Steam

BAFTA Games Awards 2019 Special

ISSUE 17 — 7 April 2019

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Special Feature: BAFTA GAMES AWARDS 2019

The 15th British Academy Games Awards was held this week at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. The event was hosted by comedian Dara Ó Briain. This year, a new category was introduced: the EE Mobile Game of the Year award. It may be similar to the Mobile Game award, but unlike it and the other categories, this one is voted for by the public instead of the BAFTA committee and the trophy is a solid yellow rather than the standard golden mask.

God of War took home the most awards (with a total of five) including the coveted Best Game award. The list below shows the winner of each category. Check this page for all of the nominees that came close to winning an award.

Award

Winner
Artistic Achievement Return of the Obra Dinn
Audio Achievement God of War
Best Game God of War
British Game Forza Horizon 4
Debut Game Yoku’s Island Express
Evolving Game Fortnite
Family Nintendo Labo
Game Beyond Entertainment My Child Lebensborn
Game Design Return of the Obra Dinn
Game Innovation Nintendo Labo
Mobile Game  Florence
Multiplayer A Way Out
Music God of War
Narrative God of War
Original Property Into the Breach
Performer Jeremy Davis
EE Mobile Game of the Year (voted for by the public) Old School Runescape

Shahan’s Opinion: It has reminded me to try and get around to certain games (God of War and A Way Out) as well as putting some on my radar (Return of the Obra Dinn and Florence).

Dale’s Opinion: Working for or at least being involved with BAFTA is something of a dream job for me so it has been good to look at the Games section of their awards. I’ll be keeping a close eye in future…

New Character Spotlight: KOLLECTOR (Mortal Kombat 11)

The newest fighter to join the day one roster of Mortal Kombat 11 has been shown. Kollector will make his debut in MK11, which releases on the 23rd of this month. He is said to value his own wealth and status.

Kollector works for Shao Kahn and collects tributes for him like a form of tax. Similar to Goro and Kintaro, he has four arms. Two are out in front while the other two are in his backpack ready to bring out what he has collected to fight his opponent with. Not afraid to get close while also having ranged attacks plus the ability to teleport? Kollector will no doubt be a strong fighter to contend with.

Right before Kollector, another character was shown this week. Namely, Cetrion – an Elder Goddess with control over the elements. Her power to use ice, fire and earth comes from her bond to the Earth. Check her out on this GameInformer video.

Shahan’s Opinion: Kollector is one of the more unique characters in the MK11’s roster and Cetrion’s fatality is out of this world!

Dale’s Opinion: He is definitely a character I can see me playing a lot. That is, if I get the game when it comes out…

BORDERLANDS 3 IS AN EPIC STORE EXCLUSIVE

After the positive reactions to Borderlands 3’s unveiling, some bad news has arisen. Epic Games continues to upset PC gamers as they acquire exclusivity rights to Borderlands 3’s launch. Steam users will still be able to obtain the game, but they’ll have to wait six months after BL3’s release date of 19th September 2019. To be clear, console gamers are unaffected.

Shortly the review bombing was underway on Borderlands 2’s Steam page. However, for the first time, Valve is now actually taking action against it. They have introduced a system to mark ‘off-topic review activity’ that excludes reviews that are deemed to be review bombs. Users are able to disable this feature in their settings. Valve has promised to manually check detected review bombs for any reviews that shouldn’t be hidden.

Going back to some good news for Borderlands. After the trailer for Borderlands 3 dropped, the player count on all Borderlands games on Steam increased by over quadruple. Also BL3’s box art and its different editions have been revealed and ready for pre-orders.

Shahan’s Opinion: Even though I’ll be getting this on console for the split-screen co-op, the Epic Store exclusivity is a bummer. This is likely going to be a continuing trend for PC releases in the near-future. Will Valve do anything to entice publishers and developers and prevent delayed releases to Steam…? Time will tell.

BIOWARE’S ISSUES WITH ANTHEM AND THE PRESS

Kotaku has done an impressive article covering Bioware’s woes regarding Anthem. Stemming from the project initially being named Beyond; a name with meaning that was relevant to the premise. Changing it to Anthem caused confusion amongst those who worked on the game. The article goes on to discuss more last-minute changes like this, as well as the game’s being panned by fans and critics alike, plus many more issues. From understaffed departments to tension between two studio locations, difficulties with EA’s Frostbite engine and much more. Staff went on stress leave and some never came back; they were termed as ‘stress casualties’. It was also quoted that:

“Depression and anxiety are an epidemic within Bioware…”

Read the story for more — it’s a long but fascinating read.

In response to the article, the studio’s management did not discuss the topic with members of staff. Rather, the company sent out emails saying, “Don’t talk to the press.” Following this revelation, Bioware’s Casey Hudson sent out an email to all in the studio that an all-hands meeting will take place discussing all of the raised issues.

Bioware has written a response to the article that you can read here. But it has been speculated that the time they had posted their response means that they must not have read the lengthy piece. Polygon have also weighed in on the issue.

Shahan’s Opinion: Revealing such damaging work environments is important otherwise nothing will be done for the well-being of those who work in the gaming industry.

ENTER THE GUNGEON: A FAREWELL TO ARMS LAUNCHES

Dodge Roll’s bullet hell dungeon crawler got its final update: Enter the Gungeon: A Farewell to Arms. The update is free and available on all platforms you can play the game on (PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One). New features include:

  • Two new characters: The Paradox and The Gunslinger.
  • New guns, items and synergies.
  • Rainbow Mode – community inspired mode where each floor offers a rainbow chest but only one gun/item can be picked.
  • New secret floor w/ unique enemies and boss.
  • Starting weapons have new alternate art to unlock.
  • New Beholster shrine.
  • Pet the dog!

Various changes and improvements have been made to the gameplay as well.

Shahan’s Opinion: I don’t have the precision or reflexes for bullet hell games like Enter the Gungeon. Nevertheless, it is awesome to see games getting additional content without the devs charging for every new character or weapon. Excited to see what their next project will be.

GLOSSING OVER…

Netflix Announces “Playing Hard”

A documentary will be released on Netflix later this year entitled Playing Hard. It will be an in-depth look into the four-year production process of the game For Honor.

Yet Another UK Game Setting

Not only will the setting for the upcoming Pokémon games be loosely based on the UK; Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs 3 has also been announced to be set in London.

Microsoft to Investigate Historic Sexual Harassment Claims

A recent employee uproar and human resources nightmare has gone on at Microsoft recently. Relating to historic and otherwise-overlooked sexual harassment complaints. In response, Microsoft has begun investigations into these claims.

PLAYING THIS WEEK…

Dale has been playing…

PIKMIN (2001) (GAMECUBE)

On a real GameCube nostalgia trip these days. When I found and played ZooCube a couple of weeks ago, I also found the disc for Pikmin in there, which to my amazement worked just fine. It had been aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaages since I played it last so it was virtually all new to me again. And then I remembered it is so addictive, so fun and so infuriating all at the same time.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Launches

ISSUE 15 — 24 March 2019

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Top Story: SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE HAS LAUNCHED

 

 

 

FromSoftware, the infamous developer behind the challenging Souls series, has released their latest game. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has launched to universal acclaim. Critics are raving about it and Souls fans are delighted to see that it seems to be more difficult than any of the preceding games.

Sekiro’s setting is a fantastical reimagining of Japan’s Sengoku period, replete with samurai and shinobi, as well as incredible beasts like great serpents and giant apes. The protagonist was a nameless orphan found by the wanderer Owl, who adopted him and gave him the name Seju. He grew up to become a proficient shinobi and the personal bodyguard of the young lord Kuro, who he serves with utmost loyalty. However he fails in his duty. Genichiro Ashina slices off his left arm and Seju falls. Thus Kuro is kidnapped. Seju awakens in an abandoned temple. A former shinobi known as The Sculptor resides here, carving Buddha statues. He has provided Seju with a unique prosthetic arm and dubs him Sekiro (meaning Lone Wolf). Our protagonist then sets off to rescue his lord.

Shahan’s Opinion: If you’re looking for great atmosphere, FromSoftware always delivers. I started with Eternal Ring on the PS2 and have played every ‘Soulsborne’ game since. Check out Dunkey’s video on the game. If the end of the video doesn’t sell you on it, nothing will.

GOOGLE REVEALS THE STADIA

Streaming continues to be the future of not just the music, film and TV industries, but gaming too. Google is banking on this after revealing Google Stadia at the Game Developers Conference 2019. Stadia continues on from last year’s Project Stream that invited testers to try running Assassin’s Creed Odyssey in the Google Chrome browser.

Is Google the first to provide a game streaming service? Not at all. OnLive is considered to be the first, but it failed to meet its full potential and Sony ended up buying its patents. Speaking of Sony, they’ve had their own streaming service since 2014. PlayStation Now holds a library of over 600 games to stream or download.

Jeff Gerstmann, gaming journalist, has shared his views on the Stadia. It may be exciting, but he states that:

“There’s something scary about handing Google, or any one company, the keys. The minute you’re streaming, they can shut it off whenever they want and wherever they want for a variety of reasons. It checks so many boxes for a dark future…”

Also, BBC News has an interesting article that speculates on what the Stadia may bring in the future.

Shahan’s Opinion: I doubt my terrible Wi-Fi connection will be able to support the service! It will probably be a subscription service. And that controller? A Google Assistant button? Ugh. I’m very sceptical but it is Google… One of the Big Four…

VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE – BLOODLINES 2 ANNOUNCED

What came as a surprise to fans of the first game, Paradox Interactive announced Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. The release date will be during the first quarter of 2020. Some would say this is their Half Life 3 and they thought it would never see the light of day, much like the denizens in the games themselves. As the devs have confirmed it will always be night time just like in the first game.

For those of us who are unaware, let’s have a quick look at the setting of the first game. It takes place in 21st century Los Angeles in the World of Darkness where supernatural creatures like vampires and werewolves pave the path of human history. There is the Camarilla, the vampire government, and seven unique vampire clans each with their own unique traits or abilities. The protagonist is a freshly-turned vampire getting used to his/her new way of life while making allies and enemies along the way.

Shahan’s Opinion: Prior to this announcement I’ve not even heard of these games. Vampire action RPGs set in the modern day? I got to check the first one out ASAP!

FULL TRAILER OF FFXIV: SHADOWBRINGERS RELEASED

Square Enix has dropped the full trailer of Shadowbringers, the upcoming expansion of their popular MMO Final Fantasy XIV. It boasts impressive visuals for a cinematic that is befitting the series (Agni’s Philosophy from seven years ago, for example). It gives you a glimpse of what’s to come and there’s even a reference to Magus’ famous line from Chrono Trigger! Here’s a brief look at most of what Shadowbringers will include:

  • New gender locked races: Viera (♀) from FF Tactics Advance and FFXII and Hrothgar (♂) who are based on the Ronso from FFX.
  • New cities and areas.
  • New jobs: Gunbreakers and Dancers.
  • New 8-player raids and alliance raids.
  • New dungeons and trials.
  • New Game+
  • Level cap increased from 70 to 80.

There has been an outcry by the FFXIV community, primarily over two things. Namely, the two new races being gender-locked, and dancers not being a new healer class.

The devs cite the lore that explains Male Viera do exist; they don’t appear in public. To make up for it, they announced the male-only Hrothgar to a Japanese audience at the Tokyo Fanfest. Some would say they did this because a Western crowd would not be afraid to boo them off-stage (see: the Diablo Immortal débâcle).

Regarding dancers being ranged DPS, this means that another expansion arrives with no new healer class. The latest one was the Astrologians in the Heavensward expansion back in 2015. The next expansion after Shadowbringers is speculated to be in 2021, so it will be six years without a new healer class. On the other hand, some fans are relieved that dancers are not healers. Probably because they don’t want to be responsible for keeping their team alive.

Shahan’s Opinion: I love a good cinematic and this trailer is an absolute spectacle. I need that soundtrack as that trailer music is incredible, especially when it resembles FF3’s Legend of the Eternal Wind. Wait! There’ll be a class that wields gunblades??? I’m subscribing again.

HALO AMA REVEALS NEW DETAILS

 

 

Ske7ch, 343 Industries’ community director, conducted an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit’s Gaming subreddit for the Master Chief Collection, Halo Reach and the Halo Insider program. He was joined by lead producer Michael Fahrny and they answered redditor’s questions for approximately two hours.

A comprehensive summary of all the details that have been revealed over the AMA can be found here. Some highlights of the info include Halo Reach will still have its mix and match armour customization and their goal is to support uncapped FPS on all titles and 144Hz+ for all of the MCC games.

Gabe Newell, President of Valve, was emailed by a fan about the Master Chief Collection and the efforts it took to bring it to Steam. He replies:

“The credit for this goes to Phil Spencer and his team at MS. They made it happen, so, yes, it was simple for us.”

Shahan’s Opinion: It is always good to see positive communication between developers and gamers. Transparency is always welcome.

GLOSSING OVER…

Twitch Streamer Completes the Soulsborne Lot!

The_Happy_Hob, a Twitch streamer, has completed back-to-back playthroughs of all the Soulsborne games. WITHOUT taking a SINGLE hit from enemies! Not even hits that would heal damage!

Epic Store Unpopularity Increases

This comes with the news that The Outer Worlds, among other games, are to be released on Epic Store only. Steam do not get a look-in.

More Details on COD: MW4 Multiplayer

It was confirmed last week that the multiplayer mode of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 will neither feature a Battle Royale mode, nor any specialist characters. This is apparently an attempt to bring the COD franchise back to its roots.

PLAYING THIS WEEK…

Dale has been playing…

ZOOCUBE (2002) (GAMECUBE)

Okay, I know this may seem a little bizarre but there’s an element of nostalgia to the story. Animal-based puzzler ZooCube was the first game I ever owned on Gamecube, alongside Luigi’s Mansion. I was sorting through my cupboards and came across it — to my amazement, it still works perfectly fine despite being nearly 17 years old! And is still a lot of addictive fun.

For those not familiar, it’s a basic match-two game featuring shapes based on different animals, which get attracted to the eponymous ZooCube. You have to match as many as possible to clear the levels and proceed – no airs and graces about it at all. I like it – there’s a charm about it that I can’t quite resist…

Master Chief Collection Coming to PC

ISSUE 14 — 17 March 2019

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Top Story: MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION FOR PC ANNOUNCED

The famed Halo series is back! It’s coming to Steam and the Windows store later this year. Pricing is yet to be revealed. Each game in the collection will be released one by one. Halo Reach will be in 4K, 60FPS and has HDR. The Steam page for the collection is already up.

Fans were so happy with the news that they’ve bombarded the developer, 343 Industries, with pizzas. This happens after redditor ‘thewombinthesky’ pre-emptively promised pizza to a responding 343 employee if MCC for PC is announced.

Shahan’s Opinion: Halo isn’t for me personally, but it’s always great to see fans of a time-honoured game series come out of the woodwork to celebrate this announcement. And it’s always great when fans send boatloads of food to devs. Another example of this happening is when Blizzard received hundreds of cookies from Overwatch fans years ago.

ANTHEM FANS CONDUCTED A BLACKOUT

After the latest update for Anthem was released and when the player base experienced the ins and outs of all the new changes, they were not happy. Therefore, a protest went underway to send a message to the developers, investors, etc., directly referring to the rate of loot drops in the game, as it does not adequately reward the amount of time that a player invests in the game. It also mentions the fact that it’s a game with real money transactions for cosmetics, even though there are barely any cosmetics.

And like salvaging parts from a fallen freelancer in-game, the developers are currently underway salvaging Anthem, but not as simply or successfully. This week on the EA Help Twitter, they are looking for help in identifying issues in quickplay missions currently. It just comes across like the game was released far too early and players are just paying to be beta testers. This is far too common in the gaming industry. Understandably game development is more costly and complex from the days of Atari or Dreamcast, but it’s not entitled of consumers to ask for a polished and complete product.

Shahan’s Opinion: Oh boy. To be honest, I’ve been unintentionally conducting a blackout on the game since I last played it. I’ll hop back on if/when Bioware manages to turn things around.

ANOTHER GOKU COMING TO FIGHTERZ

New characters continue to fly into Dragon Ball FighterZ, the DBZ fighting game that many consider to be the best amongst them all. The latest to be revealed is another form of Goku. Specifically his appearance in the non-canon series, Dragon Ball GT. His moves include the Super Kamehameha and the Super Spirit Bomb as well as the Reverse Kamehameha and the good old Power Pole! He is also said to have a hidden attack. Could it involve GT’s infamous Super Saiyan 4 form? We’ll have to wait and see!

For anyone unaware what Dragon Ball GT is and how it fits in with the other Dragon Ball series, here’s a quick run-through. First came the original Dragon Ball; a charming, goofy adventure that followed a little Son Goku and the friends he made as they searched for the Dragon Balls. Dragon Ball Z was next and is the most famous series in the franchise. It introduced the golden, spiky Super Saiyan form, fusions and more. What followed after this was Dragon Ball GT. It brought the focus back on the Dragon Balls and the consequences of them being excessively used since the very beginning. GT was vilified for Goku being turned back into a kid, the minimal involvement of creator Akira Toriyama and various other reasons. Thus it became non-canon. Dragon Ball Super is the current series and continues on from DBZ.

Shahan’s Opinion: They’re acknowledging GT in this game? Ugh. I’d prefer if it was just Kid Goku from the original Dragon Ball with a little Chi Chi throwing her helmet blade or Young Bulma gunning opponents down!

HAS THE PUBG CREATOR LEFT PUBG?

The answer is… no!

Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene has released a statement that you can read above. The creator of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is moving on to create a new division within the PUBG Corp. He will head up the PUBG Special Projects division that will focus on research. He is still tied to the Battle Royale game as a ‘consulting creative director’.

Shahan’s Opinion: Naming your company after your product can be a risky move. It may be simple and easy to understand like Google or Amazon. But then there’s this… PUBG (Game). PUBG Corp. PUBG MadGlory, LLC. PUBG Special Division. What’s next?

SOLAR ASH KINGDOM REVEALED

Heart Machine, the developer of award-winning game Hyper Light Drifter, have announced their next game, Solar Ash Kingdom. Unlike HLD, which is a 2D action RPG, Solar Ash Kingdom is full 3D with third-person camera view. Disasterpeace returns for the game’s soundtrack. The dev has confirmed it is not a sequel to Hyper Light Drifter, but it is set in the same universe.

Shahan’s Opinion: It can be rough seeing a studio go from making a 2D game to 3D. Judging from the trailer alone they are well on their way to pulling it off because it looks MAGICAL.

GLOSSING OVER…

Warner Bros. Interactive and Turtle Rock Studios announce Back 4 Blood

The spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead has been announced earlier this week. It is otherwise, not a sequel, but a zombie co-op FPS “built from the ground up as an original, premium title…”

DMC5 Tops UK Retail Charts

It only launched last week and Devil May Cry 5 has already hit the #1 spot on the UK retail charts. It is the first time a game in the DMC franchise has topped a chart since 2013.

Could Cyberpunk 2077 Feature Lady Gaga?

The Oscar-nominated singer and actress Lady Gaga is rumoured to be in collaboration with CD Projekt Red on their hotly-anticipated game Cyberpunk 2077. Nothing is confirmed for certain yet, but there’s chatter going around in France that she could be doing motion capture for the game, even featuring as a character. Who knows? Watch this space, I guess…

PLAYING THIS WEEK…

Shahan has been playing…

SUPER PAPER MARIO (2007) (Wii)

Dale has introduced me to the Paper Mario games and this week we started Super Paper Mario. It pales in comparison to The Thousand-Year Door (which we completed previously) but it still has its own charming characters. It’s great that Peach is a mainstay in the party, but I sure do miss Goombella…

“Capcom is Back!” says CEO

ISSUE 13 — 10 March 2019

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Top Story: DMC5 LAUNCHED — “CAPCOM IS BACK!” CEO SAYS…

Dante is back with the release of Devil May Cry 5. It has received rave reviews and many claim this to be the best the series has to offer. On Steam, the game has had the second best launch for Capcom, only being beaten out by Monster Hunter: World. DMC5’s producer, Matt Walker, has recorded the CEO of Capcom USA, Kiichiro Urata, saying:

“Capcom is back!”

In Devil May Cry 5, you get to play as three different protagonists, each bringing their own unique style of gameplay:

Nero – The Young Devil Hunter. He’s gained more experience since the incident at Fortuna and opening a Devil May Cry branch there.

V – The Mysterious One. He is Dante’s latest client. A human that seems to have demonic ties.

Dante – The Legendary Devil Hunter. He’s back with his sword Rebellion and his trusty guns Ebony and Ivory for plenty of demon-killing action.

If you’re thinking of picking the game up, there are certain things to keep in mind when it comes to different versions of the game. For example, the Deluxe Edition allows you to swap in the pre-vis live action cutscenes. It feels like you’re watching a DMC movie! Also the west’s PS4 version of the game is more censored than on PC and Xbox One. There are some scenes containing nudity that is hidden by lens flares in the PS4 version.

Shahan’s Opinion: The series looks to be in top form in the latest instalment. I love Nero’s new look. It definitely differentiates him from being the Dante lookalike he was in DMC4. Speaking of, Dante looking like a grizzly old badass is great.

ANTHEM CRASHING PS4s

Bioware’s latest game, Anthem, has had a launch that may be giving Fallout 76 a run for its money. Prior to launch, the ‘VIP demo’ (basically a beta test) revealed plenty of bugs and glitches. The launch also had plenty of bugs and glitches. And the reviews have not been great. One example of a huge bug is that the Level 1 Defender gun (a default weapon) has been discovered to be the best weapon in the game possibly due to how they’ve designed the scaling in the game. But moving on to the biggest concern right now…

There has been reports that the game has been crashing PS4s! It’s been mistakenly reported to be ‘bricking’ them. This is an incorrect term, as that would mean the PS4s are permanently broken and, hence, would basically be bricks. As the news and number of crashing PS4s became widespread, Sony started offering refunds for the game.

EA and Bioware are trying to resolve the situation. They’ve asked fans to discuss and identify the issue over on their EA Answers HQ message board. Regarding Anthem’s in-game issues, Bioware are making changes. But judging from the rioting happening by the player base over on the game’s subreddit, they are going to have to pull off a miracle to turn things around.

Shahan’s Opinion: I’ve actually given this game a shot a while ago. The gameplay is definitely fun and makes you feel like Iron Man! But the story is nowhere near Bioware’s best work. And the loadings screens really are ridiculous. A fan actually compared them to the infamous game Sonic ’06 and its loading screens.

AMY HENNIG’S VIEWS ON THE GAMING INDUSTRY

You know Amy Hennig? She’s the writer who’s been in the gaming industry for 30 years, which won her a Lifetime Achievement Award. She is known for her work on various games, from Legacy of Kain to Uncharted. And now, she has shared her opinion on the current state of AAA games development.

Hennig has taken a break from being part of a huge team that is common in triple-A games development and may not return to it. After hearing stories of game companies laying off hundreds of people, it’s understandable when she says that these are red flags and things are not working the way they used to. Her solution is to look to the TV and film industries. Less in-house production and more external contractors. If you want to see her views in full detail, check it out here.

If you want to know more about Amy Hennig, she’s recently shown up at the DICE Summit 2019 for an interview. That’s the video at the top of the section, by the way.

Shahan’s Opinion: One example that contradicts some of her views is Capcom. Years ago they were considered to be failing and their games were disappointing many of their fans. This was seen to be because they hired external companies to develop their games. They decided to bring everything back to work on them in-house and now they’re more popular than ever! In any case if Legacy of Kain ever returns, she needs to be on that development team!

NINTENDO CARDBOARD USED FOR VR

Remember the Nintendo Labo? No? Those kits with cardboard cut-outs that you build and then use in combination with your Nintendo Switch? For more info, check out this educational video on the construction toy.

Nintendo has announced the Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit. Build it. Slot your Switch in. Buy some accessories and make a cardboard elephant for example. The release date is 12th April.

Shahan’s Opinion: Bundle this with a new Pokémon Snap. Do it Nintendo!

 

GLOSSING OVER…

Rape Day Not Coming to Steam, says Valve

Gaming publisher Valve has confirmed, after a lengthy silence and mounting controversy, that the indie game set around the violent sexual assault of women will not be released on Steam. They have claimed that the game poses unknown costs and risks.

Kamek and Dry Bones Come to Mario Tennis

The roster of characters for Mario Tennis Aces continues to grow, with the announcement of two further new players. Both of them making their debut in the sub-series, the chief Magikoopa Kamek and the undead Koopa Troopa Dry Bones will both take to the court in April and May respectively.

Annual “Return to Yharnam” Event is Underway

The two-week mass-community Bloodborne gameplay event began today. You can find out more about the event and get involved via this Reddit thread.

PLAYING THIS WEEK…

A new section we’re trying out; keeping you up-to-date with our gaming lives.

Dale has been playing… 

CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE REMASTERED (2017) (PS4)

I am a total COD novice – I’ll say that now. Giving me a PS4 controller and telling me to play a first-person shooter is like giving a chainsaw to a kitten. If you care about your stats, avoid me at all costs.

All that being said, it was certainly a fun first-time experience. A lot of COD fans may not have even touched the COD: MW Remastered. Indeed, I discussed the Prop Hunt mode with a couple of my friends, who had never even heard of it!

It’s so much fun – ideal for parties where you can just pass the controllers around. One team hides, disguised as inanimate objects – depending on the map, this could be something as mundane as a barrel, a chair or a signpost, to something more zany such as a watermelon or an inflatable dolphin. The other team then has to find you, basically by shooting any and all inanimate objects on the map. Gets you thinking. “Should that toolbox be on top of that barrel? I’ll shoot it to find out”. Best one I saw: a watermelon hidden under a seat on a bus. Genius.

Prop Hunt is basically an FPS-infused game of hide-and-seek. Great fun; highly recommended.

Sora and Friends are Back! — Kingdom Hearts III Special

ISSUE 9 — 3 February 2019

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Special Feature — KINGDOM HEARTS III

by Shahan Ahmed

KH3 1

Kingdom Hearts III has finally launched this week (or last week if you’re in Japan)! We’ve been kept in the dark for so many years we may as well be one of the Heartless ourselves! The developers went through great difficulty due to a number of issues, such as changing to Unreal Engine 4 a year into development, but they have managed to pull it off! KH3 has garnered generally positive reviews and promises to provide long-awaited answers that we’ve been waiting for.

WARNING: POTENTIAL MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

FRIENDS

Sora sets out to regain his strength after losing it all at the end of Dream Drop Distance. As you join him on his journey, he will be meeting many friends – both old and new. Sora’s childhood friends (Riku and Kairi) and best buds (Donald and Goofy) are here. You’ll fight alongside Hercules and Captain Jack Sparrow once more. Examples of new friendships being made are Buzz and Woody in the Toy Box, Hiro and Baymax at San Fransokyo and Mike and Sully at Monstropolis.

FOES

Many enemies appear to test Sora’s mettle. The series’ staples Maleficent and Pete are back. They’re on the search for a mysterious black box. Hades reverts to his original age-old plan to rule the cosmos by enlisting the aid of the Titans and attack Olympus. Xehanort and the Organization are back of course! Some past members have actually become allies. Seemingly similar to KH2, a specific member is associated with or assigned to each Disney world.

FORM CHANGES

Let’s delve into the combat for a moment. Remember the cool drive forms in KH2? Well, they are back in a new fashion! Form changes can be activated during battles and most are dependent on what keyblade you are using (three can be equipped and switched between). Each have their own special abilities and they change Sora’s clothing. ‘Second Form’ is the first one available to you and it gives access to classic KH techniques like Sonic Blade and Ars Arcanum. Remember Anti-Sora? He’s back in ‘Rage Form’! Powerful but risky, it is accessible to Sora when low on health and out of magic points.

MINI-GAMES

Kingdom Hearts III brings a wealth of mini-games. You can find one near the beginning of the game after leaving Olympus. Backtrack to the Overlook in Thebes and there’ll be the Cherry Flan; one of the Flantastic Seven! Interacting with the flan lets you ride around Thebes on the Trinity Sled knocking out flans for points. The combat itself allows you to use links and attractions that are basically minigames themselves! From Blaster Blaze to the Magic Carousel. Each one makes every battle a big spectacular show!

Shahan’s Opinion: I literally got goosebumps watching the intro. I just can’t believe it’s actually here! I doubt I’ll feel like this again until the Final Fantasy VII remake. I’ll wait and see if it will surpass my personal fave: Birth by Sleep. But it is so beautiful! Near Pixar-quality visuals in the cutscenes and the environments. It’s even more awesome to know that Hayley Joel Osment (yeah The Sixth Sense kid) would be happy to voice-act Sora forever!

Negative Vibes: ANGER AND THREATS OVER METRO EXODUS EXCLUSIVITY

Metro Exodus is all set to launch this month on 15th February. It has been available to pre-order on Steam and other stores for many months now. However, it was announced that the game will be exclusive to the Epic Store for a year.  Steam pre-orders will be honoured. Unfortunately, the last-minute change that was made for profit has angered PC gamers to the point they review-bombed the other Metro games on Steam.

To further worsen customer relations, one of the developer’s employees has threatened that if PC players announce a boycott on their game, the next Metro game will not be coming to PC.

As much as Steam needs a competitor to combat its monopoly on the PC gaming platform, many would say Epic Games are going about it the wrong way. Check out this informative article over on Rock Paper Shotgun if you want to know more.

Shahan’s Opinion: The gaming industry is not doing well when it comes to PR. Maybe it would’ve been best to stay silent and wait out the storm in this situation. This same situation also supports the argument against pre-ordering.

New Character Spotlight: SNOW VILLIERS (Dissidia Final Fantasy NT)

The villains of Dissidia Final Fantasy will have Snow Villiers from the FFXIII trilogy join their ranks. His default appearance here lends itself from how he appears in the third game – Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Snow is already available for Dissidia Final Fantasy in arcades in Japan. He will be available for Dissidia Final Fantasy NT this month.

Shahan’s Opinion: I should point out I am a fan of the FFXIII trilogy, since I know how much it has split the fanbase. That being said, I have mixed feelings regarding Snow’s portrayal here.

I prefer the more upbeat, optimistic brawler in XIII and XIII-2 rather than the grim Lightning Return’s boss battle Snow. I also like his character design in XIII-2 the most. Sadly it is unlikely that will return, knowing each Dissidia character has two outfits each.

On the other hand, we already have Tifa to bring the punches for the good guys so Cie’th Snow on the villains’ side is still a cool way to represent the games he is from.

PIRANHA PLANT NOW AVAILABLE IN SMASH BROS.

It would be rude not to mention the update Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launched this week, which meant, among other things, first DLC character Piranha Plant is now available for play.

For the most part, its addition has not caused too many problems. That is to say, it isn’t quite perfect. You can’t use it for All-Star Smash without the game crashing, for example. Hopefully that will get fixed in the next patch, which should also bring Joker with it.

Dale’s Opinion: You may remember I did a little special feature on Ultimate when it first came out. Piranha Plant was on my list of five for a potential Squad Strike, and I’m happy to say it’ll stay there. It has great recovery and battering moves, plus spitting poison and summoning Petey Piranha is its Final Smash. Surprising for something I thought was a hoax, but a pleasant surprise all the same.

DRAGON BALL PROJECT Z ANNOUNCED

It’s time to relive the story of the mysterious Dragon Balls once again! Bandai Namco have released an announcement trailer, as well as a few details for Project Z. It is being developed by CyberConnect 2, who are known for the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm and .Hack series. It is aimed to be released this year on PS4, Xbox One and PC. It will include both Japanese and English voiceovers.

Shahan’s Opinion: Massive Dragon Ball fan here. After watching Dragon Ball Super: Broly in the cinema, I hugely welcome this announcement. It’s exciting to see this is an action RPG and open-world too. It reminds me of fond memories I had playing Buu’s Fury on my Game Boy Advance SP.

POKÉMON PAIR UP IN THE TCG – TEAM UP NOW AVAILABLE!

Double battles are nothing new in the Pokémon video games but they’re here to be in the limelight in the latest trading card game expansion. Sun & Moon – Team Up features unique pairings of Pokémon to form the six new Tag Team Pokémon-GX cards. Check them out in the short video above. These cards are high-risk high reward. They have a lot of power and HP but if knocked out your opponent takes three Prize cards (six Prize cards equals a victory).

The expansion has 196 cards (including the secret rare ones) and it includes four Prism Star cards. There are also dozens of Trainer cards such as Erika’s Hospitality; the Full Art print of this card is glorious. The two theme decks for this expansion are called Relentless Flame (Charizard) and Torrential Cannon (Blastoise).

Shahan’s Opinion: It’s great that the focus is on the original 151 Pokémon. The pairings are great! I’m partial to the Latios and Latias pairing personally. If any were to be Dale’s favourite, it’s got to be the Gengar and Mimikyu duo.

Dale’s Opinion: Been a while since I even thought about Pokémon cards! But Shahan isn’t wrong – I do love my Ghost-types and Gengar (as well as Gastly and Haunter) is a personal fave.

GLOSSING OVER…

Resident Evil 2 Remake a Success

The remake of Resident Evil 2 has made it to the Top 5 Most-Played Games on Steam, a first for the franchise. Fans will also be happy to hear about three DLC stories coming soon.

Latest Fallout 76 Patch Reintroduces Old Bugs

The headline speaks for itself. Do you ever think they should just recall Fallout 76 and start again? Hasn’t been great for them so far, has it? One wonders if Bethesda are deliberately trying to alienate their players.

Sony Japan Patents New Backwards-Compatibility System

A system patented by Sony Japan is to be applied to a new console (at this time, hopefully the PS5). This system will enable that console’s CPU to interpret the central unit of previous PlayStation generations, from PS4 all the way back to the PS1.

Resident Evil 2 Demo Hits Record Player Count

ISSUE 7 — 20 January 2019

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Top Story — RESIDENT EVIL 2 DEMO PLAYER COUNT HITS A RECORD 11K

Capcom has been on the right track in recent years. Monster Hunter World is their best-selling game ever. Positive reception of Mega Man 11. Devil May Cry is looking to be a return to form for Dante and friends. And they’ve also managed to turn the Resident Evil series around. Turning away from the action game direction, they’ve headed back towards their horror roots with Resident Evil 7.

The remake of Resident Evil 2 releases next week on the 25th. Beforehand, Capcom has made available a demo that lets you play the game once for 30 minutes (of course, players have found a way around this). The demo lets you control Leon S. Kennedy as he explores the Raccoon Police Department and what has occurred there. The full game will also have you play as Claire Redfield, so the two will be available to play just like in the original. Where the remake differs is in the use of the RE Engine, which was also used for Resident Evil 7. So the gameplay is modernised and there are no fixed camera angles like there were back then. This has caused Capcom to think of other ways to bring the horror, for example through the lighting, sound design, etc.

Signs point to the launch of this series’ latest instalment being the biggest in the franchise – if the demo’s player count is anything to go by. The RE2 Remake demo has had almost triple the amount of concurrent players on Steam than RE7’s demo had. RE2R hit a peak of 11,000 players while RE7’s ‘Beginning Hour’ demo reached 4,000. Will Capcom hit the ball out of the park once again? We won’t have to wait too long to see…

Shahan’s Opinion: Hopefully this will influence other big game developers to make triple-A horror titles. There’s nowhere near enough high quality scary games to play.

New Character Spotlight — GERAS (Mortal Kombat 11)

April 23rd — get over here! That’s Mortal Kombat 11’s release date, after all. And as it rapidly approaches, NetherRealm Studios are showcasing more of what is to come. They made the controversial decision to make Shao Kahn available to anyone who pre-orders the game. And Ronda Rousey of UFC and WWE fame will now be the voice actor for the classic MK character Sonya Blade.

This week they have released a gameplay trailer. Not only that, they have revealed one of the new characters to be introduced to the series; Geras. He has the ability to control time, use stone and sand as well as teleport in order to rip off bones, break limbs and vice versa. However, in terms of the story, not much is known about him, except that he serves Kronika, who deems herself ‘The Keeper of Time’. She is also completely new to the franchise but is said to be “running the show since the first Mortal Kombat” according to Ed Boon; the series’ co-creator. After the main staple character Raiden kills Shinnok in MKX and affects the timeline, Kronika intervenes to bring balance to the universe. She will be the first female main antagonist for Mortal Kombat.

Shahan’s Opinion: The animation looks to have been much improved from the previous game. Geras’ whole ‘Sands of Time’ aesthetic reminds me of Prince of Persia. So it’s a thumbs up from me!

Dale’s Opinion: You know my opinion on huge-roster games and Mortal Kombat is no exception. Geras’ moves and skills look right up my street. May have found a replacement for Shinnok…

EA CANCELS OPEN-WORLD STAR WARS GAME

Recovered from all of the Star Wars that Disney is forcing upon us? (Geddit? Forcing?) Either way, there’s one addition to the series that has been pulled from your reach. Electronic Arts has cancelled a SW project and it’s not the first time.

Their Vancouver office was reportedly working on an open-world Star Wars game since the shutdown of Visceral Games back in 2017. Before their closure, Visceral (developers of the Dead Space series) were working on a linear SW game codenamed ‘Ragtag’ with Amy Hennig of Uncharted fame as director. Art assets were taken from Ragtag by EA Vancouver and implemented in an open-world game nicknamed ‘Orca’. This is the latest Star Wars game that was cancelled. Why was it cancelled? Because it was deemed that it would take too long to develop and launch. So, it was scrapped, and resources were put towards a smaller Star Wars project without laying anyone off.

EA sent a statement to Kotaku a day after their publication saying,

“There’s been speculation overnight about one of our Star Wars projects. As a natural part of the creative process, the great work by our team in Vancouver continues and will evolve into future Star Wars content and games. We’re fully committed to making more Star Wars games, we’re very excited about Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order from Respawn, and we’ll share more about our new projects when the time is right.”

Shahan’s Opinion: For me, being reminded of Ragtag’s cancellation is sad. Especially being a fan of Amy Hennig’s work, particularly on the Legacy of Kain series.

VALVE’S ARTIFACT HITS LOWEST PLAYER COUNT

For anyone unaware, Valve surprisingly has developed and launched a video game recently. Named Artifact, it is a digital card game (à la Hearthstone) that is based on Valve’s Dota 2 universe. Artifact was also designed by Richard Garfield, the creator of the original trading card game Magic: The Gathering.

It received a mixed reception due to its high learning curve and how it has been monetised. After all, it is not free-to-play like many of its competitors. It is a digital card game you pay for and then you have to pay for the cards you want to play with as well!

Within weeks of launching, the player base dropped and carried on dropping. By the beginning of December it had lost 60% of its players. Now, after two months of the game’s release, Artifact has lost 97% of its players!

Shahan’s Opinion: I’ve played a few card games here and there. Both digital and the real cardboard stuff! I still have my shiny Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards in a binder! But I’ve never played Dota and Artifact’s art style does not appeal to me personally.

GLOSSING OVER…

AGDQ Funds Counted…

In light of last week’s top story, we felt it was necessary to inform readers that AGDQ 2019 raised a fantastic $2.4 million. This comes as the result of over 40,000 donations.

Steam Has 30,000 Games on Platform

While this is a whopping figure, these 30,000 games do not include any associated DLC or software. With the increase in games released on the platform over the past couple of years, it is expected/hoped that Steam will release up to 10,000 games in 2019.

From Bad to Worse for Atlas

Pirates-themed MMO Atlas has gone offline a couple of times due to hacker and cheater activity. Things such as spawning tanks, whales and planes, as well as hackers regaining admin permissions and spawning dragons.

Thank you for reading — we apologise it’s a little short this week, but both of us are sick and it’s been a bit of a quiet week in the gaming world. Hope to see you next issue!

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Special

ISSUE 4 — 9 December 2018

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Special Feature — SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE

by Dale Hurst

It is the game that all Nintendo fans have been looking forward to all year. On Friday, the latest instalment in the much-loved crossover fighting series Super Smash Bros. was released and the praise has pretty much been non-stop.

I have enjoyed Super Smash Bros. since Melee back in 2002, and almost religiously followed the series from there on in. This one brings back a lot of the favourite elements from previous games, while introducing further new concepts. Here are my top 3…

EVERY CHARACTER FROM THE PREVIOUS GAMES IS PLAYABLE – I love a huge playable character roster. Not just in the Super Smash Bros. series, but in all fighting games. Take Tekken, Mortal Kombat and Soul Calibur, to name a couple. But this must be the first time a Nintendo game attempted something so ambitious. By the time the six DLC characters are released, a roster of over 80 characters will be featured. I have a hard enough time deciding who I want to play in the older games, so now I’m REALLY screwed!

WORLD OF LIGHT STORY MODE – That trailer was emotional enough (when Sonic tries to save Pikachu (sniff)). Brawl’s Subspace Emissary storyline was okay, I guess. But I do hope this new story mode outranks it severely. I have high hopes.

NEW BATTLE MODE: SQUAD STRIKE – Ever play Team Matches in Soul Calibur? I loved them, since you could choose up to five of your favourite fighters and battle with them one after the other. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is doing the same thing, with either three-on-three or five-on-five matches. Who would be in your Squad? I got mine and Shahan has his as below:

smash bros squad

New Character Spotlight: JOKER (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)

Here seems as good a place as any to reveal the latest in the line-up for the next Smash Bros. game. Another third-party débutante – Joker from the Persona series. His forthcoming appearance in Smash as one of six DLC characters was announced during The Game Awards.

Unfortunately, as of yet, no information as to his moves, powers or Final Smash has been revealed. So, really, it’s just a reveal trailer for you to enjoy!

Dale’s Opinion: Must get a Switch. Must get a Switch. Must get a Switch.

Shahan’s Opinion: Whoa! Looking cool, Joker!

Special Feature — THE GAME AWARDS 2018

by Shahan Ahmed

This year’s TGA had some memorable moments. Reggie Fils-Aimé, Phil Spencer and Shawn Layden of The Big 3 shared the stage to deliver a speech. Alita: Battle Angel co-stars Christoph Waltz and Rosa Salazar arguing about controllers versus keyboard and mouse. Josef Fares of last year’s TGA fame (F*** the Oscars!) was back being his lovable self. Kratos tells Atreus to “Read it Boy” right on stage!

AWARD WINNERS

Red Dead Redemption 2 won the most awards: Best Narrative, Score/Music and Audio Design. Roger Clark, voice of protagonist Arthur Morgan, also won Best Performance. God of War takes home the one that was most waited for; the Game of the Year Award. It also won Best Game Direction and Best Action/Adventure Game. Celeste won Best Independent Game as well as the Games for Impact award. Something worth noting is that SonicFox (professional fighting games pro) winning E-sports Player of the Year has caused online debates of what competitive gaming genre takes more skill. If you want to see the full list of award winners and nominees, check out Polygon’s complete list.

WORLD PREMIERES

The show played host to some exciting world premieres this year. Nintendo Switch got plenty of love. A stylish game called Sayonara Wild Hearts, involving motorcycles and funky music, is making its way to the console. The Ultimate Alliance series is returning exclusively to the Switch with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. And Reggie presented an announcement that Bayonetta 3 is confirmed to be currently in development.

RPG lovers should be hyped for The Outer Worlds. It’s brought to you by the original creators of Fallout and developers of Fallout: New Vegas. This seems to be perfect timing as Bethesda continues to make blunder after blunder with Fallout 76. Bioware revealed a teaser for Dragon Age 4, which includes the voice of returning character Solas from DA: Inquisition. For fans of FPS games, post-apocalyptic trailers of Far Cry: New Dawn and Rage 2 were shown. Prefer fighting games? A gruesome cinematic befitting Mortal Kombat 11 revealed its April 23rd release date.

Taking a quick trip down memory lane, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is getting the remaster treatment and the Double Fine fans waiting for Psychonauts’ sequel need to see the story trailer if they haven’t already.

On the indie games front, Hello Games shows off their next charming game, The Last Campfire. Supergiant Games announced that Hades is available now in early access with more content to come post-launch. These were not all the premieres as this year’s Game Awards was laden with great reveals.

Shahan’s Opinion: I’m loving RDR2 and glad to see it collecting trophies. I’m happy that Monster Hunter Worlds won an award (it shouldn’t have been the RPG award) yet sad that our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man didn’t. The web-crawler seems to be this year’s Horizon: Zero Dawn. The world premiere that interested me the most is Hades by Supergiant Games. Transistor is my favourite indie game and their artwork is always beautiful to look at. Greek mythology looks incredible in their art style. Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds is a close second. New Vegas’ story, characters and their dialogue had so much character, so I can’t wait to see what their space opera brings to the table.

See all The Game Awards 2018’s finest moments here.

EPIC GAMES STORE TO USURP STEAM’S PC THRONE?

Epic Games Store is live! Could it be a viable competitor to the Steam marketplace? Can it disrupt the monopoly that Valve has on the PC platform? It has a real chance at doing this, especially since they have a huge user base thanks to Fortnite. Epic Games Store offers incentives to developers such as a 12% cut/commission from sales (Steam takes 30%) and it does not require digital rights management.

The Fortnite developer has also stated that they aim to provide a free game every fortnight. The first three games already available on the store (not including Fortnite and Unreal) are Ashen, Hades and Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek. Darksiders III is also on its way there on December 14th. Furthermore, Subnautica and Super Meat Boy will be playable for free for two weeks each. As if all that weren’t enough, Journey, the acclaimed game by thatgamecompany, will soon be branching out from its PS3/PS4 roots. It is confirmed to be coming to the Epic Games Store but no release date has been given yet.

If you’re a regular user of Steam, you may have heard of Steam Spy. It’s a site run by Sergey Galyonkin as a hobby. A site he uses to provide various statistics after taking in publicly-available data from Steam profiles since 2015. It turns out Sergey lives up to his site’s name as he has been working on the Epic Games Store for the past several years as Director of Publishing Strategy. His side project has given him valuable insight on Steam’s pitfalls, which has had direct influence in the layout and features that are and will be on Epic Games Store. For example, there are no forums available because developers did not want them due to the toxicity they bring.

Shahan’s Opinion: I’ve got the Epic Games Launcher installed due to tinkering with Unreal Engine 4. I’ll definitely be checking out the regular free games that’ll be available. If Hades for some reason never comes to PS4, then I’ll be getting it on the Epic Games Store I guess.

STRANGER THINGS SEASON 3: THE GAME

The hit Netflix show’s third season will be getting a game in a retro 16-bit graphic style. You play as the characters from the show, and it will follow the same events of Season 3 but with its own surprises.

This isn’t the first Stranger Things game. The developer of this game, BonusXP, made Stranger Things: The Game for the mobile platform. However, this new game will also be available on consoles. A release date hasn’t been given as yet, but it’s a fair bet to say it’ll be available in time for the show’s next season.

Shahan’s Opinion: I still need to see the show! I know I know… Well if you’re looking for a video game with a similar ‘80s vibe to Stranger Things, you need to check out Stories Untold! Four creepy short stories that’ll unnerve you like no other. I dare you to play it in the dark!

COUNTER STRIKE DOES BATTLE ROYALE

The success of Fortnite brought with it multiple games that have done their own take on the Battle Royale genre. Ring of Elysium adds a cool snowboarding twist to the formula. Cuisine Royale started off as an April Fool’s joke with all its kitchenware covering your body but it proved to gain its own fans. Even Call of Duty is following the trend with Blackout.

And so the era of Battle Royale games continues. Counter Strike has launched its own Battle Royale mode this week: CS:GO – Danger Zone. Alongside this release, Counter Strike: Global Offensive goes free-to-play as well. But they have added a new Prime status that you can upgrade your account to.

Shahan’s Opinion: Even though Battle Royale games don’t appeal to me personally, CS:GO Danger Zone’s use of drones is something I find legitimately cool. They are a form of supply drop you can order to you when you need equipment or ammo. But they show up on the map and are clearly visible in-game. So your enemies can spend precious bullets shooting it down to prevent you from getting much-needed supplies or follow it to confront you directly. It adds an interesting layer to the game.

GLOSSING OVER…

Bethesda Messes Up… AGAIN!

Bethesda Support has had a major digital security blunder. Several Fallout 76 customers’ personal information, including names, addresses, phone numbers and card details, have all been leaked.

Announcing: JP Games

Hajime Tabata (Final Fantasy XV Director and former studio head of Square Enix’s Luminous Productions) announces the establishment of a new company, JP Games. The business launch is intended for January 2019.

And the bestselling VR Headset is…

According to SuperData, PSVR has been announced as the year’s bestselling VR headset so far.

Thanks ever so much for reading!

We hope you have enjoyed reading our articles so far. Check us out again next week with more gaming news and views.