EA to decide the fate of ill-received ‘Anthem’ this week

The project may receive a boost or get killed altogether

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Electronic Arts is reportedly holding a meeting this week to decide the fate of its failed multiplayer game Anthem.

Per Bloomberg, the gaming giant will be reviewing the reboot of the game, known thus far as Anthem 2.0 or Anthem Next, to decide on whether to expand the development team or abandon the project altogether. The information comes from “three people familiar with the matter”, who have asked not to be named.

Currently, the Anthem Next team consists of 30 people, and according to Bloomberg’s report, anonymous sources claim that number needs to be tripled “in order to produce new content and continue attempting to overhaul the game”. EA has yet to indicate if it’s willing to make that kind of commitment to the franchise.

Anthem was launched in 2019 by EA-owned developer BioWare. It was received poorly by players and reviewers alike thanks in part to a clunky UI, convoluted game mechanics and poor loading speeds.

Last year, BioWare announced that it would be overhauling the game. Over the following months, executive producer Christian Dailey outlined the developer’s plans in three blog posts – the latest of which was in October – but in December, he left the Anthem team as part of a BioWare management shakeup. Since then, the future of the project has been uncertain.

In other BioWare news, the developer’s upcoming Dragon Age 4 is set to take players to the region of Tevinter, according to a recently released official art book titled BioWare: Stories And Secrets From 25 Years Of Game Development.

Last December, BioWare also released another trailer for the game, teasing the return of fan-favourite character Solas in the closing seconds of the clip. No release date has been confirmed for the game yet.

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CD Projekt co-founder apologises for problematic ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ launch in a new video

Marcin Iwiński owned up to the shortcomings of CD Projekt RED’s leadership team and explained the issues with development plans

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CD Projekt RED co-founder Marcin Iwiński has issued a video apologising to players for the problematic launch of Cyberpunk 2077.

In the five-minute clip, Iwiński owned up to the shortcomings of CD Projekt RED’s leadership team, explained the issues with development plans and also laid out a roadmap for upcoming hot fixes, patches and DLCs.

Watch the full clip below.

In the clip, Iwiński acknowledged that the released product for consoles was not up to scratch and took the blame for it. He also urged players not to “fault” his teams for the game’s persistent issues.

“The console version of Cyberpunk 2077 did not meet the quality standard we wanted it to meet,” Iwiński said. “I and the entire leadership team are deeply sorry for this, and this video is me publicly owning up to that. Please don’t fault any of our teams for what happened.”

Iwiński also admits CD Projekt RED bit off more than it could chew when designing the game across PC and consoles. The plan was to build the game for PC and subsequently move it over to the last-gen consoles, but the studio “underestimated the task”. Iwiński said the main ‘culprit’ for the issues was the “in-gaming streaming system”, which is responsible for “feeding the engine with what you see on screen”.

Towards the end of the clip, Iwiński detailed CD Projekt RED’s plan to deliver a suite of hot fixes, patches and DLCs. The studio has released three hot fixes to date, and the co-founder said “that’s just the beginning”. Iwiński told players to expect both bigger and smaller patches on “a regular basis”.

“The first update will be dropping within 10 days,” he said. “It will be followed by another, more significant one in the following weeks.”

Iwiński also said the three free DLCs that were promised to arrive in early 2021 have been delayed so the team can “focus on the most important fixes and updates first”.

“Expect more information in the upcoming months,” he said.

Earlier this week, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, a Polish legal and business newspaper, revealed that Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has stepped in to investigate the game’s buggy launch, CDPR’s plans to fix the game and how refunds are being handled.

Cyberpunk 2077 dataminers have also uncovered the first details of the game’s upcoming multiplayer mode. According to a report by DSO Gaming, whose source was a dataminer who wanted to stay anonymous, the upcoming multiplayer mode will feature two different modes: Heists and Deathmatch.

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NME Christmas Gift Guide 2020: Gaming headsets, consoles, peripherals and gifts for gamers

Treat your favourite gamer to new gear this holiday season

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All products featured on NME Recommends are curated by our editorial team. NME may earn a small commission when you buy through our links.

Still stumped on what to buy your favourite gamer this holiday season? We’ve got you covered. On this list, you’ll find the hottest gear in the gaming world right now. We’ve got something for every type of gamer, whether they’re a diehard FIFA fan or a rising Twitch star.

With COVID still having a major impact on the retail industry, 2020’s holiday shopping season will be unlike any other. Shipping delays and stock shortages are to be expected, so if you see something you like don’t sit on it – especially for items like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Happy hunting.

Sony PlayStation 5

 

Sony’s PlayStation 5. Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment

The most coveted gaming console this holiday season – scoring a perfect five-star rating in our review – Sony’s PlayStation 5 has been notoriously difficult to come by. Thanks to COVID-related delays, the brand has been struggling to keep up with the overwhelming demand, being forced to release the console in batches. The PS5 represents the cutting edge in console gaming, combining gorgeous 4K gameplay with exceptional haptic controls to rise up to the hype surrounding it. A must-have for console fans.

As mentioned, the PS5 is currently out of stock, so check back at the following links to see if new units are available.

BUY NOW: $399 (Digital) / $499 (Disc) – Amazon US

BUY NOW: £359.99 (Digital) / £449.99 (Disc) – Amazon UK

Xbox Series X

Xbox Series X. Credit: Microsoft

The PS5’s opposite number is nothing to sniff at. Representing Microsoft’s latest in console technology, the Xbox Series X is the fastest, most powerful Xbox to date – designed such that gamers will spend more time playing and less time waiting.

A key design feature is the Series X’s seamless backwards compatibility, which means your loved one will be able to enjoy select Xbox 360, Original Xbox and Xbox One games they already own on the new console. Calling it “a worthy foray into the next console generation”, NMEs Jordan Oloman gave the Xbox Series X a 4.5-star rating.

The Xbox Series X is just as difficult to come by as the PS5, however, so keep on the lookout via the following links.

BUY NOW: $499 – Amazon US

BUY NOW: £449.99 – Amazon UK

Oculus Quest 2

Oculus Quest 2. Credit: Oculus

The Oculus Quest 2 is the best VR gaming headset you can get your hands on right now, nabbing a commendable four-star rating in our recent review. Perfect for escaping into the virtual world, the Quest 2 offers a ton of next-level experiences – you can slip into the shoes of a smuggler near Mustafar in Vader Immortal: Episode I and bop with BTS in Beat Saber. You could even download Netflix or Prime Video VR for a truly immersive TV experience.

BUY NOW: $399 – Amazon US

BUY NOW: £399 – Amazon UK

Nintendo Switch

Credit: Amazon

The ultimate console for Nintendo fans, the Switch has dominated sales in the US for the past 23 months – with October being its best month so far, seeing 735,926 units sold that month. The Switch features a phenomenal library of games, including fan favourites like Mario Kart 8, The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, Animal Crossing: New Horizons as well as upcoming titles like John Wick Hex and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury.

BUY NOW: From $409 – Amazon US

BUY NOW: From £349.95 – Amazon UK

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Credit: Insomniac Games

2020’s follow-up to Marvel’s Spider-Man invites fans to experience an all-new Spidey through the eyes of Miles Morales. Swing through the snowy streets of New York with him as he learns what it takes to become a superhero.

Although it’s available on both PS4 and PS5, we highly recommend playing this game on the latter, owing to the console’s exceptional haptic feedback. Your loved one will truly feel each of Miles’ punches, web shots and venom blasts in their hands. NME’s Jordan Oloman gave this game a four-star rating, calling it “a web-slinging wonder brimming with potential”.

BUY NOW: $69.88 – Amazon US

BUY NOW: £49.99 – Amazon UK

FIFA 21 for Xbox Series X

Credit: Amazon

If you’re looking for a gift for a football fan, it’s hard to go wrong with the latest instalment of FIFA. This year’s edition, while a marginal improvement from FIFA 20, is still a great football game featuring phenomenal graphics, slick attacking gameplay – something NME’s Stacey Henley enjoyed in her review of the game – and a very enjoyable online multiplayer experience. The latter has become exceedingly useful, considering fans can’t have the usual in-person FIFA parties they’re used to.

BUY NOW: $28 (Amazon US)

BUY NOW: £32.99 (Amazon UK)

Razer BlackShark V2 Pro wireless gaming headset

Credit: Amazon

Speaking of multiplayers, a headset is an essential tool for online gamers – nothing is more frustrating than not being able to communicate effectively with your team. The Razer BlackShark V2 Pro is a great choice for a number of reasons. First, it’s wireless so you don’t need to deal with cables. Second, it’s compatible with PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S. And third, it’s an absolute sight to behold. Sure, it’s on the pricier end of headsets, but it’s the season of giving right?

BUY NOW: $179.99 – Amazon US

BUY NOW: £152.44 – Amazon UK

Super Mario 3D All-Stars

Credit: Nintendo

This game is a no-brainer for Mario fans and those thinking of introducing young’uns to our favourite moustachioed plumber. Super Mario 3D All-Stars sees Nintendo repackage three of the best Mario adventures ever made: Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy. As a nod to fans, Nintendo has also included a total of 175 iconic Mario tunes within these games.

BUY NOW: $49.95 – Amazon US

BUY NOW: £39.99 – Amazon UK

Elgato Stream Deck

Credit: Amazon

Someone thinking about or looking to get into the streaming game? Then the Elgato Stream Deck makes for a great gift for them. It’s built with content creators in mind, with intuitive features designed to assist with streaming. It has 15 fully customisable LCD keys which can be programmed to do everything from switching scenes to launching media to adjusting audio. Traditionally accomplished with intricate keyboard mapping, this is a streamlined and accessible alternative.

BUY NOW: $158.99 – Amazon US

BUY NOW: £139.99 – Amazon UK

Blue Yeti USB microphone

Credit: Amazon

The Blue Yeti is the ultimate microphone for streamers and gamers alike. It has a three-capsule design, allowing it to excel in various situations, from streaming to gaming to podcasting and even conference calls. If you’d like to take it a step further, the mic also comes in a Yeticaster setup which also includes a boom arm and the Radius III vintage style shockmount. The latter is built to isolate the Yeti from noise, shock and ambient vibration for exceptional sound quality.

BUY NOW: $129.99 – Amazon US

BUY NOW: £229.99 – Amazon UK

More X’mas and holiday gift ideas for gamers

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Minecraft music festival: Diplo, A-Trak, Claptone and more to feature

Over 300 artists to be announced in the line-up

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Electronic music production company Rave Family has announced its inaugural Minecraft music festival Electric Blockaloo, happening from 25-28 June, featuring over 300 artists in the line-up.

With some of the biggest names in the electronic dance music sphere, Electric Blockaloo is said to “define what a festival will look like in 2020” – in reference to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which has shaken up the live music event industry. Artists that have been announced in the line-up include Diplo, A-Trak, Claude VonStroke, ZHU, Claptone and many more.

Credit: Rave Family

According to Rave Family, Electric Blockaloo will feature a 60/40 revenue split with the artists, allowing the them to monetise their own ticket sales. Artists will be provided a link they can share with their fans, with which they can in turn purchase tickets through.

Both the java and Bedrock versions of Minecraft will be supported, so that means attendees can access Electric Blockaloo via mobile phones, PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and VR. For those unfamiliar with Minecraft, Rave Family will be hosting a training camp in the lead up to the festival. Here, players and attendees will learn how to navigate, swim, shop and socialise in the Minecraft universe.

“Electric Blockaloo is a place where artists and fans can come together, create shared musical experiences, and reconnect with each other in an immersive way,” said event founder Jackie McGuire. “It’s also much more environmentally friendly than traditional festivals, and a portion of each ticket will help support Bye Bye Plastic, an amazing organization that aims to eliminate single-use plastic from music festivals by 2025.”

This isn’t the first event of its kind. Last week saw the second attempt at Block By Blockwest, a Minecraft music festival featuring the likes of Grandson, Idles, Pussy Riot, The Wrecks and Sir Sly. It was originally planned for April 25 as reported by Patrick Clarke on NME, but it proved so popular that it crashed the organisers’ servers, forcing its postponement.

 

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Apex Legends new trailer reveals Loba’s abilities

Map changes and new cosmetic rewards unveiled, too

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Respawn Entertainment has launched a new gameplay trailer for Apex Legends Season 5 – Fortune’s Favor, and it finally provides glimpses at Loba Andrade’s abilities. The clip also confirms map changes as well as new cosmetic rewards.

Loba Andrade was revealed in a recent cinematic trailer for the upcoming update – which launches May 12 – teasing her abilities as well as briefly exploring her backstory. The new gameplay trailer confirms that Loba will have teleportation abilities, which she achieves by throwing out a small disc of sorts and instantly re-appearing at its location. The range of this ability is as yet unclear. Another ability that was briefly demonstrated in the video sees Loba turn her wolf head-topped staff into a mini ‘shop’ to purchase weapons, upgrades and items. Watch the trailer below.

On top of Loba’s abilities, the gameplay trailer also revealed that players will be returning to Kings Canyon in the new season, albeit with some changes made to the map. Due to some large-scale ‘excavation works’, certain areas in the map have been completely revamped. Kings Canyon was the game’s only map until the introduction of Season 3, where it was replaced by World’s Edge.

Not forgetting its existing legends, Respawn Entertainment also announced new skins for Bangalore, Mirage and Revenant in the trailer. Presumably, these will be a part of the unlockable rewards for the Season 5 battle pass.

Season 5 of Apex Legends, titled Fortune’s Favour, will launch on May 12. Apex Legends is available on PC, Xbox One and PS4.

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‘The Last Of Us Part II’: Watch the new story trailer here

Find out what happened to Ellie and Joel after the first game

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The official story trailer for Naughty Dog’s The Last Of Us Part II is finally here. It lands just a day after the studio teased it on Twitter. Watch the full trailer below.

The new clip gives players a wider look at the scope of the game, providing some context as to what transpired between the game’s two protagonists, Ellie and Joel, after the last game, as well as what this sequel holds. From the new trailer, it’s obvious the main theme of The Last Of Us II is Ellie fighting her way through the infected to exact her revenge of some other survivors who’ve crossed her. Joel accompanies her, refusing to let her set about this task alone.

Fans first got a glimpse of the game in 2016, when the first trailer launched. Since then, two others have been released: a huge gameplay reveal at E3 2018 and another cinematic trailer that debuted during Sony’s State of Play live stream event in September last year. The latter provided a release date for the game, which at the time was February 21 2020.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, however, the game was postponed indefinitely before it received a June 19 release date.

Earlier this week, the game’s director, Neil Druckmann, announced that the game has officially gone gold, and is now ready to be printed and distributed for a mass audience, confirming its June 19 release date.

The new instalment of the game picks up five years after the events of the original, award-winning game. The Last Of Us followed Ellie and Joel as they fought their way through a post-apocalyptic United States infested with humans that have been turned into zombies by a mutated fungus. On top of the infected, the pair have to deal with dangerous, desperate human survivors as well.

The Last Of Us II arrives June 19. Pre-orders are available online.

 

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Sony PlayStation 5: release date, launch games, controller and everything you need to know

The PS5 is arriving holiday season 2020 – keep up-to-date with the latest right here

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Sony’s next-gen console, the PlayStation 5, will go toe-to-toe with the Xbox Series X when it arrives later this year. Sony has remained tight-lipped about the launch, but some details about the PS5 have been revealed over the past few months.

From the PS5’s specs discussed at the March reveal event to the unveiling of the DualSense controller, fans now have a better picture of what awaits them at the end of 2020.

Eager to know more? Scroll on to find out everything you need to know right now about Sony’s upcoming console.

What’s the latest news?

  • Sony reveals the PlayStation 5 start-up sound via a Burger King ad
  • Sony details all backward compatibility games for the PS5
  • Watch the full in-depth teardown of the PlayStation 5

What is the PlayStation 5?

The PS5 is Sony’s next-gen console, which will replace the PS4 (2013) and its variants, the PS4 Slim (2016) and PS4 Pro (2016). It will be a direct competitor to Xbox’s very own next-gen console, the Xbox Series X.

When will PlayStation 5 be released?

Sony announced the release date and price for its upcoming next-gen console during a PS5 presentation on September 16. The console will be available from November 12 in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. The rest of the world is expected to receive the PS5 on November 19. The PS5 digital edition will also be available on the same dates.

Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO and President Jim Ryan later revealed that the company will have more PS5 units on sale at launch than it did with the PS4 back in 2013, although the Sony exec did not divulge concrete figures. Back in 2013, the PS4 sold 2.1million units within its first two weeks back in 2013, with over a million of those being sold on the first day of its launch.

In late August 2020, Sony announced it would open an invite-only pre-order for the PlayStation 5. It is currently only open to U.S. residents for the time being, with each buyer limited to a small number of consoles and peripherals. According to Sony’s announcement, there will also be a “limited quantity of PS5 consoles available for pre-order” this holiday season.

On August 4, a new Bloomberg report noted that Sony would be holding a event later in the month to reveal more news regarding the upcoming console. Although no information about the event has been revealed, its possible that it will feature release and re-order details.

Sony has not announced a firm date, only saying the PS5 will arrive during the 2020 “holiday” period in the US. Presumably, that means somewhere between October and December this year. This is the same window during which the Xbox Series X will launch. Historically, PlayStation launches have occurred in November, so we can expect the same for the PS5.

On May 13 in an earnings report, Sony added that “development is progressing with the launch of [the PlayStation 5] scheduled for the 2020 holiday season” despite challenges arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

Sony Interactive Entertainment’s CEO and President, Jim Ryan, told the BBC on May 29 that the company is “feeling good” about their supply chain, added that the PS5 is “going to launch this year and we’ll be global”.

How much will PlayStation 5 cost?

The console will retail for £449.99 (US $499.99). A digital edition of the PS5, which removes the disc drive, will be available for £359.99 (US $399.99).

What are the specs for PlayStation 5?

In August 2020, Sony released a new trailer for the PS5 that showed off many of the enhancements players can expect with the upcoming console, including haptic feedback, 3D audio and adaptive triggers. Watch the trailer below.

The live-action clip captures a young woman demonstrating many of the PS5’s capabilities. At the start she runs across the ice from a kraken, the roaring sound from the monster conveys the feeling of how haptic feedback will feed vibrations throughout the DualSense controller. Other elements include her reacting the 3D audio and firing an arrow at a monstrous beast to show the tension used in the adaptive triggers.

Alongside the trailer, Sony also released a PlayStation Blog post that further details how some of these features will be incorporated into its upcoming games, such as Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

In March 2020, Sony held its first PS5 reveal livestream event – due to COVID-19 – where lead system architect Mark Cerny provided a deep dive into the console’s hardware. Without bogging you down too much with all the tech specs and jargon, here’s a glimpse of the important stuff.

  • SSD: The PS5 will include an SSD in its design, which will be much faster than its predecessor, which used a HDD. How much faster? Where the PS4’s HDD would load 1GB of data in 20 seconds, the PS5’s SSD will load 2GB in 0.27 seconds. During the event, Cerny said fast-travel in games will become “blink-and-you-miss-it” fast.
  • Expandable storage: The PS5 will come stocked with an 825GB SSD for storage. That’s already massive, but Cerny also said that the new console will be compatible with third-party SSDs. The PS5 will include a bay that can accommodate the drive. In comparison, the Xbox Series X makes use of proprietary SSDs, which can only be purchased from Microsoft.
  • Backwards compatibility: Thanks to its custom CPU and graphics processing unit, the PS5 will be able to handle backwards compatibility. Cerny said this feature was tested by developers on 100 of the most-played PS4 games at the time. At launch, most of these games will be available for play. However, the system will not support games from the PS3 or older, according to Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan.

What will be included with the PlayStation 5

On October 27, Sony officially lifted the lid on PS5 unboxing videos, giving players a look at everything that will be included with the next-gen console.

Unlike the Xbox Series X units that have been distributed to publications, which has been marked as a demo build, the PS5 console is the same model that will be available to consumers on launch day.

Inside the box, the contents have been revealed by numerous YouTubers such as Marques Brownlee and Jenna Ezarik. Consumers will find the console; a base; the DualSense wireless controller; AC power cord; a USB-C to USB-A cable for controller charging; a HDMI cable which is said to be the same make as the one bundled with the PS4 Pro; and all the printed materials.

What will the PlayStation 5 look like?

On October 13, Sony officially unveiled the start-up sound of the upcoming PlayStation 5 console through a recently released Burger King advert. Check it out below.

Sony released a full teardown of the PlayStation 5 in October. In the clip, Yasuhiro Ootori, vice president of mechanical design at Sony Interactive Entertainment, detailed the unique features incorporated into the console and how it all functions to create the most “dramatic” improvement in the company’s history.

The console itself will be 104mm wide, 390mm high and 260mm, making it much larger than the PS4. On the front of the console, owners will find both a USB-A and USB-C slot. Turning the console around, the back will consist of two USB-A slots, a LAN port, HDMI slot and an AC in connector.

Ootori also showed viewers how the PS5 can be modified from vertical to horizontal. A base on the bottom of the console can be unscrewed and stored inside the base. To ensure it stays upright when horizontal, the stand can be clipped onto one of the sides to balance the console on the surface.

According to new leaked images of the PlayStation 5 from a factory in China, the console could possibly feature interchangeable faceplates that will let players customise it to their fit their own visual preferences.

Check out the images below.

On June 11, Sony revealed what the PlayStation 5 will look like for the first time during its The Future Of Gaming event. It also showcased a handful of peripherals, such as a controller charging dock, headset and noise cancelling microphone.

Sony also revealed that the PlayStation 5 will come in two versions: the normal PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition. The latter removes the disk drive in favour of digital games, which likely means a lower price point, although Sony has yet to provide any pricing information.

What games have been announced for PlayStation 5?

In October, Sony unveiled the full list of PS4 games that will be backwards compatible on the PS5. The “overwhelming majority of the 4,000+ games” from the current-gen console will be available to play at launch, with the exception of a handful.

The games which won’t be compatible with the PS5 include: DWVRAfro Samurai 2 Revenge of Kuma Volume OneTT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2Just Deal With It!Shadow Complex RemasteredRobinson: The JourneyWe SingHitman Go: Definitive EditionShadwen and Joe’s Diner.

In August 2020, Eric Lempel, senior vice president and head of global marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment, called the PS5 launch games “the best line-up that we’ve ever seen in the history of PlayStation”.

During the interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Lempel also hinted that Sony has yet to reveal all the PS5 launch titles. “We’ve revealed some of that content,” he said. “And naturally there will be more to come”

During Sony‘s The Future Of Gaming event on June 11, the company announced 25 games which are headed to the PlayStation 5. Among the games were a number of much-anticipated sequels such as Horizon Forbidden West, the follow-up to Horizon Zero Dawn, and Resident Evil Village, a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.

Deathloop. Credit: Arkane Studios.

Other games revealed during the event include Deathloop from Dishonored developer Arkane Studios, a new IP from Square Enix titled Project Athia, a brand-new Ratchet & Clank game called Rift Apart and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the follow-up to 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man.

On May 29, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) announced The Future Of Gaming, a digital event that will give fans a first look at upcoming PlayStation 5 games. The event won’t reveal the console itself, but will instead focus on games coming to the system.

“The games coming to PS5 represent the best in the industry from innovative studios that span the globe. Studios, both larger and smaller, those newer and those more established, all have been hard at work developing games that will showcase the potential of the hardware,” said Jim Ryan, President and CEO of SIE.

The Future Of Gaming followed reports that Sony was reportedly planning to showcase games for the PlayStation 5 at a virtual event on June 3, according to separate reports from Bloomberg and VentureBeat. Additional events are also in the works, including a State Of Play episode for the console scheduled for August.

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. Credit: BossLogic

Sony has also instructed developers to have all future PS4 games be compatible with the PS5. In developer documentation, the company stated that all PS4 games submitted to Sony after July 13 for certification must also be tested with PS5 hardware for compatibility.

On May 19, Sony president and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida announced during a corporate strategy meeting that they were planning to “introduce a compelling line-up of titles soon”, from both first- and third-party developers. However, neither a date nor specific details for this reveal were stated.

Apart from the aforementioned backwards compatibility, the titles that have been announced for the PS5 include:

EA’s upcoming games will feature a free “upgrade” for next-gen consoles

Electronic Arts COO Blake Jorgensen confirmed in a recent investors call that the publisher’s upcoming titles will feature a free “upgrade” to next-gen consoles. “This year, the phasing includes the effect of revenue recognition from the games we are launching for the current generation of consoles that can also be upgraded free for the next generation,” he said.

It is as yet unclear if this will be achieved through the PS5 and Xbox Series X’s backwards compatibility features, or through a proprietary EA tool. More details regarding this feature should be unveiled at EA’s upcoming Play Live event on June 11/12.

Destiny 2 will release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, confirms developer

Bungie has confirmed that its free-to-play online multiplayer FPS, Destiny 2, will be making an appearance on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The news was announced by the studio on May 8 on Twitter, in response to a tweet by Xbox about upcoming releases. See the tweet below.

Call Of Duty: Warzone. Credit: Activision

Infinity Ward confirms Call Of Duty: Warzone for next-gen consoles

Infinity Ward’s narrative director Taylor Kurosaki has confirmed that Call Of Duty: Warzone will be making its way to the PS5. “I know that our plan is: Warzone is going to be around for quite some time, so as soon as [next-gen consoles, like the PS5] are out and available I’m sure we’ll support them,” he said.

Horizon: Zero Dawn 2 is reportedly a PlayStation 5 exclusive, will feature co-op

Guerrilla Games is working on a sequel to Horizon: Zero Dawn, which may be a PS5 exclusive and feature co-op gameplay. Multiple unnamed sources reportedly informed Video Games Chronicle that the developer started working on Horizon: Zero Dawn 2 soon after the release of the original, and that the new game will feature a “larger game world and more freedom to explore”. The game is also likely to have a co-op mode, a feature that was meant to be on the original, but was cut due to feasibility.

PlayStation 5 units will be “limited at launch”, says Sony

Sony has reportedly made significantly lower quantities of PlayStation 5 Digital Edition available as compared to the standard PS5. According to a report by Eurogamer, a much lower amount of digital consoles have been made available for pre-order. The publication cited a source from a major UK retailer, which stated that its allocation of digital-only console was around 25 per cent, with the standard taking up the remaining 75 per cent.

According to a Bloomberg report in April, Sony only plans to ship an estimated total of five to six million units through the end of March 2021. In comparison, it sold 7.5million PS4 consoles over its equivalent launch period in 2013. Sony expects that the PS5’s loftier price tag may deter initial pick-up by many.

However, a subsequent Bloomberg report from July noted that Sony is increasing PlayStation 5 production to meet expected demand when it launches during the 2020 holiday season.

The report noted that Sony’s revised production plan of 10million units takes into account concerns of a second COVID-19 wave in several territories. The company is anticipating more people will be staying at home and turning to gaming as a form of entertainment.

A first look at gameplay on the PlayStation 5

On May 14, Epic Games unveiled the first real-time gameplay footage from a PlayStation 5 with the announcement of its Unreal Engine 5. The breathtaking video featured a tech demo called In The Land Of Nanite, which was run from a PlayStation 5 dev kit.

“I think a lot of people [will ask], ‘Oh is [the demo] real?’ But you know that demo was grabbed from the back of a PlayStation 5 development kit,” Epic Games chief technology officer Kim Libreri told IGN. “An HDMI cable went into a disc recorder and played out real-time – no editing, no tricks, that’s what comes off the box.”

A first look at the PlayStation 5 controller

On June 11, during The Future Of Gaming event, Sony released a trailer for the PlayStation 5 controller that showed off its adaptive triggers, built in-microphone and a headset jack.

Sony officially announced the DualSense controller for the PS5 on April 7. The design of the new DualSense controller is geared towards delivering an enhanced level of immersion for players. This includes “adaptive triggers into the L2 and R2 buttons of DualSense so you can truly feel the tension of your actions, like when drawing a bow to shoot an arrow”, Senior Vice President for Platform Planning & Management Hideaki Nishino said during the reveal on April 7.

Another major upgrade is the inclusion of a built-in microphone array, which will enable players to easily chat with friends without a headset, making it ideal for jumping into quick conversations. The controller will also feature a new Create button, the function of which will be revealed closer to launch.

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Thundercat releases new song about the late Mac Miller

‘Fair Chance’ also features appearances from Ty Dolla $ign and Lil B

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Thundercat has released a new song, ‘Fair Chance’, featuring rappers Ty Dolla $ign and Lil B. Listen to it below.

The track is a tribute to the late Mac Miller, and is set to feature on the Thundercat’s upcoming LP ‘It Is What It Is’, out April 3. The bassist was due to open for Miller on tour when the latter died in September 2018.

“This song is about Mac…when he passed it shook the ground for the artist community,” Thundercat said in a press release. “Ty’s a strong dude and when he heard the song he knew exactly what it should be. I was there when he recorded it. We talked about what it was, and he did what he felt was right to it, and I love what he did.”

Check out ‘Fair Chance’ here.

‘It Is What It Is’ includes previously released singles such as ‘Black Qualls’ and ‘Dragonball Durag’, and will feature contributions by a host of other artists including Childish Gambino, Kamasi Washington, Steve Lacy, Steve Arrington, BADBADNOTGOOD, Louis Cole and Zack Fox.

Thundercat had previously explained that ‘It Is What It Is’ deals with feelings of “love, loss, life and the ups and downs that come with that”.

He continued: “It’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, but at different points in life you come across places that you don’t necessarily understand… some things just aren’t meant to be understood.”

‘It Is What It Is’ is a follow-up to Thundercat’s 2017 album ‘Drunk’. In a four-star review of that record, NME’s Greg Cochrane described it as “an album totally high on its own unique ideas”.

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