Thunderful Group - which comprises Image & Form (SteamWorld, The Gunk), Zoink (Lost in Random, Fe), and a publishing arm - has acquired Coatsink, creators of Jurassic World Aftermath, Esper, and more. A press release reveals that Thunderful Group will pay £23 million (approximately $29.7 million USD) upfront, with earn-out components potentially raising the sale price to a maximum of £65.5 million ($84.8 million). [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/03/23/esper-2-official-trailer"] Coatsink is a UK-based developer/publisher which has specialised somewhat in VR games. It's developed Jurassic World Aftermath, Esper, and Esper 2, as well as supported development of Gang Beasts and Kingdom: Two Crowns. It's also published the likes of Cake Bash, Phogs, Get Packed, and Onward. Coatsink is currently working on 5 announced and unannounced projects. It will remain an independent studio after the acquisition. Thunderful made the acquisition in order to expand its games segment. "The guys at Coatsink are just as playful and serious as we are. When getting to know Tom, Paul and the others, it was obvious that we share the same outlook on what should define games. We both develop and publish great games. Although there's the sea between us we're like minded and have grown in the same direction over the years. I think it's fair to say that Thunderful and Coatsink are pretty similar to each other", said CEO Brjann Sigurgeirsson to IGN. Thunderful was set up in 2018, initially to bring Image & Form and Zoink into one company, and the two best friends that run each company. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Thunderful Group - which comprises Image & Form (SteamWorld, The Gunk), Zoink (Lost in Random, Fe), and a publishing arm - has acquired Coatsink, creators of Jurassic World Aftermath, Esper, and more. A press release reveals that Thunderful Group will pay £23 million (approximately $29.7 million USD) upfront, with earn-out components potentially raising the sale price to a maximum of £65.5 million ($84.8 million). [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/03/23/esper-2-official-trailer"] Coatsink is a UK-based developer/publisher which has specialised somewhat in VR games. It's developed Jurassic World Aftermath, Esper, and Esper 2, as well as supported development of Gang Beasts and Kingdom: Two Crowns. It's also published the likes of Cake Bash, Phogs, Get Packed, and Onward. Coatsink is currently working on 5 announced and unannounced projects. It will remain an independent studio after the acquisition. Thunderful made the acquisition in order to expand its games segment. "The guys at Coatsink are just as playful and serious as we are. When getting to know Tom, Paul and the others, it was obvious that we share the same outlook on what should define games. We both develop and publish great games. Although there's the sea between us we're like minded and have grown in the same direction over the years. I think it's fair to say that Thunderful and Coatsink are pretty similar to each other", said CEO Brjann Sigurgeirsson to IGN. Thunderful was set up in 2018, initially to bring Image & Form and Zoink into one company, and the two best friends that run each company. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Overkill Software has confirmed that Payday 3 is currently in development on the Unreal Engine. In a celebratory tweet to mark 100 thousand followers, the Payday Twitter account revealed the news with a cheeky tweet featuring a 1337 hacker breaking into CRIMENET to find out the news. Payday 3's existence was confirmed as far back as 2016, but this new tweet adds that the game is currently in the design phase, and is being built within the Unreal Engine. The switch to Unreal is notable, given that Payday 2 was built using Overkill's own Diesel Engine – it may be that we see Payday use the impressive Unreal Engine 5.

ACCESS: PAYDAY TWITTER MAN MEMBER COUNT: 100,000

REQUEST RECEIVED, ACCESSING CRIMENET... CONNECTING... ONLINE. TIME: 13:37 STATUS PAYDAY 3 CONFIRMED DESIGN PHASE RELEASE DATE TBA UNREAL ENGINE pic.twitter.com/fqnWYEaCSg — PAYDAY 2 (@PAYDAYGame) October 3, 2020

A release date for Payday 3 is yet to be announced, but this is the first news we've heard about the game in a while, which suggests that more information may be on the way soon for fans of the co-op heisting franchise. It's heartening news after Overkill's The Walking Dead flopped causing major financial trouble for publisher Starbreeze, which was the subject of reports saying that it might not survive another year in 2019. Payday 2's secret ending was unlocked in 2018, some five years after release. We reviewed the game back in 2013, scoring it an 8 and calling it a "great cooperative shooter." Overkill is still supporting the game with extra content and heists, too. The Breakfast in Tijuana case arrived just a few months ago in June 2020. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Overkill Software has confirmed that Payday 3 is currently in development on the Unreal Engine. In a celebratory tweet to mark 100 thousand followers, the Payday Twitter account revealed the news with a cheeky tweet featuring a 1337 hacker breaking into CRIMENET to find out the news. Payday 3's existence was confirmed as far back as 2016, but this new tweet adds that the game is currently in the design phase, and is being built within the Unreal Engine. The switch to Unreal is notable, given that Payday 2 was built using Overkill's own Diesel Engine – it may be that we see Payday use the impressive Unreal Engine 5.

ACCESS: PAYDAY TWITTER MAN MEMBER COUNT: 100,000

REQUEST RECEIVED, ACCESSING CRIMENET... CONNECTING... ONLINE. TIME: 13:37 STATUS PAYDAY 3 CONFIRMED DESIGN PHASE RELEASE DATE TBA UNREAL ENGINE pic.twitter.com/fqnWYEaCSg — PAYDAY 2 (@PAYDAYGame) October 3, 2020

A release date for Payday 3 is yet to be announced, but this is the first news we've heard about the game in a while, which suggests that more information may be on the way soon for fans of the co-op heisting franchise. It's heartening news after Overkill's The Walking Dead flopped causing major financial trouble for publisher Starbreeze, which was the subject of reports saying that it might not survive another year in 2019. Payday 2's secret ending was unlocked in 2018, some five years after release. We reviewed the game back in 2013, scoring it an 8 and calling it a "great cooperative shooter." Overkill is still supporting the game with extra content and heists, too. The Breakfast in Tijuana case arrived just a few months ago in June 2020. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

The bonus content from the physical edition of Cyberpunk 2077 appears to have leaked online, revealing a detailed map of the game's setting, Night City. The leak was posted to the GamingLeaksAndRumors subreddit by user ArtisticTap4, who embedded images of the physical map and postcards that may be arriving alongside the physical edition of the game. The Night City map offers a closer look at the many regions in the game that have previously been mentioned, including Pacifica, Watson, Westbrook and Santa Domingo, as well as the City Center. A few places of note include the space port in the far west of the map off the coast, as well as the Northern Oilfields up top and some kind of stadium just south of the city centre. The postcards focus on in-game locations such as Pacifica, Japantown and El Coyote Cojo, which looks to be a bar of some kind. It's not clear how these images have managed to leak out, but this seems to be our first proper look at the game's map ahead of its November 19 release date on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Cyberpunk 2077 will also arrive on Stadia in Q4 2020 and next-gen consoles in 2021. The game officially went gold today, meaning its initial release version is complete and can be played from beginning to end. In other Cyberpunk 2077 news, studio head Adam Badowski responded to reports of mandatory crunch at CD Projekt Red last week. The game's environment designer also recently explained how his team built Night City. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

The bonus content from the physical edition of Cyberpunk 2077 appears to have leaked online, revealing a detailed map of the game's setting, Night City. The leak was posted to the GamingLeaksAndRumors subreddit by user ArtisticTap4, who embedded images of the physical map and postcards that may be arriving alongside the physical edition of the game. The Night City map offers a closer look at the many regions in the game that have previously been mentioned, including Pacifica, Watson, Westbrook and Santa Domingo, as well as the City Center. A few places of note include the space port in the far west of the map off the coast, as well as the Northern Oilfields up top and some kind of stadium just south of the city centre. The postcards focus on in-game locations such as Pacifica, Japantown and El Coyote Cojo, which looks to be a bar of some kind. It's not clear how these images have managed to leak out, but this seems to be our first proper look at the game's map ahead of its November 19 release date on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Cyberpunk 2077 will also arrive on Stadia in Q4 2020 and next-gen consoles in 2021. The game officially went gold today, meaning its initial release version is complete and can be played from beginning to end. In other Cyberpunk 2077 news, studio head Adam Badowski responded to reports of mandatory crunch at CD Projekt Red last week. The game's environment designer also recently explained how his team built Night City. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

CD Projekt Red has announced that Cyberpunk 2077 has officially gone gold ahead of its November 19 release. Going gold is the term given for when the release version of a game is complete, and is traditionally shown off with a disc the entire game can be played from. Production of physical copies of Cyberpunk 2077 can now begin with this version of the game.

Cyberpunk 2077 has gone gold!

See you in Night City on November 19th! pic.twitter.com/s6U266Y1fp — Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) October 5, 2020

This doesn't mean development on Cyberpunk 2077 will be complete. Quite apart from its paid expansions, free DLC, and multiplayer mode – all arriving after release – almost all games now ship with a Day One patch, providing further bugfixes for the release version of the game. That extra work has, controversially, meant that CD Projekt Red has instituted mandatory weekend work for its employees after the company pledged to avoid crunch conditions on Cyberpunk. Last week, studio head Adam Badowski responded to criticism of the move, saying that it was "one of the hardest decisions I've had to make", but noting that Cyberpunk 2077's developers will be "well compensated for every extra hour they put in." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/cyberpunk-2077-seize-the-day-trailer"] Cyberpunk 2077 has taken a long road to release, with the company making clear that it would hit the November 19 release date after seeing delays in January and June of this year. The news comes alongside a less official release, after the full Night City map (presumably in the form of bonus physical edition content) seemingly leaked online. We've played four hours of the game so far, saying that "Cyberpunk 2077 feels like the spiritual successor to Warren Spector’s legendary original, Hall-of-Fame-inducted Deus Ex, and I cannot personally pay it a higher compliment than that. It just might somehow live up to the years of hype." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

CD Projekt Red has announced that Cyberpunk 2077 has officially gone gold ahead of its November 19 release. Going gold is the term given for when the release version of a game is complete, and is traditionally shown off with a disc the entire game can be played from. Production of physical copies of Cyberpunk 2077 can now begin with this version of the game.

Cyberpunk 2077 has gone gold!

See you in Night City on November 19th! pic.twitter.com/s6U266Y1fp — Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) October 5, 2020

This doesn't mean development on Cyberpunk 2077 will be complete. Quite apart from its paid expansions, free DLC, and multiplayer mode – all arriving after release – almost all games now ship with a Day One patch, providing further bugfixes for the release version of the game. That extra work has, controversially, meant that CD Projekt Red has instituted mandatory weekend work for its employees after the company pledged to avoid crunch conditions on Cyberpunk. Last week, studio head Adam Badowski responded to criticism of the move, saying that it was "one of the hardest decisions I've had to make", but noting that Cyberpunk 2077's developers will be "well compensated for every extra hour they put in." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/cyberpunk-2077-seize-the-day-trailer"] Cyberpunk 2077 has taken a long road to release, with the company making clear that it would hit the November 19 release date after seeing delays in January and June of this year. The news comes alongside a less official release, after the full Night City map (presumably in the form of bonus physical edition content) seemingly leaked online. We've played four hours of the game so far, saying that "Cyberpunk 2077 feels like the spiritual successor to Warren Spector’s legendary original, Hall-of-Fame-inducted Deus Ex, and I cannot personally pay it a higher compliment than that. It just might somehow live up to the years of hype." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

A listing for The Witcher Season 3 has emerged on an industry website, seemingly confirming that more episodes are planned beyond Season 2 of the hit Netflix series. Redanian Intelligence reports that "The Witcher Season 3 (2020-2021)" recently appeared in the Writers Guild of America's directories, with showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich attached as executive producer. The WGA has proven to be a reputable source of information in the past, which means that Netflix should follow-up with an official announcement shortly, provided that the database entry is correct. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/21/the-witcher-season-1-ending-explained"] An official announcement shouldn't come as a major surprise, as The Witcher quickly became one of the most in-demand TV series' in the world on streaming platforms last year, even surpassing Disney Plus' Star Wars: The Mandalorian as the "top show" around the globe for one week in December, with 76 million households choosing to stream the first season of the action-packed fantasy-drama. Season 2 of The Witcher started filming in London earlier this year, with a planned release sometime in 2021. However, the shoot was suspended back in March as Netflix paused filming on all of its films and TV shows in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Netflix has since resumed production on the second season of the Henry Cavill-led show after being given the "green light" to start filming again. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-monster-in-season-1-of-netflixs-the-witcher&captions=true"] The Witcher Season 2 is still expected to premiere in 2021, which means that Season 3 could potentially follow in 2022. Netflix is also working on The Witcher: Blood Origin, a six-part spin-off prequel series set 1,200 years before Geralt walked the lands of the Northern Kingdoms, and The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, an anime feature film that will be centred around Geralt's close friend and mentor, Vesemir. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

A listing for The Witcher Season 3 has emerged on an industry website, seemingly confirming that more episodes are planned beyond Season 2 of the hit Netflix series. Redanian Intelligence reports that "The Witcher Season 3 (2020-2021)" recently appeared in the Writers Guild of America's directories, with showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich attached as executive producer. The WGA has proven to be a reputable source of information in the past, which means that Netflix should follow-up with an official announcement shortly, provided that the database entry is correct. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/21/the-witcher-season-1-ending-explained"] An official announcement shouldn't come as a major surprise, as The Witcher quickly became one of the most in-demand TV series' in the world on streaming platforms last year, even surpassing Disney Plus' Star Wars: The Mandalorian as the "top show" around the globe for one week in December, with 76 million households choosing to stream the first season of the action-packed fantasy-drama. Season 2 of The Witcher started filming in London earlier this year, with a planned release sometime in 2021. However, the shoot was suspended back in March as Netflix paused filming on all of its films and TV shows in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Netflix has since resumed production on the second season of the Henry Cavill-led show after being given the "green light" to start filming again. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-monster-in-season-1-of-netflixs-the-witcher&captions=true"] The Witcher Season 2 is still expected to premiere in 2021, which means that Season 3 could potentially follow in 2022. Netflix is also working on The Witcher: Blood Origin, a six-part spin-off prequel series set 1,200 years before Geralt walked the lands of the Northern Kingdoms, and The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, an anime feature film that will be centred around Geralt's close friend and mentor, Vesemir. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.