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, […]
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). […]
At Gamescom 2024, I had the amazing opportunity to speak with veteran developer Tim Willits about Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2, Saber Interactive, and the industry as a whole. Willits worked at id Software for 24 years, eventually becoming Studio Director. He left the Texan developer in July 2019 and became Chief Creative Officer at Saber Interactive only about a month later. Of course, the main focus of our chat was the impending launch of Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 (due on September 9, with a full year of post-launch roadmap already revealed), but we also discussed ongoing issues within […]
STALKER 2 is real, and it's promising. I can confirm as much after having had the chance to try a brief demo of Episode 1 during Gamescom 2024. This sequel has had to go through an untold number of hurdles, starting with the cancellation of the original project (announced in 2010) and the disbandment of Ukrainian developer GSC Game World. Thankfully, after a few years, the studio was reformed. After making the real-time strategy game Cossacks 3, the team went on to make STALKER 2 at long last. However, the troubles were far from over, starting with the Russian invasion […]
Gamescom 2024 was a crucial step for Dune Awakening. Funcom finally shared the early 2025 release window (for PC, with consoles to come later) and showed off the first solid chunk of gameplay in a presentation posted on YouTube. The developer also allowed the press to get their hands on the game for the first time, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity, having been waiting for Dune Awakening since its announcement. The first impact was harsh in the sense that Arrakis showed its teeth right away. The demo didn't have a tutorial, so we were basically dropped into the […]
At Gamescom 2024, Blizzard showcased Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, the first of a series of expansions coming to the action RPG with a scheduled annual cadence. Originally announced during the BlizzCon 2023 Opening Ceremony, Vessel of Hatred is set to add the Spiritborn class, which is brand new to the Diablo franchise. You can check it out in action in our gameplay capture video available below. During the German convention, I had the chance to interview Game Director Brent Gibson and Systems Designer Aislyn Hall to discuss not only Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred but also the future of […]
Wccftech's first Gamescom 2024 appointment was with Yellow Brick Games, a Canadian studio getting ready to release its debut game, the fantasy action/adventure Eternal Strands. The developer was founded in late 2020 by Mike Laidlaw, formerly franchise director for Dragon Age at BioWare. After showing a new trailer at the Xbox Showcase, there's a brand new gameplay video out today. More importantly, the embargo for Gamescom 2024 hands-on is now up. You can read our enthusiastic preview here; this article, on the other hand, is dedicated to our chat with Game Director Frederic St-Laurent, who confirmed the game's estimated length […]
During a pre-Gamescom 2024 remote briefing event held by Bethesda, we learned more about Indiana Jones and the Great Circle through a remote presentation and subsequent roundtable Q&A with two key developers: Game Director Jerk Gustafsson and Creative Director Axel Torvenius. This time, the developers at MachineGames focused on showing off gameplay: how Indiana interacts with the world around him, how he traverses the environment, and how he deals with the enemy. They also highlighted some of his key tools: the camera and journal. The developers claimed to have made the gameplay experience as interesting and authentic as possible. They […]
At TennoCon 2024 in London, Ontario, Canada, Digital Extremes showed off Warframe: 1999 and Soulframe, both launching within the year. Following the presentations, we were able to chat with Megan Everett (Community Director on Warframe) and Rebecca Ford (Creative Director on Warframe) to have a deep and thorough discussion about the future of the 10-year-plus free-to-play action shooter game. First up, what is the next old system getting a rework? Megan Everett: Companions Part 2, technically. We did the official launch of 2. 0 last year, and then there were things that we just couldn't get to, so we said […]
The biggest news of the week in gaming so far has undoubtedly been the substantial rise in Game Pass pricing announced by Microsoft. Game Pass for console is being removed as an option for new users; Core's annual price has been increased from $59.99 to $74.99; PC Game Pass's monthly fee has risen from $9.99 to $11.99; and Ultimate is now going to cost $19.99, up from $16.99. Additionally, a new 'Standard' tier has been introduced at $14.99, featuring just online multiplayer and around 25 games from the back catalog. Microsoft has been a bit ambiguous about Game Pass pricing […]
Dutch independent developer KeokeN Interactive, founded by brothers Koen Deetman and Paul Deetman, is back on Kickstarter for Deliver Us Home. KeokeN had to let go of almost all its employees not long ago, and now it's just the two brothers again (plus a couple of collaborators), making the crowdfunding proposition a necessity. I spoke with Koen Deetman at length about what that means for this third entry in the sci-fi franchise, how they're coping as a small indie team, and much more. As a reminder, the Kickstarter campaign is active for three more days, with KeokeN looking to raise […]
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). […]
At Gamescom 2024, I had the amazing opportunity to speak with veteran developer Tim Willits about Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2, Saber Interactive, and the industry as a whole. Willits worked at id Software for 24 years, eventually becoming Studio Director. He left the Texan developer in July 2019 and became Chief Creative Officer at Saber Interactive only about a month later. Of course, the main focus of our chat was the impending launch of Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 (due on September 9, with a full year of post-launch roadmap already revealed), but we also discussed ongoing issues within […]
STALKER 2 is real, and it's promising. I can confirm as much after having had the chance to try a brief demo of Episode 1 during Gamescom 2024. This sequel has had to go through an untold number of hurdles, starting with the cancellation of the original project (announced in 2010) and the disbandment of Ukrainian developer GSC Game World. Thankfully, after a few years, the studio was reformed. After making the real-time strategy game Cossacks 3, the team went on to make STALKER 2 at long last. However, the troubles were far from over, starting with the Russian invasion […]
Gamescom 2024 was a crucial step for Dune Awakening. Funcom finally shared the early 2025 release window (for PC, with consoles to come later) and showed off the first solid chunk of gameplay in a presentation posted on YouTube. The developer also allowed the press to get their hands on the game for the first time, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity, having been waiting for Dune Awakening since its announcement. The first impact was harsh in the sense that Arrakis showed its teeth right away. The demo didn't have a tutorial, so we were basically dropped into the […]
At Gamescom 2024, Blizzard showcased Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, the first of a series of expansions coming to the action RPG with a scheduled annual cadence. Originally announced during the BlizzCon 2023 Opening Ceremony, Vessel of Hatred is set to add the Spiritborn class, which is brand new to the Diablo franchise. You can check it out in action in our gameplay capture video available below. During the German convention, I had the chance to interview Game Director Brent Gibson and Systems Designer Aislyn Hall to discuss not only Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred but also the future of […]
Wccftech's first Gamescom 2024 appointment was with Yellow Brick Games, a Canadian studio getting ready to release its debut game, the fantasy action/adventure Eternal Strands. The developer was founded in late 2020 by Mike Laidlaw, formerly franchise director for Dragon Age at BioWare. After showing a new trailer at the Xbox Showcase, there's a brand new gameplay video out today. More importantly, the embargo for Gamescom 2024 hands-on is now up. You can read our enthusiastic preview here; this article, on the other hand, is dedicated to our chat with Game Director Frederic St-Laurent, who confirmed the game's estimated length […]
During a pre-Gamescom 2024 remote briefing event held by Bethesda, we learned more about Indiana Jones and the Great Circle through a remote presentation and subsequent roundtable Q&A with two key developers: Game Director Jerk Gustafsson and Creative Director Axel Torvenius. This time, the developers at MachineGames focused on showing off gameplay: how Indiana interacts with the world around him, how he traverses the environment, and how he deals with the enemy. They also highlighted some of his key tools: the camera and journal. The developers claimed to have made the gameplay experience as interesting and authentic as possible. They […]
At TennoCon 2024 in London, Ontario, Canada, Digital Extremes showed off Warframe: 1999 and Soulframe, both launching within the year. Following the presentations, we were able to chat with Megan Everett (Community Director on Warframe) and Rebecca Ford (Creative Director on Warframe) to have a deep and thorough discussion about the future of the 10-year-plus free-to-play action shooter game. First up, what is the next old system getting a rework? Megan Everett: Companions Part 2, technically. We did the official launch of 2. 0 last year, and then there were things that we just couldn't get to, so we said […]
The biggest news of the week in gaming so far has undoubtedly been the substantial rise in Game Pass pricing announced by Microsoft. Game Pass for console is being removed as an option for new users; Core's annual price has been increased from $59.99 to $74.99; PC Game Pass's monthly fee has risen from $9.99 to $11.99; and Ultimate is now going to cost $19.99, up from $16.99. Additionally, a new 'Standard' tier has been introduced at $14.99, featuring just online multiplayer and around 25 games from the back catalog. Microsoft has been a bit ambiguous about Game Pass pricing […]
Dutch independent developer KeokeN Interactive, founded by brothers Koen Deetman and Paul Deetman, is back on Kickstarter for Deliver Us Home. KeokeN had to let go of almost all its employees not long ago, and now it's just the two brothers again (plus a couple of collaborators), making the crowdfunding proposition a necessity. I spoke with Koen Deetman at length about what that means for this third entry in the sci-fi franchise, how they're coping as a small indie team, and much more. As a reminder, the Kickstarter campaign is active for three more days, with KeokeN looking to raise […]