A former chief legal officer of The Pokémon Company has shared a rare insight into its thinking behind fan project takedowns.
Speaking to Aftermath, Don McGowan made clear that, at least during his time, The Pokémon Company didn't actively seek out fan projects to shut down but only did so when they crossed a certain line.
"You don't send a takedown right away," McGowan said. "You wait to see if they get funded, for a Kickstarter or similar. If they get funded then that's when you engage. No one likes suing fans."
McGowan said he and the legal team at The Pokémon Company would typically only come across a project that used its copyright once it was raised in the press. "I would be sitting in my office minding my own business when...
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Around two dozen Respawn employees have been laid off, part of a series of ongoing cuts at EA that will ultimately see around 5 percent of the company's workers lose their jobs.
Reports of the layoffs began circulating on social media on Thursday, with Apex Legends' social team among the areas impacted. IGN understands that these layoffs are part of the reductions announced in February that will impact around 670 workers. The layoffs are expected to be completed by the end of the month.
EA's reasoning for the layoffs was that it was pivoting away from future licensed IP to its own franchises, making the Apex Legends layoffs somewhat surprising. Nevertheless, IGN understands that EA plans to continue investing in the development of...
After teasing that Diablo 4 would get ray tracing support during its CES 2024 digital event, Nvidia has finally provided a firm release date, revealing the graphics tech arrives in Blizzard's popular action RPG dungeon crawler later this month.
In a blog post published today, Nvidia revealed that the Diablo 4 ray tracing update arrives on March 26. Another interesting thing to note is that the ray tracing update for Diablo 4 comes two days before the game is set to be released on Xbox's subscription service.
Ray tracing is a common feature found in most modern-day games. It's a rendering technique that can create lifelike lighting, reflections, and shadows for PC games that support the feature. In the case of Diablo 4, things like...
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is currently down to just $35.69 at Green Man Gaming (£30.59 in the UK), which is a significant 49% off from its MSRP of $69.99. The Deluxe Edition also dropped to $45.89 (was $89.99). Those are big savings and well worth considering if you want to experience the controversy of killing the Justice League yourself.
There are plenty of other amazing PC deals going right now as well, including Dragon's Dogma 2 preorders that have already been discounted, alongside Helldivers 2 at an absolute steal at Fanatical using their latest promo code. All the deals we mentioned are also Steam codes, in case you were wondering.
Its Deluxe Edition being cheaper than the standard version of Suicide Squad on PS5...
The Dungeons & Dragons video games are coming thick and fast — the latest is a survival role-playing game life sim from the makers of Disney Dreamlight Valley.
Gameloft Montreal is working on the new Dungeons & Dragons game set in the Forgotten Realms. It’s described as “a unique and innovative experience blending survival, action RPG, and life simulation that will test players’ skills in an unforgiving campaign set in the D&D universe.”
This untitled Dungeons & Dragons game is expected to launch on PC and consoles, although no release window was mentioned, nor any videos or screenshots released. All we have to go on at this point is a solitary piece of key art, below:
Here’s the official blurb:
Dungeons & Dragons owner Wizards...
Dragon's Dogma 2 doesn't come until until March 22, but already some players have logged tens of hours in it via the already released character creator.
While countless fans have already shared their wild and wonderful creations, those particularly dedicated to perfecting their craft have started sharing their playtimes too, with some amassing upwards of 20 hours tweaking their characters.
"I'm almost 30 hours in and the game isn't even out yet," wrote Strange_Music on Reddit. "Granted, some of this is idle time but I've never spent this much time in a character creator before. I keep refining my pawn and Arisen, trying out different combinations. Genius move by the Dragon's Dogma 2 team, in my opinion. I'm already 100% invested in...
Hey, remember Outcast? …Ah, yes, I’m being told that no – no one remembers Outcast. But that’s okay, because even if you’ve never heard of the 1999 original, Outcast: A New Beginning is a proudly ridiculous open-world action game that fully embraces sci-fi camp in a world I can describe as, “What if you made Avatar with the budget and feel of Stargate SG-1, except you have a jetpack and nobody takes anything seriously?” Sure, its scatterbrained main story outstays its welcome with way too many menial fetch quests and missions that could’ve been emails. After all of that, it redeems itself with a bonkers toybox of delightful weapon modifiers to mix and match until we break it, plus a set of movement abilities rarely seen outside of Just...
Helldivers 2’s new premium Warbond, dubbed Cutting Edge, is out now and has added new weapons, gear, and armor to the game, as well as cosmetic items such as emotes. But while many players of Arrowhead’s co-op shooter are getting stuck in, some are debating whether the premium Warbond strays into pay-to-win territory.
The premium Warbond, essentially a battle pass, is bought with 1,000 Super Credits, Helldiver 2's virtual currency. And like most battle passes, Helldivers 2's Premium Warbond contains items that must be unlocked with a separate virtual currency, called Medals.
In this way, players can’t simply buy the Premium Warbond and unlock everything it has to offer immediately, although you can get pretty far with it day-one if...
Insight Editions has granted IGN an exclusive new look at the Morrowind chapter for The Elder Scrolls Online: The Official Survival Guide to Tamriel. Featuring vibrant, visceral artwork and advice on how to not get legally assassinated, this in-universe survival guide seems like it could be a must-own for any Elder Scrolls fans. Ja'dasha, the intradiegetic Khajiit author of the book, is your ever-constant guide throughout each of the nine provinces found in Tamriel: High Rock, Skyrim, Hammerfell, Cyrodiil, Valenwood, Summerset Isles, Morrowind, Black Marsh, and Elsweyr.
The Elder Scrolls Online: The Official Guide to Tamriel will be released on March 26, 2024, and can be preordered from Amazon for $39.99 and £24.09 in the UK...
Helldivers 2’s new Cutting Edge premium Warbond is live now, adding new weapons, gear, and armor to the smash hit PC and PlayStation 5 co-op shooter.
The Warbond, which is Helldivers 2’s take on a battle pass, is not time-limited. This means that once you buy it, you’re free to unlock its rewards whenever you like. The previous premium Warbond, Steeled Veterans, remains available.
Cutting Edge costs 1,000 Super Credits. While you can earn Super Credits from gameplay and the Warbond itself, you can also buy them for real-world money. Via the in-game shop, 1,000 Super Credits costs $9.99.
Helldivers 2 Cutting Edge Warbond contents:
The EX Series Prototypes
EX-03 Prototype 3 - Includes a rubber underlayer for insulation. Handy...
Aspyr is under fire over the disastrous launch of the highly anticipated Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection, which is plagued with server issues, bugs, and more.
Launching today, March 14, the $34.99 Classic Collection — which includes the original two Star Wars: Battlefront games — currently has a "mostly negative" rating on Steam with just 21% of reviews being positive. Headlining most complaints are connectivity issues, with myriad Steam and social media users claiming just three 64-player servers were available at launch for the 9,232 players who logged in on Steam alone.
Aspyr seemingly added more servers within a few hours of launch but problems were rampant. "Was only able to join one Heroes versus Villains match and...
Saber Interactive has split from Embracer, with at least 38 ongoing game development projects among the divested assets and over 3,000 staff moving across. However, a number of key studios remain at Embracer, including Tripwire, Aspyr, and Beamdog.
The deal is initially valued at $247 million, with the buyer named as Beacon Interactive, a company set up and controlled by Saber Interactive co-founder Matthew Karch. As a result, Embracer has ceased all operations in Russia. It appears jobs were secured as part of the deal.
There are a number of interesting points in the deal. For example, Beacon Interactive has the option right to acquire Metro developer 4A Games and Pinball developer Zen Studios for a fixed price within a certain time...
Turtle Beach is acquiring Performance Designed Products [PDP] in a $118 million deal that brings together two major third-party gaming accessory manufactuers.
In a release announcing the merger, Turtle Beach said that it expects the acquisition to "provide additional scale and create future development opportunities." Turtle Beach says it expects the deal to drive 2024 net revenue in the range of $370 million to $380 million.
"Acquiring PDP at an attractive valuation multiple relative to the trading multiples of peers implies potential significant upside in market value for the combined company," Turtle Beach said.
As part of the deal, Los Angeles-based private equity firm Diversis Capital, currently PDP's major owner, will become...
In the wake of a successful launch that saw it win acclaim from fans of the Metroidvania genre, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is set to get even more content as part of a roadmap extending through 2024
Prince of Persia's new post-launch roadmap kicks off on March 20 with free Warrior's Path DLC, including a Speedrun Mode, Permadeath Mode, and new outfits for Sargon. From there Ubisoft will be adding the following content throughout the year.
Boss Attack - DLC featuring a Boss Rush mode and more Sargon outfits. It'll be out Spring 2024.
Divine Trials - New combat, platform, and puzzle challenges along with items.
A brand new story DLC - There's no additional info on this content, but it looks to expand on the main story and is...
After spending six hours with Tribes 3: Rivals at its early access release, I could really get used to skiing around at 200 miles per hour while firing a grenade launcher at weaklings with no mind for speed. Channeling all of the silliness and style the series is known for, this lethal game of capture the flag is packed with moments of satisfying exhilaration and devastating defeat, and it largely nails everything I’ve loved about the Tribes games of yore. The trouble is that it only takes a matter of minutes to see all the maps and try out all the classes and weapons currently available, with no alternate game modes or other distractions beyond an extremely long and demanding ranked skill grind for those truly dedicated to their deadly...
Steam Early Access hit V Rising launches fully on PC on May 8 and on PlayStation 5 later in 2024. IGN revealed the release date in a cinematic trailer from developer Stunlock Studios, which shows off the gothic action role-playing game's vampire leads as they take on a new evil.
V Rising begins with the player as a fully-customizable vampire waking up after a century-spanning sleep, very weak and in need of blood. But what begins as a survival action game in the vein of Diablo soon turns into a fully open world adventure with base-building, co-op, and versus multiplayer.
It immediately got off to a hot start with more than 150,000 concurrent players within its first week, and only being available in Early Access didn't slow its...
The latest patch notes for Season 2 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone are here and they rebalance the Longbow and Haymaker, improve spawns, and much more.
You can read the full patch notes here or below, but some of the highlights include those balance changes to the shotgun known as Haymaker and sniper rifle known as Longbow. First up, the Haymaker got a buff with a roughly 40% increase to minimum hipfire spread, maximum hipfire spread, and tactical stance spread.
The Longbow, on the other hand, was taken down a notch due to it being a bit overpowered. In this case, its 30% hipfire spread benefit was removed and aim down sight time has been increased by 21%.
On the spawning front, new spawn points have been added in...
Bellwright, an open-world survival game set in a medieval realm ruled by a brutal ruler, will hit
Steam Early Access in the beginning months of 2024, challenging players to claim the throne
and forge a better kingdom for all. Bellwright offers co-op support and features town building,
intense combat, an extensive villager recruiting system, a wrongfully accused murder and so
much more.
Unravel the Truth and Clear Your Name
Many open-world survival games are built around you and your friends discovering their secrets.
With Bellwright, the developers aim to give the story much more of a spotlight as you soon find
yourself framed for the accidental death of the prince and punished with the death sentence.
Forced to live...
Sea of Stars developer Sabotage Studio is teasing a couch co-op mode as its critically acclaimed turn-based RPG celebrates reaching five million total players.
The studio posted a teaser video for the new mode, called “Single-Player+”, on YouTube, highlighting only eight seconds of footage that shows three player characters seamlessly exploring the world together. Aside from featuring Valere, Zale, and Garl as they take a stroll together, the video reveals that players will have the freedom to grab items while their friends continue on. When we see Valere stray too far away, however, she’s pulled back to her companions via bubble transportation.
In the video’s description, Sabotage explains that Single-Player+ will maintain the...
The first major content update for The Finals is imminent with the forthcoming Season 2. This competitive shooter impressed us in our review with how the destructible environments and tools combined to create jaw-dropping moments, and it looks poised to expand on that with new gadgets, a new level, matchtype, and more. After a few hours playing with all the new toys, one thing is abundantly clear: The Finals are just getting started.
The upcoming Season in The Finals is centered around CNS, a hacker collective that infiltrated the Finals game show. Their “what the ‘80s thought a cyber-future would look like” aesthetic fits in perfectly with the digital American Gladiator vibes, and is infused throughout the new content, whether it's...
Stardew Valley fans have been left a mix of validated and confused after developer Eric Barone confirmed the existence of a long suspected bug that affects the game’s all important harvesting mechanics in an update 1.6 patch note.
Stardew Valley’s passionate fanbase has combed over every facet of Eric Barone’s creation in its eight years since launch, discovering countless quirks, bugs, and secrets while forming the odd conspiracy theory along the way.
This borderline forensic fascination with the game’s mechanics brought to light a bug that seemingly allowed players to harvest crops fractionally faster while moving from left to right, as opposed to in the opposite direction. Now, after years of Reddit posts reporting the quirk...
One Btn Bosses is a clever boss rush game for PC from developer Midnight Munchies that gives you exactly what the name promises: bosses that can be fought and defeated with just one button. But you're going to have to be smart about it. Check out the announcement trailer above and the first screenshots in the gallery below.
Midnight Munchies describes One Btn Bosses' gameplay like this: "Players control a spaceship that orbits around the enemy. The longer players wait to press the button, the faster the spaceship moves and attacks the boss. Behind its simplicity lies a strategically rich experience that will put the skills of even the most hardcore players to the test."
One Btn Bosses promises a four-hour campaign along with an...
Persona 3 Reload publisher Atlus will not release the controversial Episode Aigis expansion by itself, meaning players have to buy it through the $35 expansion pass.
Speaking to Push Square, an Atlus spokesperson said "the three parts of the expansion pass will not be available separately, and only available as part of the full pass". These three waves include more background music from Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal, additional costumes, and the Episode Aigis expansion, which included around 30 hours of extra content in the original Persona 3 which Reload remade.
While this poses no problem for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, who get the expansion pass free, those on PlayStation and PC will be required to purchase the full $35...
If you want to add more replay value to the Resident Evil 2 remake then a mod that shifts the perspective from third-person to the traditional fixed camera might do the trick.
Roughly five years after the Resident Evil 2 Remake was released, a modder has finally added fixed camera angles to the PC version.
NexusMods user alphaZomega's RE2R Classic mod allows players to shift to fixed camera angles, bringing back the original perspective from the 1998 survival horror classic. The mod's listing page notes that "over 1,700 fixed cameras are all fully placed" and users who install it can complete the game from start to finish in this perspective.
As you can see from the screenshots above, the mod greatly changes the mood of the...
The 2024 roadmap for online survival role-playing game Enshrouded has revealed world events, more biomes, and potted plants are all coming to the game this year — but its departure from Early Access is not.
Developer Keen Games announced several new features coming to Enshrouded including in its first major content update coming later in March. The community's Feature Upvote system was instrumental in deciding which features would be added, the developer said, but noted the roadmap overall is subject to change.
The roadmap "doesn't have a linear form yet", Keen Games said, meaning it hasn't decided when these myriad features will be released exactly, though it said its March update would be outlined soon.
Overall in 2024, however...
With Resident Evil 4’s release last year, Capcom’s project to remake the glory years of its survival horror series is complete. But, as the game’s post-credits scene suggests, the remakes aren’t over. And so the big question is: where next? The obvious answer is a remake of Resident Evil 5. But on the game’s 15th anniversary, it’s clear that moving forward chronologically will take Capcom’s remakes into the series’ weakest era – an era of gameplay and narrative decisions best left in the past. Resident Evil 5 simply can’t be remade, at least not to the standards of Capcom’s best work. And so the answer is not to remake, but to rewrite.
Resident Evil is a survival horror series, not that you’d know that playing Resident Evil 5. Sure...
While Capcom’s attention is firmly on Resident Evil remakes as well as brand new games in the series, modders are still breathing new life into the classic Resident Evil games.
Veteran Resident Evil modder komizo_lab unveiled their next project in a YouTube video and described it as a “2 and 3 crossover” developed using “the knowledge I have gained through the development of Resident Evil 2 Overhaul MOD, Resident Evil 3 Overhaul MOD, and Nemesis Scenario MOD.”
The mod revolves around Brad Vickers, who komizo_lab called “the person who got Chris and Jill involved in the mansion incident, and who can be said to be the origin of the Resident Evil series.
”Brad Vickers was a member of the Raccoon Police Department's S.T.A.R.S. Alpha...
A Cyberpunk 2077 player has discovered an Easter egg hidden by CD Projekt Red in the main menu.
While the role-playing game features layers upon layers of open-world exploration with all manner of references hidden throughout, fans were perhaps overlooking this one, which was available from the moment they booted up the game.
Shared by @crushovitz_b on X/Twitter, below, players can discover the Easter egg for themselves by clicking on the version number, which is currently 2.12, in the top right corner. The number flicks between several different symbols and numbers before unfolding into 2.0.77.
"Good find, I started to doubt you chooms will ever find it!" game director Paweł Sasko tweeted in response. "Was hidden way too well."...
Helldivers 2 got a pretty important patch this week, making those pesky Chargers and Bile Titans easier to deal with. But developer Arrowhead quietly added a new Terminid enemy you'll have to look above the battlefield to find.
Shortly after the patch, some players were surprised to encounter flying Terminids, posting screenshots on Reddit. It's quite the surprise, given the fact that there was no mention of them in the patch notes.
Having even more fun with these new flying enemies was Arrowhead CEO and Helldivers 2 Creative Director Johan Pilestedt, who took to X/Twitter to spread some propandga on behalf of the Ministry of Truth. Typical!
"I've heard rumors of flying bugs in @helldivers2. I want to officially refute such...
A single playthrough of the new Alone in the Dark game will take you around eight hours if you rush, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Literally.
In Steam post, 40-person developer Pieces Interactive said players should keep in mind they’ll need at least two playthroughs to get the whole story thanks to its dual protagonists: Edward and Emily.
“If you rush through the main story, a playthrough will take approximately eight hours, but keep in mind that you will need at least two playthroughs to get the whole story (one as Edward, one as Emily),” Pieces Interactive said.
Alone in the Dark is a reimagining of the original 1992 horror game and stars Hollywood actors David Harbour as private investigator Edward Carnby, and Jodie...