Category: News

Fantasy Survival Game Rend To Launch In Early Access This Month


Frostkeep Studios has announced today that their title Rend will launch on Steam early access later this month. Dubbed a faction-based fantasy survival title, Rend was created by a studio formed from veteran Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and League of Legends developers. Rend introduces RPG mechanics, sandbox elements, win/loss conditions, and massive battles. Early Access will be available on July 31, with the game available for $29.99.

“Early access marks a pivotal moment for Frostkeep Studios,” said Jeremy Wood, co-founder and CEO, Frostkeep Studios. “We have been developing Rend side-by-side with our players since we first announced the game and are grateful for the invaluable feedback they provided to help shape Rend into what it has become today: the game they want to play.”

Wild West Online Looks At Reboot Two Months Out Of Launch


A lot has happened since Wild West Online launched in May. The review score has boosted quite positively toward 61% from 37% overall, although population has dropped to a few dozen concurrent players. 612 Games as an entity has vanished as quickly as it showed up, with its name seemingly being scrubbed from everything related to Wild West Online and no indication that the entity still exists. Oh and DJ2 Entertainment plans on rebooting the game just two months after launch.

As posted on the official forums, Wild West Online is to receive a relaunch of sorts, one that will focus more on the rootn, tootn, shootn, cowboy gameplay that people seem to enjoy. The update will add on to the map, introduce new animal hunting, and drastically increase the number of vendors present in the world.

“What this “relaunch” plan means for you – our existing players ? to be honest it doesn’t really gonna affect you much – it will for sure will bring new players to the game, as well as add more stuff to do in a game, making user experience more in line with it being PVP shooter game.”

When asked about female characters, a feature promised for launch but still undelivered, they were referred to as a cosmetic feature of low priority.

“Female characters are coming, but with all honesty – this is pretty low on our priorities – it’s a cosmetic feature, not something that makes or breaks the game.”

The Culling 2 Is Dead On Arrival, Can’t Fill Single Match On Launch Night


What’s worse than not being able to fill a single 100 player match of Battle Royale? Not being able to fill a 50 player match. We’ve talked briefly about Xavient, a developer whose previous title launched into early access and over the course of two years managed to run its population down into the low double digits thanks to a series of missteps, only to abandon said game shortly after launch and begin work on the sequel. We wondered how players would react to the sudden announcement of The Culling 2 and whether or not the community would come back around for a second try.

Well the verdict is in and the answer is a resounding no, the community did not come around for a second time. While The Culling peaked out at over 12 thousand players, The Culling 2 hit launch day with a maximum concurrency of just 249 with less than 25 playing as of this writing. Reviews currently stand at a 13% “Very Negative” rating with nearly a fifth of all of the positive reviews being outwardly sarcastic in their praise.

And we’re not the only ones to notice. PC Gamers’ Christopher Livingston penned a piece reliving his experience winning a match before he even hit the ground, owing to his competition being one singular player who disconnected at the start of the round. Nadia Oxford over at Us Gamer noted the negative reaction from fans of the original title to the unveiling of The Culling 2. Even the official Culling Twitter account is aware of today’s launch performance.

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The Culling 2 is available on PC, Playstation 4, and Xbox One.

[Video] 11 Things That Have Changed In No Man’s Sky


505 Games today released a video for No Man’s Sky detailing 11 major things that have changed since the game launched. Big updates since the game launched on PC and Playstation 4 in 2016 include the Atlas Rises, Path Finder, and Foundation updates. For more details on what has changed since launch, check out the video above.

No Man’s Sky launches on Xbox One later this month.

(Source: 505 Games Press Release)

Daybreak Game Company Wants Less Vehicles In H1Z1 Endgame


If you’ve been playing H1Z1 on Playstation 4, you’re probably well aware that the endgame mostly revolves around and relies on players obtaining vehicles, occasionally getting out of their cars to pop shots at one another until only one person is left alive. In a post on the H1Z1 subreddit titled “Wrangling the Car Rodeo,” Daybreak Game Company has posted its intention to diminish the valuable role that vehicles play in-game.

Now Daybreak has already enacted some measures to curb vehicle dependency, including the EMP grenade, air strike gun, and disabling collision with players, but the next update should do more to reduce the effectiveness of vehicles rather than simply implementing a counter to them. In addition to considering updates including a map-wide EMP that would disable all vehicles at a certain point presumably in the late stages, Daybreak will reduce the total gas by 50% and reduce damage resistance to all vehicles except for the ATV which already doesn’t prevent much damage.

(Source: Reddit)

After Abandoning The Culling, Xavient To Launch The Culling II


Following two years of early access, developer Xavient launched and then almost immediately abandoned its Battle Royale game The Culling in October of 2017. By the time the game launched, and thanks to numerous unpopular changes with the community, the average player base had sunk from its peak of 12,000 to not enough to fill a whole server. Current reviews sit at a 32% mostly negative rating.

But in case you’re still looking to toss your simoleons at a new Battle Royale game, Xavient is back to do it all over again. The Culling II has been revealed and it will launch, presumably not in Early Access, on July 10 for the sum of $20. The trailer, now available on Youtube, has been met with overwhelmingly negative response; a 9:1 negative to positive rating with players criticizing Xavient for abandoning the melee focus of The Culling and creating what is perceived to be a cheap PUBG clone.

The Culling II will also launch for Xbox One and Playstation 4.

Old School RuneScape Mobile Hits Open Beta


Old School RuneScape has officially hit open beta on Android devices and every member will get their chance to play. Following a successful first day, Jagex today has allowed an additional 250,000 members in with increasing access over the next couple of weeks. With the full launch later this year, including release on iOS devices, players will be able to get their grind on no matter their location (so long as they have cell service).

Also important to note is that the beta is not a segregated part of the game, and players will be on the live servers with their live characters.

(Source: Jagex Press Release)

Twitter Spat Leads To Firings At Arenanet


Two Arenanet employees are now unemployed following a Twitter spat that began yesterday and continued today. Following a Q&A session regarding the Guild Wars 2 Living Story, a Twitter user commented to narrative team member Jessica Price his thoughts on branching dialogue. Rather than take the “slight” disagreement with professionalism, or ignore it entirely, Price responded by implying that the tweet was demeaning to her as a female game developer without explicitly saying “mansplaining.”

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For those who know Jessica Price on Twitter, this conduct is not new. She previously stated in response Youtuber John Bain, AKA Totalbiscuit who passed away from cancer, “the kindest thing I can say is “I’m glad he’s no longer around to keep doing harm.”

Arenanet’s Mike O’Brien went on the Guild Wars 2 forum today to announce that Price as well as another employee were fired for their conduct.

“Recently two of our employees failed to uphold our standards of communicating with players. Their attacks on the community were unacceptable. As a result, they’re no longer with the company.

I want to be clear that the statements they made do not reflect the views of ArenaNet at all. As a company we always strive to have a collaborative relationship with the Guild Wars community. We value your input. We make this game for you.

Mo”

Another developer, Peter Fries, joined Price in attacking the community in a now-deleted tweet and appears to be the other employee that was fired as a result.

[Not Massive] Xbox Game Pass Gets Bigger This Month


This month sees a marked increase in titles available on Xbox Game Pass, the $10 monthly subscription service that gives access to over a hundred games on Xbox One. New titles have been released as of July 1, including racing title Dirt 4, sniper game Zombie Army Trilogy, Shadow Complex Remastered, The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Human Fall Flat.

Important to note is that these games are the base versions and do not come with any downloadable content and that neither Fallout 3 nor Oblivion are the Game of the Year editions.

Later this month sees the simultaneous release of a few brand new titles. Vermintide 2 hits Xbox, Playstation, and PC on July 11 but Game Pass subscribers can get access to the full game on day one without needing to purchase it. One day earlier on June 10 you’ll be able to get your hands on Bomber Crew, a simulation strategy title set in a World War 2 bomber plane.

RuneScape: Jagex Unveils Ocean’s Bounty


This week’s RuneScape update is Runepass, a limited time event running from July 2 to July 15. Ocean’s Bounty gives players a set of daily tasks that can be completed to level up the pass and gain more rewards. The pass has two tiers, one for free and one that is purchased for 400 Runecoins (approximately $10 USD or three bonds at 195 coins each). Those who have not purchased Runepass will have access to two tasks, one daily repeatable task and a weekly task with longer requirements for completion, while those who do buy the pass will have access to two additional daily tasks as well as the bulk of the rewards.

The Runepass appears to be Jagex’s answer to the Battle Passes that have become popular in games like Fortnite over the past few months.

(Source: RuneScape)