October 2023

Three new prototypes for Azur Lane scale figures were revealed during Wonder Festival 2023 Shanghai. They are HMS Charybdis, Shinano, and Chen Hai. They were revealed on the Good Smile Company US official social media account. No prices or release dates were revealed for any of the figures just yet. As all three are unpainted prototypes, it could take a while.

The HMS Charybdis figure features her “Red Chamber of Healing” Live 2D skin that can be acquired in the mobile game. It appears to feature a fluffy material for her scarf she wears. The Shinano scale figure features her in her “Dreams of the Hazy Moon” skin, where she appears in a party dress. It comes with a large base for the figure to rest on. The Chen Hai figure is of her original outfit.

Check out all of the new Azur Lane scale figure prototypes in the gallery below:

[gallery ids="989191,989190,989189" link="file"]

Three new Azur Lane scale figure prototypes of HMS Charybdis, Shinano, and Chen Hai are in development. Azur Lane is available to download and play on Android and iOS devices.

The post 3 New Azur Lane Figures Shown at Wonder Festival 2023 Shanghai appeared first on Siliconera.

Good Smile Company partnered with Massive Monster and Devolver Digital to release a Cult of the Lamb ugly sweater in 2024. Fans looking to add this sweater to their collection can purchase it for ¥13,750 (approx. $92 USD).

This cotton knit sweater features a black, white and red motif of the Lamb floating in the middle of a pentagram with candles lit at each point of the star. The Lamb's eyes are bleeding as it completes a ritual. The sleeves and back feature the white double-lined cross design from the game. The Cult of the Lamb sweater only comes in one size with an approximate length of 74cm, approximate width of 55cm, approximate shoulder with of 55cm, and approximate sleeve length of 61cm.

Official product photos of the cotton knit ugly sweater can be viewed below:

[gallery link="file" ids="989170,989171,989172,989173,989174,989175"]

Hunter x Hunter author Yoshihiro Togashi posted on his personal social media account after being absent online for nearly 7 months. The new post reads “start over” in English and is accompanied by a picture of a manga page alongside a ruler. Currently, the Hunter x Hunter manga has been on hiatus since late December 2022.

Back when the hiatus was originally announced, the Weekly Shonen Jump editorial department confirmed that it will announce the return of the series. While there has not been an official announcement yet, Yoshihiro Togashi showed his progress on chapter 401 of Hunter x Hunter back on March 9, 2023, which could indicate how close the manga is to returning.

You can check out the original social media post by Togashi here:

Square Enix announced that people will be able to experience a recreation of the Seventh Heaven bar from FFVII Remake at the Tokyo Game Show VR 2023 exhibition. TGS VR 2023 has been extended until October 8, 2023, and the Seventh Heaven bar is located on the Square Enix booth.

Additionally, Square Enix is giving away Cloud’s SOLDIER outfit as one of the avatar customization options for TGS VR 2023. The official FFVII Remake social media account is encouraging people to obtain it before the end of the virtual exhibition.

Several characters from FFVII Remake and FFVII Ever Crisis appear at the entrance of the bar during TGS VR 2023. Cloud, Zack, Barret, and Aerith are to the left of the entrance, and Glenn, Matt, and Lucia appear on the right.

Developer Aggro Crab, the studio behind 2020's Going Under and the publisher of 2021's Subway Midnight,  revealed Another Crab's Treasure during a Nintendo Direct last year. It garnered a lot of attention, especially from those Soulslike players who were patiently awaiting a team to create an underwater one where you play as a crab. Now, you can check out Another Crab's Treasure for yourself with a new Steam demo that goes live tomorrow, October 3. 

The studio says this demo will feature two explorable areas: The Moon Caves, which is Another Crab's Treasure's tutorial area, and The Expired Grove. 

In our Steam Demo, you'll explore TWO different areas:

✨The Moon Caves (Tutorial)
AND
🪸 The Expired Grove

COMING OCTOBER 3RD. THAT'S TOMORROW. pic.twitter.com/yieZU2kEy6

— AGGRO CRAB (@AggroCrabGames) October 2, 2023

If you haven't yet seen this game in action, check out the latest Another Crab's Treasure trailer below: 

Sony is preparing to sell a Spider-Man 2 PlayStation 5 bundle that will include a digital download for the game, presumably at a discount, as it ramps up plans to try and sell a record-breaking 25 million consoles this year. The company is already giving away free copies of older games to some pre-selected players who…

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Overwatch 2 announced its creepy season seven, Rise of Darkness, in a teaser trailer on October 2. The full trailer will go live on October 4, but, for now, fans should prepare for a Diablo IV crossover.

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In 2016, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) released a documentary about Hayao Miyazaki, the director behind legendary Studio Ghibli films like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Called Never-Ending Man, the documentary explores the beloved filmmaker’s artistic philosophy, but online, it remains most famous…

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On Sunday, October 1, the Florida Mayhem defeated the Houston Outlaws in the 2023 Overwatch League Grand Finals in Toronto, Canada. It was the team’s very first championship, and it could very well be their last—as well as the last championship awarded in the once massively popular esports league, period.

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Sergiy Galyonkin - aka Mr. SteamSpy himself - has left Epic Games after almost a decade at the Fortnite maker, including six years as its director of publishing strategy, saying that he is no longer “a good fit” for the publisher.

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Payday 3 makers Starbreeze have promised that the matchmaking woes of its launch are at an end following multiple rounds of maintenance to the co-op shooter’s servers.

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The Garden of Plenty event will return in Honkai: Star Rail ahead of Version 1.4. From October 2 to October 9, 2023, you will get double the rewards from Golden and Crimson Calyxes. Golden Calyxes offer level-up materials for characters and Light Cones. Meanwhile, Crimson Calyxes contain Ascension Materials for Traces and Light Cones.

This event is great for players who wish to pre-farm for future characters or those actively building characters from previous or current banners. However, you only have a limited amount of chances per day to get double the rewards. Typically, Garden of Plenty appears in between major Honkai: Star Rail updates so that players can start stockpiling for new characters.

Version 1.4 will introduce the playable debuts of Jingliu, Topaz & Numby, and Guinaifen. Seele, who was the first 5-star in the game, will also re-run during the second phase. Jingliu will be an Ice Destruction character. Meanwhile, Topaz will be Fire Hunt, and Guinaifen will be Fire Nihility. This information should help you decide what to farm for during Garden of Plenty if you want to enter the Calyxes with those three in mind.

Kuro, the new Vtuber with VShojo, noted that part of what got him started with the company was Ironmouse and CEO Justin “Gunrun” Ignacio helping him with his tax issues. He mentioned considering doing his own thing, but reached out to associates for assistance when he was about $350,000 in debt due to taxes. Because of Ironmouse reaching out, that led to him eventually becoming the first male Vtuber with the company. [Thanks, LIR Clips!]

This came up during Kuro’s debut stream. He noted that Ironmouse was the first to respond, even though the two of them weren’t close. He noted that  resulted in him getting in touch with Gunrun, who is the CEO of VShojo. He said Gunrun worked with him for “like four five months” to ensure he was okay and making progress.

Ironmouse also commented, which Kuro read on-stream at the 1:14 mark of the clip below, and said, “I’ll never forget the day. I knew I couldn’t sleep if I didn’t get you help.” Kuro then described Ironmouse’s assistance as “a chain of events.” Kuro also repeatedly said that both Ironmouse and Gunrun said they had his back, and continually showed they did both during and after it was over.

If you've been eyeing up Pioneers of Pagonia, the lovely looking new city builder from original The Settlers designer Volker Wertich, there's some good news; ahead of its early access launch on 13th December, a demo is now available on Steam.

Pioneers of Pagonia was revealed back in February, promising a city building adventure set across the mysterious islands of Pagonia, where players must work to steadily increase their reach and influence among the islands' many (not always friendly) inhabitants through resource gathering, production, economic expansion, and exploration.

When Pioneers of Pagonia enters early access in December, only some of its final features will be available, including procedural map generation, over 40 different building types, plus more than 70 different goods and dispersed production chains. The likes of co-op play, new buildings, new production chains, and other improvements are expected to arrive in the six months or so of development planned ahead of a full 1.0 release.

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Every month, Square Enix releases a new Final Fantasy VII calendar in Japan, and the October 2023 is the first FFVII Rebirth one. It features official promotional and cover art from the upcoming game. It is also the first one to feature four different variants. One is for desktops or tablets. The other three feature dimensions designed for phones.

Here's how all four of the new Final Fantasy VII calendars look, with some specifically focusing on the FFVII Rebirth versions of Cloud, Sephiroth, and Zack. Since no characters in the game have birthdays falling in October, none appear highlighted on them.

Japanese entertainment company Johnny’s has changed its name to Smile-Up following its founder’s sexual abuse scandal coming to light. Smile-Up will focus on compensating the victims and will close after it finishes doing so. However, current entertainers who still have contracts with Smile-Up are free to join a new independent company. [Thanks, ABC News!]

The new company will essentially be the current Johnny’s roster (those who wish to stay) but without Johnny’s name and reputation. Fans will also be able to vote on its name. Reparations will begin in November 2023, with 325 people thus far already signed up for the compensation program. However, there is no information about how much money the victims will get.

Rumors about Johnny Kitagawa, the perpetrator and founder of the Johnny’s company, allegedly sexually abusing men he hired have been floating about over the years. Kitagawa, who died in 2019, produced and managed several popular boy bands such as SMAP, Arashi, V6, and KAT-TUN.

A new Persona 3 Reload hero trailer was dropped on the Official Atlus West social media account and YouTube channel. Often known as Makoto Yuki in other materials, the trailer is a tribute to the Persona 3 Reload protagonist and the leader of S.E.E.S. New tribute trailers each starring a different character will be revealed weekly.

In the new trailer, we can hear more newly recorded voice lines from the new voice actor for the hero, Aleks Le. He is best known for providing the voice of Zenitsu Agatsuma in the anime series Demon Slayer, as well as Luke from Street Fighter 6 and Mash in Mashle. We can also hear a new rendition of the game’s theme, Burn My Dread, playing in the background.

This video also gives us a closer look at how a few major events will look in Persona 3 Reload, like the Hero awakening to his Persona and the first full moon boss fight. Social events with Kazushi Miyamoto and Aigis appear in it as well. Synergy attacks are also briefly shown.

Watch the new Persona 3 Reload Hero trailer below:

"I remember entering the forest in the first area of the game. Just the music, the way the music enveloped the game, it was the first time I actually felt this connection: how the audio was completing the experience and how immersive it made it."

That's Sea of Stars director Thierry Boulanger describing his experience of Chrono Trigger. He's a big fan of Square Enix's iconic 1995 RPG and its memorable score. It made such an impression on Boulanger that it directly inspired Sea of Stars, the latest retro-styled game from Sabotage Studio.

Sea of Stars is an impeccable example of how to capture nostalgia. From its pixel graphics to its action-oriented turn-based battles, it riffs on the best RPGs of the 16-bit generation, eschewing the complex systems and branching narratives of modern games of the genre for a concise, streamlined approach with one foot in the past and another in the present.

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Larian have released a new Baldur's Gate 3 update which - in news that will surely lead to V-Day-style mass celebrations throughout the forts and dungeons of Faerûn - removes the loathed shared stash system introduced by Patch 3, which caused companions to dump their entire inventories on you when dismissed. The new patch reverts companion behaviour to their pre-Patch 3 behaviour, for a less frustrating RPG experience. In even more momentous tidings, it re-shaves that cat everybody loves. Ah, videogames.

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Valve have released a small Counter-Strike 2 update that, amongst other things, stops mud slowing you down and stops incendiary grenades forming fiery rings in mid-air, like excitable kids with sparklers. There are also fixes for a shader compilation bug that may, nonetheless, still exist for AMD GPUs when playing this latest iteration of the developer's free-to-play team and objective-based shooter. Many of the larger issues returning players have, such as the absence of Mac support, are yet to be addressed.

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The Batman: Arkham Trilogy has been delayed on Nintendo Switch.

This collection, which is set to include all three of Rocksteady's games - Arkham Asylum, Arkham City and Arkham Knight - as well as all DLC, was originally due to release on Nintendo's hybrid console later this month.

However, a post on the official Batman Arkham Twitter account said the team has made the decision to delay the launch to ensure Switch users get the "best possible experience" on release.

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Epic Games has stated it is "looking into" a lack of royalty payments to Hato Moa, the creator of the original Hatoful Boyfriend game.

The pigeon dating sim was an amateur project made by Moa and it was released in 2011 in Japanese. The game gained popularity following fan translations into English, and a HD remake was developed by Mediatonic. Hatoful Boyfriend HD was published in 2014 by Devolver Digital.

Mediatonic was acquired by Epic in 2021. Last week, Mao stated they have received "no royalty payment" since the acquisition and voiced their frustration on Twitter.

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After 10 years, one Final Fantasy 14 player has finally earned all 2751 achievements.

The feat was done by a Japanese player on the Garuda server and shared on the Final Fantasy 14 subreddit (spotted by GamesRadar). Community data tracker Lalachievements has corroborated the claim.

The game's Achievement list is notorious, requiring a huge amount of time and dedication to complete.

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EA Sports FC 24 players are fuming at an Ultimate Team mode card pack costing around £30.

The Elite Season Opener Pack costs 285,000 coins (the in-game currency) or 3000 FC Points (premium currency) and seemingly includes such powerful cards that players are accusing EA of pay-to-win tactics.

And this is a microtransaction in a game that already costs £70.

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Baldur's Gate 3 fans, rejoice! For Larian has heard the cries of the people and addressed, nay fixed the glaring issue it introduced with patch three.

I'm talking about, of course, His Majesty the cat. Formerly a sphynx cat, he was changed into a different breed to differentiate him between another bald cat encountered later on in the story.

I've been slowly chugging through Baldur's Gate 3 and two months after its release on PC, I finally reached Act Two this weekend. Upon meeting His Majesty for the first time last night, my initial reaction was "ah, this is the bald cat everyone was upset about," and I can understand why. With the hair, he just doesn't command the same respect.

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The video game industry is currently facing a big wave of layoffs, and even contract developers at PlayStation first-party studio Naughty Dog aren’t immune. Kotaku has learned that the maker of hits like Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and The Last of Us Part II has begun cutting contracts short for dozens of workers.

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How Fish Is Made is a horror game about life-altering choices. You can’t immediately tell from the free Steam game’s dumpy sardine graphics, I know. It and its new Katamari Damacy-type expansion, (which primarily serves as an entertaining ad for Swedish developer Wrong Organ’s forthcoming game Mouthwashing), are short…

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Earlier this year, developer Rocksteady Studios and Warner Bros. Games revealed that it was bringing its Batman: Arkham trilogy to the Switch this fall. This collection does not include Batman: Arkham Origins (a great game), which was developed by Gotham Knights studio Warner Bros. Games Montreal. The Batman: Arkham Trilogy, as the Switch collection is called, was due out this month on October 13 but has now been delayed to December. 

More specifically, Batman: Arkham Trilogy hits Swtich on December 1. As for why, the team says more time is needed on its development. 

"More time is needed to bring players the best possible experience on Nintendo Switch," Rocksteady's statement on Twitter reads. "We apologize to fans who are excited to play this version of the trilogy. Thank you for your patience." 

pic.twitter.com/Pmjmkf5zA7

The Forest Cathedral is an environmental thriller that hit Xbox Series X/S and PC earlier this year in March. Now, Game Informer can exclusively reveal it hits PlayStation 5 on October 31, making this a great spooky experience for the holiday. 

For the uninitiated, The Forest Cathedral is inspired by events surrounding real-life scientist Rachel Carson's investigation into Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, otherwise known as the harmful DDT pesticide. Publisher Whitethorn Games says this game is "a dramatic reimagining of Carson's environmental science book, Silent Spring." 

You can get a look at it in The Forest Cathedral PS5 release date trailer below: 

As you can see in the trailer above, in The Forest Cathedral, players take on the role of Rachel in her new field research biologist position on a mysterious island. What begins as simply completing weekly work tasks becomes something more horrific when Rachel learns about what DDT is doing to the area. Whitethorn says players "will slowly uncover the horrific effects of the pesticide using advanced environment technology to complete puzzles that weave together 3D exploration with 2D platforming." 

Marvel's Spider-Man is almost here. Set to hit PlayStation 5 exclusively on October 20, PlayStation and developer Insomniac Games have continued to ramp up excitement surrounding the sequel with trailers, gameplay, and more. And last night, PlayStation released a new extended 60-second TV spot that gives us a more cinematic look at these heroes' latest adventure. 

The trailer is CGI and it's gorgeous. We see Peter Parker and Miles Morales come to grips with the challenges before them, both in the suit and out of it; all to the backdrop of a massive fight in broad daylight against Venom. If this trailer is any indication, Venom is quite the formidable foe for these two. 

Check it out for yourself in the Marvel's Spider-Man 2 trailer below: 

Atlanta Georgia’s annual convention, Dragon Con, is infamous in the cosplay community for the quality of looks on the show floor. And of course, this year’s convention did not disappoint, from elaborate Godzilla costumes to a lengthy cosplay parade.

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Envision Entertainment have released a demo for rustic city-builder Pioneers of Pagonia, and as they say in Manchester, by 'eck it's gorgeous. Designed by Volker Wertich, one of the original creators of The Settlers, the new village 'em up puts you in charge of medieval tribes scattered around an almost eerily scenic island chain.

It's all about the little touches: check out those azure windmill blades, flickering in the breeze! And how about the little animations of people hefting barrels of water? Man, it makes me want to jump in there and start stamping on everything, wailing and babbling like a mad god. But let's not do that. Let's play the demo instead. It gives you three maps, and lands ahead of the game's early access launch on 13th December.

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