Game Informer

As we shared last week, Guild Wars 2 is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, and ArenaNet is celebrating by introducing the MMORPG to a new audience on Steam. Guild Wars 2 launches today on Steam marking the first time the critically-acclaimed MMORPG will be available on a third-party platform.

We are participating in the celebration by offering you, our wonderful readers, the chance to win one of 5 Steam Keys for Guild Wars 2 Complete Collection. This bundle lets players experience the first 10 years of Guild Wars 2 in one package, including; all three expansions (Heart of Thorns, Path of Fire, End of Dragons), and all five seasons of the game’s episodic Living World content.

For your chance at a key, submit your entry below. Daily entry options are available. You have until 11:59 PM CST on September 1st, 2022 to enter. Guild Wars 2 Complete Collection is rated T for TEEN so you must be 13 years of age or older to win. Minors will need their parents' permission to accept the prize. Full rules are available below. Good Luck!

 

No cookies? Click here to cnter for a chance to win Guild Wars 2 Complete Collection

Anakin Skywalker doesn't like sand, but developer Deck13 Interactive is hoping you will love it in Atlas Fallen, a new action/RPG experience that is all about the grainy substance. This Focus Entertainment-published title debuted at Gamecom Opening Night Live, and is slated to release in 2023 for PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

The game is set within the sands of a timeless land, and the protagonist can unleash sand-powered abilities and infuse sand into shape-shifting weapons. The sand arsenal is used to hunt legendary monsters in either a single-player or cooperative campaign. In the cinematic trailer, we see one hero use sand to repair a bridge, and another hero glide along the sand like she's on a hoverboard. Together, the heroes create various weapons with the sand, like a whip, to down a handful of alien dogs. We'll have to wait to see how closely the gameplay mimics the cinematics.

Deck13 Interactive is the studio behind Lords of the Fallen and The Surge series of games.

Return to Monkey Island is launching this September, per a new trailer during Gamescom Opening Night Live. 

Circle September 17 as the day you can enjoy Ron Gilbert’s latest entry in the beloved adventure franchise, which sees hero Guybrush Threepwood on a quest to finally discover the secret to the famous island once and for all. It may sport a striking new art style but features the adventure game mechanics fans know and love. 

Best of all, those who pre-order the game, which is coming to PC and Switch, will be rewarded with a set of horse armor! Yes, really! It’s absolutely useless and just occupies inventory space, but it’s a nice gag nonetheless. Check out the new trailer below. 

Hearthstone with miniatures. It’s an oversimplification, but if the idea captures your imagination, you recognize why the developers at Unknown Worlds think they’ve hit on something special. Best known for Subnautica, the team has been quietly working on a wholly digital miniatures game for the last five years. Built to emulate the collectability, customization, and tactical sophistication of the best tabletop miniature games, Moonbreaker aims to nail the magic and appeal of the real-life hobby, but with some of the approachability inherent to video games. After over an hour checking out the result, I’m convinced Unknown Worlds is onto something.

Set in an original sci-fi/fantasy universe built in partnership with celebrated author Brandon Sanderson, Moonbreaker explores a remote distant solar system called The Reaches, in which a multitude of moons carve intricate orbits around each other, each housing unique cultures and peoples. A rare resource called Cinder hides deep in the mantle of these moons and fuels the abilities of superpowered individuals called Solars. To survive, these Solars must consume more Cinder, so they gather a crew to their sides and set forth on their ships to gather the precious substance.

We got a super in-depth look at Sonic Frontiers earlier this summer when I traveled to Sonic Team and played the game for more than three hours. Sonic Team was open about many parts of its upcoming open-zone adventure, but one part it has remained tight-lipped on is the Sonic Frontiers release date. Today, we not only got a new trailer for Sonic Frontiers but a release date for the game too.

Revealed today during Gamescom Opening Night Live, we now know that Sonic Frontiers launches on November 8. The trailer shown during the livestream gave us a look at a second island in the Starfall Islands: Ares Island. In stark contrast to the first island we saw – Kronos Island – Ares Island appears to be a desolate, sandy biome.

The Callisto Protocol graced the cover of our magazine a few months ago and is currently one of the most anticipated games of the year. Glen Schofield, creative director of the new space horror adventure and one of the leading designers on the Dead Space franchise, made an appearance at Gamescom 2022. He thanked fans for the positive response and spoke about the gritty new gameplay trailer, “We’re gonna show combat and something new with a crazy ending.” 

Protagonist Jacob Lee pulls a health item with one of his abilities and proceeds to crouch-sneak his way through a group of prowling monsters. He downs one with a stab to the back and fires at another creature, stumbling toward him with tentacles squirming around its exposed belly. To top things off, he brawls with a regenerating creature adorned with cysts and sends it flying into a chainsaw-like structure in the environment. 

In the next scene, Lee slides down a sewage drain while dodging deadly pillars along the dimly-lit channel. And in a shocking ending, reminiscent of the death scenes from Dead Space, the leading man hits a massive propeller obstructing the tunnel and gets ripped in half (I’ll spare you the gory details). Schofield warned the trailer’s ending would be wild, and it did not disappoint.

The Callisto Protocol launches for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on December 2.

Developer Gearbox Software and publisher 2K revealed that the spiritual successor to Telltale's Tales from the Borderlands is called New Tales from the Borderlands and, it's out this October. 

More specifically, it will be out October 21, 2022, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. This news comes by way of the official reveal trailer for Tales from the Borderlands, which showcases the game's setting, its cast, and more. Perhaps most importantly, it also highlights just how similar this is to Telltale's beloved Borderlands narrative-driven adventure game. Sure, there's a new cast and story happening, but the game seems to be very much like its beloved predecessor. Your choices and how they affect the overarching story remain important, which is a great start for this sequel. 

Check out the New Tales from the Borderlands reveal trailer below: 

Developer Avalanche has released a new Hogwarts Legacy trailer detailing unforgivable curses, the dark arts, and the choice to use them or not in the game. 

The trailer was revealed during today's Gamescom Opening Night Live showcase hosted by Geoff Keighley and while it didn't feature much by way of gameplay, it did give us plenty of new glimpses of magic. In particular, it showed us that we might have access to unforgivable curses such as the Cruciatus Curse in the game. Crucio is essentially a curse that allows you to torture whomever or whatever you use it on – it's very much of the Dark Arts side of magic and as the name suggests, hard to forget and even harder to forgive in the world of Harry Potter. 

Check it out for yourself in the trailer below: 

"Should you choose to befriend Slytherin student Sebastian Sallow, you will be faced with the decision to embrace or reject the Dark Arts as you uncover his family's mystery through his companion quest line," the trailer's YouTube description reads. "Will you choose to learn this dark magic? 

Dune: Awakening was announced today during Gamescom's Opening Night Live event. While details on the game are scant, the trailer revealed it's an open-world MMO, and a beta sign-up is available now. 

The trailer tells us little to nothing about the game. It shows a character staring down onto a vast desert while narration waxes poetic about overcoming fear. Then, a giant sandworm comes forth from the ground below, and our character jumps down to face the gigantic beast. Check out the trailer below:

While the trailer didn't reveal much, a press release distributed after the fact did. Here's what it had to say:

With over three million copies sold, 2014's Lords of the Fallen was destined for a sequel. Publisher CI Games has long desired to bring a follow-up to market, but those plans haven't gone as planned, and the sequel bounced between several development studios before landing at Hexworks. During today's Opening Night Live festivities for Gamescom, we were treated to our first look at Hexworks' The Lords of the Fallen through a violent three-minute cinematic trailer that highlights the differences between the realms of the living and dead.

Set one thousand years after the original, The Lords of the Fallen is designed with cooperative play in mind, allowing two players to experience uninterrupted online play. A press release describes the game as an "expansive RPG experience filled with NPC quests, compelling characters, and rich narrative." The world is also said to be five times larger and interconnected. The focus is once again on soulslike combat, said to be faster than the precursor game with a touch of "devastating magic."

At Gamescom Opening Night Live, Sony revealed a controller for PlayStation 5 called the DualSense Edge. This wireless controller is said to be ultra customizable and designed for high performance. The teaser video for the controller shows different analog sticks and custom profiles for players.

The DualSense Edge also has a unique schematic that sets it apart from the other PlayStation 5 controllers on the market. More details will soon be revealed on PlayStation Blog.

Gamescom Opening Night Live kicked off with the reveal of Everywhere, the ambitious debut title by former Leslie Benzies' (formerly of Rockstar) Build a Rocket Boy Games. 

Everywhere’s reveal trailer showed a montage of disparate gameplay and art styles, from more cartoony racing to sci-fi to realistic human characters. As its name implies, Everywhere hopes to offer a variety of experiences both user-created and otherwise. Its newly launched website offers this description:

“Everywhere seamlessly blends gameplay, adventure, creativity and discovery in an all-new multi-world gaming experience that redefines how players connect with one another and with the digital world around them.”

“Our intent has always been to push the boundaries of what a videogame can be while still delivering an innovative player-first experience,” said Benzies. “The team we’ve built and the partners we’ve made since our founding are coalescing around the unique vision we’re bringing to life. It’s exciting to be a part of, and we can’t wait to reveal more about Everywhere in coming months.”

Everywhere is slated to arrive in 2023, though no platforms were specified.

Today’s Destiny 2 Showcase brought us a wealth of new info about the ongoing living game. Longtime fans as well as potential newcomers have a lot to be excited about. We got a glimpse of the upcoming February expansion, entitled Lightfall, new information on the upcoming green-hued Strand subclasses, and an early sense of what to expect from the new season launching today, called the Season of Plunder. That’s along with a host of changes coming to the core game experience.

Lightfall will arrive on February 28, 2023. The expansion represents the “beginning of the end” of the Light and Darkness Saga that has been unfolding for many years now. In the story, Calus returns from his communion with The Witness, and takes his reformed army, called the Shadow Legion, and overtakes Neptune. We learn that ever since the Collapse, a separate branch of humanity has been flourishing on the distant planet, including within a neon-lit city called Neomuna. The city is protected by a warrior caste called the Cloudstriders, who fulfill a similar goal for the Neptune civilization as the Guardians do on Earth.

Bungie announced that Destiny 2 is heading to the Epic Games Store beginning today. The new partnership with Epic also means that the series will be invading two of the publisher's most popular multiplayer games: Fortnite and Fall Guys. 

You can download Destiny 2 on the Epic Store right now, and those that do before August 30 can claim the 30th Anniversary Pack for free. This pack, which was released last December for $24.99, contains the Gjallarhorn Exotic Rocket Launcher, Thorn armor set, a new three-player dungeon, in addition to other goodies. 

Today at 5 p.m. Pacific, Fortnite players can purchase the skins of Ikora, Zavala, and the Exo Stranger, their weapons, and can even drop into the island atop a Sparrow. A new Fortnite island inspired by the Javelin-4 Crucible map is available now and features control-style gameplay. On the flip side, Fortnite ornament sets can be obtained in Destiny 2. 

On September 17, Destiny 2 invades Fall Guys with Guardian-inspired cosmetics, spicy ramen celebration emote, and other accessories. 

Will you be picking up Destiny 2 on the Epic Store, or donning your favorite Guardian's outfit in Fortnite/Fall Guys? Let us know in the comments!

A Nintendo Treehouse Live is set to air this week, and it will focus on fleshing out more of Splatoon 3's offerings and provide a new look at the upcoming Harvestella. The event takes place on Thursday, August 25, at 9:30 a.m. Pacific/12:30 p.m. Eastern and airs on Nintendo's YouTube channel. 

Splatoon 3, which recently had a dedicated Direct presentation, gets another spotlight focusing on its single-player campaign. Nintendo promises a “deep-dive” look at the story mode, which has only been lightly touched on up to this point. Additionally, the presentation will unveil the arenas available in the Splatfest World Premiere demo that goes live on August 27.

We’ll also see fresh gameplay for Harvestella, Square Enix’s promising-looking action RPG meets farming simulator that arrives to Switch (and PC) on November 4. 

Based on a recent Instagram post on the official PlayStation account, we can finally pin down a launch period for the highly-anticipated PSVR2: "Coming early 2023." You can see the corresponding tweet below.

Coming early 2023. #PSVR2 pic.twitter.com/R3MwWVPyNt

— PlayStation UK (@PlayStationUK) August 22, 2022

While the announcement is relatively brief, we do know PSVR2 will release with over 20 major first-party and third-party games, including new titles like Horizon: Call of the Mountain and ports of Resident Evil Village, No Man's Sky, and The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners Ch. 2. Additionally, the system boasts new orb-like controllers with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers (like the DualSense), a single cord setup with PlayStation 5 consoles for ease-of-access, a see-through view, and better resolution/tracking – we're talking two different modes of visual fidelity. 

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: EA Sports
Developer: EA Tiburon
Release: August 19, 2022

In Madden NFL 23, developer EA Tiburon focused on the fundamentals: authentic 11v11 football and cleaning up many of the bugs that plagued previous Madden iterations. The result is a small step forward for the franchise and a strong foundation to build on.

The most significant changes in Madden NFL 23 are under the surface. The team at EA calls it FieldSense, a shift to more physics-based interactions on the field. In practice, it’s a mostly positive change. Running the ball between bodies is chaotic and violent, true to the real-world game. There are occasional issues; would-be tacklers tend to slide off whoever is running the ball like they are coated in Teflon, for example. The way defenses wrap up opponents and how ball carriers fight for extra yards feels authentic, but the high frequency of fumbles on these plays needs adjustment. It’s imperfect but a solid first implementation of a system that should improve in future iterations.

The Game Awards will return for its 9th annual show this December. 

More specifically, The Game Awards 2022 will air live on Thursday, December 8, 2022 and as expected, it will be an in-person live show that's livestreamed to 40 different digital platforms worldwide, including YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok Live. The show is aiming to break its own records again this year after reaching new heights in viewership with The Game Awards 2021, which reached an audience of 85 million people. 

The show will also feature a new category for Best Adaptation, which is "a category to recognize creative work that authentically adapts video game intellectual property to other popular media, including but not limited to theatrical movies, streaming shows, podcasts, novels, and comic books." 

Ember Lab's breakout action-adventure hit, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, is turning one next month, and the team has a big Anniversary Update in the works to celebrate it. 

That update will hit PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC versions of the game on Tuesday, September 27, and it will be free to all players. And speaking of PC, the game will debut on Steam (it was previously exclusive to the Epic Games Store) the same day, too. Both PC versions and the PlayStation versions of Kena: Bridge of Spirits will get the Anniversary Update next month, and it will include New Game+, new Charmstones, Spirit Guide Trials, Kena Outfits, accessibility features, and more. 

Check out the Anniversary Update trailer below: 

"As our debut game, Kena: Bridge of Spirits meant so much to us," Ember Lab's Josh Grier writes in a press release. "We're really excited to give fans new ways to experience Kena. One of the features we're most excited bout is New Game+, which will allow players who've completed the game to restart Kena's journey with all of their previously unlocked abilities, upgrades, outfits, Rot, etc. and take on redesigned and more challenging combat encounters. We can't wait to see new and existing players take on the new content." 

Here's a breakdown of the new content in the Anniversary Update straight from Ember Labs: 

Reviewed on: Xbox Series X/S
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Deep Silver
Developer: Volition
Release: August 23, 2022
Rating: Mature

The Saints Row reboot features a new cast of characters and a different location to explore, but its heart and soul haven’t changed: Players can once again expect an exciting crime fest, giggle-worthy humor, purple splattered everywhere, and an open-world chock full of things to do and secrets to unearth. The game also has a knack for blowing everything up. In other words, it is great fun in that traditional Saints Row way and even better when experienced with a friend.

The Pokémon Company and Nintendo have released a new trailer for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, and it showcases a new pocket monster and a few new moves targeted at the competitive play community. 

Released as the finale to the Pokémon World Championship held in London (watch our vlog of it here) over the past few days, the trailer is focused on battles, which makes sense given the nature of the event. In it, we get a look at a new Pokémon, Cyclizar, which looks very reminiscent of the two primary legendaries of this generation, Koraidon and Miraidon. Koraidon is the Scarlet legendary, and it seems rooted in the past whereas Miraidon, the Violet legendary, seems very futuristic. Perhaps Cyclizar represents the present. Only time will tell. 

Check out the trailer for yourself below: 

Beyond Cyclizar, the trailer also reveals a few new moves and items: 

HBO dropped the first glimpse of footage from its upcoming series, The Last of Us, in a surprise promotional trailer yesterday. 

The trailer runs roughly two minutes and it features new looks at shows like Succession, The White Lotus, House of the Dragon, and more. But then, at the 1:40-min mark, the trailer transitions its hype to The Last of Us. It's clear HBO is aware how excited people are for this series as it's given its own extended spotlight in the trailer. 

Check it out for yourself below: 

As you can see, not only do we get our first glimpse of footage from The Last of Us, but we also get to hear Bella Ramsey's Ellie for the first time as well as Pedro Pascal's Joel (and both are saying some pretty iconic lines from the game). What's more, we get a look at Nick Offerman's Bill and a quick shot of a clicker (well, a dead one that's grown to become part of a wall). 

Here are some screenshots from the trailer if you're after a closer look:

We visited London for the Pokémon World Championships to grab a behind-the-scenes tour and a look at new and upcoming Pokémon merch like The Wand Company's Quick Ball and Cherish Ball replicas. We also visited the London Pokémon Center Pop-Up Shop featuring British Pikachu plushies, exclusive trading card game coins, and stylish merch.

Watch the latest Game Informer vlog:

 

Let’s rock, baby! Season 6 of Video Gameography gets stylish as we examine the Devil May Cry series! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be covering the history and lore of Capcom’s premiere action franchise. Today we examine the franchise's boldest, most divisive, but arguably strongest entry yet in DmC Devil May Cry. 

Desiring to shake up the series, Capcom turned to British studio Ninja Theory to reboot and reimagine Devil May Cry. Encouraged by the publisher to be as wildly creative as possible, the team behind Heavenly Sword and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West dreamed up a grittier version of Dante who inhabits Limbo City, a world existing in parallel with the demonic realm. This relationship spectacularly manifests in the city itself coming to life, shifting its buildings and roads to hinder and assault the demon slayer. 

Sporting jet black hair and the ability to tap into angelic and demonic powers, this new vision of Dante garnered heaps of vitriol from fans who saw DmC as too drastic of a departure, despite the game launching to rave reviews. In this episode, we'll examine how DmC came to be, the role Capcom played in the game's wildest ideas, Hideaki Itsuno's reaction to the project, the backlash Ninja Theory endured, and give our overall impressions of the narrative and gameplay. 

In this episode of The Game Informer Show, returning guests Jesse Vitelli and Shawn Thomas – two of my favorite battle royale squadmates – join us to talk about Fortnite. We review the Dragon Ball Super update, chat about why the Goku and Vegeta skins look a little off, and discuss how we'd like to see Fortnite change. We also reminisce about the game's early years and explain why we love it. 

Follow us on social media: Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken), Wesley LeBlanc (@LeBlancWes), Jesse Vitelli (@JesseVitelli), Shawn Thomas (@XShawnThomas)

If you're wondering what games are coming up in 2022, we've put them all in one convenient location. This list will be continually updated to act as a living, breathing schedule as new dates are announced, titles are delayed, and big reveals happen. This should help you plan out your next several months in gaming and beyond.

As the gaming calendar is constantly changing, we highly recommend you bookmark this page. You'll likely find yourself coming back to this to find out the most recent release schedule for the most anticipated games across PC, consoles, handhelds, and mobile devices. If you notice that we've missed something, feel free to let us know! Please note that games will not get assigned to a month until they have confirmed release dates.

This week on All Things Nintendo, Brian is joined by a duo of guests to talk about four recently released games for Switch. But first, Brian and Game Informer's Wesley LeBlanc run down the news, including games like Wave Race 64, Overwatch 2, and plenty more. Then, stick around for the final segment as Brian is joined by Game Informer's Margaret Andrews for Definitive Ranking and eShop Gem of the Week.

If you'd like to follow the people from this episode on Twitter, hit the following links: Brian Shea (@brianpshea), Wesley LeBlanc (@LeBlancWes), Margaret Andrews (@sopheava) 

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!

MultiVersus was the best-selling game in the U.S. last month, despite being a free-to-play title, due to its premium Founder’s Pack. 

The Founder’s Packs for MultiVersus came in three forms: a $39.99 standard edition, a $59.99 Deluxe edition, and a $99.99 Premium edition. These packs could be purchased to grant players things like character tokens for instant fighter unlocks, exclusive banners, and the premium in-game currency, Gleamium. It seems these packs sold extremely well in the U.S. as they brought in enough money to make MultiVersus the best-selling title in the U.S. in July, according to the latest NPD numbers. 

Mat Piscatella, the executive director of The NPD Group, which is a video game sales and trends analyst group, released his monthly thread on the video game market for the month prior, this time for July 2022. As a result, we know the top 10 best-selling games in the U.S. last month (digital sales not included): 

1. MultiVersus
2. Elden Ring
3. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
4. Xenoblade Chronicles 3
5. Call of Duty: Vanguard
6. MLB: The Show 22
7. Mario Kart 8
8. Digimon Survive
9. Minecraft
10. F1 22

You can check out the full list, which includes 20 games, here: 

Sega announced the Sega Genesis Mini 2 back in July, giving it an October 27, 2022 release date too. At the time, the company revealed some of the titles packed into the miniature console but now, we have the full list of all 60 games. 

For the first time ever, titles from the Sega CD era will be playable on Genesis Mini hardware, according to Sega, and new ports and previously unreleased games have also been added to the lineup. 

Here’s the lineup of bonus titles, but feel free to scroll down if you’re looking for the full list of all 60 games: 

 

As expected, the Dragon Ball Adventure creative island is now live in Fortnite, and you can glide your way onto it right now. 

Once there, players can explore iconic Dragon Ball locations like Kami’s Palace, Goku’s house, and the Room of Spirit & Time. Plus, players can duke it out in the PvP battle arena, “Tenkaichi Budokai.” 

On this episode of From Panel to Podcast we dive into last week's books, giving you a rundown of the best stories that you should add to your pull list. We also highlight the comics that are releasing this week and provide insight into why you may want to pick them up.

If you would like to follow us on Twitter: Andrew Reiner (@Andrew_Reiner) and Philip Hoff (@bnow23).

From Panel to Podcast is a weekly show created by two lifelong comic book readers who offer suggestions on which comic books you should be reading each week. Each episode also dives into the latest developments for comics in video games, movies, and television shows. We'll even discuss comic book collectibles and anything we think you should know about that pertains to this entertainment medium.

Be sure to subscribe to From Panel to Podcast on your favorite podcast platform. The show is available on Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

High On Life, the upcoming first-person shooter from Justin Roiland's Squanch Games, has been delayed. 

Originally due out this October, High On Life will now hit Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC on December 13, 2022. It joins various other games delayed this week like Planet of Lana and Evil West, and for a similar reason: the team needs more time to make this game the best it can be. 

Here's the studio's statement about the delay, in full: 

"We have good news and bad news. Feel free to choose the option you'd prefer to read first; we won't meddle with your free will. 

• The Good News: High On Life is still coming in 2022! The team at Squanch Games is working hard towards developing the best gaming experience to hit your screens, and a little extra time to squash some bugs never hurts. With that in mind, our new launch date is set to December 13, 2022. 

• The Bad News: It's a game delay, sorry! Because we're making you wait an additional 6-ish weeks, please accept the linked animation as an apology. 

"High On Life will be available via Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Windows PCs, Day One on Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, and through Xbox Cloud Gaming. Thank you for your continued patience and support." 

As for the linked animation mentioned in the statement above, it's what you can watch below: 

Blizzard released the third Diablo IV Quarterly Update for 2022. Unlike the last one, which focused on the Necromancer class, today's is all about seasonal content and the team's post-launch plans. 

The studio says it's aware fans loved Seasons in Diablo II: Resurrected and Diablo III and have asked for even more seasonal support. Diablo IV will feature Seasons, and the first will be available soon after launch. Plus, Blizzard will have a team dedicated to Seasons that will bring players up to four seasons a year, each with major new features, questlines, enemies, legendary items, and more. 

"Diablo IV's Seasons are modeled after those of Diablo III," the blog reads. "When a new season begins, all the characters from the prior season are moved to the Eternal Realm, where you can keep playing, leveling up, and collecting loot. To play in the new season, you'll create a fresh character and experience seasonal features and content while leveling up alongside other players. 

"This, along with capping paragon points in Diablo IV, ensures that your effort and skill – measured by both dexterity and theorycrafting – determine how powerful your character becomes. It also allows players who missed the last season to participate. This season design requires that all sources of character power come from playing the game, so you will not be able to pay for power in Diablo IV."

The Entropy Centre is an upcoming first-person sci-fi puzzle adventure game first revealed during the Future Games Showcase back in June. Set to hit PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC this year, this game quickly grabbed my attention when I first saw its reveal trailer. 

It features plenty of Portal vibes, which is always a plus, and a unique premise: turn back time on objects inside an abandoned space station to determine a way to stop Earth and everyone on it from going extinct. If you haven’t yet seen the reveal trailer, give that a watch here. If you’ve already seen that, you’re probably ready to see more gameplay and fortunately, there's plenty to see in this new five-minute gameplay trailer:

Here’s what developer Stubby Games has to say about the game: 

Update, 8/19/22:

That’s a fun headline to read, right? And it’s true because after teasing earlier this week that Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding was coming to PC Game Pass, Xbox announced that it hits the service next week. 

More specifically, Death Stranding will hit PC Game Pass next Tuesday, Aug. 23. Now, this might be somewhat surprising for those not caught up on Death Stranding’s journey from PlayStation 4, to PlayStation 5, and then PC. Sony and PlayStation funded Kojima Productions’ development of Death Stranding, and it’s a PlayStation intellectual property. 

However, a PC port was published by 505 Games, and it seems 505 Games and Kojima Productions are free to determine the whereabouts of the PC port of this game. As such, it’s now coming to PC Game Pass, a service owned by Xbox. Something tells me we won’t be seeing Death Stranding coming to Xbox Game Pass, though. 

“Windows 10/11 PC gamers can expect such features as ultrawide mode, photo mode, high frame rate, and cross-over content from some very well-known franchises,” an Xbox blog post reads. “What’s more, the PC Game Pass Edition of Death Stranding will also include the following items, which are unlockable as you progress through the story: 

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Atlus
Release: August 26, 2022
Rating: Mature

The group of bounty hunters gathers in their favorite bar once more. For the first time, protagonist Ringo pays attention to the lush cherry blossom decoration over the rooftop. Her friends say the real ones are even more beautiful and laugh at the idea of a bunch of Devil Summoners having a picnic and watching the flowers. The friendly mockery leads to a funny yet endearing message: “I think we oughta show Ringo the fun side of being human, don’t you?” Sadly, Soul Hackers 2 doesn’t seem to agree with the sentiment.

Soul Hackers 2 is the sequel to 1997’s Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, an RPG spun from the Shin Megami Tensei series. 25 years later, after games like Persona 5 put the SMT universe in the spotlight, the landscape couldn’t be more different.

Embracer Group is making massive moves. The conglomerate acquired the rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit IPs – more specifically, Middle-earth Enterprises, which owns an extensive collection of “motion pictures, video games, board games, merchandising, theme parks, stage productions,” and the literary works themselves. Moreover, seven studios – Limited Run Games, Singtrix, Tuxedo Labs, Tatsujin, Tripwire Interactive, Bitwave Games, and an undisclosed company within PC/Console gaming have also been acquired. Gioteck, known for its gaming accessories, joined Embracer Group, too. You can see everything in Wario64’s Twitter thread below. 

Embracer Group acquires Limited Run Games https://t.co/tZ0IuGeQR6 pic.twitter.com/qn4EpWprN1

Dead Island 2 is arguably one of the most anticipated games locked behind the fiery gates of development hell. The first game dropped over a decade ago, and ever since, zombie-slaying fans have yearned for a sequel. Well, they're in luck. A Dead Island 2: Day One Edition positing was spotted on Amazon with box art, in-game photos, and a 2023 release date. The new info was taken down, but we made sure to grab the images and extra deets for you. 

Inkulinati is a imagiative strategy game first announced in 2020 that brings the distinct art of medieval manuscripts to life. The game unfolds within the parchment itself as players control humans, animals, and mythical creatures to battle it out in turn-based battles that are equal parts thoughtful and ridiculous. Inkulinati has looked promising every time it’s made an appearance, and we can finally see how it's shaping up thanks to an upcoming early access launch. 

This winter, players can dive into Inkulinati on Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Preview. The game puts you in the role of Inkulinati, a being capable of using the magical Living Ink to bring illustrations to life. The irreverent battles unfold within an open book as players command units to strategically slice, bludgeon, and even fart opponents into submission to clear the way and topple the opposing Inkulinati. 

In addition to recruiting humans, rabbits, cats, snails, and other critters, you can enlist the aid of real-life literary figures such as Dante Alighieri. Each unit sports its own unique traits with more team members unlocked by playing. Stages promote different playstyles, with some requiring a more tactical approach and others a more aggressive assault. The game features a single-player campaign, and you can challenge friends in 1-on-1 battles.

A new interview sheds light on Just Cause developer Avalanche Studio's canceled open-world Iron Man game, rumored to be in the works a decade ago before getting axed in 2012. 

MinnMax's Ben Hanson interviewed Christofer Sundberg, co-founder of Avalance, who has since left the studio to start a new company, Liquid Sword. During the interview, Hansen asked Sundberg about the fate of the Iron Man project, which Sundberg revealed as being in development for a year and a half to two years before being canceled due to what he describes as "company politics."

Sundberg reveals that Disney wanted Avalanche to rapidly expand its staff to finish the game under a shortened development timeline. However, he refused, explaining that doing so would have put a massive strain on the studio.  

"It was, I was a mess by the end," says Sundberg. "Shortening development time, increasing budgets. We would have to hire 70-80 people to the team that I would have had the responsibility to find a new project for, but the development time was shortened down so much. It would have broken the studio completely if we agreed to that." 

He continues by saying, "At the end of a project, when the team is scaling down, that's when you find [a] new project. With one year of development time cut from the original plan, I had one year less to find a new project for a big development team which would have been impossible. And hiring all those developers would have been a nightmare. So it was for the best"