Gaming - Page 537

Activision and Infinity Ward must be in some form of conspiracy with storage companies, pushing the boundaries on just how much storage space a game can take up with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone is currently requiring over 200GB of storage space on gamers' systems, but now that Season 5 is upon us it'll need just a little bit more. The new Season 5 update weighs in at 36GB on the PlayStation 4, but requires 90GB of free storage space to even kick the download off.

But this time around, the developer knows the download size is huge and have said that they are "optimizing" their asset packs. This means that the download size might be large, but he overall size of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will actually shrink on your console post-patch. Nothing has been said about the PC version of the game just yet.

Microsoft will be launching its next generation powerhouse Xbox Series X console in November 2020, where it will be able to run select titles at something PC gamers have had for many, many years: 120 glorious frames per second.

But which games have been announced so far, are going to work at up to 120FPS? Well, that's where this list comes into play. You will of course first need the new Xbox Series X console, as well as a 120FPS-capable TV.

There are now more models of 4K 120Hz TVs on the market, where they're not really gaming monitors anymore but gaming TVs. You're going to want a new TV with HDMI 2.1 (you can read more about HDMI 2.1 here), which might be limited to just a few TVs right now but this is changing over the next few months and more so into 2021 and beyond where most TVs will offer HDMI 2.1 connections.

Capcom just kicked off its Fiscal Year 2020 with the best Q1 quarter in its 41-year history.

Capcom is on a roll. As of FY2019, the company is on a three-year streak of record earnings. Now they've just reported all-time highs for first quarter earnings that beat any other period in its entire lifetime. Capcom's net sales, operating income, and profits are all up double digits and have increased beyond 30% across the board.

For the period ending June 30, 2020, Capcom earned $219.81 million in net sales, up 32% YoY, driven by the landmark success of Resident Evil 3 and back catalog games like Monster Hunter World. Operating income sits at $99.25 million, up 39% YoY, and Capcom pulled a mighty $72.41 million in profits, representing a 44% spike.

Grand Theft Auto V simply won't stop growing, and has now shipped nearly 135 million copies worldwide.

According to Take-Two Interactive's latest Q1'21 earnings, GTA V has sold-in 135 million copies on all platforms, up 5 million units from last quarter. GTA V also had a strong impact on the company's mighty $915 million in quarterly earnings, contributing to both sales and digital monetization via GTA Online.

"Nearly 7 years after launch, Grand Theft Auto V continues to exceed our expectations. The title has now sold in almost 135 million units and remains the standard-bearer of the current console generation,"Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said in a recent earnings call.

NBA 2K20 has made more than $1 billion in combined sales and microtransaction revenues worldwide, Take-Two Interactive today announced.

NBA 2K20 is a monster. It's right up there with GTA Online, Take-Two's other billion-dollar darling, and has significantly materially impacted quarterly earnings since its launch. The big difference is NBA 2K20 has managed to rake in over $1 billion in total earnings and 14 million copies sold in less than a year.

"In the first quarter, NBA 2K20 significantly outperformed our expectations, and recently achieved a franchise milestone of $1 billion in net bookings since launch," Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said in a recent Q1'21 earnings call.

Take-Two Interactive's Q1'21 earnings show tremendous digital growth thanks to NBA 2K20, Grand Theft Auto, and catalog sales and earnings.

Take-Two's Q1'21 results continue to reflect how COVID-19 is boosting video games earnings. The Grand Theft Auto parent company broke multiple earningsrecords during the quarter ending June 30, driven by substantial jumps in monetization, sales, and engagement.

The company reported net income of $88.5 million (+91%) on net revenues of $831.31 million (+54%). Net operational cashflow, one of the most telling metrics, skyrocketed by 310% to $445.3 million, clearly showing the efficiency of Take-Two's streamlined business.

Given Take-Two's emphasis on premium next-gen game pricing, expect GTA V to cost $70 on PS5 and Xbox Series X.

Take-Two Interactive thinks the $10 price bump for next-gen games is justified by the 'extraordinary quality' that the games offer. NBA 2K21 is the first next-gen game to cost $70, but it won't be the last, especially from Take-Two. The publisher should charge extra for all its next-gen enhanced games. This includes GTA V.

"There hasn't been a price increase for frontline titles for a really long time, despite the fact that it costs a great deal more to make those titles," Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick told GamesIndustry.biz. "And we think with the value we offer consumers...and the kind of experience you can really only have on these next-generation consoles, that the price is justified. But it's easy to say that when you're delivering extraordinary quality, and that's what our company prides itself on doing."

Ubisoft wants to make a big splash in game streaming, and is now one step closer to creating a viable infrastructure to making it happen.

Today Ubisoft signed a multi-year deal with Parsec, a platform that uses the cloud to access data remotely from your home PC. Ubisoft recently used Parsec for press previews of Assassin's Creed Valhalla; Ubisoft had the demo's source files on their server PC, which was then accessibly streamed to press using cloud networks. This is just one use-case for the Parsec service.

Parsec is an actual platform, not just a service. Parsec lets you share your screen to any device anywhere you are, kind of like Sony's Remote Play. It's also a Google Drive-like cloud server that grants access to data and experiences to other users. There's also features like guided matchmaking that lets you connect and play with other Parsec users.

Microsoft has removed the rather obnoxious Optimized for Xbox Series X badge from the front covers of Xbox games, sources tell industry figures Daniel Ahmad and Tom Warren.

Cross-gen marketing can be confusing, especially when your new console can play every game from the previous generation. Microsoft wants to clearly mark all the games that play better on next-gen. The solution was the rather massive rupee-shaped Optimized for Xbox Series X badge on specific Xbox games (remember, there are no more Xbox One or Xbox Series X games, just Xbox games).

Now Microsoft is backpedaling on this idea, or at least where the badge is positioned. Instead of taking up prime real estate on the game's cover as originally planned, the badge will be included on the backside of game cases. This is a big deal for games-makers and publishers.

Spider-Man is coming to Square Enix's big new Avengers live game, but he's exclusive to PlayStation platforms and won't be playable on Xbox, PC, or Stadia versions of the game.

Today Sony continued its exclusivity strategy that gates off specific in-game content in third-party games. This time we're seeing Spider-Man being locked to PlayStation consoles. The webslinger is coming to Marvel's new Avengers online game in 2021, but only for PS4 and PS5 players. Spidey will be free DLC for all PlayStation gamers and he won't be included on any other platforms (which makes sense considering Sony has rights to Spider-Man films and properties).

"We can't wait for you to add Spider-Man to your Marvel's Avengers roster in early 2021, and as we've promised before, he will be available at no additional cost to owners of the base game, exclusively on PlayStation," Crystal Dynamics associate art director Jeff Adams wrote on the PlayStation Blog.

Sony confirms the DualShock 4 won't work with next-gen PlayStation 5 games. But it will work with next-gen Xbox games.

As it gears up for a big PS5 price reveal and console teardown, Sony today announced the DualShock 4 won't be compatible with PS5 games. The DualShock 4 can still be used on PS5, but only to play PS4 games. Some peripherals like headsets, the PSVR HMD, cameras, and legacy controllers can be used on PS5, but not all are compatible with next-gen games.

Oddly enough, Microsoft will carry the DualShock 4's legacy forward into its next-gen games. Not on consoles, of course, but with Game Pass and Project xCloud streaming. The PS4's DualShock 4 is one of the controllers supported by Project xCloud, Microsoft's new game streaming service. It's also compatible with PC games via Game Pass.

The PlayStation 5 is the start of a new generation, and that includes accessories too. Today Sony confirmed a few accessories that will and won't be compatible on the PS4 and PS5 and vice-versa.

Sony is allowing cross-gen support for a number of games and accessories--the PS5 will play thousands of PS4 games at launch, for example--and some peripherals are both backward and forward compatible.

Sony confirms that official products like headsets, racing wheels, arcade sticks, and flight sticks are all usable on both PS4 and PS5. The PS4 Platinum and Gold audio headsets will work on PS5, as well as a bunch of third-party headsets that use USB/audio jacks (remember, the DualSense has an audio jack).

American Gaming Network had planned to host a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare LAN event in the US, but ended up cancelling the event. If it had gone through with it, it would've been the first American organizer to host a LAN during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The LAN event would've had 40 teams of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare players, each with 5 people per team. AGN would've made it mandatory for the 200+ gamers to wear face masks, with the esports tournament organizer also providing hand sanitizer.

The organizer would've reportedly completed temperature checks at the door, limited the amount of people being there at once, required everyone in attendance to be over 18 years or more, and required the competitors to sign a liability waiver.

Obsidian launched its new game Grounded into the world of Xbox Game Preview and Steam Early Access just a few days ago, with the game seeing success quickly.

The official Xbox blog has a new article that thanks Xbox and PC gamers for their support in the early release of Grounded, which racked up over 1 million players in its first 48 hours of release. Quite the achievement.

The post reads: "We want to thank the community for showing support for the recent release of Grounded on Xbox Game Preview and Steam Early Access. In its first two days of availability, we've had over one million players explore the mysterious backyard, battle giant spiders, and gather tons of useful materials -- which has absolutely blown away our small team of 13 here at Obsidian!"

In its game of cat and mouse with Microsoft, Sony seems to be prepping for the big PlayStation 5 pricing and pre-order event... which could happen real soon.

According to PS5 leaker 'IronManPS5' on Twitter, we have some new teases that Sony will be revealing more details on the PlayStation 5 during a State of Play event on August 6. After the first tweet, he shared some more screenshots from 4chan where someone said the event would happen on August 10.

At this event, it's expected that Sony will unleash pretty much an avalanche of stuff on gamers that will include a "console overview trailer", a "backwards compatibility trailer", "reveal trailer", and then a "PlayStation 5 trailer".

Microsoft has been doing better on the PC over the last couple of years, but we can definitely have the company doing more for PC gamers. This is something that is coming, and Xbox boss Phil Spencer is now re-confirming their stance.

Spencer tweeted: "I wanted to thank the community for the support on PC. We made statements like this a few times over the years and the skeptical responses were earned".

He added that he knows the team has "more work to do", but said that the success they're seeing from Xbox Game Pass and the Steam teams are "really great, thanks".

In an effort to maximize sales, exposure, and access, EA just brought a ton of its games onto Steam. Now those games are at the top of Steam's charts.

EA is hitting it big in the PC market right now. According to Valve, EA games hold 8 of the top 20 best-selling game slots for Steam's June sales right now. This follows EA's big jump back to PC gaming's biggest sales platform.

EA also noted a huge spike in its quarterly PC gaming revenues. Total game sales are up an astronomical 202% year-over-year to $1.39 billion, and PC game earnings are up a massive 74% to $340 million. It turns out putting your games on Steam is big for business.

Sony filed a new patent that suggests a higher-end PS5 Pro console with dual GPUs (as well as a myriad of other possibilities).

A new Sony patent hints at some ambitious things with the PlayStation 5 and the PS business as a whole. The patent, which was filed in January 2019 and published just days ago, outlines a number of different possibilities. The most exciting one is mention of dual-GPU (or even dual APU) consoles for massively increased performance. Sony could be setting itself up for a PS5 refresh or PS5 Pro with multi-GPU support. This patent isn't that simple, though. There's mention of cloud gaming thrown in the mix so it's not all just based around local hardware.

Before we dive in, I want to remind everyone that this is a patent and not finalized information, meaning nothing's been confirmed or announced. There's no guarantee Sony is actually developing this technology. There's no confirmation that the PS5 Pro is even real or that it will have multiple GPUs, and most importantly, the tech/info outlined herein may not ever be created or released for--or in--a commercially-available system. It's not our intention to mislead anyone, and our interpretations of the patents could be wrong.

Battletoads is one of those legendary games that had to be played at the time of it release, which is something my brother and I did for countless hours sitting in front of our TV playing on the original NES. Well, it's coming back.

The new Battletoads is dropping on both the PC and Xbox One on August 20, developed by Dlala Studios in a partnership with developer Rare. Rare was the developer of the original Battletoads in the 90s.

The developer explains: "The Battletoads are back! Join Rash, Zitz and Pimple as they smash, stomp, drill, turbo bike, leap, shoot and generally be toadally awesome in their all-new, action-packed, multi-genre adventure of choreographed chaos! Battletoads launches on Xbox, Windows 10, Xbox Game Pass and Steam on August 20th".

Since its release in June 2017, Xbox Game Pass has radically transformed Microsoft's gaming business model. Now it's boosted Xbox revenues to an all-time high of $11.57 billion.

Xbox is no longer a console, but a vast webwork of cross-platform services, subscriptions, game sales, and monetization. Microsoft's digital empire orbits services, and so too does its Xbox division. Before, Xbox LIVE was at the epicenter of the Xbox ecosystem. Now Xbox Game Pass has taken over, redefining the brand's scope with game streaming to mobiles, instant-access on-demand gaming, and access to all first-party Xbox games. There's just no competition for Game Pass, and Microsoft's recent earnings reflect that.

Game Pass has consistently raised Xbox revenues every year since it was released and has tremendously boosted Xbox services earnings. We took a look at Microsoft's historical 10-K earnings reports to show how the brand has grown since the Xbox One's original launch in FY2014 to Game Pass' launch in FY2017, all the way to the present day of FY2020.