. Here's how it works: Buyers borrow a stock (in this case, GameStop) they don't yet own in a deal called a short sale. These traders borrow the stock at a set price and sell it, ideally at a higher price than they bought it. but they must also buy it back and return it at a later date (unless, of course, the company goes bankrupt). These kinds of traders are called short-sellers. The thinking here is the traders expect the stock to fall in price, so they will potentially pocket the difference between the initial borrowing price and the lower future price at which they buy it back.

It can be a risky bet. If the stock goes up, you lose money as a short-seller.

Sony injects huge value in PlayStation Plus with February's free games, which includes our favorite game of 2019.

The controversial Control Ultimate Edition will be free on PlayStation Plus' February lineup, Sony today confirmed. This includes both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions, the latter of which gets optimizations like faster loading, ray-traced visuals, native 4K performance, and tighter frame rates. The Ultimate Edition also features both the AWE and Foundation expansions.

The Control Ultimate Edition drew significant controversy because existing Control owners have to re-buy the newer edition to get PS5 upgrades. Various publishers like EA, Ubisoft, and Capcom are giving away free PS5 versions of their games--but not 505 Games or Remedy. Now instead they're giving out the game for free on PS Plus.

CD Projekt has released the mod support files required for users to make their own modding tools to tweak Cyberpunk 2077, but don't expect major overhauls.

As promised, CD Projekt has made available various files and utilities that are needed to mod Cyberpunk 2077. These aren't major advanced toolsets like Bethesda's Creation Kit or GECK, but are the basic files needed to make actual mod systems. Expect to see creations like The Witcher 3's smaller-scale QoL adjustments. These files can be used to significantly improve various systems including quality-of-life improvements across UI, HUD, inventory management, and more to make the overall experience more streamlined.

Despite CDPR's move, a modding toolset for Cyberpunk 2077 already exists. Gamers have been using the Cyber Engine Tweaks tools to make pretty big changes in everything from AMD SMT game performance to changing appearances and even romancing Johnny Silverhand.

IO Interactive's big new 007 game could show a more suave video game adaptation James Bond, complete with emphasis on character development as well as action.

A recent interview with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation suggests that James Bond rights-holders aren't so happy with modern 007 video games. Reports say EON Productions' Barbara Broccoli, who controls the franchise, thinks Bond games are too violent. IO Interactive's vision will change all of that.

Hitman dev IO Interactive has spent the last two years making a demo reel to win over EON Productions. The gambit worked. After years of 007's absence in the game world, IO has been given the rights to make a James Bond game. We don't know what IO showed off to win over Broccoli and the other execs at MGM, but it's possible the experience will be more meaningful, cerebral, and have greater emphasis on stealth, subterfuge, and charm rather than the wanton FPS violence of previous game adaptations.

With its Hitman games, IO Interactive has arguably been preparing for a 007 game for a long time. But it's still not ready. That's why the team is doubling its numbers for the ambitious project.

IO Interactive has big plans for its upcoming Project 007 spy game. The studio plans to make an original Bond not seen before in movies--just like how 007's actor and likeness changes in the films, so too will it change in the game--set in a prequel timeline. The project is being built in a next-gen version of IO's proprietary Glacier engine, and luckily the team will have a few years to prepare.

The developer plans to make the most of that preparation. IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak says the team will double its numbers to help with the game. This is a vital move considering IO is fully independent now and doesn't have the backing of Square Enix any longer. Project 007 may be the start of a brand new trilogy of titles if partners MGM and EON Productions are confident in a long-lasting future. IO has a lot to prove, and they're currently gearing up for massive expansion.

Battlefront II was recently free on the Epic Games Store, and was downloaded 19 million times. This is monumental for EA and represents a new way to supercharge monetization potential in years-old games.

EA is a master of monetization and engagement. They make billions every year from live services, microtransactions, and finely-tuned gameplay loops. Sometimes, though, EA breaks new ground with business tactics that elongate a game's earning potential.

That's exactly what happened with the recent Battlefront II freebie. The game was offered free on the Epic Store for a limited time, and 19 million gamers took advantage and downloaded the sequel. These are astronomical figures for any live game and the strategy gives EA another low-risk avenue to spark revenues in older games.

Jagex, the UK-based developer behind the popular MMO Runescape, has been acquired by the world's second-largest investment firm.

The Carlyle Group has acquired Jagex in a sweeping mega-deal that sets up Runescape's future. The news was confirmed in a press release, and although exact terms of the deal haven't been announced, it's implied the group paid more than the $530 million that the previous owner Macarthur Fortune Holding paid for Jagex in 2020.

The Carlyle Group manages over $230 billion of financial assets and will provide substantial funding for Runescape's future, Jagex CEO Phil Mansell affirms the partnership will help fill out Runescape's long-term content roadmaps.

The Skyblivion team gives us a closer look at an actual gameplay quest arc, displaying advancements in animations, environments, exploration and combat.

Modders are trying to do something huge: They want to recreate the entirety of Oblivion using Skyrim's in-game engine, complete with in-game areas, quests, and content. It's an ambitious total-conversion mod called Skyblivion, and the project has been in development for some time. Now the mod is starting to take a more finalized shape. It's not done just yet, but the creators are releasing gameplay footage that showcases the progress they've made.

The latest gameplay clip gives us our first look at a playable questline. It's the smaller Revenge Served Cold questline that takes players into the Exhausted Mine. You're basically killing goblins to avenge a farmer's wife. The mine has some alterations from the vanilla version, though; there's multiple layers and areas to explore, complete with new dotted treasures. The combat looks pretty good, the interior animations are all fluid, and the dialog matches up nicely.

According to a new Dragon Age artbook, the next game in the series, Dragon Age 4, will be set in the Tevinter Imperium.

The new game dev grimoire BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development confirms that the new Dragon Age game is set in a realm of slavery, cruelty, and mythical blood magic. We're talking about the Tevinter Imperium, of course--the ancient Rome-like empire nestled in Theda's northern regions.

The book hints the playable landmass could include the Imperium as well as parts of the bordering Nevarra to the south, and Antiva to the east. For comparison, Dragon Age Inquisition featured areas set in southern Thedas; Orlais, Ferelden, and parts of the Free Marches were explorable and playable.

Konami today announced it has dissolved three production teams in its digital entertainment gaming branch, but it's not closing down total game creation.

Konami is a somewhat confusing company. Today's corporate announcement didn't do much to outline or clarify the company's future plans, but from what we can gather, Konami is consolidating its digital gaming branch into one leaner and more concise group. In theory, this is similar to how Square Enix combined 11 separate teams into four game dev divisions in 2019.

So what does this mean?

Konami's latest internal reports reveal why the company hasn't invested strongly into Metal Gear Solid since 2015's MGSV.

Today Konami announced it's dissolving three of its production divisions in an effort to become more lean, reduce spending, and adapt to the new digital-based COVID-19 market. The truth is Konami has been doing this for a while, and it's a big reason why certain franchises like Metal Gear Solid have lapsed.

Prompted by a post on ResetERA, I took a look at Konami's company profile data and found sales data for the stealth espionage series. So far, Metal Gear Solid has sold 56.5 million copies worldwide since 1987, more than other IPs like Capcom's Street Fighter (which sits at 45 million). Even still, Metal Gear pales in comparison to Konami's real breadwinning IP, the billion-dollar titan Pro Evolution Soccer. To date, PES has sold through 110.4 million in its 25-year span. It's easy to see why Konami is playing favorites.

NVIDIA has just announced that it will be powering gamers in Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey with GeForce NOW "later this year".

In an announcement on the official NVIDIA blog the company explained that it has signed new telcos into the GeForce NOW Alliance with Turkcell, Zain KSA and Pentanet, these new companies join current GeForce NOW Alliance members in Softbank, KDDI, LG Uplus, Taiwan Mobile and GFN.RU.

NVIDIA reminds us that GeForce NOW brings real-time ray tracing to some of the biggest games in the market to underpowered PCs, Macs, Chromebooks, Android and iOS devices. The company adds: "It also offers an opportunity for the world's leading telecommunications firms to deliver high-quality, low-latency PC gaming to nearly any device from the cloud. These partners form the GeForce NOW Alliance, a partnership of operators using RTX Servers and NVIDIA cloud-gaming software to expand and improve cloud gaming globally".

A new Knights of the Old Republic RPG is reportedly in development, but unnamed sources say neither EA nor BioWare are involved.

Sources tell podcaster Bespin Bulletin that a new KOTOR game is happening, but BioWare won't be making it. The game is instead being crafted by a not-so-obvious studio as part of Lucasfilm Games' new Star Wars initiative.

Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, who has a close ear to the goings-on in the games industry, said in December 2020 that "nobody's going to guess right" about who's developing the sequel.

New reports say Chinese juggernaut Tencent is eyeing a billion-dollar acquisition of a U.S.-based gaming company. Who could it be?

Sources tell TMT Finance that Tencent is raising billions to buy out a new game company. Insiders believe Tencent could force a hostile takeover of Grand Theft Auto parent company Take-Two Interactive, or possibly make a deal to buy out EA.

The more likely scenario sees Tencent buying a South Korean developer, sources say. Targets include NetMarble, South Korea's biggest mobile game maker, and Nexon, the developer behind Dungeon Fighter. Tencent is already the third biggest shareholder in NetMarble with a 17.6% stake and could force a hostile takeover by acquiring more stake in the company. Tencent also has exclusive rights to publish Nexon's Dungeon Fighter in China, showing the giant has existing connections with both firms.

GTA Online's in-game microtransactions once again break the bank, cementing GTA V as one of the best-earning games of all time.

GTA Online's new Cayo Perico heist helped GTA V make more money in December than any other period in the game's 7-year history. The news is from analyst firm SuperData, who says December 2020 delivered record digital revenues for GTA Online that were higher than any other month since the mode's release.

The Skyblivion total conversion mod is making tremendous progress and looks absolutely enchanting in this new dev diary video.

Oblivion, arguably the best-looking Elder Scrolls game ever made, is getting rebuilt in Skyrim's game engine. A team of 50+ talented volunteers are breathing new life into these two beloved fantasy games as part of the hugely ambitious TES Renewal passion project. The Skyblivion mod aims to completely recreate The Elder Scrolls IV using Skyrim Special Edition mod toolsets, complete with custom assets as well as the original questlines intact.

The new dev diary video highlights environments, 3D objects, interiors, and quests, showing marked improvements and big strides in every way. The mod still isn't finished, though, and has some issues with the quests themselves. But according to the team, the end is in sight...yet there's no actual release date for the mod.

Yesterday Microsoft made a big mistake. The company tried to raise Xbox LIVE Gold prices by 50% and removed the 12-month option entirely, bringing Xbox LIVE Gold subscriptions to $120 a year. It failed spectacularly, and now Microsoft has pulled a 180.

Xbox LIVE Gold isn't getting a price hike after all. After severe backlash from an alienated fan base, Microsoft has cancelled its plans to raise Xbox LIVE Gold to $10 a month. Prices will stay the same at $9.99 for 1 month, $24.99 for 3 months, and $39.99 for 6 months. 12-month memberships are only available at retailers.

As an added apology to fans, billion-dollar free-to-play games like Fortnite and Warzone no longer require Xbox LIVE Gold in order to play. It's simultaneously an end of an era and the beginning of a new dawn for the subscription.