Fortnite continues to be a huge success for Epic Games, and new figures show that it has done extraordinarily well on mobile. According to Sensor Tower, two years after launch, Fortnite on mobile has now made a total of $1 billion in revenue.
This figure does not take into account how well the game has done on PC or consoles, so the game’s total revenue would be much higher.
The game’s fast success has likely been exacerbated by the current global COVID-19 pandemic, as there was a huge spike in sales and installments in April 2020. The month saw the game bring in $44.3 million and 6 million new installs, both records for the past year (the second-best month for installs in the 12-month period is December 2019, when it was installed 3 million times).
Fortnite was recently confirmed as a PS5 and Xbox Series X launch title, where it will likely continue to rake in cash. As with every version of the game, this one will have crossplay.
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The next game to be released on the Xbox Game Pass is Fractured Minds on May 19. Fracture Minds is a first person adventure game which explores the issues of anxiety and mental health. For a full look at what’s coming to Xbox Game Pass this month, check out our article here.
Xbox Game Pass gives subscribers access to a huge library of games on Xbox One or PC for $10 a month. A Game Pass Ultimate Subscription allows access to both the PC and Xbox One game libraries, along with an Xbox Live Gold subscription for online play, for $15 a month.
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Ubisoft’s latest earnings report contains some information about their sales across this console generation, including the franchises and games that have done particularly well. Ubisoft has announced that 11 games across 6 franchises have sold over 10 million units after releasing on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Niko Partners senior analyst Daniel Ahmad posted a graphic to Twitter highlighting the company’s biggest sellers, and some of them might come as a surprise. The games that have sold 10 million units or more are:
Assassin’s Creed Unity
Assassin’s Creed Origins
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
The Division
The Division 2
Far Cry 4
Far Cry 5
Ghost Recon Wildlands
Rainbow Six Siege
Watch Dogs
Watch Dogs 2
Six franchises and 11 titles have sold over 10 million units this console cycle. Assassin’s Creed Unity, Origins and Odyssey The Division 1 & 2 Far Cry 4 & 5 Ghost Recon Wildlands Rainbow Six Siege Watch Dogs 1 & 2 (Reposting with graphic) pic.twitter.com/wsJr2UTDBf
The Assassin’s Creed series has evidently done well, although it’s worth sparing a thought for the excellent Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, which did not hit the same sales milestone. Curiously, Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag had shipped 10 million units back in 2014, yet does not appear. This could be because it was a cross-generational title, although by that logic Far Cry 4 and Watch Dogs should be disqualified, too. It’s possible that those games specifically sold 10 million only on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, though, and that a higher percentage of Black Flag’s sales were for other consoles.
A few of these games have perhaps done better than expected. Watch Dogs 2 struggled at launch, with some reports putting physical sales in its first week at 80 percent below those of its predecessor. Evidently, the game bounced back. The Division 2 has also sold better than its frequent enormous price cuts might lead you to believe–but then, it’s also likely that a lot of people have taken the plunge on it when it’s heavily discounted.
Nintendo has announced a new offering of NES and SNES titles for Nintendo Switch Online members, and they’ll be released on May 20. There are three SNES games and one NES game arriving in this update, including one game previously available only in Japan.
The new titles coming to the service are:
Panel de Pon (SNES, Japanese)
Wild Guns (SNES)
Operation Logic Bomb (SNES)
Rygar (NES)
Four more titles will be added to the #NES & #SNES – #NintendoSwitchOnline collection on 5/20, bringing the total to over 80 classic games! Super NES – Nintendo Switch Online: ・Operation Logic Bomb ・Panel de Pon ・Wild Guns NES – Nintendo Switch Online: ・Rygar pic.twitter.com/lfCgRhZesp
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 15, 2020
Panel de Pon was localized as the Nintendo-themed Tetris Attack in the US, and later the same gameplay style was used in Pokemon Puzzle League for the Nintendo 64. Wild Guns is a shooter, which has made its way to Switch previously in remastered form as Wild Guns Reloaded. Operation Logic Bomb is an action shooter, while Rygar, the one NES title, is a challenging action-adventure.
This brings the total number of classic games available to subscribers over 80.
If you’ve jumped into the Japanese Eshop and also downloaded the Famicom and Super Famicom collections, it’s worth noting that the unique games in this month’s release–Super Punch Out!! and Journey to Silius–are already available in the US/EU/AU compilations.
If you’re a Nintendo Switch Online subscriber, you should also make sure to play the next upcoming Tetris 99 Maximus Cup and score yourself an Animal Crossing New Horizons theme.
Halo Infinite will be an Xbox Series X launch game, but we haven’t seen any gameplay footage from it yet. When we learned that Xbox would showcase first-party titles for the system in an upcoming Xbox 20/20 presentation in July, we assumed that Halo Infinite would be one of them–and now we have official confirmation.
In the latest post on Halo Waypoint, developer 343 Industries states that we’ll see more of the game during the upcoming stream. “You may have seen people talking about this lightly before, but we’re extremely excited to confirm that Halo Infinite will be one of many first-party titles included in the Xbox 20/20 event in July,” the post reads.
There’s no actual confirmation in thesse words that we’ll definitely see gameplay footage here, of course, but it seems inevitable, even if the first Xbox 20/20 showcase did not deliver as promised on that front.
There’s no specific date for this July presentation, but the first one took place on May 7, and included a mix of new game reveals and port announcements.
Halo Infinite will also come to Xbox One and PC before the end of 2020. Hopefully Aaron Greenberg’s recent claim that 343 Industries is “cooking up some fire” proves accurate.
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As 2020 continues, we’re bound to learn more information about next-generation games coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and a recent Inside Xbox stream revealed another game coming to both next-gen consoles. Bandai Namco’s upcoming action-RPG Scarlet Nexus will release on both PS5 and Xbox Series X as well as PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and while no release date has been announced, pre-orders are live now, adding Scarlet Nexus to the small but growing number of next-gen game listings we’ve seen on Amazon and other retailers.
Scarlet Nexus takes place in a distant future where a psionic hormone was discovered in the human brain, granting some people extra-sensory powers. However, deranged mutants known as Others have appeared from the sky, thirsting for human brains. Those with powers are recruited to the Other Suppression Force (OSF) and tasked with fighting the Others using their abilities, or “psionics.” You’ll take on the role of Yuito Sumeragi, a new recruit to the OSF who aims to become a powerful psionic like the one who saved him as a child. In Scarlet Nexus, you’ll explore the futuristic city of New Himuka, battle against the Others, and uncover the mysteries of this “Brain Punk” world.
As of right now, no pre-order bonuses or special editions have been announced for Scarlet Nexus, but it’s possible that will change once we have a set release date for the game. For now, check out everywhere you can already pre-order Scarlet Nexus below.
Pre-order Scarlet Nexus | $60
The physical standard edition of Scarlet Nexus is available to pre-order for $60. Notably, retailers are offering separate listings for both PS5 and PS4 versions as well as Xbox Series X and Xbox One. Scarlet Nexus supports Xbox Smart Delivery, so you only have to buy the game once to own it for both Xbox One and Series X. However, PlayStation hasn’t announced an equivalent service for PS4 and PS5, so if you want to own this next-gen game on PS5, we suggest picking that version for now. You can check out everywhere Scarlet Nexus is available to pre-order below. Be sure to use each retailer’s dropdown menu to select your appropriate version.
Keep in mind that Amazon and GameStop don’t charge you for the game until it ships, while Best Buy charges for pre-orders right away (you can always cancel for a refund). Amazon is offering its pre-order price guarantee on Scarlet Nexus, so if the price of the game drops at any point after you pre-order but before the item ships, you’ll only be charged the cheapest amount.
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Sucker Punch Productions showed off Ghost of Tsushima in the latest State of Play. The showcase provided an in-depth look at the game and many of its features, one of which is a Japanese voice track that will be available from the very outset of the game. Since the game is set in Japan and the main character, Jin Sakai, is Japanese, this is good news for those that want to immerse themselves deeper into the setting and characters.
Jin didn’t speak much during the State of Play demonstration, but fans of One Piece may have had their ears perk up when he did. That’s because the Japanese voice actor for Jin is Kazuya Nakai, who plays the Straw Hat crew’s very own swordsman, Roronoa Zorro. As fans of One Piece will be able to attest to, Nakai’s voice is iconic, and, across the series, he has delivered some stunning performances as Zorro, which certainly bodes well for Jin and Ghost of Tsushima. The Japanese voice track for the game also includes the option to turn on subtitles.
The English voice actor for Jin, meanwhile, is Daisuke Tsuji, who has previously appeared in Death Stranding, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Prey, and Letters from Iwo Jima.
Nintendo has rolled out a new update for Mario Kart Tour. The version 2.1.0 update is available to download on both iOS and Android, and it introduces a couple of new multiplayer options to the mobile racing game.
First is Team Race. As in the mainline Mario Kart games, this mode divides racers into up to four teams. The points your teammates earn based on how well they place will be pooled, so you’ll need to work together to win. You’ll also be immune to friendly fire from your teammates.
Here are some tidbits from the Version 2.1.0 update in #MarioKartTour. ・The Team Game rule has been added to multiplayer. Play with up to 4 teams and work together to win! ・The Room Code feature, where you can join a specific room with a code, has been added to multiplayer. pic.twitter.com/HonBZaRgtJ
The second new multiplayer option is Room Code. This allows you to create your own room and invite other players via a specific code. Up to eight players can join a custom room.
The new update arrives shortly after the start of part two of the Flower Tour, which introduces another first-time racer to the roster: Monty Mole. The ranked cup this time around is the Baby Daisy Cup and takes players through 3DS Toad Circuit R, RMX Choco Island 1T, and 3DS Mario Circuit R, among other courses.
Mario Kart Tour launched in September 2019 and has become one of Nintendo’s most successful mobile games so far, although the title initially lacked a multiplayer mode. That was added as part of a free update back in March. A variant called Gold Races, however, is exclusive to the Gold Pass, which costs $5 USD a month.
During Sony’s latest State of Play livestream, we got a much closer look at the upcoming PS4-exclusive open-world game set in feudal Japan, Ghost of Tsushima. Everything from exploring the world, stealth mechanics, combat encounters, and even character customization were on display in the gameplay walkthrough. You will play as Jin, who can either be a Samurai or Ghost throughout the game depending on your playstyle, but regardless, you’ll have customization, and even fashion on the mind.
One part of the gameplay reveal showcased a number of ways you can make Jin your own. Different sets of armor apply to either playing as a Samurai (combat-focused) or as the Ghost (stealth-focused), and they give you specific advantages for either playstyle.
There are also Omamori Charms, which you equip to grant specific perks. For example, the Charm of Okuninushi is a defense charm that slowly recovers your health out of combat, while the Charm of Unseen Respite grants 25% health recover when using smoke bombs. The menu screen shown also stated that you earn more Charms by finding Inari Shrines which are scattered across the open world.
In addition to Charms, you’ll earn Technique Points to learn and upgrade skills, further fleshing out some RPG-like mechanics in Ghost of Tsushima.
Where you can start to personalize Jin’s clothing is with dye flowers, a resource you collect in the environment. If you collect enough of them you can change the color of your armor, clothing, and even your sword’s handle and sheath. And we also got a peek at several different armor sets, which you can see below (or in the video above).
Ghost of Tsushima launches exclusively on PlayStation 4 on July 17 this year. For more on the game and the detals that were revealed duringSony’s State of Play, check out the stories below.
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