Gaming in city Seattle. Reviews, Walkthroughs, News

For years, Amazon has used robots to help fulfill customer orders. But now the e-commerce giant is testing the use of humanoid-looking bots to work at its warehouses. 

Two weeks after the previous narrative-focused blog post, the developers of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 have now discussed their artistic approach, sharing a few new good-looking screenshots for good measure.

Developer The Chinese Room has published a new dev diary for upcoming RPG Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. This time around, the dev diary revolves around the game’s neo-noir art style, with commentary by associate art director Ben Matthews.

Almost ten years ago, the online phenomenon “Twitch Plays Pokémon” convened over a million people to play Pokémon Red at the same time, with each player’s keystrokes registering as commands for the one pixelated avatar. Now, like a Magikarp growing into a Gyarados, the evolution of technology begs a new question: can AI play Pokémon?

Paradox Interactive and subsidiary Harebrained Schemes have announced plans to “part ways”.

Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: The Gathering, started a game studio called Popularium and now the company is showing off its title Chaos Agents.

Seattle-based developer Harebrained Schemes announced it is splitting with Paradox Interactive. The news comes as no surprise, given the unsuccessful release of The Lamplighters League, the studio's latest game that launched earlier this month.

Paradox Interactive and developer Harebrained Schemes have announced they are parting ways on January 1, 2024, following the commercially disappointing release of The Lamplighters League.

Paradox Interactive and Seattle-based developer Harebrained Schemes will part ways on January 1, 2024, the companies announced. This means Harebrained Schemes will become an independent studio, and no longer be a subsidiary of Paradox Interactive.

Battlefield 2042 enjoyed a huge surge in players over the weekend sparked by the game going free-to-play as well as meaningful improvements made over the last two years.

Jean Nguyen, also known as JeanAnimate, who worked on the Ghost of Tsushima game has surprised us all with a personal project known currently as Dino-Sword. Right now it's in the development stages, but the game looks like it'll be no stranger to danger. 

It’s official — you’ll soon be able to experience the music of Stardew Valley in live orchestral form, as a real-life concert tour is set to kick off next year across the globe.

Amazon.com Inc.'s fall sale for Prime subscribers kicked off Tuesday with price-conscious shoppers mostly snapping up deals on low-cost kitchen gadgets and apparel rather than splurging on big-ticket items.

Disney's CEO Bob Iger is reportedly being pushed to acquire a major video game publisher, such as EA.

Nintendo Switch demo kiosks in the US now feature a demo for Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

Following the unveiling of the new version of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 in development at The Chinese Room, the developer has started posting regular developer diaries.

Publisher Paradox Interactive and developer The Chinese Room have published a new dev diary for upcoming game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. Written by senior narrative designer and writer Sarah Longthorne, the post focuses on the game’s narrative atmosphere and themes.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder producer Takashi Tezuka has called the game’s proximity to Sega’s own side-scrolling revival, Sonic Superstars, “an interesting coincidence”.

Here's everything you need to know about the Forza Motorsport unlock time.

Time to dust off your miniature Jeff Goldblum collection, because Magic: The Gatheringis going to Jurassic Park. The new Universes Beyond crossover cards will be part of the upcoming Lost Caverns of Ixalan set, which arrives at retail on Nov. 17. The announcement was made live from the floor of MagiCon Las Vegas — and included more of Wizards of the Coast’s plans for next year.

After the closure of original developers Troika, a long-awaited sequel announcement, delays and layoffs at Hardsuit, a secret change of studio (which led to further layoffs at Hardsuit), preorder refunds and the belated reveal that a developer best known for (very good) non-combat narrative experiences would be taking the reins, the only thing I really want to hear about Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 is that it’s definitely, absolutely going to reach the finish line. There are actual vampires that come back from the dead less often. But I'm piqued nonetheless by Chinese Room studio design director Alex Skidmore’s thoughts on how this Seattle-set World of Darkness action-RPG adaptation will differentiate itself from other games in the genre, and especially, how it will put its vampiric premise to use.

Following the surprise news earlier that Paradox Interactive's beleaguered Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2 is now in the hands of Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs studio The Chinese Room, the developer has talked a little about its goals for the rejuvenated project, saying it's building its action around 'doing things only a vampire can'.

NetEase has been on a business development spree for the past year or so, launching a wealth of new studios and acquiring a handful of them as well – mostly in the West.

My Little Pony is a popular, positive franchise that shares the values of friendship, cooperation, compromise, and pursuing your passion. Colorful ponies like Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle go on adventures, deal with the trials and tribulations of growing up, and occasionally cross over into other media. My Little Pony is one of the franchises that has been added to the library of Magic: The Gathering cards over the years, and it’s genuinely very funny to see these prancing ponies portrayed next to dark and terrifying creatures like Massacre Wurm or Mandible Justiciar.

Secret Lair has confirmed its Extra Life 2023 charity release as Ponies: The Galloping 2. This My Little Ponies crossover will raise money for charity as part of Extra Life, a charity fundraising program that puts money into Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and Seattle Children’s Hospital Autism Center.

New My Little Pony cards are coming to Magic: The Gathering with the latest Secret Lair drop, with the sale going live just now. The latest cards include the main gang, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, joining the first set released back in 2019.

Ponies: The Galloping 2, the latest Secret Lair drop for Magic: The Gathering, will be available to everypony starting at 9 a.m. PDT on Monday, Sept. 18. The four-card set completes a highly collectible My Little Pony-themed micro-set first launched in 2019, with proceeds benefiting the Extra Life children’s charity and the Children’s Miracle Network. Polygon has your exclusive first look at all the new cards.

By Richard Lawler, a senior editor following news across tech, culture, policy, and entertainment. He joined The Verge in 2021 after several years covering news at Engadget.

Nintendo has revealed that Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is finally getting a remake that is set to launch in 2024.

Video gaming has transitioned through multiple iterations and mediums throughout the years. Whether we’re talking about arcade cabinets, VR headsets or mobile gaming, it’s always kind of a crapshoot to predict where exactly the gaming market will flock to next. One thing is certain, success relies on more than just a fresh idea, but also on opportunity, capability, and execution. Samsung has found its opportunity with their Gaming Hub, and the South Korean technology powerhouse has proven it is more than capable. Now, as the Gaming Hub rolls out across some older Samsung TV models, and will come standard on many future monitors and TVs, it’s time to see if Samsung has nailed their execution.

Valve is currently celebrating Steam's 20th anniversary in the only way Valve knows how: massive discounts on all of its games, and bad jokes. The studio posted a neat timeline crammed with trivia about the platform, which begins with it getting in a quarrel with itself about what the first third party game released on Steam was (Codename: Gordon, apparently, though as it's now de-listed Rag Doll Kung Fu also gets a shout-out), and ends with the tiniest tidbit of news about Valve's biggest release of the year.

It is my longstanding opinion that Super Mario RPGis the greatest Mario game ever made. Some may disagree with that opinion. I think about those people all the time, and how it must feel to be wrong. Perhaps Nintendo’s forthcoming Nintendo Switch remake of the game, announced in June, will change their mind — if they aren’t already won over by all this sweet new footage.

With so many streaming options available these days, it's hard to remember that DVD-by-mail was a once popular way to get your entertainment fix. Now, as Netflix winds down its DVD service, Scarecrow Video is ready to take its place. For a rental fee plus a flat $12 shipping fee, you can rent up to six discs for 14 days.

Scarecrow, the largest movie and TV rental store in the United States, and one of the largest in the whole world, is offering its massive archive up for the whole country — just in time for Netflix ending its own rent-by-mail system. The Seattle-based video store announced on Tuesday that it will now offer a by-mail service that will allow customers to rent most titles from its library and have them shipped straight to their door.

Events company ReedPop, which has been partnering with the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) for the past 14 months, will not be working on future E3 events. Reedpop has a good track record with live events, most recently organising PAX West in Seattle the past weekend, but didn't run a single E3 in that admittedly short timespan, with this year's event being cancelled due to a lack of involvement from the industry's big players.

There's been much secrecy regarding Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2, the sequel to the 2004 cult favorite vampire RPG. First announced in 2019—with the original creatives returning for the sequel—work on that game hit a roadblock, and a creative and developer shakeup was announced in 2021.

PAX organiser ReedPop will not be working on future E3 events, the company and the ESA have announced.

We're thrilled to announce the return of GamesBeat Next, hosted in San Francisco this October, where we will explore the theme of «Playing the Edge.» Apply to speak here and learn more about sponsorship opportunities here. At the event, we will also announce 25 top game startups as the 2024 Game Changers. Apply or nominate today!

Despite hosting a Direct for Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Nintendo is rumored to host a more traditional Nintendo Direct this month. Citing “anonymous and reliable” sources, Universo Nintendo said it should occur between September 11th and 15th. It’s unknown whether this will be a Direct Mini or a general Direct.

Vampire: the Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has awoken from its long slumber, with a new studio and release window in tow. Over the weekend, Paradox Interactive confirmed that Bloodlines 2 development is in the hands of The Chinese Room, with a release window of fall 2024.

No matter the company or the “field” they are in, there are always certain “constants” that they try to achieve. The biggest one is that they desire every year to be good, profitable, memorable, and a “banner year” for the company in some form. This can be especially true in the gaming space, as companies need to perform well every year to prove they can go up against their competitors and maintain their slice of their market. For 2023, there’s little doubt that Nintendo has had a year for the record books, and not just on the gaming side of things.

Nintendo has teamed up with Niantic for a new Pikmin mobile game that's mostly good for passing time than serious gaming. It's called Pikmin Finder, and as Nintendo Life notes, the companies have released it in time for the Nintendo Live event in Seattle. You can access the augmented reality game from any browser on your mobile, whether it's an iPhone or an Android device. We've tried it on several browsers, including Chrome and Opera, and we can verify that it works, as long as you allow it to access your camera. 

Paradox interactive has re-announce Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, now with The Chinese Room taking over as the game’s developer.

Nintendo and Niantic have released a simple browser-based AR game called Pikmin Finder.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has risen from the depths of development hell, two years after Paradox Interactive parted ways with the game's former developer, Hardsuit Labs, and delayed the game indefinitely. The publisher has since recruited Dear Estherand Everybody’s Gone to the Rapturestudio The Chinese Room to work on the sequel to the original RPG from 2004. Bloodlines 2 is now set to arrive in fall 2024.

Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines had a cult following, and for years, it didn’t look like the game would see a new installment. However, that changed just a few years ago with publisher Paradox Interactive working with the studio Hardsuit Labs. This team would bring out a new thrilling installment with players tossed into a war filled with legions of vampires. Details were a bit scarce, but the studio was full steam ahead for getting this game out into the marketplace. However, it all fell apart a couple of years ago.

Paradox Interactive recently re-revealed Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, confirming that the action RPG is now being developed by The Chinese Room (Dear Esther, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture). Of course, until early 2021, the studio in charge of the project was Hardsuit Labs, before being taken off it due to behind-the-scenes development issues– however, the project wasn’t rebooted and started from scratch.

When Paradox Interactive announced in early 2021 that Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 had been indefinitely delayed, with developer Hardsuit Labs being taken off the project, many feared the worst, with questions being asked about whether the game would even see the light of day. After all, after the decision was made to take Hardsuit Labs off development, the game almost ended up getting cancelled.

Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2, sequel to the cult classic 2004 vampire role-playing game, has resurfaced in a new version made by a new studio after its development imploded in 2021.

At PAX West 2023, Paradox Interactive finally delivered the long-awaited news on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2.

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Paradox interactive has re-announce Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, now with The Chinese Room taking over as the game’s developer.

Good news, vampire fans – we finally have (another) release window for Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2 and a new development studio has taken the helm: indie darling The Chinese Room.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will release in late 2024 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.

Square Enix has released a free update for Final Fantasy XVI, which adds a weapon-skin feature, Onion Sword weapon, and new outfits for Clive, Jill, Torgal, and other characters, as well as announced that both a PC version and two paid downloadable contents are currently in development, with more information to come before the end of 2023.

Nintendo has published around 20 minutes of new Super Mario Bros. Wonder gameplay.

Turns out the rumours were true; Paradox Interactive has re-revealed Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 at PAX West 2023. The game is now slated for a Fall 2024 release window, and is being developed by The Chinese Room. The new official website for the game currently only indicates a PC release.

This certainly isn't what I expected. The troubled Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2, which I'd just about given up on, is now set to release next fall, over four years after its initial intended launch. Paradox Interactive has tapped The Chinese Room, developer of Dear Esther and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, as the studio to bring the fraught RPG across the finish line.

Paradox Interactive has announced that Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 is back in development with Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs' The Chinese Room.

The MIX Games and Wallride have announced Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland for consoles and PC. Specific consoles were not announced. It will launch in 2024. A physical edition is also planned for release via Limited Run Games.

Square Enix has announced its lineup and schedule for PAX West 2023, which will run from September 1 to 4 at Seattle Convention Center.

We're thrilled to announce the return of GamesBeat Summit Next, hosted in San Francisco this October, where we will explore the theme of «Playing the Edge.» Apply to speak  here  and learn more about sponsorship opportunities  here . 

Relive seven of NBA 2K24 cover star Kobe Bryant's career-defining games in Mamba Moments.

NBA 2K23 will feature a version of the famous Jordan Challenges focusing instead on cover star Kobe Bryant and his greatest basketball accomplishments.

More major platfrom holders, investors and publishers have signed-up to the GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit at PAX this month.

At Devcom today, the team behind Return to Monkey Island shed light on the project's origins and development.

After several delays following its 2019 announcement, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 hit a major stumbling block behind the scenes when publisher Paradox Interactive announced in early 2021 that original developer Hardsuit Labs had been taken off the project, and that it had been indefinitely delayed. It seems, however, that it won’t be long before we get a long-overdue update on the RPG- and maybe even a release date.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 may be about to get its long anticipated re-reveal at PAX West 2023, as hinted by the tease posted on the official Twitter account two days ago.

Sony has been releasing various studio profile videos on YouTube, presumably to help with recruitment in a stretched tech sector. This latest clip focuses on Seattle-based Ghost of Tsushima developer Sucker Punch, and digs a little bit into its background, before touching on its overall office culture. As is common with these kinds of videos, the team describes itself as a “family”.

What makes a great action movie?

EA has officially announced NHL 24 to the world and has revealed its cover athlete. There will be two versions of the game, both a standard edition and an X-Factor Edition as both will have separate covers. This year, the series has dubbed Cale Makar, the defenseman of the Colorado Avalanche, to be the cover star for this year’s title. He will be the fifth defenseman to grace the cover of the game joining P.K. Subban, Dion Phaneuf, Chris Pronger and Scott Stevens. Subban was the last defenseman to make the cover back in 2019, and he is the first Colorado Avalanche player to make the cover since Peter Forsberg back in 1998.

Valve will be attending the GI Investment Summit at PAX in Seattle this month to discuss Steam Visibility.

Currently in my home there are six copies of the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition Player’s Handbook — one for me, one for my 13-year-old daughter, and four for the other kids that we play with from time to time. But there’s only one copy of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. In fact, after the first readthrough, that book has seen hardly any use in the Hall household at all. That’s likely to change in 2024, because the DMG is getting a dramatic facelift.

More huge platform holders, investors and publishers have signed-up to the GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit at PAX this month.

Amazon is rolling out a new generative AI feature that summarizes product reviews for customers.

Xbox’s Jen MacLean is the latest speaker to join the GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit at PAX.

Thursday, July 27th was a special day at Amazon, when the company celebrated “Global Intern Day.” It’s a day where we acknowledge the many contributions that thousands of interns, across more than 40 countries, make at Amazon, each year through its global paid internship program, including many who work with Amazon Games. We dropped by the worldwide celebration, held at the company headquarters in Seattle, to hear thoughts and career tips, from Amazon Games leaders to the latest class of interns.

We're thrilled to announce the return of GamesBeat Summit Next, hosted in San Francisco this October, where we will explore the theme of «Playing the Edge.» Apply to speak  here  and learn more about sponsorship opportunities  here . 

Destiny 2 developer Bungie has a pretty good record in taking down cheat makers, and it’s looking to add another notch to its belt. On Tuesday, Bungie filed a lawsuit in a Seattle court targeting dozens of people allegedly involved in cheat-selling company Ring-1.