April 2021

A new Call of Duty: Warzone update has issued a fix for the Hunt for Adler limited-time event.

It has also taken aim at under the map exploits.

First up, the Hunt for Adler event, which rewards the Tortured & Rescued Adler skin upon completion of a series of challenges. Players have had a lot of trouble with this, with the associated challenges not tracking as intended, and the intel required to obtain spawning outside the playable map.

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This is it: the first triple-A game release that will only work on ray tracing capable graphics hardware. Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition takes the real-time RT global illumination of the initial PC release, improves it to an almost generational degree and hands in a game that actually runs faster than its predecessor. We're looking at the PC version today but you can see the groundwork laid here for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series renditions to follow later this year. Put simply, Metro Exodus was my number one title for 'best graphics 2019' and this enhanced edition takes an excellent game to the next level - and in fact, some might say it's our first look at the multi-platform game engines of tomorrow built from the ground-up with RT features in mind.

At the basic level, the enhanced edition takes the original 2019 version of Metro Exodus and revamps the engine to support ray traced global illumination along with a host of additional RT-based features. Further enhancements come from the additional of VRS - variable rate shading - along with Nvidia DLSS 2.1 AI upscaling, along with a temporal upscaling option best suited for AMD GPUs. The smart money suggests that this is the kind of scaling technology which we're likely to see deployed on the console versions (where both PS5 and Series X target 60fps output).

Newest-generation version published by Frogwares, still duking it out with Nacon in the courts

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Lord of the Rings VFX artists and a physicist weigh in

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Hyperroll mode is the perfect newcomer game mode, but I had a blast even as a veteran player

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The update also reworks Erangel’s deadly bridge

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PS Plus subscribers get 3 games across PS4, PS5 next month

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Collector seeks $300,000 for THQ’s ancient PR stunt

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Microsoft has provided a metric ton of content for Microsoft Flight Simulator at no additional cost, but today the first official paid DLC has been released.

The publisher released the Top Rudder Solo 103 ultralight, which joins the large and growing market of payware add-ons provided by third-party developers.

It’s now available on the official in-game marketplace for $9.99/€9.99. During a recent livestream it was explained that the aircraft was to be a paid DLC as Microsoft has to pay license fees to its real-world manufacturer, so that’s quite understandable. Besides, by flight simulators’ market standards this is quite affordable.

As an ultralight, the Top Rudder Solo 103 is basically the perfect aircraft for recreation and exploration, letting you take a good look at Microsoft Flight Simulator’s beautiful world from above. It comes with 8 liveries, so you can do so in style.

We also know that, like all content created directly by Microsoft, this aircraft will also come to the upcoming Xbox Series X|S version of the simulator.

You can see it in action in the trailer below.

Today Level-5 released a new trailer of its upcoming mobile JRPG Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds.

The video is all about the story, but instead of showing it with anime as it was done previously, it uses in-engine cutscenes which look quite fetching, introducing the world and its characters.

As we already know, the story is another take on the Isekai genre in which the protagonist joins some sort of virtual MMORPG before things go terribly wrong… or terribly right? I guess it depends on the point of view.

You can check it out below.

In this 2019 GDC talk, Square Enix's Gautier Boed introduces a method that leads to more aware, expressive, and lively AI characters that can answer their own needs and interact with the player. ...

Let's try to figure out what style is and how we can draw in different styles. ...

Brazilian mobile company Wildlife Studios has opened its second independent game studio, SuperWow Games.  ...

The ninth annual survey of more than 3,000 game industry professionals reflects improved work-life balance and creativity after more than a full year of remote work. ...

In a development shocking to absolutely no one, Stormblood is fucking awesome. I started Final Fantasy XIV’s second expansion mere days ago, and it’s already made the leap from, “this is not Heavensward. I want Heavensward back,” to, “Ok, give me more of this.”

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We're still a couple of months away from the launch of hard-rockin' fighter Guilty Gear Strive and the community is getting restless. Fortunately for fans of Arc System Works' stylish slugfest, the publisher has announced dates for its next open beta, which will give PlayStation owners a new opportunity to plug into the action ahead of GG Strive's June release.

The new beta will kick off on both PS4 and PS5 Thursday, May 13 at 20:00 PT / 23:00 ET / 04:00 BST will run until the same times on Sunday, May 16. Players do not need a PlayStation Plus subscription to access the beta, simply download the client and get set to heavy slashin'. Unfortunately, no mention was made of the PC edition which is — quite frankly — the platform that needs the most marketing, promotion, and support.

During the three-day period, players can check out GG Strive's Training, Tutorial, and Versus modes. The new beta will also give GG fans their first opportunity to experience roster veterans I-No and Anji Mito in the new Strive iterations. English voiceover options will be featured, and crossplay between PS4/PS5 will also be activated. Sounds like a good time, unless you end up crushed beneath I-No's heel... Still, now that you mention it...

Guilty Gear Strive launches June 15 on PS4, PS5, and PC.

[Update: Waggoner re-clarifies that he is working in system design, and is not the new creative director of the game. Also, he officially starts at Crystal Dynamics next month, and anything he works on is going to take time, so don't expect overnight change.]

Marvel Avengers is hurting as a live service game, which pretty much everyone could have predicted right after reaching the end of it near its launch. But Crystal Dynamics might have a secret weapon up their sleeve: their newly-hired former Marvel developer Brian Waggoner, who worked on Marvel Heroes. This directly follows the departure of the game's creative director just a week before.

So here's what Waggoner has to say about his addition to the team. As a systems designer, he is going to help them "build new systems and features" (naturally!). But he also publicly shared his trepidation for working on a Marvel game again "after what happened at Gazillion."

Here's a quick recap. So Marvel Heroes launched in 2013, and was trucking along as a free-to-play MMO in the space with Gazillion and Secret Identity Studios co-developing. Four years in, amid a great purge of Disney-related developers from their licensing agreements, Disney pulled the plug and Gazillion as a studio effectively shut down that month. This is just a year after Disney crushed Avalanche Software into dust and obliterated Disney Infinity, among other projects.

Still, it was enticing enough for Waggoner to bite, and he felt like the "passion for making a game fans love and knowing the potential" was enough for him to make the move to Crystal Dynamics and give it another go. Waggoner cites the "leadership" of the studio as a big draw, as well as the ability to receive "honest feedback" with "no egos."

A little bit of gaming history has been made available for the Castlevania community. Konami's cancelled 2000 sequel, Castlevania Resurrection, is now available online, a build of the unfinished Dreamcast title having been uploaded by archivist Comby Laurent.

As reported earlier this month, Laurent, owner of the Sega Dreamcast Info Games Preservation website, acquired the prototype build via auction, and has generously decided to dump the ROM online, giving Castlevania fans the opportunity to get a taster of one of the Gothic franchises' long-lost chapters. In the build, players take up the whip of hero Sonia Belmont, and can battle a small selection of demons in several locations including a sinister chapel and an ornate hallway. It's hardly a full game, but it is an important piece of Castlevania history.

Fallout 76 just launched the Locked and Loaded update on all platforms, and everything seems good to go. I mean it happened, but it was tested beforehand for a lengthy period of time and the all clear, sans delays, was enough to push it out the door.

On several platforms (Microsoft Store, PS4, Xbox One) the download sizes are going to be massive, as it clocks in at roughly 60GB for that trio. And it makes sense, because it's a lot! Time to break it down.

So as advertised, the two biggest alterations are SPECIAL and CAMP loadouts. In short, you can now create multiple perk loadouts for your characters (up to two), and swap between them freely. Once you hit level 25, you can also respec more easily. Backend issues supposedly prevented this from happening earlier.

As far as CAMP stuff goes, it's kind of a big deal for folks who love to build. Now you can create a second base of operations, a la Minecraft, without trashing the first. When coupled with the bunker instanced build system implemented a while back, it's a great addition for tinkerers, of which there are a lot of when it comes to Bethesda games.

Daily Ops (daily quests) have doubled, and now dole out improved rewards. For people who are interested in playing beyond the "main questline," it should add a little wrinkle in terms of random play sessions. And there are evidently still a lot of people actively playing this game.

You can find the core gist of the patch notes below.

Patch Notes [Bethesda.net]

On April 24, a knife-wielding attacker was arrested at the offices of Genshin Impact developer miHoYo. While police are still to release an official statement, it is being reported that the man invaded the developer's Shanghai offices, allegedly with the intent to kill miHoYo's founders and then himself.

According to reports from Chinese news outlet Baidu (as translated by The Gamer), the alleged attacker sought revenge on miHoYo for reasons pertaining to an update to one of the developer's other releases: Honkai Impact 3rd. As part of the free-to-play title's third-anniversary celebrations, miHoYo released a video featuring the cast dancing in "bunny girl" outfits, with said skins and dance emotes being made available in-game as paid DLC, but only in territories outside of China.

April has come and is almost gone, which means another new month of free games to look forward to. Xbox's Games With Gold May lineup was revealed on April 27, and now it's time for the free PS Plus May 2021 games to be revealed. 

This month includes racing action, hardcore survival, and a return to the Battlefield franchise as the future of the series continues to be a hot topic regarding what's next. 

Free PS Plus May 2021 Games Lineup

The May lineup for PlayStation players includes Battlefield V, Stranded Deep, and Wreckfest. Battlefield V comes at the perfect time with rumors swirling around that Battlefield VI will be revealed soon, as well as the reveal of the Battlefield mobile game. Stranded Deep is great for those players that aren't scared of anything when it comes to surviving in a world where everything wants to kill you, including the elements themselves. Survival games not your thing? Wreckfest lets you "drive hard, die last" with its fast-paced racing experience that takes full-contact to a brutal level.

In the new Street Fighter V character introduction video, Capcom talked about the tarot cards Rose uses in her Soul Fortune V-Skill.

The post Street Fighter V Rose Tarot Cards Discussed by the Developers appeared first on Siliconera.

DC FanDome 2021 will be held in October. Both Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League appeared at DC FanDome 2020.

The post DC FanDome Will Be Held in October 2021 appeared first on Siliconera.

Sony revealed the PlayStation Plus May 2021 lineup of games, and two of its headliners are Battlefield V and Wreckfest.

The post PlayStation Plus May 2021 Lineup Includes Battlefield V appeared first on Siliconera.

Bandai Namco Pictures and HTC Vive announced that anime VR experiences will end up appearing on Viveport for HTC Vive headsets.

The post Anime VR Experiences Coming from Bandai Namco and Viveport appeared first on Siliconera.

Movies like The Batman, Black Adam, and Aquaman 2 are could all make appearances

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Something to watch while you’re waiting for Halo Infinite

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Maskmaker on PC

Maskmaker is the kind of game that can only really exist as a VR title. Crafting different masks and exploring magical worlds, while a novel idea, is something that just wouldn’t have the right impact if you were holding a controller and staring at your TV. In VR, I was in these worlds. I was crafting the masks, delicately adding color in a paint-by-numbers fashion to my wooden creations with a flick of my wrist. But like a lot of VR titles out there right now, Maskmaker’s scope is somewhat limited and in doing so limits the enjoyment you’ll get out of it.

The story follows your journey as a Maskmaker’s apprentice as you travel through different magical realms in order to seek out Prospero, the king of the realm whose identity you must ultimately reveal. A lot of the story is played out in short, flashback cutscenes that play out around you as you stand in the environment, and some solid voice acting work from Prospero himself provides additional context as you find different objects and progress through the story. It helped make the whole adventure feel that little bit less lonely, as you navigate these largely empty realms and solve the puzzles they house.

It’s navigating these worlds that make up the bulk of the gameplay here. In each realm you explore, you’ll find bodies with different masks on, which, once you’ve identified the mask with your telescope, can be crafted and worn in order to assume control of that body.

Today Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the games that will be granted to PlayStation Plus subscribers in May 2021 at no additional cost.

We’re getting Battlefield V for PS4, Stranded Deep for PS4, and Wreckfest for PS5.

If you’re unfamiliar with any of them, here’s an official description:

Wreckfest: Drive Hard, Die Last | PS5

Burn rubber, break rules and shred metal in this full-contact racer from the creator of the FlatOut. Race and upgrade patched-together cars, improving their looks and toughening up their body armour to survive the epic crashes and neck-to-neck fights over the finish line in competitive races. Enjoy some hilarity in Challenge modes as you get behind the wheel of crop harvesters, three-wheelers and much more, then challenge your friends online in multiplayer up to 24 players.

Battlefield V | PS4

Enter mankind’s greatest conflict with Battlefield V as the series goes back to its roots in a never-before-seen portrayal of World War 2. Experience all-out multiplayer** with your squad in the vast Grand Operations and the cooperative Combined Arms, or take on single player War Stories. As you fight in epic, unexpected locations across the globe, enjoy the richest, most immersive Battlefield yet.

Stranded Deep | PS4

Would you like some video games? Do you subscribe to PlayStation Plus? Well then (assuming you answered yes, obviously) here's some good news; three more titles are heading to Sony's subscription service in May: Battlefield 5, Wreckfest, and Stranded Deep.

Up first is Wreckfest, which Sony stresses will only be available for PlayStation Plus subscribers on PS5. If that's you, though, you're in for a treat, with Eurogamer's Martin Robinson calling it a "true successor to the brilliant Destruction Derby" when he slapped it with a Recommended badge in 2019. "Wreckfest offers primal pleasures, and offers them up with little by way of pretension," he wrote. "It also offers them with a little bit of that Bugbear class that made those older Flatout games so treasured, and what a thrill is to have that back after far too long."

Battlefield 5, meanwhile, is the latest entry in DICE's long-running FPS series, this time whisking players back to World War 2 for some solo, co-operative, and multiplayer shooting action. It was a bit of a mess at launch back in 2018 (despite having the foundations to be "something truly special"), but with two and a half years of post-launch support behind it now, things have definitely improved. As early as 2019, Eurogamer noted DICE's ongoing efforts meant "Battlefield 5 is, more often than not, really really good."

Two new promotions are now underway on the PSN Store, with a whopping 700+ games reduced for PS4, PS5, PS VR - and even PS3 and PS Vita!

The first is to celebrate Golden Week, which will begin in Japan on 29th April. The fittingly-titled Golden Week Sale basically features an array of games that originate from the Land of the Rising Sun. Here you can expect to see price cuts on Persona, Final Fantasy, Dynasty Warriors, Tales, Nier and loads more that aren't RPGs.

Alongside that is the Games Under £20 promotion. In here is a more general assortment of blockbuster titles, indie gems and PlayStation favourites.

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If you've forgotten during the pandemic times what it's like to shake hands in the real world, this weird free game will not help you remember. It is a handshake in its purest form: two five-fingered skin spatulas yearning for one another in an empty void, draging their suit humans along behind them until they meet with a meat slap. A Firm Handshake is quick, tiny, and I laughed out loud at it. You should give it a try.

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Booting up a video game in 2021 is a boring affair isn't it? An obligatory slideshow of publishers and developers, followed by a "press any button to start" prompt. A big logo, a sultry tune, perhaps. That's your lot.

Last night I tuned into the latest season of My Hero Academia, an anime that I've followed for several years now. I was excited to see my favourite characters again, but also for a new opener. And its explosion of noise and colour didn't disappoint, so much so, that it got me thinking: I wish this was a thing in video games.

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Having namedropped Tropico in the very last episode, I discovered two things this week: the happy fluke that it coincides with the 20th anniversary of the first game in the series, and that after years of waiting to use "serendipitous", it reads far too pompously to open an introduction with it.

It's a perfect opportunity to bring up why I love the series, because that should counter-balance all the complaining I'm going to do. And I'm hinging it on this: I don't want Tropico 7. I want another Tropico 2.

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Samsung's Galaxy Buds+ are an excellent refinement of an already great pair of wireless earbuds, and for today only you can grab them in an assortment of colors for up to $50 off. Best Buy has the Galaxy Buds+ discounted to $100 as one of its deals of the day, but you'll need to hurry if you want to grab a pair before they're all gone.

The Galaxy Buds+ charge inside the included carrying case, which can provide you with an additional 22 hours of listening time on the go. The in-ear buds also come with three silicon tips for different sizes, so you don't have to worry about not finding a comfortable fit. CNET was impressed with the Galaxy Bud+ performance, too, speaking highly of the multidevice pairing options, responsive touch controls, and overall sound quality.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ are just one of today's great tech deals, which includes a great price on a feature-rich Samson G-Track Pro microphone, the Razer Viper Ultimate gaming mouse, and even an LG CX OLED TV.

The ESRB listing for Resident Evil Village has appeared publicly on the organization's website, and it offers a glimpse at some of the horrors that will await players as they explore the game's titular locale. Not surprisingly, the game received an M rating from the organization, specifically for its blood and gore, intense violence, and strong language.

Note that there are some small potential spoilers ahead. You have been warned.

The ESRB's general description of the game offers very few surprises to fans of the Resident Evil series. However, it does reveal that the game's level of gore is consistent with its predecessor Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, which featured hands and legs getting chopped off in its first few hours. The description also reveals that Bloodborne-esque fantastical creatures are the main foes that the player will face, unlike RE7.

"From a first-person perspective, players explore environments and use pistols, shotguns, and machine guns to shoot and kill fantastical creatures (e.g., werewolves, ghouls, mutants, mechanical humanoids) found throughout the surrounding areas," a portion of the description reads. "...Cutscenes can depict additional acts of intense violence and gore: a character's heart ripped out of their chest; a person chopped through the shoulder by a machete; a character impaled through the chest by a giant weapon; a person repeatedly shot. The words “f**k” and “sh*t” are heard in the game."

The latest Game Developers Conference State of the Industry survey has been released, and it's a particularly memorable one this time due to a series of recent developments such as the launch of new consoles, the pandemic, unions, and more.

More than 3,000 developers took part in the survey. Beginning with the pandemic, 44% of surveyed developers said their game had a delay due to the health crisis. This is up from 33% from the last survey, which was conducted in summer 2020. Games like Gotham Knights, Hogwarts Legacy, and The Lord of the Rings: Gollum are just a few examples of high-profile games delayed in 2021.

While studios might have delayed their games due in part to the pandemic, teams also grew their staff, with 47% of those in the survey reporting that their teams grew. Productivity among teams is also improving, with 66% of respondents saying their productibity stayed the same or increased. This compares to 41% of those surveyed in July 2020 saying their productivity went down. It makes sense that productivity from work-from-home environments would increase over time as people get more accustomed to it.

The survey also touched on the longstanding 70/30 revenue share on digital storefronts. Only 3% of respondents said this is justified, down from 6%. This question was asked to developers in the wake of calls to change the status quo, which is happening. Google Play recently announced it will reduce its cut from 30% to 15% for the first $1 million in revenue per year. Apple also announced its cut would be reduced to 15% for studios that generate less than $1 million per year. Epic Games, meanwhile, only takes a 12% cut overall. Steam takes 30% but gives discounts for games that make tens of millions of dollars in revenue.

Developer Systemic Reaction has announced that its cooperative first-person shooter Second Extinction is now available for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S via Xbox Game Pass. It's also purchasable through Xbox Game Preview for $25.

Second Extinction has a similar setup to Warhammer: Vermintide 2. Players, in a team of up to three, battle enemy hordes using characters with distinct abilities and weapons. But instead of Bile Trolls and Rat Ogres, Second Extinction pits players face-to-face against various forms of dinosaurs, from raptors to T-Rexes.

But how exactly do you kill a dinosaur that's been mutated by a planet's environment? With superhuman powers like electricity and heavy machinery such as Gatling guns. Each of the five heroes, including a new one added to coincide with Second Extinction's Xbox launch, fits a specific role (like assault and ranger) and work together to ward off the dino invasion. Check out the launch trailer below.

Systemic Reaction also dropped a slew of screenshots (below), alongside a roadmap for Second Extinction that extends into November 2021. The team has various updates planned for the game, including button remapping capabilities (coming in July), crossplay for Xbox (landing in September), and more weapons.

If you’ve been looking for a microphone that can really do it all, then it's likely you've come across Samson's G-Track Pro. Not only is it a condenser microphone with the flexibility of a USB connection, it's also an all-in-one mixer that lets you experiment with different pick-up patterns and mix that directly with an instrument input. The best part though? It's only $99 today at B&H for today.

The beauty of the G-Track Pro is its flexibility outside of just being a traditional microphone. On the back, the microphone has an AUX port for zero-latency monitoring as well as a line-in for any instruments you might want to mix into vocal recordings. The microphone also lets you adjust levels for each individual input, acting as a super portable, all-in-one mixing solution that you can use with guitars, keyboards, and more.

Of course, this works just as well with any other inputs that are compatible with the port, including soundboards and phones that you can use to inject additional effects into your recordings (for podcasts, as an example.)