Month: January 2019

Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, and Detroit developer Quantic Dream recently raised money from Chinese internet company NetEase, at which time many wondered if it meant that the French studio would continue to make games only for PlayStation consoles. Now we know it won’t.

Quantic Dream boss Guillaume de Foundaumiere told GamesBeat that while the studio will continue to release games for PlayStation consoles, the exclusivity arrangement is seemingly over.

“We will continue to work on PlayStation, which is a platform we love and that we know very well, but we will also consider other platforms as we want to make our creations accessible to as many gamers as possible worldwide, regardless of the platform,” he said. “This is definitely a shift for us after 12 years developing exclusively for PlayStation. We are confident we can make a smooth transition [to multi-platform development] while keeping the high level of quality that we target for our games.”

As for what Quantic Dream’s next game will be, studio founder David Cage said it’s “too early” to reveal anything. However, he did tease that the studio is working on a new game engine that will support multiple platforms. The engine is “even more impressive than anything we have done before,” Cage said.

He added: “We will keep working on projects that are ambitious and original, building on the genre we pioneered and that we will continue to develop, but we also want to explore new grounds.”

Also in the interview, Cage said Quantic Dream wants to become a “global, multi-franchise company” that retains its independence, and raising the money from NetEase will help it achieve that. “We want to keep developing original games in the genre we pioneered, but also expand our audience by being present on all platforms,” he said.

Quantic Dream raised an unspecified amount of money from NetEase. The company previously invested $100 million into Bungie to develop non-Destiny games. NetEase also invested $30 million in Second Dinner, a small team founded by Hearthstone developers who are making a Marvel game.

Detroit: Become Human was released in May 2018 as a PlayStation 4-exclusive. It was generally well-received and it set sales records.

Kingdom Hearts 3 is one of the most anticipated games of the year. Fans have been waiting years for the release date of the third mainline entry in the series to arrive, and that moment is nearly here–it launches tomorrow, January 29.

If you’re not familiar with the series, you might enjoy our Kingdom Hearts story primer, or everything you need to know about Kingdom Hearts 3. One notable thing that’s emerged in the last few days is that the game’s epilogue will be added after launch to avoid spoilers being leaked. And if you want to know how long it will take to see that epilogue, you can find out by taking a look at Kingdom Hearts 3’s campaign length estimate.

We awarded the game an 8/10 in our Kingdom Hearts 3 review, while critics across the board seem pretty positive about this concluding chapter. Read on below for a selection of other reviews or check out GameSpot sister site Metacritic for more, or head over to CNET for thoughts from a series newcomer.

GameSpot — 8/10

“What sticks with me is the exciting battle against elemental titans with Hercules, taking Rapunzel out into the unfamiliar wide world for the first time, snapping selfies with Winnie the Pooh, and going toe to toe with Davy Jones. In 2002, as Sora, I left Destiny Islands to travel across the universe and make new friends. In 2019 I brought old ones home, and I had so much fun doing it.” — Tamoor Hussain [Full review]

CNET

“Kingdom Hearts 3 sticks doggedly to what made Kingdom Hearts successful in the first place, for better or worse. It’s both the poison and the antidote. It’s more than happy to let you swim in its best bits of unpredictable, epic combat set pieces and then sit you down for an extended fireside chat about a Keyblade War with four antagonists that all share the same hair colour and only slightly varied haircuts.” — Jackson Ryan [Full review] CNET is GameSpot’s sister site.

IGN — 8.7/10

“I thoroughly enjoyed Square Enix’s evolution of Kingdom Hearts’ gameplay and fidelity to Disney’s beloved animated movies. While the storytelling could use some punching up, Square has done a fantastic job of capturing the spirit of these worlds while giving us a massive toolbox for battles and exploration. Even as I watched the dust settle on the story I wanted to jump right back in to collect everything. But to see all of the events of the Kingdom Hearts games so far culminate is, frankly, weird. Having been given so much time to ruminate, its specific resolutions aren’t all that surprising, but only a marginal impact is lost as a result. I still loved seeing so many characters from throughout this series interact in new ways and rekindle old bonds. It’s nice to see that, even so long after the very first game, Kingdom Hearts 3 is so full of heart.” — Jonathon Dornbush [Full review]

Game Informer — 9.5/10

“While not perfect, Kingdom Hearts III is the game I’ve been waiting for. After finishing it, I was delighted by how satisfied I was with the journey. I traversed worlds with some of my favorite Disney characters, persevered through challenging boss battles, and saw a triumphant finale that only makes me more excited for the future. The series still has a lot of heart, and that’s what makes it so endearing.” — Kimberley Wallace [Full review]

Polygon — No score

“Kingdom Hearts isn’t simple anymore; it isn’t just joy and bright colors and Disney heroes. Instead, the conclusion of this story is tangled up in so many conflicting threads, each one a heavy burden on its hero, whose smile now feels unnerving. Kingdom Hearts 3 is an example of what can go wrong when a series that once stood in contrast to its peers as a lighthearted alternative loses its way.” — Allegra Frank [Full review]

GamesRadar — 4/5

“Whatever the flaws, there is nothing quite like Kingdom Hearts 3, and it’s a wild, wonderful ride as a result. Name one other game where you can watch Elsa belt out Let It Go before hammering some monsters to death with a giant key. I’ll wait.” — Rachel Weber [Full review]

E3 2019 is going to be a big year for Xbox at E3, it seems. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer said on a recent podcast that Microsoft’s showing at E3 this year will be “as big” as it’s ever been for Xbox, and one reason why might be because Sony is dropping out of E3.

Speaking to Major Nelson, Spencer started off by saying, “This is going to be a fun E3 for us.” He recalled an internal Microsoft conversation about E3 after the “news” that dropped last year about E3, which is presumably a reference to Sony skipping the show.

“There was some news about E3 back in the fall. We had a discussion internally about, ‘Should we go big?’ ‘Should we save some money?’ ‘What does that mean?’ We decided, no [we’re not going to save money], we’re going to do our thing,” Spencer said. “We’re going to go and be as big at E3 as we’ve ever been. I love that opportunity.”

Right now, with about five months to go before E3 2019, Microsoft is in the midst of thinking about how and who the company can get to come on stage, Spencer said. The company is also talking about if the company wants to talk about titles and products coming in the short-term versus the long-term. Spencer said he personally likes to be transparent, but he’s also mindful of being careful not to announce something too early.

Spencer didn’t get into specifics, but he said the content lineup from Xbox for E3 2019 is already “great.” The company also plans to talk about the future of Xbox and more about what the Xbox brand means–beyond console. The Xbox is a console, but there are “millions” of people who spend time and money on Xbox outside of the console family through PC and mobile, Spencer pointed out. At E3, he wants to let people know that they don’t need to own an Xbox to be part of the Xbox community.

Also in the interview, Spencer talked about Xbox’s position in 2019, saying the groundwork that Microsoft put down in recent years will really begin to pay off this year. Quoting George W. Bush, Spencer said, “This is a year where it’s not strategery–we’re going to roll up our sleeves and we’re going to show. I love that. Now it’s go time.”

One of the new platforms Microsoft has in the works for gaming is Project xCloud, which is the working title for the company’s game-streaming service. It’s already up and running, and Spencer said he was using it during his travels at the end of 2018. It’ll probably be “years” before streaming becomes the primary way people play games, but the technology is coming together, Spencer said.

Additionally, Spencer discussed Microsoft’s recent spree of studio purchases. One of the reasons Microsoft bought and set up a total of seven studios in six months was to create a catalog of titles that “surprise and delight” fans, and release on a “regular cadence.” Microsoft has been criticised in recent years for not having enough compelling first-party content, and Spencer acknowledged that Microsoft’s first-party lineup is “so different” than what it’s been over the past five years. He also shared an anecdote from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who apparently said he’s eager and happy about Microsoft investing so heavily in teams that will make exclusive content for Xbox going forward.

One of Microsoft’s announcements at E3 2019 could be a new console. Spencer has already confirmed that Microsoft is working on multiple new consoles. According to Brad Sams, one is a disc-free streaming box and another is a console more powerful than the Xbox One X.

E3 2019 takes place June 11-13, 2019 in Los Angeles. While Sony is backing away, the show is expected to be a very big one full of surprises and reveals of all kinds.