Beiträge von Constellation

Zitat von wccftech.com

Besthesda's former Starfield quest designer, Veronica Harbison, has jumped ship and has taken a new position at Microsoft's inXile Entertainment.

On her LinkedIn resume, Harbison mentions that she left Bethesda back in February of this year, and has taken a new job as a quest designer at inXile. She worked at Bethesda since July 2021. Of course, with Starfield finishing up ahead of its September release, and both Bethesda and inXile being part of Microsoft, this move is likely a logical one. We've included a screenshot of Harbison's updated resume below:

inXile is currently working on several projects, including its next "big" game. This title, however, is still far out. "Unfortunately you won't see what I see for quite a long time," studio head Brian Fargo wrote two years ago. In addition to working on an Unreal Engine 5-powered RPG, inXile is also working on a second project. Interestingly enough, yesterday, new rumors about one of inXile's new projects might have surfaced.

inXile Entertainment is, of course, known for The Bard's Tale as well as Wasteland 2, Wasteland Remastered, and 2020's Wasteland 3. Founded by Interplay co-founder Brian Fargo in 2002, inXile was purchased by Microsoft in 2018 alongside Obsidian Entertainment. In an interview in 2018, Fargo said that he expects his studio to grow by 30% after Microsoft's acquisition. Fargo also said that, even after becoming a part of Microsoft, he and his team will keep deciding what games they will be making.

"They were certainly looking at what we had in development as an indicator of where we were going", Fargo said. "They were interested in us because we are a self-sufficient company that can do good product without hand-holding which they could see, with a little extra resource, could really be pushed up a notch. That, as a general sense, was a motivator, and then in addition they were able to look at what was in the pipe and say, 'These guys are really doing some interesting, innovative things.'"

We'll update you as soon as more information about inXile's new projects comes in. For now, stay tuned.

Written by Aernout van de Velde

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Quelle: https://wccftech.com/starfield-quest-designer-joins-inxile/

Zitat von gamestar.de

Das Sci-Fi-Rollenspiel erscheint wohl komplett ohne russische Sprachausgabe. Diese heimliche Maßnahme sorgt für Diskussionen.

Quelle: https://www.gamestar.de/artike…prachausgabe,3392820.html

Zitat von wccftech.com

Insomniac's highly anticipated sequel to 2018's Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, is releasing this September.

At least, that's what reputable journalist Jason Schreier appears to suggest on Twitter in a thread about the delayed Suicide Squid. Rocksteady and Warner Bros. announced the delay of the game into 2014 yesterday, and Schreier took to Twitter to comment on this delay. When asked about the delay, Schreier replied that the release of Spider-Man 2 "in September" could have further influenced the team's decision to delay the game into 2024.

"Spider-Man 2 in September could be a factor, too", the journalist wrote on Twitter.

Of course, this could merely be speculation on Schreier's part following recent rumors about a release of Insomiac's sequel this September - last month, the game's voice actor for Venom claimed that Spider-Man 2 would be launching on PlayStation 5 in September. In addition, the actor said that there would be tremendous marketing for the game this August.

Looking at the release schedule for this year, a September release for Spider-Man 2 would make sense. Also, 2018's Spider-Man for PlayStation 4 was released in September as well.

Spider-Man 2 was officially announced during Sony's PlayStation showcase back in September of 2021. In the sequel, Peter Parker will be teaming up with Miles Morales against everyone's favorite anti-hero (or villain?) Venom. We've included the reveal trailer of Insomniac's game down below:

The game is said to be darker in tone compared to its prequel, and following the game's announcement in 2021, Marvel Games' Vice President Bill Rosemann already made a comparison with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

“There are multiple foes”, the Marvel Games VP said during a podcast. “I can say the story very much continues and picks up from Marvel’s Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. It’s the next big chapter. There are a lot of treats and a lot of characters that were in the first two games that you’ll see here. So, yea. It’s Miles, it’s Peter, it’s Venom, it’s a mysterious voice. It’s everything you love, but more.”

He added, "And I would say if the first Spider-Man was Star Wars, Spider-Man 2 is kind of our Empire [Strikes Back]. “It’s a little darker".

Spider-Man 2 will be coming to PlayStation 5 later this year, possibly this September. We'll update you as soon as more information about the sequel comes in. For now, stay tuned. What are your thoughts about a September 2023 release? Will Sony indeed put the sequel up against Besthesda's Starfield? Hit the comments down below.

Written by Aernout van de Velde

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Quelle: https://wccftech.com/spider-man-2-september-schreier/

Zitat von gamestar.de

Mit Starfield will Bethesda an den Erfolg von Skyrim anknüpfen, doch das Sci-Fi-Rollenspiel ist zugleich auch die erste neue Marke des Entwicklerstudios seit über 20 Jahren. Das nächste Open-World-Spiel der Rollenspiel-Experten kann sich also noch nicht so sehr auf den Hype und die Fan-Unterstützung der Elder-Scrolls-Anhänger verlassen und muss viel mehr mit seinen tatsächlichen Inhalten für Aufmerksamkeit sorgen. Das Versprechen von über 1.000 besuchbaren Welten ist da natürlich ein spannender Start - und eine große Gefahr! Denn wenn die neuen prozeduralen Systeme für Quests und Welten nicht gut greifen, kann's schnell langweilig werden. Aber Starfield will ja auch eine umfangreichste Hauptquest, viele Begleiter, Basisbau, Schiffsanpassungen und noch viel mehr bieten. Was uns im neuen Rollenspiel von Bethesda erwartet, fassen wir deshalb im Vorschau-Video zu Starfield zusammen.

Quelle: https://www.gamestar.de/videos…yrim-in-space,124212.html

Zitat von gamepro.de

Starfield könnte einen eigenen Controller im Design von Bethesdas SciFi-RPG bekommen. Wenn der auch nur annähernd so aussieht wie der hier, dürften sich viele Fans freuen.

Quelle: https://www.gamepro.de/artikel…arfield-look,3392347.html

Zitat von wccftech.com

Sony will air a new PlayStation Showcase before Geoff Keighley's recent-announced Summer Game Fest 2023.

At least, that's what known journalist Jeff Grubb believes, as outed by the journalist on Twitter some hours ago. An exact date hasn't been mentioned in Grubb's list of upcoming events - he only mentioned that Sony's event will take place before June 8. This tweet comes after the unfortunate news that E3 was canceled due to a lack of interest in the physical event. "simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the size, strength, and impact of our industry", its organizer wrote some days ago.

E3 is dead, and I killed it. And now I'm going to honor it by holding it up Weekend At BerniE3's-style alongside Jeff Grubb's #summergamemess

Thank you to all of the Jeff Grubb's Summer Game Mess partners for participating whether you want to or not.

LET'S FUCKING GOOOOO pic.twitter.com/qewAmVOVkZ

— Grubb (@JeffGrubb) March 31, 2023

Of course, we know that it's April 1st today and that Grubb might be playing around. Still, his prediction doesn't come off as unlikely, and last year's Sony showcase did also take place in early June before Keighley's Summer Game Fest 2022. If true, it seems logical that Sony will be showing off more from the upcoming Spider-Man 2, and some much-needed information about Naughty Dog's upcoming standalone multiplayer title.

We know that Insomniac's Spider-Man sequel is slated for a release later this year, but Sony has yet to reveal an official release date. Last month, the voice actor for Venom in Spider-Man 2 suggested that the game is launching this September with “massive publicity” coming this August. Back in January of this year, Peter Parker's voice actor Yuri Lowenthal mentioned that the sequel will be both massive and astonishing.

"I’ve still got a little bit to do", he said in an interview. "It’s a massive game so I’m still doing a little bit of work. I know they’re confident about their release date and Insomniac has always been good about that. Obviously, I can’t really talk about the game much, but I will tell you that it’s astonishing."

With Bethesda's and Microsoft's highly-anticipated Starfield also releasing in September, it will be interesting to see, if true, how this pans out for both games.

We'll update you as soon as more information about Sony's rumored PlayStation event comes in. For now, stay tuned and leave your comments about this rumored event (and its contents) down below.

Written by Aernout van de Velde

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Quelle: https://wccftech.com/new-plays…ne-8-jeff-grubb-believes/

Zitat von gamepro.de

Die E3 fällt aus, doch im Juni erwarten euch allerhand Events von Publishern wie Microsoft und Ubisoft. Hier erfahrt ihr, wann ihr mit großen Ankündigungenzu Starfield und Co. rechnen könnt.

Quelle: https://www.gamepro.de/artikel…-events-2023,3392205.html

Zitat von wccftech.com

Vampires have always enjoyed great popularity in the media, including video games. However, these mystical creatures are not glitzy and shiny under the sunlight in Redfall, Arkane Austin's latest work. They are indeed an unfortunate result of a science experiment gone incredibly wrong and have besieged the island town of Redfall and its surroundings. First, they eclipsed the Sun. After that, they began to target the locals, turning them into their subordinates or exploiting them for food. Now, the island’s fate lies in the hands of four unconventional heroes, each with unique skills and weapons.

Initially scheduled for release in 2022, the upcoming Xbox and PC exclusive has then been delayed to ensure the quality of the final product and is now going to be published in May. This open-world FPS is highly anticipated by fans of Arkane Austin, the studio behind Prey, and will be their first game to offer co-op multiplayer. Expectations are high, so here’s everything you need to know about Redfall.

Redfall Release Date, Platforms, Editions

Redfall was officially unveiled during Microsoft's Xbox & Bethesda E3 2021 conference and was originally set for a Summer 2022 release. Bethesda then announced the delay of the game to the first half of 2023. As the publisher said, this decision has been made to ensure that players would be able to play the best and "most polished" version of the game. After some rumors, the official announcement came earlier this year: Redfall will launch on May 2 on PC and Xbox Series X|S.

The game will be available for free for all Game Pass subscribers from day one. It won’t arrive on PlayStation and will, in fact, be the first Arkane title after Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda that won’t get released on Sony’s consoles.

At launch, Redfall will be available in two different editions. The standard edition will be sold for $69.99 or free for Game Pass users. Players who preorder or get the game for free with the Game Pass will also receive the Vampire Hunter Pack. This includes a Level 2 Unrivaled Grim Tide Shotgun, a Polar Vortex Multi-Weapon Skin, and a Blood Ravager Stake Weapon Attachment.

The Redfall Bite Back Edition will be available for $99.99. This includes the base game, the Redfall Hero Pass, the Throwback Outfit Pack, the Laser Beam Multi-Weapon Skin, and the Tactical Knife Stake Weapon Attachment. The Redfall Hero Pass grants access to two future heroes, while the Outfit Pack includes a unique backpack and outfit for each main character. In detail: Northern Expedition Devinder Outfit, Eyes in the Dark Jacob Outfit, War Clothes Layla Outfit, and Engineer Volunteer Remi Outfit.

Players who get the game for free on Game Pass, or want to get these exclusive perks later, can purchase the Redfall Bite Back Upgrade for $29.99. Preorders for the Redfall Bite Back Edition also grant access to the Vampire Hunter Pack.

In case you're shopping for one of NVIDIA's RTX 40 Series graphics cards, select retailers are eligible for a Redfall Bite Back Edition GeForce RTX 40 Series bundle that will give you access to the aforementioned version of the game after the purchase of a qualifying GeForce RTX 4090, 4080, or 4070 Ti desktop or GPU, or laptop with an RTX 4090 Laptop GPU or 4080 Laptop GPU. You may learn more here.

Settings, Genre, Mechanics

Redfall is an open-world FPS set on a fictional island of the same name in Massachusetts. Vampires have taken control of the city and surrounding areas, eclipsed the Sun, and blocked any possible interaction with the outside world. They are born from science, more precisely from an experiment gone awfully wrong, and can count on powerful psychic skills.

The island’s fate is now in the hands of a group of survivors consisting of four unconventional heroes, each with unique powers and abilities. Players can choose between Layla Ellison, a biomedical engineering student with telekinetic skills; Devinder Crousley, a cryptozoologist and aspiring inventor with weapons he personally created; Remi De La Rosa, a brilliant combat engineer who designed Bribón, a technologically advanced robot; and Jacob Boyer, an ex-military sharpshooter who is now a private contractor with a vampiric eye and a spectral raven.

Players can either start their adventure alone or join forces with up to three friends for a four-player co-op. After some concerns from the studio fans, Game Director Harvey Smith assured that Redfall would be the classic Arkane experience if played solo. There won’t be any bots with you, regardless of the hero you choose. You can explore the open-world map on foot only, as there won’t be any vehicle to use. You will find many areas to examine, and players can freely choose between embarking on missions or clearing out vampire nests, establishing safe houses, and more.

Stealth will be an option, but the game has not been developed solely around this. You can lure enemies by setting off an alarm or using specific characters’ powers, but you won’t be able to distract them by throwing a rock, or other objects, as outlined by Harvey Smith in our Q&A session during the London preview event. However, you can always try to bring foes near environmental hazards.

Despite Vampires having eclipsed the Sun, there will still be a day/night cycle. During the day, enemies will be quieter and won’t burn because the eclipse has obscured the sunlight. And if you manage to hit them while they’re unaware, you will deal more damage. During the nighttime, however, they will unleash their true powers. You probably won't last long if you just run toward enemies and shoot at them. As outlined by Bethesda's SVP of Global Marketing, Pete Hines, the game requires a "bit more thoughtful approach," especially when dealing with bosses.

Redfall Trailers And Gameplay Showcases

PC System Requirements

Redfall, powered by Unreal Engine 4.26, won’t be available on Xbox One, as it will be released exclusively on Xbox Series X|S, plus PC. So far, only the minimum requirements for the PC version have been shared. Recommended specs will probably be revealed closer to the release date.

Minimum

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 @ 2.80GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1600
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: AMD RX 580 / NV GTX 1070 / 6 GB VRAM
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 100 GB available space
• Additional Notes: SSD recommended

GeForce RTX users will also be able to take advantage of DLSS Super Resolution (DLSS 2). Owners of RTX 40 Series graphics cards can expect an even greater performance boost thanks to DLSS Frame Generation (DLSS 3). Ray tracing will be added post-launch.

The post Redfall – Everything You Need To Know About Arkane’s Vampires by Agnese Carluccio appeared first on Wccftech.

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Quelle: https://wccftech.com/roundup/r…w-about-arkanes-vampires/

Zitat von gamestar.de

Wenn Todd Howard als zentraler Kopf hinter Starfield etwas als eine der Inspirationen für Starfield bezeichnet, heißt das schon was. Doch worum geht es bei dem Tabletop Traveller und was könnte das für Starfield bedeuten?

Quelle: https://www.gamestar.de/artike…eller-howard,3391905.html

Zitat von gamestar.de

Peter hat Panik, Baldur's Gate 3 direkt bei Veröffentlichung zu spielen - und das hat nicht allein mit dem Starfield-Release eine Woche später zu tun.

Quelle: https://www.gamestar.de/artike…ifeln-lassen,3391676.html

Zitat von wccftech.com

Wccftech recently participated in a Redfall preview event in London's Bethesda headquarters. You can check out my hands-on preview of the game here. After playing, I interviewed Arkane Austin veteran and Redfall creative director Harvey Smith, who revealed that there won't be any in-game store or microtransactions in the game. He also confirmed that Redfall is set to become the most supported title ever made by the studio after its debut.

We try to be very clear that there are no microtransactions and there is no store in the game. We're very proud of that. If you find a costume in the game, then you can have it, as simple as that. Other than that, Redfall will be our most supported game post-launch. We went with a server model, so we can update the game constantly. If we see a lot of people falling from ladders and dying, we can update the ladder code. If we see that nobody is playing this character, we can tweak this character and make them more appealing. We have plans for additional guns, costumes, monsters, characters, and more that we can't talk about right now. But we have a strong year of updates, and it's all either in the current game or it will be DLC. We try to do it as fairly as possible for people.

Fans had been worried about Redfall having microtransactions and/or an in-game store for cosmetics following a set of leaked images from a playtest in the second half of 2021. Those images clearly showed that an in-game shop was at some point included, but Arkane, Bethesda, and/or Microsoft have obviously since reconsidered.

Originally scheduled for Summer 2022, Redfall was delayed to the first half of 2023 alongside the big next IP of Bethesda Game Studios, Starfield. Both games now have their new release dates, with Redfall pinned for May 2nd and Starfield for September 6th. Both games will be exclusive to PC and Xbox Series S|X, as well as available on Game Pass from day one.

The post Redfall Has No In-Game Store or MTX, Will Be Arkane’s Most Supported Title by Alessio Palumbo appeared first on Wccftech.

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Quelle: https://wccftech.com/redfall-h…nes-most-supported-title/

Zitat von wccftech.com

According to market research and consulting firm DFC Intelligence, Microsoft's upcoming Xbox first-party lineup isn't enough to reduce Sony's market share.

That's what the firm writes in a new article that we received via email. With Microsoft lacking a steady stream of big first-party Xbox exclusives quite for quite some time, Sony has been leading when it comes to big games from its first-party studios. The gap, however, is closing when it comes to exclusives, especially in 2023 with Microsoft having more notable exclusives geared up compared to Sony (Starfield, Redfall, etc). This is partly due to Xbox game delays last year, but also due to Sony being able to out its exclusives in 2022. "The downside of Sony getting its games out on time in 2022 is the 2023 lineup is thin", the DFC writes in its article.

Despite Microsoft closing in on Xbox when it comes to exclusives, this won't be enough to substantially lower Sony's market share. "Of course, the big question is will these major titles be enough to encourage consumers to buy an Xbox Series X/S over a PlayStation 5", the article reads. "Currently, DFC Intelligence believes the answer is no. These titles have been anticipated for some time and presumably have been factored into purchase decisions. On the contrary, if a title like Starfield does not meet expectations it could hurt Xbox Series X/S sales."

The DFC adds another issue for Microsoft might be that there's not a major need for consumers to buy Xbox hardware as players can get a PS5 alongside a Switch and subscribe to Game Pass on PC to be able to play major Xbox games.

In its article, the research firm also briefly mentions the highly-debated planned merger between Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard, which is believed to get approved, which could greatly benefit Microsoft when it comes to competing with Sony. If the deal doesn't pass, it could greatly hurt Microsoft. "If it is not approved, Microsoft’s position in the video game industry will be in jeopardy", the FTC writes. "Yes, Xbox has some big exclusives in the pipeline but currently, they are not enough to chop into the PlayStation market share."

An interesting take on the console landscape for sure. What are your thoughts about this analysis? Do you agree with the FTC about Microsoft catching up on Sony when it comes to exclusives? Will the planned merger go through? What if it doesn't? Hit the comments down below and discuss.

The post Microsoft’s Upcoming Xbox First Party Lineup Isn’t Enough to Chop Into Sony’s Market Share, DFC Says by Aernout van de Velde appeared first on Wccftech.

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Quelle: https://wccftech.com/microsoft…gh-sony-market-share-dfc/

Zitat von gamestar.de

»Dies sind die letzten Tage des Dritten Zeitalters. Und die letzten Stunden meines Lebens«. Bekommt ihr bei diesen Worten sofort Gänsehaut und schmettert den Soundtrack von Oblivion aus voller Kehle? Wir schon! The Elder Scrolls 4 öffnete vor genau 17 Jahren zum ersten Mal seine Pforten für uns. Einige von euch werden sich an diese ferne Vergangenheit des Jahres 2008 erinnern, als uns die Grafik von Oblivion zum Staunen brachte. Gut, heute sieht es für uns aus, als läge ein Unschärfe-Filter drüber, aber die Nostalgiebrille macht doch alles schön! Für viele aus der Redaktion ist Oblivion bis heute eins der stärksten und einflussreichsten Rollenspiele aller Zeiten. Geraldine zählt es sogar zu ihren absoluten Top-Spielen, die sie euch im Podcast verrät. Und Martin findet, auch Elder Scrolls 6 muss von den Stärken und Schwächen Oblivions lernen. Kommt ein Remake? Während Bethesda selbst aktuell an Starfield (und hoffentlich auch schon Elder Scrolls 6) arbeitet, werkeln Fans am Mega-Projekt Skyblivion, das spätestens 2025 erscheinen soll.

Quelle: https://www.gamestar.de/videos…er-von-damals,123961.html

Zitat von gamestar.de

»Dies sind die letzten Tage des Dritten Zeitalters. Und die letzten Stunden meines Lebens«. Bekommt ihr bei diesen Worten sofort Gänsehaut und schmettert den Soundtrack von Oblivion aus voller Kehle? Wir schon! The Elder Scrolls 4 öffnete vor genau 17 Jahren zum ersten Mal seine Pforten für uns. Einige von euch werden sich an diese ferne Vergangenheit des Jahres 2008 erinnern, als uns die Grafik von Oblivion zum Staunen brachte. Gut, heute sieht es für uns aus, als läge ein Unschärfe-Filter drüber, aber die Nostalgiebrille macht doch alles schön! Für viele aus der Redaktion ist Oblivion bis heute eins der stärksten und einflussreichsten Rollenspiele aller Zeiten. Geraldine zählt es sogar zu ihren absoluten Top-Spielen, die sie euch im Podcast verrät. Und Martin findet, auch Elder Scrolls 6 muss von den Stärken und Schwächen Oblivions lernen. Kommt ein Remake? Während Bethesda selbst aktuell an Starfield (und hoffentlich auch schon Elder Scrolls 6) arbeitet, werkeln Fans am Mega-Projekt Skyblivion, das spätestens 2025 erscheinen soll.

Quelle: https://www.gamestar.de/videos…er-von-damals,123961.html

Zitat von gamestar.de

Das Rollenspiel wird in Australien voraussichtlich erst ab 18 Jahren verfügbar sein. Doch vergangene Entscheidungen fielen ähnlich hart aus.

Quelle: https://www.gamestar.de/artike…n-erst-ab-18,3391435.html

Zitat von wccftech.com

Starfield, the first new intellectual property developed by Bethesda Game Studios in over twenty-five years, is less than six months away from its release date. In case you need further proof than the official release date announcement, now we also have the official rating assigned to the game by the Australian board.

Starfield has been restricted to 18+ gamers, though that's not very surprising since Australians tend to be extremely strict with their ratings. The game's page actually includes breakdowns of the various themes and their impact as it was gauged by the board.

There's 'strong impact' violence in Starfield, while language and themes have been rated to be of 'moderate impact', nudity has only a 'very mild impact', and sex has no impact - likely meaning there is none in the game (though mods will take care of that in short order, we reckon). The reason the game received an 18+ rating is the drug use, which has been deemed to be of 'high impact.

Starfield hasn't been rated by the United States ESRB or the European PEGI yet, but it's conceivable the rating will be slightly lower there. All of the latest games launched by Bethesda Game Studios (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76) have received a Mature (17+) rating by the ESRB.

Originally announced at E3 2018 alongside The Elder Scrolls VI as a means to reassure fans that two big single player games would follow the Fallout 76 multiplayer experiment, Starfield first received an in-game teaser trailer at E3 2021. At the time, the developers also shared the planned November 11th, 2022 release date, which would have marked the eleventh anniversary of the launch of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the company's most successful game ever.

However, the game was delayed in early 2022 (alongside Arkane's Redfall) to the first half of 2023. A few days ago, Bethesda Game Studios confirmed another short delay: Starfield is now scheduled to hit physical and digital stores on September 6th. The game's director, Todd Howard, will present a detailed showcase called Starfield Direct on June 11th, immediately following the Xbox Games Showcase at E3 Digital 2023.

Starfield, powered by the latest iteration of the Creation Engine (described by the developers as the biggest tech overhaul they made from game to game, particularly in the areas of rendering, animation, pathing, and procedural generation), will be available on PC and Xbox Series S|X. Just like all Xbox titles, it will be included in the Game Pass library on day one.

The post Starfield Gets 18+ Rating by Australian Board by Alessio Palumbo appeared first on Wccftech.

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Quelle: https://wccftech.com/starfield…ting-by-australian-board/

Zitat von wccftech.com

In 2022, the gaming market for PC and consoles slowed down after two incredibly successful years (especially 2021) fueled by all the lockdowns caused by the COVID pandemic.

Leading gaming market research firm Newzoo estimates in its newest report that PC and console games earned $92.3 billion in revenue last year, a 2.2% decline over 2021. This is mostly due to the console gaming market, which declined by 4.2%, while the PC games market for premium games actually grew by 1.8%. According to Newzoo, there were 1.1 billion PC gamers and 611 million console gamers last year.

The average playtime of PC and console users also decreased by 23% in 2022 compared to 2021. That said, the analysts underline that this isn't a negative record; the playtime has simply gone back to pre-pandemic levels. Moreover, major delayed games like Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (now due to hit Nintendo Switch on May 12th) and Bethesda's Starfield (scheduled to be released for PC and Xbox Series S|X on September 6th) impacted both playtime and spending in 2022.

Even with this decrease, over 100 billion hours were spent playing PC and console games in 2022. An average of 15 games were played per player on each platform, and the average spend in the US market on each platform was $200.

Newzoo also reminds everyone that the PC and console markets still registered a 5.8% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) from 2015 to 2022.

In fact, going back to their pre-pandemic forecasts for 2020-2022, the gaming market went much better in these three years than originally estimated by Newzoo; the total revenue is $32.8 billion higher.

In 2022, the geographical split between countries and continents remained largely the same. Combined, the United States of America and China account for roughly 48% of spending in the PC and console gaming market.

Newzoo provided a Top 10 chart for monthly active users (MAUs) registered on each main platform (PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo). Fortnite topped the Xbox and PlayStation ones but also ranked second on Nintendo and third on PC, demonstrating the resilience of Epic's popular free-to-play game.

	PC			Xbox			PlayStation			Nintendo Switch
1	ROBLOX		1	Fortnite		1	Fortnite		1	Pokémon Scarlet/Violet
2	Call of Duty Modern Warfare II/ Warzone 2.0		2	Call of Duty Modern Warfare II/ Warzone 2.0		2	Call of Duty Modern Warfare II/ Warzone 2.0		2	Fortnite
3	Fortnite		3	Grand Theft Auto V		3	Grand Theft Auto V		3	Fall Guys
4	Minecraft		4	Minecraft		4	Call of Duty Modern Warfare/Warzone		4	Mario Kart 8
5	Apex Legends		5	Call of Duty Modern Warfare/Warzone		5	Apex Legends		5	Minecraft
6	Call of Duty Modern Warfare/Warzone		6	High on Life		6	NBA 2K23		6	Pokémon Legends: Arceus
7	The Sims 4		7	ROBLOX		7	NBA 2K22		7	Rocket League
8	Overwatch 1& 2		8	Apex Legends		8	God of War: Ragnarok		8	Animal Crossing: New Horizons
9	Valorant		9	Fall Guys		9	Minecraft		9	Nintendo Switch Sports
10	Counter-Strike: Global Offensive		10	NBA 2K22		10	Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War		10	Splatoon 3

According to the report, the games that performed the best in 2022 had mixed revenue models (premium plus microtransactions), with in-game spending accounting for nearly half of the total revenue. In the US, the following titles topped their respective launch months:

• January - Pokémon Legends Arceus
• February - Elden Ring
• March - Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
• April - LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
• May - Evil Dead: The Game
• June - Mario Strikers: Battle League
• July - Stray
• August - Madden NFL 23
• September - NBA 2K23
• October - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
• November - God of War Ragnarok
• December - Need for Speed Unbound

Newzoo anticipates that PC and console games will soon adopt hybrid monetization models, including in-game advertising, which is more viable than ever. The firm also expects that more triple-A and double-A developers and publishers will dip their toes into the live service strategy for their biggest franchises.

Newzoo forecasts strong growth for the gaming market in 2023 and beyond, mostly fueled by console gaming as you can see in the above slide.

The post PC/Console Gaming Market Slows Down by 2.2% in 2022, But Newzoo Reckons 2023 Will Be a Strong Growth Year by Alessio Palumbo appeared first on Wccftech.

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Quelle: https://wccftech.com/pc-consol…-be-a-strong-growth-year/

Zitat von gamepro.de

Starfield hat endlich ein finales Releasedatum, trotzdem bleiben noch einige Fragen zum Open World-RPG offen. Wir fassen alle bekannten Infos für euch zusammen.

Quelle: https://www.gamepro.de/artikel…le-infos-hub,3391328.html

Zitat von wccftech.com

Redfall has received a new official story trailer providing an overview of the game's "thrilling" story.

The new story trailer is courtesy of IGN and was published some minutes ago. Check it out down below:

Redfall will release on May 2nd for PC and Xbox Series S|X and will support cross-play between PC and Xbox. As covered yesterday, Arkane Studio's upcoming open-world, single-player and co-op shooter will also support NVIDIA DLSS3, Ray tracing, and Reflex on PC.

Arkane's title was first slated for a release last year but was later delayed into 2023. "We've made the decision to delay the launches of Redfall and Starfield to the first half of 2023", Bethesda wrote last year. "The teams at Arkane Austin (Redfall) and Bethesda Game Studios (Starfield) have incredible ambitions for their games, and we want to ensure that you receive the best, most polished versions of them."

As expressed by Xbox boss Phil Spencer last year, delaying Redfall and Starfield was necessary in order to be able to deliver the quality that the teams intended the games to have.

“I think positioning it as a decision might be slightly wrong, at least for me”, the Xbox head said. “It isn’t really a decision to move a game after spending the team’s effort over multiple years just to get to a point where you know you’re not going to deliver the game you want on the date that was promised. Now, it is at some level, because I have shipped games too early. We have experienced shipping games too early.”

Spencer added, “For any game, but definitely for our games Starfield and Redfall — which are our first big Xbox games with ZeniMax coming into the team — I just wanted to make sure those teams felt they had all the support they could get from Xbox, and to maybe feel some of the benefit of being part of a larger organization that has other revenue streams and other helpful things going on. In the end, I believe the quality of the games will be better and customers will find the experience to be more interesting, which will hopefully feel like the right decision in hindsight.”

We'll update you as soon as more information about Redfall comes in. What are your thoughts about this new story trailer? Are you excited or will you be skipping this game once it releases in a couple of months? Hit the comments down below.

The post Redfall Receives Official Thrilling Story Trailer by Aernout van de Velde appeared first on Wccftech.

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Quelle: https://wccftech.com/redfall-r…s-official-story-trailer/

Zitat von wccftech.com

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has requested some more information on the current deals that Microsoft has with Nintendo and NVIDIA in the wake of the Activision Blizzard acquisition. The new documentation filed yesterday outlines the FTC's concerns with the information submitted by Microsoft as the merger continues to be put in jeopardy. Now, the governing body wants more insight into the agreements made with both companies.

The FTC alleges in the documents that Microsoft intends to use the agreements to justify the acquisition to regulatory bodies. The thing with the agreements is that despite how much Microsoft has touted the agreements themselves, they haven't given details pertaining to what'll happen to Microsoft's exclusivity plans with content besides Call of Duty. In other words, this also involves content from Zenimax and Activision Blizzard.

One wouldn't be remiss to remember the fact that games like Starfield were at least planned to be multiplatform prior to the acquisition of Zenimax. Now that the title is exclusive to Xbox, the possibility for exclusivity deals for titles other than Call of Duty exists. Thus, this is why the extent of the FTC's issues with Microsoft's statements extends beyond just the military shooter franchise.

Because of this, the FTC also seeks to review all the documents related to the exclusivity of content that Microsoft acquired from ZeniMax and the exclusivity of content they intend to acquire from Activision Blizzard should the merger go through. In other words, that stunt that Microsoft pulled with PlayStation when the former subpoenaed the latter about its third-party exclusivity deals is now going to come back right back at it.

Moreover, the FTC also wants to gain some insight regarding a redacted project involving Microsoft's next-gen gaming ecosystem. The exact details of this project are unknown but it could be referring to Microsoft's future plans regarding bringing future games from Xbox to all kinds of platforms... Either that or insight into their future console plans and gaming services, which also does involve cloud streaming.

The FTC states that Microsoft has refused to produce internal documents related to the agreements or communications with third parties other than NVIDIA, Nintendo, and Sony. As such, the tech giant shouldn't be permitted to rely on these agreements without producing the requested documentation. The document also asks Activision Blizzard to produce documents that were missing from the earlier phase of proceedings, such as the findings relating to the relevance of cross-play, factors that affect customer purchasing, and other kinds of data.

Stay tuned for more updates on this story as they come.

The post FTC Wants More information Regarding Microsoft’s Agreements with Nintendo and NVIDIA by Ule Lopez appeared first on Wccftech.

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Quelle: https://wccftech.com/ftc-wants…with-nintendo-and-nvidia/