Another one of this year's biggest releases is skipping Steam in favor of the Epic Games Store. Publisher Deep Silver has announced that the PC version of its upcoming first-person shooter, Metro Exodus, will be available exclusively through Epic's digital storefront when it launches next month on February 15.
Prior to this announcement, PC players were able to pre-order Metro Exodus through Steam. These pre-orders will still be honored, but the game will be delisted from Valve's storefront today, January 28, due to the new exclusivity agreement, which Valve blasts as "unfair to Steam customers." In a statement on the Metro Exodus Steam page, the company wrote:
"Later today, sales of Metro Exodus will be discontinued on Steam due to a publisher decision to make the game exclusive to another PC store. The developer and publisher have assured us that all prior sales of the game on Steam will be fulfilled on Steam, and Steam owners will be able to access the game and any future updates or DLC through Steam. We think the decision to remove the game is unfair to Steam customers, especially after a long pre-sale period. We apologize to Steam customers that were expecting it to be available for sale through the February 15th release date, but we were only recently informed of the decision and given limited time to let everyone know."
One of the major factors that has enticed developers away from Steam and to the Epic Games Store is its revenue terms; unlike Steam, the storefront gives companies 88% of their revenue while Epic only takes 12%, and it appears that split had a bearing on the decision to bring Metro Exodus exclusively to the platform.
"Epic's generous revenue terms are a game changer that will allow publishers to invest more into content creation, or pass on savings to the players," Deep Silver CEO Klemens Kundratitz said. "By teaming up with Epic we will be able to invest more into the future of Metro and our ongoing partnership with series developer 4A Games, to the benefit of our Metro fans."
As another consequence of Epic's more developer-friendly revenue terms, Deep Silver is selling the PC version of Metro Exodus in the US for $50--$10 cheaper than the usual $60 price tag most new releases carry. However, the game will still cost €60 in most European countries.
Metro Exodus isn't the only major PC release that will be bypassing Steam entirely. Earlier this month, Ubisoft announced that its upcoming shooter, The Division 2, will also skip Steam in favor of the Epic Games Store and its own storefront.
Just when you were getting excited to chase down The Last Word, one of Destiny 1's best guns, as it makes its return to Destiny 2, Bungie goes and teases an even bigger deal: Thorn.
Bungie released a trailer for its next in-game event, The Draw, for those who purchased its annual pass, which confirmed that players will be hunting down the Exotic hand cannon The Last Word. That's a Destiny 1 gun many have been wishing would make a return, and it's one that has a ton of lore and story tied to it.
A hero's weapon makes its triumphant return.
Prepare to add the Last Word to your holster when The Draw Exotic quest goes live 1/29. pic.twitter.com/8DjyE17jPi
In fact, The Last Word is one part of a famous duel, in which a heroic Guardian hunted down and killed a murderous one who'd fallen to the Destiny version of the Dark Side of the Force. If you're hazy on one of Destiny's best stories, check out our lore catch-up ahead of The Draw.
The Draw already looked like it would be continuing that story, which Bungie has also been advancing throughout its big Year Two expansion, Forsaken. But in the final moments of the trailer for the new event, Bungie dropped a bombshell in teasing the return of Thorn in Season 6, which starts in March.
Destiny 1 players will remember either fondly or with abject disgust the weapon that often dominated the original game's competitive Crucible. Thorn fired bullets that did delayed damage over time, which meant plenty of players disparaged it and its users as being low-skilled--but that didn't harm its popularity.
While Thorn's return seems all but confirmed by Bungie's trailer for The Last Word, the question of when it's coming to the game is still unanswered. Bungie previously gave us a sense of when things are happening throughout Year Two with its content map, which also breaks down which events are free to all players and which are exclusive to people who purchased the annual pass. Since The Draw is an annual pass event, it seems likely Thorn will be too--but outside of it happening sometime in Season 6, it's not clear when we can expect one of Destiny's evilest guns to once again invade the Crucible.
Capcom's highly anticipated Resident Evil 2 remake is finally here, but there is still some more content in store for the survival horror game. The publisher has announced it will release a free Ghost Survivors DLC starting February 15, which will give players a chance to experience the game from three new perspectives.
According to Capcom, Ghost Survivors will "explore 'what if' stories of three unfortunate souls who never made it out of Raccoon City." In No Time to Mourn, players will be cast as the gunshop owner; in Runaway, they'll play as the mayor's daughter; and Forgotten Soldier places them in the boots of the soldier.
Resident Evil 2 launched for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on January 25 and has already proven to be a big success for Capcom. In the UK, the game debuted at the top of the physical sales chart. The title has also garnered near universal praise from critics, including GameSpot; we awarded it a 9/10 in our Resident Evil 2 review and called it "a terrifying experience like no other."
"Resident Evil 2 is not only a stellar remake of the original, but it's also simply a strong horror game that delivers anxiety-inducing and grotesque situations, topping some of the series' finest entries," wrote critic Alessandro Fillari. "But above all, the remake is an impressive game for the fact that it goes all-in on the pure survival horror experience, confidently embracing its horrifying tone and rarely letting up until the story's conclusion."
Nintendo Switch owners may soon be able to enjoy one of Ubisoft's biggest franchises on their portable systems. According to retailer listings, a new collection of Assassin's Creed titles is coming to Switch in just a couple of weeks.
Czech store Herni-Svet has listed a Switch game titled Assassin's Creed III: Liberation Collection, with a release date of February 15. This follows an earlier product listing from German retailer Media Markt for an Assassin's Creed collection on Switch.
In response to these latest listings, Ubisoft told GameSpot it does not comment on rumors or speculation, though the publisher's CEO, Yves Guillemot, told GameSpot last year that no mainline Assassin's Creed game would launch in 2019. Perhaps this new collection is a way for the company to plug that gap while it works on a brand-new game for next year.
Ubisoft has not yet announced any plans to bring its hit series to Nintendo's portable console, except for last year's Odyssey, which came to Switch as a Japan-exclusive cloud-streaming game. Other than that, the last Assassin's Creed game to launch on a Nintendo console was Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag on Wii U. Assassin's Creed III, the title apparently part of this new Switch port, also came to Wii U. The other apparent Switch title, Liberation, initially launched as a PlayStation Vita exclusive in 2012, before later coming to PS3, Xbox 360, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
The maker of a popular Dark Souls mod has opened his own studio. Peter "Durante" Thoman, who created the "DSfix" mod for the PC version of Dark Souls, has founded his own company with two colleagues, specializing in PC ports and providing consulting services.
PC Games N reports that his company is named PH3, after all three founding members holding PhD degrees. The company just finished all the paperwork in its home company of Austria, leaving him free to make the announcement. He plans to tap his expertise and experience as a computer scientist for the new work.
Thoman said he doesn't plan to license games, which he calls "a whole other can of worms" with its own kind of technical expertise. Instead, he says fans will still have to request ports they may like to see from publishers directly. "But if you gain traction, you can certainly suggest they consider our services," he said.
Dark Souls was a notoriously buggy PC port, to the point that even director Yui Tanimura called it "half-assed." DSfix was widely adopted by the community as a must-have add-on to make it run properly. Later Souls ports were less slipshod, as he promised. Similarly, Demon's Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki recently said he was open to another studio handling a remaster of the original genre-defining classic, but expressed disinterest in handling it himself.
While the status of the Suicide Squad sequel is uncertain, we do know that the first movie's breakout character--Harley Quinn--is set to return to screens in 2020. Margot Robbie is reprising the role in Birds of Prey, which will team her up with other female heroes from the DC universe. The movie is now in production and a first look video has been released.
The video is only 20 seconds long but actually packs quite a lot in. It starts with shots of Harley and--judging from the crossbow--Huntress walking into a large, empty room. Hypnotic electronic music plays and then there's a very quickly cut montage of the movie's characters. There's shots of Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Huntress), Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Black Canary), Ewan McGregor (Black Mask), Ella Jay Basco (Cassandra Cain), Chris Messina (Victor Zsasz), and Rosie Perez (Renee Montoya). Check it out above.
This video follows an image that Robbie posted on Instagram that also highlighted Harley's new look. The movie is directed by Cathy Yan, and releases in February 2020. In November it was revealed that the movie actually has a much longer title than just Birds of Prey--an image of the script cover revealed that it is in fact named Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). The film is written by Christina Hodson, who recently scored a big hit with the Transformers spin-off Bumblebee.
In May last year, Robbie spoke about her plans for the movie and described it as an "R-rated girl gang film." She also explained why it was important that Harley's second movie wasn't a solo film. "Harley loves interacting with people, so don't ever make her do a standalone film," she said. "She's got to be with other people, it should be a girl gang. I wasn't seeing enough girl gangs on screen, especially in the action space. So that was always a big part of it."
A direct sequel to 2016's Suicide Squad was previously in development, but in October it was announced that James Gunn had been hired by DC to write--and possibly direct-- a reboot of the property. Gunn previously worked for rivals Marvel, but was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 last summer.
Marvel's Spider-Man is already bursting with fashion options for your wallcrawler, but Insomniac has introduced two more today with the latest update. After teasing "something fantastic" for the game, comic fans concluded it must be an homage to one of the times Spidey has teamed up with the Fantastic Four. The only question was if we would see the Future Foundation suit or the Bombastic Bag-Man suit. As it turns out, the answer is both.
A post on the PlayStation Blog announced the 1.14 update for Spider-Man, which adds both iconic suits to the game. The Bombastic Bag-Man immortalizes the time the webhead was left suit-less at F4 headquarters and had to resort to a paper bag to hide his secret identity. The Future Foundation suit is from a more recent story when the group rebranded itself and welcomed new members, including Spider-Man himself. It's a bit less goofy.
Along with the Sam Raimi movies suit, this shows Insomniac continuing to provide support for its blockbuster well after launch--and after the three DLC packs that introduced new suits have come to a close. Insomniac will be hosting a Twitch stream showing the suits today, January 28, at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET / 10 PM GMT (9 AM AET on January 29).
Spider-Man was one of the biggest hits of the year, especially for Sony which recently announced the exclusive had sold 9 million copies. That was as of November 25, so it may have passed 10 million following the gift-giving holidays. It was also the fifth best-selling game of the year in the US, despite every other game in the top 10 (besides fellow PS4-exclusive God of War) appearing on multiple platforms. It was enough to help lift Sony's financial forecast, and the sales tracking firm NPD mentioned it as one reason total video game spending increased. For more on how Spider-Man came together, check out our in-depth post-mortem.
Capcom's Resident Evil 2 remake has debuted at the top of the UK physical sales chart for the week ending January 26. Sales monitor Chart-Track says the PS4, Xbox One, and PC horror title is Capcom's biggest launch since Resident Evil 7: Biohazard two years ago and the biggest UK launch of 2019 so far.
Below Resident Evil 2, the chart paints a familiar picture. Red Dead Redemption 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 each climb one position to finish No.2 and No.3, respectively, while last week's No.1 falls three places as New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe finishes at No.4. Aside from Resident Evil 2, no new titles entered the chart this week.
Capcom's remake has gone down well with critics and was awarded a 9/10 in GameSpot's Resident Evil 2 remake review. "Resident Evil 2 is not only a stellar remake of the original, but it's also simply a strong horror game that delivers anxiety-inducing and grotesque situations, topping some of the series' finest entries," wrote critic Alessardo Fillari. "But above all, the remake is an impressive game for the fact that it goes all-in on the pure survival horror experience, confidently embracing its horrifying tone and rarely letting up until the story's conclusion. Though Resident Evil 2 has its roots firmly in the past, it reworks the familiar horrors into something that feels brand new and all its own."
While Resident Evil 2 has a number of challenges to face in the multi-scenario campaign, some of the game's toughest encounters come right after completing the main story. After finishing both Leon and Claire's scenarios for the first time, you'll unlock a new bonus mode titled The 4th Survivor--a reimagining of the original game's extra mission. Taking control of fan-favorite U.S.S. operative Hunk, you'll need to fight through a gauntlet of the game's toughest battles to make a clean getaway with the G-Virus sample.
Though the main story helped you get accustomed to the different threats in RE2, The 4th Survivor ups the challenge considerably, and you more than likely won't make it on the first few attempts. Considering how difficult of a challenge this can be, we've decided to offer up some tips to help you evade the mutants and the undead in this bonus game. Though Hunk is armed with several weapons, there are better ways to clear The 4th Survivor. And if you follow these 4 tips, you'll seldom have to fire a shot.
Learn To Read The Room
The best ways to make it through The 4th Survivor is to not only think ahead, but also to understand what you're dealing with. Despite the faster pace and wealth weapons, it's still a game about survival. As death is more than likely in this mode, you'll gradually learn more about the enemy patterns and layouts with each attempt. These never change, and with this knowledge in mind, you'll be able to better chart out a path through the many groups of zombies and mutated monsters--including anticipating when Mr. X shows up during your first entrance into the 1st floor of the Police Station.
Save Your Bullets
As a standalone mission, Hunk has all that he needs to make it past the many threats in the Sewers and into the Police Station. Though he's armed with a pistol, submachine gun, a magnum, and a shotgun--along with tons of ammo and support items--you're much better off saving them. It might seem inviting to unload into the undead, but you'll actually cover a lot more ground and save yourself some headache if you just stick with avoiding most fights. With that said, there may come a time to use your weapons--particularly the magnum--against the more high-risk enemies, such as the Plant Mutants that can instantly kill you with a grab. Use your best judgement to figure where and when it's best to fire off some quick shots.
Make Your Support Items Count
In addition to a set of weapons, Hunk is also armed with a suite of herbs, gunpowder, and sub-weapons. He's easily more well-armed than either Leon or Claire, however, it's also very easy to run through those items quick. Though the sub-weapons are useful to counterattack against grabs, which can happen a lot if you're not careful, they're far more useful as a tactical tool. One particular instance, the Underground Stairway section--shortly after leaving the Sewers--has eight zombies in close proximity. Running straight in will result in a number of grabs, costing you more time and resources. Situations like this are a great time to toss a flash grenade, stunning all nearby enemies and allowing you the chance to flee during the confusion.
Keep Pushing Forward
Throughout The 4th Survivor, you'll not only encounter every common enemy that appeared in the game, they'll also come in greater frequency. Some locations have 10 different monsters in a single space, which can cut your run short fairly quick. Though many of the monsters you face are extremely dangerous, especially when in packs, they're also very predictable. As stated previously, the encounters will never change, making it easier to learn particular patterns. It's far more preferable to bait common enemies into attacks and run around their blindspot to press forward. For instance, during the first stretch through the tunnel, the smarter thing for you to do is to push through and evade zombies by running behind them. They won't be able to react fast enough to grab, allowing you to make a break for it.
If you're able to stick with these key tips, you should be able to complete The 4th Survivor before you know it. After that's done, now you can attempt the game's hardest mission with The Tofu Survivor. Instead of Hunk, you'll play as Tofu, a giant sentient block of soy who's armed with only a knife. Good luck!
For more info on Resident Evil 2, including our story recap and where to find all the weapon upgrades, be sure to check out our other features on GameSpot.
As teased, Bandai Namco shared some big Dragon Ball-related news during the Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour Finals this weekend. In addition to announcing a second season of DLC for the fighting game, the publisher shared the first trailer for its new Dragon Ball Z action RPG.
The trailer, which you can watch above, doesn't showcase much in the way of gameplay, but it appears the game will recount the story of Dragon Ball Z. The video recreates some iconic moments from the series, such as the first time Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan during his battle with Frieza. We also briefly see him walking past a handful of familiar locations, including Capsule Corp. and the Kame House.
"True warriors are in a neverending search for the ultimate fight," the narrator says. "This is the story of the mysterious Dragon Balls. A story about determination, despair, and hope. This is the story of Goku, the one they call Kakarot."
The upcoming Dragon Ball action RPG is still without a proper title. Likewise, Bandai Namco hasn't pinned down a release date, but the game is slated to launch sometime this year for PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam. It is being developed by CyberConnect 2, the studio behind Asura's Wrath and Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Trilogy.
In other Dragon Ball news, six more DLC characters are on the way to Dragon Ball FighterZ. The previously teased Jiren will launch later this week, on January 31, alongside the newly announced Videl, while Super Saiyan Blue Gogeta and Broly from the new Dragon Ball Super movie will follow "soon." The remaining two fighters have yet to be announced.
The Pride Trooper Jiren is the next DLC character coming to Dragon Ball FighterZ, but he won't be the only one. During the Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour Finals, publisher Bandai Namco announced a second FighterZ Pass, which will add five other warriors to the Dragon Ball fighting game.
In the trailer above, Bandai Namco confirmed that Jiren will be available this week, on January 31. Moreover, he'll arrive alongside another new DLC character: Videl. Based on the video, it seems Videl will be able to call in Gohan--naturally dressed as Great Saiyaman--for tag-team attacks, much like Android 18 is able to briefly summon Android 17.
Toward the end of the trailer, we also get a glimpse at two other upcoming DLC characters: Super Saiyan Blue Gogeta and Broly from the new Dragon Ball Super movie. No footage of either fighter was shared, but the trailer says both are "coming soon." The remaining two DLC fighters have yet to be revealed.
In a press release, Bandai Namco confirmed the FighterZ Pass 2 will cost $25. As before, each new DLC character can also be purchased individually for $5. The first FighterZ Pass cost $35 and added eight characters: Broly, Bardock, Vegito, Fused Zamasu, base Goku and Vegeta, Cooler, and Android 17.
In addition to revealing the new Dragon Ball FighterZ DLC, Bandai Namco showcased the first footage of its new Dragon Ball Z action RPG during the World Tour Finals. That game is being developed by CyberConnect2 and will recount the story of the Dragon Ball Z series. It will launch sometime this year for PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.
The road to Wrestlemania has already had its first stop at the Royal Rumble, and over the course of the evening, there were plenty of title matches and two huge Rumble matches, which determined the challengers for two Wrestlemania title bouts. There were plenty of surprises over the course of the evening, and you can check out the full results for the show below.
It is my favorite day of the year. Today, we celebrate our Royal Rumble day! One of WWE's longest-running PPVs delivers its 31st installment, and it should be a blast. Like last year's edition, there will be both a men's and women's royal rumble match, and there will be plenty of surprises during the evening.
This year's event comes to PPV and the WWE Network starting at 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET / 12 AM GMT (January 28); however, there is a Kickoff Show starting two hours prior. As of this writing, there will be two matches on the preshow: one for the Cruiserweight Championship and one for the United States Championship.
Aside from both Royal Rumble matches, there is a lot to look forward to for the January PPV. There are seven championship matches on the card, with only the Raw Tag Team Championship and Intercontinental Championship missing from the show. In total, there are nine matches on the card, and with the Rumble matches usually lasting more than an hour--and with two of them on the card--it's going to be one long evening of wrestling.
Brock Lesnar shows up to defend his Universal Champion against Finn Balor, the first person to win that title. Hopefully, Lesnar loses and we never see him again (That's just my hopeful prediction). Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles for the WWE Championship should be a fantastic and highly athletic match, but on the Smackdown side of things, Asuka vs. Becky Lynch for the Smackdown Women's Championship should be a barn-burner, as both Lynch and Asuka have been killing it on the Tuesday night show. Check out the full match card below.
Royal Rumble 2019 Match Card:
Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto vs. Hideo Itami (Cruiserweight Championship: KICKOFF SHOW)
Rusev (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (United States Championship: KICKOFF SHOW)
The Bar (c) vs. The Miz & Shane McMahon (Smackdown Tag Team Championship)
Asuka (c) vs. Becky Lynch (Smackdown Women's Championship)
Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Sasha Banks (Raw Women's Championship)
Women's Royal Rumble
Men's Royal Rumble
Daniel Bryan (c) vs. AJ Styles (WWE Championship)
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Finn Balor (Universal Championship)
Below, you'll find the results for the show, as it happens, from Kickoff Show to the main card to everyone that partakes in both Royal Rumble matches. Stay tuned after the show for our review of all the matches.
Kickoff Show
Bobby Roode & Chad Gable (c) vs. Rezar & Scott Dawson (Raw Tag Team Championships)
Roode and Gable win at 6:52 by pin.
Rusev (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (United States Championship)
Nakamura wins by pin at 10:12.
Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto vs. Hideo Itami (Cruiserweight Championship)
Murphy pins Itami at 12:04.
Main Card
Asuka (c) vs. Becky Lynch (Smackdown Women's Championship)
Asuka submits Lynch at 17:07.
The Bar (c) vs. The Miz & Shane McMahon (Smackdown Tag Team Championship)
McMahon pins Cesaro at 13:21.
Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Sasha Banks (Raw Women's Championship)
Rousey wins by pin at 13:47.
Women's Royal Rumble
Lacey Evans
Natalya
Mandy Rose
Liv Morgan
Mickie James
Ember Moon
Billie Kay
Nikki Cross
Peyton Royce
Tamina
Xia Li
Sarah Logan
Charlotte Flair
Kairi Sane
Maria Kanellis
Naomi
Candice LeRae
Alicia Fox
Kacy Catanzaro
Zelina Vega
Ruby Riott
Dana Brooke
Io Shirai
Rhea Ripley
Sonya Deville
Alexa Bliss
Bayley
Lana -- She was attacked and Becky Lynch replaced her.
Nia Jax
Carmella
Becky Lynch wins at 1 hour 11 minutes.
Daniel Bryan (c) vs. AJ Styles (WWE Championship)
Bryan pins Styles at 24:31. Interference from Rowan helped get Bryan the win.
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Finn Balor (Universal Championship)
Lesnar submits Balor at 8:37.
Men's Royal Rumble
Elias
Jeff Jarrett
Shinsuke Nakamura
Kurt Angle
Big E
Johnny Gargano
Jinder Mahal
Samoa Joe
Curt Hawkins
Seth Rollins
Titus O'Neil
Kofi Kingston
Mustafa Ali
Dean Ambrose
No Way Jose
Drew McIntyre
Xavier Woods
Pete Dunne
Andrade Almas
Apollo Crews
Aleister Black
Shelton Benjamin
Baron Corbin
Jeff Hardy
Rey Mysterio
Bobby Lashley
Braun Strowman
Dolph Ziggler
Randy Orton
R-Truth (Nia Jax attacked him and entered the match)
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