Gaming - Page 595

Back in August, Sony bought Insomniac and all of its associated IPs for an undisclosed sum. Now thanks to a recent company SEC filing, we know how much the PlayStation titan shelled out.

Sony Interactive Entertainment spent roughly $229 million to acquire Insomniac Games in 2019, new SEC filings confirm. The buyout was mostly paid in cash, and could change slightly by March 2020. This may sound like a lot, but Sony's gaming branch made $5.6 billion in the Holiday 2019 quarter, and routinely pulls in billions every three months. The acquisition cost will pay for itself over time via new system-selling Insomniac titles.

"The consideration for this acquisition of 24,895 million yen (229 million U.S. dollars) was mainly paid in cash. The amount may be adjusted by the end of fiscal year ending March 31, 2020, based on the final closing date financial statements of Insomniac Games. As a result of this acquisition, Insomniac Games has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony," reads the filing.

Today BioWare officially confirmed Anthem is getting a big overhaul, complete with new progression systems, a better end game, and better loot mechanics.

BioWare is planning something huge for Anthem. The studio just announced Anthem is getting a massive reboot that extends far beyond the limitations of a simple expansion or an update. BioWare could be planning a huge A Realm Reborn-style resurrection of their failed live game, and promises to re-tool the game's current weak points like meaningful endgame activities and overall progression.

"We recognize that there's still more fundamental work to be done to bring out the full potential of the experience, and it will require a more substantial reinvention than an update or expansion," BioWare General Manager Casey Hudson said in a recent blog post.

Tencent buys a minority stake in German game studio Yager to help fund its upcoming efforts.

Billion-dollar gaming titan Tencent is keen on grabbing up small pieces of pretty much every independent game studio, and now it's spreading the wealth to assist Spec Ops: The Line developer Yager. The Berlin-based studio plans to use this cash injection to bolster its self-publishing efforts and create a more stable foundation for new projects like The Cycle, an online service-based FPS game.

Yager says it currently has multiple projects in the works, including another major unannounced game outside of The Cycle. With Tencent's backing, Yager will be able to retain both the IP and publishing rights to its games and be in full control of its own destiny, similar to PlatinumGames and Bungie.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players have been asking Nintendo for quite some time to add Kingdom Hearts main character Sora to the roster. Unfortunately, Sora is reportedly not coming.

In the latest episode of the Kinda Funny Gamescast, former senior editor at Game Informer and industry insider Imran Khan spoke about how Nintendo aren't the ones to blame for Sora not being included in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Khan says that Nintendo has "absolutely approached Disney" about including Sora in Smash Ultimate and that "Disney Japan specificallly" denied the request.

Honestly, this isn't surprising at all. Since Kingdom Hearts is a collaboration project between Square Enix and Disney, Disney has to approve the use of Sora for Nintendo to get their hands-on him. Sora is one of the most requested characters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but most people forget that Disney is notorious for keeping their IP close to their chest. While this doesn't confirm that Sora can't come to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it does give some insight from a reputable source that his chances are unlikely.

If you played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, then you would most likely know both the campaign character Ghost and the extremely small map Rust.

Well, if you do and are playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, then you will be excited to know that Ghost is making a return back to COD. Rust, on the other hand, seems to be coming as a playable map, but it's not 100% confirmed. Last week, the Call of Duty Twitter account released a new video that teased Ghost is "confirmed" to be joining the game's operators in the Spec-Ops mode.

So how did Rust get thrown into the mix? The above video depicts three GIF images that appear to be extremely similar to what Rust looks like. We can see a crane, a dust-like map, and some structures in the background that are very similar to the ones that are on the Rust map. For now, we can confirm that Ghost is coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare as apart of Season 2, and we really, really hope Rust makes a nostalgic return as well.

It looks like System Shock 3 is in disarray, with new reports that the original team working on the game have disbanded.

According to RPGCodex member 'Kin Corn Karn', a former developer on System Shock 3, who explains: "The only reason I'm posting is because I saw so much confusion about the state of the company and the project. I thought some first person information would be welcome. I never suggested we were halfway done, core systems are a great foundation for a game but most of the work is content development which we were critically behind in, both in real assets and in tool support for an efficient pipeline".

All of the high expectations for System Shock 3 are being blamed on its messy development, with the poster continuing: "Those high expectations drove a lot of expensive experimentation. We were a small team and knew we couldn't compete with current immersive sims in production quality and breadth. So, we had to be creative and clever and weird. And we were on our way to make something unique and possibly fun, but probably not what the audience was hungry for".

The PlayStation Network could start natively serving up convenience microtransactions on a platform level.

Sony's latest patent is extremely interesting. Basically it's an integrated system that automatically reminds gamers about time-saving microtransactions, and gives real-time stats on how said convenience shortcuts could help them save time. The patent also covers a lot of bases that aren't necessarily related to in-game purchases.

The system, for example, will give you tips on how to defeat the bosses via materials, weapons, and items found naturally in the game. Gamers can ask for help within the system itself, e.g. how to defeat a certain boss or get past a certain obstacle, and the system will give a solution. This version of the patent actually sounds pretty great, kind of like a built-in guide or on-screen tip system within the game that gives you key info on how to proceed.

Right now Google's Stadia game streaming service is basically a paid beta test, but the free option is coming...soon.

Stadia is still in its wonky pre-release phases, but when the free version rolls out, Google's service will be more accessible than ever. Anyone will be able to fire up Chrome, buy a game, and instantly jump right into the action without having to buy any console or PC gaming hardware. This kind of flexibility is extremely potent and represents a proving point for Google's fledgling gaming business.

So when is Stadia getting its free tier? It could be up to 90 days away. In a recent interview with Protocol, Google's Phil Harrison gave a tentative timeline: "The big strategic difference is that over the next few months you will be able to experience Stadia for free. No money down, without having to put a box in your home, you can just click and play amazing games straight from our data center."

Ubisoft's comments on PS5 and Xbox Series X backward compatibility have been blown wildly out of proportion.

I've seen lots of reports lately that Ubisoft said next-gen consoles like the PS5 will play PS1, PS2, and even PS3 legacy games. This isn't accurate. After listening to Ubisoft Q3'20 earnings call, I'm confident that isn't what Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot actually said, nor is it what he meant to say.

All Mr. Guillemot said was that next-gen will play current-gen games, and that the overlap between generations will catalyze sales across both life cycles. There's no indication he's talking about next-gen systems playing currently-unsupported titles. The basic premise is if current-gen consoles can play it, next-gen systems will too, and both Sony and Microsoft have confirmed backward compatibility. (Xbox Series X will play four generations' worth of Xbox games, for example.)

Ubisoft will kick off the next-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X console cycle with a bang, and plans to release three heavy-hitting sequels in six months' time.

Ubisoft is planning a huge comeback. In its recent Q3'20 earnings call, the publisher announced that it plans to ship 5 major AAA games in Fiscal Year 2021, and three of these will be massive entries in its biggest IPs. We didn't get any official confirmation on the games, but Kotaku's Jason Schreier, who has knowledge of Ubisoft's plans, says the slate includes a new Far Cry, a new Assassin's Creed, and the previously announced Watch Dogs Legion. All of which will be optimized for next-gen consoles, as per Ubisoft's previous words.

"We are very excited about the idea of releasing five new AAA games in 2020-21. Although the competitive environment is looking especially tough, production of these games is progressing well and each of them comes with great features that set them apart," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said in the call.

Cyberpunk 2077 will be one of the best-looking games of its generation when it launches, but there will be some really awesome RTX abilities and real-time global illumination that will put a twinkle in gamers' eyes. You'll also want to buy a kick ass Dolby Atmos sound system for Cyberpunk 2077, according to CDPR.

In a recent interview between OnMSFT and CD Projekt RED staffer John Mamais, we found out some details on the game, including the real-time global illumination system that Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt RED has worked on. In the interview, Mamais said: "There is some stuff that hasn't been talked about such as the way that it's been lit".

Mamais continued: "Our director keeps talking about the real-time global illumination system which we haven't really seen in its full beauty yet. No one in the public has seen how it's finally going to look. It's going to look more breathtaking than we've seen so far".

Netflix is currently hard at work on a new Resident Evil show, and while we didn't know any details on it... until now. According to a new leak, we have the description ripped directly from Netflix's own Media Center:

The new Resident Evil show on Netflix is described as: "The town of Clearfield, MD has long stood in the shadow of three seemingly unrelated behemoths - the Umbrella Corporation, the decommissioned Greenwood Asylum, and Washington, D.C. Today, twenty-six years after the discovery of the T-Virus, secrets held by the three will start to be revealed at the first signs of outbreak".

We now have two totally new locations in the Resident Evil canon, with the introduction of the Greenwood Asylum and Clearfield, Maryland locations. The Resident Evil franchise has been mega successful since its debut in 1996, which I remember sitting my bedroom with my brother playing the original game on the original PlayStation and scaring the living daylight out of ourselves countless times. Can't wait for the TV show on Netflix!

Nintendo is infusing paid content into the new Animal Crossing game on Switch, and it could include microtransactions, DLC, or both.

The official Animal Crossing: New Horizons eShop page confirms in-app purchases will be included, but no details have been specified. It's possible Nintendo will add an in-game store with microtransactions to sell various odds and ends, but it's more likely New Horizons will get paid post-launch expansions in the form of macro-monetization.

This isn't a surprise and is something we actually expected to see. Nintendo just recently confirmed it's doubling-down on paid DLC content to expand their games far after release, strongly hinting all of its major first-party games will in turn get expansions. We've seen this model mature of the years starting with Breath of the Wild's post-release season pass content, and more recently with Pokemon Sword and Shield's $30 expansion pass.

Despite competition from the Epic Store, Steam's userbase continues to grow strongly year-over-year.

In its recent Year in Review report, Valve confirmed some impressive numbers for Steam. The storefront-platform has amassed nearly 95 million monthly active users, representing a huge ~5 million spike from 2018's 90 million MAUs.

What's more important than MAUs is actual play time, and Steam delivered in spades here. In 2019, PC gamers also played over 20 billion hours of Steam games. Steam also broke its previous record of simultaneous users at the start of this year with 18.8 million concurrent players online at the same time.

Following massive controversy, Blizzard will now fully refund any Warcraft 3: Reforged purchase regardless of how much you played.

Fans are not happy about Warcraft 3: Reforged, and for good reason. The remaster basically replaced the old versions of the game and removed many core features like custom campaigns while also forcing weird UIs, graphics settings, and pared-down social features on gamers. But there's a silver lining: You can get your money back if you're dissatisfied.

"We want to give players the option of a refund if they feel that Warcraft III: Reforged does not provide the experience they wanted. So, we've decided to allow refunds upon request for the time being," Blizzard wrote on its website. You can request a refund here.

Sonic the Hedgehog speeds into theaters next week, so to capitalize on that Puma has unveiled its new range of Sonic clothes and shoes, for the most hardcore Sonic fans.

One of the most expensive products in Puma's new line of Sonic the Hedgehog products are the PUMA x SONIC RS-X3 sneakers, which come in two different colors that both cost $120. There are some cool hoodies up for grabs for $65 each, while there's some Sonic Leadcat Sliders for $30.

It wouldn't be a new range of Sonic products without a ton of stuff for kids, with toddler sneakers themed with Knuckles up for grabs for $55 while kids versions of the same shoes cost $60. There are some kids backpacks for $25, bucket hats for $20, and adult-sized t-shirts for $35. Check out Puma's range of Sonic clothes and shoes from Puma here.

Despite the disruption in its development teams that saw the franchise's studios reduced from three to two teams, Call of Duty will remain an annual franchise.

To no one's surprise, Activision confirms another mainline Call of Duty game will release in Q4 2020. "In Q4, we plan to launch the next premium release of Call of Duty. We can't wait to unveil what our teams have been working on, and we feel great about the content," Activision CFO Dennis Durkin said in a recent earnings call.

No actual information was revealed on the game, but reports indicate Call of Duty 2020 is Black Ops 5 and takes place in the Cold War era. Black Ops 5 is expected to have a singleplayer campaign mode set in the age of Communist scares and atomic bombs. The project is to be developed by a trio of studios collaborating together including Treyarch, Sledgehammer Games, and Raven Software.

Thanks to the incredible success of Call of Duty Mobile, Activision-Blizzard will continue doubling-down on smartphone games.

Making mobile games is a big part of Activision-Blizzard's new four-pronged business model. In its recent Q4 earnings call, the publisher discussed its plans for growth and how mobile will be--and currently is--a transformative force.

Call of Duty Mobile is doing tremendously well right now. So well in fact that Activision now sees mobile as its largest platform, and rightly so, because more people own phones than they do gaming PCs or video game consoles. Case in point: Call of Duty Mobile has been downloaded over 150 million times globally, making it a massively lucrative entry point to monetization and engagement (the company's core principals). Activision-Blizzard has taken a big bite out of the $68.5 billion mobile market and now they're hungry for more.

On the heels of Warcraft 3: Reforged's colossal failure, Activision-Blizzard confirms it has plans to remaster more old games. Diablo II could be next on the chopping block.

In its recent Q4'20 earnings call, Activision-Blizzard announced that more remasters will release in 2020. No games were explicitly confirmed, but Diablo II could be the next classic franchise to be torn apart and glued back together for the sake of reselling nostalgia.

"In addition, our business units will continue to tap into our portfolio of beloved IP to bring several remastered and re-imagined experiences to our players in 2020, which we will announce closer to launch," Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in the earnings call.

More than seven years in, Grand Theft Auto V simply won't stop making money. GTA Online is just as successful and is breaking records left and right.

In its latest Q3'20 earnings report, Take-Two revealed some not-so-surprising stats: GTA V is still selling tremendously well, and GTA Online is still making serious cash. Rockstar's landmark crime simulator has now sold-in more than 120 million copies to date (that's a 5 million jump in a quarter) and saw a huge 54% spike in microtransaction revenues in GTA Online. Active players are also up to an all-time high thanks to the massive engagement from the new Diamond Casino Resort updates.