NLG - Next Level Gaming

Over the past couple of days, sites like Game Rant , which we first saw surface these stats, have been keeping an eye on how Steam users are spending their time by comparing two disparate but new titles from the month of November. One is a humble farming sim, while the other is a blockbuster multiplayer shooter. Which would you guess more people are playing on the platform just weeks after launch? As of 6:30 p.m. on November 30, Farming Simulator 22 was beating Battlefield 2042 in concurrent Steam users. That's a bit of a surprise, yeah? In the image above (captured from Steam's own data you can see here ), the numbers on the left represent current active players for each game, while the numbers on the right are total players for the day. As of the time of this snapshot, Farming Simulator 22 had over 3,000 more current players than Battlefield 2042.  However, time of day does matter when collecting this data. A scant 45 minutes later, at 7:15 p.m., the tables had turned in

A new map, a new killer, and a new survivor all arrive in the asymmetrical 4v1 horror hide-and-seek game Dead by Daylight today. In fact, they’re in right now! The killer, Carmina Mora, is the Artist – commanding a twisted murder of ink crows that can highlight and harm survivors with a little savvy placement. While her projectile assault may not be as direct as the Huntress’s ax or some of the other long-range options, her kit expands with add-ons and can be used to play keep away on pallets or windows that look prime for a chase. Click here to watch embedded media Depending on how she’s played, she can either use her artistic swarm to help track down survivors and keep tabs on them over long distances or be used for direct assault at close range. However, even more\ interesting and important, especially as the Dead by Daylight meta continues to evolve, is one of her perks, Hex: Pentimento. As the survivors have gained their own boons to help utilize totems to assist with game win

A new Starfield trailer today takes a bit of a different approach compared to the traditional sizzle reel or gameplay blast. Instead, you can take a look at Starfield in a very different fashion, with a behind-the-scenes look with game director Todd Howard, studio director Angela Browder, and art director Matt Carofano. It’s more of a micro look at Bethesda’s approach to their games, their stories, and their open worlds. It’s more of a conversational approach than a lot of game trailers, but it looks like it’s simply setting the stage for lots more to come regarding Starfield. Check out the full video right here. Click here to watch embedded media This is really just Episode One of a Starfield trailer series, so inevitably there will be a lot more on the way before Starfield’s release. In case you were wondering, Starfield is set to hit on November 11, 2022. That may seem like a long way off, but I’m sure we’ll get to see a lot more from the game as we progress into next year. Yeah

Media Molecule has announced Ancient Dangers: A Bat’s Tale, a new playable game the studio made in its 2019 creation game, Dreams.   The game seems to be centered on two dungeon-crawling protagonists who must battle “hideous monsters” and solve “fiendish puzzles” to advance through Ancient Danger’s medieval setting. There is, of course, loot and wealth to be found throughout each of these dungeons, and there seems to be a cute bat at the center of its story, as the name alludes to.  Click here to watch embedded media As you can see in the trailer above, Ancient Dangers looks quite great and it’s tough to picture it as a game made inside Dreams, which is itself a game. Credit to Media Molecule, though, for doing just that. Ancient Dangers looks great, too, which is especially exciting because it’s already out as of today.  Here’s the official description for Ancient Dangers: “Join the teenage orcs Scoria and Gabbro as they team up with their new friend, Herb the Bat, on a quest to

Rockstar Games has a couple of updates for its recently released collection of Grand Theft Auto games from the PS2/Xbox era. First, the physical editions are being delayed, but only by ten days. A tweet from the company announced the change in date on Twitter, saying you can get your actual mitts on Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition on December 17 instead of the originally planned December 7. The release dates for the physical versions of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition have changed. Xbox Series X / Xbox One and PS4 will now release on December 17. The Nintendo Switch version is coming in early 2022. Check your local retailer for availability. pic.twitter.com/6avP8yp6la — Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) November 30, 2021 Tangentially, The Trilogy launched digitally earlier this month in a state that fans weren't too happy about, awash with graphical issues, performance woes, and overly-intense downpours of rain . Since then, Ro

It is important to keep in mind what is going on within Activision Blizzard at this time regarding ongoing allegations about the work culture. The ongoing lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) against the company is over reported toxic workplace culture. The bulk of the suit focuses on "violations of the state's civil rights and equal pay laws," specifically regarding the treatment of women and other marginalized groups. To learn more about the proceedings thus far, including details listed in the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, please check out our previous  coverage here . Call of Duty: Vanguard Season One is just a little over a week away from the release of its new Warzone map, Caldera, and a new trailer highlighting it has been released.  Dubbed a “Call of Duty: Vanguard & Warzone - Season One” teaser trailer , it oddly has virtually nothing to do with Vanguard, the latest Call of Duty release that’s centered on Worl

Players have had plenty of time to dive into Halo Infinite’s multiplayer experience, but as we move closer and closer to the December 8th launch date, anticipation has been building for the campaign experience as well. After weeks of throwing around the oddball and hacking up competitors with the sizzling sword, is it time to take the campaign trek? Well, here’s the first big trailer from the campaign, unveiled today. Click here to watch embedded media FPS campaigns often range from the mundane to the majestic and we don’t know just where Halo Infinite’s falls just yet. Clearly, much has changed since the underwhelming demo slice of legend that gave rise to big-time internet memes and a fair amount of concern about what the final game would play like. That said, we’ll be looking closely to see what the verdict is as we get closer to launch. While multiplayer hasn’t been without issues, especially ones related to battle pass progression, game customization, and more, overall Halo Inf

Endwalker, the upcoming expansion for Final Fantasy XIV, is almost here. In fact, players with early access packages can begin playing the expansion as soon as Friday, December 3. Of course, as with any MMORPG launch (and many other online games), the first few days are likely to be dicey affairs when it comes to server queues, login woes, and other various assorted issues as players all attempt to login at the same time and play. We saw this happen earlier this year with New World – and seeing it occur in some capacity for the Endwalker launch would not be unusual, given the hype for this big, big expansion that features several new jobs and a ton of new content to explore. We would like to share some information regarding the congestion that may occur during the Early Access period and release of #Endwalker . 🌐 https://t.co/FNHXRwcci2 pic.twitter.com/Bq4WrKAeLe — FINAL FANTASY XIV (@FF_XIV_EN) November 30, 2021 To that end, Square Enix has released a post documenting some

Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong, the other, other video game based on the popular tabletop game currently in development, has been delayed. It was tentatively set to release in February but is now launching on May 19. It may be easy to confuse Swansong with the other two Vampire: The Masquerade games also in the works: Bloodhunt, the battle royale  launching early next year that's  currently playable in Steam Early Access, and Bloodlines 2, the long-awaited sequel to the 2004 game that had its development rebooted .  Swansong is a choice-driven narrative RPG that puts you in the role of three vampires in modern-day Boston.  A new leader has emerged to take control of the city’s sect of vampires, triggering a violent power struggle filled with twists, turns, and betrayal. Each playable vampire hails from a different clan and sports its own unique powers, which can be customized to your liking. Many of those skills influence characters to pry information out of them, using te

Techland has announced Dying Light 2 Stay Human has gone gold and is ready for production, two months ahead of its scheduled release date.  The company spread the news to Game Informer through a press release, saying the team achieved this milestone over the weekend. Techland's press release also had some words from Tymon Smektała, lead game designer on Dying Light 2. In it, he speaks about how the work on the game isn't quite done yet, saying, "The fact that the game is done and we hit the gold status two months before the release is a great sign but it doesn’t mean that our work ends here. There are still some upgrades and tweaks to add, and community feedback to implement, but the base is solid and ready to play." So, while much of the work is in the rearview mirror, there's plenty to tweak and fix before the public is finally able to play it. Still, the feat of shipping a game is a massive undertaking and one worth celebrating. Tymon says, "I’m extrem

If you're wondering what games are coming up in 2022, we've put them all in one convenient location. This list will be continually updated to act as a living, breathing schedule as new dates are announced, titles are delayed, and big reveals happen. This should help you plan out your next several months in gaming and beyond. As the gaming calendar is constantly changing, we highly recommend you bookmark this page. You'll likely find yourself coming back to this to find out the most recent release schedule for the most anticipated games across PC, consoles, handhelds, and mobile devices. If you notice that we've missed something, feel free to let us know! Please note that games will not get assigned to a month until they have confirmed release dates. Pokémon Legends: Arceus January Madison ( PC ) – January 7 Weird West ( PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC ) – January 11 Monster Hunter Rise ( PC ) – January 12  –  Read review God Of W

If you're wondering what games are coming up in 2022, we've put them all in one convenient location. This list will be continually updated to act as a living, breathing schedule as new dates are announced, titles are delayed, and big reveals happen. This should help you plan out your next several months in gaming and beyond. As the gaming calendar is constantly changing, we highly recommend you bookmark this page. You'll likely find yourself coming back to this to find out the most recent release schedule for the most anticipated games across PC, consoles, handhelds, and mobile devices. If you notice that we've missed something, feel free to let us know! Please note that games will not get assigned to a month until they have confirmed release dates. Pokémon Legends: Arceus January Madison ( PC ) – January 7 Weird West ( PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC ) – January 11 Monster Hunter Rise ( PC ) – January 12  –  Read review God Of W