Sony Santa Monica Is Hiring Lead Writer For An Unannounced Title

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Sony Santa Monica has largely been synonymous with the God of War franchise since the first game released back in 2004. That was reinforced with 2018's God of War that saw huge critical acclaim and sales for the company. The sequel to that game, Raganork, has been announced to come this year (though that seems unlikely at this point), but it's not the only thing the company has cooking up.

On their official Twitter, Santa Monica has put up a listing for a Lead Writer job on a new unannounced project. This actually isn't the first time we've heard of them working on something else, as at the beginning of the year they were also hiring for an Art Director for a title. It's unclear if these job listings are for the same project or not, but it seems likely unless the company is working on a few smaller games alongside Raganork.

Whether this is a new IP or a God of War spin-off is anyone's guess at this point. It's hard to parse how far along a project is without knowing its scope and the nature of game development means people come and go frequently, but with these positions being looked for, the odds are whatever this is is probably a good ways off.

Xbox Game Pass Twitter Teases New Game, Asks About "Mysterious Signal" And "Anomaly"

Xbox Game Pass

It's been something of a big day for the Xbox brand as well as Xbox Game Pass. Bethesda is now officially a part of Microsoft and their games will be slowly added to the service as time goes on. 20, in fact, of their classic catalog came today. But it seems as if there is more coming to the service, and a cryptic email may have you wondering what else is coming soon.

The official Xbox Game Pass Twitter posted an email from the tongue-in-cheek PR leaker Melissa McGamepass. There she talks about a new game confirmed to be coming to the service, not related to the other announcement (presumably meaning the Bethesda announcement). She goes on to ask if anyone else has been hearing a "mysterious signal" and if she is an "anomaly" in that.

As some have pointed out, it seems to be hints towards Outriders, as that game has plot points revealing around finding a mysterious radio signal and a superpower-giving anomaly. However, that comes out April 1st, so it seems somewhat unlikely. But there's not a lot else that matches up with the wording, though it's also possible the wording isn't that important or really hinting at anything specific. For now, it's a mystery.

The Elder Scrolls Online Has Reached Over 18 Million Players

The Elder Scrolls Online - Murkmire

When one thinks of MMORPGs in this day and age, you almost assuredly think of either World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy 14. It's largely a two man show for many in the genre today, but they aren't the only two shows in town, and there is another that's managed to get a pretty sizable audience for itself with The Elder Scrolls Online.

Based on Bethesda's hugely popular fantasy world, Online released in 2014 and has since seen a lot of updates and expansions. As revealed by ZeniMax Online Studios Studio Director Matt Firor at the roundtable discussion regarding the Microsoft purchase of Bethesda (which you can see in full through here), the game has now exceeded 18 million players, and over 3 million of those were from 2020 alone. He also acknowledged that the game had a lot of issues when it originally released, but said they have done a lot to address those problems in the near 7 years the game has been on the market.

The Elder Scrolls Online is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. PS5 and Xbox Series X/S native versions are also planned, though do not have dates as of now. ZeniMax Online has also stated they are working on a new AAA IP, but as of now no details have emerged about it.

Outriders Demo Gets Update For Matchmaking, Motion Blur Toggle, And More

Outriders

Next month will kick off with the long awaited Outriders from Square Enix and People Can Fly. The game promises lots of aggressive action for both solo and multiplayer play, and you can try it right now if you want. The game has a demo, which has been downloaded and tried out by a lot of people. It's also something the developer has been taken a lot of notes for feedback on, and now we have an update to address some of that.

As you can see below, the team has released an update that looks to tackle a few issues that players had. Maybe top at the list was a motion blur toggle that many will be welcome to have. Alongside that is also some improvements for matchmaking as well as addressing bugs and crash issues some had. Right now the update is only available for the PlayStation and PC versions, but the Xbox versions will be getting the same treatment shortly. You can see the full patch notes below via the game's official Twitter.

Outriders will release April 1st for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC and Stadia. The demo is available now on all those platforms with the exception of Stadia.

Next Life is Strange Features New Cast and Story, New Power

Next Life is Strange

Square Enix will be announcing the next Life is Strange title on March 18th at its digital showcase. In the meantime, the Steam pages for Life is Strange 1 and 2, and Life is Strange: Before the Storm released a "glimpse" at the next protagonist (see above). A new cast, new story and new power were also promised.

Rumors about the next Life is Strange have been circulated since this past January. Insider Emily Rogers reported that Deck Nine of Before the Storm fame would be working on the sequels since Dontnod and Square Enix parted ways "a long, long time ago." A more recent rumor on ResetEra revealed that the next title would be called Life is Strange: True Colors and that the new protagonist's name is Alex.

Alex's power is apparently about reading minds with characters having different colors showcasing their emotions. It also seems there will be a heavier focus on music than the first game. While the rumor should be taken with a grain of salt, it did note that the sequel would be announced "pretty soon."

Stay tuned for more details next when Square Enix Presents goes live on March 18th at 10 AM PT.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time Coming to PC on March 26th

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Crash Bandicoot has finally arrived on current-gen consoles with the release of Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time on Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and Switch. Check out the launch trailer below to see it in action. Thankfully, PC players won't have to wait too long to get their hands on the platformer.

Activision and Toys for Bob have announced that PC version will release on March 26th. It will be exclusively via Battle.net for $39.99. Graphical improvements and PC-exclusive features have yet to be outlined so stay tuned for more details on the same in the coming weeks.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time launched last year for Xbox One and PS4, providing a true sequel to Naughty Dog's original trilogy. It sees Crash, Coco and friends attempting to save the multiverse from Neo Cortex and N. Tropy, utilizing the power of the Quantum Masks along the way. New Flashback Tapes, N. Verted levels and playable characters like Tawna and Neo Cortex are also included. Check out our review for the game here.

Dying Light 2 Developer Update Announced for March 17th

dying light 2

Techland has announced a developer update for Dying Light 2. It will take place on March 17th and those who join the game's Discord can see it first. The official tweet didn't show much else, except what seems to be a Volatile emerging from the shadow.

Dying Light 2 has had its share of problems ever since its delay last year. Reports emerged of the game's development being in disarray while writer Chris Avellone was dropped due to sexual harassment allegations. Narrative designer Pawel Selinger would also leave the company in January, following which another report detailed the apparent mismanagement of the studio and its lack of direction on Dying Light 2.

The game is currently in development for Xbox One, PS4 and PC but will also be coming Xbox Series X/S and PS5. With the Collector's Edition being previously leaked, perhaps there will be a new release window or gameplay footage. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

Nintendo Switch Leads US Hardware Charts Amid Record February Sales

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February 2021 has been very good for Nintendo with the company having the best-selling title of the month with Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury and the Switch topping hardware charts again. However, it was a strong month for video game hardware sales in general. Sales were at $406 million, which is a 121 percent increase compared to last year.

As noted by NPD analyst Mat Piscatella to VentureBeat, "This is the highest total for a February month since the $468 million reached in February 2011. Year-to-date hardware spending totaled $724 million, an increase of 130% compared to a year ago." The Switch conquered in terms of unit and dollar sales for the month while also being the highest for any platform in the month's history since February 2009 with the Wii.

In terms of lifetime dollar sales, the Switch has already surpassed the Nintendo DS and ranks as the overall seventh best-selling platform. It's also the company's second best-selling platform in US history. Despite Nintendo having the advantage with its established supply chain, the PlayStation 5 still performed very well. It ranked second in unit and dollar sales for February 2021 and through its four-month period, it's already the fastest selling platform in US history.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury Tops US Charts in February – NPD Group

super mario 3d world + bowser's fury

The NPD Group has released its February 2021 report on video game spending in the United States. In the software category, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury was the best-selling title for the month, taking the number one spot over Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. NPD Group analyst Mat Piscatella revealed (via VentureBeat) that despite Nintendo titles not having their digital sales tracked, the Switch exclusive is already the second best-selling title of 2021 year-to-date.

A surprising success in February was Tarsier's Little Nightmares 2. It debuted at sixth place in the charts while also being the fifth best-selling title for Xbox (10th for PlayStation). Then there's Persona 5 Strikers which debuted in third place on the overall top 20 and ranked as the third best-selling PlayStation title for the month. The action RPG is also the ninth best-selling game of 2021 year-to-date.

Check out the full top 20 below, which is ranked on dollar sales. Overall consumer spending for the month was very good, reaching $4.6 billion (a 35 percent increase over the same period last year). Stay tuned for more details on US video game hardware sales shortly.

  1. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury*
  2. Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War
  3. Persona 5: Strikers
  4. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
  5. Madden NFL 21
  6. Little Nightmares 2
  7. Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
  8. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe*
  9. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
  10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  11. FIFA 21
  12. NBA 2K21*
  13. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
  14. Mortal Kombat 11
  15. Super Mario 3D All-Stars*
  16. Ring Fit Adventure*
  17. Just Dance 2021
  18. Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition
  19. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
  20. Immortals: Fenyx Rising

*Digital sales not included

Microsoft Will Allegedly Make "Big Announcements" Across April, May, and June

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With all of Bethesda now officially part of Xbox Game Studios, Microsoft's increasingly impressive first party portfolio is looking better than ever- all of which is to say that fans are anticipating some big announcements from the platform holder in the coming months and years. Microsoft recently confirmed that it's planning an event in the Summer where more Bethesda-related news will be shared, but reports from insiders are suggesting that they might have much more up their sleeves for the coming months.

For starters, as per a report published by Windows Central's Jez Corden, Microsoft could be planning an event for late March – March 26, to be precise – that "may be a tech and platform-oriented event with some smaller game announcements."

However, it seems as if the coming few months are going to be dotted with numerous announcements big and small- the latter more than the former, it seems. Windows Central executive editor Daniel Rubino recently also took to Twitter to claim that across all of April, May, and June, Microsoft will be making several "big announcements". Rather than having it all focused in one big central event, it seems Microsoft will instead go with several smaller events in order to build momentum over a sustained period of time.

Some recent reports have also claimed that Microsoft and Bethesda will both be present at E3, and in spite of the recent acquisition, both will still have separate E3 conferences. With Xbox seemingly getting more games in 2021 that are yet to be announced, it wouldn't be surprising to see announcements spread out across the coming months.

That said, as is always the case with leaks, it's best to take this with a grain of salt for now. Especially seeing as we're still in the midst of a pandemic where plans always seem to be shifting, it's hard to be too sure about anything that could happen in the coming months. Stay tuned, and we'll keep you updated.