Cyberpunk 2077 was, without doubt, one of the most hotly anticipated games of the last generation of console. Between it's mega-blockbuster budget to its almost never-ending marketing cycle, it's no surprise the game saw insane sales despite releasing at the tail end of 2020. However, the game was rife with technical issues, especially for those playing on previous gen hardware. Some of the problems were so bad Sony even pulled the game from the PlayStation Store. While it's hard to say what, if any impact, that had, it certainly did contribute to a narrative around the game as being broken on a technical level. CD Projekt RED has been at work trying their best to fix those issues, and they also think the way the game is talked about will improve with new versions.
On a conference call to investors, as detailed and transcribed by Wccftech, CEO Adam Kiciński spoke briefly about the upcoming PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions. While those editions do not have a solid date, he thinks they will have "a significant influence on sales and the general atmosphere" surrounding the game. Overall, most issues with the game came from playing on PS4, Xbox One hardware (though not all), so presumably Kiciński thinks that positive reception to those will help the game's word of mouth in regards to its technical problems.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on PlayStation 4 (via physical copies only), Xbox One and PC.
Tales Of Arise PC Requirements Revealed
After a lengthy delay, we now know when Tales of Arise will be coming. In September, the anticipated next entry in the long-running RPG series will be here, and it's hitting a variety of platforms. We've got details already about what next gen consoles will hold for the title, but now we also know what kind of rig you'll need if you're partaking on this journey via PC. Thankfully, it's not too demanding.
The game's Steam page is now live. On the minimum side, you'll need an Intel Core i5-2300 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 with 8 GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 760 and Radeon HD 7950 on the GPU side. The recommended only bumps things up to an Intel Core i5-4590 or AMD FX-8350 with a GeForce GTX 970 or Radeon R9 390. Surprisingly, recommended stays at 8 GB for RAM. Both minimum and recommended list 45 GB of needed storage.
Tales of Arise will release on September 10th for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC.
MINIMUM:
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- OS: Windows 10 (64-bit Only)
- Processor: Intel Core i5-2300 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 760 or Radeon HD 7950
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 45 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX compatible soundcard or onboard chipset
RECOMMENDED:
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- OS: Windows 10 (64-bit Only)
- Processor: Intel Core i5-4590 or AMD FX-8350
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 970 or Radeon R9 390
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 45 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX compatible soundcard or onboard chipset
Life Is Strange: True Colors Details Its Eccentric Cast In New Video
The Life is Strange series will continue onward later this year with the latest entry in the series, True Colors. The game will continue in the franchise tradition of following a new cast of characters, while ditching the previous trend of being episodic in nature. The previous titles have been known for their strong storytelling, music and eccentric group of characters. Now the latter gets detailed.
In a new video, we get a full introduction to the game's large cast. You see both the characters themselves as well as their respective voice actors. While each character only gets a small slice of time, we do get hints at what their individual story will be as well as their relationships to others in the narrative. Much like the previous Life is Strange games, no doubt there will be a lot of secrets about each character that will come to light.
Life is Strange: True Colors will release on September 10th for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC and Stadia. You can check out the game's opening movie through here.
Star Renegades Gets Limited Physical Release from Strictly Limited Games
Star Renegades' stylish mix of real-time strategy and turn-based combat was fairly acclaimed when it released on PC, Xbox One, PC, and Switch. Now, fans that want to own a copy of the game physically will be able to do so because developer ININ Games and publisher Raw Fury teaming up with Strictly Limited Games to make it happen.
There are two editions, each of will have 2,500 copies available and are available on PS4 and Switch. The big prize here is the Collector's Edition, which looks very nice and comes with a physical copy of the game, a manual, a sticker a reversible large poster, a modular diorama, an artbook, seven character cards, and a copy of the soundtrack. It will retail for $60.99.
There will also be a Limited Edition, which only includes a manual and case, but is individually numbered. It will retail for $36.99. Pre-orders for both editions are live now at Strictly Limited Games. Fans will have to move quickly to grab one before it sells out.
New Apex Legends Season 9 Trailer Shows New 3v3 Mode and More Valkyrie
Respawn Entertainment dropped another trailer for Apex Legends today, offering yet more glimpses into what Season 9 will offer when it arrives in May. Season 9 will will return players to where they started and adds the Arena, a new 3v3 mode.
Kairi Imahara aka Valkyrie will also be available once the new season kicks off. Valkyrie was revealed in a new trailer a few days ago. She's the daughter of Titanfall 2's Viper, who piloted the Northstar Titan and faced off against Titanfall 2 protagonists Jack and B.T.
Season 9 will also feature an "infestation" that has covered Olympus with roots, tendrils, and other "natural growths." It also introduces the Bocek Bow, a new weapon "capable of inflicting tremendous damage at medium range." Naturally, Season 9 will also introduce a new Battle Pass with new cosmetics, Apex Packs, and other unlockables. Apex Legends is currently free to play on PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. Season 9 will launch May 4th.
You can check out the Launch Trailer below, courtesy of the folks at Respawn.
D.I.C.E. 2021 Awards Winners and Finalists Announced
Today, The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences announced the winners for the 24th annual D.I.C.E. Awards in a livestream. If you missed the proceedings, fret not; we've got you covered.
The big winner was Supergiant Games' Hades, which beat out Nintendo's Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Square Enix's Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Sucker Punch's Ghost of Tsushima, and Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part 2 for Game of the Year. Hades also lead the pack with 5 total awards, also winning Outstanding Achievement for Game Direction, Outstanding Achievement for Game Design, Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game, and Action Game of the Year.
Ghost of Tsushima took home four awards, with wins for Adventure Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition, and Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design.
The Last of Us Part 2 and Half-Life: Alyx were the only other games to win multiple awards, each winning two apiece. The Last of Us Part 2 won Outstanding Achievement in Animation and Outstanding Achievement in Story. Half-Life: Alyx won Immersive Reality Technical Achievement and Immersive Reality Game of the Year.
The winners aren't surprising. While The Last of Us Part 2 spent most of the year as an early favorite, Hades was clearly the game to beat once awards season rolled around. You can check out the rest of the winners here, and watch the awards ceremony below, courtesy of IGN.
13 EA Games Now Updated with FPS Boost on Xbox Series S/X
Well, I knew more games getting FPS Boosts was gonna happen soon, but I didn't think it was gonna happen that soon. Microsoft confirmed today that 13 EA games have been updated to include the FPS Boost feature available on Xbox Series S/X.
Microsoft has spent a lot of time enhancing old backwards compatible games recently, offering enhanced resolutions and boosted performance. The new hotness is FPS Boost, which natively doubles and in some cases quadruples the frame rates of the original games. There haven't been any additions to the FPS Boost initiative was March..until today.
The thirteen EA titles that benefit from the update are:
- Battlefield 1
- Battlefield 4
- Battlefield 5
- Mirror's Edge Catalyst
- Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare
- Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville
- Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2
- Sea of Solitude
- Star Wars Battlefront
- Star Wars Battlefront II
- Titanfall
- Titanfall 2
- Unravel 2
Every title now supports 120 FPS on Xbox Series X, except for Sea of Solitude, which is capped at 60 FPS on both Xbox Series S and Series S. Battlefield 4, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare, Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2, Star Wars: Battlefront, Titanfall 2, and Unravel 2 support 120 FPS on Xbox Series X.
Users can enable FPS boost by going into the "Manage Game" section for any title. From there, they select "Compatibility Options," which allows players to toggle FPS Boost and Auto HDR (which adds HDR to games that didn't ship with it). The updates will be applied after restarting the game. Players can check to see if these settings are enabled by pressing the Xbox button while in game.
In an age where game preservation and backwards compatibility are major concerns, it's good to see Microsoft continue to do the work to support both.
Today is the Last Day to Download 9 Free PlayStation Games
Today is the last day to get 9 games released as part of the Play At Home Initiative, which have been available to download for free since March 25th. The full list of games is Abzû, Enter the Gungeon, Rez Infinite, Subnautica, The Witness, Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Moss, Thumper, and Paper Beast. Four of these titles – Moss, Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Thumper, and Paper Beast – are PlayStation VR compatible.
The games will be free until April 22nd at 8 PM PT/ 11 PM EST. Users can also download an extended free trial of Funimation's anime-focused subscription service (Wakanim in Europe). That offer also ends today. There are some really great games in here – particularly Rez Infinite, Subnautica, and The Witness – so make sure you grab them if you haven't.
Play At Home had two components: providing the PlayStation community with games during COVID-19 and creating an indie fund to help indie studios facing financial difficulties because of the pandemic. Sony ultimately donated $10 million to indie studios.
In addition to the above titles, users can also download a free copy of Horizon: Zero Dawn: Complete Edition until May 14th. Sony has also given away Uncharted, Journey, and 2016's Ratchet and Clank through the program.
Itch.io is Coming to the Epic Games Store
Indie storefront Itch.io is coming to the Epic Games Store as a downloadable app, according to a report by Polygon. For those unfamiliar with Itch.io, it is a popular digital storefront that distributes all indie games of all shapes and sizes, and is home to more than 200,000 games. Now, that storefront is coming to the Epic Games Store, along with several other PC apps.
Users will be able to download the app from the Epic Games Store, and access Itch.io's storefront from there. Epic will not take a percentage of the sales of any games purchase through Itch.io's app. Developers who sell their games on Itch.io get to determine what percentage of their sales go to Itch.io. For comparison, Steam takes a tiered system in which Valve takes between a 20% to 30% cut of sales, depending on how much money a games makes, while the Epic Games Store only take a 12% cut.
"Itch.io is a collection of some of the most unique, interesting, and independent creations you'll find on the web," a representative from itch.io told Polygon. "Bringing the itch.io app to the Epic Games Store will give us an opportunity to widen the audience of people who can discover the diverse collection of indie works that we host."
The move sounds like a win-win. Epic clearly wants the Epic Game Store to be more than just a storefront for games (Last year, Spotify was the first non-gaming app to arrive at the Epic Games Store) and the creators on Itch.io get to put their work in front of a much larger audience. The other apps coming to the Epic Game Store today are iHeartRadio Brace, KenShape, and Krita.
Humankind – Victor OpenDev Out Now, Rebalances Economy and Cultures
Amplitude Studios' Humankind was slated to release in April but was subsequently delayed to August 19th. To make the wait easier, a new OpenDev scenario called Victor is available for those who participated in the Lucy OpenDev or pre-purchased the title. It runs from today to May 3rd – check out the trailer below.
Much like the previous OpenDev, players will have access to the first four eras and up to 150 turns to go from the Neolithic Era to the Early Modern Era. However, there's a brand new map, a greater focus on naval gameplay and several changes. Game pace, economy and cultures have all been re-balanced while new unit classes like Anti-Cavalry have been added.
The user interface menus for District Placement and Diplomacy have been improved as have territory and outpost management. As for why the last two eras haven't been playable yet, Amplitude said its focusing on the content it shared before and comparing feedback with the Lucy OpenDev. Stay tuned for more details on its progress in the coming weeks.