Author: Garry Smith

We already knew Assassin’s Creed Valhalla was doing well – but it’s still doing well now, 18 months later. New data released by Ubisoft last night as part of its annual financial results revealed Valhalla had more unique players in the past 12 months ending 31st March 2022 than it did in the four months after its hugely-successful launch. The stat suggests players are still picking up – and sticking with – Valhalla. Indeed, Ubisoft also said that the past year – free from a new Assassin’s Creed release – notched up nearly double the money than the year after…

Activision has announced Project Aurora, the codename for its upcoming Call of Duty mobile battle royale. According to a press release, the game has entered the alpha stage of development with a limited number of players testing it out, directly invited by Activision. “The Closed Alpha is limited in size and with it we are looking to simply start to improve tuning, stress test matches, identify and fix bugs, as well as collect feedback and insights on all aspects of the game as new features come online,” writes Activision in the press release. Read more Source – eurogamer.net All content…

A video said to showcase gameplay footage from a new Tencent-developed Need for Speed mobile game has leaked online. Need for Speed Mobile, as per a series of job listings spotted earlier this year, currently appears to be in development at Tencent’s Timi Studio, which has also worked on the enormously popular Call of Duty Mobile and Pokémon Unite. EA is yet to officially unveil a new Need for Speed mobile project, however, meaning the leaked footage – shared on the Need for Speed subreddit earlier today – is the first opportunity many will have had to see the game…

Following a report last month that Ubisoft had attracted early takeover interest from several private equity firms, the Assassin’s Creed publisher has once again addressed the issue, saying it has “everything we need to remain independent.” Ubisoft initially discussed the subject of buyouts back in February, following a round of acquisitions that saw Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard, Sony buying Bungie, and Take-Two buying Zynga. Since then, however, a report from Bloomberg claimed Ubisoft had attracted preliminary interest from a number of private equity firms, although it was said the publisher had yet to enter into “serious negotiations” regarding such a…

Can you believe that, after nearly a decade of development, we’re less than 12 months away from the launch of Skull and Bones? Ubisoft’s pirate ship battler – a spin-off from 2013 Assassin’s Creed game Black Flag – has been repeatedly delayed, though test footage leaked late last month suggested a launch was now finally on the horizon. Today, Ubisoft reconfirmed it would indeed see the light of day this financial year (before 1st April 2023). Also up this year, finally, is Ubisoft’s Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Developed by The Division studio Massive Entertainment, it was first announced more than…

EA has four unannounced games set to arrive between January and the 1st April 2023, one of which is described as a “major IP”, it told investors last night. The other three mystery titles include a “remake”, a “sports title, and a “partner title” – likely meaning one of the various studios EA publishes games for, such as It Takes Two’s Hazelight. Alongside those, EA also has its upcoming (and final) FIFA game and Madden NFL 23 set for this autumn, before NHL 23 and the long-awaited Need for Speed turn up before Christmas. So, what could those mystery games…

Ubisoft has expanded its executive committee with a number of senior appointments, including Marie-Sophie de Waubert as senior vice president of studios operations. The announcement stated the committee would assist Ubisoft with “major strategic orientations to achieve a strong, sustainable and inclusive growth” and would “accelerate its transformation” (thanks GamesIndustry.biz). De Waubert was previously managing director of Ubisoft Paris and will now report directly to CEO Yves Guillemot and lead all Ubisoft studios worldwide. Read more Source – eurogamer.net All content and images belong to their respected owners. This article is aggregated for informational purposes only with full credit to…

PlayStation has said it would have to cut budgets and lower the quality of its AAA games, if they were to be included in PlayStation Plus at release. “I will refrain from making comments on the competitors’ strategy,” PlayStation exec Hiroki Totoki told investors during the company’s latest financial call). “Our current thinking is to have development costs [and] appropriate R&D investment for quality products, and that will improve the platform and also improve the business in the long run.”AAA type titles on PS5, if we distribute that on the subscription services, we may need to shrink the investment needed…

Following EA’s announcement that it will be ditching the FIFA brand and renaming its long-running football series EA Sports FC starting in 2023, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has responded, insisting, “the only authentic, real game that has the FIFA name will be the best one available for gamers and football fans.” That comes alongside FIFA’s announcement it’ll be adopting a non-exclusive licensing model for games based on its brand moving forward, and that it’s currently working with third-party studios and publishers to developer new projects. This, it says, will enable it to provide “more choice for football and gaming fans…

Grounded, developer Obsidian’s inch-high garden survival adventure, has just dropped another update on the road to its Version 1.0 release later this year, introducing what sounds like a sort of on-demand horde mode for players wishing to farm and battle particular enemies. As explained in a new developer video, the idea behind Grounded’s Bugs Strike Back update is to introduce – in “true Obsidian fashion” – Faction Reactivity. Essentially, the more players bother specific bug types in their quest for new materials – whether that be by killing them outright or merely invading their territory – the more likely those…