Persona veterans' new JRPG Metaphor: ReFantazio bumps a major series staple by excluding romance

We finally have the full for Prime Video‘s superhero series. The first three episodes will be released on Thursday, June 13, with weekly episodic releases following through July 18. It will consist of eight episodes.

Take-Two Interactive recently joined the ever-growing list of video game companies implementing layoffs, with the company announcing that it was cutting 5% of its workforce (roughly 600 jobs) as part of a wider cost-saving initiative that would also see projects being cancelled. Unfortunately, it seems one publishing label operating under the company has been hit the hardest.

Take-Two publishing label Private Division has reportedly laid off the “vast majority” of its teams in Seattle, New York, Las Vegas and Munich.

The long-delayed Star Wars: Hunters finally has a new release date. Back in 2021, Lucasfilm Games and developer Zynga announced Star Wars: Hunters, a squad-based arena shooter set after the fall of the Galactic Empire at the end of the original Star Wars movie trilogy. Players can choose from characters like Rieve, a dark-side-empowered warrior, a lightsaber-wielding droid called J-3DI, and even Utooni, a pair of junk-scavenging Jawas stacked together. Each of these characters has their own unique abilities, which will come in handy during frantic battles across several classic Star Wars locations.

Fallout 5 won't start development until after The Elder Scrolls 6 launches, so we're a long way off from the next numbered game in the series, but the Amazon show has ignited a newfound hype in the franchise. So, the question is whether a third party will develop a spin-off akin to Obsidian's New Vegas in the meantime.

Apple is finally taking some strict action on apps that claim to use AI technology to generate nude images of people who have not given their consent. Apple has removed at least three AI nude image generator apps who offered services like face swaps or ‘undressing' where AI was used to remove clothes in images of people. These deepfake apps gained popularity through Instagram ads. While Meta was quick to take down the ads redirecting users to download such apps, Apple took a while to respond. It was only after a report by 404 Media that Apple took steps.

Fallout has been the watercooler TV show this month, an impressive feat for a video game adaptation. Although Bethesda doesn’t have any new Fallout games to release alongside it, the Amazon Prime series has reinvigorated interest in Fallout, with all its titles seeing notable player count increases. For now, we’ll have to be content with a Fallout 4 current-gen upgrade, but I’ll admit that my mind is drifting to thinking about Fallout 5.

As the series enjoys renewed interest and popularity across all its games, largely thanks to the breakout success of the TV series, it could be the perfect time for the series to return to its classic style of gameplay. Having made the shift from the series' classic style in the transition from to, modern games have largely found success — but the popularity of certain other games on the market could show demand for the old way as well.

Metaphor: ReFantazio might not be a Persona game, but developer Atlus is keeping up a trend solidified by its beloved JRPG series by making its user interface absolutely gorgeous, and fans say it's a great example of why UI designers deserve to be paid generously.

No Rest for the Wicked's director has cited Baldur's Gate 3 and Hades 2 as examples of how early access launches can be fantastic, and said releasing in early access is "one of the best decisions we could've made."

Metaphor: ReFantazio, the new RPG by the team behind Persona 5 among other RPGs, officially has a release date. In a special showcase streamed Monday, Atlus revealed that Metaphor will be out October 11, putting it squarely in the holidays.

As we step up to recognise Earth Day 2024 – the 50-year-old global event that seeks to highlight issues affecting our climate, oceans, and planetary peace – not-for-profit organisation PlanetPlay wants to help game studios and players make meaningful change.