The next Borderlands is in active development
After Take-Two Interactive announced it would be acquiring Gearbox Entertainment, David Ismailer, President of 2K gave a nice tease about the future of Borderlands. In one of the quotes where Ismailer talks about how thrilled they are to welcome Randy Pitchford and his team of passionate developers to 2K, he mentions that they have been actively developing the next installment of the Borderlands series. “We have loved partnering with Gearbox on every iteration of the Borderlands franchise and are excited to be in active development on the next installment in the series.” The quote did not confirm if this would be Borderlands 4 or a spin-off, but many will believe it will be the next installment of the mainline series. Last Summer a voice actress potentially leaked that Borderlands 4 would be coming based on her list of jobs which included doing voice-over work for Borderlands 4. This acquisition comes at a great time as the Borderlands movie comes to theaters on August 9, 2024, starring Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Edgar Ramirez, Jamie Lee Curtis, and others. Source: Businesswire
A PlayStation 5 version of Minecraft is reportedly coming
Minecraft is reported to be getting a native PlayStation 5 version. This report comes from a reliable source, PlayStation Game Size who shares a post on X (Twitter) teasing that Microsoft will finally release a PS5 version of Minecraft. PS5 Version ✅ pic.twitter.com/27rvsvSF37 — PlayStation Game Size (@PlaystationSize) March 29, 2024 The PlayStation 4 version of Minecraft is playable on PlayStation 5 thanks to backward compatibility. Even though you can play it on your current-generation console that doesn’t mean the game is taking advantage of the power PS5 has to offer. It was only in December when the Xbox Series X version of Minecraft received 4K resolution support and it now looks like PlayStation 5 will finally be next. Most recently Mojang introduced the Minecraft Marketplace Pass which is essentially Xbox Game Pass for the game. For only $3.99 USD per month, you can access over 150 pieces of Marketplace content, with new content added every month. Source: VGC
Jim Ryan says the PlayStation 2 actually sold 160 million units
Today is the last day that Jim Ryan will be the President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment with Hiroki Totoki taking his place in the meantime. During the Official PlayStation Podcast Episode 481 featuring Jim, he now confirms the PlayStation 2 sold 160 million units. This comes as a shock to the industry as for such a long time it was thought that the PlayStation 2 was sitting at roughly 158 million units sold. Either way, it still remains the best-selling gaming console in history. Here is the Q&A with Jim Ryan and Sid Shuman on the podcast (Thanks Zuby_Tech): Sid Shuman: “How would you describe each decade of PlayStation? Jim Ryan: “I would say 160 Million, which is the number of PS2s that we sold, our high watermark.” This has become a very hot topic in the industry as of late since the Nintendo Switch looks like it can catch Sony’s most successful console. As of now, the Nintendo Switch has sold 139 million units, and it’s only about 20 million away from surpassing the PlayStation 2 in sales.
Phil Spencer Entertains Xbox Welcoming Epic Games Store And Other Storefronts To The Platform
In the undergoing reshaping for Xbox, it presents itself to be doing little different than it has been for the past two decades. But evidently it is bringing a very large change of pace to the market. Last month, it was confirmed that titles Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded, and Sea of Thieves are coming to competing platforms. However, that list is said to be the final product according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer. Despite that, many are convinced there is more underway from the Xbox firm internally. Already, we know the firm is working on a mobile store for its gaming venture to compete against Apple & Google. Additionally, there are also reports that performance for Xbox as such that developers question even supporting the platform. So, what is an approach to bring more users? Although it is not guaranteed, Microsoft is adamant on bringing ambiguity to its platform. And according to one interview via Polygon, Spencer is open to the idea of offering multiple storefronts in its ecosystem. In fact, marketplaces like Epic Games Store & itch.io are referenced in the discussion. “[Consider] our history as the Windows company. Nobody would blink twice if I said, ‘Hey, when you’re using a PC, you get to decide the type of experience you have [by picking where to buy games]. There’s real value in that,” Spencer elaborates in the interview. He elaborates that the current console landscape isn’t growing and barriers refraining the industry from being on an incline. “[Subsidizing hardware] becomes more challenging in today’s world. And I will say, and this may seem too altruistic, I don’t know that it’s growing the industry. So I think, what are the barriers? What are the things that create friction in today’s world for creators and players? And how can we be part of opening up that model?” Do you agree with Spencer’s statement? Source: Polygon
DON’T NOD unveils new structure to focus on 3 key genres
DON’T NOD, the developer and publisher of immersive video games announced its new organizational structure to reinforce its core expertise among 3 key genres. The developer has been putting out games like Life is Strange, Captain Spirit, Tell Me Why, and many others over the last ten or more years and now decided to focus on the following genres they are strongest at: RPG Narrative Adventure Action Adventure “Sustainability, innovation and creativity are the pillars of DON’T NOD’s strategy,” says Oskar Guilbert, CEO at DON’T NOD Entertainment. “Our commitment to fostering creativity and pushing the boundaries of storytelling and gameplay has led us to structure our organization, paving the way to deepening our specialized expertise in each genre. With a focus on strategic business growth, DON’T NOD seeks to solidify its position as a market leader by capitalizing on the popularity of RPGs, Narrative Adventures, and Action Adventures.” Going forward DON’T NOD has seven projects in the works, five of which are being developed in-house, including Lost Records: Bloom & Rage developed by DON’T NOD Montréal. The four other projects being worked on in-house are currently unannounced. Koira is one of the games being developed externally by Belgian studio, Studio Tolima and another unannounced project with Tiny Bull Studios.
Predator: Hunting Grounds comes to Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 in late 2024
Predator: Hunting Grounds is coming to Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 after being on PlayStation 4 and PC via Steam and Epic for the last three years. IllFonic announced there will be new content coming to Predator: Hunting Grounds in 2024 and 2025. In April there will be Patch 2.49 that will come to the PS4 and PC versions of the game. This patch will focus on player movement, Fireteam weapon rework and balance, Predator weapon balance, and UX/playability improvements. “This game has a strong, enthusiastic player base and a vocal community that wants to see the game updated and supported,” remarked Charles Brungardt, CEO of IllFonic. “Now that IllFonic is publishing games, we knew we had to get Predator: Hunting Grounds back. We knew we needed to get back to the Chopper!” In late 2024 we can expect to see Predator: Hunting Grounds come to Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. The release is focused on next-gen running on Unreal 4.27, Vivox, and Wwise, with a Standard Edition and a Digital Deluxe Edition offered. Spring 2025 will also bring a new content update, but details were not given yet.
