Development News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Hogwarts Legacy lovers, keep your eyes open as it is now being reported that a sequel is in development, which will take the franchise to new heights.

Development of Final Fantasy 16's PC version is finally underway.

During PAX West 2023's 'Voices from Valisthea' panel, Square Enix debuted a new message from Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida.

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.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has had a troubled development to say the least, but it has now risen from the dead once more. The first-person RPG sequel is now being made by Dear Esther developers The Chinese Room, it looks different from the last time we saw it, and it's aiming for release in autumn 2024. Watch the trailer below.

This is the era of technology and India's vibrant tech industry is a global powerhouse, but it faces a challenge – a shortage of skilled workers. As the technology landscape evolves, the need for proficient developers, particularly in mobile app development, has grown exponentially. There are various programs available that provide skills in app development, however, they can only be successful if the young generation is aware of them.

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!

One of the biggest complaints in the video game community is that certain developers are so driven to get their video game titles out that they’re willing to rush through development. That’s a problem, as it can leave games feeling incomplete, or they can be so rushed that it leaves a ton of bugs and glitches in the title. Nintendo has always been a company that has prioritized a game’s quality over everything else more times than not. That was apparently the case with Super Mario Bros Wonder, as the team wasn’t rushed during the early stages of development.

Humble Bundle EVP and general manager, Alan Patmore, has suggested studio acquisitions and first-party development could be a part of Humble Games' future.

Going from 'here is an RPG set in Boston and Massachusetts' to 'here is an RPG set in space' is a mind boggling task. Todd Howard, captain of the SS Starfield, definitely felt the weight of his mission during development, as revealed in a letter he sent to reviewers before the game's launch.

Given the current hype surrounding Starfield, you’re never too far away from a discussion of all things related to Bethesda, including The Elder Scrolls 6. We all know that it’s likely years until the Skyrim follow-up sees the light of day, but at what stage of development is it currently at?

CD Projekt Red has revealed new details about the next mainline Witcher game.

Yesterday, publisher Fulqrum and developer Dreamate Games unveiled New Arc Line, an upcoming single player cRPG set in a world at a crossroads between magic and steampunk, inspired by the technological revolution of the early 20th century USA.

The Elder Scrolls VI is now in early development, Bethesda has confirmed. Speaking to Spanish publication Vandal, Bethesda's Head of Publishing Pete Hines confirmed that while the hype for Starfield draws ever so close, some developers at the studio have been working on the Tamriel fantasy sequel, which has now left the pre-production stage. Both Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 were revealed at the 2018 E3 event, with the former sci-fi RPG being way ahead in the release pipeline. For now, Bethesda is fully focused on its launch and potential post-launch support, and therefore, it'll be at least a few years before we hear any new details about TES 6.

Three things are always in your future: death, taxes, and yet another version of Skyrim. It seems Bethesda boss Todd Howard is in on the joke, even when he's writing internal messages to the rest of the dev team.

Even after Starfield's launch, don't expect to hear more about Bethesda's fantasy RPG anytime soon.

Development on Project Polaris - or The Witcher 4, as everyone outside of CD Projekt would prefer to call it - is expanding in a major way as Cyberpunk 2077 winds down, according to the company's latest financial report.

First officially confirmed to be in the works back in 2018, The Elder Scrolls 6 has been in the pre-production phase of development for several years at this point, but with Starfield’s launch now right around the corner, developer Bethesda Game Studios is gearing up to turn its attention to the development of the open world fantasy RPG. In fact, The Elder Scrolls 6 has finally exited the pre-production phase, and has officially entered early development.

Employment in the UK games development industry rose 15.2% between December 2021 and April 2023, a new report from trade body TIGA revealed.

With Starfield now just a couple of days away from its early access launch, Bethesda is also sharing a bit more about the next Bethesda Game Studios project: The Elder Scrolls VI.

"[The Elder Scrolls 6] is in development," Bethesda Softworks vice president Pete Hines said when asked about whether the long-awaited sequel was still in the concept phase. "But it's in early development."

Astro Bot hasn’t seen a major, flagship release so far, but though it doesn’t stand on the same footing as many of Sony’s other first party franchises, it’s still got a sizeable fanbase. Hugely responsible for that was Astro Bot Rescue Mission, with the PS VR-exclusive platformer having been widely by critics and audiences in the years since its launch. And it seems Sony may be looking to bring it to its current-gen VR headset, too.

Blizzard has updated the Wrath Classic PTR with Patch 3.4.3 and provided Development Notes, covering all the incoming changes which we covered here.

It’s been roughly four years since the launch of Gears 5, but it seems the wait for the next instalment in the third person shooter franchise might not go on as long as some may have expected. Reports claimed earlier this year that The Coalition had cancelled two unannounced projects and instead shifted full focus to the development of Gears 6, and it’s now been claimed that the sequel may actually have made more progress behind the scenes than some may have expected.

Remedy Entertainment has been trying to get Alan Wake 2 off the ground for well over a decade, and even though the journey to this point has been a turbulent one, we are finally at a point where the long-awaited sequel is not far from launch. And ahead of its looming release, the developer has offered some more brief insight on its development.

An expansion to the uber-popular PlayStation first-party exclusive God of War Ragnarok is allegedly deep in development, according to notorious leaker The Snitch. It should be noted that, while there was a period where the infamous Internet tipster was flawless, the Twitter account has changed hands – therefore the reliability of the source is more debatable than before. Recently, the social media snoop revealed seemingly accurate details about Rise of the Ronin, so does appear to be familiar with Sony’s internal affairs.

The Indiana Jones video game is something we know is in development. With the IP getting a new resurgence thanks to the most recent film release, what better time than now to get a video game out there, too? Unfortunately, we haven’t heard much about this title since the game was first revealed. Instead, the game is being developed under MachineGames alongside Bethesda. But besides that, the development team has kept things a bit hush. That might change soon as we know the game development is currently midway through being completed.

Gamescom Opening Night Live didn’t boast the highest number of new game announcements, but there were some surprises. Tripwire Interactive’s Killing Floor 3 is one of them, taking place in 2091 as Horzine creates Zeds to try and rule the world. Meanwhile, the rebel group Nightfall, which you join, has to stop them.

It’s no secret that Starfield is a big game – see Bethesda senior VP Pete Hines’ testimony here – or that development has proceeded for a long time. However, in a new interview with GQ, director Todd Howard finally revealed that the space-faring RPG was in the works for eight years. For reference, Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 also took as long to develop,

In rather upsetting news, Bioware, the developers behind Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and Mass Effect, have announced that the company will be laying off around 50 employees as part of its efforts to restructure the studio’s approach to development.

TechRadar Gaming is reporting live from Gamescom 2023 on the latest and greatest developments in gaming and hardware.

The Dark Pictures anthology studio Supermassive Games is developing Little Nightmare 3 for release in 2024 on PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch. It'll be playable solo, with an AI-controlled second character, or with a friend in online co-op.

During a pre-Gamescom 2023 press briefing, NVIDIA announced that Half-Life 2 RTX is now in development. The project is being handled by four of the top Half-Life 2 modding teams, who have been approached by NVIDIA and have decided to come together as Orbifold Studios to remaster the game with the RTX Remix creator toolkit that they received in early access.

Apple's mobile chipsets are considered to be some of the very best in the business. Until last year, all iPhones featured the latest chipset, but that changed as the Cupertino-based tech giant reserved its new A16 Bionic only for the Pro models, while the standard models featured an improved A15 Bionic. The trend is expected to continue this year too, with the iPhone 15 Pro models featuring the A17 Bionic SoC, and it would be the first mobile chip in the market fabricated on a 3nm process. With less than a month to go until launch, it is almost certain that its development is complete.

Sony’s systems have become notorious for their lack of legitimately great arcade racers, but The Crew Motorfest could be about to plug the gap. The Ubisoft open world racer – which has clearly been inspired by Forza Horizon – potentially represents the best the genre’s going to get on PS5 and PS4, so it’s exciting to see development cross the finish line ahead of the title’s 14th September launch.

In a recent Developer Live Chat with the Community Council for Hardcore Classic, Blizzard Developers announced that Random Dungeon Finder and Default Quest Helper is coming to Wrath Classic in the next major update.Timestamped at 38:52 when it is announced The Random Dungeon Finder was a major topic of discussion at the launch of Wrath Classic, where Blizzard said the game would not launch with the feature. Back in April of 2022, in an IGN Interview, Blizzard explained that the reason they weren't going to implement RDF at launch was because of the spirit of WoW Classic.

This time last year, MultiVersus was the hot new fighting game on the scene. It was being touted as a genuine Smash Bros. comepetitor, and frequent character additions and rewards kept the game going and fans satisfied. Jump back to the present day and MultiVersus is looking a whole lot different, having been taken offline earlier this year in an attempt to try and build up a wealth of new content for its full launch at some point in 2024.

God of War Ragnarok may have been the end for the series’ Norse saga, but it’s obviously far from the end for God of War as a whole. Given the critical and commercial success the series has continued to enjoyed, it’s safe to assume that it won’t be too long before developer SIE Santa Monica Studio gets started on whatever comes next for the franchise. In fact, work on that may already be underway.

Activison’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is an unprecedented release in the series, launching one year after its predecessor. It continues the story with a new campaign featuring non-linear Open Combat missions, multiplayer with remastered maps from Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and a new open-world Zombies mode with extraction survival mechanics. Who’s leading development, though?

It feels like the release of God of War Ragnarok was an age away right now, and those that have played it and have seen the final credits will know that it simultaneously wraps up the Norse chapter of Kratos' journey quite well, whilst also leaving enough wiggle room for developer Santa Monica Studio to revisit these characters. According to a recent job listing on the developer's website, it seems like the latter is much more likely.

Blizzard's president has said a potential follow-up to Diablo 4 - Diablo 5, if you will - won't spend as long in development as the current game did.

Hyenas, the upcoming extraction hero shooter from Total War developer Creative Assembly, has been a «challenging title», publisher Sega has said.

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 . 

Blizzard has posted Patch 10.1.7 PTR development notes which includes a Restoration Druid nerf.

Rockfish Games’ Everspace 2 is finally available for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. However, it was also released for PC (and PC Game Pass) several months before becoming playable for console subscribers as well. The space combat title was in early access for years, adding new content and systems over time, including new story sections which weren’t originally planned.

Fan Studio is not your average mobile game developer. It has learnt a great deal since being founded in 2008, helping to create a range of titles for clients that show how important it is to offer captivating and interactive experiences to gamers of all ages.

The ability to change the appearance of your character in Baldur's Gate 3 is «being cooked», developer Larian has stated.

THQ Nordic and Mirage Game Studios have released a fresh trailer and look at their alien property development game, Space for Sale. We had a slightly more in depth look at this game, taking in the quirky atmosphere and tone to this frankly adorable new construction game.

After the vague announcement of what seemed like little more than a licensing agreement earlier this year, we now know that TMNT: The Last Ronin is in development for PC and next-gen consoles under publisher THQ Nordic.

THQ Nordic and Mirage Game Studios have released a fresh trailer and look at their alien property development game, Space for Sale. We had a slightly more in depth look at this game, taking in the quirky atmosphere and tone to this frankly adorable new construction game.

Activision and Infinity Ward finally revealed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 last week after months of rumors and leaks and confirmed Makarov in a recent trailer. A full reveal is coming on August 17th, but the Steam page for the title has revealed the number of studios involved in development.

There is no shortage of leaks, speculation, and supposed reports highlight what the future might hold for our favorite video game franchises. Grand Theft Auto is one of the biggest IPs that seems to have a constant collection of leaks or rumors surfacing online. After Grand Theft Auto V launched, fans waited years to see Rockstar Games just announce that the next game installment was being worked on. However, a new leak surfaced online today that might have let us know just how long Grand Theft Auto 6 was in development.

Nintendo is reportedly set to delay the completion of its new development centre in Japan.

This year, only Apple is said to unveil the world’s first 3nm chip, while Qualcomm is said to stick with TSMC’s N4P process for the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. However, one report from an analyst states that the San Diego company may have to rekindle its partnership with Samsung as it explores the option of dual-sourcing for the development of its own 3nm chip.

Blizzard has posted Patch 10.1.7 PTR development notes including new customizations for Night Elves and updates to the ping system.

Ubisoft has been transitioning back to its core video game franchises. This was something that the company even stated when Immortals Fenix Rising 2 was canceled internally. So when the focus has transitioned over to their bigger brands, we can expect the development to ramp up for IPs like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry. In fact, we just found out that Far Cry is about to have a bigger team working on the franchise. Ubisoft is hiring more staff to ensure their Far Cry projects come to fruition. 

In case you missed it, Baldur’s Gate 3 has left early access and is available now on PC. Thus far, it’s reached a peak concurrent player count of 814,666 on Steam, becoming the second-biggest launch on the platform for the year. Of course, even with a 75 to 100-hour campaign with heaps of replay value, one has to ask: Expansion?

At one point in Endwalker's development, most of Final Fantasy 14's characters were reviving a beloved community meme.

Blizzard has updated the WoW Classic Patch 1.14.4 Development Notes, as well as added an additional reminder for the Brawl with the Blues on the WoW Classic PTR, taking place on Friday August 3, at 2 PM PDT.

The release of the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion may not signal the end of support for Elden Ring, judging from a recent statement by FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa Corporation.

Kakao Games, the South Korean publisher, revealed new ArcheAge 2 information during its Q2 2023 earnings call. To begin with, Kakao clarified that the game is expected to 'complete development in the second half of 2024'. Whether that means the game will launch in that timeframe or shortly after remains unclear.

Second Dinner has released a new development roadmap for Marvel Snap, highlighting what players can expect for the collectible card game soon, as well as what ideas are floating around in the concept stage. One of the key launches coming soon is the official Marvel Snap PC launch, along with improvements to the card upgrade system. At the concept stage, ideas that have not had any development, Second Dinner is considering guilds and social systems.

Blizzard has released new development notes for the Dragonflight Patch 10.1.7 PTR, including a highlight of the Eastern Kingdom Cup Dragonriding races, new talent positions for Mistweaver Monks, and splitting Dawn of the Infinite into two separate Heroic difficulty dungeons!

A Disney Speedstorm Android release is on its way. The gacha racing game was released into Early Access for PC and consoles in April, with its sights on a full release in the Fall. Now, we’ve got wind that mobile platforms will get a piece of the pie.

Developing games for the Xbox Series S was always known to be troublesome due to the console's technical limitations and Microsoft requiring feature parity with the Xbox Series X, but it seems like the less powerful console is more of a problem than most thought, judging from some recent comments.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is coming to even more consoles. But we're not talking about the Nintendo Switch, or some unannounced next-gen thing. Instead, Respawn is working on dedicated versions for last-gen systems, the Xbox One and PS4.

NintendoEverything has shared some interesting quotes from a recent interview with MercurySteam CEO Enric Álvarez.

It’s been over a decade since the launch of the last game in the Elder Scrolls series, and clearly, it’s going to be an even longer wait before The Elder Scrolls 6 launches. Surprisingly enough, however, it seems fans of the series might still have a major new release to look forward to in relatively near future, because it’s been claimed that a remaster or remake of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is in development at Virtuos, the co-developer of Konami’s Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.

After starting development way back in 2007, the universally acclaimed roguelike Caves Of Qud is fully launching next year. 

Reports claimed last year that Ubisoft Quebec was working on a sequel to Immortals Fenyx Rising, this time shifting focus to a Polynesian mythology setting with a new art style. However, as per a recent report, the project has been cancelled, with Ubisoft also confirming that the decision was made so it could reallocate development teams at its Quebec studio to its “biggest brands”.

In a move that, if it happens a third time, will become a trend known as "doing a Dwarf Fortress", Kitfox Games are taking on publishing duty for Caves Of Qud, a proc-gen roguelike retrofuturist epic that generates funny patch notes and terrifies me, personally. Development started in 2007, before the game hit early access on Steam in 2015. And now, 1.0 is on the horizon.

Alan Wake 2 is described as Remedy's "first survival horror game," but its communication director recently experienced their own very real nightmare when they tried to show a demo of the highly anticipated sequel to a VIP.

There’s simply no question that Insomniac Games is carrying this generation for Sony. We’re not belittling the efforts of PlayStation’s other first-party studios, but it’s worth acknowledging that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be its third release for the PS5 thus far – fourth if you factor in the dramatically overhauled Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered as well.

Blizzard have updated the Development Notes for Patch 1.14.4, which is currently being tested on the WoW Classic Public Test Realm. A very welcome change for Battlegrounds is the addition of the Preparation spell before the Battleground commences, as well as terrain adjustments to Warsong Gulch to prevent players from reaching out of bounds areas.

FromSoftware has been one of the most prestigious developers in the industry for a while now, not only because of how excellent virtually all of its games tend to be, but also because of how many of them the studio has developed in the last decade and a half. Just as impressive, in fact, has been how well the developed has often juggled multiple projects at once, which Yasunori Ogura, producer on the upcoming Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, recently touched on while speaking to PC Gamer.

Blizzard has posted Patch 10.1.7 PTR development notes for today which includes class changes for Mistweaver Monk and Restoration Druids.

Warhammer is many things, from being the most popular miniature war game in the world, to standing as one of the most successful series of PC titles to date. The series’ dedicated fanbase has looked forward to regular game releases for years now, and it looks like Games Workshop isn’t planning on slowing down any time soon. The company has just confirmed that nine new games are currently in the works, including the highly anticipated Space Marine 2 and Age of Sigmar – Realms of Ruin. If you love Warhammer, then the next couple of years are looking bright.