Gaming - Page 937

E3 2017 - Bethesda got into hot water with its new Creation Club program, which allows gamers to buy credits with real money to spend on extra content in Skyrim and Fallout 4. But the publisher has revealed new details about the initiative, clearing up some important facts.

Bethesda's new Creation Club program is less like paid mods, and is more like extra high-quality DLC snippets made internally from the studio themselves. The publisher says that the content sold on Creation Club aren't mods--they're high-quality pieces of content that must pass Q&A testing, including full Alpha and Beta phases.

"Creation Club is a collection of all-new content for both Fallout 4 and Skyrim. It features new items, abilities, and gameplay created by Bethesda Games Studios and outside development partners including the best community creators. Creation Club content is fully curated and compatible with the main game and official add-ons," Bethesda says.

One of the hottest games right now is PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, which has sold over 3 million copies on the PC, with the new survival shooter game headed to consoles - an exclusive Microsoft scored for its Xbox One platform.

Battlegrounds' creator Brendan Greene announced the news during Microsoft's own E3 conference, as an Xbox One exclusive. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds will be released "later this year" on Xbox, with Greene confirming Battlegrounds will have Xbox One X specific enhancements, but we don't know what they are just yet. With the game squeezing even the best PCs to their edges, it'll be interesting to see what it looks like, the render resolution and detail on the Xbox family of consoles - especially the new 4K-capable Xbox One X console.

If you thought Minecraft looked alright in its stock state or modified state, prepare yourselves for the "Super Duper Graphics Pack" that Microsoft just announced for Minecraft.

The upcoming "Super Duper Graphics Pack" will add more realistic textures, light effects, and graphics into Minecraft - with the new Xbox One X rocking 4K support for the game. The company also announced the new Better Together Update for Minecraft, something that adds a new community marketplace for gamers to sell creations, new in-game servers to play on, and new cross platform play between a huge variety of devices.

Minecraft gamers will soon be able to game between Xbox One, Windows 10, Nintendo Switch, and even mobile devices. The new 4K graphics pack will drop later in the fall, while the Better Together Update will be released soon.

E3 2017 - Bethesda is moving forward with a new Creation Club program for Fallout 4 that allows users to spend credits on mods. Yes, paid mods are happening.

Bethesda hasn't revealed full info about its new Creation Club program, but it's essentially just like Minecraft's new monetized add-ons initiative. Gamers will buy credits and then spend them on a storefront, selecting a wide variety of mods hosted on Bethesda.net for Fallout 4 and Skyrim: Special Edition.

It's likely that Creation Club will host paid mods on all platforms--PS4, Xbox One and PC--and Bethesda will actually make mods this time, too. The best and most popular mod-makers will be able to monetize their creations with Creation Club.

E3 2017 - Microsoft has killed it at E3 2017 this year, unleashing its new 4K-capable Xbox One X console with a million and one tricks up its sleeve, but the announcement of Forza Motorsport 7 for the PC will have racing fans happy.

The only problem with Forza Motorsport 7 on the PC is that it will be exclusive not only to Windows 10, but the Microsoft Store, which is so meh. Both Forza Horizon 3 and Forza Motorsport 6: Apex were released on PC, but Forza Motorsport 7 is the first full-fledged Forza game for the PC, and it's about damn time.

Forza Motorsport 7 will provide dynamic weather effects, including puddles of water that will get bigger as rain continues to fall, and some beautiful lighting effects. There are over 700 cars in the game, but there's no news on crossplay between Xbox and PC just yet... which would be cool, Microsoft: do it.

E3 2017 - Microsoft today confirmed that Crackdown 3, one of the games-maker's most anticipated games in recent memory, will release in 2017.

It's official! Crackdown 3 will launch this year. In fact, the anticipated sequel will release alongside Microsoft's new high-end native 4K Xbox One X console on November 7, 2017. Crackdown 3 won't be a console exclusive, however, and will release on both Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One consoles via each system's respective storefront.

Crackdown 3 is also a Play Anywhere game, which means digital cross-buy for Windows 10 PCs or Xbox One consoles--including the new Xbox One X. Microsoft confirmed that Crackdown 3 will leverage Xbox One X's higher-end hardware to achieve native 4K gaming and HDR.

E3 2017 - Microsoft's newly announced 4K-ready Xbox One X console carries with it a $500 price tag, and releases in November.

Microsoft today announced that its new premium Xbox One X system costs $499 and comes in a single 1TB configuration. The new 4K box will be able to play games in native 4K on 4K displays with HDR, but only supports HDMI 2.0. Gamers can enjoy low-latency experiences on Xbox One X with FreeSync 2 display support, and developers are adding in key optimization enhancements to run games in native 4K 60FPS, such as Turn10's new Forza 7 game.

Xbox One X features a highly customized and tweaked 16nm SoC with a heavily customized 8-core Jaguar CPU at 2.73GHz, alongside a Polaris-grade GPU with 40 Compute Units, 1.71GHz of clock speed, and 6TFLOPs of compute power. 12GB of GDDR5 unified memory gives the console a hefty bump of system memory with 326GB/sec bandwidth.

E3 2017 - 4A Games completely blew us away by announced Metro Exodus, a sequel to the landmark Metro series based on Dmitry Glukhovsky's novels.

Metro Exodus' reveal was totally surprising and is easily one of my favorite announcements made during Microsoft's E3 showcase. The game is a indirect sequel to Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light, and will instead focus on a story that takes place over multiple seasons, all sourced from Glukhovsky's original Metro novels.

Metro Exodus takes on a more open-world scope with incredible fidelity and detail--all shown on Microsoft's new high-end Xbox One X system.

E3 2017 - Ubisoft today annoucned its Egypt-themed Assassin's Creed with a release date shortly before the Xbox One X.

Assassin's Creed: Origins looks absolutely incredible; as a history buff, I've long imagined exploring ancient Egypt, and the game basically makes my dreams come true. AC: Origins will have deep RPG mechanics and features high-end 4K resolution and HDR to boot, showing an amazing recreation of ancient Egypt.

Assassin's Creed: Origins launches October 27, 2017 on PS4, Xbox One and PC with 4K support on Xbox One X.

E3 2017 - Microsoft confirmed its new Project Scorpio is called Xbox One X, and will launch in November.

Microsoft's new high-end 4K ready Project Scorpio console is officially known as Xbox One X, and is coming on November 7. The company confirms that Xbox One X is the most powerful console ever made, but it's also the smaller Xbox ever made. The Xbox One X looks like a small, scaled down Xbox One S, and as we previously predicted, it's quite svelte and sleek.

As we previously announced, Xbox One X uses a Polaris-grade GPU at 1.17GHz and a highly customized 8-core Jaguar-based 2.73GHz CPU alongside 12GB of GDDR5 RAM. Xbox One X will support FreeSync 2, full native 4K support, and is completely compatible with all existing Xbox One games and accessories. Xbox One X will also play all Xbox 360 backward compatibility titles.

E3 2017 - EA is extremely excited about BioWare's new IP, Anthem, and frankly so are we. This is a new opportunity for BioWare to reclaim their throne with the "Bob Dylan of video games." Here's what EA's Patrick Soderlund had to say about the new project.

Yesterday EA finally revealed BioWare's new IP, previously codenamed "Dylan" because EA and BioWare wanted to make the "Bob Dylan of video games." It's called Anthem, it's set in a massive futuristic open world with sci-fi Spartan-like mechsuits, it's online-based, has four classes and is "fast and unexpected." This is EA's dream game, the "gigantic action game" they've always wanted to make, and represents a turning point for BioWare. In a very real sense, this is BioWare's Destiny.

According to EA executive Patrick Soderlund, Anthem will deliver something gamers haven't seen before. "[Anthem] pushes the boundaries of open-world fidelity to a whole new level, unlike anything you've ever seen before. It's a new IP from BioWare, they've been working on it for quite a while. We're gonna have a very short section of that at our press conference, and then it will appear with a gameplay demo at a partner's press conference the day after," Soderlund said in a recent interview with Engadget.

E3 2017 - After months of silence and waiting, Square Enix has dropped a new Kingdom Hearts III trailer...and it looks pretty good.

The new Kingdom Hearts III gameplay trailer shows off some snazzy action-based combat and heralds the return of Hercules and cements the Mount Olympus world into the game. The footage wasn't actually revealed for E3 proper--it was part of the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour.

Sadly, Square Enix says it may not show more KH3-related goodies at E3. "Fans can look forward to the unveiling of a new world and new trailer during the D23 Expo on July 15, 2017," a PR rep told us.

E3 2017 - Microsoft's new enthusiast-grade console will have a lower $499 price tag associated with it, according to games personality Geoff Keighley.

Given Project Scorpio is capable of hitting native 4K 60FPS at Ultra PC equivalent settings in games like Forza 6 I personally think $499 is a great price for the console itself. There were reports that Project Scorpio would be called Xbox One 10S and become a "4K PC in your living room," but based on that price, I'm not so sure. Project Scorpio will absolutely be a nexus that taps the Windows 10 PC ecosystem with cross-app, cross-gaming, and cross-feature functionality, accompanied with native 4K gaming and entertainment to boot.

E3 2017 - EA only has room for one big Star Wars game at E3, and that's Battlefront II.

When EA's E3 presser came and went without any mention of Visceral Games' new action-based Star Wars game, I was disappointed. But I have to admit it makes sense.

This year is all about Battlefront II, which is a massive, massive undertaking for EA and DICE. Visceral's new Star Wars game, which doesn't even have a final name, has been MIA for some time. The game wasn't shown at the recent Star Wars Celebration, and now it's missed EA Play 2017. Could it be delayed past its original 2018 release date?

E3 2017 - Electronic Arts has officially confirmed the modes coming to the Nintendo Switch version of FIFA 18.

FIFA Ultimate Team, EA's biggest bread-winner microtransaction mode, is coming to FIFA 18 on Nintendo Switch. However, as we reported days ago, the port isn't powered by EA's Frostbite engine and won't have the Hunter Returns story mode.

The following modes will be available on FIFA 18's Switch version: FIFA Ultimate Team, Career Mode, Kick Off, and Local Seasons. "Ultimate Team fans will get to participate in beloved features like Squad Building Challenges, Online and Offline Seasons, Tournaments, and Draft. Players will enjoy live campaigns connected to the narrative of the football season, the Transfer Market, and more Ultimate Team features that will be revealed very soon," EA affirmed.

E3 2017 - EA today officially confirmed that Battlefront II won't have a season pass, and content won't be gated off behind a paywall: instead DICE will offer "seasons" of free content including extra maps, heroes, weapons and more.

"All post-launch heroes, maps, vehicles and content will be free to everyone who own's Star Wars: Battlefront II," Iden Versio's actress Janina Gavankar confirmed on stage at the EA Play event. Battlefront II's first post-launch season is coming in December and features extras based on The Last Jedi. Extra heroes for The Last Jedi season pack include Finn and Captain Phasma and two new planets: Crait and D'Qar.

EA was completely mum on how this free DLC will be funded, but I have a strong guess. Earlier today I predicted that Star Wars: Battlefront II would be monetized with card-based microtransactions that each hero and character class use in the game. It's highly likely that EA will award players with random packs of "star cards" to purchase with in-game Credits as well as premium currency that is purchased with real money.

E3 2017 - EA today teased BioWare's new IP, which is called Anthem, and is powered by Frostbite.

BioWare's new IP, previously called Project Dylan, has been announced: it's called Anthem, and it'll leverage the full brunt of Microsoft's new high-end Project Scorpio console.

"New IP is one the purest forms of innovation in our industry. A brand new idea combining the latest tech and a vision for something extraordinary. This game will push every boundary for you. It is fast, dangerous, beautiful and unexpected," EA's Patrick Soderlund said.

E3 2017 - EA's E3 press conference should have some awesome surprises, so be sure to watch it live here!

Electronic Arts should showcase some interesting tidbits at its EA Play press event, including a teaser for BioWare's massive new Project Dylan IP, which should be EA's dream game that takes on Activision's huge online-based Destiny MOFPS. Also expect EA to highlight its sports games, including FIFA, NHL, and Madden. We know that EA will show off at least eight games at the event, with at least two new unannounced titles.

Ubisoft recently confirmed that a new IP will release during its fiscal year 2019 timeline, and now we have some clues who may develop it.

The Division developer at Massive Entertainment is keeping itself quite busy. Not only is the studio managing The Division, one of the game's industry's most successful and massive liver games, but the 400-developer strong studio is working on a tie-in game for James Cameron's new Avatar films. But there's more--much more--and we think that Massive might be handling Ubisoft's newly IP as well.

In a recent interview with Games Industry.biz, Massive Entertainment's managing director David Polfeldt confirmed the studio is currently working on a number of new projects--one of which might be the publisher's new mystery IP. "Most people are very excited about what they're working on," Polfeldt said. "By having a couple of different projects in the studio, it allows us to be more precise with what those people should be working on, how we can tailor their job through the passion that they have."

E3 2017 - Here at TweakTown, I've outlined a case for why I think Battlefront II will have microtransactions, and you can read that here. But until now I've had to make guesses based on industry trends. Earlier today some pre-alpha footage for Battlefront 2's gameplay was accidentally leaked, giving gamers worldwide a pre-E3 look at the multiplayer action.

Based on what I've seen, I believe that EA will monetize Battlefront II with a card-based digital economy and allow users to buy card packs with premium currency that contain random rewards. This monetization system would be tiered, as in Platinum packs with X chance of a Rare, or Gold packs with X chance for an Uncommon-grade card, etc.

Based on what I've seen, the cards may be used for two different things: passives cards that buff hero abilities, such as Rey's Insight skill that lets her see through walls, or Darth Maul's Choke Hold maneuver, and the other cards may give basic artillery units new abilities in addition to their weapon type.