Gaming - Page 487

After tons of pushback from fans, Sony has reversed its initial decision and will now keep the PS3 and PS Vita storefronts open for an indefinite amount of time.

Vita means life, and the handheld's legacy will live on. PlayStation boss Jim Ryan today confirmed that the PS3 and PS Vita stores won't be taken offline as planned.

Instead, both online stores will remain open and operational for "the foreseeable future," allowing gamers to purchase games, DLC, and other content directly from each console-based interface.

Hitman dev IO Interactive is making a new interesting IP that will be different from anything else it's ever worked on, and is a passion project for its oldest developers.

After going indie, IO Interactive has hit the ground running and is tackling some ambitious plans. It just opened a third studio, it's self-publishing its own games, and developing multiple projects like a new game based on the 007 franchise and a new IP. Now we actually know a fair bit about this new wholly-owned intellectual property.

We first heard about IO's new IP in 2017, and recent job listings confirm it'll be a multiplayer game with a "new concept" built in the studio's proprietary Glacier Engine. Now IO CEO Hakan Abrak teases more details about the IP, saying it's something that the studio's core veterans have always wanted to make.

Twitter user Jan Kaiser shows us a glimpse of the future with Doom running on a nifty holographic display.

Doom runs on a lot of things; fridges, toasters, smartwatches, pregnancy tests--you name it, if it has a screen it can probably run Doom. The same is true for holographic displays like the Looking Glass Portrait, which runs the 3D version of Doom. This the kind of thing that gamers 40 years from now will be playing on.

Digital security expert Jan Kaiser hooked up a Looking Class Portrait display, booted up Doom, and proceeded to blow our minds. Not only does Doom have more depth, but gamers can turn the screen or move slightly to the left and right to peek around corners. This kind of tech has massive implications for the future of gaming, but it's not exactly cheap or readily available; the screen itself costs $249 for the smaller 7.9-inch portrait model.

We have already heard rumors that the next-gen Call of Duty: Vanguard is a steaming pile of sh*t with Battlefield leaker saying that it is a "f***ing disaster"... yeah well, now that f***ing disaster is going to be massively held back by previous-gen consoles.

In a new tweet, Battlefield leaker Tom Henderson says that "WW2 Vanguard is going to be held back so bad by previous generation consoles, and from my understanding they are planning previous gen for both Vangaurd and IW's next title". Interesting news there, especially with the hype building for EA's next-gen Battlefield 2021 title that is reportedly called "Battlefield".

Henderson only just a few days ago now teased that he had not heard "anything concrete" on whether Battlefield was coming top previous-gen consoles. I think -- no, I hope -- that EA and DICE have pushed the boundaries on Battlefield 2021 far enough that it simply needs to played on a high-end PC or next-gen console.

Back in January, leaker Tom Henderson aka LongSensation said Battlefield 6 could come to Xbox One and PS4. Now Henderson says Battlefield will be next-gen only, and offers quick clarification on those previous rumors.

Note: None of the rumored info outlined here has been confirmed by EA, and the publisher has yet to make any official announcements on Battlefield 6's content other than a Spring reveal, a launch in 2021, and the promise of "all-out military warfare" that "takes full advantage of next-gen consoles."

Insider Tom Henderson has been stealing headlines lately with his Battlefield info. Henderson has outlined a possible map for Battlefield 6, and claims the game will have huge environmental disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis, and that it takes place in 2025 with high-tech robotic dogs, drones, and other advanced war machines.

The first Resident Evil Village gameplay demo went live yesterday on PS4 and PS5, revealing a world soaked in atmospheric horror and some freaky new enemies.

While I felt the RE Village demo was overall lackluster and tantalizingly short, the experience did leave something behind. The gameplay was decent--gunplay is fluid, doors are a bit finicky--but the atmospheric storytelling and grisly new lycans were the star of the demo (Of course Lady Dmitrescu wasn't on the stage in this demo, or she'd immediately steal the show).

The werewolf enemies are pretty unsettling to fight. They roam on all fours like beasts, exhibiting a kind of brutal feline grace. The first encounter is pretty memorable; you're in high snow-covered wheat and you actually hear them before you see them. The wheat shakes, something snarls, and you have a sense of dread. Then the monster pops up and smacks you around a few times.

Hitman 2016's sequels were supposed to be major expansions, not separate retail games, IO says.

In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak reveals the studio's original live game vision for Hitman. According to Abrak, IO wanted to make a "world of assassination" and roll out huge expansions similar to a live game like Destiny 2. The idea was to make one game and simply launch new expansions and updates in that game and allow players to pick and choose what content they wanted to install and play.

"I don't think a lot of people know this, but Hitman 2016 was supposed to be one ever-expanding big live product, just like an MMO or something. You would have this one executable, so Hitman 2 and 3 would just expand within this...you'd have Hitman world of assassination and just growing from there, it would be the same executable," Abrak said.

In the U.S., Spider-Man Miles Morales is more popular than other major PlayStation exclusives like The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima, the NPD Group reports.

In the NPD Group's March 2021 earnings report, analyst Mat Piscatella revealed U.S. game sales rankings for the last 12 months. The results show a trend that Sony's big-budget dramas don't always hold the largest appeal among U.S. gamers; the top spot goes to your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

According to the rankings, which include sales in last 12 months from March 2020 - March 2021, Spider-Man Miles Morales digital and retail sales beat The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima. This is no small feat considering Miles Morales had 5 months of sales, whereas TLOUII (launched in June) had 10 minutes and Ghost of Tsushima (launched in July) had 9 months to accumulate sales.

ESO's new Endeavors daily/weekly challenges will allow players to buy Crown Crates without spending real money.

ESO's new Update 30 in June will roll out a new mode called Endeavors that gives you a new currency for completing various daily and weekly objectives. The currency--Endeavor Seals--can be used to buy items contained in lootboxes. This is the first time that players are able to acquire these items without spending money.

Elder Scrolls Online's lootboxes--also called Crown Crates--feature cosmetics like tattoos, character appearances and mounts, as well as XP scrolls and potions.

Capcom aims to please Resident Evil 4 fans by resurrecting the game's beloved Mercenaries mode for Resident Evil 8.

Resident Evil Village is a kind of upgraded modern throwback to Leon's medieval supernatural fantasy adventure in RE4, complete with werewolves, vampires, ghosts, and horrifying monstrosities that roam a Victorian-style village. The style, themes, characters, and environments all connect back to the Gamecube-era survival shooter. Now Capcom confirms another connection: Resident Evil Village will also have The Mercenaries mode.

Mercenaries is kind of like a self-contained Firefight or horde mode where you have to complete objectives in a set amount of time, all while slaughtering enemies and fighting to survive. There's a nifty combo bonus system that inspires players to unleash total carnage.

Thanks to pandemic spending, software sales, and strong hardware adoption, last month was the United States' best-earning March month in history.

The NPD Group just published their results for March 2021 U.S. market earnings, showing growth over 2020's monumental highs. Last month, the U.S. market spent a record $5.6 billion on games, hardware, and accessories, up 18% from March 2020's previous record highs of $4.75 billion.

NPD analyst Mat Piscatella attributes this growth to increased game sales and content, which accounted for 82% of total monthly spending, or $4.6 billion.

We're being told to expect some next-gen destruction and natural disasters that include earthquakes and tsunamis -- but what about gigantic avalanches after a firefight in the alps? Yeah, that sounds awesome.

Battlefield leaker Tom Henderson teased the news on his Twitter, saying: "Imagine you're fighting in the alps and a massive explosion causes a giant avalanche #BATTLEFIELD". He noted in a follow-up tweet that the 'splosions and avalanches won't be featured in the trailer for Battlefield when it drops.

EA will only be showing off the Tanegashima Space Center in the Battlefield trailer, with Henderson noting that the team will show off "what it needs to show off before June". Alrighty, hype meter is being set for a big reveal -- well, very, very damn soon by the looks of things.

The cRPG gurus at Beamdog are working on their next game, but it won't be a remaster or enhanced edition--it's a brand new IP.

Canadian game developer Beamdog is mostly known for helping make games in franchises that it doesn't own. That will change soon as the team gears up for its own intellectual property.

"While the door on remasters hasn't been totally shut, currently Beamdog is working on a new game, its own IP. No details have been shared yet," Community Manager & Social Media Manager Julius Borisov said in a forum post.

Amazon has cancelled its new Lord of the Rings game project due to clashes with Tencent, sources tell Bloomberg.

The new high-profile Lord of the Rings MMORPG has been shelved due to contractual disputes between Amazon and Tencent, who bought the game's co-developer Leyou Technologies in 2020.

Amazon confirmed the news to Bloomberg: "We have been unable to secure terms to proceed with this title at this time. We love the Lord of the Rings IP, and are disappointed that we won't be bringing this game to customers."

Ubisoft has slightly delayed Assassin's Creed Valhalla's first expansion in order to ensure quality.

Valhalla's new Wrath of Druids expansion has been pushed back by 2 weeks, and will now release on May 13 on all platforms, Ubisoft has confirmed. The devs say the extra time will allow them to "deliver a more refined experience."

Ubisoft also says it plans to reveal more about its development process in an upcoming post. This should be pretty illuminating and may highlight the rigors of making new Assassin's Creed content in work-from-home environments, and could also touch upon what's next for the second expansion, the massively ambitious Siege of Paris.

Capcom will release a new playable Resident Evil Village gameplay demo across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC, but there's some restrictions. Here's everything you need to know.

Capcom plans to roll out a gameplay demo for its latest Resident Evil game. There are two playable sections in the game: One for the Village area, and one for the Castle. The Resident Evil 8 demo is only playable for a limited time, and gamers will only have up to 30 minutes per area. You can play either or both of the levels in any amount of gameplay increments that add up to 60 minutes. Combined, gamers will be able to play a total of 60 minutes of Resident Evil 8.

The demo will release on PS4, PS5, Xbox One/S/X, Xbox Series X/S, Steam, and Google Stadia. PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners get priority, and can start pre-loading the demo right now. PlayStation gamers can start playing before other platforms.

Capcom has significantly optimized its proprietary RE Engine to squeeze out high-end performance on next-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles.

Capcom just released its revised Resident Evil VIII perf targets for current- and next-gen console hardware, showing how much care and attention they've put into the game. On the PS5, Resident Evil Village can hit 4K 60FPS at default, and then 4K 30FPS in high-resolution mode with HDR, which implies this is native 4K and not upscaled.

The most impressive target is RE8 running at 4K 45FPS with ray-tracing turned on, which is no small feat especially for a shooter (Devil May Cry 5, the first game Capcom shipped with ray tracing, hit 1080p 60FPS with RT on but that's an entirely different type of game).

IO Interactive finally spills more details on its unannounced new IP, and the game appears to be an innovative multiplayer game with a fresh concept.

Right now Hitman developer IO Interactive is working on three projects: Hitman 3 DLC (and possibly another Hitman game), a new James Bond game codenamed Project 007, and a new IP. We've known about IO Interactive's new IP since 2017, but not much info has been gleaned--until now.

Following a new studio expansion, IO is currently hiring 21 people for the new project, which will be spear-headed by its Malmo, Sweden-based studio. The job listings show the game is in very early stages, though; the roles range from higher-level executive producers to technical and gameplay directors. One listing in particular reveals potential scope for the project.

Hitman developer IO Interactive is gearing up and expanding its team to work on its most ambitious projects yet.

Today IO Interactive has opened a new studio in Barcelona, Spain, and marks the team's third major studio alongside IOI Malmo (launched in 2019) and IOI Copenhagen (main HQ site). The announcement comes little over a week after company CEO Hakan Abrak teased "maybe sometime soon we'll launch a third location."

IOI Barcelona will work closely with the teams in Malmo, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark on the company's trio of games, which include a new James Bond game codenamed Project 007, new Hitman content (IO says new Hitman sequel is possible), and an unannounced IP. The new Project 007 game will be the biggest title IO has haver tackled, complete with an all-original story arc and new in-game innovations.

Earlier this morning Bloomberg reported that multiple companies were interested in buying Square Enix. The news came from M&A expert firm CTFN who sourced info from two anonymous bankers. Now Square Enix has stepped in to set the record straight.

Square Enix has shut down rumors of a potential buyout, saying that it has no plans to sell itself or its gaming division. The publisher says it wasn't even approached by a potential buyer.

"Bloomberg has reported today that there is interest from several buyers to acquire Square Enix. However, this report is not based on any announcement by SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGS CO., LTD. We do not consider selling off the company or any part of its businesses, nor have we received any offer from any third party to acquire the company or any part of its businesses,"the company announced.