Blood Bowl 3 Delayed to February 2022
Combining fantasy, tactical action, and sports, Blood Bowl 3 – like its predecessors – has the potential to be an interesting prospect- though series fans are going to have to wait a little longer to get their hands on it. Previously slated for an August 2021 launch, it was confirmed at yesterday's Nacon Connect that Cynanide's upcoming game has been delayed, and is now targeting a February launch.
Meanwhile, Blood Bowl 3 is, of course, also also going to have a single player campaign, and publisher Nacon also debuted a new trailer focused on that aspect of the game. Features such as changing pitches, the campaign's setup, competing sponsors, and more are detailed, while some new gameplay is also shown off. It's not a particularly long trailer, but still shows quite a bit. Check it out below.
When Blood Bowl 3 launches in February of next year, it will be available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Contraband is an Xbox Exclusive Due to "the Grandness of the Project" – Avalanche
Microsoft's got a whole slate of major games coming to Xbox Series X/S and PC in the next couple of years, and that, of course, is something that's been enabled by the sheer number of big first party studios they have at their disposal. But it's not just internal developers who're making first party games- Microsoft has also partnered with Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios to publish the co-op open world smuggling action-adventure game Contraband, and though there's not much we know about the game right now, the developers saying it's got some pretty grand ambitions.
Speaking with GamesIndustry, Avalanche CEO Pim Holfve said that the "grandness" of Contraband as a game is a big reason for why the developer has partnered with Xbox on this project, on top of the great relationship they have with the company.
"We've had a great relationship with Microsoft, and working with a first party has been intriguing as well, seeing what that actually means in terms of support and getting closer to the hardware," said Holfve. "It's a new type of partnership for us. We've had fantastic partnerships with Square Enix, Bethesda and Warner Bros, but those are not the same as first-party."
"[It] made a lot of sense to work with Xbox on this because of the grandness of [the project]," he added. "It's not a concept we would pitch to every publisher."
Contraband is currently in development for Xbox Series X/S and PC. The game doesn't yet have a release date.
Contraband likely isn't the only externally developed first party game coming to Xbox. Leaks have suggested that Microsoft is also working with IO Interactive on an open world fantasy RPG, and with Hideo Kojima on a new cloud-based game.
Codemasters CEO and CFO Are Leaving Just 4 Months After Being Acquired by EA
EA completed the acquisition of Codemasters a little over four months ago in a deal worth $1.2 billion, and they have now confirmed (via GamesIndustry.biz) that some significant changes in Codemasters leadership are being implemented. Specifically, CEO Frank Sagnier and CFO Rashid Varachia are going to be stepping down at the end of July.
EA claims that the departures of Sagnier and Varachi were always part of the plan following Codemasters' acquisition, though the plans have been accelerated. Starting next month, Codemasters – which is going to operate under the EA Sports umbrella – will be led by SVP of product development Clive Moody and SVP of publishing Jonathan Bunney. Meanwhile, Slightly Mad Studios will continue to be led by CEO Ian Bell.
"Since joining in 2014, Frank has led Codemasters to a position as a globally renowned studio of racing experts, and enabled their world class talent and passion for motorsports to shine and excel on a global stage," says EA. "Rashid's financial leadership has also been integral to Codemasters' success, his contributions include driving key acquisitions, listing on the stock market back in 2018, and leading the due diligence and integration of Codemasters into EA.
"We are incredibly thankful to Frank and Rashid for everything they have done for Codemasters and Electronic Arts, and we all wish them the very best. We know the culture they have created and their innovative spirit will very much live on at the studio through their outstanding leadership team."
Shortly after completing the acquisition of Codemasters, EA said that Codemasters would continue to operate as an independent group for the foreseeable future, and later reiterated that they would retain their independence the way Respawn Entertainment has since it was acquired by EA. It remains to be seen how or if that will be affected by this restructuring.
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown Releases September 22nd 2022
KT Racing's Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is set to release on September 22nd 2022. Published by Nacon, it will be available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC (via Steam and the Epic Games Store). A new trailer has been released confirming the main location as Hong Kong, which is presented in "glorious one-to-one scale." Check it out below.
There will be two paths to pick – Street or Sharp – though what this means in the grand scheme of things isn't known. However, players will be free to progress as they like, exploring the world and racing with luxury brands like Apollo, Dodge, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche and Ferrari. Of course, you'll have to first work your way up to these.
Both cars and one's avatar can be customized with an emphasizing on dressing to impress for the latter. While the new trailer doesn't seem to show any actual gameplay, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is still a ways off. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.
Steelrising Releases in June 2022, New Gameplay Trailer Revealed
During the recent Nacon Connect, Spiders Studio's action RPG Steelrising was confirmed to be releasing in June 2022. It will be available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC via Steam. A new gameplay trailer was also revealed which provides a much better look at how the combat and action plays out. Check it out below.
The story takes place in an alternative history Paris where King Louis XVI has deployed an army of murderous machines. As Queen Marie-Antoinette's robotic bodyguard Aegis, you're sent to aid the Revolution and stop the king's tyrannical reign. The trailer below sees Aegis using a variety of weapons, from a halberd to twin hand fans (that can also double up as a shield for blocking projectiles).
Unlike Spiders' previous RPGs, Steelrising is taking more of an action approach, emphasizing verticality and multiple paths in each level. A closed playtest took place in March for PC but it's likely that another one will happen in the coming months. Stay tuned in the meantime for more details.
The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum Gets New Footage And Details, Aiming For Fall 2022 Release
Gollum may not have been your first thought for a protagonist in a video game based on the popular The Lord of the Rings franchise, but it was not that long ago that a stealth action game was announced that would feature the franchise villain in the unexpected role. The game has had quite the rollercoaster ride since then, originally being announced as a next gen only affair until being revealed to be coming to current gen systems as well. It was also delayed until next year– but now we have an idea of when we'll see it, as well as some new footage.
A new trailer was released at today's Nacon Connect, which you can see in full below. It features Daedalic Entertainment Producer Harald Riegler talking about the game, interlaced with some new footage. There he speaks about some aspects of the game, including the constant mental conflict within Gollum between his new twisted ring-obsessed form and his former, more sane self. We also see some renders of key characters you'll encounter, including one very wise looking Gandalf.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is aiming for a Fall 2022 release now, and will launch on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, and PC.
RoboCop: Rogue City Announced For Consoles And PC, Coming 2023
The 1980s was a decade rife for action movies in American cinema. Among the many unique films out there was RoboCop. The film told the tragic tale of Alex Murphy, a police officer killed in the line of duty in the near future in the crime-ridden city of Old Detroit, and turned into the titular cyborg hero. The film was, to say the least, popular and spawned sequels and various other media. There's even been a few video games, though the property has been absent from that field for a long time. Now that is going to change, though it won't be all that soon.
Revealed at today's Nacon Connect, the publisher announced they are working on a new title based on the franchise called RoboCop: Rogue City. The game will be developed by Teyon, who helped bring another classic 1980s action film to the game's medium with Terminator: Resistance last year. You can see the teaser below. There isn't much there, just giving us a glimpse of the hero's infamous detachable gun coming from the hip.
RoboCop: Rogue City will release for unspecified consoles and PC sometime in 2023. As of now, no other details are known.
Next God of War Will Receive a New Trailer in August – Rumor
With Sony confirming that its next State of Play would focus on Deathloop, indie titles and third-party games, there was some deflation at the next God of War and Horizon Forbidden West not being featured. Rumors did state that Sony Santa Monica's title would have a new trailer at a PlayStation event (not necessarily the same event but still). However, it's possible that the reveal will be happening a little later down the line.
According to QuimSix on Reddit, whose source revealed that a PlayStation event would happen on July 8th, the next God of War will apparently receive a trailer in August. Horizon Forbidden West will also receive new trailers and a release date later this Summer, though a specific time frame wasn't provided. It's worth noting that the user leaked several details about Far Cry 6 back in May including the figurine of Antón and Diego Castillo.
Take things with a grain of salt as usual, but it seems that the upcoming State of Play is rumored to feature titles like Grand Theft Auto 5: Enhanced and Expanded along with the extended look at Deathloop. It will air at 2 AM PT/5 PM ET on July 8th so stay tuned for more details.
Is Konami Gearing up for a Comeback?
The road to redemption is typically a hard one to walk, and few companies in the video game industry should know this as intimately as Konami. For those of us who have been around a while, the word Konami still has a certain air to it that invokes a sense of excellence and timeless acumen. Arcade classics like Frogger, Gradius, and Contra were stupendous games that live on today. They even transitioned into the console space with tour de force games like Castlevania, Metal Gear Solid, and Silent Hill that all went on to spur long-running franchises that continue to shape the entire gaming medium today. Dependability, greatness, even supremacy in the eyes of many, were words so synonymous with Konami for so long that it can still be hard for some of us to remember that the Konami of recent years is so radically different. As with any major decline, it's not easy to pinpoint an exact origin of the beginning of it.
Handing off the development of Silent Hill games to far less experienced developers in the seventh generation is probably about where I would put it, but depending on what you consider to be an error in judgement, you may place it somewhere else, but regardless, most gamers now agree that Konami just isn't what it was all those years ago and they've been far less dependable than their former selves for some time. Many also likely agree that the apex of their modern-era disappointments was the cancelling of the overwhelmingly promising Kojima-led project Silent Hills and the subsequent treatment of Hideo Kojima afterwards i.e., not allowing him to appear at the 2015 game awards to accept his industry icon award. After that they scorched the earth even further by delisting P.T. and delisting themselves from the New York Stock Exchange. This was a moment that will live on in infamy for Konami, and no matter how much they turn things around one day, they will likely never live that one down. That said, there is plenty of reason to believe that Konami is making such an attempt. For better or for worse, despite all the damage that Konami has done to its reputation in recent years, they may just be in the midst of threading that needle and making some significant strides to repair said damage.
The past few years for Konami have been rather interesting. Following the multi-layered debacle of their fallout with Hideo Kojima, the company did engage in a notable shift from investing in their classic video game franchises to other, less noteworthy games, and have also completely restructured their production divisions in such a way that seemed to signal less of an emphasis on video games entirely. Konami has spent an uncharacteristic amount of time from 2015 until now investing in various arcade amusements and the like, even making some themed with their classic franchises of yesteryear, which can feel like salt in the wound to many of us who were already disappointed in their decisions before that. At the same time, several of Konami's main video game development studios have been completely dissolved, but according to the same shareholder announcement that revealed this, they maintain they are not shutting down game development altogether.
So, what does this mean? Shutting down several internal studios and consolidating resources while shifting emphasis to entirely different sectors is hard to categorize as anything other than a deliberate stepping away from video games, yet they still feel the need to proclaim that they aren't doing that. In fact, post-Kojima-debacle releases like Metal Gear Survive, Bomberman R, and Contra Rouge Corps seem to suggest that they are still in the game. But given that many of their recent efforts in the last few years have fallen far below the level of quality that many expect, this has led some to actually hope for Konami to leave the industry and sell off their IPs to other companies who will actually make good games out of them. Of course, one-time sell-offs of classic intellectual properties isn't the smart decision for a company like Konami do – at least at this point. What they should – and likely are – planning is to license them out to other publishers for predetermined amounts of time, allowing other more capable teams to make the games while Konami can sit back and collect perpetual checks with little to no investment on their part. With rumors continuing to swirl about Silent Hill and Metal Gear reboots, and to a lesser extent rumbling about a return of Castlevania, it would make a lot of sense if those two situations were connected.
On top of that, we are also seeing a lot of leaning into Konami's classic games. Multiple collections have been released within the last few years that feature some of Konami's best titles. Castlevania Requiem, which includes what are arguably the franchises best two games in Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night, the Contra Anniversary Collection that includes most of the classic side-scroller Contra games, a more comprehensive Castlevania Anniversary Collection, and even a Konami Arcade Classics Collection that include many of the better shooters from Konami's classic arcade days.
These collections, while well put together with help from the folks at M2, could easily be seen as a quick cash grab – and perhaps they are – but they are also a sign that Konami understands what still works about their gaming division (or whatever is left of it). They know that there is still a healthy appetite for their classic arcade shooters, Contra, Castlevania, Metal Gear, and Silent Hill. If you look at the totality of what they've put out in the last couple of years and the rumors of bigger things that are still to come, then a real picture does start to form. Maybe Konami isn't really looking forward as much as we would have liked to see with their games, but we could indeed be in for a future for Konami where they lean into their classic IPs with handy collections and smart decisions concerning handing off their IPs for bigger upcoming releases.
So, perhaps the Konami of the future isn't quite going to be the return to form that many of us are hoping for. Maybe with the consolidation of their gaming division and the realignment of their corporate strategy, new games with their best IPs aren't in the cards for Konami themselves. This may be disappointing in a way, but if they can continue to keep their older games alive with nifty collections and continue to let those IPs evolve with newer games by placing them in the hands of other publishers that are better situated to take on those risks, maybe we don't really need Konami to return to form. If they can let others do the heavy lifting while they make smart choices about who those others ultimately are, Konami can do just fine by sitting back and playing the licensing game. As long as that's a game they want to play, and we can continue to see new adventures in their long-standing IPs, I suspect most would consider that to be a respectable compromise.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
Watch Dogs: Legion – Bloodline Trailer Outlines Aiden, Wrench, and New Enemies
Season Pass owners for Watch Dogs: Legion will be receiving a wealth of new content today as the new Bloodline expansion launches. Title Update 5 is also going and while its changes weren't outlined, Ubisoft does have a new trailer explaining the new content on offer. Check it out below.
As a new story expansion taking place before the main game's events, Bloodline focuses on Aiden Pearce and Wrench from Watch Dogs 1 and 2 respectively. Both must deal with Thomas Rempart and his new killer robots while also ensuring the survival of Aiden's nephew. Each character has their own unique set of abilities with Aiden using his special baton and revolver along with "System Crash" to cause neighboring electronics to go haywire.
Wrench possesses a special drone and weapon that can fire rounds that apply different hacks to different targets. Both characters are playable online and in the main campaign along with having their own progression systems. We'll see how the story pans out so stay tuned for more details, along with notes on Title Update 5, in the meantime.