Metacritic, a sister-site of GameSpot, has published its annual rankings of game publishers. These rankings apply to games released in 2020, and the top publisher of the year may surprise you. Even more surprising are some of the names that ended up low on the list.
48 publishers’ games were compiled for the ranking, which used several factors such as average game Metascore, percentage of products with “good” reviews, and percentage of products with “bad” reviews to determine the final total. This way of factoring in both the stinkers and the hits meant that even the smallest publishers had a shot of reaching the top spots. Several did, in fact, including Annapurna Interactive, Aksys Games, and No More Robots.
Sega took the top spot this year, averaging an 81.6 average review score and narrowly beating out Annapurna in terms of total points factoring into the ranking. It benefited from the continued success of the Yakuza series as well as Persona 4 Golden hitting PC. Capcom, Sony, and Activision Blizzard rounded out the top five.
Big names near the bottom include Bandai Namco and Koei Tecmo. The former had a few big misses like Fast & Furious Crossroads and several underwhelming anime games. Koei Tecmo didn’t publish too many games in 2020 at all, but its only major critical hit was Nioh 2.
Sega
Annapurna Interactive
Capcom
Sony
Activision Blizzard
Microsoft
Aksys Games
No More Robots
Nintendo
Devolver Digital
Square Enix
Xseed
505 Games
Ubisoft
Focus Home Interactive
Bethesda
Team17
Humble
Sold Out
Raw Fury
Electronic Arts
Take-Two
Koch Media
NIS America
SNK
Playism
THQ Nordic
Digerati
Kalypso
Daedalic Entertainment
Headup Games
Koei Tecmo
PQube
Curve Digital
QubicGames
ININ Games
Nacon
Bandai Namco
All in! Games
Wired Productions
Ratalaika Games
Merge Games
Modus Games
Blowfish Studios
tinyBuild
Silesia Games
No Gravity Games
Ultimate Games
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Microsoft and Twitch are teaming up for the first ID@Xbox and Twitch Gaming event. Officially named /twitchgaming Showcase: ID@Xbox, the stream is set to feature over 100 games from independent developers based all over the world. Alongside featuring new game announcements from developers like DrinkBox Studios and new trailers for 25 existing games like Second Extinction, there will also be news of games coming to Xbox Game Pass.
IGN is carrying the stream and as usual, this watch guide will provide you with everything you need to know to watch the show, including when it starts, a list of places you can watch it with us, and what you can expect to see at the show.
/twitchgaming Showcase: ID@Xbox Date and Start Time
The first-ever Twitch Gaming and ID@Xbox event will take place on March 26, 2021. The stream is scheduled to start at 9am PT/12pm ET/4pm GMT.
How to Watch the /twitchgaming Showcase: ID@Xbox Stream
IGN plans to carry the Twitch Gaming and ID@Xbox showcase stream, which means we’ll have it available on a variety of platforms. Here’s the full list of places you can watch the Xbox event with us:
What to Expect From the /twitchgaming Showcase: ID@Xbox Stream
Fans can expect to see more than 100 games featured in this first collaboration between Twitch Gaming and ID@Xbox, and there will be new game announcements from developers and publishers like DrinkBox Studios, Curve Digital, Devolver Digital, Dear Villagers, and others.
The showcase will also include new trailers and gameplay for more than 25 games, including Second Extinction, The Ascent, The Wild at Heart, Voidtrain, Exo One, an update on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and many more. Announcements about independent titles coming to Xbox and Xbox Game Pass will also be revealed.
Community-favorite Twitch streamers will be hosting the /twitchgaming Showcase: ID@Xbox event, and they will also be conducting interviews with developers, taking on fan questions, and possibly even dropping game codes.
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
Ahead of the launch of Outriders on April 1 (pre-load and launch times have been released), publisher Square Enix and developer People Can Fly have detailed what players can expect to see come launch day. The game will be getting a Day 1 patch, as well as additional quality-of-life improvements for item management and cross-play multiplayer.
Square Enix writes that the hope is for the Day 1 patch to go live before the game does, but that there is a possibility that it will actually go live on April 1, and thus require a separate download from the main game. The patch is aimed at addressing bugs and the game’s sometimes uncomfortably severe camera shake during cutscenes. You can see the full notes patch notes below.
Outriders Day 1 Update Patch Notes
Many bug fixes and improvements, with a particular focus on the latter sections of the game.
Performance improvements for pacing/stuttering that was observed during the demo
Camera Smoothing improvements for cutscenes and dialogues. This should reduce the camera shake that some players are struggling with
Cutscenes/dialogues frame rate improvements
PC cutscenes will have the option to choose from 30, 60, 90 and 120fps
Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 cutscenes will be locked to 60fps
Xbox One and PlayStation 4 cutscenes will remain locked to 30fps
There’s also a post-launch patch in the works, which should go live in the first few weeks of Outriders’ release. “At this point in time we do not yet have a set release time for this patch as its release will depend on the amount of content we want to roll into it,” Square Enix writes. What’s currently scheduled to go live in the post-launch patch is outlined below.
Outriders Post-Launch Update Patch Notes
Controller adjustment options such as deadzone adjustment, acceleration settings and legacy layouts.
Loading Time Improvements for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles
Further Performance Improvements for Co-op games
Crossplay friends list and invite system across all platforms. This will require you to be using a Square Enix Members account.
Bug fixes including, for example:
Lore collectibles bugging out on second characters
Alongside both patches, Outriders will also be getting several quality-of-life improvements as it transitions from a demo into a fully-released game. For example, cross-play multiplayer will be leaving beta. A “quick mark” feature will also be added, allowing you to sell or deconstruct items in your inventory more quickly. The full list of differences between the demo build and Day 1 build are listed below.
Outriders Demo Build Vs. Launch Day Build
Lots of demo content bug fixes, including for example, mods on some Legendary weapons not triggering properly.
Balancing changes for various items, mods, enemy stats and loot drops.
Balancing is an ongoing process and we have learnt much from internal playtests, the Insiders preview and the demo over the previous months. However, we’re sure that we will continue to learn more from the launch of the main game and the feedback provided by you, our community. So, keep it coming!
Crossplay will no longer be in Beta and will be on by default.
PC players will be able to add cross-platform players that they have previously played with to their friends lists. Consoles will receive this functionality through a future patch.
Please note that if you turn Crossplay off manually, you will not be able to automatically matchmake with people who still have it turned on, even if you are all on the same platform. Direct inviting should still work though.
DirectX 12 will be the default on PC.
Added a “Quick Mark” functionality to your inventory. This will allow you to mass-mark all items based on their rarity in one or two button presses, rather than needing to mark items individually (which is still possible if preferred).
Improvements to the Cover System
Improvement to Travel Voting system used when in a group
Added information about internal cooldown mechanics for Mods to their descriptions
Outriders will launch for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, PC, and Stadia. The game will also be available for Xbox Game Pass subscribers on day one. All your progress from the demo will continue with you to the full game.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Bungie is rolling out a new change to how it balances teams in Destiny 2‘s PvP mode, the Crucible, as part of this week’s Iron Banner event. The adjustment doesn’t change Destiny 2’s matchmaking system, but does adjust how players are assigned to teams once they’re in a lobby, in hopes of making matches a bit less lopsided.
The developer detailed the change in its This Week at Bungie blog post, where it explained how things will work in Iron Banner and Iron Banner: Freelance starting today. The new algorithm for choosing teams, Bungie said, is a little bit like a schoolyard picking system like you’d see as two team captains each take turns picking from a pool of kids to join their teams. The algorithm looks at the skill of players in the lobby and tries to assign them to teams in a balanced way, placing the top player on team one, the second- and third-best players on team two, the fourth-best player on team one, and so on.
That’s different from the balancing system Bungie was using previously, which would try to make both teams have the same average level of player skill. The result was that teams were often lopsided. This was especially apparent if you were to play multiple games in a Crucible playlist–you’d often see the same players matching with you and getting assigned to teams in roughly the same way, first on one side, and then the other. The result was a series of swings where a player might get clobbered in one match and win handily in the next, while playing with roughly the same group.
Bungie says that while it’s adjusting how it balances teams in Iron Banner lobbies this week, it is not making adjustments to matchmaking in general. In other words, this change won’t affect which players you’re matched against, only how they’re divided up into teams.
Currently, Bungie uses connection strength to determine how it matches players in most Crucible modes, including Iron Banner. Only the Elimination, Survival, and Survival: Freelance modes use the old system of skill-based matchmaking. (The Trials of Osiris, Destiny 2’s toughest multiplayer challenge, matches you based on how many wins you have on your Trials Passage card–so you’re usually playing against people who have been doing about as well as you have.) Bungie mostly did away with skill-based matchmaking back in June 2020 in response to player feedback. The idea then was to make most of the Crucible a more casual, frenetic experience, and to shorten queue times for matches.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Game delays became more prevalent in 2020 due to the spread of COVID-19, as studios adjusted to the logistical challenges and limitations of working from home. And with the pandemic still affecting how studios operate for the foreseeable future, that trend will likely continue throughout 2021.
To track the pandemic’s continued impact on game development, we’ve compiled a list of every game and notable DLC delay announced this year (so far). This article will be updated as more release dates and windows are inevitably pushed, but for now, these are all 16 delays announced in 2021.
Developer People Can Fly announced the delay in early January, saying, “We have decided to move the release date of Outriders to April 1st 2021 (no joke!). We will spend this extra time fine tuning the game and focusing on delivering a fantastic play experience at launch.”
This is Outriders’ second delay; it was previously pushed from Holiday 2020 to February 2021.
Pragmata
Delayed from 2022 to 2023
Pragmata’s delay was quietly revealed at the end of a sizzle reel shown during Sony’s 2021 CES panel. Capcom’s mysterious new game was initially given a 2022 release window.
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey
Delayed from Early 2021 to Late Spring (PC) and Fall 2021 (Console)
Frontier Developments delayed its upcoming Elite Dangerous expansion due to the “ongoing impact of the pandemic.” The studio said the effects of the pandemic, “including the [U.K.’s] renewed lockdowns in 2021, continues to put added pressure on our teams and ultimately our development timeline.”
On January 13 Portkey Games announced it was delaying its open-world Harry Potter action-RPG by a year. “Creating the best possible experience for all of the Wizarding World and gaming fans is paramount to us so we are giving the game the time it needs,” read a statement from the developer.
Cyberpunk 2077 Free DLC
Delayed from Early 2021 to later in 2021
CD Projekt Red initially planned to begin releasing free Cyberpunk 2077 DLC in early 2021. However, that DLC may no longer hit its target window, as the developer has prioritized “working on the most important fixes and updates,” specifically for the poorly optimized PS4 and Xbox One versions of Cyberpunk.
Riders Republic
Delayed from February 25 to later in 2021
On January 14 Ubisoft announced it was delaying Riders Republic from its former February release date to sometime “later” in 2021. “This additional time will allow our passionate team to deliver the best fun fueled experience to our players,” said the company.
Originally set to be released later this year, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will now arrive at some point in 2022. Publisher Nacon announced the new date for the stealth-focused Middle-earth adventure in late January, though it didn’t provide a reason for the delay.
Returnal
Delayed from March 19 to April 30, 2021
Returnal was pushed from mid-March to late April “to give the team extra time to continue to polish the game to the level of quality players expect from Housemarque.” The roguelike third-person shooter will be released exclusively on PS5.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake
Delayed from March 18 to “a later date.”
The first game delay announced in February, and the ninth overall for the year, was Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake. According to Ubisoft, the extra development time will allow the team “to deliver a remake that feels fresh while remaining faithful to the original.” A new release date wasn’t announced.
This is the remake’s second delay; it was previously pushed from January to March.
New World
Delayed from Spring to August 31, 2021
In mid-February, Amazon announced it was delaying its upcoming MMO, New World, from spring to August 31. The development team will use the additional months to continue its work on “compelling end-game features,” in addition to “polishing and fine tuning the whole game.”
This is New World’s second delay; it was previously pushed from August 25, 2020, to Spring 2021.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
Delayed from 2021 to an unannounced later date
Paradox Interactive delayed Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 out of its 2021 release window without announcing a new target date. Alongside the delay, the publisher announced Hardsuit Labs will no longer be leading development on the project. “A change” was needed, according to Paradox, “and, as a result, more development time is required.”
Originally slated for Q1 2020, Bloodlines 2’s troubled development has included multiple delays and departures of key talent, including the game’s former creative director and senior narrative designer.
Gran Turismo 7
Delayed from 2021 to 2022
GT7 was delayed from 2021 to 2022 due to “Covid-related production challenges,” according to Sony. “With the ongoing pandemic, it’s a dynamic and changing situation and some critical aspects of game production have been slowed over the past several months,” the company added.
Delayed from EA’s fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2023*
EA delayed the next, currently untitled Need for Speed from FY2022 to FY2023 as developer Criterion Games temporarily moves off the upcoming racer to assist DICE on the next Battlefield — a decision made to combat the effects of pandemic-related working conditions and ensure EA’s flagship shooter hits its target Holiday 2021 release window.
*EA’s fiscal year runs from April through the following March, meaning the next Need for Speed is now expected between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023.
Guilty Gear Strive
Delayed from April 9 to June 11, 2021
Guilty Gear Strive was delayed by two months after developer Arc System Works received “valuable feedback” from the recent open beta. The additional time will be used “to polish some aspects of the game, such as the online lobbies and the server’s stability,” according to the developer.
The fighting game was previously delayed out of 2020 due to COVID-19-related development challenges.
Borderlands 3 Director’s Cut Add-on
Delayed from March 18 to April 8, 2021
The Borderlands 3 Director’s Cut add-on was delayed by three weeks due to the “severe weather that impacted Texas last month,” according to developer Gearbox. The Director’s Cut content includes a new raid boss, story missions, and challenges.
Gotham Knights
Delayed from 2021 to 2022
WB Games delayed Gotham Knights into 2022 to give the development team “more time to deliver the best possible experience for players.” Announced in 2020 at DC Fandome, the co-op Batman game was initially given a 2021 release window.
Humankind
Delayed from April 22 to August 17
SEGA and developer Amplitude have announced the delay of 4X strategy game Humankind to a little later in 2021 in order to give the developers time to finetune the pacing, balance, diplomacy, AI, and accessibility of the experience.
The Left 4 Dead spiritual successor Back 4 Blood has been pushed into October to allow the devs at Turtle Rock Studios time to deliver “the best game it can possibly be at launch.” There will be an open beta this summer, though.
Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One | Developer: Turtle Rock Studios
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
Which of these are you most disappointed by? Which games of 2021 are you hoping don’t get delayed next? Let us know in the comments.
With April just around the corner, Pokemon Go developer Niantic has outlined a new slate of events and activities set to kick off soon in the game. In addition to April’s Community Day, the studio will hold a variety of events next month, from new Team Go Rocket Timed Research to a spring-themed celebration and more. You can read up on Pokemon Go’s biggest April 2021 events below.
April 2021 Research Breakthrough Reward: Frillish
Niantic is rolling out new Field Research tasks along with a new Research Breakthrough reward beginning April 1. Each time you achieve a Research Breakthrough in April, you’ll earn a chance to catch male Frillish. To achieve a Research Breakthrough, you’ll need to amass seven stamps in the game. You’ll get one stamp for the first Field Research task you complete each day.
Tornadus, Thundurus, And Landorus Raids
Therian Forme Landorus, Tornadus, and Thundurus
The Legendary Forces of Nature will appear in five-star Raids throughout April as well. Therian Forme Tornadus will make its debut in the game during the first half of the month, with Therian Forme Landorus following during the second half. Before April ends, all three Legendaries will return to Raids in their Incarnate forms. You can see the full Legendary Raid schedule for April 2021 below:
March 30 – April 13: Therian Forme Tornadus
April 13 – April 27: Therian Forme Landorus
April 27 – TBD: Incarnate Forme Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus
Mega Raids
Pokemon Go’s current crop of Mega Raid bosses–Mega Houndoom, Mega Manectric, and Mega Abomasnow–are slated to appear until April 4. After that, Niantic teases that a “surprise Mega-Evolved Pokemon” will make its debut in the game. That monster will appear in Mega Raids through the rest of the month, while a few other Mega Pokemon will rotate out over the next few weeks. You can see the Mega Raid schedule for April below:
April 4 – April 30: “Surprise” Mega-Evolved Pokemon
April 5 – April 20: Mega Gengar and Mega Manectric
April 20 – TBD: Mega Venusaur and Mega Abomasnow
April Pokemon Spotlight Hours
Every Tuesday evening in April, Niantic will spotlight a specific Pokemon and bonus for one hour, from 6-7 PM local time. The full schedule of April’s Spotlight Hours is as follows:
Date
Spotlight Pokemon
Special Bonus
April 6
Buneary
2x transfer Candy
April 13
Mankey
2x evolution XP
April 20
Grimer
2x catch Stardust
April 27
Finneon
2x catch XP
April Community Day
April’s Community Day Pokemon: Snivy
April’s Community Day is set for Sunday, April 11. The event runs from 11 AM to 5 PM local time, and the featured Pokemon this month is the Gen 5 starter Snivy. Not only will Snivy appear in the wild more frequently than usual throughout the event, but any that you can evolve all the way into Serperior will learn the Community Day-exclusive move Frenzy Plant.
Other April Events
Niantic has teased a few other events for April. The studio hasn’t announced too many details about these just yet, but it offered a quick overview of some events and activities on the horizon next month.
Team Go Rocket Timed Research
Niantic is rolling out another line of Team Go Rocket Timed Research tasks from April 1-8. Completing these will net you a Super Rocket Radar, which will allow you to track down and battle Team Rocket leader Giovanni. The villainous trainer will have a Shadow Zapdos at his command this time around, and you’ll have a chance to rescue it if you defeat him.
Spring Into Spring
Niantic is holding a spring-themed event from April 4-8. Throughout the event, the studio says there will be “spring- and egg-themed surprises,” and you’ll have a chance to catch Chansey, Blissey, and Happiny wearing flower crowns.
Rivals’ Week
The Rivals’ Week event takes place from April 13-18. That event will spotlight Pokemon that are rivals, including a few that will be making their debut in the game for the first time.
Sustainability Week
Niantic is following Rivals’ Week with a Sustainability Week. Throughout that event, Pokemon like Grimer and Trubbish will appear in the wild more frequently than usual.
Friendship Day
Niantic is holding a new kind of event called Friendship Day on April 24, although no further details have been announced yet.
Magic The Gathering’s upcoming set Strixhaven: School of Mages is offering up a brand-new mechanic for players to incorporate into their decks: Learn and Lesson. This will allow players to cast spells from outside of the game. And the latest MGT set from Wizards of the Coast has plenty of new cards you’ll want in your deck, and you can see some of them here.
How it works is that the learn ability will be on a spell you cast, which could be a creature, instant, etc–it’s across card types. From there, you pick out a lesson card from outside of the game, or in your sideboard, and put it into your hand. Or you can discard a card from your hand and draw a new one, if you’re not ready to play lessons.
During a press event for the upcoming MTG set, principal product designer Mike Turian spoke about the new mechanic and how it came to pass. “One of the things that’s great about going to Strixhaven in this sort of university setting is, it’s something that’s universal, right? Every Magic player has been to school at different levels,” Turian explained.
Lesson card from Strixhaven
Gallery
“When designing the set, one of the things that designers caught on to immediately was, ‘What does it mean to learn in magic?’ And what we came up with was when you learn, that’s actually acquiring new knowledge. So in magic terms, that’s cards from outside of the game and put it into your hands, when a professor comes into play. You can either go get a lesson from outside of the game, and put it into your hand, or if that’s not something that you want to do, then you can just discard a card to the draw card because typically in Magic, cards equal knowledge.”
Additionally, MTG has made it easier to find these lesson cards, which will be in your sideboard or outside of the game entirely, with a lesson icon in the upper lefthand corner of the card. “We wanted to give a little bit of an indicator there to make it easier for people to identify their lesson cards quickly.”
Lessons will range in rarity–from commons to mythic rares–so they can be played throughout a whole game and not something that needs to be relied upon as you build up your mana. Turian went on to explain that common cards will be basic spells like getting basic land from your deck, destroying target permanent, etc. The more rare these lessons get, you’ll have the ability to reanimate planeswalkers or reduce your opponent’s planeswalker’s loyalty, possibly removing it from the battlefield.
“One of the great things about lessons is when you do learn, at that moment, you can go find the card that’s the right card to go get,” Turian said. “So early in the game, you’re likely going to look for, ‘Oh, I need some mana fixing’ or ‘I’d like another creature.’ While later in the game, it’s like ‘You killed my planeswalker. Let me bring them back.'”
Magecraft ability from Strixhaven
Gallery
Additionally, the Magecraft mechanic was revealed during this press conference. While not as extensive as the Lesson and Learn mechanics, Magecraft allows creatures with this ability to gain bonuses any time you cast an instant or sorcery spell. This can range from +1/+1 counters to drawing cards and more. Learning how to use both these mechanics together will help you create an extremely dominant deck.
Strixhaven releases on MTG Arena and Magic Online on April 15. On April 23, Strixhaven tabletop will release along with Commander (2021 Edition). Check out some more cards from the upcoming set below, including some incredible planeswalkers.
Gallery
If you’re interested in getting your hands on some of these cards, there are preorders available. Currently, there is the Magic The Gathering Strixhaven Bundle available on Amazon for $38. The bundle has everything you need to dive right in and contains 10 draft booster packs, and exclusive foil alternate art promo card, 40 basic lands (half of them are foil), and life counter, and MTG storage box. Or you can pick up a Strixhaven Draft Booster Box for $118 on Amazon. The set contains 36 draft booster packs, and each pack contains 15 cards, so that’s 540 cards. Finally, there’s the Strixhaven Set Booster Box on Amazon for $123. This pack contains 30 set booster packs, and each pack contains 12 cards, for a total of 360 cards.
Additionally, you can head to your local gaming shop–or book store or comic book shop–to pick up individual boosters or boxes. For more on Strixhaven, check out some info on Dina of Witherbloom college.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
Marvel has announced that Penguin Random House will become the worldwide distributor of its comics and graphic novels, according to a release. The new agreement will go into effect on October 1 and is only being described as a “multi-year agreement” with an undisclosed term length.
Retailers will be able to choose between ordering directly from Penguin Random House or alternatively through Diamond Comics Distributor, which was the previous exclusive distributor of Marvel Comics. Hachette Book Group will continue to manage distribution of Marvel’s graphic novels and trade collections to the book market.
“Marvel’s entire history is built on telling great stories,” said Dan Buckley, president of Marvel Entertainment. “As we’ve seen for decades, those stories go hand in hand with equipping the comic shops who share them. Marvel and Penguin Random House stand by that vision, and we are excited to build and expand those opportunities for our talent, retailers, and fans… We thank Diamond for their many years of support and partnership as we continue our relationship with them in other areas.”
The release further states that new Marvel comics “will continue to be available on Wednesdays at comic shops everywhere” and that this deal will have no impact on Free Comic Book Day this May.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
A movie based on Ghost of Tsushima is in the works, with John Wick’s Chad Stahelski attached to direct it, according to a report from Deadline.
The movie is coming from Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions, the internal company that is charged with adapting Sony’s video game franchises for TV and film. PlayStation Studios is also behind the Uncharted movie with Tom Holland and the Last of Us TV show with HBO.
Sucker Punch, the developer of Ghost of Tsushima, is an executive producer on the movie.
“We’re excited to be partnering with Chad and 87Eleven Entertainment, to bring their vision of Jin’s story to the big screen,” PlayStation Productions boss Asad Qizilbash said. “We love working with creative partners like Chad, who have a passion for our games, ensuring we can create rich adaptations that will excite our fans and new audiences.”
It’s still early days for the Ghost of Tsushima movie, and there is no word yet on the cast or when filming may begin. Similarly, the film has no release date yet.
Back 4 Blood has been pushed to October 12, 2021, a delay of nearly four months from its previous date. In a statement, Turtle Rock Studios said it needs more time to make the zombie co-op shooter. On the bright side, it will be offering another chance at the beta in the meantime.
“Turtle Rock Studios is working hard to make Back 4 Blood the best game it can possibly be at launch and the team needs more time to do this,” the studio said in a statement on Twitter. “Therefore, we will release Back 4 Blood on October 12, 2021. We thank our community for its continued support and are excited to share that there will be an open beta this summer.”
The release date had previously been set for June 22. This explanation notably does not cite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has impacted development for many games and studios in the past year.
Turtle Rock hosted a brief PC alpha test last year. It did state at the time that players should “stay tuned for more opportunities to play the game in the future.”
Back 4 Blood is Turtle Rock’s shot at creating a new property similar to Left 4 Dead, with a team of four players working together to fend off hordes of vicious zombies. You play as a group of humean “Cleaners” fighting against zombie “Ridden.” It will sport both cooperative PvE and competitive PvP, the latter of which will have teams taking turns playing as both the Cleaners and Ridden sides. Turtle Rock does see room for improvement on the classic, though, saying it wants to facilitate better teamwork.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
