BioShock 4 Job Listings Point To Potential Sandbox World, Dialogue Choices, And More
It's now been almost a whole decade since the last BioShock game. The franchise was a highly successful and influential one, but has been on ice ever since BioShock Infinite released. While we do know that a fourth entry is in the works, even if it won't be for a good while now, a new set of job listings point to a potential picture.
Senior Voice Designer, Game AI Programmer and Lead Systems Designer listings have appeared for developer Cloud Chamber, the development house that's been set up to work on the sequel. In them there's a lot of details, such as the game being aimed to be narrative-driven, which is no surprise, but there's also mention of "dialogue systems," meaning there could be some type of choice system. Alongside that is also mention of an "emergent sandbox world," which seems to hint something more open world. Maybe the most interesting bit is that of the work for AI, which they describe as "a meaningful AI urban crowd system and the systemic tribal ecology of a sometimes hostile AI."
Of course, considering how this is all pieced together from various different job listing from a title that is clearly still in the pretty early stages of development with previous job listings pointing to it being exclusive to next generation systems, so this could mean nothing to the final project. It's unclear when we'll see BioShock 4 or whatever it'll end up being called, but I wouldn't expect it for quite some time.
Xbox Cloud Gaming Beta Will Come To PC And iOS Spring 2021
Game streaming is one of those things that's kind of floated around for ages, or so it seems, but is just now getting to a point where it's starting to break more into the mainstream. Microsoft seems to be going all in with their Xbox Cloud Gaming, also known by its codename "xCloud," which they officially launched earlier this year, and for next year, it's expanding.
As reported on the official Xbox website, a beta version of Xbox Cloud Gaming will launch on both PC and iOS. Phil Spencer has been talking about it for PC for quite some time. iOS was a little more complicated as Apple basically blocked the app due to their guidelines. Because of that, the iOS version of Game Pass will be through the web browser and apparently not as a dedicated app as it is on Android.
Both of those will launch in Spring 2021, and both will be included at no extra charge for those who subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Spencer has also said they plan to bring it to Xbox consoles at some point as well, but as of now, no time frame for that is known.
Focus Home Interactive Will Have Two "Major Reveals" At The Game Awards 2020
Tomorrow will see The Game Awards 2020, a show that is sure to have plenty of cool stuff, including game reveals both on its pre-show and main feed. The show always has a mix of the big, heavy hitting AAA titles, midrange and indie titles. As it stands there aren't a lot of major leaks for the show, only some rumors and speculation, but one publisher is being open that they've got a lot to show.
Focus Home Interactive took to Twitter to let people know that they will have two "major reveals" for the show, alongside more details about Hood: Outlaws, which had been mentioned before. Nothing else here, though, so we're left in the wind somewhat to figure out what exactly they could be showing. Focus Home has become something of a steward in the re-emerging midrange, AA market and have deals with several developers such as Dontnod and Deck13 that could show up on any number of platforms.
The Game Awards 2020 will air on December 10th, so stay tuned.
Ready for @thegameawards tomorrow? We'll be there with @Hood_OL , as well as two additional major reveals!
pic.twitter.com/zMuiJ9KYUo
— Focus Home Interactive (@FocusHome) December 9, 2020
Xbox's Aaron Greenberg Urges You To Dial Back The Hype For Microsoft At TGA 2020
Tomorrow will see the 2020 edition of The Game Awards, a show that has become a huge annual event in the gaming industry, probably the single biggest event in it. There's always lots of reveals, and we know there's at least a dozen or so at this event. The show always has one big zinger that gets people talking, and last year it was the surprise reveal of the Xbox Series X. What will it be this year? Well, it's hard to say, but it probably won't be something like that again, at least not from Microsoft.
Taking to his official Twitter, Xbox General Manager of Marketing Aaron Greenberg said that we should probably dial back expectations for what Microsoft will bring to the show. He said he's seen some of the speculation and decided that he should signal that maybe fans should step back just a bit.
There have been some teases from Microsoft for surprises at the show, however, so it doesn't mean there will be nothing at the event at all. So, you know, just don't go into the show expecting the reveal of an Xbox Series Z or what have you. We'll see what is, and isn't there, come tomorrow when the show is set to air.
You will see us & our social handles promoting tune-in for @thegameawards tomorrow. We hope you support the industry & watch. While we have a couple moments in the show, I would dial expectations way down versus speculation I am seeing, especially how big we went last year!
— Aaron Greenberg
U (@aarongreenberg) December 9, 2020
Biggest Video Game Worlds of 2020
It goes without saying that quality trumps quantity- but a buttload of quantity never really hurt anyone. Thankfully, we're living in an age where the technology that video games are built on is able to keep up with the ambitious visions developers have for their projects. Games are getting larger by the day, the sizes of their worlds growing to epic proportions, and there was no shortage of similar experiences in 2020 either. That's exactly what we'll be talking about in this feature, as we list the biggest video game worlds of the year.
ASSASSIN'S CREED VALHALLA
It should be no surprise that an Assassin's Creed game has quite possibly one of the largest worlds we've ever seen in a video game. And while the sheer size of the 9th century England you explore in this VIking adventure shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who knows how Ubisoft operates, what is surprising – especially after the infamously bloated Odyssey – is how well Valhalla populates that ridiculous amounts or real estate. A smart structure staves off most issues to do with bloat, and exploring England is constantly a joy, with each of its areas full of side activities that act more like mini-puzzles to keep players engaged rather than a deluge of cut-paste content that can almost feel procedural. The pure and simple fact that this is a hundred hour game can be daunting in and of itself – which is fair – but you can at least rest assured that if you do decide to invest that time in Valhalla, it'll at least be an amazing hundred hours.
10 More Things We Have Learned About Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 is within touching distance now, at which point millions of people around the world will finally be jumping into a game they have been waiting for for years now. Ahead of that launch, a relatively small number of publications and outlets have gone live with their reviews, and as you might expect, these reviews have revealed some new details about CD Projekt RED's open world RPG. In this feature, we're going to talk about the most intriguing of those details.
CAMPAIGN LENGTH
CD Projekt RED mentioned not that long ago that they had taken feedback for The Witcher 3's extremely long campaign into account, and as a result cut down the length of Cyberpunk 2077's critical path. Recently published reviews have provided us more specific numbers. The Digital Fix, for instance, mentioned in their review that they were able to finish the campaign (which included "a lot" of side quests) in 30 hours. There's still plenty of optional content to dive into, but it seems the main story itself is significantly shorter than The Witcher 3.
Control Has Sold Over 2 Million Copies
Remedy Entertainment launched their newest IP, Control, in 2019, with publishing support from 505 Games. It was their first multi-platform release in a long time, and was met with strong critical reception by critics and audiences alike. That has, as you might expect, resulted in continued strong sales for the game as well.
During their Capital Market Day presentation, Remedy announced that Control has now sold over 2 million copies worldwide, and in the process become their fastest-selling new IP since Max Payne. 60% of the game's sales in 2019 were digital, and that number rose to 90% in 2020. Meanwhile, the action-adventure title also enjoyed its highest sales for a month in November 2020, which means that the game is currently selling better than ever.
Control is currently available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and also recently launched for the Nintendo Switch as a cloud version. The game was also recently added to the Xbox Game Pass library.
Control: Ultimate Edition will also release for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in early 2021, though free next-gen upgrades won't be supported.
A recent job listing suggested that Remedy are also at work on a sequel. Read more on that through here.
Microsoft Teases "Surprises" for The Game Awards
Tomorrow's The Game Awards show is promising to be packed full of new announcements, with producer and creator Geoff Keighley having recently stated that over a dozen new announcements will be made during the event. One of these, it seems, will be coming from Microsoft.
Following recent rumours regarding the same, Microsoft have teased announcements for tomorrow's show in a recently published update on the Xbox Wire blog. They wrote, "Stay tuned, starting with The Game Awards tomorrow, for more surprises."
Microsoft have been making some pretty major announcements related to xCloud and Xbox Game Pass off late, so it's certainly possible that we could hear more on that front. Meanwhile, recent reports have also indicated that Forza Horizon 5, supposedly in the works at Playground Games, could release in 2021, before the next Forza Motorsport.
Considering the fact that Microsoft announced Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 and unveiled the Xbox Series X at 2019's The Game Awards, there shouldn't be much that's off the table for tomorrow's show. Stay tuned, and we'll keep you updated.
Destiny 2 Crossplay Confirmed for 2021, Transmog in Season 14
Bungie recently provided an update on new rewards that will be coming to Destiny 2 in Season 13, including new ritual Legendary weapons. However, in the same developer update, it confirmed that cross-platform play would also be coming next year. Cross-generational play between consoles of the same family currently exists but crossplay will allow all platforms to play together.
That's not all though. Transmog, which received work-in-progress images, will be out in Season 14 (so most likely by April 2021). In Season 13, all Destiny 2 players will receive two "new" Strikes – Devil's Lair and Fallen S.A.B.E.R., both in the Cosmodrome. Meanwhile, the Moon will also be included in the Legendary and Master Lost Sector rotation and three new Exotic gear pieces will be added for players to earn.
The Vault of Glass raid is also planned for next year but doesn't have a release window yet. In terms of future expansions, one can at least expect more new weapons to earn than what Beyond Light or Shadowkeep had to offer. The next Destiny 2 expansion, The Witch Queen, is currently slated to release in 2021.
Cyberpunk 2077 – Connect Your Game To GOG Galaxy For Additional Digital Bonuses
It's been a long wait, but it's almost time to get up and going in Night City with the release of Cyberpunk 2077. The game will have more content than you can shake a stick at, with a campaign said to be nearly 40 hours all on its own, and God knows how much side content will add on to the package in the end. But you can get even more with GOG.
If you aren't aware, GOG is a storefront and launcher owned and operated by CD Projekt. They launched a new version of the launcher called GOG Galaxy, and if you attach your Cyberpunk 2077 purchase to it, you can get some digital bonuses. That includes the original score, art booklet, a digital comic, Cyberpunk 2020 sourcebook, and a set of wallpapers for desktop and mobile. There is also a few in-game items as well. You can connect any account there, even with Xbox Live and PSN. You can check out GOG Galaxy through here, and the process is pretty simple. If you pre-ordered the game via GOG you will, of course, get those bonuses automatically.
Cyberpunk 2077 will release December 10th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Stadia. You can read up about the game's trophy/achievement list that just got revealed through here.