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The Alters – the upcoming release from the This War of Mine team 11 bit Studios, described as an “emotional” sci-fi game featuring plenty of cloning action – has been delayed.
In a post on social media, which has been laid out like a letter to the game’s main character Jan Dolski, the studio said this delay will allow time to “optimise all mission-critical systems”, while ensuring “every aspect of your journey is as seamless as possible” on the game’s release.
This note added that reception to the game so far had been positive, but “good” is “never enough” for Ally Corp, the company coordinating Jan’s rescue from the hostile planet he is trying to escape from within the narrative of The Alters.

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With Amazon’s live-action TV adaptation of Like A Dragon/Yakuza fast approaching, the streaming service has shared a first proper trailer for those wanting to get a better look at its exuberant chaos ahead of its 24th October arrival on Prime Video.

Like A Dragon: Yakuza, as the series is known, spans two different time periods – 1995 and 2005, to be exact – as it charts the life of protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, a “fearsome and peerless Yakuza warrior with a strong sense of justice, duty, and humanity”.

“In 1995, eager to escape their restrictive lives, Kiryu and his friends, Nishiki, Yumi, and Miho plan a heist at a local arcade,” explains Amazon. “However, the arcade is under the control of the Dojima Family, a powerful yakuza organisation that rules Kamurocho.…

Parents and guardians of Fortnite-obsessed kids can now set in-game time limits for how long children can play.

Time Limit Controls, introduced to Fortnite today, do exactly what they say on the tin. Set in-game via Fortnite’s Parental Controls section, or via the Epic Account Portal online, these allow parents to set playtime limits and specific playtime windows.

Parents can even chose whether to let their child request more time, as the minutes count down.

Time Reports, which can be viewed online, then show the results of all this – how long the game has been played per day, with totals for the week so far and for any extra time granted.

Fortnite parental controls settings, from the Epic Account Portal. | Image credit: Epic Games

How does …

Sony and developer Shift Up are being sued by Louisiana-based film production company Stellarblade, which – in case you haven’t already guessed where this is going – is alleging trademark infringement following the release of this year’s PS5 action-adventure Stellar Blade.

As reported by IGN, the complaint was filed in a Louisiana court earlier this month by Stellarblade LLC and its owner, Griffith Chambers Mehaffey. It’s specifically targeting Sony, Shift Up, and and Sony’s unnamed liability insurance company, amid claims Stellarblade’s business (that’s the film company) is being damaged by Stellar Blade (the game’s) use of the name.

Stellarblade was established to provide “multimedia entertainment services” – including film, documentary, and music video pro…

Sony has announced its PlayStation Plus games for October 2024 during tonight’s State of Play broadcast, pre-empting the usual leak.

With apologies to bilbil-kun, then, next month PlayStation Plus subscribers will be able to play the excellent Dead Space remake and a couple of other games, starting on 1st October and running until 4th November.

Dead Space Remake (PS5)
WWE 2K24 (PS4, PS5)
Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! (PS4, PS5)

Let’s Play Dead Space Remake – ISHIMURA THE MERRIER! Dead Space Remake PS5 gameplay

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It’s a pirates life for the Yakuza series. Earlier today, Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku revealed Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.
The upcoming spin-off was announced during the RGG Summit livestream, and features recurring character Goro Majima swashing his buckles as the sole protagonist.
The game appears to take place after the events of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and sees poor ol’ Goro washed up on the sandy shores of Rich Island, unsure of who he is or why he is there. Soon, however, he is embracing his inner-pirate to bombastic effect. I mean, why not! You can check out our first look at Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii in the video below.

Like a Dragon: Pirates in Hawaii | Announcement Trailer

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Square Enix has admitted that profits of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Final Fantasy 16 “did not meet expectations”.
The comment comes from its financial results briefing held in May and finally made public today.
Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu shared the results, stating: “In the HD Games sub-segment, we released multiple new titles, including major titles such as Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but profits unfortunately did not meet our expectations.”

FINAL FANTASY XVI “DELIVERANCE” – PC Trailer

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Bungie’s Marathon reboot will reportedly launch with a $40 price tag, despite the recent failure of Sony’s similarly priced Concord – with development “too far along” to pivot to free-to-play.

That’s according to Forbes’ Paul Tassi, who, citing a “source with knowledge of Marathon”, claims Bungie’s uncertainty around monetisation came to a head after free-to-play live-service shooter The Finals underperformed. The subsequent success of Sony’s live-service shooter Helldivers 2, which launched with a $40 price tag, is said to have ultimately convinced Bungie and Sony this was the right approach for Marathon too.

That, however, was before Sony’s second live-service shooter of 2024, Concord, took the same $40 monetisation approach and proved so commercially disas…

nDreams, the VR-focused developer behind the likes of Far Cry VR and Synapse, has confirmed restructuring and redundancies that could affect up to 17.5 percent of its workforce.

The UK studio, which was founded in 2006, currently consists of four teams – nDreams Studio, Orbital, Near Light, and Elevation – employing around 250 people between them. That means upward of 40 staff could lose their jobs as nDreams’ redundancy process proceeds.

In a statement provided to Game Developer, nDreams CEO Patrick O’Luanaigh blamed the cuts on a “challenging VR games market” requiring a “renewed strategic focus”. O’Luanaigh added that jobs may be cut at all levels, “including senior leadership”.

Powerwash Simulator | VR Official Launch Trailer | Meta Quest Platform

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Having teased The Sims 4’s latest season of content last week, EA has more firmly detailed its upcoming Storybook Nursery Kit and Artist Studio Kit DLC releases, which are both now set to arrive next Thursday, 19th September.

Starting with The Sims 4’s Artist Studio Kit, it includes – as you’ve probably already guessed – a bunch of new furniture items and decorative bric-a-brac that can be combined to make a suitably chaotic space for Sims to unleash their creativity.

“Set up your new easel in the centre of your studio,” EA writes, “surrounded by tools of the trade – a variety of brushes, colourful paint cans and new inspiring still-life objects that Sims can paint from reference or draw creativity from.” Expect drawers and shelves, tubes of paint, sket…