Bethesda May Have Set up a New Studio Focused on Remasters and Remakes – Rumour

Bethesda Softworks (and in turn Microsoft) already has quite a few major game development studios under its belt, but if a new rumour is to be believed, they may have opened up another new studio- though this one might be a little unique, and focused on some pretty exciting stuff.

Skullzi, a YouTube who's generally been pretty focused on Bethesda-related news in the past, recently took to Twitter to share rumours he's heard from a couple of sources that Bethesda may have established a new studio that will allegedly be focused entirely on remakes or remasters of older games (additionally, a company called Artifact also seems to be working on an official Skyrim documentary for its 10th anniversary).

Skullzi does emphasize quite a few times that this is a rumour that he himself hasn't been able to verify yet and has only heard this information from other sources, so there's no guarantees that this is accurate. So, you know, grain of salt and everything.

Bethesda does have more than a few beloved classic games under its belt, so a studio that's focused on remaking or remastering these wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. Whether or not this turns out to be true remains to be seen, but we'll keep you updated on any new details that come our way, so stay tuned.

EA is "Feeling Very, Very Positive" About Battlefield 2042's Long-Term Success as a Live Service

Battlefield 2042 might not have a single player campaign, but it's still looking set to be one of the series' most packed entries in recent years. In addition to its regular multiplayer component, it's going to have the promising looking Battlefield Portal available at launch, with Hazard Zone arriving later as well, and seasonal content updates are going to keep adding to the game as well.

Clearly, EA's looking at this very much as a live service (which shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone), and the company's feeling quite confident in how successful that model is going to be for the shooter from a commercial perspective. Speaking during the company's recent quarterly earnings call, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said that the company is "feeling very, very positive" about the success that Battlefield 2042 is going to see from sales, in-game monetization, and more.

"We're feeling very, very positive about it," he said (via Fool). "And we wouldn't have raised our full-year guidance if we didn't feel that was a potential for us, and I think it's an upside for the company longer term during the year. You're going to hear a lot more over the next couple of months about Battlefield live services, in-game monetization, and so forth.

"I can't tell you all that now, but trust that the team is working very hard on this, and they have some very unique ideas about what we can continue to do, as Andrew just said, to create this as a long-term interaction with our consumers versus simply selling a game this year. And we want to build a long-term relationship as we have with Battlefield users for a long time. Portal is a perfect example of how that works, and you'll see more of that and more details about that over the next couple of months."

Battlefield 2042 launches on October 22 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC, with a beta going live in September.

Valve is Working with AMD to Ensure Windows 11 Compatibility for Steam Deck

Valve is billing the Steam Deck as a proper handheld gaming PC, one that's capable of running pretty much everything that a regular PC can, and all the features that they've revealed for the device so far, including all the customizability options, definitely suggest that it's going to live up to that billing. But of course, with Windows 11 launching soon and promising a shifting future for the PC gaming landscape over the coming years, one can't help but wonder what that's going to mean for the Steam Deck.

PC Gamer recently spoke with Steam Deck designer Greg Coomer about the same, who says that Valve isn't worried about Steam Deck compatibility, and from working on the Trusted Compatibility Module (TPM) to working with AMD (whose processors the device runs on) to ensure Windows 11 compatibility, Valve is already taking steps to ensure that the device doesn't run into issues on this front.

"There's work looking at TPM just now," Coomer said. "We've focused so much on Windows 10, so far, that we haven't really gotten that far into it. Our expectation is that we can meet that."

"It's also a conversation that's going on with AMD to make sure that, at the BIOS level, we can accommodate that," he added. "So there's nothing to indicate to us yet that there'll be any issues with Windows 11."

Valve has said that the Steam Deck has been built with future proofing in mind, so it would make sense that Windows 11 compatibility is something the company has kept in mind as well.

The Steam Deck launches this December with limited stock and in select regions of the world, with more waves rolling out over the course of 2022.

Google Considered Buying "Some or All" of Epic Games at One Point

It's been nearly a year since Epic Games sued both Google and Apple over their removal of Fortnite from the Play Store and App Store respectively, and now, updated and newly unsealed court documents in Epic Games' filing against the former reveals that at one point, Google even considered purchasing the company- allegedly in order to quell competition.

As spotted by The Verge, Epic alleges in its complaint that when the company decided to sidestep the Play Store's requirements and decided to make Fortnite available on Android devices via other means, Google, sensing a threat to its revenue and in order to suppress competition and potential losses, considered buying out "some or all" of Epic Games.

"Google's persistent monopoly is the result of deliberate efforts by Google to achieve and maintain it," the document reads. "Not content with the contractual and technical barriers it has carefully constructed to eliminate competition, Google uses its size, influence, power, and money to induce third parties into anticompetitive agreements that further entrench its monopolies. For example, Google has gone so far as to share its monopoly profits with business partners to secure their agreement to fence out competition, has developed a series of internal projects to address the 'contagion' it perceived from efforts by Epic and others to offer consumers and developers competitive alternatives, and has even contemplated buying some or all of Epic to squelch this threat."

The court filing does not indicate whether this was just something that Google was considering or whether this resulted in any actual steps being taken as well, but we can, of course, assume that nothing eventually came of it.

Meanwhile, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeny recently took to Twitter that Google's alleged plans were, at the time, unknown to Epic, and that's something that has only recently changed.

Given the way these things tend to go, it's probably going to be a long time before we get to see any resolution from Epic's legal battle again Google and Apple, but the court documents from both cases have brought some pretty interesting information to light these last few months, so we're not exactly complaining.

Back 4 Blood Devs Implemented the Cards Mechanic to Emphasize Player Choice

Being made a by a lot of the same people who created Left 4 Dead back in the day, and being a co-op zombie shooter in the same vein, Back 4 Blood is obviously drawing a ton of comparisons with Valve's classic first person shooter. Even with all that said that, Turtle Rock Studios' upcoming shooter is carving out its own identity in several ways, and one of the ways it's doing that is with its cards mechanic, which lets players find and then equip cards that each grant unique buffs and boosts.

Interestingly enough, the system wasn't always in the game. Speaking with Gamebyte, lead game designer on Back 4 Blood Brandon Yanez said that the development team wanted to emphasize player choice and allow players to customize their play style however they see fit, and decided that the cards system, in conjunction with randomization of loot and other things, would serve that purpose well. Yanez also says that there's all sorts of cards that can be found in the game, from seriously useful ones to others that are more fun in nature.

"We wanted players to be able to change their playstyle and their world themselves, and not just having the Game Director randomize their loot or the AI," Yanez said. "That was the incubation idea of asking how can we get players to change this themselves. They weren't cards originally, but as we built on it the card concept was easy to understand so that's what it became.

"We loved testing different ideas. Using the cards to come up with different playstyles, how this card could counter the Game Director or another player and so on. And sometimes it wasn't even for practical uses but we love cards that are just fun."

Back 4 Blood's beta is currently live for all those who pre-ordered the game, and will become available to everyone at large on August 12. The game itself launches in full on October 12 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and will also be available day 1 via Xbox Game Pass.

Lost Judgment Showcases Combat in New Screenshots

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's upcoming Lost Judgment has looked typically excellent in all that we've seen of it so far, and for those who've been desperate for some of their classic brawler action after the turn-based RPG pivot of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, it's looking like just what the doctor ordered. Sega has now released a bunch of new screenshots as well (via Twinfinite), which show the game in action.

We get to see Yagami in a variety of locations taking on enemies, from neon-lit city streets to the inside of a classroom inside a school and more. Interestingly enough, Yagami's dog, who's going to be an important tool during investigations as well, can also be seen coming to his aid in combat in one of the screenshots, which just makes him that much more adorable. Check out the images below.

Lost Judgment is due out on September 24 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and Xbox One.

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Dying Light 2 Quality Mode Will Have Better Volumetric Effects and Post-Processing Elements

Dying Light 2 Stay Human developers are working hard to ensure that in spite of the game's cross-gen launch, it doesn't end up sacrificing quality on last-gen consoles. Even so, those who play the game on PS5 or Xbox Series X/S can, of course, expect some perks, with the developers having confirmed earlier this year that the game will feature multiple graphics modes on the new consoles for players to choose from. Now, speaking with MP1st, lead level designer Piotr Pawlaczyk has talked a bit more about what you can expect from those.

According to Pawlaczyk, in Quality mode, in addition to 4K resolution and ray tracing, players can also expect improved volumetric effects and better post-processing elements. Meanwhile, Performance mode will, of course, bring 60 FPS frame rates, though if you're playing on Xbox Series X/S and PC, you can also enable Variable Refresh Rate (which, of course, isn't support on the PS5 right now).

Dying Light 2 Stay Human is set to launch at the tail end of this year, on December 7, for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Stay tuned for more updates until then.

Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One Are Getting a Night Mode Feature Soon

Microsoft's been pretty great about adding user options and accessibility features to Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on a system level, and pretty soon, the consoles are going to get another pretty nifty new feature. It's been confirmed that a new Night Mode feature is going to be available soon.

As its name suggests, it will dim your screen, your controller LED, and allow you to filter screen. Night Mode is already available for Alpha Skip-Ahead users, and is currently only available in English, what with localization work still underway, but you should expect wider rollout for all Xbox users not long from now. Tom Warren of The Verge recently took to Twitter to show the Night Mode and some of its customization options in actions, which you can check out below.

There's no word yet on when exactly Night Mode will be available to everyone at large, but Xbox features don't usually take an awfully long time to be rolled out after being made available to users in a limited capacity, so hopefully, we won't have to wait too long.

Final Fantasy 16, Tales of Arise Take the Top 2 Spots in Famitsu Most Wanted Charts Again

Famitsu has released its latest weekly charts for the most highly anticipated upcoming games, as decided by votes from its readers, and if you've been keeping up with these charts for the last few weeks (or months, even), you'll probably know what the top of the table looks like. Tales of Arise and Final Fantasy 16 have been dominating proceedings for some time, and so, too, have they done this week as well, with Bandai Namco's RPG taking the top spot.

In fact, Tales of Arise occupies two spots in the top 10, with the PS4 version taking the top spot, and the PS5 version bringing up the rear at No. 10. Meanwhile, last week, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's sequel and Bayonetta 3 were in third and fourth place respectively, but this week, they've swapped positions, with Shin Megami Tensei 5 coming in at No. 5.

Much of the top 10 is dominated by upcoming Switch games, in fact, with Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Splatoon 3 coming in at No. 6 and No. 8 respectively. Sandwiched between the two is the upcoming The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki in No. 7.

You can check out the full top 10 below. All votes were cast by Famitsu readers between July 14 and July 20.

1. [PS4] Tales of Arise – 636 votes
2. [PS5] Final Fantasy 16 – 539 votes
3. [NSW] Bayonetta 3 – 535 votes
4. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 – 532 votes
5. [NSW] Shin Megami Tensei 5 – 424 votes
6. [NSW] Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl – 325 votes
7. [PS4] The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki – 313 votes
8. [NSW] Splatoon 3 – 289 votes
9. [NSW] Ushiro – 212 votes
10. [PS5] Tales of Arise – 198 votes

[Via Nintendo Everything]

Sony Will Continue to Release PS4 Games Until 2023, According to Analyst

Sony's lineup of first party exclusives is without a doubt one of the biggest reasons to get a PlayStation console, and that obviously isn't going to change any time soon. With the PS5, however, Sony has adopted a bit of a different approach early on in the console's life, with a focus on cross-gen releases. While there certainly have been some big PS5 exclusive games already in the likes of Demon's Souls, Returnal, and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, it seems Sony wants to release its biggest tentpole releases on both PS5 and PS4, with upcoming games such as God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, and Gran Turismo 7 being confirmed as cross-gen releases.

So what exactly can we expect Sony to fully commit to exclusive PS5 development? Industry analyst Michael Pachter fielded the question in a recently uploaded video, and he believes that simply given the fact that Sony is going to want to sell large quantities of its biggest games, it's going to keep on releasing them for the PS4 as well until it's confident that enough PS5 units have been sold for exclusive releases to be able to sell as much as they want them to. According to Pachter, we might start seeing some exclusive PS5 games by late 2022, but you shouldn't expect them to fully commit to the same until 2023.

"They cannot really ignore the PS4 until they have enough PS5s to really cover enough units that they think they can make money on a game," Pachter said. "You wanna sell about 3 million units just to break even, and if you don't have more than 7-8 million PS5s or 10 million PS5s out there, you just can't do it. There will always be exclusives early on in a console's cycle because they want people to buy the hardware. So it's chicken and egg, you know, you've gotta sell some eggs at a discount to get people to buy the chicken.

"That's really what goes on on the exclusives. But on bigger games, if they want to sell 20 million units, they've gotta make it on old and new consoles. Truthfully, I think they'll support the PS4 through 2023. Ten years. So I think you'll probably start to see more [PS5] exclusives in 2022, and probably all exclusives in 2023."

So far, the PS5 has shipped 10.1 million units worldwide, and Sony expects to have shipped over 22 million units total by the end of the current fiscal year (which runs until April 2022). Early PS5 exclusives have already been achieving impressive sales, with Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart having sold 1.1 million units during its launch month, so it should be interesting to see how long it takes for Sony to decide that there are enough PS5s out there to start releasing exclusive games.