Game Informer

In this exclusive behind-the-scenes interview, lead composer Yoshiya Terayama gives us an inside look at the making of Ninja Pop Star, newcomer Kimberly's character theme in Street Fighter 6, at Capcom's headquarters in Osaka, Japan. Terayama, member of Capcom's in-house band, shows off the individual instruments that comprise Kimberly's music, the process of revising a track based on work from the larger development team, and why Kimberly's old-school tastes pair well with the game's hip-hop inspirations.

If you enjoy this video, read this month's cover story and watch the rest of our exclusive Street Fighter 6 videos.

 

On this week's episode of All Things Nintendo, it's Pokémon launch day! Brian is joined by associate editor Charles Harte to chat all about their time playing Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Before that, Game Informer's Kyle Hilliard joins the show to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Nintendo Wii U and talk about the week's news.

If you'd like to follow the people from this episode on Twitter, hit the following links: Brian Shea (@brianpshea), Kyle Hilliard (@KyleMHilliard), Charles Harte (@chuckduck365)

The All Things Nintendo podcast is a weekly show where we can celebrate, discuss, and break down all the latest games, news, and announcements from the industry's most recognizable name. Each week, Brian is joined by different guests to talk about what's happening in the world of Nintendo. Along the way, they'll share personal stories, uncover hidden gems in the eShop, and even look back on the classics we all grew up with. A new episode hits every Friday!

Be sure to subscribe to All Things Nintendo on your favorite podcast platform. The show is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

In today's installment of New Gameplay Today, your hosts Wesley LeBlanc and Kyle Hilliard discuss Atari Mania, the new Atari microgame collection that plays like WarioWare. The two take you through the game's opening, showcasing what exactly you do in this Atari museum as its sole caretaker, from sweeping away dust to killing bugs and more. 

The two also discuss how presenting Atari games as a WarioWare-like microgame collection is the perfect way to showcase these classic titles. It doesn't hurt that the museum experience in the game gives players the chance to admire high-quality screens of classic Atari game box art, game manuals, and more. Check it out for yourself in the Atari Mania New Gameplay Today below: 

Each time we start up a new mainline Pokémon game, we begin our journey with a choice. Sometimes it's an easy one. Sometimes it's agonizing. But regardless of where on that spectrum each generation lands for you, the general choice remains the same: grass, water, or fire. Thanks to the rock-paper-scissors nature of the types on offer, no one option is, by definition, superior. For Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, those types are represented through Sprigatito, Quaxly, and Fuecoco.

Now that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are officially out in the wild, we want to know which starter you're rolling with. While you're at it, which factors go into making your decision? Do you always choose that type? Did you research what the final evolutions look like? Or do you just go with your gut based on how they look and behave?

Let us know if you're kicking off your Paldea region adventure with Sprigatito, Quaxly, or Fuecoco in the comments below!

Ubisoft celebrated Spinter Cell’s 20th anniversary by releasing a new video reflecting on the series and discussing its upcoming remake. The video revealed some details on the project’s status as well as some early images. 

The Splinter Cell remake was first announced last December, but we’ve known very little about it other than it’s being rebuilt from scratch in Snowdrop Engine (used to make The Division, Mario + Rabbids games). In the video, the team states the experience will be identical to the 2002 title but it wants to implement improvements and features introduced in later Splinter Cell titles as well as smooth some rough edges. For example, the team wants to give players more opportunities to de-escalate situations when things go awry instead of getting an instant Game Over. 

The dev team also shares that the project is still in the early prototyping phase. As such, the studio will be going dark “for a while” to focus on making the game, so it will likely be a good while before we hear anything substantial about the remake again. In the meantime, you can take a look at the gallery of new concept images shared during the presentation below. 

In this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, the crew shares its Pokémon Violet launch impressions, breaks down the list of The Game Awards nominees, and discusses our latest game reviews, including Somerville and Pentiment. Before diving into a round of listener emails, Marcus chats about the role-playing farming-sim hybrid, Harvestella.

Follow us on social media: Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken), Kyle Hilliard (@KyleMHilliard), Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), Charles Harte (@ChuckDuck365)

Trinity Fusion is an upcoming futuristic sci-fi action-roguelite that looks great, and its first closed beta begins today. 

Developer Angry Mob Games announced today that you can sign up for the beta right now, which will run through November 24. If you don't make it into this round of playtesting, don't worry – you might get an invite to access the second closed beta beginning December 6. It will run until December 13. Before signing up, though, check out the Trinity Fusion reveal trailer below: 

As you can see, Trinity Fusion looks like a fun and stylish take on the ever-growing roguelite genre, bringing some Strider vibes with a dash of Trine in there too. 

"Set across three shattered versions of the game's world, Trinity Fusion casts players in the role of the Hitchhiker, a cross-dimensional traveler physically linked to her three parallel selves," a press release about the game reads. "In order to forestall the total destruction of the multiverse, she must band together with her alternate identities to fuse together their different realities and keep their timelines from collapsing in on one another.

Update, 11/17/2022:

Earlier this year, Supermassive Games filed multiple trademarks for new games that many predicted were part of its Dark Pictures anthology series. One of those games was Directive 8020 and now, with the latest anthology game, The Devil In Me, out tomorrow, it's been confirmed that Directive 8020 is up next. It will be the Season 2 premiere of The Dark Pictures series. 

This news comes by way of GameTrailers, who spotted the teaser trailer for Directive 8020 as part of The Devil In Me's release, keeping in tradition with the latest game teasing the next game, as reported by Destructoid.

Check out the teaser trailer for The Dark Pictures: Directive 8020 for yourself below: 

Saints Row, a reboot for the series, was released back in August and while some players were happy with the end result, others were not. And now, due to Saints Row failing to meet the full expectations of Embracer Group, developer Volition will become part of Gearbox Entertainment. 

This news comes by way of Video Games Chronicle, which reports that Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors discussed this transition in a statement released alongside the company's second-quarter earning results. 

"The reception of Saints Row did not meet the full expectations and left the fanbase partially polarized," Wingefores said in the statement. "The game development studio, Volition, has been working hard to improve the player experience. Financially, Saints Row has performed in line with management expectations in the quarter. Going forward, Volition will transition to become part of Gearbox which has all the tools, including an experienced management team in the US, to create future success at Volition."

Wingefors notes that this is the first time the company has performed an "internal group transfer where we transfer a major studio between operative groups," but says that "it is not necessarily the last." 

Dead Island 2 has been delayed to April. 

Originally due out on February 3, this upcoming zombie romp will now hit PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and PC on April 28. It's a delay of roughly 12 weeks, which isn't too much longer considering fans have been waiting close to a decade for this sequel. As for why developer Dambuster Studios and publisher Deep Silver have delayed Dead Island 2, the team wants more time to ensure the game is the best it can be at launch. 

Here's the full statement on the delay: 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet hit store shelves and the Switch eShop tomorrow. Chances are, you're seeing some reviews pop up right about now. While we would love to be one of those reviews, we're not quite ready to publish our final verdict for a couple of reasons. First, the online servers are not yet available, and with four-player co-op serving as a big addition to the series, we want to fully test it out before delivering our review. I also just want a tad more time with the game before slapping a score on it; I've finished most of the main story, but I haven't fully explored the end and post-game content. 

However, now that the review embargo is up, I can provide my full impressions before publishing my final review. I'm generally positive about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. These are good mainline Pokémon games that take the series forward in some pretty substantial ways. The open world is fun to explore, and I appreciate being able to tackle things in (generally) whatever order I want. I've been enjoying my time in the Paldea region, aided immensely by the traversal abilities of Koraidon and Miraidon. Each area features a ton of monsters to battle and catch, giving me ample reason to go off the beaten path, and the new Pokédex design makes it more satisfying than ever to fill it out. 

The long-awaited Pokémon Trading Card Game Live app is now available in beta worldwide on PC and mobile devices after a staggered rollout last month. The successor to the now-defunct Pokémon Trading Card Game Online game has been in the works since its reveal last September. 

For fans of the previous mobile game, TCG Live aims to offer a more polished, robust digital card game experience. You can collect cards either by scanning code cards or purchasing booster packs with digital currency earned in-game by completing quests and working through battle passes.

Players represent themselves with a customizable avatar and can challenge players to matches across the globe. It also sports a much sleeker presentation. Essentially, TCG Live is positioned as the Pokémon equivalent of modern card game apps such as Magic: The Gathering Arena and Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel. Check out the original teaser trailer below.

Since the game is in beta, expect updates to roll out over the coming weeks/months. Pokémon TCG Live can be played on iOS, Android, and is downloadable on PC.

MultiVersus Season 2 has begun and it brings with it a new map, a brand new battle pass, improved network latency, and a tease about characters set to join the roster. 

Developer Player First Games has detailed what to expect in Season 2 of MultiVersus and it looks to be packing quite the punch. Following the inclusion of Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith from Rick and Morty near the end of Season 1, it seems classic cartoon character Marvin the Martian will be next to join the roster. 

"New roster additions are incredibly exciting, so we figured we'd give you a bit of a tease of one of the new characters who will be joining the MVS roster in Season 2," a blog post about the new season reads. "Hailing from planet Mars and sent to destroy Earth with his Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator, Marvin the Martian will soon be making his way back to MultiVersus, in yet another fruitless attempt to claim victory. We'll have more information about Marvin and his kit soon, so hang in there." 

If we've learned anything from Marvel's comics and cinematic universe, it's that the world is always expanding. New villains are always emerging and new heroes are always swooping in to stop them. Crystal Dynamics is taking this same approach with its game starring Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Marvel's Avengers launched with six playable characters, but that's far from all the heroes we'll be able to take control of when it's all said and done. Crystal Dynamics has said that all playable characters will be added at no additional cost, but additional upgrades for those characters could cost money.

Check out all the characters you can play as in Marvel's Avengers, as well as all the heroes still to come.

Ms. Marvel

Following a disaster in the opening of the game, Kamala Khan discovers new powers that allow her to grow and stretch her body in ways that help her fend off enemies and traverse the environment in unique ways. As the main character of Marvel's Avengers, her goal is to reassemble the outlawed hero team to once again save the world.

Reviewed on: PC
Platform: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Release: November 15, 2022
Rating: Mature

The best stories in video games manage to fuse narrative, art, and gameplay in a way that elevates all three. Pentiment, the latest from Obsidian Entertainment, is a perfect example of this, telling a deep, complex story about religion, truth, and history in the form of a book, which the player experiences as it’s being written. Despite a few sections with inconsistent pacing, it’s a must-play for fans of adventure games.

Pentiment tells the story of traveling artist Andreas Maler and his time spent in Tassing, a fictional town in the countryside of the Holy Roman Empire, way back in the year 1518. While Andreas’ regular routine has him working on his masterpiece or making copies of one of the local abbey’s manuscripts, he quickly becomes wrapped up in a series of local mysteries he tasks himself with solving.

Andreas can be customized with different backgrounds and personality traits to unlock different dialogue options. My Andreas was a theological scholar with a history of hedonism, but another might have studied law and spent his time enjoying nature. The dialogue options these different backgrounds unlock aren’t usually anything substantial, but it’s nice to have a sense of control over your conversations since they make up the vast majority of the game.

Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet have been officially announced, complete with a reveal trailer that includes a first look at the starters this time around. 

These two games represent the start of Generation 9, which will surely bring its own competitive meta, anime, and even Pokémon card series to the franchise, and we can't wait. However, there's still some time before we actually get to play these games, so for now, we'll be scanning every second of the reveal trailer (and subsequent trailers) for new locales, features, and of course, Pokémon. 

Nintendo and Game Freak have released an overview trailer for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, showcasing more than five minutes of new footage. 

Hot on the heels of the official release of Pokémon's ninth gen this Friday, this overview trailer will get you prepared for your upcoming journey through Paldea. Veteran trainers will recognize a lot of what the trailer is breaking down, like how your journey begins by picking a starter, but this overview trailer also breaks down a lot of the new things happening in these games. This includes the fact that you can tackle the gyms in any order, freely explore Paldea, and infiltrate the Team Star bases scattered around the region. 

Check out the Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet overview trailer for yourself below:

As you can see, this trailer is packed with lots of new looks at characters we'll meet in Paldea, new Pokémon to catch and party up with, and more. 

Crystal Dynamics has revealed that the Winter Soldier hero and the Omega-Level Cloning Lab threat will hit Marvel's Avengers later this month. 

More specifically, both this new hero and this endgame raid-like experience will be available when Update 2.7 goes live on November 29. This update will also include "ongoing revisions and tuning to heroes that [the studio] started in 2.6." 

"This Omega-Level Threat is a new endgame challenge headlined by a climactic confrontation with the deranged genius to end the danger once and for all," a blog post reads. "The Lab is a challenging AIM base that players will navigate before facing off one last time against MODOK in a grand multiplayer fight. MODOK has developed new tactics since players confronted him in San Francisco, and is designed to test our heroes in this new four-against-one fight.

"As an OLT, Cloning Lab is designed to push a team of four high-level heroes, though it will be of similar accessible length to our previous OLT, Family Reunion. Cloning Lab requires Power Level 175 to enter [and] will reward both new gear and higher-level gear than ever before, with the power-level cap increasing to 185." 

Update 2.7 will also bring James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes' Winter Soldier to the game, voiced by Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights, Lego Marvel's Avengers). 

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Infinity Ward's latest game in the franchise, was the best-selling game of October in the U.S. It was followed by Warner Bros Montreal's Gotham Knights, EA's FIFA 23, Madden NFL 23, and NHL 23. 

This news comes from Mat Piscatella, the executive director of The NPD Group, which is a video game market analyst and research company that tracks trends, spending, and more. Piscatella releases a best-sellers list (baesd on dollar sales) for each month of the year and the latest list is for October 2022. Here's the full top 20: 

US NPD PREMIUM GAMES - October 2022 Top 20 Sellers pic.twitter.com/50X5a09uIa

PlayStation Plus Premium and Extra members now have access to an additional 20 games live in the game catalog starting today including The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a bunch of Kingdom Hearts titles, multiple Ratchet & Clank games, and more. 

PlayStation revealed these 20 games last week and as expected, all of them are now available to play through specific PlayStation Plus subscriptions as of today. Here's a look at all 20 games: 

Xbox head Phil Spencer has revealed that he has no issue crafting a longer-term commitment to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles that both Sony and regulators would agree with. 

He told The Verge this in a new interview where he also revealed that no part of Microsoft's ongoing acquisition of Activision Blizzard is about pulling the rug from underneath PlayStation's plans; it's just that the two parties can't write a contract that says explicitly Call of Duty will be on PlayStation "forever." 

"It's not about at some point I pull the rug underneath PlayStation 7's legs, and it's 'ahaha you just didn't write the contract long enough,'" Spencer told The Verge. "There's no contract that could be written that says forever." 

Unable to write a forever contract, Spencer told the publication he has no problem creating a longer-term commitment to satisfy Sony's concerns. 

"This idea that we would write a contract that says the word 'forever' in it, I think, is a little bit silly, but to make a longer-term commitment that Sony would be comfortable with, regulators would be comfortable with, I have no issue with that at all," Spencer said. 

Reviewed on: PC
Platform: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Jumpship
Developer: Jumpship
Release: November 14, 2022
Rating: Everyone 10+

Somerville begins with a peek into the life of a young family and their dog. Everyone fell asleep watching TV on the couch, but the curious toddler gets themselves into some inconsequential trouble, forcing the family into their routine. Both the child and dog need to be fed and the kitchen needs to be cleaned, but something feels off. In an explosive moment that truly caught me by surprise, the family is suddenly reckoning with an alien invasion. An intense, often scary adventure kicks off from there. When Somerville hits its highs and fires on all cylinders, it’s a moving spectacle, but unfortunately, technical hiccups and some unclear puzzles hold it back from being truly incredible.

<p><img src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2022/11/14/4b51ec07/street_fighter_6_rapid_fire_gi.jpg" width="800" height="450" alt="street fighter 6" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default" /></p> <p>As part of this month's <a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/streetfighter6" target="_blank">cover story,</a> we ask director Takayuki Nakayama and producer Shuhei Matsumoto 118 rapid-fire questions about Street Fighter 6 in this exclusive interview. We cover the series' long history, how the team chooses characters for new games, whether we'll ever see new releases on Nintendo consoles, their thoughts on the Street Fighter films, and much more.</p> <iframe width="560" height="315" frameBorder="0" allow="autoplay" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uWvc0BJj77g" width=""></iframe> <p>Looking for more Street Fighter 6 coverage? Check out our <a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/preview/2022/11/09/a-deep-dive-into-kens-new-look" target="_blank">deep dive into Ken's new look,</a>&nbsp;our video about the game's newly announced <a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/exclusive/2022/11/08/street-fighter-6-exclusive-first-look-at-new-dynamic-control-scheme-meant-to" target="_blank">third control type,</a> or Game Informer's latest cover story <a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/digital-issue/2022/11/08/the-street-fighter-6-digital-issue-is-now-live" target="_blank">right here</a>. Lastly,&nbsp;listen to last week's episode of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/podcast/2022/11/11/street-fighter-6-cover-story-and-sonic-frontiers-review-gi-show" target="_blank">The Game Informer Show</a>&nbsp;for more details about our trip to Osaka, Japan!

During a live event streamed this morning, Geoff Keighley and the team behind the Game Awards revealed their nominees for the 2022 awards season, including their six picks for Game of the Year. The show will take place in person at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, but will also be streamed online for free on Thursday, December 8 at 7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT. If you'd like to vote, you can do so on the Game Awards' official website or discord server. You can find the full list of nominees below:

 

GAME OF THE YEAR

A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)

Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

 

BEST GAME DIRECTION

Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

Immortality (Half Mermaid)

Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

 

BEST NARRATIVE

A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)

Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

Immortality (Half Mermaid)

 

BEST ART DIRECTION

Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

Update, 11/14/22: 

CD Projekt Red has revealed that the new-gen update, or "next-gen update" as the studio calls it, for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, will be released on December 14. That's one month away from today. As for what to expect, CDPR didn't reveal much else, but the studio will be going into more detail and revealing new-gen gameplay in a stream next week. This update will hit PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and it will be free to everyone who already owns the game.

The next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is coming on December 14th, free for everyone who already owns the game.

For more details and gameplay reveal, tune in to REDstreams next week on https://t.co/IpFERTohi9. pic.twitter.com/fg3yfGeNih

— The Witcher (@witchergame) November 14, 2022

The original story continues below...

Update, 5/19/22: 

The delayed new-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be released in Q4 of 2022. 

The end of Fortnite Chapter 3 is upon us as Epic Games has revealed that its finale event will take place next month. 

More specifically, the finale event will take place on December 3 at 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET. This news was revealed through a title card teased at the end of the Fortnite Champion Series, which took place over the weekend, as reported by Eurogamer. You can see the title card at the top of this story, if you're curious. 

Unfortunately, that's all that Epic Games teased in terms of the end of Fortnite's Fracture era. As for what's in store for Chapter 4 or what this finale event might play like, that remains unknown. Fortunately, we don't have to wait too much longer, though, because the event begins in just a few weeks. 

If it's anything like previous Fortnite chapter finales, then expect huge PvE battles across the island, plenty of spectacle, an exciting conclusion, and of course, some downtime as the game prepares to launch the next chapter. 

[Source: Eurogamer]

Are you tuning into the finale event for Fortnite Chapter 3? Let us know in the comments below!

In this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, the crew gathers to talk about our Street Fighter 6 cover story and our trip to visit Capcom in Osaka, Japan. Additionally, we discuss our Sonic Frontiers review, Resident Evil Village's Shadows of Rose DLC, and Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. 

Follow us on social media: Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken), Brian Shea (@BrianPShea), Kyle Hilliard (@KyleMHilliard)

The Game Informer Show is a weekly gaming podcast covering the latest video game news, industry topics, exclusive reveals, and reviews. Join host Alex Van Aken every Thursday for a chat about your favorite games – past and present – with Game Informer staff, developers, and special guests from around the industry. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

This week on All Things Nintendo, Brian welcomes Fadel, AKA GamesCage, to chat about Sonic Frontiers. But first, they break down all the latest news from the world of Nintendo, including the recent Indie World Presentation, the Twitter account verification fiasco, and the last blip of pre-launch Pokémon Scarlet and Violet news.

If you'd like to follow the people from this episode on Twitter, hit the following links: Brian Shea (@brianpshea), GamesCage (@OnTheDownLoTho)

You can also find GamesCage on YouTube and Twitch.

The All Things Nintendo podcast is a weekly show where we can celebrate, discuss, and break down all the latest games, news, and announcements from the industry's most recognizable name. Each week, Brian is joined by different guests to talk about what's happening in the world of Nintendo. Along the way, they'll share personal stories, uncover hidden gems in the eShop, and even look back on the classics we all grew up with. A new episode hits every Friday!

Save Room wears its inspiration on its sleeve from the moment you hit start and a deep, scary voice announces that you're playing "Save Room!" It takes a singular idea from Resident Evil 4 – organizing your briefcase of weapons – and expands it into a dedicated puzzle game. Join Marcus Stewart and Kyle Hilliard as they play through a few of the puzzles now that the game has made its way to consoles.

Standing here, I realize that this Super Replay will be a cut above the rest because we’ll be slicing and dicing in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance! Join us today on Twitch at 2 p.m. Central to enjoy two hours of what will be a full playthrough of the cult favorite action game streaming weekly each Friday. You can also catch up on previous episodes by visiting our new Game Informer Shows YouTube channel or watching the embedded episode below. 

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance serves as a sequel/spin-off to Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots that puts cyborg ninja Raiden at the helm. Instead of sneaking around in boxes, players eviscerate foes in fast-paced, stylish action courtesy of developer Platinum Games. Since its launch in 2013, Revengence’s action and absurdity have garnered it a passionate internet fandom, but I have a little secret: I didn’t think the game was all that special when I played it at launch. However, years of being inundated with internet memes and being told my opinion is incorrect has inspired me to give Revengece another look. Will I acquire a new appreciation for the game nine years later? How many watermelons will I slice? You’ll have to tune in to find out. 

Remedy Entertainment has announced a new deal with publisher 505 Games to co-develop and market Control 2. The news also provided insight into the sequel's development status. 

According to a press release, Control 2 (once known as Codename Heron) is currently in the concept phase, being built in Remedy’s proprietary Northlight engine. The game will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Remedy will publish the PC version while 505 will handle the game’s console releases. Control 2 has no release window, but Remedy did release a piece of concept art, posted below. 

The press release also states that Control 2’s development budget initially sat at 50 million euros. Remedy and 505 will equally split marketing and development costs, as well as revenue generated by its release. Remedy retains full ownership of the Control IP, however. The press release also reveals that the first Control has sold over 3 million copies since launching in 2019. 

Kevin Conroy, the legendary voice actor behind Batman and Bruce Wayne in Batman: The Animated Series, the Batman Arkham trilogy of games, and numerous other projects, has died. He was 66.

The news broke this morning with BTAS co-star Diane Pershing, who voiced Poison Ivy, posting on Facebook that Conroy had passed yesterday from an illness, later identified as cancer. Warner Bros. has since confirmed the news. 

"Very sad news: our beloved voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy, died yesterday," Pershing writes. "He's been ill for a while but he really put in a lot of time at the cons, to the joy of all of his fans. He will be sorely missed not just by the cast of the series but by his legion of fans all over the world ... RIP, friend."

Extra Life is this weekend! Although Game Informer won’t be hosting a dedicated stream this year, several editors, past and present, will join the great folks at MinnMax to contribute to its fundraiser!

The festivities kick off on Saturday, November 12, at 12 p.m. Central. Local Game Informer staff and alumni, along with other special guests, will join the MinnMax crew in person for hours of wacky game-playing and shenanigans with the goal of raising $40,000 for Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

How To Donate

You can donate to MinnMax’s Extra Life campaign here. Donating any amount can earn you a free game code for your system of choice! Additionally, every hour of the stream will have two auctions for prizes such as issues of Game Informer Gold, physical game bundles, collectibles, apparel, and even a guest spot on our All Things Nintendo podcast! 

Streaming Schedule

12pm Central - Super Smash Bros Ultimate

1pm Central - Switch Multiplayer Games

2pm Central - Nintendo Land

Dragon Age: Absolution is coming to Netflix on December 9. A new trailer provides a deeper look into the adult animated series' premise and new heroes. 

The story centers on Miriam, an elven mercenary and former slave tasked with stealing a powerful and dangerous artifact. When the heist goes awry, the situation escalates into a larger fight for survival for Miriam and her friends. Set in Tevinter, the show features an original cast of heroes and, potentially, some old favorites (the characters at 0:45 look a lot like Cassandra and Leliana). Check out the trailer below. 

First announced during Netflix Geeked Week in June, Dragon Age: Absolution’s cast includes Kimberly Brooks (Miriam), Matthew Mercer (Fairbanks), Ashly Burch (Qwydion), Phil Lamarr (Roland), and Josh Keaton (Rezaren). The series consists of six 30-minute episodes. 

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC
Publisher: Awaceb, Kepler Interactive
Developer: Awaceb
Release: 2023

Beyond our coverage of Street Fighter 6 in the latest issue of Game Informer, issue 351 also includes a deep dive into Tchia, and the unusual trip where we learned more about the game.  

Tchia is created by the development studio known as Awaceb. Awaceb’s founders grew up in a small French territory east of Australia called New Caledonia, and this debut game from the studio is inspired by their childhood there. I visited New Caledonia in September, and joined the team from Awaceb to learn more about the culture, peoples, and geography that make it such a memorable place.  

Check out the new issue to discover more about the trip and the game.

Our video below features a small part of the lovely Tchia soundtrack alongside glimpses of video taken during the trip, as well as gameplay footage of Tchia.  

We recently traveled to Osaka, Japan, for our Street Fighter 6 cover story. While we were in the city, Game Informer video editor Alex Van Aken and I thought it would be a great idea to take advantage of our proximity to Universal Studios Japan to visit Super Nintendo World. Like you, we saw the tour provided by the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto, but we needed to see it for ourselves. And to be quite frank, we are so glad that we did.

It's impossible to fully convey how cool most of our time at Super Nintendo World was. From the moment we exited the giant warp pipe at the entrance, we felt transported into an actual Mario game. Check out the photos from our time at Super Nintendo World to get a sense of how incredible the experience is.

First, we had to reserve a time to enter that particular area of the park. I was unable to do that before the day of our arrival, but I was able to snag an early afternoon time, giving us some time to scope out the rest of the park. After hopping on the Spider-Man ride and grabbing a bite to eat in the Jaws area of the park, our time to enter Super Nintendo World finally rolled around. 

With Stadia’s impending shutdown in January, Google has begun fulfilling its promise of issuing refunds to its customers. The process started yesterday, and Google has posted an FAQ breaking down how it works. 

As previously announced, Google is refunding all software purchases through the Stadia Store (such as games, DLC, in-game currency, and current pre-orders) and hardware purchases made through the Google Store; physical store purchases cannot be refunded. Eligible hardware includes:

• Stadia Controller
• Founder's Edition
• Premiere Edition
• Play and Watch with Google TV packages

Stadia Pro subscriptions will not be refunded, but members can play their Pro titles until the shutdown. However, those who purchased a subscription on or after September 29, 2022, and were charged for it will have that money returned. 

Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PC
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Release: 2023

Eric Williams has been working on God of War since the first game, and his credits extend beyond Kratos' journey to titles like Darksiders and Insomniac's Spider-Man, but he will always consider Sony Santa Monica home. For God of War Ragnarök, Williams put a pause on his video game consulting business to take on the director role for the highly anticipated sequel. We spoke with Williams about why God of War 2018's director, Cory Barlog, had to convince him to take on the role, why nearly every God of War game has a new director, how he discovered he is not able to generate visuals in his mind's eye, how the surprising casting of Richard Schiff as Odin came about, and plenty more. You can check out the full interview below, which is free of God of War Ragnarök spoilers, so feel free to read even if you are only starting the game today.

Game Informer: Cory Barlog, talking about the 2018 God of War, was open about his personal inspirations that are reflected in the game. Do you have comparable personal elements you were able to inject into Ragnarök?

Nintendo’s latest Indie World Showcase has come and gone. Sure, Hollow Knight: Silksong didn’t appear for the umpteenth time in a row, but that doesn’t mean there weren't other titles worth putting on your radar. If you missed the festivities, this recap summarizes some of the bigger, newly revealed games heading to Switch before wrapping up with a quick recap of smaller game updates.