Microsoft's Bethesda acquisition has been approved by the EU
The European Union's antitrust regulator has approved the proposed $7.5bn acquisition in another step towards its final completion. The acquisition was cleared without concessions during the regulator's preliminary review.
- This is the latest sign that things are very close to wrapping up in acquisition land. Last week Providence Equity Partners, a private equity firm that used to own around 75% o...
2021-03-08 17:22:40 +0000 UTC
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Valve end development on Artifact 2.0
An official statement published to Artifact's Steam page reads that, while the team were "reasonably satisfied" with the extent to which they had achieved their game-side goals, Artifact just wasn't able to draw in enough active players to justify investing further development resources.
- Players can now download Artifact Classic or the Artifact 2.0 Beta, now renamed Artifact Foundry, completely for free - no further up...
2021-03-05 12:25:20 +0000 UTC
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Those Switch Pro rumours suddenly got a lot more detailed
A new report from Bloomberg has claimed that Nintendo's long-rumoured "Switch Pro" will begin production sometime in June, and will contain a new 7-inch Samsung OLED screen - a marked upgrade from the 6.2-inch and 5.5inch screens of the standard Switch and Switch Lite.
- The report goes on to state that, while the Switch Pro will continue to display in 720p i...
2021-03-04 19:13:28 +0000 UTC
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Fall Guys developer purchased by Epic Games
The as-yet undetailed acquisition deal means that Epic Games now own the entire Tonic Games Group, which includes Fall Guys studio Mediatonic. In an official statement, Mediatonic have called the deal "a huge move for Fall Guys" and will allow them to accelerate their plans to improve and expand the game.
- Further down the line, Mediatonic reportedly hope to see some of the features seen in Epic games like Fortnit...
2021-03-03 12:25:52 +0000 UTC
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How to make your iPad EVEN MORE flexible & have incredible ergonomics!
2021-03-02 16:38:54 +0000 UTC
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Need for Speed delayed into next year, Criterion shifted to Battlefield
Chief Studios Officer Laura Miele told Polygon that the decision was influenced by a combination of pandemic pressures and the fact that EA's recent acquisition of Codemasters will be delivering at least one racing title by the end of this year - though she also emphasised that the franchise isn't in trouble and Criterion haven't been permanently removed.
- The decision does make a decen...
2021-03-02 12:01:08 +0000 UTC
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New documents claim E3 2021 live event has been cancelled, unsurprisingly
A new report published by the Board of Los Angeles Convention and Tourism Development Commission (what a name) has listed E3 2021 as a "cancelled live event", and that the Board are instead "working" on a 2022 and 2023 license for E3.
- While a live E3 being cancelled is entirely unsurprising in the modern climate, it hasn't actually been confirmed by show organisers just yet. The show...
2021-03-01 17:05:15 +0000 UTC
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EA have reportedly canned Dragon Age 4's multiplayer elements
Fresh off the back of Anthem Next's cancellation, a new report from Bloomberg has suggested that EA have allowed BioWare to drop all planned multiplayer elements for Dragon Age 4. The game will reportedly now be an exclusively singleplayer RPG, rather than the live service title as was previously anticipated.
- This week was rough for Anthem fans but things are looking up for Dragon Age 4. A team ...
2021-02-26 11:34:41 +0000 UTC
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Sony say they underestimated PS5 demand
The admission comes courtesy of Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan, who told The Washington Post that high demand mixed with "supply chain issues" are what has caused the widespread shortage of PS5 units since the console's launch in November 2020.
- Ryan did confirm that console production is "ramping up steadily" though and, in a separate interview with the Financial Times, said that Sony are intending to pr...
2021-02-24 13:40:47 +0000 UTC
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Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 developer removed, release delayed, preorders cancelled
The hotly-anticipated title has now been delayed out of 2021 and publisher Paradox Interactive have officially pulled development responsibilities from studio Hardsuit Labs - instead a "new studio partner" will finish up work on the maligned sequel. Preorders have also been halted until a new release date is announced.
- Development on Bloodlines 2 has been turbule...
2021-02-23 17:55:57 +0000 UTC
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Diablo 2: Resurrected won't ruin the original version like Warcraft III: Reforged did
Reforged was a laundry list of controversies when it released last January, but one of the biggest was that its multiplayer component merged with the original Warcraft 3 and wiped out two decades of features for fans who didn't even buy the new release.
- Blizzard have apparently learned from their mistakes, with Diablo boss Rod Fergusson confirming that while Diablo 2: Res...
2021-02-22 17:39:12 +0000 UTC
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Experiments are happening! We'll be piloting a show on our Warcraft channel, and then potentially doing industry news content.
2021-02-22 16:19:10 +0000 UTC
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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is headed to Nintendo Switch
Last night's Nintendo Direct was packed full of announcements but one of the biggest was that Skyward Sword, which first released on the Wii in 2011, will head Switch on July 16th. It'll have updated visuals, reworked controls to make it playable in handheld mode, and a snazzy set of new Joy-Cons if you fancy them.
- This Direct wasn't as Zelda Anniversary-focused as many had anticipated. Eiji A...
2021-02-18 16:00:20 +0000 UTC
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Nintendo are holding an actual Nintendo Direct presentation today
The upcoming presentation, set to air today at 2pm PT/5pm ET/ 10pm GMT, will mark the first full Nintendo broadcast since September 2019 - that's nearly 18 months. Nintendo have stated the show will include 50 minutes of information on available games and games coming to Switch "in the first half of 2021."
- As you can imagine, hype is through the roof for this one. Anything could happen reall...
2021-02-17 13:06:45 +0000 UTC
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Six Days in Fallujah (a game about the Iraq War) isn't intended to be political
That's according to the game's publisher Victure who outlined that the game, which aims to tell the story of the 2004 Second Battle of Fallujah, isn't attempting to make "a political commentary" of any kind. Victure CEO Peter Tamte says the game is instead about "helping players understand the complexity of urban combat."
- These statements have been met with harsh criticism from...
2021-02-16 16:55:48 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone! This is our next lore video - it's a little less 'grand scheme' and a lot more 'here's the breadcrumbs Blizzard left us', but it's full of some wild stuff and can drive a LOT of speculation.
2021-02-15 19:30:01 +0000 UTC
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"Over 100" games will reportedly release on Stadia this year, despite studio closures
A new community blog posted to the official Stadia website states that players can expect a stack of games from a wide variety of genres "over the next few weeks and months." A "sampling" of upcoming games confirms things like FIFA 21, Killer Queen Black, and Judgment are on the way which, considering they've already been out a while, is hardly exciting.
- Google's optimism...
2021-02-15 14:39:12 +0000 UTC
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Stolen Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher 3 data reportedly sold at dark web auction
After leaking the source code to Gwent earlier this week, the hacking group promised that more substantial information would be sold at auction. According to cyber intelligence firm Kela, this looks to have been the case.
- A data bundle containing source code files for CDPR's RedEngine development engine, and titles like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and its upcoming ray-traced version, Thronebreaker: The W...
2021-02-12 15:40:57 +0000 UTC
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HBO's The Last of Us finds its Joel and Ellie
The showrunners apparently flicked through their Game of Thrones rolodex to find their leading duo. Pedro Pascal will play Joel - he was Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones and he's also in some quaint little indie thing called The Mandalorian. Bella Ramsey will play Ellie - she's best known for her breakout performance as Lyanna Mormont.
- The Last of Us will be the first television series from PlayStation P...
2021-02-11 11:59:44 +0000 UTC
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Riot Games CEO sued for sexual harassment
Riot Games and their CEO, Nicolo Laurent, are currently facing a sexual harassment lawsuit from Laurent's former assistant - who is seeking damages for nine issues including sexual discrimination, hostile environment harassment, and failure to pay wages. The lawsuit has requested a trial by jury.
- The actual details of the allegations, if true, make for some grim reading. This is only the latest gender discriminatio...
2021-02-10 14:09:53 +0000 UTC
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Terraria creator locked out of Google accounts, cancels Stadia release in response
Andrew Spinks took to Twitter to detail being inexplicably locked out of his Google accounts since mid-January, and to criticise Google for doing nothing beyond giving him "the runaround" since he brought the issue to their attention.
- This lockout means that Spinks has lost access to "thousands of dollars" of apps on Google Play, and well as his Google Drive, YouTube account...
2021-02-09 16:52:30 +0000 UTC
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Here we have it: Tailoring, a kickass shield to go with the swords we're about to ship out (see https://www.patreon.com/posts/vlog-loot-tease-47326917 ) and the creature sticker!
The schedule for these is getting better and better - all printed items are now complete and on order, as is the pin. The Pin should be with us by the end of the month. There is a chance that the Chinese new year de...
2021-02-09 15:53:06 +0000 UTC
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Updates from the field!
2021-02-09 15:29:48 +0000 UTC
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That Prince of Persia remake has been delayed indefinitely
The remake of Ubisoft's 2003 classic Prince of Persia: Sands of time was originally slated to release in January 2021 before being pushed to March - this latest delay does not include an updated expected release window.
- A development update posted to the official Prince of Persia Twitter admits that the update is a "surprise" but aims to reassure fans that the extra time will be put to good use. Fe...
2021-02-08 18:15:06 +0000 UTC
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Activision-Blizzard say no Overwatch 2 or Diablo 4 in 2021
In their earnings call, AB quashed hopes of these games appearing this year. They did, however, confirm a Call of Duty aimed for Q4 2021, more remasters coming this year (Diablo 2? Crash Bash?) and that multiple F2P Warcraft mobile games are now in 'advanced development'.
- Blizzard's core output is astonishingly poor, but Activision are getting good at filling in the gaps. A focus on mobile for Warcraft will upset c...
2021-02-05 12:28:06 +0000 UTC
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Activision Sued Over 'Copied Character'
According to photographer Clayton Haugen, the Call of Duty Modern Warfare Operator named Mara is infringing on his copyright. He developed a character named Cade Janus for a short story and hired model Alex Zedra to play her for a photo shoot. Allegedly, Infinity Ward hired the same model and same make-up professional and instructed them to prepare Zedra exactly like Cade, using Haugen's photographs as reference.
- Copyright infringeme...
2021-02-04 13:06:04 +0000 UTC
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Embracer Go Shopping For More Acquisitions
Embracer Group have acquired Gearbox, port studio Aspyr Media and mobile publisher Easybrain for a maximum of $1.3b, $450m and $865m respectively. They also noted that Aspyr are working on a $70m AAA licensed project - rumoured to be Star Wars KOTOR remakes.
- Always nice to see rumours of new games come to fruition, although this rampant acquisition feels like it's getting out of control. On the Gearbox side, Randy's still in charg...
2021-02-03 16:02:56 +0000 UTC
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Stadia Have Axed Their Game Dev Teams
Announced late yesterday, Phil Harrison has confirmed that Stadia will move from focusing on exclusive, first party content to hosting and supporting third party content. According to Kotaku, this includes selling Stadia's tech to publishers as a product for them to use. Their 150+ devs will be let go or relocated within Google, although they don't have other games in production.
- This was going to happen sooner than later, given the hi...
2021-02-02 14:27:16 +0000 UTC
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Nintendo deny planning a Switch Pro 'anytime soon'.
With various insider references to a Switch Pro (or Super Switch), the ageing Switch is almost certainly being replaced - the question is just when, at this point. Nintendo said they aren't planning an announcement 'anytime soon', which might as well be a hard confirmation compared to their previous messaging.
- It makes sense to delay - while a Switch Pro would be a welcome addition to the lineup, there's no need to announ...
2021-02-01 16:00:51 +0000 UTC
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Rumour: Microsoft Gearing Up For Another Big Acquisition
Rumour has it that Microsoft is prepping for another Bethesda-like acquisition in the coming years. As to who it could be... the crazy one is Take-Two, trying to get the purchase in ahead of Tencent, who are also rumoured to want Take-Two.
- If not Take-Two, who knows what it's going to be? The rumour doesn't have much weight behind it, but it's worth considering an acquisition-heavy MS using every trick in the book to...
2021-01-29 21:40:09 +0000 UTC
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