Activision and Tencent will launch free-to-play Call of Duty Mobile this Summer

Posted on March 19, 2019 by John Scalzo

Way back in 2017, Activision announced that Candy Crush developer King was hard on a new game in the Call of Duty franchise for mobile platforms. We still don’t know when we’ll learn more about that game, but late last night the publisher revealed an entirely different Call of Duty mobile experience from Tencent’s Timi studio.

Call of Duty Mobile is currently in development for Android and iOS devices, and will be available to download throughout the world as a free-to-play Public Beta this Summer:

In Call of Duty: Mobile, players will experience the fluid, first-person combat of Call of Duty, fighting head-to-head in fan-favorite modes such as Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy and Free-For-All, in iconic maps from the series such as Nuketown, Crash, Hijacked and more. Along the way, players will earn and unlock classic Call of Duty characters, weapons, scorestreaks and other gear to equip and customize their loadouts as they battle to be among the best in the world.

Fans can pre-register to receive updates about Call of Duty Mobile’s progress at the game’s official website, and Activision has promised that “more modes of play” will be announced soon.

The Announcement Trailer for Call of Duty Mobile has been embedded above.

Posted in Mobile, News | Tagged

Blazing Chrome’s new Boss Trailer confirms the shooter is also coming to Xbox One

Posted on March 18, 2019 by John Scalzo

The Arcade Crew and JoyMasher have unveiled a brand new trailer for Blazing Chrome that shines a spotlight on the side-scrolling shooter’s towering bosses.

But prospective players won’t just get a peek at the game’s rampaging robots and messy monsters. The publisher and developer also used the short clip to confirm that Blazing Chrome will be released for the Xbox One (in addition to the PC, PS4, and Switch) later this Spring:

New video shows off the terrible bosses you will have to fight to save humanity from extinction.

Blazing Chrome is a throwback to the golden days of side-scrolling shooters with modern touches ensuring its gameplay feels as precise as it does authentic to the era it channels. Players can tear through six highly-varied stages filled with deadly, bullet-spewing AI as Mavra, a lone human resistance fighter, or the rebellious robotic insurgent Doyle.

Blazing Chrome was heavily inspired by games such as Contra and Metal Slug, and while a final release date hasn’t been locked down yet, it should be available “soon.”

Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One | Tagged

New Retail Releases: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, More

Posted on March 18, 2019 by John Scalzo

From Software is back in the spotlight this week, but it’s not for a new game in the Dark Souls franchise (or even the oft-requested Bloodborne 2). Instead, the famed developer will bring an entirely original game, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, to the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on Friday. Published by Activision, Sekiro’s players will take control of a disgraced warrior (the “One-Armed Wolf”) and attempt to rescue a young lord from the clutches of the Ashina Clan.

Speaking of ninjas, GameMill Entertainment will release American Ninja Warrior Challenge for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One this week. This game adaptation of the over-the-top athletic contest will feature more than a dozen obstacles, a Character Creator, and a Course Creator.

Elsewhere on store shelves, SNK will launch the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection for the PS4. Compiling 24 games from SNK’s earliest days, fans will be able to replay Crystalis, the Ikari Warriors trilogy, P.O.W., and more.

And finally this week, Marvelous will release Fate/Extella Link, the latest action-adventure addition to the franchise, on the PS4 and Switch.

A smattering of new games will also be available to download through the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop later this week, and some of them will surely feature even more ninjas.

Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One | Tagged ,

God of War captures “Game of the Year” at 2019 SXSW Gaming Awards

Posted on March 18, 2019 by John Scalzo

Sony Santa Monica’s God of War continued its award-winning ways this weekend with a trio of wins at the 2019 SXSW Gaming Awards. The action-adventure title was awarded “Game of the Year” by SXSW’s Gaming Advisory Board, as well as “Excellence In Design” and “Excellence in Visual Achievement.”

The rest of the 2019 SXSW Gaming Awards were spread out among a large number of games, and like Kratos, several managed to secure multiple victories. Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 was the only other game to win in three categories, and it took home some hardware as the “Trending Game of the Year,” along with “Excellence in Technical Achievement” and “Excellence in SFX.”

Insomniac’s Spider-Man won two awards (“Excellence in Convergence” and “Excellence in Animation”), as did Epic’s Fortnite (“Most Promising New Esports Game” and “Excellence in Multiplayer”) and Beat Games’s Beat Saber (“VR Game of the Year” and “Most Promising New Intellectual Property”).

Congratulations to all the winners, and you can find a complete list of every award-winning game from the 2019 SXSW Gaming Awards at Video Game Canon.

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Blizzard files trademark application for Diablo television series

Posted on March 18, 2019 by John Scalzo

While Diablo IV continues to remain frustratingly out of reach, it looks like Blizzard is continuing on with their plan to produce “multiple Diablo projects” in the future.

On March 8, the publisher filed an application with the United State Patent and Trademark Office for a Diablo trademark related to “Downloadable films and movies featuring narratives based on a video game and provided via a video-on-demand service.”

By itself, this filing doesn’t mean much. But when combined with the persistent rumors that Blizzard is teaming up with Netflix (you know, the biggest “video-on-demand service” in the world) to produce an animated adaptation of Diablo, it starts looking a lot more likely.

Hopefully Blizzard has something to announce about a Diablo animated series (and Diablo IV, for that matter) soon.

Posted in Etcetera, News, PC |

Development has begun on the “Next Major Sonic Title” at Sonic Team

Posted on March 18, 2019 by John Scalzo

Sonic the Hedgehog has found a home at the SXSW Gaming Festival, and fans have been looking forward to the Spring event for the past few years to learn what’s next for Sega’s mighty mascot. This year was no different as Sonic Team’s Takashi Iizuka confirmed at the “Gotta Go Fast” panel that development has begun on the Next Major Sonic Title.

“You could probably guess it already, but we have already begun production on the Next Major Sonic Title,” Iizuka tolds fans on Saturday. “We are excited to share more news with you in the future, but for now, thanks for your patience until we have something to show.”

No other details about the upcoming titles (including which platforms its in development for or when it might be released) were announced. Presumably, we’ll learn more about the Next Major Sonic Title after the launch of Team Sonic Racing in May.

Posted in News |

Yacht Club is bringing “something new” to PAX East 2019… and it looks like a post-apocalyptic ninja game

Posted on March 16, 2019 by John Scalzo

Yacht Club Games originally released Shovel Knight in 2013, and the developer has spent the half-decade since producing multiple expansions for the game to fulfill promises made during its Kickstarter campaign. The final two expansions, King of Cards and Showdown, will be available later this year, and now it looks like Yacht Club is getting ready to move on to their next project.

Yesterday, the developer uploaded a stunning bit of artwork to their Twitter account, while also confirming that they’re bringing “something new” to PAX East 2019:

Unlike the medieval aesthetic found in Shovel Knight, this new project looks to feature a more post-apocalyptic vibe as a ninja stands amongst the rubble of a modern skyline.

Yacht Club’s new game is obviously a bit of a mystery, but we’ll all find out what they’re cooking up in just a few weeks. PAX East 2019 kicks off later this month in Boston on Thursday, March 28.

Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One | Tagged ,

Turtle Rock will develop zombie-focused co-op shooter Back 4 Blood for WB Games

Posted on March 15, 2019 by John Scalzo

Turtle Rock Studios is best known as the driving creative force behind 2008’s Left 4 Dead and 2009’s Left 4 Dead 2, and fans have been clamoring for a threequel in the co-op zombie shooting series ever since.

While Valve retains the rights to the Left 4 Dead name, Turtle Rock is back in the news with the announcement of a brand new zombie-focused co-op shooter known as Back 4 Blood. Set to be published by WB Games, Back 4 Blood will use the foundation of the Left 4 Dead franchise and marry it to “new features and state-of-the-art technology.”

“It’s hard to overstate what an awesome opportunity this is. We get to return to a genre that was born in our studio with over ten years of additional experience and zombie ideas racked up in our brains,” said Chris Ashton, the Design Director at Turtle Rock Studios. “We also have some of the best teammates in the business at WBIE who understand our development process and are equally committed to our player-first mentality. We love being able to announce, so we can start working with the community right away.”

Details pertaining to Back 4 Blood are still pretty scarce, but a short FAQ on Turtle Rock’s official website confirms that the game will feature a Campaign Mode and PVP. The document also confirms that the developer’s previous partnership with Perfect World has been canceled.

Back 4 Blood is currently in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and according to Turtle Rock, we’ll learn more about it at a much later date.

Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One |