EA Reaches Agreement To Purchase DiRT Developer Codemasters for $1.2 Billion

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It was just over a month ago that Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of both Grand Theft Auto's Rockstar Games and Borderland's 2K Games, looked set to acquire UK studio Codemasters. While the deal was yet to be finalised, a fee of $994 million had been agreed and it looked as though it was all but complete. In a shocking turn of events, however, that deal now looks to be off the table, as EA has confirmed they have reached a deal to buy the company for a staggering $1.2 billion.

In their statement, EA said:

"We believe there is a deeply compelling opportunity in bringing together Codemasters and Electronic Arts to create amazing and innovative new racing games for fans. Our industry is growing, the racing category is growing, and together we will be positioned to lead in a new era of racing entertainment. We have admired Codemasters' creative talent and high-quality games for many years. With the full leverage of EA's technology, platform expertise, and global reach, this combination will allow us to grow our existing franchises and deliver more industry-defining racing experiences to a global fan base. We are pleased that both our Boards of Directors are recommending this transaction, and we look forward to welcoming such an exciting and talented team to the Electronic Arts family,"

With news of EA's offer, the Codemasters board has recommended that Take Two's offer be withdrawn, saying:

"In evaluating the EA Offer, the Codemasters Board has considered various aspects of the EA Offer and considers the EA Offer to represent a superior offer for Codemasters' shareholders as compared with the Take-Two Offer,"

EA hopes the acquisition will "enable further growth and success for Codemasters and EA's popular and innovative racing franchises" and that the expertise within the two teams will "enable our teams to innovate further, and meaningfully increase the delivery of content and experiences to a growing, global audience for racing entertainment."

Codemasters are best known for their work on the F1 franchise, as well as the DiRT series of games, while EA also has a large repertoire of racing games under their belt that includes the popular Need for Speed franchise.

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Pokemon Voice Actress Allegedly Involved in Covid Relief Scam

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According to Japanese publication Friday (via Hachima, summarized and translated by Doug Dinsdale), voice actress Rika Matsumoto — who voices Satoshi (Ash) from the Pokemon anime — allegedly took advantage of Japanese government covid-19 relief grants relief. Due to the global pandemic, the Japanese government offered to help support artists suffering from the impact of covid-19 by offering 100,000 yen ($960) to those artists in need.

The report states that the voice actress is alleged to have gathered a group of six individuals and demanded that their relief money be deposited in her bank account instead of directly into each artist's own, per the official regulations. Apparently, two of the applicants included in the application weren't even eligible for the relief payments.

One of those accusing Matsumoto, her former manager who was supposedly included in that group receiving a government relief payment — alleged that Matsumoto included her in this group without her knowledge. She then reported this to the authorities, who said that the money should have been paid directly to each individual listed on the grant application. The government realized that the manager was not eligible for the grant and demanded the money paid back. The manager had also claimed that the voice actress was quick to anger and would often change the Pokemon anime scripts, and alleges that Matsumoto was not the easiest person to work for, claiming that ten assistants had quit in the past four years.

Matsumoto refutes these claims, which have not been confirmed as of now, and told Friday that "I'm only holding the money." The voice actress also claims to have paid back the money her former manager owes.

In other news, according to the official Pokemon Twitter account, it was revealed that the franchise will hold some sort of "celebration" in 2021 to mark the series' 25th anniversary. No details have been shared yet on what this celebration would look like but it's likely it would include a brand new Pokemon game.

Pokemon Sword and Shield released for Nintendo Switch on November 15th, 2019. Meanwhile check out our in-depth review for the game here, in which the News Editor states that "Sword and Shield are a lot of fun, even if the series is experiencing growing pains with the transition to home consoles." You can purchase Sword here and Shield here.

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Just Cause Mobile Revealed in Debut Trailer, Showcases Impressive Graphics

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Just Cause Mobile was revealed during The Game Awards 2020 in a one minute gameplay trailer jampacked with surprisingly detailed graphics and gaameplay. Despite the medium, the title so far seems to accurately represent what makes the franchise so addictive in the first place:

While no release date has been officially announced, the coming soon at the end of the trailer suggests a reveal of that soon enough. Also judging from publisher Square Enix's logo being featured prominently at the start, it seems that the company will continue to make Just Cause titles without the original developers at the helm.

This is due to the fact that, according to a report from Gamesindustry.biz, Avalanche Studios co-founder and Just Cause creator Christofer Sundberg has formed Liquid Swords, a new game studio in Stockholm. According to Sundberg: "We have no intention of reshaping the world of storytelling as we know it. Our road to leaving our mark and making a difference in the industry is built first and foremost on games that are immediately accessible and consistently rewarding."

Liquid Swords will work on open-world action games for next-gen consoles, PC, and streaming platforms. While the studio is headquartered in Stockholm, there will be several other locations around the world. Sundberg went on to say that this new studio aims to make a creative and fun workplace that has a "no-nonsense, game development-focused approach."

Avalanche Studios is most well-known for making the Just Cause series. The most recent entry in the series is Just Cause 4 which released in December 2018. They also helped develop id Software's Rage 2 in 2019 and additionally made Mad Max in 2015, a game that released the same year as WB's Mad Max: Fury Road.

Just Cause 4, which we reviewed here, is currently one of several games free for PS Plus members this month alongside Worms Rumble and Rocket Arena.

In a report from Deadline, the upcoming movie adaptation of Just Cause has landed a director with Michael Dowse. According to the report, early details on the film clarify that it will stick pretty close to the premise of the game series, with Rico Rodriguez as the main protagonist (no word yet on who will play him, however). The film will reportedly follow Rico on "a race-against-time mission to stop the mercenary group The Black Hand." Additionally, the Just Cause film is also set to feature a female co-lead protagonist, which Deadline says will give the film "a Romancing the Stone vibe."

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Please Look at this Fan Art of Kirby Transformed into Sephiroth

Sephiroth Kirby

Look, I am not going to sit here and tell you that I am a Final Fantasy fan. I have tried getting into some of the previous titles before, but none of them have ever seemed to stick. With that said, when Sephiroth was announced as the latest DLC character coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, I was absolutly ecstatic. Not because I could play as him though. It was because I could see Kirby with a ridiculously long sword.

Well, thanks to @bloodymooncook, I have gotten my wish a little early. They uploaded some fan art of Kirby transformed into Sephiroth and it is as glorious as you would have expected. Please have a look at the attached tweet below.

Honestly, one of my favorite aspects behind the reveal of a new Smash character is all of the incredibly talented artists putting out new fan art. Every single time a new character is announced, I can't wait to see how fans portray a transformed Kirby version. I have to say, this one might be my favorite.

Masahiro Sakurai, the director behind Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, will be giving an overview of the character during a live stream on December 17 at 2 pm PT. The presentation will most likely go over the character's move set as well as the release date.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is currently available for the Nintendo Switch. The fighters pass vol 2., which contains three of the six next DLC characters, is available for $29.99. The first fighters pass is available for $24.99. Additionally, all the characters can be purchased individually for $5.99.

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Super Meat Boy Forever December Release Date Revealed in New Trailer

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Super Meat Boy Forever received a brand new trailer showing off plenty of bloody platformer action trademark to the franchise. Also packed in the tiny trailer was a new release date for the title, which should have plenty of fans excited since it's dropping this month on December 23th. Two days before Christmas, a lovely present for those patiently awaiting it:

Super Meat Boy Forever was first announced over a year ago during the Nindies Summer Showcase 2017, and originally had a vague 2018 release window. It missed that launch window unfortunately but then was slated for an April 2019 release window. Which it then missed as well. The developers didn't provide a new release window or date at the time, but stated that they don't expect the delay to be a long one. By the time the next trailer for Super Meat Boy Forever drops, it will contain the specific release date that will then be locked in.

Team Meat also stated that they could have hit this April window had they overworked themselves, but they decided not to do this. Since the game is self-published by the developers at Team Meat, they can determine for themselves how hard they want to work without having to destroy themselves to meet certain deadlines. "We could have sacrificed our minds, bodies, and social lives to make April 2019 but that's stupid," said the message released on Twitter. "We are fortunate enough to have control over how we work and we choose not to run ourselves into the ground."

DLC following the official release is also incoming according to Team Meat designer Tommy Refenes. He stated that post-launch DLC would consist of "substantial" new additions and would make the already difficult game "ridiculously hard." He also confirmed that a feature for user-created levels is been planned.

Super Meat Boy Forever will launch on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, and PC via the Epic Games Store.

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The Concurrent User Record on Steam Has Been Broken

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We all knew that the release of Cyberpunk 2077 was going to be a big release. I mean the game turned a profit on day one. However, it looks that and other titles have helped break the concurrent player count on Steam once again.

Daniel Ahmad, a Senior Analyst at Niko Partners, posted on Twitter that the peak concurrent user record, which used to be 24.54 million players, has been broken. The new record is a massive 24.78 players.

He also mentioned that this record comes right after Cyberpunk 2077 and Counter Strike: GO passed over 1 million concurrent players.

Daniel goes on to mention how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected both concurrent users and the behavior of players. Since the lockdowns began sometime around April, Steam has maintained more daily concurrent users than the highest day ever recorded in 2019. Note the graph above. You can literally pinpoint exactly when everyone had to start isolation at the end of March and beginning of April. Essentially, people are playing a lot more games at home every single day.

The video game industry has been one of the few industries to really benefit from the lockdowns. Now that everyone has had to stay inside for months at a time, people haven't had much to do. Those who have been gamers before have boughten more games. Even those who wouldn't normally play games have started to pick them up too. The amount of people I know who normally do not play games who have purchased a Switch and Animal Crossing is kind of staggering.

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FIFA 21 — How to Complete Leon Bailey Player SBC

FIFA 21 is back with yet another player SBC to celebrate the ongoing FUT Freeze promo. As ever, today's player gets a position change. However, this time around, the switch is a little less wild. Instead of switching from center back to CDM or left-winger to right back, today we're just seeing Leon Bailey flip from the left wing to the right. While not as crazy as the other two players we've had come through, he's a playable right-winger, especially if you're rocking a Bundesliga side.

Unfortunately, while Bailey is undoubtedly playable in FIFA 21, I don't know if he's worth the coins. As a Jamaican, his links are relatively pitiful. Don't get me wrong, if you need a left-winger for your German league team, he's probably worth unlocking. That said, you're hamstringing your squad-building options.

Of course, it's hard to turn down that blistering pace and dribbling combo on the wing. Once you slap a Finisher chem style on him, he's a monster. And for less than 100,000 coins, he's certainly worth consideration. Put it this way, if he had a linkable nation, that price would easily double. If you do decide to complete him, check out the solution below to help get you started.

If you've been keeping up with the solutions I've been using for FUT Freeze, you'll notice I'm using Bundesliga players again. Yesterday, I decided to not do Cristian Ansaldi, so I'm back to using the German league. From a difficulty standpoint, this is a pretty easy one to put together. Just pick a league you have several high-rated players and fill in as needed.

The daily puzzle SBC is worth completing today as well. It only requires five gold players, so pick a few smaller leagues (LIGA BBVA, Turkey, etc.) and fill it in with bronze players from minor leagues. EA has also dropped three new upgrade SBCs, making now a fantastic time to pick up some high-rated fodder ahead of the end of FUT Freeze and Team of the Year.

FIFA 21 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Be sure to check back tomorrow for a guide to the latest FUT Freeze player.

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Cyberpunk 2077 Devs Will Receive Their Bonuses Regardless of Review Scores

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According to a new report from the Bloomberg, executives at CD Projekt took responsibility for the buggy release of Cyberpunk 2077 and told staff that they will receive their full bonuses no matter how the game is reviewed. Previously, the developers were told they would receive extra pay based on the game's aggregated critical performance represented by Metacritic.

Adam Badowski, studio head and creative director, wrote the following in an email obtained by Bloomerg to the staff: "We initially had a bonus system that was focused on the game's ratings and the release date, but after consideration, we believe that measure is simply not fair under the circumstances. We underestimated the lengths and complexity involved to make this a reality, and still you did everything you could to deliver an ambitious, special game."

While the title currently sits at a 90 out of 100 on Metacritic (which still disappointed shareholders), if it dips below that threshold the game would most likely not meet the original criteria for the bonus pay.

Alongside the bugs that plagued its launch, Liana Ruppert from GameInformer suffered a major seizure while playing the game. This was due to light patterns similar to those used by neurologists to help induce seizures in patients. It was also later noted that the game didn't have a clear epilepsy warning at the start of gameplay, something which has now been remedied.

This same RPG has seen its share of other controversies with reports of transphobia, and crunch culture, as well as the studio also refusing to share information about the game's accessibility. Read up on why we think CD Projekt Red should have confirmed Cyberpunk 2077's accessibility options sooner.

November 19th was the original date that Cyberpunk 2077 should have been releasing. But unfortunately, after going gold, the massively anticipated RPG was pushed back a couple of weeks to December 10th due to developers CD Projekt Red having to finalize as many as nine different versions of the game, specifically fixing optimization issues on current-gen versions.

CD Projekt Red put out a report that states that the studio has already seen a return on its investment on its first day. The report states that the royalties receivable by the company in association with pre-order sales across all distribution channels have exceeded both the total development costs related to the game as well as the marketing and promotional costs that have already incurred or anticipated for the rest of 2020.

Cyberpunk 2077 is currently available for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia. The game is also playable on the Xbox Series X|S and PS5 thanks to backward compatibility.

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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Character Mural Reveals Sephiroth's Cozy Spot Next to Cloud

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One of the most underrated aspects of a new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter reveal (other than what will the Kirby version look like) is where the new character will show up in the massive character mural. And thanks to Nintendo Europe, the answer to this very vital question has been revealed. Sephiroth, who was announced during this year's The Game Awards, finds himself right next to his arch-nemesis Cloud Strife:

While I'm sure that Cloud isn't too thrilled seeing Sephiroth near him, the main villain seems to be more than fine with the arrangement. Meanwhile Nintendo America will be showcasing their latest DLC fighter Sephiroth in a new livestream. The livestream will be hosted by Director Masahiro Sakurai and will take place on December 17th at 2pm PT (5pm ET).

Sephiroth will be the third new character in the second Fighters Pass DLC and the second representative from the Final Fantasy series after Cloud was added in the Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U titles. Nintendo also revealed that Sephiroth will be added to the roster sometime later this month. So far, the first two characters in the second DLC pass have included Min-Min from ARMS and Steve & Alex (and an assortment of other characters) from Minecraft.

Sephiroth is now the second character to have made their Smash Bros. debut at The Game Awards after Persona 5's Joker was revealed as the first new DLC fighter at The Game Awards 2018. Naturally, his inclusion was a surprise at that year's award show and paved the way for the rest of the new DLC fighter additions that we have seen come to Ultimate in the past two years. So far that has ranged from familiar Nintendo characters like ARMS' Min-Min and Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses to a few long-requested fan favorites like Banjo-Kazooie and Steve from Minecraft.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available now exclusively on Nintendo Switch. You can check out our review of the game, in which our Editor in Chief Ryan Meitzler gave it a 9 out of 10 and stated that "with a massive roster, tons of customization, and more fan service than you can ever imagine, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the series in near-perfect form."

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Twin Mirror Review — A Pale Imitation

Twin Mirror

Early on, I got a chance to preview Dontnod's latest adventure game Twin Mirror. It certainly set my expectations pretty high for the final release. While I understood some of my issues with the puzzle-solving aspects during the preview most likely wouldn't be fixed by release, I hoped the story would continue to capture my attention much like Dontnod's previous titles have. Life Is Strange and Tell Me Why told vastly different stories. However, both resonated with me on a human level and offered a series of characters and journeys that I still think about to this day. Meanwhile, Twin Mirror has a personality and story that I will struggle to remember after a month.

Twin Mirror, Dontnod

Twin Mirror's plot setup is the story of Sam Higgs coming back to his hometown after spending years away. Before he left, Sam wrote an article that shook up the small town. It ended up causing the mine's closure, which put a ton of residents out of work. As you might imagine, Sam's relationship with everyone is understandably uneasy when he returns. On top of that, his closest friend Nick passed away under suspicious circumstances while investigating something big happening within the town.

A Dontnod game is not complete unless one of the main characters has a unique ability to guide them through puzzles and story beats, and Twin Mirror is no different. Sam can enter what he calls his Mind Palace. It's a solitary oasis away from the outside world where he can relive memories and experiences. Plus, he's able to reenact scenarios and crime scenes. If that wasn't enough, Sam also sees and hears a more social and sarcastic version of himself.

This other self guides you to make more empathic choices than overly analytical ones throughout the game. Unfortunately, this cornucopia of different ingredients starts Sam on a frustrating journey that's relatively uninteresting and undercuts any tense moments immediately after being introduced.

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The presentation of Twin Mirror is its most immense saving grace. This is easily the best-looking adventure game Dontnod has produced. They move away from the style that gives Life Is Strange its charm into a more realistic aesthetic. It's akin to more recent action games like Vampyr and Remember Me. Specifically, the Mind Palace looks stunning in the game's early moments, thanks to a glass-shattering motif they carry throughout the story.

Near the end, there's a section when the games start to go a little trippy. Encounters like these stand out because of all the little details Dontnod includes. It's also worth noting that the build of the game ran smoothly with very little to no hitches. Frankly, I was a bit surprised given how modern adventure games often handle character animation. The only places where the impressive visuals are not great are in the random non-essential townspeople that only appear in the hub town area. Otherwise, the game looks fantastic.

In my preview, I likened the story to early Christopher Nolan films such as Following, Memento, and Insomnia—with a touch of Inception thrown in with the high concept mechanics. At first, the story gears up to follow in those footsteps. Instead, the game paints a pretty substandard tale of a man caught between two worlds. He must choose between his doppelganger's opinions and his need to find the facts while trying to solve a trite murder mystery.

Dontnod sets you up thinking the story's main character may or may not be someone you could trust early on. This drives an exciting and compelling intro. Still, as the narrative continues, these nuances get thrown away for elementary puzzle solving and side characters that barely contribute to the narrative— they are there simply to be suspects in the greater mystery.

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With this being an "adventure" game, many of the player's choices are nothing more than trophy and achievement bait. No matter what you choose, it does not affect the story whatsoever. It's not until one late section where your decision matters to earn one of the five possible endings. The mystery and the supposed twist is completely worn territory. If I told you the movie it most resembles, you'd easily guess where they're going.

Having experienced all the game endings, you have no way you can side-step the bad one unless you are deliberately trying to sabotage your playthrough. On top of that, this is also one of the shortest of Dontnod's games I have ever played. My first playthrough clocked in at just about seven hours. When experiencing the multiple endings by replaying two sections, you're getting around nine hours of game. Run time doesn't equal quality. However, it does add to that sense that Twin Mirror doesn't live up to the studio's other output.

My major hangup about this game is that I want it to be better than it actually is. The presentation to tell a well-crafted story is absolutely in this game. Plus, given Dontnod's previous titles, the studio has the capacity to tell an interesting psychological murder mystery. The use of Sam's double could have been fairly interesting if it was woven into the greater mystery. Instead, they seem like two concepts that are at odds with each other when they could have been something more compelling and less cookie cutter.

I really wanted to enjoy my time with Twin Mirror. However, besides its beautiful presentation, the game lacks any of the substance that made all their previous adventure games great. Sam Higgs just isn't an interesting enough character to get behind when most of his dialogue choices are whether he should be a dick or not. Dontnod and their games mean something to the people that love them, be it because of their characters or the themes they inhabit. Where Life is Strange and Tell Me Why soar, Twin Mirror simply flutters in the wind. It's not a bad game, it just feels like so much wasted potential.

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