GhostWire: Tokyo Will Support Ray Tracing on PS5
Of the many PS5 exclusives in development, Tango Gameworks' GhostWire: Tokyo remains one of the more mysterious. It's exclusive to the console for one year after launch and will utilize the DualSense's adaptive triggers and Tempest 3D audio for a realistic experience. However, it also seems that ray tracing will be employed.
This is according to the game's official PlayStation.com page which states the inclusion of ray tracing and HDR. There's also a note that "Dynamic 4K and HDR require a compatible 4K & HDR compatible TV or display." While the developer hasn't officially confirmed the resolution and frame rate, it seem to be targeting dynamic 4K with ray tracing at this stage.
As always, we'll have to wait for more details, though it's unknown whether the game will be present at the Xbox and Bethesda showcase. GhostWire: Tokyo is slated to release this year for PS5 and PC, and sees 99 percent of Tokyo's population vanishing while The Visitors invade the city. Utilizing supernatural powers, the player must exorcise these spirits while solving the core mystery of the people's disappearance.
Nintendo Direct at E3 2021 Set for June 15th
Nintendo has confirmed a date for its upcoming E3 2021 Direct. It will take place on June 15th at 9 AM PT and feature "roughly" 40 minutes of information on Nintendo Switch software. These are titles that are mostly releasing in 2021 so expect some titles for 2022 as well.
The Direct will be followed by about three hours of gameplay at Nintendo Treehouse Live. Nintendo had already confirmed its presence at E3 2021 but the timing is even more important given rumors surrounding the Switch Pro. An announcement is reportedly coming soon though listings for the same could go live on June 4th.
The Nintendo Switch Pro, if that's what it ends up being called, will reportedly launch in September/October this year. An announcement is apparently coming before E3 2021 to provide more time for developers to showcase their titles at the event. A recent report indicates that the console will have a back-flap to replace the current kickstand along with a thicker dock (with USB 3.0 and an Ethernet port) and bigger OLED screen.
Nintendo at #E32021: 6/15, 9am PT!
Tune in for a #NintendoDirect with roughly 40 minutes of info focused exclusively on #NintendoSwitch software, mostly releasing in 2021, followed by around 3 hours of gameplay in #NintendoTreehouseLive | E3 2021.
https://t.co/TMjlZ5G37G pic.twitter.com/Hh1l6y0WVh— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 2, 2021
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Reveal Coming Tomorrow
The Warhammer Skulls Showcase kicks off tomorrow, offering a week's worth of Warhammer news. What better way to start than with Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, the upcoming co-op shooter from Fatshark. It will be present tomorrow at 6 PM BST/10 AM PST on the official Warhammer Twitch channel, though whether there will be a new trailer or gameplay remains to be seen.
Announced last year, Darktide is set in the Old World of Warhammer 40,000. An Imperial Guardsmen squad is tasked with venturing to Atoma Prime and clearing the Hive Tertium of a cult. Enemies include combatants like Poxwalkers while players will utilize weapons like chainswords and Lasguns to mow them down.
Unlike Warhammer: Vermintide 2, there's a greater focus on ranged combat but with plenty of opportunities for melee. Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is slated to release this year exclusively for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Stay tuned for more details tomorrow when the Warhammer Skulls Showcase goes live.
Tune in on June 3rd at 6pm BST / 10am PST over on https://t.co/8M8XsmyGMc for the #WarhammerSkulls Showcase pic.twitter.com/q4wPUavhnS
— Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (@Darktide40K) June 2, 2021
Ghostrunner Launches for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on September 28
When 505 Games acquired the Ghostrunner IP, they made it clear that they had several plans for it in the immediate future. Not long afterward, they confirmed that the game would be getting native PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions, and now we know exactly when those are coming.
Ghostrunner is launching for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on September 28. It will have a ray-tracing fidelity mode and support post-processing HDR. On the PS5, the game will support 3D audio, as well as the DualSense's haptic feedback. Meanwhile, on PS5 and Xbox Series X, it will run at 4K and 120 FPS.
All post-launch DLC released for the game so far, including the Kill Run Mode, will be included in the next-gen version, while more updates are also going to be released throughout the year. Both physical and digital releases have been confirmed, and will cost $29.99 / €29.99 / £24.99. Though, of course, as previously confirmed, those who already own the game on PS4 or Xbox One will get free next-gen upgrades.
In our review of Ghostrunner, we awarded it a score of 8/10, calling it "an excellent game that combines fast-paced action combat with a compelling game world that any fan of action games or cyberpunk should enjoy." Read our full review through here.
Ghostrunner is currently available on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. A sequel is also currently in development.
No Man's Sky – Prisms Update Adds Flying Pets, Reflections, DLSS Support and More
Hello Games' latest update for No Man's Sky, Prisms, is now available free for all players. It's aimed at visual improvements and revamps, from detailed cave biomes to reflections, improved rain effects (which refract light) and much more. Check out the trailer below.
Flying creatures can now become pets and serve as mounts for players while hair and fur provide more variety. Parallax Occlusion Mapping has also been added while Photo Mode has been improved. Stars are now more visible, lending to bright starry skies and vibrant space; warp effects are more detailed; and screen space reflections combine with new space station interiors.
If that weren't enough, new particle effects, increased detail and draw distance for biomes and DLSS have also been implemented. The update is the latest of many to arrive for No Man's Sky, the last one being Expeditions which offered a new game mode along with other content. Stay tuned for more details on future content in the meantime.
Nintendo Switch Pro Listings Allegedly Spotted in Multiple Retailer Databases
Another day, another piece of evidence to point to the incontrovertible existence of the Nintendo Switch Pro and its imminent announcement, even though Nintendo is waiting for- well, it's hard to say what they're waiting for. It's Nintendo.
This time, it's more retailer listings. Centro Leaks recently reported on Twitter that they had received and verified a screenshot of an internal listing at a retailer showing a new Switch hardware listing that is set to go live on June 4. While information here is scant, they added in a subsequent tweet that the screenshot shows a non-US listing for a US retailer- which may very well point to Amazon Mexico. After all, they did recently go live with a listing for the New Nintendo Switch Pro before they were supposed to.
But that's not all. As spotted by @nintendalerts, French retailer Boulanger also has the new Nintendo Switch model listed in its database. Though the listing is not available on their website yet, an image of their internal listings database shows that the console is going to be priced at €399, which falls in line with the price range mentioned by several previous reports.
It's been recently claimed that the Switch Pro is going to launch later this year and get an announcement very soon– perhaps even before E3. Whether that ends up happening remains to be seen. Reports have claimed that the console will be 4K capable, have an OLED screen, feature support for DLSS, and sport various improvements to its dock, such as ethernet and USB 3.0 ports and a Surface-style back-flap for tabletop gaming.
Also worth noting that this specific listing is a non-US listing from an US retailer.
That should give you a hint what retailer it is lol
— Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks) June 2, 2021
Info Nintend'Alerts ! La console #NintendoSwitchPro listée dans la base de données Boulanger au prix de 399€ ! Pas encore visible sur le site ! pic.twitter.com/2ll7tyumrg
— Nintend'Alerts (@nintendalerts) June 2, 2021
MotoGP 21 Dev "Surprised by the Smoothness in Development on Xbox Series S"
The Xbox Series S' lower specs as compared to the Xbox Series X and may have divided audiences and game developers alike, but the one thing that Microsoft deserves unequivocal praise for is accessibility of the hardware. More than a few developers have spoken about how easy it is to develop for the Xbox Series S, and how easy the console's hardware makes it to optimize games for it even when downscaling from their Xbox Series X versions (though it's worth noting that some have brought up issues with the same as well). Another developer who's been impressed with that, however, its Italian studio Milestone srl.
We recently got the chance to speak with Milestone's Matteo Pezzotti, producer on the recently released bike racing sim MotoGP 21. When asked about the experience of developing for the Xbox Series S and how he feels the console will hold up for the more graphically intense games going forward, Pezzotti said that Milestone has been "surprised by the smoothness" of the experience.
"To be honest we were all surprised by the smoothness in the development on Xbox Series S," he said. "The console is indeed less powerful, but is was easy to manage through the downscale of the resolution. For sure this is something that we will evaluate again in the next projects, when will gradually take new advantages from all the power of these new consoles."
Of course, there is the question of exactly how the console's hardware will fare as the generation progresses – it's still early days right now – but architecture that allows easy scaling for developers is surely going to help with that.
MotoGP 21 is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Our full interview with Pezzotti will be going live soon, so stay tuned for that.
Project Typhoon, Xbox-Exclusive AAA Co-op Open World Game, May be Announced at E3 – Rumour
Microsoft's massive first party portfolio is definitely going to be one of the best weapons in their arsenal for years to come, but it's looking more and more like Xbox exclusives are going to come from others outside of that group as well. Reports of late have spoken about major exclusives being developed by well-known and established third party developers, from IO Interactive to Hideo Kojima– and it seems there's others still to look forward to as well, which might even be announced soon.
Windows Central's Jez Corden has been teasing one "Project Typhoon" for some time now, and in a recently published article, he spoke about it a little bit more. According to Corden, the Xbox-exclusive title is in development AAA third party partner, and will be an open world co-op action game. Project Typhoon is allegedly quite far along in development, and may be announced at the Xbox E3 show on June 13, with a current target launch window of 2022.
From Halo Infinite to Starfield, Forza Horizon 5 to Avowed, Omen to The Outer Worlds 2, and many more, reports have spoken about a number of games that might show up at the Xbox E3 presser, and even if a few of these reports turn out to be accurate, it's going to be a pretty packed showcase. Right now, this is all unverified info, so take it with a grain of salt- but we're definitely curious to see more.
Babylon's Fall Closed Beta Listing Pops up on SteamDB
Remember Babylon's Fall? Square Enix announced this mysterious new action-adventure title from PlatinumGames almost exactly three years ago, at E3 2018, but since then, there's been almost complete radio silence from both parties on this front. It seems, however, that things could change very soon.
It seems a listing for a closed beta test for Babylon's Fall has popped up on SteamDB. The listing went up just recently, on June 1, so there's definitely been some developments behind-the-scenes. With E3 right around the corner, one has to wonder whether Square Enix is preparing to re-reveal the game soon, and announce a closed beta test at the same time.
The last time we saw Babylon's Fall, a brief trailer showing some snippets of gameplay was debuted at a State of Play in December 2019. We were going to receive another update in Summer 2020, but though that didn't come, the developers did assure in July 2020 that the game's development was "continuing to progress well."
Babylon's Fall is currently slated for PS4 and PC, but at this point, a PS5 version seems likely as well. Either way, stay tuned, and we'll keep you updated on any new info that comes our way.
Far Cry 6 Won't Have a Map Editor
Far Cry 6 is looking like it's going to be the most ambitious game in the series to date. With its non-linear narrative, massive open world, robust selection of weapons, and more, Ubisoft's upcoming shooter lets set to be a meaty experience. But one feature that the series has had for a long time will not be returning in the sequel.
In a recent AMA on Reddit, Far Cry 6's game director Alexandre Letendre stated that there won't be a map editor for players to mess around with this time. With Ubisoft wanting to focus entirely on the game's campaign, they made the decision to drop the Arcade mode.
"No, Arcade will not come back," Letendre wrote. "Removing this mode from our plan was a difficult decision, but allowed us to focus our efforts on the main campaign, transporting players into the heart of a modern-day guerrilla revolution."
Every mainline Far Cry game starting with Far Cry 2 has had a map editor, and it's a feature that series fans have enjoyed quite a bit over the years, so its absence is going to be disappointing in Far Cry 6. That said, given how expansive and ambitious the shooter's campaign is looking, it's understandable that that has demanded all of the development team's attention.
Far Cry 6 is out on October 7 for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia.