Archived News:

Tuesday, Aug 11, 2020

Halo Infinite Delay

A Development Update from 343 Industries reveals Halo Infinite is the latest game failing to meet its projected release date. Previously expected by the end of this year as a cornerstone of the new Xbox launch, the sci-fi first-person shooter is now expected for all platforms in 2021:
Today I want to share an important Halo Infinite development update with the community. We have made the difficult decision to shift our release to 2021 to ensure the team has adequate time to deliver a Halo game experience that meets our vision.

The decision to shift our release is the result of multiple factors that have contributed to development challenges, including the ongoing COVID-related impacts affecting us all this year. I want to acknowledge the hard work from our team at 343 Industries, who have remained committed to making a great game and finding solutions to development challenges. However, it is not sustainable for the well-being of our team or the overall success of the game to ship it this holiday.

We know this will be disappointing to many of you and we all share in that sentiment. The passion and support the community has shown over the years has been incredible and inspiring. We wanted nothing more than to play our game with the community this holiday. The extra time will let us finish the critical work necessary to deliver the most ambitious Halo game ever at the quality we know our fans expect.
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Next BioShock Set in a "New and Fantastical World"

Some Job Listings from Cloud Chamber offer a hint that BioShock will be set in a new environment (thanks MauroNL). Their description of what to expect should not be surprising after previous installments in the series were set in an underwater city and a floating city. The only question is what they could possibly do to top those efforts. Here's word:
We want you to help us breathe life into a new and fantastical world. Together, we will set the stage for a stunning narrative and systems-driven experience.

Sam Fisher Infiltrating Rainbow Six Siege

A new trailer teases the addition of Sam Fisher to Rainbow Six Siege as part of Operation Shadow Legacy. They say they will reveal more about the Splinter Cell protagonist's crossover onto Team Rainbow on Sunday on Twitch during the Rainbow Six Siege NA-Mini Major Finals:
“Prepare. Execute. Vanish”

Sam Fisher joins Team Rainbow! Watch the Operation Shadow Legacy full reveal during the NA-Mini Major Finals on twitch.tv/rainbow6 August 16.
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Daybreak Acquires Cold Iron Studios

Daybreak announces the acquisition of Cold Iron Studios, the developer working on a persistent PC and console shooter based on the Alien franchise. Cold Iron was bought in 2018 by FoxNext, but FoxNext itself was sold off earlier this year by the Walt Disney Company. Here's more on the new deal:
Daybreak Games, global publisher and developer of large-scale multiplayer online games, today announced it acquired Cold Iron Studios, the San Jose based studio of veteran MMO, action and shooter developers currently working on a PC and console game set in the iconic Alien universe.

Cold Iron Studios co-founder Craig Zinkievich will continue to lead the studio and the development of the Alien game, reporting to Ji Ham, CEO of Daybreak Games. The game promises to deliver an action-packed, sci-fi shooter experience unlike any other game on the market.
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Godhood Ascends from Early Access

Remember, when someone asks you if you're a god, you say, "yes!" Godhood is now officially available on GOG.com and Steam following a year-long Early Access run for this Windows strategy game. The version 1.0 release patch notes have details on what's changed for Early Access players. Here's the Launch Trailer and here's the gospel on this:
While the launch of Godhood into Steam Early Access in the summer of 2019 was favorable, Abbey Games saw plenty of opportunities to clarify its vision, add depth, and improve the game. In the course of a year, the team released seven massive free updates, listening closely to the community and allowing Godhood to come into its own as a complex but subtle god game. One where the player doesn’t actively interact with their worshippers through throwing lightning bolts or moving mountains, but indirectly through their dreams, their practices, their shrines, and their beliefs.

“When we launched Godhood in Early Access, it had a bit of an identity crisis,” said Manuel Kerssemakers of Abbey Games. “Development was a challenge, and we definitely hit some snags along the way, including having to downsize our studio. With a skeleton crew and copious amount of faith, we grew Godhood into what we wanted it to be: a niche, but entirely original religion management game. We want to thank all the tireless players who kept coming back update after update, supporting us with their constructive feedback!"
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Bus Simulator 21 Announced

Publisher astragon Entertainment and developer stillalive Studios announce Bus Simulator 21, saying this will leave the terminal next year for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 (they say they are exploring a way to also route this onto the new generation of consoles). You probably don't need a bus to run you over to realize this is the sequel to Bus Simulator 18 for PC and Bus Simulator on consoles. Here's a Teaser Trailer and here are the first details:
With Bus Simulator 21 players can be looking forward to the most comprehensive part of the popular game series to date, with an impressive number of officially licensed and faithfully modelled buses by world-famous manufacturers such as Alexander Dennis as well as numerous additional globally renowned brands, which will be revealed at a later point of time. Bus Simulator 21 will not only offer the most modern vehicle fleet, but also introduce a double decker and electric buses for the first time in the history of the Bus Simulator game series!

With the help of this huge selection of buses players can then start driving on two huge maps: next to a reworked version of the predecessor’s European based city “Seaside Valley” (including its official map extension), Bus Simulator 21 will also offer a brand-new US-American setting – the city of “Angel Shores”, which finds its inspiration in the San Francisco Bay Area. Regardless if players will make their rounds within the industrial district, the peripheral areas, downtown or lively Chinatown, along the waterside promenade, through the surrounding hills or in the business park area – thanks to the new and even freer open-world approach of Bus Simulator 21, players can be looking forward to experience the exciting everyday life of a bus driver like never before!
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Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town Released

Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town is now available on GOG.com and Steam, offering a pirate-themed point-and-click adventure intended as a tribute to the Monkey Island series. "Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town hearkens back to the days we played point-and-click classics like Day of the Tentacle and the Monkey Island series way past our bedtime," says Daniele Falcone, General Manager at VLG. "Old school fans can finally experience this beloved genre with contemporary mechanics and introduce their kids to a type of game we don’t see enough of today." Here's the new Release Trailer and here's more:
Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town offers a modern take on point-and-click adventure games by having players collect clues and solve puzzles in a computerized 3D pirate world. As Willy uncovers details regarding his father’s mysterious disappearance, fans of all ages are able to enjoy hilarious dialogue, whimsical characters and charming cartoon graphics. People who grew up with the genre can appreciate easter eggs that reference iconic titles they grew up during the good old days.
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Element TD 2 - Multiplayer Tower Defense Released

Early Access is now underway on Steam for Element TD 2 - Multiplayer Tower Defense, offering the chance to take on your frenemies in this tower defense sequel from the aptly named Element Studios. The description touches on the predecessor's roots as a modification for several different games:
Element TD 2 builds upon its predecessor as a feature-filled standalone title that looks set to once again redefine the way we play tower defence games.

Element TD 2 is the culmination of 15 years of competitive multiplayer tower defense development, with the original mod having been downloaded over 5 million times across Warcraft 3, StarCraft 2 and Dota 2. With 6 elements to combine, 44 towers, unique upgrade paths and much more, Element TD 2 is prepared to challenge an entirely new generation of player.
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Ruinarch Early Access This Month

The last we heard about Early Access plans for Ruinarch said the evil overlord simulator was expected in May. Clearly something happened along the way, but now word is to expect the Early Access edition to launch for Windows and macOS on August 25th to pave the way for a full release next year. In the meantime the game's Steam Listing still offers the playable demo that was released a couple of months ago. Here's the previously released Official Trailer and more on the game:
Ruinarch is an evil overlord simulator with a focus on story generation. Take control of the narrative by creating obstacles and causing conflicts as you invade procedurally-generated fantasy worlds! A simulation sandbox game inspired by story generator games like Rimworld and Dwarf Fortress, weaving tales of both anguish and humor is central to the gameplay.

Ruinarch gives you all the infernal tools you'll need to toy with people's lives and relationships. There are many ways to be evil: choose from three overlord Archetypes - each one provides you with a different playstyle. Do you want to focus on sheer destruction or are you into a more subtle puppetmaster approach? You can further customize from there by adding optional abilities to suit your own preferences.
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Hyper Scape Escapes

Ubisoft announces the official launch of Hyper Scape, kicking off season one for this free-to-play battle royale game for Windows and consoles. Season one includes new content as well as a battle pass. The pass has a free track and a premium track purchasable through real or in-game currency. You can pick the game up through the Hyper Scape Website or see it in action in the Battle Pass Trailer. Here's more on the game, the battle pass, and special events being conducted through Twitch:
Today, Ubisoft® announced that Hyper Scape™ is now available on PC, PlayStation® 4 and Xbox One family of consoles, launching with its Season One: “The First Principle”. Hyper Scape is an urban, fast-paced, free-to-play battle royale game developed by Ubisoft Montreal. Set in the virtual city of Neo-Arcadia, up to 100 players face each other to become champion of the Hyper Scape. Bringing a fresh take on the battle royale genre, Hyper Scape introduces innovative gameplay mechanics such as Hacks, the Fusion, the Decay, the Showdown and many others.

Built from the ground up to support content creators, Hyper Scape developed the CrownCast™ extension with Twitch that offers a unique viewing experience and new tools for streamers to interact with their community live, on-stream.
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Another Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Delay

This tweet offers "an important announcement in regards to the release date" for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2. Last October it was announced the release was being pushed back from Q1 of this year to late 2020, but now the action/RPG sequel is expected next year. Here is the message from Andy Kipling of Hardsuit Labs and Jakob Munthe of Paradox Interactive:
WE ARE MOVING THE LAUNCH OF VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE - BLOODLINES 2 TO 2021.

Our goal has always been to deliver the best game possible, to a mercy you into a Seattle re-imagined in the World of Darkness, and deliver a worthy successor to the original Bloodlines game. Due to the quality bar and ambitions we have set for ourselves, we have made the difficult decision that we need more time. This means that our goal to release in 2020 is no longer possible. Moving launch is one of the changes we are making to ensure the best player experience possible.

This is not a decision taken lightly nor is it the first option we considered. We will share more information in the coming months on launch timing and other organizational changes that will help us achieve this goal.

We understand that this will be a disappointment to many of you, but we also appreciate how our ambition is echoed through many parts of the community. We hope you understand that, while difficult, this is the right call.

We thank you all for your patience while we continue to build Bloodlines 2.

Risk of Rain 2 Pours Out

Hopoo Games and Gearbox Publishing announce the official launch out of Early Access for Risk of Rain 2. The Windows edition of this fast-paced action sequel is available on Steam with a 20% discount for launch week. Here's the Version 1.0 Update Trailer and the Launch Trailer. And here's what's in the forecast:
Risk of Rain 2 is a fast-paced, co-op roguelike shooter developed by Hopoo Games and published by Gearbox Publishing. Players can team with up to three other friends, play as 10 unique Survivors, and trek through more than a dozen stages to escape the alien planet. With unlockable alternate abilities, more than 110 items to discover on runs, and equippable Artifacts to shake up gameplay, no two runs are ever the same.

“We’re very excited to see players’ reception to this 1.0 update,” said Paul Morse and Duncan Drummond, co-founders of Hopoo Games. “Since March of 2019, the game doubled in size with new survivors, levels, and items; but more importantly, the passionate community guided us in implementing and finessing gameplay elements and systems that leave this final product feeling holistically improved upon.”

Within its first month in Steam Early Access, Risk of Rain 2 earned more than one million copies sold as well as a Steam Awards nomination in 2019.
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Injustice 3 Hints

A post on Inverse rounds up some clues from Twitter that an announcement may be nearing for Injustice 3. A tweet from Tom Taylor show that Ed Boon is to attend the DC FanDome event on August 22nd. Boon seems to confirm this in a tweet of his own saying "That's right, I'm on a panel with Dwayne Johnson!" However the NetherRealm Studios' mainstay muddies the waters with the hashtags #NotTrue and #AlphabetListing. Then there's a tweet from BossLogic showing an INJUSTIC3 logo and artwork, though the source of this is not clear. Finally, there's the recent announcement from DC Comics of Injustice: Year Zero, a new digital comic that ties in with the DC fighting game series. Here's more on the pros and cons of thinking this artwork is bona fide:
The picture has the text "INJUSTIC3" spelled out at the center and the background is a big, vintage clock. The design is eerily similar to the Doomsday Clock featured in the Watchmen graphic novel, but it could also be a reference to the comic's sequel Doomsday Clock. To top it off, you can clearly see the blood-splattered smiley face pin to the left of the image, which The Comedian wears in the original graphic novel.

It's not clear whether or not this is fan art, which is how BossLogic got his start, or officially commissioned art, which has been the case in several cases for the artist. Boon didn't respond to Baslajik's post, but the artist has done official artwork for games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla and posters for Avengers: Endgame, so there's a chance that Baslajik could be involved with Injustice 3's artwork. It seems unlikely that he would leak artwork for an unannounced game so blatantly, but then again, could that be part of the marketing strategy?

Free Drill Deal: Borehole Alpha

A free alpha version of Drill Deal: Borehole is now available on Steam, offering a Windows sample of this upcoming voxel based game that takes your drilling efforts out of the mines and onto offshore platforms. The full version is to Steam around the end of this year or the beginning of next. Here's a trailer showing off what to expect from the Alpha and here are some details:
Drill Deal: Borehole (Alpha) is being developed by the independent Polish studio A2 Softworks, which is also responsible for Gatewalkers, a cooperative action game that has been very well received by the players. The new release will be published on PC by Red Dev Studio S.A. and Ultimate Games S.A.

Drill Deal is a title designed with focus on single player gameplay, combining elements of economic strategy, simulation and base building. The title distinguishes itself through voxel graphics, humour-filled atmosphere and intriguing gameplay. The developers from A2 Softworks place the greatest emphasis on the strategic and economic elements.
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Helheim Hassle Demo

The Steam Listing for Helheim Hassle now includes a playable demo, allowing us to sample this upcoming puzzle/platformer from Perfectly Paranormal with no hassle at all. The demo is playable on Windows, Linux, and macOS offering a preview of the full game, which is due one week from today. Here's a previously released Release Date Trailer along with more on the game and the demo:
Helheim Hassle is a comedic yet macabre narrative adventure game, from the same universe as their previous hit Manual Samuel, that is as much about friendship as it is about body parts. You play as Bjørn, a pacifist Viking who hates the idea of dying and going to Valhalla (who then ends up dying and getting taken to Valhalla) as he seeks to negotiate his way out while helping the mysterious Pesto on a quest to retrieve a certain magical item... In return, Pesto will try to grant Bjørn a permanent residence in Helheim - what a hassle!

This demo is a preview of the madness you might come to see in Helheim Hassle. Witness the mood of the world, meet some main characters, deal with a few goblins and dip your toes in some Puzzles. But don't detach your toes yet, that comes in the full version; which features up to 70 quests across 14 levels, requiring the use of all manner of different body part combos to complete the game’s unique puzzle-platforming challenges.
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Greyhat Demo

Steam now offers a playable demo of Greyhat, the "digital detective adventure" for Windows that will launch on August 31st. Here's the recent Release Date Trailer and here's more on the game:
This story-driven hacking adventure sees you playing as you, an infamous hacker-for-hire. Throughout your shady career, you've built one of the best reputations in the business for finding the dirt and getting the job done no matter the consequences.

After crossing the wrong people in what seemed a routine job your family has paid a heavy price, your daughter has been taken.

Infiltrating a wide variety of PCs, you'll need to piece together the clues to follow the trail of your kidnappers. Unknown to you, this trail leads down a path full of dark secrets and jaw-dropping conspiracies.
Greyhat plays out in a style of gameplay that sits between classic point & click adventures, classic logic-based puzzle games, and more modern style hacking games like A Normal Lost Phone. Each stage of the game will require you to hack a new personal or office computer to solve a diverse range of objectives in order to find your Daughter.
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DIRT 5 Delayed by a Week

The release of DIRT 5 is being delayed by one week. The off-road racing sequel was expected on October 9th, but it will now come on October 16th, with the Early Access for the Amplified Edition to get underway on October 13th. This tweet has the dirt:
News: #DIRT5 will now launch on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on October 16, with three days’ early access (Oct 13) for Amplified Edition players.

THANK YOU for all your support and excitement so far – we still have so much more to show you…

Morning Metaverse

Out of the Blue

Boing Boing notes a reissued version of the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle is now available. They call this "the greatest toy ever made." This is pretty accurate from my point of view, as the motorcycle actually ran upright thanks to its gyroscopic design. This allows you to perform authentic Evel Knievel-style jumps, complete with authentically catastrophic landings. I actually have a previously reissued version of this toy from a few years back, but this one is considerably more authentic. I'm not sure I need to pick this up, as I already have enough toys and other dust collectors, but looking at the unboxing and demo video was a nice trip down memory lane.

Daredevil Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

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