Niantic is shutting down Catan: World Explorers after a lackluster early access run

Not everything Niantic touches turns to gold — or becomes an instant hit. Case in point, Catan: World Explorers has been kind of a dud ever since coming to early access in 2020. While the board game is a legitimate hit, the thought of running all over the real world to pick up sheep and […]

PSA: Closers is handing out free level 85 boosts until November 3

Want to play Closers but can't be bothered to do all of that leveling up or playing the game? Then you're going to jump for joy for the game's returning Jumping Character event, which is dishing out a ticket to boost characters up to level 85 and a whole bunch of related goodies for doing […]

Wild Terra 2 adds over 25 new peaceful skills, plans to open Plague Island seasonal content October 14

Wild Terra 2 would like players to both enjoy new peaceful skills and prepare for Plague Island. Both of these things sound diametrically opposed to one another, but that's basically the thrust of the game's content updates, starting with the game's most recent update, which has introduced over 25 new passive and active abilities for […]

Starbase introduces new modules, replenishes asteroids, and makes various fixes in latest update

Starbase's latest patch is being flagged as a "major" patch, but reading the notes you might be let down by the fact it doesn't bring anything game-changing to the table. That said, there are still a lot of things being added with the update regardless. At the top of the list are the addition of […]

The feds are now investigating Activision-Blizzard as the SEC subpoenas execs including Bobby Kotick

Early on in our coverage of the Activision-Blizzard sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit scandal, we noted that the company's response took some ineffective swipes at the state of California bureau heading the investigation and all but threatened to leave the state over the suit. Activision-Blizzard may want to set aside that posturing now, as it'll […]

Uncharted Waters Online hopes to boost visibility with its 'first' official trailer

It's safe to say that Uncharted Waters Online isn't the name that's on every MMO player's lips. The quirky seafaring title has labored in obscurity for many years now under several different owners, most recently Papaya with a 2017 relaunch. Getting eyes on the game's been a challenge for the current owners, so any excuse […]

MapleStory M adds the Dual Blade class and the Victoria Road region in recent patch

If your MMO doesn't have a character that can expertly wave two bladed weapons about with precision, guile, and agility, then what are you even doing with yourself? Luckily, MapleStory M isn't suffering from such a shortage as the game received the Dual Blade class this past Thursday, along with a new region to check […]

MechWarrior Online is tweaking weapons, chassis, and a map as MechWarrior 5 unveils its next expansion

Tomorrow will see a fresh update to the online Mech battler MechWarrior Online, bringing with it some revamps, reworks, and tweaks including a new version of the Caustic Valley map, adjustments to several weapons, and changes to 'Mechs like the Flea, the Vindicator, and the Hatamoto-Chi. The patch will also add a second set of […]

SEED shares blogs about multiplayer appointments, economy, Seedling interactions, and horrifying mutations

Well, I did it to myself. Last time I reported on SEED, I remarked with surprise that the devs at Klang Games only kicked out one dev blog. The fates heard me, smirked among themselves, and saw fit to send a muse to the devs so that they may release another deluge of blog posts. […]

EVE Online players speculate at least 110K players are subscribed based on the August economic report

Last month we reported on some number crunching done by a Redditor that took a stat from EVE Online's July economic report to tease out some possible subscriber numbers. In that report, the Redditor known as Angry Mustache noted that the data had imperfections and that a clearer picture may be available once August's econ […]

Diablo II Resurrected devs talk about maintaining the core experience and hint at post-release content

Remastering a game as venerable as Diablo II has got to be something of a tightrope walk. On the one hand, you're expected to maintain the core experience of the game, but at the same time it's also 21 years old and things have progressed. Toeing that line was a big part of an interview […]

Fight or Kite: Spellbreak's wizardry battles wage on with new content

It's been a hot minute since I spent any time playing Spellbreak. When it first launched, it was a nice part of my nightly gaming rotation. It has a lot of the things that I typically enjoy in my PvP: nice cosmetics, build customization, and intense combat moments. When last we saw our hero (in […]

World of Warcraft makes the Ignore function account-wide in patch 9.1.5

So let's say you ignore someone on World of Warcraft with the poetic name of Clownfart. This is probably a sensible reaction just to the name chosen for the character, but Clownfart was actually being an annoying troll so you doubly didn't want to hear from him. Undaunted, Clownfart logged over to his alt, Clownorgan, and […]

Wisdom of Nym: Reactions to Final Fantasy XIV's job changes from the live letter

One of the things that excites me every time about Final Fantasy XIV is the way that the game can tell you up-front exactly what it's going to be revealing to the point that you know the reveals beyond a shadow of a doubt going in… and yet at the same time it can still […]

Warhammer Online: Return of Reckoning finally adds capital cities that Mythic axed

So a little Warhammer Online history lesson for you today: Originally when Mythic Entertainment was developing the game, it had plans to include up to six capital cities that would be the culmination of the RvR siege experience. However, prior to the game's release, the studio cut that number back to just two. What's interesting […]

Mobile 4X strategy MMO Star Trek Fleet Command makes its debut on PC today

Did you know that there's a massively multiplayer 4X strategy game based in the Star Trek universe? Perhaps it's because you're one of those who shuns all things mobile gaming, but indeed there is such a game. It's called Star Trek Fleet Command, which first made its launch to mobile devices in November 2018 with […]

TitanReach plans its comeback after suddenly receiving full funding from a mysterious benefactor

Apparently, some beneficent soul descended upon Square Root Studios' TitanReach and saw fit to bring the game back up from the dead. After the devs announced in August that development was being suspended due to a lack of funding, studio co-founder Unravel announced on Discord yesterday that the game has suddenly been fully funded by […]

The Elder Scrolls Online is getting new Nvidia anti-aliasing tech in Update 32

When Update 32 of Elder Scrolls Online goes live, it's not only going to be bringing changes to combat to address power creep, it will also apparently be bringing in some shiny new tricks to make things look smoother. Creative director Rich Lambert unveiled the addition of Nvidia's Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing, or DLAA, which works […]

The Daily Grind: Are there MMOs with simply too much to do?

MMO blogger Bhagpuss recently penned a solid article about his time in Guild Wars 2, arguing in part that the game's problem isn't that it doesn't have enough to do but that the content is "designed to be consumed and forgotten" – and there's almost too much of it. "[T]he problem is never not having […]

MMO Week in Review: Elder Scrolls, End of Dragons, and Endwalker

Guild Wars 2 continued its rollout of major End of Dragons reveals this past week, including three new elite specs as we head into the upcoming second beta, which includes DX11 testing. Plus: Mortal Online 2 scrapped its early access plans and pushed launch to 2022, EverQuest II announced Visions of Vetrovia, New World teased […]

Destiny 2 adds a new exotic rifle, shares a calendar of events, and tweaks Trials of Osiris

Bungie is once again full of information about Destiny 2 in this week's newsletter, leading off with the recently added quest for the exotic Ager's Scepter, a Stasis trace rifle full of frigid features. The weapon can be chased now, while its catalyst will be available after reset on Tuesday, September 21st. The newsletter then […]

The MOP Up: Ravendawn's PvP system goes down in infamy

Ravendawn's newest dev blog tackles the meat and potatoes of the MMO's player-vs.-player conflict. Basically, the game is trying to pave the way for open world player killing with an infamy system. It's never been done right before, but hey, maybe the 1,000th time is the charm? "The Infamy System is what keeps the devious […]

Global Chat: New World beta pleases some, fails to grab others

The buzz around MMO Town these days is on New World, and specifically, the open beta that wrapped up last week. So far, the verdict seems pretty positive! SparkoMarcoGaming said, "Overall my first impressions of the game were good, it looks nice even on low settings, and the quests were straight-forward." Alysianah Noire noted that "it […]

The Stream Team: Another attempt at peeking into Voidtrain's early access

Aw snap, here we go again. Last time he tried this, MOP's Chris ran into some technical issues that cut the stream off at the knees, but this time will (hopefully) be different as he peek into the intriguing early access survival sandbox of Voidtrain. Tune in today at 12:00 p.m. EDT to check out […]

Dual Universe outlines changes to warping and docking coming in the Ares update

Earlier this week Dual Universe started writing up details about adjustments planned for the Ares update, with the first post discussing stress a stress system for construct cores, shield changes, and the closure of a couple of PvP exploits. Novaquark has now kicked out a second dev blog covering changes to warping and docking that […]

One Shots: Boom, said the world

You'd think that a world that's already been nuked into a radioactive wasteland wouldn't need any additional bombs lobbed at its surface, but several Fallout 76 players disagree, seeing as how they do it at a regular cadence. For some, like Greaterdivinity, a nuclear explosion is kind of like a fireworks show. Break out the […]

The Daily Grind: What feels like a sufficiently interesting central MMO expansion feature to you?

So while we don't yet have the full picture of how masteries will look for Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons, thus far I am not impressed. I am the opposite of impressed. Fishing is a feature I usually take pains to avoid in MMOs, so the prospect of having various things focused on fishing as […]

Guild Wars 2 stream previews End of Dragons' Vindicator, Bladesworn, and Catalyst

Guild Wars 2 players are getting no shortage of new expansion info lately, between last week's fishing and skiff stream and last month's preview of the first three elite specs. If you are still waiting on info for your favorite class's new elite spec, perhaps you will see it in this week's Guild Chat stream, […]

Diablo II recaps the backstory leading to the start of the game

While it is not like Diablo II's lore is exactly fresh, new stuff in the gaming world, it's entirely possible that you and everyone else has forgotten about the actual backstory to this classic action-RPG. Ergo, to freshen memories and get people hyped about the upcoming launch of Diablo II: Resurrected, Blizzard posted the full […]

DokeV dev talks about world size, finding Dokebi, multiplayer features, and the pivot away from an MMORPG

There are a great number of us who are intrigued by DokeV, the colorful multiplayer open world game being crafted by Pearl Abyss full of battling monsters and interesting modern vistas. While it does appear that we're going to be waiting a while before this one comes out, there's an interview with lead producer Sangyoung […]

Age of Empires IV's stress test is open to all this weekend

There are few titles more anticipated in 2021 than Microsoft's Age of Empires IV. Fans of the series are crossing every digit they have that the studio has made a sequel worthy of this legendary franchise. And if that's you, then you can satisfy your curiosity right now. This weekend only, Microsoft is running a […]

LOTRO Legendarium: Why do we know so little about Fate of Gundabad?

Over the past few months, my general sense of rising hope for Lord of the Rings Online has been tempered by a nagging disquiet about one area in particular. Considering that we've known for two years now that Standing Stone Games was working on a Gundabad expansion for the game, I'd say it's gone from […]

Final Fantasy XIV reveals job actions and battle changes in its latest live letter

The are changes coming to Final Fantasy XIV with the next expansion, and that includes a whole lot of changes to job actions for all 19 of the game's jobs. (Well, changes for 17 of them; two of them will be completely new.) Last night's live letter from the producer went into detail on all […]

WRUP: Photos I will skip over on my phone's camera roll as we talk edition

A blurry shot of my feet that will be excused with "oh, not that one." Seventeen pictures of my cats. A picture of an advertisement in a video game store (I will not explain myself to you). Another blurry shot of my feet that I will pause on for several minutes before saying "oh, right, […]

The Daily Grind: What makes an MMO map amazing?

I love maps. Love love love maps. I spend a stupid amount of time exploring the world on Google Maps, and no, that's not a typo. Not Google Earth, Google Maps. I love following roads and seeing how places are tied together. I love MMO maps. Love love love MMO maps. You could show me […]

Betawatch: Book of Travels begins teasing early access, again

In the long saga of Book of Travels doing almost everything other than actually entering its promised early access state, this week marked an odd departure as the freeform roleplaying sandbox insisted that its early access isn't so far away. It also doesn't like gamers describing the delay as "indefinite," in spite of the fact that […]

MMO Business Roundup: Discord's funding, Bungie's lawsuit, and harassment in online gaming

Welcome back to another roundup of MMO and MMO-adjacent business news. Discord: Investors love dumping money into Discord, and they're continuing the trend, as the chat company gamers know best raised another $500M in its latest funding round. That apparently puts the company at a value of $15B, significantly more than the reported $10B Microsoft […]

Sea of Thieves teases underwater adventuring arriving with Season 4 on September 23

Looking forward to more underwater excursions in Sea of Thieves? No? Well too bad because underwater stuff is going to be happening with the game's fourth season if this teaser trailer is anything to be believed. Underwater exploring. Underwater combat. What fun. Details on what exactly is happening with Season 4 are a bit sparse […]

Champions Online's anniversary continues with a Dr. Destroyer invasion, DC Universe Online celebrates Batman Day with free gifts

It's all about some superheroic celebration going on in both Champions Online and DC Universe Online, with both games marking some noteworthy dates on their respective calendars. Which, of course, means free goodies for players of either MMO. In Champs, the game's anniversary festivities roll on into their third week, which will feature an invasion […]

Final Fantasy XIV posts its fourth anniversary story ahead of the live letter this evening

Another Friday means that it's time for another installment of the Final Fantasy XIV anniversary fiction, and this one is taking aim at a largely unnoticed character. Kan-E-Senna is definitely an important figure, but very little storytelling focuses around her or her particular struggles. So it's a refreshing change to get a portrait of who she […]

Pantheon discusses world building, new hires, gathering nodes, and the path to alpha

Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen's latest producer letter adds to last month's good news with the announcement of yet another hire: environment artist Tim Schuhler. He'll join the devs already hard at work on building out Wild's End. "In addition to our focus on developing Wild's End, world building efforts are ramping up this month […]

Star Citizen highlights alpha 3.15's location-based inventory management system

Are you ready for some hot and spicy inventory management action? Then put on your three-point harness and prepare for the ride of your life, as Star Citizen's latest video digest is all about alpha 3.15's physicalized inventory — the five dollar term CIG is using to mean inventory that's specific to planets, ships, and […]

Kingdom Under Fire 2 is shutting down in October

It's almost time to wave farewell to Kingdom Under Fire 2; publisher Gameforge has announced that the title will sunset for good on October 26th, with the game already unavailable for new players to download and premium currency purchases being disabled. Players can still use any currency they already have, which seems like a tacit statement […]

Elder Scrolls Online's Update 32 aims to tackle combat and power creep

ZeniMax Online Studios is already looking ahead to Elder Scrolls Online's Update 32, which is set to bring major combat changes to the game – specifically in the form of proc set balance and hybridization improvements. "In Update 30 we introduced item proc set scaling, which aimed to lower the ease of access of 'free' […]

Fallout 76 has a couple more patches coming for 2021

The reception of Fallout Worlds in Fallout 76 has been a bit of a mixed bag this month, with some players loving the anything-goes experimental rulesets and others feeling like it was a total waste of resources (especially considering that the main servers still lack basic functions such as text chat and guilds). No matter […]

Kickstarted MMO sandbox Fractured enters fall alpha on September 22

Dynamight Studios is gearing up for Fractured's next testing phase, as it's announced this week that the fall alpha will begin on September 22nd. Notably, players will be testing new abilities, world events, PvP sieges, new points of interest, new monsters, treasure hunting, lockpicking, an expansion for gear and crafting, and an "overhaul of [the] […]

Ashes of Creation snags former Elder Scrolls Online lead writer as new senior narrative designer

It would be easy to assume that Ashes of Creation will be thin on lore owing to its PvP sandbox nature and its main throughline of player actions having an impact on the world. That might not be exactly the case, however, as the game has recently picked up a new hire that will very […]

Design Mockument: Fresh ideas for City of Heroes 2 in 2021

Back in 2019, I had the idea to make Design Mockument semi-regular column because I like doing this sort of thing. I put out one installment of it out talking about a hypothetical sequel to The Matrix Online, and then, uh… 2020 happened, and then most of 2021 happened, and I actually totally forgot this […]

Raph Koster's plan is to build the metaverse tech, build a sandbox MMORPG on it, then open it all up

If Raph Koster's metaverse talk has you more confused than before, then don't worry; his new more technical blog is going to scramble your brains even more. Essential, he argues that Playable Worlds' metaverse tech will help solve some of the difficulty and cost of building MMOs in the modern world, making sharding, custom rulesets, […]

Guild Wars 2: 'Upgrading to DirectX11 is the first step toward being able to do more shiny things'

If the Revenant, Warrior, and Elementalist aren't your Cup of Light-Roasted Coffee, then next week's Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons beta round might not spark your attention. But not so fast: There's more to the beta than just the new elite specs. As promised, ArenaNet is also going to run the DirectX 11 beta […]

How to Change Your Stance in Lost Judgment

Currently playing Lost Judgment and wondering how you change your stance during combat? We've got everything you need to know right here.

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How to Use Your Skateboard in Lost Judgment

Playing Lost Judgment and wondering how you use your skateboard to make getting around town quicker and more fun? Here's how.

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How Many Chapters Are There in Lost Judgment?

Playing through Lost Judgment and wondering how many chapters there are in the game? We've got the answer you're looking for right here.

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How Long Does it Take to Beat Lost Judgment?

Thinking of picking up or have just even started Lost Judgment and wondering how long it takes to beat it? Here's your answer.

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What Difficulty Should You Play Lost Judgment On?

Just starting Lost Judgment and wondering which difficulty you should play on? Hopefully we can help you choose the right one.

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How to Taunt in Lost Judgment

Playing Lost Judgment and wondering how you taunt your enemies? We've got everything you need to know right here so you can humiliate them.

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How to Save Your Game in Lost Judgment

Playing Lost Judgment and wondering how you save your game? We've got everything you need to know right here to save your progress.

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The Best Point and Click Games on Nintendo Switch

Looking for point and click adventure games on Nintendo Switch? We've rounded up some of the best right here.

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Inked: A Tale of Love is an Average Puzzler With Extraordinary Visuals

Solving a tricky puzzle is fun, but it's not as enjoyable as soaking in those gorgeous visuals.

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Gas Station Simulator is a Slightly Janky But Hugely Fulfilling Small Business Sim

It might sound a bit like a forgettable sim-of-the-week, but Gas Station Simulator is much, much more.

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Aragami 2 Review

Aragami 2 is an entertainingly old fashioned stealth game that you can enjoy with friends. At least until repetition creeps in.

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Here's Kena: Bridge of Spirits' Gorgeous Launch Trailer

Ahead of its launch tomorrow, developer Ember Labs has shared a brand new release trailer for Kena: Bridge of Spirits.

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The Nintendo Switch's Latest Update Adds Bluetooth Audio Support

The latest update for the Nintendo Switch has added Bluetooth audio support. But there's a catch.

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eFootball Has a $40 DLC Pack You Can't Use Until November

Pre-ordering eFootball's $40 DLC pack could be an own goal.

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Life is Strange: True Colors and Until Dawn Have a Serious Difference of Opinion

Until Dawn disagrees with one of Life is Strange: True Colors' key plot points. WARNING: This article contains spoilers for both games.

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A New Spongebob Squarepants Game is Incoming

He who lives in a pineapple under the sea is getting a new game.

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Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed is in Development for PS5, Xbox Series X and PC

Crypto's back for some more human-probing fun.

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Tails of Iron Review

Narrated by The Witcher's Doug Cockle, Tails of Iron is a challenging action-RPG with a charming hero and a lot of heart.

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Death's Gambit: Afterlife Basically Sounds Like a New Game

Launching 30th September on Switch, Death's Gambit: Afterlife is essentially a whole new game.

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The Amazing American Circus Review

Running away with the circus isn't so appealing after all.

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Forza Horizon 5 Highlights Nearly 30 Minutes Of Soothing In-Game Ambient Sound And Backgrounds

When it comes to Forza Horizon 5, or any racing game for that matter, your thoughts no doubt goes to the cars (of which there will be a lot in Forza as expected) and the chaos of the races you'll be participating in. No doubt those who get in on the new Horizon are primed and ready to go, but today, the team decided to show off something a little different, something a bit more soothing to the soul over the grind of metal and tires on the open roads.

Via the official YouTube, the Forza Horizon 5 crew has released a video just under 30 minutes long. There is no gameplay here, though, instead opting to give you some relaxing music. It features ambient sounds that will all be in-game as well as the various backgrounds from the game's Mexico setting. It's probably not exactly what you expect from marketing for this game, but might be something to kick back to.

Forza Horizon 5 is set to release on November 9th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC. You can check out the game's opening showcase for something a little more action-packed through here.


The Good Life Set To Release On October 15

We've been hearing about The Good Life for quite some time. The detective game coming from Japanese Director Swery65 will see a photographer coming to a small English town to find herself with the ability to transform into animals while investigating several secrets for a mysterious client. The game was originally crowdfunded and then went through a publisher change late last year. Now, though, it seems it's finally time for the game to nail down a release date.

A new trailer was released, giving the game's launch date for next month. You'll get to see tidbits of the story here, and it begins with the game's whimsical nature while showing off the photography and the gameplay when you're both a cat and a dog. It then takes quite the dark turn halfway through before showing off the more fantastical elements your reporter will uncover.

The Good Life is now set to release on October 15th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch and PC.


Alan Wake Remastered Rated for the Switch in Brazil

Remedy Entertainment's beloved 2010 title Alan Wake has been slumbering for too long, but will be making a long-awaited return soon, when Alan Wake Remastered launches in a couple of weeks. Officially, Remedy and publisher Epic Games have only announced PlayStation, Xbox, and PC versions of the game, but it's possible that it might end up arriving for the Switch as well.

Alan Wake Remastered was recently rated for the Nintendo Switch in Brazil. The rating has since been taken down, but you can see a screenshot below (via VGC). Again, a Switch version of the game hasn't officially been announced, so it remains to be seen how accurate this is. That said, it wouldn't be too surprising to see a remaster of an Xbox 360 game releasing for the Switch.

Alan Wake Remastered is launching on October 5 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. You can check out the game's PC requirements through here.

alan wake remastered switch


Quantic Dream's Star Wars Game Will be More Action-Focused Than Heavy Rain or Detroit: Become Human – Rumour

Disney has been handing out the Star Wars license to game developers much more freely of late, now that it is no longer exclusively tied to EA, and it seems that one studio working on a new Star Wars game is Quantic Dream. A recent rumour claimed the same, and now, Kotaku has done a follow-up report that has dropped new potential details.

Reportedly, Quantic Dream's Star Wars game has been in the works for about 18 months at this point. Kotaku claims that the game is going to be more action-focused and have more traditional gameplay than Quantic Dream's past games like Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human, which were interactive story-driven adventure titles with a focus on quick time events. In addition to those changes, the rumoured Star Wars game could also possibly have an open world setting, as well as multiplayer elements, though specific details on those aspects aren't yet known.

Kotaku also states that Quantic Dream's Montreal studio, which was established earlier this year, is pivotal to the Star Wars game's development, owing to the game demanding expertise in areas beyond cutscenes and storytelling, which is what the French studio has been traditionally focused on.

These are, of course, unverified and unconfirmed details, so take this with a grain of salt for now, though it would be interesting to see Quantic Dream taking on a different kind of project, especially one that's set in the Star Wars universe. Here's hoping we hear something official about it in the not-too-distant future.


Splitgate Developer 1047 Games Wants To Become The Next Riot Games

Splitgate developer 1047 Games recently revealed in an interview with TechCrunch that it wants Splitgate to be 1047 Games' League of Legends. The developer recently raised a $100 million in funding, which would of course – be utilized largely in future development of Splitgate.

Splitgate has been a massive hit for developer 1047 Games, who has ambitious plans for the future of the franchise. In addition to support for newer platforms, 1047 Games also wishes to add a Forge mode and a single-player campaign. The developer wishes to go big with Splitgate, and in turn, wish to achieve the stature of Riot Games and League of Legends.

"There's so much we couldn't think about because we were a tiny team with a tiny budget, but now everything is on the table," said the co-founder of 1047 Games. "We're focusing on the long term—I look at the game as being 25% done. We don't need to be Fortnite tomorrow, but now it really is about building the next Riot Games, the next big games business."

Live-service games have been soaring in popularity as of late, with studios such as Norsefell and 1047 Games trying to tap into this space with relatively smaller budgets.


Apex Legends Server Issues Will Take A Couple Of Days To Fix, Respawn Says

Apex Legends players have been experiencing a number of connectivity issues recently, and developer Respawn Entertainment has acknowledged the problem with a fix. However, issues still persist – which will be addressed with a future patch scheduled to be landing on September 22.

Respawn Entertainment revealed this information in a tweet on the official account. The developer mentioned that connectivity issues are three times higher than the original, which is a concern worth looking into. The developer also mentioned that it would be extending the current rank split by a week, possibly until these issues get resolved.

Respawn Entertainment has been the subject of many hacks and technical difficulties as of late. Titanfall has been plagued by hackers for a long time now, and Apex Legends recently got DDoSed for the very same reason. While hopes for fixing Titanfall are dampening by the day, Apex Legends should be playable again very soon.


Diablo 2: Resurrected Runs "Like Butter" on Nintendo Switch – Blizzard

Among the many high-profile releases out this week is Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo 2: Resurrected. As a remaster of the classic action RPG looter, it sports improved visuals, 4K resolution support and several quality of life features. All this and it doesn't replace the original game like Warcraft 3: Reforged. But for as good as it's looked on other platforms, how does it hold up on the Nintendo Switch?

It's an important question since the Switch was the only platform to not be included in the recent open beta. But speaking to VentureBeat,  principal designer Rob Gallerani said that's it's running "like butter." "I like playing it in the undocked portable mode. But yeah, with all of our consoles, we built them for that experience. We didn't want it to feel like we just ported a PC game to the console. We wanted it to be what was right for that console. We've taken a lot of things into consideration with the Switch, especially if you play it in portable mode. Everything is a lot tinier. Just the overall attention to things like, how big is the font? How are things laid out on the screen? Those are all things that had to cater to that device to play up its strengths."

Lead graphics engineer Kevin Todisco continued: "Same goes for a lot of the 3D visuals. It's tailoring the experience for that smaller screen, the handheld screen that can be swapped out for a larger screen if you dock the console. With every platform we make sure that we tailor the technology to give the best experience on that particular platform. The Switch version is very good. I think people are going to enjoy it, being able to take it on the go for the first time."

As far as the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 versions go, the development team wanted them to look "the best they possibly can." "It's all about pretty graphics. We want them to look the best they possibly can, to represent those platforms, and also perform likewise. I think people are going to be happy with the next-gen versions of the game giving them the best visual experience we can possibly give them."

Diablo 2: Resurrected releases on September 23rd and will be available for Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Nintendo Switch. Recently, Blizzard Entertainment released trailers showcasing each class including the Barbarian, Assassin, Paladin and more. For additional details on the title and what to expect, head here and stay tuned for more information.


Updated Disney Classic Games Collection To Include SNES Version Of Aladdin, Among Others

An updated Disney Classic Games Collection of retro games will include the SNES version of Aladdin alongside GBA and Mega Drive versions of The Jungle Book. This claim comes from Vooks, which also mentions that it will be releasing across all major platforms in November this year. 

Of course, as fans might already know – Aladdin had two completely different versions of the same game on the SNES and the Sega Mega Drive. While the latter was present in the Disney collection that was released in 2019, the SNES version(developed by Capcom) was lacking that was missed by fans. 

Now that Disney has seemingly acquired the rights to these versions of games, the updated collection will include these titles – which should make for some meaningful additions to this already great collection. Different versions of the same game built for different platforms was a prevalent development practice in the past, and a plethora of similar releases made their way onto handheld platforms like the GBA at the turn of the century. 


Hackers Have Already Ruined Call of Duty: Vanguard's Open Beta

As soon as Activision opened the cross-platform play for the Call of Duty: Vanguard's open beta, hackers seem to have flooded into servers. Many fans took to Twitter and other forums to express their views on the matter, which has caused a fair bit of ruckus in the fanbase.

Of course, Call of Duty: Vanguard will be operating on a new anti-cheat system, which has further exacerbated these concerns. This new anti-cheat system will also be incorporated into Warzone with a future update. Call of Duty has already been fighting an uphill battle with cheaters in Warzone, with issues of hacking persisting after several waves of account bans.

Activision also responded to these concerns by saying that bans will be issued to those found guilty of cheating, and the duration of the open beta has also been extended to September 22 across all platforms. Call of Duty: Vanguard releases for most major platforms on November 5 this year.


Kena: Bridge of Spirits Physical Version Releases In November This Year

Ember Lab's upcoming open-world adventure, Kena: Bridge of Spirits will be releasing tomorrow. However, those wanting to get their hands on a physical copy for the game will have to wait until November this year. Ember Lab is partnering with Maximum Games online store for this release format, and pre-orders for the same are live for now, as revealed in  a recent press release. 

The physical version comes with a soundtrack for the game, which is also included with the digital release as well. The physical release will only have the Deluxe edition with all the goodies, and will cost fans $49.99. 

Of course, the situation showcases the demand for a physical version in today's day and age. Many fans and creators (such as Hideo Kojima) have been vocal about the problems with digital media, and how they would rather keep collecting physical editions for the media they love. Either way, it's great that fans of Kena: Bridge of Spirits will at least get an option to choose for a purchase.