Eurogamer

Jens Andersson, lead designer on Starbreeze Studios' acclaimed shooters The Darkness and Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, has joined Wolfenstein developer MachineGames to serve as design director on its highly anticipated Indiana Jones project.

The new Indiana Jones game was unveiled early last year, although details were limited. It was described as featuring an "original story" unconnected to the upcoming Indiana Jones 5, with Bethesda's Todd Howard executive producing in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games.

Andersson, who also helped create Eurogamer favourite Yoku's Island Express, announced he'd joined as design director on the "very special" Indiana Jones project in a statement shared on Twitter (thanks VGC), explaining, "I'm so excited about what we are building, and the way we get to do it - featuring one of [the] most iconic characters ever."

Read more

We already knew Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest was set to return next year, but organisers now have a date for diaries everywhere, with 2023's live showcase set to air on 8th June. Things are a little bit different in 2023, however, and next year's event marks the first time Summer Game Fest will be open to the public.

The show - which promises a mix of premieres, live gameplay demos, and announcements - will take place at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California, in front of a live audience of fans. Tickets go on sale in "early" 2023, but for those unable or uninterested in attending in-person, Summer Game Fest will also stream live on all major streaming platforms.

Summer Game Fest 2023 marks the event's fourth year of operation, and, as is now customary, the live showcase will kickstart a season of smaller events and showcases from participating developers and publishers. Specifics will follow at a later date.

Read more

Frictional Games, the studio behind masterful sci-fi horror Soma, has announced a new entry in its acclaimed Amnesia series. It's called Amnesia: The Bunker and is heading to Xbox, PlayStation, and PC in March next year.

The Bunker - which will be the fourth Amnesia game, following on from The Dark Descent, A Machine for Pigs, and last year's Rebirth - promises to be something a little bit different, favouring "unscripted" semi-open-world horror over its predecessors' more linear scares.

"For the first time, players are equipped with high levels of freedom to impact gameplay, choosing their playstyle as they explore at will," Frictional explains in its announcement. "With hardly any scripted events, and constant tension brought about by an ever-present threat, it is up to each player to finesse their approach to survival."

Read more

DICE has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Battlefield 2042 over the long term.

The EA developer announced that Season 5 for the game has entered pre-production, which goes beyond the obligatory four seasons of content it owed to Year 1 battle pass subscribers.

"Across our team continuing to focus on Battlefield 2042, we have a mix of veteran developers alongside those working on their first game breathing in new life," DICE states in its latest blog post.

Read more

Microsoft has revealed the games heading to Xbox Game Pass this December.

Available today are a trio of games: Eastward (Xbox, PC and Cloud), The Walking Dead: The Final Season (Xbox, PC and Cloud) and Totally Reliable Delivery Service (PC).

But we also have a bunch of games to look forward to later this month.

Read more

If there's one universal truth about Call of Duty players, it's that they will spend as much money as needed to get even the slightest advantage over their peers. They would rather rage quit than be embarrassed by death.

So when Activision releases a premium skin bundle that makes it as difficult as possible for you to been seen by opponents, players will buy it in droves.

A new operator skin designed by Call of Duty eSports team LA Thieves puts players in an all-black outfit, allowing them to hide in shadows for some poor soul to pass by.

Read more

Google has released a new interactive doodle in celebration of the life of Gerald "Jerry" Lawson, the Black video game engineer who invented the first cartridge-based home video game system.

The doodle starts off with a tutorial the gives you a brief introduction to Jerry, before letting you enter an editor which allows you to create your very own retro arcade game.

There are also five premade games to give you inspiration, and you use them as a template to edit from (or you can just play them if you're not feeling creative).

Read more

A series of new images promoting HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us have been released. These images show each of the main cast as their respective characters.

This includes Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, Merle Dandridge as Marlene (a role she also played in Naughty Dog's video game), Lamar Johnson as Henry, Anna Torv as Tess, Nick Offerman as Bill and Gabriel Luna as Tommy, to name but a few.

You can see the full set of these new images below.

Read more

Call of Duty Warzone 2.0's DMZ mode appears to be getting a Metal Gear Solid-style extraction balloon.

Redditor Top_Scientist4578 datamined the item which will be available to purchase from Buy Stations around Al-Mazrah (the map which DMZ and Warzone is based in).

Based on the screenshot, the item will cost $2000 in-game to purchase, although that's probably a placeholder value.

Read more

Capcom will hold a second Street Fighter 6 closed beta later this month, from 16th to 19th December.

Tweaks to the game since its first round of testing include a fresh option on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S to "reduce input delay" as a setting in the game's Graphics menu, which will "shorten the gap between your inputs and the action happening on-screen".

Alternatively, on PC, you can toggle your Vsync setting off. The trade-off here is that this may increase the likelihood of screen-tearing, Capcom warns.

Read more

Hero racing game Disney Speedstorm has been delayed into next year.

Revealed at Nintendo's February Direct, the free-to-play game from Gameloft was originally due this year, but will now release in 2023 on PC and consoles.

News of the delay was shared on Twitter in a message to fans.

Read more

Bethesda's Todd Howard has shed more light on Amazon's upcoming Fallout adaptation.

Speaking on Lex Fridman's podcast, the show's executive producer stated that the upcoming series is "not a retelling of a game story". Rather, it will take place on a separate area of the world's map.

"Let's tell a story here that fits in the world that we have built, doesn't break any of the rules, can reference things in the games, but isn't a retelling of the games," Howard elaborated.

Read more

UPDATE 2/12/22: Ubisoft has now officially confirmed its Assassin's Creed and Destiny crossover event, which will see sci-fi armour for sale in Valhalla later this month, as well as AC styles in Destiny 2.

The collaboration will go live on 6th December, when Destiny cosmetics themed around Lord Shaxx and Saint-14 will become available to buy in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Assassin's Creed-themed items - I can see an Apple of Eden-style ghost shell! - will then go live via Destiny 2's Eververse shop.

One final note from Ubisoft confirms a free weekend for Valhalla is on the way. You'll be able to dip your toe into Eivor's Viking adventures for no cost from 15th to 19th December.

Read more

Final Fantasy 16 has now been rated in Brazil by the Sistema de Classificação Indicativa Brasileiro, which states the game is "not recommended for children under 16 years old".

As a result of the classification, speculation is growing that the release date of Final Fantasy 16 may be revealed soon.

What's more, producer Naoki Yoshida is set to appear at The Game Awards next week with a "very special live presentation".

Read more

In a nice surprise, Disney Dreamlight Valley's promised December update has been significantly bolstered - with the addition of Stitch (from Lilo and Stich) and a variety of Christmas extras, all on top of the previously-announced Toy Story expansion.

Stitch will be the third new character included in the free update, after Toy Story's Woody and Buzz, as the popular Disney Pixar live service life simulation continues to grow in size.

The update will also add winter outfits for your character and for NPCs (Merlin will dress up as Santa), the ability to build snowmen (how very Frozen), set up campfires and cook marshmallows.

Read more

UPDATE (2pm UK time): It's official, Lego Stars Wars: The Skywalker Saga will head to Xbox Game Pass on 6th December.

ORIGINAL STORY (11am UK time): The Xbox Game Pass account has been teasing its followers with a cryptic clue about an upcoming release for its subscription service, and many believe that it will be Lego Star Wars.

The Game Pass Twitter handle began its own version of a hangman-like teaser a couple of days ago, merely saying it was a fun little guessing game being shared for "no reason in particular".

Read more

Nintendo has apologised for the performance issues of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Today brings a new patch for the game, which makes a handful of changes along with "select bug fixes".

As part of the patch notes, Nintendo has acknowledged the widespread performance issues found within the game and documented on social media.

Read more

From the opening tutorials on, it is strikingly apparent that NGDEV's latest 2D shooter is set on making an expert player out of you.

Let's be clear - Gunvein is very much a purebred bullet hell shooter. From the first stage it rarely lets up, bringing an intensity that is evocative of some of the genre's most demanding works. This is a title openly informed by Cave heavyweights such as Ketsui and DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou; releases where the bullet barrage infrequently quietens between opening frame and final boss form.

And yet Gunvein has something of a knack for bringing out the best in your play. Equally, it's eagerly encouraging. Before you tackle the main game proper, it insists you take in a tutorial about the wider genre's founding principles, introducing techniques such as managing aimed bullets, 'cut-back re-stream dodging', micro and macro bullet curtain navigation, and the strategic theory that informs how close you get to larger enemies. Here is not the place to spell out each of those methods, but even if you're an old hand with a list of Cave 1CCs behind you, the tutorial provides a splendid refresher. And if you're less of a genre devotee, yet long to get a taste of playing the most densely packed bullet hell at a capable level, Gunvein's opening minutes will likely serve as a fitting primer, helping you think like a high level player; a mindset that reveals much of the genre's smoke and mirrors, helping get you out of some very tight spots.

Read more

Uncharted's live-action movie adaptation is getting a live-action roller coaster adaptation, with the newly announced attraction coming to Barcelona's PortAventura World next year.

Due to open "midway through" 2023, the officially licensed Uncharted ride is a "multi-dimensional" dark ride coaster that'll take riders on an "immersive and exciting" adventure through "unexplored territories" in search of "one of the greatest treasures never found".

Kicking off with a "pre-show full of surprises", the rollercoaster itself will feature 700m of track reaching up to 12m in height, and incorporate five launches with up to 1G of acceleration.

Read more

Warframe's highly anticipated The Duviri Paradox expansion might be delayed, but today brings a little something new to tide players over until its arrival next year, courtesy of the survival-based Lua's Prey update, available now on all platforms.

"As The Void exposes ancient scars and long-forgotten secrets," developer Digital Extremes says of its latest update, "something sinister rumbles on Lua as the Grineer descend upon these newly exposed halls seeking possible treasure, corrupted by its long-dormant Orokin Neural Sentry. Under the guidance of The Lotus, the Tenno embark on a mission to investigate this destroyed piece of Lua formerly used to monitor Void Conjunctions."

Lua's Prey serves as a "light prequel" to The Duviri Paradox, adding two new story-based Conjunction Survival missions featuring thematic teasers for next year's expansion. These can be located at two newly added Lua nodes - Yuvarium and Circulus - and challenge players to maintain Life Support in the usual way. The twist, though, is that a Thrax enemy will spawn after every successful Survival round, increasing Life Support depletion by 50% while it remains alive, and requiring players to summon their Necramechs in order to defeat it.

Read more

Sega has unveiled a new post-launch content roadmap for Sonic Frontiers, promising the likes of new playable characters and story content across three free DLC updates throughout 2023.

There's no estimated time of arrival for any of Sonic Frontier's newly announced updates, but the first will introduce a juke box, photo mode, and a selection of new challenge modes. That'll be followed by a second update celebrating Sonic's birthday - and adding new Koco and a new open zone challenge - suggesting Sega's aiming for a June-ish launch for this one.

Finally, there's the biggie, with Sonic Frontiers' third free update of 2023 teasing new story content and playable characters. The artwork for Update 3 features Tails, Knuckles, and Amy, but it's unclear if these are the new playable characters or just a placeholder design flourish.

Read more

UPDATE 1/12/22: Following yesterday's cheeky leak, Capcom has made it official: the superb Monster Hunter Rise will be launching for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 on 20th January next year.

It'll cost $39.99 USD (approximately £33) on each platform holder's respective digital stores, and Xbox Game Pass fans can also rejoice as it comes to Microsoft's subscription service, for both Xbox and PC, on launch day.

As for Rise's excellent Sunbreak expansion, that's also on the way to the newly announced platforms, but will arrive at an unspecified later date, some time in "spring 2023".

Read more

Twitch has implemented a new Shield Mode feature, allowing streamers to pre-set safety settings.

The feature offers customisable controls that can be activated in one click, including channel modes (such as follower or sub only chat), chat verification options, and AutoMod levels.

This is a much requested feature, especially in the wake of last summer's hate raids against streamers from minority communities, which remain ongoing.

Read more

Amazon has revealed the next batch of titles being made available to Prime subscribers as part of December's Prime Gaming line-up, which this time includes classic FPS Quake and the wonderful Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.

id Software's Quake is, of course, a stone-cold classic, serving up a seminal slice of FPS action that - somewhat unbelievably - celebrated its 25th anniversary last year.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons mightn't be quite as well-known, but its story of two siblings on an increasingly fantastical quest to find a cure for their father's mysterious affliction is an absolute delight, and a game I find myself returning to every couple of years. The gist is players must overcome its various platform and puzzle challenges by controlling both brothers simulataneously, but it's also gained a proper two-player co-op mode over the years.

Read more

We're now just a couple of days away from Marvel's Midnight Suns being released, and now know the identity of the game's final playable character. It's the Hulk!

Surprise! Or not. The angry green giant was previously spotted by fans in the background of an earlier trailer - leaving his inclusion somewhat a foregone conclusion.

"Our best kept 'secret' that absolutely no one found out about is finally revealed!" Firaxis wrote last night. "Hulk smashes his way on to the Midnight Suns roster 2nd December."

Read more

"It's the time of year where you may want to cozy up with a nice hoodie." Yup, here in the northern hemisphere we are officially entering the wintery season. "This winter don't let your controllers feel left out with a mini controller hoodie."

... Eh?

Feeling the freeze? Well, Microsoft wants you to think about how your hardware is doing, because it is selling mini hoodies for your Xbox controllers.

Read more

Furry Hentai Tangram is a puzzle game where players must slot shapes into a grid to reveal lewd anime pictures underneath. It's also available on the Nintendo Switch eShop priced £2.39 (currently reduced from £2.99).

The fact this game, which launched last Friday, is available on the notoriously family-friendly Nintendo Switch has raised eyebrows among users uncomfortable with their kids finding its store page on the Nintendo eShop.

"Seriously Nintendo... this is my eight year old cousin's account," wrote one fan on reddit, sharing a screenshot of the game - visible from Furry Hentai Tangram's store page - depicting a mostly-undressed character with cat ears.

Read more

Warzone 2.0 has arrived and like its predecessor, this free-to-play game is big in almost every sense of the word, with an expansive map inhabited by a massive playerbase. The game's based on the IW9 Engine, the same core technology that serves as the foundation for Modern Warfare 2, but here it's pushed to its limits to draw in a single huge environment while networking up to 150 players.

To put this latest battle royale to the test, the whole DF team combined forces to get simultaneous crossplay capture of each console - starting with PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S. How do each of these platforms stack up visually, what's performance like in the standard modes and how does the 120fps experience hold up for those with high refresh rate displays?

Before we get into the numbers, let's talk about what makes this game so challenging to play - and to run, even on powerful games consoles. As a battle royale, it's all about the giant new map. Al Mazrah is truly colossal, a joint production between multiple Activision studios that ranks as the biggest battlefield in the series' history. Tiny portions of Al Mazrah appeared in MW2's 6v6 and 12v12 modes already but the field of play also includes classic maps from 2007's Modern Warfare and 2009's Modern Warfare 2. It's a beautiful sight for long-time COD fans, and the map also adds new mechanics like boats and aquatic combat.

Read more

An 11-year-old Valorant player has been banned on Twitch for being underage, despite parental supervision.

The Brazilian streamer, called Lucas, has managed to reach Radiant level in the game, its highest rank.

However, Twitch has banned Lucas for being underage - the minimum age to use the platform is 13.

Read more

Blizzard has announced more details of the upcoming content in Season 2 of Overwatch 2.

At the beginning of the month, new Tank hero Ramattra was revealed, alongside the start date for Season 2 of 6th December.

In a new blog post from Blizzard, the developer has shared full details on what fans can expect

Read more

Goodbye Volcano High, the indie narrative game from studio KO_OP, is set for release next summer.

The game focuses on a group of high school dinosaurs, who are also budding musicians, nearing the end of their senior year.

Its story promises themes of personal growth, acceptance, and the power of community. You can check out a new trailer below.

Read more

One night last week I went to a book club with Blade. It was Blade's idea, actually. Captain America and Captain Marvel were there, so we were pretty much knee deep in captains. Blade had arranged the whole thing to spend time with Captain Marvel, but then the other captain overheard and wanted in too, and Blade was too shy to say no. We read The Art of War. It was Blade's pick. We talked about the strategies and wisdom in the text, and someone mentioned how funny it was that Blade's favourite book was written by someone named "Sun". Funny because Blade is a vampire, right? After the book club was done I went foraging for mushrooms with Iron Man. Incredibly, these are not the ramblings of someone who's just banged their head on a shelf.

This is Marvel's Midnight Suns, a game to be excited about because it's also Firaxis' Marvel's Midnight Suns. It's a tactics game in which you pick Marvel heroes and engage in turn-based, card-heavy battles against Hydra and whoever. But it's also a game about cementing the friendships of a bunch of disparate, bickering super-people, who have been brought together by the threat of ancient evil and forced to live outside of time and space in a mysterious abbey. It's XCOM and Fire Emblem. It's a blockbuster about the apocalypse, but it's also the story of a particularly taxing house share.

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet!

There's a lot of emotional beats in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. And fans have noticed how empty it feels when the cutscenes have no voice acting, but could really benefit from some.

A group of Pokémon fans, who are also voice actors, have come together to dub over some of the game's cutscenes to imagine what the game would be like with voice-over.

Read more

Well, this is a nice surprise. Not only is the final content update for Assassin's Creed Valhalla now live on all platforms - a week earlier than planned! - but it includes a surprise tie-in to next year's Bagdhad-based Assassin's Creed Mirage.

We were expecting this last chapter of Eivor's story to arrive next week, on 6th December. Announcing its early release last night, Ubisoft blamed "an unforeseen glitch in the Animus".

As expected, this final dollop of Valhalla storyline sees Eivor wrap up her time in England and head off to North America one last time - where the game's opening shows she is buried. There's time for a few final goodbyes with some noteworthy people from Valhalla's long campaign, and then it's off to find out more about what Odin has been up to.

Read more

Nintendo has now released its second trailer for the Super Mario Bros. Movie, giving us our best look yet at the upcoming animated film from Minions maker Illumination.

The trailer showcases a good look at the film's version of Princess Peach (voiced by Anya Tayor-Joy) while Chris Pratt's Mario only gets a couple of lines of dialogue. Overall, it's a fun glimpse at some familiar Mario locales and characters, translated for the big screen.

If you're a Nintendo nerd like me, you've probably rewatched the trailer more than once to spot everything going on in the background. And there's some cool Easter eggs - particularly if you like the extended Donkey Kong family. Let's give it one more watch and dive in.

Read more

More glitches have been discovered in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (who would have thunk it) which allow players to duplicate items, and even their legendary Pokémon.

Plenty of bugs and exploits have already been found, whether it's creating body horror or duplicating shiny Pokémon, but this is on a different level. In the game, you're supposed to only have one of the legendaries, whether that's Koraidon or Miraidon, but now you can fill up your boxes with them.

These new-found glitches have been widely discussed in the Pokémon community, and they're not that difficult to pull off. One has been tested by yours truly, and I can confirm it works. The other requires you to have beaten the end-game, which I've not reached yet so I can't confirm at the moment whether it works or not. Beware some spoilers ahead!

Read more

Xbox Games with Gold still trundles on, and Microsoft has now confirmed December's titles for Xbox Live members as Colt Canyon and Bladed Fury

Colt Canyon is described as an "atmospheric and punchy" rogue-like shooter set in a pixel-art Wild West, where players can root and toot their way toward saving their kidnapped partner from ruthless bandits. "Take your gun and TNT," explains developer Retrific, "and shoot your way through a hostile canyon full of hidden treasures, weapons, obstacles and all kinds of bloodthirsty scum."

Eurogamer hasn't scanned a critical eye over Colt Canyon, but with a Very Positive rating over on Steam, the masses appear to think this one is pretty good!

Read more

After a solid first showing for the long-awaited Super Mario Bros. Movie in October, Nintendo has returned with a second action-packed trailer, this time giving us a first proper look at Peach, Donkey Kong, and a delightful karting cameo for Rainbow Road.

In fact, it's a bit of a treat for Mario fans all-round, casting its net wide to introduce a host of familiar faces, places, and power-ups, all given a vibrant movie makeover. It's the first time we get to hear Anya Taylor-Joy's no-nonsense Princess Peach, for instance, as well as Charlie Day as Luigi, and Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong, even though the latter's debut was mainly just a grunt.

Elsewhere, the trailer delivers a breakneck tour of the movie's beautifully reimagined Mushroom Kingdom, giving us a stroll across a bridge amid of flurry of Cheep Cheeps, a glimpse inside Peach's castle, and, of course, the crowd-pleasing addition of karts hurtling across Rainbow Road.

Read more

The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR - developer Supermassive Games' rail-shooter spin on its acclaimed narrative horror series - has been confirmed as a launch day title for Sony's PlayStation VR 2, meaning it'll arrive on 22nd February next year.

Switchback isn't Supermassive's first foray into spooky VR, of course; it previously adapted its cinematic horror game Until Dawn into both a VR prequel and a gaudy, rollercoaster-like rail shooter called Rush of Blood. And Dark Pictures: Switchback VR is very much a spiritual successor to the latter, sending players on a "nightmarish and horrifying" branching VR thrill ride through scenes that should be familiar to Dark Pictures fans.

"Survive the Ghost Ship and its distorted apparitions," Supermassive teases, "confront hideous demonic incarnations of persecuted 'witches'. Fight for your life against other-worldly vampires and escape the horrifying World's Fair Hotel's sadistic serial killer."

Read more

Ubisoft has unveiled Lost Between Worlds, a new expansion for Far Cry 6 that'll whisk players away to a fractured alien version of Yara when it launches on 6th December.

Lost Between Worlds' surreal extraterrestrial action begins when Far Cry 6 protagonist Dani Rojas inadvertently stumbles across a crashed alien ship inhabited by an alien AI known as FAI. Unfortunately for Dani, FAI immediately seals the surrounding area and demands they embark on a quest to retrieve five crystals needed to repair their ship - each one hidden away in a mysterious rift containing a fractured simulation of Yara.

There are familiar locations twisted into a surreal architectural kaleidoscope, others plunged deep underwater, and still others ravaged by endless lightning storms. Every rift features multiple routes via orange and purple portals, and players will need to use their combat, parkour, and puzzle skills to pick their way through and retrieve the crystal housed in each one.

Read more