https://www.gameinformer.com/ Game Informer is your source for the latest in video game news, reviews, previews, podcasts, and features. en https://www.gameinformer.com/gamer-culture/2024/05/17/five-nights-at-freddys-2-gets-december-2025-premiere-date &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/17/16ec223f/five-nights-at-freddy-1-movie.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Five Nights At Freddy&amp;#039;s 2 movie release date&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Five Nights At Freddy’s 2&lt;/em&gt;, the sequel to the 2023 film adaptation of the popular horror game, has a premiere date. Freddy Fazbear and friends will return to the big screen on December 5, 2025.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;As reported by &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://variety.com/2024/film/news/five-nights-at-freddys-2-release-date-december-2025-1236006597/&quot;&gt;Variety&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;, Blumhouse Productions announced the date alongside a slate of other upcoming films, including &lt;em&gt;M3GAN 2.0&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;The Black Phone 2&lt;/em&gt;. It&#039;s not surprising to see &lt;em&gt;Five Nights At Freddy’s&lt;/em&gt; getting a follow-up. It simultaneously premiered in theaters and on Peacock on October 27, 2023, and still managed to be a massive box office success. Grossing $297 million globally, it became the year&#039;s highest-grossing horror film,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/gamer-culture/2023/11/27/five-nights-at-freddys-continues-box-office-success-becomes-highest&quot;&gt;Blumhouse’s highest-grossing film ever&lt;/a&gt;, and the most-watched movie on Peacock for five straight days.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The tagline&lt;i&gt; &lt;/i&gt;for &lt;i&gt;Five Nights At Freddy&#039;s 2 &lt;/i&gt;reads&lt;i&gt;,&lt;/i&gt; &quot;Anyone can survive five nights. This time, there will be no second chances.&quot; The sequel’s cast has not been announced, but the original starred Josh Hutchinson and included Matthew Lillard, Elizabeth Lail, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Piper Rubio. Director Emma Tammi is returning to direct the sequel, with FNAF creator Scott Cawthorn and Blumhouse founder Jason Blum once again assuming producer roles.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;FNAF 2&lt;/em&gt; won&#039;t be the only video game film arriving in 2025. &lt;em&gt;Mortal Kombat 2&lt;/em&gt;, the sequel to the 2021 reboot film, was &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/15/mortal-kombat-2-movie-gets-october-2025-release-date&quot;&gt;recently confirmed&lt;/a&gt; to release in October of that year.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 17 May 2024 13:51:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122648 https://www.gameinformer.com/super-replay/2024/05/17/the-legend-of-zelda-majoras-mask-part-15-super-replay <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/2024/01/05/8d47377b/zelda_mm_online_thmb.jpg" width="800" height="450" alt="" typeof="Image" class="image-style-thumbnail" /> &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder=&#039;0&#039; width=&#039;560&#039; height=&#039;315&#039; src=&#039;https://www.youtube.com/embed/MRaa0482JeI?si=uB8A19n1hEaMIzWf&#039;/&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder=&#039;0&#039; width=&#039;560&#039; height=&#039;315&#039; src=&#039;https://www.youtube.com/embed/9xTtmhNhI38?si=6PpWgRFtogKnmsFL&#039;/&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder=&#039;0&#039; width=&#039;560&#039; height=&#039;315&#039; src=&#039;https://www.youtube.com/embed/QfOV8gSi-gc&#039;/&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder=&#039;0&#039; width=&#039;560&#039; height=&#039;315&#039; src=&#039;https://www.youtube.com/embed/rEHptaeVp0Q?si=eYhQ2-h82BLxSNWj&#039;/&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder=&#039;0&#039; width=&#039;560&#039; height=&#039;315&#039; src=&#039;https://www.youtube.com/embed/Iawo5gp6f8c?si=2Ys70hQ0lj5hf6OU&#039;/&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder=&#039;0&#039; width=&#039;560&#039; height=&#039;315&#039; src=&#039;https://www.youtube.com/embed/tm5ay4RN47k&#039;/&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder=&#039;0&#039; width=&#039;560&#039; height=&#039;315&#039; src=&#039;https://www.youtube.com/embed/rJ4XddSaZeQ?si=3XNmunoUq9pPheqM&#039;/&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder=&#039;0&#039; width=&#039;560&#039; height=&#039;315&#039; src=&#039;https://www.youtube.com/embed/yei3Nzp468Q?si=QryFGvoEK8KEPaft&#039;/&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder=&#039;0&#039; width=&#039;560&#039; height=&#039;315&#039; src=&#039;https://www.youtube.com/embed/gglyxL4tqIo&#039;/&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder=&#039;0&#039; width=&#039;560&#039; height=&#039;315&#039; src=&#039;https://www.youtube.com/embed/rE4aG4F_VE8?si=3urS5vRHO4YCrWLW&#039;/&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder=&#039;0&#039; width=&#039;560&#039; height=&#039;315&#039; src=&#039;https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ox44Anepdg4?si=fMTKHQAd_bGktUW7&#039;/&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder=&#039;0&#039; width=&#039;560&#039; height=&#039;315&#039; src=&#039;https://www.youtube.com/embed/BnvjDEoOaF8?si=Kt9HQX1uwkhj2h8u&#039;/&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder=&#039;0&#039; width=&#039;560&#039; height=&#039;315&#039; src=&#039;https://www.youtube.com/embed/EQsXTXq0cuU?si=k6wms0IvFRcVj9AC&#039;/&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder=&#039;0&#039; width=&#039;560&#039; height=&#039;315&#039; src=&#039;https://www.youtube.com/embed/gksm0uD5bv4?si=C-RgJhjWIFcoFkde&#039;/&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder=&#039;0&#039; width=&#039;560&#039; height=&#039;315&#039; src=&#039;https://www.youtube.com/embed/osPSDqJhaCY?si=5xNTiIKCUoALW2T6&#039;/&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;After The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time reinvented the series in 3D and became its new gold standard, Nintendo followed up with a surreal sequel in Majora&#039;s Mask. Set two months after the events of Ocarina, Link finds himself transported to an alternate version of Hyrule called Termina and must prevent a very angry moon from crashing into the Earth over the course of three constantly repeating days. Majora&#039;s Mask&#039;s unique structure and bizarre tone have earned it legions of passionate defenders and detractors, and one long-time Zelda fan is going to experience it for the first time to see where he lands on that spectrum.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Join Marcus Stewart and Kyle Hilliard &lt;strong&gt;today and each Friday on Twitch at 2:00 p.m. CT &lt;/strong&gt;as they gradually work their way through the entire game until Termina is saved. Archived episodes will be uploaded each Saturday on our second YouTube channel&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/@gameinformershows&quot;&gt;Game Informer Shows&lt;/a&gt;, which you can watch both above and by clicking the links below.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRaa0482JeI&amp;amp;lc=UgzXaA5QC4B5O1CikwB4AaABAg&quot;&gt;Part 1 - Plenty of Time&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://youtu.be/9xTtmhNhI38?si=6PpWgRFtogKnmsFL&quot;&gt;Part 2 - The Bear&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://youtu.be/QfOV8gSi-gc&quot;&gt;Part 3 - Deku Ball Z&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://youtu.be/rEHptaeVp0Q?si=eYhQ2-h82BLxSNWj&quot;&gt;Part 4 - Pig Out&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iawo5gp6f8c&quot;&gt;Part 5 - The Was a Bad Choice!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://youtu.be/tm5ay4RN47k&quot;&gt;Part 6 - Ray Darmani&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://youtu.be/rJ4XddSaZeQ?si=3XNmunoUq9pPheqM&quot;&gt;Part 7 - Curl and Pound&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://youtu.be/yei3Nzp468Q&quot;&gt;Part 8 - Almost a Flamethrower&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://youtu.be/gglyxL4tqIo&quot;&gt;Part 9 - Take Me Higher&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://youtu.be/rE4aG4F_VE8?si=3urS5vRHO4YCrWLW&quot;&gt;Part 10 - Time Juice&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://youtu.be/Ox44Anepdg4?si=fMTKHQAd_bGktUW7&quot;&gt;Part 11 - The One About Joey&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://youtu.be/BnvjDEoOaF8?si=Kt9HQX1uwkhj2h8u&quot;&gt;Part 12 - Ugly Country&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://youtu.be/EQsXTXq0cuU?si=k6wms0IvFRcVj9AC&quot;&gt;Part 13 - The Sword is the Chicken Hat&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://youtu.be/gksm0uD5bv4?si=C-RgJhjWIFcoFkde&quot;&gt;Part 14 - Harvard for Hyrule&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://youtu.be/osPSDqJhaCY?si=5xNTiIKCUoALW2T6&quot;&gt;Part 15 - Keeping it Pure&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.twitch.tv/gameinformer&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Watch on Twitch!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;If you enjoy our livestreams but haven’t subscribed to our Twitch channel, know that doing so not only gives you notifications and access to special emotes. You’ll also be granted entry to the official&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/psa/2021/07/23/the-official-game-informer-community-discord-is-now-open&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;Discord channel&lt;/a&gt;, where our welcoming community members, moderators, and staff gather to talk games, entertainment, food, and organize hangouts! Be sure to also follow our second YouTube channel,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfDadbzDm5UnKwh7_XWrDPw&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;Shows&lt;/a&gt;, to watch other Replay episodes as well as Twitch archives of&amp;nbsp;GI Live and more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 17 May 2024 13:05:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 121800 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/17/fallout-is-coming-to-fortnite &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/17/3e041c79/fallout-x-fortnite.jpeg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It&#039;s a great time to be a Fallout fan, thanks to its &lt;a data-entity-substitution=&quot;canonical&quot; data-entity-type=&quot;node&quot; data-entity-uuid=&quot;77931a3c-3f80-4855-9ad5-3f76e5fbcb32&quot; href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/2024/04/10/the-fallout-tv-show-is-good-season-1-review&quot;&gt;excellent Amazon Prime series&lt;/a&gt; and the &lt;a data-entity-substitution=&quot;canonical&quot; data-entity-type=&quot;node&quot; data-entity-uuid=&quot;90f9957b-0269-4766-8f9c-ad4a933dbbf4&quot; href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/04/25/fallout-4-gets-a-next-gen-update-today-heres-what-to-expect&quot;&gt;next-gen update for Fallout 4&lt;/a&gt;. But it seems like the fallout from this recent boom in popularity hasn&#039;t died down quite yet. Thanks to a teaser shared on Fortnite&#039;s official social media pages, we know that Fallout will be coming to Fortnite pretty soon&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote class=&quot;tw-align-center twitter-tweet&quot;&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot; lang=&quot;qme&quot; xml:lang=&quot;qme&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://t.co/AKjFXVnHST&quot;&gt;pic.twitter.com/AKjFXVnHST&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; — Fortnite (@FortniteGame) &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/FortniteGame/status/1791499072789979575?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&gt;May 17, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;The teaser image shows power armor in a cloud of orange dust, accompanied by what appears to be some sort of industrial building. Other than that, there&#039;s not much to go on, but we can make educated guesses. For one, Fortnite&#039;s current season will end on May 24, so this is the perfect time to tease the skins that might be coming in the next battle pass. And if it&#039;s anything like the recent &lt;a data-entity-substitution=&quot;canonical&quot; data-entity-type=&quot;node&quot; data-entity-uuid=&quot;f5b5da80-dc07-4895-9626-9cdca5c3d817&quot; href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/04/09/avatar-the-last-airbender-skins-now-available-in-fortnite&quot;&gt;Avatar: The Last Airbender&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a data-entity-substitution=&quot;canonical&quot; data-entity-type=&quot;node&quot; data-entity-uuid=&quot;ef3902aa-9994-4d48-bfe5-4dd44b9364c8&quot; href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/04/15/fortnites-next-star-wars-crossover-will-span-lego-festival-and-battle-royale-modes&quot;&gt;Star Wars crossovers&lt;/a&gt;, we might see Fallout-themed mechanics or areas appear on the battle royale map itself.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It will almost certainly involve some sort of cosmetic pack as well, which could include characters from the games, the Amazon Prime show, or both. Thanks to the teaser, we know power armor will be making an appearance, but it&#039;s unclear whether it will be an item to equip in-game or a skin that can be unlocked or purchased.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For more Fortnite news, read about its recent crossover with &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/04/22/billie-eilish-is-headlining-fortnite-festival-season-3&quot;&gt;Billie Eilish&lt;/a&gt;, its decision to &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/04/23/fortnite-adds-new-setting-to-hide-confrontational-emotes&quot;&gt;allow players to block certain emotes&lt;/a&gt;, and its &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/02/07/disney-and-epic-games-announce-partnership-for-games-and-entertainment-universe&quot;&gt;huge and mysterious collaboration with Disney&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;What are you hoping to see included in this crossover? Let us know in the comments below!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 17 May 2024 11:53:00 CDT Charles Harte 122647 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/17/ea-sports-college-football-25-shows-off-school-spirit-in-first-full-trailer-and &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/17/aa29a4ef/cfb25_1.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;EA Sports College Football 25 trailer&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Yesterday, EA Sports College Football 25’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/16/ea-sports-college-football-25-arrives-in-july-cover-athletes-and-editions-revealed&quot;&gt;cover athletes and release date were revealed&lt;/a&gt;. Today, the game’s first full trailer provides the look at it in action.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The trailer shows that EA is seemingly going all out to replicate the pomp and passion of college football, with over-the-top team entrances, marching band performances, and mascots galore. It remains to be seen how fun or different the on-field action is compared to its Madden counterpart, but the game at least seems to capture the school spirit.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/W1QDaXkufCo&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;EA also released a batch of new screenshots, which you can view in this gallery.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;section class=&#039;type:slideshow&#039;&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/17/1aa67f39/cfb25_9.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/17/b95cadc6/cfb25_7.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/17/fbf423bf/cfb25_6.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/17/cd38c036/cfb25_8.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/17/e500d293/cfb25_2.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/17/8257cf6c/cfb25_4.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/17/ba110020/cfb25_5.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/17/aa29a4ef/cfb25_1.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/17/2766fb9b/cfb25_3.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/section&gt; &amp;nbsp; &lt;p&gt;EA Sports College Football 25 launches on July 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. You can learn more about its various editions, pricing, and features &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/16/ea-sports-college-football-25-arrives-in-july-cover-athletes-and-editions-revealed&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 17 May 2024 10:26:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122646 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/17/hades-iis-first-patch-changes-how-sprint-and-resource-collecting-works &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/17/5190b32c/hades-2-patch-1.jpeg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Hades II has taken the gaming world by storm, and I&#039;m not just saying that because it&#039;s the subject of &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/magazine&quot;&gt;our current cover story&lt;/a&gt;. But while many have been surprised by the sheer volume of content available so far, it&#039;s still in Early Access, so the team at Supergiant will be updating and patching it for the foreseeable future. The first of those patches came today, and it adds a few small quality-of-life improvements.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote class=&quot;tw-align-center twitter-tweet&quot;&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot; lang=&quot;en&quot; xml:lang=&quot;en&quot;&gt;Our first Early Access patch for Hades II is out now on Steam and the Epic Games Store!! We&#039;re very grateful for all the feedback so far, which inspired this first set of targeted improvements and fixes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; 🌒Full Patch Notes: &lt;a href=&quot;https://t.co/HDQRCANrv1&quot;&gt;https://t.co/HDQRCANrv1&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://t.co/RJO0ayFb8c&quot;&gt;pic.twitter.com/RJO0ayFb8c&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; — Supergiant Games (@SupergiantGames) &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/SupergiantGames/status/1791148077283410206?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&gt;May 16, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;The first change comes to the sprint mechanic, a feature the original Hades did not have. By holding the dash button, Melinoë will begin to run, making it easier to avoid enemy attacks or cross larger lengths of the map. Several boons also only activate while sprinting, so it&#039;s a crucial mechanic for Supergiant to get right. After this first patch, sprinting is faster and it&#039;s easier to turn, and related boons have been re-balanced accordingly. Additionally, The Swift Runner upgrade at the Altar of Ashes (which increases sprint speed by 20%) now makes your dash immediately start, so you can escape danger more reliably.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The patch also does a minor overhaul of the resource collection system. As you progress, you&#039;ll unlock different tools, like the pickaxe and the shovel, to harvest different types of materials, like minerals and seeds. Before the patch, choosing a tool before a run meant you could only harvest those specific resources until you returned to the crossroads. If you picked up a shovel and encountered a fishing spot, you were out of luck. Now, players can harvest any resource they encounter in a run, but selecting a certain tool just makes its corresponding resource much more likely to appear. Now, a shovel-wielding Melinoë can attempt to catch any fish she comes across, but it&#039;s much less likely she encounters one in the first place.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The patch also includes a number of other smaller fixes, &lt;a href=&quot;https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1145350?emclan=103582791472836561&amp;amp;emgid=4175477072263852699&quot;&gt;which you can read in their entirety here&lt;/a&gt;. Just be wary before unveiling those spoiler tags if you haven&#039;t made it through the bulk of the game, as they reveal the existence of certain characters or locations you likely haven&#039;t encountered yet.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For more Hades 2, &lt;a data-entity-substitution=&quot;canonical&quot; data-entity-type=&quot;node&quot; data-entity-uuid=&quot;b435a0ab-2d81-45ef-aec6-d16f9dedb4ac&quot; href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/hades2&quot;&gt;check out our coverage hub&lt;/a&gt;, which includes a &lt;a data-entity-substitution=&quot;canonical&quot; data-entity-type=&quot;node&quot; data-entity-uuid=&quot;0fc34870-f55c-485a-ba81-272f651667d9&quot; href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/video-interview/2024/05/08/supergiant-answers-78-rapid-fire-questions-about-hades-ii&quot;&gt;rapid-fire interview&lt;/a&gt; with the developers, &lt;a data-entity-substitution=&quot;canonical&quot; data-entity-type=&quot;node&quot; data-entity-uuid=&quot;1bfad031-00ac-4a05-b2f6-80e81b9c4616&quot; href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/exclusive-video/2024/05/14/exclusive-video-supergiant-games-office-tour&quot;&gt;a tour of Supergiant Games&#039; studio&lt;/a&gt;, and our &lt;a data-entity-substitution=&quot;canonical&quot; data-entity-type=&quot;node&quot; data-entity-uuid=&quot;5c390ee9-807c-4b1d-9c1e-8c9972eb11bb&quot; href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/cover-reveal/2024/05/06/cover-reveal-the-making-of-hades-ii&quot;&gt;in-depth cover story detailing the making of the game&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 17 May 2024 09:50:00 CDT Charles Harte 122645 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/17/despite-speculation-microsoft-will-reportedly-launch-this-years-call-of-duty-on &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2021/05/07/780f985b/codbocw.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Call of Duty Black Ops Gulf War Game Pass Xbox Microsoft&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Microsoft is reportedly planning to launch this year&#039;s Call of Duty on its Xbox Game Pass subscription service, according to&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.wsj.com/tech/microsoft-call-of-duty-game-pass-53e8930c&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Wall Stree Journal&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. This follows reports in previous weeks indicating &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/09/xbox-reportedly-debating-putting-call-of-duty-on-game-pass-alongside-price-hike&quot;&gt;Microsoft and Xbox were mulling over whether or not to launch the next iteration&lt;/a&gt; in the franchise on Game Pass, out of fear it might hurt sales.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/10/13/microsoft-has-officially-acquired-activision-blizzard-for-69-billion&quot;&gt;After acquiring Activision Blizzard for a colossal $69 billion last year&lt;/a&gt;, fans and analysts have speculated about how Microsoft will handle the Call of Duty franchise moving forward. It will obviously be a big draw for Xbox Game Pass, pulling in new subscribers, but most every year, the new Call of Duty is the best-selling game of the year – save for last year, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/08/hogwarts-legacy-has-sold-more-than-22-million-copies-in-less-than-a-year#:~:text=Hogwarts%20Legacy%20Has%20Sold%20More,Than%20A%20Year%20%2D%20Game%20Informer&quot;&gt;where Hogwarts Legacy took that crown&lt;/a&gt; – and a Game Pass launch could affect those sales numbers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/UtTd3_2WjEg&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;However, this new report from&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;The Wall Street Journal&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;seemingly clears the air around that topic.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;Microsoft plans a major shake up of its video game sales strategy by releasing the coming installment of Call of Duty to its subscription service instead of the longtime, lucrative approach of only selling it a la carte,&quot; the story reads.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Of course, things could change so we&#039;ll see what happens. It&#039;s likely we&#039;ll be learning what the next Call of Duty game is next month as part of the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/08/the-2024-summer-gaming-showcase-schedule&quot;&gt;gaming showcase summer&lt;/a&gt; that includes &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/16/summer-game-fest-to-have-more-than-55-studios-and-publishers-including-playstation&quot;&gt;Summer Game Fest&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/04/03/ubisoft-forward-confirmed-for-june-same-week-as-summer-game-fest&quot;&gt;Ubisoft Forward&lt;/a&gt;, and an &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/04/30/xbox-games-showcase-announced-for-june-followed-by-a-secret-direct-for-a-beloved&quot;&gt;Xbox Games Showcase followed by a secret direct&lt;/a&gt; that is probably focused on Call of Duty.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;[Source: &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.wsj.com/tech/microsoft-call-of-duty-game-pass-53e8930c&quot;&gt;The Wall Street Journal&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;What setting do you hope the next Call of Duty takes place in? Let us know in the comments below!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 17 May 2024 09:10:19 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122643 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/17/2k-will-reveal-the-next-iteration-of-one-of-its-biggest-and-most-beloved-franchises &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://s3.amazonaws.com/prod-media.gameinformer.com/styles/body_default/s3/2020/05/13/7c3d1230/mafiadepromo.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Mafia BioShock Borderlands New 2K Franchise Iteration Game&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;2K will reveal the next iteration of one of its biggest franchises at Summer Game Fest. Fans online are already speculating what it could be, considering some of 2K&#039;s biggest franchises are prime for a new game.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;As for when to expect this new game, the official SGF X (formerly Twitter) account says it will be announced on June 7, during the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/03/13/this-years-summer-game-fest-streams-live-on-june-7&quot;&gt;Summer Game Fest&lt;/a&gt; livestream that begins at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET. That&#039;s less than a month away so we don&#039;t have to speculate too long on what this mystery iteration could be.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote class=&quot;tw-align-center twitter-tweet&quot;&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot; lang=&quot;en&quot;&gt;2K plans to reveal the next iteration in one of 2K&#039;s biggest and most beloved franchises at &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/summergamefest?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&gt;@SummerGameFest&lt;/a&gt; on Friday, June 7. &lt;a href=&quot;https://t.co/1vyFXE2N4z&quot;&gt;pic.twitter.com/1vyFXE2N4z&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; — Summer Game Fest (@summergamefest) &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/summergamefest/status/1791201250521825718?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&gt;May 16, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;While there are plenty of 2K franchises that fit the bill, our eyes are on three franchises: Borderlands, Mafia, and BioShock.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The last mainline Borderlands entry – Borderlands 3 – hit PlayStation, Xbox, and PC in 2019, and with the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/gamer-culture/2024/02/21/the-borderlands-movies-first-trailer-looks-as-ridiculous-as-the-games#:~:text=Borderlands%20hits%20theaters%20on%20August%209.&amp;amp;text=Marcus%20is%20an%20avid%20gamer,cartoons%20and%20obscure%20childhood%20references.&quot;&gt;live-action&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Borderlands&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;movie hitting theaters this August&lt;/a&gt;, a new game would make sense. However, we did just get &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/new-tales-from-the-borderlands/forgettable-story-unforgettable-characters&quot;&gt;New Tales From The Borderlands&lt;/a&gt; in 2022, if you&#039;re looking for something to play through in that universe.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;On the Mafia front, the last mainline entry was &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/games/mafia_iii/b/xboxone/archive/2016/10/12/mafia-iii-review.aspx&quot;&gt;Mafia III&lt;/a&gt; in 2016, although 2K released &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/mafia-definitive-edition/mafia-definitive-edition-review-loyal-to-a-fault&quot;&gt;Mafia: Definitive Edition&lt;/a&gt; – a remake – in 2020. And &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/08/29/the-next-mafia-game-is-in-development&quot;&gt;we know the next Mafia game is in development&lt;/a&gt;, too, so it might be time for an announcement.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;BioShock has been dormant since &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/games/bioshock_infinite/b/pc/archive/2013/03/25/enjoying-the-view-from-above.aspx&quot;&gt;BioShock Infinite&lt;/a&gt; in 2013, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/product/bioshock-the-collection&quot;&gt;unless you count the 2016 remasters&lt;/a&gt;, and we know &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2019/12/09/2k-announces-new-studio-for-the-next-bioshock&quot;&gt;2K created Cloud Chamber in 2019&lt;/a&gt; to work on the next entry in the franchise. It&#039;s been almost five years since then, so SGF seems like a great moment to announce the next BioShock. Speaking of, here&#039;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/01/03/what-we-want-from-bioshock-4&quot;&gt;what we want in a BioShock 4&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;SGF returns to Los Angeles next month, with the live showcase happening on June 7. For more, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/16/summer-game-fest-to-have-more-than-55-studios-and-publishers-including-playstation&quot;&gt;check out some of the studios, publishers, and partners to be featured during the event&lt;/a&gt;, and then check out&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/08/the-2024-summer-gaming-showcase-schedule&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;summer gaming showcase schedule&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;What do you think this new iteration will be? Let us know in the comments below!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 17 May 2024 07:54:00 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122642 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/16/grand-theft-auto-vi-targeting-fall-2025-release-window &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2023/12/04/c04beab6/gta6_02.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Grand Theft Auto VI Fall 2025 release window&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Grand Theft Auto VI&#039;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/12/04/grand-theft-auto-vi-revealed-with-first-official-trailer-alongside-2025-release&quot;&gt;reveal last December&lt;/a&gt; sent fans into a tizzy, but its then-distant 2025 release window immediately tempered that excitement. While the launch seemed more in reach now that we’re nearly midway through 2024, it appears we’ll have to wait another full year before playing it.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Publisher Take-Two released its &lt;a href=&quot;https://ir.take2games.com/static-files/e357ad06-0762-4e80-b80c-e3869252fdfe&quot;&gt;2024 year-end financial report&lt;/a&gt; today (thanks, &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.pcgamer.com/games/grand-theft-auto/grand-theft-auto-6-release-window-narrowed-to-fall-2025-but-theres-still-no-pc-launch-date-confirmed/?utm_medium=social&amp;amp;utm_campaign=socialflow&amp;amp;utm_source=twitter.com&quot;&gt;PC Gamer&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;), in which it states that Rockstar is targeting a Fall 2025 release window for GTA VI. This timing is reiterated in a calendar of the publisher’s upcoming releases, posted below.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;a class=&quot;linkoriginal&quot; data-featherlight=&quot;image&quot; href=&quot;&quot;&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/16/335cd20e/take_two_calendar_1.jpg&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;/a&gt; Click to enlarge &lt;p&gt;Regarding GTA VI, Take-Two states, “We are highly confident that Rockstar Games will deliver an unparalleled entertainment experience, and our expectations for the commercial impact of the title continue to increase.” The game is slated to release for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. A PC version has &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/12/04/grand-theft-auto-vi-ps5-and-xbox-series-xs-release-confirmed-for-2025-no-mention-of&quot;&gt;yet to be mentioned.&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Grand Theft Auto VI takes players to a modern-day Vice City (the franchise&#039;s parody of Miami, FL) and stars two protagonists, a female inmate named Lucia and her still-unnamed criminal male partner. To say anticipation is high would be an understatement; the premiere trailer garnered over &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/12/06/grand-theft-auto-vi-trailer-surpasses-100-million-views-breaks-record-for-most&quot;&gt;100 million views in only 24 hours&lt;/a&gt;, breaking a YouTube record. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;As we continue the long wait for Grand Theft Auto VI’s launch, check out our video of&lt;em&gt; Game Informer&lt;/em&gt;’s two resident &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/humor/2023/12/05/watch-two-florida-men-analyze-the-grand-theft-auto-vi-trailer&quot;&gt;Florida Men reacting to the debut trailer&lt;/a&gt;. You can also read about Take-Two&#039;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/02/take-two-closes-rollerdrome-and-kerbal-space-program-2-studios-while-majority-of&quot;&gt;recent closure&lt;/a&gt; of developers Roll7 (Rollerdrome, OlliOlli World) and Intercept Games (Kerbal Space Program 2).&lt;/p&gt; Thu, 16 May 2024 16:36:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122641 https://www.gameinformer.com/video-podcast/2024/05/16/the-best-games-you-missed-in-may-so-far-gi-show &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/16/c6679117/thegishow_707_yt.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;best games to play may 2024&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In this week&#039;s episode of&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;The Game Informer Show,&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;we discuss several of the best indie games you might&#039;ve missed amidst this month&#039;s releases. Specifically, we discuss Animal Well&#039;s mysteries, revisiting Hades I, Lorelai and the Laser Eyes, Paper Trail, With My Past, Indika, and Killer Klowns from Outer Space.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h2&gt;Watch The Video Version:&lt;/h2&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/EPLjC7VJ5d0&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;Follow us on social media: Alex Van Aken (&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/itsvanaken&quot;&gt;@itsVanAken&lt;/a&gt;), Marcus Stewart (&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/marcusstewart7&quot;&gt;@MarcusStewart7&lt;/a&gt;), Wesley LeBlanc (&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/leblancwes&quot;&gt;@LeBlancWes&lt;/a&gt;), Charlie Wacholz (&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/chas_mke&quot;&gt;@chas_mke&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Game Informer Show&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;is a weekly gaming podcast covering the latest video game news, industry topics, exclusive reveals, and reviews. Join host&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/itsVanAken&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Alex Van Aken&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;every Thursday&amp;nbsp;to chat about your favorite games – past and present – with&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;staff, developers, and special guests from around the industry.&amp;nbsp;Listen on&lt;a href=&quot;https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-game-informer-show/id335246945&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;Apple Podcasts&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://open.spotify.com/show/2EWTEHrbZpNRAboYLimAhu&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Spotify&lt;/a&gt;, or your favorite podcast app.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.djstormageddon.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Matt Storm,&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;the freelance audio editor for&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;The Game Informer Show&lt;/em&gt;, edited this episode&lt;em&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;Matt is an experienced podcast host and producer who&#039;s been speaking into a microphone for over a decade. You should listen to Matt&#039;s shows like the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://funandgames.libsyn.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&quot;Fun&quot; And Games Podcast&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;and&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://reignitepod.libsyn.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Reignite&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, a BioWare-focused podcast.&amp;nbsp; &lt;strong&gt;The Game Informer Show – Podcast Timestamps:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;p&gt;00:00:00 - Intro&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;00:05:05 - Animal Well&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;00:18:16 - Hades&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;00:29:33 - Lorelei and the Laser Eyes&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;00:38:32 - Paper Trail&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;00:50:12 - Endless Ocean Luminous&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;01:01:29 - With My Past Review&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;01:11:14 - Indika Review&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;01:24:44 - Killer Klowns from Outer Space&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;01:31:52 - Housekeeping&lt;/p&gt; Thu, 16 May 2024 16:04:35 CDT Alex Van Aken 122640 https://www.gameinformer.com/ngt/2024/05/16/how-is-ghost-of-tsushima-on-steam-deck-new-gameplay-today &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/16/272052a9/ngt_ghostoftsushima_steamdeck_yt.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Ghost of Tsushima, specifically the Director&#039;s Cut, is out on PC today. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/ghost-of-tsushima/ghost-of-tsushima-review-a-most-honorable-epic&quot;&gt;It&#039;s a fantastic game&lt;/a&gt; that should be welcomed with open arms as it makes its way to a new platform, but we were specifically curious about how it performs on Steam Deck. The game is not Steam Deck verified primarily because certain features are not supported on Valve&#039;s handheld, or other comparable mobile PC game platforms. However, the offline content (the single-player campaign and the expansion) has been specifically adjusted to play well on Steam Deck. &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/NixxesSoftware/status/1790396884873355624&quot;&gt;You can read port studio Nixxes Software explanation here&lt;/a&gt;. And spending a little time with the game shows that the single-player campaign does, in fact, play well on Steam Deck. It&#039;s not without its shortcomings – a high-end PC or a PlayStation 5 are still the best ways to play the game – but Steam Deck appears to be a great way to play the game if that&#039;s your only option or you want a portable version.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;You can check out some gameplay with commentary from myself and Wesley LeBlanc below.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/GF8M0YoySoc&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;Head to&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/gameinformer&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;YouTube channel&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;New Gameplay Today&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/ngt&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;right here.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Thu, 16 May 2024 15:30:00 CDT Kyle Hilliard 122639 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/16/fae-farm-dauntless-studio-phoenix-labs-lays-off-staff-cancels-in-development-games &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2023/06/07/5ddf855c/fae_farm_-_farming_magic_1.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Fae Farm Dauntless Developer Phoenix Lab Layoffs 100 Employees Cancel Games&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Phoenix Labs, the developer behind last year&#039;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/product/fae-farm&quot;&gt;Fae Farm&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/product/dauntless&quot;&gt;Dauntless&lt;/a&gt;, has laid off staff and canceled in-development games as part of a restructuring at the studio.&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Polygon&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://x.com/sweetpotatoes/status/1791158439684587999&quot;&gt;Nicole Carpenter&lt;/a&gt; is reporting on X (formerly Twitter) that more than 100 people at Phoenix Labs were laid off.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Shortly after Carpenter reported that, Phoenix Labs released the following &lt;a href=&quot;https://x.com/sweetpotatoes/status/1791161114538987820&quot;&gt;statement&lt;/a&gt;:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &quot;Today is an incredibly difficult day. After a long period of evaluating how to navigate our economic structure, we have had to significantly restructure the company to pave a path for a strong future. We are reorganizing Phoenix Labs to focus on our best-in-class live service titles, Dauntless and Fae Farm, and serving their communities.&amp;nbsp; &quot;This unfortunately means canceling work on all other projects at the studio, which will impact many of our colleagues immediately. We are giving notices to everyone whose roles are affected. This restructure has not come easily, and truly has been the last resort to ensure Phoenix Labs can survive, and thrive in the long term. It&#039;s impossible to put into words how deeply we value every talented individual who have contributed their hard work and passion to every project at our studio.&amp;nbsp; &quot;We are doing all we can to help our departing team members in this interim period and encourage any studios looking for incredible talent to speak with the one-of-a-kind people that have been a part of Phoenix Labs&#039; journey.&quot;&amp;nbsp; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/BF5C0KohZHI&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;Phoenix Labs released its latest game, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/09/13/dauntless-developer-unveils-co-op-fantasy-life-sim-fae-farm&quot;&gt;Fae Farm&lt;/a&gt;, back in September, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/dauntless/a-prosaic-peak&quot;&gt;Dauntless&lt;/a&gt; before that in 2019.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;These layoffs join a string of other disheartening 2024 layoffs and closures, which now total more than 10,000 in just the first five months of the year.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Square Enix announced earlier this week &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/13/square-enix-will-begin-layoffs-as-part-of-structural-reforms-this-week&quot;&gt;it will begin layoffs as part of &quot;structural reforms,&quot; starting this week&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Earlier this month,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/07/xbox-is-shutting-down-arkane-austin-tango-gameworks-and-more&quot;&gt;Xbox closed four Bethesda studios&lt;/a&gt;, including Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks and Redfall studio Arkane Austin.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/02/take-two-closes-rollerdrome-and-kerbal-space-program-2-studios-while-majority-of&quot;&gt;Take-Two Interactive closed Rollerdrome studio Roll7 and Kerbal Space Program 2 studio Intercept Games&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;alongside major layoffs to its indie-publisher Private Division label. That same week, we learned&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/02/deliver-us-mars-developer-keoken-interactive-lays-off-nearly-entire-staff&quot;&gt;Deliver Us Mars developer Keoken Interactive had laid off nearly its entire staff&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Elsewhere in the year, EA laid off&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/02/28/ea-lays-off-670-employees-cancels-respawns-star-wars-fps&quot;&gt;roughly 670 employees across all departments&lt;/a&gt;, resulting in the cancellation of Respawn&#039;s Star Wars FPS game.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/02/27/playstation-laying-off-900-across-insomniac-naughty-dog-guerrilla-and-more-closing&quot;&gt;PlayStation laid off 900 employees&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;across Insomniac, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, and more, closing down London Studio in the process, too. The day before, Until Dawn developer&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/02/26/until-dawn-little-nightmares-iii-developer-supermassive-games-is-laying-off-90&quot;&gt;Supermassive Games announced it laid off 90 employees&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;At the end of January, we learned&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/29/embracer-group-cancels-new-deus-ex-game-in-development-at-eidos-montreal-lays-off&quot;&gt;Embracer Group had canceled a new Deus Ex game in development at&amp;nbsp;Eidos-Montréal&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;and laid off 97 employees in the process. Also in January, Destroy All Humans remake developer&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/25/destroy-all-humans-remake-developer-black-forest-games-reportedly-lays-off-50&quot;&gt;Black Forest Games reportedly laid off 50 employees&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;and&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/25/microsoft-is-laying-off-1900-employees-across-xbox-activision-blizzard-and-zenimax&quot;&gt;Microsoft announced it was laying off 1,900 employees across its Xbox, Activision Blizzard, and ZeniMax teams&lt;/a&gt;, as well. Outriders studio&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/25/outriders-studio-people-can-fly-lays-off-more-than-30-employees&quot;&gt;People Can Fly laid off more than 30 employees&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;in January, and League of Legends company&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/23/league-of-legends-company-riot-games-lays-off-530-employees&quot;&gt;Riot Games laid off 530 employees&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/18/lords-of-the-fallen-publisher-ci-games-lays-off-10-of-its-staff&quot;&gt;Lords of the Fallen Publisher CI Games laid off 10 percent of its staff&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/10/unity-to-lay-off-1800-employees&quot;&gt;Unity will lay off 1,800 people by the end of March&lt;/a&gt;, and&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/10/twitch-to-lay-off-500-employees&quot;&gt;Twitch laid off 500 employees&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;We also learned that&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/gamer-culture/2024/01/12/discord-lays-off-170-employees-due-to-overhiring#:~:text=Discord%20Lays%20Off%20170%20Employees%20Due%20To%20Overhiring%20%2D%20Game%20Informer&quot;&gt;Discord had laid off 170 employees&lt;/a&gt;, that&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/17/ptw-a-support-studio-thats-worked-with-capcom-and-blizzard-lays-off-45-people&quot;&gt;layoffs happened at PTW&lt;/a&gt;, a support studio that&#039;s worked with companies like Blizzard and Capcom, and that&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/17/thunderful-group-the-company-behind-2023s-steamworld-build-to-lay-off-roughly-100&quot;&gt;SteamWorld Build company, Thunderful Group, let go of roughly 100 people&lt;/a&gt;. Dead by Daylight developer&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/18/dead-by-daylight-studio-behaviour-interactive-has-reportedly-laid-off-45-people&quot;&gt;Behaviour Interactive also reportedly laid off 45 people, too&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The hearts of the&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;staff are with everyone who&#039;s been affected by layoffs or closures.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;[Source: &lt;a href=&quot;https://x.com/sweetpotatoes/status/1791158439684587999&quot;&gt;Polygon&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Thu, 16 May 2024 13:40:50 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122638 https://www.gameinformer.com/feature/2024/05/16/game-informers-graduation-gift-guide-2024 &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/0fdcae01/ggg24_hero.png&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Students across the land are donning gowns and readying their cap-throwing arms. If you’ve got a gaming or tech fan celebrating their big accomplishment, it’s likely you may also be looking for a way to congratulate them on their achievement. We’ve assembled a curated selection of tech, toys, tabletop games, and more to delight the new graduate this year. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/feature/2024/05/09/game-informers-grad-gift-guide-2024&quot;&gt;Read more...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Thu, 16 May 2024 12:25:00 CDT Matt Miller 122594 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/16/ea-sports-college-football-25-arrives-in-july-cover-athletes-and-editions-revealed &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/16/b3774566/easportscollege25_art_crop.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;EA Sports College Football 25 release date&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;EA Sports College Football finally has a release date, cover stars, and two different editions. The long-awaited return to college football hits PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on July 19.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Gracing the cover of the game’s Standard edition are Michigan Wolverines running back Donovan Edwards, Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers, and Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter. Check out the Standard and Deluxe covers in the gallery below.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;section class=&#039;type:slideshow&#039;&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/16/09dac203/eacollgefootbal25artfull.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/16/60f64f67/easportscollege25deluxe.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/section&gt; &amp;nbsp; &lt;p&gt;The cover reveal comes a day before the game&#039;s full debut tomorrow. So far, we know that College Football 25 features 134 FBS schools, and it&#039;s being developed by Madden developer EA Orlando. The game was &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2021/02/02/ea-sports-announces-return-of-college-football-games&quot;&gt;first announced in 2021&lt;/a&gt; following a years-long hiatus for college football games due to the 2014 player likeness compensation lawsuit.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Both editions are now available for pre-order. The Standard Edition costs $69.99 and consists of the base game, Alma Mater and Cover Athlete Ultimate Team packs, and Bring Glory Home Ultimate Team Uniform Item.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The $99.99 Deluxe Edition includes three days of early access (July 16-18), 4600 College Football Points, Heisman Hopeful/Alma Mater/Cover Athlete Ultimate Teams packs, and the Bring Glory Home Ultimate Team Uniform Item.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Lastly, a $149.99 MVP Bundle includes the Deluxe editions of EA Sports College Football 25 and the upcoming Madden NFL 25.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; Thu, 16 May 2024 11:35:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122636 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/16/xboxs-activision-opens-new-studio-to-develop-narrative-based-triple-a-franchise &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/16/e8e3fb5f/elsewhere-activision-xbox-studio.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Elsewhere Entertainment Xbox Activision Studio New Poland&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Activision, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/10/13/microsoft-has-officially-acquired-activision-blizzard-for-69-billion&quot;&gt;the developer-publisher Microsoft and Xbox purchased for $69 billion last year&lt;/a&gt;, has formed a new studio called Elsewhere Entertainment, and it is developing a new &quot;narrative-based and genre-defining AAA franchise.&quot; The studio is based in Warsaw, Poland, and, according to a report from&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.ign.com/articles/activision-opens-new-studio-tasked-with-creating-narrative-based-aaa-franchise&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;IGN&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, it is not working on a Call of Duty-related project.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;This studio, which has been formed behind-the-scenes before today&#039;s public unveiling, arrives roughly one week after &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/07/xbox-is-shutting-down-arkane-austin-tango-gameworks-and-more&quot;&gt;Xbox closed four Bethesda studios&lt;/a&gt;, including &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/hi-fi-rush/riff-city&quot;&gt;Hi-Fi Rush&lt;/a&gt; developer Tango Gameworks and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/redfall/a-life-draining-trip-to-new-england&quot;&gt;Redfall&lt;/a&gt; team Arkane Austin. While the company has yet to publicly address the closures directly, Xbox president Sarah Bond said in an interview that &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/10/xbox-president-addresses-bethesda-studio-closures-says-its-about-keeping-business&quot;&gt;the closures were about keeping the business healthy in the long-term&lt;/a&gt;. It&#039;s why news of this new studio might be surprising, given one week ago, the parent company of Activision was closing studios to cut costs.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/R_An8CM4ATg&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;Built from the ground up, Elsewhere Entertainment is a premier and standalone studio dedicated to establishing an environment that inspires bold and diverse ideas,&quot; a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.activision.com/blog/activision/2024/activision-announces-new-studio-elsewhere-entertainment-all-new-franchise-development&quot;&gt;blog post&lt;/a&gt; reads. &quot;The team&#039;s underlying mission encourages everyone to explore and collaborate creatively to craft a franchise with an enduring legacy that resonates far beyond games. [The] new studio has full access to Activision&#039;s resources and tools as it continues to increase production and development.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;Elsewhere is opening its search for best-in-class talent from across the industry and around the world to help create a state-of-the-art and next generation gaming experience.&quot;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Elsewhere is currently made up of developers with experience working on franchises like The Last of Us, Uncharted, The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077, Destiny, Tom Clancy&#039;s The Division, and Far Cry.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;What kind of game do you hope Elsewhere makes? Let us know in the comments below!&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Thu, 16 May 2024 11:13:26 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122635 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/16/summer-game-fest-to-have-more-than-55-studios-and-publishers-including-playstation &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/16/37da66fd/summer-game-fest.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Summer Game Fest will bring together more than 55 developers, publishers, partners, and more, including the likes of PlayStation, Xbox, and various others. The SGF livestream, which kicks off the multi-day event, happens at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET on June 7 from Los Angeles&#039; YouTube Theater. It &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/03/13/this-years-summer-game-fest-streams-live-on-june-7&quot;&gt;will feature announcements, first-looks, trailers, and more&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/03/13/bb5ba9ca/summer_game_fest_2024_youtube_theater_la_header.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;summer game fest 2024 youtube theater los angeles dates tickets may 7 stream live announcements&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;p&gt;Ahead of that livestream and the subsequent invite-only Play Days for hands-on gameplay, SGF has unveiled the first wave of partners taking part in this summer&#039;s festivities. We&#039;ve bolded some of the bigger names appearing: &lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2K&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Amazon Games&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Annapurna Interactive&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Arc Games&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Atari&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bandai Namco Entertainment&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Blumhouse Games&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Bokeh Game Studio&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Capcom&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Day of the Devs&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Deep Silver&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Devolver Digital&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Discord&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Dolby&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Electronic Arts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Embark Studios&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Epic Games&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Focus Entertainment&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Funcom&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;HoYoverse&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;iam8bit&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Indie Angels&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Innersloth&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Ironmace&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Jyamma Games&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Level Infinite&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Magic the Gathering&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Meta&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;NCSoft&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;NetEase Games&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Netflix Games&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Nexon&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Niantic&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Plaion&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;PlayStation&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Pocketpair&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Private Division&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Razer&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Recreate Games&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Riot Games&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;S-Game&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Samsung Gaming Hub&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Seasun Games&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sega&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;SNK&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Steam&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Sunblink&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Supercell&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Thunderful Games&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;TiMi Studio Group&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Tom Banner Studios&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ubisoft&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Uncapped Games&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;WB Games&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Xbox &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Alongside today&#039;s partner news, SGF says it will also stream Day of the Devs: SGF Edition on June 7, immediately following the SGF live showcase. Tickets for the SGF live showcase in Los Angeles are now available for purchase, but if you can&#039;t attend in person, it will also stream on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, X, Steam, and a variety of other international partners. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;SGF isn&#039;t the only gaming event happening this summer—check out &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/08/the-2024-summer-gaming-showcase-schedule&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s &lt;/em&gt;2024 summer gaming showcase schedule&lt;/a&gt; to see what else is in store. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;What do you hope to see during this year&#039;s SGF showcase? Let us know in the comments below!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Thu, 16 May 2024 11:00:00 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122634 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/16/popular-medieval-strategy-city-builder-manor-lords-surpasses-2-million-sales-in-early &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/16/45b2c825/manor_lords_town_square.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Manor Lords surpasses 2 million sales&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Manor Lords, the medieval strategy city-builder and one of 2024&#039;s surprise hits, has surpassed two million copies sold. The game has only been available in PC Early Access since April 26, meaning it achieved this milestone in only three weeks.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Publisher Hooded Horse announced the sales account for Steam, Epic, GOG, and the Microsoft Store (where Manor Lords is also playable through PC Game Pass). The game quickly caught fire, selling 1 million copies a day after launch. Since then, Manor Lords has enjoyed a consistently high concurrent player count, peaking at 173,000 on Steam in its first weekend.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/S7MnkE_qxj8&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;Manor Lords is being developed by Slavic Games and puts players in the shoes of a medieval lord tasked with building and growing a city. Players manage their city’s community, infrastructure, economy, and defense/expansion, the latter of which unfold as large-scale tactical battles. The intricate social and production systems combined with an ever-changing world (complete with seasonal and weather changes) result in an organic metropolis that players have taken to in a big way.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Manor Lords joins Early Access hits this year, such as &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/02/22/what-is-palworld-the-new-pokemon-with-guns-survival-game-everyones-playing&quot;&gt;Palworld&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/hades2&quot;&gt;Hades II&lt;/a&gt;. The game’s 1.0 launch is currently up in the air as the game continues to change and improve based on player feedback. It’s off to a great start, though, and we’re curious to see how it evolves throughout its EA period.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; Thu, 16 May 2024 10:31:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122633 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/16/you-can-play-all-of-assassins-creed-shadows-offline-but-you-need-a-connection-to &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/16/48a7f350/assassins-creed-shadows-online-offline-connection-internet.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Assassin&amp;#039;s Creed Shadows Ubisoft Quebec Offline Online Connection Internet Single Player&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;You will need an internet connection to install &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/product/assassins-creed-shadows&quot;&gt;Assassin&#039;s Creed Shadows&lt;/a&gt;, but after that, the entire experience can be played offline, Ubisoft has announced. The company did so after word online spread that Shadows requires a mandatory online connection to play the game.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Following the reveal of Shadows yesterday, which showcased the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/15/assassins-creed-shadows-reveal-trailer-confirms-dual-samurai-and-shinobi&quot;&gt;dual samurai and shinobi protagonists&lt;/a&gt; we&#039;ll be controlling in 16th-century feudal Japan, people noticed wording in preorder listings and elsewhere that seemingly pointed to the game requiring an always-online connection. This frustrated fans of the series, especially given Shadows, like its recent predecessors, is a single-player game. However, that&#039;s not the case and Ubisoft released a statement today to clear the air.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nszrx939ZVA&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &quot;Hey everyone, we wanted to share some of the early information on the upcoming launch of Assassin&#039;s Creed Shadows, following some questions we&#039;ve noticed in the community,&quot; the &lt;a href=&quot;https://x.com/assassinscreed/status/1791095143799414951&quot;&gt;statement&lt;/a&gt; reads. &quot;&lt;strong&gt;Assassin&#039;s Creed Shadows will not require a mandatory connection at all times&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;strong&gt; An online connection will be needed to install the game, but you will be able to play the entire journey offline, and explore Japan without any online connection.&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; &quot;We are super excited to bring Assassin&#039;s Creed to Feudal Japan on November 15 when the game releases, and we cannot wait to show you more along the way.&quot;&amp;nbsp; &lt;p&gt;As you can see, it&#039;s clear Shadows is a game you can play offline, but only after connecting to the internet once to actually install the RPG.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Assassin&#039;s Creed Shadows hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S,&amp;nbsp;Amazon Luna, PC (via the Ubisoft Store and Epic Games Store), and Mac (with Apple silicon via the Mac App Store) on November 15.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For more, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/15/assassins-creed-shadows-reveal-trailer-confirms-dual-samurai-and-shinobi&quot;&gt;check out what we learned yesterday during the Shadows reveal&lt;/a&gt;, and then read&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/12/13/ranking-the-entire-assassin-s-creed-series.aspx&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;ranking of the entire Assassin&#039;s Creed series&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;How do you feel about needing internet to install Assassin&#039;s Creed Shadows? Let us know in the comments below!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Thu, 16 May 2024 09:00:06 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122632 https://www.gameinformer.com/review/please-fix-the-road/clever-construction &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/bd5cebf8/pftr5.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Please Fix The Road&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; <p> <b>Reviewed on:</b> Switch <br /> <b>Platform:</b> PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC <br /> <b>Publisher:</b> Arielek <br /> <b>Developer:</b> Arielek <br /> <b>Release:</b> <time datetime="2022-06-10T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">June 10, 2022</time> (<span class="gi5-details-platform">PC</span>), <time datetime="2024-05-15T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">May 15, 2024</time> (<span class="gi5-details-platform">Xbox Series X/S</span>, <span class="gi5-details-platform">Xbox One</span>), <time datetime="2024-05-16T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">May 16, 2024</time> (<span class="gi5-details-platform">PlayStation 5</span>, <span class="gi5-details-platform">PlayStation 4</span>, <span class="gi5-details-platform">Switch</span>) <br /> <b>Rating:</b> Everyone </p> &lt;p&gt;Some games provide you with abstract titles that don&#039;t fully explain the breadth of the tasks you will be required to complete to reach the end. Please Fix The Road does not suffer from that problem. As you play through 160 bite-sized puzzles, each one simply asks you to do exactly what this game&#039;s title says: fix the road, path, sidewalk, or river so that vehicles and animals can reach their destination. But despite the simple premise and casual demeanor, developer Arielek offers no shortage of clever twists on the core concept and, in the process, kept me guessing at what challenges I would face next.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Each puzzle presents a small, charmingly rendered plot of land with at least one broken road. In the lower-left corner, you have designated moves you must make to solve the puzzle. While I initially found this dictation of moves in a specific order restrictive and counter to the more casual experience I expected, it ultimately pushed me towards some incredibly rewarding moments as I likely solved the puzzle exactly as the developer intended. Additionally, it provides breadcrumbs toward the solution; on multiple occasions, I wondered why a certain move was required in a level, only to learn that I was overlooking an important aspect of the puzzle.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;section class=&#039;type:slideshow&#039;&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/cc31dce1/pftr1.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/a1e7ad29/pftr2.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/45b702e4/pftr3.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/a5eadd90/pftr4.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/03770d66/pftr6.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/05637076/pftr7.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/section&gt; &amp;nbsp; &lt;p&gt;What starts as a puzzle game where you simply plug the provided tiles where they logically fit quickly escalates to one where you must blow up, rearrange, swap, copy, and rotate entire blocks of land to get characters from point A to point B. Usually, problems are solvable within a couple of minutes; I found some solutions instantaneously. For others, I stared at them for several minutes on end while attempting different solutions. As I reached puzzles numbered in the 80s, 90s, and into the hundreds, that trial-and-error element came more into play as the developer threw increasingly complex puzzles my way.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Thankfully, since the action unfolds on a move-by-move basis, Please Fix The Road gives players an undo button that backtracks to the last action you performed. This is particularly helpful for experimentation.&amp;nbsp;On occasion, when I got stuck, I enjoyed using the hint button, which doles out step-by-step hints but not full-on solutions; if I&#039;m stuck on a particular step, I can receive a hint from the developers about the correct first move I should make. It&#039;s helpful without the game just playing itself, even as it completes early moves on your behalf.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It is somewhat frustrating to have the hints play out in sequential order, regardless of any correct moves I had already made; it doesn&#039;t matter if I got the first three moves right; the hint mechanic is going to undo all my moves and show me the first move that I already made for the first hint.&amp;nbsp;Thankfully, the vast majority of the time, I relied solely on my own puzzle-solving skills.&amp;nbsp;Some of the puzzles later in the game had me staring in bewilderment at what my first move should be, which can be frustrating but ultimately satisfying once I cracked the code.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/JJq2q4DLrJg&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;The levels are not only well-balanced but well-paced. For each stage that took me longer than normal, an easier puzzle was often right around the corner to help rebuild my confidence. This constant ebb-and-flowing kept me on my toes without killing the momentum I built up as I worked through the many challenges on offer. Completing each puzzle grants extra satisfaction thanks to the fun animations accompanying each solution; from the charming art style, relaxing soundscapes, and gorgeously animated transitions between puzzles, Please Fix The Road&#039;s minimalist design conventions appeal to the senses in wonderful ways.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Though the gimmick eventually wears thin and the complexity sometimes outpaces the simple concept by the time you reach the puzzles in the triple digits, Please Fix The Road shows that creativity and clever puzzle design are more important than a robust toolset or wide-ranging player freedom. It delivers a tight, curated puzzle-solving experience that hooks you from the very first puzzle and, through steadily evolving mechanics, delivers satisfaction around every turn.&lt;/p&gt; <h2>Score: 8</h2> <p> <a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/scoring" target="_blank">About Game Informer's review system</a> </p> <a href="https://www.gamestop.com/search/?q=Please%20Fix%20The%20Road" target="_blank" class="button">Purchase</a> Thu, 16 May 2024 08:00:00 CDT Brian Shea 122602 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/15/the-division-heartland-has-been-canceled &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/15/448d1331/the_division_heartland1.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;The Division Heartland canceled&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Ubisoft has canceled The Division Heartland. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2021/05/06/ubisoft-reveals-free-tom-clancys-the-division-game-with-heartland&quot;&gt;First announced in 2021&lt;/a&gt;, the game was a free-to-play spin-off of The Division franchise developed by Red Storm Studio.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Ubisoft revealed the cancelation in an &lt;a href=&quot;https://staticctf.ubisoft.com/8aefmxkxpxwl/AwOkNohhzmR1qBmQ4Nj4h/096beaa470c05f39f77417742e4d25b8/Ubisoft_FY24_Earnings_PR_English_final.pdf&quot;&gt;earnings report&lt;/a&gt;, stating,&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;“As part of Ubisoft’s efforts to streamline its operations and adapt to evolving market trends, there have been further reorganizations within the Global Publishing teams, both at the APAC region, that is not organized into three engagement hubs, and at the central level. Additionally, in line with the increased selectivity of its investments, Ubisoft has decided to stop development on The Division Heartland and has redeployed resources to bigger opportunities such as XDefiant and Rainbow Six.”&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/jpgpc0pGLFE&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;The Division Heartland had been quiet for some time after its reveal, including being delayed. It eventually resurfaced with closed beta tests, but scarce updates on its existence caused doubt and confusion among fans. The game was billed as a PvEvP survival action experience with players controlling a Division agent tasked with protecting a small town from enemy factions and chemical contamination.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Despite the cancellation, we know it doesn&#039;t mean the end of the franchise. Ubisoft announced &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/09/21/ubisoft-announces-tom-clancys-the-division-3-appoints-new-series-producer&quot;&gt;The Division 3&lt;/a&gt; last September, with series creator Massive Entertainment back at the helm. That game currently has no release window.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Heartland joins an expanding graveyard of canceled Ubisoft projects over the past few years. In January 2023, the publisher canceled its upcoming team-based arena battler &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2023/01/19/ubisoft-confirms-team-based-arena-combat-game-project-q-has-been-canceled&quot;&gt;Project Q&lt;/a&gt; and&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2023/01/11/ubisoft-cancels-three-unannounced-games-skull-and-bones-delayed-again&quot;&gt; three other games in development&lt;/a&gt;. In 2022, the battle royale Ghost Recon Frontline, Splinter Cell VR, and two unannounced games &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/07/21/ubisoft-cancels-ghost-recon-frontline-splinter-cell-vr-two-unannounced-games&quot;&gt;were also axed&lt;/a&gt;. An unannounced sequel to Immortals Fenix Rising was also&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.ign.com/articles/immortals-fenyx-rising-2-reportedly-canceled-ubisoft&quot;&gt; reportedly scrapped&lt;/a&gt; last July.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; Wed, 15 May 2024 12:14:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122630 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/15/assassins-creed-shadows-reveal-trailer-confirms-dual-samurai-and-shinobi &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/15/63cba359/assassins_creed_key_art_1.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Assassin&amp;#039;s Creed Shadows Cinematic Trailer Reveal Dual Protagonists&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;After &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/13/assassins-creed-shadows-formerly-known-as-codename-red-gets-world-premiere-this-week&quot;&gt;teasing its reveal earlier this week&lt;/a&gt;, Ubisoft has officially unveiled &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/product/assassins-creed-shadows&quot;&gt;Assassin&#039;s Creed Shadows&lt;/a&gt; with its first cinematic trailer, revealing dual protagonists in the process. As many speculated, Shadows puts players in control of Japan&#039;s first African samurai, Yasuke (a real historical figure), and a female shinobi character, Naoe. It will be released on November 15.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;This dual protagonist approach isn&#039;t too surprising given it&#039;s Ubisoft Quebec developing the game – it did the same with Kassandra and Alexios in 2018&#039;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/assassins-creed-odyssey/fighting-for-glory&quot;&gt;Assassin&#039;s Creed Odyssey&lt;/a&gt; and Jacob and Evie Frye in 2015&#039;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/games/assassins_creed_syndicate/b/playstation4/archive/2015/10/22/assassins-creed-syndicate-review-game-informer.aspx#:~:text=The%20present%2Dday%20storyline%20returns,with%20a%20couple%20pleasant%20exceptions).&quot;&gt;Assassin&#039;s Creed Syndicate&lt;/a&gt; – but it&#039;s exciting nonetheless. According to the game&#039;s PlayStation preorder page, players can, &quot;Switch seamlessly between two unlikely allies as you discover their common destiny,&quot; confirming you can control both in the story. The trailer also showcases the beauty and scale of the feudal Japan we&#039;ll be exploring in Shadows. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Check it out for yourself in the Assassin&#039;s Creed Shadows reveal trailer below&lt;/strong&gt;: &lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/vovkzbtYBC8&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;Elsewhere in the game&#039;s PlayStation preorder listing, Ubisoft says players can explore the &quot;captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes,&quot; while adventuring through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments. The changing seasons line seems to indicate the narrative of Shadows could take place over a long period of time, or at least a year. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;As a shinobi Assassin, Naoe uses stealth to avoid detection and agility to confuse enemies whereas Yasuke, a legendary samurai, uses lethal precision and power. You unlock new skills, gear, and progression independently for each character. Plus, as you explore the world, you can create your own network of spies to be your eyes and ears across Japan, and different allies will have unique skills to help you accomplish missions. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nszrx939ZVA&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;Create a fully customizable hideout for your growing shinobi league as you train your crew, craft new gear, interact with key characters, and choose your base&#039;s layouts, decorations, and accessories,&quot; the preorder listing reads. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Here&#039;s another look at Yasuke and Naoe&lt;/strong&gt;: &lt;/p&gt; &lt;section class=&#039;type:slideshow&#039;&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/15/79576766/protagonist_1.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/15/057cbde2/protagonist_2.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/15/42d350ab/acs_1.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/15/19b6d8b3/acs_2.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/15/76e49ee8/ac_shadows.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/section&gt;   &lt;p&gt;Shadows is an exciting entry in the sprawling Assassin&#039;s Creed series. It&#039;s finally bringing players to feudal Japan, something the fanbase has wanted for years and years, and it&#039;s the next open-world mainline RPG installment since 2020&#039;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/assassins-creed-valhalla/assassins-creed-valhalla-review-a-saga-worthy-of-song&quot;&gt;Assassin&#039;s Creed Valhalla&lt;/a&gt;. While last year&#039;s Assassin&#039;s Creed Mirage was quite enjoyable – &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/assassins-creed-mirage/coming-home&quot;&gt;read &lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s &lt;/em&gt;review here&lt;/a&gt; to find out why we gave it an 8 out of 10 – it was a throwback to the more linear worlds of the Assassin&#039;s Creeds of yesteryear; Shadows is the series returning to its newer open world format that began in 2017 with &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/games/assassins_creed_origins/b/xboxone/archive/2017/10/26/assassins-creed-origins-review.aspx&quot;&gt;Assassin&#039;s Creed Origins&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/15/756d786d/assassins_creed_shadows.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Assassin&#039;s Creed Shadows Cinematic Trailer Reveal Dual Protagonists&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;p&gt;Assassin&#039;s Creed Shadows launches November 15, 2024, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S,  Amazon Luna, PC (via the Ubisoft Store and Epic Games Store), and Mac (with Apple silicon via the Mac App Store).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For more about the series, head to &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/AssassinsCreedMirage&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s &lt;/em&gt;Assassin&#039;s Creed Mirage hub&lt;/a&gt; for exclusive behind-the-scenes details, videos, and more. After that, check out &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/12/13/ranking-the-entire-assassin-s-creed-series.aspx&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s &lt;/em&gt;ranking of the entire Assassin&#039;s Creed series&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Are you excited for Assassin&#039;s Creed Shadows? Let us know which protagonist you&#039;re most excited about in the comments below!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Wed, 15 May 2024 11:08:10 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122627 https://www.gameinformer.com/preview/2024/05/15/bringing-monkey-ball-back-in-2024 &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/14/abe56a33/super_monkey_ball_banana_rumble_race_4.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; <p> <b>Platform:</b> Switch <br /> <b>Publisher:</b> Sega <br /> <b>Developer:</b> Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios <br /> <b>Release:</b> &lt;time datetime=&quot;2024-06-25T12:00:00Z&quot; class=&quot;datetime&quot;&gt;June 25, 2024&lt;/time&gt; <br /> <b>Rating:</b> Everyone </p> &lt;p&gt;Last month, I had a chance to play Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble, the first all-new entry in the Super Monkey Ball (SMB) franchise in more than a decade. While I went into the demo skeptical that the series, which experienced its best years in the early-to-mid 2000s, could feel like a modern experience in 2024, I emerged from the demo impressed by the gameplay improvements, single-player level design, and the game&#039;s approach to multiplayer (you can read my full preview &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/preview/2024/04/24/getting-things-rolling-again&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;). &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Shortly after the preview, I had a chance to dig deeper into Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble with several of the developers behind Ryu Ga Gotoku&#039;s franchise that isn&#039;t &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/passing-the-torch&quot;&gt;about the seedy underbelly of the Japanese organized crime&lt;/a&gt; to learn how the team worked to modernize the franchise while still remaining true to its roots.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bt8o4o0Icn4&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Recently, we&#039;ve received some remakes and remasters, but no new entry for many years. Why did the franchise take such a long break?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Nobuhiro Suzuki, Producer: &lt;/strong&gt;We believe this is the result of a combination of factors. Whether it was due to development resources being refocused towards other large titles, the creators leaving the company, sales numbers, and more, the SMB development line disappeared and there was a period of time when production came to a halt. However, after releasing two remakes, Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD in 2019 and Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania in 2021, and after receiving positive feedback from our fans, we decided to release a completely new title, Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble. We hope fans are excited to play this first brand new entry in over a decade!&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;With that unique position in mind, what were the primary goals of Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;NS: &lt;/strong&gt;Following the release of those two remakes, Banana Blitz HD and Banana Mania, our goal is to firmly establish the revival of the SMB franchise with this completely new title. To that end, we set out to make a new entry that firmly inherits or captures the best qualities of past SMB titles while also feeling like an all-new game with 16-player online battles, refined game and character designs, and the addition of new characters and storylines. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/14/0abf695c/super_monkey_ball_banana_rumble_adventure_mode_49.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble&quot; title=&quot;Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;With such a big gap between the last all-new, non-remake/remaster release, were there any updates to the design and gameplay best practices that needed to be applied to this latest entry to ensure it feels modern in 2024?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Daisuke Takahata, Director: &lt;/strong&gt;Based on the data we pulled, such as the number of people who cleared each world of Banana Mania and comments from various playtests, we updated the game with a level of challenge that new players (as well as longtime fans) will enjoy. Compared to the past titles, the difficulty level of the early worlds is now milder (in previous games, things were too difficult right from the beginning). We also made it so that the first time you boot the game, you will be taken to a tutorial that will help you learn how to play the game and use the controls. The same goes for the camera, where we made some small adjustments to the default settings to help make things feel smoother. Players will also be able to fine-tune these settings in the Options menu, which we think longtime fans will appreciate.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The physics in Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble feel good. How did the team go about overhauling the physics, and how did you know you got them just right?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Jack Ko, Programmer:&lt;/strong&gt; Banana Rumble&#039;s physics actually builds upon those in Banana Mania, which in turn was based heavily on the original GameCube version&#039;s physics. We made special adjustments to the movement in the previous game to make it viable as a remake, but thanks in part to comments from fans, we were made aware of a few elements that might contribute to some of that unintuitive behavior caused by the physics in Banana Mania. With Banana Rumble being a new entry to the series and having its own new stages, it means that this time around, we were able to focus on making the movement feel simpler and more intuitive.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Additionally, the physics system is extensively parameterized, meaning that designers can make adjustments to different parts of it on the fly. With internal testing happening at least once a week during development, tweaks were made incrementally and whenever needed. We knew we had it right when anyone could just pick it up and be able to immediately roll out like a pro.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/14/26734b6f/super_monkey_ball_banana_rumble_ba-boom.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble&quot; title=&quot;Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why was the Spin Dash such an important inclusion in this entry? What do you think it most adds to the experience?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;NS:&lt;/strong&gt; In creating this all-new game, we wanted to add the right technique that would give users a wider range of play and challenge. Also, in order to implement the 16-player battles, we needed something that would really emphasize the user&#039;s technique so they can overcome the competition. As a result, the Spin Dash was implemented. While the Spin Dash is simple to perform, we believe it adds a lot to the game; for beginners, it&#039;s an exhilarating element that allows them to sprint and bounce off obstacles, and for advanced players, it can serve as a way to find shortcuts and quickly reach the goal. We are very pleased how players have been responding to it.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;This question may be better asked to the localization team, but with the Super Monkey Ball franchise so reliant on puns and wordplay related to bananas, did the team ever consider calling it &quot;Peel Out&quot; instead of &quot;Spin Dash?&quot;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;NS: &lt;/strong&gt;To be honest, we didn&#039;t think about it at all. [Laughs] We wanted to make it easier for users to understand just by looking at the name, so we made it straight out &quot;Spin Dash.&quot;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/14/8abd7dde/super_monkey_ball_banana_rumble_adventure_mode_26.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble&quot; title=&quot;Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;When creating a level in Adventure mode, what factors must be considered to create an effective stage?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Yukio Oda, Designer:&lt;/strong&gt; As for &quot;what elements,&quot; our basic idea is to combine &quot;various elements&quot; in a complex and effective manner. For example, if we break down a stage into smaller pieces, you can see that the &quot;path&quot; includes various elements such as &quot;thickness,&quot; &quot;curve,&quot; &quot;slope,&quot; &quot;moving path,&quot; and so on. Depending on how these parts are combined, the stage can be easy or difficult, interesting or boring. The Monkey Ball team has a lot of expertise in these combinations, all accumulated over many years with the series, and we always aim to create an interesting stage based on that know-how. But the first step in creating a single stage starts with the inspiration of the stage designer.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How does the team balance fun with challenge when designing stages?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;YO:&lt;/strong&gt; The stages created by our stage designers are regularly playtested by dozens of people inside and outside the team. Not only do we pick up a variety of opinions, but we also analyze data such as the percentage of clear rates and times, and we are constantly making adjustments to make the stages even better. We are also strongly aware that the Monkey Ball series has been characterized by its contrast between having very easy stages and very challenging stages. Sometimes, even if a playtester finds that a stage is deemed &quot;too difficult,&quot; there are cases where we end up leaving it the way it is. However, we are always pleasantly surprised when, after launch, we see users uploading videos showing how they were able to complete extremely difficult stages with ease. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/14/ccd144e2/super_monkey_ball_banana_rumble_robot_smash.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble&quot; title=&quot;Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The stages I played were very enjoyable and sometimes over-the-top, but they were just in the first two worlds. How wild should players expect the challenges in Adventure mode to become?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;DT:&lt;/strong&gt; We are glad you enjoyed the early stages of the game! As we announced, there are 200 all-new stages to be found in Banana Rumble&#039;s Adventure Mode, all spread across different worlds. The final world, in particular, has a variety of exciting gimmicks waiting for players, which will prove challenging even for fans who started with the previous titles. Stay tuned for a &quot;very wild&quot; challenge!&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Can you talk to me about the process of designing the Battle modes? They bring such enjoyable twists on the Super Monkey Ball formula, and I&#039;ve always found the minigames/side modes to be as enjoyable as the main Adventure mode.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;YO: &lt;/strong&gt;Thank you very much! When it comes to the game design of Battle Mode, we paid close attention to how &quot;control&quot; and &quot;sense of speed&quot; were expressed during gameplay, as they are key characteristics of this series. We also took care to ensure that the skills players learned and improved upon by playing through Adventure Mode can be utilized in Battle Mode as well. One of the main features of this game is its emphasis on &quot;ease of understanding&quot; – basically, we made sure not to make the rules overly complicated when adding any twists and turns, so players are able to enjoy themselves.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/04/23/d2269473/super_monkey_ball_banana_rumble_race.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble&quot; title=&quot;Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Where would you like to see the Super Monkey Ball franchise evolve from here? Do you think there is a place for multiple releases in a shorter time window than we&#039;ve seen in recent eras?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;NS: &lt;/strong&gt;First of all, as a basic premise, we will continue to carry on the fun and originality the SMB series is known for, and make sure SMB fans can fully enjoy their time with it. On top of that, we would like to evolve the series to a level that offers something that incorporates a variety of exciting new ways to play that is altogether unique to Sega. With the support of our players, we believe we will be able to continue to release new games on a regular basis. We would really appreciate everyone&#039;s support for Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble and the Super Monkey Ball series!&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble arrives on Switch on June 25. For more on the upcoming series revival, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/preview/2024/04/24/getting-things-rolling-again&quot;&gt;head here to read our full, hands-on impressions&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; <a href="https://www.gamestop.com/search/?q=Super%20Monkey%20Ball%20Banana%20Rumble" target="_blank" class="button">Purchase</a> Wed, 15 May 2024 10:51:00 CDT Brian Shea 122623 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/15/heres-your-first-look-at-joel-and-ellie-in-season-2-of-hbos-the-last-of-us &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/15/664bc16e/joel_pedro_pascal_hbos_the_last_of_us_season_2.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;HBO&amp;#039;s The Last of Us Season 2 First Look Joel Pedro Pascal Ellie Bella Ramsey&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;HBO/Max has &lt;a href=&quot;https://x.com/StreamOnMax/status/1790750902862631369&quot;&gt;released&lt;/a&gt; the first look at Pedro Pascal&#039;s Joel and Bella Ramsey&#039;s Ellie in Season 2 of &lt;i&gt;The Last of Us&lt;/i&gt;, and the scenery looks familiar. As Season 2 shoots are underway, images from filming have begun to leak, but today&#039;s images are the first official shots from the upcoming season, which is due out next year.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Pascal&#039;s Joel appears to be in the barn where a very important and intense scene between he and Ellie takes place, while Ellie appears to be inside a wintery location, likely somewhere in the game&#039;s beginning where snow is abundant.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Check out the first official look at Season 2 of&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;The Last of Us&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;for yourself below&lt;/strong&gt;:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;section class=&#039;type:slideshow&#039;&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/15/4221a25d/ellie_hbos_the_last_of_us_season_2.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/15/bda2e859/joel_hbos_the_last_of_us_season_2.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/section&gt; &amp;nbsp; &lt;p&gt;Pascal and Ramsey are obviously returning cast members for the series, and they&#039;ll be joined by various newcomers in the show next year.&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Booksmart&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/01/09/kaitlyn-dever-joins-the-last-of-us-tv-show-as-abby&quot;&gt;Kaitlyn Dever will play Abby&lt;/a&gt;, while &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/10/hbos-the-last-of-us-young-mazino-cast-as-jesse-for-season-2&quot;&gt;Young Mazino joins as Jesse&lt;/a&gt;. Manny, Mel, Nora, and Owen will be played by Danny Ramirez (&lt;i&gt;The Falcon and the Winter Soldier&lt;/i&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Top Gun: Maverick&lt;/em&gt;), Ariela Barer (&lt;em&gt;Runaways&lt;/em&gt;), Tati Gabrielle (&lt;em&gt;Chilling Adventures of Sabrina&lt;/em&gt;), and Spencer Lord (&lt;em&gt;Riverdale&lt;/em&gt;), respectively.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;We won&#039;t spoil these characters&#039; roles in The Last of Us Part II, which is likely to match their roles in HBO&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;The Last of Us&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;Season 2, but if you know, you know.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Fans of Naughty Dog&#039;s Last of Us games eagerly await the second season of HBO&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;i&gt;The Last of Us&lt;/i&gt;. The first season debuted in January of last year, covering the events of the first game and its Left Behind DLC.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/gamer-culture/2023/01/27/hbos-the-last-of-us-will-return-for-a-season-2&quot;&gt;HBO quickly confirmed the show would be getting a second season&lt;/a&gt;, which is&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/11/03/hbos-the-last-of-us-season-2-set-to-premiere-in-2025&quot;&gt;set to premiere next year&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;We loved the first season and can&#039;t wait to see how it adapts&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/the-last-of-us-part-ii/the-last-of-us-part-ii-review-a-perfect-circle#:~:text=The%20Last%20of%20Us%20Part%20II%20is%20defined%20by%20its,during%20her%20quest%20for%20revenge.&quot;&gt;The Last of Us Part II&lt;/a&gt;, which got the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/product/the-last-of-us-part-ii-remastered&quot;&gt;remaster&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;treatment in January. It seems we aren&#039;t alone either –&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/gamer-culture/2023/01/17/the-last-of-us-premiere-was-hbos-second-largest-debut-since-2010&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Last of Us&#039;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;premiere was HBO&#039;s second-largest debut since 2010&lt;/a&gt;, and viewers stuck around for the entire season.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The first season of&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/gamer-culture/2024/01/08/hbos-the-last-of-us-has-already-won-eight-emmy-awards&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Last of Us&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;has already won eight Emmy awards&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;For more, read&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/games/the_last_of_us/b/ps3/archive/2013/06/05/the-last-of-us-review-naughty-dogs-grim-masterpiece.aspx&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;review of The Last of Us&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;and then read&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/the-last-of-us-part-ii/the-last-of-us-part-ii-review-a-perfect-circle#:~:text=The%20Last%20of%20Us%20Part%20II%20is%20defined%20by%20its,during%20her%20quest%20for%20revenge.&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;review of The Last of Us Part II&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;What do you think of Ramsey and Pascal&#039;s looks as Ellie and Joel in Season 2? Let us know in the comments below!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Wed, 15 May 2024 10:06:09 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122629 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/15/hi-fi-rush-gets-final-patch-to-fix-minor-issues-reconfirms-limited-physical-edition &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/15/95f390e5/hi-fi_rush_final_patch_physical_edition_2.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;hi-fi rush final patch limited physical edition update tango gameworks&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/product/hi-fi-rush&quot;&gt;Hi-Fi Rush&lt;/a&gt; is getting one final patch today to address some minor issues in the game. Plus, the Hi-Fi Rush X (formerly Twitter) account has reconfirmed a physical edition of the game is coming from Limited Run Games.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;This update from the Hi-Fi Rush X account comes roughly one week after &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/07/xbox-is-shutting-down-arkane-austin-tango-gameworks-and-more&quot;&gt;Xbox shut down the game&#039;s developer, Tango Gameworks&lt;/a&gt;, alongside Redfall studio Arkane Austin, and two more Bethesda teams. While there won&#039;t be any more Hi-Fi Rush content coming from Tango Gameworks, hopefully today&#039;s patch puts the game in the best playable state possible so that future players can enjoy the 2023 hit.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote class=&quot;tw-align-center twitter-tweet&quot;&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot; lang=&quot;en&quot;&gt;Thank you all for your continued support.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; We’re working to release the physical edition of Hi-Fi RUSH with our partners at Limited Run Games, as well as a final patch to address some minor issues releasing later today.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; ❤️&lt;/p&gt; — Hi-Fi RUSH (@hifiRush) &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/hifiRush/status/1790728899875213673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&gt;May 15, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;The closure of Tango Gameworks arrived roughly a year after the team delivered the extremely well-received Hi-Fi Rush, which by &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/aarongreenberg/status/1649431572137779203&quot;&gt;Xbox&#039;s own admitted metrics&lt;/a&gt;, was a big success. A few days after the closure of these studios, Xbox president Sarah Bond addressed the situation, stating that &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/10/xbox-president-addresses-bethesda-studio-closures-says-its-about-keeping-business&quot;&gt;it&#039;s about keeping the business healthy in the long-term&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For more, read&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/hi-fi-rush/riff-city&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;Hi-Fi Rush review&lt;/a&gt;, and then read&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2023/07/25/the-life-and-career-of-hi-fi-rush-creator-john-johanas&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;profile on the life and career of Hi-Fi Rush creator John Johanas&lt;/a&gt;. After that, check out this&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/feature/2022/12/30/exploring-shibuya-with-tango-gameworks&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;feature about exploring Tokyo&#039;s Shibuya with Tango Gameworks&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;Have you played Hi-Fi Rush? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below!&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Wed, 15 May 2024 08:42:37 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122628 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/15/mortal-kombat-2-movie-gets-october-2025-release-date &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/15/52b7bd7f/mortal-kombat-2-movie-warner-bros-release-date.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Mortal Kombat 2 Movie Film Adaptation Warner Bros. Release Date 2025&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Warner Bros. has announced when &lt;em&gt;Mortal Kombat 2&lt;/em&gt;, the sequel to 2021&#039;s &lt;em&gt;Mortal Kombat&lt;/em&gt; film adaptation, will arrive in theaters and IMAX, and it&#039;s coming next year. More specifically, &lt;em&gt;Mortal Komat 2&lt;/em&gt; will hit the silver screen on October 24, 2025, meaning we still have about one and a half years to go until we see what&#039;s next for these characters.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote class=&quot;tw-align-center twitter-tweet&quot;&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot; lang=&quot;en&quot;&gt;Mortal Kombat 2 will arrive in theaters and IMAX on Oct. 24, 2025. &lt;a href=&quot;https://t.co/ayWHhFe2Hu&quot;&gt;pic.twitter.com/ayWHhFe2Hu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; — The Game Awards (@thegameawards) &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/thegameawards/status/1790518174091477035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&gt;May 14, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;The first &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/movie-preview/2021/03/17/the-mortal-kombat-movie-makes-a-great-first-impression&quot;&gt;Mortal Kombat&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt; movie in this rebooted film series hit theaters on April 23, 2021, and&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;had a great time with it – &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/movie-review/2021/04/22/mortal-kombat-movie-review-a-strong-first-round&quot;&gt;read our 8 out of 10 review to find out why here&lt;/a&gt;. Here&#039;s hoping we enjoy the sequel just as much, if not more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Mortal Kombat&lt;/em&gt; director Simon McQuoid will return to direct &lt;em&gt;Mortal Kombat 2&lt;/em&gt;, and it will be written by a new writer, Jeremy Slater (alongside McQuoid), who wrote Disney&#039;s &lt;em&gt;Moon Knight&lt;/em&gt; series. Alongside returning cast and characters,&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;The Boys&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;Karl Urban will join the fight as Johnny Cage.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For more Mortal Kombat, read&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/mortal-kombat-1/gory-glory&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;Mortal Kombat 1 review&lt;/a&gt;, and then &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/02/22/mortal-kombat-1-check-out-john-cenas-peacemaker-debut-in-new-gameplay-trailer&quot;&gt;check out John Cena&#039;s Peacemaker debut in the game here&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Are you excited for Mortal Kombat 2? Let us know in the comments below!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Wed, 15 May 2024 07:31:02 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122626 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/14/dead-by-daylight-spin-off-the-casting-of-frank-stone-gets-chilling-gameplay-trailer &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/14/b5bbd2e6/the_casting_of_frank_stone_1.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The Casting of Frank Stone, the upcoming narrative horror game set in the Dead By Daylight universe by Until Dawn developer Supermassive Games, has its first gameplay trailer. The game was &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/the-game-awards-2023/2023/12/07/the-casting-of-frank-stone-is-supermassives-single-player-horror&quot;&gt;first announced&lt;/a&gt; at the 2023 Game Awards.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The story unfolds in 1980 in the town of Cedar Hills, a town scarred by the murderous killer Frank Stone. It stars four friends who set out to create a horror film at a derelict steel mill dubbed Murder Mill. Naturally, that goes as horribly as you’d imagine, and players must survive by making choices that decide the characters’ relationships and fates. Sudden quick-time events can also be the deciding factor between whether someone lives or dies.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/O1xixINNd6I&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;Similar to Supermassive’s previous titles like The Quarry and the Dark Pictures Anthology, The Casting of Frank Stone can go down multiple paths based on your choices. Players will also solve environmental puzzles and gather clues to learn more about Cedar Hills&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The Casting of Frank Stone still has no release date, but it will launch later this year for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; Tue, 14 May 2024 16:28:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122625 https://www.gameinformer.com/exclusive-video/2024/05/14/exclusive-video-supergiant-games-office-tour &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/14/353ab2fe/supergiant-games-office-tour-web.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;amir rao gives us a supergiant games office tour&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Studio director Amir Rao gave us an office tour while visiting Supergiant Games for our Hades II cover story trip. Enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at the studio that previously brought you Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and Hades!&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h2&gt;See The Supergiant Games Office Tour:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/h2&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/a_KHZW_1IKA&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; Tue, 14 May 2024 16:04:56 CDT Alex Van Aken 122624 https://www.gameinformer.com/exclusive-interview/2024/05/14/hades-voice-actor-logan-cunningham-on-finding-his-voice-favorite &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/15/2752e850/hadesrevealtrailer.jpeg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;During our trip to Supergiant Games for our &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/cover-reveal/2024/05/06/cover-reveal-the-making-of-hades-ii&quot;&gt;Hades II cover story&lt;/a&gt;, we had a chance to speak with one of the studio&#039;s original seven employees and its principal voice actor, Logan Cunningham. From providing the voice of Rucks in Bastion to Red&#039;s titular Transistor to Hades himself, Cunningham has played a vital part of every Supergiant title. In this rare interview, we ask Logan how he entered the world of voice acting, how he joined Supergiant Games, and which characters are his favorites to play (and which he&#039;d want to redo). &lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/4260f20f/headshot_logan.jpg&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&lt;/em&gt;: When did you first discover that you were good at creating or imitating voices?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Logan Cunningham:&lt;/strong&gt; I don&#039;t think there was ever a moment that I discovered that. I always did that. From when I was a kid, my brother and I, we would record stupid little... almost like our own little radio plays but based on &lt;em&gt;Star Trek: The Next Generation&lt;/em&gt;, just with a cassette recorder. I don&#039;t know; maybe it started there. The first time I think I realized I had a voice that people consider to be nice was in elementary school because my English teachers would always ask me to read from whatever book we were studying at the time. But I never set out to be a voice actor. [I] certainly [had] no formal training. There&#039;s not really any formal training for voice acting that I think exists. Everybody falls backward into it, just like I did. From my understanding, from my experience with everyone, every voice actor that I meet, I ask them like, &#039;Oh, how did you start?&#039; and it&#039;s always the same story. &#039;I did one, then I did another, a third one, and now 15 years later here I am&#039;. And my case is a little different in that the way I got my first job was from knowing one of the people who started Supergiant Games and then also knowing [Supergiant composer] Darren Korb.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Did you have any go-to characters you liked to imitate? Or was there a character you concocted that became your primary voice?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;I was pretty much weaned on &lt;em&gt;Star Trek: The Next Generation, &lt;/em&gt;so I think even at, like, six I had a pretty good Patrick Stewart. But not really. I didn&#039;t really focus on anybody in particular. If I encountered a voice that I liked, I would just sort of do it – not for anyone, just for me. Just on my own in the bathtub, which I still do.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The most sacred places to practice: the shower, the bathtub.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It&#039;s where you&#039;re at your most vulnerable. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Yes, quite literally. When you first made your big leap into doing voice acting, as you mentioned, coming on with Supergiant, what was that initial conversation like?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It was literally my friend Amir [Rao], who I knew had left his job at Electronic Arts with his friend Gavin Simon, and they moved from LA back to San Jose, which is where we&#039;re all from, Amir, me, and Darren, into his dad&#039;s house and they started a startup; which was a game developer, which I don&#039;t even think I knew that term at the time. All I knew was a friend of mine was making a video game. And they had gotten to the point where they wanted to try something with voice-over, and so now they needed an actor, and I was the actor that they happened to know personally. And they had no money, and so I was cheap. And I was roommates with Darren in New York at the time, who was already involved. He came on board maybe, like, December &#039;09? And then I recorded the first lines of Bastion [in] February; yeah it was Presidents Day weekend 2010. Yes, it really did just start with me doing a friend of favor.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;When you look back on your first big role as a voice actor with Bastion, how did you feel about that performance at the time? And how do you feel about it now that you&#039;ve had a chance to reflect on it over a decade later?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;I was just trying to get through it. I had no idea what I was doing. None of us did. Darren and I certainly, that was our first time working on a video game in any capacity, but I just approached it as an actor. I just tried to keep the character consistent and give it as much life as I could. I had a lot of help from Greg [Kasavin] writing an amazing character and amazing story. Once we were working on Transistor, the Transistor performance is pretty much just me, but just kind of at a whisper. And with Rucks in Bastion, the narrator, what made a good take during those sessions was if the voice was right. And then in Transistor, what made a good take was if the performance was right.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/1943f9ab/hades_convo.jpg&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; Hades &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;To jump ahead to Hades II, what new characters do you provide the voice for in the game?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;I&#039;m not going to say. I&#039;ll let people guess and figure it out. Hades, I can confirm because he&#039;s in the trailer.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How did it feel when you first heard Supergiant was doing its first sequel? How did it feel to be returning to a world for the first time instead of preparing for a whole new one?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Really happy and I wasn&#039;t surprised at all. At all. Because we loved making that game so much. It was so clear, to me anyway, that we weren&#039;t done with it. There was so much still left to do and explore and characters to meet and stories to tell. So I was thrilled.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I was excited, too, especially because I really enjoyed your work as Hades in the first game. Can you talk about the process of preparing for that role, what that looked like, and what you felt you needed to bring to that role to bring that character to life?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Just imagining not the worst dad possible, but a very difficult one who&#039;s just a workaholic, is constantly busy and never has time for you, is really powerful, and has a really important job. And because of it, [he&#039;s] miserable most, if not all, the time but is also still kind of a person and has a past and regrets and all those things that make a character interesting. But yeah, coming up with the voice was a lot of fun because it is basically just Tywin Lannister and Tim Curry as the Lord of Darkness in &lt;em&gt;Legend&lt;/em&gt;, if you&#039;ve ever seen that movie. So yeah, getting to play around with that.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Voice of Supergiant Games&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Here are all of the characters Logan Cunningham has voiced in Supegiant&#039;s first four games. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bastion&lt;/strong&gt; - Rucks&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Transistor&lt;/strong&gt; - The Transistor&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pyre &lt;/strong&gt;- The Voice, Bertrude, Dalbert, Lendel, Ignarius&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hades&lt;/strong&gt; - Hades, Poseidon, Achilles, Charon, Asterius, The Storyteller&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Of all the characters you&#039;ve voiced in your games, do you have any ones that stand out as your favorite or most cherished characters? Do you feel particularly close to them the way some actors do about a role or character that they&#039;ve played?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Favorite is probably a tie between Rucks and Hades. Rucks because he was the first and my introduction to Supergiant; my foot in the door, if you like. Hades, because he was so much fun to do. It&#039;s really fun to play someone who&#039;s just, like, a bastard. He&#039;s just like a s****y person. But what often comes to mind is the Transistor, actually. Like, if I have the opportunity to sort of do that one over, I might. Or I will at least heavily think about it. My kind of immediate reaction once I played the thing from start to finish was like, &#039;Okay.&#039; I wasn&#039;t quite sure I was playing that guy. I felt I was maybe playing somebody else.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Now that you&#039;ve been doing this for so long, and you mentioned before not being formally trained, what were some of the on-the-job training lessons you&#039;ve learned over the years to improve as a voice actor?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;All kinds of vocal warm-ups. Whereas at the start, it might take me a couple of hours to get ready. Now I am pretty much good to go in 20 minutes to half an hour. I know how much time I need to spend with the script if I&#039;m lucky enough to have the time to see the lines beforehand because very often, it&#039;s just &#039;Hey, who are we doing today? Achilles? Great, all right&#039;. And it&#039;s mostly in the recording session itself, I&#039;ll get a chance to read the line, whatever the next line is that we have to do, I&#039;ll get to read through it once or twice and then I just have to go for it. So, I guess I&#039;ve gotten more efficient. But I think everyone at Supergiant, certainly all of us who worked on Bastion and we&#039;re all still there, we&#039;ve all gotten more professionalized, I guess.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I always wonder about this with voice actors because I find myself doing this. You mentioned before it&#039;s fun to sort of do a voice when you&#039;re alone, you&#039;re around the house just doing a voice; do you ever find yourself doing that with any of the characters you&#039;ve played in the past? Do you ever just go around the house and start talking as Hades randomly since you mentioned how much fun it is to occupy that role? Or do you sort of retire them once the project is over? &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;I don&#039;t really, but I will find myself doing, randomly at times, voices that inspired some of those characters. I still love just walking around my place just doing lines from &lt;em&gt;Deadwood&lt;/em&gt; as Al Swearengen, which was a huge influence on Rucks. At the very least, it&#039;s a nice vocal exercise. But it&#039;s just kind of one of those silly, crazy things that actors do, and one of the reasons it&#039;s good that I live alone.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/f9c3ce8d/bastion_rucks_kid.jpg&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; Bastion &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What advice would you give to someone who is interested in pursuing voice acting or to aspiring/young voice actors who want to improve?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Make sure you&#039;re an actor, that you know how to act. Because it&#039;s not just doing funny voices. I think it used to be that way years and years ago. It&#039;s not anymore. Keep working, keep improving. Take classes, take every opportunity you have. If you know people who are making things, work with them. If you know a decent amount of those people who are making stuff, one of them might make it and remember you and take you along. That is absolutely what happened to me.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How would you compare your experience working on Hades II to previous games? Has this felt the most challenging or the most exciting? How do you feel about what is being asked of you for this game compared to what you&#039;ve done before?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Not necessarily more challenge. It&#039;s just different. What I will confirm, and I think this has been confirmed maybe in other places, there are a number of returning characters that I did in Hades in Hades II in addition to some new ones, which are the ones that I can&#039;t talk about. So there might be a character of mine from the first one where Melinoë, the protagonist, might mention, &#039;blah, blah, blah&#039; to &#039;blah blah blah&#039; and that&#039;ll inform the performance. There is a kind of melancholy that I&#039;ve certainly felt with a lot of the characters that I&#039;ve been doing in the sequel compared to the original, Hades 1, which hopefully adds interesting layers. I don&#039;t know, we&#039;ll see. We&#039;re still working on it.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Is there a character you&#039;ve played from the Supergiant Games that you most identify with on a personal level?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Is it weird to say Charon?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why is that?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;He&#039;s someone who doesn&#039;t say words and generally would like to be left alone, I think [laughs]. I can imagine running a store just like, &#039;Ah, get what you want, get out.&#039; I identify with that.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2021/04/20/1c9be716/1407982466399_transistor_28-aug-2013_01.jpg&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; Transistor &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What is the thing that you&#039;re most proud of with Hades II, both in regards to what you&#039;re bringing to it as an actor and what the game is doing to build upon the first game? What are you most excited about for players to experience?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;I won&#039;t be able to speak to my own work on it until it&#039;s done. All I know is just I&#039;m working on it, I&#039;m doing it. Darren, who&#039;s my director, is happy with what I&#039;m doing. I seem to be delivering what he&#039;s asking. Greg seems to be satisfied as well. It&#039;s feeling good. It&#039;s sounding good to me. I&#039;m just happy that [Hades II] is happening, that it exists, and that it is already as good as it is. And that people are beginning to discover that on a larger scale. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hades was such a massive success for the studio. As someone who was there from the humble beginnings, how have you personally internalized Hades&#039; overwhelming success?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;I get recognized occasionally on the street for Hades, which is very strange. And that&#039;s largely I think due to the &lt;em&gt;NoClip&lt;/em&gt; stuff that we did. In support of Hades once 1.0 came out, we did some videos for Twitter, for YouTube, and, obviously, through &lt;em&gt;NoClip&lt;/em&gt;, quite a few of our faces got out there in a way that they hadn&#039;t before. Pre-Hades, the sort of public faces of Supergiant, the recognizable faces, were basically Greg and Amir. And Darren, on occasion. But now it&#039;s me at the bar that I go to all the time, and some, like, 23-year-old kid coming up to me like, &#039;Sir, are you are you...? And I&#039;m like, &#039;Yeah, yeah, I am&#039;. And it blows his mind, and in my head, I&#039;m like, &#039;Yeah, I&#039;m him. Somebody&#039;s got to be. It&#039;s me, yes. Thank you for playing, nice to meet you, good to see you.&#039; So that&#039;s been an alteration or an accommodation I&#039;ve had to make my life since release. Obviously, winning the BAFTA was huge. I was much more excited for all the other people who won BAFTAs. Greg and Jen [Zee] in particular, who I feel have gone unrecognized for their amazing work for far too long. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How has it felt seeing Supergiant&#039;s growth from what it was in the beginning to where it is now?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;We just have more resources now. Certainly, from my perspective, from my role there, I&#039;m privy to this; we have access to a much higher, I don&#039;t know if caliber is the right word, but we are able to at least get in contact with and have conversations with and possibly even cast actors that we wouldn&#039;t have been able to get 100 feet in front of, or even 100 miles, even five years ago. And now, that seems to be something within our reach and is within reach, and I&#039;m excited for people to discover that as well.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;But at its heart, we&#039;re the same. We&#039;re the same people. Amir and Darren and me, we still make each other laugh with the same jokes that we made each other laugh at when we were 17 or whatever. We still share, whenever we do get together, horror stories, war stories from making Bastion. From Transistor, how terrified we all were making that one. The kind of wild child that is Pyre and how we didn&#039;t learn really how to describe that game until it was out.  But we&#039;re kind of like a shark: we don&#039;t really stop. We don&#039;t take too many breaks. We just move on. We finish something once we&#039;re happy with it, and then we let it out.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;We&#039;re in a better place now than we were. Hades was our first experience with our Early Access, and that worked out really well for us. And we&#039;re doing the same with this one. We were pretty still early on with Hades, and we knew that Early Access was something we were going to do, I remember talking to Amir about it and him just saying &#039;Yeah, this is the game we&#039;ve made so far that I&#039;m least worried about&#039;. Because of Early Access, anything that&#039;s wrong with the game, we&#039;ll just fix it before we ship it. So we&#039;re not gonna have to wait three years until we ship a completed thing to figure out if people like it or not. Or even know what it is or how to describe it.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Hades II is available now in Early Access on Steam and the Epic Games Store. Be sure to visit our cover story hub for more exclusive features and videos about the game. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Tue, 14 May 2024 14:00:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122587 https://www.gameinformer.com/digital-issue/2024/05/14/the-hades-ii-digital-issue-is-now-live &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/3ebc08c2/366_digitalhero.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;If you subscribe to the digital edition of &lt;em&gt;Game Informer&lt;/em&gt;, you can now learn all about our trip to Supergiant for Hades II! Following the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/cover-reveal/2024/05/06/cover-reveal-the-making-of-hades-ii&quot;&gt;cover reveal&lt;/a&gt; our digital issue is now live on &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.gameinformer.com/magazine&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;web browsers&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/game-informer/id526096699?mt=8&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;iPad/iPhone&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameinformer.tablet&amp;amp;hl=en_US&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Android devices&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Alongside our 12-page Hades II cover story, you will also find big features on our trip to Wizards of the Coast to learn all about what is next for Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons, how Digital Eclipse is conserving video game history with its documentary video games, details from our trip to South Korea to play The First Descendant, a feature about tracking down and playing a thought-lost Star Wars arcade cabinet, a piece on the history and current state of Final Fantasy XI, and lots more! We&#039;ve also got previews for The Rogue Prince of Persia, Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, Monaci 2, Still Wakes the Deep, Tales of the Shire, and reviews for Stellar Blade, Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes, Sand Land, TopSpin 2K5, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, Animal Well, and much more!&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;If you love print as much as we do, you can subscribe to the &lt;em&gt;physical&lt;/em&gt; magazine:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p style=&quot;text-align:center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;button-subscribe&quot; href=&quot;https://subscription.gameinformer.com&quot;&gt;Subscribe Now&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;You get 10 issues for $19.91, or two years and 20 issues for $34.99. Individual issues are also now available &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gamestop.com/search/?q=gi+magazine&amp;amp;lang=default&quot;&gt;for purchase at this link&lt;/a&gt; or in any GameStop store.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;You can download the apps to read the issue &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.gameinformer.com/magazine&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;by following this link&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 CDT Kyle Hilliard 122563 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/14/tomb-raider-tv-series-written-by-fleabags-phoebe-waller-bridge-ordered-by-amazon &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/14/575f2dd8/tomb_raider.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Tomb Raider TV Show Series Amazon Prime Video Crystal Dynamics Phoebe Waller-Bridge&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Amazon has ordered a new Tomb Raider TV series to production, and it will be written and produced by &lt;em&gt;Fleabag&lt;/em&gt; star and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who also starred in last year&#039;s &lt;em&gt;Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/2024/04/10/the-fallout-tv-show-is-good-season-1-review#:~:text=It&#039;s%20a%20small%2C%20quiet%20moment,at%20nearly%20every%20new%20location.&quot;&gt;Like Amazon&#039;s &lt;em&gt;Fallout &lt;/em&gt;series&lt;/a&gt;, this Tomb Raider show will premiere exclusively on Prime Video to more than 240 countries and territories around the world. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;This series order arrives as part of a larger deal between Amazon MGM Studios and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/games/tomb_raider/b/xbox360/archive/2013/02/25/tomb-raider-review.aspx&quot;&gt;Tomb Raider reboot&lt;/a&gt; developer Crystal Dynamics, which is &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/04/05/crystal-dynamics-announces-new-tomb-raider-game-will-be-powered-by-unreal-engine-5&quot;&gt;currently working on a new Tomb Raider game in Unreal Engine 5&lt;/a&gt;. In December of 2022, we learned &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/12/15/amazon-games-will-publish-crystal-dynamics-next-tomb-raider-game#:~:text=In%20April%2C%20Crystal%20Dynamics%20revealed,built%20on%20Unreal%20Engine%205.&quot;&gt;Amazon Games will publish that in-development Tomb Raider game&lt;/a&gt;, which Amazon describes as a &quot;single-player, narrative-driven adventure that will add a new chapter to Lara Croft&#039;s story in the Tomb Raider series.&quot; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/14/6202b1de/phoebe_producer_tomb_raider.jpg&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena Shaw in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny &lt;p&gt;&quot;With great IP, the possibilities are endless,&quot; Amazon Games vice president Christoph Hartmann writes in a press release. &quot;The richness and depth of the fiction allows the Tomb Raider series from Prime Video and the video game from Amazon Games to tell separate stories about Lara Croft&#039;s adventures. We&#039;re honored that Crystal Dynamics has entrusted Amazon with this iconic franchise, and we&#039;re looking forward to seeing where this collaboration takes us.&quot; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;This is the second upcoming TV adaptation to star the iconic treasure hunter. Netflix&#039;s animated series &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/09/27/netflix-releases-teaser-for-tomb-raider-the-legend-of-lara-croft-animated-series&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, starring Haley Atwell, is set to premiere sometime this year. That particular show is set within the continuity of Crystal Dynamic&#039;s reboot trilogy, taking place after the events of Shadow of the Tomb Raider. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;If you&#039;re curious about Crystal Dynamics&#039; recent Tomb Raider reboot, you can pick up Tomb Raider: Game of the Year Edition on PC via GOG for free if you&#039;re an Amazon Prime member throughout May. For more, read &lt;em&gt;Game Informer’s&lt;/em&gt; thoughts on the most recent Tomb Raider game in our &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/shadow-of-the-tomb-raider/in-the-shadow-of-something-greater&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Shadow of the Tomb Raider review&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Tue, 14 May 2024 10:29:29 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122621 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/14/hellblade-ii-immortals-of-aveum-lords-of-the-fallen-and-more-head-to-xbox-game-pass-this &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/14/e3510d3b/game-pass-may-2024-2.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Xbox Game Pass May 2024&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It&#039;s a stacked month for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. The long-awaited Senua&#039;s Saga: Hellblade II launches onto the service next week, and noteworthy 2023 titles such as Immortals of Aveum, Lords of the Fallen, Humanity, and Chants of Sennaar join the library. Take a look at all the games coming as well as those leaving Game Pass at the end of the month. We&#039;ve also included links to our reviews for applicable titles.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h2&gt;What&#039;s Coming To Game Pass&lt;/h2&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons&lt;/strong&gt; (Console, PC, Cloud) - Today | &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/games/brothers_-_a_tale_of_two_sons/b/xbox360/archive/2013/08/07/an-excellently-crafted-adventure-kicks-off-summer-of-arcade.aspx&quot;&gt;Our Review&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Chants of Sennaar&lt;/strong&gt; (Console, PC, Cloud) - May 15&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;EA Sports NHL 24 via EA Play&lt;/strong&gt; (Cloud) - May 16&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Immortals of Aveum via EA Play&lt;/strong&gt; (Xbox Series X/S, PC, Cloud) - May 16 | &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/immortals-of-aveum/modern-fantasy-warfare&quot;&gt;Our Review&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II&lt;/strong&gt; (Xbox Series X/S, PC, Cloud) - May 21&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Galacticare&lt;/strong&gt; (Xbox Series X/S, PC, Cloud) - May 23&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hauntii&lt;/strong&gt; (Console, PC, Cloud) - May 23&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Moving Out 2&lt;/strong&gt; (Console, PC, Cloud) - May 28&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Humanity&lt;/strong&gt; (Console, PC, Cloud) - May 28 | &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/humanity/becoming-a-people-person&quot;&gt;Our Review&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Lords of the Fallen&lt;/strong&gt; (Xbox Series X/S, PC, Cloud) - May 30 | &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/lords-of-the-fallen-2023/a-flawed-return&quot;&gt;Our Review&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fireworks&lt;/strong&gt; (PC) - June 4&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rolling Hills&lt;/strong&gt; (Console, PC, Cloud) - June 4&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h2&gt;What’s Leaving Game Pass on May 31&lt;/h2&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Chicory: A Colorful Tale&lt;/strong&gt; (Console, PC, Cloud) | &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/chicory-a-colorful-tale/chicory-a-colorful-tale-review-color-us-impressed&quot;&gt;Our Review&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Farworld Pioneers&lt;/strong&gt; (Console, PC, Cloud)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle&lt;/strong&gt; (Console, PC, Cloud)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pac-Man Museum Plus&lt;/strong&gt; (Console, PC, Cloud)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Little Witch in the Woods&lt;/strong&gt; (Console, PC, Cloud)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Railway Empire II&lt;/strong&gt; (Console, PC, Cloud)&lt;/p&gt; Tue, 14 May 2024 10:16:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122620 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/14/the-art-of-the-new-dungeons-dragons &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/3adf63aa/dread-delusion-is-a-morrowind-like-rpg-out-now-new-gameplay-today.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Dread Delusion Lovely Hellplace Dread XP New Gameplay Today Morrowind Elder Scrolls&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons has a big year ahead of it. The classic tabletop RPG is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and the most significant event of that celebration is undoubtedly the release of a revision for the game&#039;s core rules, including the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual. Backwards-compatible with the entirety of the 5th edition of the game, the new books are nonetheless a big new step forward for the game, reflecting a decade of iteration and evolution as the game has exploded in popularity.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The books aren’t far off. Players and Dungeon Masters alike can watch for &lt;a href=&quot;https://marketplace.dndbeyond.com/&quot;&gt;pre-orders starting on June 18&lt;/a&gt;; each book is set to be priced at $49.99. Each of the three new books comes in at a hefty 384 pages apiece.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;a class=&quot;linkoriginal&quot; data-featherlight=&quot;image&quot; href=&quot;&quot;&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/2024/05/13/ba534aa0/dnd04.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Art from the revised Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons books &quot; title=&quot;Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons Art&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; /&gt; &lt;/a&gt; Characters from the classic D&amp;amp;D cartoon get a makeover in this internal art from a chapter opener in the new Player&#039;s Handbook. Artist Credit: Dmitry Burmak &lt;p&gt;We had the good fortune to visit Wizards of the Coast a few weeks ago to learn more from the artists and designers about what to expect in the revised game, and we have a ton of exclusive details about the revised D&amp;amp;D in this month’s &lt;em&gt;Game Informer &lt;/em&gt;magazine. The magazine article includes extensive insight from Wizards of the Coast designers, including Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford. Our conversations with the designers offer great depth into what to expect out of each of the three core books on the way. We hope you’ll support that kind of exclusive coverage of D&amp;amp;D with a subscription to GI for less than $2 an issue so you can check the article out for yourself.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://subscription.gameinformer.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/imagefeed/subscribe/gisubhdr.jpg&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt; &lt;/a&gt; &lt;p&gt;In addition to all the fun new design insights discussed in our magazine article, we also wanted to show off some of the remarkable art coming as part of the latest books. We’re including that here, alongside details from the art team working to craft the game’s look.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;We’re especially excited to reveal a close look at the cover art for the new Player’s Handbook. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;a class=&quot;linkoriginal&quot; data-featherlight=&quot;image&quot; href=&quot;&quot;&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/2024/05/13/a866256d/dnd01.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Art from the revised Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons books &quot; title=&quot;Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons Art&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; /&gt; &lt;/a&gt; The front cover of the newly revised version of D&amp;amp;D&#039;s Player&#039;s Handbook. Artist Credit: Tyler Jacobson &lt;p&gt;As the first planned release of the three new core rulebooks, it’s also likely the one that’s most important to the broadest swath of D&amp;amp;D players; its appearance in each prior edition has helped define the tone of the game.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The new Player’s Handbook front cover embraces the game’s revitalized approach to pushing forward legendary characters from across the history of the game. We see the likes of Yolande the Elven queen, Strongheart the knight, Elkhorn the Dwarven warrior, the divine Mercion, and the rogueish Molliver, all charging together into an adventure. These are figures hearkening back to the earliest era of the game. Wrapped around them is a benevolent gold dragon – a nod to the “golden” 50th anniversary of the game and an enticing reminder that the dragons in the game’s title can be allies as frequently as enemies.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;a class=&quot;linkoriginal&quot; data-featherlight=&quot;image&quot; href=&quot;&quot;&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/2024/05/13/ea5c9830/gi_dnd_front.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;The Front Cover Art for the revised D&amp;amp;D Player&#039;s Handbook&quot; title=&quot;The Front Cover Art for the revised D&amp;amp;D Player&#039;s Handbook&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; /&gt; &lt;/a&gt; A gold dragon teams up with a party of legendary heroes to confront a red dragon and its kobold minions in the full front cover art for the new Player&#039;s Handbook. Artist Credit: Tyler Jacobson &lt;p&gt;The new cover art comes from the experienced hand of freelance illustrator, Tyler Jacobson. “I’ve worked on DND since 2009. And I did the covers back in the fifth edition,” Jacobson says. “I did the Player&#039;s Handbook and the Dungeon Master&#039;s Guide, as well as many of the other covers that came after that for [titles] like Storm King’s Thunder and Volo’s.”&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The direction for the cover art is highly intentional, meant to reflect the content inside. “With the cover art, we wanted to represent each experience,” Jacobson says. “How do we make the Player&#039;s Handbook look like it&#039;s the players&#039; experience? And how do we make the Dungeon Master’s Guide feel like the Dungeon Master’s experience?”&lt;/p&gt; &lt;a class=&quot;linkoriginal&quot; data-featherlight=&quot;image&quot; href=&quot;&quot;&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/2024/05/13/61388e6b/dnd02.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Art from the revised Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons books &quot; title=&quot;Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons Art&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; /&gt; &lt;/a&gt; The back cover of the Player&#039;s Handbook features an unknown party of adventurers flying into danger on the back of a bronze dragon. Artist Credit: Tyler Jacobson &lt;p&gt;A separate piece of art on the reverse side of the Player’s Handbook goes the other direction from the mythical heroes depicted on the front, depicting a party of unknown heroes, and nodding to players who will craft their own legends.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The new Player’s Handbook (and all the rulebooks moving forward into this new era of the game) features a red book spine, which, in my mind, subtly nods to some classic visual cues like the classic red boxed set from the 1980s. But whether that’s intentional or not, the red hue also easily sets the new books apart from any other recent rulebooks you have on your shelf.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;a class=&quot;linkoriginal&quot; data-featherlight=&quot;image&quot; href=&quot;&quot;&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/de0422c6/dnd10.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Art from the revised Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons books &quot; title=&quot;Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons Art&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;/a&gt; From sketch to completed art of the new Player&#039;s Handbook. Artist Credit: Tyler Jacobson &lt;p&gt;Early book printings will bear a D&amp;amp;D 50th seal on the back – a recognition of the big five-decade anniversary.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;As fans have come to expect, you can also look forward to alternate book covers available in your local game store – the new alternate Player’s Handbook depicts a gorgeous scene of elves and a sinuous gold dragon, all printed in a gold foil treatment.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Beyond the cover, there’s no shortage of art filling the books&#039; pages, as evidenced by the extensive visuals we saw from the interior pages of the Player’s Handbook.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;a class=&quot;linkoriginal&quot; data-featherlight=&quot;image&quot; href=&quot;&quot;&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/5f753eeb/dnd11.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Art from the revised Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons books &quot; title=&quot;Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons Art&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;/a&gt; Artist Néstor Ossandón Leal shows the process from sketch to completed art. Artist Credit: Néstor Ossandón Leal &lt;p&gt;“A lot of our chapter openers are famous heroes,” says studio art director Josh Herman. “Almost every chapter opening features a different hero, or group of heroes in a different setting. So, you&#039;ve got Dragonlance, and other ones, like Ravenloft; you’ve got a whole suite of them. Whereas the Dungeon Master’s Guide is all about villains. The cover is all about the villains and the sort of threats that the DM gets to play up. And in that art, you get to see a lot of our famous locations and some of our famous villains in its chapter openers. So, it&#039;s sort of like the opposite side of the coin; we want to present all of the facets of the game in a way that hopefully people can understand.”&lt;/p&gt; &lt;a class=&quot;linkoriginal&quot; data-featherlight=&quot;image&quot; href=&quot;&quot;&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/2024/05/13/127e63df/dnd05.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Art from the revised Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons books &quot; title=&quot;Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons Art&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; /&gt; &lt;/a&gt; The completed art that launches the Fighter class section in the Player&#039;s Handbook. Artist Credit: Néstor Ossandón Leal &lt;p&gt;I was especially struck by the mix of characters and settings on display in the revised books. Where many prior official books seemed to default to the familiar Forgotten Realms setting (chief home of the Baldur’s Gate video games), these new core books seem to embrace the multiversal nature of D&amp;amp;D, including the characters and locations of myriad worlds.  “I think like 10 years after [5th edition’s launch], all of these settings have come out,” Herman says. “Like Spelljammer, Dragonlance, Planescape. That&#039;s probably why the differences are so much there; we want to show off all the different ways that players can play just like you can choose any type of character, and we want to create a broad gamut for you to pick from.”&lt;/p&gt; &lt;a class=&quot;linkoriginal&quot; data-featherlight=&quot;image&quot; href=&quot;&quot;&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/348075e6/dnd15.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Art from the revised Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons books &quot; title=&quot;Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons Art&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;/a&gt; A silver dragon enjoys the adulation of a city&#039;s parade route. Artist Credit: Campbell White &lt;p&gt;The art in the new core books has a chief goal of helping to further an understanding of the game. Spells are often shown being cast. Art for character backgrounds shows a possible place your hero could have come from. It even extends to the visuals of creatures in the Monster Manual. “There&#039;s a lot of mindfulness about the mixture; to pick the monster design accurately to the stat block,” says art director Emi Tanji. “If it&#039;s a creature that does slashing damage or something like you want to make sure we see claws. And you want to make sure if the art has shows something that&#039;s like a stinger, but there&#039;s nothing in the stat block – that would be weird, right?”&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;As I had the chance to explore completed pages during my visit to Wizards of the Coast, I was impressed by the bounty of art that fleshes out the books and how the art is presented to act as a visual tool for organization. “We worked with the design team to ensure that every class starts with the left-hand page,” Herman says. “Whereas before in 2014, it was just kind of a running journal. Now what we wanted to do is every class would open with a full-page piece of art on the left-hand side with a similar set of lead data on the right hand, so that every time you get to a new class, you get sort of an immediate visual, which we tried to theme around almost like an iconic version of what that class is.”&lt;/p&gt; &lt;a class=&quot;linkoriginal&quot; data-featherlight=&quot;image&quot; href=&quot;&quot;&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/e40c8382/dnd08.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Art from the revised Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons books &quot; title=&quot;Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons Art&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;/a&gt; Concept art reveals the redesigned look for the red dragon. Artist Credit: Alexander Ostrowski &lt;p&gt;The revised books also gave the art and design team at Wizards of the Coast a chance to return to some of its most iconic visuals and refine the approach, including the titular dragons of the classic five metallic and five chromatic species. “All the dragon stuff was really great,” Herman says “We went through all 10 of them. We have new designs for all of those and there will be a lot of that in the Monster Manual for sure. We are trying to update those designs to be something in which players could see that dragon&#039;s personality or what biome they live in, or where they fit in the cast of all of the dragons.”&lt;/p&gt; &lt;a class=&quot;linkoriginal&quot; data-featherlight=&quot;image&quot; href=&quot;&quot;&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/6b436b9d/dnd07.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Art from the revised Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons books &quot; title=&quot;Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons Art&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;/a&gt; The new look for the bronze dragon, and concepts for its breath weapon. Artist Credit: Alexander Ostrowski &lt;p&gt;As a longtime D&amp;amp;D player, I came away from perusing this new version of D&amp;amp;D with a lot of excitement. The art we’re sharing here publicly is just a sampling of what I had the opportunity to look over; there’s a cohesive visual language to the new books that is enticing. And I love the way the game seems to embrace the long history of heroes, villains, and iconic named monsters that have arisen over 50 years of play.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;If the art on display here has you excited, I hope you don’t miss out on our in-depth tour of the design work expressed in the books themselves, as described in this month’s &lt;em&gt;Game Informer &lt;/em&gt;magazine. Our eight-page article includes details on all three books, including new character options, building player bastions, new apex-tier monsters on the way, and the surprising importance and inclusions of what is arguably the oldest D&amp;amp;D campaign setting of them all – Greyhawk. In a magazine that is chiefly focused on video games, we figuratively rolled the dice on offering this level of depth on a tabletop game like D&amp;amp;D in one of our issues, thanks to its incredible influence on gaming, and its recent success and reach to newcomers. If that kind of coverage is something you like, we’d &lt;a href=&quot;https://subscription.gameinformer.com/&quot;&gt;appreciate your support in checking out the magazine&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In the meantime, enjoy exploring the breadth of all this new Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons art! Click through the gallery below for full-size images of all the art included in this article, plus additional first-look pieces on the way in the new books. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;section class=&#039;type:slideshow&#039;&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/00e59012/gidnd01.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/ab340804/gidnd02.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/dfe870c7/gidnd03.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/621c14fe/gidnd04.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/22fee87e/gidnd05.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/7a638988/gidnd06.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/a6eb53a6/gidnd07.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/4c419022/gidnd08.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/245fbeba/gidnd09.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/d1764098/gidnd10.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/f77d0b88/gidnd11.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/cf4dfb10/gidnd12.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/8144edd3/gidnd13.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/017cf3a6/gidnd14.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/0cd34c03/gidnd15.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/f9ad2f63/gidnd16.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/3b4949ae/gidnd17.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/1cf42ef6/gidnd18.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/section&gt;   &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; Tue, 14 May 2024 10:00:00 CDT Matt Miller 122559 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/14/ps5-breaks-sales-record-but-still-falls-short-of-target-after-crossing-59-million &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2023/07/27/673d3da6/playstation_5_surpasses_40_million_units_sold_sony_ps5.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;PlayStation 5 Sony PS5 Surpasses 59 million record revenue missed target decline&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Sony Interactive Entertainment has revealed in &lt;a href=&quot;chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/er/pdf/23q4_supplement.pdf&quot;&gt;its latest financial earnings report&lt;/a&gt; it sold 20.8 million PlayStation 5 units in the fiscal year that ended on March 31. In doing so, Sony sold more than any fiscal year since the console&#039;s launch in November 2020. However, despite that achievement, Sony still fell short of its original PS5 sales target for this year, missing it by more than 4 million units.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Originally targeting 25 million units for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, Sony sold 20.8 million, bringing the grand total up to 59 million, despite the 4 million units miss. As noted by&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ps5-hits-59m-as-helldivers-2-breaks-playstations-launch-sales-record/&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;VideoGamesChronicle&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, however, Sony revised that 25 million unit target in February to just 21 million; it still didn&#039;t hit that target, though, just narrowly missing the mark.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xq4XNbH6mtk&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;At 59 million units, the PS5 is just behind the PlayStation 4&#039;s 60 million units at the same point in its life cycle. However, Tokyo-based video game analyst Serkan Toto told&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;VGC&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;that 20.8 million units sold is likely going to remain the peak for the PS5, and that this number would have been much lower if not for the release of &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/product/helldivers-2&quot;&gt;Helldivers 2&lt;/a&gt; in February, which is &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/14/helldivers-2-is-playstations-fastest-selling-game-ever-crossing-12-million-copies&quot;&gt;PlayStation&#039;s fastest-selling game ever after selling 12 million copies in 12 weeks&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;On the earnings call, Sony told investors to expect gaming sales to decrease in the fiscal year that just began (and ends March of next year) due to an expected decrease in console sales. There are also no major games from existing franchises releasing between now and then, according to the company. However, Sony says it still plans to release Concord, &lt;a href=&quot;https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/24/introducing-concord-a-new-pvp-multiplayer-fps-from-firewalk-studios-coming-to-ps5-and-pc/&quot;&gt;the new multiplayer online shooter IP from Firewalk Studios coming to PS5 and PC&lt;/a&gt;, this year.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For more about PlayStation, read about how &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/14/hermen-hulst-and-hideaki-nishino-named-dual-playstation-ceos-following-jim-ryans&quot;&gt;Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino have been named dual CEOs of the company&lt;/a&gt;, and then read&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/stellar-blade/more-than-a-pretty-face#:~:text=Stellar%20Blade%20is%20unabashed%20in,stand%20with%20the%20big%20girls.&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;Stellar Blade review&lt;/a&gt;. After that, check out&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth/cracking-the-planet-wide-open&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;Final Fantasy VII Rebirth review&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;How do you feel about the PlayStation 5 at this point in its lifecycle? Let us know in the comments below!&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Tue, 14 May 2024 09:21:19 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122619 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/14/former-marvels-midnight-suns-xcom-designer-jake-solomon-announces-new-startup-midsummer &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/14/8d05e809/midsummer-jake-solomon-photo.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Jake Solomon Midsummer Studios annoucement&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Jake Solomon, former long-time Firaxis designer and director who spearheaded Marvel’s Midnight Suns and was a lead designer on XCOM: Enemy Unknown, has announced he’s formed a new company following his &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2023/02/17/firaxis-jake-solomon-announces-departure-from-studio&quot;&gt;departure from Firaxis last February&lt;/a&gt;. Midsummer Studios is a team consisting of veteran Firaxis and Maxis designers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Midsummer was founded by Solomon, who serves as CEO and creative director, game director Will Miller (also formerly of Firaxis), and COO/CFO Nelsie Birch, a newcomer to games with a 25-year career in financial and operations management. They’re joined by executive producer Grant Rodiek, an 18-year veteran of Maxis Studios and former producer/director on several entries of The Sims.&amp;nbsp;In addition to them, the small team currently consists of six other designers.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/A5M5i_ygnPo&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;The company’s debut game will be a next-gen life sim that, according to the press release, “emphasizes player-driven narratives, allowing communities to share memorable moments that grow out of the creativity of players themselves.”&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;“The best stories in games are written by the players,” said Solomon in the press release. “At Midsummer we’re making a life sim focused on the drama of modern life, where our players will write meaningful stories just by playing, and then share those stories with the world.”&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Midsummer has secured a $6 million investment with several partners and is focused on growing a sustainable studio that values the health and happiness of its employees.&lt;/p&gt; Tue, 14 May 2024 09:17:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122618 https://www.gameinformer.com/ngt/2024/05/14/unfolding-the-wonders-of-paper-trail-new-gameplay-today &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/b3c82c7c/papertrailngtthumb.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Paper Trail game preview&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Paper Trail is a neat upcoming indie game, especially if you&#039;re into papercraft. The adventure stars Paige (get it?), a young girl with the power to fold reality like it&#039;s made out of paper. She uses this ability to run away from home in pursuit of her dreams, with players solving origami-focused pathfinding puzzles to get her from one scenic locale to the next. Join editors Marcus Stewart, Kyle Hilliard, and Wesley LeBlanc as they take a look at the opening chapter of this pleasant and mind-bending journey.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/BRVeGa59Mv8&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;Head over to&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/gameinformer&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;YouTube channel&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;New Gameplay Today&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/ngt&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;right here.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Tue, 14 May 2024 09:00:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122608 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/14/helldivers-2-is-playstations-fastest-selling-game-ever-crossing-12-million-copies &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/14/4892098a/helldivers-2.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Helldivers 2 Arrowhead Game Studios PlayStation 5 Fastest Selling Launch Live Service&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/product/helldivers-2&quot;&gt;Helldivers 2&lt;/a&gt; is PlayStation&#039;s fastest-selling game ever, the company has announced in its latest financial earnings call. It achieved this title after crossing 12 million copies sold in 12 weeks, beating out the record previously held by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/god-of-war-ragnarok/next-to-godliness&quot;&gt;God of War Ragnarök&lt;/a&gt;, which sold 11 million copies in 10 weeks, as reported by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ps5-hits-59m-as-helldivers-2-breaks-playstations-launch-sales-record/&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;VideoGamesChronicle&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Developer Arrowhead Game Studios&#039; live-service multiplayer shooter sequel hit PlayStation 5 on February 8, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/playstation-showcase/2023/05/24/helldivers-ii-is-coming-later-this-year&quot;&gt;with a simultaneous PC launch that same day&lt;/a&gt;, which is new for PlayStation. Its usual PC strategy sees PlayStation games launching on PC years after the game&#039;s console release – &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/03/06/ghost-of-tsushima-directors-cut-rides-to-pc-in-may#:~:text=The%20game&#039;s%20Director&#039;s%20Cut%20is,co%2Dop%20multiplayer%20Legends%20mode.&quot;&gt;Ghost of Tsushima Director&#039;s Cut is only just now coming to PC this month&lt;/a&gt;, for example. It seems launching on PC day-and-date with PS5 was the right call, though, as Helldivers 2 is now a bonafide hit for PlayStation.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/dmN09ock04Q&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt celebrated the news, noting there are more Helldivers 2 players than Swedes (the studio is based in Stockholm, Sweden) while thanking players for helping the team and PlayStation reach this achievement.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote class=&quot;tw-align-center twitter-tweet&quot;&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot; lang=&quot;en&quot;&gt;As announced in the Sony earnings call, we have sold over 12M units!&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; It&#039;s crazy to think that there are more Helldivers than there are Swedes 🤯&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; What a massive achievement from everyone involved in realizing &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/helldivers2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&gt;@Helldivers2&lt;/a&gt;. A massive thank you to the community for your support,…&lt;/p&gt; — Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/Pilestedt/status/1790300010401104124?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&gt;May 14, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;Notably, Arrowhead Game Studios is independent – PlayStation published Helldivers 2 as a PS5 console exclusive, in a way previously referred to as second-party. However, given acquisitions are happening more and more this generation, it wouldn&#039;t be surprising if PlayStation attempted to bring Arrowhead Game Studios under the first-party umbrella.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For more, read&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/helldivers-2/bullet-heaven&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;Helldivers 2 review&lt;/a&gt;, and then read about how &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/06/playstation-walks-back-helldivers-2-changes-psn-account-linking-no-longer-required&quot;&gt;PlayStation recently walked back its Helldivers 2 PlayStation Network changes&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;[Source: &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ps5-hits-59m-as-helldivers-2-breaks-playstations-launch-sales-record/&quot;&gt;VideoGamesChronicle&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Are you one of the 12 million Helldivers 2 players? Let us know in the comments below!&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; Tue, 14 May 2024 08:05:41 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122617 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/14/hermen-hulst-and-hideaki-nishino-named-dual-playstation-ceos-following-jim-ryans &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/14/44dba18b/sony-ceos.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Sony Interactive Entertainment PlayStation Hermen Hulst Hideaki Nishino CEOs&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Sony has appointed Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino as dual CEOs of PlayStation, following Jim Ryan&#039;s departure from the company this spring; they will begin June 1.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/09/27/playstation-head-jim-ryan-leaving-sony-next-spring#:~:text=Why%20Is%20Jim%20Ryan%20Leaving,said%20in%20the%20press%20release.&quot;&gt;Ryan announced he was leaving PlayStation last year&lt;/a&gt;, with Sony Group Corporation COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki stepping in as interim CEO following his departure in March. After that brief stint, PlayStation is tackling the CEO position with two figures, each with different focuses.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Hulst has been appointed CEO of SIE&#039;s Studio Business Group while Nishino has been appointed CEO of SIE&#039;s Platform Business Group. Totoki, now through as interim CEO, will serve as a Chairman of SIE in addition to returning to his role as COO and CFO of Sony Group Corporation. Both Nishino and Hulst will report to Totoki.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/bCQMHjDAJZU&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;Sony Interactive Entertainment is a dynamic and growing business that delivers incredible entertainment experiences through the connection of content and technology,&quot; Totoki writes in a press release. &quot;These two leaders will have clear responsibilities and will manage strategic direction to ensure the focus remains on deepening engagement with existing PlayStation users and expanding experiences to new audiences.&quot;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Nishino was the senior vice president of PlayStation&#039;s Platform Experience Group, &quot;responsible for developing the experiences and technology with PlayStation products and services,&quot; including the PlayStation 5, PlayStation VR2, and PlayStation Network. Sony says in his new CEO position, he will continue to be responsible for technology, products, services, and platform experiences. He will also oversee third party publisher and developer relations and commercial operations, including sales and marketing of hardware, services, and peripherals, the press release reads.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;We will continue to connect players through world-class products, services, and technology,&quot; Nishino writes. &quot;We always strive to grow our community even bigger with innovation in every area at Sony Interactive Entertainment. I am honored to be appointed such an important role alongside Hermen. By working more closely together, we will be positioned to build incredible experiences for an ever-expanding audience now and in the future.&quot;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xq4XNbH6mtk&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;Hulst was the senior vice president and PlayStation Studios head, responsible for &quot;developing content across many devices including PlayStation consoles and PCs, and bringing video game IP to new mediums such as film and television through PlayStation Productions.&quot; As CEO, Hulst will be responsible for the development, publishing, and business operations of first party content.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;I am thrilled to lead the studio business group and continue to build on our success with PlayStation 5, while preparing for the future,&quot; he writes in the press release. &quot;The video game industry is one of the largest entertainment industries in the world and has been built on the marriage of content and technology, and I look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of play and entertainment.&quot;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Totoki says in a separate &lt;a href=&quot;https://sonyinteractive.com/en/news/blog/a-message-from-hiroki-totoki-a-new-era-at-sony-interactive-entertainment/&quot;&gt;blog post&lt;/a&gt; that later this month, players will &quot;learn more about the long-term vision for Sony Group and the essential role SIE plays in that vision,&quot; hinting that the company might have some kind of event happening in May. He adds, &quot;[Fiscal Year 2024] marks the start of the Mid-Range Plan period for Sony Group in which we will set the course for sustainable growth.&quot;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For more about PlayStation, read&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/stellar-blade/more-than-a-pretty-face#:~:text=Stellar%20Blade%20is%20unabashed%20in,stand%20with%20the%20big%20girls.&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;Stellar Blade review&lt;/a&gt;, and then read&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth/cracking-the-planet-wide-open&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;Final Fantasy VII Rebirth review&lt;/a&gt;. After that, check out this&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/04/19/former-playstation-boss-jack-tretton-on-acquisitions-live-service-games-e3-his-new&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;interview with former PlayStation boss Jack Tretton&lt;/a&gt; about acquisitions, live service games, E3, and more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;What do you think about PlayStation&#039;s dual CEO approach? Let us know in the comments below!&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Tue, 14 May 2024 07:33:31 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122615 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/13/check-out-the-jokers-multiversus-gameplay-and-the-batman-who-laughs-alternate-costume &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/114e7f25/multiversus-joker-batman-who-laughs.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Multiversus Joker gameplay&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Last week, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/08/the-joker-voiced-by-mark-hamill-joins-multiversus&quot;&gt;The Joker&lt;/a&gt; was announced as the first new fighter joining MultiVersus ahead of its upcoming relaunch this month. The reveal was purely cinematic, however, but today’s new trailer shows off his gameplay.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The video not only gives fans a sample of actor Mark Hamill’s new voice lines, but also reveals that Joker has an alternate costume modeled after The Batman Who Laughs. The video also shows what appears to be unique dialogue interactions between Joker and his long-time sidekick, Harley Quinn.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/1Nshwsz-f7M&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;MultiVersus has other new characters joining the fray that will be revealed over time. Following a lengthy hiatus since its open beta concluded last year, the game will return in an improved form on May 28.&lt;/p&gt; Mon, 13 May 2024 15:43:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122614 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/13/atlus-is-delisting-the-original-shin-megami-tensei-v-and-its-dlc-ahead-of-vengeances &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2022/01/03/7e7d019d/shin_megami_tensei_v_art.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Shin Megami Tensei V delisting Nintendo eShop&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Atlus has announced that the original version of Shin Megami Tensei V will be delisted from the Nintendo eShop on June 13. That’s one day before the launch of its expanded definitive edition, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;On June 13, Shin Megami Tensei V’s Digital Standard and Digital Deluxe editions and all of its DLC will be removed from the eShop. However, owners of the physical and digital versions will still be able to play and redownload this content after it’s been delisted. SMT V first launched in November 2021, and Atlus declared it the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/01/03/shin-megami-tensei-v-becomes-best-selling-entry-in-franchise-atlus-teases-new-project&quot;&gt;best-selling game in the series&lt;/a&gt; in January 2022.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote class=&quot;tw-align-center twitter-tweet&quot;&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot; lang=&quot;en&quot;&gt;The original Shin Megami Tensei V Digital Standard, Digital Deluxe, and all associated DLC will be delisted from the Nintendo eShop on June 13.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; Previously purchased physical and digital versions will remain playable and re-downloadable after this date.&lt;/p&gt; — Official ATLUS West (@Atlus_West) &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/Atlus_West/status/1790079785214914724?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&gt;May 13, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;Atlus has not provided a reason for this move, but given the timing, it’s likely to avoid confusion with the upcoming SMTV: Vengeance, which is the same game (including all DLC) but with quality-of-life improvements and an additional storyline that introduces new locations and demons. Think of it as the Persona 5 Royal of SMT V. Vengeance will also be multi-platform, whereas the original game was a Switch exclusive, and it will run for the same price as the original Standard version, $59.99.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance launches on June 14. You can read our extended preview of the game &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/preview/2024/04/30/back-with-a-vengeance&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;, and you can also check out our review of the original SMT V &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/shin-megami-tensei-v/shin-megami-tensei-v-review-beauty-in-an-unforgiving-world&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; Mon, 13 May 2024 13:26:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122613 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/13/the-rogue-prince-of-persia-delayed-to-later-this-month-because-of-hades-ii &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/2e7e89a7/the_rogue_prince_of_persia.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Evil Empire Ubisoft The Rogue Prince of Persia Roguelike PC Early Access Delayed Hades II&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Update, 5/13/24:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The Rogue Prince of Persia, the upcoming roguelike from Dead Cells developer Evil Empire, will double-jump into Early Access on May 27. This new release date follows a delay from the original May 14 release date as a result of Hades II, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/cover-reveal/2024/05/06/cover-reveal-the-making-of-hades-ii&quot;&gt;which is gracing the latest cover of&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, launching into Early Access last week.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Evil Empire delayed The Rogue Prince of Persia&#039;s Early Access launch to give its team members, their mothers, and players around the world more time with Hades II. The team said at the time The Rogue Prince of Persia would still hit Early Access this month, and now we know it&#039;s May 27.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote class=&quot;tw-align-center twitter-tweet&quot;&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot; lang=&quot;en&quot;&gt;The Rogue Prince of Persia&#039;s new release date is 27th May! If you didn&#039;t see our previous post, the TLDR is to give people time to play Hades 2, including us😄&lt;br /&gt; But if Silksong shadow-drops in the next two weeks we&#039;re burning the whole thing down!&lt;br /&gt; Anyway, we can also reveal The… &lt;a href=&quot;https://t.co/ZQM3l5DcBI&quot;&gt;pic.twitter.com/ZQM3l5DcBI&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; — Evil Empire (@Studio_Evil) &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/Studio_Evil/status/1790019538362290455?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&gt;May 13, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The original story continues below...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Original story, 5/10/24:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Dead Cells developer Evil Empire has delayed its upcoming roguelike, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/product/the-rogue-prince-of-persia&quot;&gt;The Rogue Prince of Persia&lt;/a&gt;, because of Hades II. Originally due out on Tuesday, May 14, in PC Early Access, Evil Empire has delayed the game to later this month to give potential players more time with &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/06/hades-ii-is-now-available-in-early-access-on-pc&quot;&gt;Hades II&lt;/a&gt;, which is another roguelike that hit Early Access this week (&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/cover-reveal/2024/05/06/cover-reveal-the-making-of-hades-ii&quot;&gt;and it&#039;s also gracing the latest cover of&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;Magazine&lt;/a&gt;).&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/wJhZAvXILI4&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;So it&#039;s been a bit of a crazy week for us,&quot; a &lt;a href=&quot;https://x.com/Studio_Evil/status/1788886708064317943&quot;&gt;statement&lt;/a&gt; from Evil Empire reads. &quot;It all started when a little game called Hades II released – you might have have heard of it? Seeing as everyone and their mum is playing that game (including our entire team...and their mums), we have decided to let people have their fun with it before we release The Rogue Prince of Persia.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&quot;We will still be releasing in May and will be back with a precise date on Monday. While we have every confidence in The Rogue Prince of Persia, it&#039;s not every day that a game in the same genre as you, which is one of the most anticipated upcoming games of 2024, will release into Early Access a week before you plan to do the same. We are not prideful enough to ignore the implications of that, and we truly believe that this short delay is the best decision for us and our Early Access journey.&quot;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The team says this extra time will be used to polish The Rogue Prince of Persia even more, add &quot;even more cool things,&quot; and fix some bugs. It also notes the Day One patch for the game was getting big and this extra time will give the team more time to test it (and lower the team&#039;s stress as a result).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;went hands-on with the game recently and loved what we played – you can read our &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/preview/2024/04/10/we-played-the-rogue-lite-prince-of-persia-from-the-co-developer-of-dead-cells&quot;&gt;preview impressions of The Rogue Prince of Persia here&lt;/a&gt;. If you&#039;re curious how it looks in action, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/ngt/2024/04/10/the-rogue-prince-of-persia-new-gameplay-today&quot;&gt;watch this New Gameplay Today all about The Rogue Prince of Persia&lt;/a&gt;. For more, check out &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/faq/2024/04/13/what-is-the-difference-between-roguelike-and-rogue-lite&quot;&gt;our discussion with Evil Empire about the difference between a roguelike and a rogue-lite&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Are you going to check out The Rogue Prince of Persia later this month? Let us know in the comments below!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Mon, 13 May 2024 13:25:00 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122597 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/13/square-enix-will-begin-layoffs-as-part-of-structural-reforms-this-week &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/04/30/5bbc8884/square-enix.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Square Enix Layoffs Structural Reform U.S. U.K. &quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Square Enix, the developer-publisher behind this year&#039;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/product/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth&quot;&gt;Final Fantasy VII Rebirth&lt;/a&gt;, is set to lay off an unspecified number of employees across its U.S. and European offices, which are headquartered in California and the United Kingdom, respectively, this week. According to those in attendance, Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu delivered this news in a company-wide meeting, as first reported by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/square-enix-confirms-us-eu-layoffs-as-part-of-restructuring/&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;VideoGamesChronicle&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Layoffs such as these were suspected following Square Enix&#039;s latest financial earnings report, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/13/square-enix-will-aggressively-pursue-multiplatform-strategy-in-company-reboot&quot;&gt;which includes a three-year company reboot plan with an &quot;aggressive&quot; multiplatform release strategy&lt;/a&gt; after a slide mentioned &quot;structural reforms.&quot; You can see the slide below: &lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/f8e829a2/img_1593.jpg&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;p&gt;As you can see above, as part of Square Enix&#039;s plan to rebuild its overseas business divisions from the ground up, the company &quot;began optimizing costs at its European and American offices via structural reforms.&quot; After more than 10,000 layoffs across game studios and publishers this year, it&#039;s easy to read between the lines – structural reforms sound a lot like &quot;layoffs,&quot; and now &lt;em&gt;VGC &lt;/em&gt;has confirmed as much. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The publication reports these layoffs will happen over the course of the next month, with those affected set to find out this week. The total number of expected layoffs is not known, but &lt;i&gt;VGC&lt;/i&gt;&#039;s sources say staff was told it will mostly affect those working in publishing, IT, and Square Enix&#039;s Collective indie games division. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;U.K. employees laid off will enter into a &quot;one-month consultancy period&quot; in accordinace with local U.K. law, while affected U.S. staff could be out of their jobs potentially before the end of the month. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;These layoffs join a string of other disheartening 2024 layoffs and closures, which now total more than 10,000 in just the first five months of the year. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Earlier this month, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/07/xbox-is-shutting-down-arkane-austin-tango-gameworks-and-more&quot;&gt;Xbox closed four Bethesda studios&lt;/a&gt;, including Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks and Redfall studio Arkane Austin. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/02/take-two-closes-rollerdrome-and-kerbal-space-program-2-studios-while-majority-of&quot;&gt;Take-Two Interactive closed Rollerdrome studio Roll7 and Kerbal Space Program 2 studio Intercept Games&lt;/a&gt; alongside major layoffs to its indie-publisher Private Division label. That same week, we learned &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/02/deliver-us-mars-developer-keoken-interactive-lays-off-nearly-entire-staff&quot;&gt;Deliver Us Mars developer Keoken Interactive had laid off nearly its entire staff&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Elsewhere in the year, EA laid off &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/02/28/ea-lays-off-670-employees-cancels-respawns-star-wars-fps&quot;&gt;roughly 670 employees across all departments&lt;/a&gt;, resulting in the cancellation of Respawn&#039;s Star Wars FPS game. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/02/27/playstation-laying-off-900-across-insomniac-naughty-dog-guerrilla-and-more-closing&quot;&gt;PlayStation laid off 900 employees&lt;/a&gt; across Insomniac, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, and more, closing down London Studio in the process, too. The day before, Until Dawn developer &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/02/26/until-dawn-little-nightmares-iii-developer-supermassive-games-is-laying-off-90&quot;&gt;Supermassive Games announced it laid off 90 employees&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;At the end of January, we learned &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/29/embracer-group-cancels-new-deus-ex-game-in-development-at-eidos-montreal-lays-off&quot;&gt;Embracer Group had canceled a new Deus Ex game in development at Eidos-Montréal&lt;/a&gt; and laid off 97 employees in the process. Also in January, Destroy All Humans remake developer &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/25/destroy-all-humans-remake-developer-black-forest-games-reportedly-lays-off-50&quot;&gt;Black Forest Games reportedly laid off 50 employees&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/25/microsoft-is-laying-off-1900-employees-across-xbox-activision-blizzard-and-zenimax&quot;&gt;Microsoft announced it was laying off 1,900 employees across its Xbox, Activision Blizzard, and ZeniMax teams&lt;/a&gt;, as well. Outriders studio &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/25/outriders-studio-people-can-fly-lays-off-more-than-30-employees&quot;&gt;People Can Fly laid off more than 30 employees&lt;/a&gt; in January, and League of Legends company &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/23/league-of-legends-company-riot-games-lays-off-530-employees&quot;&gt;Riot Games laid off 530 employees&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/18/lords-of-the-fallen-publisher-ci-games-lays-off-10-of-its-staff&quot;&gt;Lords of the Fallen Publisher CI Games laid off 10 percent of its staff&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/10/unity-to-lay-off-1800-employees&quot;&gt;Unity will lay off 1,800 people by the end of March&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/10/twitch-to-lay-off-500-employees&quot;&gt;Twitch laid off 500 employees&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;We also learned that &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/gamer-culture/2024/01/12/discord-lays-off-170-employees-due-to-overhiring#:~:text=Discord%20Lays%20Off%20170%20Employees%20Due%20To%20Overhiring%20%2D%20Game%20Informer&quot;&gt;Discord had laid off 170 employees&lt;/a&gt;, that &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/17/ptw-a-support-studio-thats-worked-with-capcom-and-blizzard-lays-off-45-people&quot;&gt;layoffs happened at PTW&lt;/a&gt;, a support studio that&#039;s worked with companies like Blizzard and Capcom, and that &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/17/thunderful-group-the-company-behind-2023s-steamworld-build-to-lay-off-roughly-100&quot;&gt;SteamWorld Build company, Thunderful Group, let go of roughly 100 people&lt;/a&gt;. Dead by Daylight developer &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/01/18/dead-by-daylight-studio-behaviour-interactive-has-reportedly-laid-off-45-people&quot;&gt;Behaviour Interactive also reportedly laid off 45 people, too&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;[Source: &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/square-enix-confirms-us-eu-layoffs-as-part-of-restructuring/&quot;&gt;VideoGamesChronicle&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Mon, 13 May 2024 13:17:32 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122612 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/13/assassins-creed-shadows-formerly-known-as-codename-red-gets-world-premiere-this-week &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/04/03/ca322f82/assassins-creed-codename-red.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Assassin&amp;#039;s Creed Shadows world premiere&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/09/10/ubisoft-reveals-feudal-japan-mainline-assassins-creed-a-china-based-mobile-game-and-more&quot;&gt;Assassin’s Creed Codename Red&lt;/a&gt; now has an official title: Assassin’s Creed Shadows. We’ll also get our first full-length look at the series&#039; first Japanese entry this week.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Ubisoft announced on &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/Ubisoft/status/1790049608720125969&quot;&gt;X&lt;/a&gt; that the game’s cinematic world premiere trailer will air on May 15 at 9 a.m. P.T./12 p.m. ET. Ubisoft’s use of the word “cinematic” suggests that this trailer will not include gameplay. If that’s the case, Ubisoft could be saving a gameplay reveal for its &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/04/03/ubisoft-forward-confirmed-for-june-same-week-as-summer-game-fest&quot;&gt;Ubisoft Forward&lt;/a&gt; presentation less than a month later, on June 10.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote class=&quot;tw-align-center twitter-tweet&quot;&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot; lang=&quot;en&quot;&gt;Assassin&#039;s Creed Codename Red becomes Assassin&#039;s Creed Shadows.&lt;br /&gt; Tune-in for the Official Cinematic World Premiere Trailer on May 15, 9 AM PT.&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/hashtag/AssassinsCreedShadows?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&gt;#AssassinsCreedShadows&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://t.co/GF0BWqVOhS&quot;&gt;pic.twitter.com/GF0BWqVOhS&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; — Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/Ubisoft/status/1790049608720125969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&gt;May 13, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;Assassin’s Creed Shadows was first announced in 2022 and will be the first entry set in feudal Japan. At the time, Ubisoft described the game as being an open-world RPG and the ultimate &quot;shinobi fantasy.&quot; It is being developed by Ubisoft Quebec, the team behind Assassin&#039;s Creed Odyssey. It has no release window, but the game is expected to launch later this year.&lt;/p&gt; Mon, 13 May 2024 11:27:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122606 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/13/square-enix-will-aggressively-pursue-multiplatform-strategy-in-company-reboot &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/02/21/d6a03dd5/nibelheim_opener5.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Final Fantasy VII 7 Rebirth Square Enix Multiplatform Business Financial Strategy&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Square Enix is rebooting itself, &quot;aggressively&quot; pursuing a multiplatform strategy that includes PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, and PC in the process. This comes from the company&#039;s latest financial earnings&lt;a href=&quot;chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://tdnet-pdf.kabutan.jp/20240513/140120240513592661.pdf&quot;&gt; report&lt;/a&gt;, which details Square Enix&#039;s three-year reboot plan for long-term growth. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Within that three-year reboot plan, &lt;strong&gt;Square Enix lists four pillars&lt;/strong&gt;: &lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Enhance productivity by optimizing the development footprint in the Digital Entertainment (DE) segment&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Diversify earnings opportunities by strengthening customer contact points&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Roll out initiatives to create additional foundational stability&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Strike a balance between shareholder return and growth investment when allocating capital &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/13/622cbe3f/se.jpg&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;p&gt;As part of this plan, Square Enix &quot;will aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy that includes Nintendo platforms, PlayStation, Xbox, and PCs,&quot; according to the financial &lt;a href=&quot;chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://tdnet-pdf.kabutan.jp/20240513/140120240513592496.pdf&quot;&gt;report&lt;/a&gt;. &quot;Especially, in regards to major franchise and AAA titles including catalog titles, it will build an environment where more customers can enjoy these titles,&quot; it continues, possibly alluding to multiplatform releases for future Final Fantasy games and more.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;This strategy switch-up follows reports that &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/product/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth&quot;&gt;Final Fantasy VII Rebirth&lt;/a&gt;, a PlayStation 5-exclusive RPG that launched in February underperformed; Final Fantasy VII Rebirth followed in the footsteps of its predecessor, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/final-fantasy-vii-remake/final-fantasy-vii-remake-review-old-friends-and-new-life&quot;&gt;Final Fantasy VII Remake&lt;/a&gt;, which launched exclusively on PlayStation 4 in 2020, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/product/final-fantasy-xvi&quot;&gt;Final Fantasy XVI&lt;/a&gt;, which hit PS5 last year (&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/03/11/final-fantasy-xvi-pc-version-in-final-stages-of-optimization-expect-a-demo-before&quot;&gt;although it&#039;s set to release on PC sometime in the future&lt;/a&gt;). &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Square Enix also says it will &quot;devise a platforms strategy for SD [Smart Devices/PC Browser portfolio] that includes not only iOS and Android, but also the possibility of PC launches. It continues, &quot;Furthermore, the Group will strive to maximize the acquisition of new users when launching a title and that of recurring users after starting management of game operation.&quot; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/-qk4TDTo0-E&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;Throughout the financial report, Square Enix uses the word &quot;fun&quot; as a focal point for the future development of its games. It says it wants to focus on the development of titles &quot;delivering &#039;fun&#039; that only [Square Enix] can create and build.&quot; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In terms of numbers, Square Enix&#039;s net sales are up 3.8% year-over-year at $2.28 billion this year, with digital entertainment sales up 2.5% at $1.59 billion. However, its operating income – $209 million – is down nearly 27%. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;These numbers and subsequent strategy shift aren&#039;t surprising, considering at the end of April, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/04/30/square-enix-has-seemingly-canceled-some-games-in-an-effort-to-be-more-selective-and&quot;&gt;Square Enix canceled some of its in-development games&lt;/a&gt; to be &quot;more selective and focused,&quot; which lines up with its new philosophy. This likely means we&#039;ll be seeing more titles like &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/dragon-quest-xi-echoes-of-an-elusive-age/relying-on-the-past#:~:text=The%20plot%20isn&#039;t%20groundbreaking,on%20the%20path%20to%20help.&quot;&gt;Dragon Age XI&lt;/a&gt;, Final Fantasy XVI, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on various platforms and less games like &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/product/foamstars&quot;&gt;Foamstars&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/product/the-diofield-chronicle&quot;&gt;The DioField Chronicle&lt;/a&gt;. Only time will tell, though, and Square Enix thinks it will take three years for this company reboot.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For more, read &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth/cracking-the-planet-wide-open&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s &lt;/em&gt;Final Fantasy VII Rebirth review&lt;/a&gt;, and then read &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/final-fantasy-xvi/victory-in-the-land-of-gods-and-monsters&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s &lt;/em&gt;Final Fantasy XVI review&lt;/a&gt;. After that, read about &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/feature/2023/07/28/everything-you-need-to-know-about-final-fantasy-xiv-dawntrail&quot;&gt;Final Fantasy XIV&#039;s upcoming Dawntrail expansion&lt;/a&gt;, which is &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/03/25/final-fantasy-xiv-dawntrail-launches-july-2-collectors-edition-revealed&quot;&gt;due out this July&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;What are your thoughts on Square Enix&#039;s new strategy?Let us know in the comments below!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Mon, 13 May 2024 08:01:12 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122605 https://www.gameinformer.com/review/indika/rewarding-faith &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/7760e210/indika3.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Indika Review&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; <p> <b>Reviewed on:</b> PC <br /> <b>Platform:</b> PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC <br /> <b>Publisher:</b> 11 Bit Studios <br /> <b>Developer:</b> Odd Meter <br /> <b>Release:</b> <time datetime="2024-05-02T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">May 2, 2024</time> (<span class="gi5-details-platform">PC</span>), <time datetime="2024-05-17T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">May 17, 2024</time> (<span class="gi5-details-platform">PlayStation 5</span>, <span class="gi5-details-platform">Xbox Series X/S</span>) <br /> <b>Rating:</b> Mature </p> &lt;p&gt;Indika is bizarre, surprising, and captivating. It made me question its reality almost as often as its titular protagonist, a young nun tormented by the Devil, doubts her faith. This odd adventure from its aptly named developer Odd Meter may lack some design polish, but the fascinating tale at its core instilled enough faith in me to see it through to the end.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The game unfolds in early 19th-century Russia. Indika is treated as an outcast at her monastery, and, for some reason, she’s regularly taunted by the voice of Satan himself. The story doesn’t delve into how this sacrilegious relationship began, and that’s fine. The Devil is more of a storytelling device; a symbol of Indika’s desire to be a good person, contrasted by her growing skepticism and pragmatism in the church’s rigid viewpoints on morality and sin. This conflict comes to a head when Indika finds herself in an unlikely partnership with Ilya, an escaped prisoner with his own strong religious beliefs.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/yQk2AGx3URI&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;As the pair bond over seeking a divine cure for their respective ailments – Indika’s demonic presence and IIya’s wounded arm – the third-person adventure sees them trek through locations such as deserted factories and frozen wilds. Along the way, players solve environmental puzzles and, on very rare occasions, evade threats. The obstacles themselves are respectably designed and varied, often centered on Indika inexplicably operating heavy machinery like a lift to move and stack giant cans or manipulating the massive gears of an industrial elevator. Less enjoyable moments, such as fleeing a pursuing wolf in an annoying trial-and-error escape sequence, appear rarely, thankfully.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The gameplay becomes most interesting when the Devil’s influence overwhelms Indika to the point the world around her turns hellish red, and the environment is ripped apart into a distorted version of itself. This leads to relatively simple but thematically interesting navigation puzzles as players switch between this hellscape and reality by hitting a “pray” button to find the proper path. These are neat segments that I wish occurred more often than the small handful of times they do.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Poking around environments leads to hidden collectibles, from religious artifacts to “indecent” publications, that reward points, which manifest as literal giant pixelated gems that appear in front of Indika. This bizarre visual flourish is a wild contrast to the otherwise realistic art direction, and these points level up Indika via a two-pronged skill tree of point modifiers (themed on ideas like Shame, Guilt, and Repentance) that impact the story less literally than it appears.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;section class=&#039;type:slideshow&#039;&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/324ae5a9/indika5.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/ffc9cf76/indika6.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/006602e2/indika8.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/9db9e45b/indika_2.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/26abc380/indika4.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/62d10993/indika1.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/f32521d2/indika7.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/section&gt; &amp;nbsp; &lt;p&gt;This is just an example of Indika’s strangeness. Overt video game-y elements such as quirky, chiptune melodies and flashbacks that unfold as playable 16-bit platforming sequences are sprinkled throughout the experience. Whether or not this approach has any thematic significance is unclear (perhaps symbolizing the comparative simplicity of Indika’s childhood), but, at the very least, it gives Indika a surreal and playful charm.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Everything in the game, from the strange people you meet to the weird camera angles to its wild intro cutscene I won’t spoil, gives the game a potent dose of absurdity that oddly works. Indika feels like a black comedy at points, and perhaps that’s the intent. It swings for the fences, and that delightful boldness is combined with poignant commentary about the struggle of maintaining unwavering faith in a harsh, unjust world. Indika’s engaging and, at times, emotional personal journey of self-discovery pulled me to a powerful conclusion that, like most everything else, leaves its interpretation up to the player.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The result is an adventure that feels thoughtfully conceived, humorous, and depressing all at once, as well as “off” in the right ways. Indika is one of the year’s most affecting and memorable adventures, and its themes will stick with me as I continue to ponder their meanings.&lt;/p&gt; <a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/scoring" target="_blank"><img class="gi-must-play" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/2022/02/24/fb77bb22/mustplay_badge_rgb_tiny.jpg" height="50" width="39" alt="GI Must Play" /></a> <h2>Score: 8.75</h2> <p> <a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/scoring" target="_blank">About Game Informer's review system</a> </p> <a href="https://www.gamestop.com/search/?q=Indika" target="_blank" class="button">Purchase</a> Fri, 10 May 2024 15:41:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122603 https://www.gameinformer.com/impressions/2024/05/10/vampire-survivors-contra-dlc-shows-one-of-gamings-best-values-still-has &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/07a4f35b/vsogdlc.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Ever since it came to Switch at the tail end of last summer, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/vampire-survivors/single-stick-masterpiece&quot;&gt;Vampire Survivors&lt;/a&gt; has been my plane game. Sure, other run-based indies like &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/balatro/a-winning-hand&quot;&gt;Balatro&lt;/a&gt; and Dead Cells, all-encompassing triple-A titles like Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and retro compilations like Sonic Origins and TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection, have shared that title, but I always know that when I need to pass time on a flight, no game does so as effectively as Vampire Survivors. Logically, I know that each run will last, at most, 30 minutes, but for some reason, it never feels that way. And because of that, I look down for what feels like 20 minutes, and when I look up, 2 hours have passed.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;I travel a lot, so I play Vampire Survivors fairly regularly. Still, each time I turn on the game, developer Poncle has snuck more into it. New characters, new maps, new ways to customize your experience – I&#039;m continually surprised and delighted by additional features and content the developer has added in the time since I fired up the game. Sure, Poncle puts out free updates on a regular basis, sometimes even as surprises, as was the case last week, but these paid pieces of DLC – each of which cost $2.50 or less – are the tentpole content releases. The latest, Operation Guns, crosses over with Konami&#039;s legendary Contra IP in both expected and unexpected ways to deliver the same Vampire Survivors fun we&#039;ve known with a distinct Contra flavor.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/870a2560/vs_firstblood_screenshot_18.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns&quot; title=&quot;Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;p&gt;Operation Guns adds a significant amount of Contra content to Vampire Survivors. On top of 11 new characters, 11 base weapons, and 11 weapon evolutions, Operation Guns brings an enormous Contra-themed map called Neo Galuga, which progresses almost in lockstep with how the original Contra (and its recent remake, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/contra-operation-galuga/finding-a-way-forward&quot;&gt;Operation Galuga&lt;/a&gt;) advances. You start out blasting, slashing, zapping, whipping, and otherwise annihilating humans and robots, but as you go further into the map, more sinister threats show that this isn&#039;t just some standard Earth-based war. Alien eggs, structures, and enemies slowly join the fray, as do an increased number of robotic adversaries. Just like what happens in the original, the alien and cyborg presence eventually takes over the war, giving Poncle plenty of room to play with the Contra license.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Before I knew it, I went from blasting away foot soldiers to enemies on jetbikes to waves of flying Metal Aliens and snake cyborgs. I loved repeating the same process of leveling up my character and their weapons, but with myriad fun discoverables scattered throughout the Neo Galuga map. Along the way, I uncovered some fun Contra-themed power-ups – like homing missiles – that allowed me to further combat the alien horde.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/67b77705/vs_firstblood_screenshot_9.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns&quot; title=&quot;Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;p&gt;However, the biggest surprise came near the end of my first successful run on Neo Galuga, as a ticker appeared on the bottom of the screen, telling me that something big was happening in a specific corner of the map. I only had a few minutes to get there, and with denser waves of enemies impeding my path, I was worried I wouldn&#039;t get there in time. However, once I did, I was greeted by one of the coolest things I&#039;ve seen Poncle do with Vampire Survivors. I won&#039;t spoil it beyond saying it&#039;s a unique encounter that pays homage to an iconic fight with one of the Contra series&#039; recurring enemies. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Though I&#039;ve only done a few runs, I&#039;m steadily unlocking new characters and weapons. Most of the new content is clear about how to unlock the next character, which is helpful in unlocking additional weapons. You unlock Bill within the Neo Galuga map, then unlock Lance by evolving Bill&#039;s Long Gun, and so on. It&#039;s all in service of giving the player a clear route to experiencing all the content that Operation Guns has to offer with as minimal friction as possible. Add on top the Bonus Stage, and the Operation Guns DLC is well worth checking out for all fans of Vampire Survivors, regardless of your Contra fandom.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/2632a78b/vs_firstblood_screenshot_14.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns&quot; title=&quot;Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;p&gt;The wildest part about all of this, as I always tout, is the sheer value of Vampire Survivors. Though the game is often on sale, it never really &lt;em&gt;needs &lt;/em&gt;to be; even if you buy the game and all its DLC at full price, you&#039;re spending less than $15. It runs well on Switch, which is where I play it, but it&#039;s also verified for Steam Deck, hammering home that this is the ultimate plane game. Though Poncle continues to release free updates a year and a half after its initial Steam release, these major tentpole releases excite me for the future of Vampire Survivors.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Will the future hold more crossover content? We&#039;ve already received collaborations with Among Us and Contra, but words could not describe how excited I&#039;d be for crossovers with even more prominent properties like Final Fantasy or Resident Evil; imagine slashing your way through hordes of fiends in Zanarkand as Lightning before a boss battle against Sephiroth, or exploring Raccoon City as Chris Redfield, taking down low-level zombies before a Nemesis spawns on the map. The Operation Guns DLC even has my imagination running wild with some less obvious crossovers like Street Fighter; so many of those characters have such iconic moves. Starting off with Ryu throwing a Hadoken before evolving it all the way up to a Shinku Hadoken would be a natural progression that could be applied to several of the series&#039; characters. And since Vampire Survivors includes music and remixes from the Contra series, that makes these crossover ideas even more enticing.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/64dd4c1c/vs_firstblood_screenshot_12.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns&quot; title=&quot;Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;p&gt;This article isn&#039;t about speculation or creating a wishlist, though. But that’s what Vampire Survivors&#039; latest DLC inspires. It shows that Poncle is more than capable of giving these IPs the care they deserve while staying true to the Vampire Survivors formula that made me fall in love with the game in the first place. Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns DLC is out now on all platforms aside from PlayStation (that version arrives later this summer when the main game comes to the platform) and costs just $2.50.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For more on why Vampire Survivors is well worth your time, check out our review of the base game &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/vampire-survivors/single-stick-masterpiece&quot;&gt;right here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 10 May 2024 14:41:00 CDT Brian Shea 122601 https://www.gameinformer.com/gamer-culture/2024/05/10/the-voice-of-final-fantasy-xvis-cid-will-play-galactus-in-marvels &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/a2b3a137/ralph-cid-fantastic-four-ffxvi-galactus.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Marvel&amp;#039;s The Fantastic Four Galactus Villain Ralph Ineson Final Fantasy XVI FFXVI Cid&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Marvel Studios has cast Ralph Ineson as the planet-eating Galactus for &lt;i&gt;The Fantastic Four. &lt;/i&gt;PlayStation 5 players might recognize that name as the voice of Cidolfus Telamon, aka Cid, in Final Fantasy XVI. This casting comes from &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/fantastic-four-casts-ralph-ineson-as-galactus-1235893995/&quot;&gt;The Hollywood Reporter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;, which reports that the production will begin shooting mid-summer in England. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;a class=&quot;linkoriginal&quot; data-featherlight=&quot;image&quot; href=&quot;&quot;&gt; &lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/10/d49e41b9/ff_poster.jpg&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt; &lt;/a&gt; &lt;p&gt;Ineson, whom you might also know from &lt;em&gt;The VVitch&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;The Northman&lt;/em&gt;, and &lt;i&gt;The Creator&lt;/i&gt;, joins a star-studded cast for the Marvel Cinematic Universe&#039;s first film about Marvel&#039;s First Family, which features Pedro Pascal (HBO&#039;s &lt;i&gt;The Last of Us&lt;/i&gt;) as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby (&lt;em&gt;Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning&lt;/em&gt;) as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn (&lt;em&gt;Stranger Things&lt;/em&gt;) as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (&lt;em&gt;The Bear&lt;/em&gt;), as Ben Grimm/The Thing. Joining Ineson is a female Silver Surfer played by Julia Garner (&lt;em&gt;Ozark&lt;/em&gt;).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/_zUKx44AQXA&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;Paul Walter Hauser (&lt;i&gt;Cobra Kai&lt;/i&gt;) and John Malkovich (&lt;em&gt;Being John Malkovich&lt;/em&gt;) will also appear in &lt;i&gt;The Fantastic Four&lt;/i&gt;, although their roles are currently undisclosed. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;If you&#039;ve played FFXVI, you already know Ineson has an incredible voice, certainly perfect for the role of a massive galactic entity that devours planets; we can&#039;t wait to see what he does as Galactus when &lt;i&gt;The Fantastic Four &lt;/i&gt;hits theaters on July 25, 2025. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For more, read &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/final-fantasy-xvi/victory-in-the-land-of-gods-and-monsters&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s &lt;/em&gt;Final Fantasy XVI review&lt;/a&gt;, and then read &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/exclusive-interview/2024/03/11/final-fantasy-xvi-lessons-learned-clives-reception-loose-ends-and&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s &lt;/em&gt;exclusive interview with Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida&lt;/a&gt; about lessons learned, Clive&#039;s reception, loose ends, and more. Be sure to check out &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/FFXVI&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&#039;s &lt;/em&gt;Final Fantasy XVI coverage hub&lt;/a&gt; for our exclusive cover story, behind-the-scenes details, video interviews, and more. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;[Source: &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/fantastic-four-casts-ralph-ineson-as-galactus-1235893995/&quot;&gt;The Hollywood Reporter&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;Do you think Ralph Ineson will make a good Galactus? Let us know in the comments below!&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 10 May 2024 10:11:44 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122600 https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/10/xbox-president-addresses-bethesda-studio-closures-says-its-about-keeping-business &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://s3.amazonaws.com/prod-media.gameinformer.com/styles/body_default/s3/2018/06/10/f95762be/bethesda-site.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;bethesda xbox president sarah bond closures tango gameworks arkane austin redfall hi-fi rush&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Earlier this week, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/07/xbox-is-shutting-down-arkane-austin-tango-gameworks-and-more&quot;&gt;Xbox closed four Bethesda studios&lt;/a&gt;, including &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/redfall/a-life-draining-trip-to-new-england&quot;&gt;Redfall&lt;/a&gt; developer Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, the team behind last year&#039;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/hi-fi-rush/riff-city&quot;&gt;Hi-Fi Rush&lt;/a&gt;. While each of the four studios affected, which also included Mighty Doom developer Alpha Dog Games and Bethesda support studio Roundhouse Games, released a statement about the closures, Xbox remained silent.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;However, four days later, &lt;em&gt;Bloomberg&#039;s &lt;/em&gt;Dina Bass interviewed Xbox president Sarah Bond and asked her about the Bethesda closures, to which Bond cited a desire to keep the Xbox business healthy in the long term, even through hard transition periods.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/oIpc8VZ3Bnw&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;Here&#039;s what Bond said:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &quot;It&#039;s always extraordinarily hard when you have to make decisions like that. I&#039;ll go back to what I was saying about the industry, and when we look at those fundamental trends, we feel a deep responsibility to ensure that the games we make, the devices we build, the services that we offer are there through moments, even when the industry isn&#039;t growing and when you&#039;re through a time of transition. And the news we announced earlier this week is an outcome of that and our commitment to make sure that the business is healthy for the long term.&amp;nbsp; &quot;With that said, our commitment to having our own studios and working with partners to have games large and small – we&#039;re a platform where you can play [Grand Theft Auto], but you can also play Palworld, or you can play Call of Duty or you can play Pentiment, that doesn&#039;t change. And frankly, our commitment to Bethesda and the role that it plays is a part of Xbox and everything we do.&amp;nbsp; &quot;It&#039;s actually been pretty fantastic. I don&#039;t know if you&#039;ve gotten a chance to check it out. The Fallout TV show was on Amazon, and it&#039;s been great to see people fall in love with that universe but also what it&#039;s done for the games themselves, and people going back and exploring everything inside of that. There are some other great things that are coming from our studios later this year. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – I was a big Indy fan growing up – so you should check that out. But really right now, for us and our teams, our focus is on the people impacted and doing everything that we can do to help them through this hard transition.&quot; &lt;p&gt;Bass then asked Bond specifically about the closure of Tango Gameworks after Hi-Fi Rush, which by &lt;a href=&quot;https://x.com/aarongreenberg/status/1649431572137779203&quot;&gt;Xbox&#039;s own admitted metrics&lt;/a&gt;, was a big success. Bond&#039;s answer here was less straightforward – you can read it below in full:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &quot;One of the things I really love about the games industry is it&#039;s a creative art form, and it means that the situation and what successes for each game and studio is also really unique. There&#039;s no one-size-fits-all to it for us. And so we look at each studio, each game team, and we look at a whole variety of factors when we&#039;re faced with making decisions and trade-offs like that. But it all comes back to our long-term commitment to the games we create, the devices we build, the services, and ensuring we&#039;re setting ourselves up to be able to deliver on those promises.&quot; &lt;p&gt;While it&#039;s great that Bond addressed these closures at Xbox, it still lacks the clarity you&#039;d expect from one of the biggest companies in the games industry. Neither Microsoft nor Xbox, including Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, has yet to address the layoffs and closures in an official capacity beyond this.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;For more, read about how &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/08/redfall-was-reportedly-set-to-receive-a-big-offline-play-update-this-month-before&quot;&gt;Redfall was reportedly set to receive a big offline play update this month&lt;/a&gt; before Xbox shut down Arkane Austin, and then read about how &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/09/xbox-reportedly-considering-bringing-senuas-saga-hellblade-ii-to-ps5&quot;&gt;Xbox is reportedly considering bringing Senua&#039;s Saga: Hellblade II to PlayStation 5&lt;/a&gt;. After that, check out this story about how &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/09/more-job-cuts-at-xbox-are-reportedly-on-the-way&quot;&gt;more job cuts at Xbox are reportedly on the way&lt;/a&gt;, and then read about how the company is debating &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/09/xbox-reportedly-debating-putting-call-of-duty-on-game-pass-alongside-price-hike&quot;&gt;putting Call of Duty on Xbox Game Pass alongside a price hike&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;What do you think of Bond&#039;s answers? Let us know in the comments below!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 10 May 2024 09:05:35 CDT Wesley LeBlanc 122599 https://www.gameinformer.com/gallery/2024/05/10/pokemon-tcg-scarlet-violet-twilight-masquerade-the-coolest-cards-we-pulled &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/8b8ac8f6/twilight.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;Twilight Masquerade&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It&#039;s once again just about time for a new Pokémon Trading Card Game expansion to hit store shelves. Continuing the Scarlet &amp;amp; Violet series is Twilight Masquerade, a set that focuses on the Teal Mask DLC of the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet video games. Because of that, players can expect locations, characters, and Pokémon from Kitakami, the folklore-rich area from the first part of the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero storyline.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;As such, new Pokémon like Bloodmoon Ursaluna, Fezandipiti, Okidogi, Munkidori, and Sinistcha are all featured in Twilight Masquerade. However, the most common new Pokémon I encountered during my opening of several booster packs sent over by The Pokémon Company was Ogerpon; I pulled several different versions of the grass-type Legendary Pokémon from The Teal Mask.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Pokémon Trading Card Game: Scarlet &amp;amp; Violet – Twilight Masquerade adds 226 cards, including 14 new Pokémon ex cards, more than 30 Trainer cards, and dozens of special-illustration cards. I&#039;ll always love Gen I the most, so I was happy to add new cards featuring favorites like Alakazam, Zapdos, Ninetales, and Eevee, but my absolute favorites are the special illustration versions of Applin, Sunflora, and Infernape. I also adore the Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon ex card that I was lucky enough to grab.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;You can check out my favorite cards I pulled from booster packs below.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;section class=&#039;type:slideshow&#039;&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/824a35ab/9.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/77e77397/1.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/c8be46f0/21.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/f47e357b/10_0.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/b8c726e2/11_0.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/dae5fb01/12_0.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/6c14d710/13_0.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/bd56b06a/18.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/8432e69b/14_0.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/f5d7719f/15.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/3981c928/16.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/806c1fb6/17.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/6c940b24/19.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/36824354/2.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/52471639/20.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/369925ff/22.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/81d2db09/23.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/ae305c4e/24.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/2cfa451a/26.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/936d89d3/27.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/3a9d0719/28.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/84f8ddc0/29.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/de4fa107/3.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/b8bbaf4e/30.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/0822e6a1/25.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/46426a6b/31.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/ed41990d/32.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/69ca929a/4.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/00fc48f3/5.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/006325f2/6.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/ce3e6fc3/7.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/568ab32d/8.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/section&gt; &amp;nbsp; &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;Pokémon Trading Card Game: Scarlet &amp;amp; Violet – Twilight Masquerade is available on May 24. For more on the long-running Pokémon Trading Card Game, including other galleries from past expansions, head to our Pokémon TCG hub at the banner below!&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 10 May 2024 08:00:00 CDT Brian Shea 122596 https://www.gameinformer.com/video-podcast/2024/05/09/hades-ii-cover-story-xbox-studio-closures-and-animal-well-review-gi-show &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/8f1ec3f3/thegishow_706_web.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;xbox studio closures&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In this week&#039;s episode of&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;The Game Informer Show,&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;we discuss &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/hades2&quot;&gt;our Hades II cover story trip&lt;/a&gt; to Supergiant Games in San Francisco and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/07/xbox-is-shutting-down-arkane-austin-tango-gameworks-and-more&quot;&gt;Xbox shutting down four game studios,&lt;/a&gt; including Prey, Dishonored, and Redfall developer Arkane Austin, alongside Tango Gameworks, the team behind The Evil Within series and last year&#039;s critically-acclaimed Hi-Fi Rush. Afterward, we chat about Shuntaro Furukawa, President of Nintendo, revealing the company will reveal details about the Nintendo Switch&#039;s successor within this fiscal year &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/NintendoCoLtd/status/1787736518762881197&quot;&gt;via a post on X&lt;/a&gt;. Before diving into our positive reviews of &#039;90s-survival-horror &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/crow-country/comfort-food-horror&quot;&gt;Crow Country&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/little-kitty-big-city/feline-fun&quot;&gt;Little Kitty, Big City,&lt;/a&gt; special guest &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/chas_mke?lang=en&quot;&gt;Charlie Wacholz&lt;/a&gt; joins us to chat about his Animal Well review, in which he calls Bigmode&#039;s first published title &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/animal-well/a-masterclass-in-environmental-design&quot;&gt;&quot;a masterclass in environmental design.&quot;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h2&gt;Watch the Video Version:&lt;/h2&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/R_An8CM4ATg&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;Follow us on social media: Alex Van Aken (&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/itsvanaken&quot;&gt;@itsVanAken&lt;/a&gt;), Marcus Stewart (&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/marcusstewart7&quot;&gt;@MarcusStewart7&lt;/a&gt;), Wesley LeBlanc (&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/leblancwes&quot;&gt;@LeBlancWes&lt;/a&gt;), Charlie Wacholz (&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/chas_mke&quot;&gt;@chas_mke&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Game Informer Show&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;is a weekly gaming podcast covering the latest video game news, industry topics, exclusive reveals, and reviews. Join host&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/itsVanAken&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Alex Van Aken&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;every Thursday&amp;nbsp;to chat about your favorite games – past and present – with&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Game Informer&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;staff, developers, and special guests from around the industry.&amp;nbsp;Listen on&lt;a href=&quot;https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-game-informer-show/id335246945&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;Apple Podcasts&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://open.spotify.com/show/2EWTEHrbZpNRAboYLimAhu&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Spotify&lt;/a&gt;, or your favorite podcast app.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.djstormageddon.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Matt Storm,&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;the freelance audio editor for&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;The Game Informer Show&lt;/em&gt;, edited this episode&lt;em&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;Matt is an experienced podcast host and producer who&#039;s been speaking into a microphone for over a decade. You should listen to Matt&#039;s shows like the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://funandgames.libsyn.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&quot;Fun&quot; And Games Podcast&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;and&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://reignitepod.libsyn.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Reignite&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, a BioWare-focused podcast.&amp;nbsp; &lt;strong&gt;The Game Informer Show – Podcast Timestamps:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;p&gt;00:00:00 - Intro&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;00:08:02 - Cover Story: Hades II&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;00:34:49 - Xbox Shutters Four Studios&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;00:53:49 - Nintendo Switch Successor Announcement&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;01:03:12 - Animal Well Review&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;01:28:21 - Little Kitty, Big City Review&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;01:35:00 - Crow Country&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;01:41:45 - Housekeeping&lt;/p&gt; Thu, 09 May 2024 14:33:20 CDT Alex Van Aken 122592 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/09/lightforge-games-suffers-significant-layoffs-dd-inspired-project-orcs-development-paused &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/09/6ff79ed8/projectorcs1.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;450&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Lightforge Games is indefinitely pausing work on its upcoming RPG Project O.R.C.S. The team has been reduced to a skeleton crew as the few remaining staff members look to determine their next course of action.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.lightforge.gg/news/the-future-of-project-orcs&quot;&gt;message&lt;/a&gt; posted to the game’s website and social media channels yesterday, Lightforge cites a lack of publisher funding as the reason it no longer has the means to continue work on Project O.R.C.S. To minimize any prolonged struggle, the team decided to immediately pull the plug.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;blockquote class=&quot;tw-align-center twitter-tweet&quot;&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot; lang=&quot;zxx&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://t.co/5D8Fp72J7b&quot;&gt;pic.twitter.com/5D8Fp72J7b&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; — Project O.R.C.S. by Lightforge Games (@lightforgegames) &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/lightforgegames/status/1788258778346864939?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&gt;May 8, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;p&gt;“We’re making this call now so that we can provide support to our wonderful team of devs: providing them with time to stabilize, working together to help folks as they re-enter the job market, and finding new positions to continue our passion for making games,&quot; says Lightforge in the statement.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In the coming days, the team will shut down its Discord and social channels. After that, the remaining staff will “determine what a viable path may be for the project and studio.”&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ypiv61tvPMI&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;Lightforge was formed in 2020 as a remote-only studio made up of former Blizzard and Epic (mainly Fortnite) developers. According to its &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightforgegames/&quot;&gt;LinkedIn page&lt;/a&gt;, it hired between 11 and 50 staff members with a goal to&amp;nbsp;&quot;change how&amp;nbsp;the world plays RPGs.&quot;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Project O.R.C.S. was Lightforge&#039;s first project, first revealed only three months ago in February. The ambitious RPG aimed to combine world-building and collaborative storytelling of tabletop role-playing games with traditional co-op gameplay. Players crafted their fantasy world using a built-in game editor and then embarked on quests within it. It was more or less a &quot;build-your-own Dungeons &amp;amp; Dragons&quot;, dice rolls and all, hence why &quot;O.R.C.S.&quot; stood for &quot;Online Roleplaying with Collaborative Storytelling”. With the game all but canceled, it&#039;s unclear if Project O.R.C.S. will ever see the light of day.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Unfortunately, Lightforge isn&#039;t the only small studio to suffer from the drying well of video game investment funding. Deliver Us Mars developer Keoken Interactive was recently forced to &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/02/deliver-us-mars-developer-keoken-interactive-lays-off-nearly-entire-staff&quot;&gt;lay off nearly its entire staff &lt;/a&gt;for the same reason. The industry has been a wounded state over the past year and a half, with Microsoft &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2024/05/07/xbox-is-shutting-down-arkane-austin-tango-gameworks-and-more&quot;&gt;shuttering Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin&lt;/a&gt; earlier this week and over 10,000 layoffs occurring this year alone.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p style=&quot;margin-left:-16px; margin-right:-8px; margin-bottom:-12px&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p style=&quot;margin-left:-16px; margin-right:-8px; margin-bottom:-12px&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; Thu, 09 May 2024 14:27:00 CDT Marcus Stewart 122593 https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/05/09/stray-gods-orpheus-gives-the-role-playing-musical-a-dlc-encore &lt;p&gt;&lt;img loading=&quot;lazy&quot; src=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/07/d145883b/orpheus_key_art_-_2650_x_1440.jpg&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; height=&quot;435&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; typeof=&quot;foaf:Image&quot; class=&quot;image-style-body-default&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Stray Gods: The Role-Playing Musical, &lt;a data-entity-substitution=&quot;canonical&quot; data-entity-type=&quot;node&quot; data-entity-uuid=&quot;c59d1d9c-1d26-4fe4-bfc0-912acb972247&quot; href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/review/stray-gods-the-roleplaying-musical/hades-meets-hadestown&quot;&gt;a creative and ambitious attempt to fuse musical theatre with interactive fiction&lt;/a&gt;, launched last August, but that&#039;s not the last time fans will get to experience that modern take on Greek myth. Announced today at LudoNarraCon, the game is getting DLC called Stray Gods: Orpheus, which follows the titular character through a new adventure. Check out the reveal trailer below.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; frameBorder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;autoplay&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Mdp7EbRp-w&quot; width=&quot;640&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;p&gt;Orpheus (played by &lt;em&gt;Rent &lt;/em&gt;star Anthony Rapp) appeared in the base game, but only briefly, so this expansion will give players a better idea of his backstory and personality. The trailer also features Hermes (played by Erika Ishii), though their exact role in the DLC isn&#039;t clarified. The experience is roughly two hours long with six new interactive tracks and features some returning songwriters, including Austin Wintory, Simon Hall, and Montaigne, but also adds comedic musician Tom Cardy to the mix.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;As for the plot, the following excerpt from a press release explains what to expect. &quot;When the curtain has fallen and the show is over, who do you go home as?&quot; it reads. &quot;Choose to reject, embrace, or rewrite the stories the world expects of you. Is the mortal world ready for the return of Ancient Greece’s most infamous bard?&quot;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;section class=&#039;type:slideshow&#039;&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/07/34451685/environmental_screenshot.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/07/547188e2/hermes_and_orpheus.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/07/7444262c/orpheus_charon_playing_chess.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/07/de3bf066/orpheus_and_hermes_at_the_door.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/07/00a6439b/orpheus_and_hermes_streetside.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&#039;https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/07/cb76f320/orpheus_performing_live.jpg&#039;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/section&gt;   &lt;p&gt;Stray Gods: Orpheus hits PC on June 27, with a console release date &quot;coming soon.&quot; For more Stray Gods, &lt;a data-entity-substitution=&quot;canonical&quot; data-entity-type=&quot;node&quot; data-entity-uuid=&quot;d755a020-36a7-45c4-a70e-f63556e5cb9b&quot; href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/2023/08/08/how-the-stray-gods-team-wrote-a-musical-with-millions-of-variations&quot;&gt;check out our feature on how it was made&lt;/a&gt;. For more Greek mythology, visit our &lt;a data-entity-substitution=&quot;canonical&quot; data-entity-type=&quot;node&quot; data-entity-uuid=&quot;b435a0ab-2d81-45ef-aec6-d16f9dedb4ac&quot; href=&quot;https://www.gameinformer.com/hades2&quot;&gt;Hades II coverage hub&lt;/a&gt; for this month&#039;s exclusive coverage.&lt;/p&gt; Thu, 09 May 2024 12:00:00 CDT Charles Harte 122572