Over 14,000 games were released on Steam in 2023 How do we feel about that? Image credit:SteamDB Over 14,000 games were released on Steam in 2023, according to according to data tracked by SteamDB . The number is nearly 2000 games more than in 2022, and continues a steady trend of growth on the digital storefront. The number of games released on Steam has increased every year since the platform’s launch, with the exception of 2019....
Persona 4 remake announced at Xbox showcase At least it’s not another Persona 5 spinoff Image credit:Atlus Atlus have announced a remake of Persona 4, called Persona 4 Revival , possibly because they have run out of ideas, just like everyone else. I snark, I snark, it’s the summer of video games, we’re allowed to do a bit of that. Here’s the short trailer showing the flashified protag-kun running through the city streets in his school uniform....
Please let Pillars Of Eternity’s surprise turn-based mode spark a wave of turn-based updates for all other games Obsidian are seeking playtesters for it in the “near future” Image credit:Xbox Game Studios Pillars Of Eternity turns 10 years old this week, and developers Obsidian are celebrating with a patch that “addresses a wide range of fixes and improvements across visuals, combat, quests, and more”. Oh, and they’ve also announced plans to give the real-time-with-pausing RPG a turn-based combat mode, much as they did for the sequel Pillars Of Eternity 2: Deadfire in 2019 ....
Prison Architect 2 is official, bringing Paradox’s jail management sim to 3D It’s out on March 26th Image credit:Paradox Interactive After teasing a 3D sequel when Prison Architect received its final update last May, developers Double Eleven and publishers Paradox Interactive have announced that, yep, Prison Architect 2 is indeed a thing that is happening - and in 3D, no less. Prisons will now have multiple floors to police, as well as a whole new inmate behaviour system to navigate along the way that will feed into gang warfare, escapes and other budding management problems....
PUBG is taking the fight to Fortnite with destructible environments and more transportation items in 2024 Over 3m cheating accounts banned last year Image credit:PUBG Studios Despite being the game that pioneered and popularised the battle royale shooter , it seems that PUBG: Battlegrounds has increasingly ended up left in the shadow cast by Fortnite ’s ridiculous popularity, Lego and Eminem collabs , and big, flashy season changes . It seems that the earlier battle royale game is planning to borrow at least one leaf from its rival’s playbook this year, though....
Quake goes Brutalist again with a “megalithic” 77 map mod that’s available as a free standalone game Quake Brutalist Jam number three is oppressively beautiful, gritty, and utterly huge Image credit:Quake Brutalist Jam 3 team If you’re a fan of both the colour grey being draped all over designs that could be accurately described as both angular and slabby, you’re in luck. A third brutalist map jam has hit Quake , with this one being less of a fan-made map pack and more of a huge overhaul mod - the concrete cavernousness of which dwarfs the original game....
Resident Evil HD Remaster and Resident Evil 0 join GOG’s preservation program, tell 16 other new arrivals to budge up Tomb raids, splintered cells, and 47 codenames are among this flurry of additions. Image credit:Capcom GOG continue to conquer the world of old games you either remember fondly or have totally forgotten about. They’ve added 18 new ones to their preservation program this week, with the latest arrivals being the Resident Evil HD Remaster and Resident Evil 0....
Respawn reportedly lay off staff across Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi teams, cancel two incubation projects Would be nice if they could just be honest for once Update : Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has since reported that between 300 and 400 positions have been “eliminated” across EA, including around 100 at EA. One of the cancelled incubation projects was also apparently an extraction shooter set in the Titanfall universe. Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment have announced that two of its incubation projects have been cancelled, leading to what it calls a number of “target team adjustments across Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi ....
Roblox to roll out “facial age estimation technology” for everyone, after US prosecutor dubbed it “the perfect place for pedophiles” Roblox Corp aim to “limit communication between adults and minors unless they know each other in the real world” Image credit:Roblox Corporation Roblox will roll out selfie-based “facial age estimation technology” as a mandatory requirement for all of its players, as part of efforts to “limit communications” between minors and adults they don’t know....
RPS Verdict: Assassin’s Creed Shadows Overshadowed? Image credit:Ubisoft Nic: To kick off this verdict, I have no choice but to ask my most insightful question: how Assassin-y is this Assassin’s Creed Game? Jeremy: This is the first AssCreed game I’ve engaged with since Assassin’s Creed II, which I watched my roommate play through in university. So my opinion is not especially scientific, but from what I’ve seen it is very Assassin-y....
Ruiner devs reportedly lay off over half of studio behind cyberpunk shooter Dozens of staff across “all possible departments” said to be affected Image credit:Reikon Games Reikon Games, the developers behind cyberpunky top-down shooter Ruiner , have reportedly become the latest studio to lay off dozens of staff, with over half of the Polish indie said to have lost their jobs earlier this week. Former employees speaking to Kotaku said that approximately 60 to 70 people - over 50% of the studio’s workforce - were laid off this past Tuesday, January 23rd in an announcement described as “sudden and shocking”....
Should you assist Leda or Hornsent in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree? Here are all outcomes for choosing between Leda and Hornsent in the Shadow Keep Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco Wondering if you should assist Leda or Hornsent in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree? Leda’s story in Shadow Of The Erdtree is one of the most complicated sidequests in Elden Ring and includes all NPCs in the DLC in one way or another....
Should you Imbibe Nectar in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree? Here’s what happens if you imbibe St. Trina’s Nectar Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco Should you imbibe Nectar in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree? During your Shadow Of The Erdtree adventure into the Stone Coffin Fissure , you’ll come across a lamenting Thiollier who is desperately trying to contact his patron, St. Trina. If you advance towards St. Trina you will get the option to either “Imbibe Nectar” or “Leave” ....
Silent Hill 2 remake’s narrative designer thinks one of the advantages to horror is that it’s cheaper In my dreams, I see those balance sheets Image credit:Konami As anyone who’s ever glanced at some of the better entries at r/twosentencehorror will tell you, the genre thrives on restrictions. Here’s a creepy good ‘un: “‘Please, God, don’t let it look in the closet,’ I silently prayed. ‘Please, God, don’t let it look in the closet,’ it parroted back from the next room....
Skate Story, the skating game for people who want to fight the moon, gets a new trailer But that’s my favourite moon! Image credit:by Sam Eng I have nothing but respect for a Steam update that promises gameplay details then quickly melts into an impressionistic tone poem about fighting the moon. Really though, what else does Skate Story need to say? We’ve already known how lovely it looks since not-E3 of 2022, then we found out even more about it from a demo last year ....
Smite 2 studio lays off workers and drops all other games to focus on the unfinished MOBA No more Paladins updates Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Hi-Rez Studios Hi-Rez Studios have laid off an unknown number of the studio’s employees, only one month after launching MOBA sequel Smite 2 as a free-to-play beta . It looks like management has cut at least 20-30 jobs and the full number is likely higher....
Space Marine 2’s Siege mode is out, letting you fight endless waves of Tyranids and the other, less good enemy Just as planned (bird noises) Image credit:Saber Interactive An uncomfortable question I’ve been asking myself this morning is, now that Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 ’s free Siege mode update is out, how much money I’d be convinced to part with if they, I dunno, added some Orks. Just a couple Orks....
Subnautica 2 early access should last “2 to 3 years” - it’ll launch with “several biomes” and “some narrative” Plus “a variety of creatures and craftables” Image credit:Krafton Below the thunders of the upper deep, far, far beneath in the abysmal sea, its ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep Subnautica 2 sleepeth - but not for too much longer, as Unknown Worlds’ open world survival game is due to surface in early access form next year....
Tired and tested Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Warner Bros Developer: Rocksteady Studios Publisher: Warner Bros Release: Out now On: Windows From: Steam , Epic Games Price: £60/€70/$70 Reviewed on: Intel Core i5-1340F, 16GB RAM, Nvidia GTX 3060, Windows 11 For reasons no more complicated than the fact you can’t give Superman a machine gun, you get to play as the villains in this one. Harley Quinn stars alongside three additional baddies plucked from the dustiest recesses of the DC universe wiki, each armed with their own signature style of fighting and movement....
Tales of Kenzera: Zau studio, founded by Assassin’s Creed Origins actor, lay off staff less than three months after debut game Platformer melding African Bantu cultures with personal experiences of grief hit PC in late April Image credit:EA Surgent Studios, developers of this year’s fetching Afrofuturist platformer Tales of Kenzera: Zau , have laid off more than a dozen staff. The cuts come just over two months on from the release of the debut video game release from the multimedia studio founded by Assassin’s Creed Origins star Abubakar Salim....
