June 2020

It has been a long time since we last learned anything about Pokémon Sword and Shield's expansions. In January, Game Freak announced a $30 expansion pass for the upcoming Isle of Armor and Crown of Tundra add-ons. They're meant to take the place of an eventual third Sword and Shield game, an approach Pokémon has taken several times in the past. However, that's the last we've heard about Isle of Armor and The Crown of Tundra.

That changes tomorrow. The Japanese Pokémon account has revealed there will be Sword and Shield news coming tomorrow. It's unclear how and where it'll be messaged, but it's happening on June 2 at 6am Pacific.

As I constantly lament the death of Club Nintendo — a place that favored actual physical merchandise over discounts for legacy systems — I'm always looking for new ways to store my current Nintendo loot. Over on reddit, nilsk89 seems to be on my wavelength.

In a post simply titled "made some retro game trays," nilsk89 shared a few designs for Switch game cart storage, in the form of a standard gray NES cart model and a larger gold cart design. The "game trays" appear to be standard carts at first, then open up to reveal cart storage.

Its creator says that the gold cart is "close to the same size" as a real NES game, and the concept uses "embedded magnets" to allow them to close automatically. If you want to try to make them yourself: they note that they used a Prusa 3D printer for the finished product. In the very same post, a commenter shared a similar design that you can grab and print.

Made some Retro Game trays [Reddit]

As Paradox Interactive continues to grow as a publisher, it has started making moves to open studios to focus on the properties that got it to the dance. In a press release today, Paradox Tinto was introduced to the public as a standalone studio in Barcelona. Johan Andersson, a Paradox Development Studio veteran, was assigned as the head of the new studio.

In the release, Paradox COO Charlotta Nilsson expanded on the new studio:

People love our games and we love the fact that we are growing to create more for them, we’re particularly pleased to expand for the first time with a new studio focusing on the core game genre we're famous for: grand strategy. The success of our studios over the last few years has allowed us to continually add more capabilities and new ideas, with more games going into active development and more ambitious plans every day...

Paradox Tinto's first task will be the continued development and updating of the now-classic Europa Universalis IV, which Andersson was the lead designer on. The long-term goal will be the development of new grand strategy games. That begs the question: what will Paradox Development Studio be doing?

The first open beta for GungHo Online's Ninjala didn't go particularly well. A flood of connection issues kept most players from giving it a go. Its second beta, open to players around the world for several hours on Sunday, went a lot smoother. You know, we were actually able to play the game. I experienced a single connection issue, but it's actually a good thing that happened.

If you haven't been keeping on eye on it, Ninjala is a free-to-play online multiplayer brawler that people keep comparing to Splatoon. While they may look similar at first glance, you'll realize it's nothing like Nintendo's kid-or-squid shooter once you get into the weeds of it. This is melee combat through and through, and victory will hinge on how well you know your weapon, the arena, and what the other fighters are doing.

Mary Skelter Finale lets people zap between parties and revisit past games’ story summaries,

The post Mary Skelter Finale Features a Zapping System Between Different Parties appeared first on Siliconera.

Question is seeking a senior master generalist gameplay engineer with Unreal Engine experience for a full time position to round out our team with ownership over various gameplay system ...

The Seattle chapter of GWU are calling for changes to be made to GWU International following allegations that a prominent member "engaged in exclusionary behavior and bullying." ...

For the past several days, the police killing of a black man, George Floyd, has stoked righteous anger and protest across the United States.

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Featured Deal: Sennheiser CX 150BT Wireless Headset | $50

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Before we get into this, let me explain the title. A couple of years back, my friends and I were planning a trip to Disney World to check out the new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, mainly to be initiated as a Jedi Knight with my own personal lightsaber for $200, plus the chance to help pilot the Millennium Falcon. Being a…

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This patch also has plenty of balance changes

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As a Twin Cities company, Game Informer is devastated by the events of the last week. We are reeling from the gruesome and unjust death of George Floyd. We offer our condolences to the family and loved ones of George Floyd, and support to the countless other members of the Black community around the country whose pain and loss goes undocumented or unresolved.  

Gaming can often act as an escape from the troubles of real life, but for many families, there is no escape from persecution, harassment, and the threat of death. Systemic racism has no place in gaming or in our society.

#BlackLivesMatter

Capcom is running a Resident Evil series sale on the Switch eShop until June 16, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific. Better yet, the deals are starting to approach what you'd expect from these re-releases.

• Resident Evil 0 ($12.89)
• Resident Evil ($12.89)
• Resident Evil 4 ($14.99)
• Resident Evil 5 ($14.99)
• Resident Evil 6 ($14.99)

Fifteen bucks might not be the most enticing price point for a game that's seen as many ports as Resident Evil 4 has, but I'm glad to see the action-horror classic drop that low on Nintendo Switch.

It normally goes for $30, and the last deal, several weeks back, only brought it down to $20 – the same price you'll see listed for the digital Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions when no deals are in effect.

In today's contest you can win a Switch copy of Neo Geo Pocket Color classic SNK Gals' Fighters!

So this is a fun one: We snagged some Switch keys for SNK Gals' Fighters, the rerelease of the semi-hidden (due to the system) Neo Geo Pocket Color classic fighter. Do your best hi-ya and throw a fan at me for your chance to win a copy!

Back in 1996, Sonic 3D Blast turned the Sonic world upside down. Providing an isometric camera angle, the Genesis/Saturn title was polarizing in part due to its perspective shift: which is why this fan project sought to reconfigure it to be more in line with the classics.

Cleverly titled "Sonic 3D in 2D," this project from Sotaknuck provides 15 acts across eight zones, as well as classic items, three playable characters (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles), a physics engine that's "close to the Genesis games," and Easter eggs. Sonic can peel out and spin dash as normal, with Tails able to engage in flight and Knuckles climbing/gliding.

As is the case with most fan games, it's free to download. Thankfully, Sega has a more relaxed view on Sonic projects, even hiring fan game developers to work on official Sonic titles.

Although the move to "3D" proved to be somewhat of a wash for Sega in this particular case (and would be many times over in the future), 3D Blast deserves to be preserved: whether that's through its Steam port or the many mega collections it's graced. This fan game also continues its legacy.

Sonic 3D in 2D [Sotaknuck]

Nintendo's Clubhouse Games Switch entry comes out this week, as does Kowloon Youma Gakuenki.

The post This Week In Imports: Clubhouse Games Provides Indoor Entertainment appeared first on Siliconera.

NieR series creator Yoko Taro and series producer Yosuke Saito talked about how the NieR Replicant 'upgraded version' started.

The post Yoko Taro and Yosuke Saito Talk About How the NieR Replicant Upgrade Started and Why Toylogic appeared first on Siliconera.

UPDATE: Amid ongoing protests across the US sparked by the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, folks in the game industry are showing support for Black Lives Matter and Black communities. ...

TSSZ, a Sonic fan site that had been running since 1999, closed over the weekend, not long after the site’s owner posted a very bad tweet comparing the plight of Black Americans and the Black Lives Matter movement to...some stuff that fictional video game character Sonic the Hedgehog has been through.

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Season 4 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone, and Season 7 of Call of Duty: Mobile, is being delayed in the wake of the homicide of George Floyd by Minneapolis police office Derek Chauvin. In a brief statement on Twitter, the official Call of Duty Twitter account announced that the start of new seasons across these three Call of Duty games has been pushed back.

These seasons will now debut at a later date. They were due to begin on June 3.

"Right now it's time for those speaking up for equality, justice, and change to be seen and heard," the tweet reads. "We stand alongside you."

Make your drifting dreams come true with a free code for the beta of KartRider: Drift. The pre-download starts today on Xbox One, Steam, and Nexon Launcher, but you can still register to play the game until June 8.

A lot of the winners of the first giveaway reached out to ask for more beta keys to share with friends and we are here to make that happen.

To enter the giveaway you have to read the official rules, accept the terms and conditions and fill out the form below. If you don’t see the form from your mobile device please use this link and make sure your ad blocker is disabled.

Dragon Ball Legends, the mobile RPG with a card-based battle mechanic, has turned two years old, and it's celebrating with multiple new characters. These new fighters come from the two separate Dragon Ball Z sequel series--Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super.

From GT, Legends is adding Omega Shenron and Super Saiyan 4 Goku. Shenron was the final villain of the Dragon Ball spin-off series, and now players of the mobile game can unleash his fearsome power. Super Saiyan 4 was one of the better-received elements of GT, so it's good to see Goku in this form joining the game.

From Dragon Ball Super, the game is adding three characters from the Future Trunks arc. Super Saiyan Rage Trunks, Fusion Zamasu, and Super Saiyan Blue Vegito are all coming to the game, letting you relive their intense battles from the series.

Star Wars director JJ Abrams, his wife Katie McGrath, and the entire team at Bad Robot productions are donating $10 million to a series of charities to help fight racism amid the protests and unrest surrounding the death of George Floyd.

The Bad Robot Instagram page released a statement, confirming the money will go to "organizations and efforts committed to anti-racist agendas that close the gaps, lift the poor, and build a just America for all."

The statement calls out police brutality and white privilege, while it also acknowledges that money alone won't fix the issues with America. You can read the full statement below.

Paradox Interactive, the publisher and developer best known for strategy games, is opening yet another studio. The company has announced a new office in Barcelona called Paradox Tinto.

Paradox Tinto is Paradox's seventh studio, and its first in Spain. Paradox also has offices in the Swedish cities of Stockholm, Umea, and Malmo. In the United States, Paradox operates Paradox Tectonic in Berkeley, California and Harebrained Schemes in Seattle. The company also owns Triumph Studios, which is based in The Netherlands.

Paradox Tinto will open "in the immediate future," with 25-year Paradox veteran Johan Andersson leading the team. Andersson is crediting with creating the Europa Universalis franchise. Paradox Tinto will start out as a "small core team" that will support the ongoing development of Europa Universalis IV before starting work on multiple new games in the grand strategy genre.

GeForce Now is switching to an opt-in system for developers instead of the previous opt-out system, Nvidia announced on May 27. GeForce Now, Nvidia's cloud-based streaming service for PC, left beta in February and has seen a number of big name companies, like 2K Games and Activision Blizzard, remove their games from the service.

The blog post by Phil Eisler, General Manager of GeForce Now, stated that not only would companies need to opt into the service moving forward but that they would be removing games on May 31 if the companies do not opt-in by that time.

Eisler further explained that participating in the service would not require any extra cost on developers that opt in.

Anyone who's been considering getting into the hugely popular MMO Final Fantasy XIV can now get a bundle with the game and all its major expansions for a great price. Amazon and Walmart are currently offering the PS4 version of Final Fantasy XIV Online: Complete Edition for $36.98, down from its usual $60 price tag. This includes not only the base game but also the Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers expansions in an all-in-one package.

The important thing to note is that you'll still need a subscription to keep playing FFXIV longterm. The Complete Edition comes with a 30-day free trial period (new accounts only); after that period runs out, you'll have to pay a monthly fee to keep playing. The standard membership costs $12 for your first month; after that, it costs $15 a month for 30 days, $14 a month for 90 days, and $13 a month if you opt for a year-long subscription. However, PlayStation Plus isn't required to play.

Developer Dreamfeel has released a new patch for If Found. The update is currently only out for Windows--it will be released for MacOS in "the next few days," according to a Steam blog post.

"This [update] fixes a number of issues, polishes the graphics in a couple of sections, updates the localisation, and tweaks some parts of the script, particularly around Mac & Cassiopeia," Dreamfeel writes in the blog post.

The most notable issue addressed has to do with If Found's Steam achievements, as some of them (like "Trans Rights!") have been glitched since the game launched, preventing players from unlocking them. The update also addresses a problem that was causing players to become stuck if they exited the game from the Bog Road Heist or Anomaly chapter and then tried to resume playing. The full patch notes are outlined below.

The Sega Genesis is an incredible 16-bit console with a library full of some of the '90s best games. Series like Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage, and Shinobi called the system home, and now you can get more than 50 of the console's classic games for less than $10. Fanatical is selling Steam's Sega Genesis Classics bundle for $9.29 USD. It's a retro-styled package of 59 titles that is accompanied by some cool features, including a virtual '90s living room for you to select and play your games in.

The Sega Genesis Classics bundle comes with all of the console's Sonic games, including Sonic CD and Sonic 3D Blast. You also get all three Streets of Rage, Shinobi, and Golden Axe games as well as Gunstar Heroes, Beyond Oasis, and Toe Jam & Earl. The full selection of games can be seen on Fanatical.

A new month always brings a new batch of free games for subscribers to services like PlayStation Plus and Games with Gold, and anyone who's signed up for Amazon Prime can look forward to free monthly games and loot as well. Twitch Prime, a membership included with any Amazon Prime subscription, has announced its latest batch of free games for June 2020, and they're available to claim now.

The star of June's freebies is definitely Observer, a first-person psychological horror game from Bloober Team, the developers of Layers of Fear and Blair Witch. Observer is set in the year 2084 in Krakow, Poland, where you'll play as a detective who is able to hack into people's minds (whether they're alive or dead) to find clues and solve crimes. The game earned an impressive 9/10 in GameSpot's Observer review for its haunting atmosphere, incredible cyberpunk storytelling, and inventive sound design.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has big plans for its video game distribution platform, the Epic Games Store. One of these plans is to bring the digital launcher to Android and iOS devices in the future.

In an interview that kicked off GameSpot's Play For All summer gaming event, Sweeney spoke about the EGS's success, the difficulties releasing a competitor to the massively popular Steam, how cross-play can be a boon for the industry, and much more. During the interview, we asked Sweeney if he had any goals for the EGS in the future, which is when he brought up mobile devices.

"We'd like to bring the [Epic Games] Store to iOS in the future, and we will bring it to Android," Sweeney said. "We think it's a good way to help the industry [move] forward and it's another way where Epic as a game developer had built up this audience around Fortnite and learned how to operate a distribution platform on PC and Android.

Bandai Namco Entertainment’s yellow mascot Pac-Man has been added to Minecraft in a new downloadable pack to celebrate the franchise’s 40th anniversary.

The add-on, simply titled Pac-Man, turns the pie-shaped hero into a series of blocks who is still navigating mazes, eating pellets, dodging ghosts, and racking up high scores.

The ghosts—Inky, Pinky, Blinky, Clyde—also return and are in blocky fashion alongside the new ghost, Creepy, a green ghost that blows up when it gets too close, similar to Minecraft.

The add-on contains 10 3D mazes, a store that offers various power-ups, a high score board, and a maze editor for players to create their own.

The Pac-Man downloadable content pack is available in the Minecraft Marketplace for 1,340 Minecoins, or about $8. Minecraft is available on Windows 10 PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS devices.

The post Pac-Man Joins Minecraft in New Downloadable Content appeared first on Twinfinite.