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Microsoft is reportedly planning to launch this year's Call of Duty on its Xbox Game Pass subscription service, according to  The Wall Stree Journal . This follows reports in previous weeks indicating Microsoft and Xbox were mulling over whether or not to launch the next iteration in the franchise on Game Pass, out of fear it might hurt sales.  After acquiring Activision Blizzard for a colossal $69 billion last year , 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, where Hogwarts Legacy took that crown – and a Game Pass launch could affect those sales numbers.  However, this new report from  The Wall Street Journal  seemingly clears the air around that topic.  "Microsoft plans a major shake up of its video game sales strategy by rel

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's biggest franchises are prime for a new game.  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 Summer Game Fest livestream that begins at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET. That's less than a month away so we don't have to speculate too long on what this mystery iteration could be.  2K plans to reveal the next iteration in one of 2K's biggest and most beloved franchises at @SummerGameFest on Friday, June 7. pic.twitter.com/1vyFXE2N4z — Summer Game Fest (@summergamefest) May 16, 2024 While there are plenty of 2K franchises that fit the bill, our eyes are on three franchises: Borderlands, Mafia, and BioShock.  The last mainline Borderlands entry – Borderlands 3 – hit PlayStation, Xbox, and PC in 2019, and with the live-action  Borde

Grand Theft Auto VI's reveal last December 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. Publisher Take-Two released its 2024 year-end financial report today (thanks, PC Gamer ), 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. Click to enlarge 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 yet to be mentioned.   Grand Theft Auto VI takes players to a modern-day Vice City (the franchise's par

In this week's episode of  The Game Informer Show,  we discuss several of the best indie games you might've missed amidst this month's releases. Specifically, we discuss Animal Well's mysteries, revisiting Hades I, Lorelai and the Laser Eyes, Paper Trail, With My Past, Indika, and Killer Klowns from Outer Space.  Follow us on social media: Alex Van Aken ( @itsVanAken ), Marcus Stewart ( @MarcusStewart7 ), Wesley LeBlanc ( @LeBlancWes ), Charlie Wacholz ( @chas_mke ) The Game Informer Show  is a weekly gaming podcast covering the latest video game news, industry topics, exclusive reveals, and reviews. Join host  Alex Van Aken  every Thursday to chat about your favorite games – past and present – with  Game Informer  staff, developers, and special guests from around the industry. Listen on  Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify , or your favorite podcast app. Matt Storm,  the freelance audio editor for  The Game Informer Show , edited this episode .  Matt is an experienced podcas

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' YouTube Theater. It will feature announcements, first-looks, trailers, and more .  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's festivities. We've bolded some of the bigger names appearing:  2K Amazon Games Annapurna Interactive Arc Games Atari Bandai Namco Entertainment Blumhouse Games Bokeh Game Studio Capcom Day of the Devs Deep Silver Devolver Digital Discord Dolby Electronic Arts Embark Studios Epic Games Focus Entertainment Funcom HoYoverse iam8bit Indie Angels Innersloth Ironmace Jyamma Games Level Infinite Magic the Gathering Meta NCSoft NetEase Games

Manor Lords, the medieval strategy city-builder and one of 2024'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. 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.   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 seas

You will need an internet connection to install Assassin's Creed Shadows , 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.  Following the reveal of Shadows yesterday, which showcased the dual samurai and shinobi protagonists we'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's not the case and Ubisoft released a statement today to clear the air.  "Hey everyone, we wanted to share some of the early information on the upcoming launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows, following some questions we've noticed in the community," the statement reads. "

Reviewed on: Switch Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC Publisher: Arielek Developer: Arielek Release: June 10, 2022 ( PC ), May 15, 2024 ( Xbox Series X/S , Xbox One ), May 16, 2024 ( PlayStation 5 , PlayStation 4 , Switch ) Rating: Everyone Some games provide you with abstract titles that don'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'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. Each puzzle presents a small, charmingly rendered plot of land with at least on

Hi-Fi Rush 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.  This update from the Hi-Fi Rush X account comes roughly one week after Xbox shut down the game's developer, Tango Gameworks , alongside Redfall studio Arkane Austin, and two more Bethesda teams. While there won't be any more Hi-Fi Rush content coming from Tango Gameworks, hopefully today's patch puts the game in the best playable state possible so that future players can enjoy the 2023 hit.  Thank you all for your continued support. 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. ❤️ — Hi-Fi RUSH (@hifiRush) May 15, 2024 The closure of Tango Gameworks arrived roughly a year after the team delivered the extremely well-receiv

Warner Bros. has announced when Mortal Kombat 2 , the sequel to 2021's Mortal Kombat film adaptation, will arrive in theaters and IMAX, and it's coming next year. More specifically, Mortal Komat 2 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's next for these characters.  Mortal Kombat 2 will arrive in theaters and IMAX on Oct. 24, 2025. pic.twitter.com/ayWHhFe2Hu — The Game Awards (@thegameawards) May 14, 2024 The first Mortal Kombat movie in this rebooted film series hit theaters on April 23, 2021, and  Game Informer  had a great time with it – read our 8 out of 10 review to find out why here . Here's hoping we enjoy the sequel just as much, if not more.  Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid will return to direct Mortal Kombat 2 , and it will be written by a new writer, Jeremy Slater (alongside McQuoid), who wrote Disney's Moon Knight series. Alongside returning cast and characte

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 first announced at the 2023 Game Awards.  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.  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 The Casting of Frank Stone still has no release

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! See The Supergiant Games Office Tour:  Source: Game Informer

Paper Trail is a neat upcoming indie game, especially if you're into papercraft. The adventure stars Paige (get it?), a young girl with the power to fold reality like it'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.  Head over to  Game Informer's  YouTube channel  for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of  New Gameplay Today   right here. Source: Game Informer

Helldivers 2 is PlayStation'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 God of War Ragnarök , which sold 11 million copies in 10 weeks, as reported by VideoGamesChronicle .  Developer Arrowhead Game Studios' live-service multiplayer shooter sequel hit PlayStation 5 on February 8, with a simultaneous PC launch that same day , which is new for PlayStation. Its usual PC strategy sees PlayStation games launching on PC years after the game's console release – Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut is only just now coming to PC this month , 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.  Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt celebrated the news, noting there are more Helldivers 2 players than Swedes (the studio is

Sony has appointed Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino as dual CEOs of PlayStation, following Jim Ryan's departure from the company this spring; they will begin June 1.  Ryan announced he was leaving PlayStation last year , 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.  Hulst has been appointed CEO of SIE's Studio Business Group while Nishino has been appointed CEO of SIE'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.  "Sony Interactive Entertainment is a dynamic and growing business that delivers incredible entertainment experiences through the connection of content and technology," Totoki writes in a press release

Square Enix, the developer-publisher behind this year's Final Fantasy VII Rebirth , 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  VideoGamesChronicle .  Layoffs such as these were suspected following Square Enix's latest financial earnings report, which includes a three-year company reboot plan with an "aggressive" multiplatform release strategy  after a slide mentioned "structural reforms." You can see the slide below:  As you can see above, as part of Square Enix's plan to rebuild its overseas business divisions from the ground up, the company "began optimizing costs at its European and American offices via structural reforms." After more than 10,000 layoffs across game st

Assassin’s Creed Codename Red now has an official title: Assassin’s Creed Shadows. We’ll also get our first full-length look at the series' first Japanese entry this week.  Ubisoft announced on X 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 Ubisoft Forward presentation less than a month later, on June 10. Assassin's Creed Codename Red becomes Assassin's Creed Shadows. Tune-in for the Official Cinematic World Premiere Trailer on May 15, 9 AM PT. #AssassinsCreedShadows pic.twitter.com/GF0BWqVOhS — Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) May 13, 2024 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 "shinobi fantasy." It is being devel

Square Enix is rebooting itself, "aggressively" pursuing a multiplatform strategy that includes PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, and PC in the process. This comes from the company's latest financial earnings report , which details Square Enix's three-year reboot plan for long-term growth.  Within that three-year reboot plan, Square Enix lists four pillars :  Enhance productivity by optimizing the development footprint in the Digital Entertainment (DE) segment Diversify earnings opportunities by strengthening customer contact points Roll out initiatives to create additional foundational stability Strike a balance between shareholder return and growth investment when allocating capital  As part of this plan, Square Enix "will aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy that includes Nintendo platforms, PlayStation, Xbox, and PCs," according to the financial report . "Especially, in regards to major franchise and AAA titles including catalog titles,

Reviewed on: PC Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC Publisher: 11 Bit Studios Developer: Odd Meter Release: May 2, 2024 ( PC ), 2024 ( PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X/S ) Rating: Mature 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.  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

Marvel Studios has cast Ralph Ineson as the planet-eating Galactus for The Fantastic Four.  PlayStation 5 players might recognize that name as the voice of Cidolfus Telamon, aka Cid, in Final Fantasy XVI. This casting comes from The Hollywood Reporter , which reports that the production will begin shooting mid-summer in England.  Ineson, whom you might also know from  The VVitch ,  The Northman , and The Creator , joins a star-studded cast for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first film about Marvel's First Family, which features Pedro Pascal (HBO's The Last of Us ) as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby ( Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning ) as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn ( Stranger Things ) as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach ( The Bear ), as Ben Grimm/The Thing. Joining Ineson is a female Silver Surfer played by Julia Garner ( Ozark ). Paul Walter Hauser ( Cobra Kai ) and John Malkovich ( Being John Malkovich ) will also appear i

<p><img loading="lazy" src="https://ift.tt/KiS4QzG" width="800" height="450" alt="bethesda xbox president sarah bond closures tango gameworks arkane austin redfall hi-fi rush" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default" /></p> <p>Earlier this week, <a href="https://ift.tt/C9IDAZE closed four Bethesda studios</a>, including <a href="https://ift.tt/bFMxE9Y> developer Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, the team behind last year's <a href="https://ift.tt/xV2LheJ Rush</a>. 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.&nbsp;</p> <p>However, four days later, <em>Bloomberg's </em>Dina Bass interviewed Xbox president Sarah Bond and asked her about the Bethesda

It's once again just about time for a new Pokémon Trading Card Game expansion to hit store shelves. Continuing the Scarlet & 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. 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.  Pokémon Trading Card Game: Scarlet & Violet – Twilight Masquerade adds 226 cards, including 14 new Pokémon ex cards, more than 30 Trainer cards, and dozens of special-illustration cards. I'