Bandai Namco has announced a demo for Tekken 8 will be available for PlayStation 5 players from 14th December.

A week later on 21st December, Xbox and Steam players will be able to join in.

Tekken 8 is set to release on 25th January, 2024. Bandai Namco has already conducted network tests (rest in peace sweet CNT) and most recently held a closed beta test in October, which PC players managed to get early access to.

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E3, the video game conference that’s taken place annually in Los Angeles since 1995, is officially dead. After several years of struggles and rumors of its demise, its end was confirmed in The Washington Post’s exclusive interview with president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), Stanley…

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E3 now officially belongs to the past as the Entertainment Software Association has announced the end of the long running event.

The news was shared simultaneously in a post shared on social media and via the Washington Post, in an article titled: "E3, once gaming’s biggest expo, is officially dead."

The ESA's president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis explained: "After more than two decades of hosting an event that has served as a central showcase for the US and global video game industry, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has decided to bring E3 to a close.

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Gameplay content capturing service Allstar has secured $12 million in a Series A funding round.

Allstar said it will use this investment to increase product development and expand the use of its technology in future partnerships.

The company currently supports four games and its communities, including Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, League of Legends, and Fortnite.

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At EVO 2022, Bandai Namco shared a short trailer featuring a scene many Tekken players are extremely familiar with. Jin Kazama, carrying his father Heihachi in his arms, crossed a flat green field to drop his limp body into a volcano. The scene itself was ripped from the original release of Tekken on the PlayStation, but the moment that camera zoomed into his smirking face static ripped through the trailer and shocked the audience. It transitioned into an extreme high detailed render of Kazuya, a single scarlet eye glowing against a dark shadow set over his face. Unbeknownst to the crowd, Tekken 8 was on the way.

A few months after, a proper announcement trailer showed a fight between father and son, a series staple for Tekken, that showcased in-game footage and cutscenes intermingling together in a way that felt like a massive step above Tekken 7. Having had the opportunity to get my hands on Tekken 8, thanks to Bandai Namco, I can say that it's without a doubt one of my most anticipated titles of 2024.

Would you exchange time spent watching ads to gain access to Xbox Game Pass? Well, according to Xbox CFO Tim Stuart, Microsoft is considering such a move to expand its reach in more regions of the world.

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The Electronic Entertainment Expo is officially no more.

The future of the convention was in doubt after the 2023 event was cancelled and Reedpop, owner of events such as PAX and EGX (as well as Eurogamer), said in September it would no longer work with the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) to relaunch the show.

"After more than two decades of E3, each one bigger than the last, the time has come to say goodbye," reads a post on X, formerly Twitter, by the official E3 account. "Thanks for the memories."

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The Entertainment Software Association announced today that E3 is officially dead. After more than two decades, the long-running video game conference where developers, publishers, businesses, and press met to check out new games, watch reveals, and more, has been permanently canceled. 

The first E3 took place in 1995 and the last in-person conference happened in 2019. The 2020 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but E3 returned for one last bout in 2021 with an all-digital event. The 2022 show was canceled, and this year's event, which was set to happen with ReedPop, was canceled as well. 

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The Entertainment Software Association has announced that its long-running Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is officially dead, as reported by The Washington Post. The last in-person E3 conference happened in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic and other complications prevented it from coming back in full form since. Despite struggles, the ESA attempted to bring E3 back in various ways. 

It was canceled in 2020 as a result of the pandemic; the 2021 E3 was an all-digital event; the 2022 show was canceled, and this year's attempt with PAX organizer ReedPop was canned, too. 

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— E3 (@E3) December 12, 2023

"After more than two decades of hosting an event that has served as a central showcase for the U.S. and global video game industry, the Entertainment Software Association has decided to bring E3 to a close," ESA president and CEO Stanely Pierre-Louis told The Washington Post. "We know the entire industry, players and creators alike have a lot of passion for E3. We share the passion. We know it's difficult to say goodbye to such a beloved event, but it's the right thing to do given the new opportunities our industry has to reach fans and partners." 

A Pokémon-themed park will be opening in Yomiuriland, an existing amusement park located in Tokyo, Japan.

The Pokémon Company partnered with Yomiuri Land Co. (the firm behind the amusement park) and publication The Yomiuri Shimbun to create a new company called PokéPark Kanto, according to The Japan News, the English-speaking branch of the Yomiuri Shimbun.

The new entity will be behind the new theme park, which was simply described as a place "where visitors can enjoy the Pokémon experience in a lush natural environment through various events."

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Medicos Entertainment revealed a unique cushion featuring the head of Dio Brando from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The company will sell the item at Jump Festa 2024 with a price tag of 3,500 yen (~$24).

The cushion will feature Dio's head as he appeared in the last part of the Phantom Blood arc. It will also show blood around the neck to accurately depict the severed head that survived the first arc's climax.

Medicos will make the cushion's size as close as possible to how Dio's head would look like in real life. However, the illustration will only appear on the front side. The back side will be almost completely blank as it will only contain copyright notes at the bottom.

Additional preview images of the cushion are available to view on Medicos' official X account dedicated to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure merchandise:

This time, I know I’m onto a winning strategy. I’ve gathered three parking cones, and set about plopping one atop my head and the others on the ends of my arms, Mega Man buster cannon-style. I ask my friend nearby to punch the start button for me. Squishing my legs together as one, like I’m hopping on a tiny pogo…

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While Tekken 8 will come with all of the bells and whistles the series is known for — that being an Arcade Mode that moves the individual stories of certain characters forward and a Story Mode largely focused on the Mishima Clan — the developers of the decades-long 3D fighting game have added a new scenario into the mix. Arcade Quest is a story mode made to celebrate the history of Tekken and its player base. Similar to its competitor Street Fighter 6, Bandai Namco created a mode that places you in the center of an entirely original story focused on your journey as a part of the fighting game community. Based on my experience, Tekken 8's Arcade Quest Mode encapsulates the feeling of being at, well, the arcade and engaging with the community proper.

It's more than fair to say that Bandai Namco has been on a bit of a winning streak as of late. Its impressively vast library of popular anime licences, paired with the release of heavy hitters like Elden Ring and Armored Core VI, have resulted in a string of profitable and, more often than not, critically well received games. Elden Ring DLC notwithstanding, Tekken 8 is set to be Bandai Namco's next big release - but what have the development team learned from Tekken 7's release to ensure the sequel's success?

A preview in late November finally gave me some insight. Story mode was capped up until the end of chapter 4 and we were only allowed to play a couple of the Arcade Mode chapters, but every character was available to try out in versus, practice and the Tekken Ball mode.

There was also a chance to sit down with Tekken 8's game director Kouhei Ikeda and producer Michael Murray - who also acted as our translator - and ask them some burning questions. Unbeknownst to me beforehand, long-serving series producer Katsuhiro Harada also made a surprise appearance - although in true Harada style, he mostly just sat in the back looking cool and only occasionally chimed in with anecdotes about things like how much he hates Macbooks.

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I’ve loved Halo for what feels like a long time. My age means that that love only really began with Halo: Reach, which sprouted into reading the books, watching the shows and movies and playing the games on Legendary just to torture myself.

However, through all of that, since the very start there’s been one game mode that’s always had my heart: Firefight.

Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Developer: Bandai Namco
Release: January 26, 2024
Rating: Teen

Following the events of Tekken 7, the stage for Tekken 8’s story is set up to be perhaps the most over-the-top yet. In the six months since the defeat of Heihachi Mishima, his son, Kazuya Mishima, has installed a reign of terror over the planet using his devil powers. And while the setup is, quite frankly, a lot to take in, if the first four chapters I played are any indication, the level of spectacle and bombast reaches new levels in Tekken 8’s Story Mode.

Hasbro, the parent company behind Wizards of the Coast, which itself is responsible for both Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, is laying off 1100 employees, as reported by Dicebreaker and The Wall Street Journal. The company, which is also behind the Transformers franchise (toys and other media),  announced this decision yesterday, on December 11. 

Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks called the need for layoffs in an email sent to staff a "lever we must pull to keep Hasbro healthy" and "a last resort." As noted by Dicebreaker, Cocks became CEO of Hasbro in February of last year and earns roughly $1.5 million in salary in the position – his total earnings for 2022 amounted to $9.4 million, however. 

"While we're confident in the future of Hasbro, the current environment demands that we do more, even if these choices are some of the hardest we have to make," Cocks writes in the email, which The Wall Street Journal published. "I know this news is especially difficult during the holiday season. There is no sugar-coating how hard this is, particularly for the employees directly affected." 

Of course I was going to insert myself into the recent Tribes 3: Rivals alpha playtest – as a Tribes: Ascend player who’s mourned its demise for years, the reveal of a new, heavily Ascend-inspired ski-shooter was like seeing a long deceased pet rabbit miraculously come back to life. Cured, judging from Rivals’ more palatable monetisation plans, of the myxomatosis that killed it in the first place.

From what I played, Tribes 3 can definitely bring back happy memories of zipping around, nicking flags and copping Spinfuser blasts, and the finished article may well have the chops to create some new ones. At the same time, the playtest build was conspicuously short on much of what makes Tribes really feel like Tribes.

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ZeniMax Workers United-CWA has won a tentative agreement which will allow union members to guide the company's use of AI in the workplace.

The union was voluntarily recognised by Microsoft at the beginning of the year, and consisted of around 300 testers within studios owned by ZeniMax including Bethesda, id Software, and Arkane.

The agreement struck up between the union and Zenimax over the company's use of AI is the first of its kind at a major US technology company and the first within the video game industry, the Communications Workers of America said in a press release.

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Zora's Domain is covered in sludge and Prince Sidon needs my help.

First, I need to restore the Zora armour (a simple 'find the fish' fetch quest), which will enable me to swim up waterfalls to some sky islands. I don't know what's up there, but I suspect the armour's base rating of 3 isn't going to be enough protection so it's off to the Great Fairy fountain for an upgrade – except she needs some Hyrule bass (basses? bassi?) to do so, which means I've got to head back to central Hyrule and go pond dipping. Inevitably, I find and complete shrines during my search.

Upon my return, I decide to upgrade my standard get-up (Cap of the Wind, Hylian Trousers, and Hylian Armour dyed traditional Link green, natch), only to discover the Great Fairy can't offer the maximum level because I still have one of her sisters to find. This leads me on a fairly lengthy gallop around Hyrule, trying to remember where the last giant flowerbud is, and then to another musical troupe quest, which takes me far to the south, to Faron, to find fireflies for a flute player. More shrines are ticked off along the way.

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Terra Nil, the "reverse city builder" from developer Free Lives and publisher Devolver Digital, is coming to Switch next week. More specifically, it will hit the Nintendo console on December 18, as revealed in a new trailer you can watch below. 

While many simulation games task you with creating a new metropolis or saving a colony of humans from post-apocalyptic conditions, Terra Nil instead tasks you with saving nature from climate change and the effects of humans. Instead of building roadways and buildings, you build windmills, calcifiers, and more. 

As you can see, Terra Nil is not only a unique spin on the simulation genre, but a pretty one. It's sure to pop on Nintendo Switch OLED models, too, if you have one. 

If you're unsure whether or not the game is for you, read Game Informer's Terra Nil review to learn what we thought about it. Listen to us talk more about it on this episode of The Game Informer Show after that. 

Are you going to check out Terra Nil on Switch next week? Let us know in the comments below!

Update, 12/12/23:

Fntastic, the studio behind The Day Before, announced yesterday that it was shutting down. It said at the time that servers for the game, which launched last week on December 7, would remain operational but that the future of The Day Before is unknown. Now, less than 24 hours later, The Day Before is no longer available for purchase on Steam (although you can still visit the page). 

Plus, anyone who purchased the game is eligible for a refund, according to Fntastic. 

"Answer to those who ask for a refund," a Fntastic tweet reads. "[We and publisher Mytona are] currently working with Steam to allow refunds for any player who chooses to request one, regardless of the game time. Fntastic received $0 and will receive nothing from The Day Before sales." 

Notably, Steam allows users to refund games if they've played it for less than two hours and it hasn't been more than 14 days since the purchase date. Mytona, however, is offering refunds to anyone who purchased The Day Before.

Mytona also posted the following statement on Twitter:

You'll need to limber up and do some warm-up stretches before attempting to open today's door on the RPS Advent Calendar, otherwise you'll risk getting an instant KO from the burly brawlers waiting inside.

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Atlus has released a new video with the developers of its forthcoming game Metaphor: ReFantazio, providing new details on how it adapts gameplay ideas from the Persona series.

The game's narrative will focus on a sort of fantasy election, for which the protagonist must travel the world and gather support to become king but with limited time.

A fresh story trailer for the game was revealed at last week's The Game Awards, you can check it out below.

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Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom producer Eiji Aonuma has responded to fans' hopes of a traditional linear Zelda game, saying he believes games with a strict path are "games of the past".

The debate has been argued ever since the release of Breath of the Wild, and Aonuma gave his thoughts on the topic in a new interview with IGN.

"It's interesting when I hear people say [I miss traditional linear Zelda]," Aonuma revealed, "because I'm wondering 'why do you want to go back to a type of game where you're more limited or more restricted in the types of things or ways you can play?'"

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The party poppers are out, the finger food is ready and waiting to be served, and the guest list for Doom's 30th birthday party is well and truly set. Well, it would be if Doomguy ever lowered the drawbridge to his flying space castle high above the Earth's orbit. I did try and get a radio signal out earlier, but the grumpy sod never responded. Probably too busy organising his trophy case in his man cave, to be honest. But let's face it. Doomguy wouldn't be much fun at a birthday party anyway. He'd be too busy ripping and tearing into his presents to give anyone the time of day, let alone a polite thank you, and then he'd be working on ripping and tearing apart said presents in a display of strength and machismo.

So Doom's hellspawn have got together to throw their own party for the occasion, and let me tell you, they're having a riotous good time all by themselves. Well, most of them are, anyway, as there are some demons here that wouldn't know how to have fun even if was seared across their skulls with the beam of a BFG9000. Here's every classic Doom enemy ranked on a scale of the most miserable wallflowers to the life and (undead) soul of the party.

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Grand Theft Auto 6 has become the most-viewed new game trailer on YouTube.

The first-look at Grand Theft Auto's latest instalment has reached over 142 million times since it first went live last week.

YouTube also revealed that content creators and the gaming community have generated over 250 million views on GTA 6 related content.

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Epic Games has won its antitrust case against Google, after the jury gave its verdict yesterday.

In August 2020, Epic implemented a method to circumvent Apple and Google fees on in-game payments in the iOS and Android versions of Fortnite. The two platform-holders swiftly retaliated by pulling the game from their storefronts. Epic subsequently filed lawsuits against both Apple and Google, accusing both companies of anti-competitive behaviour and market monopolisation.

The case against Apple was settled by a court judge in September 2021 in favour of Apple on nine of 10 counts, and earlier this year the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the rulings after appeals from both parties. Epic's case against Google has had a dramatically different result, with the jury deciding in favour of Epic on all counts.

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UPDATE 5pm UK: Hype Train Digital has confirmed to Eurogamer why it changed the developer on Steam for The Wild Eight from Fntastic to Eight Points.

The change was made yesterday, which Hype Train has confirmed was due to the game receiving negative reviews on Steam following the debacle with The Day Before.

"Fntastic was the original developer of The Wild Eight, but after the game's release in Early Access, the developers decided to discontinue work on the project due to internal reasons within the studio. Hypetrain Digital took over the development independently. All business relations with Fntastic were terminated in 2017," reads the response to Eurogamer.

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Whatboy and Paradox Interactive's 4X spin-off Stellaris Nexus has boldly gone where many other games have gone before and entered early access. Apologies, I realise that reference is more appropriate to Paradox's other recent strategy release, Star Trek: Infinite, but I don't know the Stellaris fiction well enough to think of an appropriate in-joke. If you are similarly lacking in Stellaris knowledge, please rejoice in the fact that Nexus is a stripped-down, sped-up, turn-based version of the legendary space sim, which emphasises snappy tactical and strategic relationships over backstory.

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House Flipper was a surprising Steam hit of 2018. While not necessarily enthusing the critics straight from launch, the simulation title found a large and faithful community that ensured its long-term success.

This also allowed developer Empyrean to continually update and improve upon the game, release several DLCs, and port it to all platforms, guaranteeing its own sustainability and making House Flipper a standout success.

Empyrean partnered with co-developer, publisher, and fellow Polish company Frozen District throughout the original House Flipper's development, and to deliver its sequel, coming out this Thursday.

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New Blood Interactive have released a free HD DLC remaster for their reputation-making retro FPS Dusk, almost five years to the day since the original shooter launched on Steam. Honestly, the idea of remastering an alt-history "199X"-style homage to Half-Life and Doom does a number on my sense of time - which multiversal branch are we in now? Still, those gibbable demon Klansters certainly look swish. Find a comparison trailer below:

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Epic Games has won its trial against Google over antitrust claims, with the jury deeming Google Play and its billing system to be an illegal monopoly.

As reported by The Verge, the jury voted unanimously that Google's requirement for developers to use its Play store's payment system for all transactions was anti-competitive.

The trial began on November 3, and the jury voted yes to every question on the verdict form siding with Epic. It also deemed Google's Project Hug initiative – in which developers were allegedly given financial incentives to stay on the Play Store – anti-competitive.

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This article contains Final Fantasy 16 spoilers.

If you've played Final Fantasy 16, you'll know the door I mean. Down a side path in The Dim is a circular stone door that never opens, a bizarre enigma in a game otherwise overflowing with detail. Throughout the game, it remains a tantalising glimpse of The Fallen leading to a towering spire in the distance.

Until now! The newly released Echoes of the Fallen DLC begins with some slow preamble to loosely set up Clive and Jill's visit behind the door, introducing a handful of new incidental characters. And then the door opens.

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Hello! It's time to vote for your favourite games of 2023. Here's the form for your choices, and if you leave your Eurogamer username we can properly attribute your comments when we run the piece, otherwise we'll have to pretend Bertie wrote everything. (Joke.)

It's hard to think of another year in games quite like this, with such highs and lows. Endlessly brilliant and imaginative games, from Rytmos and Birth to Spider-Man 2 and Baldur's Gate 3, but also endless strife and lay-offs for the people who make games and work around them. At the end of the year we at least have a chance to say thanks for some of the incredible things we got to play.

If you could get your votes and comments in by Monday the 18th, that would be super. We're aiming to run the finished list on December 31st this year, and we can't wait to see what you've chosen. If there are any games that are missing from the list, and there always are, leave a note in the comments and we'll add them.

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Lasengle has now officially teased the silhouette for the last new Fate/Grand Order Servant of 2023, who will be the welfare Santa for Christmas. Completing the event will let you keep them permanently on your roster.

The silhouette of the Santa shows a female Servant with long pigtails while equipped with what looks like a cape, a sniper rifle, and a little beanie with a pom-pom on the end. Because of the hair and the nautical look of the sniper rifle, some comments suggest that it could be a Santa version of Nemo. The Servant’s usage of a sniper rifle also makes it look like she’ll either be an Assassin or an Archer.

The Christmas event will start on December 20, 2023. Players will need to first finish Lostbelt 6.5 (Traum) to participate. Since some players might not have gotten past Traum yet, Lasengle will implement some measures to make it easier for them to catch up. You will only need a quarter of the usual AP to play main quests up until Lostbelt 6.5.

You’ll also get free continue items as log-in bonuses, so you don’t have to worry if you fail a battle. More information on the 2023 Christmas Servant for Fate/Grand Order will come out closer to the release date of the event.

Sega has announced it's hiring new game developers for their upcoming Jet Set Radio reboot. You can find all the details about it on Sega’s official website.

Sega also released a short interview with the developers regarding the new Jet Set Radio game. Development on the reboot has already started, so the new recruits being hired to the team will help bring the game's existing vision to life.

In the interview, they stated that they hope to hire people who are a little weird and can bring a unique point of view. The level designer for the game has also described the team’s atmosphere as a place where “people who are serious about games are doing ridiculous things with a straight face.” 

As for who they’re actually looking for, Sega is specifically looking to hire a senior planner. There are also hiring game programmers and developers but with no particular focus. The application is available in English. However, this is not a WFH position, which means Sega will likely prioritize applicants currently residing in and legally allowed to work in Japan. The office is in the Shinagawa district of Tokyo.

Announced alongside Lego Fortnite, a new survival crafting experience, Rocket Racing is developer Psyonix's first new release since Rocket League in 2015 – and it's only playable inside Fortnite. Returning guest and gaming journalist Jesse Vitelli joins Game Informer's Alex Van Aken to show off Rocket Racing gameplay while discussing why the racing game is actually great.

See Rocket Racing In Action:

Subscribe to Game Informer's YouTube channel if you enjoy this look at Rocket Racing; and then catch up on previous New Gameplay Today episodes right here.

Aladdin X, the developer of the popular Watermelon Game, has taken to Twitter to warn players about non-official merchandise. Apparently, fake Watermelon Game goods are appearing in crane games in Japan. [Thanks, Hobby Watch!]

News about the fake merchandise items first appeared on December 9, 2023. The picture that Aladdin X attached to its warning Tweet showed a crane game machine full of plushes that look like the winking watermelon players aspire to create.

So far, the only official Watermelon Game merchandise are stickers and clear folders. Any other goods are not legitimate and are fake. More information will come out if Aladdin X plans to release more items. Watermelon Game, or Suika Game, became a global phenomenon in the Fall of 2023 when streamers popularized the game.

The new animated series Burn the Witch #0.8 will begin airing on December 29, 2023, in Japan. This series will be a prequel to the original Burn the Witch, which was written by Tite Kubo and takes place in the same universe as the popular series Bleach. [Thanks, Game Watch!]

In Japan, Burn the Witch #0.8 will be broadcast alongside the original Burn the Witch film that was released in 2020. Given that the movie can currently be streamed on Crunchyroll, there is a chance that Burn the Witch #0.8 can also be watched from the streaming site once it is released.

Burn the Witch #0.8 will once again follow the two main heroines, Noel Niihashi and Ninny Sprangcole, in “Reverse London,” a counter of the city in which those that live there can see the dragons that plague the “real” London. These beasts cause 72% of all deaths in Burn the Witch #0.8’s version of the English city. Noel and Ninny fight to protect the people from these creatures.

Burn the Witch #0.8 will air in Japan on December 29, 2023. The original series Burn the Witch can be streamed now on Crunchyroll.