Silent Hill: Ascension Is A New Interactive Streaming Experience Set To Release In 2023

During the Silent Hill Transmission presentation, Konami revealed multiple new Silent Hill projects–including an “interactive streaming experience” called Silent Hill: Ascension. Genvid (specialist in creating video game and streaming show hybrids), Bad Robot Games, Behavior Interactive (Dead by Daylight dev), and DJ2 Entertainment (company that adapts video games to TV and film) are behind this new title, and the project is set to release in 2023.

The trailer shows text that looks like people chatting with each other online–very Twitch chat-esque–with one exclaiming, “Can we save her?” The trailer tagline is “face your traumas together.”

Judging by the stacked lineup and what each of these companies do, Silent Hill: Ascension seems similar to The Walking Dead: Last Mile. Last Mile is set up as a weekly streaming show with character’s actions influenced by viewers and players’ decisions.

“It’s a live real-time interactive series where millions of fans will watch together as the chilling story unfolds,” said Genvid CEO Jacob Navok. “You can change its outcomes and even be a part of scenes.” Players’ decisions are final however, and there is no reset button.

According to Navok, Ascension was inspired by watching streamers play Silent Hill with their viewers looking on. Ascension’s goal is to take that sort of communal fear and maximize it. Creatures in Ascension will take the shape of characters’ past traumas according to art director Chris Amaral.

Aside from Ascension, Silent Hill Transmission presentation also announced Silent Hill F, the long rumored Silent Hill 2 remake, and Silent Hill Townfall.

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Silent Hill F Is A Brand-New Game In The Franchise From Resident Evil Re:Verse Dev

During the Silent Hill Transmission today, Konami announced the next core game in the Silent Hill franchise: Silent Hill F, which will be developed by Resident Evil Re:Verse developer Neobards Entertainment.

The game’s story will be penned by famed Japanese writer Ryukishi07, the author of the When They Cry visual novel series. Motoi Okamoto, who previously worked at Nintendo from 1998 to 2007, has been named a producer on the project.

The trailer shows a girl standing over what looks to be a memorial of some kind, which is adorned with red and pink flowers. The video then shifts to a town overrun by red vines, which slowly take over a Japanese village and attempt to capture the girl. The final scene shows the same girl floating on a small boat after being overtaken by the mysterious plants, who then looks at the screen and sheds a single tear before her face falls off of her head.

The Silent Hill Transmission featured multiple Silent Hill-related announcements, including a remake of Silent Hill 2 from The Medium developer Bloober Team, the rumored Annapurna/No Code project Silent Hill: Townfall, a Silent Hill 2 movie adaptation, and Silent Hill Ascension, a “real-time interactive series” from Genvid and Bad Robot.

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Silent Hill F Is A Brand-New Game In The Franchise From Resident Evil Re:Verse Dev

During the Silent Hill Transmission today, Konami announced the next core game in the Silent Hill franchise: Silent Hill F, which will be developed by Resident Evil Re:Verse developer Neobards Entertainment.

The game’s story will be penned by famed Japanese writer Ryukishi07, the author of the When They Cry visual novel series. Motoi Okamoto, who previously worked at Nintendo from 1998 to 2007, has been named a producer on the project.

The trailer shows a girl standing over what looks to be a memorial of some kind, which is adorned with red and pink flowers. The video then shifts to a town overrun by red vines, which slowly take over a Japanese village and attempt to capture the girl. The final scene shows the same girl floating on a small boat after being overtaken by the mysterious plants, who then looks at the screen and sheds a single tear before her face falls off of her head.

The Silent Hill Transmission featured multiple Silent Hill-related announcements, including a remake of Silent Hill 2 from The Medium developer Bloober Team, the rumored Annapurna/No Code project Silent Hill: Townfall, a Silent Hill 2 movie adaptation, and Silent Hill Ascension, a “real-time interactive series” from Genvid and Bad Robot.

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The Best PlayStation Fighting Games For PS5 And PS4

As long as PlayStation has been around, it has been seen as one of the best consoles to have for fighting game fans. A rock-solid line-up of games, legacy franchises, and one of the best controller D-pads for multiple generations has made Sony’s gaming hardware the default choice for some of the greatest fighting games of the era, and right now, not much has changed on that front.

With the PS4 being a hub for fighting games during their renaissance in the 2010s and the PS5 being backwards compatible with the vast majority of that library, we’ve slipped into our most comfortable Walmart-sourced karate gi and stepped into the ring to face off with the best that the PlayStation has to offer. Below, you’ll find our picks for the best PlayStation fighting games to play on PS5 and PS4. Instead of ranking these fighters, we’ve listed our choices in alphabetical order.

For more lists, you can check out the best RPGs for PS4 and PS5, the best free PS5 games available right now, and the must-play PS5 titles for the system.

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle

You could fill this entire list with games from renowned developer Arc System Works–and trust us, they’re here in force–but some of its lesser-known properties are worth looking at. BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle looks and feels like the perfect template for an Arc game, a flashy anime brawler with ultimate attacks that can melt your retinas if you stare too long. Beyond that initial snazzy impression, Cross Tag is a standout title in the 2D anime fighting game genre thanks to its dynamic tag system, fascinating mechanics, and a versatile selection of characters to choose from.

Read our BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle review.

Capcom Fighting Collection

It’s a slight cheat, but we’re hellbent on getting Darkstalkers on this list and can do so thanks to the release of the Capcom Fighting Collection.It’s full of Darkstalkers titles that prove just how important this series is to the history of fighting games. It’s not just Darkstalkers being represented with a loving approach in this collection though, as you can also go hands on with the superb Street Fighter Alpha series in a presentation that goes all in on its arcade heritage.

Read our Capcom Fighting Collection review.

Dead or Alive 6

The best entry in the long-running Dead or Alive series, DOA 6 perfects its trademark formula by making every single jab, roundhouse kick, and grapple feel like it genuinely matters. Every member of the massive cast has an X-factor that makes them deserving of dedicated Wiki fan clubs, battles erupt with explosive displays of power, and the the rock-paper-scissors strategy feels better than ever in this classic clash of icons.

Read our Dead or Alive 6 review.

DNF Duel

2022 has been a terrific year for fighting games, with titles such as DNF Duel leading the charge. Another knockout from Arc System Works, DNF Duel is set in the world of Dungeon Fighter Online and gives players an experience that’s easy to pick up but rewarding to invest time and effort into as they master its systems. It’s Arc System Works once again delivering a wonderfully complex fighting game, adapting an established IP into a title that’s fun in online or offline play.

Read our DNF Duel review.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

One of the best fighting games of the last generation, Dragon Ball FighterZ hits every beat for what a Dragon Ball game should be. It’s a mix of style and substance that looks amazing to see in action and feels even better when you go hands-on with it, has a stacked roster of fan-favorite characters, and it’s loaded with special moves that can vaporize a planet when properly executed.

Read our Dragon Ball FighterZ review.

EA Sports UFC 4

A fighting game for people interested in the more technical aspects of caving someone’s face in–digitally at least–EA Sports UFC is pure pugilistic chess. It’s a Newtonian law put into effect inside of the famed octagon, because for every snapkick action there’s an equal and opposing reaction waiting to be pulled off in this polished heavyweight contender. The mat game has vastly improved submissions, the strikes land with brutal efficiency, and a gentle learning curve helps newcomers perfect their own skills on the mat.

Garou – Mark of the Wolves

Fatal Fury doesn’t get nearly enough love for its influence on the fighting game genre. If you missed out on the superb series during its heyday, then the school of hard knocks is in session with this updated gem. Originally released in 1999 and then regularly released onto more modern platforms every couple of years, Garou: Mark of the Wolves can still land a stylish knockout blow with its fast-paced action, colorful characters, and rollback netcode that makes it a cult-classic with fans.

Read our Fatal Fury: Garou – Mark of the Wolves review.

Granblue Fantasy: Versus

What happens when you want to make a mark in the fighting game industry and you don’t want to gamble on an entirely new IP? You adapt one of Japan’s most successful mobile gacha games into a brawler and get Arc System Works to add its magic touch. Granblue Fantasy Versus is another example of Arc’s mastery of the genre, as it combines flexible mechanics with strong fundamentals and just enough fan service to land a right hook of excellence. With a few RPG mechanics thrown into the mix, this Granblue spin-off is magical melee fun that’s hard to put down.

Read our Granblue Fantasy: Versus review.

Guilty Gear Strive

Before it was producing the best adaptations of Dragon Ball, Granblue, and Dungeon Fighter Online, Arc System Works was making a name for itself with Guilty Gear. Transitioning from its 2D anime fighter roots to a more modern design in Unreal Engine, Guilty Gear Strive is heavy metal melee action that’s perfect for newcomers and fighting game veterans. It’s welcoming to rookies, rewarding for experts, and everyone can have a great time when they throw down in this stylish genre gold standard.

Read our Guilty Gear Strive review.

Injustice 2

Could Batman beat Superman in a fight? If you want to end that debate once and for all by taking matters into your own hands, then you should grab Injustice 2 for a super-powered showdown. From Mortal Kombat studio NetherRealm, Injustice 2 is a hard-hitting and good-looking fighting game that stars the greatest heroes and villains of DC Comics and smashes them together into a clash of titans. It has its own distinct feel, one of the best loot systems in the genre, and a story that makes the superhero civil war hit you right in the emotion organs with every cataclysmic haymaker.

Read our Injustice 2 review.

The King of Fighters XV

SNK’s long-running King of Fighters franchise has struggled to find a mainstream audience over the decades, but if one game was to find a dedicated global player base, then it was this splendid redemption story. With KOF 14 receiving a tepid response when it first launched, SNK went back to the drawing board for KOF 15 and turned it into a serious contender. Gameplay was tightened up, the cast was as impressively massive as usual, and it had more personality in every pixel than ever before. It may not be a fighting game paradigm shift, but KOF 15 is still a satisfying return to form for the veteran franchise.

Read our The King of Fighters XV review.

Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Edition

While there’s no telling just how long it’ll be before Mortal Kombat returns with a bloody uppercut and outrageous Fatalities, the latest mainline entry remains a popular game in the community–and for good reason. It has a story mode that puts most other fighting games to shame, it spills more blood than a busy abattoir before a beef festival kicks off down the road, and it’s a technical marvel of gory graphics. Even better, Mortal Kombat 11 has some of the best guest stars in its roster, so if you’ve ever wanted to see if the Joker could beat Robocop in a fight, this is the game for you.

Read our Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Edition review.

Multiversus

Having just released this year, Multiversus is already making waves with its Smash-like gameplay that gives Nintendo’s premier fighting game series a run for its money. It has one of the quirkiest rosters in video game history–Shaggy Rogers, Bugs Bunny, and Batman are just some of the inspired choices here–and its core gameplay makes it a blast to play. Even better, you can try out the game for free, and if it gets its wascally wabbit hooks in you, you can earn new characters with regular play.

Read our Multiversus review.

Nidhogg 2

While most fighting games have a rich selection of mechanics for you to learn and master over many hours of play, Nidhogg 2 emphasizes simplicity. It’s a fast-paced duel of wits and reflexes that improves on the original, offering wonderfully grotesque visuals, an expanded arsenal, and a layer of speed that makes every round a frantic rush to the finish. That core gameplay makes it easy to pick up, and within a few minutes, you’ll be shouting “EN GARDE” to your friends as you start swinging steel in this spectacular party game.

Read our Nidhogg 2 review.

Samurai Shodown

Samurai Shodown is the type of fighting game where a match can be decided with a minimal number of moves. It looks fantastic, and the focus on weapon-based combat forces a more measured approach to each round. The difference between life or death makes for a tense experience, and once you’ve got the hang of its unique flow, you’ll find that this game is an exhilarating dance of sharp-edged strategy and combat.

Read our Samurai Shodown review.

Soulcalibur VI

Sticking to the sharper side of fighting games, Soulcalibur VI is a highlight in the eternal tale of swords and souls. The three-dimensional combat still has a sharp edge to it, while the sheer variety of characters available makes each match a game of tactics and clever maneuvering. It’s the grand atmosphere of adventure and treasure where Soulcalibur VI feels ahead of its contemporaries, adding that drive for epic stories into a game that has deep and rewarding mechanics at its heart.

Read our Soulcalibur VI review.

Skullgirls 2nd Encore

A western take on the 2D animated fighter subgenre, Skullgirls 2nd Encore will knock your digital socks off with haymakers and its passionate design. Going for quality over quantity, the small roster of Skullgirls features unique gameplay tricks up their sleeves, distinct personalities, and outstanding animation. Throw in a soundtrack that’ll have you tapping a hole in your floor with your foot, and you’ve got a winning combination.

Street Fighter V: Champion Edition

Street Fighter 6 may be scheduled to bang knuckles in 2023, but don’t count Street Fighter V out just yet! Despite a rocky launch, Capcom has fine-tuned and polished the the core experience and added a ton of content to create one of the most technically impressive and nuanced fighters around. The Champion Edition is Street Fighter V at its very best, a celebration of Hadoukens and piledrivers that still feels familiar and fresh to dive into during its twilight months.

Read our Street Fighter V: Champion Edition review.

Tekken 7

Whenever a new King of Iron Fist tournament is announced, you can rest assured that there’ll be furious competition between the world’s greatest martial artists, cyborg superweapons, and a literal bear. Bandai Namco’s Tekken 7 is a slobber-knocker of fists and karate kicks that marries its fascinating lore with an cool campaign and its best roster yet. With Street Fighter’s Akuma making an appearance, Tekken 7 leaves an impression with its nuaced gameplay and lovely animations.

Read our Tekken 7 review.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

More than a decade has passed since Capcom decided to cross fists with Marvel, and in the years since Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 released, it remains one of the go-to games for over-the-top action. Still an absolute beast in the graphical department, the Ultimate edition has it all: characters, stages, and extra features that put its spiritual follow-up, 2017’s Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, to shame. Setting a high benchmark for the franchise, you can pick this gem up for a bargain and enjoy plenty of bang for your buck.

Read our Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 review.

Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown

There’s no getting around the fact that Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown has a barebones single-player setup, but beyond that, it’s a showcase of what makes Virtua Fighter special. Remade in Yakuza’s Dragon Engine and looking better than ever, it has a lot of depth to its tactical martial arts and keeps getting better as you invest more time into its rich selection of systems.

Read our Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown review.

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Warhammer 40K Darktide Adds An Intriguing New Wrinkle To The Left 4 Dead Formula

It was just a few months ago that I wrote about the legacy of Left 4 Dead and its many descendants that have emerged over the years. These “horde shooters,” as I call them, are so numerous that it’s hard to get an accurate headcount, but one of the teams doing the best work in that space has long been Fatshark. First with the two games in the Warhammer Vermintide series, and now with the forthcoming Warhammer 40K spin-off, Darktide, it’s been fun to watch how this team has reimagined and sometimes improved on the core of such games created by Left 4 Dead nearly 15 years ago.

The recent Darktide closed beta was yet another example of how studios making games like Left 4 Dead aren’t content to just rehash the same material, but rather seek to redefine the co-op horde shooter genre. Darktide adds a new wrinkle with its robust character creator that gives purpose and personhood to my monster-maiming anti-hero like few games in the subgenre ever do.

In Darktide, character selection is so much more than choosing a class or a favorite face. You don’t choose a character as much as you create one from the ground up, accounting for their whole life through detailed backstory that feels ripped right out of the Warhammer lore bible. With its history tied to tabletop RPGs, maybe I should’ve seen it coming, but as it’s a facet that even Vermintide didn’t offer, it took me by surprise.

After selecting my class, I figured I’d be whisked into a matchmaking lobby. Instead, I was given pages upon pages of lore to choose from, with each page helping form the history of my character’s life up to that point. At the start of Darktide, you’re breaking out of some sort of prison colony–frankly as someone unfamiliar with Warhammer lore, a lot of it goes over my head, but that’s also part of what makes the character creation so interesting here; it contextualizes who I am and where I’ve been in a way other games like it don’t do.

As a “Reject” in society, bound for the bottom rung of the social ladder, the odds feel stacked against me as soon as I take control of my character. Left with little to rely on other than a few other outcasts beside me and whatever abilities I may possess as a result of my class selection, the road ahead looks grim, though familiar to fans of this sort of game–head that way and brace for impact, its level design implies. But minutes before, I brought this anti-hero into the world, and her backstory feels different in my hands. It gives me not just a purpose, but through my own headcanon, a combat style, too.

I was able to choose what my character, whom I named Slone, was like as a child, what she experienced growing up, and what her home planet is. I decided that Slone was born on Rocyria, an agriculturally-focused planet, where spent time as a child-laboring algae farmer, mass-producing a gross but abundant crop used to cheaply feed the overpopulated masses of the Warhammer 40K universe. Growing up, she got by on her own by pitching herself as a soothsayer to anyone seeking a glimpse of the future, but this sort of behavior left her as a outcast to a society that considers such Psykers, or Warhammer witches, second-class citizens.

Whether she was faking her abilities or not seems to be up to me–I like to think she was–but her “Defining Moment,” to use the game’s words, comes when she has a true awakening and finds she is, in fact, a Psyker. No longer a lonesome hustler, now a confirmed witch, Slone was sent aboard The Black Ships, a transport convoy that will move her away from home and force her to contain her abilities or serve the state–and all this is only because she was spared from a Psyker’s usual fate: execution.

Your chosen class will inform who you are, but not more than you will yourself.

Choosing her personality includes a demeanor and a voice, which paints Slone in even more vibrant colors, and because of her backstory, I find I’ve unveiled unique visual characteristics, like glassy-colored eyes that are apparently exclusive to my upbringing. I then further change her face, tattoos, scars, and hair, giving her the look that I feel fits the story I’ve helped create for her. Her last detail is her crime–the explanation for why she’s on the prison vessel in the first place. Slone was unjustly imprisoned for protesting and rebelling against the tyrannical Imperium.

Her years of strife or unjust detainment don’t matter to the ruling class, but out of game, all of these details imbue me with a more lively fighting spirit. As the game truly begins and I’m soon cutting away at hordes of monsters and militia men alike, or I’m using Slone’s Psyker powers to literally pop the heads off of them from a distance, each action comes from a place of trauma for her, as though she’s a caged animal no longer willing to be prodded by her overlords.

I let Slone give into her bloodlust because she’s seen more than enough in her time and is unwilling to die for an unworthy cause. She’s livid. The game’s combat animations paint this picture quite well on their own, but having her history in my mind takes it further for me, in a way that feels personal. My co-op partners don’t have these details about her, but I do, and that’s what matters most.

There are no peaceful existences in Darktide. Everyone there has been bent and twisted by the corrupt ruling class and now finds themselves fighting for their lives with the strange bedfellows of other prisoners, each bringing their own stories to the fray. While I’ll need more time to understand how well Darktide might otherwise build on the horde shooter principles, the deep character creator already stands as one of the coolest innovations to the genre in years.

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Pokemon Go Halloween Event Part 2 Adds Spooky Festival Costumes For Gengar, Vulpix, And More

After revealing the first part of the Pokemon Go Halloween Event last week, Niantic has revealed what players can look forward to in Part 2 of the event.

The Pokemon Go Halloween Event Part II begins October 27 at 10 AM local time, and it will run until November 1 at 10 AM local time. The event will introduce new “Spooky Festival” costumes for five Pokemon: Gengar, Vulpix, Ninetales, Pumpkaboo, and Gourgeist. Gengar will only be available in raids, while the rest of the group will be found in the wild.

The five fresh fits coming to Pokemon Go’s Halloween Event in Part 2.

Costumed variant Pokemon that were released during previous Halloween events will return during Part 2 as well, including Pikachu, Piplup, and Drifblim. Perks and bonuses that began during Part 1 of the event, including special Lavender Town-themed music and extra candy being earned for catching Pokemon, will continue throughout Part 2.

The full slate of encounters and debuts for the Pokemon Go Halloween Event Part 2 is as follows:

Spooky Festival Costume DebutsWild Encounters GourgeistNinetalesPumpkabooVulpixRaids Gengar (Three-Star)EncountersWild:DusclopsGolettHaunterMisdreavusMurkrowPhantumpPikachu (costume variant)Piplup (costume variant)Pumpkaboo (costume variant)SableyeShuppetSpinarakVulpix (costume variant)YamaskZubatRaids:One-Star PhantumpPurrloinSableyeYamaskGalarian YamaskThree-Star DrapionDrifblim (costume variant)Gengar (costume variant)UmbreonFive-Star Origin Forme GiratinaMega Raids Mega Banette7 km Eggs:GolettNoibatPhantumpYamaskGalarian YamaskField Research:DuskullPhantumpPikachu (costume variant)Piplup (costume variant)ShuppetVulpix (costume variant)YamaskGalarian YamaskMega Energy for Gengar and Absol (earned through completing tasks)

These new features will run concurrently with perks that were previously announced to run through both part of the Halloween event, all of which are below:

Special AttackGiratina who are captured in five-star raids throughout the events will know the special Charged Attack Shadow Force.Event BonusesCandy earned from catching Pokemon, hatching eggs, and transferring Pokemon to Professor Willow will be doubledAll trainers level 31 and up will receive one guaranteed Candy XL when walking with a buddy PokemonPokéStops and Gyms will feature holiday-themed decorationsA remix of the Lavender Town music will play every night during the eventNew themed avatar items will be available in the item shopSpecial ResearchTrainers can complete a Halloween-themed Special Research quest line featuring Yamask and Galarian Yamask*Timed Research (accessed after purchasing a ticket in the item shop) $1 ticket will feature Timed Research quests centered around encounters with Yamask$5 ticket will feature the Timed Research quests from the $1 tier, as well as increased candy bonuses, additional Halloween-themed quests, and a special avatar item.

Pokemon Go is available now for free on iOS and Android devices. The Halloween event will be immediately followed by a celebration of Dia de Muertos, and it will include special variant Pokemon and extra rewards for players that catch them.

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Nier: Automata’s Developers Talk Game’s True Meaning, Forcing Square Enix To Let Them Make It

Nier: Automata first launched more than five years ago, and as of October 2022, it has finally made the jump to Nintendo Switch. To mark the occasion, GameSpot had the chance to ask key members of the development team–writer-director Yoko Taro, producer Yosuke Saito, and composer Keiiche Okabe–about Nier: Automata’s creation and the lasting impact the game has had.

I’ve made no secret that I’m an enormous Nier: Automata fan, and it continues to hold a special place in my heart as not just my favorite video game of all time, but also the game that most justifies its existence as a game rather than some other form of media. The interactivity and sudden genre shifts in Nier: Automata (and its predecessor) are its defining characteristic. I’m not sure what it means that I’ve also read the novelization and am eagerly anticipating the anime adaptation, but you can chalk it up to a mostly healthy obsession.

Below, you’ll find the full Q&A session I had with Taro, Saito, and Okabe. Their responses were translated by a Square Enix representative from Japanese to English.

Nier: Automata is available on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. A retooled and remastered version of its predecessor, Nier Replicant, was released for PS4, Xbox One, and PC in 2021.

Yoko Taro

GameSpot: One thing I’ve seen some people say after playing Nier: Automata is that they felt “depressed.” However, I felt the complete opposite, and actually wrote a piece on how its optimism can feel like overcoming depression despite feeling hopeless. Was this intentional? Your work, especially with character arcs, is often very dark and macabre, but rarely for no reason.

Even now, from time to time, I still receive DMs along the lines of “my depression was cured,” but this was not intentional at all. “Then, why do I receive such DMs?” I wondered, and I think that’s because NieR is a game much like a mirror that reflects the player.

Nier does not depict “justice as intended by the creator,” but instead is structured so that it poses the question to the player. Light and dark, life and death–these dualities may have served as a catalyst to push the boundaries of freedom of thought.

I tried my best to incorporate intelligent-sounding words here. Do you think I succeeded in presenting myself as a smart creator?

Did you know from the beginning that you wanted this to be a Nier game? It functions largely as a standalone game, despite taking place after the original Nier and sharing a few characters.

The games that I create are typically an extension of the real-life world. So, from that perspective, it’s only natural that the history may be shared.

At the same time, I do need to make it so that players who start on later installments, that have not played the previous titles, can still understand the story. This doesn’t necessarily mean adding a brief synopsis of the previous title at the beginning, but instead leads to designing something that would more naturally let the player experience a completely different story.

Yosuke Saito

The original Nier wasn’t exactly a best-seller. Despite this, years after the game was released, Square Enix greenlit a big sequel. What was that conversation like? Was the company on board from the beginning?

I threatened to leave the company if I couldn’t develop Nier: Automata and pushed through internal approvals that way, honestly. They thought it would only sell 300,000 units globally…

PlatinumGames played a big role in making Automata a success. How important is that partnership, and how big a role does stylish, weighty combat play in the series going forward?

I wanted to find the best developers to create an action-RPG, and so I went to seek PlatinumGames’ help. Among them, Takahisa Taura’s team was exceptional, and so I do believe our partnership with them is quite important for the future of our series.

Keiiche Okabe

There is a certain quality to your work that makes it instantly recognizable. I realized I was listening to your work right away when I first saw the Voice of Cards trailer, for instance. What do you think is your most “signature” element? The background vocals?

Perhaps vocal songs may be recognizable since the vocalists I like and choose have their own defining characteristics.

The melody, chord progression, the way sounds in the backing tracks are layered, etc., may not necessarily stand out individually, but I think the way these subtle characteristics are layered or combined makes them recognizable to listeners

What was the process like for creating the “End of Yorha” version of Weight of the World? Was this a collaborative decision with Yoko Taro to include the roaring group of voices as you move further into the credits?

Fundamentally speaking, Yoko Taro’s requests are at the forefront, and with that in place, I feel it is my role to shape the image of the specific sounds that go in, making suggestions like “how about taking it in this direction?”

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A Month Later, A Million Chooms Are Still Logging Into Cyberpunk 2077 Every Day

Cyberpunk 2077‘s recent resurgence on gaming charts hasn’t been short-lived, as developer CD Projekt Red has confirmed that the game has had 1 million active players every day, for four weeks. CDPR celebrated the news with a tweet and a new GIF, which riffs on the popular Parks and Recreation meme starring Chris Pratt’s bewildered face.

1 million active players each day for four weeks in a row – Night City sure is thriving!

Your passion and continued support leave us speechless 💛

Thank you, Chooms! pic.twitter.com/wJjqS5CMd5

— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) October 19, 2022

A number of factors have seen Cyberpunk 2077’s popularity explode in recent weeks, helping the game begin its redemption arc after a disastrous launch. A series of patches and fine-tuning since December 2020 have helped improve the Night City sandbox, an update for current-gen PS5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles increased Cyberpunk 2077’s visual presentation, and the announcement of the Phantom Liberty expansion all helped draw players back to the fold.

The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime series also boosted the profile of the game, which combined with some steep discounts, saw sales skyrocket. Don’t expect a sequel to Edgerunners though, as that well-received story animated by Studio Trigger is a one-and-done project.

CD Projekt has big plans for the future of Cyberpunk 2077, as a sequel is officially in development under the codename of Project Orion and will “prove the full power and potential of the Cyberpunk universe” when it is released according to the company. Development is moving from Poland to a new studio in the US, and the core Cyberpunk 2077 team will be shipping up to Boston to work on the sequel.

Beyond Cyberpunk, CD Projekt also announced a new Witcher trilogy and a new IP is being worked on, as part of an ambitious plan to focus on multiple AAA game projects.

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Intel Builds On USB4 v2 for 120 Gbps Next Generation Thunderbolt

The DisplayPort 2.1 specifications were officially released by VESA on Monday, and this was followed up by USB-IF’s announcement of the release of the 80 Gbps USB4 v2 specifications yesterday. These have have brought to fore the significant engineering efforts put into creating a unified protocol capable of handling the external I/O bandwidth requirements of tomorrow’s computing systems. Today, Intel is announcing the demonstration of early prototypes for next-generation Thunderbolt based on the USB4 v2 and DisplayPort 2.1 specifications.

Intel’s donation of the Thunderbolt 3 specifications to the USB promoters group to form the basis of USB4 has had its share of pros and cons. On one hand, the convergence of the Type-C connector ecosystem theoretically achieved the goal of minimizing end-user confusion, and the royalty-free spec for PCIe tunneling opened up the market to other silicon vendors like ASMedia. However, it also created consumer angst as most of the attractive features of USB4 (such as the 40Gbps bandwidth and compatibility with PCIe tunneling) were entirely optional features. That said, it did enable Intel to market Thunderbolt ports as the Type-C that could do it all. Intel’s demonstration of Next Generation Thunderbolt also included a sneak peek into its specifications, even though certain aspects are yet to be finalized. Before delving deeper into Intel’s press release, a quick recap of the 80 Gbps USB4 v2 specifications announcement is necessary.

USB4 v2 Updates

USB4 v2 builds upon the multi-protocol tunneling architecture introduced in USB4 by doubling the available bandwidth while maintaining the same port / pins layout and cable structure. This has been achieved by moving the physical layer signal encoding to PAM3 (described in detail in our coverage of 80 Gbps ‘Thunderbolt 5’ last year). This means that existing 40Gbps USB4 cables will be able to support 80Gbps operation also.

The USB4 v2 specifications now allow tunneling of DisplayPort 2.1 signals and up to four PCIe 4.0 lanes. The data and display protocol updates also make it more efficient, with USB data tunneling capable of exceeding 20 Gbps.

One of the key updates in the move to support DisplayPort 2.1 tunneling relates to the maximum total bandwidth for four lanes in UHBR 20 transmission mode. This translates to 80 Gbps, essentially leaving nothing spare on the transmit side for any other protocol. To handle this, USB4 v2 introduces the concept of asymmetric links. In general, a USB4 link uses two bonded high-speed differential signaling pairs to transmit and receive data, allowing for 40 Gbps duplex operation (40 Gbps transmit and 40 Gbps receive) in the symmetric case. However, the lane initialization process can optionally configure the link to have 3 transmitters and one receiver on one side, and 3 receivers and one transmitter on the other. Combined with the higher data rates thanks to PAM3, this can allow the host to send out 120 Gbps, while lowering the receive bandwidth to 40 Gbps. High-resolution displays can be reliably driven without too much of a sacrifice of the bandwidth available on the transmit side for other purposes (like high-speed storage).

The power delivery specifications have also been updated to match the updates made in USB4 v2, and new logo guidelines have been issued for consumer-facing equipment.

Next-Generation Thunderbolt

Thunderbolt has seen incredible momentum over the last couple of years – triggered mainly by the integration of Thunderbolt controllers inside the high-volume notebook processors starting with Ice Lake. The combination of data, video, and power delivery in one port / cable makes it beneficial to a host of use-cases. In particular, the increasing popularity of hybrid work / hot-desking (monitors / networking etc. behind a dock, allowing multiple employees to just plug in their Thunderbolt-equipped systems at different times) has also served as a fillip to Thunderbolt adoption in the business / office space. Gamers and content creators have an incredible thirst for I/O bandwidth that is served well by Thunderbolt.

As mentioned earlier, Next Generation Thunderbolt takes the USB4 v2 specifications as baseline and makes all of the attractive optional features into mandatory ones. On top of this, Intel’s integration of Thunderbolt into the notebook processors ensures that the implementation is power efficient on the host side. Making Thunderbolt mandatory for Intel Evo and vPro notebooks further cements Intel’s leadership in the USB4 v2 space.

The dynamic bandwidth rebalancing feature allowing tunneling of the highest bandwidth DisplayPort 2.1 streams while still allowing usage of high-bandwidth peripherals is one of the most exciting features of USB4 v2 that is sure to be available in systems equipped with the Next Generation Thunderbolt ports.

Intel’s demonstration included both host and device implementations, with the host configuration shown in the beginning. A discrete GPU’s DisplayPort output is fed into the host controller board, and two Type-C cables fork off, one ostensibly to the display, and another to a dock (device) with a SSD attached.

Aspects such as power delivery limits (Thunderbolt 3 / 4 support up to 15W by default) for the Next-Generation Thunderbolt ports will be clarified in the near future. Intel did not provide any information related to market availability.

Based on a glance through the USB4 v2 specifications and Intel’s description of Next-Generation Thunderbolt, it is clear that Thunderbolt ports will continue to remain the Type-C port that does it all.

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Call Of Duty Won’t Be Seen On Game Pass For “A Number Of Years” – Report

Call of Duty games won’t be seen on Xbox Game Pass for “a number of years” as “prior agreements” between Sony and Activision will prohibit the franchise from moving to the subscription service if Microsoft’s acquisition is approved. In Microsoft’s response to the Competition and Markets Authority’s decision to enter a second phase of investigation into the proposed $69 billion deal, footnote references to a tweet from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer were highlighted by the company.

“The agreement between Activision Blizzard and Sony includes restrictions on the ability of Activision Blizzard to place Call of Duty titles on Game Pass for a number of years,” the footnote reads (via VGC). Sony and Activision had previously entered into a co-marketing deal during the PS4 generation, which has seen a number of exclusive perks made available on PlayStation consoles over the years, and Microsoft will honor those deals.

Spencer had also confirmed this in a previous interview and has promised to keep the Call of Duty franchise on PlayStation for “years” beyond Sony’s existing contract with Activision. Sony has criticized this promise and says that Call of Duty will only be available for three more years on PlayStation after the current deal ends.

The CMA has so far expressed a number of concerns related to the deal and how it has the potential to have a major impact on Sony if Microsoft decides to make Activision Blizzard content exclusive to Xbox. Each annual Call of Duty release is usually one of the best-selling games of the year, and the regulator is concerned that Microsoft could harm Sony and and other game subscription services if Call of Duty becomes exclusive to Xbox and PC platforms.

Microsoft has hit back at those claims and responded by saying that the CMA has adopted Sony’s complaints without doing an appropriate level of critical review. According to Microsoft, Sony “losing access to one title” is not a credible argument and it has been accused of being hypocritical in its criticism of the deal. The acquisition is being scrutinized worldwide by other watchdog bodies, and the CMA’s investigation will seen an independent panel appointed to examine the deal in greater detail for any anti-competitive practices.

The preliminary findings from this second phase of the investigation will be released in January, with the final report being released by March 1. Over in Brazil, a series of legal documents made public by Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense has revealed fascinating details of Microsoft’s business, such as Xbox Game Pass for consoles generating $2.9 billion in revenue in 2021 alone.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News