The also very long part two of the Friday news:
The voice of Shadowheart, Jennifer English, would love to return to the role after Baldur's Gate 3—as long as Hasbro doesn't mess it up and 'make her into a cartoon'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/the-voice-of-shadowheart-jennifer-english-would-love-to-return-to-the-role-after-baldurs-gate-3-as-long-as-hasbro-doesnt-mess-it-up-and-make-her-into-a-cartoon/
Baldur's Gate 3 is a top-to-bottom triumph, but Larian's moving onto other things. Which, personally-speaking, I'm fine with—but it does present a bit of a tricky moment for Hasbro, which suddenly has a world-famous franchise on its hands. What the heck do you do without Larian, and with your cadre of famous characters? Well, turn them into mascots for a bit while you figure out who's gonna make your next game, probably.
Speaking in a recent interview with our friends over at GamesRadar, Shadowheart's voice actress, Jennifer English, has said she'd be happy to return to the role—as long as Hasbro doesn't mess it all up.
Hunt: Showdown's weirdest-ever update has just landed
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/hunt-showdowns-weirdest-ever-update-has-just-landed/
Old-timey extraction shooter Hunt: Showdown (or Hunt: Showdown 1896, to use its more formal name as of the 2.0 update) is not something we'd reasonably describe as a 'normie' shooter. Creepy hoarder bosses who throw balls of barbed wire at you, giant beetles that you can use as exploding drones, and a commitment to slow, suspenseful play that intermittently explodes into intense gunfights with revolvers, rifles, and bazooka-spears—these aren't things you'll find out there in the world of war shooters or hero shooters.
But even by Hunt: Showdown's standards, the 2.2 update that's just dropped is pretty out there. We have Post Malone as a circus ringmaster, we have a new circus compound, we have a sawblade launcher, and we have a new mini-boss in the form of a mutant two-headed bear. Come one, come all, to the most outlandish Hunt update on Earth.
Former Destiny 2 and Marathon director is suing Sony and Bungie for $200 million over alleged wrongful dismissal
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/former-destiny-2-and-marathon-director-is-suing-sony-and-bungie-for-usd200-million-over-alleged-wrongful-dismissal/
Former Destiny 2 and Marathon game director Christopher Barrett has sued Bungie and Sony over allegations that his former employers "deliberately destroyed Barrett’s reputation by falsely, and publicly, insinuating they had 'investigated' Barrett and 'found' he had engaged in sexual misconduct." Barrett says in his suit that the companies engaged in the "brazen scheme" to avoid paying him more than $45 million he was owed under his employment agreement, and to "shift blame for and deflect attention from their massive business failures."
After a year of delays, Hyper Light Breaker is finally launching in early access next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/after-a-year-of-delays-hyper-light-breaker-is-finally-launching-in-early-access-next-month/
Along with a new gameplay overview video, developer Heart Machine has revealed a new early access launch date for Hyper Light Breaker, its co-op roguelike prequel to Hyper Light Drifter. Breaker will launch in early access on Steam January 14.
The new Slay the Spire 2 gameplay trailer reminded me that Slay the Spire 2 is out in early access next year: hell yeah
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/the-new-slay-the-spire-2-gameplay-trailer-reminded-me-that-slay-the-spire-2-is-out-in-early-access-next-year-hell-yeah/
My favorite trailer of The Game Awards may have dropped in the pre-show, which gave us a closer look at Slay the Spire 2.
(...)
Developer Mega Crit almost had me with the fakeout at the end, but there's no surprise release here: Slay The Spire 2 will be out in early access sometime next year. Here's its Steam page.
Dave the Diver is heading to the jungle in 2025
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/dave-the-diver-is-heading-to-the-jungle-in-2025/
The last time Dave the Diver went on vacation he wound up running a chaotic sushi shop and found himself embroiled in an adventure involving a lost undersea civilization. But that apparently hasn't put him off taking another trip.
Next year, Dave is heading out with his new pals on a cruise: Dave the Diver In The Jungle is due out in "late 2025." Here's the trailer from The Game Awards
Pac-Man becomes an apex predator on a world shattered by intergalactic warfare in this very strange new metroidvania coming in 2025
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/pac-man-becomes-an-apex-predator-on-a-world-shattered-by-intergalactic-warfare-in-this-very-strange-new-metroidvania-coming-in-2025/
Pac-Man came to The Game Awards tonight, but it's not quite the cheery little yellow fellow I recall from my youth. Shadow Labyrinth is a grim metroidvania that sees the world's most famous globular ghost-gobbler "consume darkness" as he and his wielder struggle to survive and escape a grim labyrinth of evil.
Keep your Baldur's Gate 4, D&D 5E RPG Solasta 2 is coming to early access next year
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/keep-your-baldurs-gate-4-d-and-d-5e-rpg-solasta-2-is-coming-to-early-access-next-year/
Solasta: Crown of the Magister was a wonderful adaptation of the Dungeons & Dragons 5E rules that got just slightly overshadowed by Baldur's Gate 3, and fair enough—while BG3 had world-class storytelling and performances, Solasta felt like a D&D campaign run by an excitable teenage first-timer. But while Larian has said it won't be making a sequel to its game, Tactical Adventures, the French studio behind Solasta, has just announced Solasta 2.
The Witcher 4 got a surprise reveal at The Game Awards, and this one is all about Ciri
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-witcher-4-got-a-surprise-reveal-at-the-game-awards-and-this-one-is-all-about-ciri/
One of the biggest surprises at The Game Awards tonight was the first-ever public reveal of The Witcher 4, the next addition to CD Projekt's epic fantasy RPG series—and yes, it's now officially called The Witcher 4.
>> Yes, it’s about Ciri, but Geralt will still appear.
The Witcher 4 may have familiar faces but it's an origin story: 'A new opening, a new saga, a new beginning actually'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-witcher/the-witcher-4-may-have-familiar-faces-but-its-an-origin-story-a-new-opening-a-new-saga-a-new-beginning-actually/
CD Projekt has officially revealed The Witcher 4, the newest entry in its epic fantasy RPG series, and the first cinematic trailer shows new protagonist Ciri intervening as a village maiden is sent off to sacrifice. Geralt's adopted daughter and a familiar face to fans of the series, Ciri was at the heart of this game even back when CDPR "were doing Wild Hunt" and, per game director Sebastian Kalemba, "it just felt natural to us and we believe that Ciri deserves it."
PCG's Evan Lajti sat down with Kalemba and executive producer Gosia Mitręga after the reveal, and Ciri herself was one of the big topics: And particularly the fact that, given her relative youth, she's a whole new window into the Witcher-verse.
"I think it's important to remember that although I personally love Ciri, and there are millions of players and fans that love her too, that it's also not only about sentiment for the old players, but we want to go through to the wider audience," says Mitręga. "There are many people that were so young back when The Witcher 3 was released so it will be a new experience for them entirely."
>> I had chills when I read “wider audience”. Thankfully it doesn’t seem to be what I feared.
Core Keeper devs are doing more co-op survival crafting and this one has Terraria vibes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/core-keeper-devs-are-doing-more-co-op-survival-crafting-and-this-one-has-terraria-vibes/
The developers of co-op survival crafting game Core Keeper just recently launched its 1.0 version after a couple years in early access (which we touted in our Core keeper review) and are already back to announce another new crafting-survival game.
Pugstorm debuted a trailer for its next game Kyora at The Game Awards tonight with a trailer that's got side-scrolling and mining vibes that remind me of Terraria.
8 years after The Last Guardian and almost 20 since Shadow of the Colossus, Fumito Ueda's new game is finally announced—and it's sci-fi this time
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fumito-ueda-new-game-announced-/
Way back in March 2020—a month in which we all, collectively, were a bit preoccupied—Epic Games announced a trio of big publishing deals with game studios Remedy, Playdead, and GenDesign. It's been a long wait to see what Playdead and GenDesign were cooking, but the latter debuted at tonight's Game Awards, a follow-up to The Last Guardian nearly a decade in the making. Japanese game designer Fumito Ueda's next game is diverging from his previous fantasy settings into something that looks a lot more sci-fi.
Harrison Ford says Troy Baker 'did a great job' playing Indiana Jones: 'If I'd known he was so good, I would've done it myself'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/harrison-ford-says-troy-baker-did-a-great-job-playing-indiana-jones-if-id-known-he-was-so-good-i-wouldve-done-it-myself/
At this year's Game Awards, Bethesda's Todd Howard and prolific voice actor Troy Baker were joined by none other than Harrison Ford himself to present Melina Juergens with the award for best performance for her role in Hellblade 2. Before that, though, Ford had some glowing praise for Baker's performance as Indiana Jones in MachineGames' recent heater, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
The World of Tanks studio is making a free-to-play mech shooter, and the playtest starts today
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/the-world-of-tanks-studio-is-making-a-free-to-play-mech-shooter-and-the-playtest-starts-today/
If you asked me to bet on what the folks behind World of Tanks, World of Warships, and World of Warplanes were cooking up next, my first, second, and third guesses would not have been Steel Hunters, a third-person PvPvE mech shooter. Wargaming just unveiled Steel Hunters at The Game Awards and announced that the first playtest starts today, December 12, and runs through December 22.
Multiplayer mech shooter Mecha Break will launch in spring 2025, with 3v3, 6v6, and PvPvE modes at launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/multiplayer-mech-shooter-mecha-break-will-launch-in-spring-2025-with-3v3-6v6-and-pvpve-modes-at-launch/
Alongside a new trailer at this year's Game Awards, developer Amazing Seasun has revealed it's aiming for a spring 2025 launch window for its multiplayer mech shooter, Mecha Break. The initial launch will see core 3v3, 6v6, and PvPvE gameplay modes, with the promise of more on the way.
Blackfrost: The Long Dark 2 will hit Early Access in 2026, and this time it'll have co-op
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/blackfrost-the-long-dark-2-will-hit-early-access-in-2026-and-this-time-itll-have-co-op/
Blackfrost: The Long Dark 2 is in development and will hit early access in 2026. The announcement came during the 2024 The Game Awards, with a gorgeous trailer showing a considerably more varied color palette than what we saw in the brilliant original. Better still, this instalment will add co-op.
This year The Game Awards finally tackled the plague of game industry layoffs
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/this-year-the-game-awards-finally-tackled-the-plague-of-game-industry-layoffs/
For the first time, Geoff Keighley used his platform at The Game Awards to address head-on the plague of layoffs that have decimated the videogame industry over the past two years.
"The sad reality is that over the past few years the gaming industry has suffered significant and unprecedented industry-wide layoffs," Keighley said.
"Those affect the games we get to play and even more importantly, the people who make the games we love. We can debate and certainly disagree with the reasons why, and honesty as a show, we kind of struggle with how to address these topics in a constructive way."
But this year, Keighley said The Game Awards "found greatness" in Amir Satvat, selected as the recipient of the first-ever Game Changer award for his work in helping thousands of laid-off developers find their way back to the industry. Amir's Games Jobs Resources website contains a wealth of information and assistance including support postings, career planning, job listings, and networking.
Virtua Fighter is back: Sega announces a new full game, details coming tonight
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/virtua-fighter-is-back-sega-announces-a-new-full-game-details-coming-tonight/
Sega has a "new full entry" in the Virtua Fighter series on the way, Geoff Keighley announced during tonight's Game Awards broadcast. The last numbered Virtua Fighter game is Virtua Fighter 5, which first released in arcades in 2006. This new instalment is in the hands of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, best known for the Yakuza and Like a Dragon games.
All we saw at The Game Awards was the trailer above, but more details are being announced in a livestream happening at 9 pm PT tonight. I've embedded it below.
>> The livestream already took place and the video, in the article, is almost 30 minutes long.
The Yakuza studio is making a new action game set in 1915 Japan
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/the-yakuza-studio-is-making-a-new-action-game-set-in-1915-japan/
Ryu Ga Gotoku never stops cooking. Revealed tonight at The Game Awards, Project Century is a new game set in 1915 Japan. That's about all we know about it right now, but it's probably safe to say Project Century is an action game (not a turn-based RPG) in the vein of classic Yakuza or, more recently, Judgement.
Palworld's next major update arrives later this month, adding a new island and a burly enemy faction leader
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/palworlds-next-major-update-arrives-later-this-month-adding-a-new-island-and-a-burly-enemy-faction-leader/
Despite its ongoing wrestling match with the Nintendo legal goliath, Pocketpair seems intent on making Palworld even bigger. In a trailer that premiered earlier tonight at the Game Awards, we got our first look at Feybreak, Palworld's next major update that's arriving later this month.
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