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Showing posts from April, 2023

Vampire Survivors Is Getting An Animated Series

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Vampire Survivors is going Hollywood thanks to the announcement of an upcoming animated TV adaptation.  Developer poncle has confirmed that it's working with gaming consulting company Robot Teddy and media company Story Kitchen to bring the hit arcade bullet hell game to the small screen. Story Kitchen is helmed by names such as Dmitri Johnson (co-producer of the Sonic the Hedgehog films), John Wick creator/writer Derek Kolstad, and APA agent Mike Goldberg. There’s currently no other details about what the series will entail, such as the cast or a premiere date.  “The most important thing in Vampire Survivors is the story, so it's a dream come true to see what started as a little indie game I made on my weekends come to life as an animated TV show! It’s also great to be partnering up with such experienced and talented people to make the show. I do wonder if they've realised that there isn't a single vampire in Vampire Survivors, though,” says Luca Galante, founder of

Donkey Kong Lego Sets Join The Super Mario Lineup

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Lego and Nintendo have announced four new Donkey Kong sets joining the Super Mario lineup.  Lego has continued to build out its Nintendo universe of sets with Super Mario and now, hot on the heels of The Super Mario Bros. Movie 's release in theaters earlier this month , Donkey Kong ( a major character in the movie ) is joining the lineup. More specifically, four new sets, each available for purchase starting August 1, are coming and they feature Donkey Kong and some of his family members like Cranky, Diddy, Dixie, and Funky.  Those four sets are Donkey Kong's Tree House Expansion Set, Diddy Kong's Mine Cart Ride Expansion Set, Dixie Kong's Jungle Jam Expansion Set, and Rambi the Rhino Expansion set.  "The excitement continues to grow for the Lego Super Mario franchise with yet another playful update," Lego Group design director Simon Kent writes in a press release. "We're welcoming the iconic Donkey Kong into the LEGO Super Mario product line.

Twisted Metal Live-Action Show Gets Poster, Premieres In July

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The live-action Twisted Metal TV series got its first poster today, courtesy of IGN , ahead of a teaser trailer scheduled to drop later today. The upcoming adaptation of the classic PlayStation car combat series is set to premiere this July.  Twisted Metal is being developed by Peacock and stars Anthony Mackie as protagonist John Doe, a “smart ass” delivery driver who transports supplies between settlements in a post-apocalyptic America. He has no memory of his past but gets a chance at a better life by making one special delivery across the dangerous landscape.  We have the exclusive new poster for @Peacock ’s #TwistedMetal show starring Anthony Mackie. The teaser trailer drops Friday! https://t.co/DDXNXG0VxD pic.twitter.com/ktYebJN6M0 — IGN (@IGN) April 27, 2023 Tonally, the series is billed as an action comedy. Other characters included Sweet Tooth, who will be voiced by Will Arnett and psychically performed by pro wrestler Samoa Joe. The cast also includes Stephanie B

Armored Core VI: Fires Of Rubicon, From Software's Next Game, Gets August Release Date

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From Software, the developer behind last year's critically acclaimed Elden Ring , announced Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon at The Game Awards 2022 . Now, less than six months later, we have a release date, and it's probably sooner than you expected.  That's because Armored Core VI hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on August 25, 2023. From Software announced this out of nowhere with a surprise trailer today that runs more than three minutes long. It features plenty of flashy mech action and some teases about what might be going on in this beautiful (but distraught) sci-fi world.  Check out the new Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon trailer for yourself below :  As you can see, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is a drastic departure from the fantasy worlds of late that From Software has been creating, but this still looks decidedly From Software. And we can't wait to check it out in just a few months.  The trailer also reveals w

New Redfall Launch Trailers Welcomes Our Heroes To Town

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Redfall, the vampire FPS from Deathloop developer Arkane Studios, is out in less than a week and to prepare players for what awaits, the team has released a new launch trailer aptly set to a cover of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun."  It's a nice cover, and it goes quite well with what's happening in Redfall, Massachusetts, as a total eclipse has made it a haven for the game's enemy vampires. The launch trailer itself is more of what you'd expect from a Redfall trailer – vampires, cooperative action, special abilities, and plenty of FPS gunplay. Check it out for yourself below:  For more about Redfall, read about how the game will only launch with a Quality Mode (although a 60 FPS Performance Mode is planned for post-launch), and then read about how Microsoft canceled a PlayStation 5 version of Redfall after it acquired Arkane parent company Bethesda. Listen to our thoughts on the game after going hands-on with Redfall  after that.  Redfall launches

Xbox Hardware Down, But Gaming Revenue Slightly Up Amid Game Pass Growth

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Microsoft has released its financial results for Q3 of its 2023 Fiscal Year , which consists of roughly January through March of this year. In it, the company revealed that Xbox hardware revenue is down but its Xbox content and services revenue is slightly up thanks to Xbox Game Pass subscription growth.  More specifically, Xbox hardware is down 30% and Xbox content and services is up 3%. Overall, Xbox's gaming revenue is down 4%, though. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says that the company set third-quarter records for monthly active users and devices, and that Xbox's gaming subscriptions (see: Game Pass) reached almost $1 billion this quarter. Despite this growth and revenue, though, Microsoft did not release new numbers regarding Game Pass subscription count – the latest count was 25 million in January 2022.  As for the dip in hardware revenue, Microsoft says the decline comes from the comparison of this quarter this year to the same quarter in the previous fiscal year, whic

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Preview - Sky Island Hopping In Hyrule

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Platform: Switch Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo Release: May 12, 2023 Rating: Everyone 10+ The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has the unenviable task of following what many consider to be one of the greatest games in recent memory. When it launched in 2017, Breath of the Wild revolutionized the longstanding franchise formula in innumerable ways, giving players the biggest world the series has ever featured and mechanics that allowed them to experiment with the game's physics. After spending more than an hour playing some early moments of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the answer to how this game plans on following such a tough act is a bit clearer. One of the first pieces of concrete information players had on Tears of the Kingdom was the existence of the Sky Islands. These floating landmasses serve as new areas to explore, housing new secrets to uncover and fresh enemies to encounter. These, along with various new caves, give more content t

UK Regulators Block Microsoft's Acquisition Of Activision Blizzard Over Cloud Gaming Concerns

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Editor's Note:  This story was updated to include a statement from Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick and another from Activision Blizzard regarding the CMA's ruling.  The Competition and Markets Authority, a U.K. regulatory agency that serves the same function as the Federal Trade Commission in the U.S., has blocked Microsoft's pending $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard over cloud gaming concerns.  This news is somewhat shocking, as quite a few experts predicted the CMA would allow the deal to go through, and while this block presents a large barrier to Microsoft's progress forward toward this acquisition, it's not a be-all, end-all for the purchase. Microsoft says it remains dedicated to this acquisition and will appeal the CMA's ruling.  As for why the CMA is moving to prevent the acquisition, it cites concerns "the deal would alter the future of the fast-growing cloud gaming market, leading to reduced innovation and less choice for

Former Halo, Control Dev Opens Anchor Point Studios For NetEase Games

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Paul Ehreth, a former Halo and Control developer, has opened Anchor Point Studios, a new studio within NetEase Games.  The team is aiming to create "immersive and engaging action-adventure games that offer social and multiplayer experiences," according to a press release. Ehreth, who has more than 20 years of experience as a game director and designer on console and PC games, is joined by a team of industry veterans with experience from Ghost of Tsushima, Red Dead Redemption 2, The Division, and more.    “We’re so excited to officially drop our anchor in Barcelona, the hometown of my great-grandparents, and start building a strong team for our journey of exploration together with NetEase Games," Ehreth writes in the press release. "Our studio’s motto is ‘Per Aspera, Ad Astra’ (‘through hardships, to the stars’) because we want to build an adventure that will stay fresh and provide a unique experience that will surprise and delight people each time they play,

Funko Fusion Teaser Features Properties Like The Thing, Child's Play 2, Jurassic World, And More

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Funko Fusion, the mash-up co-op action game featuring a bizarre assortment of disparate properties, is the first game from 10:10 Studios. The studio was founded by TT Games veterans like Arthur Parsons, who worked as lead designer on about a dozen of TT Games' Lego games. The game features Funko characters and worlds from Jurassic World, Back to the Future, The Umbrella Academy, The Thing, Child’s Play 2, Masters of the Universe, and other NBCUniversal properties. Many of the properties featured in the trailer above are R-rated, and characters lose limbs and heads, use flame throwers, and get eaten by monsters. It never veers into full, non-cartoon violence, but compared to the Lego games the team worked on in the past, Funko Fusion seems like it is going for a more mature audience.   Funko Fusion is coming to consoles and PC next year.

Netflix's The Witcher: New Teaser Features The Wild Hunt In Henry Cavill's Last Season

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Netflix has released the first official teaser for its upcoming season of The Witcher alongside the release dates for Volume 1 and Volume 2.  The Witcher : Season 3 still features Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia but it will be his last season in the role as Netflix announced last year that Liam Hemsworth would be replacing him as the titular Witcher in Season 4 . If this new Season 3 teaser is anything to go off of, Cavill's final season as Geralt looks like a great one to go out on. We get a new look at Geralt and what might be his biggest fear, Yennefer and other mainstay characters, and most interestingly, Ciri, who appears to be running from the Wild Hunt, which were the main antagonist of the last mainline Witcher game, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt .  Check it out for yourself below in the Season 3 teaser for Netflix's The Witcher :  As you can see, this teaser features plenty of teases for what's in store in Volumes 1 and 2 of the series. And speaking of volumes, th

Sega Of America Employees File For Unionization

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Sega of America could soon become the first multi-department video game union in the United States.  Today, The Verge broke the news that a supermajority of 144 employees across Sega of America's quality assurance, live service, localization, marketing, and product development departments have filed to form a union. This team of workers headquartered in Sega of America's Irvine, California office filed its union election with the National Labor Relations Board and will go by the name Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega (AEGIS) in partnership with the Communications Workers of America,  The Verge  reports.  "We believe that the passionate, hardworking people at our Irvine offices deserve a say in our working conditions, and we are joining together to advocate for change in our workplace," this new union writes on Twitter . "This is our vision for the path forward. #UnionizeSEGA"  The AEGIS union also released a longer statement outlining why it's u

Guerrilla Games Teases 'Aloy's Next Adventure' In New Studio Statement

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Just a few days away from the launch of Horizon Forbidden West's Burning Shores DLC last week, Guerrilla Games has teased more adventures with Aloy.  This news comes from a statement released by the studio to announce that studio director and executive producer Angie Smets is leaving Guerrilla to serve as the head of development strategy for PlayStation Studios. It's a move similar to the one the team's former managing director, Hermen Hulst , made in 2019, transitioning from that director position to head of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios.  Within that statement, Guerrilla teases what could be Horizon 3 or at least, a third game in Aloy's world, as reported by PlayStation Lifestyle .  "We have full confidence in our new leadership as they steer Guerrilla towards a bright future, expanding the world of Horizon with Aloy's next adventure and our exciting online project," the statement reads.  As you can see, Guerrilla isn't try

Afterimage, An Upcoming Hand-Drawn 2D Metroidvania | New Gameplay Today

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Join hosts Wesley LeBlanc and Kyle Hilliard as the two take a quick look at Afterimage, a new 2D action-adventure Metroidvania from Aurogon Shanghai. Featuring gorgeous hand-drawn art, Afterimage is sure to be a pretty game to play through soon. And fortunately, you don't have to wait long because it hits PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC next week on April 25. If you're wondering whether it's a game you should pick up, check out roughly 15 minutes of new Afterimage footage in the latest New Gameplay Today:  For more previews and discussions of some of the biggest games of 2023 and beyond, be sure to head over to our  YouTube page  for NGTs about Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Collection ,  XDefiant ,  Sea of Stars ,  Star Wars Jedi: Survivor ,  Exoprimal ,  Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse ,  Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania ,  Final Fantasy XVI , and more. Does Afterimage look like something you'd enjoy? Let us know in the comments below!

Afterimage, An Upcoming Hand-Drawn 2D Metroidvania | New Gameplay Today

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Join hosts Wesley LeBlanc and Kyle Hilliard as the two take a quick look at Afterimage, a new 2D action-adventure Metroidvania from Aurogon Shanghai. Featuring gorgeous hand-drawn art, Afterimage is sure to be a pretty game to play through soon. And fortunately, you don't have to wait long because it hits PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC next week on April 25. If you're wondering whether it's a game you should pick up, check out roughly 15 minutes of new Afterimage footage in the latest New Gameplay Today:  For more previews and discussions of some of the biggest games of 2023 and beyond, be sure to head over to our  YouTube page  for NGTs about Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Collection ,  XDefiant ,  Sea of Stars ,  Star Wars Jedi: Survivor ,  Exoprimal ,  Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse ,  Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania ,  Final Fantasy XVI , and more. Does Afterimage look like something you'd enjoy? Let us know in the comments below!

PlayStation Acquires Firewalk Studios, Team Developing 'AAA Multiplayer' Game

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PlayStation has acquired Firewalk Studios. The company announced this on a new PlayStation Blog , noting that it's been in a publishing partnership with Firewalk Studios and ProbablyMonsters since 2021 and that it's now happy to expand that relationship by bringing the studio under the PlayStation umbrella. The studio has been working on its "first original AAA multiplayer game" for PlayStation and it sounds like development on that will continue.  "Since announcing our publishing partnership with ProbablyMonsters and Firewalk in 2021, we continue to be impressed by the team's ambitions to build a modern multiplayer game that connects players in new and innovative ways," Head of PlayStation Hermen Hulst writes in the blog. "The studio shares our passion for creating inspiring worlds grounded in exceptional gameplay, and we want to continue to invest in their mission. We're excited to bring their technical and creative expertise to PlayStation