Gaming - Page 800

A new job listing suggests Ninja Theory's next game will have live service elements of some kind, which should make its new owners at Microsoft quite happy.

Now that it has been folded into Microsoft's internal Game Studios division, it only makes sense that Ninja Theory would consequently meld live service components into its future games. Ninja Theory is hiring for a Senior Games Analyst who will parse, interpret, and manage key data points on a regular basis, strongly hinting its upcoming project(s) will have online features of some kind.

KPIs or key performance indicators, which are critical components for any live service game, are mentioned in the listing alongside other interesting clues. The analyst will essentially prepare Ninja Theory's new game to tap important data metrics before and after launch. All of these things are hallmarks of the engagement-driven strategy that drives big-name online multiplayer games from publishers like Activision, Ubisoft, Take-Two, and Microsoft.

Blizzard may not reveal the next mainline Diablo game at BlizzCon 2018, leading to widespread disappointment.

Diablo isn't ready to walk the Earth again and the Burning Hells won't boil over to the mortal realm...at least that's the impression Blizzard left us with. A new official Diablo post cautions fans not to expect specific things at BlizzCon 2018, and while they don't explicitly say Diablo IV won't be announced, it's heavily hinted at. The company is currently making several new Diablo projects--some of which are likely games and other transmedia content--right now, but not all of them will be announced or showcased at next month's nerd gala.

Many clues indicate Diablo IV has been in the works for quite some time now (I spotted some clues as far back as 2016, but dev likely began shortly after Reaper of Souls launched) but I advised gamers not to expect the sequel any time soon.

Darksiders III is planned for launch next month and ahead of the games launch an interview with the development director for the title has revealed what players can expect in terms of gameplay length.

The interview was conducted with WCCFtech and Reinhard Pollice, the Business & Product Development Director at THQ Nordic. When asked about the games length Pollice responded with "Playtime is always a tricky question as it depends on numerous factors. On average, we would say somewhere around 15-hours-plus, which is similar to the first Darksiders."

Pollice also revealed that Darksiders III will also be launching with HDR support, so players with a HDR monitor or TV will be able to enjoy the true beauty of the game with a much larger color palette range. Darksiders III is coming to the PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The title will be released on November 27th, for further information visit the official Darksiders III website here.

Rocket League developers psyonix have taken to their website to announce that Rocket League on the Xbox One X is soon to get full 4K/60FPS support topped with amazing HDR.

According to the announcement, Psyonix have one planned update left for 2018 and that is to bring Xbox One X players the best Rocket League experience that they can provide. The only way this can be achieved is if the developer rolls out a performance and graphical improvement update and that is exactly what they are doing, Rocket League is about to get Enhanced Xbox One X support. The update is currently planned for release in December and Psyonix will have another announcement leading up to the launch.

Throughout the announcement on their website, Psyonix also addressed the crossplay situation between Microsoft and Sony. Psyonix will be delaying the release of RocketID due to the progression being made towards crossplay between both platforms, "Sony's recent announcements regarding full cross-platform functionality, we can now make additional changes to prepare RocketID for ALL platforms should we receive permission to do so!" If you are interested in checking out the official post, visit the Rocket League website here.

When you think back the classic granddaddy of gaming titles, numerous titles such as Mario, Yoshi and DOOM come to mind. Tossed into that very same category is SEGA's legendary Sonic and judging by his sale numbers that claim has certainly been backed up.

SEGA just released their finnicial reports regarding their most successful flagship titles and their sales numbers from their creation to present date. Of course, as completely expected, our very fast blue friend takes the crown as the companies most prized mascot. Sonic was first created in 1991 on the SEGA Genesis or known as the Mega Drive to those who lived outside of North America. Since then, the franchise has pushed the boundaries of sales as the blue hedgehog has managed to shift 800 million separate units.

Just to emphasize how truly big that number is, the second closest SEGA franchise next to Sonic is Puyo Puyo which was also released in 1991 and has only sold 27 million units. Even if you add up the sales on each of the other seperate SEGA franchises it doesn't even scratch close to what Sonic has done for the company. If you are interested in checking out the sales margins for SEGA's other franchises, visit the official financial report that has been released here.

Another title is on its way to the Nintendo Switch, this time round we have Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors making its way over to the hand held console. Introducing, Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition DX for Switch.

Now before you go and get all excited, it should be noted that back in November of 2017 Koei Tecmo brought Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires, Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada and Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate to the Nintendo Switch but never debuted a western release. This means that Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends could only be seeing a Japanese release, hope fully this is not the case as I'd assume many Switch owners in western markets would love to see these games on their hand-held console.

Jumping straight into what is included within the Complete Edition, from the announcement we will have scenarios, costumes and items. According to the announcement, the Complete Edition DX save data will be compatible with the other Warriors games that are on the Nintendo Switch. This means that players that already own Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires, Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate and Warriors Orochi 4 could receive bonuses upon purchasing the Complete Edition. The planned launch date in Japan for Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition DX is currently set for December 27th for both the physical and digital release.

In wake of the recently announced Diablo III Eternal Collection bundle, Blizzard has taken things a step further and announced a treasure hunt. Let the hunt for the Diablo III Eternal Collection and more begin!

According to the recent announcement, players over the age of 17 will have the opportunity to participate in a world-wide treasure hunt. Participants will be have to follow clues scattered throughout the internet and the real-world. Players will have to follow @Diablo on Twitter to receive clues, from these clues players can redeem Dibalo themed prizes from Blizzard.

Some of the prizes that will be given away throughout the treasure hunt are: Nintendo Switch Diablo III Eternal Collection Bundle, digital copies of the Diablo III for the Switch, replicas and much more. If you are interested in checking out the official Dibalo treasure hunt page, a link can be found to website here. If you want to check out the clues that have already been released, visit the official Diablo Twitter page here. A full list of the rewards and prizes has been provided in the entirety of the post. The event will begin on 9:00 a.m., Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on October 15, 2018 and finish on 9:00 AM Pacific Standard Time (PST) November 9, 2018.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has been out for about a week now, and as promised developer Treyarch have unleashed a new patch that removes the FPS cap in ALL modes of the game, including the exciting new battle royale mode 'Blackout'.

The new patch includes a bunch of general issues being fixed, gameplay balances, and so much more. The general fixes include:

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a little over 24 hours away from being available to pre-load, and now that we're close we know how much HDD space you'll need on your Xbox One or PS4. Rockstar has teased on Twitter that the Red Dead Redemption 2 launch trailer will debut October 18 at 10AM ET while pre-orders on digital format will kick off pre-loads on Friday at 12AM ET.

Red Dead Redemption 2 comes in at 88.57GB on the Xbox One, while the PS4 version is a tad bigger requiring 89.2GB of free HDD space. Given that you'll be downloading close to 100GB, you might want to start pre-loading Red Dead Redemption 2 as soon as humanly possible. If you don't have the internet connection to handle the 90GB download, then getting the physical version of RDR 2 might be a good idea.

Sony PlayStation 4 owners are in for a treat over Xbox gamers, with a PS4 Pro bundle and limited time exclusive content for PS4 gamers. You'll receive the following:

Epic Games has pushed out a new update to Fortnite, with the new v6.10 patch including some PS4 Pro specific optimizations that boost the rendering resolution.

The developer notes on its website: "If your PS4 Pro is plugged into a 4K TV, the game now renders at 1440p instead of 1080p". There are also some "audio memory optimizations" for Xbox and "physics optimizations for cosmetic items".

As for events, this is what we can expect:

Oh, you thought spending $115 on the upcoming Fallout 76 Platinum Edition included the game? You idiot, of course it doesn't!

Yeah, that's what is happening with Fallout 76 Platinum Edition, which costs $115 and doesn't even include a copy of the game. The $80 version in the Fallout 76 Tricentennial Edition includes the game, as does the Fallout 76 Power Armor Edition which costs $200. The one in the middle for $115, yeah you won't get a copy.

Bethesda says on its website that the Fallout 76 Platinum Edition doesn't include the game, but it only says that right at the end of the detailed guide on what the Platinum Edition comes with. The developer notes "Fallout 76 Game not included". It would be nice to see that at the top of the website, in bold. Not at the bottom like an afterthought.

Looking for something to add that haunting sound to your Halloween festivities? Try out this orchestrated Zelda music.

There are few old-school sounds that invoke spooky feelings like The Legend of Zelda's dungeon tune. It's just so...creepy and gloriously maleficent. The tune is like an 8-bit funeral march that promises both adventure and danger, beckoning players through tombs and hallowed mausoleums that house monsters, titanic beasts, and the undead. The NES has a surprising array of eerie melodies that just worm their way into your imagination.

I honestly forgot about this track for a long, long time, and replaying Zelda 1 on the Nintendo Switch's NES library instantly brought back those old childhood feelings of fascinated dread. It's really a perfect Halloween tune. I think most people have heard it at some point and playing it at a gathering or party should call forth those old spectacular memories of yore--or at the very least have people asking what the hell it's from.

As we expected, Red Dead Redemption 2's physical release will ship on two Blu-ray discs.

Rockstar's new Western game is absolutely massive in data size, scope, and content. Since Red Dead Redemption 2 clocks in at 88GB on Xbox One and requires about 105GB of HDD space on PS4 it only makes sense to ship the retail in-store version across two discs.

The huge open-world renegade adventure will be a dual-disc release on PS4, Japanese games outlet Game's Talk reports. This is actually good for consumers: instead of shipping half of the game on one disc and requiring a massive day-one update like most publishers or developers do, Rockstar is shipping the game as a complete package (well, barring the ~3GB day-one update). But why two discs? Remember Xbox One and PS4 consoles only recognize dual layer Blu-ray discs, which have a maximum capacity of 50GB, and can't read the more advanced dual-layer 4K UHD Blu-rays (66GB capacities) or triple-layer Blu-rays (up to 100GB+). Both discs come with data that must be pre-installed on current-gen consoles in order to play.

Sony will use the power and versatility of blockchain tech to better secure its content infrastructure and possibly its games and media sold on the PlayStation Network.

Many games companies are (and have been) experimenting with blockchain for some time now. EA has its next-gen research division SEED, and Ubisoft actually used blockchain to make a game and discovered a new monetization route with its Strategic Innovations Lab. Sony is doing the same, but plans to use blockchain to protect its content.

Sony today formally announced its plans to use blockchain for DRM security. The tech will protect educational materials from its Global Education division at the start, but could find its way to other platforms and storefronts like the PlayStation Store and PlayStation Network, both of which are billion-dollar earners for the company. This news isn't exactly a surprise, however, and a patent filed in May indicated blockchain-powered DRM was on the way.

We are only a couple days out from the official launch of Soulcalibur VI, so I thought I'd do a character reveal trailer round up for anyone that missed out some of the awesome trailer reveals that have been released.

In additional to the character reveal trailers, Bandai Namco has taken to their YouTube Channel to introduce the 'Basic's of Combat' with Mark Julio. The goal of the video is to inform anyone that was wondering how the basics of combat work in Soulcalibur VI, Julio runs us through jumping, blocking, stepping, horizontal attacks, break attacks and much more.

In the entirety of the post you will find each of the character trailers for Raphael, Cervantes, Tira, Maxi, Taki, Siegfried and Geralt. I also included the trailers for Azwel, Voldo, Astaroth and Inferno. Soulcalibur VI is launching on October 19th for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. For further information regarding Soulcalibur VI, visit the official website here.

There has been much talk about the working conditions Rockstar put their employee's under, and now a former employee for the developer has come forward and voiced his experience.

Earlier during the week it was revealed through an interview with Vulture that Rockstar Studios' co-founder, Dan Houser made his development team work multiple 100-hour weeks throughout 2018 to complete Red Dead Redemption 2. Job J Stauffer, the co-founder of Orpheus Self-Care Entertainment spoke out about his experience of working at Rockstar Studios, he said "It's been nearly a decade since I parted from Rockstar, but I can assure you that during the GTA IV era, it was like working with a gun to your head 7 days a week."

Stauffer continued and regarded Dan Houser and Sam Houser, saying that employee's were required to "be here Saturday & Sunday too, just in case Sam or Dan come in, they want to see everyone working as hard as them." Stauffer didn't stop there either, he even went onto recount a time when he claims that he had the flu and needed a day off, but was then "put on notice" for work due to him being on Twitter while he was at home. Here is the full quote "There was an instance in 08 or 09 when I legitimately had THE FLU. Needed a day off. Went to Drx, got an Rx for Tamiflu, had an allergic reaction, tweeted a photo, then got put on notice for not coming in to work and 'fooling around on Twitter' instead. True story. F***** crazy."

It is time to buckle up your handheld console as Fox McCloud has taken the controls and flown Starlink: Battle for Atlas right into the live world of the Nintendo Switch. Starlink: Battle for Atlas is now available!

In celebration of the games launch, Nintendo has taken to their YouTube Channel to release a brand new launch trailer for the game. Players that haven't been following Starlink: Battle for Atlas should know that if they decide to pick up this title that they will be able to experience a group of "heroic interstellar pilots, dedicated to saving the Atlas star system from the Forgotten Legion, an evil robot force." Players will be able to build their own modular Starships, equip it with different parts and take them for epic space battles across the Atlas system.

Nintendo Switch players will be glad to know that Starlink: Battle for Atlas will be arriving on the Nintnedo Switch console with exclusive content. Switch players will be able to play as Fox McCloud or better known as Star Fox. There will be a slew of bonus missions available to play as him as well as the addition of his classic Arwing spacecraft. If you are interested in checking out more about Starlink: Battle for Atlas visit the official website listing here.

The day has finally come and Ubisoft have released their "most ambitious" update ever to come to For Honor. Introducing 'Marching Fire' and the slew of content that comes with it.

There probably isn't a better time than right now to jump into For Honor, Ubisoft are truly killing it with all these updates and the recently reached 15 million players can back that up. Marching Fire has just been released and to celebrate Ubisoft have released a brand new gameplay trailer for the update, can be viewed above.

Included within Marching Fire we have "a new faction, 4 new heroes, a new 4x4 mode, significant visual enhancements and unlimited single player and 2-person co-op PVE mode yet to be revealed." The four new heroes will be a faction of warriors from within the walls of Ancient China. The faction has been titled Wu Lin and the warriors are: Shaolin (staff), Tiandi (dao blade), Jiang Jun (guandao) and Nuxia (hook swords). If you happened to miss the possible next coming update to For Honor, Ubisoft teased 'The Year of The Harbinger' which at the moment is quite unclear, visit that story here and check it out for yourself. Visit the official Marching Fire listing on the Ubisoft website here.

If you are one of the 10% of gamers that have completely finished Insomniac's Spider-Man on the PS4 then you are no doubt waiting for the first chapter from The City Never Sleeps DLC to drop. The launch is just around the corner and will be bringing some new outfits as well.

For those that didn't know, Spider-Man will be subjected to three separate chapters of DLC content, all of which will be coming under the umbrella of 'The City that Never Sleeps.' The first of which is titled "The Heist" will be introducing players to Felicia Hardy, or better known as the classic Black Cat.

Players could expect there to be some romance in the air throughout this DLC as both Black Cat and Spider-Man have quite a history of being past lovers throughout the comic books. Also included within the DLC are some brand new suits for players to enjoy, we can see from the above image that the three suits are: Resilient Suit from Gabriele d'Otto, Scarlet Spider II suit and the Spider-UK suit from Spider-Verse. Spider-Man 'The Heist DLC' will be launching on October 23rd, for further information visit the official website here.

Age-old companies like Capcom and SEGA have a wealth of IP to tap for remasters, remakes, and re-releases, but SEGA is cautious in depending too strongly on past titles.

A lot of SEGA's biggest games are a mix of retro and modern franchises like Sonic, Persona, Puyo Puyo, Yakuza, and Megami Tensei. With 800 million copies sold worldwide since 1991, Sonic is by far the company's biggest property and has seen lots of re-releases and games to date. SEGA will continue going down this path, the company said in its new annual report, but it won't rely heavily on classics to carry it to 2020.

"Under Road to 2020, SEGA is actively investing in intellectual properties (IP), including the creation of new IP and the revival of past IP. Revived IP are seeing some success," said SEGA chief content officer Toshihiro Nagoshi.