As we're heading into the thick of summer, this week's Nintendo Switch news is particularly light. We got a few more details on games that are to come, but few new releases and updates. But that doesn't mean we didn't see any interesting headlines.
Mario Kart 8 and Nintendo Labo's toy-cons are now compatible. Instead of all those bulky, plastic gaming accessories you'll never know what to do with after this generation, recycling is now an option. The Switch might also see more Monster Hunter titles outside of Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, but they might not be the one you're looking for. Nintendo is also under new leadership in Europe. There are also plenty of deals to keep an eye on this week, so be sure to scroll down and take a peek.
Summer is here, and we're looking a loads of news for PS4 this week. This week was lighter than others in terms of new games, but we did see updates for competitive shooters Overwatch, Fortnite, and PS4's exclusive H1Z1, and more regarding cross-play on the platform.
Sony Interactive America president and CEO Shawn Layden spoke at a Gamelab conference in Spain about PlayStation's legacy. Eurogamer popped the will we see cross-play on PS4 question--the short answer is Sony is listening, but it's not a yes, and not a no. Don't get too excited for Playground mode in Fortnite just yet. As of right now, it's been shut down due to bugs and replaced with 50 versus 50 in the limited time mode. Life is Strange Season 2 got a release date for episode one, and it's teaser episode, The Adventures of Captain Spirit, is out now. As for deals to keep an eye on, there's a free game to play this weekend with PS Plus, and you can grab PS Now as a PS Plus bonus. Keep scrolling for more headlines and all the details.
Xbox One is headed into summer with a bang. Not only are three huge RPGs hitting Games Pass this coming month, but one of it's exclusive titles may have had a major leak.
Games Pass, or Xbox One's "Netflix of games," will see nine new titles in July, including The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Warhammer: Vermintide 2. Overwatch has a brand new hero, a space hamster in a death ball, Hammond. Gears 5 had a new character and gun teased this week, and Forza Horizon 4's full car list might have leaked. If you've been looking forward to Playground mode in Fortnite, don't get your hopes up quite yet. The limited time mode has been replaced with 50 versus 50 for the time being due to bugs. Rare wants to give the fans what they want, and Sea of Thieves has a new update. Today is the last day for June's Games with Gold titles, so grab them and the other deals while you still can. Keep scrolling down for the rest of this week's headlines, and all the deals available now.
With the rapid and tremendous success of Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, other developers plan to jump into the battle royale craze to find their next big hit. Bringing together dozens of players into an intense fight to determine who's number one, it's steadily become one of the hottest game modes in some time--with both PUBG and Fortnite having comfortable spots on Twitch's top streamed games. But as the sub-genre continues to make strides with online communities, with even celebrities joining in on the fun, many are wondering where the burgeoning game-mode can go from here.
In order to understand where the battle royale arms race is going next, it's important to start back from the beginning of the trend. To break down how we got to this point--from its early days as a player mod paying homage to popular films, to the juggernaut that it is today--here's our explainer on all thing battle royale, and what could be next for players.
What Is Battle Royale?
Battle Royale (2000) -- Takeshi Kitano explains 'BR' to the class.
To put it simply, battle royale is a large scale free-for-all deathmatch with the goal to be the last player alive. With only one life to live, you'll have to find any weapon you can--crowbars and frying pans included, depending on the game--while keeping focused as you stay one step ahead of the competition. Though most games that tackle the battle royale game type have their own gimmicks, the basic framework of a match is always the same: One big map, a large pool of players, randomized gear to find, and a slowly shrinking battle arena to force combatants into more tense confrontations. While players can expect some exciting encounters that can be satisfying in their own right, those are all moot if you don't reach the true goal. If you're not the last one standing, then you didn't win.
The origins and framework of the game type can be traced back to the cult-classic Japanese novel and film adaptation titled Battle Royale. Written by Koushun Takami, the story is set in a dystopian-future Japan where the government stages an annual 'Battle Royale' competition to keep the populace in check, while also stifling the growing unrest of the country's youth. A group of junior-high school students are transported to an abandoned island 10km in size, outfitted with bomb collars to prevent escape, and are forced to compete in a battle to the death with whatever items they can find. In order to push for more confrontations, forbidden zones gradually spring up across the island, forcing combatants closer together.
Despite the morbid premise, Battle Royale has a hyper-stylized approach to its portrayal of violence--often coupling schooltime drama with powderkeg situations out of a Quentin Tarantino film. Many of the film's more intense moments are a result of poor judgement, lack of equipment, or a general misplaced faith in the combatant's abilities--which usually make up the most common player deaths in battle royale games. Though the film was successful, even finding a passionate audience in the west, another novel and film series with a similar premise known as The Hunger Games found greater popularity. At the time of its release, many fans were inspired to implement their own take on the premise in their favorite games via player mods.
How Did Battle Royale Games Get Their Start?
PC gaming is where online multiplayer and unique game modes first found their footing, which would go on to influence countless other games--PC and console alike--in the coming years. On the surface, battle royale functions like a traditional game of multiplayer deathmatch, which found popularity within PC online multiplayer games during the '90s. With modding for PC games eventually becoming more accessible thanks to freely available developer tools and resourceful players, online communities were able to craft different types of experiences--even in titles that you would least expect. For instance, games like Counter-Strike and League of Legends started out as fan mods for Half-Life and WarCraft III--which were popular enough to warrant a response from the core developers themselves.
In an interview with GameSpot, Brendan Greene, the creator of PUBG, stated that player mods have had an immense impact on the state of gaming.
"The five biggest games in the last twenty years have come from mods," said Greene. "League [of Legends], CS: GO, Dota [2], they're all from mods, and I think it's because modding gives a freedom to take those risks and do something that people aren't asking for, but is something you want to play. That's what I wanted to do. I wanted to make a battle royale game that I wanted to play, and I think that freedom to create whatever you want is an advantage that modding gives people."
Around the time of the release of The Hunger Games during the the early 2010s, Minecraft became a popular game with players of all ages for its then-unmatched creation tools and worldbuilding. Focusing on the exploration of a procedurally generated world where you can craft items, build houses, collect resources, and battle creatures that lurk around, its creator Markus 'Notch' Persson rapidly found success after videos and social media impressions of the game went viral. As Minecraft grew in scope, its creation tools expanded further--allowing the community to include their own unique assets and scenarios into the game. Latching onto the popularity of The Hunger Games films, an older subset of players eventually made competitive focused mods known as Hunger Games--now called Survival Games. Just like in the film, players were forced into a death-battle against others--which was a change of pace from the game's usually mellow vibe.
Another game that also found a foothold in online multiplayer circles was a peculiar title known as DayZ, which started out as a custom mod for the tactical military shooter Arma II. DayZ creator Dean Hall wanted to make an online shooter and quasi-social experiment set within a bleak and relentless environment where resources were limited, and spontaneous alliances formed with others could fall apart at any moment. Also, there were zombies--lots of them. Eventually, DayZ was released as a standalone game, with Hall even joining the Arma devs at Bohemia Interactive soon after. As the open-world zombie shooter grew, its community began to experiment with new mods for the game. One such player in the online Arma community--going by the name PlayerUnknown--eventually released the DayZ Battle Royale mod in 2013. Not long after, other developers began to see potential in the budding popularity for the new free-for-all game mode.
H1Z1: From Zombies To Battle Royale
As the popularity of the Arma modding scene grew to include the City Life RPG and Invasion 1944 mods, the core games also saw increased success--with many players purchasing the game just so they could experience the community creations. Upon the release of Arma 3, PlayerUnknown--real name Brendan Greene--put out another mod that advanced his concept further, known as PlayerUnknown's Battle Royale. Soon after, he was approached by Sony Online Entertainment to work on a new title that would eventually become H1Z1. As a response to the massive success of DayZ, the developers created their own open-world zombie shooter focusing on survival against the odds. However, the developers wanted to include an official battle royale mode of Greene's design to complement the core game. Known as King of the Kill, 100 players would compete against each other to reach the top spot. The studio not only believed it would boost its player base, but also saw it as a potential esports hit.
Unfortunately, several setbacks kept the game in early access longer than expected. In 2015, Sony sold off the Sony Online Entertainment studio, which had both H1Z1 and a new EverQuest MMO in active development. While the MMO would later be shelved, the studio--rebranded as DayBreak Game Company--continued work on its online shooter. After a year of work as an independent studio, the developers split H1Z1 into two distinct modes, Just Survive and King of the Kill, which came in response to growing players trends in-game. While the original survival game with zombies--now known as H1Z1: Just Survive--had a following, the battle royale mode became more popular, prompting a pivot from the developers. These changes, along with other adjustments to the base game, resulted in some creative differences with Brendan Greene and the team, and the modder-turned-developer decided to part ways with DayBreak.
Today, H1Z1 still has an active community, even setting up several esports events for the top players to compete for cash prizes. Now out of early access and in open-beta on PS4, H1Z1 has been showing steady growth over the years, even featuring a number of experimental modes like Auto-Royale--a vehicle focused free-for-all--that switch up traditional gameplay. However, Brendan Greene's departure from DayBreak ended up paving the way for a game-changer in the battle royale sub-genre.
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner: The Rise Of PUBG
After Greene left DayBreak, he was approached by producer Chang-Han Kim from South Korean developer Bluehole to collaborate on a new game centering around the battle royale experience. In keeping with the formula he created for the Arma mod, and sticking with his online community name, they started work on the game which would eventually become PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. Taking on the role of creative director for his first standalone title, Greene would work extensively with Bluehole on the game--which he believed would be the truest form of battle royale he had envisioned during his time making mods.
In the original version of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, a large group of players are brought to an 8x8km island known as Erangel--an abandoned Soviet Union military base--to fight it out and determine the last man standing. Players are transported to the island via cargo plane and can drop out and skydive to a spot of their choosing. Surrounding the players is an encroaching blue energy field, which gradually closed in around the island--forcing more players into conflict in the process. When the final player gets the last kill, they're greeted with the now infamous congratulatory message, "Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner."
During the pre-launch periods, player count was estimated to have reached over 80,000 players, giving the game substantial momentum heading into its official release. With its growing fanbase, which began referring to the game as PUBG, Battlegrounds eventually launched on March 19, 2017 in early access on PC. It quickly reached the top spot of Steam's best-sellers list, and shortly after its launch, the developers also landed a timed console exclusive deal with Microsoft for Xbox One. In September 2017, after several million copies of the game were sold, Bluehole rebranded the core development team working on the game as PUBG Corporation, with Chang-Han Kim acting as CEO.
By the end of 2017, PUBG was a massive success, with a peak player count in December reaching over 3 million active users on Steam. Battlegrounds would go on to break several records on Steam, even taking in a higher monthly revenue than both Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive during its first month. As of March 2018, PUBG sold over 40 million copies across all platforms and even received a free-to-play mobile version. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds was one of the most talked about titles of 2017--even earning Game of the Year nominations from several press outlets. During its first year, PUBG Corporation released two full maps for the game, with another map that's smaller in scale--the 4x4 map Savage--currently in beta. Moreover, the developers are also experimenting with a more traditional deathmatch mode offering more diversity in content, while also supporting the Xbox One release--which recently hit over 5 million players.
Seeing the success PUBG had, many other developers began to shift their focus to align with the popularity of the genre--even if it meant retooling their existing games into something entirely different.
The Rebirth Of Fortnite
Revealed in 2011, Epic Games' Fortnite was a passion project for many of its core developers, which included Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski. As a Horde-mode zombie-shooter with a focus on base building, Fortnite was primarily about surviving against increasingly challenging waves of enemies. With co-op play in mind, the original mode--now known as Save The World--took players across several maps leveling up their characters and acquiring new loot. Though the developers were excited about its potential, the development of the game was rather troubled, with the team having issues nailing the core gameplay and mechanics. After several years of retooling and refining its gameplay systems, Fortnite was released in early access on July 25, 2017 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
The timing of Fortnite's launch coincided with the growing popularity of PUBG, which the developers were also playing at the time. During a GDC 2018 talk about their unorthodox approach to launching the game, Ed Zobrist--head of publishing for Epic Games--stated that they quickly wanted to come up with an alternate mode to complement Fortnite's main campaign. By shifting Unreal Tournament's development team to focus on Fortnite: Battle Royale, they were able to release the new game mode on September 26, 2017--two months after the base game's early access launch. To offer the game to as many players as they could, the new mode was free-to-play, while the PVE content was only playable by purchasing the base package of the game for early access--which will eventually be available for free to all players once it leaves early access. This decision would go on to change Fortnite in a drastic way.
In Fortnite: Battle Royale, the general pace is quicker, and with a smaller map, engagements with other players are quite common. Featuring a more stylized design and aesthetic, the general feel and shooting mechanics are more arcade-like when compared to PUBG's realistic shooting-style, in keeping with its roots in military-style action games. Instead of a cargo plane, players are brought to the island by a flying party bus, with music thumping in the background as players descend onto the island. From here, players can get into the same sorts of engagement you'd expect from battle royale games. However, the big difference between Fortnite and PUBG is the inclusion of the building mechanic.
Just like in the Save The World mode, players can break down objects in the environment for resources to build structures, such as walls and staircases. This allows players to create defensive structures to shield themselves from attacks or reach places around the map that are impossible on-foot. While you can get through much of a game without having to build, the final battles within the top 20 showcase the speed and complexity of building. A basic understanding of structure creation, and the dexterity required to keep up with others, becomes a must for survival toward the end of matches.
Though Fortnite saw a massive influx of new players during its first few months, Battle Royale hit its stride during early 2018. In many ways, Fortnite is a more accessible game when compared to its direct competitor, PUBG. Not only in terms of aesthetics and content, which feature a more stylized and cartoony art style, but also in that it's a free-to-play game--which is in contrast to PUBG's $29.99 price tag. Fortnite's approach to microtransactions have also earned some praise. With the Battle Pass and V-Bucks (premium currency), you can gain access to skins and other cosmetics that don't impact gameplay. Over the course of leveling up and unlocking new tiers, you can upgrade certain skins--giving them them new looks in the process. You're never locked out of the core experience with Fortnite: Battle Royale. Though each season requires players to purchase a new pass to unlock the next set of challenges and unlockables, it's never forced upon players. Epic has also been quick to address feedback concerning aspects of the game, along with adding in a plethora of new content--making the game feel like it's in constant growth.
Currently, Fortnite: Battle Royale is one of the most popular games in the world, with many in-jokes and references invading real-life. Its mobile release also saw huge success, finding a dedicated audience of players that seek to take its style of battle royale on-the-go. Along with professional athletes performing victory dances and actions based on the game, famous rap artist Drake spent several hours playing with popular Twitch streamer N1nja, with the likes of Travis Scott and former MegaUpload owner KimDotCom joining in their game. And in another bizarre case, Epic collaborated with Marvel Entertainment to launch an Avengers: Infinity War tie-in event where players can pick up the Infinity Gauntlet and take control of Thanos himself. To say Fortnite has found new success with its pivot to battle royale would be a massive understatement. The grand majority of players in Fornite are there for the PvP mode, viewing it as the main game over the PvE mode--which is something that's tucked away behind a (temporary) paywall.
What was once a game that struggled to piece itself together over the years, it's now become a game that many seek to imitate. And because of the sudden and monumental success that Fortnite had with its pivot, it's now open season on the sub-genre, with other developers attempting to find their own fortune with the concept.
The Future of Battle Royale, And The New Competition
With the battle royale sub-genre offering players a chance to test their mettle against a large player pool, not many games can offer that same type of thrills and satisfaction when making a good run of it. But just in 2018, we've seen several games looking to chase the same hype surrounding the game mode, including The Darwin Project, S.O.S., Paladins: Battlegrounds, and Radical Heights--which recently saw the closing of developer Boss Key Productions. In a stranger case, the developers behind the loot-oriented action-RPG game Path of Exile included a free April Fools update featuring a new battle royale game mode, which ended up being surprise hit according to their developer blog. Though it only took a day for the creators to make, over 27,000 games were played in its first 31 hours online. Due to the surprise success, the developers are looking to implement the mode as a part of their seasonal content.
In May, Treyarch and Activision revealed the long-rumored battle royale mode for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 titled Blackout, which aims to celebrate the history of the sub-series while offering the largest-scale combat the franchise has seen yet. Shortly after, EA and DICE revealed Battlefield V, and at E3 2018, unveiled their own plans to take on the battle royale sub-genre. The developers shared their thoughts on the growing craze, stating that it would be a good fit for the Battlefield series. Whether any of the upcoming games will see the same monumental success of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds or Fortnite remains to be seen, but still, there's definitely a drive from developers to experiment and create something a bit different with their existing games.
There's a solid chance that battle royale will likely be a normalized game mode for many online shooters moving forward. One thing is for certain--the landscape of the battle royale sub-genre will look very different by year's end. With so many battle royale games on the way, and with Fornite's spot becoming more secure by the day, other developers will seek to introduce another battle royale hit to shift the paradigm once again. For PUBG's Greene, he welcomes the coming changes and titles adopting the game type, while all adding in their own unique take on it.
"That's what I always thought of the mode when I first invented it, in that it could be that [basic] mode eventually like capture the flag or king of the hill--it's that type of game mode, and I think it's flexible enough to be that," said Greene. "It's great to see the genre grow in the way it has. There's [a lot of] new and interesting spins coming out, like The Darwin Project just released the Director Mode, so it's so great to see those different takes on a very simple concept."
For more on the future of the battle royale genre, be sure to check back with GameSpot to learn all about the newest games looking to jump into the fray.
Rare's high-seas adventure experiment Sea of Thieves for PC and Xbox One has gone through several noteworthy changes since its launch. The game focuses on a pirate's life in a shared world, where players embark on missions, sail across the seas, find hidden treasure, and even take on the occasional Kraken lurking beneath the waters. While the game found a passionate audience, it received some notable criticisms for lack of content and a repetitive gameplay loop, which the developers have spent the last few months working to address in the many post-launch updates.
Sea of Thieves' executive producer Joe Neate, senior designer Shelley Preston, and design director Mike Chapman sat down with GameSpot during E3 2018 to talk about the online game's growth since its launch. With the upcoming Cursed Sails and Forsaken Shores expansions coming later this year, each adding several new ships, items, and entirely new areas to explore, they spoke about the feedback they've received from fans, and just how far the game has come since release.
The fans have been very vocal about what they want to see in Sea of Thieves, which has grown a lot since its release last March. Can you talk about what the general response has been like for you all at Rare?
Joe Neate: Yeah, it's been pretty intense and amazing. It really has. We built up a lot of awareness and excitement around the game, we launched it and we had a lot of players come in and play--those first couple of weeks was quite the adventure. With Sea of Thieves, our goal at launch was to create a new IP, create a community around it, and make a new type of multiplayer game that's a different experience. And success for us meant landing all of that, which would give us the right to go and build on it more.
I just love that we've managed to make something that's different, and had a bold ambition--we've all been on this project since the start. To see it land and then to now have the opportunity to just go wild adding stuff and doubling down on the vision because we've got this amazing player base with us, and they want more of it. The goal at launch was to create the opportunity, basically, to go and invest on top of what we started with. We exceeded all of our expectations, in terms of player numbers and everything else.
So, yeah, we've now got that opportunity, and it's all about how big can we make it. To see how far can we take this game, and how many people can we make fall in love with it as we add new content and the new ways to play. It blows my mind, I want be back here in a year's time talking more about the stats and the things that we've done. It's the most rewarding game I've ever worked on in my career, and honestly it's the biggest opportunity I think I've had in my career in terms of the game and the possibilities right now.
Mike Chapman: We were actually just commenting before you walked into the room about how different it is now compared to how it was at launch. It's now much easier to talk about the game because people understand what it is now, in terms of what the heart of the game is. Sea of Thieves has this social connectivity with players in a shared world where they're coming across each other, and what's gonna happen is emergent and unpredictable. We kind of break it down into there's always different ways to play. Like the brigantine ship that you saw briefly in the E3 teaser trailer, that's perfectly designed for three players to have this big ship experience. And then things like new goals for everyone, especially for players who've hit the Pirate Legend status.
These sort of things enrich your adventures while you're out there. So you're heading towards an island and you play musical instruments, drink grog, you've now got the speaking trumpet and the drum that we added in the Hungering Deep. It's more things like that that's gonna enrich your adventures. So you may have seen in the trailer we've got skeleton ships coming to the world. You could team up with another crew to take them down, board their ships and take a gunpowder keg downstairs and use that to destroy the ship. All of that emergent gameplay is all there.
Like the Hungering Deep, all the new content that will release in this update will come in with time limited quests with specific rewards. The Hungering Deep came in with that quest line around Merrick, which introduced a storyline that allowed us to showcase the new content. We also added a drum and the speaking trumpet at the same time, and you use the drum to summon the megalodon at the end of that quest line. The speaking trumpet was a way to broadcast your voice across a far distance, so you could hail another ship at distance to ask them if they want to work together with you. That's now in the world as well. That was our approach with Cursed Sails, and it will be with Forsaken Shores. And Shelley, your team is working on that, aren't they?
Shelley Preston: Yeah, Forsaken Shores is coming out this September. This expansion has a new world area. There's three seas, which are the different areas in the Sea of Thieves world. They have different visual styles, but they're all kind of the same in terms of difficulty and challenge. So what we really wanted to do with the new area was for this expansion was for it to be visually striking, and a different, newer experience. We wanted it to have a major impact on gameplay as well, as it's about a perilous voyage.
Part of the shroud that surrounded the Sea of Thieves [map] will recede and there'll be a new area that you can get to, but you'll never start in that area. It's up to players to opt in to go on that voyage, and think about when you want to take on these more challenging, but more rewarding voyages. And then when you sail out there, it's all kind of fire and ash. It's like a volcanic kind of area. We really felt excited about this idea of making the world, the islands themselves almost are turning against you while you're questing. So it's not just about other players or AI threats. It's actually the world itself. You might start feeling tremors and you're like, "What's going on, guys? Are we safe? Do we think this is gonna subside?" And then you're looking up at the peak of the volcano and you see smoke signs that churn out of that volcano and still you're making that decision, "We're gonna just carry on.
We've just got this one more x to dig up." We've been prototyping these elements of what we can do to make this environment turn against you and we're really excited about it. Everything that we add into the game will live beyond the expansion releases. The gameplay that we've given players will just live beyond to just enrich Sea of Thieves all up.
Since the game has been released, what would you say were some of the biggest lessons you took away from the game's launch, and the reaction from the community?
JN: We sat down as soon as the launch craziness ended, like the first week or so, we managed to get on top of any scale and stability issues that we had. And then we literally sat in a room for about a week with loads of post-it notes. Mike, the design team, and everyone else were going through all of the forums, looking at all the feedback. Broadly, the response from the community was that this game is great, we love what you're doing, but give us more things to do. Yeah, threats in the world, all of that stuff. And then we just started deciding which order did we want to grow this in based on feedback, based on what we want to see see.
Skeleton ships was one of the biggest things actually because for years now we've been saying to our community every sail on the horizon is another player and explaining why we didn't wanna do AI ships because we wanted every encounter to be emergent. But we've seen that...well, there's a few things that feed into it in terms of players' love for ship combat, and we love to drive different interactions between players. So ship combat is cool between players, but like in Hungering Deep, we love to see different crews team up and then go take down stuff together. With the AI ships coming into the world, it gives people that combat, the ship combat they can have with AI and stuff. They can have that experience more frequently and it doesn't necessarily impact the balance of the shared world. It's also something where we can encourage players to crew up, almost to form alliances with each other and then go and take down these fearsome skeleton ships in the world.
So it's all been about driving what we love about the game, that social interaction where you're encountering strangers and doing stuff together. It scratches that itch from the community. That was probably one of the biggest lessons for us. The E3 trailer was the first time our community would have seen that, and there's gonna be a lot of happy people. But of course they're gonna go and pick up Mike's forum post that he wrote ages ago explaining why we would never do it. We're listening, and we will change.
SP: I think that's a great example of that. We were adamant that we didn't want to add AI ships for all those reasons. But the most powerful things are our players, responding to that feedback, and making sure as long as it's right for Sea of Thieves, it enriches that experiences for everybody. So we're gonna listen to that feedback.
MC: It's a mix of giving players what they want, putting that Sea of Thieves spin on it, but also surprising them. It's the fact that a lot of players would ask, "I would really like an expanded world. I want more regions to explore." We haven't just given them that, we've actually gone and made the visuals a core part of the gameplay and added in a whole region with volcanoes that's geologically unstable. We want to surprise players, and there's things we do in the game that won't be expected and I think both of those aspects are at a healthy mix right now.
JN: And what's great is that because we're live, we're updating it, and we're adding new stuff, we're actually learning something new every time. After the Hungering Deep, one of the things I think we learned the most is that positive social interaction is great, and players love it when you give them reasons to engage in it. Because it was quite risky for us to go, look, the only way to take down this megalodon is if you find another crew in the world and communicate that to them. Whether it's through the speaking trumpet or the flat system we put in, you had to go and do this thing together.
But to see what it did to our player base, seeing everyone partying together on a beach after they'd taken the thing down--taking selfies and making friends--it was an amazing experience seeing how well our player base reacted to that. Again, it makes us want to double down on that and do more of that because it's so cool. It's so unique to Sea of Thieves. I think in most multiplayer games it's all about competition. And in this we want to drive much more interesting or varied, I guess, encounters. That's when it's most special. When you have an unexpected encounter with other players you meet new people and you have positive social interaction.
Do you have a favorite moment from your own time playing Sea of Thieves, where you just saw the many systems and the dynamic nature of the game come to life?
SP: There've been many, but my recent one was when I played the Hungering Deep, and we made it so that you needed to work together with another crew and I've had friendly and unfriendly encounters with other crews throughout playing Sea of Thieves, but turning up and seeing all these ships that are kind of waiting and there's this new hub of social activity--we made friends with a couple of crews who wanted to go and do the voyage with us.
And there was just this beautiful moment where I was on my ship with my crew and then I've turned around, looked out the back, the sun was setting and there were these two other galleons just following us on the waves and we were all going to do something together and it's like these are people that I don't know. These are people I've never played with before and this game has brought us together and we're about to go and have this amazing encounter. That was really cool.
MC: Yeah, I'd say anything to do with the speaking trumpet. And since we've added this tool we've seen so many cool videos of people rickrolling other ships, like the Rick Astley song. And there's people pretending to be, like they work at Wendy's, like, "Can I take your order, please?" People pretending to be air hostesses, like telling them where the exits are. I think that's the fun part of having players in a shared world. We've added this tool to the world and I think just the variety of encounters and the opportunities for humor and how you can bring players together and then form friendships. Just from adding that on the surface is a really simple tool, but in our shared world it comes to life.
JN: For me, it's the amount of people I've met. All I've seen on Twitter or wherever else who are like, "Me and my husband, or me and my wife, play this together and one of them doesn't play games normally or hasn't done for ages, but they've been enticed back in." It's bringing multiplayer to new players. People are playing with their sons. A lot of people in Xbox actually. A lot of our leadership team and execs have been playing with their kids and it's the first game they can really do that with apart with maybe like Minecraft and stuff. So just seeing that we created a different type of multiplayer game that took some risks in the progression system and in what we wanted to do and what our focus was. It wasn't for everyone and not everybody resonated with some of the decisions we made, but we purposely did that so that we could bring multiplayer to a new audience. A new experience and make this fun, welcoming game that broke down barriers.
And to continually get that feedback from new players or people that just came to this because it is that type of experience. The photos of literally husband and wife set up in the front room with two TVs and two sofas and the big thread on Twitter of everyone adding their photos to it and stuff, showing the kind of setups that they had made so they could game together. That, for me, is one of the most rewarding things. Again, because we took risks 'cause we wanted to do something different in multiplayer space.
And to just constantly get that feedback that that's landed with so many people is amazing. That's one of the things that I think that speaks to me the most and what makes me most passionate, as well as basically everything funny--like the Rick Astley thing. Anything like that is what we send around online through social media, we love that. We never thought of doing that. Player creativity is amazing. There's so many things like that, and that's what gets us going. It puts a spring in our step each morning.
During a recent trip to Ubisoft Quebec, we had the opportunity to play about five hours of the highly-anticipated Assassin's Creed Odyssey. It was a small sliver of the huge open world of Ancient Greece, set in 431 BC during the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. We spent that time on the Delos Islands leading a rebellion, completing side quests, and engaging in many of the RPG elements that are new to the series. Dialogue options aren't the only thing that are new, as facing the consequences of your choices was very much part of the demo. You can read about our experience in an in-depth preview of Assassin's Creed Odyssey and how RPG elements seem to make it a better game.
In addition to getting our hands on an early build, we had the chance to talk with Assassin's Creed Odyssey's director Scott Phillips. The following interview digs into the inspiration for the new direction, what players can expect throughout the story, and how the team is working in the rich history of this time period.
For more on Assassin's Creed Odyssey, be sure to check out our breakdown of the six biggest changes for this entry. If you want to see more of the game in action, we have a bunch of gameplay videos that show off ship combat, dialogue sequences, and large-scale battles.
GameSpot: The first thing that struck me when playing the game is the heavier RPG elements. How was that decision made and what other games did you draw inspiration from? Where did that start?
Scott Phillips: It was early on, three years ago, we were coming to the end of Syndicate. When talking about what Assassin's Creed Odyssey should be, we asked where do we want Assassin's Creed to go, what does it need to evolve into? We talked with the Assassin's Creed Origins team to see what they were doing. We both had the same sort of idea of where the series should go--RPG choice, we wanted to push it forward. We knew Origins was doing some of those things, but for us, we had the time to really go even further to focus on the two characters, Alexios and Kassandra, to focus on choice within the stories and within the dialogue, to give you special abilities, to build your own play style.
In terms of inspiration, I play a lot of RPGs and I would say open-world is my favorite genre. The RPG is something [that] fits together super, super well. And I play everything that comes out; games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and obviously Assassin's Creed Origins. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout, those two are probably some of my favorite[s]. And if you look at those games, they give players a lot of options. For us, that was what we wanted to push Assassin's Creed as a franchise into: more choice for the player.
This is the first Assassin's Creed that's moved into branching dialogue and consequences for your choices. In the playable demo, decisions were made, side quests were completed, and two hours down the line, the consequences play out. The end product of the decision wasn't clear right away. How hard is it to keep it cohesive?
It's super hard, I've got to say. There's no other way to put it. We try to think of every consequence that can happen. We write all those, we move forward with structuring the quests and all of the quests that could be impacted in a way that'll work. Then we play it a lot and ask ourselves, what did we miss? What doesn't connect? What doesn't pay off well enough?
Something we had a while ago and tried was including a sort of the Telltale-style "your choice will have an impact" notification afterward. Ultimately we felt that the player is better off making those connections themselves and we didn't want to put too much in their face. We wanted the feeling of, "Oh, wow, that thing I did back then..." or when they talk to someone else and say, "Oh, I had no idea that those connections were made." We felt after play tests that it was the stronger way to go rather than being in the player's face with the decisions being made.
Male protagonist Alexios speaking with Socrates, one of the many ways Odyssey incorporates Greek history.
Assassin's Creed always told a contained story within history. But choices seem to play out in the larger, main narrative. Is there going to be bigger payoffs or consequences of larger scale, maybe multiple endings? How much can you change the world and how much will it be reflected in the world as the game goes on?
We have to make decisions about how big are we going to go with certain choices. Obviously, we want some to have massive changes to the story, but we have mid-scale changes and small changes. Some parts of side quests can impact the main quest: who appears, who's around you, who's dead, who's alive, who you're friends with, who hates you. Those sorts of things all sort of feed into both the main story, and all of the side stories, and in the world itself because the world is constantly changing. The mercenaries that are alive in your playthrough, I may never see in mine or maybe I killed them in my playthrough. The leaders can also be different. So, there's a lot of activity and change and when players talk to each other about what their experience was, or some great fight they had with this mercenary, or the choice they made in that quest, it's going to be a very different experience for each player.
I love the Mass Effect series, but with Paragon/Renegade, I know straight up if my decision is good or bad. But we've also had games like The Witcher 3 that just give you options, and who knows how they'll pay off in the end. From the slice we played, it seems Odyssey is going the latter route.
Making the game morally gray and not black-and-white was important to us. We didn't want it to be like past games where you're not forced to not kill civilians, as a simple example. The Creed doesn't exist for your player character in terms of restricting you from doing that. That's your choice. But we're going to impact the player, we're going to show you that it means something in the game world. And it's going to give you feedback, you're going to feel those choices you've made in small-scale and in these large-scale choices across the game.
Do you want to encourage players to do more side stuff, especially those who tend to mainline games? Do you kind of accept that they might be missing out on some really good story bits and narrative arcs?
Yeah, I think the easiest example is if you look at our E3 demo, you don't have to play any of that. That's all side content in the main game, and that's true throughout huge parts of the game. We want you to do that, we think you will enjoy it. And as balance between players that want to rush the game and players that want to complete every single piece is a challenge for us, because we want both play styles to be valid and work well. In an RPG, making sure that the player who does 100% of the content and that player who does only what they want, we want both to have a good experience. Balance for both player types is something that RPGs have struggled with quite a bit. I think we have a very good progression system, a very good way of balancing the game that makes it so everyone, no matter what they do, is going to have a great time.
Character relationships are a new thing, along with choice-based dialogue, of course. For example, I tried romancing Kyra but it didn't work out. How deep are relationships going to go and how impactful are those relationships?
It depends on the character. I would say Kyra is a mid-level romance to put it in a weird way. There are some side characters, and other characters where it's a shorter thing, but you can still recruit people to be on your ship crew. And with some of these romanceable characters, you can recruit them to be on your ship and with you for the rest of your journey, or you can never see them again. It's sort of your choice. There's also family relationships which you'll make decisions about, and will impact, ultimately, who's around or who's there for help as you get further in the game. You'll see a lot of variation based on the way you've played the game.
With choice-based dialogue, there are many directions it can go. But it's all contained in Greek mythology and the Ancient Greek historical time period. How do you balance between using history and creative freedom? Are we still going to have that rich, historical backdrop along with the story that you're trying to tell as well?
It's fun. It's always a back-and-forth of how far can we push it: when do we need to focus more on Greek history, when do we need to focus more on Assassin's Creed lore, and when do we need to just give the player something really cool to do? We're constantly making those choices. On a small scale, it's things like how buildings and structures look. We maintain historical accuracy, but some of our statues are way bigger than they would've been in this time period. Or the look of Sparta in our game is more grandiose than what Sparta actually was, because the Spartans, the Laconians, were very minimalistic. They focused solely on war; they didn't try to build big statues. But we wanted Sparta to be this awesome, amazing, epic-looking Greek location, and we had to push it forward.
Skyrim, Fallout, those two are probably some of my favorite[s]. And if you look at those games, they give players a lot of options. For us, that was what we wanted to push Assassin's Creed as a franchise into: more choice for the player.
When it comes to ships, there are simple things about how the triremes would have to be pulled out of the water to avoid getting waterlogged and sinking. Obviously, we're not going to do that. But we also need to make decisions about ramming, shooting javelins, and firing arrows; how far are we going to push it? Did they have catapults? Did catapults exist at that time? Well, sort of. It's always a fine line, and we're pushing and pulling, and trying to make sure that we're true to both the vision we want to have for a game in 2018 and what this period of time would've looked like.
When you meet with Socrates, you have discussions of philosophy. You meet with Hippocrates, who's the father of medicine. You talk to Herodotus, who's the father of modern history. You engage with these characters and develop details about what their thought processes were, and you affect it as well. But then you also argue with Socrates even as you have him as an ally. So, it's a constant battle between too little and too much. And I think we found a really good balance, especially with the mythology of Ancient Greece. It's a super deep, awesome mythology of legends and gods with the mixture of history. And it's also Assassin's Creed, which has a ton of characters with names from the first civilization that come from Ancient Greece, and they're coming from that sort of lore. We had a good backdrop to sort of mix the two. I don't want to spoil stuff, but there are a lot of really cool ways that pays off. If you really engage in the game, there's some really amazing stuff that ties it all together.
As for the modern day storyline, are any of the RPG elements going to play into the modern day storytelling?
So, there is definitely modern day gameplay with Layla Hassan, but I don't want to go into that just yet.
Origins was big in terms of scope, and this game seems big, too. How do you answer those worried about series fatigue? Even though there's a lot of new stuff, they might just not be in the mood for another huge open world.
We've worked on the game for three years, and in terms of what we've done, we put in a huge amount of effort. We had a big team for that period of time. We focused on making this huge, huge game. I think fans will really see, when they play it, that what we brought is something new and fresh to Assassin's Creed with choice, with RPG elements. And I think it is and will be one of the favorite Assassin's Creed games.
Update 5: Playground mode will not launch in Fortnite this week after all. Epic announced that it now won't launch until next week, with additional details to be shared on Monday, July 2. In a tweet, it said, "We're still unable to resolve issues preventing the launch of the Playground LTM. We are holding the release until next week to continue hammering away this weekend. We're sorry we haven't been able to get you in the LTM, and we know waiting is the worst."
Update 4: Fortnite's Playground mode is still unavailable a day after it was set to return. Epic says progress is being made but it's trying to avoid rushing into pushing it up. "We're continuing testing on our matchmaking improvements and are still aiming to open the Playground LTM as soon as we're confident in our improvements," it said on Reddit. "Once we have confirmed that our testing was successful we will begin gradually rolling servers out to all regions and platforms until it's available to all players."
Subsequently, Epic said on Twitter that it's "continuing to test improvements that are needed to enable the Playground LTM." We haven't gotten any further word on where things stand with Playground, but the other new limited-time mode added alongside this update--Final Fight Teams of 12--has been removed in response to player feedback. In its place, 50v50 has returned to the game with some changes. And with all of this happening, Epic is teasing that the mysterious rocket could launch on Saturday.
Update 3: The latest news from Epic doesn't change the expected return of Fortnite's Playground mode, but it also doesn't sound as if its release is imminent. An update to the same Reddit post states: "We're continuing to test improvements made to our matchmaking services for the Playground LTM. We want to get you out there and let you unleash your creativity but also want to ensure a positive experience once we enable this game mode again. We'll give you more updates and a timeline as soon as we have one." Whether the mode does end up coming back online today remains to be seen.
Update 2: Epic has provided another update on the status of Fortnite: Battle Royale's new Playground mode. In another Reddit post, it stated, "Yesterday we launched the Playground LTM. So many of you rushed in to create and play that our matchmaking service fell over. We've since separated the Playground matchmaker from the one that affects the default modes and made large improvements to assist with the number of players. We plan to push these changes and improvements live later today to bring the Playground LTM back online. We'll give you more updates and a timeline as soon as we have one."
We'll report back as more details are shared, but that means we can expect to get into Playground mode today, June 28, presumably during US time. For now, you can check out the new Week 9 challenges that are now live.
Update: Following its launch, Playground mode remains unavailable in Fortnite. The launch of the 4.5 update saw some serious technical issues plague Battle Royale, preventing matchmaking from working across all modes for a period of time. Those have since been resolved, but Epic quickly removed Playground from the rotation and has yet to say exactly when it will be back.
The company's latest statement came on Wednesday evening US time. In a post on the Fortnite Reddit, it said, "We know you want to get back out to the Playground LTM. We've got multiple teams working to get this mode back into your hands so you can let your imaginations run wild. We want to inform you that the Playground LTM will remain closed for repairs for the night. We'll have more information available [Thursday]." We'll report back with any details about when Playground will come back. The original story follows.
Fortnite's latest update, v4.5, is now available on all platforms. On top of introducing a new weapon and other features to both Battle Royale and Save the World, it marks the start of the game's latest limited-time mode, Playground--although as of this writing, the mode has been temporarily taken offline.
Unlike previous limited-time modes, Playground is intended to be a "low-pressure environment" that acts much like a private server. It allows players to explore the map, devise strategies, and play around freely with up to three friends without the risk of being eliminated by other players.
Each round in Playground lasts for one hour, and the storm circle won't begin closing in on the map until 55 minutes into the match. Friendly fire is enabled, although players will respawn immediately unless eliminated by the storm. There's also considerably more loot to find. 100 Llamas will spawn across the map, and players will receive 10 times the normal amount of any resources gathered during the match.
Playground isn't the only limited-time mode available in Fortnite this week. Final Fight Teams of 12 is also now underway in Battle Royale. This mode unfolds like a standard game of Battle Royale; however, the storm circles stop closing partway through a match. Once the circles have finished closing, a Final Countdown timer will begin, with the remaining teams competing to have the most surviving players when the time expires.
Epic hasn't announced an end date for either Playground or Final Fight Teams of 12. Fortnite's limited-time modes are typically only available for about a week, although it remains to be seen if Playground will remain in the rotation a little longer than usual to make up for its downtime. You can read more details about each mode--courtesy of the patch notes on the official Fortnite website--below.
Epic still hasn't provided a time table for when Playground mode will be enabled again. The mode was taken offline due to a matchmaking issue that cropped up following the rollout of update 4.5. That issue has since been resolved, but Epic says it is "continuing work" to bring Playground back online. The developer will provide further updates on Fortnite's status website.
Fortnite Update 4.5 Patch Notes
Playground
Summary
Playground is a low-pressure environment where friends can let their creativity run wild. Build massive structures. Practice with the weapons and items. Fight against your friends. Have fun!
Mode Details
You'll have one hour to create, play and train as you wish. Hop in and try out version 1 of Playground!
Drop into the Battle Royale map with a squad of friends for an hour
Friendly Fire is on
Players respawn on elimination unless downed by the storm
The storm doesn't start closing in for 55m, and takes 5 minutes to close in
Resources gathered grant 10x the normal rate.
100 Llamas will be spawned on the map
Chests & Ammo Boxes spawn 100% of the time
Final Fight Teams of 12
Summary
Make it to the final circle and then fight for the Victory Royale!
Mode Details
Final Fight plays similar to standard Battle Royale, but instead of the storm circles closing all the way in, they stop part way through the match.
When the circles have finished closing in, the Final Countdown timer will begin.
The remaining teams will battle it out until the timer expires.
The team with the most players remaining at the end of the timer wins!
In the event of a tie, the two (or more) teams tied for the lead win the match.
Deadline just broke the news that Jim Carrey is negotiating to join the cast of the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog film as the movie's villain, Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. He'd be starring in the film alongside Westworld's James Marsden and Ride Along's Tika Sumpter.
Carrey last starred as Tadek in the 2016 detective drama Dark Crimes and the 2017 documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond. He'll be both executive producing and starring in this year's Kidding, which premieres on Showtime. The actor is well known for the crazed zeal he can bring to a performance, which could make for a very interesting Dr. Robotnik.
Dr. Robotnik has been Sonic's arch-nemesis since the blue blur's first video game in 1991. Possessing an IQ of 300, the mad scientist used his vast intellect to transform forest creatures into killer robots so he could conquer the world and claim the powerful Chaos Emeralds for himself. Over the years, Dr. Robotnik's plans have become more comical, and the villain received the goofy nickname "Dr. Eggman" in reference to his round body and being an egghead.
There aren't that many details concerning the plot of the Sonic the Hedgehog film. The movie seems to follow the same gist of the games: Robotnik is doing something dastardly to take over the world and Sonic needs to stop him. However, there are a few interesting twists this time around. An interview by The Wrap with film producer Neal Moritz revealed the movie will follow the buddy cop format, where Sonic, a juvenile delinquent in need of a friend, teams up with a small town cop to stop Eggman. We'll probably get more details closer to the film's scheduled 2019 release. The movie is being marketed as a mixture of live action and CGI.
After recent leaks and rumors, The Pokemon Company has announced Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee for Nintendo Switch. Inspired by Pokemon Yellow, the new Pokemon RPGs are set in the Kanto region and also connect to Pokemon Go. Here's everything we know about the new Pokemon games so far, including what rumors were correct and how Pokemon Go fits into the picture.
Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee are not the core Pokemon RPG announced for Switch during Nintendo's E3 2017 press conference; that game, often called "Pokemon Switch," is set to release in late 2019. The Let's Go games are mainline Pokemon RPGs, however, and are developed by Game Freak. Director and producer Junichi Masuda said that the Let's Go games are specifically designed for newcomers to the Pokemon series, especially those who are familiar with Pokemon Go, and that they have been in development for around two years.
So Is This Pokemon Go On Switch?
No. Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee do share a lot with Pokemon Go, as was rumored; they utilize Go's Pokemon capture mechanics, meaning you throw Poke Balls at wild Pokemon to catch them rather than battling them. You can also connect the Let's Go games to Go via a Bluetooth connection, and you can transfer Pokemon from Go into Let's Go (though not the other way around). Pokemon appear in the overworld before you can initiate capturing them, and you can send gifts to Pokemon Go from Let's Go as well.
However, the Let's Go games are Pokemon RPGs, and you explore the Kanto region just as you would in Red and Blue. While you can't battle wild Pokemon, you can battle NPCs and other players, and those battles use the turn-based system of the main Pokemon games. You get experience points both from catching Pokemon as well as battling other trainers, though Masuda said the leveling system hasn't been finalized yet.
Is Pokemon Go Required? What About Motion Controls?
Pokemon Go is not required to play the Let's Go games. When catching Pokemon in docked mode, you do have to use motion controls to throw Poke Balls. In handheld mode, motion-control aiming (using the gyroscope) is required, but you use the Joy-Con's buttons to actually throw the ball.
Are They Pokemon Yellow Remakes?
This was a prominent rumor, but it's not accurate. The Let's Go games are entirely new games in the main series. They are heavily inspired by Yellow, though, and Pikachu or Eevee (depending on your version) stays by your side the whole game rather than going in a Poke Ball while you explore. These games are set in Kanto, but we don't know what the story will be like.
How Does Transferring Pokemon From Go Work?
The Let's Go games connect to Pokemon Go via Bluetooth, and the ability to transfer Pokemon from Go is unlocked as you progress through Let's Go. Once you transfer a Pokemon, it is sent to a specific area called Go Park where you then have to catch it. We don't yet know how stats will transfer (or if they'll be randomly generated, as they are in Pokemon Bank when you're storing Pokemon from the first or second generation games on Virtual Console).
Masuda did confirm that Pokemon that are shiny in Go will remain shiny in Let's Go. That's a big deal, since certain Pokemon Go events make shiny Pokemon far more common than they ever would be in the main Pokemon games. However, any Pichu, Pikachu, or Raichu with special hats in Go cannot be transferred to Let's Go.
Is There Trading, And Do They Connect To Pokemon Bank?
Masuda confirmed that you will be able to trade Pokemon between the Let's Go games. Transferring Pokemon from Go only works in the one direction. When asked about Pokemon Bank, he said he could not comment; he also did not comment on whether the Let's Go games would be compatible with present or future Pokemon games.
What Pokemon Are In Let's Go?
Masuda confirmed that the first 150 Pokemon as well as their Alolan forms from Sun and Moon would appear in Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee. We don't know yet if you'll unlock an expanded Pokedex when beating the game, like in the remakes of previous generations. Additionally, each version has slightly different Pokemon available (like always).
Eevee's prominence in these games doesn't come as a surprise; Eevee has been heavily featured with Pikachu in several recent Pokemon Center merchandise series, the most recent of which, Saiko Soda, is currently only available in Japan. Eevee was also your rival's starter Pokemon in Pokemon Yellow, which makes it the natural "opposite" of Pikachu for the two Let's Go versions.
During Nintendo's E3 2018 presentation, it was confirmed that Mew would be available in the Let's Go games via the Poke Ball Plus controller. Every Poke Ball Plus will come with a Mew already stored on the device, and this is the only way to get Mew in the Let's Go games-- you won't be able to transfer Mew from Pokemon Go to Let's Go.
You Can Catch The Kanto Starters In The Wild
Though it makes sense when you think about it, this is worth a special mention--you'll be able to catch the Kanto starters in the wild in the Let's Go games. During a hands-on demo, we caught both a Pikachu and a Bulbasaur in the new Viridian Forest. While Pikachu was found there in the original Red and Blue, Bulbasaur (and Charmander and Squirtle) were not found in the wild previously.
Can Pikachu And Eevee Evolve?
Your starter Pikachu or Eevee cannot evolve in the Let's Go games. However, other Pikachu or Eevee you catch or transfer can be evolved. Only Jolteon, Flareon, and Vaporeon are available out of Eevee's eight current evolutions.
Though the starter Pokemon are "special," according to Masuda, you can put them in the Box as you would other Pokemon--but in these games, the Box is in your bag. We aren't sure exactly what this means yet.
You Can Ride Pokemon?!
As shown in the trailer, you can ride certain Pokemon in Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee. The Pokemon has to be large enough to ride, though how that's defined isn't clear. Riding a Pokemon doesn't require HMs, because there are no HMs in these games.
How Does Training Pokemon Work?
We're still not exactly sure what training Pokemon will look like in Let's Go. We do know that Pokemon gain experience when you catch another Pokemon (even though you don't battle wild Pokemon in these games) and that you can use Experience Share to grant experience points to your entire team. It was revealed during E3 that you can also use Candies to strengthen your Pokemon; later in the game, you will be able to send Pokemon to Professor Oak in exchange for these Candies. This sounds similar to Pokemon Go.
Can You Breed Pokemon? What About Competitive Battles?
There is no Pokemon breeding (and therefore no eggs) in Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee. Though battles against NPCs and other players follow the same turn-based format as the core Pokemon games, it's not yet clear how stats work. That means that competitive Pokemon players, who rely on breeding Pokemon for good IVs (individual values, or starting stats) and training for the correct EVs (effort values, or stats earned through battles), may not have as much to work with in the Let's Go games. That said, Masuda did mention during our Q&A session that the Let's Go games are like any other main Pokemon RPGs in that they're both "accessible" but with "depth" for those who want it.
The official competitive Pokemon series, the VGC, is currently played using Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. When asked what game players will be competing in next year, representatives of The Pokemon Company did not comment.
Can You Trade And Battle Online?
Yes! PR confirmed with GameSpot that the Let's Go games will have both local wireless and Wi-Fi online features. "However, the feature set will be somewhat simplified in comparison to previous games in that there is no GTS, Wonder Trade, or Battle Spot (Rating Battle, Free Battle, and Online Competition, etc.) for example. Further details will be revealed at a later date." A Nintendo Switch Online membership is required for Internet-enabled features, but not local wireless.
What Else?
Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee feature two-player co-op. While playing using one Joy-Con, another player can shake the second Joy-Con and join as a support character when in open areas or battle. This player can help you catch Pokemon and can battle alongside you (though it doesn't appear to initiate a double battle).
Release Date
Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee release on Nintendo Switch on November 16. Releasing alongside them (but sold separately) is the Poke Ball Plus controller, which is a Joy-Con-like peripheral you can use when catching Pokemon.
Pokemon Go's Summer Tour 2018 kicks off this weekend with the Safari Zone live event in Dortmund, Germany, but even if you aren't able to attend in-person, you'll still have a chance to participate. The Pokemon Company announced that special Global Challenges will be underway during each of this summer's live events, with players all over the world contributing toward their success.
Each weekend that an event takes place, players will be divided up into four regions: the Americas; Europe, the Middle-East, and Africa; Asia-Pacific; and the "main research site," which is the location of the live event. Each region will strive to complete their own challenges, which will contribute to the global progress and unlock bonus rewards in the game. If players manage to earn bonus rewards during all three events, then Niantic teases an Ultra Bonus will be unlocked--although what that will be remains a mystery.
The first live event in the Summer Tour 2018 is the aforementioned Safari Zone in Dortmund, which takes place on June 30 and July 1. During the event, the Grass- and Poison-type Pokemon Roselia will spawn much more frequently around the globe. Players will also have a chance to find a Shiny Roselia in the wild.
Following Safari Zone Dortmund, Niantic will host the second annual Pokemon Go Fest event in Chicago on July 14 and 15. During that weekend, players around the world will find increased spawns of Trapinch, Feebas, and other Pokemon. The Alolan forms of Geodude and Diglett will also begin appearing for the first time in Pokemon Go.
The final stop in the Pokemon Go Summer Tour 2018 is a special Safari Zone in Yokosuka, Japan. Specific details about that event will be announced at a later date, but it is slated to take place later this summer. You can read more about the Summer Tour 2018 on the official Pokemon website.
In addition to the aforementioned events, Niantic will also host the next Pokemon Go Community Day on July 8. During that event, the Red and Blue starter Pokemon Squirtle will appear much more frequently in the wild, and if previous Community Days are any indication, players will have a chance to find its Shiny variant as well. Participants will also hatch Eggs at a quarter of the distance they typically require.
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate is scheduled to come to Nintendo Switch on August 28, but everyone wants to know if 2018's critically acclaimed Monster Hunter World could have a future on the console as well. According to Siliconera, Capcom responded to the question in a Q&A session held after the company's 39th shareholders meeting.
Turns out the answer is a resounding "no." Though disappointing, Capcom has its reasons. Monster Hunter World is literally too large a game for Nintendo Switch. Capcom did follow up with the announcement that the Switch might see another Monster Hunter game, something other than Generations Ultimate, added to its library, though.
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate is the expanded version of 2015's Monster Hunter Generations for 3DS. We gave the original game an 8/10. In our Monster Hunter Generations review, Justin Haywald said, "After dozens of hours I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of this adventure--there are other weapons and Hunter Art combinations I want to try, and of course, there are many more monsters to hunt. With Monster Hunter you get out what you put into the game, and Monster Hunter Generations is a game that compels me to put in more of my time."
Even if it's not coming to Switch, Monster Hunter World is getting an update on Xbox One and PS4. On July 13, the game's summer event, titled Summer Twilight Fest, brings new quests, limited-time bounties, and aesthetic changes to the action RPG. Monster Hunter World comes to PC this fall.
New challenges are now available in Epic Games' Fortnite: Battle Royale, including one that involves a treasure map in Haunted Hills. Season 4 has nearly concluded, but you still have time to take on challenges if you own the Battle Pass. Week 9 challenges are live across all platforms, providing a slate of seven more objectives for you to complete if you own the Season 4 Battle Pass on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, or mobile. Here's where to find the aforementioned treasure and how to complete all the other challenges now available.
Week 9's trickiest challenge tasks you to follow the treasure map found in Haunted Hills. Provided you want to do things by the book, you'll first head to Haunted Hills to get a look at the map, which is pictured below. The map can be found in one of two locations: in a small building just south of the church, or underneath the larger building on the western side. Either way, here's what you'll see:
If you know the island's map well, you may recognize this as showing the silhouettes of Junk Junction's... junk. Fortunately, that area is located just north of Haunted Hills. Either make your way there next or drop in at the start of the match, and head toward a stack of cars near the northern wall, as directed by the X on the treasure map. Get to the top of the pile and you'll see the treasure waiting to be picked up. Grab it just as you would open a chest and the challenge is complete.
Epic considers this to be a Hard-tier challenge, which is good news for you--doing it will net you a total of 10 Battle Stars. That helps to rank up your Battle Pass and get your hands on Fortnite's Season 4 skins and rewards. With Season 5 set to begin in early July, you'll want to squeeze what you can get out of the current Battle Pass as the rocket threatens to strike.
You can check out a complete list of Week 9 challenges below. These are, for the most part, quite straightforward, tasking you with eliminating opponents with shotguns, elimination opponents in Anarchy Acres, using a shopping cart (luckily, these have been re-enabled), searching chest in Moisty Mire, and dealing explosive weapon damage. One that might give you some difficulty is visiting the center of named locations in a single match. These are marked by large blue beacons, and you'll know you've reached the center when you see a new flag in the center of the area change to your banner.Your best bet to complete this may be to simply stay outside the storm circle and avoid other players as much as possible.
Fortnite Week 9 Challenges
Deal damage with Explosive Weapons to opponents (500) -- 5 Battle Stars
Search Chests in Moisty Mire (7) -- 5 Battle Stars
Use a Shopping Cart -- 5 Battle Stars
Visit the center of Named Locations in a Single Match (4) -- 5 Battle Stars
Hard: Follow the treasure map found in Haunted Hills -- 10 Battle Stars
Epic has flipped the "Double XP" switch on Fortnite, letting you speed up your level grinding for the weekend. The bonus period ends on Monday, July 2. This season, as long as you own a Battle Pass, your level corresponds directly to some exclusive skin upgrades, so any boost is worth your while. You can earn the Carbide skin at level 40 and the Omega skin at level 55, but to make them light up all snazzy, you'll need to hit 65 and the max cap of 80, respectively.
This comes just as Epic delayed the sandbox-style Playground mode and replaced the divisive Final Fight with the popular 50v50. The studio decided to disable the Final Fight mode due to negative fan feedback.
Meanwhile, it is continuing to tease Season 5, which is set to kick off on July 12. A mysterious countdown clock appears to be setting the stage for whatever is coming next season, and we recently began hearing an ominous wailing sound. That along with a warning in the game menu is fueling speculation that a missile launch is coming as soon as tomorrow (Saturday) morning. The last time Fortnite slowly teased a big in-world event, a comet struck Dusty Depot and turned it into a crater, renamed Dusty Divot. We have yet to find out what this seemingly imminent missile launch will do to the map.
Between June 26 and July 30, you can play a trial version of EA's new game, Unravel 2, for free on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The demo comes with the game's first two levels and lets you play for up to 10 hours. Just make sure you remember to close out of the game between play sessions to stop the timer.
Unravel 2 is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer starring Yarny, a red doll made from--you guessed it--yarn. This sequel adds a second doll that can be controlled by another player over local co-op. The game takes place in the real world, from the perspective of the tiny yarn dolls.
Because of their diminutive size, the ordinary items you encounter often halt your progress. You and your (optional) co-op partner are tasked with figuring out how to get through each predicament. Often, the solution involves using your doll's yarn to grapple and swing between obstacles.
GameSpot's reviewer found this sequel to be a big improvement over the 2016 original. From our 8/10 Unravel 2 review: "In almost every moment you're given ample time and space to breathe and take in the stunning photorealistic world from the viewpoint of the tiniest creatures. It's a game with boisterous birds, chases through meadows, and most importantly a cheerful partnership with a companion who's always got your back."
EA announced and released Unravel 2 during its press conference that coincided with E3 2018. The full game comes with six levels, each of which take about 30 minutes to complete. It costs $20 across all platforms.
If you play Grand Theft Auto V, you may have heard about the big nightclub update that's set to hit next month. But what you might not know is that there are a bunch of good deals and freebies you can take advantage of right now.
For starters, if you log into GTA Online between now and July 2, you'll be added to the "guest list," which gives you special access to exclusive liveries, new t-shirts, discounts, and weekly bonus GTA$ beginning next week.
Lots of other in-game deals are going on now or will be in the near future. If you're looking to expand your real estate empire, you can get Biker Clubhouses and Businesses for 50% off between now and July 2. This includes hangars, executive offices, warehouses, and facilities.
Also between now and July 2, GTA Online is also offering double GTA$ on Smuggler's Run, Biker Business, and Special Cargo Sell Missions. There's also a 2x Speed Boost to Bunker Research projects during the same time period.
Play Motor Wars between now and June 28, and you'll get double GTA$ and RP. Then, from June 29 to July 2, Rockstar will offer triple GTA$ and RP payouts for Motor Wars. Also, all players who log in this weekend will receive a free Hawk & Little cap and t-shirt.
Log into GTA Online between July 3-9, and you'll get an exclusive Orange Wireframe Bodysuit for free. On top of that, players on the guest list will get other weekly login bonuses later in July. Some of the bonuses Rockstar outlined on its blog include:
Bonus cash each week ranging between GTA$100,000 to GTA$350,000
Exclusive discounts on forthcoming vehicles like the powerful MTL Pounder Custom--a highly customizable asset for your lucrative business deliveries
Exclusive liveries on new vehicles like the Ocelot Swinger classic sports car
New nightclub themed t-shirts
As for the nightclub update, it's scheduled to release sometime next month. Rockstar hasn't explained exactly how they'll work, but players will be involved in designing, staffing, and promoting their establishments. The developer has also revealed that the nightclubs will feature new music from the electronic artists Solomun, Tale Of Us, Dixon, and The Black Madonna.
As June winds down to an end, PlayStation Plus members are running out of time to grab their free PS4, PS3, and PS Vita games for the month. July 2 is your last full day to grab your freebies, because the following day they'll go back to full price and be replaced by July's free PS Plus games.
The PS Plus freebies this month are pretty fantastic. On PS4, you can grab XCOM 2, a strategy game that has you control a team of resistance fighters after an alien invasion of Earth. In GameSpot's XCOM 2 review, our critic gave the game a 9/10, saying, "the layered tactics, impactful meta-game, and deep character-building are all intact on PS4 and Xbox One. XCOM 2 remains a superb strategy title."
Also free on PS4 is Trials Fusion, which has you compete in challenging stunt race time trials. From GameSpot's Trials Fusion review: "Trials Fusion is a great game that not only tests your skill and patience, but keeps you laughing at the ridiculous scenarios."
Those aren't the only free PlayStation games you can grab at the moment, though. PS Plus subscribers can also download Call of Duty: Black Ops III, as well as a free trial of Destiny 2 you can play between June 29 and July 2.
If you have a PS4 and you're in the mood to shoot aliens, you're in luck: Destiny 2 is free this weekend for anyone with a PS4 and a PS Plus account. All you have to do is download this free demo and you can play the game between June 29 and July 2 without spending a dime.
The demo comes with the full campaign, all game modes, and every piece of gear that's available in the base game. It doesn't have the Curse of Osiris or Warmind expansions, but that's to be expected. If you buy Destiny 2 after playing the free trial, all of your progress will carry forward. Also, Sony says the game will be on sale for half price for a limited time.
The free trial runs between 12:01 AM PT (3:01 AM ET) on June 29 and 10:00 AM PT (1:00 PM ET) on July 2.
Destiny 2 is a shared-world shooter with a focus on powering up your character and collecting loot. From GameSpot's Destiny 2 review: "In true Destiny fashion, if you do something once, you'll probably end up doing it many more times. The difference with Destiny 2 is in the variety and accessibility of what's available, which cuts down on a lot of the frustration associated with grinding. And even after you've leveled up, there's still more you can do, from keeping up with daily and weekly challenges to just hanging out with friends. It's a much stronger foundation than the original had and one that's enough on its own to keep people coming back week after week."
With the game's Forsaken update launching in September, now is a good time to hop into Destiny 2. After much complaining about the lackluster endgame, players seem to be optimistic about the changes Forsaken will introduce, including a revamped weapon system, a new PvE-meets-PvP game mode called Gambit, and a new raid.
There's a good chance you've played--or at least been intrigued by--The Witcher 3. There's also a good chance you missed out on Geralt of Rivia's first outing. Now's the perfect time to right that wrong by grabbing a free copy of the game that started it all. Right now, GOG is giving free copies of The Witcher: Enhanced Edition to anyone who plays games on PC.
Since there's no such thing as a free lunch, you will have to jump through a hoop or two before you can hit that download button. For starters, you have to install Gwent: The Witcher Card Game. It's free to play, so that's not a huge deal. And if you've dabbled in the card-playing mini-game in The Witcher 3, you'll know it's an enjoyable pastime on its own. You can download it here.
Once you've installed Gwent, click here to access your free copy of The Witcher: Enhanced Edition. Note that to get your free game, you must also subscribe you to the GOG.com newsletter (you can unsubscribe any time). You also get a free Gwent Card Keg, which will come in handy if you plan to continue playing Gwent.
Now you can install your copy of The Witcher: Enhanced Edition and play the game that kickstarted Geralt's monster hunting career when it launched in 2007. In GameSpot's Witcher review, Brett Todd wrote, "Memorable story, immersive combat, fascinating characters--what's not to like? A few fit-and-finish issues mean that The Witcher isn't quite an all-time classic RPG. Regardless, it's awfully, awfully close, warts and all, and it provides a new benchmark for future developers that are looking to lift their games out of the done-to-death elf-and-orc ghetto."
Steam's Summer Sale is such a massive event that you could miss out on some incredible savings if you don't dig around a bit. A notable chunk of the best games on sale come from Bethesda, a company that's going all out right now, with tons of deep discounts on its games on Steam. The Bethesda deals go up to 75% off, often on games that aren't all that old. Here are some of the highlights.
For starters, the whole Fallout franchise is available at 50% off or more. You can get Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics for $2.50 each. Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are only $3.29 right now, and Fallout 4 is only $15. All of the Game of the Year editions and individual expansions are also on sale.
The demonic kill-fest Doom is on sale for $15, but if you want to try it before you buy it, you can play the demo for free. If you have a Vive, you can turn demons inside out in virtual reality with Doom VFR for $21.
Rage 2, which is coming out next year, looks like a lot of fun, but there's a good chance you haven't played the original Rage. You can change that for just $2.49. If you like sneaking around and assassinating enemies, you can get Dishonored for the same price. Its sequel Dishonored 2 is available for $20, and the Death of the Outsider standalone expansion is on sale for $15.
Along with the sandbox-style Playground mode (which currently remains offline while Epic irons out issues that cropped up shortly after it launched), this week's Fortnite: Battle Royale update marked the start of another limited-time event, Final Fight Teams of 12. After receiving fan feedback, the developer has announced it is disabling Final Fight and replacing it with another iteration of the fan-favorite 50v50 mode. [Update: Following earlier issues that prevented its rollout, Epic announced on Twitter that 50v50 mode is now live in Fortnite: Battle Royale. Playground remains unavailable.]
Despite only being available in the game for a couple of days, Epic says it decided to disable Final Fight after listening to the community's feelings on the mode. "We've heard your feedback regarding the Final Fight LTM and we agree that the mode isn't quite in a state where we want it to be," the developer wrote on Reddit. "Due to this, we'll be disabling Final Fight and re-enabling the 50v50 LTM."
Once again, this iteration of 50v50 will pit two teams of 50 players against each other in a fight to be the last team remaining. This time, bounce pads will spawn at double their normal rate, while resource rates will be increased by 50%. The newly added Dual Pistols, which were introduced in this week's 4.5 update, will also spawn at double their typical rate.
50v50 was scheduled to enter the rotation today, June 29, at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET; however, Epic announced on Twitter that it discovered "a few issues" with the mode and won't be enabling it just yet. The studio says that it'll provide an update on the mode when it's ready to go live.
As previously mentioned, the limited-time Playground mode also suffered from a series of issues following its launch and still hasn't returned to the rotation. In its most recent Reddit update, Epic said, "We're continuing testing on our matchmaking improvements and are still aiming to open the Playground LTM as soon as we're confident in our improvements. Once we have confirmed that our testing was successful we will begin gradually rolling servers out to all regions and platforms until it's available to all players."
M. Night Shyamalan has unveiled the first poster for his newest film, Glass. After directing The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and The Village all around the turn of the century, Shyamalan quickly became an acclaimed director before disappearing for a while. He popped back onto the scene with his breakout horror hit Split starring James McAvoy which came out in 2016.
Fans of Unbreakable have been waiting almost two decades for a sequel, and now that Shyamalan's back in the game with a new hit under his belt, he's looking to combine the worlds of the two movies in his upcoming film, Glass.
Shyamalan used an announcement that there will be a panel for Glass at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con as an opportunity to show off the first poster. The image which you see above features James McAvoy as Crumb from Split alongside Bruce Willis as Dunn and Samuel L. Jackson as Dr. Glass from Unbreakable. Along with showing the ominous tagline, "you cannot contain who you are," the image makes it look like the three of them are each incapacitated in some way, while their reflections reveal their true selves. Apparently, Crumb's true self works out.
The film will pick up where Split left off, but it will feature Dr. Glass and Dunn in pursuit of Crumb for the iteration of his personality that has superhuman powers called the Beast. So the film will essentially be a sequel to both Split and Unbreakable, combining the two to create one big Shyamalan universe. Glass will be released January 18, 2019.
With Season 5 of Fortnite: Battle Royale on the horizon, Epic has begun dropping more and more hints that something major is about to happen in the game very soon. Ahead of the new season, which formally kicks off on July 12, players have begun to notice some ominous warning signs around the map, and a new in-game update confirms that some sort of big event will take place tomorrow, June 30.
In Fortnite's New Updates section, Epic has teased that a launch of some kind is scheduled to happen in the game this Saturday, but you'll need to be in a match at the right time in order to witness it. "Get in-match on Saturday by 10:30 AM PT / 1:30 PM ET / 7:30 PM CET and look to the sky. It only happens once!" the update reads.
Fans have speculated that the recent warning signs that have begun appearing in Battle Royale were tied to some sort of rocket or missile detonation. Earlier this month, players began to notice countdown clocks displayed on screens across the map. Following this week's 4.5 update, players have also begun hearing a siren sounding out near the Evil Lair in Snobby Shores, which just so happens to house a mysterious rocket.
It remains to be seen what effect--if any--this launch will have on the game, although this wouldn't be the first time Epic has ushered in a new season with a world-changing event. Prior to the start of Season 4, a large comet appeared in the sky over the map. The comet hung in the stratosphere for several weeks until it eventually crashed to start Season 4, altering the landscape in the process by transforming Dusty Depot into Dusty Divot.
If the mysterious event isn't enough incentive to hop on Fortnite: Battle Royale tomorrow, Epic is also offering double XP from June 29 to July 2 to help players unlock their remaining Battle Pass rewards. For more tips on how to complete all of this season's objectives, be sure to check out our Season 4 challenge guide.
According to Superdata, the number of people actively playing Pokemon Go in May 2018 was pretty high. The only other time the numbers have been that elevated was during the summer Pokemon Go launched. During this uptick in player activity, Pokemon Go reportedly made $104 million (about £79 million).
According to Eurogamer, Superdata initially had an exact number of players listed for May 2018--about 147 million people--but that number has since been removed from the report. We wouldn't be surprised to find out that number is true, though. Pokemon Go has a repeated pattern of attracting a larger number of players during the summer months when more students are out of school and workers are on vacation.
It's not just the summer air that's getting people out and catching Pokemon again. Pokemon Go has recently received several new updates, all of which have had largely positive receptions. Trading is perhaps the largest update to recently come to Pokemon Go, but the game has also added Alolan forms for four different Pokemon, a legendary Gen 3 Pokemon, research quests, and global challenges that occur during live summer events.
This summer marks the two year anniversary of Pokemon Go, a mobile gaming phenomenon that took the world by storm. We gave the game a 7/10. In our Pokemon Go review, Miguel Concepcion praised the game's "ability to draw players from multiple generations and varied gaming backgrounds together" but criticized the "bugs and high battery consumption."
July is fast approaching, which means Xbox Live Gold subscribers will soon get a new batch of Xbox One and Xbox 360 games to download for free. Microsoft has pulled the curtain back on July's offerings. The titles that will be available at various times throughout the next month include the Xbox One games Assault Android Cactus and Death Squared and the Xbox 360 games Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction. Thanks to backwards compatibility, those Xbox 360 titles are playable on Xbox One as well.
As for the Xbox One offerings, Assault Android Cactus is a fast-moving twin-stick shooter that's been well received as it's landed on various platforms since its initial release in 2015. It's available to download July 1-31. Death Squared is a colorful co-op puzzle game that can be played alone or with up to four players. You can download it between July 16 and August 15.
On the Xbox 360 side, Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown is a fighting game geared toward online competitive play. Thanks to a set of in-depth tutorials, it's more welcoming to newcomers than some other fighting games. It's available for free July 1-15. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction is a stealth-action game from 2010 that contains both a single-player campaign and a co-op campaign so you and a friend can sneak around and take down enemies together. You can grab it gratis July 16-31.
Everyone knows you can find great PC gaming deals during the Steam's summer sale, but with so many games to choose from, it can be hard to make a decision on what to buy. We thought we'd make it a little easier by highlighting some of the best games available for less than the price of a latte. All of these games are on sale for $5 or less, so you can probably buy a few of them without breaking the bank. The sale ends July 5, so grab them before then.
Triple-A games famously cost many millions of dollars to make, but even they can eventually go down to below-$5 pricing during Steam summer sales. Right now you can buy Darksiders for $4 or Deus Ex: Human Revolution for $3. Even the 2016 sequel Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is available for $5 right now on Steam. If large-scale destructive hijinks is your kind of thing, you can grab Just Cause 3 for $5 as well.
Loads of smaller indie games are available for just a few bucks right now as well, including the ultra-violent kill-fest Hotline Miami and the thoughtful puzzle platformer The Swapper. Other indie gems include Bastion, FTL, and Oxenfree, all on sale for just a few bucks. And if you haven't played the brilliant RPG Undertale yet, you can do so now for $5.
We may be only in the middle of 2018, but there's already an exciting roster of games releasing in 2019. Highly-anticipated games like Anthem, Days Gone, and Kingdom Hearts III make up only a small number of what's ahead. And that's not to mention the all the big games recently revealed at E3, like Resident Evil 2 Remake, Gears 5, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which we can't wait to get our hands on. To help you keep track of all the games coming out next year, we've compiled a list of all the noteworthy release dates for the biggest ones confirmed to come out in 2019 so far.
More dates are sure to be confirmed as the year goes on, so be sure to check back often as we update this article with new additions or potential changes. But if you're looking for this year's release dates, you can also reference our feature on the game release dates of 2018.
Below you can find a list of the biggest games that don't have explicit release dates but are confirmed to release sometime in 2019. We'll be moving each of these games into the release date sections above as soon as official dates are announced.
As part of the Steam Summer Sale that's going on now, the whole Final Fantasy franchise is available at a nice discount. In fact, nearly every game is half off, making this an excellent time to fill out your Steam library with some of the most popular and highly regarded RPGs of all time. Just make sure you buy the ones you want before July 5, when the sale ends.
The first two Final Fantasy games aren't on Steam, but entries III-VI are all on sale for $8 each, including the belated sequel Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. That's half off the usual prices for those games. Next up, we have Final Fantasy VII on sale for $6. This game brought the series to newfound popularity when it launched on the original PlayStation in 1997. Its PS One follow-up Final Fantasy VIII is also on sale for $6.
After three increasingly technology-heavy installments, Final Fantasy IX brought the series back to its fantasy roots. It only made its way to PC in 2016, which is probably why it costs more than the others. It's on sale for $15. Also $15 is the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster bundle. The MMO Final Fantasy XI: Ultimate Collection is on sale for $30.
Every previous event quest will once again be available to play during Summer Twilight Fest, and a few new exclusive quests will be added too. Bonuses will be available each day for players who log in. You'll want to log in every day too, as Summer Twilight Fest's exclusive bounties will only be available for a limited time.
The event will also offer a few aesthetic changes. Like April's Spring Blossom Festival, the Summer Twilight Festival redresses Gathering Hall NPCs in new seasonal outfits. New clothing options will unlock for your Poogie and Handler as well.
Capcom revealed a few more in-game surprises will be available during the event, but players will just have to wait and see what they are. Summer Twilight Fest starts on July 13 and ends on July 27.
Monster Hunter: World is available on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, with a PC version scheduled for this fall.
The highly-anticipated Resident Evil 2 remake rides a thin line between new and old. It instantly pulls you in with familiar characters and locales, but finds new ways to make you feel uneasy with its new interpretation of classic events from the original. If you played the game back in 1998, you'll likely to feel a nostalgic wave of emotion when you first pick it up; there's a lot here that has been painstakingly recreated. Whether or not you played Resident Evil 2 back when it released, the upcoming remake is shaping up to be a satisfying jaunt through a horror classic well worth looking out for.
My time with the demo began in the main hall of the Raccoon City Police Department as Leon S. Kennedy--who's just as strong willed and naive as we remember. He's no longer the invincible superhero that latter entries transformed him into; he's desperate and vulnerable. These qualities should come as no surprise to fans of the original version, but the remake really leans into them, making your time spent as the rookie cop all the more tense and dire. And with higher-quality voice performances, Leon's circumstances feel grounded and believable.
It helps that the Resident Evil 4-style, third-person over-the-shoulder camera provides a far more intimate view than the original's fixed camera angles. The remake faithfully recreates the original RPD's narrow halls and pathways; its floor layout is nearly identical. The third-person perspective plays well with the labyrinthian police department, making exploration feel unsettling and claustrophobic; gone are the door-opening loading screens.
All throughout my plodding trek across the RPD, I rarely felt safe. An area would be recreated exactly as I remembered it, but then the game would completely mess with my expectations. For example, in the southwest corridor, I expected to fight the infamous Licker, but in its place was the body of an RPD officer whose mouth has been cut into a Glasgow smile. Despite having played the original countless times, new details like this ensured that I was always on my toes.
The feeling of desperation intensifies when you run into your first zombie. The empowering over-the-shoulder shooting featured in latter games has changed. When you aim, the cardinal markers on your reticle slowly move until they're closed in on the center, allowing you to fire a more precise shot. But when you move, the reticle resets and must take time to close in again. Shots take time to line up; you can't just instantly fire from the hip and expect to hit your target. It's a small change, but it completely alters your sense of control. Every bullet counts when you're cornered by a pack of zombies, forcing you to pick your shots wisely.
There's a deeper focus on exploration in the remake. Scattered throughout the environment are doors to unlock and puzzles to solve. Thanks to the more seamless navigation, the game feels more akin to Metroid. You're constantly investigating new pathways, gaining new items that might help you open up the way to your objective. There's more freedom overall to explore and discover secrets at your own pace and in varying orders--which is a welcome change of pace from the more constricted adventure game-like progression of the original.
I walked away pleasantly surprised from my time with Resident Evil 2 remake. As a massive fan of the original, I had reservations going into the demo. But after playing it, I can't wait to jump back in. There's something so special about the way it takes advantage of your knowledge of Resident Evil 2, pleasing you with its faithful renditions of well-known locations, while at the same time terrifying you with everything it does differently. This persisted all throughout my experience with the game, and I can't wait to see all the changes it makes once it finally releases early next year.
Last month we saw Fallout 4 and The Elder Scrolls Online join the service, which already includes tons of other Xbox hits ranging from Halo 5 to Gears of War 4. Xbox confirmed this year all of its first-party titles releasing from now on will also come to the service as they launch for retail. Larry Hryb revealed this month's launches on Twitter.
Unlike Games With Gold, Games Pass doesn't give you free games, but gives you access to 100+ downloadable titles and discounts to buy them for a monthly fee. As long as you are subscribed, you will have access to its entire catalog. The titles also don't become available at the beginning or middle of the month, but rather throughout the month. You can check out what's joining the catalog this month below.
From what we can tell, this month's additions are only for the base games and do not include any add-on content. So if you've been pining for Oblivion's Shivering Isles DLC, you'll have to fork out some extra cash.
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