Author: Zach Barbieri

Square Enix plans to investigate blockchain and cloud-based technology look set to continue despite the change in leadership that came in mid-2023. Alongside this, it appears that new generative AI will also be something the company plans to aggressively pursue for the development of future games from the company. These plans emerged in Square Enix’s annual New Year letter, which was penned by the company’s new CEO Takashi Kiryu, who took over for Yosuke Matsuda after he stepped down in 2023 at a time that seemed to coincide with the studio losing investments related to blockchain technology. Kiryu noted in…

Rockstar Games has officially announced Grand Theft Auto VI after a year of leaks and rumors about the game. While this is not the first time that Rockstar has confirmed the game’s existence, this announcement comes with a time frame for the first trailer for the game. Rockstar has announced they will release their announcement trailer in December 2023, coinciding with the 25th Anniversary of the founding of RockStar Games. This news was announced through a post on Rockstar Newswire, confirming rumors earlier this month that an official unveiling was imminent. In this release, penned by the studio head Sam…

Sony has a large amount of tech releasing this holiday season, which now includes the upgraded PlayStation 5 slim versions of both their physical and digital consoles. In addition to their Digital Version of the platform costing 50 dollars more than their current digital console, it will feature the ability to upgrade to a disk version through an 80-dollar Blu-ray disk drive sold separately. An upcoming ad for a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III PS5 Console Bundle brought this back into the limelight, featuring the updated hardware and stating that “Internet connection required to pair Disc Drive and PS5…

After a year and a half, Microsoft announced that they acquired Activision Blizzard King for $69 Million. This officially brings popular franchises such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, Diablo, Crash Bandicoot, and more into the Xbox Family. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYU4q594LJ0 In an official post on Xbox Wire, Phil Spencer stated that work has begun on integrating Activision and Blizzard games into Xbox Game Pass. He stated: Today we start the work to bring beloved Activision, Blizzard, and King franchises to Game Pass and other platforms. We’ll share more about when you can expect to play in the coming months. We know you’re…

Paradox Interactive, publisher of games like Cities: Skylines and A Plague Tale: Requiem, has referred to their recent release of tactical RPG The Lamplighters League as a “big disappointment”. Despite only being released a week ago, it appears that the game is unlikely to make back its development costs, resulting in a $22.7m loss. Developed by Paradox-owned Harebrained Schemes, better known for the Tactical Shadowrun games which were recently released on consoles in trilogy format, took their experience on those games into The Lamplighters League. Taking its cues from 1930s pulp fiction, the game blends real-time stealth mechanics with a…

After being heavily speculated for most of this year, Sony has finally unveiled the PlayStation 5 Slim, their more compact version of the PlayStation 5 system. With us closing in on the 3rd year anniversary of the PS5, it does seem like the perfect time to release it. Better yet, gamers who want this version of Sony’s latest console do not have to wait long as Sony plans to release the Slim in November, just in time for the Holiday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BU4VXofbQk Both models of the PlayStation 5 Slim will ship with 1TB of internal storage. The biggest addition announced was…

Every Time a new Assassin’s Creed game releases I feel my age. The number of people I meet on a daily basis who weren’t even alive for the first title in the series always puts into perspective the depressing thought that… Damn… I am old. It makes me feel even older is the fact the latest game in the franchise, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, can toute itself as a return to the classic formula of the series circa 2007, with this being a big deal. Based on the feedback of the fanbase I have heard in the buildup, this definitely is…

Following three separate rounds of Layoffs at CD Projekt Red over the summer, a new union has been formed in Poland. Związek Pracowników Branży Gier, or Polish Gamedev Workers Union was formed with the mission structure of of representing “all professions and people working in the game development sector in Poland.” This organization was formed by two still-employed members of CD Projekt Red, gameplay programmer Lev Ki, and gameplay QA analyst Paweł Myszka. According to the union’s website, the group aims to not only protect developers but also employees in marketing, publishing, and operations, along with anybody else working in…

Now that CD Projekt Red has declared that the development of Cyberpunk 2077 is concluded with the recently released 2.0, and Phantom Liberty, it looks like the company is ready to announce its next ventures into the Cyberpunk Universe. It appears that besides the already-announced Cyberpunk 2077 follow-up game it also appears that CDPR has planned something described as  “a live-action project set in the world of its best-selling video game, Cyberpunk 2077.” This project is being developed in conjunction with Anonymous Content, the production company behind shows like True Detective and Mr. Robot, as well as movies like The…

According to a new report by Polygon, the team of Quality Assurance workers who unionized while attached to the upcoming Dragon Age: Dreadwolf from developer Bioware, have been laid off. These staff members, similar to most QA employees, were contractors working for outsourcing giant Keywords. It has been stated that this group faced an uphill fight to form the union, stemming from arguments surrounding remote work. Obviously getting a union off the ground in the highly resistant video game industry is a struggle, as the Raven Softwares QA team went through a similar fight a few years ago. Keywords have…