Dead Island 2 has suddenly vanished from Steam
- By Ash
- in News
[Update #2]: Nearly a decade after its original announcement, Dead Island 2 has now finally been unleashed.
[Update]: Dead Island 2 is not only alive, but it's also finally launching on February 3rd, 2023 for PC and consoles!
Dead Island 2 has not had the best of luck. Ever since it was announced there were rumors of troubled development, and then in 2015 there was a "significant delay" which resulted in Deep Silver cutting ties with Yager Development (the folks behind Spec Ops: The Line). A glimmer of hope appeared soon after as rumors started circulating that Techland (the folks behind the original Dead Island) wanted another crack at it, but that unfortunately didn't turn out to be true. Finally, Deep Silver entrusted the project to Sumo Digital (whom you might know from Little Big Planet 3) earlier this year, but ever since then we have heard almost nothing of Dead Island 2.
If you thought that story was too complex and overly convoluted you're in for another treat as DeathSparks over on Neogaf noticed that the Dead Island 2 entry in the Steam Database had been completely removed, a notion that very rarely leads to good news.
Payday 2 is getting rid of all microtransactions
- By Ash
- in News
[Update]: It took a while for us to get here, but Payday 3 will be launching in 2023 for PC and consoles!
Payday 2 developers caused a massive uproar within the community when they decided to not only implement microtransactions despite promising not to, but implement them in such a way that almost no one walked away happy. The issue was somewhat resolved over the coming weeks, but the community's undying trust in Overkill was all but lost despite taking years to build up.
Things have taken a massive upturn today, however, as Overkill's parent company Starbreeze Studios just announced that they have acquired the full rights to the Payday franchise from its publisher 505 games, and that as their first official move they are completely abolishing all traces of microtransactions. No more damnable drills!
Along with this announcement came a Youtube video from Payday 2's producer Amir Listo during which he discussed Payday's history, its current state, and what awaits in the future:
War for the Overworld has become enriched with an expansion - Heart of Gold
- By Ash
- in News
War for the Overworld is a shameless spiritual successor to Dungeon Keeper, and even though it started off as a buggy mess the developers have managed to improve it to the point where you might as well consider it the unofficial Dungeon Keeper 3.
Speaking of improvements, War for the Overworld has just become enriched with a brand new expansion, Heart of Gold, and a comprehensive patch that brings forth a better tutorial system, combat rebalance, improved performance, and greatly enhanced enemy AI. Here's the completely cheesy trailer to give you an idea of what to expect:
Hitman is heading to the bustling markets of Marakesh tomorrow
- By Ash
- in News
After the lovely 'adventure' through the sleepy seaside town of Sapienza its time for a change of scenery, which in the case of Hitman's third episodic mission means a trip to the bustling markets of Marakesh where a full-blown riot seems to be underway.
If you would like to get a sneak peek at all of the various locations you'll get to explore tomorrow the devs have just released one of those fancy 360° trailers. Have a look, in VR if at all possible:
Gothic developers are working on a new sci-fi RPG with mechs and magic - ELEX
- By Ash
- in News
Piranha Bytes and Nordic Games have teamed up to create ELEX, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi RPG with giant mechs and magic that will follow in the footsteps of the Gothic series by focusing on open world exploration and meaningful choices.
It was announced almost exactly a year ago, but the reason I'm mentioning it now is because the official website finally went live and brought with it a few more tidbits of information.
Final Fantasy XIV's massive trailer showcases all of the upcoming features for Patch 3.3
- By Ash
- in News
If you're a fan of Final Fantasy 14 you should start considering a vacation in the near future as Update 3.3 has been announced for June 7, and from what I can gather its absolutely brimming with content.
As with the previous patches Square Enix has released a video teaser showcasing all of the features and locations, but even though it goes over each one fairly quickly its still an 8 minute long video so I'd recommend you grab something to drink before you dive in. On the other hand, if you simply can't be bothered to watch such a long video, or are struggling with data caps, I'll post a brief summary below.
After three years in beta Solforge is launching next week with a redesigned UI and ranked mode
- By Ash
- in News
Its hard to keep track of all the card games these days, but three years ago Solforge launched as one of the first free-to-play variants, and even though the appearance of Hearthstone certainly hurt its popularity it has managed to consistently move ever-forward.
After years of hard work and numerous patches, some more successful than others, Solforge is going to be officially released next week, May 31st, with a newly redesigned UI, ranked ladder, and a rebalanced economy. If you're interested in what the new UI looks like here's the recently posted launch trailer: