Video Game Culture Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Baldur’s Gate 3 has been released on Xbox Series X|S. The hit fantasy game was surprise dropped last night (December 7) during The Game Awards 2023.Baldur’s Gate 3, which is based on the long-running tabletop role-playing game (RPG) Dungeons & Dragons, was released on PC back in August, with a PlayStation version following in September.

Deathloop developer Arkane Lyon is making a new Blade game based on the popular Marvel character.Blade is a half-vampire half-human hunter first appearing in Marvel Comics in 1973. In the early 2000s, Wesley Snipes played the character in a trilogy of successful movies.

Destiny 2 developer Bungie is facing a full takeover by Sony, according to a new report, leaving employees worried about the studio’s future.Sony already owns Bungie, but the developer retains some autonomy. In a statement issued when the acquisition process started in January 2022, Bungie said “we remain in charge of our destiny.

GTA 6 trailer was released earlier this week and featured Tom Petty’s ‘Love Is A Long Road’ which has now received a massive spike in listeners on Spotify.In data provided by Spotify, it has been revealed that the song has seen a “huge streaming increase of 36,979 per cent” since last week before the trailer was released.This isn’t the first time gaming has brought new popularity to older songs. Earlier in the year, HBO‘s adaptation of The Last Of Us caused a 4,900 per cent increase in streams for Linda Rondstadt’s ‘Long Long Time’.Spotify has also created a Grand Theft Auto playlist in collaboration with developer Rockstar Games, featuring songs such as ‘Fortunate Son’, ‘Danger Zone’, ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’, and ‘Mississippi Queen’, all of which have featured in previous Grand Theft Auto titles.The trailer for GTA 6 was released a day before when it was intended to drop due to a leak on social media.

Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios has revealed the most-romanced character in the game, along with several other interesting statistics about the title.According to Larian, Shadowheart has proven to be the most popular romantic interest among fans, with 51.3 per cent of players reaching the end of her romance path, with Karlach and Lae’zel taking the number two and three slots respectively.1.3million players have completed the game so far, with 94 per cent of players creating a custom character instead of choosing from the available origin characters. Speaking of origin characters, people who did choose to play as one of the pre-created characters chose to play as Gale, with Astarion closely following as the number two choice.The least played as origin character was Lae’zel, with only 228,960 people choosing to play as her, which is almost half of the number that chose to play as Gale.In terms of total playtime, Larian has confirmed that around 452,556,984 hours have been spent in the game, or the equivalent of over 51,662 years.

The Day Before developer Fntastic has issued an apology ahead of the early access release of the title.Though The Day Before is set to launch this week (December 7), the run-up has been plagued with allegations of plagiarism, trademark disputes and unpaid volunteers.The apology was directed at both people who are looking forward to the game and people who aren’t, with Fntastic writing to people who “didn’t believe in us” that they “accept any kind of criticism and don’t hold a grudge”.The developer also asked that people “don’t accuse us of scamming” and also not to “accuse us of asset flip: that’s not true also. Our team worked day and night for five years to make our dream game a reality”.“Please don’t underestimate our work; it wasn’t easy,” Fntastic wrote.

Payday developer Starbreeze Studios has announced a new co-op Dungeons & Dragons title.Starbreeze will both develop and publish the game, with the title planned to launch in 2026. The game currently holds the codename of Project: Baxter and is being produced in Unreal Engine 5.

Ark: Survival Ascended launched in October of this year, as a long-promised remaster of the original Ark: Survival Evolved. Now, the co-creator has admitted there are issues with the servers.During an Extra Life Charity Twitch Livestream, the co-creator of Ark: Survival Ascended, Jeremy Stieglitz, admitted that there are issues with the game’s servers in response to fan complaints (as transcribed by PCGamer).“Firstly, I wanna say the servers are an ass, they run like ass, and their stability is an ass,” Stieglitz stated.“We need to improve it.

Elden Ring, Shadows of the Erdtree, likely won’t be previewed next week at the The Game Awards 2023.Speaking to Japanese publication Game Watch (with a translation provided by PCGamesN) at the PlayStation Partners Awards, producer Yasuhiro Kitao was asked whether the long-anticipated Elden Ring DLC will be unveiled at next week’s annual industry bash.Kitao replied, stating “It’ll be a little while yet, but progress is going well.” He then went on to specify that the DLC is “like Bloodborne” and that it has “new battles and new characters.”Kitao also spoke a little on FromSoftware’s development process, stating that its “long-standing stance has been to work diligently to create something interesting and valuable.”Elden Ring: Shadows of the Erdtree was officially announced in February of this year, with no real details available other than that the DLC is in development. Fans were hoping to see details from the expansion at The Game Awards 2023, as it was also a Geoff Keighley-hosted show, Summer Game Fest 2021, in which we saw a lengthy look at the base game, but that’s looking increasingly less likely as the event approaches.NME‘s review of Elden Ring stated that the game “exceeds every expectation”, with writer Andy Brown noting that:“A refined open-world format adds unimagined wonder to the game, whilst legacy dungeons will likely go down as some of FromSoftware’s best level design.

Fortnite skin has been readded to the game ahead of the upcoming Big Bang event.The original Black Widow skin has returned to Fortnite in a shock return, with this being the first time that the skin has been available in-game since Avengers: Endgame was released in 2019. In addition to this, Black Widow’s emote has also returned to the game.Popular Fortnite account ShiinaBR posted the news on X (formerly Twitter), simply writing “OG BLACK WIDOW HAS RETURNED OMG.”Another X account, Ali-A, noted that the skin has been away from Fortnite for a total of 1,668 days.It’s unclear if this is the first of several rare skins returning to the game, or if this is just a one-off, however.Recently, Fortnite revealed that Eminem is coming to the game during the upcoming Big Bang event, with a selection of skins currently available based on the rapper.

Baldur’s Gate 3 has received its fifth patch, fixing numerous issues and adding new content to the game in an update that weighs 30GB.The patch includes a new epilogue which adds almost 4,000 additional lines of dialogue and allows you to say goodbye to characters that you’ve found yourself bonding with throughout the massive RPG.In addition to this, the update has added two new difficulty modes: honor mode and custom mode. Honor mode is a harder version of the game, adding new moves to every boss fight and making it so that you can’t save scum (reload a past save to get a different result).

Microsoft has officially announced the games that are coming to Xbox Game Pass in December.Twelve new games will be joining the popular subscription service, with many of the titles available across consoles, PCs, and the cloud.sneak peek at your holiday gifts this december

Critical Role video game, if he finds the right studio.When asked by Dicebreaker if he wants to make a Critical Role video game, Mercer responded by saying that he’d love to make one “should all the stars align”, but that it would need to be the “right idea, the right development studio, and the right budget.”Despite the sheer popularity of the series, Critical Role somehow hasn’t been optioned for a video game yet. The closest the popular Dungeons & Dragons actual-play podcast has come is a DLC pack in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire which featured their Vox Machina characters and voiceovers.However, the second series of Critical Role’s animated series The Legend of Vox Machina was released earlier this year, with the company also announcing an animated adaptation of their second campaign, The Mighty Nein, so the company is clearly making moves in multimedia ventures.Mercer earlier this year featured in Baldur’s Gate 3, playing fan-favorite character Minsc.

Netflix Games is adding three Grand Theft Auto games to their library on December 14.Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will all be joining Netflix’s game catalog on December 14, in the form of the definitive edition releases of the games.They join titles such as Poinpy, Oxenfree, Into The Breach, and Kentucky Route Zero on the service, with over 80 different games available to play on a mobile device as long as you have a Netflix membership. The three GTA titles are by far the biggest titles that Netflix has added to the service, however, and with GTA VI receiving its first trailer in early December, it’s likely to get more eyes on the service overall.Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition was released in 2021, and was received poorly.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, almost half of CD Projekt RED’s development staff is now working on The Witcher 4. In a recent earnings report for Q3 2023, CD Projekt RED outlined what percentage of developers were working on various different projects.

Starfield has already vanished from many people’s collective consciousness, but Bethesda has begun defending the game from criticism in Steam reviews by replying to certain users.As spotted by YouTuber JuiceHead on X (formerly Twitter), Bethesda has started replying to Starfield reviews using the handles Bethesda_FalcoYamaoka and Bethesda_Kraken.In a reply to one review that criticised the number of loading screens in the game, a Bethesda developer wrote that “while there may be loading screens in between fast travelling, just consider the amount of data for the expansive gameplay that is procedurally generated to load flawlessly.”In a reply to another review, which called the game “wide as an ocean- shallow as a puddle”, the same developer wrote that “if you feel that things are getting boring, there is so much more to do than just the main mission! There are many side missions where you can learn more about the people and story of Starfield.”There’s currently no word from Bethesda as to why they’ve suddenly decided to reply to Steam reviews, however.Starfield launched in September of this year, releasing on the same day as the PS5 version of Baldur’s Gate 3, to fairly positive reviews. The game is currently sitting at 83 on Metacritic, with an 85 on Opencritic.NME’s own review of Starfield was positive, writing that “Starfield promises so much, but comes up short of perfection.

Asobo Studio, the team behind both A Plague Tale games, has announced that it is working on a “major new project” with publisher Focus Entertainment.In a release portfolio that was sent to investors, Focus has confirmed that it and Asobo are teaming up to “renew their long-standing partnership with a major new project”. It then went on to specify that “this will see them extend the productive collaboration that led to the ‘A Plague Tale’ franchise”.While the news will have some people speculating about a potential new IP, the news is likely related to a series of job listings that appeared in July.

Quake players in the world has confirmed Elon Musk’s claims that he once played with the game’s top-level competitors, though he “wasn’t very good”.In a podcast with computer scientist Lex Fridman, Elon Musk stated that he has a “lifetime of playing video games”. Musk then said that “at one point I was, you know, maybe one of the best Quake players in the world”, and mentioned that he “actually won money” in “the first paid esports tournament in the US.”Posters on X (formerly Twitter) doubted the claim, with many questioning whether Musk was simply trying to brag.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 showcase has been announced for later this month, featuring new information on the upcoming role-playing game.The showcase will be taking place on November 28 at 1PM PST (9PM GMT) and will be hosted by game director Hideaki Itsuno, along with producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi. The teaser for the showcase promises an “info-packed 15-minute live stream” with “brand new gameplay reveals”.During an investor Q&A recently, Capcom noted that it’s still expecting an “undisclosed” title to launch before the end of the financial year (ending March 2024), which could be Dragon’s Dogma 2.As noticed by VGC, the title has been rated in Saudi Arabia, meaning a release date could be coming sooner rather than later.Dragon’s Dogma 2 was first announced in June 2022, a full decade after the original game was released.

Overwatch 2 and Dead Island 2 are getting streetwear drops from luxury streetwear brand ARK/8 following a drop earlier this year of Elden Ring-related streetwear earlier this year.ARK/8 announced the news today (November 16), and confirmed that both collections will have different inspirations. The Overwatch collection will be “shining a spotlight on two countries – South Korea and Japan” and will be specifically focused on “two fan-favorite characters, D.

Baldur’s Gate 3, but Larian Studios has already started discussing its next big game and what it plans to do with it.Swen Vincke, the CEO of Larian Studios, posted on X (formerly Twitter) about how honoured he was for the eight nominations that Baldur’s Gate 3 received at The Game Awards 2023.The CEO described the game’s presence there as a “real honor, especially in a year with so many releases,” and said it was “motivating” to see Baldur’s Gate 3 do well.Vincke also dropped a few tidbits about Larian’s next planned game, stating that it “is really encouraging us to ensure it pushes many boundaries. I’m very excited about it.”The news comes as the official Larian Studios account recently teased a potential Xbox Series X|S release date announcement this week, along with an imminent physical release for the critically lauded computer role-playing game.While the game has been available on PlayStation 5 and PC since September and August respectively, it has only been available in a digital form, with no physical edition issued (as of writing).This is a real honor, especially in a year with so many releases.

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, has said her design was “not practical at all” but still plays a part of a “fantasy”.Joosten said that she was aware of the “different perspectives” on the character and that she “respects” the artistry that came into creating Quiet.“And also, of course, there’s also just a choice of creating a character that’s visually appealing,” she continued.“I think video games are, in a way, still a sort of fantasy world you enter, so I definitely respect the choices regarding the Quiet appearance, for instance, being quite revealing.”Conversely, Joosten acknowledged and appreciated that there were opinions that were much more critical on her design.“This game came out in 2015, and I think the video game landscape has changed quite a lot since then. People are looking for more representation, and I really get it,” the actor added.Quiet’s minimal clothing is justified in the story of Metal Gear Solid 5 as her parasitic treatment for her injuries causes her to breathe through her skin and photosynthesise for food.

Paradox Interactive and Harebrained Schemes have announced their split only two weeks after the launch of turn-based tactics game The Lamplighters League.On October 10, Paradox Interactive shared that it deemed the game a “big disappointment” due to the tepid commercial reception. The Lamplighters League is set in an alternate version of the 1930s where the player must prevent a cult from seizing precious artefacts to use to take over the world.Launched on October 3, it is available for PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S as well as being playable through Xbox Game Pass.“Game projects are by their nature always risky, but at the end of the day we haven’t performed at the level we should.

Frontier Developments, the developer of series like Elite, F1 Manager and RollerCoaster Tycoon, has announced that there will be an unknown number of redundancies to reduce annual operating costs.The news broke through the London Stock Exchange on October 17, stating that a period of “disappointing financial performance” had led to the decision.As a result of the layoffs and a new constrained spending strategy, Frontier Developments aims to cut annual operating costs by up to 20 per cent.“The organisational review and resulting actions are expected to conclude by early 2024, placing Frontier in a strong position to deliver efficiently on its strategic plan over the medium term, and capitalise on future opportunities,” read the statement.Redundancies will be subject to consultation and for that reason it has not been disclosed how many developers and other employees of Frontier will be affected. This reorganisation is expected to wrap up in early 2024.It has been a tricky year for Frontier, with a year-on-year drop in revenue from £114million to £104.6million for the financial year ending in May 2023.Furthermore, Frontier shuttered its third-party publishing label Frontier Foundry in June, which led to “£28.7 million of non-cash intangible asset impairment and accelerated amortisation charges” impacting the total operating profit.According to VideoGameLayoffs.com, a website managed by developer Farhan Noor, more than 6,000 jobs in the games industry have been lost over the course of 2023.Epic Games cut over 800 roles in order to cut costs, and Embracer Group closed Volition only two months after celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Bethesda Softworks, announced his retirement today (October 16).Hines was hired in 1999 and originally he was in charge of writing manuals for Bethesda’s roster of titles, before becoming more and more instrumental to the marketing and public relations for launches.“After 24 years, I have decided my time at Bethesda Softworks has come to an end. I am retiring and will begin an exciting new chapter of my life exploring interests and passions, donating my time where I can, and taking more time to enjoy life,” he said in a statement to X (fka Twitter).“This was not a decision I came to easily or quickly, but after an amazing career, culminating in the incredible launch of Starfield, it feels like the time is right,” he continued.He added that he will still be an active part of the global Bethesda fanbase, who he described as an “incredible community”.Concluding, he said that he is intensely proud of those he worked with during his two decades at Bethesda Softworks, and that he will be waiting for whatever is next for the developer with “genuine excitement”.Bethesda Softworks addressed Hines’ retirement in its own message: “Pete’s public presence was only a small part of his role at Bethesda, although the way he represented us carried over into the values he nurtured here: authenticity, integrity and passion.“His contributions have been integral in building Bethesda and its family of studios into the world-class organization that it is today.

Unity Technologies CEO John Riccitiello, who had held the position for almost a decade, is no longer with the company following the fallout over fee changes for the game engine.James M. Whitehurst is now the interim CEO and president of the company, with Roelof Botha, the lead independent director of Unity’s board, stepping into the role of chairman.Unity is actively seeking a new CEO but Riccitiello “will continue to advise Unity to ensure a smooth transition”.“Unity is well-positioned to continue enhancing its platform, strengthening its community of customers, developers and partners, and focusing on its growth and profitability goals,” Whitehurst said in a press release.In September, Unity unveiled its new runtime fees which would come into effect for customers once their game had overcome certain thresholds for installs and lifetime revenue.However, the response from game developers to the changes was disastrous.

Ubisoft executives have been arrested following an investigation into alleged instances of sexual assault and harassment within its offices.Per Libération, three individuals were arrested on October 3 and another two were taken into custody on October 4. Among them are Tommy François and Serge Hascoët, who both left the publisher after the allegations were made public.François was Ubisoft Paris’ vice president of editorial and creative services, working on series like Assassin’s Creed, Prince Of Persia, Tom Clancy’s The Division, Watch Dogs and others.Joining in 1988, Hascoët served as Ubisoft’s chief creative officer and oversaw the reboots and revivals of Assassin’s Creed and the two Tom Clancy properties Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon.Several years ago, Ubisoft was accused of housing “a toxic system within the [third] biggest studio in the industry, dominated by untouchable men, protected by ‘a wall of HR'” in the report published by Libération in 2020.In response, Ubisoft commenced its own investigations into the claims and conducted an internal survey, concluding one in five employees did not feel “fully respected or safe in the work environment”.Additionally, women were 30 per cent more likely to experience or witness discrimination than men, while non-binary people were 43 per cent more likely to be targeted.“We want to start by apologising to everyone affected by this – we are truly sorry,” said Ubisoft in a statement, pledging that it would “do better” in the future.“Ubisoft has no knowledge of what has been shared and therefore can’t comment,” said a spokesperson to Gamesindustry.biz on the arrests.

Epic Games has announced the loss of 830 employees in a round of layoffs, with “two-thirds” of these roles outside of game development ventures.Through this, CEO Tim Sweeney aimed to “[cut] costs without sacrificing development or lines of businesses” and guarantee the continued efficacy of the company’s development functions.“For a while now, we’ve been spending way more money than we earn, investing in the next evolution of Epic and growing Fortnite as a metaverse-inspired ecosystem for creators,” explained Sweeney in a post to the Epic Games official website.“I had long been optimistic that we could power through this transition without layoffs, but in retrospect I see that this was unrealistic.”Of these 830 employees, Epic Games will lose 250 employees resulting from divestitures from Bandcamp and SuperAwesome. Bandcamp will be owned by Songtradr and “most” of SuperAwesome will be taken over by SuperAwesome Leadership.Those affected will benefit from a severance package that contains career transition services, visa support, six months base pay, the opportunity to “accelerate people’s stock option vesting schedule through the end of 2024” and six months of Epic-paid healthcare in the United States, Canada and Brazil.There will be no further redundancies in the future, affirmed Sweeney.

K-pop group NewJeans will be releasing a song for this year’s League Of Legends World Championship.The single, titled ‘Gods’, will be released on October 4 at 6AM BST / 2PM KST. It will also launch with an animated music video from Riot Games, and NewJeans have described the song as “a new experience for all of us”.“It was fun to try a new genre and sound,” shared the group.

Cyber Security Connect). “WE ARE SELLING IT”.It has not offered a price point for the files, which include “screenshots of an internal log-in page, an internal PowerPoint presentation outlining testbench details, and a number of Java files”.It’s an example of ransomware, a practice where hackers steal a company’s files and attempt to sell it back to them.