Gaming - Page 761

Just a couple days ago, Deep Silver announced that they would be skipping the release of Metro Exodus on the Steam Store. Instead they decided to exclusively feature Exodus on the Epic Store.

The news was announced on the Metro website as well as the Steam Store listing for Exodus. The announcement summarized that the chosen partnership with Epic is an investment into the future of the Metro series and for the developer 4A Games. Epic Games offers developers and publishers 88% of all the revenue that they make while having their game on their platform.

This deal had Metro Exodus pulled from the Steam Store listing, but for anyone who has pre-orderd the title through Steam will still have access to Metro Exodus and its future content through the Steam client. For physical copy buyers on the PC, Metro Exodus will be arriving with a Epic Store key that will need to be activated. This activation key will exclusively be used in the Epic Store and will not be able to be used in Steam. Deep Silver's parent company THQ Nordic came out against the exclusivity deal with Epic, check out more about that here.

Nintendo has started off the month of February by finally releasing Piranha Plant to pre-order players of Super Smash Bros. UItimate. The new fighter joined the fight in update 2.0.0 that has now been made live.

As expected, Nintendo have released a new update for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The update brings the game to version 2.0.0 and comes with numerous changes to fighters across the board and the addition of Piranha Plant. Nintendo has celebrated the addition of the new fighter with the above post on the Nintendo Versus Twitter page, the post showcases Piranha Plant being added to the character roster.

According to some users that have downloaded the update, using Piranha Plant in All-Star mode has unfortunately corrupted their save files. Piranha Plant isn't the only fighter doing this as well, according to some other reports, using Mii Swordfighter and Duck Hunt in Centruary Smash can also corrupt your save files. Since this just isn't a few people complaining about this bug, I would advise using Piranha Plant and the other listed characters in those specific game modes until Nintendo issue out a hotfix for the problems.

The official Twitter account for Intel Graphics has tweeted out an inspirational video that features ex-RTG boss Raja Koduri as Senior VP and chief architect at Intel, as well as interim CEO Bob Swan chiming in. The video itself is actually a recruitment piece, with Intel seeking people to join their 107,000 strong family of employees.

Raja starts off his part saying that Intel is starting off from zero in discrete graphics, but the Intel GPU team see this as an "opportunity for unleashing the discrete graphics from the constraints of integrated graphics". Raja is an engineer at heart and is a kid in a candy store at Intel, where he adds that Intel IP portfolio at transistor, firmware and software levels is "incredible". Koduri continued, comparing the IP portfolio like a "very complex LEGO structure", he continued "this is what the world's best engineers we have access to all of the right LEGO blocks with this company".

But it was the part where Raja said he wanted a future with photo-realistic immersive worlds, and the quick part of wanting to build games with "virtual worlds that are as large as this universe". That is a bold statement, and with Intel fully PC focused (none of this console funny business, semi-custom is cool and all but the world of high-end PC gaming and the future of high-end gaming needs the power to render and create worlds as big as Koduri wants to build).

Blizzard has just unveiled a new map for Overwatch that it has pushed into the PTR, with the new map 'Paris' coming to competitive mode in the near future.

The new map is an Assault-style map that will have two teams of six defending or attacking two points, with Paris to be playable in both the quick play and competitive modes of Overwatch. Blizzard teases Paris with "narrow streets and corridors" with locations you'll visit in Overwatch while playing the map include Seine river, Cabaret Luna, the Pâtisserie Galand, and Maison Marat.

This is the first new map for Overwatch since September 2018 when Busan was released, while its the first new Assault map since the June 2017 release of Horizon Lunar Colony. We should expect the full release of Paris into the quick play and competitive modes in the next couple of weeks, which'll line right up with Razer's new gaming laptop that arrives in pink - a new map and pink gaming laptop for Valentine's Day.

Secretlab has just announced it has teamed up with Tribe Gaming, the Vainglory World Champions and their shift in dominating the mobile esports world. With this partnership, Secretlab has inked its first deal with a mobile esports related company.

Ian Alexander Ang, co-founder and CEO of Secretlab said: "Mobile gaming is fast becoming a mainstay in esports, and professional mobile gamers also require high-performance equipment as they face the same rigours and demands. We're proud to be partnering with Tribe Gaming, who showed the world they are one of the top mobile gaming teams when they won the Vainglory Worlds Championship in 2017, just months after their organisation was formed. From today, we'll equip their mobile gamers with our ultra-comfortable and award-winning chairs to keep them comfortable and focused for their long hours of practice and gaming".

Patrick Carney, founder and CEO of Tribe Gaming explained: "This partnership with Secretlab seemed like destiny after winning the Vainglory World Championship while sitting in their signature chairs. We're excited to push mobile esports forward alongside Secretlab, and we're looking forward to winning a number of additional championships in the comfort of their chairs".

Sony's full internal development focus for its first-party developers is now the next generation PlayStation 5 console, something that industry analyst Daniel Ahmad has teased.

Ahmad said to ResetEra: "in general, most of the focus for Sony [first party studios] is on PS5 right now. It is still early to talk about next gen but I imagine we'll hear some whispers come out of GDC. PS5 dev kits are out there and I've heard positive things about it", but we already knew the last part.

The first part where close developers and Sony itself is fully focused on the PlayStation 5 is great news as we are close to GDC 2019 and E3 2019, with the latter event Sony pulling out of - so expect the rumors of a mid-2019 announcement of the PS5 to be true. We already know that 18% of game developers are working on games for next-gen platforms, something that will include the rumored Next Xbox X console which sounds like it'll be even faster than the PS5.

We are getting closer and closer to next-gen console announcements as E3 2019 approaches in June, but now we've had Xbox boss Phil Spencer speaking with Major Nelson where he said: "This is going to be a fun E3 for us".

There was a previous conversation at Microsoft regarding E3 2019 when Sony pulled out of hosting a press conference there, with Spencer adding: "There was some news about E3 back in the fall. We had a discussion internally about, 'Should we go big?' 'Should we save some money?' 'What does that mean?' We decided, no [we're not going to save money], we're going to do our thing. We're going to go and be as big at E3 as we've ever been. I love that opportunity".

Microsoft will lay out its greater plan for the future of Xbox at E3 2019 where we will better learn about what they have planned for the future, as well as what the Xbox brand means - beyond what it means as a physical console. Spencer underlined the fact that there are millions of people who spend time and money on platforms off of the Xbox including PCs and mobile, and he has plans to show people at E3 2019 that they won't need an Xbox to be part of the Xbox community.

On a hunt for a new game that pits you against epic bosses of enormous statue? Well, on January 31st the crowd funded title 'Praey for the Gods' will be arriving on Steam Early Access.

Praey for the Gods is an indie crowd-funded title developed and published by No Matter Studios. The game resembles a somewhat Shadow of the Colossus experience where players will face off against a variety of massive bosses that will require precision and careful planning to take down. Players will begin their journey on a island and will be forced into complete survival mode.

The above launch trailer gives us a quick tease at what these bosses will look like and some other cool abilities players will have. Praey for the Gods will allow for players to climb, glide and swim wherever they see fit. Taken from the games Steam Store listing; "You can climb on virtually anything you can get your hands-on, from ruins and mountains to the massive beasts that inhabit the land. Ascend to the tops of mountains and then glide over the open world to reach previously inaccessible locations. Swim in frigid water to uncover hidden locations that contain secrets and treasure, but don't stay in too long or your swim could become your last."

The new firmware update for the Nintendo Switch has been issued out and is now live. The new version brings brand new icons and languages for users.

Version 7.0.0 for your Nintendo Switch has now been made live. While the update didn't add many new features to the Switch, Nintendo has instead added support in the 'home' menu for more languages such as "Chinese (simplified), Chinese (Tradional) and Korean". Nintendo also give a step-by-step tutorial on how to change languages; "To change the language, head to the System Settings > System > Language".

Languages additions weren't the only thing Nintendo brought within their 7.0.0 update, six new Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe icons have also been added. After the update has been downloaded and installed, Nintendo Switch users can edit their user icon by following these steps; "head to your My Page > Profile on the top left of the HOME menu". Just like most firmware updates, "general system stability improvements to enhance the user's experience" have also been added. It is unclear what these improvements are, but they are welcomed.

Yesterday, we learned about Metro Exodus for the PC being a timed exclusive for the Epic Games Store, the Deep Silver title made the jump over Valve's Steam and will be featured exclusively on the Epic Store until 2020.

Quite a massive decision for publisher Deep Silver, but not a completely uneducated one. The Epic Store offers a much more substantial split of 88% of revenue going straight back to the developers, and only 12% being taken by Epic Games. Now, THQ Nordic, the parent company to both Koch Media and Deep Silver has issued a statement regarding the choice of dodging a release on Steam for a year.

Here is what THQ Nordic has said: "The decision to publish Metro Exodus as a timed Epic Store exclusive was made entirely on Koch Media's side as Metro is their intellectual property. They are a sister company of THQ Nordic (Vienna), which is the reason why we can and will not comment on this matter. We do not want to categorically exclude the possibility of timed exclusives for any of our games in the future, but speaking in the here and now, we definitely want to have the players choose the platform of their liking and make our portfolio available to as many outlets as possible."

Last week we learned that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate would be acquiring a brand new update from Nintendo, the contents of the update have been kept under wraps but it will be released very very soon.

The news comes from the above Twitter account SSBUBot, who claims that Nintendo will be issuing out update 2.0.0 on 5:00PM PST/8:00pm EST. The contents of the update are still disclosed, Nintendo hasn't shown Smash players what will be changed or added when they download and update to 2.0.0, but speculation has led me to believe that the main addition within this update will be the pre-order fighter Piranha Plant.

Nintendo said that Piranha Plant was going to be released sometime throughout "February", so issuing out update 2.0.0 now could either be Nintendo releasing the preliminary data packets for players to download and be activated at a later date, or Nintendo are simply releasing Piranha Plant. It should be noted that at the moment Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is currently sitting at version 1.0.7, so we would jumping from 1.0.7 straight to version 2.0.0, this could suggest that a big change to the game is underway. I will be sure to update you with the update details once they are released.

Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 hardware is on the way, and first-party studios have access to devkits for the new console.

According to Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad, Sony has shipped out PS5 development kits to help power new first-party games. Sony has yet to announce anything concrete, but this move isn't actually surprising as developers play a critical role to any system's development.

As for hardware specifics, sources told TweakTown the PS5 is powered by a discrete GPU instead of an combined APU with shared CPU and graphics. The system may also leverage an 8-core Zen 2 CPU from AMD with Navi graphics technology. Despite this hardware jump, the system is likely to play all existing PS4 games and be backwards compatible with last-gen titles.

EA reverses its stance and complies with Belgian gambling laws, removing FIFA Points from its games in the region.

Today EA announced that FIFA Points, the premium currency bought with real money to unlock Ultimate Team packs, will no longer be sold in Belgium. The move concludes the surprising battle between the billion-dollar publisher and the Belgian government over lootbox legality. EA now joins other games-makers like Blizzard, Valve, and 2K Games who turned off lootbox monetization in key titles like Overwatch, and Counter-Strike, and NBA 2K.

"After further discussions with the Belgian authorities, we have decided to stop offering FIFA Points for sale in Belgium. This means that players in Belgium will not be able to purchase points to obtain FIFA Ultimate Team packs. We're working to make these changes effective in our FIFA console and PC games by January 31, 2019," EA wrote in a statement.

Chinese mobile juggernaut NetEase has partnered with Quantic Dream to make next-gen games on multiple platforms.

For years Quantic Dream's games (Heavy Rain, Detroit: Become Human, etc) have been exclusive to PlayStation. But the studio has always had a bigger vision that expands into all platforms, not just Sony's hardware, and that's why it signed a partnership deal with NetEase. Studio head David Cage confirms NetEase bought a minority stake in Quantic Dream, giving the devs a long-term investment to help make new games on all systems. This deal is similar to NetEase's $100 million investment into Bungie's new "bold vision."

"We're very excited to report that NetEase has taken a minority share in the capital of Quantic Dream," Cage said in a recent interview with VentureBeat. "This investment will allow us to invest in future technologies and games in order to prepare for the next generation of platforms, with the same ambition regarding creativity and innovation."

Resident Evil 2 Remake has shipped 3 million copies worldwide on all platforms, Capcom today announced.

Capcom's new Resident Evil game isn't just the best horror title I've played, but it's among the best remakes ever made. The games-maker put considerable efforts to open a new dimension of horror with tons of tweaks, optimizations, graphical overhauls with the new REngine, and new spatial sound. Now everything is paying off big time with strong shipments and sales.

Resident Evil 2 Remake has shipped 3 million units in its first week of availability, Capcom says, bringing to over half of the original 1998's total sales. In fact, RE2make may be on track to beat Resident Evil 7's current 6 million lifetime sales. The company says it hopes to elongate the remake's lifecycle with long-term sales. To do so Capcom will use the free Ghost Survivors story DLC to help engage players over a greater period of time, and we could see other bonus paid content similar to RE7's post-launch roadmap.

Yesterday Bandai announced a new Dragon Ball game to fall under the action-RPG genre, the announcement revealed the placeholder name 'Project Z' and now further details have been released for the title.

In a recent press release from Bandai Namco, we get some more details about what to expect for the coming action-RPG Dragon Ball title. 'Project Z' will be taking players on "the most dramatic and epic telling of the Dragon Ball Z story", with this now new information we can assume that players will be able to play missions from the following saga'; Raditz and Vegeta Sagas, Namek and Captain Ginyu Sagas, Frieza Saga, Garlic Jr., Trunks, and Androids Sagas, Imperfect Cell and Perfect Cell Sagas, Cell Games Saga, Other World, Great Saiyaman. and World Tournament Sagas, Babidi and Majin Buu Sagas and Fusion, Kid Buu, and Peaceful World Sagas.

It will be very interesting to see if Bandai decide to cover every story arc throughout each of the Dragon Ball Z sagas, as I'm very sure many Dragon Ball fans would love to start right at the beginning and work their way through all the way to the end. Eric Hartness, Vice President of Marketing at Bandai Namco Entertainment America said "Combining the fabled story of DRAGON BALL Z with a proven video game development studio is a surefire way to create an awesome DRAGON BALL adventure. We can't wait to unveil the official name for the game and share more gameplay details with players!"

Yesterday Bandai teased that Dragon Ball FighterZ would be receiving some news, they also mentioned that the "fighter from Universe 11 is joining the fight". A new trailer has confirmed what was expected, and also comes with some well met surprises.

The above video was released onto the Bandai Namco America YouTube Channel and begins with the official reveal of the "fighter from Universe 11" - Jiren. As I mentioned yesterday, we see a display of moves from Jiren resembling that of what he does in TV show. Next, we are introduced to Gohan's wife Videl, we see a variety of combos from Videl before she calls on the assistance of Gohan.

Closer to the end of the video, Bandai tease fans further by showcasing that four more fighters are yet to be revealed. Two of these fighters are named to be "Broly (DBS)" and "Gogeta (SSGSS)". No gameplay was shown for each of these characters, just an image saying that they have joined the fight. The new fighters pass headed for Dragon Ball FighterZ will release on January 31st. Dragon ball FighterZ is available on the Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch.

After the tease of Fantastic Four content coming to Marvel's Spider-Man, we now have some brand new 'Fantastic Four' themed suits for players to enjoy.

The news comes from the official Spider-Man Twitter page for the game, above we can see images of the "Bombastic Bag Man Suit" and the "Future Foundation Suit". If players are unsure of where the reference to the Fantastic Four is within both of these suits, Spider-Man writer Christos Gage gave a explanation; "There have been too many cool Spidey/Fantastic Four moments to count, but one of the most memorable was in Amazing Spider-Man #258, when Spidey swung by the Fantastic Four's headquarters for help with the alien symbiote he was wearing as a costume. The Fantastic Four got it off, but then Spidey was left in his underpants, so he borrowed a Fantastic Four costume...but they don't have masks!"

He continued; "So, to conceal Peter Parker's secret identity, his frenemy, the Human Torch, gave Spidey a grocery bag to wear on his head. As The Thing might say, what a revoltin' development! Another chapter in their shared story came when Spidey actually joined the Fantastic Four, then calling themselves the Future Foundation, and they all wore cool black and white costumes." It is no doubt a shame that the teased Fantastic Four content wasn't a playable story of some kind, regardless though these are some very cool looking suits I'm sure web-head players will enjoy. The two suits are apart of the games update version 1.14, other patch notes are listed below.

Capcom have no doubt staggered everyone with the release of the remade Resident Evil 2, the game has been so well received by the community that fans now want more, but which game in series will be getting the magic touch from Capcom? The fans decide.

Capcom's Resident Evil 2 producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi spoke to Japanese website 'Game Watch' and was asked about the future of the Resident Evil franchise. It was revealed that Capcom begun the remaking of Resident Evil 2 by popular fan request, and this same principal can now be taken for any title within the series. Hirabayashi said that if fans want Resident Evil 3 or any of the Resident Evil titles remade with a modern Capcom touch, then all they have to is ask and make their voices well-known to Capcom.

It is very awesome to see a game developer as big as Capcom really listen to their audience, and give the fans of the Resident Evil franchise not only exactly what they wanted, but also give them the option for choosing what is coming next. Props to Capcom for this achievement in not only great game development for the remake of Resident Evil 2, but also for listening to the fans of the franchise and giving them the option of choosing which title will be in the pipeline next.

Capcom plans to expand Resident Evil 2: Remake's storyline with a series of free episodic DLC updates that kick off next month.

Resident Evil 2: Remake is the scariest game I've ever played. Capcom have proven they're the undisputed masters of horror with RE2make--everything about the game has this gritty nightmarish feel, this dream-like quality that seems real but also unreal, an encapsulating dread that's only amplified by the dire struggle and visceral death around you. As I play, I often wonder about the people who didn't make it. What were their lives like, what's their story? Now Capcom plans to flesh out its zombie remake with answers to those questions.

The Remake is getting a three-part series of free DLC called Ghost Survivors, which is a new mode that blends story with survival.