A spokesperson for 343 told IGN that the studio has a dedicated “transmedia” team inside the company, led by Kiki Wolfkill, and that this team works independently of the game developers.
“These are two completely independent projects with dedicated teams and leadership that do not impact one another,” the spokesperson said.
The report from Brad Sams said development of the Halo TV show has been a “significant distraction for 343 management.” The report added: “Often times taking their priority instead of focusing on making sure development progress is on the right path to reaching its targeted deadline.”
Brad Sams mentioned in his report that a “significant portion” of Halo Infinite is being outsourced to third-party contractor studios. 343 is working with at least two outside studios on Halo Infinite–SkyBox Labs and Sperasoft–and outsourcing in general is common for AAA games. However, a source told the site that the outsourcing work on Halo Infinite is at a higher ratio than normal.
Also in the report, it is claimed that Halo Infinite’s E3 2019 trailer was outsourced to an unnamed studio. It’s also mentioned in the report that the collaborative effort on Halo Infinite from its outsourcing studios has been “challenging,” with “significant disagreements” occurring during development.
Brad Sams also heard from sources that Halo Infinite’s engineering and marketing teams are on different wavelengths. The engineering team wants more time to get the game in a better place, he said, while marketing efforts have persisted. Even after the Halo Infinite delay to 2021, Microsoft announced a marketing deal with Monster Energy.
In total, Sams reports that Microsoft has spent “hundreds of millions of dollars” on Halo Infinite so far, spread across the investment in new technology in the Slipspace Engine, along with the regular development and marketing costs.
Halo Infinite is now coming at an unspecified date in 2021. The multiplayer portion of the game will be free-to-play, but many questions about that remain.
The Australian Classification Board has rated a new game called NHL Rewind 94, leading to speculation that EA Sports might be looking to revive the iconic ’90s ice hockey game.
The rating popped up on August 19 and was first spotted by Gematsu. The ratings description carries no useful information about the title, only stating that it originated from Canada, which makes sense because that’s where EA’s NHL games are developed.
If EA is indeed releasing a new version of NHL 94, it wouldn’t be the first time. NHL 14 included an NHL 94 Anniversary mode that gave the game a retro look and feel. NHL 94 is one of the most beloved ice hockey games ever made, so it would be no surprise to see EA revive it again.
Whether or not it would be a standalone game or come bundled with NHL 21 is not known, and it’s always possible that the ratings website contains an error. EA has not officially commented on the existence of NHL Rewind 94, but keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.
The next mainline NHL game from EA is NHL 21, which launches in October for PS4 and Xbox One. The game will be formally unveiled in August, and with the month coming to an end soon, that means the reveal should happen any day now.
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Marvel and Sony aren’t slowing down when it comes to growing the Spider-Man universe of movies–whether or not Spider-Man will actually appear in them. With a sequel to Venom and a Morbius movie on the way, along with a Madame Webb film in the works, the next step is reportedly a female-centered superhero film, which will be directed by Olivia Wilde (Booksmart).
The news comes from Deadline–and seemingly confirmed by Wilde herself in a tweet–says that the film in question is expected to be about Spider-Woman. According to the report, Wilde is developing the project and will write the script with Katie Silberman. Amy Pascal is signed on to produce, much like she’s done for every Spider-Man and Spidey-adjacent movie since 2017’s Far From Home.
While Spider-Woman has been the alter ego of a number of characters over the years, it’s most identified with Jessica Drew, the first character to take on that mantle back in 1977. Unlike Peter Parker, Jessica Drew’s origins involved being injected with an experimental serum and having her age manipulated with a “genetic accelerator.” Her powers include your typical wall-crawling, but deviate from Peter’s there, with pheromone manipulation and bio-electric charges No details about Wilde’s take on the character have been revealed yet, just as there is no production or release information at this time.
As for the rest of Sony’s Spider-Man films, most of them have been delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The new Venom and Morbius movies have both been pushed back to 2021 releases. As for the MCU side of things, the sequel to Spider-Man: Far Home Home is also expected next year, but has been pushed back a month to December 17.
If you’re wondering what other movies have been delayed by the Pandemic, take a look at our guide.
The developers of PGA Tour 2K21 have confirmed that the Nintendo Switch version of the game will indeed include the course designer at launch.
HB Studios previously said the course designer would not launch with the game on Switch, but now it will be delivered through a day-one update. This is great news for those thinking about buying the game on Nintendo’s system as the course designer is one of the best parts of the golf series.
The course designer in PGA Tour 2K21 builds on the foundation of the earlier Golf Club games from HB Studios and adds more elements and options for course creators. You can see an overview of what’s available in the course designer here.
HB Studios has also confirmed that PGA Tour 2K21 will be available only as a digital game for Switch on launch day (August 21). The physical version will be released in September.
PGA Tour 2K21 releases on August 21 for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. It includes 15 real-world courses and 12 officially licensed players–you can see all of them below, and be sure to check back soon for our full review.
PGA Tour 2K21 Full Player List
Justin Thomas
Matt Kuchar
Bryson DeChambeau
Kevin Kisner
Cameron Champ
Tony Finau
Ian Poulter
Gary Woodland
Jim Furyk
Billy Horschel
Patrick Cantlay
Sergio Garcia
PGA Tour 2K21 Full Course List
Atlantic Beach Country Club
Copperhead Course
East Lake Golf Club
Quail Hollow Club
Riviera Country Club
TPC Boston
TPC Deere Run
TPC Louisiana
TPC River Highlands
TPC San Antonio
TPC Sawgrass
TPC Scottsdale
TPC Southwind
TPC Summerlin
TPC Twin Cities
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Brace yourselves for some truth: Battletoads – the 1991 game for the NES – is bad. Awkward and stiff controls paired with an unfair difficulty that requires a level of precision and reflexes that those controls don’t allow is a terrible combination for a beat-em-up, and its heroes felt like uninspired TMNT knock-offs. But Battletoads (2020) is mostly the exact opposite: it’s a simple but fun and fair three-player beat ‘em up with enough humor and personality to drive a spin-off TV show – which I would totally watch if they made it. It takes the legendarily awful difficulty of the original and makes it into something that’s actually enjoyable for its short run – and you can still crank up the challenge if you want.
It sounds weird to say, especially for this notoriously narratively light genre, but one of the biggest things that kept me enticed was the story. Presented in a great Saturday morning cartoon style, the Battletoad trio of Rash, Zitz, and Pimple have been trapped in a virtual reality hole, living out a life where they’ve been worshiped as heroes for the past 26 years. The Toads all have distinct personalities: Rash is a fame-starved idiot who wears sunglasses indoors, Pimple is large and sensitive, and Zitz is the self-declared leader and the smartest of the group. It’s often said that it’s hard to do comedy in games, but these characters play wonderfully off of each other and got quite a few boisterous laughs out of me. The story itself is simple – the Battletoads want to be famous again – but it’s a lot of fun and bolstered by the great voice cast.
Beyond the Toads, you’ll encounter an old nemesis and plenty of new characters, from a warring tribe of lumberjacks and gymnasts to the new main villains, the Topians. Uto and Pia, the new big bads, are Hollywood producer stereotypes obsessed with vanity and running everything like a television show, and their god-like powers and indifference to the Battletoads make them pretty entertaining in their own right. And I cannot fail to mention the music is a ripping rock and metal soundtrack that has been stuck in my head since I finished playing.
[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=Combat%20isn%E2%80%99t%20too%20deep%20or%20elaborate%20but%20it%20can%20be%20a%20blast.”]The combat isn’t too deep or elaborate but it can be a blast thanks to combos using the basic attack on the X button, launching enemies into the air with Y, and jumping with A to juggle airborne enemies with continued attacks. Any attack can be cancelled out of with a dodge or into a different attack, giving you all kinds of flexibility. The three Toads play distinctively, too: Zitz is the fastest with his attacks, Pimple hits the hardest with slower attacks, and Rash strikes a nice balance between the two. Adding into the arsenal, there’s a push-or-pull mechanic with the Battletoads using their tongues to grab enemies and a crowd-control option that involves spitting gum on enemies to hold them in place. What’s more, you can remap the controls any way you would want to, but I found the default control scheme worked really well. And while I didn’t get the chance to try out the multiplayer (for pandemic reasons), there is three-player co-op that has a revival feature in case your friends get downed in combat, further smoothing out the difficulty.
Things can get hectic during encounters with different enemy types flooding the screen from both sides and, in some instances, appearing on different background and foreground planes that you can switch between. But even with all that going on, it was easy to keep track of my toad amongst the chaos. Characters are big on the screen and enemies will telegraph when they’re about to do a big attack so you can dodge out of the way or pull off an attack to interrupt them. Enemies will drop flies that you can slurp up in the middle of combat to regain a little health (how much depends on the difficulty level), so there’s some margin for error as well.
[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=Battletoads%20could%20certainly%20have%20benefited%20from%20more%20and%20more%20creative%20types%20of%20bad%20guys%20to%20beat%20down.”]While there is an aesthetic difference to the enemies depending on which level you’re on, sometimes appearing as living toys or alien lumberjacks or even strange beasts, there are truly only about four types of them: one that will attack with melee, one that attacks with melee but will also block, one that uses long-range attacks, and one that’s invulnerable until you dodge its charge attack. Battletoads could certainly have benefited from more and more creative types of bad guys to beat down.
Similarly, in part because a lot of the levels end with minigames rather than boss fights, there’s only a handful of traditional battles, and they all work the same way: they’re big bad guys who telegraph attacks, summon regular enemies (giving you a chance to grab flies to regain health mid-battle) and enter grander attack phases testing your dodge reflexes. They’re fun enough, but a bit one-note.
[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=The%20main%20source%20of%20variety%20in%20Battletoads%20is%20in%20its%20selection%20of%20different%20minigames%20that%20dot%20the%20levels.”]So the main source of variety in Battletoads is in its selection of different minigames that dot the levels, breaking up what could be monotonous stretches of fist fights with everything from hacking puzzles to a riff on the classic speeder bikes and sledding levels. In the original those speeder segments were a side-scrolling level with blocks that flicker into existence before human fingers could react, but here they’re an over-the-shoulder segment where you can actually see what’s coming from further away. It’s a simple concept of dodging and weaving behind walls and jumping over obstacles and, much like the rest of Battletoads, the generous checkpoint system makes this more of a fun challenge than the original’s frustrating nightmare. Other minigames include a twin-stick shooter section and some platforming; they’re all basic but enjoyable diversions.
While the campaign is undeniably short, at just three to four hours long, Battletoads has the virtue of never overstaying its welcome (depending on your difficulty setting and standing in the speedrunning community) and there are collectables in each level that add some replay value. I do wish there were something to unlock or an extra mode waiting for me when I’d finished to make it feel more substantial, though.
Just in time for the debut of the new movie, the Eternals will be back at the forefront of Marvel’s comic book universe. The publisher has just revealed a new ongoing Eternals series set to kick off in November 2020.
Eternals boasts quite an impressive creative team. Writer Kieron Gillen (Star Wars: Darth Vader, Journey Into Mystery) is returning to Marvel to helm the series alongside Secret Wars and King Thor artist Esad Ribic and The Mighty Thor colorist Matthew Wilson.
Marvel hasn’t revealed much about the plot of the new series beyond the tagline “Never Die. Never Win.” That may be a reference to both the Eternals’ immortality and their seemingly never-ending conflict with the Deviants. Most likely the series will deal with the fallout of 2018’s The Avengers #4, which showed Ikaris and his people seemingly killing themselves after learning the truth about their own origins.
Ribic’s cover to Eternals #1 depicts the evolution of man culminating with the birth of Ikaris. Interestingly, the Eternals and Deviants have always been depicted as separate races from humanity, but this image could imply the Eternals are more fundamentally linked to mankind than they ever realized.
“I said if I was ever to do a book again at Marvel, it would have to be something I’ve never done before. This is exactly that,” said Gillen in Marvel’s press release. “This is me teaming up with literally my favourite artist of the epic, taking one of those lightning-storm Kirby visions and re-making it to be as new as the day it was forged.”
Gillen continued, “While Esad makes whole worlds on the page, I’m applying all the skills I’ve developed when I was away. It’s a lot. It’s everything. There’s enough scale packed in here that I believe that when you look at the comic, you’ll see the pages slightly bulge. Essentially ‘Eternal’ has to mean ‘never going out of style’ which means we’re aiming for ‘Instant classic.’ Also – fight scenes, horror, human drama, emotions, explosions. Comics!”
Eternals #1 will be released in November 2020, while the movie Marvel’s The Eternals is currently scheduled for release on February 12, 2021. You can head over to Marvel.com to check out a new video teaser for the comic that shows off more of Ribic’s art and character designs.
In a statement provided to IGN by a 343 Industries spokesperson, the Halo Infinite developer refuted the claim in a report that the Halo TV show in the works at Showtime distracted the developer’s leadership and had a major impact on Infinite’s development.
The spokesperson labeled Infinite and the TV show as “completely independent projects” whose development did not impact one another or prove a “distraction,” as the original reports sources claimed.
“343 Industries has a devoted transmedia team that is working with Showtime on the creation and production of the Halo TV show. This group is separate from the Halo Infinite development team. These are two completely independent projects with dedicated teams and leadership that do not impact one another,” the spokesperson said in a statement to IGN.
A source speaking anonymously to Thurott for the original report claimed the show was “taking their priority instead of focusing on making sure development progress is on the right path to reaching its targeted deadline.”
While 343’s response rebukes this claim, the spokesperson did not speak to the report’s claim that “a significant portion of the game is being outsourced to third-party contractors,” which the report described as a source of some of Halo Infinite’s alleged development problems.
Halo Infinite had its first proper unveiling at E3 2019, with an extended cutscene teasing Master Chief’s next adventure. But after a recent gameplay showcase that was met with some blowback by viewers for perceived technical limitations, 343 and Xbox announced Halo Infinite would be delayed into 2021 and miss the Xbox Series X launch.
In many parts of the world, new home ownership has turned from an expected rite of passage into a distant dream for young people, as the number of renters increases and house values increase at a much faster rate than wages are. Final Fantasy XIV, too, is facing a house shortage crisis–but developer Square Enix actually has a plan to deal with it within the MMO.
In a new post on the game’s website, producer and director Naoki Yoshida has discussed how an influx of new players following the release of a huge free trial has led to housing issues–and the solution isn’t, as it turns out, to suggest that a bunch of players should migrate over to a different MMO.
As of Patch 5.3 the game’s population has expanded massively, and because automatic housing demolition has been suspended, housing has “become increasingly scarce” in the game, Yoshida notes. “To all of our players, especially those who have newly begun their adventures in FFXIV, I apologize for the present lack of housing,” he says.
The plan is to improve data centers so that the game can introduce more housing plots, he says, although this work will take time due to the current COVID-19 restrictions that make shipments difficult. However, before this happens, the developer is “doing what it can to further optimize the servers” to allow for more plots.
Yoshida says that as of Patch 5.4, there will be more plots available for purchase. “We will make a follow-up announcement when we’ve finalized the time table for these additions, and have determined how many can be added,” he said, before apologizing again.
If you’re keen on Final Fantasy XVI but haven’t dived deep yet, check out these two pieces from GameSpot’s biggest advocate for the game, Michael Higham:
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Bossa Studios, the UK developer behind Surgeon Simulator and I Am Bread, has made a significant adjustment to its workplace policies regarding remote work in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to GI.biz, developers now have the option to permanently work from home, come into the London office, or move between home and the office “as best suits their working preferences and personal needs.”
Bossa conducted an employee survey, and it found that 43 percent of developers said they were more productive working from home. Respondents also said they enjoyed the flexible hours, more time with family, and no commute.
In total, 78 percent of respondents said they either preferred working from home or were impartial about going to the office.
Those who do elect to return to the office will encounter changes to the physical space to make sure work stations properly adhere to social distancing guidelines. Personal protective equipment items are also available to staffers who work in the office.
Bossa Studios is a relatively small developer, and it will be interesting to see how other studios of a similar scale as well as bigger teams adjust their workplace policies going forward.
