Square Enix‘s Visions of Mana may be coming to Xbox Game Pass.
17.01.2024 - 08:31 / gadgets.ndtv.com / Square Enix / Takashi Kiryu / Kosuke Okatani / Ai / Sony
Foamstars, Square Enix's Splatoon-like 4v4 online party shooter announced last year, is coming next month. The PlayStation exclusive will release February 6 as a day-one launch title on PS Plus, Sony and Square Enix confirmed Tuesday. The game will be available to download for free on PS5 and PS4 as part of the PlayStation Plus Monthly Games lineup for next month, starting February 6 through March 4. Foamstars was announced at a PlayStation Showcase in May last year, showing off soapy shooting and colourful characters, both heavily inspired by Nintendo's Splatoon games. A PS Plus release will likely attract more players to the multiplayer title in its early days.
PlayStation Plus subscribers will be able to redeem, download and play Foamstars at no extra cost. As with all free PS Plus monthly games, the Square Enix shooter, once redeemed, can be accessed beyond February as long as players hold on to their PS Plus membership, the publisher confirmed in its blog announcing the release date. After its PS Plus run, Foamstars will be available to buy on the PlayStation Store for $29.99 (roughly Rs. 2,494), starting March 5. Bear in mind, the multiplayer-only title would still require a PS Plus subscription for online play.
Ahead of Foamstars' release, Square Enix also confirmed that the party shooter will include some AI-generated art. Foamstars producer Kosuke Okatani told VGC recently that the developers had used Midjourney, a popular generative AI-based image generation tool, to create some art for in-game icons. “AI was used in the creation of the in-game album covers for the music featured in the FOAMSTARS' soundtrack. As developers, we're always looking at new technologies to see how they can assist with game development,” Square Enix later clarified to the publication.
Okatani said that major bulk of the game, including its core gameplay elements, was hand-crafted by the developers, adding that AI-generated content in the game amounted for “0.01 percent or even less.” This confirmation follows a company-wide New Year's letter from Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu, claiming that AI had the potential to reshape video games and the ways they are created. “We also intend to be aggressive in applying AI and other cutting-edge technologies to both our content development and our publishing functions,” the letter went on to say.
Foamstars will launch with three PvP modes — Smash the Star, Happy Bath Survival (both previously released in the Foamstar Open Beta Party), and the newly announced Rubber Duck Party. Smash the Star will require teams to foam up and take down the opposing team and get to their Star Player. Once seven players from a team have been defeated, the highest performer on that team will
Square Enix‘s Visions of Mana may be coming to Xbox Game Pass.
A recent update to Microsoft's website suggests that Square-Enix's upcoming Visions of Mana may be headed to Xbox Game Pass alongside its release. Square-Enix first announced the newest entry in the long-running RPG franchise during the 2023 Game Awards, surprising fans with the reveal of the newest Mana game. The RPG is set to arrive as the first brand-new main-series entry in the franchise in nearly two decades, with Mana's recent releases coming as remakes of older titles. Now, the newest Square-Enix game may be coming to Game Pass as well.
Square Enix has revealed that several people have been criminally charged for distributing counterfeit merchandise in China.
Outriders and Bulletstorm developer People Can Fly has joined the long list of developers and companies in the games industry that have been hit with layoffs, less than a month into 2024. As per a report by Kotaku, the studio has laid off over 30 people.
People Can Fly has reportedly laid off over 30 developers working on an unannounced Square Enix game.
President Takashi Kiryu has shared his plans to slim down Square Enix's lineup of titles.
Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu believes the company needs to diversify its gaming output, but also focus on fewer releases.
The president of Japanese publishing giant Square Enix, Takashi Kiryu, has said he wants his company's output to be more diverse.
Japanese publisher Square Enix has revealed that it used generative artificial intelligence to produce some of the artwork in the upcoming Foamstars.
Yesterday, Square Enix announced that its party shooter Foamstars would launch on February 6th for PS4 and PS5. Despite comparisons to Splatoon, it’s received praise for doing different things. Since it’s also out on day one for PlayStation Plus subscribers, it’s almost guaranteed to have a healthy player base initially.
Square Enix has confirmed that upcoming online shooter Foamstars includes AI-generated art.
PlayStation exclusive shooter Foamstars will feature AI-generated artwork, Square Enix has confirmed, with Foamstars producer Kosuke Okatani clarifying to VGC that «in terms of the content of the game, this makes up about 0.01% or even less.»