Gaming - Page 532

After years of development, Warner Bros. Montreal will finally reveal its new Batman game on Saturday, August 22 at 1:30PM.

WB Montreal's new Batman game, which is apparently called Batman: Gotham Knights, will be revealed at the DC Fandome event next week, the event's website confirms. The game will be announced in a 20-minute session and give gamers a "first look" at the title, complete with a Q&A panel from developers.

Gotham Knights is believed to follow the Batman comic series with the same name. Just like the comic series, the game is expected to have at least four playable characters, which folds into older Arkham Legacy rumors of a playable "Bat family". Main protagonists may include--but are not limited to--Batman, Batgirl, Robin and Nightwing.

Multiple reports say Sony's PlayStation 5 will cost more than the Xbox Series X. No one knows for sure how much the PS5 will cost, but Sony's yearly forecast gives us clues on an attractive mass-market price point.

The PlayStation 5 will be more expensive than the PS4. That's a given. The console features high-end specs that usher in the enthusiast age of console gaming, complete with a Navi GPU capable of native 4K (and even 8K) gaming, an 8-core, 16-thread Zen 2 CPU at 3.5GHz, both of which are on an SoC with variable clock rates and set voltages, 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, and the fastest storage ever to be put in a console with a 6-channel PCie 4.0 SSD that can hit 5.5GB/sec speeds. But how much will it be? Could the PS5 break $600? That's not very likely.

We don't know exactly how much the PlayStation 5 will cost, nor do we claim to. All we can do is tally up the evidence with current reports and look at what Sony's said so far--and more importantly, what its yearly earnings forecasts lay out for investors.

Apex Legends is about to receive its new Season 6 update, with developer Respawn Entertainment taking to the official Apex Legends Twitter account to tease the news.

Respawn gives us a YouTube link to where the Apex Legends Season 6 - Boosted Gameplay Trailer will premiere. The gameplay video will go live on August 4 at 8AM PT, where I'm sure we'll also get some more details on Season 6 itself, and its upcoming Battle Pass.

Apex Legends upcoming Season 6 will introduce a new legend with Rampant, who seems to love huge guns and bubble gum. There will be over 100 exclusive items included in the Boosted Battle Pass, crafting -- where you'll need to collect materials and build yourself some better weapons and gear -- and a new Ranked Season for people to get addicted to.

We all remember James Cameron's massively successful 1997 movie Titanic, catapulting its stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet into Hollywood super-stardom.

Well, Titanic is being turned into a board game with Titanic: The Game. Spin Master Games has used the 1997 movie Titanic for its inspiration for the game, pulling the characters that Cameron used in the movie with players able to play as Jack, Rose, Cal, Ruth or the Captain.

But get this, they thought it was a good idea to market Titanic: The Game, a tragedy where over 1500 people died on April 15, 1912. But yeah, they're serious -- check out how they describe the game:

We've had a couple of fresh nuggets of info about Battlefield 6, where industry insider Tom Henderson tweeting that the team at DICE have been designing Battlefield 6 maps for 128 players -- with 32 v 32 still a key focus.

But it was the second tweet about Battlefield 6 that had my attention, where Henderson tweets: "Battlefield news; There's also been increased interest in Battle Royale due to the success of Warzone. No confirmation of a BR in the next Battlefield yet, but could EA and DICE be planning a F2P Battlefield experience?"

So the EA DICE team have been eyeing off that huge success of Call of Duty: Warzone and its incredibly addictive battle royale mode. He has "no confirmation" of battle royale in Battlefield 6 just yet, but does note that the team could be planning a free-to-play Battlefield experience.

I'm sure EA DICE have been taking down some serious notes over the mega-success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and more specifically its battle royale mode that is addictive AF: Warzone.

In some new Battlefield 6 leaks, we have industry insider Tom Henderson tweeting out some "Battlefield news". Henderson tweeted: "Maps have been designed with 128+ players in mind. But 32 vs 32 will also be a standard playlist".

We recently saw an entire building collapse in Battlefield 6 -- or at least we thought we did, and we also heard about Battlefield 6 having a modern setting and supporting up to 128 players, and EA boss Laura Miele recently saying the team are "creating epic battles at a scale and fidelity unlike anything you've experienced before" in Battlefield 6.

We should expect some real 4K fakery when both next-gen consoles are here, but the slower of the two -- the PlayStation 5 -- seems like it is going to struggle in 4K and that gamers might be "disappointed" by some major third-party games with "fake 4K" games.

Well people, get ready to be "disappointed" with some of the third-party games on the PlayStation 5 with some fake 4K gaming coming our way according to industry insider Jeff Grubb and his latest comments on the Basement Radio Arcade Podcast.

It seems that AMD SmartShift technology inside of the PlayStation 5, is going to cause some issues. Grubb said that game developers are having a hard time wrapping their heads around Sony's decision to use a variable frequency approach in the PS5 (through AMD SmartShift) and that many third-party PS5 games will leave gamers disappointed.

Epic Games is suing Apple for unfair practices, a move that could force an anti-trust investigation into the App Store. But now its motivations become more clear.

Today Epic Games decided to take Apple, who controls half of the world's mobile market. Epic started the coup by opening its own payment option within Fortnite in iOS, allowing gamers to buy V-Bucks at a 20% discount. This completely eliminated the 30% revenue cut that Apple usually takes. Predictably, Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store. Then Epic fired back with a lawsuit alleging monopolistic behavior.

The case actually makes some good points, and it's possible the courts will set new rules and precedents for Apple. The move was a well-orchestrated and planned maneuver on Epic's part in the guise of freeing developers from the "iOS stranglehold." But the documents reveal there's more to Epic's motivations than goodwill of consumers and developers.

If Halo: Infinite had released in 2020, it may have launched as an incomplete product missing a few things, including multiplayer.

In a recent interview with Gary Whitta, Xbox boss Phil Spencer shed a lot of light about Halo: Infinite's recent delay to 2021. According to Spencer, delaying the game was the right call. The project simply wasn't where it needed to be for a big blockbuster AAA hit. There's lots of reasons for this, including the complexities of developing a new engine alongside a new game, and work-from-home measures thanks to COVID-19.

The reality is that if Halo: Infinite did release in 2020, it probably would've only had campaign or multiplayer--not both. This aligns with recent reports we heard back in late July that claimed Halo: Infinite would ship without multiplayer. 343i quickly jumped in to say the rumors weren't true, but it looks like the info could've been closer to the truth than the studio was willing to admit.

Epic Games, one of the most powerful titans in the games industry, is tired of paying the 30% 'Apple tax' on all iOS revenues. Now Epic is standing up to Apple, and is suing them in a case that could set precedent for the entire games industry.

Today Epic Games decided to flat-out challenge Apple. First Epic added in an option for direct payments into Fortnite, which completely bypassed Apple's 30% revenue cut altogether. Apple takes 30% of all games revenues from the iOS storefront. Apple, of course, pulled the game from the App Store for terms and conditions violations.

Now Epic is suing Apple and seeks to end its "dominance over key technology markets."

Sony has already shown off the PS5's high-end gaming capabilities with the stunning Gran Turismo 7 trailer, and revealed how the console's ultra-fast 5.5GB/sec PCIe 4.0 will destroy load times in the new Ratchet and Clank game. Now a single screenshot exhibits what the console will be capable of at launch.

A new Spider-Man Miles Morales screenshot from Entertainment Weekly speaks volumes about the PlayStation 5's ability at launch. First-party devs like Insomniac Games apparently are pushing ray tracing right out of the gate, complete with new ambient weather and lighting effects. The puddle alone shows evidence of ray-traced reflections and mirrors the kind of thing we see in Control on PC.

We also know Spider-Man Miles Morales will be incredibly optimized on PlayStation 5. Insomniac has baked in a performance mode that hits 4K 60FPS, which is unheard of for this kind of game mode. Usually performance modes target 1080p 60FPS and don't deliver dazzling 4K 60FPS gameplay. This possibly hints the game will hit upscaled 8K resolution to complement Sony's new high-end 8K TVs.

UPDATE 2: Fortnite has also been banned from the Google Play Store on Android.

UPDATE:Fortnite has been delisted from the App Store following this move. Gamers who already have it downloaded can still play, and can still buy in-game V Bucks.

Epic Games is brazenly defying Apple and Google by offering direct payments for Fortnite V-Bucks on iOS and Android.

Today Chinese juggernaut Tencent announced its Q2'20 earnings, and the results see strong spikes in game earnings in the period.

COVID-19 is spiking games industry revenues, and Tencent is no expception. The company revealed its Q2'20 performance for the quarter ending June 30, revealing strong 29% spikes in total revenues to $16.2 billion. Operating profit was up 38% to $5.3 billion, driven by surges in games revenues, and net profit reached $5.2 billion, up a strong 31% over Q2'19.

Games made up 35% of total revenues, or $5.68 billion. Smartphone games predictably made the lion's share of these earnings with $5.08 billion, driven mostly by heavily-monetized free-to-play games.

4A Games was just purchased by THQ Nordic, and now confirms their next-gen Metro game will have online multiplayer.

Today 4A Games was folded into THQ Nordic's massive stable of developers. The Metro dev will still technically remain independent, but it'll now serve under World War Z developer Saber Interactive. Both 4A Games and Saber are co-developing the next Metro game, which will have online multiplayer that utilizes the same live framework that powers World War Z.

4A Games CEO Dean Sharpe confirms the next-gen Metro game on PS5 and Xbox Series X will have multiplayer. 4A Games is also working on a new IP, but will still continue working with Dmitry Glukhovsky on new Metro games.

4A Games and its associated IPs, including the Metro franchise, are now wholly-owned by THQ Nordic, joining its ever-growing stable of developers.

The Embracer Group (formerly THQ Nordic) has acquired Metro game series developer 4A Games for $45 million, the company today announced. The purchase equates to $36 million after debts and taxes, of which is made up of $25 million in upfront cash and the remainder made with 1.23 million in B shares.

4A Games will remain independent, but it will serve under Saber Interactive and still be associated with Deep Silver, the wholly-owned publishing arm responsible for games like the Metro and Dead island series.

Microsoft has released another trailer for Flight Simulator, which is about to take off for gamers on August 18 -- just days away. The new 'Planes and Airports Trailer' details some of the planes and airports we will see in Flight Simulator:

The new trailer has Microsoft taking us through some of the absolutely beautiful airports you'll be visiting, and the planes you'll be flying in Flight Simulator. There will be over 37,000 airports in total in Flight Simulator, 2 million cities, live weather -- with storms and all, and so much more.

There will be 3 different versions of Flight Simulator released, these will include:

We have some new details on Cyberpunk 2077 through a recent interview between VG247 and senior gameplay designer on Cyberpunk 2077 at CD PROJEKT RED, Pawel Kapala.

The interview had a bunch of great tidbits, but one part that stood out was the discussion on destructible environments. I'm a huge fan of realistic environmental destruction in games, from Red Faction through to Battlefield games.

But with Cyberpunk 2077, it seems like the team at CD PROJEKT RED are taking destructible environments to the next level. Kapala teased: "We put a lot of emphasis on having destructible environments overall in our game".

GDC 2020 was officially postponed because of COVID-19 earlier this year, meant to kick off in March it was postponed over the coronavirus pandemic.

Well, GDC organizers Informa Tech have announced that the Game Developers Conference 2021 will take place between July 19 and July 23, 2021 in a hybrid physical and digital show. This is a few months later than the mid-March that GDC normally takes place.

The physical side of GDC 2021 will take place like it normally has at the Moscone Center in San Francisco -- while the digital show will be online.

NVIDIA is putting a big spotlight on its GeForce NOW game streaming service ahead of the Ultimate Countdown and its impending "special event" on September 1 for its next-gen GeForce RTX graphics card launch.

The company took to Twitter, offering up a new $25 bundle that gives you the premium subscription level of GeForce NOW for 6 months -- but more importantly, a huge deal with Ubisoft's battle royale shooter Hyper Scape bundle that packs the Season 1 Battle Pass and even exclusive Adi Volta Champion Skin, Volta Drop Pod, Citric Dragonfly Weapon, and Boxer Shuffle Emote.

NVIDIA explains: "Do you hear that? It's the sound of all our dreams coming true. For a limited time, upgrade to a Founders membership and get a Hyper Scape Season One battle pass token + exclusive GeForce NOW Hyper Scape in-game content pack".

The new Marvel Avengers live game will have lots of PC-specific optimizations, including unlocked frame rates, ultrawide 21:9 support, and more.

Today Crystal Dynamics revealed the PC spec requirements for the game, and they're rather modest. Minimum specs call for a lower-end Core i3-4160 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GTX 950 GPU with at least 2GB of VRAM. Recommended specs are likewise as lenient, advising gamers to have at least a Core i7-4770K, a GTX 1060 GPU, and 16GB of system memory.

PC-level optimizations include unlocked FPS and support for 144Hz refresh displays, 21:9 ultrawide monitors, and a huge 30GB ultra-HD texture pack that adds lots more definition to the game.