Month: May 2020

Former Halo, Star Wars, Battlefield Veteran Joins Tencent’s New LA Studio

Tencent’s new Los Angeles studio has hired a big name to lead its studio. The TiMi Studios Twitter account announced that Scott Warner has come aboard to become its studio director.

Warner is an industry veteran who has worked on numerous high-profile projects such as the original Planescape: Torment, Halo 4, and Battlefield: Hardline, among other titles.

In his new studio director position, Warner will “help expand” TiMi’s studio in Los Angeles, the developer said in a press release. TiMi is a gigantic company, employing more than 2,000 people worldwide, but this is the first time the company is setting up shop in North America.

The press release also mentions that Warner will lead the development of new games and new IP that will be released on multiple platforms. However, none of these projects have been announced.

TiMi Studios also developed the incredibly popular Call of Duty: Mobile through its studio in China.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to build something really special as TiMi has an exceptional pedigree and great ambition to create new games and new IP for global audiences,” Warner said in the release. “We’ll be assembling a team that’s diverse, talented and aspirational enough to help TiMi achieve its goal as a truly global development team.”

Warner got his start in games working with Black Isle Studios on the original Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale. He then joined Pandemic Studios where he was level designer on Mercenaries 1 and Mercenaries 2. After that, he went over to 343 Industries in the role of design director on Halo 4.

He then joined Electronic Arts where he served as game director on Battlefield Hardline and “various” Star Wars games that never came out, according to his LinkedIn page. After leaving EA, Warner joined Oculus VR as a design lead, before moving again to Ubisoft from 2018 until May 2020 where he was working on an unannounced game.

Now Playing: Call Of Duty Mobile – Full Match On Crash

Detroit: Become Human Is Getting A Twitch Extension

French studio Quantic Dream is giving fans a new way to experience its latest release, Detroit: Become Human, with a Twitch extension aimed at streamers. The Detroit: Community Play extension will let streamers easily send out polls to their viewers related to the decisions posed by the game’s branching narrative–something Detroit streamers have done in a more informal way since the game’s release.

Like other Quantic Dream games, Detroit: Become Human is a narrative-heavy game where the outcome of different situations is influenced by the decisions the player chooses, or the relationships they build with characters. The new extension is designed to simulate a multiplayer experience, letting viewers have a say in the direction the playthrough will go.

The feature will be demoed by Bryan Dechart and his partner Amelia Rose Blair. Both actors appeared in Detroit: Become Human, and later gathered a large following on Twitch when they streamed their first playthrough of the game they worked on. The duo are now Twitch Partners under their channel Dechart Games.

While Dechart and Blair are now Twitch veterans, their demo will come as part of Quantic Dream’s first ever livestream on its own channel. The stream is set to be a big one, celebrating both the Heavy Rain 10-year anniversary and the Detroit: Become Human 2-year anniversary with Q&As from actors involved in both games.

Keep an eye out for the anniversary stream on Twitch on May 25 at 2 PM ET, including the demo and launch of Detroit: Community Play.

Now Playing: Detroit: Become Human Video Review

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Disney Opens Select Disney World Shops To Huge Crowds

In a first step towards re-opening its parks, Disney has allowed third-party shops in its Disney Springs Orlando shopping and dining complex to resume trading. Lines formed outside the outlets that were trading shortly after the area re-opened at 10 AM ET on Wednesday May 20, THR has reported.

Prior to opening, Disney issued a warning on its website that guests would assume all risk of exposure to COVID-19, as well as introducing measures requiring guests and staff to wear masks and be temperature checked on the way into the park.

Twitter posts have shown both good and bad sides to the re-opening, with some praising the diligence of employees regularly cleaning and disinfecting highly trafficked areas, and others expressing disappointment that some guests weren’t following guidelines requiring masks and social distancing.

The partial opening of Disney Springs is the first phase in Disney’s gradual re-opening plans. The company plans to open more of the complex’s Disney-owned shops soon. While there isn’t currently a publicly-available timeline for the re-opening of other parts of Disney World or Disneyland, the company will likely be using the Disney Springs re-opening as a test.

Florida has had 47,471 confirmed cases of COVID-19 according to recent data, with 2,096 deaths. The state had 485 new cases and 3 new deaths on May 19, the day before Disney Springs’ reopening.

Command & Conquer Remastered Announces Support For Modding

The team behind the upcoming Command & Conquer Remastered Collection has previously spoken about working with community modders to update the classic RTS games, but a new announcement details how they’re planning on giving back to that community. Not only will the Remastered Collection launch with a new Map Editor, EA will also be releasing the games’ source code under a GPL version 3.0 license.

“We believe this will be one of the first major RTS franchises to open source their source code under the GPL,” a new blog post about the project reads. “This initiative is the direct result of a collaboration between some of the community council members and our teams at EA. After discussing with the council members, we made the decision to go with the GPL license to ensure compatibility with projects like CnCNet and Open RA.”

The release of TiberianDawn.dll and RedAlert.dll will allow keen modders to change everything from art assets and game logic to custom units and maps. For those who don’t want to dive all the way into the source code, there will also be a Map Editor tool, and Steam Workshop support to enable modders to share their custom maps and mods.

Command & Conquer: Remastered Collection is set to release on June 5, 2020 for PC.

Now Playing: Command And Conquer Remastered Collection – Official Reveal Trailer

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Call of Duty Could Return To Black Ops In 2020 | Save State

The next Call of Duty will reportedly be an installment in the Black Ops saga, and if sources are true, could be Cold War-themed. Sony says the PlayStation 5 is going to deliver a sound “evolution,” and Naughty Dog has released a new Inside Gameplay trailer for The Last of Us Part 2, detailing new gameplay mechanics and more.

Here’s How Much Money Take-Two Makes From Microtransactions And Which Games Are The Biggest

As part of Take-Two’s latest earnings report, the Rockstar Games and 2K Games owner revealed how much money its titles make from microtransactions and which games are the most popular.

Microtransactions are labeled by Take-Two as “recurrent consumer spending,” which includes virtual currency, add-on content, and in-game purchases. For the quarter ended March 31, recurrent consumer spending increased by 40 percent and made up 54 percent of Take-Two’s overall net revenue ($760.5 million), for a total of more than $410 million.

Some of the games that performed the best in terms of microtransactions included NBA 2K20, NBA 2K19, Grand Theft Auto Online, Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2, Red Dead Online, Borderlands 3, Civilization VI, and SocialPoint’s mobile titles such as WWE SuperCard and WWE 2K20.

For NBA 2K20 specifically, Take-Two said the game “significantly outperformed” the company’s expectations for microtransactions. The releases for the MyTeam mode in February helped grow microtransaction spending.

In fact, NBA 2K20 outperformed all of Take-Two’s other releases in terms of microtransactions, even surpassing the juggernaut of GTA Online. NBA 2K20 microtransaction spending grew 30 percent to set a new record. GTA Online also performed exceptionally well, CFO Lainie Goldstein said, noting that microtransaction spending in the game grew 87 percent for the quarter and 40 percent for the full year.

Red Dead Redemption 2’s multiplayer mode, Red Dead Online, was also called out a top-performer for microtransactions. Goldstein said the game continues to gain momentum as it relates to microtransactions.

Looking ahead, Take-Two expects microtransaction spending to continue to grow in the fiscal year, driven by NBA 2K20 and GTA Online.

Microtransactions are controversial in some circles. Take-Two has said it wants to put microtransactions in every game that it releases, and the company wants to do so in a fair and responsible way.

CEO Strauss Zelnick explained that the company needs to make money (“we’re not a charity,” he said), but the player must feel that they are getting a fair deal. He said it’s like going to a restaurant and then getting shocked when you get the bill based on the level of quality and service. That’s the kind of situation that Take-Two is keen to avoid as it relates to microtransactions.

“We always deliver more than what we charge and that’s the goal of our company and that’s the goal all of our labels,” Zelnick said.

Take-Two is donating 5 percent of microtransaction sales from GTA Online and Red Dead Online through the end of May for COVID-19 relief. Given how much money those games bring it, that could be a lot of cash.

In other news, Take-Two recently announced that is has 93 titles in development right now, though not all of them will be released.

Now Playing: NBA 2K20 – “When The Lights Are Brightest” MyCareer Cinematic Trailer

Best Pre-Built Gaming PCs That Are Available Right Now (May 2020)

Building a PC requires an extreme amount of patience, confidence, and time that not everyone can afford. Picking out parts that are compatible with each other is an extremely easy task these days, but if anything goes wrong, then it’s up to you to figure out what the problem is. However, there’s a great option out there for those that want to join the PC gaming world but aren’t necessarily ready to build their own gaming PC. Pre-built gaming PCs skip the build step entirely, but it can still be difficult knowing which one to buy. We’ve made it easy by selecting a variety of the best pre-built gaming PCs that are in stock and worth your money.

Pre-built gaming PCs have come a long way over the last couple of years, and while some are still more expensive than the sum of their parts, they’re a convenient and great option for PC gaming. There are also a wide range of prices, much like PC parts themselves. If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option, then there are plenty with more modest specs to choose from. There are also pre-built gaming PCs that can rock high settings–and yes, your bank account, too.

Some of these pre-built gaming PCs are discounted right now, though it’s important to note that prices on the internet fluctuate regularly: What you see on this page may not reflect what you see when you click through. Please note the correct price before placing your final order. And if you’re looking for a cheap monitor to pair with your new PC, check out our guide to the best budget monitors that are in stock right now. We also have guides on the best gaming keyboards and best gaming mice.

Note: The prices shown below indicate a product’s standard list price and may not reflect any current discounts or other fluctuations.

Gaming PCs under $1,000

Gaming PCs under $1,500

Gaming PCs under $2,000

Gaming PCs under $3,000

Now Playing: PC’s 5 Best Games Of 2019

Take-Two Has 93 Games In Development, But Company Won’t Comment On GTA

Take-Two Interactive, the owner of Rockstar Games and 2K Games, confirmed on an earnings call that it has a whopping 93 titles in development, but the company won’t say if a new version of Grand Theft Auto V is among them.

During the earnings call, Take-Two president Karl Slatoff said the 93 games are scheduled to launch by the end of March 2025. However, they might not all release. The 93 games represent what Take-Two has in the works right now, but Slatoff cautioned that, “It is likely that some of these titles will not be developed through completion and we will undoubtedly be adding new titles to our slate.”

During a Q&A, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked if a new version of Grand Theft Auto V (presumably for next-gen consoles) would be one of the 93 titles planned for release by the end of 2025. The executive declined to comment, but the company did confirm that the 93 titles will come from all of Take-Two’s divisions, including Rockstar.

“We haven’t yet made any announcements that aren’t reflected in today’s release. We don’t talk about specific new titles at these calls, we leave those discussions to the labels,” Zelnick said.

In addition to Rockstar, Take-Two owns 2K Games and 2K Sports, while it also operates an indie publishing label with Private Division. Take-Two also owns the mobile game company SocialPoint.

Of the 93 titles in development, they include:

  • 63 “core gaming experiences,” including 15 “platform extensions of existing titles”
  • 17 are “mid-score or arcade-style experiences”
  • 13 are “casual” experiences
  • 47 of the 93 are from existing franchises and 46 are from new IP
  • 72 of the 93 games are coming to console, PC, and/or streaming
    • 7 of these will be available on mobile
    • 21 are in development exclusively for mobile

In terms of the business models, 67 of the 93 games are paid titles, while 26 will be free-to-play. Take-Two also confirmed that the 93 releases does not include DLC or add-ons.

Overall, Zelnick said Take-Two has the “strongest development pipeline in its history, including sequels from our biggest franchises as well as exciting new IP.”

Slatoff summarized Take-Two’s initiative in this way: “We’d like to keep up this velocity. It’s really important for us to build scale. And this is one way we’re doing it–we need more at-bats.”

Take-Two’s release slate for Fiscal 2021 will be “light,” but management said it expects to release an “array of titles” in Fiscal 2022.

In April, Kotaku reported that Rockstar Games had begun work on the next Grand Theft Auto Game, but the studio has yet to announce it. Grand Theft Auto V continues to perform exceptionally well, recently passing 130 million copies sold, with microtransaction revenue continuing to grow.

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Games Of Thrones Stars Reuniting For Vampire Movie

A year after the series finale of Game of Thrones, two of the show’s stars are reuniting for a project, but this one’s quite a bit different from their previous work together. Peter Dinklage and Jason Momoa have signed on to star together as a vampire and a vampire hunter in an action-adventure movie, according to a new report.

The news comes from Deadline, which reports Dinklage will play legendary vampire hunter Van Helsing in the upcoming movie Good Bad & Undead. In the film, he forms an uneasy alliance with Momoa’s character, a vampire that has vowed never to kill again. The two venture from town to town, scamming locals by having Van Helsing act as though he’s killing the vampire for money. Ultimately, an actual bounty is put on the vampire’s head and the two end up on the run in a magical world of monsters.

Max Barbakow (Palm Springs) is set to direct from a script by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift (Baywatch, Freddy vs. Jason). “We’re so excited about this one. Who doesn’t want to see Peter Dinklage as Van Helsing and Jason Momoa as a vampire?! This is dream casting,” the writing duo said in a tweet. “We’ll never stop fighting to get original stories made. We think you’re gonna love what we are all cooking up. Hopefully more news soon!”

There is no set production start or release date for Good Bad and Undead announced as of yet. If you need more Momoa in your life, though, you’re in luck. It’s been announced that a different cut of the Justice League movie is on the way from original director Zack Snyder. You might say it’s a Snyder cut of the film. It’s set to arrive on HBO Max in 2021.

And speaking of things you should be watching, consider listening to GameSpot’s weekly TV series and movies-focused podcast, You Should Be Watching. With new episodes premiering every Wednesday, you can watch a video version of the podcast over on GameSpot Universe or listen to audio versions on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, and Apple Podcasts.

Starting June 1, GameSpot will be hosting Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts with the help of our friends from around the gaming world.

Now Playing: Game Of Thrones Series Finale Breakdown And Recap — “The Iron Throne”

COD: Warzone Bunker Locations And How To Open Them

The bunkers in Call of Duty: Warzone are opening, and if you have a Red Access Card, you’ll be able to get inside most of them. However, Bunker 11 has its own method of entry. Tony explains how to get inside in the video above.

The Easter egg you’ll find inside Bunker 11 seems to hint at the next Call of Duty title, rumored to be Black Ops Cold War. That’s unconfirmed at this time, but we should learn more about 2002’s Call of Duty game before long.