Sony is discontinuing the Accolades feature introduced on PlayStation 5 consoles.
For the unaware (most of us), Accolades could be awarded to fellow players in online games to commend their gameplay - teammates and opponents alike could be welcoming, helpful and more.
But according to an addition on the PlayStation website, the feature is being removed.
As if the game wasn't hard enough already, it turns out Elden Ring's toughest boss used to be even tougher.
Dataminers have managed to access version 1.0 of the game - a version that was compiled on 8th October 2021, before the network test was held and before recent patches could be applied.
As detailed on YouTube by Kotn3l (spotted by PC Gamer), the game's most infamous boss, Malenia, used to have slight differences to her moveset that made her even more aggressive.
As much as I love Star Wars and as much as I love virtual reality, I've always been slightly disappointed by Disney's official Star Wars VR offerings.
It's not that they're bad, mind. I've had a lot of fun with them, especially EA's Star Wars: Squadrons. My problem is that they always feel like they do the bare minimum when it comes to immersion or run time.
I think Disney's episodic VR games like the Vader Immortal trilogy are a good example of this. The pitch for that series in particular is great. Use the Force! Shoot blasters! Fight Vader! But, it all comes at the cost of a very slow and plodding adventure that has the pacing speed of a Bantha. When they work, they work. But most of the time they feel like bite sized adventures that were built to pass the time in a queue for a ride at Galaxy's Edge, rather than be an epic space adventure in their own right.
A fluffy dog skin set to release in Call of Duty Warzone has been hit by a claim of plagiarism, and Activision has now pulled imagery of the upcoming pooch from its website.
The claim of copying comes from concept artist and Call of Duty fan Sail Lin, who has highlighted images of their own dog skin design, originally uploaded to Artstation back in December 2019.
Writing on Twitter, Lin said he was "very disappointed to see my work being plagiarised by a big company like Activision in this way". Eurogamer has contacted Activision for comment.
Best Month Ever! is such a (seemingly) unusual game that I didn't know what to make of it after seeing the original trailer, or even after checking out the demo. It's about a white woman named Louise, set in the US during 1969, where she must spend as much time as possible with her Black, biracial son Mitch. This is because Louise has been diagnosed with an illness and has only one month left to live.
The story is told in flashbacks with a voiceover from an adult Mitch, contextualising the choices and decisions made by his mother at the time. Of course, these are choices you end up making through dialogue options throughout the game, creating a Louise whose future characteristics are based on Mitch's observation of your behaviour.
It begins with Louise having to collect her final paycheck from her abusive boss at the nearby diner, with Mitch (supposedly) sitting in the car. Through his eyes, you observe Louise being sexually harassed and make a quick getaway after torching up the boss' car with an old lighter.
Ubisoft's upcoming pirate game Skull and Bones is "not a narrative-driven game".
That's according to game director Ryan Barnard, who revealed to True Achievements that whilst it will have "narrative pieces", focus on your player's own story and has "an underlying story", the adventure will not be "narrative-driven".
"Skull and Bones is not a narrative-driven game," Barnard explains. “We have narrative pieces - in the game, you'll meet important NPCs called Kingpins which have their own stories that you'll learn as you develop rapport with them by taking on contracts with them. There is an underlying story to the game with which we build the entire world lore, but that's not the main focus. We want players to create their own stories and be able to choose the type of pirate they want to be.
Firaxis has released a deep dive into Doctor Strange's abilities, playstyle, and tactics from its upcoming strategy game, Marvel's Midnight Suns.
Teaming up with (wonderful) content creator Christopher Odd, Firaxis's five-minute video lets us see how the sorcerer can be best utilised when the card-based strategy game finally drops later this year.
As spotted by NME, Doctor Strange - a support hero - has some interesting tricks up his sleeve, including the ability to heal, protect, and completely conceal himself and allies in battle.
It's the last chapter in one of DF Retro's most expansive projects yet. Across every Sunday this month, we've taken a look at 1080p gaming on Sony's controversial PlayStation 3. We've looked at the beginnings of the full HD dream from Sony's initial marketing claims, through to the late 2006 launch. We've seen triumph and disaster, along with a gradual metamorphosis, with 1080p coming into its own on smaller scale projects with less advanced visuals - punctuated by the arrival of stereoscopic 3D, requiring higher pixel counts, providing a backdoor to further 1080p support for the 'Triple'. In this final chapter, we cover the years 2013 to 2015 - a period of transition as the difficult PS3 era yields to the juggernaut success of PlayStation 4.
2013 proves to be an intriguing year for 1080p gaming for Chad Warden's favourite console and it starts off with the arrival of the HD remaster of Zone of the Enders 2 - or rather, its second arrival. Originally released in a sub-optimal form at 720p with missing effects and dire performance, Konami took the remarkable step of recommissioning the project, handing it over to technology masterminds Hexadrive - an HD remaster of an HD remaster, if you like. What we got was a game that more fully utilised the PlayStation 3's SPUs, resulting in a 1280x1080 masterpiece, with full 1920x1080 vector work. It's a fascinating story that was also one of John Linneman's first pieces of work for Digital Foundry. The only regret with this one is that Konami didn't let Hexadrive loose on the original ZOE HD remaster, which isn't particularly great.
It looks like Dead By Daylight has more Resident Evil content on the way.
Whilst not formally confirmed by either developer Behaviour Interactive nor Resident Evil rights holder, Capcom, credible DBD leaker DBDLeaks has shared some very convincing assets, including images of the icons, outfits, charms, dialogue lines, and character biographies for Albert Wesker, Rebecca Chambers, and Ada Wong.
Wesker - called "The Mastermind" - will be a playable Killer, and you'll be able to jump into the shoes of Ada and Rebecca as Survivors. While their perks are apparently yet to be finalised, DBDLeaks has shared what they say are Wesker's perks: Superior Anatomy, Awakened Awareness, and Terminus, which collectively allow Wesker to vault faster, see the auras of other Survivors whilst carrying one, and cause Survivors to be "permanently Broken when the exit gates are open".
Disco Elysium creator ZA/UM is looking for artists with "a love of sci-fi and video games" and the ability to create "non-earth environments".
As spotted by the eagle-eyed members of the Disco Elysium subreddit, job listings for three new artistic positions at the studio are perhaps hinting what themes and motifs may be apparent in the studio's next game.
Interestingly, fans of the RPG don't necessarily think this marks a big departure for the team, though, especially given "how much time [the creators] have put into cultivating the setting of Disco Elysium".
No, Stadia "is not shutting down".
Google responded to a new batch of online rumours this week by promising that it is "always working on bringing more great games to the platform".
"Stadia is not shutting down," the company tweeted when asked outright on Twitter if closure was imminent. "Rest assured we're always working on bringing more great games to the platform and Stadia Pro. Let us know if you have other questions."
Minecraft developer Mojang has teamed up with the National Trust to bring Corfe Castle to life inside the game.
Launching as part of The National Trust's Festival of Archeology, it's hoped the recreation will excite young people and get them more interested in historical landmarks, such as castles.
"A thousand years of history and we've re-imagined it all in Minecraft's The Wild Update," Xbox explained on Twitter. "With the help of [historian Alice Loxton] and [content creator GrianMC] we restored the ruins of National Trust's Corfe Castle back to its former glory."
In the house where I grew up, I shared a room with two older brothers. I was a nosy kid, and I have a lot of happy memories of looking through my brothers' books and whatnot while they weren't around. One day - this is decades back; I can at least remember that it was sunny - I found a paperback that my brother Paul had picked up somewhere. Paul liked science-fiction This was sci-fi. It was by Harry Harrison, and it was one of his Stainless Steel Rat novels.
Actually, it was a very special one, an odd one. But we'll get to that in a second. Harry Harrison was a big deal in 20th century sci-fi, a writer who moved from illustrating comics to turning out novels that existed in the raggedy edge-lands between parodying space operas and reveling in their excesses. However he handled things, he always brought an anti-war message that was sometimes hidden, given the rather conservative genre he worked within. Outside of the Stainless Steel Rat books - the Rat is a charming con-man and occasional hero - he's probably best known for writing the novel that Soylent Green was loosely based upon.
So yes, the book of Paul's I'd found was a bit of an oddity amongst Harrison's output. It was a game book. You Can Be The Stainless Steel Rat was published in 1985, according to my lovely eBay copy, battered but still with a bit of gloss on the cover. 1985! This means it hit right in the middle of the Choose Your Own Adventure craze, and it cleaves tight to many of the genre's standards, like numbered sections that come with choices at the end. As a reader, you ping back and forth through the book following your instincts, and probably keeping a finger or two marking previous choices for the moments in which your instincts fail.
It looks like new content may be on the way to The Ascent.
Whilst not formally confirmed by developer Neon Giant - all we got was a cheeky tease on Twitter celebrating the game's first anniversary and a ten-second video - we are told to "gear up for a new contract", leading some to speculate that it may be referencing new, and currently unannounced, DLC.
"It's our 1st Year Anniversary!" Neon Giant tweeted. "We're humbled by the support and love we've had since launch. Thank you to our awesome community for sticking with us and for playing our game! We appreciate each and every one of you!
Former CD Projekt developers have confirmed they're working on a new online action game with "procedural solutions" set in feudal Japan.
Led by Jakub Ben and Marcin Michalski, the newly-founded studio Dark Passenger will bring the new first-person multiplayer game to Steam, Epic Games Store, PS5, and Xbox Series X. As yet, no name nor release window have been confirmed.
"The troubled time has come in the Land of the Cherry Blossom when nameless conquerors overthrow the ruling shogun and took over his throne," the studio explains. "Everyone who dared to oppose him, not only failed but also, against their will, joined his ranks.
HoYoverse has revealed more about what new region Sumeru has to offer.
We've already seen glimpses of Sumeru, but now the developer has pulled back the curtain to give us a peek at the upcoming Sumeru deserts, as well as a load of new characters.
Check it all out in the three-minute video below, although it all comes with the usual caveats that the new area is under development and the footage below "is not indicative of the final product:
Summer camp simulator Camp Canyonwood will release next week as an early access title.
From 4th August, you can step into the shoes of the newest counsellor at Camp Canyonwood, where you'll manage campers, teach them new skills, earn badges, and work to restore the camp by "building and modifying the campground".
"Build and manage a struggling summer camp to restore its former glory!" teases the video description. "Each summer, teach new campers activities like fishing, archery and more, while protecting them from dangers natural and supernatural. Keep campers happy to earn funds for improving the campground until it's better than ever!"
Steam's next event will be Steam Survival Fest, a celebration of survival games that will include "demos and discounts on games that test your ability to survive the elements".
Kicking off on 1st August and running for a week, Valve says that whilst it's "impossible to prepare to survive everything, you can prep for this event by marking your calendars".
"August 1st - August 8th, Steam Survival Fest is a Festival of Fortitude celebrating the struggle to beat the elements with discounts and demos on current and upcoming survival games of all kinds," read Steam's promotional blurb.
Assassin's Creed will be stopping by for a visit in PUBG: Battlegrounds later this summer (or Q3, for those of you in the southern hemisphere).
The crossover event will bring Assassin's Creed-themed cosmetics, events, and "world elements" from 17th August until 22nd September.
There'll be costumes, bag skins, parachute skin, emote, gun charm and spray item up for grabs, as well as Abstergo Industries Infiltrate Haven, themed resources and props on the Haven map where you just may find a hidden Animus machine and Leap of Faith ledges…
I was 38 years old when I realised I was a bard. I shouldn't really have been surprised - I was Danny Zuko in my high school production of Grease after all, and then I was Frank n' Furter in stockings and suspenders. But the realisation vexed me, because until that point I'd never had much time for bards. They were, as far as I was concerned - and I can barely bring myself to write it now - padding. Oh the hollowness! Oh the shame! How could I ever have been so empty? Yet, perhaps the fault was not entirely my own.
You see, I grew up on bards as interpreted by computer games, and to me, there, they were a forgettable class. They were there only to serve others. In Dark Age of Camelot, which I spent a long time playing, the bard-likes were the speed buff your group needed to get around quickly - that was their purpose. They could do a few other things but none as well as the other classes could. And in World of Warcraft, another game I put a lot of time into, bards weren't a playable class at all.
Look across RPGs and it's a similar story. There's no bard class in the Divinity: Original Sin series, and in Dragon Age, the whole series, the bard only crops up as playable in Origins as a rogue subclass. Those series couldn't be more heavily inspired by Dungeons & Dragons and yet, the poor old bard doesn't get a look-in. And it leaves you wondering why. Or, it reinforces a belief somewhere in your head that bards aren't good enough to make the cut.
Following Valve's pledge to more than double its Steam Deck shipments back in June, the company has announced that improvements to its supply chain mean it'll now be able to fulfil all current reservations for the handheld gaming PC "by the end of the year".
Steam Deck has, of course, been in massive demand since its unveiling last July, with wait times for reservations rapidly stretching into this year. Unfortunately, supply chain issues forced Valve to delay initial shipments from the end of 2021 into this year, with further rollouts perhaps not as rapid as Valve would have liked.
We've had plenty of updates since then - Valve said it would be ramping up production into "the hundreds of thousands" in March, while June saw it announce shipments would more than double in the coming months - and the latest brings great news for those that already have Steam Deck reservations.
Shortly after Nintendo released the first wave of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass DLC in March, data miners uncovered what appeared to be a near-complete list of platforms each new wave would be pulling tracks from - and the recent arrival of Wave 2 appears to validate that leak, giving fans a solid foundation for the giddy speculation of classic tracks still to come.
Following Wave 1's release, data miner Fishguy6564 shared a video of Mario Kart 8's track selection screen with the Booster Course Pass' ten remaining cups unlocked, complete with the platform origin of each included track. The then-unreleased Wave 2's Turnip Cup, for instance, was shown to contain four tracks taken from Mario Kart Tour, SNES, N64, and DS, while Propeller Cup listed tracks from Tour, GBA, Wii, and a final, yet to be defined course.
We now know, following Wave 2's release this week, that those leaked platforms line up perfectly with Mario Kart 8's newly expanded track roster. The final track listing for the Turnip Cup is New York Minute (Mario Kart Tour), Mario Cart Circuit 3 (SNES), Kalimari Desert (N64), and Waluigi Pinball (DS), while the Propeller Cup brings Sydney Sprint (Tour), Snow Land (GBA), Mushroom Gorge (Wii), and Sky-High Sundae (Tour). Notably, the latter is debuting as part of the Booster Pack but coming to Tour later, which might explain its absent tag in the leak.
Following an extensive report into the development of Rockstar's hugely anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 earlier this week, a few additional claims have surfaced, giving a clearer indication of just how ambitious the project was originally planned to be.
Rockstar finally confirmed development on GTA 6 was "well underway" earlier this year, and while official details remain extremely limited, a report by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier on Tuesday shared a number of tantalising details about the project, claiming it'll be set in Miami and will feature the series' first female protagonist as part of a Bonny and Clyde-style duo.
Notably, though, Schreier claimed Rockstar's initial plans were much more ambitious, featuring a map that would include "large swaths of North and South America". Axios' Stephen Totilo has since added a little more detail to those claims, citing his own source as saying Rockstar had earlier planned to have four protagonists in GTA 6, with the action unfolding across three cities.
The final episode of imported Australian TV show, Neighbours airs today on channel 5 here in the UK and, considering I’ve haven’t watched an episode in over 20 years, I’m actually surprised at how sad I am about that fact.
Neighbours was a huge part of my childhood, as it was for many other people my age, and it was always something I looked forward to watching after school and then discussing in the playground the following day. I vividly remember things like the death of Daphne after a tragic car accident (I think that might have been the first regular TV character I ever saw die) and how my primary school was abuzz with excitement for an upcoming episode that would feature the wedding of fan favourites Scott and Charlene.
One storyline in particular has stuck with me all of these years, though, and that was the time Todd Landers got addicted to the video game Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins.
Meta has released its quarterly financial results, giving insight into its recent decision to increase the price of its Meta Quest 2 headset.
Reality Labs, the division of Meta which works on its virtual reality and metaverse products, posted a net $2.8bn loss over the last three months.
Revenue during this period saw a 48 percent increase to $452m, which CFO Dave Wehner attributed to sales of Meta Quest 2 during Meta's earnings call with investors, but this was heavily outweighed by the costs and investments Meta is putting into Reality Labs.
Another week ends, meaning it's time for another Weekly, the quick-talking podcast where we recap the week on Eurogamer for you. Remember, premium supporters get episodes on Friday whereas everyone else listens from Monday.
Today on Weekly, Martin Robinson dives into Xenoblade Chronicles 3, a game he's just rated Essential and spent the last month playing. What's so good about it? And can I play it if I haven't played the others? We hear it from the horse's mouth. (Note: Martin is not actually a horse.)
Christian Donlan, meanwhile, takes us into the world of Rollderdrome, which looks to be another banger from London-based OlliOlli developer Roll7 - how does it do it? This game is a rollerskates shooter where you need to pull off tricks to power your combat. Donlan is very into it.
Halo Infinite's upcoming Forge mode recently leaked, and we are now seeing some interesting recreations of other games made within this mode popping up online.
For example, someone has taken inspiration from the truly horrifying PT demo, and remade it using the tools from Forge mode.
Spotted by PC Gamer, cosplayer Death Templar shared their PT x Halo hybrid creation on YouTube. As with PT, the player starts in a barren and gloomy room, with only one exit. The difference here, however, is that they have a gun (and I didn't spot a cockroach on the floor).
Former Xbox executive Peter Moore has said his team "encouraged the console wars" during his Xbox 360-era tenure - as a way to drive competition between Microsoft and Sony.
This competition has helped the industry, Moore continued, and saw Microsoft continuing to commit to video games despite the Xbox 360's costly "Red Ring of Death" debacle.
"We encouraged the console wars, not to create division, but to challenge each other," Moore said, speaking on the Front Office Sports podcast (thanks, IGN). "And when I say each other I mean Microsoft and Sony.
Last night, a free upgrade for What Remains of Edith Finch was officially confirmed during Annapurna's recent showcase. This was following rumours the game would be getting Xbox Series X/S and PS5 versions earlier this month.
However, if you are one of the many who got their hands on the game when it was included as part of PlayStation Plus, there's bad news. The new upgrade is only available to those who actually purchased the game, rather than getting it via Sony's subscription service.
This has been checked and verified by Eurogamer.
Sony is still to see its promised accelaration in PlayStation 5 production, the company's latest financial results show.
During the three months ending 30th June, Sony shipped 2.4m consoles, only a slight increase on the 2.3m it managed during the same time last year.
This contrasts with Sony's forecast for the year, during which it expects to sell 18m consoles compared to the 11.5m it sold in 2021.
Valve is introducing new rules on what developers can include in their graphical asset capsules.
The new rules, which were announced yesterday, will take effect from 1st September.
Valve is making these changes to ensure the browsing and shopping process is as "clear and straightforward as possible" for customers.
Capcom has announced that Resident Evil Village will receive a free update of accessibility options alongside its long-awaited Winters' Expansion DLC and Gold Edition in October.
The update will add in: subtitle size, colour and background toggles; speaker name display in story mode; closed captions; and a permanent reticle.
It's a small but notable list of options that will hopefully open the modern horror classic to a wider audience.
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The delayed Smash Bros. amiibo for Minecraft's Steve and Alex now finally have a release date.
These blocky little champs will be heading our way on 9th September, Nintendo has revealed, asking us all to "block off [our] calendar" for the occasion. Very good, Nintendo. Very good.
These amiibo were originally meant to be released along with Min Min from Arms earlier this year.
Former Assassin's Creed creative director Ashraf Ismail has returned to the games industry with a new role at Tencent, two years after being fired by Ubisoft.
Ismail was let go from Ubisoft in August 2020, two months after stepping down from his role as creative director on Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
Multiple women, including some Ismail had met as Assassin's Creed fans, alleged Ismail had contacted them privately and encouraged relationships while concealing the fact he was married.
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A modder created a battle royale between all the creatures in Elden Ring, and the pacifist turtle pope won.
YouTuber BjornTheBear decided to pit the top 21 animal field bosses against one another in a battle to the death on Caelid's battlefield, to determine which was the strongest.
This was done over a series of rounds, firstly with each creature at their usual strength and then scaled to match.
Hello! Welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've found ourselves playing over the last few days. This time: dogs, time, and emergent gameplay in the garden.
If you fancy catching up on some of the older editions of What We've Been Playing, here's our archive.
I know just about every jump scare in the Resident Evil remake, so imagine my surprise when the famous zombie dogs bursting through the east wing windows set piece produced a surprising and undignified squeal from me in Resident Evil: Director’s Cut.
Things are not looking great for the sequel to 2018's Tomb Raider film adaptation, which starred Alicia Vikander as a young Lara Croft searching for her father on the island of Yamati.
A new report from The Wrap has revealed that following its buyout by Amazon, MGM has lost the rights to the Tomb Raider films. The studio reportedly had until May of this year to move ahead with a sequel, but that ship has now sailed.
As a result, a "host of Hollywood movie studios" are currently making bids on the rights to the film, with insiders revealing that this has resulted in Alicia Vikander being removed from the project.
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We have a conclusion! The secret church in Nier: Automata that's been puzzling players all week has been confirmed to be a mod.
Earlier today, reddit user sadfutago - behind all the videos so far - posted a link to a Twitch stream that revealed all behind the previously unseen secret church area and its use of Nier: Replicant assets.
The stream showed various assets from the game and the secret church area, before admitting all was done through an in-game mod, which will be made available publicly. The VOD wasn't saved but you can still watch clips of the broadcast.
Dicebreaker Recommends is a series of monthly board game, RPG and other tabletop recommendations from our friends at our sibling site, Dicebreaker. This month, the team go on the hunt in one of the best video game board games around - Bloodborne: The Card Game.
The Soulsborne series has had a mixed showing on the tabletop so far. Arguably the series' most popular entries before the release of Elden Ring earlier this year, the original Dark Souls and cosmic horror Bloodborne, have both seen full-blooded board game and card game adaptations, with Dark Souls also making a recent leap into a D&D-like tabletop RPG.
Until Elden Ring inevitably gets its own tabletop outing, the Soulsborne board games are well worth revisiting when you need a moment to stop dying to Malenia and unwind with some good ol' fashioned cardboard for a couple of hours.
Frogwares, the developer behind last year's investigatory open-world adventure Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One, has announced it's remaking Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, a Lovecraft-themed crossover the studio originally released back in 2007.
The Awakened was Frogwares' third Sherlock Holmes adventure, and the developer's ongoing association with the detective has resulted in an additional six instalments in the series since then, meaning it's got years of experience to build on as it reimagines its 2007 title for modern audiences - not to mention its further dalliances with Lovecraft in 2019's The Sinking City.
Frogwares' "full remake and substantial rewrite" of The Awakened will shift the events of the original to serve as a continuation of its young Sherlock arc, started in last year's Chapter One. As such, it'll follow a young Sherlock Holmes, along with his new acquaintance John Watson, on his first big case in London - an adventure that'll span Victorian London, a Swiss psychiactric ward, the New Orleans bayous, and the Scottish Highlands as the fledging detective wrestles with dark, Lovecraft-inspired horrors.