Gaming News

Annapurna Interactive Showcase 2023: Everything Announced Including Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth

The Annapurna Interactive Showcase has returned for 2023 and it was filled with a wide range of unique and wonderful-looking games. From the first Blade Runner game in 25 years that also happens to be the first in-house game for Annapurna Interactive to release dates for Thirsty Suitors and Cocoon to the news that Stray was headed to Xbox, the 30-minute show was not a disappointment. However, it did go by pretty quickly and it can be hard to keep track of everything announced, so this article will gather all the biggest reveals and the trailers that went along with them so you don't miss a thing! Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth Is Annapurna Interactive's First In-House Game Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth is not only the first Blade...

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Stray Is Finally Coming to Xbox in August 2023

Cat lovers, rejoice! Stray will finally be making its way to Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One on August 10, 2023. Stray was first released on PS5, PS4, and PC on July 19, 2022, and it follows a stray cat in a cybercity of the future. While the world itself may be futuristic and fantastical, you are just an ordinary, yet awesome and smart cat. To get an idea of what that means, be sure to check out our list of the 10 totally normal "cat things" you can do in Stray, including knocking things over, clawing up carpets and walls, typing gibberish on a keyboard, and more. In our Stray review, we said, "The new ideas it introduces along the way help keep things as fresh as a new bag of litter, too, even if not all of those ideas work quite as...

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Cocoon Gets an August 2023 Release Date and a New Gameplay Trailer

Cocoon, the much-anticipated world jumping game from Geometric Interactive and the lead gameplay designer of Limbo and Inside, will officially be released on Xbox Series X/S (Game Pass!), Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Switch, and PC via Steam on September 29, 2023. Cocoon's release date was revealed alongside a brand-new gameplay trailer at the Annapurna Interactive Showcase and we got another glimpse of the puzzler that allows you to not only jump in and out of worlds, but to actually use those worlds to solve puzzles. Each world becomes an orb when you jump out of it, and you can carry it with you to solve puzzles and even unlock its unique ability to help you finish your quest and power you up. You can also use the world jumping mechanic...

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Xbox’s Contingency Plan: What if Microsoft Loses its FTC Case?

I try to be an optimist in life, and that includes my career and the coverage I lead at IGN. I’d rather celebrate great games than tear down flawed ones. I’d rather look ahead to the games I’m most excited about than lament the ones that aren’t being made yet. And in the case of Microsoft’s in-progress case against the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), I’d rather look ahead to what it would look like for Team Xbox to win the case rather than lose it. However, given that a loss is well within the realm of possibility (you might laugh at that if you’ve been following the case closely, given the forest’s worth of wrong trees the FTC’s lawyers have been trying to bark up with Xbox executives on the stand, but stranger things...

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Scorn is Coming to PS5 Later This Year

Scorn, the horror puzzle adventure game released last year on Xbox Series X/S and PC, is coming to PS5, PlayStation and Ebb Software announced today. While there was no firm release date other than "later this year," a new PlayStation Blog post shared some new details on what PS5 players can expect from the upcoming horror game. This includes support for the PS5's DualSense controller, which according to Ebb Software Technical Artist Jovan Vučković, the controller will aim to "deepen the player's immersion and to let the whole world "breathe" in a new way." "Since there is no spoken dialogue in the game, we have put a strong emphasis on environmental storytelling, " the PlayStation blog notes. "[H]ence haptics are a great addition to...

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Silent Hill 2 Remake Dev Bloober Team Giving Up Psychological Horror for 'Mass Market'

Silent Hill 2 Remake and Layers of Fear developer Bloober team is officially moving on from psychological horror games to instead focus on something more "mass-market". As reported by Engadget, 2023's Layers of Fear — which was an all-in-one remake of sorts of the first two games and their DLC — will be the studio's final foray into the psychological horror genre, which also included games like The Medium, Blair Witch, and Observer. Switching over to what's internally known as Bloober Team 3.0, however, the studio will begin making horror games that are more action focused and require more from the player, perhaps closer to something like Resident Evil. "We focused on the story, we focused on the mood, we focused on the quality of...

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Doom Eternal: Dark Horse Reveals Epic Doom Slayer Figure

Dark Horse is releasing a truly epic action figure of the one and only Doom Slayer. This 1:6 scale figure is modeled after the iconic hero's appearance in Doom Eternal, and it looks primed and ready to slaughter the legions of Hell. Check out the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive first look at this amazing Doom Slayer figure: This Doom Slayer figure measures 12 inches tall and features 32 points of articulation. Highly articulated 1:6 scale figures are a bit of a departure for Dark Horse, which tends to focus on statues and non-articulated figurines like the Cyberpunk 2077 series of figures. However, in this case, Dark Horse has teamed up with the designers of Mondo to bring the Doom Slayer to life. The figure is sculpted by...

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Xbox Games With Gold for July 2023 Announced

Microsoft has announced that the Xbox Games with Gold line-up for July 2023 includes Darkwood and When the Past was Around. Revealed on the Xbox Wire, the two Games with Gold offerings will be available to anyone with Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, with Darkwood available from July 1 to 31 and When the Past was Around available from July 16 to August 15. Originally released in 2017, Darkwood is a top down survival horror game designed to be challenging. Players must craft weapons, prepare traps, and fortify hideouts in order to survive the night, but use the day to explore and scavenge the eerie forests of the Soviet Bloc. IGN named it among the best horror games of that year. "In a genre oversaturated with...

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Microsoft Engineers Helping Get Baldur's Gate 3 Split-Screen Working on Xbox Series S

Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the most-anticipated role-playing games of 2023. It launches in August on PC, then in September on PlayStation 5. But why is there no release date for the Xbox Series X and S versions? At first glance, you might have thought Sony’s Jim Ryan had bundled developer Larian a basket full of cash to secure Baldur’s Gate 3 console exclusivity, but this is not the case. There is no exclusivity deal going on here. Which begs the question: what’s up with Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox Series consoles? The truth has to do with Larian’s ongoing struggle to get Baldur’s Gate 3’s two-player split-screen co-op running well enough on the Xbox Series S, and a Microsoft policy that enforces gameplay feature parity across Xbox Series...

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Baldur’s Gate 3 PC Release Date Brought Forward a Month, Avoiding Starfield Clash

Big news for Baldur’s Gate 3 fans: developer Larian has brought forward the PC release by a month, avoiding a potentially brutal clash with Bethesda’s behemoth Starfield. Baldur’s Gate 3 was planned for launch on August 31, a day before Starfield’s effective September 1 release date. Now, the PC version of Baldur’s Gate 3 launches August 3, giving it a month head-start on Starfield. The PlayStation 5 version, however, is delayed a week to September 6. The Xbox version is still without a release window, as is the Mac version. In a community update, Larian said the new release date “means the PC version of Baldur’s Gate 3 will be released at a time where you’ll have more time to play it”. That’s a thinly-veiled nod to players who were...

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Sega Boasts 'Very Close' Relationship With Microsoft but Makes Clear It Is Not for Sale

Sega has said it has a very close relationship with Microsoft but made clear the company is not for sale after court documents revealed Xbox boss Phil Spencer was interested in acquiring it. When asked by Bloomberg if Sega was open to being purchased by a bigger publisher, co-chief operating officer Shuji Utsumi simply said: "No, not now." The FTC's ongoing legal battle to stop Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard revealed on June 26 that Spencer went to Microsoft CFO Amy Hood and CEO Satya Nadella to request approval to approach Sega and acquire its gaming studios. This fell through, of course, and while Sega has no plans to be acquired by Microsoft, it insists the two still have a strong relationship. "We are very close...

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Avatar: The Last Airbender: Quest for Balance Announced

Developer Bamtang Games and publisher Game Mill Entertainment have announced Avatar: The Last Airbender: Quest for Balance, an upcoming action-adventure game that will let you play solo or in two-player local or online co-op as your choice of nine different Avatar: The Last Airbender characters. It's due out this Fall on all major platforms (PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S). The four elements (earth, wind, fire, and water) will be the focal point of the puzzles you'll encounter. Side quests, character upgrades, and interactions with iconic characters from the franchise are all promised. Check out the first trailer at the top of this page. The nine playable characters include Aang, Toph, Sokka, and...

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Confirmed: Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 Does Not Support Mouse and Keyboard on PC

The PC version of Konami's Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol 1 does not support mouse and keyboard and fans aren't happy. The Steam pages for the original trilogy of games were listed earlier in June then quickly taken down, but not before fans noticed the lack of mouse and keyboard support. While many were hoping Konami's takedown of the pages meant this issue was being fixed, they have now reemerged with the same message. "Metal Gear Solid Master Collection version requires a controller in order to play," reads the Steam page for the first game. "Playing with a keyboard and mouse isn't supported." Equivalent messages can be seen on the other games' pages too. "No keyboard controls it seems," said LordEmmerich on Twitter...

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The Sims 5 Will Seemingly Adopt a Fortnite Monetisation Model

EA will seemingly make The Sims 5, or Project Rene as it's currently officially known, a free to play game that allows user generated content in a monetisation model similar to Fortnite's. As reported by Sims Community, EA posted a job listing looking for a head of marketplace and monetisation for Project Rene which described it as a "free-to-enter" game. The candidate will "own pricing of all content in this free-to-enter game, ensuring we have an optimal pricing and content architecture [and] provide guidance to content teams on in-game content needs to meet player demand. Another responsibility mentioned the in-game marketplace and management of user generated content. The candidate will "own Project Rene's in-game marketplace of...

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Star Wars Jedi Survivor Drops to its Cheapest Price Since Launch in the UK

Star Wars Jedi Survivor, the sequel to Jedi Fallen Order (2019), was a critic and fan hit despite a few typical bugs that have generally been ironed out since. Its RRP at launch was £69.99, which still feels a little steep despite it being the new trend for AAA games, but you can now buy the game for just £48 on sale. That's over 30% off the latest Star Wars adventure and the cheapest retail price for a new copy of the game since launch. This year already feels like it's been stacked with a great selection of new video games, and there's more on the way. But, if you haven't had the chance to pick up one of the Game of the Year contenders just yet, then here's your chance. We'll leave the links to both the Xbox and PS5 listing just...

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Xbox FTC Trial Day 4: Bobby Kotick and Jim Ryan Agree on One Thing – Neither of Them Like Game Pass

Another busy court day in the books, with the FTC v. Microsoft trial set to conclude tomorrow. It was a surprisingly quiet day compared to some of the previous ones, with Microsoft head Satya Nadella giving relatively mild testimony, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick calmly parrying his FTC inquisitors, and a lot more economist talk. We also got to see, briefly, Nadella and Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley bond over a mutual love for Candy Crush. Delightful. Exclusivity For Me, But Not For Thee Console exclusivity has been a part of how video game releases work effectively since video games came into existence. But to hear Xbox and friends tell it over the last few days, everyone in the industry just hates the idea. Figures like Microsoft...

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Sony Accidentally Reveals That Call of Duty is Worth $800 Million to PlayStation Alone

An internal document from Sony revealed a ton of highly confidential information about its PlayStation brand. More specifically, we learned a lot about the Call of Duty revenues for PlayStation platforms alone. The document, which was submitted as evidence for the ongoing trial between the Federal Trade Commission and Microsoft, focuses on a letter sent by PlayStation boss Jim Ryan. In the letter, which was poorly redacted, it mentions how much Call of Duty was worth to PlayStation alone. Specifically, the widely-popular first-person shooter franchise "directly generated over $800 million" in the United States alone in 2021, according to the document. It's no surprise how popular Call of Duty is as the most recent installment in...

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How to Use a VPN to Connect to Diablo 4

Blizzard tech support has recently suggested players utilize a VPN if they're ever experiencing issues while connecting to Battle.net or Diablo 4 servers. This comes after Blizzard spent considerable time fighting a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that recently rendered Diablo 4 unplayable for hours. If you're interested in using a VPN with Diablo 4, then we're here to guide you through the relevant steps as well. Then, in the future, you could be well-prepared enough to tackle any server issues or potential DDoS attacks that may arise during your gaming sessions, ensuring uninterrupted gameplay as much as possible. Quick Navigation: How to Connect to Diablo 4 With a VPN Is Diablo 4 Down? - Current Server Status How To Fix...

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Microsoft FTC Trial: Activision CEO Bobby Kotick on Call of Duty Exclusivity and Other Key Takeaways

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick took the witness stand during today's portion of the Microsoft FTC trial. Kotick shot down questions about making Call of Duty exclusive, admitted he wasn't impressed with Nintendo Switch prototypes before the system launched, and revealed a release window for Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile. Here's everything you need to know from Kotick's time in court today. Kotick Doesn't Want to Make Call of Duty Exclusive Call of Duty was obviously the big focus of Kotick's testimony and cross examination, and when the Activision CEO was asked if he's ever thought about making Call of Duty exclusive to one platform, he said "No." “You would alienate over 100 million monthly active players," Kotick said. "Half of them...

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Stardew Valley Coming to Apple Arcade

Stardew Valley is coming to Apple Arcade on July 21. Apple announced yesterday that the popular farming sim game by ConcernedApe will come to its subscription gaming service under the name Stardew Valley+, packed with 50 hours of content to explore and mobile-specific features such as auto-save. It will also include the latest updates from the game's console and PC versions. You can already download Stardew Valley on your iPhone or iPad from the App Store for $5. However, if you're subscribed to Apple Arcade, you can download it to your device free of charge. Stardew Valley is among four games being added to Apple Arcade in the upcoming month, including Slay the Spire (July 7), Ridiculous Fishing EX (July 14), LEGO Duplo World (July...

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Blizzard Unveils World of Warcraft: Classic Hardcore With Permanent Character Death

Blizzard has announced that it will be introducing a new way to play World of Warcraft: Classic, by adding Hardcore realms where every death is permanent. Hardcore realms will be added to the public test realm (PTR) starting tomorrow, June 29, and are planned for official release later this summer. On Hardcore realms, characters cannot run back to their corpses and revive after dying, or be resurrected by a spell. Character that have died can linger in the game world as a ghost, communicate with other players, explore, and do certain actions such as passing on guild leadership to living characters. All Hardcore realms are considered PvE realms, with Blizzard stating it wants PvP to be "optional and intentional" given the stakes. A...

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DayZ 2 Apparently in Development, According to Court Documents

Bohemia Interactive is apparently working on a sequel to DayZ, according to a new court document. An internal Xbox document submitted as evidence as part of the evidentiary hearing between Microsoft and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) showed the company's acquisition strategy as of May 2021. On the slide focused on Bohemia Interactive, the document's additional notes revealed the company was working on DayZ 2. The document also revealed the developer is working on Arma Reforger and Arma 4, but those games have already been confirmed to be in development, while DayZ 2 has not. "While we are expanding our focus regarding the possibilities of the DayZ game, brand, and team itself, we can't offer too many details at the moment," a...

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Even Fallout Mods Are Getting Out the Way of Starfield

The team behind ambitious mod Fallout London has delayed its release to avoid the “elephant in the room” that is Starfield. In a video update, project lead Prilladog admitted the delay of Bethesda’s upcoming behemoth to September caused Fallout London to move from launching around the same time to the fourth quarter of this year (some time from October to December). “Initially we had hoped for it to be in the third quarter, as in the one that’s coming up,” Prilladog said. “However a certain space game got delayed, and is now scheduled to come out around the same time we had planned. “So, as a result, we’re making our release for the last quarter. This not only gives you all more time to play Starfield, but also allows us more time...

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Donald Duck Is No Longer the Most Powerful Mage in Final Fantasy

Spoiler Warning: The below article features major spoilers for Final Fantasy 16 and Kingdom Hearts 3. Donald Duck is no longer the most powerful mage in the history of Final Fantasy thanks to a new big bad taking the title in Final Fantasy 16. The long awaited RPG is full of humongous, powerful monsters called Eikon that represent Summons from the series' past — Ifrit, Shiva, Phoenix, and so on — and one of these beasties has now wielded the series' most powerful spell. That Eikon is, final spoiler warning, Bahamut, the legendary dragon king from all the way back in 1987's original Final Fantasy. Bahamut has since appeared in most games in the franchise though, and is considered one of the most powerful magic users. At a...

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Park Beyond Review

The magic of a park sim is its ability to make time disappear. When you are in the zone building your park, managing the wants and needs of your attendees, and creating a self-sustaining financial juggernaut, there’s potential for an almost euphoric Zen from the best of the genre. At its best, Park Beyond hits these highs with interesting rides, a simple and compelling upgrade system, and a whimsical sense of imagination. But, like a poorly maintained rollercoaster, there’s a looming threat that things will fall apart with disastrous results. It’s this tendency for things to come off the rails that left me feeling queasy after spending a few days in this park. A game like this lives and dies by its building mechanics, and Park Beyond...

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AEW: Fight Forever Review

In the 1980s, 16-time world champion Ric Flair popularized the expression, “To be The Man, you gotta beat The Man.” In professional wrestling games, “The Man” has been the WWE 2K franchise, existing completely unchallenged for the better part of a decade. Newcomer AEW Fight Forever’s challenge does not change the balance of power, but its audacity to try by leaning into arcadey design ideas from yesteryear and embracing a pick-up-and-play philosophy should be praised. It’s the noticeable lack of genre-standard features, an underwhelming single-player campaign, and a smattering of mechanical bugaboos that take the legs out from under it. This fighter isn’t ready for the main event just yet. In the style department, Fight Forever comes...

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PlayStation Plus Essential July Games Line-up Leaked

July’s PlayStation Plus Essential games line-up has leaked online by way of the regularly reliable Dealabs user billbil-kun. According to billbil-kun, July’s line-up includes Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Alan Wake Remastered, and Endling: Extinction Is Forever and will go live July 2. Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War is the 2020 first-person shooter developed primarily by Treyarch and Raven. IGN’s review returned a 7/10, saying “Cold War's quiet times are more memorable than the loud ones, even if the story’s ambition outweighs its execution”. The timing of Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War’s inclusion in PlayStation Plus is interesting given the focus on Call of Duty’s exclusivity amid the FTC’s ongoing battle to block Microsoft...

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FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Comes to FIFA 23

The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 update has finally arrived in FIFA 23 alongside the Lead Your Country mode that lets players fill the shoes of any star player from the 32 international teams. Those looking to truly revel in the glory themselves can also create a custom character and essentially star as themselves in the journey to become a world champion. The classic Kick Off and Tournament modes will be available too, with local co-op and competitive multiplayer available in both. "In our most expansive EA Sports FIFA Women’s World Cup update ever, we are excited to celebrate the remarkable achievements of the teams competing in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, and to create an authentic in-game experience for players to lead their...

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Yager Announces the Cycle: Frontier Shutdown, Points Finger at Cheaters

Free-to-play extraction shooter The Cycle: Frontier shuts down in September, developer Yager has announced. Yager, developer of Spec Ops: The Line and Dreadnought, set the shutdown for September 27, 2023, calling the decision “very difficult” but “necessary”. Real money purchases are now disabled. Any purchases made from June 13 will be refunded. The Cycle: Frontier is described as a “competitive quest shooter”, with player versus environment versus player combat. It launched in early access form in 2019, before launching proper last year. “We are incredibly grateful for all your support during this wonderful journey, we couldn’t have done it without you!” Yager said in a tweet. “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.”...

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Diablo 4 Player Gets World First Andariel's Visage, Fans Compare Drop Rate to Other Near Impossibilities

As the debate about the chances of getting Diablo 4’s most powerful and rare items rages on, one player has confirmed the world first drop of the Andariel's Visage super rare unique item. WowHead reported a Diablo 4 Barbarian called YesYou was the lucky recipient of the coveted helm. Polish streamer NadinWins subsequently shared the drop on YouTube, showing off its powerful, one-of-a-kind Life Steal modifier. The player behind YesYou, called Lithie, is the first in the world the community knows about to get Andariel's Visage. As Blizzard recently confirmed, there are currently six of these super rare unique items in the game, and only a handful of finds have surfaced since Diablo 4 went live earlier this month. Given the hundreds of...

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