Since 2013

Search

Search

Rumor: Bethesda Is Opening A New Team To Work On Remakes/Remasters For Legacy Titles

How much of a Bethesda fan are you? For many online, they are vocal to being introduced to the developer from games such as Fallout 4 or even The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. But, what about its legacy titles that built up these properties? Games such as The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind or Fallout 3 let alone the list of top-down RPGs that came before that. For fans depending on the platform have missed out on playing said titles. Due to limited backwards compatibility or outright never ported to console. But new claims suggest that there is a new initiative at Bethesda to remaster or even remake some classic entries for the latest hardware. The initial rumor comes from @SkullziTV on Twitter. In the past, the YouTube has referenced other tangible leaks such as Starfield’s release window. But in this new post, he shares Bethesda is opening ‘Artifact Studios’, a dedicated developer with its sole purpose to rebuild legacy games for remastering or remaking. While exciting, it should be noted that the user goes on to clarify that the claim is still classified as a rumor. Taking the statement as truth will not make it true and to simply grasp it as conjecture until properly announced. So what could this alleged team’s first project be if it happens to be true after all? Before, there were claims of an upcoming Fallout: New Vegas project involving Bethesda & Obsidian Entertainment. The rumor appears logical with both being subsidiaries of Xbox now. The project is said to be a sequel, but we have seen confusion from insiders in the past. Other circulating rumors include remakes of Fallout 1 & Fallout 2 with Unreal Engine 5, but that claim surfaced with lesser foundation back in June. You can read the initial report by heading here. Do you believe Bethesda is opening a new developer to work exclusively on remakes and remasters?

Assassin’s Creed ‘Mirage’ Leaks Surface Confirming Previous Reports Returning The Franchise To The Middle East, Ubisoft Confirms The Claims

It is unlike Ubisoft to be releasing new games without leaks prior to its release – or for this instance the announcement. While Assassin’s Creed Valhalla was confirmed for a second year of support, the longest for any release in the series, the team did verify it will announce a new game in September. Ubisoft went on the share a Ubisoft Forward is being held then, so around that time.  As for what this new game is, users leave that to conjecture and reports online. From Bloomberg, the next game is said to take place in Baghdad with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla character Basim returning to pose as the protagonist. Even more, Bloomberg in a separate piece explained the game was codenamed ‘Rift’ as the new entry reinvigorates its roots with social stealth and a new Middle East setting. Ahead of the September presentation, leaks online reveal a new title dubbed ‘Assassin’s Creed Mirage’. However, the post was taken down due to copyright. However, Ubisoft itself went to Twitter to confirm the next game is in fact Assassin’s Creed Mirage. While the full reveal will not be until next Saturday, Bloomberg Tech’s Jason Schreier verified a bullet point list that has lingered online recently. In that, the aspects already reported like Basim and being set in Baghdad. Atop of that, the game will in fact return to its core basics. But, he does hesitate on the topic of multiple cities to explore. Moreover, the list goes on to mention an Assassin’s Creed Remake of the original 2007 title. The supposed project is said to be included as part of the Season Pass for the new installment and will be reusing several assets and systems from Assassin’s Creed Mirage. Additional add-ons include a separate expansion traveling to Constantinople as Basim. What are you most interested about the next Assassin’s Creed title?

Halo Infinite Co-Op Campaign Will Not Ship With Online Matchmaking

Who remembers the up and coming for Halo Infinite. Chatter of an open-world Halo experience on a Zeta Halo, grappling hooks, and free-to-play multiplayer. But, would the game be a repeat of Halo 5 at launch? The 2015 title made the mistake of shipping in pieces unlike prior entries. However, despite hopes, that essentially happened to Halo Infinite. This was confirmed in August ahead of release from the developer. Fast-forward a bit, 343 Industries came out to share co-op campaign will not launch until Season 2. And by extension, Forge Mode comes after and that only pushed the map creator even further ahead. It was not until this past July that the team host test flights for co-op campaign for the game. So, we are inching closer to the full release of the feature. Not only that, but mission select is also on the horizon as well. In anticipation for that, a statement to GamesRadar reveals that Halo Infinite co-op campaign will not feature online matchmaking: indicating players must rely on friends to play. Howbeit, this is not to unusual as most Halo title never featured the system. The only exemption is Halo Reach. “Online matchmaking will not be available with final co-op. We encourage you to continue to use the Halo LFG and the new Discord voice call feature on Xbox to find players to party up with as you continue playing the beta,” the statement reads. In a recent update video, Head of Creative Joe Staten confirms that 343 Industries officially canceled work on local campaign co-op/splitscreen. “We have had to make the difficult decision not to ship campaign splitscreen co-op.” In the same video, the game studio discusses its plans for Halo Infinite alongside listing Halo Infinite co-op campaign to officially release coming this November ahead Season 3 – Echoes Within. You can read the full report by heading here. Are you affected by no online matchmaking for Halo Infinite co-op campaign? Halo Infinite is out now for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Source: GamesRadar

Halo Infinite Season 3 ‘Echoes Within’ Revealed, Forge Beta/Co-Op Campaign/Mission Replay Coming This November

Being a Halo Infinite fan can bring some of the most mixed emotions compared to other online, live-services titles. Compared to the likes of Call of Duty Warzone and Apex Legends, the pipeline of content for the game is nowhere near the same. Even Halo Infinite Head of Creative Joe Staten acknowledges that. In one livestream, he expressed the quality of life issues in-game is why that is the case as these problems are being resolved. Additionally, promised content like Forge Mode and co-op campaign is still absent. However, that is not too far away from arriving. It was back in July that 343 Industries hosted test flighting for the online campaign mode for Halo Infinite. As for recurring content for the game, Fractured: Entrenched periodically rolls out for the game. On Friday, 343 Industries shares the full roadmap for Halo Infinite bleeding halfway through into 2023. At the end of Season 2 – lone Wolves, a ‘Winter Update’ will be held until next year where Season 3 – Echoes Within launches. You can view the full roadmap in the image below: For what comprises of this coming Winter Update that buffers between the two content seasons includes long-awaited features. The aforementioned co-op campaign alongside mission replay will officially be coming then. Additionally, Forge beta is set to be held; likely for Halo Insiders. For multiplayer content, there will be a 30-level battle pass, maps Detachment & Argyle, alongside events Winter Contingency II and Joint Fire. Moving onward to Season 3, Echoes Within will feature the first new in-game weapon, the M392 Bandit alongside the Shroud Screen equipment. Atop of that, new Arena & Big Team Battle maps are coming. Game Modes VIP & Escalation are also slated for then too. There is also new “narrative” and “fracture” events coming in Season 3. One large takeaway is revealed in the Halo Infinite Update video that released alongside the announcement. “We have had to make the difficult decision not to ship campaign splitscreen co-op,” Staten shares during the conversation. As of when or if that will be reverted has yet to be shared since the original statement. Are you interested in the direction Halo Infinite is heading? Halo Infinite is out now for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Source: Halo Waypoint

Overwatch 2 Confirmed To Include Cross-Progression

This November will mark three years since the original announcement for Overwatch 2. And despite the amount of waiting, the game is prepared to enter Early Access just one month ahead of that. Since the initial unveiling, many reveals at Blizzard Entertainment have left a new perspective on the game compared to the first installment. For one, the game will feature 5v5 with teams negating two support characters. After endlessly testing how the game functions, Blizzard Entertainment decided to only feature one healer as a better balance with the direction the sequel was heading. And like its predecessor, cross-play will play a large role in the new release as well across all platforms. In a recent announcement from Blizzard Entertainment, the developer announced that cross-progression will also be enabled for Overwatch 2 come its release as well. With the launch of cross-progression, players can merge multiple Overwatch accounts to carry progression and in-game cosmetics into Overwatch 2 on a single profile. Starting August 16, every player with a linked console account will be prompted at login to identify, select, and confirm the accounts you want to merge. Once you approve, we will prepare your accounts to be merged during the release of Overwatch 2. “All players will need a battle.net account to play Overwatch 2 regardless of platform. Progress from linked console accounts will be stored on your battle.net account, which will share in-game cosmetics and progress across the linked accounts,” Blizzard Entertainment elaborates further in the blog post. In terms of other mentions of Overwatch recently, the franchise – upon the Activision Blizzard deal concluding with Microsoft – will be coming to Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirmed this alongside Diablo & Call of Duty also being added to the service as well. You can read the full report by heading here. Are you happy cross-progression is coming to Overwatch 2? Overwatch 2 arrives to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC on October 4th, 2022. Source: Blizzard Entertainment

Ghost Of Tsushima Film Director Reveals Effort To Bring Japanese-only Cast To The Production

Two years ago, developer Sucker Punch Productions shipped Ghost of Tsushima. The game took roughly half a decade to ship, but once it hit store shelves became a future classic among many PlayStation users. But was not expected that the video game epic would already be receiving a film adaptation. Announced last March, the production is to attach John Wick director Chad Stahelski for the same role. Since the discovery for the original announcement, we learned little on the project. For one, Jin Sakai actor Daisuke Tsuji shared his excitement for the movie. He went further to share he would reprise the role and even perform nude scenes. In a later report from Deadline, it was revealed that Takashi Doscher (Still, Only) will pen the script for the motion picture. In a new interview with Collider, Stahelski shares he is ambitious to bring in an entirely Japanese case for the production and to further voice it in the native language as well. The effort is played in part by Parasite director Bong Joon-ho who created the philosophy that Stahelski is to follow. So, I think if we did this right, it would be visually stunning. It’s character driven. It’s got an opportunity for great action, great looks. And honestly, we’d to try to do it, all in character. Meaning, it’s a Japanese thing about the Mongols invading Tsushima island. A complete Japanese cast, in Japanese. Sony is so on board with backing us on that. I’ve been going to Japan since I was 16. I have a love of the country, love of the people, love of the language. To try to direct not only in my language, but someone else’s and culturally shift my mindset to bring apart that in a cool way that still entices a Western audience. “Honestly, it’s probably the same things that would scare the shit out of most people. It’s a fantasy period piece. It’s done with reverence to Akira Kurosawa, who’s probably in the top five biggest influences of my life as far as film goes. It’s a chance to push technology and people in a story that’s timeless,” he explains. “It’s your typical mythological story of good versus evil, finding a man, watching him change the world or the world changes him. It’s all the Joseph Campbell stuff that you’d love in a story. You put that in with, obviously, so I’m told I have a bit of a Samurai fetish, which is probably true from Manga and anime and stuff.” As for a similar effort to be made, it would be appropriate for the same to be said for the upcoming Yakuza movie in production. With 1212 and Wild Sheep involved, there is no word if the film will follow that or simply create an English-voiced movie as a whole. You can read the full report by heading here. Are you excited to see where the Ghost of Tsushima film goes? Source: Collider

Microsoft Reveals 1800 Percent Increase In User Activity For Xbox Cloud Gaming Was Recorded This Year

Although the venture seemed too good to be true, Microsoft’s investment for Xbox Cloud Gaming is committed fully according to recent actions made. Back in June, we witnessed the addition of 2022 Samsung displays to receive a native Xbox TV application to stream Xbox Game Pass directly to the product. But that is not it with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate owners given the promise to soon stream their entire owned game library later on this year. Overall, xCloud has illustrated to be a desire that Microsoft is striving for in establishing a larger audience in a new market. However, the firm expressed that console will not be abandoned moving forward with more notions down the line. So far, Microsoft has recorded that more than 10 million users played with Xbox Cloud Gaming as of May this year. In a new reveal from a past xCloud update video, it is revealed that the platform has increased in engagement by 1800 percent compared to 2021. “We’ve just seen incredible things with the product over the last year. You know I was looking at some of our data and our hours are up 1800% as of this time last year,” says Xbox Cloud Gaming Vice President & Head of Product Catherine Gluckstein. Of course, this can play into part with the recent addition of Fortnite to the platform. As we can all recall, Epic Games burned its bridges with Apple & Google removing the battle royale from the App Store and Google Play Store respectively. But, Microsoft was the first to establish mainstream support for the game via cloud; a Xbox Game Pass subscription was not required either. Looking ahead, Microsoft is confident in Xbox Cloud Gaming and is presented best when it announced its separate Xbox Game Studios banner solely for xCloud. Already, we have one project in the works which includes Kojima Productions on an unnamed title. Of course, this is expected to branch to other creators and developers as more arrangements are created. As for the platform as a whole, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer expressed the recent deal to purchase Activision Blizzard is to get his hands on the mobile market the firm already established. In a new press release made this week, Spencer elaborates that mobile gaming is an ambition the firm is eager to enter with xCloud in mind. You can read the full report by heading here. Are you surprised with the progress so far for Xbox Cloud Gaming?

Phil Spencer Responds To Activision Purchase Probe Sharing “Gaming For Everyone, Everywhere”, Confirms Call of Duty/Overwatch/Diablo For Xbox Game Pass

It would be pretty difficult to hide the fact that the firm that owns Halo and now Fallout, Microsoft, is also attempting to purchase Activision Blizzard. Back in January, the firm announced its plans for an $70 billion acquisition and since then has been met with criticisms of a monopoly forming. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella expressed the claims to be untrue. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer also pressed the deal is to deliver a better experience for the industry. Additionally, multiple instances verified that established IPs such as Call of Duty & Overwatch would not be exclusive to just Xbox following the acquisition plans being fulfilled. Even going the lengths to honor marketing arrangements with Sony Interactive Entertainment made prior to the arrangement. The Xbox firm even shared support for Activision Blizzard subsidiaries to form unions which has been an outcry from the teams and most of the industry in recent years. On Friday, a report went out from gamesindustry.biz indicating a new investigation has launched for the Activision Blizzard deal. The root of the probe reveals concerns of severing support for multiplatform franchises to becoming unique to Xbox. In response, Spencer made a press release commenting on the future of these IPs. We’ve heard that this deal might take franchises like Call of Duty away from the places where people currently play them.  That’s why, as we’ve said before, we are committed to making the same version of Call of Duty available on PlayStation on the same day the game launches elsewhere.  We will continue to enable people to play with each other across platforms and across devices. We know players benefit from this approach because we’ve done it with Minecraft, which continues to be available on multiple platforms and has expanded to even more since Mojang joined Microsoft in 2014.  As we extend our gaming storefront across new devices and platforms, we will make sure that we do so in a manner that protects the ability of developers to choose how to distribute their games. Spencer goes on to reference Microsoft’s greater vision for its video game division to expand its efforts to other platforms outside of conventional home consoles. “While we love consoles, we recognize that they are not the only way that people play games. Today, the largest and fastest growing segment of gaming is mobile platforms. To reach the billions of players where they are and no matter what device they play on, we need to embrace choice. Giving players choice in how they play their games makes gaming more accessible and leads to larger, more vibrant communities of players.” Not only that, but Spencer also notes that some Activision Blizzard IPs are solidified for Xbox Game Pass. “We intend to make Activision Blizzard’s much-loved library of games – including Overwatch, Diablo and Call of Duty – available in Game Pass,” he explains. In the past, Spencer showed to be eccentric with the deal when learning of the vault of IPs that Activision Blizzard is not utilizing which could further fuel Xbox Game Pass. But in a recent interview, Spencer clarifies one of its largest ambitions for the deal is to acquire the mobile & PC gaming ventures already established by Activision Blizzard. With the continued investment into Xbox Cloud Gaming, Microsoft’s desire to reach the billion+ users on mobile is its next major advancement in gaming. You can read the full report by heading here. What are your thoughts on the response to the acquisition probe? Source: Microsoft

“Children Of The Worm” Expansion Arrives This Week For Back 4 Blood

While fans only grew hungry for a new game to fill the void that is Valve’s Left 4 Dead, developer Turtle Rock Studios which worked on the original duology shared its plans to release a successor, Back 4 Blood. From our review for the game, “I could go on and break things down to the tiniest of details but at the end of the day, Back 4 Blood is fun. […] Tons of replay value, great challenge, Back 4 Blood is a fun co-op experience that shouldn’t be missed.” Not only that, but the new entry would also expect a post-launch release schedule as well with new content including cosmetics and story campaigns. Back in March, the developer celebrated 10 million players enjoying Back 4 Blood alongside the release of Expansion 1 ‘Tunnels of Terror’. Of course, from the titling for this being the first add-on story, more is in development as well. This week, Turtle Rock Studios returns with a new DLC experience ‘Children of the Worm’. You can watch the launch trailer in the video below: “Recent reports describe an alarming rise of attacks on survivors along the coast of the Kanowa River. While the motivation of attacks remain unknown, these disturbing events share a common thread–assailants ambush unsuspecting groups, dragging away some victims and brutally butchering the rest. To help combat this unknown adversary is new arrival ‘Prophet’ Dan. He’s an Irish, gun-toting, self-proclaimed preacher of the end times, whose mission is to save his flock that was taken by this new enemy,” the trailer description reads. Most interesting comes from the new enemy types that are introduced in the expansion. “These enemies are neither human nor Ridden, and have lots of new tricks… and traps…” The equipment goes on to list traps like the Bear Trap and also include projectile weapon Bow as well for long-range gunplay. What are you most interested about ‘Children of the Worm’ releasing? Back 4 Blood is out now for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. Source: Turtle Rock Studios