Gaming in San Francisco. Reviews, Walkthroughs, News

It’s going to take a lot to knock Call of Duty off the top spot, having presided over the first person shooter for what now seems like aeons. Sure, it’s had some stiff competition over the years, and still plays second fiddle to Counter-Strike in the hardcore PC realm, though few have come close to imitating its slick modernisation of the arcade shooter. Not until XDefiant, that is.

Horizon Chase 2 is another rock-solid arcade racer from Brazilian dev Aquiris, and honestly that’s all you really need to know. We’re professionals, however, so we’ll elaborate: much like the well-loved Horizon Chase Turbo, this title takes you on a 200kmph tour of the globe, from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge to Tokyo’s Akihabara Electric Town. You’ll effectively find yourself working you way up from the back of the pack to podium position across four breakneck laps, weaving in and out of opponents as you go.

The Big Indie Pitch is a regular event run by the makers of Pocket Gamer and PC Games Insider. It sees indie developers engage in a speed-dating-styled pitching competition for fame and those sweet, sweet promotional packages.

Ubisoft’s XDefiant may suffer from hit registration issues, netcode problems and a lack of content, but its launch is seemingly a success. After reporting over three million unique players within two days of launching, Insider Gaming has revealed that the free-to-play shooter is now at 7.6 million players in its first week.

Madden NFL 25, the upcoming entry in the popular football video game franchise, will soon be revealed. If you’re an avid fan of the series, or if you want to see what all the hype is about, you may want to send in your preorder for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, or Xbox One version of the game. If you choose to do so through Best Buy, you’ll receive a $10 gift card. It may not look like much, but if you’re going to buy the game anyway, you might as well enjoy any form of savings that you can get with it.

Nintendo of America has announced plans to open an official store in San Francisco.

Ubisoft’s XDefiant launched recently, and despite some brief matchmaking issues, the response has seemingly been good. Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson reported that it saw one million unique players within 2.5 hours of its launch, making it the publisher’s fastest-ever title to reach the milestone. Furthermore, it crossed three million unique players in the first two days.

I attended a screening of Indie Game: The Movie, which is probably still the most famous documentary about video game development, in early 2012. It was held at the Game Developers Conference — “the definition of a home crowd,” as I wrote at the time — and it earned a standing ovation from a huge audience in the main hall of San Francisco’s Moscone Center. The Kickstarter-funded film had already screened at the Sundance Film Festival by that point, but this was the debut before its true audience: people who love games, people who make games, people who dream of making games. Naturally, they lapped up the movie’s confident storytelling, larger-than-life characters, and romanticization of the artist’s struggle.

Rolling Stone has returned to games media by launching a new section, Rolling Stone Gaming.

Ubisoft’s free-to-play first-person shooter XDefiant is now available, but you probably wouldn’t have believed it based on the launch experience. Players report being unable to join matches as the lobby screen endlessly searches for others before giving up. Some have reported getting into one game or so, but issues remain.

Amazon Games is reinforcing its commitment to delivering world-class video games with the launch of its new internal development studio in Bucharest, Romania. Leading this exciting venture is veteran video game developer Cristian Pana, who boasts an impressive track record of more than 20 years at renowned publishers like Ubisoft.

Free-to-play shooterXDefiant is available later today, with Ubisoft providing various tips, outlining its monetization approach and showcasing the preseason battle pass. The patch notes are now available, detailing all of the changes, and there’s good news for Splinter Cell fans. Echelon is back as a faction, and the issue affecting their invisibility is fixed.

Just a few hours before the release of XDefiant, Ubisoft has released a new trailer for the game, this time around showcasing its pre-season battle pass. Check out the trailer below.

By Martin Coulter

Ubisoft has published a blog post where it explains its philosophy for the microtransactions that will be used in upcoming multiplayer shooter XDefiant. The number one thing the company has announced is that XDefiant will not be a pay-to-win game.

Ubisoft’s free-to-play shooter XDefiant launches on May 21st after several delays, and to celebrate the same, a new series called XDebrief has premiered. The first episode features an interview with executive producer Mark Rubin and his thoughts on matchmaking while featuring tips for different game modes and more. Check it out below.

The UK government said it would use a major summit in South Korea this week to make a fresh push on reducing the risks around artificial intelligence, putting an onus on firms to develop AI responsibly.

A former OpenAI leader who resigned from the company earlier this week said Friday that safety has “taken a backseat to shiny products” at the influential artificial intelligence company.

OpenAI unveiled a partnership with Reddit Inc. that will bring the social network's content to chatbot ChatGPT and other products, and allow Reddit to add new artificial intelligence features to its online communities. 

2064: Read Only Memories was a game that never fully piqued my interest. I love the idea of a sci-fi anime-esque adventure, but the aesthetic of that game never seemed as tightly dialled in as I would have wanted it to be. It’s sequel, though, has looked exactly like the game I’ve been waiting for. I was hooked from the first reveal trailer for Read Only Memories: Neurodiver, mouth nearly watering at the technicolor characters and gorgeously rendered future streets. Now, after ages of delays, I’ve finally gotten to sit down and play the game, and I just desperately wish there was more of it.

Aaron Rodgers will be facing a familiar opponent, albeit in a different uniform and in a new location.

GENEVA — U.S. officials raised concerns about China's “misuse of AI” while Beijing's representatives rebuked Washington over "restrictions and pressure" on artificial intelligence, the governments said separately Wednesday, a day after a meeting in Geneva on the technology.

Xbox president Sarah Bond has responded to some of the criticisms faced by the company in the wake of its recent decisions to shutter a bunch of development studios, laying off employees in the process. In an interview with Bloomberg, Bond referred to the decision as one made to ensure the health of Xbox as a business.

Xbox president Sarah Bond has indicated Microsoft will launch 2024’s Call of Duty game straight into Game Pass.

Xbox president Sarah Bond has responded to questions about Microsoft’s decision to shut a number of much-loved studios this week, insisting it was about ensuring the Xbox business remains healthy for the long-term during what she called “this moment of transition.”

Xbox president Sarah Bond has spoken more about the company’s decision to close four Bethesda studios earlier this week.

Ubisoft officially announced the Steam and PlayStation release date for its music-learning app. The game is already available on iOS and Android as well as on PC via Ubisoft Connect. However, it comes to Steam, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 on June 6, and players can wishlist it now.

Good news, people whose day-to-day lives are woefully short on blingy Clancified squad-murdering. Ubisoft's elusive free-to-play shooter XDefiant finally has a release date, 21st May 2024. Or at least, that's when the preseason launches, providing six weeks of access to the modes, maps and factions from last month's server test.

Ubisoft’s XDefiant, a first-person shooter meant to take on the likes of Call of Duty, will finally get a wide release and enter its Preseason on May 21.

Free-to-play multiplayer first-person shooter XDefiant will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Ubisoft Connect on May 21, publisher Ubisoft and developer Ubisoft San Francisco announced.

EVE Online needs little introduction. Created by Icelandic studio CCP Games, for over 20 years it’s been the poster child for the immersive, community-driven MMO scene.

Matthew Shell, a LucasArts and games industry veteran, has died.

Following the conclusion of XDefiant’s Server Test Session on April 19th to 21st, executive producer Mark Rubin says a release date is coming “very soon.”

Linden Lab, the developer of Second Life, has sold its payments business, Tilia, to Thunes.

2014’s The Crew was the first project for developer Ivory Tower, which was founded in Lyon, France, in 2007 and later acquired by Ubisoft in late 2015. While it may have been the debut game for the studio, a number of Ivory Tower’s staff formerly hailed from Lyon’s Eden Games (including Ivory Tower’s three founders) and had previous experience on the first three instalments of the V-Rally series, the PlayStation version of Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, and the trendsetting Test Drive Unlimited. As such, there was a good deal of optimism around The Crew.

Pokemon GO has announced a new edition of Sustainability Week. The upcoming Pokemon GO event will kick off on Monday, April 22.

Just as they received the Game of the Year prize at the GDC Awards in San Francisco, the developers of Baldur's Gate 3 announced through Larian CEO Swen Vincke that they wouldn't continue to make a sequel or even DLCs for the acclaimed cRPG.

Pixar’s 2015 movie Inside Outextended the studio’s proven story formula to its logical end point by asking the question What if emotions had emotions? The result is a poignant, whimsical adventure that delves into the mind of an 11-year-old girl grappling with some big life changes. The sequel, Inside Out 2, picks up a year or so after the first movie — and introduces new emotions as characters, which has raised a lot of questions for Pixar fans. During a press visit to the Pixar campus, we got a first look atInside Out 2, and got to talk to the filmmakers about creating a teenager’s emotional landscape.

Ubisoft's XDefiant seemed nearly ready to launch six months ago, but the game received a last-minute delay that left many fans puzzled. At the time, Executive Producer Mark Rubin explained:

Popular streamer Dr. Disrespect is heavily criticizing Activision in response to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's recent «Blaze Up» event, directly insulting the developers. Dr. Disrespect has long been one of the most outspoken creators within the online gaming space, gaining success for his skill at shooters like Call of Duty. Dr. Disrespect has built up a streaming empire that has seen him release a book, collaborate with the NFL's San Francisco 49ers, and even start his own video game studio in Midnight Society. Now, Dr. Disrespect has some choice words for Activision.

iPhone maker Apple denied violating a court order governing its App Store and urged a California federal judge to reject a request by “Fortnite” developer Epic Games to hold it in contempt.

Fortnite video game maker Epic Games has urged a federal judge in California to force Google to open up its Play Store to greater competition after a jury found the U.S. tech giant had abused its power as a gatekeeper for apps on the Android mobile platform.

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Following Embracer Group’s sale of Gearbox Entertainment, Gearbox Publishing has rebranded to Arc Games. The newly minted label will handle publishing for Hyper Light Breaker when it launches, as well as other Gearbox projects.

Former Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman were previously reported to have partnered up to develop a device that was dubbed the ‘iPhone of AI.’ While the exact nature of the product is unknown at this stage, the latest information states that the hardware being worked on is not a smartphone, but for the two individuals to complete their goal, they will require funding, which is what their aim is at this time.

Venture capital firm A16Z Games has invested $75 million into its third annual accelerator for pre-seed game startups.

Despite seemingly escaping the Embrace(r) of death through their sale to Take-Two at the end of last month, Gearbox Entertainment haven’t quite emerged unscathed. The studio has confirmed a number of layoffs shortly after the announcement of the sale, while clarifying that no positions related to the development of games were affected.

XDefiant, the free-to-play arena-shooter - a la Apex Legends, Overwatch 2, Valorant or the multiplayer team-based game of your choice - built around classes and factions from across the Ubisoft universe games from Splinter Cell and Far Cry to Ghost Recon and Watch Dogs, has been delayed. Originally outlined for a launch before the end of March - you’ll note that we’re now in April - the upcoming FPS will apparently now decide a release date after an upcoming stress test for its servers.

Take-Two has announced plans to acquire Gearbox Entertainment from the embattled Embracer Group, in a deal reported to be worth $460 million. The buyout makes logical sense, as Gearbox Entertainment will operate under the framework of 2K Games, which has long been the publisher of the popular Borderlands series. It’ll be led by founder Randy Pitchford.

has been largely praised for its engaging storyline and main characters, but as with many of the best RPGs, it's the side quests that bring the world of the game to life. These smaller interactions and unrelated adventures make Night City feel truly lived in, learning the plights of citizens from all walks of life, including a seemingly sentient vending machine.

An upcoming patch for the recently released MLB The Show 24 will nerf a character in the game who has apparently been overperforming. The Major League Baseball title has been plagued with problems since its launch.

XDefiant has been delayed again as it was previously scheduled to be released by the end of March 2024. Now, Ubisoft is aiming to "lock" down a release date after a short test period.

Insider Gaming has a serious new report about the goings-on behind the scenes at Ubisoft’s XDefiant.

Embracer Group finally confirmed that it is selling Borderlands studio Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive, but there’s a catch: Embracer Group will retain ownership of Gearbox Publishing.

More major changes are afoot on the business side of the video game world, as a notable name is changing hands once again. Take-Two Interactive (the parent company of Grand Theft Auto publisher Rockstar and others) has agreed to buy Gearbox Entertainment from the embattled Embracer Group. The deal is worth $460 million in stock and is expected to close by June 30. It had been rumored for several months that Embracer was planning to sell off Gearbox.

Embracer have announced that they're selling Borderlands developers Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive, owners of 2K Games and GTA 6 developers Rockstar, for $460 million in Take-Two shares. Three Gearbox Software studios - the flagship studio in Texas, together with Gearbox Montréal and Gearbox Quebec - will change hands as part of the deal. Take-Two will also acquire the Borderlands and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands franchises, together with Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms and Duke Nukem.

Troubled gaming conglomerate Embracer announced Thursday that it has agreed to sell Gearbox Entertainment, the studio behind the Borderlands games, to Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two for $460 million.

This year's Game Developers Conference saw nearly 30,000 people in attendance, its organisers announced.

Gearbox is now part of the Take-Two Interactive Family, in a deal that’s a fraction of what Embracer paid to originally acquire them.

Gearbox Software is officially splitting from the Embracer Group, acquired alongside Gearbox Quebec and Gearbox Montreal by Take-Two Interactive for $460 million. However, several studios under Gearbox Entertainment will remain with Embracer, including Gearbox Publishing San Francisco, formerly Perfect World Entertainment.

Gearbox Entertainment, the company behind the fan-favorite series Borderlands, confirms that it has been acquired by Take-Two Interactive/2K. While this is not necessarily surprising, as rumors have swirled around Borderlands and Gearbox's status within Embracer Group for some time, it does come in the middle of the night, almost literally, for many fans around the world.

Embracer has entered an agreement to sell Gearbox Interactive to Take-Two for $460m.

Take-Two Interactive Software will acquire The Gearbox Entertainment Company from Embracer Group in a $460 million deal, the companies announced (2).

Embracer Group has officially divested Gearbox Entertainment, selling the division to Take-Two Interactive for $460 million.

Embracer Group has been itching to sell some of its recently acquired studios for quite some time now, having seemingly had eyes bigger than its belly during its spending spree a couple of years ago. Borderlands creator Gearbox Software was one of the developers lined up for a potential sale, and it's now been confirmed that Take-Two is the publisher to have acquired the studio.

Gearbox Entertainment, the company behind the fan-favorite series Borderlands, confirms that it has been acquired by Take-Two Interactive/2K. While this is not necessarily surprising, as rumors have swirled around Borderlands and Gearbox's status within Embracer Group for some time, it does come in the middle of the night, almost literally, for many fans around the world.

During the Game Developers Conference 2024 in San Francisco, Funcom provided the first detailed Dune Awakening presentation to the press. For the full details of what was discussed in the open world survival MMO's overview, head to our previous article.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a choice-driven card game that allows the player to make their own choices of where their active team moves, says, and what attacks they will perform through the power of different cards. While playing the game, you will have different Marvel characters, including yourself, on the board, which might take place in a city or other location, and it will be up to you to figure out which cards you want to play in order to win the match.

An attendee of GDC 2024 says that her drink was spiked at a hotel bar, but authorities refused to investigate the matter. Snow Rui, president of the game publisher Hooded Horse, says that she was met with "complete indifference" from emergency services, with police reluctant to investigate and the hospital she was admitted to refusing to run tests for commonly used date rape drugs.

Recently Pocket Gamer Connects celebrated its tenth anniversary as part of the annual flagship event Pocket Gamer Connects London. However, we're not stopping there, as next up is The Very Big Indie Pitch at Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco 2024.

For a certain subset of angry gamers planted behind their keyboards, March 18 was just another day in the digital outrage mines.

It’s been a busy month for gaming enthusiasts. As last week’s Game Developers Conference wrapped up in San Francisco, PAX East kicked off for a fun weekend in Boston. We were on hand for the East Coast show, exploring the show floor to check out some upcoming games.

Larian's writing director is "so excited" for the studio's next game after Baldur's Gate 3.

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Toys for Bob has reportedly signed a deal with Microsoft after parting ways with the firm last month.

A Ubisoft executive has denied a newly emerged report suggesting that XDefiant is being delayed because of Call of Duty. The official also offered a minor status update on XDefiant as part of the move.

The gaming industry is in a terrible state right now. Just as we get some of the best games in living memory, the developers that make them are losing their jobs in endless layoffs. More than 10,000 jobs were cut in 2023, a figure that industry executives are already close to surpassing in 2024. It's so bad that it makes you want to scream - so that's exactly what some people did.

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Hello paranormal pals, and what an exciting time to be writing to you! Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has just hit theater screens and I’m delighted to announce our Frozen Empirecontent update for Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, coming to PlayStation VR2 as a free update on March 28. Let me give you a sneak peek at what we’ve been working on.

An early version of one of Baldur's Gate 3's most well-known characters, Astarion, has been shared by Larian Studios' founder Swen Vincke at the Game Developers Conference. GDC 2024 is currently underway in San Francisco, and game developers across the industry are gathering and discussing their experiences making the games millions of gamers have enjoyed over the past year, including Baldur's Gate 3.