Category: Games

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Join GameSpot as we celebrate gaming history and give recognition to the most influential games of the 21st century. These aren’t the best games, and they aren’t necessarily games that you need to rush out and play today, but there’s no question that they left an indelible impact on game developers, players, and in some cases, society at large.

Nowadays, when a new shooter is announced or comes out there’s one question that consistently pops up: is it going to have battle royale? It’s one that’s asked both seriously and in jest ever since the sub-genre’s popularity exploded just a few years back. The fascination with large-scale multiplayer, where only one player or team per match is left standing, took off like never before when PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds hit Steam early access in March 2017. And while there were battle royale games that came before it and, of course, many that came afterward, PUBG is undoubtedly the force that thrust battle royale into the mainstream.

PUBG’s creator, Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene, had a history of making mods for existing games, namely the military sim series ARMA. His creation of an ARMA 2 mod DayZ: Battle Royale (a mod for a mod, if you will) seeded the first step for the sub-genre. He was then brought on as a consultant with Sony Online Entertainment (now Daybreak Games) for the creation of H1Z1’s battle royale mode. In 2016, this battle royale mode split from the survival-based version of the game and became a standalone product known as H1Z1: King of the Kill.

At the time, H1Z1 had built a dedicated player-base because of the unique thrill of having one life per match, the unpredictable variables like randomized loot and safe zones, and the intrinsic reward of besting 100+ other players. However, there was always a sense of refinement that was missing from renditions of battle royale at the time, even H1Z1. Their nature as mods really showed, whether it was because of some janky mechanics, relatively low production values, or bare overall structure.

That’s not to say PUBG didn’t carry some of that baggage when it came on the scene. But when Greene collaborated with Korean developer Bluehole to bring PUBG to early access on PC in 2017, it was readily apparent that it was breaking the barriers to entry that held battle royale back from a larger audience. The game made a slew of mechanics relatively accessible, allowing newcomers to quickly understand the premise and what needed to be done to survive in a match. Drop from a plane with 99 other players, gear up at key locations on the map, adapt to the map’s ever-changing safe zones, and win those nerve-racking firefights with what you can scavenge.

While there were battle royale games that came before it and, of course, many that came afterward, PUBG is undoubtedly the force that thrust battle royale into the mainstream.

PUBG’s roster of weapons also had a lot to do with its lasting appeal, thanks to their distinct characteristics of damage, range, and recoil, but the attachments system added an extra layer of tactical depth. Firefights carried an unmatched level of intensity because you truly had to understand how your weapons worked and earn your kills with proper positioning and precise aim. Combine that with tools like smoke grenades and the on-the-fly tactics of using your surroundings for cover, and it’s almost as if you had to play mind games with your enemies. Thus, coming out on top would feel like its own reward. Chicken dinners were never this tasty.

PUBG even sustained popularity with only one map through most of its early access period, which is a testament to how varied the map was and the unpredictable nature of safe zones. Previous battle royales were made up of fairly barren battlefields, so with PUBG’s map featuring dense city centers, varied terrain, and expansive hotspots for action, it set the bar higher for such an important aspect of the game. Thus, no two matches would play out the same and emergent situations kept PUBG feeling fresh match after match.

It was the right game at the right time, and the first fully-realized version of battle royale in video game form. PUBG leaned heavily into its military sim roots in a way that made its action play more like a tactical shooter, but struck a balance between hardcore and approachable mechanics. And although it wasn’t without its share of technical issues, it didn’t bear the weight of a mod’s jankiness. When critics were able to have a definitive word on the game when it fully launched with a 1.0 release, it was showered with praise.

To echo the sentiments from my own review of PUBG for GameSpot, I wrote, “It’s not the first of its kind, and despite glaring flaws, PUBG emerges as the most accessible, mechanically refined battle royale game to date.” I capped it off by saying, “Every player has unique stories of their most memorable matches, and even after hundreds of hours, PUBG continues to inspire rousing tales of victory and defeat.”

Polygon’s Chris Plante awarded PUBG a 10/10 score (Polygon no longer does scored reviews), and stated, “Battlegrounds is the refinement of a new language of play, but what may earn it a spot in the video game canon is that conceptual efficiency,” and briefly described PUBG as “imperfectly perfect.” And after hours of on-air deliberation, our colleagues at Giant Bomb named PUBG their game of the year for 2017. Even in a year of amazing, genre-defining games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, Persona 5, Nier Automata, Super Mario Odyssey, and Divinity: Original Sin II, PUBG most certainly stood out in its own right and set in motion something larger than itself.

According to Steamcharts.com, PUBG exceeded 1.5 million peak concurrent players in September 2017, breaking the previous record set by Dota 2 in March 2016 with 1.3 million players. PUBG continued its meteoric rise and hit a peak of 3.2 million concurrent players in January 2018, nearly three-times that of Dota 2’s highest player count. Needless to say, others took note of PUBG’s increasingly wild popularity.

Sure, it hasn’t been very long since PUBG busted onto the scene, but battle royale essentially went viral because of it.

A little game called Fortnite is a household name and a cultural phenomenon today due to its adoption of the battle royale game mode. Fortnite was initially a wave-based shooter with construction mechanics akin to a survival game (now called “Save The World”), but the team at Epic Games clearly kept a close eye on PUBG. Game director Donald Mustard stated that Epic loved battle royale games, including PUBG, and a separate team at Epic quite literally spun the battle royale mode for Fortnite in a span of two months. In September 2017, Fortnite: Battle Royale hit early access as free-to-play for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, and soon became its own beast.

How do you even begin to describe Fortnite’s position in games? For starters, the highest concurrent player count Epic has recorded during a non-event day was 7.6 million in February 2019. The game has partnered with Marvel for a limited time Avengers-themed event where players could embody Thanos. It has official NFL-themed jerseys as skins, and just recently incorporated the Jordan brand. And 10.7 million people hopped onto Fortnite for Marshmello’s live in-game concert. Fortnite’s massive success also provided the leverage for Epic Games to open its own digital storefront for PC games. There’s a whole lot more to unpack, like its impact on streamers and esports, but this is all to say that battle royale has been an extremely powerful thing for games, and PUBG led the way.

Fortnite was just the beginning for the battle royale games that followed in PUBG’s footsteps. The biggest first-person shooter franchise in the history of games, Call of Duty, did its own take on the concept with Blackout mode in Black Ops 4, which launched back in October 2018. Electronic Arts and DICE took notice as well, and brought battle royale to their long-running large-scale FPS series with Battlefield V–although it didn’t launch with Firestorm, the mode came as a free update in March 2019. Publisher EA would sort of double-dip when the team at Respawn Entertainment, known for its critically acclaimed Titanfall series, came out with Apex Legends in February 2019.

Apex Legends set itself apart by merging elements of hero shooters, like Overwatch, with the core traditions of a battle royale game. However, smart tweaks to the formula such as the intuitive ping system and the incorporation of respawning teammates kept the genre’s premise fresh. Apex Legends simplified the necessary mechanics for a seamless experience as well, like the automation of looting better items and equipping better attachments. In a way, it makes PUBG look ancient, but Apex’s great success is nonetheless rooted in the foundation PUBG set.

Sure, it hasn’t been very long since PUBG busted onto the scene, but battle royale essentially went viral because of it. While others have bested it from a gameplay perspective and in current relevance, it’s still going strong. Even at the time of publication of this article, PUBG is the third-most played game on Steam with a peak of 680,000 concurrent players, just behind Valve’s own CSGO and Dota 2. PUBG may not have the same popularity it did only a year and a half ago, but it didn’t have to maintain that peak for it to have influenced such a large part of the gaming industry–an influence that we’re still witnessing evolve.

So, what’s the next big game to do battle royale? Tetris?! Oh, wait…

For a look at the rest of our features in this series, head over to our Most Influential Games Of The 21st Century hub.

Gearbox Software, the studio behind the upcoming Borderlands 3, appears to be softening its position in an ongoing legal battle with a former employee. The company had previously threatened to file an official grievance against Wade Callender, its former general counsel, but has since dropped that threat and filed a new petition that removes some of its original claims.

Polygon reports that in its most recent court filing, Gearbox dropped a section that accused Callender of breaching his fiduciary duty by revealing confidential information. That claim was in relation to disclosures made in Callender’s own suit against Gearbox.

Gearbox has also reportedly not filed a grievance with the State Bar of Texas, as it threatened when the legal matter came to light. Callender himself confirmed that the grievance has not yet been filed, saying he contacted the state bar directly to inquire about his record.

The ongoing legal dispute has been a volley of suits and counter-suits. Gearbox first filed suit against Callender, claiming he had failed to repay a loan and had improperly used company credit cards. A month later, Callender filed suit against Gearbox, alleging that CEO Randy Pitchford had taken $12 million from the company coffers, and more luridly, that he had left a USB drive with pornography and trade secrets at an event. Gearbox then updated its original petition with an amendment accusing Callender’s suit of breaching his fiduciary duty–that claim has now been dropped.

Pitchford has been a focal point of other controversies as well. Another former employee, David Eddings, recently explained why he won’t be resuming his role as Claptrap for Borderlands 3. That led to a testy exchange with Pitchford until Eddings ultimately alleged that Pitchford had physically assaulted him at GDC 2017, and subsequently stalked him on social media.

Pokemon Go‘s ongoing Extraordinary Raid Week event is set to wrap up on May 28, giving players a chance to battle new Raid bosses and earn extra bonuses until then. If that isn’t enough to scratch your Raid itch, however, Niantic has announced it is bringing three Legendary Pokemon back to Gyms very soon–and this time, you’ll have a chance to encounter their Shiny forms.

Cresselia, Kyogre, and Groudon are all set to reappear as five-star Raids over the next few weeks. The Lunar Pokemon will be the first to return, appearing in Raids from May 27 to June 18. The Sea Basin Pokemon Kyogre will follow from June 18 to June 27, while Groundon is scheduled to appear from June 27 to July 10.

It’s rare to see the aforementioned three Legendaries in Pokemon Go, so if you missed previous chances to catch them, this is a good opportunity to add them to your collection. Each one also only has a single type, which should make it easier to prepare a team to counter them. The Psychic-type Cresselia is weak to Bug, Dark, and Ghost Pokemon; the Water-type Kyogre is vulnerable to Grass and Electric Pokemon; and the Ground-type Groudon has a disadvantage against Grass, Water, and Ice Pokemon.

In the meantime, you still have a chance to catch Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie. The Legendary lake trio will appear in Raids until May 27. Even after that date, however, it will still be possible to come across the Pokemon in the wild, although the chance of encountering them is exceptionally rare. Each Legendary is also currently exclusive to a specific region, so there’s no word if or when they’ll rotate to other parts of the world.

Niantic has also announced the date of Pokemon Go’s next Community Day. June’s event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 8, and the featured Pokemon this time will be Slakoth, the adorable sloth originally from Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. On top of increased Slakoth spawns, Pokemon Eggs will hatch at a quarter of the distance they normally require during the event.

It’s been two years since our last adventure in the Nazi-killing, bombastic world of Wolfenstein, but the wait is almost over as Wolfenstein: Youngblood is fast approaching. Bethesda are returning to E3 2019 with its very own press conference once again, and Wolfenstein fans have their fingers crossed for a new gameplay demonstration of Youngblood ahead of its June 26 release date.

What We Know So Far

Wolfenstein: Youngblood was first announced at E3 last year. The game is being developed by MachineGames, who has created all of the most recent Wolfenstein games, though this time it is in collaboration with Dishonored developer Arkane Studios. Youngblood leaves B.J. Blazkowicz behind and shifts focus to his two daughters, Jessica and Sophia. Set 19 years in the future during the 1980s, the twin sisters are in Paris trying to locate B.J., and lending a Nazi-killing hand where need be.

For the first time in the rebooted series, you’ll be able to play cooperatively. If you don’t have a buddy on hand, you sister will be AI-controlled. Unfortunately, there is no split-screen capability planned for Youngblood. The game is adding new RPG elements, updated weaponry, new abilities and gadgets. Youngblood executive producer Jerk Gustafsson told Official PlayStation Magazine that the level design will resemble that of Dishonored. MachineGames also confirmed that the gameplay structure will be more open-ended and branching, with plenty of side missions to get stuck into. Missions can also be taken on in any order. As this is not a full priced game, we’re expecting a condensed version of the Wolfenstein formula.

The game is set to cost $29.99 for the standard edition and if you splash out on the $39.99 Deluxe Edition you will also get access to a Buddy Pass where you can invite a friend who doesn’t have the game to play with you for free. The game will have cosmetic only microtransactions and will arrive on Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch on June 26.

What’s Confirmed For E3?

So far, Bethesda have confirmed very little for its 2019 press conference. While there’s sure to be a variety of titles showcased, only Doom Eternal has a confirmed appearance at this stage. Bethesda’s Todd Howard has also ruled out the possibility of Starfield or Elder Scrolls VI making an appearance, but there’s no official word on whether we’ll see more Wolfenstein: Youngblood.

What We Hope To See At E3

Given Wolfenstein: Youngblood releases mere weeks after Bethesda’s E3 conference, we’re hoping to see an extended look at how co-op gameplay will work. So far, it seems clear that high-octane action is making a significant return but we’ve yet to check it out in all its uncut glory, so that’s what we’ll be hoping for come E3. Excellent co-operative campaigns aren’t always easy to come by, so we’re keen to see how the multiplayer elements are integrated with the story and combat mechanics.

Additionally, we’d love to get a closer look at the new weapons, gadgets, and abilities that have been teased for Youngblood. It would also be great to learn whether each twin will have a unique approach to combat. The fast approaching release date makes us pretty confident that at least seem of these questions will be answered come E3.

Dead Island 2 was announced all the way back in 2014, and its development has been anything but smooth. The game was originally announced with Spec Ops: The Line studio Yager announced as the developer.

But in 2015, publisher Deep Silver announced that it was parting ways with Yager, and it was later confirmed that Sumo Digital would be taking over as the lead developer.

Deep Silver was later acquired by THQ Nordic, which is now the publisher of Dead Island 2. This week, THQ Nordic announced earnings, and it included an image of Dead Island 2’s logo. This suggested that the game is still in the works, and THQ Nordic CEO Lars Wingefors confirmed it.

“Dead Island 2 [is] still being worked on. Stay tuned,” he said (via IGN).

That’s all Wingefors had to say on the subject of Dead Island 2. There is no word as of yet as to when Dead Island 2 may resurface or what changes might be

Also during the call, Wingefors talked about THQ Nordic’s massive development pipeline. He said the company has 80 projects in the works, including 32 titles that have been announced and 48 that are unannounced. The unannounced titles include new games from Kingdom Come studio Warhorse, Saints Row developer Volition, and Metro dev 4A Games.

Years ago, it was said that Dead Island 2 would feature a heavy emphasis on melee combat and role-playing game elements. According to Deep Silver, it will also have “never-before-seen” handcrafted weapons. The game is powered by Unreal Engine 4, and will take players to places like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and Venice Beach. Another previously touted feature is “seamless” multiplayer for up to eight players that can “cooperate, compete, or simply coexist.” The publisher has described this as a “new-gen multiplayer experience.”

However, it remains to see what might have changed throughout the game’s tumultuous development. E3 2019 is coming up next month, but nothing so far has suggested that Dead Island 2 will resurface at the gaming show.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, the new title from Assassin’s Creed creator Patrice Desilets, now has a release date. The title will launch on PC on August 27, with a release on console for PS4 and Xbox One coming in December. The PC version is exclusive to the Epic Games Store for its first year.

Ancestors is the first title from Desilets’ new studio, Panache Digital Games. The studio was founded in 2014, so it’s been a while to see the first title from the independent team.

“Our goal for Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is to provide an experience no player has ever lived before,” Desilets said in a statement. “Our small team is creating an ambitious and immersive game with a unique setting that will captivate gamers of all types, and we look forward to players exploring our world later this year.”

Ancestors is published by Private Division, which is the independent games label run by Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead parent publisher Take-Two Interactive.

A single-player, third-person exploration survival game, your journey in Ancestors begins as a hominid in Neogene Africa some 10 million years ago. Over time, you grow and literally evolve to the Australopithecus popularly known as Lucy. On your way to becoming Lucy, you’ll learn new skills and abilities as you take the form of the next subspecies of hominid that would eventually become the human form of today. It is quite an ambitious concept to say the least.

You can check out the latest trailer for Ancestors in the embed above.

Read next: Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey Is An Uncompromising, Relentless Survival Experience

Funny or Die’s absolutely absurd, low-budget fake interview show featuring Zach Galifianakis as its host, Between Two Ferns, is being made into a movie for Netflix. The film will be released on September 20 this year, so thankfully fans don’t have very long to wait.

It’s being written by Galifianakis and Scott Aukerman, who wrote the original web show, with Aukerman directing. Caitlin Daley and Mike Farah of Funny or Die are producing alongside Aukerman and Galifianakis.

Here is the silly synopsis:

“Zach Galifianakis dreamed of becoming a star. But when Will Ferrell discovered his public access TV show “Between Two Ferns” and uploaded it to Funny or Die, Zach became a viral laughing stock.

“Zach and his crew are taking a road trip to complete a series of high-profile celebrity interviews and restore his reputation. Directed by Scott Aukerman, Between Two Ferns: The Movie is a laugh-out-loud comedy that gives new insight into the curmudgeonly, beloved outsider Zach Galifianakis has created over the years.”

Between Two Ferns has welcome some huge names in the past, including Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama, Justin Bieber, Bradley Cooper, Bruce Willis, Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Steve Carell, and many others.

The interviews are cringe-worthy and very awkward, and they usually end in calamity or worse. They proved to be immensely popular on YouTube, so it is no surprise that a new version of the show is now being made.