Gaming News

Dave the Diver Among Game of the Year Finalists for Game Developers Choice Awards 2024

The usual suspects were out in force in the Game Developers Choice Awards 2024 nominees, with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur's Gate 3 leading the way with seven nominees apiece. But there were also some big surprises in the Game of the Year category, with Alan Wake 2 missing out in favor of Dave the Diver and Dredge. Instead, Alan Wake 2 got the nod as an honorable mention in the list of finalists, which are voted on by game developers throughout the industry. Remedy's sequel wasn't entirely shut out though, earning nods in categories including Best Narrative and Best Visual Art. Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Tears of the Kingdom, COCOON, and Baldur's Gate 3 rounded out the rest of the Game of the Year nominees. As...

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Build a Serious Pile of Shame With Up to 92% Off LEGO Games, Slashed Suicide Squad, and More!

Even if you've lurked here for not very long, you probably already know I love Lego and co-op-centric games. Obviously, the venn diagram meets perfectly on anything made by TT Games, and there are some cracking discounts on some of their studliest efforts. If you've never played one, grab a few pieces of stock, because I'm sure they're going to click with you. In retro news, Gravity Rush 2 gets a seven candle cake today. The most overriding memory I have of playing it is one of sheer joy of movement, thanks to an enhanced suite of gravity-defying styles for Kat. The icing on the cake was that it was three times the runtime of its predecessor and had a sandbox 2.5 times larger. Still a pretty unique sort of action-adventure experience...

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Palworld Dev Insists That Its 'Pokémon With Guns' Survival Game Is 'Not a Scam'

Pocketpair wants fans to know Palyworld, its new game popularly described as "Pokémon With Guns," is definitely not a scam. The assurance is part of a frequently asked questions post put out by developer Pocketpair on the Steam page of their upcoming creature collecting survival game. The slightly unusual inclusion of this section in their FAQ comes in the wake of titles like The Day Before, which has created increased distrust between players and early access developers on Steam. The question reads: "Is this game a scam? Or is it a money-making MMO or virtual currency game?" to which the developer answers: "It is not a scam and will definitely be released on January 19th. PalWorld is a typical Steam game, you buy it once and it is...

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How Xbox Is Changing the Nature of Exclusivity

Last week, the Xbox community was sent into a tizzy over rumors that Xbox exclusives Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves might soon be exclusive no more. The rumors remain unproven, but an imminent Xbox Developer Direct has given these reports extra weight. And beneath Xbox console fans’ outcry over the potential loss of more exclusives to other consoles, there is an interesting question rising from the dust of the console war battlefield. For the last console generation, Xbox has been pursuing a markedly different strategy to its competitors: while Nintendo and Sony were busy selling tens of millions of console units on the power of first-party exclusives, Xbox has been trying to build an ecosystem of software that transcends a single box...

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Call of Duty: Warzone's Latest Update Seems to Have Mostly Broken the Game

Call of Duty: Warzone players excited to jump into Season 1 Reloaded are running into new issues that are leaving the game almost unplayable. The Season 1 refresh update dropped for all players today, bringing new cosmetics, multiplayer maps, changes to the Zombies formula, anti-cheat improvements, and more across the entire Call of Duty experience. They’re enticing additions that many battle royale fans aren’t getting to enjoy. Those who hop into the open-world FPS mode are being met with intense visual and gameplay glitches if they are able to make it into a match at all. Social media sites like X/Twitter are already filled with clips and reports of lackluster experiences. A notorious clip making the rounds sees streamer Fifakill...

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Nightingale: A Look at the Apex Creature Bosses You’ll Battle

Nightingale is a stylish, shared-world survival crafting RPG built by a team of ex-BioWare developers, and its fantastical setting is home to many interesting, beautiful, and horrific beasts. One such class is the Apex Creature, a collection of fierce foes that serves as a boss of sorts for their particular biomes. We got a look at the Sun Giant in a Gamescom trailer back in August, but during our recent visit to Inflexion Games, we experienced battles with two more: the dragon-like Humbaba and the giant tree-like Eoten. You can watch a full battle with a Humbaba in the video above, but we also had the opportunity to speak about these impressive creatures’ designs with Neil Thompson, Nightingale’s art director and head of audio; and...

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GTA 6 Surpasses Minecraft to Become Second Most-Watched Video Game Trailer, Surprising Number 1 Still Out of Reach

GTA 6's debut trailer quickly overtook the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2 and Cyberpunk 2077 but has now overtaken Minecraft to become the second most-watched video game trailer of all time. The GTA 6 trailer is still far from the top spot though, which is held by a rather surprising title. The GTA 6 trailer published on December 4, 2023 now has more than 168 million views, or 168,609,505 to be specific. Minecraft's trailer, which was published more than a decade before GTA 6's on December 6, 2011, has 167,800,171. This puts GTA 6, which is set to launch on consoles in 2025, as the second most-watched video game trailer also above the likes of Clash of Clans, Team Fortress 2, and its own predecessor Grand Theft Auto 5. But the GTA...

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Modder Turns Mortal Kombat 1 Into Gruesome Adults Only Dreamworks vs Pixar Blood Bath

Mortal Kombat 1, it turns out, is the perfect canvas upon which modders can ruin childhoods. Instead of the likes of Sub-Zero, Scorpion, and Liu Kang tearing each other to shreds, how about Woody from Toy Story, Mr. Incredible from The Incredibles and… Carl Fredricksen from Up? It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but that’s exactly what modder Toasted Shoes has created for NetherRealm’s fighting game. Toasted has built a series of mods for Mortal Kombat 1 that replace existing characters with famous ones from various Disney, Pixar, and Dreamworks properties, as well as characters from the likes of Rick & Morty and Family Guy, among many others. Seeing the likes of Woody and Jesse from Toy Story team up to go full Mortal Kombat on...

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HARM: Weather Warfare Announced for PC

Developer/publisher Aurora Studios has announced HARM: Weather Warfare, a new story-driven first-person survival game in which you play a father who must save his daughter amidst a slew of devastating, unpredictable, and unseasonable weather anomalies. And to make matters worse, you'll have to battle a deranged cult that's taken over the abandoned HARM base. It's due out in Steam Early Access later this year. Check out the reveal trailer (with actual gameplay) above, and the first batch of screenshots in the gallery below. Aurora describes the player's situation as the game begins: "The cabin where they were supposed to stay burned down with all their equipment, and the car was destroyed. They are forced to create makeshift shelter...

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Dave the Diver Developer’s Next Game Is a MOBA Called Wakerunners

Dave the Diver developer Mintrocket has unveiled its next game: a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) called Wakerunners. Wakerunners, which is clearly nothing at all like Dave the Diver, is a fast-paced 4v4 and 5v5 top-down multiplayer team battler set in a dystopian sci-fi future. “A ravaged Earth is now the site of skirmishes between surviving factions," reads the official blurb. "The fast-paced gameplay features combat at close-quarters, while combatants glide across battle arenas at high speeds, using a unique acceleration and deceleration mechanic. Wakerunners offers a variety of characters, each with unique abilities, personas, and battle styles. Players have the ability to swap characters mid-battle, which allows them to...

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Ace Combat 7 Deluxe Edition Announced for Nintendo Switch With DLC and More

Bandai Namco is putting the Nintendo Switch on the highway to the danger zone, announcing that Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Deluxe Edition will be coming to Nintendo's hybrid console on July 11. According to the official release, the Switch version will include "all original content and faithfully recreates the fast-paced action of the original." It will also include the original release's 2-8 player multiplayer gameplay, and will bring with it six DLC packs and bonuses from the original game. In addition to the base game, the full list of content available for Nintendo Switch includes: Three original aircraft sets + three single-player missions Part 1 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – ADF-11F Raven Set” Part 2 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES...

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Baldur's Gate 3's Swen Vincke Says Larian's Games Won't Appear on a Subscription Service

With the debate around the future of video game subscriptions heating up, one high-profile developer has come out strongly on the side of the traditional method of selling games. Multiple subscription services have emerged in recent years, with the likes of Microsoft Game Pass, Sony’s PlayStation Plus, and Nintendo’s Nintendo Switch Online all providing access to a library of games for a monthly fee. But the potential dominance of subscription services from just a handful of companies has sparked concern about video game ownership, visibility, and preservation. The thorny issue of video game subscription services was once again thrust into the headlines this week after an executive at Assassin’s Creed maker Ubisoft said gamers would...

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Call of Duty Anti-Cheat Tech Will Now Close the Game Down if a Mouse and Keyboard Player Activates Aim Assist

Activision has issued a warning to Call of Duty players: it will now close the game down it it detects aim assist on mouse and keyboard. In a tweet, Activision said Call of Duty’s anti-cheat tech, dubbed Ricochet, will now close the game app on PC if it detects if a mouse and keyboard player activate aim assist. This works across Modern Warfare 3, Modern Warfare 2, and Warzone. “Our security detection systems now target players using tools to activate aim assist while using a mouse and keyboard,” reads the statement. “The Call of Duty application will close if detected. Repeated use of these tools may lead to further account action.” Aim assist is one of the hottest topics within the competitive shooter space. It is designed to...

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Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Ranked Play Won’t Be Available Immediately After Season 1 Reloaded Update After All

Activision has warned Call of Duty fans anxious to jump straight into Modern Warfare 3 Ranked Play after the Season 1 Reloaded update goes live that the new feature will not be available immediately. In a tweet from the official Call of Duty Updates account, Activision said Ranked Play will not be available immediately after the Season 1 Reloaded update goes live today, January 17, at 9am Pacific / 12noon Eastern / 5pm UK across all platforms. The developers want to “perform checks” before enabling the mode, Activision said. “Heads up competitors, Modern Warfare 3 Ranked Play will not be available immediately after players receive the Season 1 Reloaded update," Activision said. “The Ranked Play team will be performing checks before...

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The Finals Update 1.5 Adds the Shooter’s First Limited-Time Game Mode

The Finals gets its big update 1.5 today, January 17, and it makes some significant changes. The update makes balance changes, bug fixes, adds a bigger store, better security, new outfits, and Solo Bank It, The Finals’ first limited-time game mode. Developer Embark Studios described Solo Bank It as an “experimental” game mode, where you play against 11 other players in a race to earn the most cash. That’s all we have on update 1.5 for now, but Embark Studios is expected to publish the patch notes in full as soon as the update goes live. The Finals is a free-to-play competitive first-person shooter made by former Battlefield developers. It launched with a huge concurrent player count on Steam, where it’s still going strong and...

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Diablo Bargains Fit For Looting, Racy F1 and NFS Prices, Hogwarts Almost Halved, and More!

Not gonna lie, it's a bit of an eclectic shotgunning of deals here today. But hey, sometimes that's how we like to hunt—digging our hands into a big bundle of chaos, like the physical bargain bins of yore. Who even knows what's in there? It could be your next favourite game discounted, an empty Coke bottle, or some random kid's booger deposits. Brick 'n' mortar shopping experience, I do not miss thee much. Meanwhile, in retro news, it's been 21 years since Sly Cooper stole our collective hearts and started a four-game 3D platforming franchise. Sadly, the last we saw of him was in Thieves in Time (2013) and then as an armour-set head nod in Ghost of Tsushima. Come on, Sucker Punch. Sock it to me with a reboot already. This Day in...

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Dragon’s Dogma 2: In-Depth Look at the Character Creator – IGN First

We’re continuing this month’s IGN First on Dragon’s Dogma 2 with a detailed look at its new, robust character creator. The original Dragon’s Dogma had a pretty intense character creator, but Dragon’s Dogma 2 has upped the ante for just how detailed you can get for your character and ideal Pawn. Dragon’s Dogma 2 director Hideaki Itsuno explained during IGN’s visit to Capcom in Japan that the character creator was something they put a lot of work into for the first game, but with better hardware performance this time around, they could add as much freedom to the system as they wanted. Itsuno-san said, “The problem is that this means that the act of creating a cool character, or the character that you want to see, becomes no different...

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Cities: Skylines 2 Dev Calls Out 'Growing Tendency of Toxicity' in Its Community

Cities: Skylines 2 developer Colossal Order has asked players to help create a more positive environment after noticing “a growing tendency of toxicity” in its community. Studio CEO Mariina Hallikainen took the time to discuss the state of the fanbase in Colossal Order’s latest message to fans over on the Paradox Interactive Forums. It’s a message that welcomes players back from the holidays while promising modding support, bug fixes, and more. Most of the letter, however, focuses on the negativity that the team seeks to address. “Last but not least, we have seen a growing tendency of toxicity in our community, something we have not experienced to this extent before,” Hallikainen said. “Not only directed towards our devs but also our...

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Billy Mitchell's Donkey Kong Records Reinstated After Multi-Year Dispute With Twin Galaxies

Nearly six years after the dispute first began, Billy Mitchell's record Donkey Kong scores have been officially restored by Twin Galaxies. In a statement posted on its website, Twin Galaxies announced that all of Mitchell's score have been reinstated on its historical database after first being removed back in 2018. They include the 1,047,200 score shown in the documentary King of Kong; the 1,050,200 run referred to as the Mortgage Brokers score, and the 1,062,800 performance known as the Boomers score. Mitchell was originally banned from Twin Galaxies after a forum poster presented evidence that he may have been playing on MAME, a well-known arcade emulator, in violation of the site's rules. Mitchell's records were also expunged...

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Xbox 'Incorrectly Posted News' That Final Fantasy XIV Online's Open Beta Was Live, Confusing Fans

On Tuesday morning, you might have seen an Xbox Wire post announcing that said an open beta for Final Fantasy 14 Online is now available on Xbox Series X/S - if you caught it before it was deleted about an hour later. Xbox has now publicly announced that it made an error in sharing the news. In a post on X/Twitter, the Xbox Wire team revealed that it "incorrectly posted news" that the Final Fantasy 14 Online open beta was now available on Xbox Series X/S. It also confirmed it would "follow-up" with a correct release date when the open beta is available to Xbox players. It was up long enough, however, to cause quite a bit of confusion among fans. "Maybe they jumped the gun? No direct store link and not coming up anywhere on my...

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Martha Is Dead Becomes the Latest Video Game to Get a Film Adaptation

Martha Is Dead, the psychological thriller from LKA, is the latest video game franchise to get an adaptation for the big screen. Announced in a press release, Martha Is Dead's film adaptation is in active development and is a collaboration between LKA, Martha's is Dead publisher Wired Productions, and Studios Extraordinaires. André Hedetoft and Andreas Troedsson, both of whom work at Studios Extraordinaires, will serve as the movie's co-directors, with Hedetoft set to write the script and Troedsson serving as the cinematographer. "Every element of 'Martha Is Dead' was created with extraordinary precision and care. The narrative's complexity was meticulously planned, visualized, and even shaped with a cinematic quality in mind," Luca...

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Diablo 4 Season 3 is All About Dungeon Delving with a Mechanical Companion

Blizzard has revealed the next chapter Diablo 4, and it revolves around a really handy mechanical spider. Dubbed the Season of the Construct, the upcoming update will send players into the perilous and trap-riddled vaults of the legendary Zoltun Kulle in search of treasure, battling demonically possessed mechanical constructs in the process. The main power grind will center on your new robotic companion, a spider-like friend called the Seneschal who comes with its own management UI and can be customized with magical stones of different rarities and power levels to alter its behaviors and abilities to your liking. With nearly 40 different stones to collect, there will be a wide variety of options for how your multi-legged buddy can...

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U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Appeals From Epic and Apple in Ongoing Legal Battle

The United States Supreme Court has denied a request to hear Epic Games v. Apple, the antitrust lawsuit regarding Apple's practices in its app store. As reported by Reuters, the Supreme Court published a list of cases pending in the court right now, in addition to legal cases it declined to hear. Two of which included appeals from both Apple and Epic Games. None of the justices provided reasons for refusing to hear either case. "The Supreme Court denied both sides' appeals of the Epic v. Apple antitrust case," Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney wrote on X/Twitter. "The court battle to open iOS to competing stores and payments is lost in the United States. A sad outcome for all developers." Apple did not immediately respond to...

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Retro-Themed Cyberpunk FPS 'Project Downfall' Gets Console Release Date, New Trailer

Developer MGP Studios and publisher Red Deer.Games have announced that Project Downfall, their upcoming retro-themed cyberpunk first-person shooter, will be released on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on February 2. Watch the release date trailer above, and check out screenshots in the gallery below. MGP describes Project Downfall as such: "Project Downfall is an action-filled, pixelated shooter set in a cyberpunk world, where the present is drastically different from ours. The players will be thrown into the life of Johnny Wick’s lookalike and smashed with gunfights left and right, where both reflexes and tactical thinking will be of the essence." The developers also promise a "non-linear plot that reacts with the...

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Prison Architect 2 Announced Alongside Release Date

Prison Architect 2 launches on March 26, 2024 on PC via Steam, Xbox Series X and S, and PlayStation 5 priced $39.99 / £34.99 / €39.99, publisher Paradox Interactive and developer Double Eleven have announced. The sequel to the hit prison management simulator brings 3D graphics to the table, alongside multiple floors, sandbox construction, Career mode and inmate connections. “The game offers deeper simulation, greater player control, an inhabitant behaviour system and creative options to define the next generation of management gameplay,” Paradox said. And here’s the official blurb: Introversion sold the Prison Architect intellectual property to Paradox in 2019, with Double Eleven taking over development duties. Introversion went...

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STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl Delayed Once Again, but This Time With a 'Final' Release Date

After years of development and multiple delays, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is delayed once again, but this time with a firm, “final” release date: September 5, 2024. Ukrainian developer GSC Game World opened up about the challenges the studio has faced getting the apocalyptic PC and Xbox Series X and S shooter up to scratch after a mixed reaction to its debut public showing last year. “And as true friends always do, you shared your honest thoughts about the game,” GSC Game World said in a tweet. “Both positive and negative, and we are thankful for that. From your insights, we figured out two key points: the one to celebrate and the one to consider seriously. “The first one: the Zone remains the Zone. In its true beauty and after...

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Microsoft Picks Up One of the Most-Wishlisted Games on Steam for Day-One PC Game Pass Launch

Microsoft has snapped up 11 bit studios’ promising city-builder sequel Frostpunk 2 as a day-one PC Game Pass title. Frostpunk 2, which for some time now has been one of the most wishlisted games on Steam alongside the likes of Hades 2, Manor Lords, and Hollow Knight: Silksong, launches on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG, in the first half of 2024. Then, Frostpunk 2 launches later on console, with the game hitting Xbox Game Pass as soon as the Xbox Series X and S version comes out. A PlayStation 5 release is also in the works. We were told “further Game Pass additions from 11 bit studios portfolio are set to be unveiled at a later date”. “As a Steward in Frostpunk 2, you will oversee an ever-growing metropolis and be...

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Xbox Game Pass January 2024 Wave 2 Games Announced

Microsoft has announced the next wave of games coming to Xbox Game Pass, taking subscribers up to the end of January and into early February 2024. Highlights include Persona 3 Reload, F1 23, and Palworld. Here’s the list of games coming to Xbox Game Pass during the rest of January and early February 2024: Those Who Remain | Cloud, Console, and PC - January 16 Turnip Boy Robs a Bank | Cloud, Console, and PC - January 18 F1 23 | PC Game Pass and Ultimate via EA Play - January 18 Palworld | Cloud, Console, and PC - January 19 Go Mecha Ball | Cloud, Console, and PC - January 25 Brotato | Cloud, Console, and PC - January 30 Persona 3 Reload | Cloud, Console, and PC - February 2 Anuchard | Cloud, Console, and PC - February 6 Out...

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Multiplayer FPS Ascendant Infinity Announced Via Hilarious 1980's Sitcom Parody Trailer

Developer PlayFusion, comprised of a number of ex-Jagex and ex-RuneScape developers, has announced Ascendant Infinity, a new Unreal Engine 5-powered squad-based tactical multiplayer first-person 3v3v3v3 shooter in which the "BioPunk"-aesthetic landscapes change mid-match. It's in development for PC, and due to be available on both Steam and the Epic Games Store. The announcement trailer is a hilarious send-up of 1980's sitcom opening credits sequences. You can (and should!) watch that above, while the first batch of screenshots are available in the gallery below. PlayFusion describes the world of Ascendant Infinity as such: "Newly defrosted following a thousand years on ice, players find themselves in a world where everything...

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Rockstar Owner Take-Two Locked in Trademark Dispute With Remedy Over 'R' Logo

Take-Two Interactive, the owner of Grand Theft Auto 6 developer Rockstar Games, and Remedy Entertainment, the studio behind Alan Wake 2, are locked in a trademark dispute over their R-depicting logos. As first reported by RespawnFirst, Take-Two filed a trademark dispute against Remedy in the United Kingdom over the rebranded logo it released last year. Its logo now solely depicts the letter R, or is sometimes styled with "Remedy" underneath, which Take-Two seemingly believes is too similar to Rockstar's own R logo. The UK government's website lists both logos, available here and here, as opposed, with Take-Two named as the opponent. Remedy's new logo was unveiled in April 2023 as a "refreshed visual identity" following its...

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