Month: November 2020

Bethesda’s Todd Howard has said that the company’s current engine – which will be used for Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 – is getting what could be its largest upgrade yet, and is being worked on by the largest number of employees the company has ever assigned to engine work.

Speaking during the Develop:Brighton keynote session, Howard was asked how much work was being done on Bethesda’s proprietery Creation engine, which has attracted criticism in the past.

“We too will acknowledge it needs more work than it has in previous times,” Howard replied, “and we do that between generations – and we’ve been doing it. I can say that the engine work started a while ago.”

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It sounds as though this is a major rework, too – perhaps the largest leap for the engine in its long history (Creation was born out of the older Gamebryo Engine, which was initially released in 1997). “We have more people doing engine work now, by a factor of five, probably than we’ve ever had,” Howard explained. “So the overhaul in our engine is the largest we’ve probably ever had, maybe larger than Morrowind to Oblivion.”

Howard went on to explain that there are elements of Creation that Bethesda continues to like, but pointed out the sheer number of changes being made:

“There are things we do that we still like. The way we build our worlds, the way people can mod it – these are things that I think are fundamentally good about our tech stack. But from rendering to animation to pathing to procedural generation – I don’t want to say everything, but it’s a significant, significant overhaul.

“It’s taken us longer than we would have liked, but it’s going to power what we’re doing with Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6, and when people see the result, they’ll hopefully be as happy as we are with what’s on the screen, but also in how we can go about making our games.”

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We’ve previously heard that the engine was being worked on, when Howard explained that it was being rewritten for Starfield and next-gen consoles.

That news came alongside Microsoft’s $7.5 billion acquisition of Bethesda parent company ZeniMax. Howard’s also explained that it’s ‘hard to imagine’ The Elder Scrolls 6 becoming a full Xbox exclusive after the buyout.

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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 [email protected].

Justice League star Ray Fisher has claimed that almost every single scene featuring Cyborg ended up being reshot for Joss Whedon’s theatrical cut of the film.

Speaking to the hosts of the Geek House Show podcast, Fisher addressed the extent of Whedon’s reshoots and how they altered Zack Snyder’s intended arc for Cyborg, as he alleged that every single scene with Cyborg in the theatrical version of Justice League turned out to be a reshoot, except one brief appearance from his character assembling alongside the Justice League to meet up with Commissioner Jim Gordon on the rooftop of the Gotham City Police Department.

“Some things were, like, similar with the reshoots as what we did with the original, and so it’s hard to, like, tell with certain shots of other people for scenes that I wasn’t there for,” Fisher said of the reshoots. “But what I can tell you from my character, and for what you saw in the theatrical version, that every single scene with the exception of the Gotham City police rooftop scene with Commissioner Gordon and Batman and Flash and all that… every single scene that I’m in was reshot. I reshot almost the entire film on my end. As far as other people’s stuff where I wasn’t there, I can’t really tell you.”

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Most of Cyborg’s origin story was cut from the theatrical version of the film, including seeing the character learn to fly, use weapons, and hack into other computer networks, as well as his deeper connection to Mother Boxes (since he’s basically born from a Mother Box). The majority of these scenes are expected to be restored in full for Zack Snyder’s four-hour cut of Justice League, which will release across four parts on HBO Max in 2021.

Snyder has already stated that he will not use even a “single frame” from Whedon’s Justice League reshoots for his version of the film. In fact, he said that he would “literally blow that f***ing thing up” before using any of Whedon’s material. Snyder has, however, started working on his own reshoots for the director’s cut of Justice League, with several of the main cast reportedly returning to shoot additional footage to presumably flesh out existing scenes.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Multiple cast members from the Mass Effect franchise are reuniting for an N7 Day celebration amid continuing speculation about a remaster of the the series’ first three games.

The news was revealed by Commander Shepard himself Mark Meer on Twitter, who added that the special event will take place on “11/7 @ 11 AM PST.”

I’ll be joining my #masseffect cast mates @jhaletweets @RaphaelSbarge @missalihillis @courtenaytaylor @blumspew @kimberlydbrooks @AlixWiltonRegan @wlsalyers @MrDCDouglas plus devs @KarinWeekes @PatrickWeekes for a special #N7Day event Sat 11/7 @ 11AM PST! Stay tuned for the link! pic.twitter.com/ziISB0lJed

— Mark Meer (@Mark_Meer) October 30, 2020

Fans will be able to tune in on November 7 to check out a stream featuring Meer, Jennifer Hale, Steve Blum, Courtenay Taylor and many other talented voice actors who lent their skills to the sci-fi series. The event will be chaired by Bioware’s Karen Weekes and Patrick Weekes.

Naturally, this could just be a meeting of the minds to reminisce about a popular franchise, but given the speed at which the rumour mill is turning about a potential Mass Effect Trilogy remaster, it would be the perfect time to reveal something that will please franchise fans.

Retail listings regarding a ‘Mass Effect Trilogy Remastered’ game collection for PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch cropped up back in September. Then, in early October, a ‘Mass Effect Legendary Edition’ was rated in South Korea. Be sure to check back with IGN to find out if that becomes reality this weekend.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Gran Turismo 7 may launch in the first half of 2021, according to a reported Canadian PlayStation 5 advertisement.

As reported by GTPlanet (and spotted by user ElietheStig on the site’s forums,) a YouTube advert for the PlayStation 5 shows an image from the game. The screenshot is accompanied by a small piece of text, which reads “Sortie prévue pour la première moitié de 2021,” which when translated reads “Release scheduled for the first half of 2021.”

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Sony has yet to announce an official release date for Gran Turismo 7, which was revealed back in June of this year, but this advert suggests that we might see Gran Turismo 7 release within the PlayStation 5’s launch window, at some point in early 2021. The advert is yet to be verified by multiple sources, so do take it with a pinch of salt.

If you want to learn more about Gran Turismo 7, you can check out our piece from the game’s announcement here, which digs into some of the features coming to the game, including the reintroduction of GT Simulation Mode.

An official PlayStation Blog post added that the game will benefit from the haptic feedback provided by the DualSense and the PlayStation 5’s 3D Audio system.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

While Halo Infinite has been delayed to 2021, the game’s various marketing promotions are rolling out this year. The latest of these comes from the candy bar Butterfinger.

Now through February, people in the US who purchase two Butterfingers can get player emblems for Halo Infinite when it releases in 2021. You’re not limited to Butterfingers, as the promo also applies to Baby Ruth, Crunch, and 100 Grand bars, all of which are made by the same company.

Butterfinger has also partnered with Microsoft to give away Xbox Series X consoles through a special campaign–you can get all the details on both promotions here on the Butterfinger website.

This new promotion is part of the wider campaign from Microsoft where it’s partnering with various candy companies to give people special DLC for Halo Infinite. You can also eat Oreos to earn special Halo Infinite multiplayer skins, while GameStop shoppers also get freebies.

Halo developer 343 Industries has admitted that it’s not very good to learn about Halo Infinite’s multiplayer elements by way of promotions with sugary snack companies, but it is what it is.

“Learning about some big new customization changes coming to Halo Infinite by seeing some marketing materials and reading a few paragraphs isn’t ideal, but with programs already in motion and our date shifting, here we are,” 343 said.

In other news, another lead on Halo Infinite has left the project. When the game is finally released in 2021, the multiplayer element will be free, and that could be a big deal. The entire game, too, will be available at no extra cost for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.

In September, Blizzard announced Blizzcon Online for 2021, following the cancellation of this year’s usual convention due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, in a new fireside chat, company president J. Allen Brack has revealed that the online version of Blizzcon will be totally free.

PC Gamer reports that the Virtual Ticket system used for previous years will not be in place–instead, everyone who wants to access Blizzcon can do so for free from their homes. The event, which runs from February 19-20, 2021, will not cost you a cent.

This might mean, of course, that some of the rewards usually tied to Blizzcon tickets–like unique character skins–might end up costing some money. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.

Brack also revealed that 95% of Blizzard’s employees are currently working from home. BlizzCon 2021 will likely look very different from the events of previous years.

Blizzard’s slate of announced upcoming games includes Diablo IV, mobile spin-off Diablo Immortal, and Overwatch 2. More information from these games is expected during the event. Hearthstone continues to be updated, too, while Starcraft II has received its last major update as the studio looks towards the franchise’s future. World of Warcraft, meanwhile, will receive its Shadowlands expansion before 2020 is over.

Dragon Quest XI: Definitive Edition is coming to PS4, PC, and Xbox One (through Xbox Game Pass) on December 4, and if you’re keen to try the massive JRPG in advance, you can do so now. A huge new demo is available on Steam, and each console’s store.

This demo is the same as the one that released on Switch ahead of the RPG arriving on Nintendo’s hybrid console, and is said to contain about ten hours worth of content. Considering that Dragon Quest XI can take about 90 hours to finish, there’s still plenty of game left after the demo–and thankfully, your progress carries over into the final game.

If you’re on PS4 or PC, and you’ve played the earlier release of Dragon Quest XI, you might want to test out the Definitive Edition’s 2D retro mode, and decide whether you want to double dip. Unfortunately, this is not an option in the demo–it seems you’re only able to experience the modernized version of the game.

The Definitive Edition of Dragon Quest XI scored a 9/10 in GameSpot’s review. Reviewer Heidi Kemps praised the game’s 2D mode: “2D mode offers a fantastic way to explore, grind, and farm efficiently–or just experience a fresh perspective on the game as a whole if you’ve played it before.”