Gaming - Page 668

Minecraft is getting an RPG-like character creator that lets you customize your voxel avatar, complete with a microtransaction skin tab.

Minecraft was always prime for microtransactions and direct monetization. It has a dearth of skins to choose from, and both Mojang and Microsoft are eager to sell them in small piecemeal purchases. Now the devs revealed a new character creator that lets you customize face, hair, skin tone, emote-style expressions, skins, and much more. Of course there's a direct tab for the cosmetic microtransaction store, but the creator comes with a bunch of free skins and content to choose from. If anything, the creator is just a kind of quick start option, and it houses all of your owned, purchased, and downloaded skins too.

Mojang was careful to say you'll still be able to import your existing character/skins, and the creator is 100% optional. "We've got a little paid stuff in here, but most of it's free. We've got hundreds of free items," said the stream co-host. The intent is to provide new and existing users with an easy and convenient way to grab skins and jump right in versus having to download them.

We don't mean to rain on everyone's parade, but the recent Red Dead Redemption 2 classification denial in Australia probably doesn't mean what you think it means. It's likely not for a PC port.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is almost assuredly coming to PC. Missing out on PC sales is just leaving sales and microtransaction cash on the table. No one knows when, but Rockstar just rolled out its own proprietary PC games launcher to prep the platform for new titles. It could definitely be soon. But contrary to reports, the latest RDR2 classification denial in Australia likely isn't for a PC version of the game. The idea is the Australian Classifications board refused a listing for RDR2 on PC, but there's some holes in this theory.

Australia actually approved the Western shooter when it came out, giving it a restricted MA15+ rating. The original filing is for Red Dead Redemption II, the proper title of the game, and was submitted by Rockstar Games (see below).

Next-gen consoles like PlayStation 5 and Project Scarlett will be a boon for Take-Two's developers, and shouldn't skyrocket development costs for key titles.

Right now the entire games industry is gearing up for next-gen. Both the PS5 and Project Scarlett consoles pose interesting opportunities for big gameplay performance gains thanks to significant hardware jumps; the systems both sport high-end AMD Zen 2 CPU and Navi GPU tech, complete with built-in superfast PCIe 4.0 SSDs, full backward compatibility support, and a strong emphasis on visuals and frame rate perf.

With these new advancements it stands to reason developers will have to spend more to squeeze out even more performance from the hardware. But that's not exactly the case, at least for Take-Two, who's all but confirmed GTA 6 is in the works for next-gen. The non-substantial cost bump and next-gen's similarity with PC hardware could translate to a shorter development cycle, too.

Even as indies capture a distinct multi-million window of sales, Take-Two thinks they won't really affect the big players of the market like Grand Theft Auto. And they might be right.

As more and more publishers push live games with tons of microtransactions, indies are on the rise to fill a void left by AAA titles. Games like Stardew Valley, Cuphead, Hollow Knight and even Divinity Original Sin 2 are beloved by many, selling millions of copies and being played for years. Some even see indies as the last bastion of true innovation in the games industry (and in some ways these people are right).

But they don't hold a candle to mega-hits like Grand Theft Auto, and won't pressure the industry's heavy hitters any time soon--at least that's what Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick thinks.

The CEO of Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive is dubious consumers actually want to be flooded with options by subscriptions like Xbox Game Pass.

Right now Xbox Game Pass is tremendously popular. The $10 a month subscription offers a glut of choices on consoles, including all future first-party Microsoft games, a ton of new titles that rotate in and out, and yesteryear classics. Its all-you-can-play model is disrupting the market and prompting major players like Ubisoft (uPlay+) and Apple (Apple Arcade) to follow suit.

But according to internal data collected by billion-dollar publisher Take-Two Interactive, most consumers only have a small slice of time to play games, and therefore spend their free time on a select few core titles. These consumers don't necessarily want to be inundated by too many games to play. For that reason, and the reason that gaming competes directly with entertainment like Netflix and other recreational activities, Take-Two isn't totally convinced services like Xbox Game Pass are the future of gaming.

Fortnite gets an epic Batman crossover to celebrate the Caped Crusader's 80th anniversary.

The Dark Knight has infiltrated Fortnite's battle royale mode, complete with specific challenges and Batman skins straight out of the comics and the movies.

There's a bunch of gadgets straight from Bruce Wayne's arsenal, including a grappling hook and an explosive batarang (both come in mythic variants). Catwoman makes a cosmetic appearance too, complete with her rakish claws.

BioWare might be shifting towards live games, but Dragon Age and Knights of the Old Republic writer David Gaider aims to keep the RPG flame alive with his new studio.

Dragon Age alum David Gaider and Beamdog dev Liam Esler are launching a new independent studio called Summerfall Studios. The studio is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and will use Kickstarter to crowdfund its first game. The new IP will be a narrative-driven experience, which makes sense given the frontrunners involved. Expect it to be a sprawling epic RPG set in a detailed and mythical fantasy world, and it should also be pretty dramatic.

The new project could show up on services like Google Stadia or even the Epic Games Store, which is known for courting indie studios. "The advent of streaming services means platforms are prepared to pay for lots of original content, following the Netflix model, and that's an exciting reality for indies if it continues," Esler told Kotaku Australia.

YouTube has reversed its controversial decision to yank verified badges from a number of high-profile streamers and YouTubers.

YouTube is always under fire for something, but this time the video titan relented and listened to its community. A bit ago YouTube decided to change its verification policy to make it harder to get a badge. The new policy would've revoked verification badges from dozens of YouTubers without much explanation. Predictably so, just about every content creator affected by the change made a video about the issue, prompting massive community pressure on YouTube's HQ.

Now YouTube head Susan Wojcicki recently announced the news and confirmed the policy rollback. YouTube still plans to go forward with a tighter verification process, but existing verified users won't lose their badges. New badge applications will open back up in October, but they'll be approved and filtered by YouTube this time. Accounts will still need at least 100,000 subscribers to apply.

Borderlands 3 developers Gearbox Software have already announced the first batch of post-launch content for Borderlands 3. Prepare for the Bloody Harvest vault-hunters.

During the Borderlands Show stream, Game Director, Paul Sage spoke about the event and said that it would last for around 6 weeks. During those 6 weeks players can expect to collect legendary grade weapons, skins and even some brand new environments and enemies. This will also of course be topped off with an epic boss battle.

Players who would like to participate in the Bloody Harvest event will need to have explored beyond Pandora and into space. Players will then encounter Haunted enemies roaming the galaxy, these enemies can give you a new "terror" debuff that weakens your gun handling, accuracy and spread. If you can manage to kill a Haunted enemy then you will receive Hecktoplasm, this can be traded aboard Sanctuary to a new character named Maurice.

Borderlands 3 is off to a big start, and with many players super happy about what they are experiencing, we can't but help to wonder if more characters to eventually be thrown into the mix.

Unfortunately that doesn't seem to the case for Borderlands 3's future as game director Paul Sage has officially ruled out the possibility via a Q&A at the end of the Borderlands Show stream. According to Sage, Gearbox's data has indicated to them that many Borderlands 3 players prefer sticking with their originally picked character, rather than jumping across to the additional characters.

Here is what Sage had to say in response to the question of more characters being added: "Probably not. No." He continued and said "You were asking me earlier about data that we use. And one of the things we actually saw was that once people have picked their character--not everybody, there are no 'everybodys,' but a lot of people--stick with that character and want to remain. Furthermore, in Borderlands 3, we really concentrated on diversity within the characters themselves and having a lot of different builds. So that was where we put our eggs, in the basket. Now some people might want more but I don't think that's the way to go, not for Borderlands 3."

PC gamers have data mined Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and have found that the game could contain a Battle Royale mode and much more.

The data mine leak comes from VG Sources who have posted the screenshot of the game files. While the screenshot could of definitely been much better quality, VG Sources claims that within the PC files of the beta references to a Battle Royale mode has been found. These references come in the form of a full list of locations, loot items and maps.

What also has been found in the game files is references to "Plunder" which VG Sources claim to be the cash system for the mode. With the earned cash players are assumed to be able to purchase cosmetic items within the game. There is also mention of a bank location, which could be where players store their hard earned dollars after each match. In the entirety of this article there is a listed of the maps which are said to feature Battle Royale.

Today Amazon announced that Prime members will get access to free in-game items in specific mobile games, starting with PUBG Mobile.

In a bid to keep rewarding subscribers and engage within billion-dollar games, Amazon has teamed up with some of mobile's hottest companies for Amazon Prime freebies. Prime subscribers now get access to an exclusive set of stylish Infiltrator skins on PUBG Mobile, which can be claimed here. These new offers are in conjunction with the existing Twitch Prime freebies and don't replace any other initiatives.

"Starting today, Prime members can take down enemies in style by claiming the exclusive stealthy Infiltrator Mask for PUBG MOBILE. Prime members will then be able to claim the Infiltrator Jacket, Infiltrator Pants, and Infiltrator Shoes to complete the Prime exclusive set, plus the brand-new Blood Oath - Karabiner 98K and Black Magma Parachute," reads a press release.

Nintendo wanted to sell the Switch Lite even cheaper than $199 in an effort to bolster hardware sales, but supplies pushed back.

According to anew report from The Wall Street Journal, Nintendo originally had a lower price in mind for the handheld-only Switch Lite. The console could've cost possibly as as little as $150 if suppliers agreed to Nintendo's terms. Sources close to Nintendo's supply chain say the company adamantly tried to lower the price by cutting costs but ultimately wavered, which isn't surprising. Nintendo aims to sell every Switch console at a profit and it likely didn't want to eat into this margin.

Even at $199 the Switch Lite is an attractive prospect. It can't connect to an HDTV nor can it enjoy its predecessor's boosted hardware performance when docked, but it certainly gets the job done. The Switch Lite uses a new 16nm Tegra X1 refresh with improved battery life and better thermals, and also sports a smaller design optimized for on-the-go play.

New earnings reports from 505 Games parent company Digital Bros. reveals how much Epic paid for Control's timed exclusivity on PC, and it's a lot.

Epic Games paid 9.49 million euros (roughly $10.4 million USD) to keep Control off of Steam for a year, Digital Bros.' latest quarterly earnings report states. That's roughly a third of Remedy's total 30 million euro budget for the game, making it extremely lucrative for Digital Bros. and its wholly-owned publisher 505 Games. The document doesn't outright state these revenues are from an exclusivity deal, but the figures show as much: Control made 9.49 million euros directly from Epic Games as of June 30, over a full month before the game actually came out.

This corroborates recent reports that Epic is "paying through the nose" for exclusives, pulling many indie devs over with sign-on funding bonuses and the promise of more cash with every sale.

The Pokemon franchise is the best-earning media franchise of all time with over $92 billion in total revenues, most of which is from merchandise.

Pokemon is the king of media, toppling titans like Star Wars, Mickey Mouse, and even Mario by a substantial margin. When game sales and merchandise are included, Pokemon has made the mighty sum of $92.12 billion in total media.

Merchandise like plush dolls and figures makes up the lion's share with $61.1 billion, or about 66% of total revenues. Pokemon Video games, including the massively popular handheld titles and Pokemon Go mobile game, have made $17.14 billion.

In a Kickstarter update, Ys Net says it's still uncertain if Shenmue 3 backers will get their promised free Steam keys.

Following the switch to the Epic Games Store, Ys Net offered to give Shenmue 3 backers an extra Steam key once the game's one-year exclusivity ends. Now the devs say the Steam keys may not be sent out. Negotiations with Valve are still underway and Ys Net isn't sure if it can deliver.

"As negotiations with Valve are ongoing, we are not able to make a firm commitment at this point concerning the availability of the Steam keys," Ys Net wrote in the Kickstarter update.

Feral Interactive has officially announced that that GRID Autosport, the triple A racing game has skidded onto the Nintendo Switch.

GRID Autosport which was developed and published by Codemasters is a "full-on racing simulator" and according to the press release is the "first full-on racing simulator to come to Nintendo Switch." The game will be arriving on the Switch in three different optimization modes; Graphics Mode, Performance Mode and Energy Saver Mode.

Graphics Mode will bump up the games graphics quality will decreasing the amount of FPS you receive, capping it at 30FPS. Performance mode will decrease the graphics and grant the player more FPS, bringing it up to 60FPS. Energy Saver Mode will put the game at its lowest graphical quality while also dropping frames to 30FPS. GRID Autosport is currently available on the Nintendo eShop for $34.99.

After the leaks and rumors surrounding the next Total War game, we finally have an officialy confirmation that the next game will be based in the Greek Mythology world of TROY.

Above we see the officialy trailer announcement that has been released onto the Total War YouTube Channel. Its a cinematic trailer and we are introduced to the two main combat characters of the era, Hector of Troy and Achilles of Greece. Developers Creative Assembly have chosen to delve into the Homer's Illiad and Oddyssey which are the books that detail the events of the siege of Troy and what caused the initial war.

From the trailer we can see that players will be able to take control of both the Greeks and the Trojans, as the game will hone in on the events that caused the Trojan War. According to the trailers description, "In this legendary age, heroes walk the earth. Yet it takes only a single impulsive act to spark a conflict that will shake the world. The Greeks set course for Troy, towards inevitable war and slaughter. For there, on the battlefield before the great city, legends will be born..."

Netflix dropped their Breaking Bad movie teaser trailer titled 'El Camino', it showcased Jesse Pinkman's drug dealer Skinny Pete being interrogated about Jesse's whereabouts.

Judging by what the teaser trailer showcased, the El Camino Netflix movie concentrates on the events after the Breaking Bad TV show. Skinny Pete is being interrogated about the location of Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), so we can assume that the movie will revolve around the police attempting to find Jesse.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Matt Jones will continue his role of Jesse's drug-dealer friend Badger in the movie. THR extends on the list of returning actors from the TV show, saying that El Camino will feature "more than 10 familiar characters from the show." For those that are wondering who is writing and directing the movie, sighs of relief can start now as Vince Gilligan, the writer for the Breaking Bad TV show will also be writing and directing the El Camino movie.

Elrond says in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring, "I was there Gandalf, I was there 3000 years ago when the strength of men failed". Just like Elrond, I was there when Jagex first introduced microtransactions into the live game.

I have been playing RuneScape for over 10 years now and never have I seen a community more fired up and worried at the same time then when Jagex first introduced microtransactions into their game. Ultimately, this plus the introduction of Evolution of Combat killed RuneScape, and resulted in the company polling their players opinions on re-rolling the servers back to 2007scape, which is what we now know as Old School RuneScape today.

At first the microtransactions weren't that big of deal because they weren't worth the real-world money for the in-game items or chance through the Sequel of Fortune. That later changed when Jagex started leaning much more towards promotions for the Sequel of Fortune (basically an in-game slot machine) and rewarded players exponentially with experience boosters, gear etc etc. This caused the community to be outraged as players who had extra real-world money to spend had a clear and unsettling advantage over players who just put the time into reaching their set goals.