Thursday gaming news, part number two:
The next Everdark Sovereign for Elden Ring Nightreign has been announced, and players are already placing bets on what its third phase will be
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-next-everdark-sovereign-for-elden-ring-nightreign-has-been-announced-and-players-are-already-placing-bets-on-what-its-third-phase-will-be/
Everdark Augur's reign is about to be over (thank god for that), but as one falls, another must rise, and the next Nightlord getting the Everdark treatment in Elden Ring Nightreign is none other than the aura dragon herself, Caligo, Miasma of Night.
Elden Ring Nightreign dataminers have uncovered plans for a new endless mode with Armored Core 6's rank system and skill-based matchmaking
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/elden-ring-nightreign-dataminers-have-uncovered-plans-for-a-new-endless-mode-with-armored-core-6s-rank-system-and-skill-based-matchmaking/
Elden Ring Nightreign's latest update brought many great things with it: a new Everdark boss (Augur), highly anticipated duo expeditions, and a brilliant new relic sorting system. But something rather unexpected also came with: whispers of upcoming (unannounced) Nightreign content.
Battlefield 6 producer insists the game's 'cool' and 'relatable' PMC villain and its quest to destroy the US has no deeper meaning: 'We needed two factions'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/battlefield-6-producer-insists-the-games-cool-and-relatable-pmc-villain-and-its-quest-to-destroy-the-us-has-no-deeper-meaning-we-needed-two-factions/
We don't know a whole lot about the setting for Battlefield 6, but the broad strokes were revealed late last week: "Major European countries" have pulled out of NATO, leaving the US and some unspecified number of remaining allies to stand alone against a massive mercenary outfit called Pax Armata. It's a scenario that feels at least loosely rooted in reality—how firm is NATO's footing these days, really?—but EA insists that it's not trying to say anything with the setting: There's nothing more to it than practical necessity.
Anthem's former executive producer says BioWare was so good at telling stories that its original Anthem pitch convinced EA to greenlight a game it couldn't deliver: 'Maybe there wasn't anything behind the very evocative statement'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/anthems-former-executive-producer-says-bioware-was-so-good-at-telling-stories-that-its-original-anthem-pitch-convinced-ea-to-greenlight-a-game-it-couldnt-deliver-maybe-there-wasnt-anything-behind-the-very-evocative-statement/
Anthem isn't getting shuttered for good until January 2026, but it's already spent years as one of the industry's preeminent tragedies. This week, former Anthem executive producer and BioWare veteran Mark Darrah published the first of a multi-video YouTube series about the game's ill-fated production history, and how BioWare's storytelling chops might have been too capable for its own good.
Will someone please sit with me when I play this super creepy game about examining dozens of old photos for evidence of g-g-ghosts?
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/will-someone-please-sit-with-me-when-i-play-this-super-creepy-game-about-examining-dozens-of-old-photos-for-evidence-of-g-g-ghosts/
I like ghost stuff. I like stories about ghosts, I like seeing old photographs that supposedly show evidence of ghosts, and I like videos that claim to show ghost activity.
(...)
So, while I'm interested in playing the creeptastic looking adventure Shutter Story, I don't want to do it alone because I'll definitely start believing in ghosts and get really scared and then a ghost will immediately kill me. Would one of you reading this be willing to come over and play it with me? I don't know why having a second person in the room would somehow protect me from vengeful murderous ghosts, but I'd sure feel braver.
God game Fata Deum will bring back those sweet Black & White vibes when it arrives in early access next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/god-game-fata-deum-will-bring-back-those-sweet-black-and-white-vibes-when-it-arrives-in-early-access-next-month/
Fata Deum cites Black & White and Populous as inspirations, and it sure does look like a god game in the classic mold. You get to lord it over a bunch of tiny people, granting their wishes with miracles or punishing them arbitrarily at your whim. If God really is a gamer, we're probably screwed, aren't we?
Bastion of sober videogame realism Microsoft Flight Simulator is about to get dinosaurs thanks to a Jurassic World crossover
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/bastion-of-sober-videogame-realism-microsoft-flight-simulator-is-about-to-get-dinosaurs-thanks-to-a-jurassic-world-crossover/
Somebody's marketing team didn't stop to ask whether they should, only whether they could, and as a result Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is getting an expansion that lets you do a velociraptor fly-by. The Jurassic World: Archipelago add-on will bolt onto your globe the islands of Isla Nublar, Isla Sorna, and the rest of the Muertes Archipelago added in The Lost World because one dinosaur island wasn't enough.
Sony CFO admits live service shift is 'not entirely going smoothly' in the wake of Marathon and Concord, takes a big hit of cope, says it's not all bad because Helldivers 2 and Destiny 2 exist
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/sony-cfo-admits-live-service-shift-is-not-entirely-going-smoothly-in-the-wake-of-marathon-and-concord-takes-a-big-hit-of-cope-says-its-not-all-bad-because-helldivers-2-and-destiny-2-exist/
Live service games are a massive gamble. We all know it. I understand this, you understand this, Sony should understand this but isn't—ah, damnit.
In a recent Q&A session, Sony's CFO Lin Tao (via VGC) talks a lot about the studio's foibles such as with the public-opinion quagmire that is Marathon and the instant trainwreck of Concord. I should note that this was via an interpreter, so there'll be a smidge lost in translation, but it's all very telling how little Sony's dissuaded from its current path.
"Somewhat negative news has been coming out," Tao said of Marathon and Concord, "But if we look at the past five years, five years ago live service games were almost non-existent for PlayStation Studios. We [now] have Helldivers 2, MLB The Show and Gran Turismo 7, and Bungie's Destiny 2, so we have these four live services contributing to sales and profits in a stable manner."
>> It’s funny to see Helldivers 2 marketed as a success (it is) when they almost killed it with their dumb decisions. Also, I didn’t know GT7 was a live service game.
Habbo Hotel survives years of 4chan raids to declare it's still alive for a 25th-anniversary jamboree
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/habbo-hotel-survives-years-of-4chan-raids-to-declare-its-still-alive-for-a-25th-anniversary-jamboree/
Readers of a certain vintage will file the name 'Habbo Hotel' in the same mental filing cabinet as games like Club Penguin, The Matrix Online, and that one game on Newgrounds where you fling a plump little guy made of circles around a grey void and also set him on fire.
It's a game of a particular era, in other words: distinctly millennial in essence, and surely only notable for the repeated and quite grim 4chan raids back in the day, plus the fact that it endures—for whatever reason—in the minds of those of us who have started noticing the odd grey hair in the bathroom mirror. It's probably been closed for years now, right?
Wrong. Habbo Hotel is, somehow, now 25 years old, and someone over there is still checking in and out with regularity in the second quarter of our century. "It’s Still Alive and Thriving," declares its anniversary press release—like a letter from the nursing home about your great grandma—and adds that it's "celebrating its silver anniversary with a month-long event designed to delight both old-school fans and curious newcomers."
And there is also an ongoing Live article about Fortnite’s new season:
Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 4 Shock 'n Awesome live launch coverage: all new weapons, locations and mechanics in Battle Royale
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/live/news/fortnite-chapter-6-season-4-shock-n-awesome-live-launch-coverage-all-new-weapons-locations-and-mechanics-in-battle-royale/
Fortnite's new bug-infested season, Shock 'n Awesome, is landing today. Creepy crawlies are spreading their purple goop all over the Battle Royale map, and you'll be fighting both them and other players if you want your victory crown.
We're getting new weapons (and some returning favorites), a new faction, fresh points of interest, and new boons, which boost your stats when you grab them. There's even a Halo collaboration, too.
Chapter 6 Season 4 has a lot going on, so stick with this page for live coverage as we discover it all.
