IGN

In what might be one of the most amusing "I got a new job" posts ever, Halo Infinite lead narrative designer Aaron Linde has announced that he's leaving 343 Industries and joining Riot Games.

Linde announced the news via Twitter, in a tongue-in-cheek video riffing on the "on the next episode" bookends of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Check it out below.

I forgot to cancel my Adobe Premiere trial so this tweet cost me $30. Anyway I'm thrilled to report I'm joining Riot R&D! https://t.co/jQeC3LbMaW

— Aaron Linde (@aaronlinde) January 3, 2022

"Bittersweet news to report: I'm departing 343 Industries to pursue a new opportunity in 2022," Linde said in subsequent tweets. "It was a terrifically difficult decision; Halo Infinite will remain one of the proudest achievements of my career for the rest of my life. I'm so grateful to have been a part of it. I want to thank my dear colleagues at 343 for making the best game I've ever worked on, our incredible voice cast for elevating our work in every single line delivery, and our players for joining us on this wild-ass journey. You made 2021 an incredibly special year for me."

Linde is joining Riot Games' research and development division, where the company workshops new game ideas. Riot recently released two new games late last year (The Ruined King and Hextech Mayhem) and similarly revealed future projects like Conv/rgence and Song of Nunu.

Ken Levine, the acclaimed video game developer behind the BioShock series, began work on his next project with his studio Ghost Story Games around eight years ago. Since then, according to reports from Bloomberg, the game has allegedly entered "development hell" and has seen multiple reboots and changes in direction.

Levine's current project at Ghost Story, which has yet to be officially announced or given a firm release date, has taken much longer than his previous works, including the year-and-a-half it took to develop System Shock 2 and the roughly five years it took to finish BioShock. Obviously, video game development is immensely challenging and each project comes with its own unique challenges, but 15 current and former employees of Ghost Story Games say this is something more - and part of it is due to Levine's leadership style.

Following the closure of Irrational Games in 2014 and the start of Ghost Story Games, the new team began working on a premise Levine was calling a "narrative LEGO." He wanted to create a game that would make sure every person's experience was a unique one. This meant characters reacting differently based on the player's actions and different scenarios playing out each time depending on what was chosen before.

After announcing it last October during its SDC21 keynote presentation, Samsung has finally announced its new cloud gaming platform for TVs.

As part of its CES 2022 announcements, Samsung's Gaming Hub is a new platform service aimed at the ability to play video games on your TV without a game console or gaming PC. Samsung confirmed that Nvidia's GeForce Now, Google Stadia, and Utomik will serve as launch partners for the Gaming Hub, with all three services powered by Tizen, Samsung's Linux-based mobile operating system with more services expected to arrive in the future.

A cancelled Game Boy Color add-on called the Page Boy has been uncovered and, had it been released, it would have brought with it messaging, web browsing, and even an early form of Nintendo Directs to Nintendo's beloved handheld.

Video game historian Liam Robertson shared the details of this lost Game Boy Color add-on in a new Game History Secrets video on DidYouKnowGaming? and revealed the story of how it came to be and, ultimately, how it ended up being shelved in 2002.

While Rockstar Games is known best for the Grand Theft Auto series, Bully - its game about a juvenile delinquent student named James "Jimmy" Hopkins rising through the ranks of Bullworth Academy - is just as highly regarded by some. Many had hoped a sequel would be on its way, and although it has yet to happen, former Rockstar developers have revealed the details of the time they tried to make that dream come true.

Game Informer spoke to five of these former employees from Rockstar's New England studio - the team that was actually working on Bully 2 in the late 2000s - and they shared why this game never... well... graduated and made its way into the world.

Rockstar Vancouver was the team behind the original Bully, but Rockstar New England was entrusted to work on this sequel. They were excited to prove themselves worthy as Rockstar had recently purchased them when they were still known as Mad Doc Software.

While they wanted to be the "golden child in the Rockstar thing," it was hard to escape the shadow of Rockstar North - the main studio behind the Grand Theft Auto games.

“[Rockstar New England] wanted to be sort of the golden child in the Rockstar thing, but it’s really hard when Rockstar North was the one that was producing all the golden eggs at that time,” one developer says. “Living in the shadows of someone who casts a big shadow like Rockstar North, and trying to usurp that role, it’s really difficult and nearly impossible. But man, did they try. Oh, did they try.”

Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki has revealed why he has yet to play Bluepoint's remake of Demon's Souls and how the team at FromSoftware was so impressed by the game's visuals that they felt extra pressure when developing Elden Ring for PS5.

As reported by VGC, Miyazaki was interviewed by Edge magazine and shared that the Demon's Souls remake's focus on graphical fidelity was not something FromSoftware puts as a top priority on, and that's why his team - specifically the graphics creation staff - felt this extra pressure after the remake was released. However, that doesn't mean they aren't up for the challenge and Miyzaki has all the faith in the world in his team.

"And not just with Elden Ring, but with all the games we make," Miyazaki said. "Graphical fidelity is not something we put as the top priority. What we ask for on the graphics side depends on the systems and requirements of the game itself, and it takes less priority compared to the other elements of development.

“So this is always an area where I feel a little bit apologetic towards my graphics team because I know they work extremely hard. And they’ve worked extremely hard on Elden Ring – our graphics-systems team and our programmers have been pushing a lot of new features to create the best-looking games we’ve ever made.”

He then explained why he has yet to play the Demon's Souls remake, despite the original being another game he was the director of. What it boils down to, according to Miyazaki, is that he is not a fan of replaying his old work.

Before the Harry Potter franchise became the global phenomenon it is today, Electronic Arts was in the process of making a MMO based on its world. However, it appears it was cancelled in the early 2000s because the company didn't believe "that the IP would have a shelf life longer than a year or two."

As reported by Polygon, EA's former director of product marketing Kim Salzer discussed this Harry Potter MMO that was in development between 2000 and 2003 (before the release of the series' sixth book - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released!) on a Twitch stream that her current firm - Orignal Gamer Life - hosted.

Imagine a Harry Potter MMO...

It almost happened but #EA cancelled it. They did the research and even a beta version of the game, but didn't think Harry Potter was going to be around more than a few years.#harrypotter #hogwarts #voldemort #mmo #metaverse #multiverse pic.twitter.com/bt5u6YQ2oe

Chicory: A Colorful Tale creator Greg Lobanov has teased that he and his team are officially working on a new game with a GIF of an adorable, hopping two-legged fox creature that I'd like to be my new best friend.

Lobanov shared the news on Twitter just one minute before 2021 became 2022, saying this announcement was a long time coming.

been waiting a long time to let everyone know:

I'm working on something new with the chicory team :)

I can't wait to talk more about it!!!!! hope to share details in 2022 pic.twitter.com/jcWFXetjvs

— Greg Lobanov (@GregLobanov) January 1, 2022

"Been waiting a long time to let everyone know: I'm working on something new with the chicory team =)," Lobanov wrote. "I can't wait to talk more about it!!!!! hope to share details in 2022."

The accompanying GIF of the aforementioned fox creature - which may or may not be part of the new game - is also featured on a job page for a Creature Concept Artist for this new project.

The job description itself gives a few more teases as to what this game may be, as this role is meant for someone that has, among other things, 'designs with lots of character/personality" and "interest in & inspiration from real world animals/biology."

GoldenEye 007, the legendary N64 game from Rare that is one of the most beloved multiplayer experiences for many around the world, may be getting a new life on Xbox after Achievements have been spotted for the game online.

TrueAchievements, a website that tracks Xbox Achievement activity, recently picked up an Achievement list for Goldeneye 007 which had never been seen before. There are 55 Achievements that are worth a total of 1,000 Gamerscore, and that is another hint this may be a new port.

As many may remember, there was an updated version of GoldenEye 007 being developed for Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade that was just about finished before it was canceled due to licensing issues. Back then, XBLA games had a limit of 200 Gamerscore, so seeing GoldenEye 007 with 1,000 Gamerscore is an interesting development.

Furthermore, TrueAchievements' website also reveals that there are only two Xbox accounts that have earned any of these achievements - BIGsheep and xtinamcgrath. By searching for these names, it appears that BIGsheep and xtinamcgrath are Rare employees James Thomas and Christina McGrath.

While this doesn't necessarily mean that a new port of GoldenEye 007 on Xbox consoles is imminent, it is an exciting prospect for fans as we begin the new year.

Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda has begun 2022 by writing a New Year's letter that is focused on the companies growing focus on NFTs, blockchain games, and the metaverse.

Matsuda began the letter by wishing everyone a Happy New Year and saying how the metaverse was "a hot topic in 2021, inspiring a lively global conversation first about what the metaverse is and then about what sort of business opportunities it presents."

He then noted Facebook's name change to Meta and how that was just one piece of "evidence that the concept is not a mere buzzword but here to stay" and that this attention caused 2021 to be dubbed the "Metaverse Year."

Thanks to advances in "extended reality (XR) technology, the increasing prevalence of the cloud and 5G, more sophisticated blockchain technology, and other technological evolutions that have taken place in a variety of fields over the past several years," Matsuda believes that the metaverse will "likely see a meaningful transition to a business phase in 2022, with a wide range of services appearing on the scene."

"As this abstract concept begins to take concrete shape in the form of product and service offerings, I am hoping that it will bring about changes that have a more substantial impact on our business as well," Matsuda said.

As 2021 and the holiday season come to a close, the Epic Games Store has one more treat up its sleeve. Until January 6, Tomb Raider: Game of the Year Edition, Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition will all available for free to anyone with an Epic Games account.

The Epic Games Store giving out free games is nothing new as it does so every week, but this final gift in 2021 is something special as it offers the complete Tomb Raider reboot trilogy to anyone with an Epic Games Account. No strings attached.

By looking at the current prices listed on the Epic Games Store for these games, you are looking at a savings of $90 by adding these to your collection this way.

The offer ends on January 6 at 11am, so head to the store before then if you wish to try out the highly regarded trilogy that brought Lara Croft back to modern consoles beginning in 2013.

In our Tomb Raider review, we said that it "is a superb action game that brings a new emotional dimension to one of gaming's most enduring icons, and repositions her alongside Nathan Drake at the top of gaming's action-hero heirarchy."

Joe Ziegler, who was part of the Valorant team for eight years and served as game director, has left his role to work on a new, secret project at Riot Games.

Ziegler shared the announcement on Valorant's website, saying that, "it is with a heart full of gratitude and a deep excitement that I come to you today with news."

"After 8 years of working on VALORANT, building it from the ground up with a team of dedicated and passionate developers who’ve worked tirelessly to serve you all with the respect and admiration that you deserve, I am giving up the mantle of game director of the VALORANT tac-shooter to my good friend, Andy Ho," Ziegler said.

Ho had the position of Senior Director, Game Direction since June 2017 and Ziegler promises that this transition will keep Valorant in great hands.

"Andy is someone who I am proud to say has put many years of his own into VALORANT, and whose personal dedication to deliver to the highest standards inspires all who work with him," Ziegler said. "He has my full faith and trust that he will continue to grow and evolve VALORANT year-over-year to become even better than what I could imagine it to be.

He then gave a bit of a tease as to what he will be working on next - a new, secret project at Riot Games.

"As for me, I’ll be starting something new (*wink, secrets…) in the hopes that we can even scratch the surface of the amazing impact VALORANT has already had so far," Ziegler said.

The Nintendo Switch has been a wonderful home for Indie Games of all shapes and sizes, and 2021 was no different. In celebration of the year that was, Nintendo has shared which of these creative and special indie games were the best-selling on its latest console.

Nintendo shared this list of best-selling Indie Games as part of its latest Indie World video presentation, and there are some truly wonderful choices, including Spelunky 2, Unpacking, Axiom Verge 2, Cyber Shadow, Tetris Effect: Connected, and many more.

The games themselves are not ranked, so we don't know which of the 15 indie games sold the best, but it does give players around the world a glimpse as to what resonated the most with Switch owners in 2022.

The full list of the best-selling indie games of 2021 on Nintendo Switch are as follows;

• Axiom Verge 2
• Curse of the Dead Gods
• Cyber Shadow
• Doki Doki Literature Club
• Eastward
• Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights
• Islanders: Console Edition
• Littlewood
• Road 96
• Slime Rancher: Plortable Edition
• Spelunky 2
• Stick Fight: The Game
• Subnautica + Subnautica: Below Zero
• Tetris Effect: Connected
• Unpacking

We already have an idea of some of the games that will be up for this honor in 2022, as December 2021's Indie World Showcase gave a preview of some of the experiences arriving on Switch next year, inclduing Sea of Stars, River City Girls, Omori, AfterLove EP, OlliOlli World, and more.

Just in time for the release of the series' fourth season on Netflix, The Cobra Kai Set is now available in Fortnite.

The set adds 10 new outfits, each of which can be altered to represent the dojo of your choosing: Cobra Kai, Eagle Fang, or Miyagi-Do. The five male and five female outfits are available in two separate bundles for 2,000 V-Bucks ($20 USD) each. Alternatively, individual outfits can be purchased for 800 V-Bucks ($8 USD).

Strike first. Strike hard. No mercy.

Rep your favorite Cobra Kai Dojo with the new Cobra Kai Set! pic.twitter.com/4YHsbpnyan

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) December 31, 2021

Also available in the set are a number of new accessories — Teachings of Miyagi Back Bling, Cobra Coin Back Bling, Dojo Logo Pickaxe, and Cobra’s Curse Pickaxe — as well as the Karate Kid's signature Crane Kick emote. All the new gear can be purchased as a bundle for 1,500 V-Bucks ($15 USD), while individual accessory prices range from 200-800 V-Bucks ($2-8 USD)

Cobra Kai: Season 4 hit Netflix on New Year's Eve. IGN reviewer Amelia Emberwing awarded the latest season a 7/10, calling it "an imperfect transition to Netflix production, but an admirable continuation to the series none the less."

IGN’s Top 100 games list encompasses the best of the best throughout history, spanning generations of consoles, PCs, handhelds, and more. Our list last saw a major update back in 2019, and since then, there have been several games released that deserved to be added. Just as importantly, we looked at the totality of the top 100 as it stood and asked ourselves a few key questions. This lead to some beloved games dropping off, and other games we previously missed being added.

Games in our top 100 have to measure up to a few key metrics: how great a game it was when it launched, how fun it is to still play today, and how much the game reflects the best in its class. While past versions of this list have put a big emphasis on a game’s impact and influence, we’ve essentially taken that out of the equation. Many games that left a mark and inspired future developers may not stand the test of time and be all that fun to play right now. Or, quite simply, they may have been surpassed by other games.

With all of that said, IGN’s list reflects the current staff’s 100 best games of all time - a collection of games that continue to captivate us with their stories, wow us with their revelatory approach to game design, and set the standards for the rest of the industry.

On the eve of a new year, it's time to look ahead. Join Cardy, Alex, and Jesse as they go through all of the big games, films, and TV shows coming in 2022. There's a lot to be excited about so settle in.

Why not let us know what you're looking forward to the most? Feel free to sling us an email at ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.

IGN UK Podcast #625: The Big 2022 Preview

• IGN UK Podcast #624: Alternative Movie and TV Awards 2021
• IGN UK Podcast #623: Alternative Game Awards 2021
• IGN UK Podcast #622: Sucking on Chocolate is Wonderful
• IGN UK Podcast #621: West Side Story of Bungalow Bill
• IGN UK Podcast #620: Resident Evil - Welcome to the Sinnoh Region

Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai is known for sometimes playing two characters in Smash Bros. simultaneously, against himself. He's done this multiple times before, including in a Nintendo Direct to show off Banjo and Kazooie. But while this is an admittedly goofy way to play Smash, Sakurai hinted recently that he might also play other games like this, too. Like It Takes Two, for example.

When It Takes Two won Game of the Year at The Game Awards, Sakurai posted on his Twitter, suggesting it might be possible to play It Takes Two by oneself, with two controllers. The co-op game has some pretty tricky coordinated puzzling and boss fights, but given how complex Smash can be (especially when you're, you know, the creator of the series trying to look pristine on a Nintendo Direct), it seems entirely possible Sakurai managed it.

The Game Award 2021を獲得した『It Takes Two』。
ふたり専用ゲームであることが最大の障壁だけど、ひとりでできなくもない…かも? pic.twitter.com/xb2WtE8Fvn

Steam has released its Best of 2021 lists and, while it doesn't rank the top games in each category, they do reveal which games were the most played, sold the best, and much more.

Steam's Best of 2021 lists include Top Sellers, New Releases, Most Played, Early Access Grads, Best of VR, and Controller Friendly; and games like Valheim, New World, Halo Infinite, Battlefield 2042, PUBG, Counter-Strike and Grand Theft Auto V appear in multiple categories.

The Top Sellers category features the top 100 games as measured by gross revenue and places each one into the Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze tier; but it does not detail how much a game has to earn for it to qualify for a new level. The Platinum Top Sellers, in alphabetical order, are as follows;

Microsoft's all-digital Xbox Series S is available now at Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, and Gamestop. Best Buy, Gamestop, and Walmart have the Fortnite and Rocket League bundle in stock, which comes with 1,000 V-Bucks, and 1,000 Rocket League credits for no additional cost. Meanwhile, at Amazon, just the standard version is in stock.

The Xbox Series S may not be as flashy or powerful as its big sibling, the Xbox Series X, but it still plays Xbox exclusives like Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 with solid results. It's also the most readily available next-gen console, so if you have some Christmas money lying around, this is a great item to use it on.

Xbox Series S Available Now at Multiple Retailers

Due in part to the sheer number of games delayed out of 2021, 2022 has inherited one of the most promising video game lineups in recent memory.

Over 100 games are already scheduled for 2022, and with the new year fast approaching, we’re highlighting the most promising projects on the horizon, from tentpole first-party titles like Breath of the Wild 2, God of War Ragnarok, and Starfield to much-anticipated multiplatform releases such as Elden Ring, Hogwarts Legacy, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

There’s a lot to look forward to in the year ahead, so let’s dive in. These are the 48 biggest games coming in 2022, listed chronologically by release date.

Only games with officially announced 2022 release dates/windows were considered for this list. Seasonal (e.g., Spring, Fall) release windows are based on the Northern Hemisphere.

Rainbow Six Extraction

Ubisoft kicks off 2022 with Rainbow Six Extraction, a PvE spinoff of its ultra-popular shooter Rainbow Six Siege. Built on the foundation of Siege, Extraction pits teams of three against a parasitic alien threat. The shooter saw multiple delays (and a name change) since it was revealed at E3 2019.

2022 is shaping up to be a big year for Nintendo. Not only will it be celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Switch, but we’re also - hopefully - going to hear a whole lot more about Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Splatoon 3, Bayonetta 3, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and, perhaps most exciting, the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. In addition, Mario will once again jump beyond video games to the big screen with Chris Pratt, of all people, taking on the role of the legendary plumber in Super Mario: The Movie.

While that is enough to inspire any fan to yell out “yahoooo!” whether you think Chris Pratt is right for a stocky Italian plumber or not, Nintendo is also known for its big surprises and delivering that which we least expect. Will we hear more about the fabled “Switch Pro”? Will Metroid Prime 4 or the long-rumored Metroid Prime Trilogy finally be revealed? It’s also been quite some time since Super Mario Odyssey was released. Could Nintendo be planning to release its sequel or a brand new experience in step with the upcoming film? The possibilities are truly endless, but let’s take what we know and look ahead to what we can expect from Nintendo in 2022.

The Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the Rumors of a “Switch Pro”

The big question on everyone’s mind going into 2022 is undoubtedly whether the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will actually make its way to the Switch before 2023 begins. As it stands, Nintendo has committed to a 2022 release window, but as we know, an initial release date is never a lock.

Update (12/29/21) - @FortniteStatus has confirmed that "Fortnite game servers are back online and the Winterfest continues!" Furthermore, it looks likes players will be getting a little something extra for the inconvenience.

"We appreciate everyone’s understanding as we worked to resolve these issues and we’ll have more details next week on what we’re doing to help you make up for lost time," The team wrote.

The original story follows.

Fortnite is currently down and Epic has confirmed it is investigating a solution to stability issues that led to the game servers being taken offline.

The Fortnite team shared the unfortunate news on its @FortniteStatus account on Twitter and promised to update players "as soon as more info is available."

Earlier today, Fortnite players began experiencing login, matchmaking, and other issues when trying to play the battle royale game, and the issues quickly became severe enough for Epic to step in and shut down the game as they worked towards a solution.

Server downtime is not uncommon during the holiday season, but it is yet unclear if this particular issue stemmed from an influx of players or something else entirely.

On Christmas Day, the Nintendo Switch eShop was having similar issues and players couldn't create Nintendo Accounts, purchase games, redeem gift cards, or even browse the online store.

Reddit's 2021 recap is out, and based on its data report it looks like Redditors really loved Genshin Impact, Final Fantasy 14, League of Legends, and Grand Theft Auto role-play in 2021.

The most-viewed community for the year was r/genshin_impact, followed by r/leagueoflegends, and then the general gaming hub r/gaming. In fourth place was r/rpclipsgta, a subreddit dedicated to "everything GTA [role-play] related," followed by r/ffxiv, which likely thrived thanks to the anticipation and ultimate release of the Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker expansion in December.

Related to GTA role-playing, Reddit's roundup notes that r/NoPixel -- a subreddit dedicated to a specific GTA RP server -- saw a 267% increase in views year over year. Other subreddits with massive spikes in 2021 included r/pokemonunite (with subscribers up a whopping 8,600% year over year thanks to Unite's launch in July), r/deltarune (subscribers up 328,000% thanks to a new chapter release in September) and r/biomutant (subscribers up 9,500% from last year).

Sony has announced that Persona 5 Strikers, Dirt 5, and Deep Rock Galactic are the PlayStation Plus games for January 2022.

Announced on PlayStation.Blog, these three games will all be available on Tuesday, January 4 until Tuesday, February 1, and are the first PlayStation Plus games for the new year.

Persona 5 Strikers, Deep Rock Galactic, and Dirt 5 are available with PlayStation Plus starting January 4.

Full details: https://t.co/ehw153oCPc pic.twitter.com/BLrE2Zh0vY

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) December 29, 2021

PS4's Persona 5 Strikers is a spin-off that stars Persona 5's Phantom Thieves and picks up just a few months after the end of the original game (sorry Persona 5 Royal fans!). Instead of featuring turn-based combat, the action in Persona 5 Strikers is focused on combo-driven hacking and slashing that is somewhat similar to a musou game, but not quite.

In our Persona 5 Strikers review, we said that its "main story is every bit the direct sequel to Persona 5 that it seems, making this summer road trip with the Phantom Thieves essential for fans of the original (and probably pretty confusing for anybody who hasn't played it)."

With the one-year anniversary of the Xbox Series X and S consoles, 20th birthday of the Xbox brand, release of the best-in-class Forza Horizon 5, AND the launch of the ridiculously fun Halo Infinite, Microsoft has had a lot to celebrate towards the end of 2021. Phil Spencer and friends won’t be keen to take the balloons down and end the party just yet though, and with a jam-packed 2022 ahead it’s easy to see why they’d want to keep the celebration going. Here’s what to expect from Microsoft and its host of Xbox Game Studios over the next 12 months.

Xbox Has Games

One way to keep momentum going is to focus on what gave Microsoft such a strong ending to 2021 - great games. And one element of the 2022 slate will be continuing support for those great games from 2021.

Halo is back and arguably better than ever, but the most exciting thing about Infinite is that it's only getting started. There’s so much more to come from Halo developer 343 in 2022, including the eagerly anticipated addition of co-op to the campaign, as well as the fan-favourite Forge mode. Multiplayer will of course be receiving regular updates, whether that be new maps, modes, or further improvements to the battle pass progression system that has been the only real mark against its name up until this point.

Forza Horizon 5 saw over 10 million players hoon it around Playground’s stunning depiction of Mexico within a week of its launch. The studio has a great track record of supplying a steady stream of high-quality DLC to previous Horizons so we can definitely expect to see some of that in the coming months.

John Madden, the Hall of Fame NFL Coach, legendary broadcaster, and the name behind Madden NFL Football, has died at the age of 85.

As reported by NFL.com, Madden died unexpectedly on Tuesday, December 28, but no further cause has been given.

Next year, Persona and Shin Megami Tensei developer Atlus would like to release a new game that will further solidify the company's status as a premier Japanese studio.

As reported by Gematsu, Famitsu asked several video game companies about their goals and ambitions for 2022 as this year draws to an end, and Atlus' Shinjiro Takada had some exciting things to say for fans of the studio's games.

Takada - who is responsible for such franchises as Shin Megami Tensei and Etrian Odyssey - says, "I chose ‘Challenge’ as my keyword for 2022 in hopes to release a title to the world that will become a pillar for Atlus." He continues, "The staff are working hard on development to make something that’ll be interesting and satisfying for everyone, so I’d be happy if you could look forward to it.”

Currently, we know of three projects that Atlus is working on. A port of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax was announced at The Game Awards 2021 and is launching on March 17, 2022, for PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. Additionally, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is launching for Nintendo Switch on April 22, 2022; it was originally released on PS4 in 2020. The last one is Project Re Fantasy, which is being led by a new development team called Studio Zero. It was revealed back in 2016, but not much information about the game has been shown yet.

The first full year of the PS5 was a busy one, with exclusives, firmware updates, and studio acquisitions, and sustained support for the PS4 through new, cross-gen releases.

While it was a busy year for PlayStation, 2022 is looking to be even busier, as delays pushed some of Sony’s biggest exclusives - as well as major third-party releases - into the new year. There’s also a question of when PlayStation’s next-gen PSVR will be announced, and how Sony will approach events in a continually evolving and changing pandemic world. So with 2021 largely behind us, let’s look ahead to what’s in store for PlayStation in 2022.

Exclusive Games in 2022

PlayStation is synonymous with marquee exclusives, both from its suite of internal studios, which has recently expanded, as well as launch exclusives from various third-parties. 2021 was no slouch in either category, but 2022 is bringing with it some long-awaited sequels to some of PlayStation’s biggest franchises.

Remedy Entertainment, the company behind Control and Alan Wake, has signed a global development, license, and distribution agreement with Tencent for a new co-operative multiplayer game that is currently codenamed Vanguard.

Announced by Remedy, Vanguard - which should obviously not be confused for Call of Duty: Vanguard - will be a "free-to-play, co-operative PvE shooter that combines Remedy's narrative expertise and action gameplay into an immersive multiplayer experience."

The game will be developed with the Unreal Engine for both PC and consoles and, while Remedy will develop and publish the game for most of the world, Tencent will localize Vanguard for "the selected Asian markets" and it will cover any related localization costs.

As it stands, Vanguard is "currently in the proof-of-concept phase" and the game's "development budget up to the first year of live operations will be in the range of a typical Remedy AAA game budget."

Remedy and Tencent will co-finance Vanguard's development and each company will be responsible for the publishing and game operating costs in their territories. After the development costs have been recouped, both companies will share a portion of revenue with the other.

Alongside the PC and consoles version of Vanguard, Remedy has given Tencent the worldwide rights to both develop and publish a mobile version of the game. Tencent will cover the costs of the project, and the companies have "agreed on a separate sharing scheme for the mobile version."

The LEGO Group has not only officially unveiled the LEGO Ideas Sonic the Hedgehog Green Hill Zone Set, but it has also announced that it will be available for purchase on January 1, 2022, for $69.99 USD.

Green Hill Zone, which has become one of the most iconic levels in gaming since its debut in the original Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991 for SEGA Genesis, is getting the LEGO treatment thanks to the 24-year-old Viv Grannell.

Grannell conceived this concept through the LEGO Ideas platform and, after it reached the required 10,000 votes from the community, the LEGO team chose to make this dream a reality.

The LEGO Ideas Sonic the Hedgehog Green Hill Zone Set is a 1,125-piece set and it includes five minifigures, including Sonic, Crabmeat, Moto Bug, Dr. Eggman, and the Phantom Ruby. Additionally, the box will also come packaged with TV monitor power-ups, Eggman's Egg Mobile, gems, "10 boxes of golden-coloured Rings and a Technic lever to spring Sonic and friends into the air."

"Just about anyone who has enjoyed video games on any level in the last 30 years, knows and loves Sonic — and has probably sped through the unforgettable Green Hill Zone with him," LEGO Designer Sam Johnson said. "We have designed this set to be just as colourful and fun as the in-game version of The Green Hill Zone, then filled it with lots of easter eggs and even prizes to help fans enjoy some of their most beloved gaming icons in a brand-new way.”

Riot Games, the company behind such games as League of Legends and Valorant, will pay out a total of $100 million — including an $80 million settlement, plus an additional $20 million in fees and expenses — after reaching a global settlement agreement with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), and several private Plaintiffs to resolve its gender discrimination lawsuit from 2018.

As per the agreement, Riot will pay $80 million to all current and former full-time employees and temporary agency contractors in California who identify as women and worked at the company from November 2014 to the present day. The other $20 million will go towards "attorneys' fees and miscellaneous expenses."

Furthermore, Riot has agreed to have its internal reporting and pay equity processes monitored by a third-party company that is approved by both Riot and the DFEH for three years.

Final approval of this settlement by the court is currently pending, and a hearing is expected to take place within "the coming months."

“Three years ago, Riot was at the heart of what became a reckoning in our industry," A Riot spokesperson said. "We had to face the fact that despite our best intentions, we hadn’t always lived up to our values. As a company we stood at a crossroads; we could deny the shortcomings of our culture, or we could apologize, correct course, and build a better Riot. We chose the latter.

"We’re incredibly grateful to every Rioter who has worked to create a culture where inclusivity is the norm, where we’re deeply committed to fairness and equality, and where embracing diversity fuels creativity and innovation.

A new app for iPhone and iPad lets DualSense controller owners customize and try out different feedback configurations for the controller's trigger buttons.

Included with every PS5, the DualSense introduces many novel features, such as adaptive triggers, which adjust the tension of the rear buttons, making it easier (or harder) to press them down while playing a game.

While some games take advantage of the adaptive triggers, there’s no official way to manually test and adjust the DualSense on PS5. Fortunately, the PS5 Controller Trigger Test app does just that, allowing you to mess around with different trigger effects on the DualSense controller, among many other things.

Last week, in celebration of the theatrical release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, we asked YOU to help us decide which version of Spider-Man was the most amazing and spectacular of them all. Now, after thousands and thousands of 1v1 web-slinging battles with matchups like Tom Holland's Peter Parker vs. Miles Morales from Into the Spider-Verse and Gwen Stacy vs. Spider-Ham, the ultimate Spider-Man has been chosen.

So, who claimed the top spot in the battle for the greatest Spider-Man of all time? Drumroll please...

With a 91.3% win percentage, Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker from the Sam Raimi trilogy of films has claimed victory over all other Spideys by winning 19,557 of his 21,426 battles. Maguire's Spider-Man was one with an incredible global reach as the three films earned more than $2.5 billion globally and captured the hearts and minds of both those who loved comics and those who had never picked up an issue before.

Researchers have placed networks of neurons into dishes, placed them into what amounts to a simple version of The Matrix, and found they can learn Pong faster than an AI.

As reported by New Scientist, researchers at Cortical Labs explained that they've grown groups of human neurons into organoid mini-brains (a process also being used to attach Neanderthal brain cells to crab robots) and placed on micro-electrode interfaces. Those interfaces pulse with electricity, used to effectively convince the mini-brains that they are the paddles inside a game of single-player Pong.

Square Enix has confirmed that, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Final Fantasy 16's development has been delayed by "almost a half year" and the next big reveal will not take place until Spring 2022.

Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida shared the news on Twitter and took the time to apologize that he and the team would not be able to keep their promise to show more of the much-anticipated next entry in the Final Fantasy series in 2021.

"Greetings everyone," Yoshida wrote. "When last we spoke, I promised I would have more information on Final Fantasy XVI sometime later in 2021. However, I regret to inform you that I will be unable to keep that promise as complications stemming from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have delayed the game's development by almost a half year."

"As the latest addition to the Final Fantasy series being developed for the PlayStation 5, Final Fantasy XVI has amassed a sizable team composed of talented creators from around the world," Yoshida continued. "However, in an effort to offset the effects of COVID-19, we've had to decentralize that workforce by permitting staff to tackle their assignments from home.

"This has unfortunately hampered communication from the Tokyo office, which, in turn, has led to delays in - or in extreme cases, cancellations of - asset deliveries from our outsource partners."

While this may not be the news Final Fantasy fans wanted to hear, Yoshida reassures all of us that much of 2021 has been spent tackling all these issues, meaning 2022 is looking a lot more hopeful.

Update (12/25/21) - Nintendo has confirmed that "all servers are operating normally" after outages were experienced by many Switch users over the Christmas weekend.

The original story follows.

While it may be the most wonderful time of the year for some, the servers at Nintendo are having some troubles as Christmas Day has, once again, brought with it a wave of new and old Switch consoles trying to purchase new games and play online.

Some of those who have unwrapped a brand-new Switch for the Holidays are being greeted by an error message from Nintendo when trying to purchase a game, browse the eShop, or even redeem a gift card.

"We are currently experiencing difficulties with our network services," Nintendo's Network Maintenance Information / Operational Status page says. "Please try again later. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."

This outage appears to not only be impacting those using a Nintendo Switch, but also those still playing Wii U or 3DS.

Earlier this week, Nintendo warned that it was expecting its servers to be overloaded over the Christmas weekend, and encouraged those who were purchasing a Switch for a loved one to set it up in advance - which is always good advice for any new console.

Someone forced a bot to look at every Pokémon ever created – then told it to generate its own.

It sounds like the start of another one of those memes where someone makes an absurdist parody script so out-there only a robot could have conceived it, and then claims a bot wrote it. But BuzzFeed data scientist Max Woolf actually made a robot generate Pokémon, and the results are...kind of cool?

I forced a bot to look at every Pokémon and told it to generate its own. Here are the results.

(this isn't a joke, that's actually how I made these) pic.twitter.com/MfJUWJHZoB

— Max Woolf (@minimaxir) December 15, 2021

In a Twitter thread over the last few weeks, Woolf has been sharing the results of his robot's efforts. Some of them are admittedly a little out there -- there's something that looks like a green bird with an ocarina for a head, a greyish-pink thing that just looks like a mutated pig nose, and plenty of upsetting creatures with no discernable faces, or limbs where they shouldn't be.

Bonus batch! pic.twitter.com/qdr7SoesUj

While Halo Infinite's campaign may be a story about Master Chief saving the galaxy from a threat greater than any it has ever known, its multiplayer is now home to Meowster Chief as a Spartan cat ear helmet attachment is now available for purchase in the game's store.

Halo Infinite players who jump into the in-game store will be greeted by the "Cat Lovers" bundle for 1,000 Credits ($8.99 USD) that includes the Faded Blush Epic Armor Coating, the Tabby Rare Charm, the Kat Epic Charm, and the pièce de résistance - the Purrfect Audio Epic Helmet Attachment.

This attachment adds adorable cat ears on the top of any helmet under the Mark VII Armor Core and the internet has, rightfully so, quickly fallen in love with it.

@its_kiingah even thinks it is "the best thing Halo made."

Cat ear spartan is the best thing Halo made. I’m all for it. #HaloInfinite pic.twitter.com/i3QibYWdRf

— 👑 kiingah 👑 (@its_kiingah) December 22, 2021

@m4boo_ believes that a full crew of these "cat girls" are even "more horrific than the entirety of flood." Honestly, who are we to disagree?

Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro, who was once attached to Konami's Silent Hills project with Hideo Kojima, has said he doesn't think he will ever try to develop a game again.

As reported by GameSpot, del Toro appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast and confirmed that he was not working on any Silent Hill-related projects. This question arrived after del Toro made an appearance at The Game Awards 2021 and playfully said that he loved the art direction in Silent Hill and hoped that we all get a new one soon.

The way he delivered the message made many believe he knew more than he was letting on, but it appears this is not the case and that del Toro may be done exploring the world of video games... at least for now.

Despite saying that he loves the idea of gaming "as a storytelling exercise," he doesn't think he "would develop a game again because [he's] the albatross of video gaming."

del Toro said these same words in 2015, and it appears he is still sticking to his promise.

While that may not be the news fans of del Toro's work may have wanted to hear, he at least shared a few more thoughts about the canceled Silent Hills project he was once working on with Kojima.

Some of the developers at Naughty Dog - the game studio behind such series as The Last of Us and Uncharted - have revealed their favorite games of 2021.

Naughty Dog shared their list of favorite games that "inspired, excited, and -- above all -- entertained us" in a blogpost, and it all began with Bugsnax, where vice president Christian Gyrling said it was "a unique game that my 7-year old daughter and I bonded over."

Deathloop was the favorite of three devs at Naughty Dog, including game director Matthew Gallant, development director Waylon Brinck, and game director Kurt Margenau.

"Setting an immersive sim in a time loop was a brilliant idea," Gallant wrote. "Every space you visit and revisit becomes richer as you gain new tools, new information, and new appreciation of the environmental storytelling. The art direction is also stunning, layering 60’s Bond villain mansions atop abandoned bunkers from Lost, all on a gorgeously rugged and desolate island.

"Most importantly, Deathloop helped me break my bad immersive sim habits. The time loop structure gave me permission to let go of playing flawless zero-kill zero-alert runs, and adopt a more improvisational and chaotic playstyle. This was particularly true when invaded by a skilled Julianna player, instantly recontextualizing the map I had been stealthing through into a thrilling cat & mouse arena."

Fortnite was the favorite of game director Anthony Newman, who admitted he originally thought the game was "a mere toy for tweens, a passing fad that was only popular because of Drake."