Ready at Dawn, the developer behind The Order: 1886 and virtual reality sci-fi hit Lone Echo, has been acquired by Facebook.

Ready at Dawn was founded in 2003 by former members of Naughty Dog, and enjoyed a long relationship with Sony in the years after; it worked on the likes of God of War: Chains of Olympus and God War: Ghost of Sparta for the PlayStation Portable before later moving on to develop the divisive PS4-exclusive The Order: 1886 in 2015.

In 2017, however, Ready at Dawn entered into a partnership with Facebook's Oculus Studios, releasing the acclaimed VR sci-fi adventure Lone Echo, which successfully combined a solo story campaign and a team-based multiplayer mode known as Echo Arena. Facebook will be publishing Lone Echo 2 later this year, and today's acquisition news suggests the relationship is one both parties expect to continue bearing fruit well into the future.

Read more

A rumor was quickly spreading around the internet that Sonic ice cream bars had been discontinued. Blue Bunny and Sega both debunked it.

The post Don’t Worry: Sonic the Hedgehog Ice Cream Bar Is Not Discontinued appeared first on Siliconera.

Marvel's Avengers players will get a free upgrade to next-gen on their respective platform, publisher Square Enix announced. Anyone who purchases a copy of Marvel's Avengers, physically or digitally, will get upgraded from PS4 to PS5 or Xbox One to Xbox Series X if they purchase the new consoles.

In a PlayStation blog post, Gary Snethen, chief technology officer of developer Crystal Dynamics, said that the team has been working on a PS5 enhanced version of the game for some time, utilizing the power of the new console to offer a high frame rate mode that targets 60 fps and dynamic 4K resolution.

The Lighting Lead is responsible for maintaining quality and artistic consistency by establishing high visual standards and cohesive project style as defined by the Art Director. ...

This is absolutely not a game about a tiny cartoon sperm escaping giant rainbow monsters. It’s got while tentacle-y little legs and shoots its other sperm babies out of cannons to attack big baddies but no, I refuse. Spinch is just a game about a colorless little creature trying not to get squished or spiked or swallowed by a giant rainbow worm. Oh, and it’s launching in September.

(more…)

Scavenging for vital crafting items is a huge part of The Last of Us Part 2, but Ellie also spends her time in the post-apocalyptic ruins searching for character trading cards from an in-universe comic-book series. One such card is an obvious nod to game director Neil Druckmann, and it also includes what may be a…

Read more...

Pokemon has a long history of wonderful spin-off games, but Pokemon Snap is perhaps the most beloved of them all. For years, fans of the 1999 Pokemon photography game have longed for a remake on Nintendo Switch, but out of the blue, Nintendo has given us something better: a true sequel. Literally titled New Pokemon Snap, the upcoming Switch game is being developed by Bandai Namco and features stunning modern graphics. No release date has been announced, but the trailer labeled it as "coming soon," and Nintendo promised more details are coming soon as well. If you already know New Pokemon Snap is a day one purchase for you, the game is available to pre-order now.

Like its N64 predecessor, New Pokemon Snap will have you explore various Pokemon environments by traveling in a cart on a set rail path. You'll take photos of Pokemon in their wild environment for research, adding them to your Photodex. In the old game, these photos were then rated by Professor Oak, and you'd score more points for capturing a Pokemon in a special pose, which often required certain items or accessories that you'd earn over time.

Michael Keaton famously played Batman in two Tim Burton films in the late '80s and early '90s, but he could reprise the character for Warner Bros.’ upcoming DC movie, The Flash. 

According to sources, Keaton is in talks to don the cowl again for the film, which will also star Ezra Miller as Barry Allen (The Flash).

The project is likely to start filming later this year. Rumors also point to the idea that Keaton could sign a contract to star in several other DC-oriented films in a move similar to Samuel Jackson's portrayal of Nick Fury in the MCU. Sounds neat, but go ahead and start complaining about it on social media if you like. 

[Source: HollywoodReporter]

Facebook has acquired the game dev studio behind The Order: 1886 and Lone Echo. ...

Over the last few days, allegations of sexual harassment surfaced regarding Chris Avellone, an industry veteran who had been serving as the narrative designer on Techland's upcoming Dying Light 2. In consideration of those allegations, the studio announced today that the partnership between Techland and Avellone is over.

The statement from Techland reads, in part: "We treat matters of sexual harassment and disrespect with utmost care, and have no tolerance for such behaviors – it applies to both our employees as well as external consultants, Chris among them." You can read the full statement below.

Avellone was one of the public-facing people working on Dying Light 2 until this point, unveiling the game during E3 2018. According to Techland, development on Dying Light 2 continues to progress following a delay earlier this year.

These moves will provide a meta shake-up for competitive battlers

Continue reading…

Borderlands 3 studio Gearbox Software is selling an in-game item for the first-person loot shooter with all proceeds going to COVID-19 relief.

The “Antisocial Mask” pack offers a purple and green face mask that players’ characters can wear in Borderlands 3. The cosmetic item pack can be bought through the Gearbox Loot website for a minimum of $5.

All proceeds from the pack will be going to Direct Relief to buy protective gear for doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers currently fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This campaign and these contributions are coming at a critical time in the pandemic,” said president and CEO of Direct Relief Thomas Tighe in a press release. “While states are opening, we continue to see surges in the spread of Coronavirus and there is still a need to provide PPE for frontline healthcare workers. Direct Relief is deeply grateful to Gearbox for its partnership.”

Players will receive the downloadable content as a SHiFT code. The digital item can be redeemed in the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One versions of the game, but the purchase does require specifying which platform it is for. The face mask pack can be bought multiple times, each for an additional $5.

The post Borderlands 3 Offers In-Game Face Masks to Support Charity appeared first on Twinfinite.

Nobody ever goes this far

Continue reading…

Facebook has announced that it has purchased developer Ready at Dawn, who've been working on multiple games in its Lone Echo VR series (shooter Echo Combat is shown above), and will continue to do so for Oculus, Facebook's VR platform.

Ready at Dawn worked with Sony properties like the God of War series before handling its own IP, The Order: 1886 in 2015 for the PlayStation 4. Unfortunately, the title never took off.

The good news, however, is that the studio has since had success in VR and the Oculus, making multiple Echo titles. The latest, Lone Echo II, is due out in 2020.

[Source: Oculus]

Pokemon Sword and Shield's Isle of Armor expansion has arrived. The centerpiece of the DLC is a new storyline centered around the Legendary Pokemon Kubfu, but that's not all there is to do on the island; there's also a lengthy sidequest that involves tracking down Alolan Diglett.

Shortly after you arrive on the Isle of Armor, you'll meet a hiker who asks you to search for his missing Alolan Diglett. These are hidden in the ground all around the various areas of the Isle of Armor. You'll need keep your eyes peeled to find them, as the Diglett can be pretty tricky to spot, but you'll know when you've found one when you see their three little hairs sticking out of the ground.

There are 150 Alolan Diglett in total to find, and you'll receive a reward each time you hit a particular milestone. These rewards typically come in the form of Alolan Pokemon, but you can also get one of the Gen 7 starters and a Kantonian Slowpoke for your troubles. You can see all the rewards and the number of Diglett you need to find to get them, courtesy of Serebii, below:

Former Square Enix President Yoichi Wada talked about the 2003 merger between longtime rival companies Square and Enix.

The post Former Square Enix President Yoichi Wada on the Merger Between Longtime Rival Companies appeared first on Siliconera.

What do you get if you take the original 151 Pokémon and replace them with carbon copies of an eighth generation reimagining of one the more forgettable ones? The Isle of Armor expansion for Pokémon Sword and Shield, out last week for Nintendo Switch, answers that head-scratcher. Kinda.

Read more...

The creators of Lone Echo are now part of the Facebook family

Continue reading…

Gearbox is offering an in-game Borderlands 3 face mask to players who donate to Direct Relief to provide aid to medical workers responding to COVID-19 through a partnership with the international humanitarian organization.

Anyone that donates $5 or more through Gearbox's merchandise website will receive a shift code that unlocks the Antisocial head cosmetic for Borderlands 3. The donations go directly to Direct Relief to provide aid and personal protection equipment to medical professionals.

"This campaign and these contributions are coming at a critical time in the pandemic," Thomas Tighe, president and CEO of Direct Relief said. "While states are opening, we continue to see surges in the spread of Coronavirus and there is still a need to provide PPE for frontline healthcare workers. Direct Relief is deeply grateful to Gearbox for its partnership."

Tracking Lesson Collectibles Overview

• Artifacts: 3
• Coins: 1

Artifacts - Thank You Card from Mel and Owen’s Drawing

You automatically already have 2 artifacts in your backpack: Thank You Card from Mel and Owen’s Drawing of Abby.

Artifact - Zoo Holiday Brochure

Move forward, crouching under branches as needed to continue on your path until you reach the building entrance ahead. When you do, go to the gazebo to the right of the entrance and pick up the note on one of the benches.

Less than a year ago, Microsoft made a series of big moves to increase viewership on their game livestreaming site Mixer by buying the exclusivity of household name streamers like Ninja and Shroud. Today, Mixer announced that it’s shutting down—in exactly a month. On July 22nd, Mixer’s website will forward to Facebook Gaming, which Microsoft will be partnering with for the foreseeable future.

(more…)

Sucker Punch Games announced that the samurai action game Ghost of Tsushima has gone gold ahead of its July 17, 2020.

The post Ghost of Tsushima Has Gone Gold and Is Ready to Go appeared first on Siliconera.

Following the success of Pokémon Sword & Shield, Game Freak and The Pokémon Company announced the first-ever downloadable expansions for the mainline Pokémon series. The Isle of Armor, the first part of the two-part Expansion Pass, launched last week, and now that I've played it all the way through, I feel secure in saying that while I overall enjoyed the new expansion, the experience stumbles in a few ways.

Check out my thoughts on what works and what doesn't in the new Pokémon Sword & Shield: The Isle of Armor expansion below.

Ready At Dawn, the makers of The Order: 1886 and more recently Lone Echo, is now part of Facebook, where the studio will work on virtual reality games for the Oculus VR platform, the social media company announced today.

Read more...

The Lost Treasure Collection Event goes live in Apex Legends on June 23. The limited-time event will implement an update as well, which includes reworks for both Lifeline and Octane. Instead of buffing and nerfing both legends' abilities, Respawn is outright changing several aspects of their abilities--similarly to how Mirage was reworked at the start of Season 5: Fortune's Favor.

One of the original eight legends, Lifeline's abilities are being reworked to make her into a more effective combat medic. Since launch, Lifeline has been a character who can transition back and forth between a healer and a fighter. These new changes allow her to do both at once.

Lifeline's original passive ability, Combat Medic, is being replaced with Combat Revive. So Lifeline will no longer be able to revive and heal more quickly; instead, she can now use her D.O.C. drone to revive allies while she continues fighting or revives someone else. That's a pretty substantial adjustment for the character--it makes Lifeline the go-to healer again, as her original passive has become somewhat obsolete in the wake of buffs to Gibraltar.

In one of the more unexpected crossovers that we've seen in recent history, Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra are coming to... Smite? You know, that pretty cool god-centric third-person MOBA? Yeah. They're coming! Watch the video!

Now, the fine print is that these iconic characters are going to be skins available for existing characters, so don't freak out too much. 

They'll be available in the upcoming Battle Pass coming to Smite next month in July. Full information on the skins and dates will be available on June 24 during a 3 PM livestream at twitch.tv/smitegame

After leveling your Kubfu up a bit, it’ll be time to take on the tower of your choosing

Continue reading…

Best Buy is back with another big sale this week, although instead of its usual one-day sale, you've got four days to take advantage of this one. Many deals are returning from previous sales, including a ton of discounts on Apple products like iPads and MacBooks, but there's also a selection of game deals available along with some 4K TVs, monitors, wireless earbuds, and more. The deals end Thursday, but there's a chance the most popular discounts could sell out before then.

Curious explore-o-adventure game Haunted Garage caught my eye and ear during today’s Day Of The Devs showcase livestream. It has a striking presentation: your character moves around in a diddy box in a corner of the screen, then the rest is used for dioramas to poke at and an increasingly daft number of weird musical instruments and gadgets you can play. I’m not quite sure what it is, and I’m very much okay with that. Have a look below.

(more…)

Microsoft is getting out of the live streaming game, with Xbox head Phil Spencer saying in a blog post that the company†™s Mixer platform lacked the crucial ability to scale. ...

Following the news about Ghost of Tsushima going gold, the ESRB has published a detailed description for the game’s “M for Mature” rating.

Ghost of Tsushima is being given the Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, and Partial Nudity descriptors.

The game’s content is described as follows, including mentions of weapons, decapitations, and… buttocks.

“This is an action game in which players assume the role of a samurai (Jin Sakai) on a quest for vengeance against Mongol invaders in 13th century Japan. Players traverse open-world environments, interact with characters, complete quests (e.g., assassination), and infiltrate enemy strongholds. Players use samurai swords, poisoned darts, and bows to battle enemies in melee-style combat.

Some attacks result in dismemberment and/or decapitation of enemy soldiers, often accompanied by large blood-splatter effects. Players can also perform assassination kills (e.g., neck stabbing, sword impalement) to dispatch enemies quietly.

Cutscenes depict additional acts of intense violence: a soldier lit on fire and beheaded; bound civilians lit on fire and burned at the stake; a decapitated man’s head held up towards the screen. The game also depicts a man’s exposed buttocks as he bathes in a hot spring.”

Ghost of Tsushima is developed by Sucker Punch Productions, which is mainly known for the inFAMOUS series. It has recently been slightly rescheduled to release on July 17, 2020, exclusively for PS4.

Meet Doctor Uckmann

Continue reading…