Dragon Quest Creator Teases Announcements In 2021 For 35th Anniversary
While never quite catching on in the west, there's still a lot to love about the Dragon Quest series. As a franchise, it has at times held on single handedly to the classic Japanese RPG genre. The latest mainline title, Dragon Quest 11, has now come out on most platforms, and the future seems to potentially be filled with more entries.
Speaking at the Dragon Quest 10 Fall Festival 2020 event, franchise Creator Yuji Horii hinted at announcements to come next year. While he didn't get specific, he seems to imply there could be a lot more announcements than usual due to 2021 being the 35th anniversary of the series (thanks to Gematsu for transcribing and translating the talk).
"Thank you very much for today. Next year, Dragon Quest will celebrate its 35th anniversary. I believe we will be able to make all sorts of announcements in regards to that. And there is still a whole lot of fun to look forward to in Astoltia [the world of Dragon Quest 10]. Please continue to support Dragon Quest in the future. Thank you very much!"
We know that Dragon Quest 12 is in active development, but it's been said to be a 'ways off.' An action RPG based on a new anime series is set for 2021 called Infinity Strash – Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai. That's about it, so I imagine it's possible a lot more could be announced in the next year.
Watch Dogs: Legion Debuts in Second Place in UK Charts
We're in that time of the year where major game releases are going to be coming in thick and fast. There were a few of those last week, some of which managed to break into the top 10 in the latest weekly UK boxed video game sales charts, in spite of numbers that were less than stellar (via GamesIndustry).
The biggest new release was Watch Dogs: Legion, which debuted in second place in the charts. Physical launch sales are down 54% from Watch Dogs 2, though with digital sales having grown in that time and next-gen versions of the game also due out soon, the open world title will likely end up enjoying stronger sales overall. FIFA 21 still clings on to the top spot, unsurprisingly, as it did last week, and the two weeks before that.
Pikmin 3 Deluxe also debuted in the top 10, coming in at No. 7, and actually enjoying stronger launch boxed sales than the Wii U original- 16.5% more, to be precise. Then there's The Dark Pictures: Little Hope, Supermassive and Bandai Namco's second game in their horror adventure anthology series. It debuts at No. 9, with sales being 47% lower than the physical launch sales of last year's Man of Medan.
You can check out the full top 10 for the week ending October 31 below.
- FIFA 21
- Watch Dogs: Legion
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Minecraft (Switch)
- Super Mario 3D All-Stars
- Pikmin 3 Deluxe
- Ring Fit Adventure
- The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope
- Minecraft Dungeons
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Pre-launch Sales Are Higher Than Any Previous Expansion
World of Warcraft has been around for well over a decade, and it's grown in size and in popularity all that time, not just thanks to the game itself, but also the multiple expansions it's received over the years. Soon, its eighth expansion, Shadowlands will be releasing, bringing with it a meaty new chunk of content to the MMO, and it seems it's going to bring even more success as well.
In Activision's recent quarterly financial call (via PC Gamer), Activision-Blizzard's CEO Bobby Kotick reveals that the pre-release sales of Shadowlands are higher than any previous WoW expansion. Meanwhile, Kotick that World of Warcraft is enjoying "unprecedented" player engagement, with its subscriber count having doubled following the launch of World of Warcraft Classic last year.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands was originally due out in October, but got delayed shortly before its launch. Blizzard have said that the expansion will release later in the year, but no specific launch date has yet been confirmed.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light – Bright Dust Changes Detailed
Several destinations, campaigns and missions are going into the Destiny Content Vault with the release of Destiny 2: Beyond Light. That means there will be changes for materials found on these destinations but Bungie also promised wide-ranging changes for bounties and Bright Dust. While the first two won't really be changing until Season 13, Bright Dust is undergoing some major revamps.
In its weekly post, Bungie stated that Bright Dust from the Season Pass (starting from Season of the Hunt) will be increased substantially. The free path provides 7,500 Bright Dust while those who own the pass get an additional 3,000 Bright Dust. However, weekly bounties have had their total Bright Dust reduced to 100 from 200.
While these changes are good for players with only one character, it significantly nerfs the amount of Bright Dust for those with three characters. So there are some good elements and some bad. On the bright side, Bright Engrams in Season of the Hunt will now have all of the Eververse content from Seasons 1 to 9. So if there's anything you missed, it might be worth grinding them out.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light and Season of the Hunt arrive on November 10th for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Google Stadia.
Apex Legends Will Probably Become More Than Just a Battle Royale Title in the Future, Says Director
Apex Legends has only moved from strength to strength in the time that the game has been around. Now in its seventh season, the game – true to the genre it belongs to – has done right by its growing player base with its live service model. But is it possible that Respawn Entertainment might have other, more significant changes and additions in mind as well? For instance, though Apex Legends is, of course, a dedicated battle royale experience, might the free-to-play shooter eventually branch out and try other kinds of modes and experiences as well?
Speaking in an interview with Eurogamer, game director Chad Grenier said that that's probably going to happen. According to Grenier, Respawn Entertainment has regular conversations about new things the studio could try with the game, especially in the form of limited time modes.
"Right now we're a battle royale game," he said. "I think if you look into the future, we have a lot of conversations of, you know, should we expand beyond battle royale? We have this roster of legends that people love – how else can we use them? I think looking into the future, you're probably going to see the game becoming more than just a battle royale game. You see we have all these LTMs (limited time modes) and other ways to play. I think that's a great starting point."
Apex Legends is currently available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and will be launching for the Nintendo Switch in 2021 following a recent delay.
FIFA 21 Guide – How to Use Chemistry Styles, and Division Rivals Tips
Having a higher chemistry for each player in FUT isn't just for a show. There are special Chemistry Styles, which provide buffs to the entire team – the higher the chemistry, the stronger the buff. You'll need to do some experimentation to see which styles affect which stat and maximum chemistry is needed to get the full buff. And keep in mind that having zero chemistry for a player will result in some pretty hefty debuffs.
Check out how Chemistry Styles work and the different kinds in the video guide below.
How Division Rivals Work
If you're looking for a way to make some serious bank in addition to everything else, then Division Rivals is worth checking out. It involves playing 40 matches each week and depending on how well you perform, you'll receive a Skill Rating. This determines your division, from Division 10 (zero SR) to Division 1 (1,900 SR) with six ranks for each Division.
Division Rivals lasts the entire week, ending on Thursday at 12 AM PDT. At reset, you'll receive Gold Packs, Coins and much more. It's also worth noting that going up in rank will provide a Coin bonus as a reward. For a deeper explanation on how everything works and the benefits of participating, check out the video guide below.
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story Announced, Launches Next Year
Riot Games have announced League of Legends' first ever single player outing- Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, a turn based RPG being developed by Airship Syndicate (who also developed last year's Darksiders: Genesis). Comic book artist Joe Madureira will be in charge of the game's art design.
Set in two regions that League fans will be familiar with – Runeterra an the Shadow Isles – Ruined King will see characters and heroes from across the series coming together as they face off against a new, common enemy that threatens their existence. Champions such as Ahri, Miss Fortune, Pyke, Braum, Yasuo, and Illaoi will be making a return, among others. The announcement trailer doesn't show any actual gameplay footage, but sets up the narrative pretty well- take a look below.
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story will release in early 2021 for PS4, Xbox One, PC (via Steam and Epic Games Store), and Nintendo Switch, and will be followed soon afterward by releases on Xbox Series X/S and PS5. Free next-gen upgrades will be supported.
Sony Intends to Keep PS4 Players "Engaged and Happy" for the Foreseeable Future
Sony has talked several times in recent months about how it believes in generations, and wants to deliver games on the PS5 that will only be available on PS5– but there's still life left in the PS4 as well. PS5 launch titled Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Sackboy: A Big Adventure are both going to release for PS4 as well, while next year, Horizon Forbidden West will also launch as a cross-gen title.
And according to PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan, that kind of support is something that will continue for the foreseeable future, into 2022 as well. Speaking in a recent interview with GamesIndustry, Ryan said that the increased audience engagement the PS4 has enjoyed in recent months due to COVID has opened Sony's eyes to its potential of continued growth even now, and the company intends to keep its audiences engaged with new content for some time to come.
""Obviously, our eyes and our horizons have lifted with regards to what's possible with that PS4 community, based on what we've observed over the last six months," Ryan said. "That can be quite powerful, because in 2021, 2022… that PS4 community that we've spoken about, they will be the vast majority of people on PlayStations during that time. It is crucial that we keep them engaged and happy. And the last six months have demonstrated that we could do that to an extent that we didn't think possible when we were setting our minds pre-COVID."
This, of course, is not the first time Sony has publicly taken this stance. They've previously said that the PS4 will continue to be supported a few more years to come, and that there's still plenty left that's coming to the PS4 that audiences don't know about.
PSVR Cannot Play PS5 Games, Only Runs Via Backward Compatibility
How the PSVR headset will work with the PS5 has been a bit of a mystery for a while, especially with the PS5's HD Camera not supporting PSVR (though Sony is shipping adapters to PSVR owners). Sony have now confirmed details, and they're a bit disappointing.
A Sony representative recently told Upload VR that no PSVR games have been announced for the PS5, and that if you want to play Hitman 3 in VR, you will have to play the PS4 version of the game via backward compatibility. Similarly, when No Man's Sky's next-gen upgrade was recently announced, Hello Games confirmed that it would be playable in VR only via backward compatibility.
What this means, in simple terms, is that PS5 games will not natively support PSVR, and if you do want to play VR-compatible games, you'll have to play their PS4 versions. The specifics of how this will work with cross-progression and free next-gen upgrades, as well as whether PSVR support will eventually be added to PS5 games, haven't yet been confirmed.
PS5's backward compatibility will boost certain PSVR games' frame rates, so there is that.
Halo Infinite is Almost Content Complete, 2021 Launch is More or Less Assured – Insider
The recent news that Halo Infinite project lead Chris Lee has stepped down from his position has been met with plenty of concern by fans of the series, especially given the fact that this is far from the only major high profile departure from the studio during the game's development. Questions about how this will affect the game's development and whether we should be expecting another delay have been asked often since then, but according to known Xbox insider Klobrille, that won't be the case.
Taking recently to Twitter, Klobrille stated that development of Halo Infinite is in its later stages, with the game being "more or less" content complete (which means 343 Industries have developed all of the playable content in the game). According to Klobrille, the studio is now almost fully focused on the technical aspects of development and polishing the game, and as such, a release in 2021 for the game looks more or less certain.
There have ben some rumours in the past that have suggested that Halo Infinite could be delayed out of 2021, though 343 Industries have categorically denied those rumours. Xbox boss Phil Spencer has suggested that the studio might consider releasing the shooter's campaign and multiplayer components separately, so there's still a lot of questions left to be answered.
Halo Infinite, whenever it does launch, will be available for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and PC. Joseph Staten, a Halo veteran from the Bungie days, has been brought on board to lead the campaign's development and help close out development.
The game is more or less content complete. They can fully focus on the technical aspects now. I absolutely do expect Halo Infinite to be released 2021.
— Klobrille (@klobrille) October 30, 2020