Tag: video game news

Roblox Is Getting Voice Chat

The popular online play space will be introducing voice chat as a feature! Roblox is an online game platform and game creation system, where players can create games and environments and then play and interact in those spaces, making it a popular online hangout. Voice chat is on the way, starting with ‘spatial voice’ for developers, to test the concept of realistic conversations within the game, mimicking the way that voices carry in the real world.

There are concerns on how these conversations can be moderated, especially considering that a large portion of Roblox players are minors. As a result, voice chat will have a slow rollout, with initial access only being available to 5000 developers. It has been suggested that voice chat may never be made available to those under 13, depending on how each stage of the rollout progresses.

In addition, Roblox will let users self-report issues, flagging problematic players which may result in losing speaking privileges.

You Will Be Able To Upgrade Horizon Forbidden West To The PS5, But There’s A Cost

With many people unable to get their hands on the PS5, it has been a relief to know that many PS4 games will include a free PS5 upgrade for when players are able to get the next-gen console. So many fans were disappointed when Sony initially announced that Horizon Forbidden West wouldn’t include this upgrade.

Thankfully, Sony has retracted this decision, and people who buy a copy of Horizon Forbidden West for the PS4 will be able to receive a free upgrade allowing them to play it on the PS5.

However, Sony has confirmed that from this point onwards, all PS4 games both digital and physical will come with a $13 AUD upgrade fee for the PS5 version of that same game. This will include games such as Gran Turismo 7, and the next God of War.

Tripwire Interactive CEO Steps Down After Backlash

Tripwire Interactive CEO John Gibson is stepping down following backlash against his tweet supporting the recent Texas restrictive abortion laws, which allowed citizens to sue anyone who aids the procedure.

“His comments disregarded the values of our whole team, our partners, and much of our broader community. Our leadership team at Tripwire are deeply sorry and are unified in our commitment to take swift action and to foster a more positive environment,” says Tripwire representatives.

Current Vice President, Alan Wilson, will take over as interim CEO. Alan has worked with the company since its formation in 2005 and takes an active lead in Tripwire’s business and development. There are intentions to address concerns within and outside the company, starting with a company-wide meeting to promote open dialogue.

Upcoming game releases!

September 9

• The Artful Escape [PC, XBO] 
• Terrain of Magical Expertise [PC]
• Webbed [PC]

September 10

• A Day Without Me [PS4, XBO]
• Kraken Academy!! [PC]
• Life is Strange: True Colors [PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch, Stadia]
• Lost in Random [PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch]
• NBA 2K22 [PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch]
• Tales of Arise [PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO]
• WarioWare: Get it Together [Switch]

September 14

• Honey, I Joined a Cult [PC]

September 15

• Age of Darkness: Final Stand [PC]
• Fire Commander [PC]
• Merek’s Market [PC, PS4, XBO, Stadia]
• Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town [PC]
• Timberborn [PC]
• Titan Chaser [PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO]

Freeplay 2021 Awards

Freeplay is Australia’s largest celebration of Australian independent games, and each year displays a diverse array of games, made by developers from all walks of life. This year, the Freeplay Award was granted to Umurangi Generation by Origame Digital, a first person photography game set in the future.

Some other finalists includes:

• Webbed by Sbug Games for Excellence in Design
• A Long Goodbye by Dana McKay for Excellence in Narrative
• Neon Cyborg Cat Club by Edwin Montgomer for Experimental Game Award
• Completely Stretchy and Uncomfortably Sticky by Daniel Ferguson for Excellence in Visual Art
• The Lighthouse At The Edge Of The Universe by Ella Lim for Non-Digital Game Award
• The Snowgardens by Anthony Cristiano for Student Game Award
• Mealmates by magicdweedoo for Excellence in Audio
• UNDER A STAR CALLED SUN by Cecile Richard for Micro-Game Award
• Before We Leave by Balancing Monkey Games for Across The Ditch Award

For more information about Freeplay, and to check out these finalists, as well as semi-finalists, you can click here.

WitcherCon is Almost Here!

Fans of the books, games, and show will be able to come together for all things Witcher at WitcherCon, a digital convention taking place on July 9 on Netflix, YouTube, and Twitch.

Fans are being warned that there will be no new game announcement, however there is plenty to look forward to, such as a deep dive into the making of the games, the Netflix series, merchandise, and behind-the-scenes footage. In addition, there will be interactive panels with people involved in the creation of The Witcher, with never-before-seen reveals, and explorations into the lore and the world of The Witcher.

There is a lot more to look forward to, so if you’re a fan, definitely check out the full schedule here.

Real Life Dogmeat Passes Away

Fallout fans are probably well aware of Dogmeat, the canine companion who helps and backs up the player through thick and thin. A brave and capable German Shepard, its no secret that Dogmeat is held fondly in many hearts.

The real life inspiration for the Fallout companion, River, has sadly passed away. Fallout 4 senior designer, Joel Burgess, tweets:

“Dogmeat is a tether.  He grounds you in the world, will always stand by you, lead you to your family, and anticipate your needs.  He wants you to be safe and happy.

In other words, he loves you.  

And if love is River’s legacy, I am contented.

Rest in peace, big girl.”

River had won an award for her role in Fallout 4, and true to Dogmeat’s companion role in the game, she had a major role as a companion to developers.

And now for some upcoming game releases!

July 1

• Space Jam: A New Legacy – The Game (XBO)

July 6 

• Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights (PS4, PS5)
• A Plague Tale: Innocence (PS5, XSX, Switch)
• Watch Dogs Legion: Bloodline DLC (PC, PS4, PS5, XSX, XBO)

July 7

• Fallout 76: Steel Reign update (PC, PS4, XBO)
• Out of Line (Switch)

Sony PlayStation flip flops over Store Closure

In late March Sony confirmed the online game store closure for Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, and PlayStation Vita on July 2^nd. On April 15^th users began to feel the first wave of effects, with patch support for many games being removed. This led to many issues, with some users being locked out of previously purchased downloadable content in games, such as Little Big Planet 2 and White Knight Chronicles, with others unable to access online play due to patch requirements. Mysteriously, some of these patches have begun reappearing after public outcry. For a list of affected games please check this link.

On April 19^th Jim Ryan, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, backtracked on most of the closures in an official PlayStation blog post, stating;

“Upon further reflection, however, it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here. So today I’m happy to say that we will be keeping the PlayStation Store operational for PS3 and PS Vita devices. PSP commerce functionality will retire on July 2, 2021 as planned.”

Further, he wrote that this flip was due to the “incredibly passionate” customer base’s need to be able to purchase “…classic games on PS3 and PS Vita for the foreseeable future…”

Amazon Cancels Lord of the Rings MMO after Tencent Negotiations Fall Through.

In a convoluted tale of Tolkien-esque complexity, Amazon has ended hopes of a free to play Lord of the Rings MMO in the near future.

It all began in 2018, when Athlon Games signed a licencing agreement with Middle Earth Enterprises to produce and publish a prequel MMO for consoles and PC. Then, in 2019 Amazon partnered with Athlon’s holding company Leyou Technologies to co-create and split publishing responsibilities. However, in December of 2020, just as rumours of release dates of late 2021 to early 2023 began emerging, Tencent Holdings acquired Leyou Technologies in a US$1.5 billion dollar deal.

According to Bloomberg, since this acquisition, contract negotiations have soured, with Amazon “…unable to secure terms to process with the title at this time”, making this game the fifth that Amazon Game Studio has cancelled since 2018.

Nintendo Shuts down Labo Homepage.

Sometime between February 26^th and March 5^th, Nintendo axed the North American Labo homepage, and now redirects to Labo’s VR Kit sales page. According to Gamesradar, this could possibly signal the end of the cardboard accessories line-up. The kits contained cardboard cut-outs of different shapes that could be made into structures utilised in minigames on the Switch. These kits could easily be repurposed for programming and learning, and were trialled for assistance in STEM curriculums in Australia and North America, and advocated for home-based education. If you are still looking for kits in Australia, the Australian website is still available at Nintendo.com.au/labo. And should you make any mistakes, we have you covered with this link to Labo spare printable parts.

Now for some upcoming games.

On April 22^nd Buildings Have Feelings Too is coming to PC, PS4, XBO, & Switch. This city management/puzzle game will have you support businesses and build new friends. And to celebrate Earth day 2021, the “Afrofuturist squad management RPG”, We Are The Caretakers is coming to steam early access with the promise of 10% of the net revenue going to rhino conservation.

On the 28^th of April, Alpha Particle, a light puzzle game where you search for your purpose, comes to PC. And Genshin Impact comes to PS5.

The week in gaming news! Can I Play That? & Ready Player Two Book Review with Zahra, Rani, & Evie. There’s also our awesome new intros curtesy of Natalie.

Facebook debuts new cloud-streaming service for Facebook Gaming

This new service will be integrated with Facebook Gaming and is already in the beta form for some users. According to Jason Rubin Facebook’s vice president of play over 200,000 people have already played games on the beta cloud streaming service. Currently there are five games available; Asphalt 9: Legends, Mobile Legends: Adventure, PGA TOUR Gold Shootout, Solitaire: Arthur’s Tale and WWE SuperCard. Facebook are promising more games as the platforms continues to get better throughout this testing phase. Rubin has said, “Even with latency-tolerant games players may notice some glitches. We’ll occasionally show player rating cards and feedback forms to help improve the experience over time. Cloud game streaming for the masses still has a way to go, and it’s important to embrace both the advantages and the reality of the technology rather than try to oversell where it’ll be in the future.”

Sad news for PS4 lovers as Night Call is no longer coming to the console

Developers Monkey Moon and Black Muffin have announced that the game will not go to PS4, this news comes just a month after the game Uppers was cancelled after 6 years in development. According to the developers of both games it simply comes down to a lack of funds. Night Call’s official twitter account has stated that the game hasn’t done very well with sales not to mention issues with porting the game. A tweet sent out by Night Call has said, “Dear PlayStation players, we’re super sorry to announce that the PS4 version of Night Call is officially cancelled. Please note that we’re probably as disappointed as you are. But we just can’t afford it.” Fortunately, Uppers will still be available to play on the PC for roughly $40 should you be sad about either of these games not coming PS4.

Features being cut from Cyberpunk 2077 ahead of launch and a 21-day delay

With the release of CD Projekt Red’s most anticipated release of the year Cyberpunk 2077 has had some big feature cuts after being delayed 3 times already, actually make that 4. Miles Tost the senior level designer has said, “Cutting features and scope is a very normal part of development, you can witness it so openly with our game, because we happily gave in to community wishes and showed you that 2018 demo.” Tost goes on to emphasise these feature cuts will only enhance the game play experience and that these cuts were “hard decisions” to make for the developers who truly love working on the game. There is much speculation around this as these feature cuts come after not a month ago Cyberpunk 2077 received criticism for its staff working under strenuous working conditions also known as crunch leading up to the game’s launch that appeared to be enforced by the studio. Only time will tell how it all turns out after release on the now new release date 10^th of December.

A video released by Sony on their blog today has hinted that the PS4 may be unveiled as early as the 20th of February. The date has been set aside for a Playstation conference event to be held in New York City.   While the video only mentions a date and not much else, text attached to the video reads “see the future” and “be the first to know”, so we can be forgiven for jumping to conclusions here!

The World of Warcraft film adaptation now has a director attached to it.  Duncan Jones, director of Source Code and the son of David Bowie, will direct the film which has been scripted by Blood Diamond writer Charles Leavitt.   The film has a budget of $100 million.

Blizzard has released a video demonstrating the social features of the upcoming Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm.   The game has a release date of the 12th of March 2013.

Rockstar has today announced the official release date for Grand Theft Auto V.  Originally expected in April 2013, the revised date is the 17th of September 2013. GTA V will be available for the PS3 and 360, PC and Wii U versions are yet to be announced. Below is the official statement from Rockstar’s website: 

Dear all

Today, we have an official release date to share with you: Grand Theft Auto V will arrive in stores on September 17, 2013.

We know this is about four months later than originally planned and we know that this short delay will come as a disappointment to many of you, but, trust us, it will be worth the extra time. GTAV is a massively ambitious and complex game and it simply needs a little more polish to be of the standard we and, more importantly, you require.

To all Grand Theft Auto fans, please accept our apologies for the delay, and our promise that the entire team here is working very hard to make the game all it can be. We are doing all we can to help ensure it will meet if not exceed your expectations come September – we thank you for your support and patience.

Yours,
The GTA Team