Gaming - Page 505

IO Interactive is in a "really good place," CEO Hakan Abrak said after Hitman 3 is already profitable after one week of sales.

With Hitman 3, IO Interactive took a chance and self-published a big AAA game for the first time. The gambit worked. Not only did Hitman 3 generate acclaim from reviewers, but it sold tremendously well. So well, in fact, that IO Interactive is already making a profit from the sequel.

IO CEO Hakan Abrak confirmed the news to GamesIndustry.biz, saying that the company's secret sauce lies in the close relationship between its marketing and development divisions. Instead of keeping the division separate, as most companies do, marketing is closely knit with the developers. The result is a clear and concisely communication that's relayed to consumers and fans.

The Division 2 is getting a big update that will enable juicy smooth 4K 60FPS goodness on the PlayStation 5, and both the Xbox Series X and S consoles.

The news was revealed by Ubisoft Community Manager Johan Lindholm, who was replying to someone asking if there would be a State of the Game tomorrow. Lindholm said there wouldn't be a SOTG tomorrow, but did say that: "TU12.1 releases on Feb 2nd with the Resident Evil Apparel Event, a rebalance of the Optimization Station cost as well as 4K 60 FPS support for next gen consoles".

The Medium is here for both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles as well as the PC, with some nifty Dual-Reality gameplay done through a dual viewport that seems to really bring the next-gen Xbox consoles to their knees. But now Digital Foundry has done a deep dive on the performance of The Medium on the new Xbox Series X/S consoles, check it out:

Bloober Team, the developer behind The Medium, said that the Xbox Series X CPU and GPU power would let developers "go crazy" and I guess that means the most powerful console in the world being reduced to its knees and dropping to 900p.

The Medium runs at up to 4K on the flagship Xbox Series X and hovers around 1440p, while the Xbox Series S runs it somewhere between 1080p and 900p. But when you do the "dual viewport" mode -- which the game is built around (and explained in the DF video embedded above) both consoles go right into Chug Mode down into the 10-20FPS mark.

A new mod unlocks 60FPS in Skyrim on PlayStation consoles, but it won't work in Fallout 4.

PS5 owners can now play Skyrim Special Edition in 60FPS and circumvent Sony's maddening 30FPS limit. All you have to do is download the Skyrim @ 60fps mod, a user-created mod uploaded to the in-game console mods section. Skyrim was originally meant to run at a native 4K resolution at 30FPS on the PS4 Pro, but with the mod it can hit 1080p 30FPS+ on the base PS4.

The PlayStation 5 in particular runs Skyrim at a solid and consistent native 4K 60FPS via the console's powerful backwards compatibility mode. The PS5 has more memory bandwidth (16GB of GDDR6 RAM) and a much more powerful GPU and CPU combo that can deliver lots more horsepower. The result is a PC-like Skyrim experience in terms of performance.

Naughty Dog's ultra-violent and controversial opus sequel now has more total awards than CD Projekt's best-selling RPG The Witcher 3.

The Witcher 3 is hailed as one of the best games ever made for its RPG storytelling, compelling characters, and gritty fantasy world. The Last of Us II is likewise hailed for similar things, including its riveting story arc of blood and revenge, its varied cast of characters, and ambitious in-game detail. It's hard to compare the two directly--they're too different games--but one metric stands out: Total accolades.

According to GameAwards.net, The Last of Us Part II now has more awards than The Witcher 3. Naughty Dog's sequel sits at 265 awards, whereas The Witcher 3 is at 260. Each game's Metacritic also seems relevant--The Witcher 3 sits at a 92 on PS4 and The Last of Us Part II is at 93 on PS4. It's worth mentioning The Witcher has a 93 on PC, though.

Control's next-gen Ultimate Edition is coming out soon, and will be free on PlayStation Plus next week. Here's what to expect from the game's two performance modes.

Like most next-gen games, Control on PS5 and Xbox Series X has two modes that prioritize either graphical fidelity and visuals or in-game performance. The Series X is locked at just the performance mode and won't be able to maintain ray tracing. Luckily, Control will shoot past 1080p for both of these modes.

We knew that ASUS ROG had teamed with IKEA on a new range of "affordable gaming furniture", but now we have our first look at theh products thanks to a new leak ahead of their launch.

ASUS is expected to fully unveil the new IKEA x ASUS ROG lineup on January 29, but the IKEA China store has listed all of the products ahead of launch -- which works for us. We now get a look at the UPSSPEL gaming desk, a new ROG-themed pegboard, a moving ROG-themed cupboard, and so much more.

The IKEA x ASUS gaming desk.

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?