Monthly Archives: January 2019
Fortnite Made the Most Annual Revenue of Any Game in History Last Year
Fortnite made a whopping $2.4 billion in revenue last year and now holds the record for the most annual revenue of any video game in history, according to SuperData's Year in Review - and that's not including figures from Android or its PvE mode, Save the World.
SuperData also reports that 34% of all US players "regularly" bought Battle Passes, contributing to last year's impressive figures.
Nvidia CEO Says 10-Series GPUs Going Bye Bye
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In a wide-ranging Q&A with media at CES 2019 posted by VentureBeat, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang responded to a reporter's question about the excess supply of GPUs caused by the crypto crash, noting the dwindling supply of 10-series GPUs. Huang stated the company held back on shipping new GPUs for a quarter while the company waited for the current inventory to dry up, and said that currently almost all of them have been sold. "We said that it would take one to two quarters for all the channel inventory to sell out," said Huang in the Q&A.
Every Star Wars Game EA Has Released…and Canceled
Electronic Arts has had a somewhat tumultuous relationship with Star Wars since it acquired the franchise's exclusive game license in 2013. At the time, EA announced three of its top studios — DICE, Visceral Games, and BioWare — would be developing games set in a galaxy far, far away. Nearly six years, a studio closure, and a handful of canceled projects later, DICE is the only EA studio to have put out a AAA Star Wars game, leading many fans to question the publisher's plans for the franchise.
Now, following yesterday's reported cancellation of EA Vancouver's open-world game, we've decided to look back and compile a complete list of EA's Star Wars projects, including games that've been released, games that've been canceled, and those that are still in development.
Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame Getting Live-Action Remake
Disney is reportedly working on a Hunchback of Notre Dame live-action remake, and actor Josh Gad appears to be involved.
Reported by Deadline, the remake may simply be titled “Hunchback” and will reportedly be written by Tony-winning stage playwright David Henry Hwang, best known for his work on M. Butterfly, Chinglish, Golden Child, The Dance and the Railroad and more. Reports suggest that Gad, who has been involved in Disney films like the Beauty and the Beast remake as Le Fou and Frozen as Olaf, will play the titular hunchback Quasimodo, Latin for “half-formed.” Gad is also set to produce.
Super Meat Boy Creator’s Personal Approach to Game Design
Welcome to Humans Who Make Games, a new podcast hosted by comedian Adam Conover that takes a deep dive into some of the most beloved games today with the brilliant designers behind them.
On the first episode, Conover chats with Edmund McMillen—the mind behind indie hits like Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac—about how he got started making games, the origin of his signature gruesome aesthetic, and the very personal approach he takes to designing games.
The Division 2: Ubisoft Announces Private Beta Dates
Ubisoft has announced that the private beta for Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 will begin in early February.
The beta will last from February 7-10. Players can gain access to the beta by pre-ordering the game or by registering for limited spaces through The Division’s website. While details weren’t given, the beta will allow for players to “Experience the dangers of post-pandemic Washington, DC."
A new story trailer was also released by Ubisoft today, which begins with the lines: “After we survived the initial attack in New York, our capitol needed us. But with the country slipping into civil war, who can we trust?” It goes on to describe that those left by the beginning of The Division 2 survived the viral outbreak that crippled America, but the struggle is far from over.
Tokyo Disney Hotel Getting Kingdom Hearts Rooms, With Keyblade Keys
Kingdom Hearts themed hotel rooms are set to open up in Japan's Tokyo Disney Resort starting in March of 2019.
The Disney Ambassador Hotel at Tokyo Disney Resort is making over a number of its rooms with a Kingdom Hearts theme, and guests will be given special room keys in the shape of Sora's Keyblade to get in and out. Kotaku reports that upon checking out, visitors will be given two sets of Keyblade keys and Kingdom Hearts postcards as a memento for their stay.
The key comes in a presentation box and unlocks the rooms that contain headboards, tables, and artwork, all featuring characters and themes from the series.
Will Metro Exodus Finally Take Metro Mainstream?
When IGN last checked in with Artyom’s latest post-apocalyptic adventure Metro Exodus at E3, we were less than impressed with the technical issues that plagued our time with it and, a month before release, there are still a few signs that things aren’t totally okay. A few crashes, a few hard locks and a moment where it tried to load a save file from a totally different sequence can be put down to the fact the game was running on developmental kits, but some other bits and pieces indicated that perhaps this isn’t going to be the big breakout title for the Metro series.
There’s some really aggressive motion blur on the console version (which in this build, couldn’t be turned off) which makes turning a bit headache inducing. Guns feel heavy, movement feels awkward and bullets feel ineffective, but all of that is entirely by design. Survival in the Metro world isn’t supposed to be a walk in the park. Even with thumbstick sensitivity ramped all the way up to the top of the sliders, it still feels like Artyom is covered in a nuclear treacle. When being pursued by some ghouls through a warehouse, climbing scaffold in an attempt to get to the safety of the rooftops, I fell off a couple of times because I couldn’t turn fast enough or with enough precision. And, although a stealthy approach is recommended, I found it way too easy to rush down a pack of bandits and use the melee kill attack right in front of them, because the AI just didn’t cope with the rush-in strategy!
Jumanji 3 Has Added Danny Glover, Danny DeVito and Awkwafina
Danny Glover, Danny DeVito, and Awkwafina will be joining the cast of the new Jumanji film.
Talking to THR, Dwayne Johnson revealed that Lethal Weapon's Danny Glover has signed on for the third installment in the franchise along with Crazy Rich Asians' Awkwafina, and Danny DeVito. The actors will join the returning cast of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle; including Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillian.
Hitman Developer Opens New Studio to Help Build ‘New Universes, New Franchises’
IO Interactive has opened a new studio in Malmö, Sweden.
The new location joins the Copenhagen office to make "one family," and is already fully operational, according to the developer's website. Currently, the Malmö studio will support Hitman 2, helping develop ongoing content.
However, it seems that IO has bigger plans in its future. "This will expand our muscles for creating brand new and exciting endeavours, new universes, new franchises," said CEO Hakan Abrak.
Abrak hopes to bring the "unique IOI culture" to the "buzzling
game developer community" already established in the town.
IO joins Massive Entertainment (The Division), King (Candy Crush), and a number of other developers who have set up shop in Malmö.