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Battleborn Servers Shut Down Today

When Gearbox Software released Battleborn in 2016, there was a lot of concern over whether it could survive against competition like Overwatch. Five years later, it's already been removed from digital storefront and will have its servers shut down today. But this doesn't just meant that multiplayer will be inaccessible. Even the single-player component of Battleborn is going away for good.

It's a shame considering the game's initial potential. Battleborn is a hybrid MOBA/FPS which featured numerous hero characters with unique abilities and gear. The trademark Borderlands-style humor, loot-grinding and diverse builds helped it to stand out against the likes of Overwatch (which is still going strong and has a sequel coming up).

Unfortunately, this never translated into a successful game. Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said the shooter had performed "below our expectations" and updates would stop one and a half years after launch. Gearbox hasn't suffered in the interim though – it released Borderlands 3 which was quite successful and has DLC coming up. It's unlikely that Battleborn will ever see a resurgence in the future but we'll still wait and see.

Hitman 3 Will Receive DLC, Not Looking at New Maps – IO Interactive

Hitman 3

IO Interactive's Hitman 3 launched less than two weeks ago after gaining a significant amount of critical acclaim. It's also been very successful sales-wise for the developer, recouping its costs in less than a week and becoming the biggest digital launch in the series' history. While new Escalation Contracts, patches and so on will be added, IO Interactive is also "definitely" going to work on DLC.

Speaking to TheGamer, executive producer Forest Swartout Large said, "We are definitely going to be doing some DLC, but we haven't defined what that is. I think for now we are not looking at new maps like the bank and the island." So unlike the previous two games, there won't necessarily be expansions offering brand new locations and missions. What does the developer have in mind then?

According to Large, "We're more looking at using existing locations and reimagining them, twisting them. And this time around, we can use the whole trilogy. We can look back at Hitman 2016 maps, Hitman 2 maps – we have all the locations." It's an intriguing prospect, especially for fans who own the first two games and want more whole-sale changes. Whether this will appeal to those only playing Hitman 3 remains to be seen.

Hitman 3 is currently available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch (via the cloud), PC and Google Stadia. You can check out GamingBolt's official review here to learn more about it.

Destiny 2 Xur Exotics – Graviton Lance, Shinobu's Vow, Getaway Artist

Destiny 2 Xur

Xur has returned in Bungie's Destiny 2, packing some Exotics that many might already own several times over. Nevertheless, he can be found on Nessus at Watcher's Grave, where he'll remain until the weekly reset on Tuesday. This week, Xur has the Exotic energy pulse rifle Graviton Lance for 29 Legendary Shards.

Despite its "pulse rifle" designation, however, Graviton Lance actually fires a two-round burst with the second shot having no damage falloff. It's also capable of generating Void seeker projectiles when killing a foe, which seek out the next target. When paired with the likes of Nezarec's Sin, this can be very good for Devour Voidwalker Warlock builds.

Other Exotics this week include Shinobu's Vow (Hunter gloves), Armamentarium (Titan chest) and Getaway Artist (Warlock gloves), each for 23 Legendary Shards. Armamentarium provides an extra grenade; Shinobu's Vow provides an additional Skip grenade while improving its functionality; and Getaway Artist allows for converting one's grenade into a super Arc Soul. Overall, not a bad line-up for a first-time player though nothing truly exceptional either.

The Switch Was a "Make or Break Product" for Nintendo – Reggie Fils-Aime

nintendo switch

The Wii U was a colossal failure for Nintendo. Barring the Virtual Boy, it is their lowest selling piece of hardware of all time, and everything from design issues to marketing disasters, one weird decision after another resulted in Nintendo losing a huge chunk of the marketshare they had captured with the Wii. With the Nintendo Switch, however, they came back stronger than ever, and it's now hard to believe that it wasn't that long ago that the Japanese company wasn't in the worst shape of its life.

Speaking recently during a New York Gaming Awards Twitch stream (via Nintendo Life), former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime talked about that transition. After emphasizing just how much of a disaster the Wii U was for the Switch, Reggie went on to talk about the fantastic turnaround Nintendo enjoyed with the Switch (which is something he has spoken of in the past as well), saying that the hybrid system really was a "make or break" console for Nintendo.

"You know, Nintendo has done so many innovations in the space," he said. "I think what Nintendo did with the Switch, after the poor performance of Wii U, I think to me and what I was part of, that's my lasting memory.

"People forget, when the Wii U launched, the performance over that life cycle was so poor, I mean it was the worst-selling platform, I think maybe Virtual Boy was a little bit worse, but Wii U underperformed pretty radically in the marketplace.

"And when your only business is video games that next had to be successful and the Switch continues to be a dynamic platform – selling exceptionally well. And the ability for the company to come up with the concept, to bring it to life, to bring it to the marketplace, to have not only great first-party content but great third party and independent developer content – that is going to be something I will always be proud of.

"Along with so many of the other things I was part of, but the Switch really was a make or break product for the company and luckily it was a hit."

As of September 30, 2020, the Switch had sold 68.3 million units worldwide, though that number is probably going to be much higher right now (Nintendo will be sharing updated figures soon, so we'll know soon enough). The Switch dominated hardware sales all over the world in 2020, capturing 87% of the console marketshare in Japan, selling more than the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One combined in the UK, and being the best-selling console in the US.

Multiple leaks have suggested that a more powerful Nintendo Switch model with 4K capabilities is also in the works, and if that turns out to be soon, its sales should only continue to increase.

Having a Single Xbox SKU Would Have Been Preferable, But the Xbox Series S Doesn't Require Too Much Extra Work – Dev

xbox series s

We've heard more than a few people in the industry talked about the Xbox Series S over the last few months, and while there are some who have expressed concerns about the console's lower specs, others have jumped to its defence and praised it emphatically (Microsoft themselves included). The question of whether the Xbox Series S' weaker hardware will hold back multiplatform games for PS5 and Xbox Series X going forward has been asked often, but Exor Studios CO Paweł Lekki – currently at work on upcoming survival action RPG The Riftbreaker – doesn't feel like the system is going to present much of an issue for developers.

Speaking with Wccftech in an interview, Lekki acknowledged the fact that having a single SKU of the new Xbox would have been more convenient for developers, but added that owing to the console's CPU being largely similar to that of the Xbox Series X, scaling games for both consoles shouldn't be very challenging. Though he did mention the gulf in the two consoles' memories, which can affect actual game design, and not just visuals, Lekki also added that having a cheaper console that can play next-gen consoles is a smart move by Microsoft.

"Yes, the Xbox Series S requires additional optimization," Lekki said. "While we were able to simply compile The Riftbreaker for the Xbox Series X and it 'just works', the XSS requires additional optimization. Still, it doesn't look like it will require that much work to be running well at 1080p on the XSS. The best thing about the current architecture is that the CPU power on both Xbox models is practically the same. Scaling graphical effects is a lot easier than scaling gameplay.

"The amount of available memory is a determining factor in a lot of cases when we talk about the size of a game world or about how many things can be happening within it at any given time. The size of the memory that is available in the XSS is the actual determining point for the entire console generation as gameplay features have to be fitted to the lowest spec. From the point of view of a developer it would be much easier if there was a single XSX SKU, but given the circumstances I think that Microsoft has made good choices in how to create a much cheaper console, that can still run next-generation games."

The Riftbreaker is due out some time this year for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Sony Isn't Shunning Japan With the PS5 – PlatinumGames

ps5

PlayStation hardware sales have been declining quite steadily for some time now, and there have been more than a few reports of Sony de-emphasizing the Japanese market and the brand being in steady decline in the region. Sony itself has denied any such notions, but other developments – such as a number of high profile departures from SIE Japan Studio, for instance – haven't helped matters.

However, key members of PlatinumGames don't seem to think there's to much to be worried about. Speaking recently in an interview with VGC, studio had Atsushi Inaba denied seeing such a trend. He went on to add that PlayStation is a global brand at this point, so an emphasis on Japan might not make much business sense- though he also admitted that it can be frustrating for fans.

"To be honest, we don't feel it that much, or at least I haven't felt the impact of it myself yet," Inaba said. "That being said, I do understand that the console industry in Japan is not what it used to be and when that happens the priorities of these big console makers will change, and that makes perfect sense to me.

"I don't know if this is an opinion that's out there, and I don't have any personal investment, but just because PlayStation is from Japan doesn't mean it should focus on the Japanese market. I don't feel that way. At the same time, I don't think it's American now either: I think it's international and doesn't really belong to any country. That's how I feel as a developer.

"However, I understand from a user perspective that if we start seeing release schedules prioritising the US over Japan, then that will be frustrating I'm sure. I'm not going to tell Japanese fans, 'that's how it is, deal with it.'"

Meanwhile, Hideki Kamiya also chimed in on the issue, saying outright that he doesn't see Sony's actions as shunning the Japanese market, and adding that it's hard to judge right now anyway, considering the stock shortages the console is facing in the region.

"I don't see that," he said. "I don't see a shunning of Sony from the Japanese makers at all. And really it's so hard to get a PS5 right now that I feel we don't have enough accurate data on how it will ultimately fare in Japan yet."

It's worth considering that the Japanese market has shifted away from consoles by and large, with handhelds being much more successful (which is why the Switch is such a success). It remains to be seen how well the PS5 will fare, though it's probably going to be a while before there's enough supply of the console to be able to judge that properly.

MLB The Show 21 PS4 and Xbox One Box Art Leaked

mlb the show

Sony have taken a little longer than usual to announce this year's instalment of MLB The Show, and though that announcement is not that far away, the leaks for the game have already begun flowing in, to very little surprise.

To be more specific, MLB The Show 21's box art has leaked (via @SayIt2MyFaceBro on Twitter). Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres is this year's cover art, it seems- and of course, as you can see below, the box art for both the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game has been leaked. If you've ever wondered what the PlayStation logo would look like on an Xbox box art, take a gander below.

It was announced at the end of 2019 that as part of Sony's extended agreement for the MLB license, the series would no longer be exclusive to PlayStation, and would be coming to Xbox and Nintendo platforms as well.

MLB The Show 21's target platforms haven't been officially announced yet (and you'll notice that a Nintendo Switch box art hasn't leaked either), but the game's going to be officially unveiled in February, so we'll probably learn more about it soon.

The Medium Has Already Sold Enough to Recoup Development and Marketing Costs

The Medium_03

Bloober Team have made more than a few horror games these last few years, but their newest release, The Medium, was a big step for them. Not only was it quite different from the stuff they've made in the past, it was also their most ambitious and biggest production ever– which, of course, meant higher development and marketing costs than any of their previous games.

And it seems the psychological horror title has got off to a great start where sales are concerned. In a recent press release, Bloober Team confirmed that The Medium has already sold enough to recoup all of the game's development and marketing costs. That's a pretty impressive accomplishment, seeing as this announcement came after just one day of the game's launch. The Medium is also available on Xbox Game Pass, which surely must have offset sales a little bit, though it doesn't seem to have affected the numbers that much.

The Medium is available now on Xbox Series X/S and PC. In our review of the game, we awarded it a score of 7/10, and said, "The Medium is a decent horror game that has some really good ideas, but ultimately fails to live up to its potential." You can read our full review through here.

Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis System Patent Filed by Warner Bros.

Middle Earth Shadow of War_08

2014's Shadow of Mordor might not have been the most groundbreaking game out there, and its Assassin's Creed-inspired structure and open world format may not have been the most unique, but the game revolved around a central mechanic that took the industry by storm. Called the Nemesis system, it saw players creating emergent narratives all of their own, with NPCs reacting to and behaving differently based on players' actions (and failures). 

It's a system that has been praised constantly since Shadow of Mordor first came out (and its sequel, Shadow of War, in 2017), but at the same time, countless people have wondered why more developers haven't tried doing something similar in their own games. Well, as Mark Brown recently pointed out in his recent Game Maker's Toolkit video, it seems Warner Bros. have filed a patent for the Nemesis system. 

In fact, they've been trying to get the Nemesis system for a while. The patent itself is for "Nemesis characters, nemesis forts, social vendettas and followers in computer games", and was even rejected once in 2019. After being re-filed, it is currently pending, but in the "notice of allowance" stage, which means it's just some paperwork and payments away from being approved. 

Fans of the system will not be thrilled in the slightest about the fact that Warner Bros are trying to file a patent for an entire gameplay system, seeing as if it is approved, it likely won't be seen in non-WB games. Of course, we don't see much of it as it is, but that door might be firmly shut soon. 

You can watch Mark Brown's full video on the Nemesis system below. It's an interesting (and very informative one), so make sure to check it out.

Gotham Knights Picks Up Star War Battlefront 2 and Squadrons Writer

gotham knights

With the entire Batman universe and the beloved setting of Gotham City at their disposal, WB Games Montreal are going to be tapping into a lot of storytelling potential with their upcoming open world action RPG Gotham Knights. And to make sure that they're leveraging that source material as well as they can, they've been adding talent to their writing team.

Recently, writer Mitch Dyer took to Twitter to confirm that he has been working on Gotham Knights, a project which he started recently. Along with the announcement, he added that the studio is "making something really special", though offered no other details.

Dyer has been involved with a couple of pretty major games in recent years. He was at EA-owned Motive Studios for a period of roughly four and a half years until August last year, and during that time, he worked on both Star Wars Battlefront 2's single player campaign (which Motive developed) and Star Wars: Squadrons.

Gotham Knights is due out in 2021, but has no specific launch date yet. When it releases, it will be available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.