Gaming - Page 502

Axiom Verge 2 is only timed exclusive to Epic Games Store, and Thomas Happ reveals why he signed the exclusivity deal with Epic.

Steam gamers will have to wait some time before playing Axiom Verge 2. The sequel is timed exclusive to the Epic Games Store and won't be available on Steam at launch. We don't know how long the roguelike will be held off of Steam, but the typical deals are around 6 months to 1 year.

In a recent blog post, Axiom Verge 2 developer Thomas Happ explained why he chose to team up with Epic Games, and explains that Valve is very supportive of the decision.

ZeniMax Online currently has 52 job openings available across its Maryland, Texas, and San Diego branches, and is clearly ramping up for big new projects.

The Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online has been working on new projects for a while now, but the recent $7.5 billion acquisition from Microsoft will help accelerate these new games. The developer recently shared a post reminding everyone it's hiring a ton of people for these new projects. At the time of writing, the company has 52 job openings available that range from senior level designers to server engineers; 6 of them are for ESO, and the remaining 46 are for the "next AAA project."

We've actually known about the new project since 2018, and it should be a new MMORPG built with a fresh engine overhaul. The listings assert it'll be a AAA experience. There's also strong evidence it's set in a new IP, and speculation insists it could be a Starfield MMORPG.

YouTuber ZHC bought the world's largest PS5--a towering behemoth that's 10 feet tool and weighs a staggering 500 pounds.

We know the PS5 is big, but this 10-foot tall console is definitely a meme come to life...and it actually works. The titanic gaming skyscraper comes with an absolutely massive DualSense controller that also works to play games.

ZHC bought the console to paint the massive wall-sized panels in a contest, and spent 100 hours customizing the system with huge mural paintings.

How should you place the Xbox Series X for maximum airflow? It doesn't actually matter which way you set it as long as you're not blocking the vents.

Despite being advertised as towering skyscrapers and monoliths, both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X can lay on their sides to fit better in living room setups. The PS5 in particular is absolutely massive. The two consoles have different cooling solutions that dictate how you should place the systems.

Using Schlieren imaging, Gamers Nexus recently traced the airflow patterns for both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The findings show negligible differences between the Series X's two orientations. It's all based around the Series X's negative pressure cooling system that pulls air from the bottom and exhausts it from the top.

Microsoft's Jason Ronald teases new upgrades coming to next-gen Xbox Series X/S consoles in 2021, including big enhancements to existing and upcoming games.

In a recent Major Nelson podcast, Xbox's Jason Ronald briefly outlined some of the updates coming to the next-gen Xbox duo in 2021. First, Ronald says that quick resume is a big priority. Microsoft wants to bring the groundbreaking new feature to as many games as possible. Microsoft may even give gamers full control over the Quick Resume save state slots at some point.

Other updates include Game DVR improvements, upgrades to the mobile app to add things like achievements, and better sharing integration. That last part is pretty important considering the Series X/S can't easily transfer captured screenshots and video right to a USB stick.

Warzone is the most transformative thing Activision has ever done. The free-to-play mode connects premium Call of Duty games with a cross-progression, cross-play, and a cross-SKU framework complete with in-game microtransactions. This model will carry over to all Activision-Blizzard franchises, especially big IPs like Diablo, Warcraft, and Overwatch.

Blizzard games are about to change and expand even more. Activision has doubled-down on its new four-part plan: new games, engagement models, monetization/live services, mobile ports. This plan will be adapted into all Activision-Blizzard franchises. This means every big franchise from Call of Duty, Diablo, Warcraft, and Overwatch will all get mobile games and new engagement hooks. Right now, no hook is sharper than Warzone--the F2P sensation has helped double CoD revenues and hit $3.9 billion in annual IP revenues.

In its recent Q4'20 earnings call, Activision confirmed that Warzone's cross-game ecosystem will be adapted into other mainline IPs. Expect to see Diablo, Warcraft, and especially Overwatch get its own Warzone-esque model. The specifics will probably vary on each game--Diablo Immortal could tie into Diablo IV with exclusive items, for example--but the underlying core will be the same: Establish multiple access points that all meld together and have their own ways of making money.

The Borderlands franchise has sold a whopping 60 million copies worldwide since 2009, Gearbox has confirmed.

Following Embracer's acquisition of Gearbox for $363 million, a new company profile reveals some interesting stats on the developer and its games. The Borderlands IP has sold over 60 million copies to date across four mainline games, and has generated over $1 billion in revenues. Roughly 1/6th of these sales came from Borderlands 3, which has now crested 10 million shipments globally. In total, Gearbox Entertainment's games have sold 100 million units combined.

With numbers like these, it's no surprise that Borderlands 4 is in development. Gearbox could receive a huge $1 billion bonus if it delivers Borderlands 4 in the next six years. Details are sparse, but we know 2K Games will publish Borderlands 4, and it's possibly being developed with Unreal Engine 5.

Hackers reportedly make good on their promise to sell CD Projekt RED's game source code after a vicious ransomware attack.

A bit ago, hackers broke CD Projekt RED's cybersecurity protection and stole precious source code files for The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Gwent, and the RED Engine itself. Hackers demanded CDPR pay a ransom in Bitcoin to get the files back, but the developer says it "will not give in to or negotiate" with the hackers and has prepared for the documents to be leaked out.

Now it appears the data has been sold in an auction for as much as $7 million. The info comes from dark web watchdog KELA, an intelligence group who has a proven track record in chronicling these kinds of cyber crimes. KELA was able to download and attain some of the files and they are indeed genuine:

DICE LA is officially working on a new Battlefield game, which sees the developer either helping out with Battlefield 6 development or it's a separate entity to Battlefield 6 -- something like a DICE LA developed battle royale mode for Battlefield 6, for example.

It all started with DICE LA senior design director Justin Wiebe tweeting out some cryptic tweets about a new project that he and his team at DICE LA were working on. Wiebe tweeted: "Any guesses what EA owned franchise I'm thrilled to be working on now?" and then people began guessing and he shot a few of the answers down.

But it was above tweet where he revealed DICE LA is working on a new Battlefield game, and he is gushing about it. Wiebe continued: "It's wondrous I get to work on a game I fell in love with almost 20 years ago! The sandbox play of 1942 was just amazing for its time. I look forward to hearing from all of you what you loved and hope for in a future BF game".

NVIDIA has just announced 12 new games joining the ranks of its game streaming service GeForce NOW, and put a spotlight on some of the massive real-time ray tracing capable games on GeForce NOW including Cyberpunk 2077.

First off let's go over the new games, which starts off with Everspace, Legend of Heroes In The Sky: Trials of Cold Steel III, and South Park: The Fractured But Whole. Some nice additions there for NVIDIA, but GeForce NOW subscribers can enjoy a larger list of games that includes:

NVIDIA took the time out to also shine a spotlight on current games on GeForce NOW which take advantage of the various NVIDIA RTX technologies. These games include Cyberpunk 2077, Control, Watch Dogs: Legion, and Metro Exodus.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart looks like one of the biggest PlayStation 5 exclusives of 2021, with an official release date to start getting our hype appetites fed. Check out the new 'Pre-Order Now' trailer:

Sony has also outlined all of the pre-order bonuses that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will include, as well as the Digital Deluxe Edition version of the game. All of the Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart pre-orders will include the Carbonox armor set, while all launch physical copies of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will feature the pre-order content.

If you want to spend a bit more you can buy the Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Digital Deluxe edition -- which costs $80 versus the $70 for the standard edition of the game -- then you get much more stuff. The Digital Deluxe edition packs 5 armor sets, a photo mode sticker pack, 20 Raritanium (the in-game weapon upgrade material), the digital soundtrack and digital art book.

We live in an age where not even 4K 60FPS is the limit, but rather 4K 120FPS and even 8K 60FPS are both options now -- but what about the low, low res of 72p? Never heard of yet? Yeah, well you can run that 128 x 72 pixel resolution on the PC version of Horizon Zero Dawn.

Yeah, it's a hot mess, but you knew it would be. But why, why was Horizon Zero Dawn run at just 72p on the PC? THe reason is that YouTuber Kryzzp noticed that he could run the game at 128 x 72, during a run of budget graphics card testing where he used the NVIDIA GT 710 and it could barely run it at 72p.

Check it out in better YouTube quality, and in full:

Epic Games doesn't sleep in its quest for graphics glory, with Unreal Engine revealing its new MetaHuman Creator -- the latest tool in its ever-growing arsenal that creatures super-realistic human characters for games and movies. You'll need to pick your eyeballs back up off the floor after, but check this out:

Unreal Engine's new MetaHuman Creator is a cloud-streamed program that the developer has specifically designed to create digital human characters. After watching the video and having your mind blown, it should also impress you to know that the MetaHuman Creator tool takes less than an hour to create a realistic-looking human... a process that would normally take months.

You can build a new human character from an existing face, or you can create your own and add it to the MetaHuman Creator app. The tool itself will include 30 hairstyles that are powered by Unreal Engine's own strand-based hair and hair cards, with 18 different proportioned body types and a single set of example clothing.

The story has gone from bad to worse for CD PROJEKT RED, with the hackers that stole the source codes to games including The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 now putting the games up for auction.

First the leaked source code to the games was uploaded to Mega.nz and quickly removed, but then it found its way to the usual corners of the internet including 4chan and various hacking forums. CyberNews reports that it has downloaded the files and confirmed that it includes the source code for the card-playing game 'Gwent' that CD PROJEKT RED released.

It looks as though the CD PROJEKT RED breach happened on February 5 as all of the files the hackers have uploaded have a modification date of February 5. The hackers have given CD PROJEKT RED just 48 hours to pay them, and it appears CDPR didn't cough up the money, so the source code is now being auctioned off.

After decades of independence, Gearbox is now part of The Embracer Group (aka THQ Nordic). Gearbox might've found a new home, but it hasn't found a new publisher.

Embracer might own more IPs than any other video games company on the market right now, but it doesn't necessarily have the publishing might to release huge mass-market games that sell multiple millions of copies. That's why Gearbox is still teaming up with other partners to get its games distributed.

2K Games will continue publishing Gearbox's future games, including Borderlands 4 and other projects. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick confirmed the news in a recent Q4'21 earnings call:

Call of Duty revenues have doubled in 2020, helping propel Activision-Blizzard to its new all-time $8 billion revenue high.

Activision has adapted the Call of Duty franchise into the perfect storm of engagement and monetization. The combination of the free-to-play Warzone, multiple annualized premium releases, and a monetized mobile game shows Activision has all the bases covered. The trifecta becomes much more potent when an online cross-platform, cross-progression, and cross-SKU framework ties these games together.

This forward-thinking plan is paying off big time. Throughout 2020, Call of Duty revenues were up 200% over last year, and drove Activision segment earnings to $3.9 billion (+78% YoY). In-game spending on microtransactions and battle passes in Call of Duty games is also up a whopping 50% in Q4, and helped spike the company's total-year mTX revenues to $4.8 billion.

Blizzard has just published its schedule for Blizzcon 2021, which kicks off on February 19 - 20.

The new Blizzcon 2021 schedule, and it contains a special 40-minute video detailing the future of the Diablo series. We could get three major game showcases during the stream: Diablo IV, Diablo Immortal, and the oft-rumored Diablo 2 Remastered.

The Diablo 2 Remaster has been in development for some time now, and Vicarious Visions, who made the Tony Hawk 1&2 remasters, has been assisting Blizzard in making it. The Diablo IV news may not be super exciting given the game's frequent changes, so the big reveal should be Diablo II remastered and a finalized release date for Diablo Immortal.

Activision earned 57% of its total-year revenues from microtransactions, DLC, and other in-game purchases.

While scouting Activision's total-year 2020 earnings, I noticed something interesting: The company made 57% of its revenues from mTX throughout the year. In 2020, Activision-Blizzard made more money than it ever has before, breaking over $8 billion in revenues. A good chunk of that was from in-game spending.

The financials show Activision earned $4.852 billion from microtransactions throughout 2020, mostly driven by Call of Duty mtX, which was up a mighty 70% year-over-year in Q4. It's also worth noting the company earned 82% of its revenues from digital, which is par for the course.

EA plans to raise millions (possibly billions) in a new senior note offering to help pay for new studio acquisitions, development, and other business costs.

EA today announced that it will sell a specific amount of senior notes for an undisclosed price in a new share offering. Senior notes are debts that mature after a set period and have higher priority over existing debts. Shareholders that buy senior notes have a guarantee of a return with a set interest rate. Usually, EA would pay these senior notes off after a 5-6 year period.

Case in point: EA held a senior note offering in 2016 for $1 billion split between two maturity dates: $600 million would be due in 2021, and the remainder, $400 million, is due in 2026.

EA is spending more on research and development as it ramps up big next-gen projects from Battlefield 6 to Star Wars.

EA's latest third quarter financials show a clear trend: R&D spending has been climbing quarter-over-quarter for some time. This makes sense given EA's current games pipeline, which includes a number of high-profile games like Battlefield 6, Dragon Age 4, and a new Mass Effect.

We took a closer look at EA's R&D spending since FY12 and discovered interesting data on how the company spends money for new technologies, engines, and games development. EA typically spends at least $240 million every quarter on R&D regardless of how much net revenue it earned during the period, and the investments have been consistent for nearly 10 years.