Category: Games

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is an upcoming RPG billed as a spiritual successor to the Suikoden series, and the pitch videos we’ve seen thus far are very impressive. They’re so impressive, in fact, that the game managed to get more than $4.5 million in Kickstarter donations before its campaign ended on Saturday.

This impressive figure puts Eiyuden Chronicle as the third-biggest video game Kickstarter in history, trailing only Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and Shenmue 3. Those games were both essentially successors to existing series, as well, with Shenmue 3 being an official sequel while Bloodstained acted as a spiritual successor to the dormant Castlevania series.

Because Eiyuden Chronicle destroyed its initial funding goal of only around $500,000, developer Rabbit & Bear studios added many stretch goals during the campaign, and all of them were reached. This included a battle defense mode, asynchronous mode, new characters, card battle mode, and a full orchestra for the music. It will also have Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, and Russian localization because of the funding.

Much like the Suikoden series, Eiyuden Chronicle will feature a large cast of characters and it’s being developed with original creator Yoshitaka Murayama’s involvement. 2D characters are combined with 3D environments in an art style reminiscent of Octopath Traveler, making the game look like a living diorama. It’s planned for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo’s hypothetical next-gen system.

Ubisoft has decided to remove the black raised fist imagery from Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad’s intro, as it has been deemed “insensitive and harmful” and appears to connect a fictional terrorist group called Umbra to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Ubisoft posted its statement on Twitter, and confirmed it will be removing this “raised fist” imagery from Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad in the next title update on Tuesday, September 1 on Android and “as soon as possible on iOS.”

“Imagery that appeared in the opening video sequence of Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad featuring a ‘raised fist’ was insensitive and harmful in both its inclusion and how it was portrayed,” Ubisoft tweet reads. “We have listened to and appreciate the players and the broader community who have pointed it out and we apologize. This ‘raised fist’ imagery will be removed in the next title update this Tuesday, September 1 on Android and as soon as possible on iOS.”

In Elite Squad’s intro video, the narrator describes Umbra, this fictional terrorist group, as “a new threat has emerged to take advantage of escalating civil unrest.” It continues by calling them a “faceless organization that wants to build a new world order.”

When the narrator says “They claim to promote an egalitarian utopia to gain popular support,” the “raised fists” in question come into view. The raised fist has been used for many years as a symbol for revolution, and most recently has been used by those in the Black Lives Matter movement in the fight against police brutality and systemic racism.

This controversy is yet another one for Ubisoft, a company that has been dealing with the fallout of the multiple sexual allegations against some of its employees.

Ubisoft has committed to “major changes” and is putting systems in place to ensure these issues will not happen again.

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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.

After years of releasing almost all of its games as PlayStation exclusives, Sony eventually changed its tune and opted to port Horizon Zero Dawn to PC this year. However, it looks like this won’t be a one-off release, as the company is open to bringing more games to PC.

In a corporate report covering many facets of Sony as a whole, the company said it is looking into bringing more first-party games to the platform.

“We will explore expanding our first-party titles to the PC platform in order to promote further growth in our profitability,” the report said.

In layman’s terms, releasing its games on PC can make Sony more money. We’ve seen other PS4 titles such as Detroit: Become Human and Death Stranding eventually release on PC, but these games weren’t developed by PlayStation’s first-party studios.

It’s unlikely Sony would choose and brand-new games for PC ports, particularly as it works to sell PS5 systems in the upcoming generation. Instead, it’s more likely that any games released would have already had their prices deeply discounted on the PlayStation version.

Horizon Zero Dawn, for instance, was more than three years old by the time it launched on PC, so Horizon Forbidden West should remain a PS5 exclusive for quite a while after it launches. Unfortunately, the Zero Dawn port released in rather rough shape, with performance hiccups that could send the framerate plunging, and certain graphical settings not functioning at all.

Blazing Sails will come to Steam Early Access on September 9.

A game that adopts many of the mechanics and the look of Sea of Thieves, but transplants them into a battle royale, Blazing Sails has proven a hit with streamers in beta form, and you’ll be able to see why in a bigger release very soon. Check out a reveal trailer below:

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The game will allow you to create both a pirate and a ship, team up with others, and set you scavenging across land and sea for loot, resources, weapons and upgrades, as well as taking down every other vessel and enemy you see.

There’s much, much more to come from gamescom 2020 on IGN – check out our full gamescom schedule to find out what else is on the way and our roundup of gamescom 2020 highlights.

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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].

ScourgeBringer will get a full release on PC, Xbox One (including Game Pass) and Nintendo Switch on October 21.

The stylish 2D action game got a new trailer at Gamescom (below) that shows off its various worlds, including a hint at a secret final area:

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Set in a post-apocalyptic world, ScourgeBringer sees you take on the role of warrior Kyhra as we explores the inside of an unknown structure that destroyed humanity as we know it. After playing the early access version, we said, “It might be structured like Dead Cells, and look like Katana Zero, but this absurdly stylish 2D action roguelite actually reminds me most of Doom”.

There’s much, much more to come from gamescom 2020 on IGN – check out our full gamescom schedule to find out what else is on the way and our roundup of gamescom 2020 highlights.

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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].

In celebration of the series’ 25th anniversary, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is getting new DLC that includes over 30 cosmetics and brings back three fan-favorite planes: the ASF-X, CFA-44, and XFA-27.

Each plane will also be getting seven of its own skins, including the popular “Cipher” skin. There will be an additional 10 skins from Ace Combat Zero and 20 different types of emblems included in the DLC as well.

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Here’s a short summary of each aircraft included:

• The ASF-X, also known as Shinden 2 is a supporting fighter jet with variable wing function that first appeared in Ace Combat: Assult Horizon.
• The CFA-44, also known as Nosferatu, is equipped with a railgun and a launcher that can shoot several missiles at the same time. It first appeared in Ace Combat 6.
• And The XFA-27 was the first fictional aircraft to be added to the Ace Combat series and was inspired by ’90s stealth jets like the F-117 and YF-23.

The DLC will come alongside a free update that adds a Casual Easy difficulty mode, designed for first time Ace Combat players who want to check out the game’s campaign.

There’s more to come from gamescom 2020 on IGN, so make sure to take a look at our gamescom schedule. If you’re looking for a summary of the biggest news, check out our gamescom 2020 highlights.

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Haven, the co-op adventure RPG, has been announced as a launch game for Xbox Series X, and we’ve got gameplay from the new next-gen version to show you.

Xbox Series X marks the latest in a large list of platforms Haven will arrive for. Other platforms are Xbox One and Windows Store (in Game Pass), PC (Steam, GOG, more), Nintendo Switch, PS5 and PS4.

We’ve got 10 minutes of Xbox Series X gameplay in 4K to show you, including exploration, combat, cooking and the game’s extremely laid-back soundtrack vibe:

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From the creators of Furi and playable in solo or co-op, Haven sees two lovers, Yu and Kay restoring a forgotten planet – it was a part of IGN’s Summer of Gaming.

There’s much, much more to come from gamescom 2020 on IGN – check out our full gamescom schedule to find out what else is on the way and our roundup of gamescom 2020 highlights.

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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].

Epic Games continues a legal battle with Apple over Fortnite’s removal from the App Store, and CEO Tim Sweeney is having a little fun while the process plays out. The developer did the unthinkable: promoting a rival game, and all to demonstrate the value of Unreal Engine for Apple users.

On August 28, Apple seemed to take a shot at Epic Games by promoting a massive new update for PUBG Mobile on iOS. Typically, Epic Games would see PUBG Mobile as its competition, but because the game does make use of Unreal Engine–which Apple is looking to cut off from iOS and Mac developers–Sweeney promoted the game, as well.

The passive-aggressive nature of the tweet certainly isn’t lost on us, because if Apple does eventually cease Unreal Engine support on its devices, that would likely mean no more PUBG Mobile. Unreal is one of the most popular engines in the world, with support on nearly every device including mobile, PC, and consoles.

Epic Games’ shots at Apple have continued with its Free Fortnite campaign and tournament. It also gave away assets so players can make their own Free Fortnite merchandise, even giving permission for them to sell it. As the logo parodies one of Apple’s earlier designs, it seems Epic is trying to win in the court of public opinion if it can’t actually win its lawsuit.

And despite not being as successful as Fortnite, PUBG Mobile has managed to carve out a healthy niche. Its 1.0 update will include major improvements across the board, and a new competition is going to award $2 million in prizes.

Epic Games’ lawsuit with Apple is ongoing, with Apple recently terminating Epic’s developer account on the App Store as they fight over profit cuts and Epic’s decision to use an alternative payment system in Fortnite. While the case moves through the legal system, Epic is trying to get public opinion on its side with the “Free Fortnite” campaign, and it’s now even letting you make your own gear–and even sell it–to show where you stand.

Via an asset pack available on the Unreal Engine site, you can design and sell shirts, stickers, and other merchandise with Epic Games’ Free Fortnite logo. The logo is a parody of one of Apple’s older designs, and in Epic Games’ post on the subject, it appeared to put one of the stickers on a Macbook.

Epic filed a restraining order against Apple to temporarily allow it to continue using Apple’s development tools for the Unreal Engine, and this was granted by a judge while its lawsuit is ongoing. However, its request to temporarily reinstate Fortnite on the App Store was not granted, and the game is still unavailable to download on iOS devices as Apple owns the only authorized digital store. It’s also unavailable to download through Google Play on Android phones, but there are other storefronts on Android that offer the game.

Fortnite just began its Season 4 content, which you cannot play on iOS. If the game isn’t installed on your phone already, you also cannot re-download it. For now, you’ll have to use another system or console in order to get your battle royale fix.