Destructoid

Bandai Namco is the latest industry giant to invest in a smaller studio, as the publisher has purchased a minority stake in German studio Limbic Entertainment, previously responsible for management sequel Tropico 6, as well as several entries in the Might & Magic franchise. The developer is already slated to begin work on two unrevealed projects for Bandai Namco.

"We are happy to announce our partnership and acquisition of a minority stake in Limbic Entertainment," said Bandai Namco in a press statement. "The seasoned teams have shown their talents in the past on the various titles they have been working on, with Tropico 6 being their latest success. They will be working on two new franchises. Limbic Entertainment fits perfectly within the strategy we set out for Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe a few years ago and allows us to keep growing the output of new IP from studios tied to Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe."

Limbic Entertainment returned the praise in its own statement.

"There was a natural fit from the moment we first met the Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe team," said Limbic CEO Stephen Winter. "This collaboration gives us the support, capabilities, and resources to continue to develop and grow our studio. We are excited for the next chapter of Limbic Entertainment and couldn't be more thrilled to share the journey with Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe as we work together on two fantastic new projects."

Bandai Namco's new investment is part of the ongoing strategy, (previously announced by the publisher in 2020), to increase its development presence outside of its home territory of Japan.

GameStop has announced that its Chief Financial Officer is to resign from the company next month. Jim Bell, who also holds the position of Executive Vice President within the video game retailer, will officially resign from both roles on March 26.

The retailer noted that as Bell is resigning with "good reason," the soon-to-be-former CFO will receive severance in the region of $2.8 million - over twice their annual salary. The company's filings do not denote specifically what led to the resignation decision. GameStop has begun interviewing candidates for a suitable replacement.

The news comes following a particularly chaotic financial period for the company. While GameStop, like many retailers, has struggled to adapt to a changing retail market, these efforts were further hampered by the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the recent stock rush drama only served to further complicate matters, with GameStop stock rising to almost $500-per-share before plummeting to around $40-per-share in the space of a fortnight, as online communities such as Wall Street Bets inflated prices in order to cause major losses for market short-sellers.

The U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission is currently investigating the events of the so-called "Gamestonks" rush, in order to ascertain whether any unlawful conduct was committed by any of the parties involved - including online communities, independent traders, and stock market trading apps.

Anthem couldn't be saved after all, and the team working to revive it (under the Anthem Next banner) is moving on to help build out the far more lucrative next games in the Dragon Age and Mass Effect series.

After a report from Bloomberg about a fate-of-the-game internal review at EA earlier this month, BioWare shared the verdict today: "we've made the difficult decision to stop our new development work on Anthem," as Christian Dailey put it, but the "live service" aspect will persist "as it exists today."

"I've been incredibly proud of the work the team has been doing, and excited to see and play each new build of the experience," Dailey wrote in a BioWare blog post. "2020 was a year unlike any other however and while we continue to make progress against all our game projects at BioWare, working from home during the pandemic has had an impact on our productivity and not everything we had planned as a studio before COVID-19 can be accomplished without putting undue stress on our teams."

They did what they could with the resources and audience interest they had – and it was admirable to see the developers talk about their revival efforts and share progress openly – but it's time to move on.

Team Reptile's skater adventure Bomb Rush Cyberfunk won't be ready on Steam this year after all, but Jet Set Radio fans are a patient bunch, right? Well, maybe not after seeing today's new trailer. It slaps!

Sometimes, 33 seconds is all you need to make a strong impression.

The studio confirmed Bomb Rush Cyberfunk's later-than-expected but totally understandable "2022" launch window today, as well as its "aim to release the game on all relevant platforms."

A refresher for those who need it: "In a world from the mind of Dion Koster, where self-styled crews are equipped with personal boostpacks, new heights of graffiti are reached. Start your own cypher and dance, paint, trick, face off with the cops, and stake your claim to the extrusions and cavities of a sprawling metropolis in an alternate future set to the musical brainwaves of Hideki Naganuma."

You know a game is pulling off a certain style and evoking a particular mood when I'm willing to formally tag it on the site with a series it doesn't even belong to. If you land on Destructoid's "Jet Set Radio" tag, now or whenever, you're gonna want to hear more about Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. It's that simple.

If you want to support Team Reptile (who previously made Lethal League Blaze), give 'em a wishlist.

Only a few days after its initial launch, Square Enix's mobile title NieR Re[in]carnation is already a smash hit in Japan, having surpassed an incredible five million downloads since its February 18 release on iOS and Android.

The haunting free-to-play gacha adventure tells the tale of a young protagonist known as "White Girl" who awakens in a serene but unsettling world: The Cage. Guided by cute ghostly presence "Mama," White Girl must brave the lonely and hazardous world in efforts to discover the truth about herself, her surroundings, and a sinister being that plagues her every move.

Super Mario Bros. 35 is still going, and Nintendo is trying to jostle people back into the free-to-play (with Switch Online, for that one person who will point out that it's not "free" in the comments!) affair with events. As it spirals ahead toward its impending March 31 expiration date (still can't believe this), you can dive in and murder some Goombas for fun and profit.

All you need to do to get credit is kill just one Goomba in-game, but collectively, everyone needs to eradicate 350 million of them. The event is actually running right now through Monday, March 1 at 10:59PM PT. You can find the full details below just to be sure you're good to go!

This is actually the second event that has granted bonus platinum to My Nintendo members. Just recently, Nintendo held a very similar activity that also gave people 350 points, it just involved killing Bowser instead.

Super Mario Bros. 35 2nd World Count Challenge [Nintendo]

Now this looks like something well worth keeping an eye out for. Team17 has announced that its mind-melting techno title Narita Boy will be ready to invite you into its alien digital Eden on March 30, when the side-scrolling actioner launches on PS4, PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and the Game Pass service.

Developed by Barcelona's Studio Koba, Narita Boy sees the titular hero battle their way through The Digital Kingdom, fighting off rogue code and other enemies on a quest to liberate the computerized realm and learn the secrets of its ultimate overseer - The Creator. Wield the Techno-Sword against your enemies and free the pixels from virus, corruption, and deletion.

Described as a "heartfelt love story to the 1980s," Narita Boy features a blend of classic gameplay styles buried deep within a huge world of pixel art and a bass-busting synth soundtrack. While "taking it back to the '80s" is - admittedly - becoming a little played-out in gaming, Narita Boy strange, even psychedelic world looks like it could certainly deliver the goods when it finally arrives next month. Better dust off that light cycle.

Yesterday, we got the bombshell announcement that a "slate" of PlayStation games would be coming to PC. ::Extremely Brian Regan voice:: "A slate? That doesn't sound like an accurate way to measure something. How many objects are in a slate? Five million?"

We do know that "slate" equals at least one, as Days Gone was mentioned by name, and now we have a Steam page to prove it. You'll need an i5-2500K at minimum to run it, as well as a GTX 780 or Radeon R9 290. So this thing isn't really breaking the bank. It's still slated for a "spring" release, by the way.

Here's the big stuff. It will include free updates from the PS4 edition, and it'll sport a new game plus feature, bike skins, survival mode, and challenge mode. The PC version will also allow for ultra-wide monitor support, unlocked framerates, and "improved graphics." The latter bit is elaborated upon, with "increased level of details, field of view,  and foliage draw distance" enhancements.

You can find the full spec rundowns below! Hopefully the launch will go smoother than Horizon Zero Dawn's PC edition, which required numerous updates after issues with specific rigs. Bend Studio seems to be handling the port here, so it could go a bit differently.

Days Gone [Steam]

I'm grateful to be a PS5 owner. I won't say I'm "lucky," because it cost a small fortune - which was made as a work investment on my part - but I know it's an in-demand item, and I don't take it for granted that I was able to get my mitts on one when many weren't as fortunate. Hope those of you on the hunt find one soon. But I can't deny that, personally, I wish there was something I really - I mean really - wanted to play on it.

That task falls to Returnal, Housemarque's intergalactic roguelike shooter, which combines the exploratory horror of titles such as Dead Space with the same bullet-hell gameplay that the Finnish developer has proved itself very adept at in the past. Sony has released a new trailer for the sci-fi adventure, which sees space explorer Selene trapped within a vicious time-loop, (a popular narrative device in 2021 gaming), after finding herself space-wrecked on an uncharted planet.

Yasunori Ichinose has been busy!

Not only have they been hard at work in Monster Hunter Rise, but they also have been taking the time to check in and post various stats for the recent demo. Ichinose also recently stopped by for a curated Capcom Unity chat to share a few thoughts on the game.

The most interesting angle? Fan feedback. Ichinose says that they were "happy to see the response to Palamutes was extremely positive," even going so far as to break down the regional response. He explains that the reactive was great not only in Japan, but "overseas." He also re-iterates that "you can change the shape of their ears and tail, and the color of their coat," as people are constantly asking him about the customization options.

He goes on to say that the reactions to Magnamalo, Aknosom, Tetranadon, and Great Izuchi have been positive as well, including lots of fan art responses. Ichinose was "worried" about how "Japanese/Asian-flavored" the game was at first, but he also reports that people are in love with it: something I noticed immediately after the debut trailer (or the leak, frankly).

The rest is a lot of roundup-type stuff. Multiplayer-specific difficulty can be tweaked, "some quests" can be played without a time limit ("if you want to focus on exploration and gathering materials instead of hunting"), and "everyone can be a target" in an insane situation with four hunters and four buddies in multiplayer.

The more I hear about Rise, the more confident I am in it as a whole.

Monster Hunter Rise Interview with Director Yasunori Ichinose [Capcom Unity]

While tactical shooters were never at the top of the gaming world, they have seen more prolific days than these. Brothers in Arms is practically dead, Rainbow Six is a (good) online-only experience, and Ghost Recon is well...we don't talk about Ghost Recon. Now, thanks to the folks at Aspyr, a new generation of tacticians can experience the greatness that once was when Star Wars: Republic Commando comes to Nintendo Switch and PS4 this April.

Originally released as a bridge between Episode II and III of Lucas' prequel trilogy, Republic Commando was a diamond in the rough of licensed games. As the leader of Delta Squad, you instruct other clones through various tactical missions during the Clone Wars.

Despite being a licensed game, Republic Commando had depth in its gameplay, a great story, and wasn't some cash grab like so many of the other licensed games that came out during the sixth generation. Since then, Republic Commando has gone on to be placed among the greats of Star Wars games and maintained an active modding community on PC. The game's legacy was so great that Delta Squad survived even the great purge of Expanded Universe canon in the lead-up to Disney's sequel trilogy.

Releasing on Switch and PlayStation 4 on April 6, the remake will feature updated controls and will seemingly be devoid of the multiplayer from the original release. No great loss there as the multiplayer was one of the few things that dragged down review scores with the original release. The digital release will cost $14.99, a modest price to pay for both newcomers and veterans of the game.

The classic dinosaur-blasting adventures Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil will launch on PS4 tomorrow, February 25, following their previous re-release on PC, Xbox One, and Switch.

Based on the comic-book of the same name and developed by Iguana Entertainment, Turok (1997) and Turok 2 (1998) were originally released on Nintendo 64 before later being ported to PC. The remastered editions of the cult first-person shooters are handled by Nightdive Studios and feature all of the stages, weapons, quests and, of course, primeval scaly scaries of the two N64 classics, remastered for their return on modern platforms.

Also included is a revitalized version of Turok 2's original multiplayer mode, which offers support for up to 16 players. You can check out trailers for both titles below. It's been a long wait for these classic shooters to arrive on the PlayStation platform. But I guess life... uhhh... found a way.

Studio miHoYo is on a roll with Genshin Impact, and thanks to a new interview from Chinese outlet 16P (as translated by Twitter user AE Entropy), we have some idea of where their trajectory is headed.

For the near future, it's all Genshin Impact all the time. The size of the staff has "double each year" since 2014, hitting a critical mass of 2400 employees in 2020, with 700 of them working on Genshin. They aim to "release a new product every three to four years," and expand to North America with a new R&D center.

The big takeaway here is the cost to not only create Genshin Impact, but support it. The game reportedly needed $100 million to make, and will cost the studio "$200 million per year" in development costs. The ultimate goal? To create a "virtual world in which one billion people worldwide are willing to live" by 2030. Dystopian and bold.

So, in case you're wondering, they have the cash. Genshin Impact came out last September, and had accumulated over $400 million in revenue in just over two months. All they have to do is keep the game fresh, and keep people playing/gacha gambling.

Genshin Impact [16P via Twitter]

[Update: Nintendo has just announced when the official breakdown stream will be held. You can tune in on March 4 at 6AM PT, which will feature "roughly 35 minutes" of footage on Pyra/Mythra. Note that "there will be no further new fighter announcements" during the broadcast. We will, however, get the release date for Pyra/Mythra. Following the pattern of previous Fighters Pass 2 characters, it should be days or roughly a week and a half away from March 4.]

Yes, this is what I like to see! More anime-like characters in Smash!

Nintendo kicked off their proper Direct (not a Mini!) with the announcement that Pyra was coming to Smash Ultimate. Oh, and she's coming with her Mythra form, of course.

And there's going to be a "Gramps" style Xenoblade Chronicles 2 stage, with friends from the game in tow cheering you on. "Together, nothing can stand in our way!" True that!

No joke, I'm pretty excited for this. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is underrated as a whole, so despite what people might think, I'll be trying out the duo immediately.

Skullgirls fans, (such as yours truly), have reason to breathe a sigh of relief this morning, as new plans laid out by publisher Autumn Games and developer Hidden Variable suggest that the future is very bright indeed for the gorgeous and highly engaging cartoon fighter.

Autumn Games not only announced the release timing for new gal Annie of the Stars - who will arrive on PC in Early Access next month before joining the game proper in May - but it also revealed the existence of a new season pass, teasing a further three DLC characters who are headed to the roster across 2021 and 2022. Currently on sale at a discounted price of $30, the Skullgirls Season 1 Pass offers all four DLC characters, a digital artbook, and an updated soundtrack. Each new character will arrive complete with a selection of 25 color palettes, a new stage, and their own story mode.

Konami's 1981 classic Frogger is getting set to return to the small screen in the form of a brand new TV game show, which will adapt the hazardous single-screen adventure into a competition-style obstacle, not dissimilar to Ninja Warrior or Takeshi's Castle.

As reported by Deadline, Frogger will be developed by Eureka Productions as content for NBCUniversal's (NBCU) recently launched "Peacock" network. An initial series of 13 episodes will see contestants test their speed and wits against 12 "crossings," all of which will feature "dodging traffic," "snapping gators," and "hungry hippos" - and Lord knows that I'm hoping that's literal. Frogger will be filmed in Australia, so you can add intense heat and massive spiders to the mix.

Of course, it would be hugely remiss of me not to bring up the famous 1998 episode of NBC's own Seinfeld "The Frogger," which saw George Costanza attempt to transport a classic Frogger cabinet through busy traffic, complete with original arcade sound effects.

As the new TV ratings war - brought about by new subscription services desperate for content - begins to heat up, it will be interesting to see how many studio execs start throwing out further ideas for TV shows based on classic gaming franchises. Let's go, Zelda.

Frogger arcade game leaps into television with series ordered at Peacock [Deadline]

[Update: As expected, NIS has indeed announced The Wicked King and The Noble Hero, a new RPG from Sayaka Oda, the brain behind 2019's The Liar Princess and The Blind Prince. The new game will launch on PS4 and Switch in Japan June 24.]

Always a fan of a good tease, Nippon Ichi Software (NIS) has released a new website, ostensibly preempting the announcement of a new mystery title. The new site features a charming, story-book style illustration of a forest, set to feature new decorations and characters over the coming days as the publisher leads up to this week's final reveal.

It appears the cat is already out of the bag, however, as Japanese retailer Biccamera jumped the gun a little early, revealing the mystery game to be The Wicked King and The Noble Hero. In a listing removed from the retailer's website, the new title is scheduled to launch in Japan on Nintendo Switch this June.

I have to hand it to the developers who work on popular games-as-a-service titles. It takes a lot of work to keep content interesting and players interested. Some rely on outside nostalgia to rope people in. Others look inward for opportunities to excite their massive player bases by breathing new life into popular existing content.

For the looter-shooter Warframe, that means reimagining Warframes with new Prime designs. Some are fairly simple upgrades of their original concept, like the Excalibur Prime. Others are a bit more involved, like 2019's Ivara Prime.

My current go-to Warframe is Hydroid Prime, which I got during TennoCon last year. Within two weeks of adding him to my arsenal, he replaced Wisp as my lead 'frame, not only because he's incredibly useful in battle, but I also just really dig his Davy Jones-inspired look.

Hydroid Prime debuted in 2017 and was designed by Digital Extremes artist Raymond dela Cruz. That same year, Octavia made her debut and quickly became one of the more popular 'frames in the game. It was only a matter of time before she got her own Prime redesign, and the developers gave dela Cruz the task of reimagining Warframe's bard. 

It's been a news-filled day for PlayStation fans and Thursday is going to be a repeat. Sony prepped a State of Play stream for YouTube and Twitch, and it's happening on February 25 at 2:00 pm Pacific.

According to Sony, the State of Play will cover "new updates and deep dives for 10 games coming to PS4 and PS5," some of which will be full-on reveals, and some of which will be check-ins with known-about games. Expect to hear more about games from the June 2020 Future of Gaming PS5 event.

I know Sony just opened up about the future of PlayStation VR and its commitment to the platform with a new PSVR model in the pipeline, but do not expect any "hardware" updates during the stream.

Set aside around half an hour for a hangout on Thursday. See you then!

The hard-to-put-down farming sim Stardew Valley has been reinterpreted as a board game – officially, I mean! The project is a collaboration between game creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone and designer Cole Medeiros, and after two and a half years, it's done, ready to be bought for $55 in the United States.

You can play alone or with up to three others, and you'll want to set aside "about 45 minutes per player" if you're opting to play the "standard" experience: a full in-game year. The rule book is posted over here.

Much like its video game counterpart, Stardew Valley: The Board Game is all about rallying with the humble community, gaining items and skills along the way – except, in this case, you have to drive out Joja. To win, you'll need to complete four of Grandpa's Goals and restore six Community Center rooms.

The goals can be things like catching one Legendary Fish per player, reaching the bottom of the Mines, or donating two items to the Museum per player. In other words, everything scales up. "Goals and Bundles require more effort when there are more players, but you'll also have more actions as a team," according to the rules. Also, yes: you can (and should) give gifts to the villagers. Here we go again.

In what has to be one of the least-attention-grabbing Games with Gold lineups in recent memory, Xbox Live Gold subscribers are getting Warface: Breakout, Vicious Attack Llama Apocalypse, Metal Slug 3, and Port Royale 3 as freebies for March 2021. You're probably going to want to see footage of this stuff.

Here's when you'll be able to redeem everything:

• Warface: Breakout (March 1–31)
• Vicious Attack Llama Apocalypse (March 16–April 15)
• Metal Slug 3 (March 1–15)
• Port Royale 3 (March 16–31)

To quickly recap, Warface: Breakout is a tactical PvP shooter that wants to squeeze in between all of the big-hitting free-to-play games like Warzone. Vicious Attack Llama Apocalypse is a twin-stick co-op mech shooter, nothing more, nothing less. Metal Slug 3 is an over-the-top run-and-gun romp, but this isn't Hamster's ACA Neo Geo version of the game. And Port Royale 3 is a 17th Century trading sim.

Publisher Viz Media has announced that is currently in the process of translating the manga adaptation of Nintendo's delightful social sim Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The English edition of Animal Crossing: New Horizons Deserted Island Diary is expected to launch in the west this fall, with pre-orders now open on the first volume via various book retailers.

The first two volumes of Coconas Rumba's manga adaptation were released in Japan in 2020 and also featured in the popular monthly magazine CoroCoro. As is to be expected, the manga tells of the exploits of a selection of villagers as they build new lives for themselves on one of many Nook Islands. Of course, popular characters such as Tommy and Timmy (...timmy), seabird Gulliver, and clumsy specter Wisp all put in appearances.

Meanwhile, back in the digital realm, the Switch edition of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is preparing to receive a selection of in-game goodies celebrating the Super Mario Bros. franchise. These will include a selection of cosplay outfits, decorations such as Thwomps and Koopa Troopa shells, and even a pair of working Warp Pipes! The Mario-themed items will go live in-game February 25.

[Update: The PC port of El Shaddai is coming to Steam "soon." Here are some early screenshots.]

If you never got around to playing the hidden gem El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron on PS3 or Xbox 360, you might have better luck on PC. In a tweet today, the game's director, Sawaki Takeyasu, confirmed that his studio Crim (which acquired the rights in 2013) will bring El Shaddai to Steam.

The PC version is "currently in development," but there isn't much else to share. No date yet. Takeyasu did note that they're planning to have options for English and Japanese voice-overs and text."

I think it's fair to say that El Shaddai garnered a mixed response, but it had an unmistakable style and unique premise that drew from the Book of Enoch, so it's great to see it live on with a Steam release.

In his original review for Destructoid – an oldie but a goodie – Jonathan Holmes called El Shaddai "constantly unpredictable," citing "heaping loads of surrealism, 2D platforming, sexy dudes, dance numbers, transforming robots, and giant yellow hot dog people." I missed the boat.

@Sawaki_Takeyasu [Twitter]

Although Super Nintendo World in Universal Japan was going to open on February 4, a state of emergency pushed it back. That hasn't stopped people from actually entering the park though, as hundreds of YouTubers and members of the press have combed over every inch of the new expansion.

If you recall, one of the many pieces of Nintendo-themed merch that was added is a suite of Power-Up bands, which provide functionality in and outside of the park. We imported one for science, here's how it shakes out.

In a rollercoaster ride of an announcement today, there's an otherworldly new PixelJunk game coming out on March 1, and it isn't a sequel, which excites me – but only Stadia players will be able to try it out.

This new roguelike action-adventure game, PixelJunk Raiders, will "launch exclusively" on Stadia. It'll be available on the streaming platform for $20, or freely playable with a Stadia Pro subscription. Drat.

It's honestly a bummer to see one of my favorite studios tied down to a single platform like this, doubly so in the aftermath of Google unceremoniously ditching its internal Stadia development studios.

As for the game itself, I'm intrigued but not necessarily sold. The footage shown today depicts alien-slashing action gameplay in a vividly stylized procedural landscape. A little context: you're a "human replicant searching for habitable worlds and optimizing your DNA for survival." You know, the usual.

It's not a one-to-one comparison by any means, but I hope PixelJunk Raiders doesn't suffer a tragic fate like The Tomorrow Children, an unforgettable communal PS4 game that lives on in our memories.

As the "first major patch" since launch, today's 3.11 update for Hitman 3 has a slew of additions and changes to pore over, including the newly-unlockable Tactical Turtleneck (look for "The Final Test" in the ICA Facility), new items in two Deluxe Escalations (Proloff Parable and Gauchito Antiquity), HUD improvements for trespassing and Silent Assassin(ating), and a bunch of location-specific upgrades.

Reading over the lengthy patch notes, you get the sense that Hitman 3, on the whole, will be a smoother experience. The kinks are very much being worked out, particularly with certain bugged trophies, achievements, and in-game challenges, as well as spots where Agent 47 can get stuck.

The update also improves the packed-in PlayStation VR version of Hitman 3. The biggie: you can turn off the "safe area" blue grid if you find it too distracting, though the developers "strongly recommend that players keep it toggled on and instead adjust their hardware and physical position where possible."

One interesting wrinkle: the Druzhina 34 ICA sniper rifle's Shockwave and Wall-Piercing perks were "never intended to be available outside of the Sniper maps," and that loophole has since been fixed.

On top of everything else, 3.11 sets the stage for "the continued release of new content in the coming weeks and months." This game is sticking around for a long time, not that we needed any assurances.

I still play and love Heroes of the Storm.

It might be very low on Blizzard's priority list right now, but the framework is still there, and it still plays like one of the most accessible MOBAs ever made. That much hasn't changed. The content cadence may have slowed down (and one of the game's leads may have left recently to work on Diablo IV), but it's still very much worth getting into, even now. Blizzard doesn't necessarily think so, though.

When the BlizzConline schedule dropped, we knew this reckoning was coming for Heroes. For the first time in ages, it had zero pure Heroes of the Storm panels listed. No "what's next," no developer insight shows, nothing. Kyle Fergusson, co-host of the fantastic Into the Nexus podcast (the premiere show for Heroes right now), brought up several points in the below video that had begun to cross my mind after BlizzConline was done and dusted.

Final Fantasy XIV is a fantastic and accessible game, but MMOs aren't exactly known for being accessible.

The genre is a heck of a lot of fun, especially if you can dive into a game and have a veteran or friend show you the ropes, but the new player experience can be rough if you're going at it alone. There's a lot to memorize beyond your normal rotation, like item synergy, leveling paths, navigation skills; the list goes on. FFXIV producer Naoki "Yoshi P" Yoshida is aiming to make a lot of that easier in his next project: Final Fantasy XVI.

Speaking to Game Hack during a radio show in Japan, Yoshida confirmed that the team was working on a "mode for players who want to focus on story" in XVI. A story mode, if you will. Yoshida goes on to say: "We really want players to enjoy the story, so we’re preparing a mode for players who want to focus on story. Since we have quite the substantial support actions, we’re of course preparing something easy to operate and smooth to play. Don’t worry too much...players who aren’t good at action games."

Yoshida also has a lot to say about the series as a whole, stating: "I’m from the generation that has been playing the Final Fantasy series from the first game in real-time—I’m almost in my 50s. I think the Warriors of Light have grown up in their own worlds, so I want to create a world of Final Fantasy that those who know the good and bad of reality can also be passionate about." In a very personal statement, he explains "I believe there are certain hardships that are experienced when becoming an adult, so I want to make the main theme of this game something that those who grew up playing Final Fantasy and understand reality can still enjoy, get something out of, and think about."

This is something I feel like the series has always been on point with to an extent, so I'm glad to see Yoshi P is still at the helm.

If the Play At Home program sounds familiar, you probably grabbed free copies of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey last year. Sony is planning another at-home giveaway for 2021, only this time, it'll be "a series of free games and entertainment offers." First up? Ratchet & Clank.

The 2016 Ratchet & Clank for PlayStation 4 will be free to claim – and permanently keep – if you show up between March 1 at 8:00 pm Pacific and March 31 at 8:00 pm Pacific. You've got a whole month!

It's by no means the fan-favorite entry, and I wish Sony would bring the entire slate of Ratchet & Clank games forward to PS4/PS5 for anyone looking to check out or revisit the series before Rift Apart drops in June. That said, having recently gone back for the platinum trophy, it's an enjoyable collectible-chasing platformer-shooter, one you can jump into as a newbie. And it's gorgeous, even today.

Another offer: "extended access for new subscribers" of the anime streaming services Funimation and Wakanim on March 25. "On top of the standard 14-day trial, new users can get an additional 90 days."

Square Enix continues to keep the world updated as to the ongoing sales of its post-apocalyptic adventure NieR: Automata. As of February 2021, exactly four years since the title's initial launch, the tale of 2B and her android brethren has seen an impressive 5.5 million shipments and global sales.

NieR: Automata has certainly helped bring the dystopian franchise to the masses, increasing interest in forthcoming titles such as NieR: Replicant and mobile title NieR: Reincarnation, both of which are primed to hit the market later in 2021. And speaking of NieR: Replicant, the official Square Enix store has taken stock of some new merch for the upcoming remaster - including wallets, purses, plushies and, most importantly, 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles.

This weekend saw Blizzard Entertainment shine the spotlight on its early years, with the release of The Blizzard Arcade Collection - a compilation of three classic Blizzard titles that were never arcades: The Lost Vikings, Blackthorne, and Rock n' Roll Racing. These are three of the classic console releases that helped put the Warcraft developer on the map back in the heady 1990s.

Unfortunately, in 2021, video gaming is a very different bag of puffins, and the advent of the internet and video streaming sites has made things a little more complex than they once were, at least from a legal standpoint. As such, when it comes to 1993's Rock n' Roll Racing, Blizzard is suggesting that streamers play with the isometric racer's excellent score switched off, lest they find themselves in trouble with The Man.

Yes, thanks to the ever-present threat of content algorithms on websites such as Twitch, a tinny, 16-bit rendition of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" or Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild" could destroy the music industry as we know it, and so, to avoid being picked up by said algorithm, Blizzard advises that you turn off the backing tracks - a key component of the game's concept - in order to comply with streaming rules on copyright. Given the recent - and highly amusing - instance which saw Metallica muted for piano music during the BlizzConline opening ceremony, it's understandable that such matters are at the forefront of the developer's mind.

Don't play Rock n' Roll Racing with the music on, or you may trigger a DMCA. Jesus wept.

[Update: Activision confirmed Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 for the Switch and current-gen consoles this morning. It will release on March 26 and sport 120FPS with 1080p visuals, or 60FPS at 4K on PS5 and Xbox Series X. Listed Switch features include playing "on the go," and it will be out "in 2021."

There will be a cross-generation deluxe bundle that provides extra skins like the Ripper for $10, though the base game can be upgraded to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S for free if you already own the Digital Deluxe Edition of THPS 1 + 2. You can find more info on upgrades here, including some caveats.]

I sure hope these very intentional Nintendo tweets about Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 pan out.

👀 https://t.co/0251e1kBnt

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 22, 2021

C’mon Crash make it happen for @TonyHawkTheGame!

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 22, 2021

This afternoon's exchange between Tony Hawk (the man) and Crash Bandicoot, Activision, and Nintendo (the brands) is exactly the sort of Twitter synergy that precedes not-that-surprising video game ports.

Just the other day, Sakurai and company shocked the world by announcing Pyra and Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 as Smash Ultimate DLC.

I use "shocked" in every sense of the phrase, as it checks pretty much every box for discussion: anime-like characters, first-party Nintendo IP instead of something crazier like Sora from Kingdom Hearts. Not everyone is going to like every DLC pick (I'm a fan so far though).

To give players a bit of extra context into how much the team cared about this addition, the official Xenoblade account tweeted out art from Masatsugu Saito, who worked on the character designs for Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It's to "commemorate" the duo for entering the arena, before they are due in "March."

Naturally, Shulk had to be involved (as he was in the trailer). It's great to see the Xenoblade universe having such a big impact on Smash as a whole. They're like...a thing now, outside of Shulk's representation and that prior single stage. With the recent re-release of the original game on Switch, the future of this series is looking bright.

XenobladeJP [Twitter]

Another day, another lawsuit levied towards the gaming industry. This time around it's Google on the defensive, as plaintiff Jacqueline Shepherd has filed a class-action suit against the industry giant over alleged misleading comments regarding its Stadia cloud-gaming service.

The suit, originally filed back in October 2020 and moved to a New York federal court last week, alleges that Google, alongside developers Bungie and id Software, stated that the Stadia service would feature 4K resolution support, but did not walk back or correct this statement once it was openly reported that Stadia was upscaling several titles from resolutions such as 1080p and 1440p, rather than offering "true" 4K resolution.

The Plaintiff alleges that publishers such as id Software "sold access to Doom Eternal, and other games, through the Google Stadia subscription and wrongfully generated millions of dollars in revenue as a result." The suit seeks non-specific monetary compensation for Stadia purchasers, and requests Google accurately and publicly display Stadia's resolution and FPS on all included titles going forward. Like many class-action suits, the case could take years to reach its conclusion.

This legal action comes at a game when the Google Stadia service is already under the microscope, following its decision to shut down its first-person development studio a little over a year into the service's lifecycle, causing the loss of over 100 jobs. The Stadia service will continue to host titles published and submitted by third-party studios.

Gran Turismo games arrive precisely when they mean to.

As a fan of the series since the start, they're not on what I'd call a regular schedule, especially after the third game. What was once a two-ish year cadence became three, then six, then back to three, then four, then....five, as of today.

Yes, the seventh iteration, which was due in 2021, is now delayed into 2022. The news came this morning straight from Sony by way of a GQ interview, which shed some light on multiple new Sony announcements like a new PSVR device for PS5 and "a slate" of PC ports for PlayStation titles. The confirmation actually didn't come from Jim Ryan directly, who was the focus of the interview, but a Sony rep, who jumped in to field the response of when Gran Turismo 7 would arrive.

Here's the full statement: "GT7 has been impacted by Covid-related production challenges and therefore will shift from 2021 to 2022. With the ongoing pandemic, it’s a dynamic and changing situation and some critical aspects of game production have been slowed over the past several months. We’ll share more specifics on GT7’s release date when available."

I'm not surprised. Gran Turismo games are generally meticulously crafted, and with less design-intensive games getting delays, this one is par for the course.

PlayStation’s Jim Ryan: ‘We’re making a completely new VR format for PS5’ [GQ]

I had to check my calendar this morning. Is it June already?!

Sony is dropping news-bombs on us today, with the confirmation of a new PSVR device specifically for PS5 (and a new VR controller), and now, confirmation of a bunch of PlayStation games coming to PC. Speaking to GQ, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan states that "a whole slate" of PlayStation games is coming to PC. They're not wasting any time either, as Days Gone is coming this spring.

Ryan did not elaborate beyond this, but a "whole slate" is a big thing to promise. God of War is an obvious candidate, but Demon's Souls is another obvious play, as folks even thought it was coming to PC when it was announced. There's also Miles Morales and Spider-Man in the mix, as well as Ratchet and Clank.

PlayStation’s Jim Ryan: ‘We’re making a completely new VR format for PS5’ [GQ]

It's official. You can send away for an extra dongle to connect your old PSVR to your PS5, or you can get with the new hotness. The hotness that was vaguely unveiled today.

Announced by way of the PlayStation Blog, Sony senior vice president Hideaki Nishino states that there is a "next-generation VR system" that will be coming to PS5. It will be a "dramatic leap" in terms of hardware, and the team is using lessons it learned from prior VR development to make this generation more impactful.

Sony also confirms a "new VR controller," which will supplant the Move remotes that are two generations old at this point. It will incorporate some DualSense technology, which makes a lot of sense as Sony is banking hard on that controller this generation (nearly every press release mentions the adaptive triggers).

There is a catch though! It's still heavily in development. That's why we aren't even seeing it up close and personal today! It won't even be launching in 2021! But Sony wanted to provide an "early update" nonetheless, several months removed from the launch of the PS5, so people could plan accordingly. After a handful of people probably bought some old PSVR hardware and picked up the adapter.

Introducing the next generation of VR on PlayStation [PlayStation]

Buckle up for safely, because it appears that Sweet Tooth and his maniacal pals are revving their engines once again. But this time, David Jaffe's violent world of Twisted Metal has been given the green-light in a whole other fashion, joining the growing line of video game IPs getting a TV adaptation.

As reported by Variety, the Twisted Metal TV series will be an "action comedy" set in a post-apocalyptic universe, where a down-and-out loser is offered a better life provided they can transport a mysterious package across the wastelands - teeming with bands of marauders and other eccentric characters. All very Mad Max. While the cast list is still on the ground, the woefully edgy serial killer clown Sweet Tooth is confirmed to be putting in an appearance, driving his horrifying ice cream truck through what remains of humanity.

Produced by Sony Pictures Television and "PlayStation Productions" - which is a thing - Twisted Metal will be written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the duo who penned horror comedy Zombieland and the violent comic-book actioner Deadpool. Sounds like a good fit. Michael Jonathan Smith, producer of Karate Kid spin-off series Cobra Kai, is on board as executive producer.

In a sudden turn of events, Paradox Interactive has announced that its long-delayed RPG Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 will no longer meet its 2021 release date. In addition, the gothic adventure - which seemed to be finally near completion - will no longer be developed by Hardsuit Labs, who have been working on the title since 2015.

In a statement posted to Twitter, (which you can check out below), Paradox assured fans that Bloodlines 2 was still in development, but that pre-orders for the current and next-gen release were suspended until further notice. The publisher thanked Hardsuit Labs for its "tremendous job in laying the foundations for the game."

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 was put into production in 2015, following Paradox Interactive's purchase of the White Wolf franchise. Narrative designer Brian Mitsoda and creative director Ka'ai Cluney were both released from the project "suddenly" in late 2019, before the sequel saw its first major delay announced in the summer of 2020.

The follow-up to 2004 PC release Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, Bloodlines 2 would see a custom play protagonist become embroiled in a chaotic fallout in Seattle, after a rogue sect of vampires begin slaughtering innocents across the city, breaking the blood-sucking society's "Masquerade." Bloodlines 2 was scheduled to launch this year on PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

It's not every day I come across a game that could be loosely summed up as Breakout meets Mario Bros. with Wario Land vibes thrown in for good measure. That's how I'd sum up Antonball Deluxe, a soon-to-be-released Steam and eventual Nintendo Switch game from Summitsphere. Here's the madcap trailer.

I thought this looked neat enough to warrant playing the Steam demo – it was! But it's tough.

The main mode, Antonball, involves scurrying around a single-screen location as a platforming character to try and bounce a ball back and forth until it clears out every last colored block. It's one thing to line up your shorts in Alleyway or Arkanoid, but here, you've really gotta hustle and jump just right.

It feels amazing to narrowly get the ball wedged behind the column of blocks, and I like the ability to shoulder check the ball and pull out a blaster as a temporary power-up, among other modern twists on this classic arcade experience. On the other hand, man does it feel bad to let the ball fly out of bounds.

I only survived the first few levels – a co-op partner would've helped! – but there are 69 levels total.