Month: May 2018

Halo: Fireteam Raven, the new Halo game for arcades, is probably not going to come to Xbox. In the latest Halo weekly blog post, developer 343 Industries confirmed that it has no plans to bring Fireteam Raven to Xbox or any other systems…at least not yet.

“There are currently no plans for release on Xbox or other platforms,” 343 said.

Halo: Fireteam Raven

In the post, 343 said Fireteam Raven is a “unique arcade experience” that makes uses of a giant custom-made cabinet with a 130-inch 4K screen and four mounted machine guns. So yeah, that kind of experience was never likely to be possible in your home on an Xbox anyway.

The game was developed by arcade game companies Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix with the idea that it would be “uniquely suited” for arcades and other places like that. The game will be available in Dave & Busters locations in the United States later this year, with availability in other parts of the world coming sometime after.

But if you have a lot of money burning a hole in your pocket and want a Fireteam Raven cabinet for yourself, will that be possible? It sounds like it, as 343 said the game will be available from distributors “on a broader level” later this year; other details, like pricing, will come later.

343 also confirmed that Fireteam Raven’s story is indeed canon. It’s set in the timeline of Halo: Combat Evolved, putting players into the shoes of ODST troopers that make up Fireteam Raven. While you don’t play as Master Chief, you’re battling his enemies: Covenant forces.

Finally, 343 also reiterated that its efforts to support Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix on Fireteam Raven is not taking away resources from Halo 6. “Halo: Fireteam Raven was built by arcade legends Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix, collaboration with specific teams at 343 for story, art, and other franchise elements,” 343 said. “The core 343 Industries game development team remains hard at work on the next Halo FPS installment.”

While Halo 6 has yet to be officially announced, we know it is in the works and some details about it have come to light. For example, it’s been confirmed that the new Halo FPS will feature split-screen multiplayer support and we also know it will be free for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. If Microsoft is to announce the next Halo game soon, that could happen at E3.

For more on Fireteam Raven, check out the announcement trailer above. And as for E3, our predictions for the Xbox show include a Halo 6 reveal and lots more.

The newest Star Wars movie, Solo, opened this weekend–but it was not the hit that Disney and Lucasfilm would have wanted. The movie is tracking to make around $101 million in the US and Canada over this Memorial Day long weekend, according to Entertainment Weekly. That would put the film easily in the top spot, but it’s well below what projections said it might make. Industry watchers said the film was expected to pull in between $130 million and $150 million for its opening.

Solo made an estimated $83.3 million in the Friday-Sunday period, which gives it the worst three-day opening weekend box office figure of any of the new Star Wars films by a very, very large margin. Here are the three-day domestic opening-weekend figures for the three previous new era Star Wars films.

1. The Force Awakens ($248 million)
2. Rogue One ($155.1 million)
3. The Last Jedi ($220 million

Solo made around $65 million in the Friday-Sunday window from international markets–including China–which is not the greatest.

The record-holder for the four-day Memorial Day weekend is 2007’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, which made $139.8 million. Solo was projected to potentially dethrone that movie, but it came nowhere close to doing that.

Being a spinoff movie, Solo was never going to be able to make as much as The Force Awakens or The Last Jedi. But the comparisons to Rogue One are noteworthy, given that was a spinoff as well and it did considerably better.

According to EW, which supplied all of the box office figures, Solo cost around $250 million to produce. The budget likely incurred an extra cost beyond normal, as Disney fired directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord just 11 months before the movie came out. Oscar winner Ron Howard was later brought on to take over.

Solo is the first of the new Star Wars movies to not open in December, and it comes just five months after the release of The Last Jedi in December 2017.

Despite Solo‘s slow start, Disney is of course moving forward on more Star Wars movies. The next one is Episode IX in December 2019, while Disney is also reportedly planning standalone films for Obi-Wan Kenobi, Lando Calrissian, and Boba Fett. Just recently, we learned that Logan director James Mangold may be directing the Boba Fett movie. Additionally, Disney hired the creators of Game of Thrones for a new Star Wars film series, while The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is making his own new trilogy of saga films after JJ Abrams’ Episode IX next year.

Below you can see the full Top 10 box office report for the May 25-27 period in the US and Canada, as relayed by EW.

1. Solo: A Star Wars Story — $83.3 million ($101 million four-day)
2. Deadpool 2 — $42.7 million ($53.5 million four-day)
3. Avengers: Infinity War — $16.5 million ($20.1 million four-day)
4. Book Club — $9.5 million ($12 million four-day)
5. Life of the Party — $5.1 million ($6.5 million four-day)
6. Breaking In — $4.1 million
7. Show Dogs — $3.1 million
8. Overboard — $3 million
9. A Quiet Place — $2.2 million
10. RBG — $1.2 million

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection drops this week, while Nintendo Switch gets a few cult classic ports.

by Tony Wilson on May 27, 2018 at 4:00PM

If you’re traveling this week, you’re in luck, as Nintendo Switch is getting ports of the hardcore shoot ’em up Ikaruga and the animal adventure game Legend of Kay Anniversary. Those aren’t the only re-releases happening either, as Harvest Moon: Light of Hope Special Edition also launches this week, alongside the jam-packed Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. For the horror crowd, there’s also the dark and twisted Agony.

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection — May 29

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch

This game is actually 12 titles in one, spanning from the original Street Fighter to the Alpha series, with an included Museum and Music Player for the nostalgic crowd. You can take a good chunk of the games online for ranked matches, too. Those playing on the Switch can even set up local eight-player tournaments.

Further Reading:

Agony — May 29

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC,

Escaping from Hell sounds bad enough, but a procedurally generated Hell? That sounds much more, well, hellish. To do it, you’ll have to possess other lost souls and even a few minor demons. You’ll also have to run and hide from the bigger, tougher demons and solve puzzles if you hope to make it back to the land of the living.

Harvest Moon: Light of Hope Special Edition — May 29

Available on: PS4, Switch

On the lighthearted side, Harvest Moon: Light of Hope is making its PS4 and Switch debut, which includes some new festivals for you to celebrate. Beyond that, it’s the same tried-and-true mix of growing crops, building up the town, and raising a family.

Ikaruga — May 29

Available on: Switch

If you’ve never played this renowned shoot ’em up, here’s the elevator pitch: you can switch polarity, shifting your ship’s color between black and white, and absorb bullets of the same color. It sounds simple, but things get much crazier when the screen gets chock-full of enemy gunfire.

Legend of Kay Anniversary — May 29

Available on: Switch

That’s not the only older game making its way to Switch this week. Legend of Kay Anniversary gives the original a fresh coat of paint, with higher resolution textures and better character models. It might have a new look, but this is still the same beloved mix of martial arts, platforming, and puzzle solving from a decade ago.

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New Releases

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New Releases gives you your weekly dose of available titles across all platforms.

Back in March, there were reports that the new Battlefield game would feature loot boxes in some capacity. As it turns out, that won’t be the case. A representative for Battlefield V publisher Electronic Arts told Kotaku, “I can confirm that there are no loot boxes.”

The rumor was that Battlefield V’s loot boxes would contain only cosmetic items, but the statement makes it sound like there will be no loot boxes whatsoever. The last big Battlefield game, 2016’s Battlefield 1, featured loot boxes, as a lot of games today do.

This confirmation that Battlefield V won’t have loot boxes comes after the uproar over how loot boxes factored into Star Wars: Battlefront II–which was made by DICE, the same team behind Battlefield V. Battlefront II’s loot boxes feature items that can actually affect gameplay, so some thought the game became pay-to-win in some capacity.

Now we know that Battlefield V will have no loot boxes at all, and that is good news for some. The game will still have currency that you can buy with real money, though you can only buy cosmetic customisation items, not anything that actually affects gameplay, it seems. What’s more, Battlefield V does away with the franchise’s Season Pass in favour of giving maps to all players for free.

The move away from loot boxes from EA comes as loot boxes face increased scrutiny around the world from industry groups and lawmakers. Some argue that loot boxes constitute a form of gambling because people pay real money for the chance to get an item they are after. Additionally, many games do not disclose loot box odds, though some do.

Battlefield V launches for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Origin on October 19. It will be available in both standard and Deluxe editions; those who purchase the latter will get access to the game three days early, on October 16.

Additionally, EA/Origin Access subscribers can start playing a trial on October 11, which is notable because that is one day before Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 launches on October 12. Prior to its release, EA will also hold an open beta for Battlefield V later this year.

For lots more on Battlefield 5, check out GameSpot’s roundup feature that covers everything you need to know, “Battlefield 5: Release Date, New Features, And Everything We Know.”