Apple is increasingly focusing on building its own devices and expanding its ecosystem by taking steps towards a more native experience for users and relying less on third-party accessories. While the Cupertino-based tech giant's HomePod and AppleTV have left quite the mark in the smart home category, it generally relies more on outsourcing cameras and other hardware for smart homes. Now, a new report suggests that the company intends to create a fully integrated experience by developing its own smart home accessories. Gurman hints about Apple working on making smart home products like security cameras for a more integrated experience […]
We’re continuing our Best of Black Friday posts today with a look at the best current deals on power stations and their respective bundle options. Folks across the country and beyond have been steadily investing more and more in the industry for a vari...
Blizzard has announced that two decades after its release, World of Warcraft is finally going to let players build a home and live in it. The feature has long been requested by WoW players and now it’s finally coming in the game’s next expansion.Read m...
Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds will receive the Godspawn update, adding a new 50-player boss battle, a new 10-player raid, and a legendary spear. Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds is getting the first major update "Godspawn" on November 19th, expanding the story with new story chapters The MMORPG Guild Wars 2 by ArenaNet is receiving its first major update for the Janthir Wilds expansion soon. It's the first of three major updates, and it'll land on November 19. The update will add new content to the game for the players. The Janthir Wilds expansion DLC was released in August this year, […]
DON'T NOD may be done with the Life is Strange series, but they are most definitely not done with the narrative genre they helped shape with their games, as the Montreal studio is hard at work on Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, a game that promises to turn up to eleven everything seen in the developer's previous games with multiple main characters, two different timelines, and a mystery story that feels gripping right from the start. During Gamescom 2024, I had the chance to talk with Creative Director Michel Koch, Executive Producer Luc Baghadoust, and Producer Cathy Vincelli, discussing the […]
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is the long-anticipated return of the Budokai Tenkaichi series, which, from the very first entry in the series, set itself apart from most games based on the series created by Akira Toriyama with its explosive gameplay that well represented the intense fights filled with energy blasts and all sorts of other explosive combat techniques. During Gamescom 2024, we had the chance not only to try out the game but also to speak with the game's producer Jun Furutani, discussing the return of the series, the available game modes, the netcode, and the possibility of high framerate […]
Earlier this year, Warhorse Studios finally satisfied the many fans of its debut title with the announcement of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. The Czech developer had been quiet for a very long time but came out of the shadows promising a 2024 launch and a bigger, better game in every respect. The release had to be delayed a little beyond the original plan to February 11, 2025, but the rest of the promises remain intact, as testified by Chris's recent hands-on preview. At Gamescom 2024, I also got my hands on the game, although the session was much shorter than […]
At Gamescom 2024, I checked out the highly anticipated medieval RPG Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and interviewed Martin Klima, Executive Producer at Warhorse Studios. The full interview will go live soon, but in the meantime, here's an excerpt related to the game's technology. I know that you've kept the CryENGINE. Did you consider any other engine early on? When we finished KCD, we looked at the technology we were using and considered our options. However, we decided that keeping CryENGINE made the most sense for us because we spent a lot of time customizing it for our needs. I think […]
Gamers were very surprised to learn the price of the PS5 Pro. Rumors suggested it could be around $500, but Sony went much more expensive. The mid-generation console refresh will be available in retail stores from November 7 at $700 (€800 in Europe), and that's without the disc drive and vertical stand. By comparison, the PlayStation 4 Pro only cost $/€ 399, the same as the base PlayStation 4 at launch. Will this massive price hike hurt the sales of the PS5 Pro? We asked our good friend Rhys Elliott, a Games Industry Analyst at MIDiA Research. Elliott provided a […]
Keiichiro Toyama is a name that horror games fans know rather well, having directed and written the very first entry in the Silent Hill series, but that isn't the only game the Japanese developer created, as he was also the man behind Sony's Siren series. Moving away from horror games, Toyama-san created and directed the Gravity Rush series, which, surprisingly enough, had the same impact on the soon-to-be-released Slitterhead as the horror games the legendary game director created before it. During Gamescom 2024, we had the chance to talk with Toyama-san about his next game, the unique mechanics that set […]
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, out today on PC and consoles (you can find our review here), is a huge game in Saber Interactive's strategy. However, there's more than just Space Marine 2 to the studio's plan to navigate the current crisis of the videogame industry, which saw many studio closures and even more mass layoffs. At Gamescom 2024, I had the great opportunity to chat about this with Saber Interactive Chief Creative Officer (CCO) Tim Willits, an industry veteran who worked for 23 years at id Software. Having witnessed several ups and downs during his career, he expressed confidence […]
EVERSPACE 2 developer ROCKFISH Games, being headquartered in Hamburg, couldn't very well pass up on the Cologne-based Gamescom, especially since they've got the Titans DLC coming up soon. Due to launch on September 16 across all platforms (PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X) for a price tag of $15, this is the first story DLC for the space combat game that was fully released in 2023. I caught up with ROCKFISH Games CEO and Co-Founder Michael Schade and Communications Manager Lee Guille to learn more about EVERSPACE 2: Titans and to discuss various aspects of the industry, from their […]
At Gamescom 2024, I caught up with Rich Lambert, Game Director for Elder Scrolls Online at ZeniMax. This wasn't the first time I interviewed Rich - I met him in person at E3 2019, and then we had a number of remote interviews over the past five years or so. This year, though, is special for the MMORPG, which has turned 10. ZeniMax is doing several celebrations with the community throughout the whole year, with the excuse that the console version launched around a year after the PC version. With the release of Gold Road, the yearly expansion (or Chapter, […]
Goichi Suda, more commonly known as Suda51, and Shinji Mikami require no introductions. Over the long years of their careers, they released seminal titles that have had a lasting impact on video games and contributed to shaping the medium as we know it today. The No More Heroes series, Killer 7, the Resident Evil and Dino Crisis series, the original Devil May Cry, and Viewtiful Joe are only some of the games the two Japanese developers either created or helped make that have influenced many of the games that came after them. Besides the aforementioned Killer 7, Suda 51 and […]
At Gamescom 2024, I had the chance to speak to Derek Qiu, Head of Overseas Operations for Once Human, the 'New Weird' free-to-play survival game published by NetEase and developed by Starry Studio. The game launched on PC on July 10 and immediately registered strong player numbers. Qiu discussed the upcoming features and updates, answered some questions from the Once Human community, and confirmed that the mobile and console launches are on the way. The plan is to merge everything into a single unified community thanks to cross-play. Tell me about the recent launch. How is it going so far? […]
About a year ago, publisher Fulqrum and developer Dreamate unveiled New Arc Line, a new cRPG set in a setting that mixes steampunk with magic and fantasy. Its premise and features have intrigued me from the get-go, so I was very interested in checking it out at Gamescom 2024. It was originally billed as a hands-on demo, but it turned out to be a presentation. Still, I learned quite a few new things about the game, which is still slated to launch before the end of the year on PC (the console versions may come later, as you'll read below). […]
DON'T NOD may be done with the Life is Strange series, but they are most definitely not done with the narrative genre they helped shape with their games, as the Montreal studio is hard at work on Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, a game that promises to turn up to eleven everything seen in the developer's previous games with multiple main characters, two different timelines, and a mystery story that feels gripping right from the start. During Gamescom 2024, I had the chance to talk with Creative Director Michel Koch, Executive Producer Luc Baghadoust, and Producer Cathy Vincelli, discussing the […]
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is the long-anticipated return of the Budokai Tenkaichi series, which, from the very first entry in the series, set itself apart from most games based on the series created by Akira Toriyama with its explosive gameplay that well represented the intense fights filled with energy blasts and all sorts of other explosive combat techniques. During Gamescom 2024, we had the chance not only to try out the game but also to speak with the game's producer Jun Furutani, discussing the return of the series, the available game modes, the netcode, and the possibility of high framerate […]
Earlier this year, Warhorse Studios finally satisfied the many fans of its debut title with the announcement of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. The Czech developer had been quiet for a very long time but came out of the shadows promising a 2024 launch and a bigger, better game in every respect. The release had to be delayed a little beyond the original plan to February 11, 2025, but the rest of the promises remain intact, as testified by Chris's recent hands-on preview. At Gamescom 2024, I also got my hands on the game, although the session was much shorter than […]
At Gamescom 2024, I checked out the highly anticipated medieval RPG Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and interviewed Martin Klima, Executive Producer at Warhorse Studios. The full interview will go live soon, but in the meantime, here's an excerpt related to the game's technology. I know that you've kept the CryENGINE. Did you consider any other engine early on? When we finished KCD, we looked at the technology we were using and considered our options. However, we decided that keeping CryENGINE made the most sense for us because we spent a lot of time customizing it for our needs. I think […]
Gamers were very surprised to learn the price of the PS5 Pro. Rumors suggested it could be around $500, but Sony went much more expensive. The mid-generation console refresh will be available in retail stores from November 7 at $700 (€800 in Europe), and that's without the disc drive and vertical stand. By comparison, the PlayStation 4 Pro only cost $/€ 399, the same as the base PlayStation 4 at launch. Will this massive price hike hurt the sales of the PS5 Pro? We asked our good friend Rhys Elliott, a Games Industry Analyst at MIDiA Research. Elliott provided a […]
Keiichiro Toyama is a name that horror games fans know rather well, having directed and written the very first entry in the Silent Hill series, but that isn't the only game the Japanese developer created, as he was also the man behind Sony's Siren series. Moving away from horror games, Toyama-san created and directed the Gravity Rush series, which, surprisingly enough, had the same impact on the soon-to-be-released Slitterhead as the horror games the legendary game director created before it. During Gamescom 2024, we had the chance to talk with Toyama-san about his next game, the unique mechanics that set […]
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, out today on PC and consoles (you can find our review here), is a huge game in Saber Interactive's strategy. However, there's more than just Space Marine 2 to the studio's plan to navigate the current crisis of the videogame industry, which saw many studio closures and even more mass layoffs. At Gamescom 2024, I had the great opportunity to chat about this with Saber Interactive Chief Creative Officer (CCO) Tim Willits, an industry veteran who worked for 23 years at id Software. Having witnessed several ups and downs during his career, he expressed confidence […]
EVERSPACE 2 developer ROCKFISH Games, being headquartered in Hamburg, couldn't very well pass up on the Cologne-based Gamescom, especially since they've got the Titans DLC coming up soon. Due to launch on September 16 across all platforms (PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X) for a price tag of $15, this is the first story DLC for the space combat game that was fully released in 2023. I caught up with ROCKFISH Games CEO and Co-Founder Michael Schade and Communications Manager Lee Guille to learn more about EVERSPACE 2: Titans and to discuss various aspects of the industry, from their […]
At Gamescom 2024, I caught up with Rich Lambert, Game Director for Elder Scrolls Online at ZeniMax. This wasn't the first time I interviewed Rich - I met him in person at E3 2019, and then we had a number of remote interviews over the past five years or so. This year, though, is special for the MMORPG, which has turned 10. ZeniMax is doing several celebrations with the community throughout the whole year, with the excuse that the console version launched around a year after the PC version. With the release of Gold Road, the yearly expansion (or Chapter, […]
Goichi Suda, more commonly known as Suda51, and Shinji Mikami require no introductions. Over the long years of their careers, they released seminal titles that have had a lasting impact on video games and contributed to shaping the medium as we know it today. The No More Heroes series, Killer 7, the Resident Evil and Dino Crisis series, the original Devil May Cry, and Viewtiful Joe are only some of the games the two Japanese developers either created or helped make that have influenced many of the games that came after them. Besides the aforementioned Killer 7, Suda 51 and […]
At Gamescom 2024, I had the chance to speak to Derek Qiu, Head of Overseas Operations for Once Human, the 'New Weird' free-to-play survival game published by NetEase and developed by Starry Studio. The game launched on PC on July 10 and immediately registered strong player numbers. Qiu discussed the upcoming features and updates, answered some questions from the Once Human community, and confirmed that the mobile and console launches are on the way. The plan is to merge everything into a single unified community thanks to cross-play. Tell me about the recent launch. How is it going so far? […]
About a year ago, publisher Fulqrum and developer Dreamate unveiled New Arc Line, a new cRPG set in a setting that mixes steampunk with magic and fantasy. Its premise and features have intrigued me from the get-go, so I was very interested in checking it out at Gamescom 2024. It was originally billed as a hands-on demo, but it turned out to be a presentation. Still, I learned quite a few new things about the game, which is still slated to launch before the end of the year on PC (the console versions may come later, as you'll read below). […]